(CARISBAD, Calif.) — A judge granted a gun violence protective order against a Carlsbad, California, man who authorities allege was communicating with the Abundant Life Christian School shooting suspect.
Carlsbad police filed the application for a gun violence emergency protective order against Alexander Charles Paffendorf in San Diego County Superior Court on Tuesday. FBI agents “stopped and detained” him after they allege “he was discovered plotting a mass shooting” with Natalie “Samantha” Rupnow, the suspected school shooter in Madison, Wisconsin, according to court records obtained by ABC News.
Paffendorf allegedly admitted to authorities “that he told Rupnow that he would arm himself with explosives and a gun and that he would target a government building,” a Carlsbad police officer wrote on the protective order application form.
FBI agents saw messages from Paffendorf to Rupnow, the officer stated. Paffendorf has not been charged with a crime.
Rupnow, 15, allegedly opened fire with a handgun at Abundant Life Christian School on Monday morning, killing a fellow student and teacher. Six others were injured.
She died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities said.
The restraining order requires Paffendorf to surrender all guns, ammunition and magazines to law enforcement or “sell them to or store them with a licensed firearms dealer” within 48 hours of receipt of the order.
The Carlsbad Police Department said in a statement Thursday, “Carlsbad is not the lead agency on this investigation, but we are in communication with our federal partners, and we do not believe there to be a threat to our city. Because this is an ongoing investigation being handled by another agency, there are no other details to share at the moment.”
The FBI said Thursday it is “not aware of any ongoing threats associated with this matter in Wisconsin or California.”
The agency added, “The Madison Police Department is leading the ongoing investigation into the school shooting in Wisconsin with the assistance of the Milwaukee and San Diego field offices of the FBI, the Carlsbad, California Police Department, and other law enforcement partners. As this is an ongoing investigation, we do not have any further comment.”
A hearing for Paffendorf is scheduled for Jan. 3. Attorney information for the California man was not immediately available.
A judge has denied a motion to dismiss charges in the Uvalde, Texas, criminal case stemming from the 2022 mass shooting and has set a tentative trial date.
Former Uvalde school district police chief Pete Arredondo, who was the on-site commander at Robb Elementary School on the day of the shooting, and former school officer Adrian Gonzales appeared in court for a joint pretrial hearing on Thursday.
Arredondo faces 10 counts of child endangerment and abandonment on behalf of the injured and surviving children in classroom 112. Gonzales faces 29 counts: 10 counts for each surviving child and 19 for each deceased child. Arredondo and Gonzales have both pleaded not guilty.
Their charges stem from the May 24, 2022, mass shooting during which a gunman killed two teachers and 19 students at the elementary school. Law enforcement waited some 77 minutes at the scene before breaching a classroom and killing the gunman.
The judge on Thursday denied the motion to quash Arredondo’s indictment. The judge also set a tentative trial start date for October 2025.
Arredondo had filed a motion asking the court to declare his child endangerment indictment invalid, arguing the gunman was solely responsible for the shooting.
Arredondo has repeatedly defended his actions and told investigators he did not believe the gunman was an active shooter when he arrived. He also has insisted he was not in command of the police response.
The indictment alleges that despite having time to respond to the shooting, Gonzales failed to act to impede the gunman and failed to follow active shooter training by not advancing toward the gunfire.
Gonzales’ defense attorney, Nico LaHood, has said, “There was over 370 officers there. We have not seen or even heard of a theory of why Mr. Gonzales is being singled out.”
Families of victims and survivors who were in the courtroom Thursday said they were relieved the case is moving forward.
“It was hard being inside the courtroom while Pete was with his attorneys as we listened to their arguments about why he felt he wasn’t responsible for Jackie’s death,” said Gloria Cazares, whose 9-year-old daughter, Jackie, was killed. “After two and half years, it finally feels like things are progressing.”
During the hearing, attorneys discussed their frustration with their inability to receive an unredacted copy of a U.S. Customs and Border Protection report about the agency’s response to the Robb Elementary shooting.
To date, Arredondo and Gonzales are the only indicted law enforcement officers of the 376 officers who were among the police response to the shooting.
Photo by Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — Ingrid Lewis-Martin, the former chief adviser to New York City Mayor Eric Adams, surrendered Thursday morning at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office on bribery and money laundering charges.
Lewis-Martin reported to the courthouse in lower Manhattan early Thursday with her son, Glenn Martin II, who faces the same charges.
Two real estate investors, Raizada Vaid and Mayank Dwivedi, also face bribery charges in the case.
The group is accused of engaging in a $100,000 bribery scheme while Lewis-Martin was in office, according to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
Lewis-Martin resigned from her position on Sunday.
Vaid and Dwivedi are accused of paying Glenn Martin II $100,000 months after Lewis-Martin allegedly performed favors for the two men, including helping them with issues relating to construction permits and a family member’s visa, according to the indictment.
Glenn Martin II allegedly used the money to buy a Porsche, prosecutors said.
“When City officials monetize their office for personal gain, they undermine fundamental principles of integrity in government, diminish trust in public officials, and unfairly tarnish the reputations of the countless City employees who use their office solely to serve the public good,” New York City Department of Investigation Commissioner Jocelyn E. Strauber said in a press release after charges against Lewis-Martin were announced.
The case is separate from federal charges against Adams, sources told ABC News. Adams, who has denied any wrongdoing, is facing corruption charges over allegedly accepting years of luxury travel gifts in exchange for, among other things, persuading the fire department to approve the opening of the new Turkish consulate in Manhattan despite the lingering safety concerns of inspectors.
Lewis-Martin’s attorney, Arthur Aidala, said Monday that he expected her to be indicted in connection to allegedly improper gifts, according to WABC.
“Pieces of puzzles are going to be put together to make it look as horrible as possible,” Aidala, sitting alongside Lewis-Martin, told reporters Monday. “But we know the truth, and the truth is Ingrid Lewis-Martin never broke the law.”
“I am being falsely accused of something,” Lewis-Martin told reporters Monday. “I don’t know exactly what it is, but I know that I was told that it is something that is illegal, and I have never done anything that is illegal in my capacity in government.”
Lewis-Martin had her cellphone seized in September when she returned from a trip to Japan and also had her home in Brooklyn searched.
Lewis-Martin has long been one of Adams’ top confidantes as he climbed the political ladder. She served as a senior adviser to Adams for five years when he was a state senator and then as his chief of staff for another seven years. She also served as deputy Brooklyn borough president while Adams was the borough president. He announced Lewis-Martin would become his chief adviser in January 2022.
Sony Animation and Netflix are teaming up for a Ghostbusters animated film, Deadline reports. While plot details are under wraps and the project is currently in early development, Kris Pearn is attached to direct the movie.
This new movie will be part of the preexisting Ghostbusters universe, adding to the world last seen in the live-action movie Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, which was released in March 2024.
Sony Pictures Animation and Netflix are also working on a separate, brand-new animated series, in partnership with Ghost Corps. The project, which is currently in development, will also be based on Ghostbusters.
Pearn has helmed films for both Sony Animation and Netflix before, including the Sony sequel Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 and Netflix’s The Willoughbys.
(NEW YORK) — The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has reached a settlement with Amazon over allegations of hazardous workplace conditions, ABC News first reported Thursday. The settlement requires that Amazon adopt “corporate-wide ergonomic measures” to reduce the risk of injuries to workers.
The 10 facilities cited in the settlement, located in New York, Florida, Idaho, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Illinois and New Jersey, all had a high number of complaints of workplace injury. Amazon will have to pay a $145,000 penalty, adopt workplace safety measures and allow OSHA access to inspect those facilities for the next two years, according to the terms of the settlement.
Though the settlement only mandates oversight on those 10 facilities, all Amazon facilities will be required to adopt new safety measures and provide procedures for their employees to voice their concerns about workplace conditions.
A Department of Labor official said the settlement is the “largest of its kind” and “will resolve all outstanding ergonomic litigation” by the agency against Amazon. The official noted, however, that the settlement will not affect the investigation into the company by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York over allegations Amazon conspired to conceal injuries and risks to workers at its warehouses. Amazon has denied those allegations.
“Today’s agreement acknowledges our progress and notes that we should keep implementing and following our existing comprehensive ergonomics policies and procedures,” Amazon said in a statement following the announcement of the settlement. “There isn’t a claim of wrong-doing on Amazon’s part for the withdrawn citations, nor a directive to adopt new safety controls. We appreciate OSHA’s willingness to consider all the facts and reach today’s agreement with us, and we look forward to continuing to work with them going forward.”
ABC News reached out to Amazon for additional comment.
This settlement comes as Amazon workers have gone on strike at facilities across the country, citing low pay, lack of benefits and poor conditions.
(WASHINGTON) — GOP House leaders and Vice-President-elect JD Vance continue to meet behind closed doors in Speaker Mike Johnson’s office Thursday to craft a path forward and reach a budget deal — hoping to both appease President-elect Donald Trump’s evolving demands as well as rank and file members on the right who are traditionally against any spending deal or debt limit increase.
Across the aisle, Democrats maintain the best path forward is the defunct deal they struck with House Republicans that Trump and Elon Musk demolished on Wednesday.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries expressed disbelief that the bipartisan agreement had fallen apart — emphasizing that Republicans will own the consequences, including the impact of a potential government shutdown.
“This reckless Republican-driven shutdown can be avoided if House Republicans will simply do what is right for the American people and stick with the bipartisan agreement that they themselves negotiated,” Jeffries said at a news conference Thursday.
That deal called for extending government spending at current levels until March and added other provisions like relief for disaster victims and farmers and a pay raise for members of Congress.
Things changed Wednesday after Musk began a pressure campaign on X with multiple posts opposing the deal. Later that day Trump and Vance posted a statement calling on Congress to “pass a streamlined spending bill,” with the president-elect echoing Musk’s threats of primarying any GOP member who didn’t comply.
Trump told ABC News’ Jonathan Karl Thursday morning that there will be a government shutdown unless Congress eliminates the debt ceiling or extends the limit on government borrowing before he takes office.
“We’re not going to fall into the debt ceiling quicksand,” he said. “There won’t be anything approved unless the debt ceiling is done with.”
Under current law, the federal government would hit its borrowing limit sometime in the spring of 2025, during the first months of the second Trump presidency. Trump, however, said he wants it taken care of now, while Joe Biden is president.
“Shutdowns only inure to the person who’s president,” Trump said.
With several alternative plans to avert a shutdown under Republican consideration, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise told members to expect votes related to government funding Thursday, but the timing of any action was unclear as discussions continue.
Some Senate Republicans, including John Kennedy and Mike Rounds, expressed displeasure with Johnson’s bill and praised Trump for stepping in.
But Sen. Thom Tillis, whose home state was devastated by Hurricane Helene, said he’d do everything in his power to slow down the passage of any government funding bill that doesn’t include disaster relief.
Congress faces a deadline of Friday night, when the current government funding extension expires, to pass a new one or non-essential agencies would shut down.
House Republicans of every stripe were seen rotating in and out of the speaker’s office on Thursday — including House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole, Majority Whip Tom Emmer, Texas Rep. Chip Roy and Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris of Maryland.
Jeffries told reporters that raising the debt limit as part of the government funding bill is “premature at best.”
“We are going to continue to maintain an open line of communication to see if we can resolve this issue on terms that are favorable to the everyday Americans,” Jeffries said when asked if he was speaking to Johnson.
Behind closed doors during a caucus huddle Thursday morning, Jeffries delivered the same message to Democrats: Republicans backed out of a bipartisan deal and now have to figure out a way to get out.
“This kind of chaos and dysfunction has real-world impacts on hard-working people,” Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Fla., said.
Rep. Bill Keating, D-Mass., told ABC News that Jeffries quoted President John F. Kennedy to the caucus: “Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate.”
“He said, look, we kept all our doors open during this negotiation. We made concessions. Most of us weren’t happy with the outcome of this, but you have to do your basic job. He’s saying that will continue. We’re open to everything, but we’re not open to the kind of bullying tactics that Elon Musk is doing,” Keating said.
Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., quipped, “We had a deal. We negotiated a deal, and then Musk decided to change the deal. Do I call him ‘President Musk?'”
Texas Rep. Greg Casar, the new chair of the progressive caucus was also critical of Musk.
“If Elon Musk is kind of cosplaying co-president here, I don’t know why Trump doesn’t just hand him the Oval Office, or Speaker Johnson should maybe just hand Elon Musk the gavel if they just want that billionaire to run the country,” Casar said.
While many Democrats support eliminating the debt limit in principle, members left their closed-door meeting opposed to striking it now as part of a spending deal, stressing it should be a separate matter.
ABC News’ Emily Chang and Ivan Pereira contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — President-elect Donald Trump, after rejecting House Speaker Mike Johnson’s plan to avoid a government shutdown, worked the phones on Thursday, showing wavering confidence in Johnson and claiming he is aligned with billionaire Elon Musk, who first posted multiple calls to kill the GOP-brokered spending deal.
“If the speaker acts decisively, and tough, and gets rid of all of the traps being set by the Democrats, which will economically and, in other ways, destroy our country, he will easily remain speaker,” Trump told Fox News Digital.
In an separate interview, Trump suggested that Johnson’s proposed continuing resolution — which would keep spending going at current levels — was “unacceptable.”
“We’ll see. What they had yesterday was unacceptable,” Trump told NBC News. “In many ways it was unacceptable. It’s a Democrat trap.”
Trump also indicated that he had discussed his views on the bill with social media giant Musk and granted the billionaire permission to trash the government spending bill on his social media platform.
“I told him that if he agrees with me, that he could put out a statement,” Trump said.
Musk then conducted an all-out pressure campaign flooding his platform with dozens of posts threatening members of Congress to block Johnson’s government funding bill.
“Any member of the House or Senate who votes for this outrageous spending bill deserves to be voted out in 2 years!” Musk wrote.
Musk also called on his more than 200 million followers to call their representatives and urge them to block the bill. “Please call your elected representatives right away to tell them how you feel! They are trying to get this passed today while no one is paying attention.”
Trump’s own statement opposing the measure came hours after Musk put his thoughts on his social media platform.
Trump, too, argued against the bill and threatened to primary Republicans who vote to pass it.
“If Republicans try to pass a clean Continuing Resolution without all of the Democrat “bells and whistles” that will be so destructive to our Country, all it will do, after January 20th, is bring the mess of the Debt Limit into the Trump Administration,” Trump said in a post on Wednesday.
“Any Republican that would be so stupid as to do this should, and will, be Primaried. Everything should be done, and fully negotiated, prior to my taking Office on January 20th, 2025.”
The next morning, Trump shared a similar sentiment with Fox News Digital, saying, “Anybody that supports a bill that doesn’t take care of the Democrat quicksand known as the debt ceiling should be primaried and disposed of as quickly as possible.”
ABC News’ Soorin Kim and Will Steakin contributed to this report.
Tom Holland and Zendaya have made three films together, and they recently signed on for a fourth one.
Holland, who is in a relationship with Zendaya, opened up about the benefits of having his romantic partner with him on movie sets on a recent episode of the Dish podcast.
“Oh God, yeah. It’s a saving grace. Best thing that’s ever happened to me,” Holland said.
“Studios love it — one hotel room!” Holland joked when podcast host Nick Grimshaw mentioned Zendaya has talked about how she likes keeping on the same schedule as Holland. “Separate drivers,” Holland said. “We’re not crazy. It’s work, alright?”
Holland also discussed how he and Zendaya have navigated their fame during their relationship.
“It’s about being a little bit more organized, knowing where you want to go and there are restaurants that have little back rooms and stuff where you can have a more private night,” Holland said. “But at the end of the day, it’s no hardship. When people are recognizing you because they enjoy your work, it’s a pretty wonderful thing.”
The couple’s fourth film together will be Christopher Nolan‘s upcoming, untitled project. It will also star Anne Hathaway, Matt Damon, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron and Lupita Nyong’o.
“To be perfectly honest with you, I don’t know anything about it,” Holland said. “I’m super excited. Everything is very, very hush-hush. I met with [Nolan], it was awesome. He kind of loosely pitched what it was and I’m sure when he’s ready he’ll announce what it is.”
(NEW YORK) — Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, is charged in a four-count federal criminal complaint with stalking, murder through the use of a firearm and a firearms offense involving a silencer.
He waived extradition on Thursday morning and was transported via plane and helicopter from Pennsylvania to New York.
Mangione is expected to make his initial appearance in federal court in lower Manhattan Thursday afternoon.
A special edition of “20/20” airing Dec. 19 at 10 p.m. ET on ABC looks at the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson and the manhunt that led to the arrest of Luigi Mangione, who went from the Ivy League to alleged killer.
Mangione agreed to be extradited during an appearance in court in Blair County, Pennsylvania, on Thursday morning.
Mangione stood as the judge read him his rights. The Ivy League graduate answered “yes” when asked if he understood and answered “yes” when asked if he wanted to waive extradition.
NYPD officers sat in the front of the courtroom and took custody of Mangione after his appearance.
Spectators gathered outside the courthouse as Mangione was taken inside.
One person held a sign reading “Deny, Defend, Depose,” echoing the words written on shell casings and a bullet at the murder scene.
Adam Giesseman, who had a sign that said “Free Luigi” and “Murder for Profit is Terrorism,” told ABC News, “Our country is broken.”
Another waiting spectator, who only gave her first name, Natalie, voiced frustration that the insurance system is “set up for profit over people’s health.”
“It’s unfortunate that this happened, and I’m not glorifying it in any way — but it’s brought attention to the issue that affects all Americans,” she said.
The federal charges could make Mangione eligible for the death penalty. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole if convicted of the state charges.
Mangione’s New York lawyer, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, said in a statement, “The federal government’s reported decision to pile on top of an already overcharged first-degree murder and state terror case is highly unusual and raises serious constitutional and statutory double jeopardy concerns.”
“We are ready to fight these charges in whatever court they are brought,” Agnifilo added.
Danielle Filson, a spokesperson for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, said, “The state case will proceed in parallel with any federal case.”
Mangione, 26, is accused of gunning down Thompson outside a Hilton hotel on Dec. 4 as the UnitedHealthcare CEO headed to an investors conference. Prosecutors alleged Mangione waited nearly an hour for Thompson to arrive.
A Manhattan grand jury upgraded charges against Mangione to include first-degree murder in furtherance of terrorism, prosecutors announced Tuesday.
The killing in the heart of Midtown Manhattan was “intended to evoke terror,” Bragg said.
In New York, Mangione is also charged with two counts of second-degree murder, one of which is charged as killing as an act of terrorism; two counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree; four counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree; one count of criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree; and one count of criminal possession of a forged instrument in the second degree.
In Pennsylvania, where Mangione was arrested on Dec. 9 after nearly a week on the run, he faces charges including allegedly possessing an untraceable ghost gun. Mangione had a 9 mm handgun with a 3D-printed receiver, a homemade silencer, two ammunition magazines and live cartridges when apprehended, prosecutors said.
Mangione’s case in Pennsylvania will be kept active; at the conclusion of his trial in New York, prosecutors would determine how to proceed, Blair County District Attorney Peter Weeks said on Thursday.
Mangione’s next hearing in Pennsylvania is scheduled for Feb. 24. This hearing may get postponed or be conducted as a remote Zoom appearance given the impracticality of returning Mangione to Pennsylvania for an in-person hearing, Weeks said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(WASHINGTON) — If Congress fails to pass the continuing resolution to fund the government by Saturday, millions of federal workers could head into the holidays without paychecks. They could be furloughed or be asked to work without pay.
That includes some members of the military, and other critical government workers, such as TSA agents and air traffic controllers, just as the holiday travel craze begins.
Some contractors with the federal government are not guaranteed back pay, like federal employees, which could have devastating consequences for workers living paycheck-to-paycheck.
Despite the efforts to avert the shutdown, plans are still being made in case a deal is not made before Saturday’s deadline. The White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has already been in touch with agencies about their plans in case of a government shutdown, an OMB official told ABC News. The official said the initial communication with agencies about their shutdown plans happened last Friday.
That communication is part of OMB’s procedure, which is required by law, stating that one week prior to appropriations bills expiring, the office must “communicate with agency senior officials to remind agencies of their responsibilities to review and update orderly shutdown plans” and “share a draft communication template to notify employees of the status of appropriations.”
The procedure also states that the White House office must continue communicating with agencies ahead of any anticipated shutdown. The policy states that about two business days before the expected lapse in funding, “agencies should notify employees of the status of funding.”
Lawmakers in Congress continue to negotiate a deal that would keep the government funded. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise told ABC News on Wednesday that lawmakers had a “productive” late-night meeting in the House Speaker Mike Johnson’s office.
“We are going to continue to work through the night to the morning to get an agreement we can bring to the floor,” Scalise said, adding that he hoped the House could “get it resolved” on Thursday.
Johnson’s original plan called for extending government spending at current levels until March and added other provisions like relief for disaster victims and farmers and a pay raise for members of Congress. That plan is in jeopardy as President-elect Donald Trump and Elon Musk have pushed for Republicans not to accept that deal.
Trump has pushed Republicans to deal with the debt limit before he takes office, saying if they don’t, “he’ll have to ‘fight ’til the end’ with Democrats.”
In a joint statement Wednesday afternoon, Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance called on Congress to “pass a streamlined spending bill that doesn’t give [Senate Majority Leader] Chuck Schumer and the Democrats everything they want.”
ABC News’ Rachel Scott, Sarah Kolinovsky and Lauren Peller contributed to this report.
