Category: National

(WASHINGTON) — A USAID directive to destroy classified documents had been “seriously misapprehended,” Trump administration attorneys wrote in a court filing Wednesday in which they insisted that all records were appropriately handled and “did not violate” federal laws dictating the preservation of government documents.

The American Federation of Government Employees, a union that is suing the Trump administration over its cuts to the federal workforce, asked a federal judge late Tuesday to intervene and prevent the agency from “destroying documents with potential pertinence to this litigation” after a senior USAID official issued guidance to USAID staff ordering the destruction of classified records at its Washington, D.C., headquarters as USAID clears out of its office space.

The guidance urged officials to “shred as many documents first” and to “reserve the burn bags for when the shredder becomes unavailable or needs a break,” according to a copy of the message obtained by ABC News.

Justice Department attorneys wrote Wednesday that “trained USAID staff sorted and removed classified documents in order to clear the space formerly occupied by USAID for its new tenant.”

“They were copies of documents from other agencies or derivatively classified documents, where the originally classified document is retained by another government agency and for which there is no need for USAID to retain a copy,” DOJ attorneys wrote.

Trump administration attorneys asserted that “the removed classified documents had nothing to do with” the American Federation of Government Employees’ litigation.

The Trump administration attorneys explained that office space formerly belonging to USAID “is in the process of being decommissioned and prepared for the new tenant,” as ABC News reported Tuesday, and the records needed to be removed from their safes to make room for its new tenants, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Erica Carr, the USAID official who sent the memo ordering the destruction of the documents, wrote in a sworn declaration that “34 employees of USAID, all holding Secret-level or higher clearance, removed outdated and no longer needed derivatively classified documents in classified safes and sensitive compartmentalized information facilities.”

Carr added that most of the records earmarked for destruction remain in burn bags at the agency’s headquarters “where they remain untouched.” She said the documents would not be destroyed until the judge weighs in.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — A federal judge has set an expedited briefing schedule for Mahmoud Khalil — the Palestinian activist who was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on the campus of Columbia University, despite possessing a green card — saying “there is some need for speed here.”

His attorneys pointed out Khalil is a lawful permanent resident with no criminal record but they declined the Judge Jesse Furman’s invitation to immediately argue the merits of the case. Instead Khalil’s attorneys said they would file an amended petition by Thursday evening.

The government said it would argue Khalil’s petition should be heard either in New Jersey, where he was taken after his arrest Saturday night, or in Louisiana, where he is being held.

With activists like actress Susan Sarandon looking on in court and protesters chanting outside, the judge ordered a phone call be arranged for Khalil on Wednesday after his attorneys argued access to their client is “severely limited.”

“We have literally not been able to confer with our client once since he was taken off the streets,” Khalil’s attorney Ramzi Kassem said.

Khalil is currently being held in Louisiana after being detained in New York earlier this week. His legal team is asking the court to order the government to return him to New York while his legal fight plays out.

Khalil’s wife, who is 8 months pregnant, said the couple have been excitedly preparing for the arrival of their baby.

“Mahmoud has been ripped away from me for no reason at all. I am pleading with the world to continue to speak up against his unjust and horrific detention by the Trump administration,” she said in a statement to ABC News on Wednesday.

“Six days ago, an intense and targeted doxxing campaign against Mahmoud began. Anti-Palestinian organizations were spreading false claims about my husband that were simply not based in reality. They were making threats against Mahmoud and he was so concerned about his safety that he emailed Columbia University on March 7th. In his email, he begged the university for legal support,” she said.

She said Columbia University never responded to that email and he was arrested a day later.

President Donald Trump’s administration has alleged that Khalil — who was a leader of the pro-Palestinian encampment protests on Columbia’s campus — was a supporter of Hamas. Baher Azmy, one of Khalil’s lawyers, called his client’s alleged alignment with Hamas “false and preposterous.”

“Setting aside the false and preposterous premise that advocating on behalf of Palestinian human rights and to plead with public officials to stop an ongoing genocide constitutes alignment with Hamas, his speech is absolutely protected by the Constitution, and it should be chilling to everyone that the United States government could punish or try to deport someone because they disapprove of the speech they’re engaged in,” Azmy told ABC News on Monday.

Authorities have not charged Khalil with a crime and the administration has not provided any evidence showing Khalil’s alleged support for the militant group.

The Trump administration said it has the authority to remove Khalil under the Immigration and Nationality Act.

“Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, the secretary of state has the right to revoke a green card or a visa for individuals who serve, or are adversarial to the foreign policy and the national security interests of the United States of America,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday. “Mahmoud Khalil was an individual who was given the privilege of coming to this country to study at one of our nation’s finest universities and colleges and he took advantage of that opportunity, of that privilege, by siding with terrorists, Hamas terrorists.”

Attorney Amy E. Greer said Khalil’s detention in Louisiana is a “blatantly improper but familiar tactic designed to frustrate the New York federal court’s jurisdiction.”

Khalil’s arrest has prompted protests calling for his release. Fourteen members of Congress have also signed a letter demanding his release.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

ABC News’ Armando Garcia, James Hill, Laura Romero and Ely Brown contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(LOS ANGELES) — Lyle and Erik Menendez will appear at independent parole board hearings on June 13 as a part of the brothers’ bid for clemency, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced.

“On June 13, we will have the parole hearing board recommendation,” the governor explained Tuesday on his podcast, “This is Gavin Newsom.” “That independent analysis will help guide the decision-making that my office is independently reviewing as it relates to the clemency application.”

The June hearings will follow the 90-day independent risk assessment that Newsom announced two weeks ago. He is ordering the parole board to conduct the assessment to determine whether the brothers pose “an unreasonable risk to the public” if released.

The governor wants an assessment of “the applicant’s current risk level, the impact of a commutation on victims and survivors, the applicant’s self-development and conduct since the offense, and if the applicant has made use of available rehabilitative programs, addressed treatment needs, and mitigated risk factors for reoffending,” his office said in a statement.

Newsom stressed on his podcast Tuesday that his clemency decision will only be “influenced by the facts.”

Celebrity does have “an impact, but in what direction does it weigh?” Newsom said. “Sometimes it’s used actually against people, because they’re so high profile, they’re actually held to a higher level of scrutiny and standards. At the same time, you don’t want that celebrity also to influence on the other side.”

“That’s why I move forward with the Board of Parole hearings to independently review with a group of experts — forensic psychologists and others — the facts of this case,” he said.

Newsom said he has not watched Ryan Murphy’s fictional series, “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story,” which premiered on Netflix in September 2024 and brought new attention to the infamous case.

“I’ve seen a few clips here and there on social media,” he said. “I don’t intend to watch these series because I don’t want to be influenced by them. I just want to be influenced by the facts.”

“I’m obviously familiar with the Menendez brothers, just through the news over the course of many decades,” Newsom added. “But not to the degree that many others are because of all of these documentaries and all of the attention they’ve received. So that won’t bias my independent and objective review.”

Lyle and Erik Menendez are serving life in prison without the possibility of parole for the 1989 murders of their parents Jose and Kitty Menendez. Over 20 of their relatives are pushing for their release after 35 years behind bars.

Besides clemency, the brothers are pursuing two other paths to freedom: resentencing and a petition to review new evidence.

Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced Monday that he’s opposed to resentencing, arguing the brothers hadn’t taken responsibility for their actions and calling their claims of self-defense part of a litany of “lies.”

Because the “brothers persist in telling these lies for the last over 30 years about their self-defense defense and persist in insisting that they did not suborn any perjury or attempt to suborn perjury, then they do not meet the standards for resentencing,” Hochman said at a news conference.

Hochman’s decision is an about-face from his predecessor, George Gascón, who announced in October that he supported resentencing for the brothers. Gascón praised the work Lyle and Erik Menendez did behind bars to rehabilitate themselves and help other inmates.

Newsom said on his podcast that Hochman’s decision won’t impact the clemency process.

The final decision on resentencing is made by the judge; a hearing is set for March 20 and 21.

Hochman is also opposed to the brothers’ habeas corpus petition, which they filed in 2023 for a review of two new pieces of evidence not presented at trial: a letter Erik Menendez wrote to his cousin eight months before the murders detailing his alleged abuse from his father, and allegations from a former boy band member who revealed in 2023 that he was raped by Jose Menendez.

Hochman announced last month that he’s asked the court to deny the habeas corpus petition, arguing the new evidence isn’t credible or admissible.

ABC News’ Jenna Harrison contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(LOS ANGELES) — Evacuation warnings and orders have been issued for parts of Los Angeles County on Wednesday, near burn scar areas from the Palisades Fire, due to high mudslide and debris flow risks, according to the LA Fire Department.

“These are recent burn areas and are especially susceptible to heavy rain,” LAFD said in its warning.

The Los Angeles Police Department has also visited and issued evacuation orders to 133 houses in the warning area that are at high risk, according to Mayor Karen Bass. 

Areas impacted by the Palisades Fire — including the Getty Villa area, Highlands near the burn areas, Bienveneda area near Temescal Canyon Park and Rivas Canyon/Will Rogers State Park area — are included in the warning area.

“While we prepare for another storm headed towards L.A., I want to urge Angelenos to stay vigilant, especially in burn scar areas,” Bass said in a statement. “My number one job is to keep Angelenos safe, so please heed all evacuation warnings, stay vigilant and stay informed.”

Over 20 million people are under a flash flood watch in Southern California due to heavy rain expected in the early morning hours Thursday.

Rainfall rates are expected to approach 0.75 inches per hour in these burn areas, lasting over a two- to three-hour period — from roughly midnight to 3 a.m. local time — and may result in quick accumulations of 1 to 3 inches of rain early Thursday. The heaviest rain will fall in that early morning period, with lighter rain continuing through 6 a.m. or 7 a.m., and then becoming much more scattered in nature through the day on Thursday. Thursday evening looks dry, with another round of light rain arriving for Friday morning and early afternoon. This round is not expected to cause any issues.

On Tuesday, as expected, the Los Angeles area only saw a quarter inch of rain at most in higher elevations, with less than a tenth of an inch at lower elevations like downtown LA. This rain will have actually helped slightly to prep the ground for the rain to come early Thursday, with the rain no longer falling on ground that is as dry and hard as it would have before.

The heavy rain reaches San Diego around 4 a.m. There is also a risk for flooding in San Diego on Thursday morning as this heavy rain reaches the Mexico border. They are also included in the flood watch along with Los Angeles.

The storm pushes into central California on Wednesday morning, with the heaviest rain arriving in San Francisco around noon.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(LOS ANGELES) — With mass layoffs taking place at the Department of Education, the superintendent for the nation’s second largest public school system says the closure of the department would bring “catastrophic harm” if there is any reduction to the federal funding that students in his district receive.

In a video statement, Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said the county receives hundreds of millions of dollars for low-income students and others.

“We receive an excess of $750 million earmarked for poor students, English language learners, students with disabilities, and connectivity investments so that students can be connected with their learning, breakfast and lunch programs,” Carvalho said.

The Department of Education initiated mass layoffs on Tuesday night, reducing its workforce by nearly 50%, sources told ABC News.

The “reduction in force” notices began to go out Tuesday at about 6 p.m. ET

Some 1,315 employees were affected by the RIFs, leaving 2,183 employed by the department, according to senior officials at the DOE.

“Any reduction at the federal level, specific to these investments will bring about catastrophic harm in Los Angeles and across the country,” Carvalho said.

A statement released Tuesday from the Department of Education said that the DOE will “continue to deliver on all statutory programs that fall under the agency’s purview, including formula funding, student loans, Pell Grants, funding for special needs students, and competitive grantmaking.”

“This is primarily a streamlining effort for internal facing roles and not external facing roles,” a senior DOE official said of the layoffs.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — Tesla vehicles, dealerships and charging stations have been vandalized, suffered arson attacks and faced protests since the company’s CEO Elon Musk began his work with the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, leading to mass layoffs of federal workers, authorities said.

The latest suspicious incident occurred overnight in Dedham, Massachusetts, where three Teslas were vandalized, according to the Dedham Police Department. Officials said “words had been spray-painted” on two Tesla Cyber-trucks, with all four tires of the trucks and a Tesla Model S being “reportedly damaged.”

Teslas were also damaged in Seattle on Sunday night, where crews had to extinguish a fire involving four electric vehicles, according to the Seattle Fire Department. Officials said other vehicles were moved away to prevent the spreading of the fire.

There were no buildings involved in the fire nor any injuries, according to the fire department.

The Seattle Police Department said the cause of the fire and whether or not foul play was a factor has not been determined. Other incidents in the U.S. were deliberately aimed at the company and it’s chief executive.

Six Teslas were also vandalized at a Tesla dealership in Lynnwood, Washington, on Saturday, with one black Tesla Cyber-truck graffitied with swastikas, according to the Lynnwood Police Department.

A Tesla charging station in South Carolina was targeted on Friday, where an unknown individual spray-painted an expletive directed at President Donald Trump along with “LONG LIVE UKRAINE” on the ground in red paint and threw homemade Molotov cocktails at the station, according to the North Charleston Police Department.

The suspect fled on foot before authorities arrived on the scene, police said.

Police “cut the power to the three charging stations that were burned by the homemade Molotov Cocktails,” officials said in a statement.

There have been no arrests made for this attack, police said.

Similarly, seven Tesla charging stations sustained heavy fire-related damage in Massachusetts on March 3, according to the Littleton Police Department. Officials determined the fires to be “deliberately” set, and the investigation is still ongoing to find the arsonist.

Shots were also fired at at Tesla dealership in Tigard, Oregon, where seven bullets damaged three cars and shattered windows on March 6, according to the Tigard Police Department.

Police said they are unaware of the motive of this specific incident, but were aware that “other Tesla dealerships have been targeted across Oregon and the nation for political reasons.”

On March 2, another Tesla dealership was spray-painted in Owings Mills, Maryland, where “NO MUSK” was written in red spray paint on the windows, followed by a symbol police originally thought was antisemitic.

“The graffiti was instead used against Elon Musk, and the graffiti was an ‘X’ inside of a circle, which we assume is for Twitter, which Musk owns,” Detective Anthony Shelton said in a statement obtained by Baltimore, Maryland, ABC affiliate WMAR.

Another incendiary event occurred in Colorado, where a woman was arrested on Feb. 27 after police caught her with explosives at a Tesla dealership, according to the Loveland Police Department. Lucy Grace Nelson, 40, was arrested after police launched an investigation following a series of vandalizations at the Tesla dealership, police said.

Nelson was charged with explosives or incendiary devices use during felony, criminal mischief and criminal attempt to commit a Class 3 felony, authorities said.

Protests against Tesla have also occurred at dealerships nationwide. Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs told ABC News the demonstrations and the company’s plummeting stocks — which have tumbled nearly 48% this year — can all “be tied to [Musk’s] time at DOGE.”

“It has been a distraction for the company and it’s been a problem for the brand,” Frerichs said.

Amid the crime sprees and protests, some Tesla owners have even placed stickers on their vehicles that read, “I bought this before Elon went crazy,” ABC News reported.

Trump said on Truth Social on Monday night that he is in support of Musk and is going to “buy a brand new Tesla tomorrow morning as a show of confidence and support for Elon Musk.”

Musk, the owner of X, has reposted some reactions that criticized the attacks and called the incident in Seattle “crazy.”

Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene labeled the vandalisms as “domestic terrorism” and urged U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel to “prioritize a thorough investigation into these matters” in a letter posted to X on Wednesday.

“These attacks, which seem to involve coordinated acts of vandalism, arson and other acts of violence, seriously threaten public safety,” Greene said in a letter posted to X.

A spokesperson for Tesla did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEWTON COUNTY, Ind.) — A 41-year-old mother of three was found alive in her wrecked car in Indiana after being trapped for six days, authorities said.

A man was operating equipment for a drainage and excavation company on Tuesday when he spotted a car off a roadway, out of view from passing traffic, the Newton County Sheriff’s Office said.

He called his supervisor, Jeremy Vanderwall, who’s an assistant chief at a local volunteer fire department, and the two checked the car and found Brieonna Cassell inside, the sheriff’s office said.

“She was she was very conscious, very alert, very aware of how severe her injuries were,” Vanderwall told ABC News.

“She said, ‘I didn’t think anybody was gonna find me. I thought I was gonna die in this ditch,'” Vanderwall recalled.

Cassell was flown to a hospital in Chicago, which is about 75 miles north of Newton County.

Cassell had been trapped since Thursday night when she fell asleep at the wheel and veered off the road into a deep ditch under a bridge, according to her father, Delmar Caldwell.

She suffered serious injuries to her legs and wrist, and her phone was dead under the passenger seat, Caldwell told ABC News.

Cassell could hear cars going by and she screamed, but no one could see or hear her, Caldwell said.

“I’m sure that was demoralizing,” Vanderwall said.

“She was stuck in the car and could not get out. But she was able to reach the water from the car,” Caldwell said. “The only way she was able to survive was using her hoodie and dipping it into the water in a ditch and sucking the water, or bringing the the water into her mouth from the ditch.”

“To have the wherewithal to use her shirt to get water, knowing that she had to have water to survive … just survival skills, man,” Vanderwall added.

On Tuesday morning, “she had given up hope of being found,” Caldwell said. “And then, by the grace of God and the prayers and everything, she was found.”

“Everybody that helped to find her and the volunteers and everything … it was a wonderful miracle,” Caldwell said.

Cassell is now in “good spirits” and “eating a lot,” he said.

Newton County Sheriff Shannon Cothran called Cassell’s survival “an incredible testament to her will to live.”

The sheriff also commended Johnny Martinez, the passerby who found Cassell’s car.

Vanderwall said Martinez could spot the car because he was driving a tall tractor.

“I myself had traveled that road at least three to four times since she crashed and did not see her,” Vanderwall noted.

Caldwell said his daughter’s missing person report was well-known in the area, so Martinez knew who Cassell was when he found her.

“In my book, Mr. Martinez is a hero, and we can never thank him enough for his keen eye and quick action,” the sheriff said in a statement.

Vanderwall added, “If he hadn’t seen her and hadn’t pushed for me to go back and check on her, she could have laid there for who knows how much longer, and the outcome might not be the same.”
 

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — Mahmoud Khalil — the pro-Palestinian activist who was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on the campus of Columbia University, despite possessing a green card — is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday.

Khalil is currently being held in Louisiana after being arrested in New York earlier this week. His legal team is asking for Khalil to order the government to return him to New York while his legal fight plays out.

The court will hear the habeas corpus petition filed by Khalil’s legal team on Wednesday at 11:30 a.m.

President Donald Trump’s administration has alleged that Khalil — who was a leader of the pro-Palestinian encampment protests on Columbia’s campus — was a supporter of Hamas. Authorities have not charged Khalil with a crime and the administration has not provided any evidence showing Khalil’s alleged support for the militant group.

Baher Azmy, one of the lawyers representing Khalil, called his client’s alleged alignment with Hamas “false and preposterous.”

Attorney Amy E. Greer said Khalil’s detention in Louisiana is a “blatantly improper but familiar tactic designed to frustrate the New York federal court’s jurisdiction.”

Khalil’s arrest has prompted protests calling for his release. Fourteen members of Congress have also signed a letter demanding his release.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

ABC News’ Armando Garcia, James Hill, Laura Romero and Ely Brown contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(CHICAGO) — At least one person has been shot outside Chicago O’Hare International Airport early Wednesday morning, police said.

Police responded to a report of an altercation taking place between multiple individuals outside of Terminal 2 on the street, police said in a statement.

“During the altercation, shots were fired and a 25-year-old male victim sustained two gun shot wounds to the lower body,” police continued.

The victim was immediately taken to Lutheran General Hospital where he is listed in stable condition.

Police confirmed that a potential suspect in the shooting is being interviewed by detectives but did not disclose any possible motives in the shooting or whether those involved knew each other.

Witness say that dozens of shell casings could be seen on the ground and that detectives are investigating a white BMW that is parked outside Terminal 1.

The investigation is currently ongoing.

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

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(LOS ANGELES) — The woman who said she was 13 when Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter and Sean “Diddy” Combs sexually assaulted her after the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards is heard on a recording agreeing Jay-Z did not assault her and saying her lawyer pushed her to sue Jay-Z.

The woman’s lawsuit against Jay-Z and Combs has since been withdrawn with prejudice, meaning it cannot be revived.

The recording, an excerpt of which was obtained by ABC News, is between the woman, identified as Jane Doe, and two private investigators associated with Carter.

“He was just there, but he didn’t have anything to do with any sexual acts towards you?” the private investigator asked.

“Yeah,” Jane Doe replied.

Carter’s attorney, Alex Spiro, denies that Jay-Z has ever met Jane Doe.

In the recording, the woman is heard telling the investigators that her lawyer, Tony Buzbee, put her up to suing Jay-Z.

“He was the one that kind of pushed me towards going forward with him, with Jay-Z,” the woman is heard saying.

“Buzbee did?” the investigators asked. “Yeah,” the woman replied.

Buzbee called the idea that he pushed her into suing Jay-Z a “blatant lie.”

“As far as the suggestion that I pushed Jane Doe to bring a case against Jay Z – That is a blatant lie that is directly contrary to all the documentary evidence,” Buzbee said in a statement provided to ABC News.

Carter’s attorney said “the tape speaks for itself” and should leave no doubt about his innocence.

“She says in no uncertain terms Mr. Carter did not do this. It’s effectively a lie and the only reason Mr. Carter is even involved in this is because she was pushed to involve him,” Spiro told ABC News in an exclusive interview.

Jane Doe has said, in a sworn declaration, she stands by her claims and dropped her lawsuit because of “fear of intimidation and retaliation from Jay-Z” and his fans.

She also denied telling the investigators Buzbee sought her out as a client or that he encouraged her to pursue a false claim against Jay-Z. She said she felt “intimidated and terrified” at being confronted on her doorstep and that the investigators knew her name and address.

Spiro said the investigators who approached Jane Doe did not coerce or threaten her.

“She voluntarily met, spoke to them and she told them her truth, which was under no circumstances did Mr. Carter do this,” Spiro said.

Jay-Z, who has sold more than 140 million albums, is one of the world’s best-selling artists. He is married to Beyoncé and they share three children. His attorney said that this has impacted the Carter family.

“It’s tough to hear a false lie said about you, spread through the internet, and affecting your children,” Spiro said. “It’s tough on him. It’s tough on anybody. But what he does is he proves himself innocent. Today is hopefully the final chapter in that. And then they’re gonna move forward. That’s what Jay does.”

Carter is now suing Jane Doe and Tony Buzbee for defamation, which they deny.

“The truth had to fully come out. This person cannot be allowed to sort of hide from the reality that this was a false accusation,” Spiro said.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.