Postal worker killed in Harlem deli after ‘verbal dispute,’ say police
WABC
(NEW YORK) — An on-duty United States Postal Service (USPS) worker was stabbed and killed inside of a deli in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City on Thursday afternoon after a “verbal dispute,” according to the New York Police Department (NYPD).
Officers responded to the deli at 168 Lenox Avenue and found the victim, whom they identified as 36-year-old Ray Hodges, with multiple stab wounds to his stomach, torso, arms, back and neck.
Hodges was taken to a local hospital and later pronounced dead, according to the NYPD.
The NYPD did not specify the nature of the verbal dispute in response to an ABC News request for comment.
Jaia Cruz, 24, was later taken into custody and charged with second-degree murder, according to police.
“The Postal Inspection Service can confirm that on January 2, 2025, a United States Postal Service letter carrier, assigned to Manhattan, was the victim of a homicide. The suspect was apprehended and is currently in custody,” the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) said in a statement. The USPIS statement did not confirm the identity of the victim.
“USPIS takes matters involving the safety and wellbeing of postal service employees as a top priority. We are working diligently with the New York City Police Department on this investigation,” the USPIS statement continued.
The USPIS statement also urged anyone with additional information about the attack to contact them at 1-877-876-2455.
(WASHINGTON) — A federal judge blocked the Trump administration from orchestrating its plan to place 2,200 employees of the United States Agency for International Development on leave at midnight.
In an order late Friday, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols — a Trump appointee — issued a temporary restraining that prevents Trump and the Department of Government Efficiency from placing the employees on administrative leave as had been planned. The judge also ordered the reinstatement of some 500 USAID workers who had already been put on administrative leave and ordered that no USAID employees should be evacuated from their host countries before Feb. 14 at 11:59 p.m.
The judge’s order came several hours after a hearing Friday afternoon during which Nichols said he would issue the temporary restraining order.
Two foreign service unions had sued the federal government amid the Trump administration’s attempts to reduce USAID’s workforce from 14,000 to only 300 employees as part of its efforts to slash government spending.
Earlier Nichols had said the order would prevent the “accelerated removal” of USAID employees from their posts overseas.
“This is about how employees are harmed in their capacity as employees — in the employee/employer relationship — and it seems to me that, for reasons I will discuss in this order, that I will enter there, the plaintiffs have established at least that there is irreparable harm as it relates to that relationship,” Nichols said at the hearing.
Lawyers from the Department of Justice acknowledged that 500 employees from USAID have already been placed on leave, with 2,000 more set to go on leave at midnight.
Acting assistant attorney Brett Shumate told the judge the layoffs were necessary because “the president has decided there was corruption and fraud at USAID.”
“He doesn’t have to justify to the plaintiffs and the court how he exercises his foreign affairs,” Shumate argued. “The president has determined, in his view, significant serious action needs to be taken tonight to prevent taxpayer funds from being sent outside the United States, used for purposes that he doesn’t think are appropriate.”
The American Foreign Service Organization and the American Federation of Government Employees filed the lawsuit in D.C. federal court Thursday, alleging that Trump engaged in a series of “unconstitutional and illegal actions” to systematically destroy USAID.
“Children are being pulled out of school during the middle of the school year at developmentally fragile time periods,” plaintiffs’ attorneys told the judge Friday. “People are being cut off from their access to health care without being able to make arrangements for new health care providers when they have serious health conditions. People are being asked to go back to the United States where they may not have housing they don’t have a home to come back to, and they’re being asked to do that with no source of income or in prospects.”
These actions have generated a global humanitarian crisis by abruptly halting the crucial work of USAID employees, grantees, and contractors. They have cost thousands of American jobs. And they have imperiled U.S. national security interests,” the lawsuit said.
The plaintiffs said Trump has unilaterally attempted to reduce the agency without congressional authorization, arguing that Congress is the only entity with the authority to dismantle USAID.
The lawsuit reads like a timeline of the last two weeks, laying out each step that formed the groundwork to break USAID, beginning with Trump’s first day in office. Shortly after Trump froze foreign aid via an executive order on his first day, he began to target USAID by ordering his State Department to begin issuing stop work orders, the lawsuit said.
“USAID grantees and contractors reeled as they were — without any notice or process — constrained from carrying out their work alleviating poverty, disease, and humanitarian crises,” the lawsuit said.
Next came the layoffs, the lawsuit alleges, with thousands of contractors and employees of USAID losing their jobs, leading medical clinics, soup kitchens, and refugee assistance programs across the world to be brought “to an immediate halt.”
“The humanitarian consequences of defendants’ actions have already been catastrophic,” the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit alleges the Department of Government Efficiency and Elon Musk — who boasted about “feeding USAID into the woodchipper” — made the final move to gut the agency, locking thousands of employees out of their computers and accessing classified material improperly.
While each step to dismantle the organization differed, the lawsuit alleged that they were unified by one thing: “Not a single one of defendants’ actions to dismantle USAID were taken pursuant to congressional authorization.”
The plaintiffs have asked the court to declare Trump’s actions unlawful and issue an order requiring the Trump administration to “cease actions to shut down USAID’s operations in a manner not authorized by Congress.”
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden, President-elect Donald Trump, former presidents and other dignitaries came together Thursday to honor the life of former President Jimmy Carter at a state funeral at Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.
Grandson Jason Carter and Biden were among those who delivered eulogies for the 39th president, who died on Dec. 29 at the age of 100.
Plane takes off for Georgia
The plane carrying former President Jimmy Carter’s casket has taken off from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, marking the last time the 39th president leaves the Washington, D.C., area.
Carter is returning to his hometown of Plains, Georgia, where his family will hold a private service and burial.
Carter to return to Plains
Former President Jimmy Carter’s casket was carried out of Washington National Cathedral to the strains of “Hail to the Chief” at the conclusion of the service.
Next, the hearse will drive to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. The casket will be placed on a plane to return to Carter’s hometown of Plains, Georgia, for a private service.
The 39th president, who died on Dec. 29 at age 100, will be buried in Plains next to his beloved wife of 77 years, Rosalynn, who died on Nov. 19, 2023, at the age of 96.
‘Your spirit will remain with us’
“I don’t mean this with any disrespect, but, it’s still hard for me to understand how you could get to be president from Plains, Georgia,” said former U.N. Ambassador Andrew Young, prompting a big laugh from the crowd in the cathedral.
Young, 92, was appointed to be U.N. Ambassador by Carter and was the first Black person to hold the position.
Young recalled how Carter grew up in a mostly Black county and had many Black friends. He said Carter asked that his roommate at the Naval Academy be the first Black midshipmen in hopes that he could help him adjust.
Carter “went out of his way to embrace those of us who had grown up in all kinds of conflict,” Young said. “But that was the sensitivity, the spirituality that made James Earl Carter a truly great president.”
“He never wavered from his commitment to God almighty and his love of all of God’s children,” Young said. “Jimmy Carter was a blessing that helped to create a great United Staes of America. And for all of us, and many who are not able to be here, I want to say, thank you. You have been a blessing from God and your spirit will remain with us.”
Biden recalls Carter’s ‘strength of character’
After wiping his eyes during “Amazing Grace,” President Joe Biden stepped up to the podium to recall his friendship with former President Jimmy Carter.
“Jimmy Carter’s friendship taught me … strength of character is more than the title or power we hold. It’s the strength to understand that everyone should be treated with dignity, respect. That everyone — and I mean everyone deserves an even shot,” Biden said.
“We have an obligation to give hate no safe harbor and to stand up to — [what] my dad said, the greatest sin of all — the abuse of power,” Biden said, as all of the former presidents looked on. “It’s not about being perfect, none of us are perfect. We’re all fallible.”
“Jimmy Carter, throughout his life, he showed us what it means to be a practitioner of good works and a good and faithful servant of God, and of the people,” Biden said.
Some may think Carter is from a “bygone era,” but Carter “saw well into the future,” Biden said.
To anyone in search of meaning and purpose, Biden said, “study the power of Jimmy Carter’s example.”
“I miss him, but I take solace in knowing that he and his beloved Rosalynn are reunited again,” he said.
Grandson calls Carter ‘definition of integrity’
Former President Jimmy Carter’s house was filled with items like so many other southern grandparents’: fishing trophies, a phone with a landline and a fridge covered with photos of grandchildren and great-grandchildren, his grandson Jason Carter said.
“And demonstrating their Depression-era roots, they had a little rack next to the sink where they would hang Ziploc bags to dry,” Jason Carter said, as the crowd laughed.
“In my 49 years, I never perceived a difference between his public face and his private one. He was the same person,” Jason Carter said. “For me, that’s the definition of integrity.”
“His political life and his presidency, for me, was not just ahead of its time — it was prophetic. He had the courage and strength to stick to his principles, even when they were politically unpopular,” Jason Carter said. “As governor of Georgia half a century ago, he preached an end to racial discrimination and an end to mass incarceration. As president in the 1970s, as you’ve heard, he protected more land than any other president in history. Fifty years ago, he was a climate warrior who pushed for a world where we conserved energy, limited emissions and traded our reliance on fossil fuels for expanded renewable sources.”
President Carter’s beloved wife of 77 years, Rosalynn, died on Nov. 19, 2023, at the age of 96.
Jason Carter said that, in recent weeks, his grandfather “told us he was ready to see her again.”
‘Unshakable sense of right and wrong’
Stuart Eizenstat, who was former President Jimmy Carter’s chief domestic policy adviser, praised Carter’s “unshakable sense of right and wrong.”
“His faith brought integrity to the presidency after Watergate and Vietnam,” Eizenstat recalled. “‘I will never lie to you,’ he promised the American people — a vow he fulfilled.”
Carter is known for his deep faith, and Eizenstat noted how Carter’s “faith respected other religions — he was the first president to light a Hanukkah menorah and he created the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.”
“This president from the deepest part of the Deep South championed civil rights, appointing more people of color and women to senior executive positions and judgeships than all previous 38 presidents,” he said.
“President Carter parked politics at the Oval Office door, to do what he believed was the right thing — tackling controversial challenges regardless of the political consequences. Much of his agenda passed with bipartisan support, a quaint notion in today’s hyper-polarized politics,” Eizenstat said.
Walter Mondale’s son delivers his father’s eulogy
Former President Jimmy Carter’s vice president, Walter Mondale, left behind a eulogy for Carter before he died in 2021.
Mondale’s son, Ted Mondale, delivered that eulogy at Thursday’s service.
The two became close friends and established a person relationship that continued throughout their life, Walter Mondale said.
“While we had only four years in the White House, he achieved so much in that time,” Walter Mondale wrote. “It stood as a marker for Americans dedicated to justice and decency.”
“Carter was far-sighted — he put aside his short-term political interests to tackle challenges that demanded sacrifice to protect our kids and grandkids from future harm,” he wrote. “Very few people in the 1970s had heard the term climate change. Yet Carter put his presidency on the line to pass laws to conserve energy, deregulate new oil and gas prices, and invest in clean, renewable alternatives to fossil fuels. … In many ways, he laid the foundation for future presidents to come to grips with climate change.”
“All of us know President Carter elevated human rights to the top of his agenda, but sometimes we forget how seriously he pushed to advance the rights of women. He proposed and signed the law extending the period for states to approve the Equal Rights Amendment, which now, finally, has been ratified by three quarters of the states,” he wrote.
“Toward the end of our time in the White House, the President and I were talking about how we might describe what we tried to do,” Walter Mondale wrote. “We came up with this sentence, which to me remains an important summary of what we were trying to do: ‘We told the truth, we obeyed the law and we kept the peace.'”
President Ford’s son delivers his father’s eulogy
Former President Gerald Ford, who lost the 1976 election to former President Jimmy Carter, later forged a friendship with Carter, and the two agreed to leave eulogies for each other.
Ford died in 2006 at the age of 93.
Ford’s son Steven Ford, read his father’s eulogy at Carter’s service.
But first, Steven Ford shared his own message, saying he is praying for the Carter children. It was 18 years ago, nearly to the day, Steven Ford said, that his family sat in that same row at the cathedral and the Carters supported his family.
“It was your dad and his great faith that supported my mom and gave her hope,” he said to the Carter children.
President Ford said in the eulogy he left for Carter, “Jimmy and I forged a friendship that transcends politics. We immediately decided to exercise one of the privileges of a former president, forgetting that either one of us had ever said any harsh words about the other one in the heat of battle. Then we got on to much more enjoyable subjects: discussing our families, our faith and sharing our experiences in discovering that there is indeed life after the White House.”
“The American people and the people of the world will be forever blessed by his decades of good works,” President Ford wrote.
To President Carter, President Ford said, “Looking forward to our reunion — we have much to catch up on.”
Carter’s grandson remembers his Sunday school lessons
At the service, former President Jimmy Carter’s grandson Josh Carter recalled his grandfather’s weekly packed Sunday school classes in Plains, Georgia.
He said his grandfather would always poll the congregation and learn people came from all over the country, with diverse backgrounds and beliefs.
“If he stopped a conflict, he talked about it. If he eliminated disease from a village or a country, he would talk about it,” Josh Carter said. “When my brother Jeremy died, he announced that news at Sunday school. In fact, I remember that my brother died on a Sunday because it was the only time my grandfather was ever late to teach.”
“He stated the most serious and universal problem on our planet is the growing chasm between the richest and poorest people on Earth,” he said. “For the next two decades, as the problem compounded, he returned to this theme with stories from the Bible and stories from today.”
“Many of the people that my grandparents helped lived on less than $1 a day,” he said. “My grandfather spent the entire time I’ve known him helping those in need. He built houses for people that needed homes. He eliminated diseases. … He waged peace. … He loved people.”
Harris, Biden arrive
Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff are seated in front of President-elect Donald Trump.
The two did not appear to interact.
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden are also at the cathedral.
Clintons, Bushes arrive
Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are sitting next to former President George W. Bush and former first lady Laura Bush.
Laura Bush sat next to former President Barack Obama, who continued a lengthy conversation with President-elect Donald Trump.
Obama arrives, speaks with Trump
Former President Barack Obama arrived at the service and exchanged a long handshake and a laugh with former Vice President Al Gore.
Obama then sat directly next to Trump and the two exchanged words, both smiling.
Trump arrives, greets Pence
President-elect Donald Trump and Melania Trump have arrived at the service.
Trump shook hands and exchanged brief words with his former Vice President Mike Pence.
Hearse arrives at Washington National Cathedral
Former President Jimmy Carter’s hearse has arrived at Washington National Cathedral for the 10 a.m. service.
Mike Pence, Al Gore arrive at service
Former Vice Presidents Al Gore and Mike Pence have arrived at Washington National Cathedral for the 10 a.m. service.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Vice President-elect JD Vance were also seen at the service.
Carter’s casket leaves US Capitol for final time
Former President Jimmy Carter’s casket has left the U.S. Capitol for the final time. Carter had been lying in state at the Capitol since Tuesday.
His motorcade will now head to Washington National Cathedral for a 10 a.m. service.
An emotional, weeklong goodbye
The emotional, weeklong public goodbye to former President Jimmy Carter began on Saturday when a motorcade carried his remains from his hometown of Plains, Georgia, to Atlanta.
Family, friends and employees of the Carter Presidential Center congregated at the center in Atlanta for a Saturday afternoon ceremony. Carter’s son Chip Carter addressed the mourners and thanked his late parents for their service and sacrifice.
The public was then invited to pay their respects at the Carter Presidential Center from Saturday through Tuesday.
On Tuesday, Carter’s body was transported Washington, D.C., and a service was held at the Capitol. Carter lied in state at the Capitol on Wednesday.
On Thursday afternoon, following the Washington National Cathedral funeral, Carter will return to his hometown of Plains for a private service and private interment.
Motorcade makes emotional stop at Navy Memorial Former President Jimmy Carter’s motorcade made an emotional stop at the U.S. Navy Memorial in Washington, D.C., to honor Carter’s service as a lieutenant in the Navy.
Carter’s childhood dream was to be in the Navy and he went on to graduate from the United States Naval Academy in 1946. Carter resigned from the Navy in 1953 after his father’s death so he could return to the family farm.
Carter’s casket was transferred from the hearse to a horse-drawn military caisson for a funeral procession that reproduces the walk Carter took with his family on the day of his inauguration. On that January day in 1977, Carter walked the mile-and-a-half inaugural parade route to the White House, rather than ride in a limousine, bringing a common touch to his presidency.
Navy officers stood silently along the snow-lined street, witnessing the casket’s transfer to the caisson.
The Carter family will walk behind the casket as it heads from the U.S. Navy Memorial to the U.S. Capitol.
Motorcade leaves Joint Base Andrews
Former President Jimmy Carter’s motorcade has left Joint Base Andrews in Maryland en route to Washington, D.C., to begin several days of services in the nation’s capital.
Carter lands in DC
A plane carrying the Carter family and the casket of former President Jimmy Carter has landed at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland for several days of ceremonies in Washington, D.C.
The U.S. Navy Memorial will be the first stop for the motorcade to honor Carter’s service as a lieutenant in the Navy.
Carter en route from Georgia to DC
The Carter family is accompanying former President Jimmy Carter’s remains on a flight from Georgia’s Dobbins Air Reserve Base to Washington, D.C. for the late president’s final journey to the nation’s capital.
“Hail to the Chief” was played and troops fired a 21-gun salute after the coffin was taken out of the hearse. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp was among the officials at the base to witness the coffin’s transfer from the hearse to the plane.
Carter is survived by four children — John William (Jack), James Earl III (Chip), Donnel Jeffrey (Jeff) and Amy Lynn — and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
The flight will land in the D.C. area around 2 p.m.
The late president’s first stop in snowy D.C. will be the U.S. Navy Memorial to honor his time in the service.
That will be followed by a 4:30 p.m. ET service at the U.S. Capitol, which will be
Carter leaves Carter Presidential Center for final time
Former President Jimmy Carter is leaving the Carter Presidential Center in Atlanta for the final time Tuesday morning as Carter Center employees and their families look on.
The former president had been lying in repose at the center since Saturday, allowing the public to come pay their respects.
At a Saturday service at the Carter Presidential Center, Carter’s son Chip Carter thanked his parents for their service and sacrifice.
“The two of them together changed the world,” he said, overcome with emotion.
Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter founded the Carter Center after his presidency to improve health around the world and enhance freedom and democracy.
Carter to head to DC for services at Capitol, Washington National Cathedral
Former President Jimmy Carter’s remains will be escorted from the Carter Presidential Center in Atlanta to Washington, D.C., on Tuesday for the 39th president’s final trip to the nation’s capital.
His remains will leave the Carter Center at 11:30 a.m. ET.
The first stop in D.C. will be the U.S. Navy Memorial in honor of the former president’s service.
At 4:30 p.m. ET, members of Congress, the Supreme Court, the Cabinet, the Joint Chiefs and other officials will congregate at the U.S. Capitol for a lying in state ceremony. Vice President Kamala Harris, Senator Majority Leader John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson are expected to deliver eulogies and lay wreaths.
Carter’s remains will lie in state at the Capitol from Tuesday evening to Thursday morning, allowing the public to pay respects.
On Thursday morning, former presidents and other dignitaries will attend a state funeral at Washington National Cathedral. President Joe Biden will deliver a eulogy.
On Thursday afternoon, Carter’s body will return to his hometown of Plains, Georgia, for a private service and private interment. Carter will be buried next to his wife of 77 years, Rosalynn, who died on Nov. 19, 2023, at the age of 96.
(ATLANTA) — Hundreds of passengers were forced to evacuate on slides during a snowstorm after their Delta flight aborted takeoff from Atlanta due to an engine issue Friday morning, the airline said.
Delta Flight 2668 was traveling from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport to Minneapolis-St. Paul when it suspended takeoff shortly after 9 a.m. due to “an indication of an engine issue,” the airline said.
Passengers exited the Boeing 757-300 aircraft through emergency slides and ground transportation was used to take them back to the terminal.
Four passengers reported minor injuries in the incident, with one transported to an area hospital, the airport said. The other three were treated at the scene, the airport said. The nature of their injuries was not immediately clear.
The plane was carrying 201 passengers and seven crew members.
“Nothing is more important than the safety of our people and customers, and we apologize to our customers for their experience,” Delta said in a statement. “We are working to support our customers and get them to their destinations as safely and quickly as possible.”
The Federal Aviation Administration said it will investigate.
Operations at the Atlanta airport were delayed due to the incident and the “ongoing severe weather,” the airport said in a statement.
Approximately 2 inches of snow had fallen by noon in Atlanta, the most in seven years, as a massive winter storm impacts the South.
More than 2,600 flights across the country have been canceled as of midday Friday due to the storm, with Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas and Nashville seeing the biggest impacts.
