Talk of the Town
(WASHINGTON) — A federal appeals court has issued a ruling blocking the construction of President Donald Trump’s $400 million White House ballroom, concluding that congressional approval is needed for the project.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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(NEW YORK) — Gilgo Beach, New York, serial killer Rex Heuermann may address the court when he is sentenced to life in prison on Wednesday.
In April, Heuermann pleaded guilty to killing seven women: Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Amber Lynn Costello, Jessica Taylor, Valerie Mack and Sandra Costilla. He also admitted to killing an eighth woman, Karen Vergata, though he was not formally charged in her death. Their families will have the opportunity to address Heuermann on Wednesday.
At the April hearing, Heuermann agreed to serve three consecutive life sentences followed by four consecutive sentences of 25 years-to-life, according to prosecutors.
Prosecutors said the New York City architect targeted sex workers, strangled them and dumped their bodies near Long Island’s Gilgo Beach over the course of 17 years.
Heuermann “walked among us, play acting as a normal, suburban dad, when in reality, all along, he was obsessively targeting innocent women for death,” Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said in April.
The Gilgo Beach cases went unsolved for years, until Heuermann’s arrest in 2023.
Since then, Heuermann has been in custody at the Riverhead Correctional Facility. While in jail, Heuermann has been reading books about murder and serial killers, and he’s communicated with Keith Hunter Jesperson, a 1990s serial killer known as the Happy Face Killer, Suffolk County Sheriff Errol Toulon told ABC News.
Defense attorney Michael Brown said in April that the decision to plead guilty belonged solely to Heuermann.
“There came a point in this defense when Rex said, ‘I want to plead guilty,'” Brown said, adding that admitting his guilt brought Heuermann “a huge sense of relief.”
Brown said Heuermann would likely have more to say at sentencing.
Part of Heuermann’s plea agreement also requires him to be interviewed by the FBI’s behavioral analysis unit.
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(NEW YORK) — More than 167,000 pounds of beef, pork and goat meat are being recalled nationwide after being produced without required federal inspection, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service.
Star Meat Delivery Inc., based in Lucama, North Carolina, is recalling approximately 167,639 pounds of meat that was distributed to restaurants and retailers nationwide, USDA announced on Tuesday.
The meat was produced on various dates before Sept. 22 and sent to a distributor in Georgia before being distributed to restaurants and retailers across the country.
The USDA said it discovered the problem during a routine check. The recalled products had USDA inspection marks with the establishment number “EST. 1363,” but officials said that number is not approved for federal inspection.
No illnesses or injuries linked to the recalled meat have been reported, according to the agency.
What meat is being recalled?
The recall covers a wide range of raw beef, pork and goat products, including sliced ribeye, beef chuck, oxtail, beef short ribs, ground pork, pork chorizo, pork chops, pork ribs, pork feet, pork Boston butt and goat meat.
The products were vacuum-sealed and packed in cardboard boxes before being sent to A&D Foods, a distributor in Georgia.
Identifying the recalled meat may be difficult for some shoppers. The USDA said stores may have repackaged the meat and added their own price and safe-handling labels, meaning products in consumers’ refrigerators or freezers may not have the original packaging.
The agency said more products and labels could be added to the recall as officials continue to gather information.
A full list of recalled products and labels is available on the USDA’s website.
What should consumers do?
The USDA said it is concerned that some of the recalled meat could still be in consumers’ refrigerators and freezers or at restaurants and stores.
Consumers should not eat the recalled meat, and restaurants and retailers should not serve or sell it. The products should be thrown away or returned to the place where they were purchased.
Food that is produced without federal inspection may contain undeclared allergens, harmful bacteria or other contaminants that could pose a health risk, according to the USDA.
Anyone concerned about an illness or injury should contact a health care provider.
ABC News has reached out to Star Meat Delivery Inc. and A&D Foods for comment but did not hear back immediately.
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(WASHINGTON, D.C.) — President Donald Trump said on Friday he will not be attending his son Donald Trump’s Jr.’s wedding this weekend, and that he will stay at the White House instead.
“While I very much wanted to be with my son, Don Jr., and the newest member of the Trump Family, his soon to be wife, Bettina, circumstances pertaining to Government, and my love for the United States of America, do not allow me to do so,” Trump wrote in a social media post.
“I feel it is important for me to remain in Washington, D.C., at the White House during this important period of time,” Trump added. “Congratulations to Don and Bettina!”
Trump previously said he would “try” and make his son’s wedding this weekend, which is reportedly taking place in the Bahamas — though he said the event is “not good timing” for him given his responsibilities surrounding the war in Iran.
During an event in the Oval Office on Thursday, Trump said his son wants him to come his wedding with fiancée Bettina Anderson but that the president has “a thing called Iran — and other things.”
“He’d like me to go, but it’s going to be just a small, little private affair, and I’m going to try and make it,” Trump said. “This is not good timing for me. I have a thing called Iran and other things. That’s one I can’t win on.”
“If I do attend, I get killed. If I don’t attend, I get killed by the fake news,” Trump said. “Hopefully they’re going to have a great marriage.”
Donald Trump Jr. is the eldest son of the president who has five children with his ex-wife, Vanessa Trump.
Vanessa Trump announced on Instagram Thursday that she has been diagnosed with breast cancer.
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