(DETROIT) — The jury deciding the fates of four men accused of plotting to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced Friday they had reached a verdict on some of the criminal charges but deadlocked on others.
Judge Robert Jonker announced that he received a note from the jury about the update in their deliberations Friday, a week after closing arguments ended, according to ABC affiliate WXYZ-TV. The exact details of their decisions weren’t immediately revealed.
The judge brought the jury in and urged them to continue deliberating and “keep an open mind,” according to WXYZ. Jonker told the attorneys he had already ordered them lunch and will get an update in the afternoon, WXYZ reported.
Adam Fox, Barry Croft Jr., Daniel Harris and Brandon Caserta were all arrested in October 2020 following an FBI sting operation against a militia group of which they were alleged members, and had openly protested Whitmer’s COVID-19 policies. All four were charged with kidnapping conspiracy. Fox, Croft and Harris were also charged with conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction.
Two other suspects who were allegedly part of the conspiracy, Kaleb Franks and Ty Garbin, were also arrested and later pleaded guilty to weapons and conspiracy charges.
Federal prosecutors allege the group had meticulously planned to kidnap the governor and hold her hostage along with others at the state Capitol in Lansing. Investigators said the men allegedly acquired weapons, ammunition and materials for explosives and conducted surveillance of the governor’s home.
“The evidence proves all of them were already willing to commit the crime,” U.S. Attorney Nils Kessler said during closing arguments on April 1.
Undercover FBI agents infiltrated the group and recorded conversations of their alleged plotting.
The suspects’ attorneys contended that their clients did not intend to kidnap Whitmer and they were coerced by the FBI agents.
Defense attorney Christopher Gibbons told the jury that the government’s claims that Fox was the ringleader of the operation were unfounded.
“He talks bad government talk. Talk, it’s just talk,” he said during closing arguments on March 31.
Prosecutors argued that they did not entrap any of the men accused because investigators saw the men had an alleged pattern of anti-government and hateful rhetoric, and that they were serious about carrying out the plot if they were not stopped.
Sunday’s episode of The Simpsons will make history as the first to feature a deaf actor and use American Sign Language — despite characters only having four fingers.
The episode, titled “The Sound of Bleeding Gums,” follows Lisa Simpson as she tracks down the deaf son of her favorite saxophone player and helps him get a cochlear implant. Deaf Glee and I Hear You veteran John Autry II voices the character. Simpsons writer Loni Steele Sosthand drew his inspiration from the Oscar-winning film CODA, as well as his jazz-loving father and deaf brother.
“When we were talking about this Bleeding Gums character in our initial brainstorms, we thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool if Lisa discovers this whole other side of his life,'” he tells Variety. That led to him having a son, and then we based that character at least somewhat on my brother. And the story grew from there.”
“The Sound of Bleeding Gums” airs Sunday, April 10 on Fox at 8 p.m. ET.
As if we needed anymore reason to love the “Have Mercy” singer, Grammy-nominated artist Chloe Bailey just released a new music video that’s got everyone on the internet glued to their screens.
The 23-year-old star is serving major seductive vibes in the Diana Kunst directed video, “Treat Me,” which she released at midnight on Friday.
Chloe unapologetically shows off her musical versatility in the new visual. She raps, sporting an all-black skin-tight leather look, flexes her vocal abilities in a sexy lingerie two-piece, and shows off her model-like figure in a sparkly, jewel-dripped bikini.
Upon the new single and video’s release, fans on social media celebrated the singer, most of them not surprised by Chloe’s fresh approach to her music.
“Chloe Bailey absolutely killed it with Treat Me, like I knew she would,” said one user on Twitter. “She DEVOURED the visuals, SHE WILL ALWAYS BE FAMOUS.”
On Thursday, Chloe teased the video on Instagram and tried to warn us all about the greatness she’d soon drop. “hope y’all are ready,” she wrote.
Not sure if we were, Chloe Bailey, not sure if we were.
After teasing it for several months, Lauv is ready to drop his sophomore album and announced its title on Friday, All 4 Nothing. Also, mark your calendars for August 5 because that’s when it drops.
To mark the milestone announcement, Lauv also released the album’s dreamy lead single, “All 4 Nothing (I’m So In Love)” and announced he’s heading back on tour.
The singer said in a statement that his newest track “is a song about loving someone so much at a time in your life when you’re still in the process of learning how to love yourself and being scared how your own personal insecurities could ruin a love that is and could be so genuine and transformative. In essence, it’s a song about surrendering to love and life.”
Lauv also dropped the track’s music video, which takes him to the beach to enjoy falling in love with someone new. He rolls around in the water and plays various instruments on the sand. He said in a statement it was “amazing” filming the music video because it “surpassed every dream I could’ve had for shooting a video for this song.”
As for his upcoming tour, it kicks off on August 11 in Minneapolis and will take him across North America’s biggest cities before wrapping September 20 in Seattle.
Presale tickets become available Monday, April 11, beginning 12 p.m. local time with general tickets going on sale starting Thursday, April 14, at 10 a.m. local time on Lauv’s official website.
With the forthcoming addition of No Time to Die, Daniel Craig‘s final turn as the suave super-spy, Amazon Prime will soon be the place to go for all your 007 needs.
Starting April 15, the streaming service will have access to every canon film in James Bond’s 25-movie history, from 1962’s Dr. No to 2021’s No Time to Die — meaning you can re-watch the adventures of every guy to hold the license to kill: Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, and Craig.
As 007 fans know, 1967’s version of Casino Royale, starring David Niven and Woody Allen (!), and 1983’s Never Say Never Again, which had Connery reprising the iconic role, aren’t considered “official” Bond films.
Prime recently acquired every movie in MGM’s 4,000 movie library, among them the cinematic exploits of Ian Fleming‘s iconic MI6 agent.
We might have a new celebrity engagement on our hands. Paparazzi noticed a new accessory on Jennifer Lopez‘s ring finger, sparking rumors she’s engaged to boyfriend Ben Affleck.
TMZ shared the images of what appears to be a chunky diamond ring on J.Lo’s left hand. The “On the Floor” singer was out shopping with her daughter, Emme, when paps spotted the curious sparkler. Eyewitnesses add that, once Jennifer was aware she was spotted by the paparazzi, she flipped the ring so the stone faced the inside of her palm.
While it’s currently unknown if Jennifer and Ben are indeed engaged, they recently purchased a $55 million Bel-Air mansion together. In addition, this would mark their second engagement: The duo famously dated in 2002, sparking the couple name “Bennifer,” and ultimately became engaged before breaking things off in 2004.
They rekindled their romance last summer, following Jennifer’s high-profile split from former fiancé Alex Rodriguez.
Walker Hayes’ “Fancy Like” domination continues at the upcoming 2022 Billboard Music Awards, where he’s a finalist in six categories.
The singer earned love in genre-specific fields, but he’s seeing all-genre success, too. He’s up for Top Song Sales Artist, Top Selling Song and the new Top Viral Song category. All three mentions are heavily bolstered by “Fancy Like,” which first went viral on TikTok after a video of the singer and his daughter, Lela, dancing to the song amassed over 34.9 million views.
Another major Billboard Music Awards contender is Morgan Wallen, who’s up for four awards. Two of those are in all-genre categories: He’s a finalist for the Top Billboard 200 Album and Top Billboard 200 awards.
Morgan dominated the Billboard 200 in 2021 with his record-breaking Dangerous: The Double Album, despite the fact that he spent much of that year on the sidelines. The singer was benched by the country music industry after video footage emerged of him yelling a racist slur in February, just a month after Dangerous dropped.
Chris Stapleton is also a four-time finalist at the Billboard Music Awards, with all his nominations in country categories. Carrie Underwood’s also got four mentions, thanks both to her country output and her Christian album, My Savior.
Luke Combs earns finalist status in three categories, while Florida Georgia Line, Lee Brice, Eric Church, Luke Bryan, Miranda Lambert, Dan + Shay and Zac Brown Band are finalists, too. Taylor Swift’s name also appears in multiple country categories this year, thanks to the Taylor’s Version of her Fearless and Red albums.
The 2022 Billboard Music Awards will air live from Las Vegas on May 15 on NBC.
Kelsea Ballerini returns today with a new country-pop jam about the giddy early stages of new love. Called “Heartfirst,” the song recounts meeting a guy at a party and diving into a relationship with arms wide open, even though it might end in heartbreak.
“Could be forever or we might break / That’s just the kind of risk that we take,” Kelsea sings in the song’s chorus. “My head is yelling that I could get hurt / But I’m gonna jump right in / Baby, with my heart first.”
It’s the singer’s first new music of the year, and the follow-up to a very different kind of single: The chart-topping “Half of My Hometown,” an introspective ballad that Kelsea released as a duet with Kenny Chesney.
Before she released the song, Kelsea told fans that “Heartfirst” would be very different than “Half of My Hometown.” “It’s like, a bop: Breezy, windows down, go for a drive, get right,” she explained to E! News on the red carpet of the Grammy Awards earlier this month.
Speaking of awards shows, Kelsea will introduce fans to the live version of “Heartfirst” during next week’s CMT Music Awards, a show she’s also co-hosting with actor Anthony Mackie. Tune in to the show on Monday, April 11 on CBS to watch Kelsea’s performance.
Oliver Contreras/for The Washington Post via Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden will celebrate Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation to the Supreme Court at a large-scale event at the White House on Friday amid new concerns about COVID spreading among Washington’s power players.
Jackson’s Senate confirmation by a 53-47 bipartisan vote Thursday marked a big political win for Biden’s long-term legacy — and his short-term efforts to energize Democrats. But a cluster of positive COVID cases since Monday, including some like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who have had contact with Biden, has raised questions about whether the celebration could turn into a superspreader event.
Jackson, the first Black woman nominated and confirmed to the Supreme Court in its 233-year history, joined Biden in the Roosevelt Room Thursday afternoon to watch Democratic senators and other supporters break out in applause when Vice President Kamala Harris announced the vote.
Besides Biden, Harris is scheduled to deliver remarks at the outdoor event on the White House South Lawn in what will be a powerful image of the first Black female vice president alongside the first Black woman to soon sit on the Supreme Court. The White House said Jackson will speak as well.
But what should be considered a celebration for Democrats and the Biden White House risks being overshadowed by the pandemic Biden said this week is “under control.”
A growing number of Washington officials have tested positive for COVID, including two Cabinet members, two White House staffers, and at least 13 members of Congress.
Harris was in “close contact” with her communications director who tested positive, she but presided over Jackson’s vote in the Senate chamber without a mask just two days later. According to guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, someone deemed a close contact should “wear a well-fitting mask for 10 full days any time you are around others inside your home or in public.”
“After consulting with a White House physician and reviewing CDC guidance, which we do for all engagements, the Vice President presided over the Senate while practicing social distancing — with limited and brief interactions from her chair. In addition, the Vice President tested negative today, and will continue to maintain strong protocols and follow the CDC’s guidance,” a White House official told ABC News.
The highly transmissible BA.2 variant appears to be closing in on Biden, 79, after he also appeared with Pelosi at two White House events this week — even sharing a kiss at one — prior to her positive COVID test.
Some 200 guests were invited to Friday’s ceremony including Jackson’s family, all current and former Supreme Court justices, Cabinet members, some members of the House, Democratic members of Congress from Florida — Jackson’s home state — and all 53 senators who voted for Jackson’s confirmation. No justices will attend, however, ABC News has been told.
While Biden is sure to want Republicans on hand for the victory lap as he aims to shore up the court’s credibility and Jackson’s vote, all three who voted for Jackson won’t be there. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine won’t be attending after she also tested positive for COVID this week, Sen. Lisa Murkowski was traveling to Alaska and Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, who gave Jackson a standing ovation in the Senate chamber, won’t attend either, his office said, but didn’t explain why.
The White House insists it won’t be a repeat of former President Donald Trump’s infamous and maskless Rose Garden event in October 2020 at which he nominated Amy Coney Barrett to the court, but with hugging and maskless photos likely a part of Friday’s festivities, the White House risks appearing at odds with CDC protocols and public messaging it has touted.
While the White House has said Biden and his inner circle follow the strictest COVID protocols for safety, Kate Bedingfield, the White House communications director, notably is now acknowledging that it’s possible the president will test positive for COVID “at some point.”
“The president is vaccinated and double boosted, and so protected from severe COVID. We take every precaution to ensure that we keep him safe, we keep the vice president safe, the first lady, second gentleman, our staff here,” she said on CNN Friday morning. “But, you know, it is certainly possible that he will test positive for COVID and he is vaccinated, he is boosted and protected from the most severe strains of the virus.”
While masks are no longer required at the White House, senior administration officials say the president continues to be tested regularly and people meeting with him are also required to be tested. All White House employees also undergo regular testing.
When pressed on Thursday by ABC’s Senior White House Correspondent Mary Bruce if those protocols also apply for other individuals meeting with the president, such as invited guests, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said they assess each event on a “case-by-case” basis.
“Now, if you are at an event, obviously there are assessments made on a case by case. But if somebody is going to be in close proximity, standing next to him, sitting next to him on a stage, that would be obviously different than a broad group of attendees,” she said.
(NEW YORK) — At least 50 people, including five children, were killed in a rocket attack on a train station in eastern Ukraine on Friday, authorities said.
Two Russian rockets struck the station in Kramatorsk in Donetsk Oblast on Friday morning, according to Ukraine’s state-owned railway company, which in a statement via Facebook called the attack “a purposeful strike on the passenger infrastructure of the railway and the residents of the city of Kramatorsk.”
Donetsk Oblast Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko said 38 of the 50 people killed died at the scene while 12 died in hospitals. At least 100 people were injured, according to the governor.
Graphic images provided by Ukrainian officials showed the aftermath of the attack — bodies lying on the ground next to scattered luggage and debris, with charred vehicles parked nearby.
The remains of a large rocket with the words “for our children” in Russian painted on the side was also seen on the ground next to the main building of the station. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a statement via Facebook that a Tochka-U short-range ballistic missile was used in Friday’s attack.
Russia has denied involvement in the attack. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov claimed involvement of Russian forces was already ruled out by the Russian Ministry of Defense, based on the type of missile that was used — a Tochka-U short-range ballistic missile.
“Our Armed Forces do not use missiles of this type,” Peskov told reporters during a press briefing Friday. “No combat tasks were set or planned for today in Kramatorsk.”
According to a senior U.S. defense official, the initial assessment by the U.S. is this was a short-range ballistic missile fired by Russian forces from inside Ukraine.
The attack occurred as “thousands” of civilians fleeing the Russian invasion were at the train station waiting to be taken to “safer regions of Ukraine,” according to Kyrylenko, who accused Russian forces of “deliberately trying to disrupt the evacuation of civilians.”
“The evacuation will continue,” the governor added. “Anyone who wants to leave the region will be able to do so.”
Earlier this week, large crowds of people were seen waiting on the platform to board trains at the Kramatorsk railway station as they fled the city in eastern Ukraine’s disputed Donbas region.
Since 2014, Russia-backed separatist forces have controlled two breakaway republics of the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts in the Donbas. The separatists have been fighting alongside Russian troops to seize more territory there, after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. Now, the Russian military is said to be refocusing its offensive in the Donbas as its troops withdraw from northern Ukraine.
