14 dead from storm in Kentucky as the region braces for another storm
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(NEW YORK) — The death toll in Kentucky has risen to 14 from a devastating storm that battered the state this weekend as residents brace for up to 6 inches of snow from a new storm.
“This isn’t just a number — these are Kentuckians who will be missed by their families and loved ones,” Gov. Andy Beshear said on social media. “Please pray for our commonwealth and our neighbors who have lost people they love.”
Over 1,000 people have been rescued across the state, the governor said. In Louisville, crews have conducted over 30 rescues in the flash flooding, Mayor Craig Greenberg said.
One storm-related death was also reported in Georgia.
The storm dumped over 8 inches of rain in Kentucky and Tennessee, and 5 inches of rain in Virginia.
Next storm At least 25 states from Montana to Texas to Delaware are now under snow and ice alerts as a new storm moves east.
On Tuesday, heavy snow is falling in Kansas and Missouri while an ice and snow mix is falling as far south as Oklahoma and Texas.
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, could get up to 2 inches of a sleet and snow mix while Little Rock, Arkansas, could get up to 3 inches of ice and snow.
A freezing drizzle might reach the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area Tuesday evening.
On Tuesday night, the winter storm will spread to Kentucky and Tennessee, where residents are still recovering from this weekend’s devastating flooding.
Louisville could see up to 6 inches of snow while Memphis and Nashville could see 1 to 4 inches of snow.
By Wednesday morning, the storm will move into the Appalachians and the East Coast. Winter storm alerts were issued in Raleigh, North Carolina, and Norfolk, Virginia, where 1 to 6 inches of snow and ice could fall on Wednesday.
The storm will spare the busy Interstate 95 corridor. Light snow is possible in D.C. on Wednesday but no major accumulation is expected.
Record cold Dozens of record low temperatures are forecast this week from the Plains to the South.
Temperatures fell to the negative 30s Tuesday morning in the northern Plains.
The wind chill — what temperature it feels like — could plunge to as low as the minus 50s or 60s in the Heartland.
Later this week, the cold air will move south.
By Thursday morning, Dallas could reach a record low temperature of 15 degrees and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, could fall to 25 degrees.
John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — The bipartisan House Ethics Committee on Monday released a scathing report concluding its yearslong investigation into former Rep. Matt Gaetz, finding “substantial evidence” that he had sex with a 17-year-old in 2017 in violation of Florida’s statutory rape law, and engaged in a broader pattern of paying women for sex.
The report also detailed evidence of illegal drug use, acceptance of improper gifts, granting special favors to personal associates, and obstruction, after Gaetz refused to comply with subpoenas and withheld evidence from the committee.
A woman testified to the committee that Gaetz had sex with her in 2017, when she was 17 and had just completed her junior year of high school, and Gaetz was in his first year in Congress. Identified only as “Victim A” in the report, the woman told investigators she received $400 in cash from the then-congressman that evening, “which she understood to be payment for sex,” according to the report.
“The Committee received credible testimony from Victim A herself, as well as multiple individuals corroborating the allegation,” the report says. “Victim A said that she did not inform Representative Gaetz that she was under 18 at the time, nor did he ask her age.”
While many of the allegations in the committee’s report have been previously reported, this is the first time the woman’s direct testimony about Gaetz having sex with her when she was a minor has been made public, along with corroborating testimony from others.
Investigators noted that while the former Florida congressman has “suggested that the allegations against him have been manufactured” and had called into question Victim A’s credibility, “the Committee found no reason to doubt the credibility of Victim A.”
The report details that between 2017-2020, records obtained by the committee show Gaetz paid nearly $100,000 dollars to 12 different women and to Joel Greenberg, his one-time close friend who in 2021 pleaded guilty to numerous crimes, including sex trafficking Victim A.
While all the women who testified to the committee described their sexual encounters with Gaetz as consensual, according to the report, one woman raised concerns that drug use at the parties and events may have “impair[ed their] ability to really know what was going on or fully consent.” Another woman told the committee, “When I look back on certain moments, I feel violated.”
The report alleges that Gaetz “took advantage of the economic vulnerability of young women to lure them into sexual activity for which they received an average of a few hundred dollars after each encounter.”
“Such behavior is not ‘generosity to ex-girlfriends,’ and it does not reflect creditably upon the House,” the report reads, referencing the former congressman’s previous statement dismissing the allegations as someone “trying to recategorize my generosity to ex-girlfriends as something more untoward.”
“Based on the above, the Committee determined there is substantial evidence that Representative Gaetz violated House Rules and other standards of conduct prohibiting prostitution, statutory rape, illicit drug use, impermissible gifts, special favors or privileges, and obstruction of Congress,” the report says.
Gaetz has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. The Justice Department declined to charge him last year after a yearslong investigation into similar allegations.
President-elect Donald Trump last month tapped Gaetz to serve as attorney general in the incoming administration, and Gaetz resigned his congressional seat shortly after. Gaetz subsequently withdrew his name from consideration for AG, saying his confirmation process was “unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition.”
The Ethics Committee was in the final stages of its probe into Gaetz when Trump tapped him for attorney general. The committee generally drops investigations of members if they leave office, but Gaetz’s resignation prompted a fiery debate on Capitol Hill over whether the panel should release its report to allow the Senate to perform its role of vetting presidential nominations.
Following indications last week that the committee would release its report, Gaetz took to X in a lengthy post, writing in part that when he was single he “often sent funds to women” he dated and that he “never had sexual contact with someone under 18.”
“It’s embarrassing, though not criminal, that I probably partied, womanized, drank and smoked more than I should have earlier in life. I live a different life now,” he posted. “I’ve never been charged. I’ve never been sued. Instead, House Ethics will reportedly post a report online that I have no opportunity to debate or rebut as a former member of the body.”
In its report, the committee concluded that it did not find substantial evidence that Gaetz violated federal sex trafficking laws, finding that while Gaetz “did cause the transportation of women across state lines for purposes of commercial sex,” investigators did not find evidence “that any of those women were under 18 at the time of travel, nor did the Committee find sufficient evidence to conclude that the commercial sex acts were induced by force, fraud, or coercion.”
According to the report, the committee conducted over two dozen interviews, issued 29 subpoenas, reviewed nearly 14,000 documents, and requested information from multiple government agencies as part of its extensive investigation into the allegations.
The committee received written testimony from Greenberg but, due to credibility concerns, investigators said they would “not rely exclusively on information provided by Mr. Greenberg,” according to the report.
The committee also accused Gaetz of obstructing its investigation by ignoring subpoenas, withholding documents, and declining to answer questions about the allegations.
“Representative Gaetz continuously sought to deflect, deter, or mislead the Committee in order to prevent his actions from being exposed,” the report reads. “His actions undermine not only his claims that he had exculpatory information to provide, but also his claims that he intended to cooperate with the Committee in good faith. It is apparent that Representative Gaetz’s assertions were nothing more than attempts to delay the Committee’s investigation.”
The committee had been investigating allegations that Gaetz engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, shared inappropriate images or videos on the House floor, misused state identification records, converted campaign funds to personal use, and/or accepted a bribe, improper gratuity, or impermissible gift, according to sources.
Earlier this year, the committee released a statement that it would continue its probe but would no longer pursue allegations that Gaetz “may have shared inappropriate images or videos on the House floor, misused state identification records, converted campaign funds to personal use, and/or accepted a bribe or improper gratuity.”
According to the report, while several committee members did not support its release, a majority of its members voted in favor of its release on Dec. 10. In a statement at the conclusion of the report, House Ethics Chairman Michael Guest reiterated his stance against the release of the report on behalf of the dissenting members while acknowledging that he and other members do not dispute the report’s findings.
“We believe and remain steadfast in the position that the House Committee on Ethics lost jurisdiction to release to the public any substantive work product regarding Mr. Gaetz after his resignation from the House on November 14, 2024,” Guest wrote.
Earlier Monday Gaetz filed a lawsuit against the Ethics Committee in an effort to stop the committee from releasing its report.
“This action challenges the Committee’s unconstitutional and ultra vires attempt to exercise jurisdiction over a private citizen through the threatened release of an investigative report containing potentially defamatory allegations,” the filing from Gaetz said.
Gaetz in the filing asked the court to issue a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction to block the release of the report or any findings, which he says would cause “damage to his reputation and professional standing” that would be “immediate and severe.”
“The threatened release of information believed to be defamatory by a Congressional committee concerning matters of sexual propriety and other acts of alleged moral turpitude constitutes irreparable harm that cannot be adequately remedied through monetary damages,” the filing stated.
“After Plaintiff’s resignation from Congress, Defendants improperly continued to act on its investigation, and apparently voted to publicly release reports and/or investigative materials related to Plaintiff without proper notice or disclosure to Plaintiff,” the complaint said.
Following the report’s release Monday, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta gave Gaetz until 5 p.m. ET to show why the suit shouldn’t be dismissed with prejudice for lack of jurisdiction, given “this case appears to be moot in light of the House Ethics Committee’s public disclosure of the report.”
In a subsequent filing, attorneys for Gaetz acknowledged that their lawsuit is now “mooted” following the release of the report — a move they said has caused Gaetz “irreversible and irreparable harm.”
The filing said the committee’s decision to release the report was “unprecedented and procedurally defective,” and reiterated their claim that it was released without notifying him.
(NEW YORK) — Luigi Mangione on Monday pleaded not guilty to state murder and terror charges in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
The 26-year-old Mangione entered the Manhattan courtroom in shackles and under heavy guard. He was dressed in civilian clothes, wearing a maroon sweater over a light-colored shirt.
He pleaded not guilty to 11 charges, including first-degree murder in furtherance of terrorism. Judge Gregory Carro presided over the arraignment.
A Manhattan grand jury upgraded charges against Mangione last week to include first-degree murder in furtherance of terrorism.
He is also charged in New York with two counts of second-degree murder, one of which is charged as killing as an act of terrorism; two counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree; four counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree; one count of criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree; and one count of criminal possession of a forged instrument in the second degree.
He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole if convicted of the state charges.
There is also a federal case against Mangione. One of the charges, murder through use of a firearm, would make Mangione eligible for the death penalty if he’s convicted.
Both cases are in addition to the charges brought against Mangione in Pennsylvania, where he was arrested and where he faces charges including forgery and possession of an unlicensed firearm.
Mangione was transported to New York on Dec. 19 after waiving his right to an extradition hearing that morning in court in Blair County, Pennsylvania.
Upon his arrival in New York, Mangione was placed under arrest by federal authorities.
Defense attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo said Mangione would not initially contest pretrial detention, and he was taken into police custody.
Mangione then made his initial appearance in Manhattan federal court the same day, hours after the unsealing of a criminal complaint charging him with stalking and murdering Brian Thompson. He did not enter a plea.
Agnifilo said her client was prepared to appear in state court and said the federal charges were sprung on them.
“This is a highly unusual situation we find ourselves in,” Agnifilo said. “I have never seen anything like that.”
She said the theories of the two cases appear to be in conflict, noting the state case accused Mangione of terrorizing a group of people while the federal case accused him of stalking an individual.
The judge told the parties to confer.
Danielle Filson, a spokesperson for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, said this week that “the state case will proceed in parallel with any federal case.”
Mangione’s next scheduled court date for his federal case is Jan. 18.
(Colts Neck, N.J.) — There have been “multiple” instances of drones entering the airspace at a Navy weapons station in New Jersey, officials there said Friday, as the concern continues to grow over widespread drone sightings in the region.
Naval Weapons Station Earle, which is located in Colts Neck, New Jersey, said it was “aware” of the sightings in the region and “continues to closely coordinate with federal and state agencies to ensure the safety of our personnel and operations.”
“While no direct threats to the installation have been identified, we can confirm multiple instances of unidentified drones entering the airspace above Naval Weapons Station Earle,” Bill Addison, public affairs officer for the naval station, said in a statement to ABC News. “The base remains prepared to respond to any potential risks, leveraging robust security measures and advanced detection capabilities.”
The base did not say when the incidents happened.
Residents in northern New Jersey — especially in Morris and Somerset counties — have shared many videos and stories about drones larger than those used by hobbyists flying overheard at night since mid-November. Colts Neck is located in Monmouth County, in the eastern part of the state.
Sen. Andy Kim, who was sworn into office just this week, spent Thursday night in Hunterdon County, which neighbors Somerset, where he said he saw dozens of drones in a two-hour period.
“People deserve answers,” Kim told reporters after his visit to the county. “We don’t need conspiracy theories or conjecture, we need assurances that the people charged with keeping us safe are on top of this issue, and a line of communication so that people feel like their government is taking this seriously.”
He again reiterated his calls for a federal investigation by the FBI and Department of Homeland Security. Kim was one of the four senators in New York and New Jersey — along with fellow Democrats Sens. Chuck Schumer, Kirsten Gillibrand and Cory Booker — who wrote a letter to federal officials Wednesday calling for action.
“We write with urgent concern regarding the unmanned aerial system (UAS) activity that has affected communities across New York and New Jersey in recent days,” the letter said.
While the letter did not specifically mention Naval Weapons Station Earle, it included a note that the drones have been observed near “critical infrastructure and sensitive locations, including reservoirs and military installations.”
The White House downplayed some of the concerns of residents in a press briefing Thursday with national security communications adviser John Kirby saying “many” of the reported drone sightings appear to be lawfully operated manned aircraft.
“We have no evidence at this time that the reported drone sightings pose a national security or a public safety threat, or have a foreign nexus,” Kirby added. “The Department of Homeland Security and the FBI are investigating these sightings, and they’re working closely with state and local law enforcement to provide resources using numerous detection methods to better understand their origin.”
Kim, after seeing the drones with his own eyes late Thursday, said the comments were not necessarily reassuring for residents.
“It’s hard for people to feel secure when there are unexplained drones flying overhead and they’re not getting answers they need from the federal investigation,” Kim said. “This has been going on for weeks and I’m just as frustrated as everyone else in not getting more information and details. That’s why I came out to see for myself, and I’m grateful for local police for taking me around.”