2 shot, 1 dead, at University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, suspect at large
(ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.) — Two people were shot at a student housing complex at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque early Friday and the suspect remains at large “and may still be on campus,” the university said.
One victim was killed and the other has non-life-threatening injuries, the university said.
The university has ordered students to shelter in place.
“Out of an abundance of caution, UNM has closed its Albuquerque central campus,” the university said on social media.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates
(WASHINGTON) — A federal judge on Monday ruled that the Trump administration’s takeover of the U.S. Institute of Peace was unlawful, and efforts by the Department of Government Efficiency to dismantle the agency are “null and void,” according to court filings.
D.C. federal judge Beryl Howell’s ruling says that President Donald Trump’s unilateral effort to disband the agency, which primarily functions as a think tank supporting both the executive and legislative branches, exceeded his constitutional authorities and violated the statute that established the USIP.
“The President’s efforts here to take over an organization outside of those bounds, contrary to statute established by Congress and by acts of force and threat using local and federal law enforcement officers, represented a gross usurpation of power and a way of conducting government affairs that unnecessarily traumatized the committed leadership and employees of USIP, who deserved better,” Howell wrote of efforts to disband the agency as part of Trump’s plan to slash the federal government.
In a hearing in March, officials who were ousted from USIP described in dramatic detail what was essentially a forced takeover of the agency by officials with DOGE, assisted by armed agents with the FBI, members of the D.C. Police Department and officials with the D.C. U.S. Attorney’s Office.
“This conduct of using law enforcement, threatening criminal investigation, using armed law enforcement from three different agencies … to carry out the executive order … with all that targeting probably terrorizing employees and staff at the institute when there are so many other lawful ways to accomplish the goals … why?” Howell asked. “Just because DOGE is in a rush?”
But at the time, Judge Howell turned down an emergency request from the plaintiffs in the lawsuit to reinstate USIP’s board, saying they failed to meet the high legal burden that would warrant a temporary restraining order.
“I’m very offended by how DOGE has operated at the Institute and treated American citizens trying to do a job that they were statutorily tasked to do at the Institute,” Howell wrote in March. “But that concern … is not one that I have that can sway me in my consideration of the factors for a TRO.”
In her ruling Monday, Howell noted that USIP is unique in its status as seemingly a mix between an executive branch agency and a private nonprofit corporation — and that Trump’s aggressive approach to oust its board members and replace them with DOGE officials seemed to violate a statute that required approval by Congress.
“The actions that have occurred … at the direction of the President to reduce USIP to its ‘statutory minimums’ — including the removal of USIP’s president, his replacement by officials affiliated with DOGE, the termination of nearly all of USIP’s staff, and the transfer of USIP property to the General Services Administration (‘GSA’), were thus effectuated by illegitimately-installed leaders who lacked legal authority to take these actions, which must therefore be declared null and void,” Howell wrote.
The administration is likely to appeal the ruling, making it one of a number of ongoing legal fights on appeal regarding President Trump’s removal authorities.
(MOSCOW, Idaho) — Bryan Kohberger admitted to the killings of four University of Idaho students at his change of plea hearing on Wednesday, pleading guilty to all five counts, despite the former criminology student’s initial eagerness to be exonerated in the high-profile case.
At the Ada County Courthouse in Boise, Idaho, Judge Steven Hippler asked Kohberger how he pleads for each count. Kohberger quickly said “guilty” each time, showing no emotion.
Kohberger — who was charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary in connection with the 2022 killings of the four students — will be spared the death penalty as a part of the plea, according to a letter sent to victims’ relatives. He’ll be sentenced to four consecutive life sentences on the murder counts and the maximum penalty of 10 years on the burglary count, according to the agreement.
At the start of the hearing, Kohberger briefly answered questions from Hippler with “yes” and “no,” marking the first time since his arrest that Kohberger spoke during court proceedings.
He was asked if he was thinking clearly, and Kohberger responded, “yes.” When asked if he was promised anything in exchange for the plea, Kohberger responded, “no.” Asked if he was pleading guilty because he is guilty, Kohberger responded, “yes.”
Hippler asked Kohberger if he “killed and murdered” each victim, naming the four students: Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Kernodle’s boyfriend, Ethan Chapin. Kohberger responded “yes” each time, showing no emotion.
Kohberger’s father shook his head as the victims’ names were read.
Prosecutor Bill Thompson outlined for the judge the state’s evidence against Kohberger, including Kohberger’s DNA matching the male DNA on a knife sheath left by Mogen’s body.
Kohberger also waives his right to appeal as a part of the agreement.
The plea comes just weeks before Kohberger’s trial was to get underway. Jury selection was set to start on Aug. 4 and opening arguments were scheduled for Aug 18.
Prosecutors — who met with victims’ families last week — called the plea a “sincere attempt to seek justice” for the families.
But the dad of 21-year-old victim Kaylee Goncalves blasted the move, accusing the prosecutors of mishandling and rushing the plea deal.
Steve Goncalves said outside court on Wednesday that the prosecution “made a deal with the devil.”
The Goncalves family told ABC News they contacted prosecutors on Tuesday asking for the terms of Kohberger’s deal be amended to include additional requirements: they asked for a full confession and for the location of the alleged murder weapon — described by authorities as a KA-BAR-style hunting knife — which has never been found.
The family said prosecutors turned down the request, explaining that an offer already accepted by the defendant could not ethically be changed. The family said the prosecutors indicated they’re asking the court to allow the prosecution to include a factual summary of the evidence against Kohberger at Wednesday’s hearing, and that more information about Kohberger’s actions would be presented at his sentencing hearing.
The family of 20-year-old victim Ethan Chapin said in a brief statement that they’re at the hearing “in support of the plea bargain.” This is the Chapins’ first appearance at court since their son was killed.
Idaho law requires the state to afford violent crime victims or their families an opportunity to communicate with prosecutors and to be advised of any proposed plea offer before entering into an agreement, but the ultimate decision lies solely with the prosecution.
Kohberger’s parents also attended Wednesday’s hearing, their first time in court with their son since his arrest in Pennsylvania more than two years ago. Attorneys for the Kohberger family said in a statement on Tuesday, “The Kohbergers are asking members of the media for privacy, respect, and responsible judgment during this time. We will continue to allow the legal process to unfold with respect to all parties.”
Prosecutors allege Kohberger fatally stabbed Goncalves, Mogen, Kernodle and Chapin in the students’ off-campus house in the early hours of Nov. 13, 2022.
Two roommates in the house survived, including one roommate who told authorities in the middle of the night she saw a man walking past her in the house, according to court documents. The roommate described the intruder as “not very muscular, but athletically built with bushy eyebrows,” according to the documents.
Kohberger, who was studying for a Ph.D. in criminology at nearby Washington State University at the time of the crime, was arrested at his parents’ home in Pennsylvania in December 2022.
(Photo by Francesco Sforza Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Robert Francis Prevost, the Chicago-born man who became Pope Leo XIV on Thursday, has Black family roots in New Orleans, Louisiana, records show.
ABC News has obtained several records, including U.S. Census records from the early 1900s, demonstrating that the first American pope’s family tree reflects the complex racial history of this country.
Both of Leo XIV’s maternal grandparents, Joseph Martinez and Louise Baquié, are described as Black or mulatto in several census documents.
On their 1887 marriage license, Martinez listed his birthplace as Haiti, and birth records show that he was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Chris Smothers, professional genealogist for 15 years and historian studying at Simmons University, told ABC News that these were the same territories at the time. Baquié’s birth records show she was born in New Orleans.
Despite Martinez being born abroad, his father — the pope’s great-grandfather — was found to be from Louisiana, Smothers said, emphasizing the pope’s ancestry in the American South.
“It’s clear that the Pope has centuries-long ties to free people of color in Louisiana,” Smothers told ABC News.
On the 1900 census, while his family lived in New Orleans, both Leo XIV’s maternal grandparents and his aunts — Irma and Margaret — were identified as Black. However, in 1920, after the family migrated to Chicago and had the pope’s mother Mildred, that decade’s census reflected their race as white.
Like so many families fleeing the South at that time, they could have shifted their racial identity. Smothers called this a common “survival strategy” at the time.
“In that intervening period, they not only migrated from New Orleans to Chicago in the period between 1910 and 1912 but they also changed their racial identifiers, which is very common,” Jari Honora, a genealogist and family historian at the Historic New Orleans Collection, told ABC News. “Many families did this as a question of their livelihoods as an economic decision, they passed for white.”
ABC News also obtained photos of those grandparents from the local genealogists working on uncovering this lineage. The pope’s brother, John Prevost, recognized the photos and confirmed to ABC News that they depict their grandparents.
While John Prevost knew about his grandparents’ connection to Haiti and the family’s time in New Orleans, he told ABC News that their family never discussed racial matters.
Creoles in New Orleans have been a part of Louisiana history for almost as long as it has been a state and have contributed enormously to the culture of Louisiana. The word Creole commonly describes mixed-race people of color.
“To be, you know, Creole in Louisiana, to be a free person of color in New Orleans in that time really indicates that there was at some point an enslaved person that had to fight for their freedom,” Smothers said, though genealogists have yet to find direct evidence linking the pope’s ancestry to any enslaved individual.
In a statement released Thursday night, New Orleans Mayor Latoya Cantrell said “the City of New Orleans is a melting pot of different religions and beliefs. We are thrilled to welcome Pope Leo XIV, who embodies morality, unity, and inclusivity.”
Genealogists continue to dig into the pope’s records to find out more information about his ancestry. For now, it seems that Pope Leo is not only the first American pope, but he also represents the melting pot of backgrounds in the U.S.
“They were a Creole of color family — Creole indicating their cultural background that they are rooted in this place in Louisiana, which, of course, has its origins of the French and Spanish colony with a significant West African population. And of color indicating that they were a racial mix. They were a combination of all of those ethnic backgrounds,” Honora said.
Honora also pointed to the symbolic nature of the pope’s ancestry.
“The story, the trajectory does not surprise me. But the fact that a descendant of that family … is the pope, you know, really adds the element of surprise,” he said.
