More than 100 firefighters battle massive blaze in Denver
Perry Gerenday/Getty Images
(DENVER) — More than 100 firefighters battled a massive five-alarm fire Friday evening in Denver at an apartment building construction site — about the size of a city block — working for hours to keep the flames from spreading to nearby structures, officials said.
One firefighter was injured battling the fire and taken to the hospital, the Denver Fire Department told ABC News.
There were no other injuries immediately reported.
The fire spurred evacuation orders for nearby residents.
By late evening, the fire was largely under control but not fully extinguished. Officials estimated the blaze was about 70% contained, with pockets of deep-seated fire still burning inside the structure. Firefighters were expected to remain on scene through the night to fully suppress hot spots.
The building, which was in the early to mid-stages of construction, was primarily made of wood, with some plastic materials used in wrapping and construction.
U.S. President Donald Trump gaggles with reporters while aboard Air Force One on February 6, 2026 en route to Palm Beach, Florida. Samuel Corum/Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — The fight over the Trump administration’s appointment of U.S. attorneys has taken another turn with the Justice Department’s firing of a newly appointed U.S. attorney in Northern New York.
After the DOJ’s appointment of acting U.S. Attorney John Sarcone III ran out, a court on Wednesday appointed Donald Kinsella to lead the U.S. attorney’s office in that district, according to a notice from the court.
But just hours after Kinsella’s appointment, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche fired him.
The ongoing battle centers on who has the right to select the prosecutors who lead the nation’s U.S. attorneys offices, with the Justice Department appointing a series of acting attorneys general despite laws that don’t allow those positions to be filled by consecutive interim nominees without either Senate confirmation or appointment by the federal judiciary.
“Judges don’t pick U.S. Attorneys. @POTUS does. See Article II of our Constitution. You are fired, Donald Kinsella,” Blanche tweeted Wednesday, hours after Kinsella’s appointment by the court.
The head of the White House Presidential Personnel Office, Dan Scavino, tweeted that Kinsella should “check your email.”
Last fall a court found that Lindsey Halligan, a former White House aide who was appointed by President Donald Trump as interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, had been unlawfully appointed because the law doesn’t allow the position to be filled by two interim nominees in a row, in violation of the U.S. Constitution’s Appointments Clause.
After a federal judge threw out the indictments Halligan obtained against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, Attorney General Pam Bondi filed an appeal this week arguing that she has the authority to address U.S. attorney vacancies.
Trump’s former personal attorney, Alina Habba, was disqualified in December from serving as interim U.S. attorney in New Jersey after the Trump administration sought to extend her appointment, and courts in Nevada and California have made similar rulings involving the appointments of acting U.S. attorneys in those districts.
Donna Massey, the mother of shooting victim Sonya Massey, is comforted during a press conference at New Mount Pilgrim Church on July 30, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. Scott Olson/Getty Images
(SPRINGFIELD, Ill.) — Sean Grayson, the former Sangamon County sheriff’s deputy, is set to be sentenced on Thursday after his convicted in October 2025 of second-degree murder for the July 2024 fatal shooting of Sonya Massey, a Black woman who called 911 to report a possible intruder at her home in Springfield, Illinois.
Grayson could be sentenced to four to 20 years in prison or he could be sentenced to probation, according to prosecutors.
Sontae Massey, Massey’s cousin, told Springfield ABC affiliate WICS in an interview that aired ahead of the sentencing on Wednesday that her death “shattered” her family and they are now bracing for Grayson’s sentencing.
“I’m a little anxious. I think I speak for the family when I say that. You know, there’s a lot of feelings involved, particularly her children,” Sontae Massey said.
She noted that family members, including Massey’s teenage children Malachi and Summer, are expected to deliver impact statements during the sentencing hearing.
Family representatives for the Massey family told ABC News on Wednesday that the family will hold a press conference after Grayson’s sentencing hearing.
Ahead of sentencing Grayson, the judge denied on Thursday morning Grayson’s request for a new trial.
Grayson’s attorneys filed a motion for a new trial on Dec. 2, 2025, arguing that “several erroneous rulings” “resulted in prejudice to the defendant.”
The motion, which was reviewed by ABC News, cited alleged “errors” that include “incorrectly” focusing on Grayson’s “obligations as a police officer” when determining not to release him pre-trial, as opposed to “the danger he posed as a private citizen.”
Grayson’s attorneys also argued in the motion that the judge should not have admitted into evidence the body camera video that showed Grayson’s “statements and actions” after he fatally shot Massey.
Grayson’s attorneys did not respond to ABC News’ requests for comment.
Sangamon County State’s Attorney John Milhiser, who prosecuted Grayson, told ABC News on Thursday that his office filed a motion asking the judge to deny Grayson’s request for a new trial.
Body camera footage of the July 6, 2024 incident shows Grayson, who was inside Massey’s home, pointing to a pot of boiling water on her stove and says, “Walk away from your hot steaming water.”
Massey then appears to pour the water into the sink and repeats the deputy’s phrase before saying, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus,” according to the video.
Grayson threatens to shoot her and Massey apologizes and ducks down behind a counter, covering her face with what appears to be a red oven mitt, the video shows. As she briefly rises, Grayson shoots her three times in the face, the footage shows.
During Grayson’s testimony, he told the jury he believed Massey was going to throw the scalding water on him and was scared.
The assistant state attorney said that Massey’s final words before being shot with her hands up were, “I’m sorry,” according to WICS.
Grayson was initially charged with three counts in connection to Massey’s death — first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct. He pleaded not guilty to all counts.
Following the seven-day trial in October 2025, the jury was given the option of considering second-degree murder instead of first-degree murder.
ABC News’ Mariama Jalloh and Sabina Ghebremedhin contributed to this report.
Rob Reiner and Michele Reiner attend Human Rights Campaign’s 2025 Los Angeles Dinner at Fairmont Century Plaza on March 22, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for Human Rights Campaign)
(NEW YORK) — Nick Reiner is set to enter a plea to murder charges on Monday following his arrest late last year in the stabbing deaths of his parents, renowned director Rob Reiner and his wife Michele Reiner.
The 32-year-old faces two counts of first-degree murder with the special circumstance of multiple murders.
He was set to enter a plea last month at a hearing in Los Angeles, before his defense attorney, Alan Jackson, withdrew from the case during the court appearance. Nick Reiner agreed to delay his arraignment and was assigned a public defender.
He remains in jail on no bail.
Jackson told reporters after court that he had to withdraw as Nick Reiner’s counsel due to “circumstances beyond our control, but more importantly, circumstances beyond Nick’s control.”
“Pursuant to the law in California, Nick Reiner is not guilty of murder,” he added. “We wish him the very best moving forward.”
A Reiner family spokesperson said at the time, “They have the utmost trust in the legal process and will not comment further on matters related to the legal proceedings.”
Nick Reiner made a brief first court appearance on Dec. 17, during which he waived the right to a speedy arraignment.
Since then, sources told ABC News that law enforcement and defense attorneys had been working to piece together Nick Reiner’s psychiatric and substance abuse history.
He has a documented history of addiction and substance abuse treatment, and friends have told investigators that his mental health had been deteriorating prior to the fatal stabbings.
Rob Reiner and Michele Reiner were found stabbed to death in their Brentwood home on Dec. 14, 2025.
The night before, Nick Reiner — who had been living on his parents’ property — got into an argument with Rob Reiner at a holiday party and was seen acting strangely, sources told ABC News.
Nick Reiner was taken into custody in downtown Los Angeles hours after the bodies were discovered.
Rob and Michele Reiners’ other children, Jake and Romy Reiner, said in a statement following their parents’ deaths, “Words cannot even begin to describe the unimaginable pain we are experiencing.”
“The horrific and devastating loss of our parents, Rob and Michele Reiner, is something that no one should ever experience. They weren’t just our parents; they were our best friends,” they said.
