Category: National

(NEW YORK) — A captain in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps faces federal murder and terrorism charges in New York, according to a criminal complaint unsealed Friday that charges Mohammad Reza Nouri with orchestrating the murder of an American citizen to avenge the drone strike killing of a top Iranian general.

Stephen Troell, a 45-year-old American living in Baghdad, was killed in front of his wife in November 2022 after federal prosecutors said Nouri gathered intelligence on Troell’s daily routine, procured weapons and housed the operatives who carried out the murder.

“We allege that Mohammad Reza Nouri, an officer in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, orchestrated the murder of Stephen Troell, an American citizen living in Iraq, carrying out the Iranian Regime’s efforts to take vengeance for the death of Qasim Soleimani,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement announcing the charges. “Stephen should still be alive today, and the Justice Department will work relentlessly to ensure accountability for his murder.”

The U.S. has said Iran sought revenge for the January 2020 death of Soleimani in an American drone strike in Baghdad.

In November 2022, the Iranian regime struck in Iraq. A group of operatives working on behalf of the IRGC brutally murdered Troell in Baghdad, where he worked at an English language institute, as Troell was driving home with his wife after work.

Nouri, 36, allegedly “played a key role in the IRGC’s targeting and ultimate murder of Troell,” whom Nouri appears to have believed was working as an American or Israeli intelligence officer.

According to the complaint, Nouri accumulated data including Troell’s date of birth, coordinates of his residence, occupation, work schedule, telephone number, wife’s name, and children’s names, among other information. In the weeks leading up to the murder, he allegedly coordinated with one of his co-conspirators to procure firearms and a vehicle for use in the attack.

Troell was driving home from work with his wife when heavily armed gunmen in two cars forced the couple to stop shortly before they reached their residence, blocked any possible escape route, approached Troell on the driver’s side, and, using an assault weapon, shot and killed Troell as his wife witnessed the attack in the passenger seat.

Less than a half hour after the attack, Nouri sent an encrypted messages inquiring about the wellbeing of the operatives tasked with carrying out the hit, allegedly asking, “The guys are fine?” and “They are doing well?”

In March 2023, Iraqi authorities arrested Nouri and he was subsequently convicted by an Iraqi court for his role in Troell’s murder. He remains in custody in Iraq.

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(Delphi, Ind.) — Convicted Delphi, Indiana, killer Richard Allen was sentenced on Friday to 130 years in prison for the 2017 murders of two teenage girls as the victims’ families spoke out in court.

Allen was given 65 years for each murder, to run consecutively.

Last month, a jury found Allen guilty on all charges in the double homicide: felony murder for the killing of 13-year-old Abigail “Abby” Williams while attempting to commit kidnapping; felony murder for the killing of 14-year-old Liberty “Libby” German while attempting to commit kidnapping; murder for knowingly killing Abby; and murder for knowingly killing Libby.

A gag order prevented the families of Abby and Libby from commenting during or after Allen’s trial.

Libby’s grandmother, Becky Patty, broke her silence on Friday, saying at sentencing, “I can never change my choice to let Libby and Abby go to the trails that day.”

“I hope he lives with the same fear he caused Abby and Libby in the last hour of their lives,” she said.

“You could’ve taken accountability,” Libby’s grandfather, Mike Patty, said to Allen. “You need to stand up and not appeal.”

Abby’s grandmother, Diane Erskin, said, “This is a day of great sadness for our family. We won’t be going home to celebrate with champagne.”

Nearly eight years since her granddaughter’s murder, Erskin said, “I’ve watched her friends graduate college and wonder how many great grandkids were murdered that day, too.”

Erskin said Abby’s last words in Libby’s phone were “don’t leave me up here,” so the grieving grandmother didn’t let herself leave the trial even during tough testimony.

The families, law enforcement and prosecutors are expected to address the public at a post-sentencing news conference on Friday.

Abby and Libby were walking along a Delphi hiking trail when they were attacked on Feb. 13, 2017. Their throats were slit and their bodies were dumped in the nearby woods.

Moments before the murders, Libby posted a photo of Abby on Snapchat showing her on the Monon High Bridge. After crossing the bridge, the girls saw a man behind them — who became known as “bridge guy” — and Libby started a recording on her phone, according to prosecutors.

As police looked for the suspect, they released footage from Libby’s phone to the public: a grainy image of “bridge guy” and an audio clip of him telling the girls to go “down the hill.”

Allen, a husband and father who worked at the local CVS, was arrested in 2022.

“He developed photos with no remorse and he didn’t blink,” Becky Patty said in court on Friday.

Allen admitted to police he was on the trail that day, but he denied being involved in the crime.

The prosecution’s key physical evidence was a .40-caliber unspent round discovered by the girls’ bodies. Police analysis determined that unspent round was cycled through Allen’s Sig Sauer Model P226, prosecutors said.

Another major focus of the trial was Allen’s multiple confessions in jail and his mental health at the time. The defense argued Allen was in a psychotic state when he confessed numerous times to his psychologist, corrections officers and his wife.

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

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(CHICAGO) — Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport issued a ground stop on Friday, pausing departures amid snowy and icy conditions.

The stop came as the clipper system that brought heavy snow and airport delays to the Upper Midwest on Thursday is moving on Friday morning through the Illinois city.

Up to 10 inches of snow fell in the Upper Midwest on Thursday. Ten states are now on snow alert, stretching from Wisconsin down through the mountains of North Carolina.

 A band of moderate snow with low visibility is moving into Chicago just in time for their morning commute.

A dusting to 1 inch is possible, just enough to make the roads very slick and dangerous in the city.

Also this morning, snow is moving through Michigan and Ohio and on its way to the Northeast.

This afternoon and evening the rain and snow will move into the I-95 corridor making roads slick.

Rain and snow will continue for the I-95 corridor into early Saturday morning.

Most areas will see only a dusting, the same as Chicago, but this could be enough to make roads dangerously slick, as temps fall to near freezing.

Locally about 3 to 6 inches of snow are possible in the mountains of West Virginia and into western NY, and northern New England.

Locally more than a foot possible in the highest elevations.

Christmas Eve rain or snow in the Northeast?

Another storm system is expected for Christmas Eve in the Northeast, with rain and snow possible.

Rain and snow could fall along the I-95 corridor on Tuesday, Christmas Eve.

With this storm, the highest chance for accumulating snow will be in upstate NY and in New England. It is too early to say how much snow is possible.

An arctic plunge will move into the Northeast this weekend, as temperatures fall into the teens and single digits Saturday night into Sunday.

Wind chills could be below zero for inland areas and in the single digits even for coastal major cities.

Looking ahead, warmer weather is forecast after Christmas for the Northeast and most of eastern U.S.

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(LOS ANGELES) — The workers union representing Starbucks baristas across the country announced members in Los Angeles, Chicago and Seattle will go on strike in the days leading up to Christmas.

Workers United, which has unionized more than 525 U.S. Starbucks locations, said in a press release Thursday that unfair labor practices and stalled negotiations with the company are the catalyst behind the holiday season strike.

The union says five days of escalating strikes will begin Friday and continue until Dec. 24 in “three of the company’s priority markets” during what it called the company’s busiest days of the year.

During the strike period, the walkouts “are expected to spread each day and ultimately reach hundreds of stores from coast to coast by Christmas Eve” unless the company honors a February commitment made with the union.

In February 2024, Workers United and Starbucks announced they would work on a “foundational framework” to reach a collective bargaining agreement for stores, something the union says has not come to fruition.

In a statement on Thursday following the strike announcement Starbucks said Workers United delegates “prematurely ended” its bargaining session with the coffee giant this week.

Starbucks added that the company is “focused on enhancing” employee experiences by offering an average wage of $18 per hour and benefits including health care, free college tuition, paid family leave and company stock grants.

“We are ready to continue negotiations to reach agreements,” Starbucks said, adding, “We need the union to return to the table.”

Workers United, however, said despite “repeatedly pledging publicly” that it intends to reach contracts by the end of the year, Starbucks has not yet presented workers with a “serious economic proposal.”

“Nobody wants to strike. It’s a last resort, but Starbucks has broken its promise to thousands of baristas and left us with no choice,” Fatemeh Alhadjaboodi, a five-year Starbucks barista and bargaining delegate, said in the release.

“In a year when Starbucks invested so many millions in top executive talent, it has failed to present the baristas who make its company run with a viable economic proposal. This is just the beginning. We will do whatever it takes to get the company to honor the commitment it made to us in February,” Alhadjaboodi added.

“The holiday season should be magical at Starbucks, but for too many of us, there’s a darker side to the peppermint mochas and gingerbread lattes,” Arloa Fluhr, a bargaining delegate who has worked off and on at Starbucks for 18 years said in the release.

“I’m a mom of three, including my daughter who is diabetic. I know what it’s like to panic because my hours were slashed and I won’t be able to pay my bills and could lose access to healthcare, including my daughter’s insulin. That’s why we’re steadfast in our demands for Starbucks to invest in baristas like me,” Fluhr added.

ABC News’ Zunaira Zaki contributed to this report.

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(NEW YORK) — When convicted Delphi, Indiana, killer Richard Allen returns to court for sentencing on Friday, he’s expected to come face-to-face with the victims’ families.

Last month, a jury found Allen guilty on all charges in the double homicide: felony murder for the killing of 13-year-old Abigail “Abby” Williams while attempting to commit kidnapping; felony murder for the killing of 14-year-old Liberty “Libby” German while attempting to commit kidnapping; murder for knowingly killing Abby; and murder for knowingly killing Libby.

Allen faces a sentence of 90 to 130 years in prison.

A gag order has prevented the families of Abby and Libby from commenting during or after Allen’s trial. But at sentencing, they’ll get their chance to address Allen through victim impact statements.

When Allen was arrested in 2022 — five years after the 2017 murders — Libby’s grandparents and guardians, Becky and Mike Patty, told ABC News they were grappling with the news that the suspect was living among them in their small town.

“How can somebody do that and then just go on living life like nothing happened?” Mike Patty said.

Law enforcement, prosecutors and defense attorneys have also been under the gag order and have not yet commented on the verdict.

Abby and Libby were walking along a Delphi hiking trail when they were attacked on Feb. 13, 2017. Their throats were slit and their bodies were dumped in the nearby woods.

Moments before the murders, Libby posted a photo of Abby on Snapchat showing her on the Monon High Bridge. After crossing the bridge, the girls saw a man behind them — who became known as “bridge guy” — and Libby started a recording on her phone, according to prosecutors.

As police looked for the suspect, they released footage from Libby’s phone to the public: a grainy image of “bridge guy” and an audio clip of him telling the girls to go “down the hill.”

Allen, a husband and father who worked at the local CVS, was arrested in 2022. He admitted to police he was on the trail that day, but he denied being involved in the crime.

The prosecution’s key physical evidence was a .40-caliber unspent round discovered by the girls’ bodies. Police analysis determined that unspent round was cycled through Allen’s Sig Sauer Model P226, prosecutors said.

Another major focus of the trial was Allen’s multiple confessions in jail and his mental health at the time. The defense argued Allen was in a psychotic state when he confessed numerous times to his psychologist, corrections officers and his wife.

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(LOS ANGELES) — An event celebrating the top restaurants in Los Angeles left at least 80 people sickened with norovirus due to an outbreak linked to raw oysters, LA County’s Department of Public Health confirmed to ABC News.

The outbreak stemmed from an event at the Hollywood Palladium celebrating the Los Angeles Times’ list of the 101 best restaurants on Dec. 3, according to the agency.

Norovirus is a very contagious virus that causes vomiting and diarrhea and is commonly referred to as the “stomach flu” or the “stomach bug,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

It is the leading cause of foodborne illness in the United States. Other symptoms may include stomach pain, fever, headache, body aches, or dehydration. Proper handwashing, disinfecting contaminated surfaces, washing laundry in hot water, and staying home when sick are ways to prevent further spread, according to the CDC.

“At this time, over 80 attendees that consumed the oysters have reported illness,” a spokesperson with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health said in a statement.

The oysters that were served and have since been recalled were Fanny Bay Select oysters and Fanny Bay XS oysters from Pacific Northwest Shellfish Co., according to the statement.

The pack date of the oysters was listed as Nov. 25 or later and the date of the recall notice was Dec. 13, the agency added.

Following the recall, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a warning on Dec. 18 to restaurants, retailers and consumers not to sell or eat the oysters in question due to potential norovirus contamination.

The warning was directed at 15 states across the country from Hawaii, California and Arizona to Illinois, Pennsylvania and New York. The FDA said the outbreak is believed to have originated in British Columbia, Canada.

Santa Monica Seafood, which supplied the oysters for the event, said in a statement to ABC News the company is “aware of the ongoing investigation into the recent food illness outbreak linked to oysters served” and is cooperating with the Public Health Department.

The retailer added that while the investigation is ongoing, “There is no evidence to suggest mishandling at any point in the supply chain, including by Santa Monica Seafood or any of the restaurants participating in the LA Times event.”

Tickets to the Los Angeles Times’ restaurant event associated with the outbreak cost eventgoers anywhere from $264 for general admission to upwards of $600 for VIP.

ABC News has reached out to the L.A. Times for a comment.

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(NEW YORK) — U.S. immigration authorities in 2024 removed the largest number of people in the country illegally in a decade, according to a new report.

In fiscal year 2024, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) removed 271,484 noncitizens — the highest number since 2014, according to the agency’s year-end report, released Thursday.

According to the report, of those removed from the country:

• 88,763 had charges or convictions for criminal activity;
• 3,706 were known or suspected gang members;
• 237 were known or suspected terrorists; and eight were human rights violators

The deportation numbers showed a 90% increase from the past two fiscal years, according to ICE data.

The 2024 fiscal year ended Sept. 30.

The numbers come as President-elect Donald Trump and his allies have been sharply critical of the Biden administration’s immigration policy and its handling of the southwest border. On the campaign trail, Trump vowed to carry out “mass deportations” of people living in the country illegally.

In the last fiscal year, ICE also issued 149,764 immigration detainers for noncitizens with criminal histories — an increase of 19.5% from last fiscal year, when it issued 125,358 detainers.

A detainer is a request from ICE to state and local officials running jails and prisons to hold a noncitizen with removal orders.

Detainers will become a big part of how the incoming Trump administration will seek to deport people from the country, but the challenge is some cities and states don’t recognize the detainers, thus making the jurisdiction a “sanctuary” city or state.

ICE focused its efforts in 2024 on violent offenders, according to the report.

Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), which falls under ICE, conducted 32,608 criminal arrests, seized over 1.6 million pounds of narcotics, identified and/or assisted 1,783 victims of child exploitation, and assisted 818 victims of human trafficking, according to the report.

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(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.

Police are still investigating a motive for the shooting.

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.

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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.

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(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.

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