Category: National

(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.”
 

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(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.

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(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.

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(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.

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(NEWARK, NJ) — A Pennsylvania man attempting to go through airport security was discovered to have been hiding a living turtle in his pants as he tried to sneak it onto the plane, authorities said.

The incident took place last Friday at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey when a man from Pennsylvania was going through a body scan in the security area when an alarm was triggered “in the area of the man’s groin,” according to a statement from the Transportation Security Administration on Tuesday.

“A TSA officer administered a pat-down of the area of the man’s body where the alarm was triggered and in doing so, determined that there was something concealed in the area of the man’s groin,” TSA officials said regarding the incident. “When asked if there was something hidden in his pants, the man, a resident of East Stroudsburg, Pa., reached down the front of his pants and pulled out a live turtle that was wrapped in a small blue towel.”

The turtle was estimated to be approximately five inches in length and identified to be a red-ear slider turtle – one of the most popular breeds of pet turtle in the United States – by the man once he was caught by airport security.

“Port Authority Police questioned the man, took possession of the turtle and indicated that they would contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and local animal control officials,” the TSA said.

The unnamed man missed his flight and was escorted out of the checkpoint by police.

Thomas Carter, TSA’s Federal Security Director for New Jersey, said that this is the first time he has ever seen someone trying to smuggle a live animal down the front on their pants as they attempted to go through security.

“I commend our officer who conducted the pat-down in a very professional manner in an effort to resolve the alarm,” said Carter. “We have seen travelers try to conceal knives and other weapons on their person, in their shoes and in their luggage, however I believe this is the first time we have come across someone who was concealing a live animal down the front of his pants. As best as we could tell, the turtle was not harmed by the man’s actions.”

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(NEW YORK) — One day ahead of a court hearing for Mahmoud Khalil — the activist who was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on the campus of Columbia University, despite possessing a green card — his wife and attorney both released statements shedding more light on Khalil’s detainment and the days leading up to it.

Khalil’s wife, who is eight months pregnant, issued a statement speaking of the outpouring of love she has received and the urgent need for him to be home in time for their baby’s birth.

In it, she said that Khalil “begged” Columbia University for legal support one day before his arrest, explaining that he was fearful that ICE might target him.

Khalil allegedly sent an email to the university urging them to intervene, his wife said.

“I haven’t been able to sleep, fearing that ICE or a dangerous individual might come to my home. I urgently need legal support and I urge you to intervene,” he reportedly said in his email.

His wife claimed that the university never responded.

ABC News reached out to Columbia for comment and has not independently reviewed the reported emails.

Khalil’s wife also said in her statement that a “doxxing” campaign began targeting her husband about six days ago and anti-Palestinian groups were also spreading “false claims” about him.

She recalled the moment she was also threatened with arrest when she refused to leave her husband with the agents, claiming that the couple was never shown a warrant.

“I was born and raised in the Midwest. My parents came here from Syria, carrying their stories of the oppressive regime there that made life unlivable. They believed living in the US would bring a sense of safety and stability. But here I am, 40 years after my parents immigrated here, and just weeks before I’m due to give birth to our first child, and I feel more unsafe and unstable than I have in my entire life,” her statement said.

The Trump administration said it detained Khalil, who was a leader of the encampment protests on Columbia’s campus, alleging he was a supporter of Hamas.

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

According to a joint letter filed in court and obtained by ABC News, the government and Khalil’s attorneys conferred on Monday but were unable to agree on how to proceed. Khalil’s side asked the court to first decide a pending motion to compel the government to return him to New York; the government indicated that it intends to move to dismiss or transfer the case for improper venue and is asking the court to address that first.

“For everyone reading this, I urge you to see Mahmoud through my eyes as a loving husband and the future father to our baby. I need your help to bring Mahmoud home, so he is here beside me, holding my hand in the delivery room as we welcome our first child into this world. Please release Mahmoud Now,” the statement from Khalil’s wife concluded.

Attorney Amy E. Greer said she spoke with Khalil on Tuesday and that he is “healthy and his spirits are undaunted by his predicament.”

“He also greatly appreciates, and, typically for him, is moved by the extraordinarily broad and steadfast support he has received from a variety of communities that understand what is at stake,” she said.

Greer also hinted that some of the administration’s comments about Khalil, including President Donald Trump’s social media posts, may be used by his legal team to argue for his release.

“The remarks by government officials, including the President, on social media only confirm the purpose – and illegality – of Mahmoud’s detention. He was chosen as an example to stifle entirely lawful dissent in violation of the First Amendment. While tomorrow or thereafter the government may cite the law or process, that toothpaste is out of the tube and irreversibly so. The government’s objective is as transparent as it is unlawful, and our role as Mahmoud’s lawyers is to ensure it does not prevail,” Greer said.

The court has scheduled a hearing on the habeas petition on Wednesday at 11:30 a.m.

Khalil’s team will be asking the court to order the government to return him to New York to while the legal battle plays out. Khalil is currently being held in Louisiana — a move that Greer claimed is a “blatantly improper but familiar tactic designed to frustrate the New York federal court’s jurisdiction.”

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(WASHINGTON) — A federal judge on Wednesday will consider the fate of more than 20,000 probationary government employees fired by the Trump administration.

During a hearing in U.S. District Court in Maryland, Judge James Bredar will consider issuing a temporary restraining order that would block future firings and reinstate the probationary employees who have already been terminated.

The court hearing Wednesday comes after 20 Democratic attorneys general sued to block the firings last week.

“These large-scale, indiscriminate firings are not only subjecting the Plaintiff States and communities across the country to chaos. They are also against the law,” the Democratic officials argued in their complaint, which named 41 agencies and agency heads as defendants.

The attorneys general have argued that the Trump administration violated federal law with the firings by failing to give a required 60-day notice for a reduction in force, opting to pursue the terminations “suddenly and without any advance notice.”

Lawyers with the Department of Justice have argued that the states lack standing because they “cannot interject themselves into the employment relationship between the United States and government workers,” and that to grant the temporary restraining order would “circumvent” the administrative process for challenging the firings.

In separate lawsuits, two other federal judges have declined to immediately block firings of federal employees or to reinstate them to their positions.

“The third time is not the charm. Like the unions and the organizational plaintiffs, the States are strangers to the employment relationships at issue and cannot disrupt the exclusive remedial scheme that Congress put in place to adjudicate these disputes,” lawyers with the DOJ argued.

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(WASHINGTON) — 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 at about 6 p.m.

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

Impacted staff will be placed on administrative leave starting March 21, a statement from the Education Department said. They will receive full pay and benefits through June 9, senior officials added.

The statement also 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.”

“Today’s reduction in force reflects the Department of Education’s commitment to efficiency, accountability, and ensuring that resources are directed where they matter most: to students, parents, and teachers,” said Secretary of Education Linda McMahon shortly after the notifications went out on Tuesday.

“I appreciate the work of the dedicated public servants and their contributions to the Department,” she said. “This is a significant step toward restoring the greatness of the United States education system.”

The downsizing impacts “every” sector of the department in some way, according to senior department of education officials.

“This is primarily a streamlining effort for internal facing roles and not external facing roles,” senior officials said.

Following the flurry of layoff notifications, those who remained employed by the DOE received their own email. ABC News obtained a copy, which said, in part: “As we move forward, our mission and responsibilities will remain, but there will need to be significant changes to the way that we work. What we choose to prioritize, and in turn, not prioritize, will be critical in this transition.”

“Please know that these decisions were not made lightly, and in no way reflect on the dedication and hard work of those who are leaving,” it said, before referring to this moment as the DOE’s “final mission” and suggesting: “Let’s continue to move forward as a team.”

In next steps, six communications offices are going to be consolidated, officials explained, and leases will end in major cities including San Francisco, New York, Cleveland, Boston, Chicago and Dallas.

The three DOE buildings in Washington, D.C., will also eventually be consolidated, according to the senior officials.

The announcement came shortly after DOE employees were told that their offices — including those in the National Capital Region, along with regional locations — would be closed for the day on Wednesday.

Citing “security reasons,” an email went out saying that the buildings would be inaccessible starting at 6 p.m., a source within the department told ABC News.

“You must vacate the building by that time,” a department email to employees reads in part, adding “All ED offices in the NCR and the regions will be closed to employees and contractor employees on Wednesday, March 12th.”

Senior officials later elaborated that the safety precautions were meant to protect the remaining employees who retained their positions with the DOE.

The email also instructed employees to take their laptops home with them after work on Tuesday.

“Please take your laptop with you when you depart on Tuesday. Employees will not be permitted in any ED facility on Wednesday March 12th for any reason.  All offices will reopen on Thursday, March 13th, at which time in-person presence will resume,” the email said.

The email also said that employees with approved telework agreements may work from home; however, such telework agreements are largely no longer in place, an employee told ABC News. The DOE called for its total workforce to return to its offices late last month.

The closure notification comes as President Donald Trump weighs an executive order to shutter the agency and transfer education oversight to the states. The decision to sign that order was delayed due to concerns over questions the administration might get about vital programs that could potentially be gutted by it.

Inside the department, employees are bracing for uncertain futures.

“People are petrified to do their jobs,” an Education Department employee told ABC News recently. “People are worried about like, if I push back on something that somebody wants to do, right, and I say, that’s not really what the law says or is legal, am I going to get a bad performance and now they use a bad performance to kick me out?”

“Everyone here is holding their breath,” the DOE employee added.

National Education Association President Becky Pringle released a statement in response to the layoffs on Tuesday, saying: “Firing — without cause — nearly half of the Department of Education staff means they are getting rid of the dedicated public servants who help ensure our nation’s students have access to the programs and resources to keep class sizes down and expand learning opportunities for students so they can grow into their full brilliance. The Trump administration has abandoned students, parents, and educators across the nation.”

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(WASHINGTON) — The Trump administration could be sanctioned by a federal judge later this week after lawyers with the Department of Justice advised a federal judge Tuesday evening that they will not make a top administration official available for sworn testimony.

U.S. District Judge Charles Alsup had sought to have the acting head of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), Charles Ezell, testify on Thursday about the mass firing of probationary employees.

But the DOJ said Tuesday that they would not make Ezell available for testimony.

By making Ezell unavailable, DOJ attorneys also withdrew his sworn affidavit, a move that Judge Charles Alsup suggested would heavily increase the odds that the Trump administration loses the case, which involves the legality of firing thousands of probationary employees.

“Live testimony of Mr. Ezell is also not necessary, as a factual matter, because existing documentary evidence and briefing demonstrates that OPM is not directing agencies to terminate probationary employees,” DOJ lawyers argued.

A group of federal unions has alleged that Ezell lied in a sworn declaration that his office did not order the firing of probationary employees based on “performance or misconduct,” prompting Judge Alsup to order Ezell to testify in person and under oath in San Francisco on Thursday.

The Trump administration attempted to push back on the order — arguing in a filing Monday that the testimony raises “fundamental constitutional concerns.”

Judge Alsup late Monday denied their request to cancel the hearing.

“The problem here is that Acting Director Ezell submitted a sworn declaration in support of the defendant’s position but now refuses to appear to be cross examined or to be deposed,” Judge Alsup wrote in an order Monday night.

The plaintiffs allege that on Feb. 13, Ezell convened a phone call with the heads of federal agencies to direct them to terminate thousands of federal employees and “falsely state that the terminations are for performance reasons.”

In a sworn declaration last month, Ezell denied directing the terminations based on performance reasons, instead arguing that OPM only issued guidance to individual agencies about the need for probationary workers to “demonstrate why it is in the public interest” for the government to continue to employ them.

“OPM did not direct agencies to terminate any particular probationary employees based on performance or misconduct, and did not create a ‘mass termination program,’ as the plaintiffs in this matter described it,” Ezell wrote.

The groups challenging the firings in court say that was a lie, and Judge Alsup appeared inclined to agree during a court hearing last month.

“How could so much of the work force be amputated suddenly overnight? It’s so irregular and so widespread and so aberrant from the history of our country,” Judge Alsup said. “How could that all happen with each agency deciding on its own to do something so aberrational?”

“I don’t believe it,” said the judge. “I believe they were directed or ordered to do so by OPM in that telephone call. That’s the way the evidence points.”

The allegations about the mass firings comes as the Trump administration faces increased scrutiny about the role of the Department of Government Efficiency in reducing the size of the federal government. During a cabinet meeting last week, Trump told the heads of the federal agencies that they are in charge of making cuts to their own departments, rather than Elon Musk and DOGE.

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(BATON ROUGE, LA) — Two more suspects have been arrested in connection with the death of a Southern University and A&M College student during an alleged hazing incident, police said Tuesday.

Caleb Wilson, a 20-year-old junior at the college in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, died following an off-campus incident last month, school officials said.

Wilson collapsed after being punched in the chest multiple times while pledging to a fraternity, according to Baton Rouge Police Chief TJ Morse.

A group of males dropped him off unresponsive at a local hospital and reported he collapsed after being struck in the chest while playing basketball at a city park, according to court filings. But upon investigation, officers learned that the incident actually occurred at a warehouse in Baton Rouge while he was pledging to the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, according to Morse.

One suspect, 23-year-old Caleb McCray, turned himself in to the East Baton Rouge Parish prison last week with his attorney and has been charged with criminal hazing and manslaughter, Morse said.

Two additional suspects were arrested this week for criminal hazing, a felony, the Baton Rouge Police Department said Tuesday.

Kyle Thurman, 25, was arrested in Port Allen, Louisiana, on Monday by the U.S Marshals Fugitive Task Force and Baton Rouge Police Department’s Violent Crimes Apprehension Team, police said. He was extradited to Baton Rouge and booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison, police said. It is unclear if he has an attorney.

Isaiah Smith, 28, turned himself in early Tuesday and was booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison, police said.

“A fair bond was set and his family are going through the process of bonding him,” his attorney, Franz Borghardt, said in a statement Tuesday evening to ABC News. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Wilson family in this time of mourning.”

The three suspects allegedly punched some of the pledges with boxing gloves while the students stood in a line during a meeting at a flooring company warehouse on Feb. 26, according to their arrest warrants. McCray is the only suspect specifically accused in the documents of punching Wilson.

Smith held the title of dean of pledges and was in charge of the nine pledges at the time of the alleged hazing, according to the affidavit in his arrest warrant. He is accused of punching “at least one pledge” during the alleged hazing, according to the affidavit.

Thurman allegedly punched pledges in one group, while McCray is accused of punching pledges in another group that included Wilson, according to the affidavits in their arrest warrants. Both suspects are current members of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, the affidavits said.

McCray allegedly punched Wilson four times in the chest, at which point Wilson fell to the floor, becoming unresponsive and appearing to have a seizure, according to the affidavits.

Wilson was brought to a local hospital in a vehicle registered to Smith, according to the affidavits. Officers also identified Smith as the person seen on surveillance video removing an unresponsive Wilson from the car, according to the affidavits.

Following McCray’s arrest, his attorney said they are reviewing the facts of the case and are committed to ensuring that “due process is followed.”

“At this time, I have not been presented with any evidence to support such serious accusations,” his attorney, Phillip Robinson, said in a statement Friday. “I maintain my client’s innocence and urge the public to withhold rushing to judgment until all the evidence is heard.”

Wilson was pronounced dead shortly after midnight on Feb. 27, according to the East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner’s Office.

The cause of Wilson’s death has not yet been determined while awaiting the results of the additional forensic testing that was ordered by the pathologist, the East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner’s Office confirmed to ABC News on Friday.Additional suspects and arrests are possible, Morse said.

Southern University, a historically Black college and university, said it is cooperating with the criminal investigation. The school is also conducting an internal investigation into what led to Wilson’s death following reports of “unsanctioned off-campus activities” and will “take appropriate action” once completed.

“Hazing is a violation of the University’s rules and regulations as well as Louisiana law, and it will not be tolerated in any form at Southern University,” the school said.

Last week, the university said it had begun its student judiciary process for any alleged breaches of school policy amid its hazing investigation. It has also indefinitely banned membership intake for all student organizations in the wake of Wilson’s death.

Ricky Lewis, the highest-ranking national official in the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, previously said in a statement that they are “actively working to gather accurate information” amid the investigation by local authorities and “we fully support their efforts to seek the truth.”

A public memorial is scheduled to be held for Wilson at Southern University on Friday to “mourn this tremendous loss,” school officials said.

“He was a bright light in Jaguar Nation, a dedicated scholar, and a proud member of the world-renowned Human Jukebox,” Southern University Chancellor John Pierre said in a statement. “Caleb Wilson’s kindness, passion, and unwavering spirit left a lasting impact on all who had the privilege of knowing him.”

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