Category: National

(NEW YORK) — A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) memo issued in May authorizes agents to enter the homes of those suspected of being in the U.S. illegally with an administrative warrant — not a warrant signed by a judge — in order to make immigration arrests, according to a whistleblower group, which says it has shared the “secretive” memo with Congress.

Traditionally, ICE agents have needed a warrant signed by a judge in order to enter the home of someone suspected of being in the U.S. illegally. However, the guidance allegedly given by ICE in May suggests they can rely on administrative warrants, which are authored by officials within the Department of Homeland Security — and in most cases by ICE agents.

“Although the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has not historically relied on administrative warrants alone to arrest aliens subject to final orders of removal in their place of residence, the DHS Office of General Counsel has recently determined that the U.S. Constitution, the Immigration and Nationality Act, and the immigration regulations do not prohibit relying on administrative warrants for this purpose,” the May 12, 2025, memo signed by Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons stated,  according to the anonymous whistleblower complaint, which included a copy of the memo. 

The group Whistleblower Aid says it represents two anonymous U.S. government officials. The whistleblower group argues the ICE memo violates the Fourth Amendment and DHS’ own policy manual.

Typically, ICE arrests have been limited to public places because the administrative warrants, known as Form I-205, have not been considered a warrant issued by a “neutral and detached magistrate,” the whistleblower group said in its complaint to Congress. 

“Only a warrant issued by a ‘neutral and detached magistrate’ would authorize ICE Agents to enter or search nonpublic areas such as an alien’s residence,” the group said.  

“Upon information and belief, and consistent with the May 12 Memo, instructors for new ICE recruits are directed to teach that Form I-205 allows ICE agents to arrest aliens in their home – without consent to enter the residence and without judicial warrant,” the whistleblower complaint stated. 

In a statement, DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said: “Every illegal alien who DHS serves administrative warrants/I-205s have had full due process and a final order of removal from an immigration judge. The officers issuing these administrative warrants also have found probable cause. For decades, the Supreme Court and Congress have recognized the propriety of administrative warrants in cases of immigration enforcement.”

At least one Democratic senator is already calling for an investigation.

“Every American should be terrified by this secret ICE policy authorizing its agents to kick down your door and storm into your home,” Sen. Richard Blumental, D-Conn., said in a statement. “It is a legally and morally abhorrent policy that exemplifies the kinds of dangerous, disgraceful abuses America is seeing in real time. In our democracy, with vanishingly rare exceptions, the government is barred from breaking into your home without a judge giving a green light.”

According to the whistleblower complaint, the May ICE memo provides this guidance to agents for using administrative warrants to enter homes:  “Prior to entering a residence to conduct an administrative immigration arrest pursuant to form I-205, officers and agents must ensure the Form I-205 is properly completed and is supported by a final order of removal issued by an immigration judge, the BIA, a U.S. district court or a magistrate judge. This is essential because it establishes probable cause. Officers and agents must also have reason to believe that the subject alien resides at and is currently located at the address where the Form I-205 is to be served.”

The memo says agents must “knock and announce” and state their purpose and if they are refused admittance, they are authorized to use “only a necessary and reasonable amount of force to enter the alien’s residence.” 

The memo, according to the disclosure, was tightly held at DHS.

“The May 12 Memo has been provided to select DHS officials who are then directed to verbally brief the new policy for action,” the complaint states. “Those supervisors then show the Memo to some employees, like our clients, and direct them to read the Memo and return it to the supervisor.”

The agents are verbally given this training, but not in writing, the complaint said.

Rosanna Berardi, an immigration attorney, said the ICE memo “represents a fundamental Fourth Amendment challenge and another chapter of the Trump Administration ignoring long-established legal precedence and acting like the legislative branch.”

She said the way the policy is being implemented is also concerning.

“Reports indicate it’s being rolled out through verbal instructions that contradict written training materials, creating a dangerous accountability vacuum,” Berardi told ABC News in an email. 

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(UVALDE, Texas) — A jury has acquitted former Uvalde, Texas, school police officer Adrian Gonzales for his response to the Robb Elementary shooting in May 2022.

After more than seven hours of deliberations, the jury returned a not guilty verdict Wednesday evening on all 29 counts of child endangerment.

As the verdict was read, Gonzalez bowed his head as he heard it. Several of those sitting in the gallery started crying. He hugged his lawyers, shook hands and appeared to be tearing up.

Gonzales was among the first officers to respond to the mass shooting, in which 19 students and two teachers were killed. It took 77 minutes before law enforcement mounted a counterassault to end the rampage.

Prosecutors alleged Gonzales did not follow his training and endangered the 19 students who died and an additional 10 surviving students.

Lawyers for Gonzales, who pleaded not guilty, argued he was unfairly blamed for a broader law-enforcement failure that day.

Ex-officer: Focused on ‘picking up the pieces’
When he walked out of the courtroom on Wednesday night after the jury acquitted him, Gonzales was a man of few words.

“I want to start by thanking God for this — my family, my wife and these guys — he put them in my path,” he told reporters, referring to his lawyers. “Thank you for the jury, for considering all the evidence.”

When ABC News’ John Quiñones asked him, “What does moving on look like to you?” he answered succinctly.

“Picking up the pieces and moving forward,” Gonzales said. 

Asked about the frustration of some of the families of victims about the verdict, defense attorney Nico LaHood said he’s “sorry that they feel that way” and vowed to pray for them. 

“We pray for them. We’re sorry that they feel that way. We understand that their separation from their loved one is going to be felt as long as they walk on this earth, and we don’t, we don’t ignore that. We acknowledge that we’re just going to continue to pray for them. So I’m very sorry that they feel that way,” he said.

According to LaHood — who said he spoke with some of the jurors after the verdict — the jury was saddened by the trial but couldn’t see through some gaps in the prosecution’s case.

“They were very mindful and deliberate,” LaHood said. “Obviously, they were saddened, because they know what the other families are mourning still, but they said there were a lot of gaps in the evidence, and some of it didn’t make sense.” 

Jason Goss, another attorney for Gonzales, told reporters that he believes the verdict clears his client’s name.

“The evidence showed that not only did he not fail, but he put himself in great danger,” Goss said. “So, you can imagine how somebody who has had the entire country look at him as somebody who was not willing to do his duty. He is a proud man who does do his duty. And he went in there. When it was time for him to go, he went in there.”

Families of the victims react

For Jacinto Cazares — whose 9-year-old daughter Jackie died in the shooting — the verdict was yet another instance of the legal system failing to deliver justice after one of the worst mass shootings in US history.

“We had a little hope, but it wasn’t enough,” he said outside the court. “Again, we are failed. I don’t even know what to say.”

Cazares said he was hopeful that the jury might have reached a different conclusion but “prepared for the worst.”

“I need to keep composed for my daughter. It has been an emotional roller coaster since day one. I am pissed,” he said. 

Jesse Rizo, Jackie’s uncle, told reporters he was concerned about the message the verdict might send to police officers who respond to future mass shootings.

“I respect the jury’s decision, but what message does it send?” he said. “If you’re an officer, you can simply stand by, stand down, stand idle, and not do anything and wait for everybody to be executed, killed, slaughtered, massacred.”

When asked about the defense case by ABC’s John Quiñones, Jackie’s aunt Julissa Rizo pushed back on the defense narrative that Gonzales acted heroically that day.

“The defense said he did as much as he could,” Quiñones said.

“That’s not true,” she responded. “There were two monsters on May 24. One was the shooter, and the other one was the one that never went in, that could have avoided this.” 

How the trial unfolded
Each of the 29 counts Gonzales faced carried a maximum penalty of two years in prison, and h. could have spent the rest of his life in prison if he was convicted.

Prosecutors claimed Gonzales had a unique opportunity to stop the carnage when he arrived and learned gunman Salvador Ramos’ location from a teaching aide. The aide testified that she repeatedly urged Gonzales to intervene, but said the officer did “nothing” in those crucial moments. Prosecutors also argued Gonzales failed to act once he got inside the school.

Before jurors were sent to deliberate, District Attorney Christina Mitchell gave an impassioned plea, saying, “I know this case is difficult, and it has been difficult. But we cannot continue to let children die in vain.”

The defense argued that Gonzales did everything he could in that moment — including gathering critical information, evacuating children and entering the school — and said Gonzales acted on the information he had. The defense also highlighted that other officers arrived in the same timeframe as Gonzales and that at least one officer had an opportunity to shoot the gunman before he entered the school.

This case marks the second time in U.S. history that prosecutors have sought to hold a member of law enforcement criminally accountable for their response to a mass shooting.

In 2023, a Florida jury acquitted Scot Peterson, a former Broward County sheriff’s deputy, who was charged with child neglect and culpable negligence for his alleged inaction during the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Peterson’s lawyers argued his role as an armed school resource officer did not amount to a caregiving post needed to prove child neglect in Florida, and that the response to the shooting was muddled by poor communication.

Former Uvalde Schools Police Chief Pete Arredondo — who was the on-site commander on the day of the Robb Elementary shooting — is also charged with endangerment or abandonment of a child and has pleaded not guilty. Arredondo’s case has been delayed indefinitely by an ongoing federal lawsuit filed after the U.S. Border Patrol refused repeated efforts by Uvalde prosecutors to interview Border Patrol agents who responded to the shooting, including two who were in the tactical unit responsible for killing the gunman at the school. 

“What happened to Uvalde on May 24 can happen anywhere, at any time,” she said. “If it’s going to happen, and if we have laws mandating what the responsibility of a law enforcement peace officer is for a school district, then we better be ready to back it up.”

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(BROOKLYN) — A federal judge in Brooklyn handed down a two-year prison sentence Wednesday to a gambler who prosecutors say defrauded sports betting platforms by using non-public information to place highly profitable wagers tied to the performance of NBA players allegedly in on the scheme.

Timothy McCormack is the first defendant to be sentenced for his role in a sweeping conspiracy allegedly involving former NBA players Terry Rozier and Jontay Porter that McCormack blamed on a gambling addiction.

“I’ve struggled with a gambling addiction for more than half my life,” McCormack said.

Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall expressed some sympathy. “He has an addiction,” she said.  “I don’t believe the conduct Mr. McCormack engaged in defines him.”

The judge also agreed with federal prosecutors that McCormack undermined the integrity in sports.

“There is no question this is a serious crime,” DeArcy Hall said. “Sports matters to me as an individual, as it should to society.”

The sentence fell below the four-year sentence the government sought.

A federal prosecutor conceded McCormack was “not as culpable as some of his co-conspirators” but said he contributed to a “cold, hard fraud.”

“Without people like the defendant, these schemes can’t work,” the prosecutor, David Berman, told the judge.

Defense attorney Jeffrey Chartier pushed for a sentence without prison time.

“He was a degenerate gambler,” Chartier said. “It’s one of the ones you could make a movie about.” 

Chartier said the betting platforms are “thriving” off of people like his client and told reporters there is “absolutely” some irony in the fact those betting platforms are considered victims in the case.

Porter, a former Toronto Raptor player, pleaded guilty in 2024 to a single count of wire fraud conspiracy in connection with a gambling scheme. He was banned for life from the league and is awaiting sentencing.

Former Miami Heat star Rozier faces federal charges of wire fraud and money laundering. He has pleaded not guilty.

McCormack must report to prison April 20. He then must serve a year of supervised release during which time the judge said he is prohibited from gambling. The judge omitted a secondary prohibition on traveling to a casino, finding it unnecessary.

“Gambling is available on anybody’s phone,” DeArcy Hall said.

An NBA memo from October obtained by ABC News said, “With sports betting now occupying such a significant part of the current sports landscape, every effort must be made to ensure that players, coaches, and other NBA personnel are fully aware of the dire risks that gambling can impose upon their careers and livelihoods; that our injury disclosure rules are appropriate; and that players are protected from harassment from bettors.”

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(WASHINGTON) — The Department of Homeland Security has now picked another state on which to focus its immigration enforcement action: Maine.

On Wednesday, DHS launched “Operation Catch of the Day” — an operation targeting criminal illegal migrants in the state, according to a DHS spokesperson.

Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin singled out Maine Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, and “her fellow sanctuary politicians” for prompting the need for the federal immigration crackdown in Maine.

“We have launched Operation Catch of the Day to target the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens in the state. On the first day of operations, we arrested illegal aliens convicted of aggravated assault, false imprisonment, and endangering the welfare of a child,” McLaughlin said in a statement. “Under President Trump and [DHS] Secretary [Kristi] Noem, we are no longer allowing criminal illegal aliens to terrorize American citizens.”

It was not immediately clear how long DHS plans to keep U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Maine or if the Customs and Border Protection agents currently operating in Minneapolis will move to Maine. 

Mills, who has had previous run-ins with President Donald Trump over the past year, is running for the U.S. Senate.

In a statement released on Monday, Andrew Benson, the U.S. attorney for the District of Maine, said people have the right to protest, but not turn to violence, and seemed to indicate a DHS operation was coming.

“In the coming days, if Maine citizens seek to exercise their rights to assemble and protest, it is vital that these protests remain peaceful,” Benson said. “Anyone who forcibly assaults or impedes a federal law enforcement officer, willfully destroys government property, or unlawfully obstructs federal law enforcement activity commits a federal crime and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

There was no immediate comment from Mills on the ICE operation in Maine. But in a Jan. 14 video statement released on social media, Mills said she and members of her administration had unsuccessfully attempted to glean any information about the federal government’s enforcement plans in her state.

Mills said the state was taking proactive steps to prepare for the immigration crackdown.

“I have directed the Maine State Police to work closely with local law enforcement as necessary, to provide whatever support is needed in advance of and during any potential federal operations,” Mills said.

She said her administration had also been in contact with city officials in Portland and Lewiston, the largest cities in Maine, as well as the state attorney general, “to coordinate our response.”

“If any operations take place, our goal as always will be to protect the safety and the rights of the people of Maine,” Mills said. “Look, Maine knows what good law enforcement looks like because our law enforcement are held to high professional standards, they undergo substantial professional training, and they are accountable to the law. And I’ll tell you this, they don’t wear a mask to shield their identities, and they don’t arrest people in order to fill a quota.”

Mills said she fully supported the right for the people of her state to protest, as long as they do so peacefully.

She also directed a message to the federal government.

“If your plan is to come here to be provocative and to undermine the civil rights of Maine residents, do not be confused. Those tactics are not welcome here,” she said.

Lewiston Mayor Carl Sheline slammed ICE in a statement on Wednesday, saying the agency’s “terror and intimidation tactics reflect a complete lack of humanity and concern for basic human welfare.”

“These masked men with no regard for the rule of law are causing long-term damage to our state and to our country,” Sheline said. “Lewiston stands for the dignity of all the people who call Maine home. We will never stop caring for our neighbors.”

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(NEW YORK) — Ford is recalling up to 119,000 vehicles because the engine block heater could short circuit and cause a fire, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

The recall includes certain 2019 and 2024 Ford Explorers and 2016-2018 Ford Focus vehicles, as well as 2013–2019 Ford Escape, 2013–2018 Ford Focus, and 2015–2016 Lincoln MKC vehicles with 2.0L engines, NHTSA noted.

People can determine if their vehicle is included in the recall by entering their Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) on the NHTSA website.

“The engine block heater may crack and develop a coolant leak, causing it to short circuit when the block heater is plugged in… An electrical short circuit can increase the risk of a fire,” NHTSA said in its recall documents.

The risk only occurs when the heater is plugged in, the agency said.

Signs of an issue could include coolant spots on the ground, loss of cabin heat, powertrain unit overheating or a warning for a low coolant level, the documents noted. The issue could also cause heat damage to the electrical wiring, which could lead to the smell of smoke, according to NHTSA.

Ford said owners should not plug in the block heater until the remedy is completed. Interim owner notification letters will go out Feb. 9.

“Ford is currently developing a newly designed engine block heater element,” the company said in a statement sent to ABC News. “Once parts are available, Ford will notify customers to visit a dealer for a free replacement.”

It also highlighted “an alternative remedy” for people who would like to disable the vehicle’s block heater.

“For those customers that choose this option, a Ford dealer will remove the block heater element and install a threaded plug free of charge,” it noted in the statement. The heater cord will be stowed for the customer until the redesigned element is available for installation.”

As of Dec. 3, Ford reported to NHTSA they were aware of 12 Ford Escape 2.0L owners alleging fires from this condition. They are not aware of any accidents or injuries related to the issue.

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(NEW YORK) — The Department of Homeland Security has now picked another state on which to focus its immigration enforcement action: Maine.

On Wednesday, DHS launched “Operation Catch of the Day” — an operation targeting criminal illegal migrants in the state, according to a DHS spokesperson.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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(CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas) — Deliberations are underway in the trial of former Uvalde schools police officer Adrian Gonzales on Wednesday after prosecutors and defense lawyers delivered their closing arguments.

Before jurors were sent to deliberate, District Attorney Christina Mitchell gave an impassioned plea, saying, “I know this case is difficult, and it has been difficult. But we cannot continue to let children die in vain.”

“What happened to Uvalde on May 24 can happen anywhere, at any time,” she said. “If it’s going to happen, and if we have laws mandating what the responsibility of a law enforcement peace officer is for a school district, then we better be ready to back it up.”

At issue is whether Gonzales — one of the first officers to arrive at Robb Elementary on May 24, 2022 — ignored his training and endangered dozens of students when he responded to the shooting, which became one of the worst mass shootings in U.S. history.

Nineteen students and two teachers died, with police officers waiting 77 minutes to confront the gunman. While the shooting response has been the subject of hearings and investigations, the case against Gonzales marks the first criminal trial related to the shooting and the delayed police response.

Prosecution’s closing argument

The jury has an opportunity to “set the bar” for how officers should respond to school shootings, prosecutor Bill Turner said on Wednesday.

“If it’s appropriate to stand outside hearing [hundreds of] shots while children are being slaughtered, that is your decision to tell the state of Texas,” Turner said.

While teachers and students were sheltering in their classrooms — doing exactly what their training taught them to do in an active shooter scenario — the police officer trained to help them failed to act, Turner said. Turner argued that each gunshot fired at Robb Elementary was “notice to Adrian Gonzalez to advance toward the gunfire,” but he failed to follow his training and act in the crucial first minutes of the shooting. 

“If you have a duty to act, you can’t stand by while the child is in imminent danger,” Turner said.

Turner pointed jurors to the testimony of teaching aide Melodye Flores, a key prosecution witness who said she pleaded with Gonzales to intervene. Turner argued that the warning from Flores and the clear sound of gunfire should have triggered Gonzales to act.

“The training is, you hear shots, you go to the gunfire. He heard shots, and Melodye Flores was pointing where to go to the gunfire. There’s nothing complicated about that,” Turner said. 

Defense’s closing argument

Convicting Gonzales will send a clear message to officers who respond to this country’s next mass shooting, defense attorney Jason Goss said.

“What you tell police officers is, ‘Don’t go in. Don’t react. Don’t respond,'” Goss warned jurors. “We cannot have law enforcement feel that way.”

Goss argued that prosecutors tried to “massage the facts” of the case and
“twist them all into a pretzel” to argue Gonzales failed to act. According to Goss, Gonzales did the best he could with the information he had when he arrived at Robb Elementary. While other officers arrived within the same timeframe, only Gonzales is being penalized for attempting to take action that day, he argued. 

Goss attempted to empathize with the jurors and the families of victims, arguing he understood the desire for criminal accountability. But he reminded jurors, “The monster who hurt those kids is dead.”

But convicting Gonzales, Goss argued, would do “an injustice” for the victims of the shooting. 

“You do not honor their memory by doing an injustice in their name,” he said.

What is he charged with?

Gonzales was charged with 29 felony counts of abandoning/endangering children — one count for each of the 19 students who died in the shooting and the 10 children who survived in classroom 112.

Each count carries a maximum penalty of two years in prison, and Gonzales could spend the rest of his life in prison if he is convicted. While juries in Texas sometimes determine criminal sentences, Gonzales has opted to be sentenced by Judge Sid Harle if he is convicted.

What happened to the police chief’s case?

Along with Gonzales, prosecutors also charged former Uvalde schools Police Chief Pete Arredondo, who was the scene commander during the Robb shooting. His case has been indefinitely delayed due to a pending civil lawsuit involving the tactical unit that ultimately breached the classroom and killed the shooter.

Are there any comparable cases?

According to Phil Stinson — a professor at Bowling Green State University in Ohio who maintains a database of police officers who have been arrested — the case against Gonzales is uncommon but not unprecedented.

Prosecutors in Florida attempted to similarly charge a law enforcement officer for his response to the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Seventeen were killed when a gunman opened fire that day, Feb. 14, 2018, in Parkland.

A jury in 2023 acquitted Scot Peterson, the former Broward County sheriff’s deputy, after he was charged with child neglect and culpable negligence for his alleged inaction following the shooting.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas) — As soon as Wednesday afternoon, a Texas jury will begin deliberating whether a law enforcement officer should be held criminally responsible for failing to act in the face of one of the worst mass shootings in U.S. history.

After nine days of testimony, prosecutors and defense lawyers in the trial of former Uvalde schools police officer Adrian Gonzales delivered their closing arguments on Wednesday.

At issue is whether Gonzales — one of the first officers to arrive at Robb Elementary on May 24, 2022 — ignored his training and endangered dozens of students when he responded to the shooting.

Nineteen students and two teachers died, with police officers waiting 77 minutes to confront the gunman. While the shooting response has been the subject of hearings and investigations, the case against Gonzales marks the first criminal trial related to the shooting and the delayed police response.

Prosecution’s closing argument

The jury has an opportunity to “set the bar” for how officers should respond to school shootings, prosecutor Bill Turner said on Wednesday.

“If it’s appropriate to stand outside hearing [hundreds of] shots while children are being slaughtered, that is your decision to tell the state of Texas,” Turner said.

While teachers and students were sheltering in their classrooms — doing exactly what their training taught them to do in an active shooter scenario — the police officer trained to help them failed to act, Turner said. Turner argued that each gunshot fired at Robb Elementary was “notice to Adrian Gonzalez to advance toward the gunfire,” but he failed to follow his training and act in the crucial first minutes of the shooting. 

“If you have a duty to act, you can’t stand by while the child is in imminent danger,” Turner said.

Turner pointed jurors to the testimony of teaching aide Melodye Flores, a key prosecution witness who said she pleaded with Gonzales to intervene. Turner argued that the warning from Flores and the clear sound of gunfire should have triggered Gonzales to act.

“The training is, you hear shots, you go to the gunfire. He heard shots, and Melodye Flores was pointing where to go to the gunfire. There’s nothing complicated about that,” Turner said. 

Defense’s closing argument

Convicting Gonzales will send a clear message to officers who respond to this country’s next mass shooting, defense attorney Jason Goss said.

“What you tell police officers is, ‘Don’t go in. Don’t react. Don’t respond,'” Goss warned jurors. “We cannot have law enforcement feel that way.”

Goss argued that prosecutors tried to “massage the facts” of the case and
“twist them all into a pretzel” to argue Gonzales failed to act. According to Goss, Gonzales did the best he could with the information he had when he arrived at Robb Elementary. While other officers arrived within the same timeframe, only Gonzales is being penalized for attempting to take action that day, he argued. 

Goss attempted to empathize with the jurors and the families of victims, arguing he understood the desire for criminal accountability. But he reminded jurors, “The monster who hurt those kids is dead.”

But convicting Gonzales, Goss argued, would do “an injustice” for the victims of the shooting. 

“You do not honor their memory by doing an injustice in their name,” he said.

What is he charged with?

Gonzales was charged with 29 felony counts of abandoning/endangering children — one count for each of the 19 students who died in the shooting and the 10 children who survived in classroom 112.

Each count carries a maximum penalty of two years in prison, and Gonzales could spend the rest of his life in prison if he is convicted. While juries in Texas sometimes determine criminal sentences, Gonzales has opted to be sentenced by Judge Sid Harle if he is convicted.

What happened to the police chief’s case?

Along with Gonzales, prosecutors also charged former Uvalde schools Police Chief Pete Arredondo, who was the scene commander during the Robb shooting. His case has been indefinitely delayed due to a pending civil lawsuit involving the tactical unit that ultimately breached the classroom and killed the shooter.

Are there any comparable cases?

According to Phil Stinson — a professor at Bowling Green State University in Ohio who maintains a database of police officers who have been arrested — the case against Gonzales is uncommon but not unprecedented.

Prosecutors in Florida attempted to similarly charge a law enforcement officer for his response to the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Seventeen were killed when a gunman opened fire that day, Feb. 14, 2018, in Parkland.

A jury in 2023 acquitted Scot Peterson, the former Broward County sheriff’s deputy, after he was charged with child neglect and culpable negligence for his alleged inaction following the shooting.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) — A federal judge in New York on Wednesday declined to appoint a special master to oversee the Justice Department’s production of the remaining Epstein files, despite “legitimate concerns” about whether the DOJ is faithfully complying with the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

The Dec. 19 deadline the law imposed for the release of all files related to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has come and gone, and at least two members of Congress say the Justice Department is still in possession of as many as two million potentially relevant documents. 

Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York said last week they’re still reviewing and redacting material from the investigations into Epstein and co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell to comply with court orders about protecting victims.

Several Epstein victims wrote letters supporting legislators’ push for a neutral monitor.

In his opinion released Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer said the “questions raised by the Representatives and the victims are undeniably important and timely” and raise “raise legitimate concerns about whether DOJ is faithfully complying with federal law.” 

However, the judge concluded he lacks jurisdiction to supervise the Justice Department’s compliance with the Epstein Act.

“The Representatives have not articulated how the criminal statutes under which Maxwell was charged would empower the Court to enforce the EFTA,” Engelmayer wrote.

The opinion also said the members of Congress — Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Ro Khanna, D-Calif. — have no role in the matter.

“The Representatives do not seek to opine on any live issue before the Court,” Engelmayer wrote.  “And the appointment of a neutral to supervise DOJ’s compliance with the EFTA is far afield from any matter pending before the Court.”

Congress passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act in November, following blowback the Trump administration received seeking the release of materials related to their probe of Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York jail in 2019. President Donald Trump signed the act into law on Nov. 19.

Materials released to date include a trove of photographs and court records, including a complaint to the FBI about Epstein that was filed years before he was first investigated for child sex abuse, and documents containing previously unknown details about plans for Epstein’s 2019 arrest.

The files released so far, however, have yet to show evidence of wrongdoing on the part of famous, powerful men, against the expectations of many of those who have been pushing for the files’ release.

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(NEW YORK) — The South is bracing for a potentially major winter storm this weekend, impacting Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee.

The storm is still several days away, so exact timing and locations are not yet clear. But as of now, more than 30 million people are under a winter storm watch, from Dallas to Little Rock, Arkansas, to Huntsville, Alabama, to Nashville, Tennessee.

Snow is expected to develop over the Plains on Friday and a wintry mix of sleet and freezing rain is forecast to the south. The storm will become more widespread Saturday morning.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said on Tuesday he was activating state emergency response resources ahead of the storm, saying the freezing rain, sleet and snow “could create hazardous travel conditions into the weekend and cause impacts to infrastructure.”

The system will reach the East Coast by Sunday and impacts could linger there into Monday. But the specific timing and what to expect is still unclear.

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