National Headlines
Boeing crash victims’ families urge DOJ to criminally prosecute company
Angus Mordant/Bloomberg via Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- The families of victims who died in one of two fatal Boeing 737 MAX 8 crashes met with Department of Justice officials Wednesday regarding the looming decision to prosecute or dismiss charges against the company.The fatal Boeing crashes in October 2018 and March 2019 killed 346 people. Family members of victims of the 2019 crash in Ethiopia met with prosecutors in Washington D.C. Wednesday.The first crash on Oct. 29, 2018, in Jakarta, Indonesia, killed all 189 passengers and crew.The second crash, on March 10, 2019, happened in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, when a Boeing aircraft crashed minutes after takeoff and killed 157 people onboard.Both crashes preceded the Alaska Airlines incident earlier this year, when a ... Read More
Federal judge rejects Donald Trump’s bid for new E. Jean Carroll defamation trial, upholds $83M judgment
Jeenah Moon-Pool/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- A federal judge in New York on Thursday rejected former President Donald Trump's bid for a new trial in a defamation case brought by writer E. Jean Carroll. The ruling upheld the jury's $83.3 million damage award."Contrary to the defendant's arguments, Ms. Carroll's compensatory damages were not awarded solely for her emotional distress; they were not for garden variety harms; and they were not excessive," Judge Lewis Kaplan wrote."Mr. Trump's malicious and unceasing attacks on Ms. Carroll were disseminated to more than 100 million people," he added. "They included public threats and personal attacks, and they endangered Ms. Carroll's health and safety."Robbie Kaplan, Carroll's attorney, celebrated the ruling."We are pleased with though not surprised by ... Read More
Power of cork key to climate change fight, scientists say
ABC(PORTUGAL) -- One of the planet's most natural defenses against climate change and a key element in sustainable products is found in wine bottles around the world.Scientists and engineers say cork has been used to make several products in everyday life, from flooring to insulation, and the process of harvesting it leaves a small carbon footprint.In Portugal, farmers are only able to harvest bark by hand from the trees during a three-month window in the summer every nine years, and they use careful techniques to avoid wounding the trees."The tree tells us if we can take or not; you cannot force the cork to come apart," Conceição Santos Silva, a forest engineer, told ABC News last summer while the farmers ... Read More
New children’s book discusses a mother-son experience when caring for children with autism
Getty Images - STOCK(NEW YORK) -- April is Autism Acceptance Month. Sheletta Brundidge wrote a children's book about how her oldest son, Andrew Brundidge, cared for his younger siblings with autism, and how to parent children with special needs.Sheletta Brundidge's decision to dedicate her latest book to her oldest son, Andrew, was a testament to his desire for a voice. Andrew, like any child, yearned for attention and recognition. However, he often felt overshadowed by his siblings' needs and his mother's previous books about each of her children with autism. This new book is his platform, his story, and his voice.Andrew, with his unique perspective, offers a piece of advice to parents who may sometimes unintentionally exclude one child. His ... Read More
Slain Chicago police Officer Luis Huesca’s sister pleads for public to help in catching the killer: ‘The pain is unbearable’
Getty Images - STOCK(CHICAGO) -- Describing her family's pain as "unbearable," the sister of slain Chicago police Officer Luis Huesca is pleading with the public to help investigators identify and catch a suspect who allegedly gunned him down and stole his gun and car as he arrived home from work.Huesca's sister, Lily O'Brien, said she had asked her 30-year-old bother to move across the country to be close to his nieces and nephews, but said he decided to stay in Chicago and protect his community."He chose to stay here, which is why I feel like the community needs to show up for him the same way because he paid with his life to stay here," O'Brien told Chicago ABC station ... Read More
Gotham Whale, a New York City-based nonprofit, allows citizen scientists to assist in conservation efforts
Artie Raslich/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- A whale-watching excursion that embarks straight from New York City offers passengers an opportunity to escape the hustle and bustle and assist in a much-needed conservation efforts for the marine mammal.Gotham Whale, and research education and advocacy organization based in Staten Island, collects data of sightings from whale-watchers and boaters throughout the New York Bight, which includes the coasts of Long Island and New Jersey. Danielle Brown, director of marine mammal research for Gotham Whale and naturalist for Jersey Shore Whale Watch, told ABC News.The information is then entered into the nonprofit's catalog system, which helps to track and identity individual whales throughout their migration route each year.Seven different whale-watching companies contribute information to the ... Read More
Harvey Weinstein’s rape conviction overturned in New York; DA will attempt to retry
Former film producer Harvey Weinstein appears in court at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Los Angeles, California, on Oct. 4, 2022. (ETIENNE LAURENT/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)(NEW YORK) -- The rape conviction of movie producer Harvey Weinstein has been overturned by New York's highest court.The New York Court of Appeals, in a scathing 4-3 opinion, overturned Weinstein's conviction on sex crimes against three women, finding the trial judge "erroneously admitted testimony of uncharged, alleged prior sexual acts against persons other than the complainants of the underlying crimes."The court said that testimony "served no material non-propensity purpose" and "portrayed defendant in a highly prejudicial light."Weinstein spokesperson Juda Engelmayer told ABC News, "We are happily surprised and we are studying ... Read More
Trump hush money trial Day 7: “National Enquirer’s” David Pecker to resume testimony
Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media outside the courtroom during his trial for allegedly covering up hush money payments at Manhattan Criminal Court on April 23, 2024 in New York City. (Curtis Means-Pool/Getty Images)(NEW YORK) -- Former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker is set to return to the witness stand in Manhattan, New York on Thursday to continue his testimony about an alleged conspiracy with Donald Trump to identify and kill negative stories about the then-presidential candidate ahead of the 2016 election.Earlier this week, Pecker told jurors that he became Trump's "eyes and ears" during the election, allegedly transforming a supermarket tabloid into an extension of Trump's presidential campaign by spending thousands of dollars to kill negative ... Read More
College protests live updates: Hundreds arrested as universities crack down on pro-Palestinian encampments
Thinkstock Images/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- Protests have broken out at colleges and universities across the country in connection with the war in Gaza.Many pro-Palestinian protesters are calling for their colleges to divest of funds from Israeli military operations, while some Jewish students on the campuses have called the protests antisemitic and said they are scared for their safety.The student protests -- some of which have turned into around-the-clock encampments -- have erupted throughout the nation following arrests and student removals at Columbia University in New York City. Students at schools including Yale University, New York University, Harvard University, University of Texas at Austin, University of Southern California and more have launched protests.Here's how the news is developing:Apr 26, 12:52 AMColumbia ... Read More
Michigan father 1st charged under new safe gun storage law after son shoots himself in the face
Warren County Police Dept.(WARREN, Mich.) -- Michigan prosecutors charged a father for violating the state's newly enacted safe storage law after his son allegedly got a hold of a firearm and shot himself in the face in their home.Theo Nichols' 8-year-old son was in "extremely critical condition," at a Detroit hospital following the April 19 incident, police in Warren, Michigan, said at a news conference Wednesday.Investigators said the boy used a chair to access the handgun which was "unsafely" and insecurely stored on top of a kitchen cabinet."In the wake of this tragic incident, we are reminded of the profound responsibility that comes with gun ownership," Macomb County Prosecutor Peter J. Lucido said in a statement.Nichols, the child's mother and ... Read More
Trump asks judge in Georgia election case to dismiss 2 more counts against him
Curtis Means-Pool/Getty Images(ATLANTA) -- Former President Donald Trump, in a court filing Wednesday, asked the judge overseeing his Georgia election interference case to dismiss two more counts against him.Trump's filing urges the judge to dismiss counts 15 and 27 of the indictment, which charge him with conspiracy to commit filing of false documents as well as the filing of false documents.The first charge relates to the so-called alternate elector plot, and accuses Trump and other defendants of mailing false documents related to that effort to the chief judge of U.S. district court in Georgia, as an alleged "substantial step."The second charge accuses Trump and attorney John Eastman of filing a document that included "materially false statements" in a federal lawsuit.Trump's ... Read More
Jewish student protesters celebrate Passover Seder in encampments
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- As pro-Palestinian protesters gather in solidarity and their tents, sleeping bags and banners dot the greenspace on campuses across the U.S., many students -- Jewish and non-Jewish alike -- could be seen at makeshift tables this week over a Seder dinner to honor the Passover holiday.The start of this year's Jewish holiday of Passover, which marks the Hebrews' liberation from slavery in Egypt, coincided with intensifying calls against Israel's war in Gaza on college campuses."We as Jews have this idea of 'Tikkun olam' -- to repair the world," said Zoe Kanter, a student protester with Yale Jews for Ceasefire. "And that's really a guiding principle for me … recognizing where there is injustice and ... Read More
New search underway tied to Gilgo Beach murder investigation: Sources
mphotoi/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- Investigators are searching a wooded area in Manorville, New York, as part of the Gilgo Beach murders investigation, law enforcement sources told ABC News.The search began Tuesday and continues Wednesday, the sources said.The Suffolk County District Attorney's Office declined to comment on the specific nature of the search."The Suffolk County Police Department, the New York Police Department and the New York State Police are working with the District Attorney's Office on an ongoing investigation," the district attorney's office said. "We do not comment on investigative steps while they are underway. We will make further statements when appropriate."Rex Heuermann has been charged in connection with the deaths of four women whose bodies were found near Gilgo Beach ... Read More
Student protesters begin dismantling some tents as negotiations with Columbia University progress
Columbia University West Lawn on April 24, 2024. Via Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- Protests on college campuses calling for the divestment of funds from Israeli military operations continued to spread on Wednesday, even as hundreds of students have been arrested.The student protests -- some of which have turned into around-the-clock encampments -- have erupted throughout the nation following arrests and student removals at Columbia University. Schools including Yale University, New York University, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Tufts University and more have launched protests.More than 100 protesters were arrested on April 18 at Columbia University, according to authorities, while others were suspended and removed from campus. Over 150 people were arrested at New York University on Monday night, according ... Read More
NASA’s Voyager 1 sending readable data back to Earth for 1st time in 5 months
NASA Voyager 1 concept depiction. Via NASA(NEW YORK) -- After more than five months without contact, NASA has finally reconnected with Voyager 1, the farthest spacecraft from Earth.NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) said Voyager 1 had not been sending readable data back to Earth since Nov. 14, 2023, despite the spacecraft still receiving mission controller commands.In December 2023, the JPL announced the problem was with one of Voyager 1's onboard computers called the flight data subsystem (FDS). Engineers attempted to restart the computer, but the problem persisted, NASA said.However, the JPL announced this week that Voyager 1 had resumed sending engineering updates to Earth.Engineers pinpointed the problem earlier this month, NASA said: A chip responsible for storing part of the ... Read More
Trump trial live updates: Pecker testifies he was told Stormy Daniels story was ‘true’
SimpleImages/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- Former President Donald Trump is on trial in New York City, where he is facing felony charges related to a 2016 hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. It marks the first time in history that a former U.S. president has been tried on criminal charges.Trump last April pleaded not guilty to a 34-count indictment charging him with falsifying business records in connection with a hush money payment his then-attorney Michael Cohen made to Daniels in order to boost his electoral prospects in the 2016 presidential election.Here's how the news is developing:Apr 25, 5:16 PMTrump calls day's court proceedings 'breathtaking'Former President Trump, exiting the courtroom at the end of Day 7 of his trial, ... Read More
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