‘Multiple’ drones entered airspace at New Jersey naval station: Official
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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.”
(NEW YORK) — Police appear to be closing in on the identity of the man suspected of gunning down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Midtown Manhattan, sources told ABC News.
Authorities on Thursday released images of the suspect taken from a surveillance camera at the HI New York City Hostel at West 103rd Street on the Upper West Side, where it appears the suspect shared a room with two other men, according to police sources.
The NYPD has obtained a warrant to search the hostel. Detectives are canvassing other hostels and locations on the Upper West Side and beyond, showing the suspect’s picture as they work to identify him, sources told ABC News.
The gunman shot Thompson at close range on Wednesday morning outside a Hilton Hotel where he was attending a conference.
The “brazen, targeted attack” was “premeditated,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.
Bullet casings found at the scene had the words “deny,” “defend” and “depose” written on them, police sources said.
The motive remains unknown, police said.
The gun used in the shooting hasn’t been recovered, sources said.
Police believe the shooter used a B&T Station Six, known in Great Britain as a Welrod pistol, according to police sources. The gun doesn’t have a silencer but does have a long barrel that enables the 9 mm to fire a nearly silent shot. The gun requires manually cycling ammunition from the magazine.
The weapon is not easily attainable so investigators have been running down all recent purchases, according to police sources. NYPD detectives arrived Thursday at a gun shop in Connecticut that sold a weapon of the same type, sources said.
Thompson, 50, was in New York City for the UnitedHealthcare investors conference, which was scheduled to start at 8 a.m. His schedule was widely known, police sources said.
The suspect — who was caught on surveillance cameras before, during and immediately after the shooting — had been lying in wait near the hotel.
After Thompson exited his hotel across the street and walked to the Hilton, the masked gunman shot him at about 6:40 a.m., police said.
“The shooter then walks toward the victim and continues to shoot,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said. “It appears that the gun malfunctions, as he clears the jam and begins to fire again.”
The shooter fled on foot into an alley, where a phone believed to be linked to the suspect was later recovered, police sources said.
The suspect then fled on a bike and rode into Central Park, police said.
The shooter was caught on surveillance video at 5 a.m. Wednesday outside the Frederick Douglass Houses, a public housing project on the Upper West Side, sources told ABC News. That footage showed the suspect carrying what appeared to be an e-bike battery.
Police have recovered a water bottle and candy wrapper from the crime scene which they believe are linked to the gunman. Fingerprint and DNA tests on the items are ongoing, law enforcement sources told ABC News.
Thompson’s wife, Paulette Thompson, said in a statement that she is “shattered” by the “senseless killing.”
“Brian was an incredibly loving, generous, talented man who truly lived life to the fullest and touched so many lives,” she said. “Most importantly, Brian was an incredibly loving father to our two sons and will be greatly missed.”
Police urge the public to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS with any information.
ABC News’ Mark Crudele and Josh Margolin contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — Former President Donald Trump has a massive personal stake in the upcoming election, which could either send him back to the White House — or to a courtroom for what could be years of legal proceedings under the looming threat of incarceration.
No other presidential candidate in history has faced the possibility of such drastically different outcomes, in which Trump’s legacy, personal fortune, and individual liberty could be decided by a few thousand swing state voters.
If he returns to the White House, Trump has vowed to fire Jack Smith, the special counsel who has brought two federal cases against him, “within two seconds”; he has said he would punish the prosecutors and judges overseeing his cases; and he will likely avoid serious consequences for any of the criminal charges he continues to face.
“If he wins, say goodbye to all the criminal cases,” said Karen Friedman Agnifilo, who previously served as the chief of the Manhattan district attorney’s trial division.
“The criminal cases are over, whether it’s legally or practically,” added Friedman Agnifilo, who said a Trump victory would be a “get out of jail free card” for the former president.
If he loses the election, Trump faces years of court proceedings, hundreds of millions in civil penalties, and the possibility of jail time, beginning with the sentencing for his New York criminal case on Nov. 26.
Here is what could happen in each of Trump’s criminal cases.
New York hush money case
Trump’s most pressing legal issue following the election is his Nov. 26 sentencing on 34 felony counts for falsifying business records to cover up a 2016 hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.
Defense lawyers were able to successfully delay the sentencing twice — first by asking to have the case dismissed based on presidential immunity and the second time by highlighting the political stakes of a pre-election sentencing. Describing Trump’s case as one that “stands alone, in a unique place in this Nation’s history,” New York Judge Juan Merchan opted to delay the sentencing until November to ensure the jury’s verdict would “be respected and addressed in a manner that is not diluted by the enormity of the upcoming presidential election.”
While first-time offenders convicted of falsifying business records normally avoid incarceration, legal experts told ABC News that the unique factors of Trump’s case — including him being held in criminal contempt ten times and the finding that he falsified business records to influence an election — could push Judge Merchan to impose some prison time. When ABC News surveyed 14 legal experts about Trump’s sentence in June, five believed an incarceratory sentence was likely, two described the decision as a toss-up, and seven believed a prison sentence was unlikely.
The sentencing could still proceed in November if Trump wins the election, though the new circumstances could influence Judge Merchan’s decision, according to Boston College law professor Jeffrey Cohen. Merchan could opt to impose a lighter sentence — such as a day of probation — or opt to delay the sentence until Trump leaves office.
“A sitting president wouldn’t be forced to be incarcerated while they’re serving their presidency, and so he could theoretically serve it once he’s out of office,” said Cohen, who noted that a delayed sentence could incentivize Trump to remain in office as long as possible.
“If he wins, I think realistically speaking, not there will be no meaningful sentence because of it,” said Friedman Agnifilo.
Trump’s lawyers could also attempt to delay the sentencing in light of the outcome of the election, and the former president still has multiple outstanding legal efforts to delay the case. On Nov. 12, Judge Merchan plans to issue a ruling on Trump’s motion to throw out the case because of the Supreme Court’s recent ruling granting him immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts undertaken as president — and if Merchan denies that motion, Trump could attempt to immediately appeal it to try to delay the sentencing further.
Trump has also asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to move the state case into federal court, which his lawyers could use to prompt a delay of the sentencing. Unlike his federal cases — for which Trump could theoretically pardon himself — the state case will likely remain outside the reach of a presidential pardon, even if Trump successfully removes the case to federal court, according to Cohen.
Federal election interference case
In the shadow of the presidential race, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan has been considering how Trump’s federal election subversion case should proceed in light of the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling, which delayed the case for nearly a year. Fifteen months after Trump pleaded not guilty to charges of undertaking a “criminal scheme” to overturn the results of the 2020 election, Judge Chutkan has set a schedule for the case that stretches beyond the election, with deadlines for key filings set for as late Dec. 19.
Trump has vowed to fire Smith if he’s reelected, but that might not be necessary since long-standing DOJ policy bars the prosecution of a sitting president — meaning the federal cases against Trump may be stopped immediately should Trump take office.
While Smith could attempt to continue his prosecution in the two months between the election and the inauguration, there’s little he could do to revive the case, according to Pace University law professor Bennett Gershman.
“They can continue to do what they’re doing, but it’s not going to really matter if, at the end of the day, Trump is able to appoint an attorney general who will then make a motion to dismiss the charges,” Gershman said.
While his federal case will inevitably go away if Trump wins, the exact way it happens is uncertain. Smith could attempt to issue a final report about his findings, Trump could face a standoff with Congress or the acting attorney general about firing Smith, or Judge Chutkan could push back against the Justice Department’s eventual move to dismiss the charges.
If Trump loses the election, Judge Chutkan is expected to continue to assess whether any of the allegations in the case are protected by presidential immunity. Her final decision will likely be appealed and could return to the Supreme Court, likely delaying a trial for at least another year, according to experts.
Federal classified documents case
After U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed Trump’s criminal case for retaining classified documents and obstructing the government’s efforts to retrieve them, Smith asked an appeals court to reinstate the case, arguing that Cannon’s decision about the appointment and funding of special counsels could “jeopardize the longstanding operation of the Justice Department and call into question hundreds of appointments throughout the Executive Branch.”
If Trump wins the election, prosecutors will likely have no choice but to withdraw their appeal, according to Friedman Agnifilo, cementing Judge Cannon’s dismissal of the case.
If Trump loses the election, the case faces a long road before reaching a trial. Prosecutors need to successfully convince the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reverse Cannon’s dismissal, and Trump’s team has already raised a defense based on presidential immunity, which could become the basis for a future appeal.
Faced with a series of adverse rulings, Smith would also face a key decision about whether to ask for Judge Cannon to be recused from the case, according to Cohen.
“I’m not sure what their reasons are now, except ‘We don’t really like what she’s decided,'” said Cohen, who was skeptical about the government’s grounds for recusal based on the trial record alone.
In a separate case overseen by Judge Cannon, defense lawyers for Ryan Routh — the man accused of trying to assassinate Trump at his Florida golf course in September — moved to have Cannon recused, in part citing ABC News’ reporting that a personnel roster circulating through Trump’s transition operation included Cannon’s name among potential candidates for attorney general should Trump be reelected. Cannon on Tuesday rejected that motion, describing the argument about a potential appointment as “‘rumors’ and ‘innuendos.'”
“We had a brave, brilliant judge in Florida. She’s a brilliant judge, by the way. I don’t know her. I never spoke to her. Never spoke to her. But we had a brave and very brilliant judge,” Trump said about Cannon last week.
Fulton County election interference case
Trump’s criminal case in Fulton County, Georgia, related to his effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election in that state, has been stalled since June while an appeals court considers the former president’s challenge to Judge Scott McAfee’s decision not to disqualify District Attorney Fani Willis for what McAfee called a “significant appearance of impropriety” stemming from a romantic relationship between Willis and a prosecutor on her staff. A Georgia appeals court scheduled oral arguments about whether Willis can continue her case on Dec. 6.
When asked about the future of the case if Trump wins the election, Trump defense attorney Steve Sadow told Judge McAfee last December that a trial would likely have to wait until after Trump completes his term in office.
Since August 2023, when Trump was charged in Fulton County with 13 criminal counts, Judge McAfee has chipped away at the indictment by tossing five of the counts with which Trump was originally charged.
If he loses the election, Trump could attempt to stall the case by continuing to push to have Willis disqualified or by mounting a presidential immunity defense.
“The indictment in this case charges President Trump for acts that lie at the heart of his official responsibilities as President,” Trump’s lawyers wrote in a January motion.
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during a briefing on Hurricane Helene response and recovery efforts, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on October 1, 2024 in Washington, DC. (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will both head to the Southeast on Wednesday to survey damage wrought by Hurricane Helene, which so far is confirmed to have killed more than 160 people.
The president said Tuesday that the cost of the massive storm could stretch into the billions of dollars.
“We have to jump start this recovery process,” Biden said. “People are scared to death. This is urgent.”
Biden’s scheduled visit to North Carolina — which is expected to be a pivotal battleground state in next month’s presidential election — and South Carolina will include an aerial tour of Asheville in western North Carolina, which was one of the region’s worst hit areas.
“I’ve ensured my travel will not disrupt the ongoing response,” Biden said in a post to X. “I plan to travel to Georgia and Florida as soon as possible.”
Harris will travel to Georgia, another battleground state.
“The Vice President will also provide updates on Federal actions that are being taken to support emergency response and recovery efforts in Georgia and several other states throughout the southeast,” her office said in a statement.
Hundreds of people remain unaccounted for following Helene’s passage. More than 150,000 households have registered for assistance with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Frank Matranga — an agency representative — said.
That number is expected to increase in the coming days, Matranga said. He noted that almost two million ready-to-eat meals and more than a million liters of water have been sent to the hardest-hit areas.
Wednesday’s visits by Biden and Harris come shortly after former President Donald Trump traveled to devastated Valdosta, Georgia, to see Helene’s destruction firsthand.
Trump also used the Monday visit to attack his Democratic opponents over their emergency response efforts.
“As you know, our country is in the final weeks of a hard-fought national election,” Trump said while in Valdosta.
“But in a time like this, when a crisis hits, when our fellow citizens cry out in need, none of that matters. We’re not talking about politics now. We have to all get together and get this solved. We need a lot of help. They have to have a lot of help down here,” Trump said.
Trump accused Biden and Harris of “being very nonresponsive,” claiming both had failed to speak to Georgia’s Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, though Kemp said they had.
The president hit back at the criticism.
“Let me get this straight — he’s lying,” Biden said during an Oval Office briefing with reporters, framing Trump’s remarks as “irresponsible.”
“I don’t know why he does this, and the reason I get so angry about it — I don’t care about what he says about me, I care what he communicates to the people that are in need. He implies that we’re not doing everything possible. We are. We are,” Biden said.
