Category: National

(WASHINGTON) — Federal and local law enforcement and officials in Washington, D.C., are ramping up preparations to ensure a safe and peaceful transfer of power on Jan. 6, 2025, and on Inauguration Day.

In September, the Department of Homeland Security designated Jan. 6 a National Special Security Event (NSSE) and approved D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s request for additional federal resources.

The District is anticipating that there will be no declared winner on election night and, “We could enter a period where we have pervasive misinformation and disinformation about the outcome of the election,” D.C. Assistant City Administrator Chris Rodrigez warned on Tuesday.

“For a period, perhaps days or weeks, where the country, and in many respects the world, will be sitting and waiting for the declared winner,” he added.

Although there are no specific threats to the city, officials are planning ahead for any and all threats, including continued pervasive misinformation and disinformation about everything ranging from COVID to political polarization and violence. They noted that social media will be the “epicenter” of false information.

Preparation for Inauguration Day began in the aftermath of the deadly Jan. 6. insurrection. Five people died during or after the attack, including four protesters and one police officer. Approximately 140 police officers were injured during the attack, according to the Department of Justice.

Bowser told ABC News that one of the biggest lessons D.C. learned was to have “better coordination among the federal branches, and that is what the National Special Security Event status provides.”

D.C. Police Chief Pam Smith told reporters on Tuesday that close to 4,000 additional law enforcement officers will be deployed to D.C. between Jan. 6 and Inauguration Day.

In addition to law enforcement, the mayor is considering an advance request to the Department of Defense for National Guard support. Normally, a state’s governor would call out the Guard, but because D.C. is not a state, it must go through DOD. However, the Capitol Police can now call up the National Guard for support without needing the Capitol Police Board’s pre-approval.

“We have also implemented changes that will hopefully ensure that we will not need to call the National Guard unless it is a last-case scenario,” Capitol Police told ABC News.

Like D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department, U.S. Capitol Police have focused on expansion in the four years since Jan. 6. Capitol Police told ABC News that it has strengthened partnerships and coordination with local and state officials.

Capitol Police had a wave of resignations and retirements after Jan. 6, but over the past four years has hired several hundred people and now has 2,100 officers on staff. The agency also added 140 civilians to serve in various roles such as intelligence specialists, operational planners, and emergency management specialists, as well as a new Rapid Response Team.

A source familiar with security planning told ABC News to expect a security footprint similar to that of the State of the Union or the recent NATO Summit in Washington in July.

However, officials are prepared for any and all threats, noting it is a “fluid, unpredictable security environment,” which includes extremist groups and the potential for civil unrest.

“If you see something, say something” noting that the pipe bombs found at the Republican National Committee and the Democratic National Committee headquarters were placed the night before the insurrection “most likely to distract law enforcement,” Rodrigez urged residents.

Bowser told the council to anticipate robust fencing around the Capitol from Jan. 6 until Jan. 21.

She also noted that if Vice President Kamala Harris wins the presidential election, the city’s challenges will differ from a win by former President Donald Trump.

The mayor said in the event of a Harris win, “The issue is probably a million people will be here who are celebrating and who are in good spirits, and that also presents its challenges to make sure everybody can do it safely.”

“I think that the United States Capitol Police are prepared to ensure a peaceful transfer of power at the Capitol, regardless of the victor,” she added, noting that her team has experience handling large-scale historic inaugurations, including former President Barack Obama’s election.

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(LOS ANGELES) — After it was announced last week that Erik and Lyle Menendez might have their case reevaluated, based on the emergence of new evidence, the Los Angeles district attorney on Tuesday clarified that the decision would likely come by the end of the week.

In an unrelated news conference on Tuesday evening, LA District Attorney George Gascon answered a prompt for an update on the brothers’ potential resentencing by saying, “As I said 10 days ago, I would make a decision within 10 days or so. I plan to make the decision by the end of this week.”

He concluded by saying, with some finality: “Yes, the end of this week.”

The Menendez brothers have served more than 30 years in prison for gunning down their parents, José and Kitty Menendez, in their Beverly Hills mansion in 1989.

The brothers were sentenced to life in prison at their second trial after the first was declared a mistrial.

They have never denied committing the crime; it is the motivation for the crime that has divided opinions over the decades.

Erik was 18 and Lyle was 21 at the time of the murders. At their first trial, their attorney argued that they killed their parents in self-defense.

She argued that the brothers feared their parents would kill them if they disclosed the years of alleged molestation they had suffered at their father’s hands.

The newest legal filing expands upon the abuse that the brothers allegedly endured from José Menedez.

New evidence includes a letter that Erik wrote to his cousin prior to the murders, detailing what his father was doing to him, according to the brothers’ attorneys.

Another potential victim has also come forward: Roy Rosselló, a former member of the Puerto Rican boy band Menudo, who has alleged that he was abused by José Menendez when he was 14.

Additionally, the passage of time has helped to cast their motive in a new light. A growing base of supporters argue that the Menendez brothers are victims themselves, and the crimes they committed out of a traumatic response should be reconsidered with a 21st-century lens on the psychology of male sexual assault.

Currently, the next court date for the Menendez brothers is scheduled for Nov. 26, 2024.

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(HOUSTON, TX) — A couple has been arrested and charged for attempting to kidnap and kill a man the wife was having an affair with in Texas.

The victim, who told an ABC News’ Houston affiliate he would not like to be named due to fears over his safety, was shot twice and is now recovering.

Hana Ahmad Alolaimi, 35, and Omar Mahmoud Bishtawi, 48, were charged with aggravated assault and aggravated attempted kidnapping on Sunday, according to court records.

Alolaimi and the victim, who were both married to other people, were in a relationship. When the victim’s wife found out about the relationship he broke it off, according to court documents.

Alolaimi and Bishtawi then conspired to kidnap and kill the victim, according to court documents.

When the victim went into a Chick-fil-A, Alolaimi allegedly parked her vehicle next to his. When the victim came out, she gestured for him to come over, according to court documents.

Once he was in the car, Alolaimi tried to drive off with the victim, although he had told her he could not leave with her. Bishtawi then jumped out from under a curtain in the back seat of the car and put the victim in a chokehold, pressing a firearm against his head, according to court documents.

When the victim tried to get away Bishtawi shot him twice, including once in the thigh, according to court documents. The victim could have died from the thigh wound if he was not transported to the hospital in time, according to court documents.

Alolaimi and Bishtawi provided investigators with conflicting statements and investigators believe there are concerns for the future safety of the victim, according to court documents.

The victim said he ended the relationship three months ago because it turned toxic. But, Alolaimi wouldn’t leave him alone, even showing up at his new apartment, he told KHOU in an interview.

The victim said after he was kidnapped, Bishtawi told him he had to die because he’d dishonored his wife.

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(HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA, CANADA) — Police in Canada said Tuesday they are investigating after a 19-year-old Walmart employee was found dead inside a store’s walk-in bakery oven.

Officers responded to the Walmart — located in Halifax, Nova Scotia — on Saturday night after the employee was found dead, police said.

“The woman, who was an employee of the store, was located in a large walk-in oven belonging to the store’s bakery department,” Halifax Regional Police said in an update on Tuesday.

Investigators are working with Occupational Health and Safety and the Nova Scotia Medical Examiner Service, police said.

The cause and manner of death have not yet been determined as of Tuesday, police said, calling the investigation “complex.”

“An investigation of this nature may take a significant amount of time,” police said.

The Walmart store is temporarily closed amid the investigation, according to ABC News partner CTV News.

“We are heartbroken and our deepest thoughts are with our associate and their family,” Walmart spokesperson Amanda Moss said in a statement to CTV News. “We extend our sincerest condolences to those who were closest to them.”

Walmart is offering employees on-site support, including grief counseling, as well as access to virtual care, Moss said.

The Nova Scotia Department of Labour, Skills and Immigration said a stop work order was issued Tuesday for the bakery and a piece of equipment at the Walmart store.

“As this is an active investigation, we cannot release further details at this time,” the department said in a statement, adding workplace investigations “are complex and can take time.”
 

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(NEW YORK) — Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani has seven days to turn over luxury items and shares of his New York City co-op apartment to cover much of what he owes to two Georgia poll workers he defamed in 2020, a federal judge in New York ruled Tuesday.

Giuliani must transfer all personal property “including cash accounts, jewelry and valuables, a legal claim for unpaid attorneys’ fees, and his interest in his Madison Avenue co-op apartment” to former election workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss.

The one exception may be World Series rings that Giuliani’s son, Andrew, claims he rightfully owns after his father gave them to him as a gift.

Freeman and Moss last year won a $148 million judgment after a judge found Giuliani guilty of defaming them when he falsely accused the mother and daughter of committing election fraud while they were counting ballots in Georgia’s Fulton County on Election Day in 2020.

In his ruling Tuesday, Judge Lewis Liman wrote, “The Court finds no good cause to impose additional limits on the time or manner of the liquidation or prosecution of any other item or interest on the list. The only asset that Defendant seeks to protect from sale that comes close to being exempt under Article 52 is Defendant’s grandfather’s watch. The watch may be distinctive to Defendant as an item of sentimental value, but it is not distinctive to the law.”

An attorney for Freeman and Moss said the judge’s ruling will allow their clients to “finally begin to receive some of the compensation to which they are entitled for Giuliani’s actions.”

“This outcome should send a powerful message that there is a price to pay for those who choose to intentionally spread disinformation,” said Aaron Nathan, an attorney for the two women.

Giuliani must turn over watches marketed or manufactured by Bulova, Shinola, Tiffany & Co, Seiko, Frank Muller, Graham, Corium, Rolex, IWC, Invicta, Breitling, Raymond Weil, and Baume & Mercer; a Reggie Jackson picture; a signed Yankee Stadium picture; a signed Joe DiMaggio shirt and other sports memorabilia; a diamond ring and costume jewelry; and a television and other items of furniture.

He must also turn over all rights and interests in fees owed for services rendered in 2020 and 2021 to former President Trump’s presidential campaign.

Everything is to go into a receivership controlled by Freeman and Moss to satisfy the $148 million defamation judgment.

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(NEW YORK) — Federal prosecutors on Tuesday announced criminal charges against an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps general in connection with an alleged failed attempt to assassinate a New York-based Iranian journalist.

Ruhollah Bazghandi, who is based in Iran and beyond the reach of law enforcement, allegedly orchestrated the alleged 2022 plot to kill the journalist, prosecutors said.

The charges name Bazghandi and six other Iranian operatives who federal prosecutors said plotted to kill Masih Alinejad, a prolific journalist and human rights activist who has been critical of the Iranian government.

Since at least July 2022, the Bazghandi network sought to assassinate Alinejad, as directed by individuals in Iran, according to the indictment.

The indictment details how the network of operatives surveilled Alinejad and quotes them talking about her in July 2022.

“I’m close to the place now brother I’m getting even closer,” the indictment quotes one operative as saying.

In response, another said, according to the indictment, “OK my brother dear don’t let her out of your sight. Let’s not delay it my brother dear.”

The operative — Khalid Mehdiyev — was disrupted when he was arrested near the victim’s home on July 28, 2022, while in possession of the assault rifle, along with 66 rounds of ammunition, approximately $1,100 in cash, and a black ski mask, according to the indictment.

Alinejad reacted to the federal charges in a statement on social media Tuesday, saying, “I will not be deterred.”

“Thanks to law enforcement, I am alive to witness the Islamic Republic’s humiliation,” she said. “I am determined to echo the voices of millions of Iranians, especially women, who are facing the same killers within the country.”

She said the alleged assassination plot is a “stark reminder of the brutal lengths to which the Islamic regime will go to silence dissidents, even those far beyond Iran’s borders.”

Alinejad said she has moved 21 times between safe houses in the past three years, following an alleged Iranian plot to lure and kidnap her in 2021.

The FBI released a wanted poster for Bazghandi, who is being sought on charges including murder-for-hire and conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire.

“Today’s indictment exposes the full extent of Iran’s plot to silence an American journalist for criticizing the Iranian regime,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a statement on Tuesday. “The FBI’s investigation led to the disruption of this plot as one of the conspirators was allegedly on their way to murder the victim in New York. As these charges show, the FBI will work with our partners here and abroad to hold accountable those who target Americans.”

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(ORLANDO, Fla.) — The parents of a newborn who died months after birth are suing a Florida hospital, alleging a worker broke the baby’s neck, ultimately killing her, according to the lawsuit.

The infant, Jahxy Peets, was born prematurely at 24 weeks in June 2022 at the Orlando Health Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies, according to the family’s lawsuit. Immediately following her birth, she was admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit and intubated.

About two weeks later, the baby was found to have a broken neck, according to the lawsuit. The spinal cord injury led to her being paralyzed and unable to breathe on her own, the lawsuit alleges. She died of her injuries in November 2022.

The lawsuit alleges a hospital worker broke Jahxy’s neck, injuring her spinal cord, “and then put her back in the incubator without notifying anyone.”

“This type of spinal cord injury could not occur without the use of excessive force when handling a newborn,” the lawsuit states. “There is no note in the medical record documenting the excessive-force event which caused this traumatic injury, and no indication in the medical record that an investigation was performed to identify and bring to justice the individual who caused this devastating injury.”

The injury “was either not recognized or was not reported,” making it appear “that an attempt to cover up the cause of Jahxy’s injury was made,” the lawsuit alleges. Her parents, Gianna Lopera and Jamiah Peets, said they were not informed of the event.

Lopera said at a press conference Monday they “deserve answers” about what happened to Jahxy.

“Every parent whose baby is born at Winnie Palmer deserves to know what happened to Jahxy,” Lopera said. “By covering it up, they are leaving room for it to happen again.”

Lopera spoke through tears about what the loss of her daughter has meant to her and her family.

“I never got a chance to hear my daughter cry. She never got a chance to meet her siblings or her family. We never celebrated a single milestone. We only held her four times in her entire life,” she said.

In a statement to ABC News, a spokesperson for the hospital said they “will not address specific medical cases publicly but will share that the delivery of care to extremely premature babies is complex and emotional work for parents, doctors, and nurses.”

“We offer our deepest sympathies to this family, and to any family who suffers the loss of a child, but also believe those who provide care in this environment should be judged on facts, not speculation. We look forward to discussing the facts of this case in the appropriate forum,” the spokesperson said.

The parents are asking for a jury trial.

ABC News’ Alex Faul contributed to this report.

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(NEW YORK) — Former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries and two others were arrested Tuesday as part of a criminal sex trafficking investigation by the FBI and federal prosecutors in Brooklyn.

Jeffries, his partner Matt Smith and a third man, Jim Jacobson, are accused of operating an international sex trafficking and prostitution business that recruited young men for parties in the U.S. and abroad, according to an indictment.

The former retail executive and Smith relied on their vast financial resources, Jeffries’ power as the CEO of Abercrombie, and numerous people, including Jacobson and a network of employees, contractors and security professionals, to run a business “that was dedicated to fulfilling their sexual desires and ensuring that their international sex trafficking and prostitution business was kept secret,” the indictment alleges.

Federal prosecutors said the trio paid dozens of men to travel around the world to engage in sex acts. The indictment mentions 15 alleged victims, identified as John Does #1-15. Jeffries allegedly recruited, hired and paid a slate of household staff to “facilitate and supervise the Sex Events.”

Jacobson traveled throughout the United States and internationally to recruit and interview men for the so-called sex events. During “tryouts” of potential candidates, Jacobson required that the candidates first engage in sex acts with him, according to prosecutors.

The indictment said many of the men were coerced, led to believe that attending the events would yield modeling opportunities with Abercrombie or otherwise benefit their careers, or, in the alternative, that not complying with requests for certain acts during the sex events could harm their careers.

The defendants are charged with sex trafficking and interstate prostitution. They are expected to make appearances in the jurisdictions where the men were arrested in Florida and Wisconsin before they’re brought to Central Islip in Long Island, New York, at a later date for arraignment.

“We will respond in detail to the allegations after the Indictment is unsealed, and when appropriate, but plan to do so in the courthouse – not the media,” Brian Bieber, an attorney for Jeffries, told ABC News on Tuesday.

Attorneys for the other two defendants did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Abercrombie & Fitch declined ABC News’ request for comment.

Federal prosecutors had acknowledged the investigation in January after alleged victims filed a civil lawsuit a year ago.

Jeffries, who transformed Abercrombie from a traditional Ohio outfitter into a powerhouse teen fashion brand, has been accused in civil lawsuits of exploiting young men for sex at parties he hosted at his Hamptons estate in New York, London, Venice and elsewhere with his partner, Smith.

One of the plaintiffs, David Bradberry, a former crewman on the reality series “Below Deck,” said Jeffries made Abercrombie successful by the “oversexualization of young men.”

His lawsuit accused Jeffries, Smith, Jacobson and Abercrombie itself of luring attractive young men under the guise of making them an Abercrombie model and then forcing them to take drugs and perform sex acts.

The plaintiff’s attorney, Brad Edwards of Edwards Henderson, told ABC News in a statement: “As we laid out in our lawsuit, this was an Abercrombie run, sex trafficking organization that permeated throughout the company and allowed the three individuals arrested today to victimize dozens and dozens of young, aspiring male models.”

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(FALL CITY, Wash.) — Three children and two adults are dead, and a teenager is in custody, following a domestic violence situation at a home in a quiet Washington state neighborhood, authorities said.

Deputies responded to multiple 911 calls Monday morning that reported gunshots in Fall City, about 25 miles east of Seattle, the King County Sheriff’s Office said.

Five people were found dead: three children and two adults, the sheriff’s office said. One victim, a girl, survived and was admitted to a hospital with undisclosed injuries, authorities said.

A 15-year-old boy has been taken into custody in connection with the incident, the sheriff’s office said.

All of the victims appeared to be members of the same family, according to the sheriff’s office.

King County sheriff’s deputy Mike Mellis described the case as a “tragic, domestic violence situation” and a firearms-related homicide investigation.

The victims’ neighborhood is small, quiet and doesn’t normally see police activity, Mellis said, adding that the family had no significant history with the sheriff’s office.

“It’s just unfathomable,” neighbor Cameron Doerrer told ABC Seattle affiliate KOMO. “The younger kids, especially, [were] the sweetest children. So polite.”

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(NEW YORK) — Former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries, his partner Matt Smith and a third man, Jim Jacobson, were arrested Tuesday as part of a criminal sex trafficking investigation by the FBI and federal prosecutors in Brooklyn, sources familiar with the investigation told ABC News.

The investigation involved whether the men sexually exploited and abused young men at parties they hosted in the United States and around the world, the sources said.

Federal prosecutors acknowledged the investigation in January after alleged victims filed a civil lawsuit a year ago.

“The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York has launched a criminal investigation of the alleged events and occurrences discussed in Plaintiff’s Complaint,” prosecutors said in a court filing.

“We will respond in detail to the allegations after the Indictment is unsealed, and when appropriate, but plan to do so in the courthouse – not the media,” Brian Bieber, an attorney for Michael Jeffries, told ABC News Tuesday.The attorney for the plaintiff, 

Brad Edwards of Edwards Henderson, told ABC News in a statement: “As we laid out in our lawsuit, this was an Abercrombie run, sex trafficking organization that permeated throughout the company and allowed the three individuals arrested today to victimize dozens and dozens of young, aspiring male models.”

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

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