Mortgage lender president kills 88-year-old man in suspected DUI: Police
(LOS ANGELES) — The president of a mortgage lending company in California has been arrested on suspicion of murder after allegedly driving drunk through an intersection and killing an 88-year-old man, police said.
The traffic collision happened on Friday at approximately 6:15 p.m. when Orange County Sheriff’s deputies in California responded to a report of a traffic collision involving two vehicles at the intersection of Golden Lantern and Stonehill Drive in Dana Point, California – some 60 miles south of downtown Los Angeles, according to a statement from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.
“Deputies arrived and discovered a Land Rover SUV and a Ford Transit van had been involved in a head-on collision,” police said. “Based on preliminary investigation, the Land Rover was traveling westbound on Stonehill Drive and turned left against a red arrow signal in front of the Ford Transit van traveling eastbound on Stonehill Drive.”
The driver of the transit van was taken to the hospital where he was treated for serious but non-life-threatening injuries.
However, an 88-year-old passenger of the transit van, Melvin Joseph Weibel of Dana Point, “succumbed to his injuries sustained in the collision and was pronounced deceased at the scene,” according to authorities.
The 48-year-old woman who was driving the Land Rover — Serene Francie Rosenberg of Dana Point — was immediately arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and booked into the Orange County Jail for murder and DUI causing injury.
Police confirmed that she had three prior convictions, but did not offer details on the charges that led to those convictions.
The company she works for, OCMBC, expressed its “deepest sympathies following the tragic traffic accident that occurred in Dana Point on January 31, 2025.”
“Our thoughts are with everyone affected by this heartbreaking event and we intend to monitor the situation closely, responding with care and responsibility in accordance with our company’s core values,” OCMBC said.
The company also announced that Rosenberg had been placed on administrative leave, and John Hamel, former Chief Capital Markets Officer, had “assumed the permanent role of President,” the company said.
“This leadership transition ensures continued stability and operational excellence,” said OCMBC.
“This has been a difficult time for everyone affected by this tragic event, and our hearts go out to those impacted,” said Rabi Aziz, CEO of OCMBC.
Meanwhile, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department’s Major Accident Investigation Team is investigating the collision and is asking for anyone with additional details or who may have witnessed the collision to contact the Orange County Sheriff’s Department’s Traffic Bureau.
(NEW YORK) — Users of the nation’s largest subway system will start seeing New York City police officers on every overnight train starting Monday as Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a strategy Thursday to tamp down rider anxiety that has been rising amid a series of horrific high-profile crimes.
“I’m not waiting,” Hochul said during a news conference. “Monday you will start seeing the increased presence on the overnight trains.”
The $77 million strategy will put 750 additional police officers on platforms and in stations and 300 more officers on overnight trains, Hochul said.
“We’ve doubled the number of law enforcement personnel in the New York City subway system in one year,” Hochul said.
The governor said most of the crime committed on the subway system occurs during overnight hours.
“There is a lot of anxiety on these trains late at night. I want to tamper that down,” Hochul said.
The move comes even as New York Police Department statistics show that crime in the transit system has plummeted 36% from this time last year.
However several high-profile attacks in the subway system have prompted calls from riders for government leaders to address the problem.
On Dec. 22, a woman sleeping on a stationary F train at Brooklyn’s Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue station died after being set on fire. The suspect, Sebastian Zapeta, an undocumented immigrant from Guatemala, was arrested after a brief manhunt and charged with first- and second-degree murder and arson in the death of 57-year-old Debrina Kawam, who authorities said was homeless and originally from Toms River, New Jersey.
Zapeta has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
On Christmas Eve, a man allegedly used a knife to slash a man and a woman at Manhattan’s Grand Central subway station, police said. The suspect faced assault and menacing charges Wednesday.
The man was arrested on assault, reckless endangerment, menacing, harassment, disorderly conduct and a weapons charge after the attack, which left a 42-year-old man with an injured wrist and a 26-year-old woman with a neck injury, police said.
On New Year’s Eve, a 45-year-old man was shoved onto subway tracks ahead of an incoming train at the West 18th Street station in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood, according to police. The victim, Joseph Lynskey, survived the attack that was caught on security video and is expected to make a full recovery, police said.
The suspect in the subway shoving, Kamel Hawkins, 23, was taken into custody and charged with attempted murder and assault. He has yet to enter a plea.
On Wednesday, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced the indictment of a 23-year-old man in the slashing attack that occurred in December at the 50th Street subway station in Manhattan. Bragg alleged that the suspect, Orsen Reyes, stomped on a 48-year-old man’s head and slashed him with a knife. Reyes was indicted on charges of first-degree assault, three counts of assault in the second degree and three counts of criminal possession of a weapon.
He has pleaded not guilty.
“New Yorkers deserve to be safe in our subway system, and we will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to combat transit crime,” Bragg said in a statement. “I hope the victim continues to heal from this horrifying assault.”
Hochul’s move comes after she ordered New York National Guard troops and New York State Police troopers to be deployed into the subway system to help riders feel safe. The deployment came after after six people were shot, one fatally, at a subway station in the Bronx on Feb. 13, 2024.
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden, President-elect Donald Trump, former presidents and other dignitaries came together Thursday to honor the life of former President Jimmy Carter at a state funeral at Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.
Grandson Jason Carter and Biden were among those who delivered eulogies for the 39th president, who died on Dec. 29 at the age of 100.
Plane takes off for Georgia
The plane carrying former President Jimmy Carter’s casket has taken off from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, marking the last time the 39th president leaves the Washington, D.C., area.
Carter is returning to his hometown of Plains, Georgia, where his family will hold a private service and burial.
Carter to return to Plains
Former President Jimmy Carter’s casket was carried out of Washington National Cathedral to the strains of “Hail to the Chief” at the conclusion of the service.
Next, the hearse will drive to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. The casket will be placed on a plane to return to Carter’s hometown of Plains, Georgia, for a private service.
The 39th president, who died on Dec. 29 at age 100, will be buried in Plains next to his beloved wife of 77 years, Rosalynn, who died on Nov. 19, 2023, at the age of 96.
‘Your spirit will remain with us’
“I don’t mean this with any disrespect, but, it’s still hard for me to understand how you could get to be president from Plains, Georgia,” said former U.N. Ambassador Andrew Young, prompting a big laugh from the crowd in the cathedral.
Young, 92, was appointed to be U.N. Ambassador by Carter and was the first Black person to hold the position.
Young recalled how Carter grew up in a mostly Black county and had many Black friends. He said Carter asked that his roommate at the Naval Academy be the first Black midshipmen in hopes that he could help him adjust.
Carter “went out of his way to embrace those of us who had grown up in all kinds of conflict,” Young said. “But that was the sensitivity, the spirituality that made James Earl Carter a truly great president.”
“He never wavered from his commitment to God almighty and his love of all of God’s children,” Young said. “Jimmy Carter was a blessing that helped to create a great United Staes of America. And for all of us, and many who are not able to be here, I want to say, thank you. You have been a blessing from God and your spirit will remain with us.”
Biden recalls Carter’s ‘strength of character’
After wiping his eyes during “Amazing Grace,” President Joe Biden stepped up to the podium to recall his friendship with former President Jimmy Carter.
“Jimmy Carter’s friendship taught me … strength of character is more than the title or power we hold. It’s the strength to understand that everyone should be treated with dignity, respect. That everyone — and I mean everyone deserves an even shot,” Biden said.
“We have an obligation to give hate no safe harbor and to stand up to — [what] my dad said, the greatest sin of all — the abuse of power,” Biden said, as all of the former presidents looked on. “It’s not about being perfect, none of us are perfect. We’re all fallible.”
“Jimmy Carter, throughout his life, he showed us what it means to be a practitioner of good works and a good and faithful servant of God, and of the people,” Biden said.
Some may think Carter is from a “bygone era,” but Carter “saw well into the future,” Biden said.
To anyone in search of meaning and purpose, Biden said, “study the power of Jimmy Carter’s example.”
“I miss him, but I take solace in knowing that he and his beloved Rosalynn are reunited again,” he said.
Grandson calls Carter ‘definition of integrity’
Former President Jimmy Carter’s house was filled with items like so many other southern grandparents’: fishing trophies, a phone with a landline and a fridge covered with photos of grandchildren and great-grandchildren, his grandson Jason Carter said.
“And demonstrating their Depression-era roots, they had a little rack next to the sink where they would hang Ziploc bags to dry,” Jason Carter said, as the crowd laughed.
“In my 49 years, I never perceived a difference between his public face and his private one. He was the same person,” Jason Carter said. “For me, that’s the definition of integrity.”
“His political life and his presidency, for me, was not just ahead of its time — it was prophetic. He had the courage and strength to stick to his principles, even when they were politically unpopular,” Jason Carter said. “As governor of Georgia half a century ago, he preached an end to racial discrimination and an end to mass incarceration. As president in the 1970s, as you’ve heard, he protected more land than any other president in history. Fifty years ago, he was a climate warrior who pushed for a world where we conserved energy, limited emissions and traded our reliance on fossil fuels for expanded renewable sources.”
President Carter’s beloved wife of 77 years, Rosalynn, died on Nov. 19, 2023, at the age of 96.
Jason Carter said that, in recent weeks, his grandfather “told us he was ready to see her again.”
‘Unshakable sense of right and wrong’
Stuart Eizenstat, who was former President Jimmy Carter’s chief domestic policy adviser, praised Carter’s “unshakable sense of right and wrong.”
“His faith brought integrity to the presidency after Watergate and Vietnam,” Eizenstat recalled. “‘I will never lie to you,’ he promised the American people — a vow he fulfilled.”
Carter is known for his deep faith, and Eizenstat noted how Carter’s “faith respected other religions — he was the first president to light a Hanukkah menorah and he created the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.”
“This president from the deepest part of the Deep South championed civil rights, appointing more people of color and women to senior executive positions and judgeships than all previous 38 presidents,” he said.
“President Carter parked politics at the Oval Office door, to do what he believed was the right thing — tackling controversial challenges regardless of the political consequences. Much of his agenda passed with bipartisan support, a quaint notion in today’s hyper-polarized politics,” Eizenstat said.
Walter Mondale’s son delivers his father’s eulogy
Former President Jimmy Carter’s vice president, Walter Mondale, left behind a eulogy for Carter before he died in 2021.
Mondale’s son, Ted Mondale, delivered that eulogy at Thursday’s service.
The two became close friends and established a person relationship that continued throughout their life, Walter Mondale said.
“While we had only four years in the White House, he achieved so much in that time,” Walter Mondale wrote. “It stood as a marker for Americans dedicated to justice and decency.”
“Carter was far-sighted — he put aside his short-term political interests to tackle challenges that demanded sacrifice to protect our kids and grandkids from future harm,” he wrote. “Very few people in the 1970s had heard the term climate change. Yet Carter put his presidency on the line to pass laws to conserve energy, deregulate new oil and gas prices, and invest in clean, renewable alternatives to fossil fuels. … In many ways, he laid the foundation for future presidents to come to grips with climate change.”
“All of us know President Carter elevated human rights to the top of his agenda, but sometimes we forget how seriously he pushed to advance the rights of women. He proposed and signed the law extending the period for states to approve the Equal Rights Amendment, which now, finally, has been ratified by three quarters of the states,” he wrote.
“Toward the end of our time in the White House, the President and I were talking about how we might describe what we tried to do,” Walter Mondale wrote. “We came up with this sentence, which to me remains an important summary of what we were trying to do: ‘We told the truth, we obeyed the law and we kept the peace.'”
President Ford’s son delivers his father’s eulogy
Former President Gerald Ford, who lost the 1976 election to former President Jimmy Carter, later forged a friendship with Carter, and the two agreed to leave eulogies for each other.
Ford died in 2006 at the age of 93.
Ford’s son Steven Ford, read his father’s eulogy at Carter’s service.
But first, Steven Ford shared his own message, saying he is praying for the Carter children. It was 18 years ago, nearly to the day, Steven Ford said, that his family sat in that same row at the cathedral and the Carters supported his family.
“It was your dad and his great faith that supported my mom and gave her hope,” he said to the Carter children.
President Ford said in the eulogy he left for Carter, “Jimmy and I forged a friendship that transcends politics. We immediately decided to exercise one of the privileges of a former president, forgetting that either one of us had ever said any harsh words about the other one in the heat of battle. Then we got on to much more enjoyable subjects: discussing our families, our faith and sharing our experiences in discovering that there is indeed life after the White House.”
“The American people and the people of the world will be forever blessed by his decades of good works,” President Ford wrote.
To President Carter, President Ford said, “Looking forward to our reunion — we have much to catch up on.”
Carter’s grandson remembers his Sunday school lessons
At the service, former President Jimmy Carter’s grandson Josh Carter recalled his grandfather’s weekly packed Sunday school classes in Plains, Georgia.
He said his grandfather would always poll the congregation and learn people came from all over the country, with diverse backgrounds and beliefs.
“If he stopped a conflict, he talked about it. If he eliminated disease from a village or a country, he would talk about it,” Josh Carter said. “When my brother Jeremy died, he announced that news at Sunday school. In fact, I remember that my brother died on a Sunday because it was the only time my grandfather was ever late to teach.”
“He stated the most serious and universal problem on our planet is the growing chasm between the richest and poorest people on Earth,” he said. “For the next two decades, as the problem compounded, he returned to this theme with stories from the Bible and stories from today.”
“Many of the people that my grandparents helped lived on less than $1 a day,” he said. “My grandfather spent the entire time I’ve known him helping those in need. He built houses for people that needed homes. He eliminated diseases. … He waged peace. … He loved people.”
Harris, Biden arrive
Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff are seated in front of President-elect Donald Trump.
The two did not appear to interact.
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden are also at the cathedral.
Clintons, Bushes arrive
Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are sitting next to former President George W. Bush and former first lady Laura Bush.
Laura Bush sat next to former President Barack Obama, who continued a lengthy conversation with President-elect Donald Trump.
Obama arrives, speaks with Trump
Former President Barack Obama arrived at the service and exchanged a long handshake and a laugh with former Vice President Al Gore.
Obama then sat directly next to Trump and the two exchanged words, both smiling.
Trump arrives, greets Pence
President-elect Donald Trump and Melania Trump have arrived at the service.
Trump shook hands and exchanged brief words with his former Vice President Mike Pence.
Hearse arrives at Washington National Cathedral
Former President Jimmy Carter’s hearse has arrived at Washington National Cathedral for the 10 a.m. service.
Mike Pence, Al Gore arrive at service
Former Vice Presidents Al Gore and Mike Pence have arrived at Washington National Cathedral for the 10 a.m. service.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Vice President-elect JD Vance were also seen at the service.
Carter’s casket leaves US Capitol for final time
Former President Jimmy Carter’s casket has left the U.S. Capitol for the final time. Carter had been lying in state at the Capitol since Tuesday.
His motorcade will now head to Washington National Cathedral for a 10 a.m. service.
An emotional, weeklong goodbye
The emotional, weeklong public goodbye to former President Jimmy Carter began on Saturday when a motorcade carried his remains from his hometown of Plains, Georgia, to Atlanta.
Family, friends and employees of the Carter Presidential Center congregated at the center in Atlanta for a Saturday afternoon ceremony. Carter’s son Chip Carter addressed the mourners and thanked his late parents for their service and sacrifice.
The public was then invited to pay their respects at the Carter Presidential Center from Saturday through Tuesday.
On Tuesday, Carter’s body was transported Washington, D.C., and a service was held at the Capitol. Carter lied in state at the Capitol on Wednesday.
On Thursday afternoon, following the Washington National Cathedral funeral, Carter will return to his hometown of Plains for a private service and private interment.
Motorcade makes emotional stop at Navy Memorial Former President Jimmy Carter’s motorcade made an emotional stop at the U.S. Navy Memorial in Washington, D.C., to honor Carter’s service as a lieutenant in the Navy.
Carter’s childhood dream was to be in the Navy and he went on to graduate from the United States Naval Academy in 1946. Carter resigned from the Navy in 1953 after his father’s death so he could return to the family farm.
Carter’s casket was transferred from the hearse to a horse-drawn military caisson for a funeral procession that reproduces the walk Carter took with his family on the day of his inauguration. On that January day in 1977, Carter walked the mile-and-a-half inaugural parade route to the White House, rather than ride in a limousine, bringing a common touch to his presidency.
Navy officers stood silently along the snow-lined street, witnessing the casket’s transfer to the caisson.
The Carter family will walk behind the casket as it heads from the U.S. Navy Memorial to the U.S. Capitol.
Motorcade leaves Joint Base Andrews
Former President Jimmy Carter’s motorcade has left Joint Base Andrews in Maryland en route to Washington, D.C., to begin several days of services in the nation’s capital.
Carter lands in DC
A plane carrying the Carter family and the casket of former President Jimmy Carter has landed at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland for several days of ceremonies in Washington, D.C.
The U.S. Navy Memorial will be the first stop for the motorcade to honor Carter’s service as a lieutenant in the Navy.
Carter en route from Georgia to DC
The Carter family is accompanying former President Jimmy Carter’s remains on a flight from Georgia’s Dobbins Air Reserve Base to Washington, D.C. for the late president’s final journey to the nation’s capital.
“Hail to the Chief” was played and troops fired a 21-gun salute after the coffin was taken out of the hearse. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp was among the officials at the base to witness the coffin’s transfer from the hearse to the plane.
Carter is survived by four children — John William (Jack), James Earl III (Chip), Donnel Jeffrey (Jeff) and Amy Lynn — and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
The flight will land in the D.C. area around 2 p.m.
The late president’s first stop in snowy D.C. will be the U.S. Navy Memorial to honor his time in the service.
That will be followed by a 4:30 p.m. ET service at the U.S. Capitol, which will be
Carter leaves Carter Presidential Center for final time
Former President Jimmy Carter is leaving the Carter Presidential Center in Atlanta for the final time Tuesday morning as Carter Center employees and their families look on.
The former president had been lying in repose at the center since Saturday, allowing the public to come pay their respects.
At a Saturday service at the Carter Presidential Center, Carter’s son Chip Carter thanked his parents for their service and sacrifice.
“The two of them together changed the world,” he said, overcome with emotion.
Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter founded the Carter Center after his presidency to improve health around the world and enhance freedom and democracy.
Carter to head to DC for services at Capitol, Washington National Cathedral
Former President Jimmy Carter’s remains will be escorted from the Carter Presidential Center in Atlanta to Washington, D.C., on Tuesday for the 39th president’s final trip to the nation’s capital.
His remains will leave the Carter Center at 11:30 a.m. ET.
The first stop in D.C. will be the U.S. Navy Memorial in honor of the former president’s service.
At 4:30 p.m. ET, members of Congress, the Supreme Court, the Cabinet, the Joint Chiefs and other officials will congregate at the U.S. Capitol for a lying in state ceremony. Vice President Kamala Harris, Senator Majority Leader John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson are expected to deliver eulogies and lay wreaths.
Carter’s remains will lie in state at the Capitol from Tuesday evening to Thursday morning, allowing the public to pay respects.
On Thursday morning, former presidents and other dignitaries will attend a state funeral at Washington National Cathedral. President Joe Biden will deliver a eulogy.
On Thursday afternoon, Carter’s body will return to his hometown of Plains, Georgia, for a private service and private interment. Carter will be buried next to his wife of 77 years, Rosalynn, who died on Nov. 19, 2023, at the age of 96.
(NEW YORK) — Police are questioning 26-year-old Luigi Mangione in Altoona, Pennsylvania, as a person of interest in connection with the brazen Midtown Manhattan murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson last week, according to authorities.
Mangione, from Maryland, has been arrested by Altoona police on unrelated gun charges, according to authorities.
He was on a Greyhound bus traveling through Altoona on Monday morning, sources said, when he got off and walked into a McDonald’s where a witness recognized him from the images of the suspect circulated by police.
Mangione was sitting and eating when a McDonald’s employee reported him, and “because of that, we believe we have a strong person of interest,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams said at a news conference Monday.
“He matches the description of the person we are looking for,” Adams said.
Mangione had a ghost gun capable of firing a 9 mm round and a suppressor, police said.
Mangione was in possession of a handwritten document “that speaks to his motivation and mindset,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.
“It does seem that he had some ill will toward corporate America,” police said.
Authorities are going through his writings more thoroughly to understand his motive.
He was also in possession of a fake New Jersey driver’s license similar to the one the suspect used to check into a hostel in New York City before the shooting, she said.
Tisch praised the “good old fashioned detective work” of the NYPD and the “power of the public” that led to the arrest.
Police said it appears he acted alone.
Police said they’re working to trace his movements from New York City to Pennsylvania.
Police said they did not have his name before now.
Meanwhile, new video obtained by ABC News shows the killer waiting for Thompson moments before the shooting.
The video shows others pass by, and then, when the masked gunman sees Thompson, he runs across the street and opens fire. The video, which has not previously been seen publicly, appears to support the police narrative that the shooter targeted Thompson because he loitered while others wandered by.
On Wednesday morning, the masked gunman shot Thompson at point-blank range outside the New York Hilton Midtown, where Thompson’s company was holding an investors conference. Tisch described the attack as “brazen” and “targeted.”
Right after the shooting, the suspect fled by bike through Central Park to the Upper West Side. He then took a taxi to the Port Authority bus facility at 178th Street and boarded a bus out of New York City, according to police.
On Sunday, members of the New York Police Department’s dive team searched underwater in Central Park near the Bethesda Fountain.
The suspect’s backpack — with a jacket and Monopoly money inside — was found nearby in Central Park.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
ABC News’ Bill Hutchinson, Jon Haworth, Ivan Pereira and David Brennan contributed to this report.