Suspect in DC shooting of 2 National Guard members formally charged with murder
A makeshift memorial of flowers and American flags stands outside the Farragut West Metro station on December 01, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Heather Diehl/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the 29-year-old Afghan national accused of shooting two West Virginia National Guard members, killing one, in Washington, D.C., has been formally charged with murder.
Lakanwal, of Bellingham, Washington, appeared before a judge remotely on Tuesday from his hospital bed, where he is recovering from gunshot wounds he suffered when another National Guard member shot him during the incident.
Lakanwal was wearing a hospital gown and was lying in a hospital bed, covered in a blanket, during the remote court appearance.
Through a Pashtu interpreter, Lakanwal was charged with one count of murder, two counts of assault with the intent to kill and one count of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence.
Lakanwal pleaded not guilty to the charges through a court-appointed attorney.
At one point during the hearing, Lakanwal, speaking in Pashtu, said through the interpreter, “I cannot open my eyes, I have pain in my ear.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(NEW YORK) — Hurricane Gabrielle, which has now rapidly intensified into a major Category 3 storm, is the second major hurricane of the 2025 Atlantic season, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Gabrielle, currently located southeast of Bermuda, now has maximum sustained winds of 120 mph.
Gabrielle is also the second tropical system to undergo rapid intensification this year.
On average, the second major hurricane forms around Sept. 19, meaning Gabrielle’s status aligns with what is typically expected during the Atlantic hurricane season.
As the system continues to track over warm waters and favorable atmospheric conditions, Gabrielle could strengthen even more on Monday before it begins to weaken by Wednesday.
There are currently not any tropical alerts for Bermuda as the storm is expected to pass to the east, keeping rain and wind away from the island.
As the storm passes east of Bermuda, Gabrielle will produce large swells and rip currents along the island through early this week.
The hurricane will push northeast and back out to the central Atlantic in the coming days and will weaken in the process. The storm could sweep along or north of the Azores — a group of islands west of Portugal — on Thursday night and Friday.
As of Monday, Gabrielle does not pose a threat to the United States.
ABC News’ Kenton Gewecke contributed to this report.
This ABC News graphic shows the forecast for Hurricane Melissa as of Oct. 27, 2025. (ABC News)
(NEW YORK) — Hurricane Melissa, now a powerful Category 5 storm, will slam into Jamaica on Monday as the worst storm the island has ever seen.
Here is Melissa’s forecasted path:
Melissa is expected to make landfall in central or western Jamaica late Monday night or early Tuesday morning, likely as a Category 4 or 5 hurricane. Most of the destruction will unfold from noon on Monday to noon on Tuesday.
Tropical storm-force winds are already underway and will steadily increase throughout the day. Winds are expected to reach hurricane strength by Monday night and will last through Tuesday afternoon.
The rain and storm surge will be even more dangerous than the wind for some. Melissa is moving very slowly, so it will bring a deluge of rain to Jamaica, with totals forecast to reach 15 to 30 inches and even up to 40 inches in localized areas. This will spark catastrophic and life-threatening flash flooding on Monday and Tuesday.
Storm surge will decimate parts of the southern coast with water surging up to 13 feet above ground level.
Next, the heavy rain will move to Haiti and the Dominican Republic, where 8 to 16 inches of rainfall is possible. Catastrophic flash flooding and landslides are also in the forecast.
Melissa will then hit southeastern Cuba on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning as a major hurricane, dumping 10 to 20 inches of rain and leading to catastrophic flooding and numerous landslides.
On Wednesday, the southeastern Bahamas will see rain totals of 4 to 8 inches, hurricane-force winds and life-threatening storm surge.
Melissa may still be a Category 1 hurricane on Thursday night or Friday morning when it passes near or over Bermuda.
John Bolton leaves his home on October 17, 2025 in Bethesda, Maryland. Former national security adviser Bolton was indicted by a federal grand jury on Thursday. (Photo by Alex Kent/Getty Images)
(GREENBELT, Md.) — Former Trump national security adviser John Bolton has pleaded not guilty to all 18 counts of an indictment charging him with unlawful retention and dissemination of national defense information.
Bolton entered his not guilty plea Friday morning in a hearing in federal court in Maryland before Chief Magistrate Judge Timothy Sullivan.
He was indicted by a grand jury Thursday on charges that he allegedly unlawfully transmitted and retained classified documents.
The indictment comes on the heels of the indictments of former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James as President Donald Trump continues what critics call a campaign of retribution against his perceived political foes.
Unlike at Comey’s arraignment, Bolton’s attorney Abbe Lowell on Friday did not offer much in the way of any preview of his defense strategy for the charges Bolton is facing.
Judge Sullivan set a Nov. 14 deadline for pretrial motions to be filed in the case, and also set a scheduling conference for Nov. 21.
Bolton appeared at ease throughout the hearing, and responded to the judge’s standard questions asking him if he understood the nature of the charges against him and the potential penalties he could face if he is convicted.
He was released on recognizance with regular release conditions, and will have to surrender his passport to his legal counsel, and is prohibited from traveling outside of the U.S. unless he gets pre-approval from the court.
Bolton is charged with eight counts of unlawful transmission of national defense information as well as 10 counts of unlawful retention of national defense information.
Seven of the transmissions allegedly occurred during the time when Bolton was serving at Trump’s national security adviser in 2018 and 2019, while another document was allegedly sent by Bolton just days after President Donald Trump removed him from the administration in September of 2019.
The indictment accuses Bolton of abusing his position as national security adviser by sharing “more than a thousand pages” of information in “diary-like entries” about his day-to-day activities with two recipients identified only as “Individual 1” and “Individual 2,” who prosecutors say are Bolton’s relatives.
Sources told ABC News that the relatives referred to in the indictment as ‘Individual 1’ and ‘Individual 2’ are Bolton’s wife and daughter.
Bolton has been a target of Trump’s ire since leaving Trump’s first administration and publishing a tell-all book. Federal agents in August searched Bolton’s Maryland residence and Washington, D.C., office, related to allegations that Bolton possessed classified information.
The investigation is being run out of the U.S. attorney’s office in Maryland, unlike the Comey and James probes which are being conducted by the Trump-appointed U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia, who sources say brought the Comey and James charges against the advice of career prosecutors.
Comey, who was indicted on charges of lying to Congress, and James, who is charged with mortgage fraud, have both denied wrongdoing.
