Prosecutors in Daniel Penny trial to rest their case Monday
ABC
(NEW YORK) — Prosecutors with the Manhattan District Attorney’s office are expected to rest their case Monday against Daniel Penny, the Marine veteran who is charged with manslaughter and negligent homicide in the chokehold death of a homeless man aboard a New York City subway car.
Defense attorneys will finish their cross-examination of the medical examiner, Dr. Cynthia Harris, who concluded “there are no alternative reasonable explanations” for Jordan Neely’s death other than Penny’s chokehold.
She is expected to be the last witness for the prosecution, which argued Penny’s chokehold became reckless when he held on too long, beyond the point when Neely represented any kind of threat to subway riders.
Jurors saw a video of Penny demonstrating the chokehold during an interview inside a police precinct.
“He had his back turned to me and I got him in a hold, got him to the ground, and he’s still squirming around and going crazy,” Penny is heard saying.
The defense is expected to shift the focus of the case from Penny to Neely, who had prior arrests, a history of mental illness and drugs in his system.
Ninety-two people remain unaccounted for in hard-hit North Carolina in the wake of the “catastrophic disaster” left behind by Hurricane Helene, Gov. Roy Cooper said Tuesday.
The number will continue to fluctuate as new reports come in and other reports are resolved, Cooper said.
This comes as North Carolina continues to face “a persistent and dangerous flow of misinformation” about recovery efforts, the governor said.
“If you’re participating in spreading this stuff, stop it,” Cooper said. “Whatever your aim is, the people you are really hurting are those in western North Carolina who need help. The safety of our government and volunteer response workers, including FEMA, remains a top priority. “
The governor said he’s directed the state’s Department of Public Safety to “coordinate law enforcement assistance for FEMA and other responders who need it to help assure their safety and security, so people can keep getting the help that they desperately need.”
This weekend, a Bostic, North Carolina, man armed with a handgun and rifle was arrested for allegedly threatening to harm workers from the Federal Emergency Management Agency in the state, authorities said.
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell did not address the arrest at Tuesday’s news conference, but she said, “Over the weekend, out of an abundance of caution, we made operational changes to keep FEMA personnel safe, but none of the changes we made impacted ongoing search and rescue or other life safety operations.”
“It’s heartbreaking to see words or acts of hatred toward anyone, let alone federal responders who are here to help people in this critical time,” Criswell said.
“We are not going anywhere,” she said. “Misinformation will not deter us from our mission.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(WASHINGTON) — Vice President Kamala Harris said her heart is “full of resolve” after losing the presidential election to former President Donald Trump.
“My heart is full today — full of gratitude for the trust you have placed in me, full of love for our country and full of resolve,” Harris said Wednesday at her alma mater, Howard University, in Washington, D.C.
“The outcome of this election is not what we wanted, not what we fought for, not what we voted for. But … the light of America’s promise will always burn bright as long as we never give up,” Harris said.
Harris said she told Trump on the phone Wednesday that she’ll help with a peaceful transfer of power, which got a cheer from the crowd at Howard.
“We must accept the results of this election,” the vice president said.
“A fundamental principle of American democracy is that when we lose an election, we accept the results,” Harris said, alluding to Trump’s refusal to acknowledge his loss of the 2020 election.
Harris stressed, “While I concede this election, I do not concede the fight that fueled this campaign.”
“The fight for freedom, for opportunity, for fairness and the dignity of all people — a fight for the ideals at the heart of our nation — the ideals that reflect America at our best,” she said.
Harris vowed that she’ll “never give up the fight for a future … where the women of America have the freedom to make decisions about their own body.”
“We will never give up the fight to protect our schools and our streets from gun violence,” she continued. “And America, we will never give up the fight for our democracy, for the rule of law, for equal justice, and for the sacred idea that every one of us, no matter who we are or where we start out, has certain fundamental rights and freedoms that must be respected and upheld.”
She said that fight will continue “in the voting booth, in the courts, and in the public square.”
“And we will also wage it in quieter ways, in how we live our lives, by treating one another with kindness and respect, by looking in the face of a stranger and seeing a neighbor,” she said. “By always using our strength to lift people up, to fight for the dignity that all people deserve.”
To her young supporters watching, the vice president said, “It is OK to feel sad and disappointed, but please know it’s gonna be OK.”
“Sometimes the fight takes a while. … The important thing is don’t ever give up,” she said.
“This is not a time to throw up our hands, this is a time to roll up our sleeves. This is a time to organize, to mobilize and to stay engaged for the sake of freedom and justice and the future that we all know we can build together,” she said.
Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff waved to the crowd after her remarks as Harris’ running mate, an emotional Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, looked on.
Harris’ family, Walz’s family, former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Harris’ campaign staff were also in attendance.
Harris’ defeat came as Trump won the swing states of Pennsylvania, Georgia and Wisconsin overnight. Trump won another swing state, Michigan, on Wednesday.
Trump’s victory underscores just how deep voters’ frustrations were surrounding inflation and immigration, Republicans’ two top issues this election cycle as polls consistently showed Americans’ unhappiness with how President Joe Biden handled them. Trump’s return to the White House also suggests that Democrats were not motivated enough by the prospect of electing the first female president and that its base’s fury over the Supreme Court’s revocation of constitutional abortion protections has waned since 2022.
Biden plans to address the nation on Thursday.
ABC News’ Fritz Farrow, Gabriella Abdul-Hakim, Will McDuffie and Tal Axelrod contributed to this report.
(ORLANDO, Fl) — The mayor of Orlando, Florida, is cracking down in the city’s entertainment district after two people were killed and several others injured in a Halloween night shooting.
The suspect, 17-year-old Jaylen Dwayne Edgar, has been taken into custody, Orlando police said.
Officers responded to reports of shots fired just after 1 a.m. Friday, and within minutes, the officers witnessed a second shooting, police said.
One person was killed at the first scene and the second victim was killed at the second scene, police said.
Nine people, aged 18 to 39, were injured, some critically, police said.
The suspect walked by more than 10 officers just before opening fire, Orlando Police Chief Eric Smith said.
Surveillance video captured the chaos of people fleeing the scene as officers apprehended the suspect.
Edgar has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder with a firearm and six counts of attempted first-degree murder with a firearm, police said.
A motive is unknown, Smith said.
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said he’s issuing a local state of emergency for establishments in the downtown entertainment area, which will ban alcohol sales after midnight and implement a curfew from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m.
“It’s unfortunate that the changes in the state concealed weapons laws [in 2023] have made it even easier for people to carry guns,” Dyer said at a news conference.
“You can legally carry a firearm unless you fall into a certain kind of category: underage, convicted felon,” Smith explained. “For most people, it allows them, without getting a concealed weapons permit, to carry a gun concealed.”
ABC News’ Jason Volack contributed to this report.
