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Judge says Giuliani faces contempt if he doesn’t turn over property to poll workers

Adam Gray/AFP via Getty Images

(NEW YORK) — A federal judge in New York on Thursday raised the possibility of holding Rudy Giuliani in contempt if he fails to turn over property by next week to the two Georgia poll workers he defamed after the 2020 election.

A 90-minute hearing devolved into what the judge called “griping” after a lawyer for former election workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss accused Giuliani of “game playing” and an attorney for Giuliani accused the two women of being “vindictive.”

A federal jury last year ordered Giuliani to pay Freeman and Moss nearly $150 million for defaming them with false accusations that the mother and daughter committed election fraud while the two were counting ballots in Georgia’s Fulton County on Election Day in 2020.

Earlier this week, Freeman and Moss’ attorney claimed that Giuliani had “secreted away” his property after the receivership controlled by the two election workers accessed Giuliani’s apartment, only to find it virtually empty.

The former New York City mayor was given a Nov. 14 deadline to turn over the shares in his Upper East Side co-op apartment, valuable sports memorabilia, a Mercedes-Benz convertible, and luxury watches — including one that belonged to Giuliani’s grandfather.

When defense lawyer Ken Caruso complained that forcing Giuliani to relinquish his grandfather’s watch was “vindictive,” an exasperated Judge Lewis Liman said, “Oh come on!”

“The law is the law and I don’t apply it differently to your client,” Liman said. “Don’t come to me and say something is vindictive.”

The judge was equally unmoved by the defense argument that Giuliani’s car, a blue Mercedes-Benz convertible once owned by the actress Lauren Bacall, was exempt from the judgment because it’s worth less than $4,000.

“Monday the title and keys will be delivered as well as the physical location of the car,” Judge Liman said.

Giuliani also balked at relinquishing about $2 million dollars he is owed for legal worked performed for Donald Trump.

“They wanted that money to make a political statement,” Caruso said.

Liman did not budge and reminded Giuliani of the consequences.

“He is under an unqualified order to deliver all the receivership property to the receiver,” Liman said. “If he doesn’t comply then I’m sure I’ll get a motion for contempt. If he hasn’t delivered, and there is a way in which he could have delivered, he’ll be subject to contempt sanctions.”

Outside court, Giuliani accused Freeman and Moss of bringing a “political vendetta” that was “financed by the Bidens.”

When ABC News asked whether he regretted defaming Freeman and Moss, Giuliani answered “No” before his lawyer stepped in to say the case was on appeal.

 

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Entertainment

Ryan Reynolds says Marvel is “obsessed” with seeing Channing Tatum as X-Men hero Gambit

Reynolds and Tatum in 2015 – Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images

As a guy who spent years trying to get Deadpool off the ground, Ryan Reynolds says he feels for his pal Channing Tatum, who never got the chance to play the X-Men hero Gambit onscreen — until Ryan brought him into Deadpool & Wolverine, that is.

Tatum tried to get a Gambit project off the ground before Disney acquired 20th Century Fox, but his hopes were dashed when that deal went through. 

After the blockbuster success of D&W, however, it seems there’s renewed hope for Tatum’s Cajun, card-slinging, mealy mouthed mutant. 

“I honestly don’t know what goes on behind closed doors in the bookkeeping sessions at Marvel, but I do know that they’re obsessed with him in that role,” Reynolds tells Entertainment Weekly‘s Awardist podcast.

Reynolds compared Tatum’s journey to his own, when the success of leaked test footage of him playing Deadpool convinced Fox to greenlight the 2016 smash hit original.

“It’s kind of like the same situation I went through,” Ryan says. “Once you show that it works well, that’s really what they need. Sometimes they just need to see it in action. And Channing is so singular in how he plays that character. But also he’s so beautiful physically, the way he moves and the way he can pick up steps.”

As reported, Tatum remained optimistic — but realistic — regarding his future in the role. He told Collider some months back, “You never know. I mean, literally, I could never be in another Marvel movie again, and it wouldn’t surprise me because I’ve had it in my hand before, and it’s gone away.” He added, “I’m always grain-of-salting it, but I’m hoping that [Marvel Studios president] Kevin [Feige] will allow me in.”

Disney is the parent company of ABC News. 

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Entertainment

‘Is Anyone Else Seeing This?’ Bill Maher announces 13th HBO comedy special

HBO/Greg Endries

Real Time host Bill Maher has announced his 13th comedy special for HBO. 

Bill Maher: Is Anyone Else Seeing This? debuts in January on the network and will be recorded in front of a live audience at the CIBC Theatre in Chicago, Illinois.

The comedian and Club Random podcast host noted in the announcement, “I almost called this special You Won’t Feel Safe, because if you’re purely a team player in American politics, you won’t.”

Seemingly prescient after the results of the 2024 election, Maher added, “This one is for the 80% of Americans who want to see crazy called out no matter where it comes from. And the last twenty minutes on my sex life, that’s for everybody.”

Nina Rosenstein, HBO’s EVP of Late Night & Specials Programming, trumpeted, “Bill’s comedic commentary has been an extraordinary part of HBO for 12 specials and 22 seasons of Real Time with Bill Maher. We truly value his steadfast commitment to honesty and humor, which we know will be front and center in his next special.”

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Entertainment

Deadpool and Wolverine’s comic origins go up for auction for hurricane relief

Heritage Auctions

Heritage Auctions has put on the block some priceless works of comic art, with some benefiting the Red Cross Hurricane Relief Fund.

“Priceless” is of course not literal, seeing as bidding has already begun for original art for page 14 from The New Mutants No. 98 — otherwise known as the debut of Rob Liefeld‘s Wade Wilson/Deadpool — and bidding reached a quarter million bucks within minutes. 

The page that hit the block hasn’t been seen since it entered a private collection in the 1990s, “just as Deadpool was taking over the Marvel Universe like few characters in its storied history,” Heritage says. 

“Deadpool’s debut in New Mutants No. 98 was as much a cultural phenomenon as a page in comic book history,” says Heritage Auctions Executive Vice President Todd Hignite. “For fans and collectors, this is an unparalleled opportunity to own a piece of the origin story that would eventually define a generation of comic book storytelling.”

Also up for grabs is comics legend John Romita Sr.‘s original concept art for the character Wolverine from 1974. The bids for that piece are already soaring past $105,000. A portion of the proceeds will go to hurricane relief.  

Also hitting the block is original art from another Marvel icon, Steve Ditko: The Amazing Spider-Man #8 from 1964, as well as Frank Miller and Klaus Janson‘s original art from Batman: The Dark Knight Returns #2 Dark Knight Triumphant.

Many more pieces of comic book history are available as part of Heritage’s Comics & Comic Art Signature Auction, which officially runs from Nov. 21 to Nov. 24. Check out all the details here.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Entertainment

Springsteen biopic casts actors to play Bruce’s mom, producer and more

Jeremy Allen White as Springsteen in Mark Seliger/20th Century Studios

The cast of the Bruce Springsteen biopic Deliver Me From Nowhere has expanded.

The film, starring The Bear‘s Jeremy Allen White as The Boss, chronicles Springsteen’s creation of his 1982 stripped-down album, NebraskaVariety reports that actor Marc Maron has joined the cast as Chuck Plotkin, the producer who made the songs on the album sound high-quality enough to release. The originally quality of Springsteen’s recordings was dicey, since he’d originally recorded it solo on a cassette, and then damaged it by carrying it around in his pocket for weeks.

In addition, Variety reports that Gaby Hoffmann will play Bruce’s mom, Adele, who passed away earlier this year at age 98. David Krumholtz will portray Al Teller, the record executive who Bruce and his team worked with to release the album.

As previously reported, Jeremy Strong will play Springsteen’s longtime manager Jon Landau. There’s no release date for the film, which is currently in production. Springsteen was recently photographed visiting the New Jersey set and hugging White.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Health

CDC updates recommendations for bird flu testing, treatment after more infections found among dairy workers

STOCK PHOTO/Koto_feja/Getty Images

(WASHINGTON) — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is updating its recommendations for testing, treatment and protection for workers who may be exposed to animals infected with bird flu.

The update comes after the agency found evidence of dairy workers with positive antibodies, suggesting more bird flu infections that previously reported, according to a new report released Thursday afternoon.

Serologic testing, which looks at antibodies in the blood, found that eight out of 115 workers, or 7%, who were exposed to bird flu during outbreaks among cows at dairy farms in Michigan and Colorado had evidence of recent infection.

All eight workers said their jobs included either milking cows or cleaning a milking parlor. Four workers recalled experiencing symptoms, mainly conjunctivitis, also known as pink eye. The remaining four patients said they did not experience symptoms when the cows were ill.

As a result, the CDC said it is updating its guidance addressing who should be tested for bird flu to include workers who were exposed to bird flu and do not have symptoms.

“There may be individuals infected but who do not recall having symptoms,” Dr. Nirav Shah, the CDC’s principal deputy director, told reporters during a media call Thursday morning. “That means we need to cast a wider net in terms of who is offered a test.”

Secondly, the CDC is now recommending offering oseltamivir – a prescription medication to treat influenza that’s often marketed under the name Tamiflu – to asymptomatic workers who have experienced high-risk exposure to animals infected with bird flu and who did not wear adequate personal protective equipment (PPE).

Shah said a high-risk exposure event could include a splash in the face with raw cow milk, or a culling event without PPE being worn.

He added that the Tamiflu treatment recommendation both reduces asymptomatic cases from becoming symptomatic because they are being treated, and reduces the risk of infected individuals spreading the virus to close contacts.

Lastly, the Shah said the CDC was changing its PPE guidance for workers.

Although the risk of bird flu transmission from dairy cows to humans Is low, the CDC said there have been few reports addressing how PPE is used during work activities on dairy farms.

The new CDC report said the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) and the Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA) offered PPE to all Colorado farms before or during the bird flu outbreak in cows in 2024.

When asked if they had access to PPE before a bird flu outbreak, 88% of workers reported access to gloves, 76% reported access to eye protection such as safety glasses or goggles, 71% reported access to rubber boots or boot covers, and 69% reported access to head covers, according to the report.

“Reported use of many individual PPE items was higher among dairy workers who reported exposure to ill cows in the week before or week after the detection of [bird flu] on the farm compared with those who did not report exposure to ill cows,” according to the CDC report.

Shah said that CDC recommendations will now prioritize what PPE a farm worker should wear based on which farm tasks present the highest risk for bird flu.

“Simply put, the higher-risk activities will call for more PPE use,” Shah said. “The purpose of these actions is to keep workers safe, to limit the transmission of H5 [bird flu] to humans and reduce the possibility of the virus changing,” Shah said.

As of Thursday, there have been 46 human cases of bird flu reported in the U.S. this year, Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, the CDC’s director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said during the media call.

Of those cases, 26 were due to the outbreak in dairy cows and 20 were due to people coming into contact with infected poultry. There is one case in Missouri that had no known animal exposure.

All of the patients experienced mild conjunctivitis or mild respiratory symptoms and all have recovered, according to the CDC.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Entertainment

‘Alien: Romulus’ coming to Hulu on Nov. 21

20th Century Studios

The hit Alien: Romulus will be free to stream for Hulu subscribers on Nov. 21 and will also be available to stream via Hulu on Disney+ for bundle subscribers.

To that end, a chilling new trailer just debuted.

The movie from director Fede Alvarez stars Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Isabela Merced, Spike Fearn and Aileen Wu and “takes the phenomenally successful Alien franchise back to its iconic roots,” according to 20th Century Studios. 

The movie centers on a group of young space salvagers who “come face-to-face with the most relentless and deadly life form in the universe.”

Alien: Romulus was Certified Fresh on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes and has earned more than $315 million worldwide since its release on Aug. 16. 

20th Century Studios is a division of Disney, the parent company of ABC News. 

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

National

Trial of alleged Delphi murderer Richard Allen continues as he maintains his innocence

Lindsey Jacobson/ABC News, FILE

(DELPHI, Ind.) — The small town of Delphi, Indiana, is reeling with grief and shock after the horrific double murder of two teenage girls in broad daylight, forever changing the lives of those who knew and loved the victims.

Now, seven years later, one man is standing trial in the murders.

The story of the Delphi murders begins and ends on the Monon High Bridge Trail. It was here that police believe Abigail “Abby” Williams, 13, and Liberty “Libby” German, 14, spent the last moments of their lives.

On Feb. 13, 2017, the two best friends went missing and were found dead the following day. Tens of thousands of tips were received, dozens of people were interviewed, and a crucial piece of evidence emerged: a video recorded by one of the girls that pointed directly to a suspect.

“For a long time, the question was, ‘Who is Bridge Guy?'” ABC News’ Janel Klein said. “A lot of people in town thought they recognized him.”

The case went cold but five years after the murders, in 2022, police arrested Richard Allen, who worked at a local CVS store in Delphi. He was charged with two counts of murder and two counts of murder while kidnapping in the deaths of Abby and Libby.

Today, the question is whether Allen is the man on the bridge as he stands trial.

Allen has pleaded not guilty to the murders, but the prosecution claims they have more than 60 confessions from him admitting to killing the girls. He allegedly confessed to wardens, inmates, family members, and almost anyone who would listen within the prison and jailhouse setting.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like that before,” Tracy Walder, a former FBI special agent, said. “They typically confess one time, right? They don’t do so over and over and over.”

A key moment in the trial was when audio recordings of Allen calling his wife and mother from jail were played. The audio reveals Allen admitted to committing the crime, and asking his wife Kathy, “Do you still love me?”

Despite the alleged confessions, Allen’s defense has called a list of experts as they try to poke holes in the state’s case.

Allen’s defense has sought to focus the jury’s attention on Allen’s mental health, and addressed the issue of him declining after being held in solitary confinement for months.

“We heard from his psychologist who testified as to what a decline he had and some of the behaviors that he displayed in prison were alarming. He was naked a lot,” Klein said. “He was rolling around on the floor. He was eating paper. He was drinking from his toilet. All of these things, they say, were proof that he was really suffering mentally and entering psychosis, including at the time when he was admitting to these crimes and making numerous confessions to his wife and mother.”

Another key point for the defense is that investigators found no DNA evidence at the scene linking Allen or anyone else to the crime.

In an unusual memorandum filed with the court which the judge ruled cannot be allowed into court, Allen’s team is alleging that the double crime was committed by a mysterious group they refer to as a white supremacist cult of Odinism.

“The defense from the beginning has been blaming the murders on Odinism, what they describe as a Nordic cult with ties to white supremacy,” ABC’s Alex Perez said.

“They believe (the cult) were carrying out some sort of ritual when they killed the girls,” Perez said. “And the defense attorneys in their memorandum pointing to certain things at the crime scene that they believe they say were signs the way branches were laid around the bodies of the two girls.”

Allen’s team said in the filing that the girls’ bodies were found in unusual positions with branches over them, and the defense argued that the branches resembled Pagan Runes.

Jefferson Calico, an associate professor at University of the Cumberlands in Kentucky, studied Pagan religions, including Odinism, and explained what this means.

“So runes are widely incorporated into Odinist culture as well,” Calico said. “So if there were runes in the crime scene, then that would be a reason to suspect pagan or Odinist involvement for sure. For instance, the sticks over the body, possibly a rune mark on a tree. It’s not convincing to me as someone who studied these religions, but it provides an interpretation of some of the details of the crime scene.”

But Calico also said that Odinists were not known to engage in human sacrificial rituals and added that, as believers in white supremacy, it would make no sense to kill two Caucasian girls.

The Delphi murder trials are continuing, and 12 jurors will decide Allen’s fate. If convicted, he faces 130 years in prison.

“Even once they arrested Richard Allen, there’s been so much doubt across the board as to whether he’s responsible,” Klein said. “There are many people attending the trial and weighing in on social media that will say there is no way he did this. Whether he’s convicted or not, I think there will always be that speculation in Delphi as to who really is responsible for this crime.”

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

National

43 primates on the loose in South Carolina town after escaping from research lab

Yemassee Police Department via Meta

(YEMASSEE, S.C.) — At least 43 primates were on the loose Thursday in a South Carolina town where authorities “strongly advised” residents to keep their doors and windows locked after the animals escaped from a research laboratory.

“At this point, none have been captured,” the Yemassee Police Department said in a statement posted on its Facebook page.

Traps were being set around the Alpha Genesis Primate Research Center in Yemassee, where the Rhesus Macaque monkeys escaped en masse around 9:45 p.m. ET on Wednesday, according to the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.

Yemassee police officers were searching for the furry fugitives, which can grow to up to 21 inches tall and weigh 17 pounds, using thermal imaging cameras, according to the sheriff’s office.

“Residents are strongly advised to keep doors and windows secured to prevent these animals from entering homes,” the sheriff’s office said. “If you spot any of the escaped animals, please contact 911 immediately and refrain from approaching them.”

Police said they are working with staff of Alpha Genesis Primate Research Center to find the escapees.

“We want to assure the community that there is no health risk associated with these animals,” police said.

Representatives of the Alpha Genesis Primate Research Center could not be immediately contacted for comment.

According to its website, Alpha Genesis “provides the highest quality nonhuman primate products and bio-research services world-wide,” including serum, plasma, whole blood and tissue samples.

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