Judge rejects Ghislaine Maxwell’s attempt to overturn conviction
In this photo from July 2, 2020, former United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York Audrey Strauss spoke to the media to announce the arrest of Ghislaine Maxwell in New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — A federal judge in New York on Tuesday rejected Ghislaine Maxwell’s challenge to her conviction, finding her claims “meritless” or “frivolous.”
Maxwell was trying to vacate her conviction and 20-year prison sentence.
Maxwell was convicted of five felony counts, all arising from her participation with Jeffrey Epstein, in the sexual abuse of young girls over the course of a decade. A federal appeals court upheld her conviction and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to take up her petition.
In court filings, Maxwell argued documents released in the Epstein files supported her claims of constitutional violations, but Judge Paul Engelmayer called her claims “all meritless and all or almost all are frivolous.”
“And the purported ‘new’ evidence to which Maxwell points, principally materials released under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, is largely irrelevant to the charges against Maxwell and does not support her claims of error,” the judge continued. “On the contrary, to the extent it is relevant, far from exculpating her, it incriminates her or reinforces the correctness of the legal rulings Maxwell challenges.”
Craig Berry is seen in an undated photo released by the Stewart County Sheriff’s Office. (Stewart County Sheriff’s Office)
(TENNESSEE) — A manhunt is underway in Tennessee for a man with “extensive” survival training who is accused of shooting his wife then fleeing into the woods, authorities said.
Local, state and federal authorities are involved in the search for Craig Berry, who is wanted for second-degree attempted murder, according to the Stewart County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies responded to a domestic altercation at his residence in Dover around 1:30 a.m. on May 1, according to Stewart County Sheriff’s Office. Berry fled into the woods near his home after allegedly shooting his wife and was gone before deputies arrived, authorities said.
His wife was transported to a medical facility, according to the sheriff’s office, which did not provide details on her condition.
The sheriff’s office said Berry is very familiar with the area and warned it could be a “lengthy process” to capture him.
“Berry is a retired special forces veteran and has extensive training in survival tactics,” Stewart County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Paulette Redman said in a statement on Monday. “He is an excellent swimmer and diver, and is in good physical shape.”
Berry is armed with “at least one handgun” and may have taken extra ammunition, according to Redman. He is not believed to have any phone or other means of communication on him, she said.
Berry was captured by a trail camera wearing camouflage clothing, the sheriff’s office said while releasing the photo.
“We are not ruling out the possibility that he has received some outside assistance after the incident,” Redman said.
The U.S. Marshals Service, Tennessee Highway Patrol and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation are assisting in the search, the sheriff’s office said.
There is no information indicating that he is no longer in the area, the sheriff’s office said Monday.
He was last seen near River Trace Road, and authorities are conducting a “very detailed search” of the area from River Trace Road to Highway 79 to parts of Highway 232 this week, the sheriff’s office said Monday.
The sheriff’s office advised residents to call 911 if they see anything suspicious.
High temperatures for Monday, May 4, 2026. (ABC News)
(NEW YORK) — Millions of people across the country are buckling up for wild temperature swings of up to 30 degrees this week.
The roller-coaster-like dips and highs in temperatures across most of the nation will come amid a late-season snowstorm in Denver and Rocky Mountains. An Illinois dust storm threat could reduce visibility to less than a quarter of a mile.
Whiplash temperature swings
On Monday, temperatures will be above average across much of the Midwest and Northwest, and below average in California and southwest Arizona.
Temperatures are expected to climb to 80 on Monday from Chicago to Kansas City — making it 10 to 15 degrees above average for this time of year.
Oklahoma City and Dallas are forecast to be in the mid-80s on Monday. Meanwhile, California’s Bay Area and Los Angeles are expected to be in the mid-60s on Monday — 5 to 10 degrees below average for the first week of May.
But on Tuesday, temperatures are expected to dramatically drop across parts of the Midwest, including Chicago, which is forecast to see a 20-degree decline, and Denver with a 30-degree decline.
Severe storms are also possible on Tuesday from Dallas to Jonesboro, Arkansas, with the main threats expected to be large hail, damaging wind and possible isolated tornadoes. On Wednesday, severe weather moves across east Texas and into central Alabama, bringing damaging wind, large hail, possible tornadoes and the risk of flash flooding.
New York City, Washington, D.C., and Raleigh, North Carolina, are expected to top 80 degrees on Tuesday — which is 5 to 15 degrees above average for this time of the year.
On Wednesday, a rush of cold air is expected to bring widespread below-average temperatures across the Midwest and Great Lakes.
By Friday, cooler-than-normal temperatures spread across the East and South, while the West goes above average with highs near 100 for Phoenix and Las Vegas, while only reaching the 60s in New York City and Washington, D.C., and the 50s in Boston.
Snow in Colorado
The Colorado Rocky Mountains have received a record-low snowpack this winter. But a late-season snowstorm expected in the area beginning Monday and running through Wednesday could bring a foot to 2 feet of much-needed snow to the Rockies.
Winter storm alerts are in place for parts of Colorado and Wyoming through Wednesday. The heaviest snow is forecast to fall on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The Denver metro area could see 3 to 9 inches of snow on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The pending storm is already making an impact on America’s favorite summer pastime — baseball. The start time of Monday’s game in Denver between the New York Mets and the Colorado Rockies has been moved up three hours to 3:40 p.m. MT due to potential snow.
Blowing dust in Illinois
A rare blowing dust advisory has been issued in Illinois, including the Chicago area. Blowing dust was already an issue in Central Illinois on Sunday.
Visibility of less than a quarter mile is possible on Monday in some agricultural areas of the region.
It’s only the second time in history that the National Weather Service (NWS) office based in Chicago has issued a blowing dust advisory. The first advisory was on May 16, 2025, when a large dust storm caused visibility to drop to near zero and wind gusts rose to 60 mph in Chicago and across the area, according to the NWS.
The Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool as it is painted blue on Thursday, May 7, 2026. President (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — A nonprofit organization is attempting to stop the Trump administration’s repainting of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, alleging that the plan “willfully disregards legal limits established by Congress.”
The Cultural Landscape Foundation filed a lawsuit on Monday in D.C. federal court asking a judge to halt the renovations until the Trump administration gets approval from Congress.
“Every day that the resurfacing continues, the historic character of the Reflecting Pool is being further and fundamentally altered,” the lawsuit alleged about the project, part of President Donald Trump’s D.C. “beautification” efforts that include renovations to the White House East Wing and a planned triumphal arch near Arlington National Cemetery.
Because the reflecting pool and its surrounding landscape are on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the National Mall Historic District, the lawsuit alleged that Trump administration should have gotten approval for the changes under the Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act.
“This latest desecration of the reflecting pool is part of a pattern — epitomized most notably by the rush to destroy the East Wing of the White House — in which this Administration willfully disregards legal limits established by Congress,” the lawsuit alleged.
The Cultural Landscape Foundation is a D.C.-based nonprofit that maintains a database of cultural landscapes and advocates for the preservation of threatened landscape architecture.
In a statement to ABC News, a spokesperson for the Department of the Interior defended the renovations, which includes repainting the pool “American Flag Blue” and installing a new filtration system.
“President Trump has done more to make our nation’s capital a shining beacon than any other president in the history of this country. The National Park Service chose the best company to expedite the repair of the iconic Reflecting Pool ahead of our 250 celebrations,” the statement said.
The statement did not address whether the Trump administration sought any kind of approval for the project or if they plan to do so.
