Trump administration says ‘top MS-13 national leader’ arrested

(NEW YORK) — During the final weeks of the Biden administration, the Department of Justice announced consent decrees for police reform with the cities of Minneapolis and Louisville – court-enforceable agreements born out of probes launched after the 2020 police killings of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd.

But after officials in the Trump administration issued a memo last month ordering a temporary freeze on ongoing cases being litigated by the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, the future of those agreements, which have yet to be approved in federal court, is now uncertain.

The memo, which was reviewed by ABC News, also directed Kathleen Wolfe, acting head of the DOJ Civil Rights division, to notify Trump DOJ leaders of any consent decrees the Biden administration reached with cities in the final 90 days leading up to the inauguration, signaling a potential review.

“[The Trump administration] wanted to look at any agreements that had been completed within the last 90 days of the inauguration, which obviously would include Minneapolis and Louisville,” Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara told ABC News. “The [Trump] DOJ could go to the court and say they’re no longer interested in this.”

O’Hara, who previously was Public Safety Director for Newark, New Jersey, during the implementation of a federal consent decree, said that the Trump administration could intervene in the process because the agreements have not been finalized in federal court.

But O’Hara emphasized that since the agreements have already been filed, whether they are approved is not up to the White House, but “ultimately in the federal judge’s hands.”

The memo to freeze litigation came ahead of the confirmation hearing for Trump’s nominee for attorney general, Pam Bondi, and his nominee to lead the DOJ’s civil rights division, Harmeet Dhillon. Bondi was confirmed on Tuesday.

Asked about the timeline for the freeze on litigation and what actions the DOJ is planning to take regarding the Minneapolis and Louisville consent decrees, a spokesperson for the DOJ declined ABC News’ request for comment.

The consent decrees each lay out a roadmap for police reform to rectify civil rights violations that the DOJ uncovered and, if approved by a federal judge, the court will appoint an independent monitor to oversee the implementation of the reforms and actions outlined in the agreement.

“I don’t think any city, any police chief wants to get a consent decree,” O’Hara said. “You know, that’s not a badge of honor in any way and something that ultimately costs the city millions and millions of dollars just to simply be monitored, let alone to do the work that is required to reform.”

But O’Hara added that consent decrees do provide police departments with additional resources needed to implement reforms. “I think the main benefit to police chiefs of these agreements is it requires cities to make certain investments, both in the officers’ health and welfare, as well as in training and supervision,” he said, “but without that court order, there is not necessarily an incentive for cities to prioritize some of those investments.”

City officials and police vow to forge ahead with reform

City officials and police in both Louisville and Minneapolis told ABC News that they are prepared to move forward with the agreed upon reforms with or without the oversight of the Trump administration.

Kevin Trager, a spokesman for Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg, told ABC News that the city and police are committed to the reforms agreed upon in the consent decree, “regardless of what happens in federal court.”

“Louisville Metro Government and LMPD will move forward and honor our commitment to meaningful improvements and reforms,” Trager said.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey told ABC News that the city has “not heard directly” from the Trump administration regarding the consent decree, but the city plans to move forward with the terms of the agreement “with or without support from the White House.”

“It’s unfortunate the Trump administration may not be interested in cooperating with us to improve policing and support our community, but make no mistake: we have the tools, the resolve, and the community’s backing to fulfill our promise to the people of Minneapolis. Our work will not be stopped,” Frey said.

O’Hara, who was tapped to lead Minneapolis police in 2022 amid national outrage over the killing of George Floyd in police custody, echoed Frey’s commitment to the reforms, but pointed out that Minneapolis is already under a state consent decree that was approved in July 2023 and includes similar reforms that are outlined in the federal agreement.

“It is possible we may wind up not having a federal consent decree, although I don’t think it’s likely,” O’Hara said, “but again, I think a majority of what is contemplated in the federal consent decree exists already in the state consent decree. There’s already been a ton of work toward making those requirements real.”

O’Hara said that he already created a use of force investigation teams within the MPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau – a move that was not required by the state but is required under the federal agreement.

“That’s something that I already had started long before we had the draft agreement, because I know that’s a best practice in this profession,” O’Hara said, but added that the approval of the federal consent decree would give MPD the resources and the staffing that it needs to carry out these reforms.

“It is not yet staffed up and resourced the way that it should be, and the federal consent decree requires significant more investment in it,” he said.

Where things stand in the courts

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who represents the families of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, told ABC News Live Prime anchor Linsey Davis in an interview last Wednesday that the families want to see the consent decrees approved in federal court.

“This is very disturbing,” Crump said, referencing the Trump administration’s freeze on civil rights litigation.

“Breonna’s mother is very heartbroken, Linsey. Very heartbroken. She’s fought so hard to get whatever measure of justice and accountability she could,” he added. “She is just shocked that they would do this, just like George Floyd’s family is shocked.”

The Minneapolis federal consent decree is being reviewed by Judge Paul A. Magnuson, a senior judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota who was appointed by President Ronald Regan.

The agreement, which was announced by the DOJ Jan. 6, focuses on “preventing excessive force; stopping racially discriminatory policing; improving officers’ interactions with youth; protecting the public’s First Amendment rights; preventing discrimination against people with behavioral health disabilities; promoting well-being of officers and employees; and enhancing officers’ supervision and accountability,” according to the DOJ.

A spokesperson for Frey told ABC News that the city has “not heard directly” from the Trump administration regarding the consent decree and, according to O’Hara, Minneapolis is still “awaiting a court date to be set” in this case.

Meanwhile, the Louisville consent decree, which was announced on Dec. 12, 2024, is in the hands of Judge Benjamin Beaton of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky.

The agreement lays out “specific policies, trainings, and programs” that the city and police “will implement to protect the rights of Louisville residents and promote public safety,” as well as a requirement to “collect and analyze data to improve as an agency and to hold officers and Louisville Metro employees accountable,” according to the DOJ. The reforms listed in the agreement include steps for LMPD to use “appropriate de-escalation techniques and attempt to resolve incidents without force when possible, and use force in a manner that is reasonable, necessary, and proportional to the threat presented,” as well as “taking steps to reduce unlawful racial disparities in enforcement.”

Beaton, who was appointed by Trump during his first term as president in 2020, questioned the need for the consent decree during a hearing on Jan. 13, according to ABC affiliate in Louisville, WHAS11, where he asked DOJ officials whether there is a “less intrusive manner of resolving the dispute” without judicial oversight.

The Fraternal Order of Police – the largest police union in the country, which endorsed Trump during both of his presidential campaigns – filed a motion on Dec. 27 to intervene in the Louisville consent decree and asked Beaton to oppose it in its current form. In the motion, the union argued that the consent decree violates the collective bargaining agreement between them and the city, according to WHAS11.

Asked about the status of the consent decree, a spokesperson for Greenberg told ABC News that “the city is preparing to file a brief in support of the consent decree by Feb. 18, as requested by the judge.”

ABC News’ Alexander Mallin and Sabina Ghebremedhin contributed to this report.

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(LOS ANGELES) — A cousin of Lyle and Erik Menendez is slamming Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman, accusing him of being “hostile, dismissive and patronizing” to the family and asking for him to be removed from the case.

The cousin, Tamara Goodell, said Hochman’s conduct “eroded any remaining trust” in the DA’s office and she wants the case turned over to the attorney general’s office.

During Hochman’s Jan. 2 meeting with over 20 Menendez family members who want the brothers released, the relatives emotionally shared their “ongoing trauma and suffering,” Goodell said in a letter last week to the U.S. Attorney’s Office Civil Rights Division. But she said Hochman “proceeded to verbally and emotionally re-traumatize the family by shaming us for allegedly not listening to his public press briefings.”

Hochman’s “hostile, dismissive, and patronizing tone created an intimidating and bullying atmosphere, leaving us, the victims, more distressed and feeling humiliated,” she said.

Goodell alleged Hochman focused on how he was treated rather than the victims.

“The lack of compassion was palpable, and the family left feeling not only ignored but further intimidated and revictimized,” she said.

Goodell cited her rights as a victim under Marsy’s Law — California’s bill of rights for victims — specifically noting it states that a victim is entitled “to be treated with fairness and respect” and be “free from intimidation, harassment, and abuse.”

One day after that initial meeting with Hochman, Goodell said she and her son met with Hochman, other prosecutors in the DA’s office, the brothers’ attorney and the family’s attorney — and she said she left that meeting feeling “disregarded and disrespected.”

Goodell said when she raised concerns about the DA’s office’s impartiality, Hochman “became visibility agitated, dismissive and aggressive.”

Goodell said her son witnessed the DA’s “abusive, belittling, and unprofessional conduct, further compounding the emotional toll on our family.”

Goodell also alleged that Hochman said the brothers’ attorney “has represented ‘horrible people.” “This inappropriate remark reinforced his bias,” Goodell said.

Besides asking for Hochman to be removed and the case turned over to the attorney general’s office, Goodell said she wants Hochman “held accountable” for his behavior.

She said she also wants Kathleen Cady — who was appointed by Hochman as director of the DA’s Bureau of Victim Service — removed from the case and “a new, unbiased” representative assigned to victim services.

Cady was formerly the attorney for Milton Anderson, the one Menendez relative pushing to keep the brothers in prison. Anderson died last week.

Goodell said that when she brought up her concerns about Cady in the second January meeting, “Hochman coldly dismissed me,” and “interrupted me, speaking in a condescending and hostile manner.”

Hochman said in January that Cady is “walled off from the Menendez case.”

The DA declined to comment on Goodell’s letter.

The Menendez brothers are serving life in prison without the possibility of parole for the 1989 murders of their parents Jose and Kitty Menendez. Lyle and Erik Menendez, who were 21 and 18, respectively, at the time, admitted to the murders but claimed they acted in self-defense after enduring years of sexual abuse by their father.

The brothers are pursuing three possible paths to freedom.

One is a request for clemency to California Gov. Gavin Newsom. The governor announced in February that he’s ordering the parole board to conduct a 90-day risk assessment investigation into whether the brothers pose “an unreasonable risk to the public” if they’re granted clemency and released.

Another path is a habeas corpus petition the brothers filed in 2023 for a review of two new pieces of evidence not presented at trial. Hochman in February asked the court to deny the habeas corpus petition, arguing the new evidence wasn’t credible or admissible, and saying their claims of sexual assault do not justify killing their parents in self-defense.

The third is resentencing.

In October, then-LA County District Attorney George Gascón announced that he was recommending the brothers’ sentence of life without the possibility of parole be removed, and they should instead be sentenced for murder, which would be a sentence of 50 years to life. Because both brothers were under 26 at the time of the crimes, they would be eligible for parole immediately with the new sentence.

The DA’s office said its resentencing recommendations take into account many factors, including rehabilitation in prison and abuse or trauma that contributed to the crime. Gascón praised the work Lyle and Erik Menendez did behind bars to rehabilitate themselves and help other inmates.

Hochman, who became DA in December, is expected to release his position on resentencing imminently. He is holding a press conference at 10 a.m. local time Monday.

ABC News’ Kaitlyn Morris contributed to this report.

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(NEW YORK) — As bird flu continues to spread across the U.S., stores around the country are reporting a shortage of eggs amid soaring prices, high demand and supply limits.

More than 150 million poultry birds have been killed across all 50 states in an attempt to combat bird flu since 2022, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The number of birds affected by the virus has been rising in recent months, with roughly 7 million affected in November, 18 million in December and 23 million in January, according to the latest figures from the USDA.

Over the last 30 days, 150 flocks were confirmed to test positive for bird flu, according to the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

Once a bird is infected, the only way to stop the virus from spreading further is to depopulate or cull the entire flock. It can take time for a flock to repopulate to lay eggs, affecting their price.

The Consumer Price Index, published Wednesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, showed prices were 3% higher in January compared to a year ago. Prices for eggs increased 15.2% — the largest increase in egg prices since June 2015, according to the bureau.

As grocery stores and supermarkets limit the number of cartons of eggs that can be purchased, some people have resorted to stealing in order to get their hands on eggs.

Stores enforce purchase limits

Chains across the country have enforced limits on how many eggs customers can buy due to the high demand and shrinking supply.

“Due to ongoing issues with the supply of eggs, we are currently limiting egg purchases to one dozen per customer, per day, in all Trader Joe’s stores across the country,” a representative for Trader Joe’s confirmed to “Good Morning America” on Monday.

Other retailers, including Sprouts Farmers Market and Costco, have also implemented purchase limits on fresh eggs. Photos taken at Costco showed the warehouse giant limiting egg purchases to three per member.

This week, Lidl US announced it would also limit egg purchases to two per customer across all its stores.

“The following egg brands sold at Lidl US stores are currently limited to 2 per customer to ensure fair distribution: Green Valley, Simpson’s Eggs, and Puglisi’s Farm,” a Lidl US spokesperson said. “Specialty egg brands, including cage free, free range and organic, do not have limitations at this time at Lidl US.”

Despite concerns about the safety of eggs available in stores, experts say it’s highly unlikely to contract bird flu from commercially sold eggs.

Some turn to egg heists

Earlier this month, 100,000 organic eggs worth an estimated $40,000 were stolen from a facility in Green Castle, Pennsylvania.

Tom Flocco, CEO of Pete and Gerry’s Eggs, told “Good Morning America” in an exclusive interview last week that the company was going to boost security.

“I’ve worked in other industries before where things get stolen from factories,” Flocco said. “It happens. It’s terrible. I’m not happy about it, but it does happen. It could happen once; it could happen again. We are putting additional measures in place.”

Additionally, at Luna Park Café in Seattle, hundreds of dollars worth of eggs and other breakfast foods were stolen, according to the Seattle Police Department.

In the early morning hours on Feb. 5, two male suspects were caught on surveillance video entering a refrigerated shed at the restaurant, police said. The men stole 540 eggs worth $387, as well as bacon, ground beef, blueberries and liquid egg products, the SPD said.

A café employee said they saw one of the suspects return to the property, but he got back in the van and fled when he realized he’d been spotted, police said.

ABC News’ Youri Benadjaoud, Kelly McCarthy, Joshua Richardson and Zunaira Zaki contributed to this report.

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