Bishop T.D. Jakes stable after medical emergency during Sunday sermon
The Potter’s House of Dallas
(DALLAS) — Bishop T.D. Jakes is stable after suffering a medical emergency during a sermon on Sunday, according to the megachurch Potter’s House of Dallas, where he serves as pastor.
Video of the incident shows the renowned Christian pastor lowering his microphone and shaking in his seat before people around him rushed to his aid.
In a statement, the church said Jakes “experienced a slight health incident and received immediate medical attention following his powerful hour long message.”
“Bishop Jakes is stable and under the care of medical professionals,” the church said. “The entire Potter’s House family is grateful for the outpouring of love, prayers, and support from the community.”
Jakes founded the 30,000-member megachurch in southern Dallas, Texas, in 1996.
Thomas Dickey, attorney for suspected shooter Luigi Mangione, on ABC News’ “Good Morning America” Wednesday, December 11.
(NEW YORK) — Luigi Mangione, the 26-year-old Ivy League graduate accused of gunning down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in front of a New York City hotel last week, has retained a private defense attorney in his Pennsylvania gun charges case.
Mangione was apprehended in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on Monday following a dayslong manhunt. Police said he was found with multiple fake IDs, including a fake New Jersey ID matching the one that the suspect allegedly used to check into a hostel in New York City before the shooting, a 3D-printed pistol and a 3D-printed silencer.
He has been charged in Pennsylvania with carrying a gun without a license, forgery, falsely identifying himself to authorities and possessing “instruments of crime,” according to a criminal complaint.
Mangione plans to plead not guilty to the charges in Pennsylvania, his defense attorney, Thomas Dickey, told reporters on Tuesday.
Dickey said he anticipates Mangione would also plead not guilty to the second-degree murder charge he faces in New York in connection with Thompson’s death.
Has refrained from saying how he came to represent Mangione
The Altoona-based attorney has been making the press rounds since he was retained to represent Mangione, including ABC News’ Good Morning America and CNN.
But he could not confirm how he came to represent Mangione; he would only say he was retained Tuesday ahead of the suspect’s extradition hearing in Pennsylvania. He said he “of course” knew of the New York case but said, “I don’t follow a lot of things sometimes in news.”
The court denied Mangione bail during the hearing. Mangione plans to challenge his extradition to New York.
“He has constitutional rights and that’s what he’s doing” in challenging the interstate transfer, Dickey told reporters on Tuesday.
When asked how Mangione was feeling, the attorney brusquely said you can “use your common sense on that.” He later said that Mangione is “taking it as well as he can.”
The attorney told ABC News’ Good Morning America on Wednesday that anyone speculating on the case should take the potential evidence “in its entirety,” rather than take pieces of writing or other evidence “out of context.”
“People put out certain things, parts of different things,” he said. “I think any lawyer involved in this situation would want to see it all.”
“We’re looking forward to beginning our inquiry as to what evidence may or may not be out there,” he said.
Asked whether he would accept donations from members of the public seeking to fund his defense, Dickey said, “I don’t know.”
He told CNN that he probably wouldn’t.
“I just don’t feel comfortable about that,” he said. “It just doesn’t sit right with me, really.”
Asked about the outpouring of support for Mangione online, Dickey told reporters Tuesday, “People are entitled to their opinion.”
“If you’re an American, you believe in the American criminal justice system, you have to presume him to be innocent,” the attorney said. “And none of us would want anything other than that if that was us in their shoes. I’m glad that he has some support.”
Would consider representing suspect in New York murder case
Mangione could face additional charges in New York beyond second-degree murder, according to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
“As we learn more about motives and other things like that … there may be additional charges,” Bragg told ABC News on Wednesday.
Dickey told reporters Tuesday that if the opportunity presented itself to represent Mangione in the New York case, he “certainly would consider” it.
The attorney said he does not have a license to practice law in New York, but that “you can get admitted.”
“I’ve been doing this for 41 years, you can get admitted there,” he said, but added, “I don’t want to speculate about anything.”
Takes on cases ranging from capital murder to DUIs
Dickey is a lifelong resident of Blair County, home to Altoona, according to his bio on his law firm website.
He studied history and political science at Saint Francis University in Loretto, Pennsylvania, and earned his law degree from Ohio Northern University.
He opened his private practice in 1984. It takes on first-degree murder, DUI and state and federal drug cases, among others.
Dickey told reporters Tuesday he is “proud to say” that he is one of the few attorneys in Pennsylvania who is qualified to provide defense counsel in death penalty cases.
His decades-long career has included a 2009 double homicide in which he argued post-traumatic stress disorder as a defense for the defendant, an Iraqi War veteran.
“I argued to the jury in my opening [statement], I said I believe that the Iraq war came home that day,” Dickey told CNN following the trial.
The defendant was ultimately convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison after the jury couldn’t agree on the death penalty.
Asked if Mangione’s was the biggest case he’s been on, Dickey told reporters, “They’re all big.”
(FAIRBANKS, ALASKA) — An Air Force F-35 fighter jet crashed at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska on Tuesday as the pilot ejected safely, officials said.
The aircraft incident occurred on Tuesday afternoon at approximately 12:49 p.m. and resulted in “significant aircraft damage,” according to a statement released by 354th Fighter Wing Public Affairs.
The impact site is known to be on base within the fence line of Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, officials confirmed.
In video of the crash, the aircraft can be seen falling from the sky while the pilot ejects from the plane before the crash.
“The pilot is safe and has been transported to Bassett Army Hospital for further evaluation. Emergency crews are responding,” authorities said.
Military officials said that stopping on the Richardson Highway, the road adjacent to Eielson AFB, “poses a safety risk and impedes recovery efforts” and reminded people that federal law prohibits any photography along that stretch of highway.
“Our people are our most important resource, and we are committed in ensuring their safety and security,” said Colonel Paul Townsend, commander of the 354th Fighter Wing. “I can assure you the United States Air Force will conduct a thorough investigation in hopes to minimize the chances of such occurrences from happening again.”
(MADISON, Wis.) — A teacher and teenage student were killed and six students were hurt in a shooting at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin, on Monday, police said.
Police had briefly mentioned a higher death toll but later revised the information.
The suspect, a teenage student at the school, is also dead, police said. The suspect used a handgun, police said.
A motive is not clear, Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said at a news conference.
Of the six injured students, two are in critical condition with life-threatening injuries, Barnes said. Four other students suffered non-life-threatening injuries, he said.
Officers responded to the active shooter report around 10:57 a.m. The suspect was dead upon police arrival and no officers fired their weapons, Barnes said.
The shooting was “confined to one space,” but it’s not clear if it was a classroom or hallway, the chief said.
“I never saw so many police cars in my life — just blue and red lights lining the school, lining the streets. Fire department, paramedics, everybody was there,” swarming the usually quiet neighborhood, John Diaz De Leon told ABC News Live.
He said he saw officers with long guns at the scene and older students run from the school across the parking lot.
“Later on, very slowly in a more orderly fashion, the younger students holding hands were let out to go across the parking lot,” he said.
The school has been cleared, Barnes said. There’s no danger to the community, he said.
The suspect’s family is cooperating, the police chief said.
Officials are working to reunite students with their parents. About 390 students from kindergarten through 12th grade attend the school.
The police chief said he began his career as a teacher.
“We owe it to our community to do everything possible to ensure [schools are] not only a special place, but a safe place,” he said.
“I hoped that this day would never come in Madison,” Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway said.
She stressed the need for gun violence prevention and said she wants the community and country to make sure “no public official ever has to stand in this position again.”
Jill Underly, Wisconsin’s superintendent of public instruction, stressed the need for change, saying in a statement, “This tragedy is a stark reminder that we must do more to protect our children and our educators to ensure that such horrors never happen again. We will not rest until we find solutions that make our schools safe.”
“The time for change is long past,” Underly said.
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers wrote, “I am closely monitoring the incident at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison. We are praying for the kids, educators, and entire Abundant Life school community as we await more information and are grateful for the first responders who are working quickly to respond.”
Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., tweeted, “I have been briefed on the active shooting at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison and my heart goes out to all those impacted. My office is in touch with local and state officials, and I stand ready to assist law enforcement and anyone affected.”
Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., wrote on social media, “My sincere condolences and prayers for all the victims of the tragedy at Abundant Life Christian School. I will continue to closely monitor the situation.”
President Joe Biden has been briefed on the shooting, according to the White House.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
