Tornado hits southwestern Oklahoma, National Weather Service says
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(WEATHERFORD, OK) — A tornado-producing storm was tearing through southwestern Oklahoma early Monday, with at least one confirmed tornado, the National Weather Service said.
The storm was near Granite, a town with a population of about 1,600, at about 3:37 a.m. CST, the service said.
Tornado warnings were in effect for western Washita County, southwestern Custer County, northwestern Kiowa County, northeastern Greer County and southeastern Beckham County.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(WASHINGTON) — The judge in former President Donald Trump’s federal election interference case has paused all upcoming deadlines in the case, after special counsel Jack Smith filed a motion Friday requesting the pause.
As ABC News previously reported, Smith and the Justice Department are in talks about the best way to wind down the election case and his classified documents case, following Trump’s election victory on Tuesday.
The decision is based on longstanding Department of Justice policy that a sitting president cannot face criminal prosecution while in office, sources said.
“As a result of the election held on November 5, 2024, the defendant is expected to be certified as President-elect on January 6, 2025, and inaugurated on January 20, 2025,” Friday’s filing said. “The Government respectfully requests that the Court vacate the remaining deadlines in the pretrial schedule to afford the Government time to assess this unprecedented circumstance and determine the appropriate course going forward consistent with Department of Justice policy.”
“By December 2, 2024, the Government will file a status report or otherwise inform the Court of the result of its deliberations. The Government has consulted with defense counsel, who do not object to this request,” said the filing.
Trump last year pleaded not guilty to federal charges of undertaking a “criminal scheme” to overturn the results of the 2020 election in order to remain in power.
Smith subsequently charged Trump in a superseding indictment that was adjusted to respect the Supreme Court’s July ruling that Trump is entitled to immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts undertaken as president.
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan has been in the process of considering how the case should proceed in light of the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling,
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Luigi Mangione is seen inside the police station in Altoona, Pennsylvania, Dec. 9, 2024/Obtained by ABC News
(NEW YORK) — Luigi Mangione, the accused killer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, is almost certain to waive extradition from Pennsylvania, where he was arrested a week ago, sources told ABC News.
He could waive extradition to New York as early as Tuesday, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said Friday.
Mangione remains in custody at a Pennsylvania state prison.
In Pennsylvania, Mangione faces charges including allegedly possessing an untraceable ghost gun. In New York, he faces charges including second-degree murder.
Mangione has hired Karen Friedman Agnifilo, a former member of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, as his lawyer in New York.
Mangione was apprehended at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on Dec. 9 after nearly one week on the run. He’s accused of gunning down Thompson outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel on Dec. 4 as the CEO headed to an investors conference.
Sources said writings police seized from Mangione suggest he was fixated on UnitedHealthcare for months and gradually developed a plan to kill the CEO.
Among the writings recovered from Mangione was a passage that allegedly said, “What do you do? You whack the CEO at the annual parasitic bean-counter convention,” according to law enforcement officials.
Mangione nor his parents received insurance through UnitedHealthcare, the company said.
FBI agents and NYPD detectives spoke to Mangione’s mother the day before his Dec. 9 arrest after San Francisco police informed them she had filed a missing persons report and Mangione’s photo seemed to match the suspect photo, law enforcement sources told ABC News. Mangione’s mother told the New York investigators that the person in the widely shared surveillance images could be her 26-year-old son, sources said.
(COLUMBUS, OH) — A transgender bathroom ban has been sent to Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s desk after passing through the state legislature.
The bill would require students in the state’s K-12 schools, as well as colleges and universities, to use the restroom or facility that aligns with their gender assigned at birth. The bill notes that it is not intended to prevent schools from building single-occupancy facilities and does not ban someone of the opposite gender from entering to help another person.
The Republican-backed bill passed 60-31 in the House and passed on party lines in the Senate, 24-7.
Supporters say their concerns lie in student’s privacy and protection.
“It protects our children and grandchildren in private spaces where they are most vulnerable. It is us using our legislative authority to ensure schools are, in fact, safe environments. After all, bathrooms, showers, changing rooms should all be safe places for our students,” said Republican state Sen. Jerry C. Cirino ahead of the bill’s passage.
Critics of the bill say that the bill is creating unfounded concerns about transgender students and may instead put trans students in danger of discrimination or violence.
“I am in disbelief that this is a top priority on our first session back from recess,” said Senate Democratic Leader Nickie J. Antonio in an online statement “There are so many other issues we should be working on. There should be no exception to liberty and justice for all, yet here we are telling our children that there are people who are less than. This bill is not about bathrooms. It’s about demonizing those who are different, and our children are watching and listening to the fearmongering.”
Several medical organizations, including the American Medical Association and American Academy of Pediatrics, have opposed policies preventing transgender individuals from accessing restrooms consistent with their gender identity.
DeWine, a Republican, has gone against state Republican legislators on transgender issues before. He vetoed a transgender youth care ban bill, which would have restricted gender-affirming puberty blockers, hormone therapy, or surgeries.
“These are gut-wrenching decisions that should be made by the parents and should be informed by teams of doctors who are advising them,” said DeWine, adding that he did not find any families or hospitals who were seeking or allowing surgeries for youth. “These are parents who have watched the child suffer sometimes for years and have real concerns that their child may not survive.”
DeWine’s office declined ABC News’ request for comment on the bill. He told reporters this past summer that he has to look at “specific language” in the legislation.
“I’m for people, kids, to be able to go to the bathroom with the gender assignment so that they have that protection, but I’ll have to look at the specific language,” DeWine told reporters .
