(OXFORD, Mich.) — The 15-year-old boy charged with multiple counts of murder stemming from a November mass shooting at Michigan’s Oxford High School must remain in an adult jail, a judge ordered Thursday as the teen’s court-appointed guardian said it’s now up to the jail to provide him an education.
During a hearing held on Zoom, Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Kwame Rowe maintained his prior order that Ethan Crumbley is not to be transferred at this juncture to a juvenile facility.
“The court has not been presented with additional information or new information that will cause this court to disrupt its March 1, 2022 opinion and order. Therefore, the court will continue the defendant’s placement at the Oakland County Jail,” Rowe said.
Crumbley’s lawyer, Paulette Michel Loftin, informed Rowe that a psychiatric evaluation of the teenager has been completed and that a written report of the results is expected to be available in 45 days. Crumbley’s lawyers said in January that they plan to mount an insanity defense.
The boy is charged as an adult with 24 counts, including four counts of murder and a terrorism charge. He is being held in isolation at the Oakland County Jail under behavior watch, which is one step below suicide watch, and must be checked on every 15 minutes, officials said.
Officials said at a previous hearing that Crumbley is only released from his cell to shower or speak with visitors and his attorneys. He spends most of his time reading Harry Potter books, officials said.
Deborah H. McKelvy, Crumbley’s court-appointed guardian, raised concerns Thursday over prosecutors continuing to say in court filings that it’s the responsibility of the defendant’s parents to provide him an education.
Crumbley’s parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley, are both jailed on charges stemming from the Nov. 30, 2021, mass shooting their son allegedly committed at Oxford High School in the Detroit suburb of Oxford Township. The parents are charged with four counts each of involuntary manslaughter after allegedly neglecting or failing to notice warning signs about their son in the months before the shooting. They also allegedly bought their son a 9-mm Sig Sauer pistol as a present just days before he allegedly used it in the shooting.
Six other students and a teacher were injured in the shooting.
McKelvy, citing a Michigan statute, told Rowe “it’s important to keep in perspective” that it’s now the jail’s responsibility to provide Ethan Crumbley with an education.
“It’s no longer the parents’ responsibility,” McKelvy said.
McKelvy said she received an email on Tuesday from a senior assistant at the Corporation Counsel for Oakland County notifying Crumbley of the educational programs available to him in jail.
“He (Crumbley) is thinking about what path he wants to proceed with,” McKelvy said.
She said one option is through a cyber school and the other is through a program offered by the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity, in which Crumbley could study for his high school equivalency exam or his GED with a laptop computer provided by the jail.
“Once he has achieved either the high school equivalency diploma or the GED, he then would be able to continue in that program to be able to do some community college courses,” McKelvy said.
Ven Johnson, a Detroit civil attorney who represents the parents of Tate Myre, one of four students Crumbley allegedly shot to death, agreed that under state statute, Oakland County must provide Crumbley an education until he’s 18.
“The parents can’t provide an education, imagine that,” Johnson told ABC News Thursday.
He said Myre’s parents, William and Sheri Myre, had no comment on the decision over Crumbley’s education, adding: “They’re too smart to get involved in that.”
Judge Rowe set Crumbley’s next hearing for April 21, for a required monthly reevaluation of whether he should stay in jail or be transferred to a juvenile facility.
Little Big Town and Brad Paisley are two of the stars on an all-genre lineup paying tribute to Paul Simon next month. Called Homeward Bound: A Grammy Salute to the Songs of Paul Simon, the event will take place April 6.
Brandi Carlile is performing, too, as are Irma Thomas and Rhiannon Giddens. Outside the country and Americana genres, Dave Matthews, Billy Porter, Shaggy, Angélique Kidjo, Take 6 and Trombone Shorty are also on the bill.
The guest of honor will be there, too: Simon himself is making an appearance at his tribute show.
Held at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre, the event will be recorded to air as a special on CBS at a later date. Tickets to the show go on sale to the public on March 26 at 10 a.m. PT.
Joshua Blanchard/Getty Images for Lawrence J. Ellison Institute for Transformative Medicine of USC
Red Hot Chili Peppers announced last night on their socialmediasites that a new song from their forthcoming studio album Unlimited Love called “Not the One” would be released this Friday, but the track now has dropped a day early.
“Not the One” is the third advance track to be released from Unlimited Love, following lead single “Black Summer” and “Poster Child.” It’s available now via steaming services and as a digital download.
The introspective ballad features frontman Anthony Kiedis singing in the chorus, “Give me the love and I’ll tell you when I want to come/ Give me the love and I’ll tell you when I want to run/ Blues strides are calling me/ I can’t stop falling/ Give me the love and I’ll tell you when I want to run.”
On Thursday, the Recording Academy announced another batch of performers for the 2022 Grammy Awards. Nominees H.E.R., Nas and Jon Batiste are set to take the stage, along with rock band Foo Fighters and country star Chris Stapleton.
All of the performers are themselves Grammy nominees:
— Batiste received 11 nominations, including Record of the Year and Album of the Year.
— H.E.R. received eight nominations, including Album and Song of the Year.
— Nas received two nominations, Best Rap Song and Best Rap Album.
— Foo Fighters received three nominations, including Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Song.
— Chris Stapleton received three nominations, including Best Country Solo Performance and Album.
With songs by famed Broadway composer Stephen Sondheim, Cynthia Erivo and Leslie Odom Jr. will take part in a special In Memoriam performance alongside Ben Platt and Rachel Zegler.
The new group of performers joins previously announced nominees Lil Nas X, Jack Harlow, Billie Eilish, BTS,Brandi Carlile, Brothers Osborne and Olivia Rodrigo.
The 64th Grammy Awards will take place on Sunday April 3 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and will air live on CBS, hosted by The Daily Show‘s Trevor Noah for the second time.
(WASHINGTON) — WNBA star Brittney Griner met with U.S. officials on Thursday for the first time since being held in pre-trial detention in Russia for over a month, according to the U.S. State Department.
“The consular officer who visited with Brittney Griner was able to verify that she is doing as well as can be expected under these very difficult circumstances,” State Department spokesman Med Price told reporters on Thursday.
“We will continue to work very closely with her legal team, with her broader network, to see to it that she is treated fairly and that her rights are respected,” he added.
The two-time Olympic gold medalist was visiting Russia to play basketball off-season and was arrested last month at a Moscow area airport for allegedly having vape cartridges in her luggage containing hashish oil — an illegal substance in Russia.
She is facing drug charges with up to ten years in prison, according to Russian media reports.
Griner’s visit with officials from the U.S. consular officer from the embassy in Moscow comes after the State Department expressed concerns over Griner’s well-being after Russia extended her pre-trial detention to May 19.
Griner, a Houston native, was reportedly detained on Feb. 17 — one week before Russia invaded Ukraine.
The invasion escalated tensions between the U.S. and Russia and amid a volatile diplomatic environment, concerns over Griner are growing, with some officials expressing fear that Griner and other Americans jailed in Russia could be used as leverage in the ongoing conflict.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced on Wednesday that the State Department has made a formal assessment that Russian forces have committed war crimes in Ukraine.The U.S. also imposed a wave of new sanctions on Russia, including personal sanctions on Putin and some of his close associates, but has continued to oppose a no-fly zone and the deployment of U.S. troops to fight Russia in Ukraine.
Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee, D-Texas, whose district includes parts of Houston, has called for the athlete’s release and told ABC’s Nightline in an interview last Thursday, that the conflict between the U.S. and Russia over the invasion of Ukraine should not affect Griner’s chances of being released.
“You know, there are international protocols that should be held in spite of conflicts,” the congresswoman said.
“This is a major conflict. This is a major act of violence. This is an invasion. Brittney Griner had nothing to do with that,” she added.
Price said on Thursday that “time will tell” whether Griner’s visit with U.S. officials is a “one-off visit” or whether Russia’s “posture is changing.”
“We want timely consistent access to American detainees in Russia, including those in pre-trial detention. That would call for additional visits to Brittney Griner and to other Americans who are detained in Russia,” he said.
Last week, Price expressed concerns that Russia had not yet “permitted” U.S. officials access to Griner.
“The Russians are obligated to permit, to allow this type of consular access under the Vienna Convention,” Price told ABC News Live at the time. “We’re going to continue to insist that they allow us access to Brittney Griner just as we be permitted access to all Americans who are detained in Russia.”
Griner is a seven-time WNBA All-Star, who has been playing for the Phoenix Mercury since 2013.
The Phoenix Mercury said in a statement on March 5 that the team is in contact with Griner’s family, representatives and the WNBA and are closely monitoring her case.
“We love and support Brittney and at this time our main concern is her safety, physical and mental health, and her safe return home,” the Phoenix Mercury said.
ABC News’ Conor Finnegan, Libby Cathey, Kandis Mascall, Matthew Fuhrman, Miles Cohen and Tanya Stukalova contributed to this report.
Dave Matthews is performing at an upcoming tribute concert honoring Paul Simon.
The show, dubbed Homeward Bound: A Grammy Salute to the Songs of Paul Simon, will feature artists of all genres putting their spin on tunes from throughout the Simon & Garfunkel and solo artist’s 50-year career.
Other performers on the lineup include Brandi Carlile, Little Big Town, Brad Paisley, Billy Porter, Shaggy and Trombone Shorty. Simon himself is also set to a “special appearance” during the concert.
Homeward Bound will take place April 6 at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles, and will be filmed to for a CBS telecast set to premiere later this year. If you’d like to attend in person, tickets go on sale this Saturday, March 26, at 10 a.m. PT via Ticketmaster.
(WASHINGTON) — Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court, completed two full days of questions from the Senate Judiciary Committee: 13 hours on Tuesday and 10.5 hours on Wednesday.
Thursday marked the final day of the four-day confirmation hearing; the committee heard from outside legal experts, civil rights leaders and the American Bar Association.
Jackson is back on Capitol Hill Thursday to meet with senators ahead of her full confirmation vote.
Here is how the news is developing Thursday. Check back for updates.
Mar 24, 1:13 pm
Hearings adjourn, Jackson on track for full Senate vote before Easter
The Senate Judiciary Committee has adjourned after four days of Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Judge Jackson, Biden’s first high court nominee and the first Black woman in history considered for the position by the Senate.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer confirmed earlier Thursday that her nomination is still on track for final consideration in the Senate before Easter.
“Once the committee concludes its work, I will move to have her nomination come to the floor in short order,” Schumer said. “There is not a shred of doubt in my mind she merits confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court.”
While the White House had hoped the hearings would get Republicans on board to help confirm her, it’s still unclear if any will vote for Jackson, who is back on Capitol Hill Thursday to try to win more support.
In a sign that will be an uphill battle, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said in his floor remarks that Jackson continued to “deflect” questions on her judicial philosophy and on court-packing and argued that she put senators through an “endless circle of evasion.”
Senate Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said the committee will consider her nomination on March 28, putting the committee vote on track for April 4 and allowing Democrats to meet their goal of a full Senate confirmation vote on Jackson by April 8 — when the Senate goes on recess.
-ABC News’ Allison Pecorin
Mar 24, 12:42 pm
Democrats reject GOP demands to see pre-sentencing reports
All Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee, excluding Sen. Ben Sasse, have continued to rail against Chairman Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., to allow them to see several pre-sentencing reports in child pornography cases Judge Jackson handled, claiming they can’t evaluate her judicial record without them.
Because pre-trial sentencing reports are kept confidential to protect victims’ privacy, Durbin has rejected the request which he called “reckless.”
“No one wants to harm children,” said Sen. Marsha Blackburn. R-Tenn., to which Durbin interrupted, “Then leave the reports concealed.”
“If you are a parent of some child who has been exploited, and you recognize this judge’s name is perhaps presented at the trial, and realize that now the report that has been kept in confidence, all these years is not going to be handed over to the United States Senate Judiciary Committee, what would you think as a mother?” Durbin said.
Durbin noted that it’s information the Senate Judiciary Committee has never requested.
Mar 24, 11:15 am
Congressional Black Caucus chair says Jackson’s confirmation will send the right message
In a passionate opening statement, Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, lauded Judge Jackson’s record before the Senate Judiciary Committee and slammed what she called “unfair attacks” by Republicans — though several GOP members on the committee weren’t present to hear it.
“These bad-faith efforts exist despite a resume that arguably surpasses those of previous nominees,” said Beatty, who was called as a witness by the committee’s Democratic majority.
Beatty praised the history-making moment that would be Jackson’s confirmation and said Jackson “will be a judge that will serve all of America and all of America can be proud of.”
“Judge Jackson’s confirmation will send a message to Black women and little girls like my granddaughter Leah, whose mother is the first black woman to serve on the Tenth [Circuit] Court of Appeals, and Leah’s first known president was the Black man and now she sees a Black female vice president,” she said. “So if the guidance counselor tells her, ‘Your Goals are too high,’ she will remember how Judge Jackson soared against adversity as one of our nation’s brightest legal minds.”
Beatty also noted that Jackson was confirmed to a lifetime judicial appointment by the Senate on a bipartisan basis last year and that she clerked for Justice Stephen Breyer, who she’d be replacing, which she said wouldn’t change the court’s ideological makeup.
Mar 24, 10:55 am
‘Stellar’ reputation: American Bar Association committee finds no faults with Jackson
The American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary praised Judge Jackson’s qualifications and her unanimous “well qualified” rating, the highest rating possible, before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday.
The peer review committee tasked with evaluating Jackson’s judicial qualifications to the Supreme Court said they conducted confidential interviews with 250 judges and attorneys with “firsthand knowledge” of Jackson and said that everyone they spoke to thought highly of the nominee.
“The question we kept asking ourselves: How does one human being do so much, so extraordinarily well?” said retired Judge Ann Claire Williams, the first Black woman to sit on Chicago-based federal district and appellate courts.
After several Republicans on the committee painted Jackson as “soft on crime,” the retired judges rejected that characterization and specifically addressed that they found no issues with her sentences in child pornography cases or with her representation of Guantanamo Bay detainees.
“We heard consistently from not only defense counsel but prosecutors how unbiased Judge Jackson is. We heard things like ‘doing things by the books,’” said D. Jean Veta, another member of the ABA Standing Committee.
Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham, Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley and Tom Cotton, who pressed Jackson on her sentences in previous days, did not show up.
Mar 24, 10:37 am
Durbin opens final hearing with praise of Jackson, Booker
Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., opened the fourth and final day of Supreme Court confirmation hearings with praise of Judge Jackson for withstanding attacks this week he called “unfair, unrelenting and beneath the dignity of the United States Senate.”
“My lasting impression is a judge who sat there through it all, head held high with dignity and determination and strength,” Durbin said. “A lesser person might have picked up and told her family, ‘We’re leaving. This is beyond the pale.’ She didn’t — and it says an awful lot to me about her character and why the president was correct in choosing her to be the next Supreme Court justice.”
Durbin also praised his Democratic colleague Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., who moved Jackson and others to tears with a speech Wednesday evening, and said that his wife told him when he got home that Booker “cleared the air, finally, and refocused on what we were doing and why we were here.”
“And I have to tell you, his statement will go down in the annals of this committee and the United States Senate for the impact that they had,” Durbin said.
Mar 24, 10:03 am
Jackson back on Capitol Hill
As the Senate Judiciary Committee questions representatives from the American Bar Association, Judge Jackson is also back on Capitol Hill Thursday, not for questioning but to make her rounds with senators that will soon be voting on her nomination to the Supreme Court.
A meeting with Republican Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah is in the works but not yet confirmed, a source familiar told ABC News.
While Democrats have the votes to confirm Biden’s first high court nominee on their own, the hearings could prove critical to the White House goal of securing at least some Republican support and shoring up the court’s credibility.
Senate Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said the committee will consider her nomination on March 28, putting the committee vote on track for April 4 and allowing Democrats to meet their goal of a full Senate confirmation vote on Jackson by April 8 — when the Senate goes on recess.
-ABC News’ Devin Dwyer
Mar 24, 8:43 am
What to expect on the final day of hearings
Judge Jackson, the nation’s first Black woman nominated to the Supreme Court, has cleared 19 hours of grueling questioning at the Senate Judiciary Committee and appears headed toward confirmation as a justice with support from all Democrats and a small number of Republicans.
“In my capacity as a justice, I would do what I’ve done for the past decade,” Jackson told the committee on her third day of testimony, “which is to rule from a position of neutrality, to look carefully at the facts and … to render rulings that I believe and that I hope that people would have confidence in.”
The historic hearings resume at 9 a.m. and will wrap for the week after the committee hears from representatives from the American Bar Association — which has given its highest rating to Jackson — and outside witnesses called by Democrats and Republicans on the committee. Senators have five-minute rounds for questions Thursday.
Judiciary Committee Democrats have invited Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, chair of the Congressional Black Caucus; Wade Henderson, president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights and Jackson’s former classmate; Risa Goluboff, the first woman to serve as dean of University of Virginia Law School; Richard Rosenthal, an appellate attorney and longtime friend to Jackson; and Capt. Frederick Thomas, president of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives.
As several Republicans on the committee have painted Jackson as “soft on crime,” the GOP has called for their panel Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall; Jennifer Mascott, an assistant law professor at George Mason University; Eleanor McCullen, an anti-abortion rights activist; Keisha Russell of First Liberty; and Alessandro Serano, an activist against human trafficking.
Chris Stapleton is joining the bill for the 2022 Grammy Awards. He’s part of a newly-announced, all-genre round of performers also including Jon Batiste, Foo Fighters, Nas and H.E.R.
Chris’ latest album, Starting Over, is nominated for Best Country Album at the Grammys this year. Two of the album’s songs, “Cold” and “You Should Probably Leave,” are also nominated this year, for Best Country Song and Best Country Solo Performance, respectively.
One of the country genre’s most legendary voices, Chris has been a mainstay of the Grammy Awards over the last several years. He’s won five trophies in the past, netting Best Country Album wins both for his major-label debut, Traveller, and From A Room: Volume 1.
This year’s Grammy Awards will air on CBS on April 3 at 8 p.m. ET. Another just-announced performance segment is a tribute to Stephen Sondheim, performed by Cynthia Erivo, Leslie Odom Jr., Ben Platt, and Rachel Zegler.
Wondering who’s in the Backstreet Boys NCAA Basketball Tournament’s Final Four final bracket? Head over to Caesars Sportbook to see which teams BSB wants to go all the way.
Nick Carter, who dubbed his final four bracket the “Will Never Break Your Heart,” thinks Texas Tech, North Carolina, Miami and Arizona will tip off at the main event. As for AJ McLean, his “Bracket They Want It That Way” predicts Duke, UCLA, Michigan and Miami.
Kevin Richardson bets Gonzaga, UCLA, Villanova and Kansas as part of his “All They Have to Give” bracket, while “Bracket It Won’t Play Games with Your Heart” from Howie Dorough predicts a Duke, North Carolina, Michigan and Miami Final Four.
Brian Littrell is going “Larger Than Life” with his predictions and has Duke, St Peter’s, Michigan and Miami on his bet slip.
We’ll see whose bracket reigns supreme as the NCAA Tournament enters the Sweet 16 rush of games today and determines the lucky players making it to the Elite Eight this Saturday. The Final Four tips off next Saturday, April 2.
The “Everybody” singers are gearing up to kick off their DNA World Tour 2022 at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace starting April 8 with shows running until April 16.
Following Tuesday’s termination of her nearly nine-year-long conservatorship, Amanda Bynes is in demand, according to her attorney.
David A. Esquibias tells Entertainment Tonight, “While Amanda’s being flooded with [interview] offers…she’s not ready to talk and is laying [sic] low for a while.”
He added, “Several production companies reached out to her team about filming documentaries or a potential reality show on her life moving forward.”
Through Esquibias, Bynes noted after a Los Angeles judge’s decision, “words can’t describe how I feel.” She called it “wonderful news,” adding, “I would like to thank my fans for their love and well wishes during this time.”
She further explained in her statement, “In the last several years, I have been working hard to improve my health so that I can live and work independently, and I will continue to prioritize my well-being in this next chapter. I am excited about my upcoming endeavors, including my fragrance line, and look forward to sharing more when I can.”
Bynes’ mother, Lynn Bynes, was put temporarily in charge of Bynes’ affairs following a 2013 incident in which the Easy A and The Amanda Show actress reportedly started a small fire in a neighbor’s driveway, which came on the heels of previous erratic behavior. After the driveway incident, the actress was placed on a temporary psychiatric hold.
The conservatorship was reinstated in 2014, the same year Bynes revealed she’d been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
After the decision to end the conservatorship, Lynn Bynes told ET in a statement that she’s “very happy and proud of Amanda for everything that she’s done and come through,” and said she’s, “looking forward to…having a mother-daughter relationship rather than a conservator-conservatee relationship.”
