Category: National

(WASHINGTON) — President-elect Donald Trump this week voiced support for tens of thousands of unionized dockworkers in a dispute with major shipping companies.

Negotiations between workers and management are deadlocked over the companies’ plan for further automation of ports, which the union said would eliminate jobs.

“I’ve studied automation, and know just about everything there is to know about it,” Trump said Thursday in a post on Truth Social. “The amount of money saved is nowhere near the distress, hurt, and harm it causes for American Workers, in this case, our Longshoremen.”

The vow of support for dockworkers aligns with Trump’s campaign promise to safeguard blue-collar workers threatened by global capitalism, depicting automation as an unwelcome change foisted on workers by foreign-owned shipping firms, some experts said.

Trump’s rejection of automation highlights a tension found in his economic policy, however, some experts added.

Like tariffs, the policy aims to protect a narrow set of workers at the possible expense of importers and consumers, who could suffer higher costs as a result of a missed opportunity to improve the supply chain, some experts said. While others defended Trump’s attempt to protect dockworkers from technological change.

The Trump transition team did not respond to ABC News’ request for comment.

Here’s what to know about the labor dispute over automation at East and Gulf Coast docks, and what it says about how Trump may approach the economy in his second term.

Dockworkers and freight companies feud over automation

A strike in October at docks across the East and Gulf coasts threatened to upend the economy and drive up prices, but workers and management ended the stoppage with a tentative agreement after three days.

The deal includes a 62% wage increase over the life of the six-year contract, but the two sides have yet to finalize it due to a disagreement over plans for further automation.

The standoff centers on the potential installation of cranes that would facilitate the retrieval and storage of freight containers, said John McCown, a non-resident senior fellow at the Center for Maritime Strategy who closely tracks the shipping industry.

Cranes already help remove containers from a ship and place it in a nearby port terminal, but shipping companies have sought the use of additional automated cranes once goods have reached land, McCown said.

The cranes work like an old-fashioned juke box, he added. “You hit a number and it goes to pick a record and play a record,” McCown said, noting the cranes would similarly mechanize sorting and transport of containers.

The U.S. Maritime Alliance, or USMX, the organization representing shipping firms in negotiations, said on Thursday that such automation would improve efficiency and increase capacity. Those enhancements would benefit U.S. companies and consumers that depend on goods from abroad, the group added.

“We need modern technology that is proven to improve worker safety, boost port efficiency, increase port capacity, and strengthen our supply chains,” USMX said in a statement.

The USMX did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.

The plans have drawn rebuke from the International Longshoremen’s Association, or ILA, the union representing dockworkers. The union has pointed to massive profits enjoyed by the shipping firms during the pandemic, saying further automation would invest those gains in job-cutting machinery rather than increased compensation. Workers have also disputed the supposed productivity benefits of the technology.

“This isn’t about safety or productivity — it’s about job elimination,” ILA President Dennis Daggett, said in a statement earlier this month. The union has proven that the automated cranes at issue “are not more productive than traditional equipment operated by human workers,” Daggett added.

In response to ABC News’ request for comment, the ILA shared a statement from Daggett praising Trump.

“Throughout my career, I’ve never seen a politician — let alone the President of the United States — truly understand the importance of the work our members do every single day,” Daggett said.

What could Trump’s approach to the standoff mean for his 2nd term?

In his social media post backing the workers and opposing port automation, Trump criticized foreign-owned shipping firms for what he described as penny pinching.

“For the great privilege of accessing our markets, these foreign companies should hire our incredible American Workers, instead of laying them off, and sending those profits back to foreign countries,” Trump said. “It is time to put AMERICA FIRST!”

The framework presents U.S. workers as victims of foreign companies, which he says aim to make use of America’s economic resources at the expense of its citizens. As such, Trump’s intervention in this case favors the ILA in its longstanding fight against automation, Peter Cole, a professor at Western Illinois University who studies the history of dockworkers, told ABC News.

“The ILA will really benefit if in fact Trump pushes employers to back off automation,” Cole said, noting that the explanation offered up by Trump reflects a larger political shift in the U.S. against unrestricted global trade.

“Presidents in both main parties have supported more manufacturing domestically,” Cole said.

However, Trump’s opposition to automation risks imposing higher costs on consumers and even some domestic manufacturers, since advances in productivity would help lower supply costs otherwise passed along to buyers at the end of the chain, some experts said.

Trump mistakenly claims that foreign shipping companies would bear the cost of forgone automation, just as he inaccurately says that foreign countries would pay the cost of tariffs, David Autor, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who specializes in technological change and the labor force, told ABC News.

“The assertion that raising tariffs at our ports will force foreigners to cover these costs is beyond naive,” Autor said. “It’s simply false.

Autor said the hardship that dockworkers would face if automation were to advance and put many of them out of work. “It will not be good for the livelihoods of longshoremen and we should not pretend otherwise,” Autor said, adding that the workers should receive compensation or other protections under such circumstances.

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(WASHINGTON) — President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance will make their way to Landover, Maryland, on Saturday to attend the Army-Navy football game and will be joined by Daniel Penny, the Marine veteran recently acquitted in the subway chokehold case in New York City.

Vance posted on X that he invited Penny, who was just acquitted in the death of Jordan Neely, to join him in Trump’s suite.

“Daniel’s a good guy, and New York’s mob district attorney tried to ruin his life for having a backbone,” Vance posted. “I’m grateful he accepted my invitation and hope he’s able to have fun and appreciate how much his fellow citizens admire his courage.”

In the wake of his acquittal, Vance posted that “justice was done in this case. It was a scandal Penny was ever prosecuted in the first place.”

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

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(NEW YORK) — Luigi Mangione, the suspect accused of gunning down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, may waive extradition to New York City as early as Tuesday, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said on Friday.

“Indications are that the defendant may waive, but that waiver is not complete until a court proceeding,” Bragg said.

The earliest a court proceeding could be scheduled in Pennsylvania is Tuesday, Bragg said.

“So until that time, we are going to continue to press forward on parallel paths,” he said. “We will be ready, whether he is going to waive extradition or whether he is going to contest extradition.”

Prosecutors at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office have begun presenting evidence to a grand jury as they work to secure an indictment against Mangione, sources told ABC News.

The DA’s office declined to comment due to the secrecy surrounding grand jury matters.

Mangione, a 26-year-old Ivy League graduate, remains in custody at a Pennsylvania state prison after a judge denied bail on Tuesday.

“He has constitutional rights and that’s what he’s doing” in challenging the interstate transfer, defense attorney Thomas Dickey told reporters on Tuesday.

Mangione was apprehended in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on Monday after nearly one week on the run following the Dec. 4 slaying for the UnitedHealthcare CEO.

UnitedHealthcare told ABC News that Mangione was not a member of the insurer.

Authorities are still looking to access a phone recovered by police in an alley following the shooting that is believed to be linked to the suspect, sources said Thursday. Police have obtained a search warrant for the phone, sources said.

At least two other search warrants have been issued so far in the New York case. They include to search the hostel where the suspect stayed in New York City, as well as the backpack containing Monopoly money and a jacket that was found in Central Park and is believed to belong to him, sources said.

Three shell casings recovered outside the Midtown Manhattan hotel where Thompson was fatally shot match the gun allegedly found on Mangione when he was arrested, police announced Wednesday.

Fingerprints recovered from a water bottle and a Kind bar near the crime scene have also been matched to Mangione, police said.

In Pennsylvania, Mangione faces charges including allegedly possessing an untraceable ghost gun.

In New York, he faces charges including second-degree murder.

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(NEW YORK) — Thousands of Amazon workers at the company’s first-ever unionized warehouse voted to authorize a strike on Friday, claiming the tech giant has refused to recognize the union and negotiate a contract at the New York City facility.

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the union representing roughly 5,500 workers at the warehouse, said Amazon risks a strike if it does not begin negotiations by Sunday.

“Amazon is pushing its workers closer to the picket line by failing to show them the respect they have earned,” Teamsters President Sean O’Brien told ABC News in a statement. “If these white-collar criminals want to keep breaking the law, they better get ready for a fight.”

A strike authorization vote affords union leadership the ability to declare a work stoppage if deemed appropriate. But the vote does not guarantee that a strike will take place.

The headline-grabbing union victory at the Amazon facility in Staten Island, New York, in 2022, accelerated an upsurge of labor organizing that took hold nationwide during the pandemic.

After the union victory, however, Amazon filed objections with the National Labor Relations Board, or NLRB, seeking to overturn the outcome, including allegations that NLRB officials showed a favorable bias toward the workers and that union leaders bribed colleagues in an effort to win their support.

So far, those legal challenges by Amazon have failed to overturn the union win. Months after the victory, a hearing officer for the NLRB recommended that the vote should stand. Soon afterward, the NLRB officially certified the union representing workers at the facility, putting Amazon under a legal obligation to bargain in good faith. Amazon appealed the ruling.

Workers have alleged that the company’s legal challenge amounts to an illegal effort to delay contract negotiations.

Amazon did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment. In a previous statement to ABC News, Amazon Spokesperson Eileen Hards said the company respects workers’ right to unionize but it contests the results of the election at the Staten Island warehouse, also known as JFK8.

“Our employees have the choice of whether or not to join a union,” Hards said. “They always have.”

“We strongly disagree with the outcome, and as we showed throughout the JFK8 Objections Hearing with dozens of witnesses and hundreds of pages of documents, both the NLRB and the ALU improperly influenced the outcome of the election and we don’t believe it represents what the majority of our team wants,” she added.

Workers at the facility previously said a union contract should include minimum pay of $30 per hour and bolstered safety protections.

A delay is typical for a first union contract, but the passage of time in this case has extended beyond the norm.

The average length of time before a new union signs its first contract is 465 days, according to a Bloomberg Law analysis in 2022. Nearly 990 days have passed since Amazon workers in New York City voted to unionize the facility.

On Friday, the Teamsters said workers at a second facility in Queens had also voted to authorize a strike.

“Driving for Amazon is tough,” Luc Rene, a worker at the Queens facility, said in a statement. “What’s even tougher is fighting a mega-corporation that constantly breaks the law and games the system. But we won’t give up.”

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(Colts Neck, N.J.) — There have been “multiple” instances of drones entering the airspace at a Navy weapons station in New Jersey, officials there said Friday, as the concern continues to grow over widespread drone sightings in the region.

Naval Weapons Station Earle, which is located in Colts Neck, New Jersey, said it was “aware” of the sightings in the region and “continues to closely coordinate with federal and state agencies to ensure the safety of our personnel and operations.”

“While no direct threats to the installation have been identified, we can confirm multiple instances of unidentified drones entering the airspace above Naval Weapons Station Earle,” Bill Addison, public affairs officer for the naval station, said in a statement to ABC News. “The base remains prepared to respond to any potential risks, leveraging robust security measures and advanced detection capabilities.”

The base did not say when the incidents happened.

Residents in northern New Jersey — especially in Morris and Somerset counties — have shared many videos and stories about drones larger than those used by hobbyists flying overheard at night since mid-November. Colts Neck is located in Monmouth County, in the eastern part of the state.

Sen. Andy Kim, who was sworn into office just this week, spent Thursday night in Hunterdon County, which neighbors Somerset, where he said he saw dozens of drones in a two-hour period.

“People deserve answers,” Kim told reporters after his visit to the county. “We don’t need conspiracy theories or conjecture, we need assurances that the people charged with keeping us safe are on top of this issue, and a line of communication so that people feel like their government is taking this seriously.”

He again reiterated his calls for a federal investigation by the FBI and Department of Homeland Security. Kim was one of the four senators in New York and New Jersey — along with fellow Democrats Sens. Chuck Schumer, Kirsten Gillibrand and Cory Booker — who wrote a letter to federal officials Wednesday calling for action.

“We write with urgent concern regarding the unmanned aerial system (UAS) activity that has affected communities across New York and New Jersey in recent days,” the letter said.

While the letter did not specifically mention Naval Weapons Station Earle, it included a note that the drones have been observed near “critical infrastructure and sensitive locations, including reservoirs and military installations.”

The White House downplayed some of the concerns of residents in a press briefing Thursday with national security communications adviser John Kirby saying “many” of the reported drone sightings appear to be lawfully operated manned aircraft.

“We have no evidence at this time that the reported drone sightings pose a national security or a public safety threat, or have a foreign nexus,” Kirby added. “The Department of Homeland Security and the FBI are investigating these sightings, and they’re working closely with state and local law enforcement to provide resources using numerous detection methods to better understand their origin.”

Kim, after seeing the drones with his own eyes late Thursday, said the comments were not necessarily reassuring for residents.

“It’s hard for people to feel secure when there are unexplained drones flying overhead and they’re not getting answers they need from the federal investigation,” Kim said. “This has been going on for weeks and I’m just as frustrated as everyone else in not getting more information and details. That’s why I came out to see for myself, and I’m grateful for local police for taking me around.”

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(NEW YORK) — International consulting firm McKinsey & Company agreed Friday to resolve criminal charges with federal prosecutors in two states for its role in helping Purdue Pharma boost sales of OxyContin and other opioid painkillers, fueling an addiction epidemic.

McKinsey agreed to pay $650 million as part of a deferred prosecution agreement, according to court documents filed Friday.

As part of the agreement, McKinsey will “not do any work related to the marketing, sale, promotion or distribution of controlled substances” and will not contest the facts of the government’s criminal charges.

Those agreed-upon facts said McKinsey “knew the risks and dangers associated with OxyContin” but “designed strategies to help Purdue Pharma” to “turbocharge” OxyContin prescriptions.

“This included a strategy to identify which current OxyContin prescribers would likely generate the greatest number of additional prescriptions if called on by Purdue Pharma’s sales force,” court records said.

During a six year period from 2012-2018, McKinsey “knowingly and intentionally conspired with Purdue Pharma L.P. and others to aid and abet the misbranding of prescription drugs, held for sale after shipment in interstate commerce, without valid prescriptions,” according to the charging document that had been filed jointly by the United States Attorney’s offices for the District of Massachusetts and the Western District of Virginia.

McKinsey was charged with conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and with destroying documents.

In 2019, McKinsey said it would no longer advise clients on opioid-related businesses.

The company reached a $573 million agreement in 2021 with attorneys general in 47 states who said the company worked to drive sales of opioids, contributing to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans.

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

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(NEW YORK) —  Since mid-November, what are believed by many to be large aerial drones have been spotted at night throughout central and northern New Jersey, causing concern for residents who have been posting videos of the aircraft on their social media accounts and prompting increasing demands from local and state officials for answers.

Lawmakers from New York and New Jersey this week sent a letter to the heads of the FBI, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), requesting that the agencies brief them on the issue.

“We write with urgent concern regarding the unmanned aerial system (UAS) activity that has affected communities across New York and New Jersey in recent days,” the letter from New York Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand and New Jersey Sens. Cory Booker and Andy Kim stated. They asked to be briefed “as soon as possible on how your agencies are working with federal and local law enforcement to identify and address the source of these incursions.”

While lawmakers and citizens alike await answers, here’s what to know about the purported drone sightings.

Who’s operating the drones, and why?

According to a DHS handout, “it is unclear who is operating the drones,” but “the State of New Jersey and its agencies are not involved in the operation of these reported drones.” The statement noted that determining the operators is “an aspect of the ongoing federal investigation.”

Similarly, the DHS said there is as yet no “specific details about the drones,” such as their manufacturer or model, and that while “drones are generally required to have tracking capabilities … not all drones comply, and investigations are ongoing to identify the operators.”

Are the drones dangerous?

“At this time, according to the FBI, there are no known specific or credible threats related to these sightings,” the DHS handout states.

During a press briefing Thursday, White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby echoed the DHS statement, and said there was “no evidence at this time that the reported drone sightings pose a national security or a public safety threat.” He added that “upon review of available imagery, it appears that many of the reported sightings are actually manned aircraft that are being operated lawfully.”

Could the drones actually be something else?

It is possible that some people may be mistaking general aviation, commercial or military aircraft for drones. “Drone activity can sometimes be mistaken for general aviation aircraft, such as planes or smaller helicopters, due to several overlapping characteristics,” according to the DHS, including “advanced capabilities that allow them to mimic the flight patterns of helicopters or small planes, such as hovering or making rapid directional changes.”

During his briefing Thursday, Kirby also said that federal authorities and state and local law enforcement “have not been able to … corroborate any of the reported visual sightings. To the contrary, upon review of available imagery, it appears that many of the reported sightings are actually manned aircraft that are being operated lawfully.”

Mine Hill, New Jersey Mayor Sam Morris called Kirby’s claim “ridiculous,” telling ABC News it was “really insulting to all the people here who are living through this.”

“Come on out, Mr. Kirby. And let’s go out one night about 9:30, 10:00,” Morris said. “I’ll go out behind my town hall. And you can count them with me all night.”

Can someone shoot down, capture or disable the drones?

Drones generally can’t be shot down or captured, for both legal and safety reasons, according to the DHS: “Shooting down a drone can pose safety risks to people and property on the ground. Debris from a downed drone can cause injury or damage, especially in populated areas.

Additionally, the small size and maneuverability of drones make them difficult targets, even if there should be a reason to shoot them down. And while “non-kinetic methods such as jamming or hacking can be used” to disable drones, “they require sophisticated technology and expertise,” the DHS says.

It’s also not a good idea to shoot them down yourself. Doing so in New Jersey, for example, is illegal and violates federal law, since drones are regulated by the FAA. According to the DHS, any person who shoots down a drone could be fined up to $250,000 and sentenced to up to 20 years in prison.

State and local authorities also have little to no say legally regarding drone activity, since drones are FAA regulated.

What should you do if you see a drone?

The DHS recommends that anyone who sees what they consider to be suspicious drone activity should report it to their local police. If you live in New Jersey, you can also report it to the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness Counter-Threat Watch Unit at 866-4-SAFE-NJ (1-866-472-3365) or tips@njohsp.gov.

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(NEW YORK) — Luigi Mangione, the suspect accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson wasn’t a member of the insurer, a company spokesperson said.

“Brian Thompson’s killer was not a member of UnitedHealthcare,” the company told ABC News.

Prosecutors at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office have begun presenting evidence to a grand jury as they work to secure an indictment against Mangione for the killing of Thompson, sources told ABC News.

The DA’s office declined to comment due to the secrecy surrounding grand jury matters.

An indictment could strengthen the case for extradition, which Mangione is fighting.

The 26-year-old Ivy League graduate remains in custody at a Pennsylvania state prison after a judge denied bail on Tuesday. His next court date in Pennsylvania is Dec. 30.

“He has constitutional rights and that’s what he’s doing” in challenging the interstate transfer, defense attorney Thomas Dickey told reporters on Tuesday.

Authorities are still looking to access a phone recovered by police in an alley following the shooting that is believed to be linked to the suspect, sources said Thursday. Police have obtained a search warrant for the phone, sources said.

At least two other search warrants have been issued so far in the New York case. They include to search the hostel where the suspect stayed in New York City, as well as the backpack containing Monopoly money and a jacket that was found in Central Park and is believed to belong to him, sources said.

Mangione was apprehended in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on Monday after nearly one week on the run following the Dec. 4 slaying.

Three shell casings recovered outside the Midtown Manhattan hotel where Thompson was fatally shot match the gun allegedly found on Mangione when he was arrested, police announced Wednesday.

Fingerprints recovered from a water bottle and a Kind bar near the crime scene have also been matched to Mangione, police said.

In Pennsylvania, Mangione faces charges including allegedly possessing an untraceable ghost gun.

In New York, he faces charges including second-degree murder.

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