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Trump cancels signing of bipartisan housing bill until his SAVE America Act is passed

U.S. President Donald Trump arrives for a working session on promoting economic growth with G7 leaders and G7 outreach partners as German Chancellor Friedrich Merz looks on, during the G7 Summit on June 17, 2026 in Evian-les-Bains, France. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

(WASHINGTON) --President Donald Trump said he is putting off signing a bipartisan housing reform bill until Congress passes his signature election and voting reform legislation, the SAVE America Act.

Trump was slated to sign the legislation at noon on Wednesday on Capitol Hill, but he abruptly canceled the event just hours before it was due to start, announcing his ultimatum on social media.

"Today's Housing News Conference and Signing is hereby cancelled until such time as we pass the desperately needed SAVE AMERICA ACT, which I consider to be a National Emergency," the president wrote in a post.

Trump has insisted since March that he will not sign any legislation until the SAVE America Act is sent to his desk. In a social media post on March 8, Trump wrote that it "supersedes everything else."

The SAVE America Act would make significant election and voting reforms, including requiring photo ID at polling places and proof of citizenship before a person could register to vote. It has been rejected by Democrats. Trump has pushed Republicans in the Senate to eliminate or modify the filibuster to get the bill through, though Majority Leader John Thune has maintained Republicans don't have the votes to do so.

The housing legislation, The 21st Century Road to Housing Act, passed overwhelmingly in the House and Senate. Once signed into law, big investors will be limited from buying up single-family homes and some building regulations will be loosened in an attempt to increase supply and ease the nationwide shortage.

Trump earlier Wednesday, in a separate social media post, said the housing bill is "of minor importance" compared to lower interest rates, the reauthorization of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and the SAVE America Act.

He also criticized the legislation as "Warren centric," referring to Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who is a co-sponsor.

Warren reacted to Trump's cancellation of the signing ceremony, writing on X: "Huge bipartisan majorities in Congress passed a bill to lower housing costs. But at the 11th hour, Donald Trump is refusing to sign it into law. His policies have made your costs go up -- and he doesn't care."

If a president doesn't sign a bill or veto it, it becomes law after 10 days while Congress is in session. But if Congress were to adjourn before the 10-day period is up, the bill could languish indefinitely -- a maneuver to effectively kill legislation known as a "pocket veto."

ABC News asked the White House whether Trump intends to try to veto the bill, but the White House did not respond to the question, only referring to the president's post cancelling the signing. The housing bill passed with veto-proof majority in both chambers.

ABC's Alexandra Hutzler contributed to this report.

Olympian Bode Miller arrested on drug possession charges

Bode Miller attends the Kitz Legends Night at Hotel Grand Tirolia Kitzbuehel on January 21, 2026 in Kitzbuehel, Austria. (Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)

(NEW YORK) -- Olympic gold medalist Bode Miller was arrested earlier this month on drug-related charges, according to court documents.

The American alpine ski racer was arrested in Idaho on two misdemeanor charges, including possession of a controlled substance and another for possession of drug paraphernalia, the documents noted.

Miller was released on a $5,000 cash bond, the records said. He pleaded not guilty to both charges after his arrest, according to the documents.

Miller's agent referred ABC News to a statement posted to his Instagram.

"I was pulled over for accelerating while passing another vehicle on a highway in Idaho. My friend, who was traveling with me, had a small amount of cannabis and cannabis pipe in his possession which I was unaware of," Miller wrote.

He noted that they fully cooperated with the officer, and expressed hope that the misdemeanor charges will be dropped "once the facts are reviewed."

In a statement to ABC News, the lead prosecutor confirmed that Miller was issued a citation and the misdemeanor offenses, but declined to make additional comments.

Miller is considered as one of the greatest alpine skiers in U.S. history. He is a six-time Olympic medalist and two-time overall World Cup champion.

His success in the sport also helped popularize skiing in the U.S.

Miller is married to professional beach volleyball player Morgan Beck and the couple share six children together.

Camp Mystic, following deadly flooding incident, files for bankruptcy

Search and recovery workers dig through debris looking for any survivors or remains of people swept up in the flash flooding near Camp Mystic on July 6, 2025 in Hunt, Texas. . (Photo by Jim Vondruska/Getty Images)

(HUNT, Texas) -- Camp Mystic, the Christian all-girls sleepaway camp, filed for bankruptcy on Wednesday, according to court records.

The Chapter 11 filing comes nearly a year after a deadly flood killed 25 girls and two teen counselors at the camp's Guadalupe River location, which is located in the Texas Hill Country.

According to the Wednesday filing, Camp Mystic has a debt exceeding $10 million.

Paul Yetter, an attorney representing seven victims' families, said in a statement Wednesday, "Bankruptcy will not stop all responsible parties from being held accountable."

"These innocent girls deserve justice," he added.

In April, Camp Mystic said it had planned to welcome more than 800 girls to its Cypress Lake location this summer before withdrawing its application.

Families of the flood victims and some officials, including Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, had called on the Texas Department of State Health Services to block Camp Mystic's license for the summer.

Patrick contended the camp shouldn't reopen until the flood was fully investigated.

The parents of one of the deceased campers -- 8-year-old Cile Steward, whose body has yet to be recovered after she was swept away in the Guadalupe River -- have also been vocal about the camp not reopening while their daughter remains missing.

Casey Garrett, a Houston attorney hired by the state legislature to investigate the deadly flood, presented a review of the camp's policies in April based on interviews with approximately 150 people, including campers, counselors, the camp's owners and the victims' families.

The attorney said there was inadequate training or drills for counselors and campers regarding a flood threat.

A written report of the investigation's findings is expected later this year, The Associated Press reported.

The Texas Rangers have also opened a criminal investigation of Camp Mystic, Patrick said.

Families of the victims have also filed a lawsuit against the camp.

In a previous statement to ABC News in response to the lawsuits filed by families, Camp Mystic said, "We continue to pray for the grieving families and ask for God's healing and comfort."

Jeff Ray, legal counsel for Camp Mystic, said in a statement, "We intend to demonstrate and prove that this sudden surge of floodwaters far exceeded any previous flood in the area by several magnitudes, that it was unexpected and that no adequate warning systems existed in the area."

"We disagree with several accusations and misinformation in the legal filings regarding the actions of Camp Mystic and Dick Eastland, who lost his life as well. We will thoroughly respond to these accusations in due course," Ray added.

-ABC News' Olivia Osteen, Meredith Deliso and Ivan Pereira contributed to this report.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Former chief of staff to ex-NYC Mayor Eric Adams arrested in federal bribery case

handcuffs fingerprints (ATU Images/Getty Images)

(NEW YORK) -- Frank Carone, a former chief of staff to ex-New York Mayor Eric Adams, was arrested on Wednesday morning along with his brother Anthony and two others as part of a federal bribery case, according to federal investigators.

While serving as chief of staff, Frank Carone allegedly "agreed to accept a series of bribe payments" as part of a scheme to "exploit the city's migrant crisis for profit," according to an indictment unsealed Wednesday in Brooklyn federal court.

In 2022, during the influx of migrants into New York, the city needed to rent entire hotels to accommodate asylum-seekers using emergency contracts.

Frank Carone allegedly accepted $120,000 in bribes from two co-defendants, Crystal Chen and Yan Po Zhu, in exchange for steering a multimillion-dollar emergency contract to a Microtel in Long Island City, Queens, that they controlled, federal prosecutors alleged.

To conceal the bribes, the payments were allegedly funneled through an account that Frank Carone's brother, Anthony Carone, controlled, the indictment said.

"In total, Zhu and Chen paid approximately $120,000 to F. Carone in exchange for an Emergency Shelter Contract for the Microtel, which was laundered through the Law Firm #2 account by A. Carone and his co-defendants," the indictment said.

The indictment included photographs of Zhu and Frank Carone socializing at Zhu's Long Island home in June 2022, a time when the indictment said Zhu and Chen's efforts to secure an Emergency Shelter Contract through other means were stalling.

"Zhu leveraged his burgeoning personal relationship with the defendant, Frank V. Carone," the indictment said.

The city ultimately awarded Microtel a nearly $7 million contract, even though it was smaller than another Long Island City hotel under consideration.

The indictment quoted an unnamed city employee who allegedly "lamented that replacing the professional's staff's recommendations with the Microtel 'meant a loss of 75 units,' which would necessitate opening more locations to make up the difference."

The defendants are charged with 13 counts, including conspiracy, federal program bribery and obstruction. All four defendants pleaded not guilty during a hearing Wednesday and were released on bond with restrictions on travel and communications.

Prosecutor Sara Winik singled out Frank Carone during the hearing.

"Frank Carone was entrusted to run our city government," Winik told the judge, adding that he "put his own status" above his duties, leveraging the need for emergency migrant housing to accept $120,000 in bribe payments.

Frank Carone was released on a $2 million bond secured by his property in Boca Raton, Florida and cash, records show.

Frank Carone helped with Adams' transition into office in January 2022 and served as the mayor's chief of staff until December that year, when he departed the administration.

As he departed, he said that in his position it had been an "honor keeping the trains running for this administration," according to a press release at the time.

Arthur Aidala, an attorney representing Frank Carone, said in a statement to ABC News that Frank Carone was notified that he was under federal investigation three years ago and denied the allegations.

"Frank Carone was part of an administration that publicly challenged what it viewed as the previous White House's dangerous immigration policies and their harmful impact on New York City," Aidala said in a statement to ABC News. "Following an extensive three-year investigation that examined numerous aspects of Mr. Carone's personal and professional life, prosecutors ultimately brought these charges."

"Mr. Carone maintains his innocence and looks forward to addressing these allegations through the legal process. He is confident that the facts will demonstrate that he acted lawfully and appropriately at all times," Aidala added.

Attorney information for the other defendants was not immediately available.

Todd Shapiro, a spokesperson for former Mayor Adams, said in a statement that his "prayers are with [Carone's] family"

"Frank Carone has dedicated decades of his life to public service, the legal profession, and helping countless individuals, businesses, and charitable organizations throughout New York," he said.

FBI, NYPD search sites around city amid corruption investigation, sources say

Close up of the NYPD logo on a police car. (Tim Drivas Photography/Getty Images)

(NEW YORK) -- The FBI and New York Police Department conducted searches on Wednesday morning at various locations around the city as part of an ongoing investigation into alleged corruption at the nation's largest police department.

The investigation is targeting current and former police executives, sources familiar with it told ABC News.

Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch issued a statement confirming the searches, saying the NYPD's Internal Affairs Bureau was working alongside the FBI in executing search warrants "as part of a criminal investigation being pursued by the NYPD, the FBI, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York."

"The investigation is ongoing and concerns conduct by former and current members of the NYPD," she said.

The investigation is examining, among other things, promotions and assignments and how they were carried out, the sources said. Tisch in her statement did not identify potential suspects or charges.

"When I became Police Commissioner, I promised New Yorkers that under my leadership the NYPD would conduct itself with integrity and that there would be a thorough investigation of any claim that members of service failed to meet that standard," Tisch said. "This investigation and our actions this morning are part of the ongoing effort to fulfill that commitment and hold the Department to its highest ideals."

The investigation was targeting the current chief of Manhattan South, Jimmy McCarthy, who has been placed on modified duty, according to the NYPD. Another target is the department’s former chief spokesman, Tarik Sheppard, sources said.

FBI agents were spotted outside the Brooklyn home of Jeffrey Maddrey, formerly chief of Department, the highest ranking uniformed officer. It was not immediately clear whether Maddrey was a part of the investigation

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

France confirms 1st Ebola case linked to DRC as UN warns outbreak is fastest-growing in Africa’s history

Ebola virus test, conceptual image. (DIGICOMPHOTO/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/Getty Images)

(NEW YORK) -- France has confirmed its first Ebola case linked to the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) as the United Nations warned that the outbreak is the fastest-growing in Africa's history.

The patient in France is a humanitarian doctor who recently returned from the DRC and has been transferred to a specialist hospital, authorities confirmed.

French health officials said the case was detected quickly, the necessary precautions are in place and that there is no indication of local spread.

"France has specialized capabilities for managing highly transmissible infectious diseases," France's Ministry of Health said in a statement announcing the case. "Patients are treated in a designated healthcare facility, following strict biosafety protocols (negative pressure room, dedicated equipment and protocols). Health authorities are fully mobilized and the situation is being continuously monitored."

"All precautionary measures, including the patient's isolation, were taken upon his arrival in the country, with transfer to the hospital under secure conditions to prevent any risk of contamination," the statement continued.

Officials said a thorough epidemiological investigation is underway to identify individuals who may have been in contact with the patient and that they will be contacted "without delay" by the regional health agency before undergoing 21 days of home isolation while being closely monitored the entire time.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said on Wednesday that the risk of infection is "low" for European residents and travelers to areas of active transmission, and "very low" for the general European population.

The development comes as U.N. officials warned on Tuesday that the Ebola outbreak in the DRC is spreading at an unprecedented pace.

As of Monday, there were 1,048 confirmed cases and 267 deaths, making it the largest number of confirmed Ebola cases recorded during the first month of an outbreak in Africa, according to Dr. Abdirahman Mahamud, director of heath and emergency alert and response operations at the World Health Organization.

Mahamud said it took just 37 days for the current outbreak to reach 250 deaths, compared to 78 days during the 2014 and 2016 West Africa outbreaks and 130 days during the 2018-2019 DRC outbreak.

Mahamud added that there are some signs the response has been scaled up to match the pace of the outbreak's spread.

The number of beds available for treatment has risen in the last two weeks, "going from a handful to over 500 beds across 19 health zones," he said.

Additionally, the U.N. said laboratory capacity has also increased from 30 tests a day in Kinshasa, the DRC's capital, at the start of the outbreak to more than 2,000 tests per day through eight labs in the three provinces at the center of the outbreak.

Paolo Cravero, senior office of communications and media relations at the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said there is "a lack of trust in the response" among affected communities and that the organization is "working hard with communities to bridge that gap."

"Rumor and misinformation are creating some difficulties," he said.

Camp Mystic files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy

HOUSTON (AP) – Camp Mystic filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization on Wednesday, nearly a year after catastrophic floods killed 25 girls and two teenage counselors at the all-girls Christian camp in Texas. In paperwork filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of Texas in Houston, the camp listed its debt as exceeding $10 million. The camp along the Guadalupe River said it had assets in the range of 100,001 to $500,000.

Families of the victims filed a lawsuit in November saying the camp operators failed to take the necessary steps to protect the girls as life-threatening floodwaters approached on July 4. Camp owner Richard Eastland also died in the flood. All told, the destructive flooding killed at least 136 people along a several-mile stretch of the river, raising questions about how things went so terribly wrong.

The bankruptcy filing comes weeks after Camp Mystic halted plans to reopen this summer in the face of outrage from victims’ families and lawmakers that the century-old camp intended to welcome girls back while lawsuits and investigations remained ongoing.

Cervical cancer deaths 49% higher for women living in poverty: Report

Female doctor talking with young woman in exam room (MoMo Productions/Getty Images)

(NEW YORK) -- Cervical cancer deaths are 49% higher for women living in poverty, a major report released on Thursday finds.

Women living in poverty were also 23% more likely to develop cervical cancer compared to those living in higher-income areas, according to the report from the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR).

"The disparities in this situation arise from an access to care issue," Dr. Paul DiSilvestro, division director of gynecologic oncology at Women and Infants Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island, who was not involved in the report, told ABC News.

"I think we often don't understand the pressure on women as it relates to screening. Sometimes you have to make a choice between going to work, caring for your children, putting food on the table and getting a screening test," he added.

Cervical cancer is typically caused by a virus called human papillomavirus (HPV). The disease is now largely preventable thanks to the introduction of the HPV vaccine nearly two decades ago. Studies show the vaccine has drastically reduced mortality rates from cervical cancer.

If cervical cancer is caught early, it is usually easier to treat, according to the National Cancer Institute. However, not all women are able to get vaccinated as a teenager or get regular screenings in adulthood.

Some public health specialists say that new data suggests stark racial disparities appear to be easing, although there is still a long way to go.

In 2000, Hispanic women were 70% more likely to die of cervical cancer compared to white women, according to the AACR report. By 2024, Hispanic women were 10% more likely to die of cervical cancer, the report found.

Efforts and strategies to decrease these disparity gaps have been in effect nationally. The AACR reports that cervical screening increased by 62% after incorporation of patient navigation services.

A study in the AACR summary combined data from 20 trials done across the country, which included information about services including transportation assistance, interpreter services, home visits, patient education, scheduling assistance and individualized financial support.

It found that lay Hispanic/Latino community members who receive specialized training to provide basic health education in the community, known as promotoras, played key roles -- alongside social workers, telephone counselors and social workers -- in delivering these services.

Policy changes, such as Medicaid expansion, have also produced measurable increases in screening uptake among previously uninsured populations, according to the study.

Despite these efforts, patients living in poorer counties are still experiencing worse outcomes, DiSilvestro said.

"We need to do a better job of delivering the screening to the community as opposed to expecting the community to present itself to us for the screening," he said.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends two doses of the HPV vaccine at age 11 or 12, a shot that has proven to prevent up to 90% of cervical cancer cases.

The CDC also recommends that screening pap smears start at age 21. Pap smears look for cell changes on the cervix that could develop into cervical cancer.

"I think we can't forget that in this situation, cervical cancer screening works," DiSilvestro said. "But it only works if we can provide it to the people."

Areta Bojko, MD is a board-certified OBGYN and gynecologic oncology fellow at Women and Infants Hospital and a member of the ABC News Medical Unit.

In brief: ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ gets streaming date and more

The Devil Wears Prada 2? For streaming? Groundbreaking. The sequel film will make its streaming service debut on July 29. It will be available on both Disney+ and Hulu starting on that day. The film also arrives on digital platforms for purchase on June 30, as well as 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray on July 28. Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci star in the film that's directed by David Frankel ...

Haven't seen The Drama yet? Don't make any drama about it. The film is set to make its streaming debut on July 31. The A24 film starring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson will be available to stream exclusively on HBO Max on that day. It follows an engaged couple who put their connection to the test when an unexpected revelation sends their wedding week into a tailspin. Kristoffer Borgli wrote and directed the film ...

The Summer I Turned Pretty star Sean Kaufman is the latest actor to join Daniels' upcoming untitled event film. Deadline reports that Kaufman is in negotiations to join Matt Damon, Sandra Oh and Charles Melton in the Universal film. This marks the latest film from directors Daniels, who are the filmmaking duo of Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, who helmed the best picture-winning film Everything Everywhere All at Once ...

Changes made to county bridge project

TYLER – In order to help with the construction required to reopen the North Northeast Loop 323 extension to U.S. Highway 271, Smith County commissioners approved on Tuesday allowing Texas Department of Transportation workers to enter a portion of Camp Ford. Due to excessive rainfall in May 2024, a culvert washed out, closing that portion of Loop 323 to traffic for more than two years. There, a bridge will be constructed by the Texas Department of Transportation. In the coming weeks, construction is anticipated to start. Commissioners authorized a temporary construction easement for TxDOT workers to help build the bridge during their Tuesday meeting. Continue reading Changes made to county bridge project

Scoreboard roundup — 6/23/26

(NEW YORK) -- Here are the scores from Tuesday’s sports events:

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
Astros 9, Blue Jays 7
Royals 12, Rays 5
Yankees 4, Tigers 3
Mariners 3, Pirates 2
Rangers 4, Marlins 6
Phillies 14, Nationals 9
Cubs 9, Mets 6
Brewers 2, Reds 0
Guardians 1, White Sox 2
Dodgers 12, Twins 3
Diamondbacks 4, Cardinals 3
Red Sox 5, Rockies 2
Orioles 1, Angels 5
Braves 6, Padres 7
Athletics 1, Giants 3

FIFA World Cup
Portugal 5, Uzbekistan 0
England 0, Ghana 0
Panama 0, Croatia 1
Colombia 1, Congo DR 0

Joey Loperfido hits tiebreaking 3-run HR in 11th inning as Astros beat Blue Jays 9-7

TORONTO (AP) — Joey Loperfido hit a tiebreaking home run in the 11th inning and the Houston Astros beat the Toronto Blue Jays 9-7 on Tuesday.

Loperfido’s first home run of the season came off former Toronto teammate Braydon Fisher (3-3).

With automatic runner Jose Altuve at second base to begin the 11th, the Blue Jays intentionally walked Yordan Alvarez. Fisher struck out Christian Walker and Isaac Paredes before Loperfido connected.

Yainer Diaz, Cam Smith and Taylor Trammell hit consecutive home runs for Houston in the fourth. All three homers came off Toronto starter Shane Bieber.

It was the first time the Astros have hit three consecutive homers since Altuve, Alex Bregman and Alvarez did it against Texas on July 19, 2019.

Logan VanWey (1-0) gave up Kazuma Okamoto’s RBI single in the ninth and worked two innings for his first career win.

After Okamoto’s two-out single put Toronto up 6-4 in the eighth, the Astros tied it against Tyler Rogers in the top of the ninth.

Loperfido drove in the first run when Blue Jays catcher Brandon Valenzuela was called for interference with the bases loaded. Cam Smith followed with a sacrifice fly.

The blown save was Rogers’ third.

Okamoto went 3 for 4 with two walks and drove in three runs. Daulton Varsho and Luis Urías hit two-run home runs, but it wasn’t enough for the Blue Jays, who left 13 runners stranded.

Making his first start of the season, Bieber allowed four runs and nine hits, including three homers, in 3 2/3 innings.

The AL Cy Young Award winner with Cleveland in 2020, Bieber was activated off the injured list before the game. He had not pitched this season because of elbow inflammation.

Toronto’s Ernie Clement (left hip) did not play.
Up next

Blue Jays RHP Trey Yesavage (3-3, 3.76 ERA) is scheduled to start Wednesday against Astros RHP Mike Burrows (3-8, 5.79).

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Alcantara sets Marlins’ career strikeouts record in 6-4 win over Rangers

MIAMI (AP) — Sandy Alcantara set the franchise career record for strikeouts and won his fifth consecutive start in June, leading the Miami Marlins to a 6-4 victory over the Texas Rangers on Tuesday night.

Alcantara (8-4), who allowed one run in 6 2/3 innings, struck out Kyle Higashioka in the seventh inning to surpass Ricky Nolasco for the most strikeouts in club history with 1,002.

The crowd of 9,971 gave Alcantara, who struck out four overall, an ovation and he tipped his cap to different sections of the stands. Alcantara’s outing ended after he walked Nicky López on four pitches following the strikeout of Higashioka.

Alcantara allowed five hits through the first 3 2/3 innings then retired 11 straight. After allowing eight runs and 10 hits in a loss at Toronto on May 26, Alcantara has completed at least seven innings in three of his five starts in June.

Heriberto Hernández homered and doubled, while Joe Mack and Owen Caissie also went deep for the Marlins, who built a 6-1 lead before the Rangers mounted a comeback attempt.

Brandon Nimmo hit a leadoff homer in the eighth and down to their last out in the ninth, the Rangers chipped away against Marlins closer Pete Fairbanks. Joc Pederson hit a solo homer and Wyatt Langford was hit by a pitch. Nimmo cut the margin with an RBI triple. Fairbanks got the last out when Josh Jung hit a drive that was caught at the warning track by center fielder Jakob Marsee.

Mack hit a go-ahead solo homer against Rangers reliever José Corniell (0-1) in the fourth to put the Marlins ahead 2-1.

Miami padded the lead in the fifth on Caissie’s three-run blast and Mack’s RBI single.

Lopez hit an RBI groundout with the bases loaded to give Texas a 1-0 lead in the second. Miami tied it in the bottom half on Hernández’s leadoff homer.

Cal Quantrill allowed one run and three hits in two innings. It was his first start of the season after 15 relief appearances.
Up next

RHP Jacob deGrom (6-4, 3.59) will start the series finale for the Rangers on Wednesday, while RHP Eury Pérez (3-6. 4.60) will start for the Marlins.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

NHL exploring Texas expansion in Houston or Austin with billionaire Dan Friedkin and family

NEW YORK (AP) — The NHL is exploring potential expansion in Texas in either Houston or Austin under an agreement with billionaire Dan Friedkin and his family, Commissioner Gary Bettman said Tuesday.

Bettman said the Board of Governors executive committee endorsed a term sheet agreed to with the Friedkins over the next six months. The total investment required between an expansion fee and the cost to build a new arena in one of those cities would amount to $3.5 billion, according to Bettman, who said discussions over the past two years largely revolved around Houston before Austin joined the conversation.

“That’s part of the process is to determine what would be best, both for the league and for Dan Friedkin and family,” Bettman said. “Both cities will require a new arena. It may be more feasible in one place than the other. And as we dig a little deeper and do the due diligence, we’ll figure out which makes the most sense.”

Friedkin is chairman and CEO of the Friedkin Group with a net worth of $6.4 billion, according to Forbes. The Houston-based consortium has investments in the automotive industry, entertainment, hospitality and sports, including stakes in European soccer clubs Everton and AS Roma.

No board vote was taken. That would only come if the sides involved move forward with an agreement.

While there is no guarantee the NHL adds a 33rd team, the move is a first step toward becoming the largest professional sports league in North America, surpassing the NFL. Bettman has said officials were listening to expressions of interest from prospective owners in places like Houston and Atlanta but until now not yet engaged in a formal path toward expansion.

“There was an update on Atlanta, there was an update on Arizona and there was an update on South Texas,” Bettman said. “But neither Arizona nor Atlanta are quite as far along in the process as the Friedkin opportunities.”

Montreal Canadiens owner Geoff Molson, who is on the executive committee, called it an important decision and said, “It’s just an exploration at this stage.”

In a statement released through Pursuit Sports, the Friedkin family said it had reached an agreement with the NHL for exclusive rights to a franchise in South Texas with a focus on Houston and Austin. It said it would be methodical in assessing the best option.

“Each city brings unique attributes that would make a new team a huge success — both have the infrastructure, passionate fan bases and economic strength needed to support a championship-caliber franchise for years to come,” the family said. “We have wanted for some time to bring an NHL team to Texas, and we are excited that the process has now begun.”

The league last expanded to 32 teams with the Seattle Kraken beginning play in 2021 after the Vegas Golden Knights started in the 2017-18 season. Before that, there had been 30 teams since 2000, when Columbus and Minnesota entered.

The recent success stories, combined with booming franchise values across sports, spurred talk of expansion in hockey circles, especially because expansion fees could exceed $1 billion. Seattle paid $650 million and Las Vegas $500 million.

From Florida to Texas to California and places in between, the NHL has enjoyed strong popularity across the Sun Belt and non-traditional hockey markets over the past four decades. Teams were added in South Florida and Tampa in Florida, San Jose and Anaheim in California, Nashville, Tennessee, and Las Vegas, while relocations put teams in Dallas, Raleigh, North Carolina, Denver and elsewhere.

Teams in those places have won the Stanley Cup the past seven years in a row and 13 times dating to Colorado’s championship run in 1995-96.
Board approves Penguins sale

Bettman said the board had approved the sale of the Pittsburgh Penguins from Fenway Sports Group to the Hoffmann family. The deal, reached a year ago, is worth $1.7 billion to $1.75 billion.

“It’s nice that the Hoffmanns got a good deal, and it’s nice that Fenway in five years doubled its investment,” Bettman said. “I still think it’s low, but that’s OK.”

In a statement released by the team, incoming NHL governor Geoff Hoffmann called it a defining moment for his family.

“The Penguins represent everything Hoffmann Family of Companies stands for: community, excellence and long-term thinking,” Hoffman said. “We look forward to building on the team’s success by providing support and resources to both (general manager) Kyle Dubas and the hockey operations team, as well as the established leadership group on the business side. We’re proud to represent this storied franchise and are eager to become an active, invested part of the Pittsburgh community.”

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL

Brendan Sorsby has to wait until 2027 to join the NFL

Brendan Sorsby will have to wait until 2027 to begin his NFL career.

The NFL informed the 22-year-old quarterback on Tuesday that it will not hold a supplemental draft this year, and encouraged him to focus on preparing for possible entry into the league through the regular draft next year.

The league told Sorsby of its decision in a letter that was obtained by The Associated Press.

Sorsby had applied for the supplemental draft after a legal battle with the NCAA, which had declared him ineligible for making thousands of bets on sporting events worth at least $90,000 during his college career. Those included at least 40 bets on Indiana while he was a freshman there in 2022, though none on the games in which he played for the Hoosiers that season.

The NFL hasn’t held a supplemental draft since 2023 and had no plans to do so this year before Sorsby’s petition. No player has been selected in the supplemental draft since 2019.

“Your Petition — filed three business days before the deadline, without any supporting information or documentation, and only after abandoning your recent litigation efforts to avoid NCAA sanctions — does not provide a basis for the League to alter those plans,” NFL attorney Lawrence P. Ferazani Jr. said in his letter to Sorsby and the 32 NFL teams. “The issues presented by your Petition are too significant, and too closely tied to the League’s core integrity interests, to permit meaningful review within the timeline presented.”

Eligibility for either the regular draft or supplemental draft is required for entry into the NFL, per the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the league and its union. A player who is not selected in the draft could then enter the league as a free agent.

“No player shall be eligible to be employed by an NFL Club until he has been eligible for selection in an NFL Draft,” the CBA states in Article 6.

Sorsby is considered a potential Day 2 pick — second or third round — in next year’s draft. Teams will have to be convinced he’s overcome his gambling problems.

The NFL’s letter pointed out that Sorsby’s petition didn’t address reports that he may have violated state law nor did it “demonstrate accountability for your conduct or indicate whether, or how, you would adhere to the League’s rules and policies governing the integrity of competition.”

It concluded: “We encourage you to focus on preparing for possible entry into the NFL through the 2027 NFL Annual Draft.”

The submission deadline for the rarely used supplemental draft was Monday. Sorsby had planned to work out for NFL teams on July 10.

Sorsby, after transferring earlier this year from Cincinnati to Texas Tech, was banished from competition by the NCAA for the gambling activity.

After spending a month in a residential treatment program for a diagnosed addiction that led to thousands of bets, Sorsby sued the NCAA and gained a court-ordered reinstatement that prompted nationwide backlash toward Texas Tech. The controversy led Sorsby to enter this special draft session.

“The sole reasons identified in your Petition for seeking entry into the Supplemental Draft are that you have been ‘declared ineligible’ by the NCAA, have ‘exhausted all of (your) avenues to continue in the NCAA,’ and ‘want to now play in the NFL,’” Ferazani wrote. “The Petition provides no information regarding the basis for, or timing of, the NCAA’s decision. Public sources, however, indicate that in May 2026 the NCAA issued a determination declaring you permanently ineligible from participation in college athletics, based on a sustained pattern of improper gambling activity during your collegiate career at three different universities.”

A person with knowledge of the union’s thinking told the AP that the NFL Players Association “has not made any determination on if, how or whether there are legal grounds to act on” the league’s decision. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because it is a legal matter.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

UN nuclear agency boss says inspectors will visit Iran’s nuclear sites under Iran-US interim deal

TOKYO (AP) — The head of the U.N.’s nuclear agency signaled Wednesday that Iranian nuclear enrichment sites would be visited by his inspectors, a key component in the interim deal between the United States and Iran to reach an end to the war.

The comment by International Atomic Energy Agency head Rafael Mariano Grossi was the firmest yet from the United Nations agency, which is viewed as key in determining the status of Iran’s nuclear stockpile.

Since Israel launched a 12-day war on Iran in 2025, the IAEA has been blocked by Tehran from visiting enrichment sites where the Islamic Republic is believed to store enough highly enriched uranium to potentially build as many as 10 nuclear weapons, should it choose to rush for the bomb. Iran long has maintained that its program is peaceful, though it is the only country in the world to have uranium enriched up to 60% purity without a weapons program.

The U.S. and Iran offered contradictory remarks Tuesday about whether those sites would be inspected. Grossi acknowledged the contradictions, calling it a “war of words” at the moment.
Grossi says inspections are ‘going to happen’

“I can understand political statements, they are part of the reality, but the fundamental thing I would like to remind you and draw your attention to is that there has been a Memorandum of Understanding, signed by both presidents,” he told journalists at a news conference at the tsunami-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

The accord “says explicitly that the nuclear activities that are going to be carried out with regards to the nuclear material facilities will be supervised by the IAEA — in all letters,” he said.

Grossi added: “Obviously, to do that, we will have to inspect. Whether this happens the day after tomorrow or in one week or in 10 days, it’s important, but not essential. This is going to happen.”

Those inspections are key for the deal, which calls for Iran’s stockpile of uranium to be “downblended” from highly enriched levels.

There was no immediate reaction from Iran. On Tuesday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told reporters in Tehran that U.N. inspectors were not scheduled to examine nuclear sites bombed by the U.S. last year, rejecting comments made a day before by U.S. Vice President JD Vance.
IAEA blocked from seeing bombed sites

The IAEA has been allowed to visit other nuclear sites in Iran since the 12-day war in 2025, such as the Bushehr nuclear power plant. But without accessing the enrichment sites, the IAEA says it is unable to verify the status of Iran’s stockpile or check the cascades of centrifuges used to enrich uranium. Both Iran and the IAEA say Tehran hasn’t been enriching uranium, but nonproliferation experts worry that the Islamic Republic may be moving its stockpile to undeclared areas.

The U.S. and Iran agreed to a deal last week that calls for Tehran to dilute its stockpile of enriched uranium and waives U.S.-backed sanctions on Iranian oil, while giving each side 60 days to hammer out broader agreements.

But the uneasy ceasefire already has been tested by Iran saying it closed the strait again over fighting between Israel and the Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah in Lebanon. Violence again broke out in Lebanon on Tuesday, but it did not escalate.

Technical-level talks between the U.S. and Iran are expected to resume early next week at the Bürgenstock resort in Switzerland, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said Wednesday. Pakistan has been a key mediator.
Marco Rubio is in the Middle East

Grossi’s remarks came as U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in the Persian Gulf for a three-nation tour, beginning with a closed-door meeting and private working lunch in Abu Dhabi with Emirati President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the State Department said Wednesday.

Rubio is scheduled to travel next to Kuwait and then Bahrain for meetings with their leaders later Wednesday and Thursday.

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Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writers Matthew Lee in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and Munir Ahmed in Islamabad contributed to this report.

World shares are mixed after a Big Tech sell-off

HONG KONG (AP) — World shares were mixed Wednesday following a sell-off in big technology stocks from Asia to Wall Street.

U.S. stock futures were also trading mixed, as global investors monitor market movements including in Japan and South Korea, which have seen big gains in recent months on the global AI boom but both fell sharply on Tuesday.

In early European trading, Britain’s FTSE 100 edged down 0.1% to 10,417.97. Germany’s DAX fell 0.8% to 24,687.18, while France’s CAC 40 was 0.2% higher at 8,355.36.

In Asia, South Korea’s benchmark Kospi index was up 3.3% to 8,471.02, recovering from its 10% decline on Tuesday. Shares of memory chipmaker SK Hynix, one of the country’s most valuable stocks, climbed 1%. Samsung Electronics jumped 9.8%, after Tuesday’s 12.3% plummet.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 lost 0.9% to 69,174.97 after falling 3.6% on Tuesday.

Taiwan’s Taiex, which is also heavily influenced by tech shares, fell 2.2%.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was 0.3% higher at 23,412.18. The Shanghai Composite index was up 0.1% to 4,110.81. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.2% to 8,808.40.

The declines in Asian markets, including Japan’s, followed Tuesday’s 1.4% drop for Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite fell 2.2%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.1% lower.

Big Tech and semiconductor stocks fell in the U.S. On Tuesday, Micron Technology sank 13.2%, while Nvidia lost more than 4.1%.

The big falls in tech shares were an “illustration of rising volatility” in these stocks, said James Reilly, senior markets economist at Capital Economics. “This is particularly true in Korea where domestic retail buyers are taking on an increasing role,” he said.

Oil prices fell early Wednesday, as more ships crossed the Strait of Hormuz while U.S.-Iran talks on a permanent end to the Iran war made progress.

“Price movements suggest the market expects a fairly rapid recovery in Persian Gulf oil supplies,” ING commodities strategists Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey said in a commentary.

Still, while vessel crossings in the strait increased in recent days, they remained well below prewar levels, they noted.

Brent crude, the international standard, fell 1.6% to $75.57 a barrel. It has been trading below $80 in recent days but is still elevated compared with the approximately $70 per barrel in late February before the war began.

Benchmark U.S. crude was down 1.8% to $71.92 a barrel.

In the U.S., investors are awaiting a report due Thursday of May’s personal consumption expenditures price index, or PCE, which is the preferred inflation gauge by the Federal Reserve.

Some economists predict the Fed may hold key interest rate this year but is unlikely to raise rates. Bond yields have remained higher as inflation concerns grew amid global energy shocks.

In other dealings, the U.S. dollar was trading at 161.74 Japanese yen, up from 161.55 yen. The euro was trading at $1.1347, down from $1.1382.

School revamped into lofts

MARSHALL — A Waco-based real-estate company has secured a contract to start landscape and renovation work at the former Marshall High School to transform it into a new lofts, they announced on Tuesday. After working with the city and visiting the site to take bids, Versatile Real Estate Company will begin its extensive work on the property’s landscape and renovations to the building on July 6, the company said.

According to our news partner KETK, the building will be restored and given a new purpose through Versatile’s contract by creating modern loft residences and community gathering areas. According to the company, the soon-to-be Marshall Lofts “celebrate the character of the past while creating a vibrant, connected community for the future.”

We are excited to share this wonderful rendering of what the old Marshall High School will look like once our project is complete,” Versatile said. “Thank you to the City of Marshall and most of all the people who live in the community for your extreme patience, and enduring the experience of seeing the Historic site in its current state.” Continue reading School revamped into lofts

City celebrates groundbreaking of new park

TYLER – The Tyler Parks and Rec Department held a groundbreaking ceremony on Tuesday to celebrate Stewart Park, which will be the newest park to open in Tyler in more than 20 years.

The park is located on Frankston Highway and is named after the Stewarts family, who previously sold their land to the city and made an important impact on the city’s education in the community.
Additionally, the park will serve as the starting point for the Legacy Trail Extension, a 12-foot-wide multipurpose trail that runs through W.E. Winters Park and connects to Peete Elementary School.

The park will also include playground equipment, a pavilion, and picnic areas as well as new bathrooms. The city said the goal is to complete the park by the end of this year.

Could data centers pump unlimited groundwater in parts of East Texas? Lawmakers raise concerns

AUSTIN, Texas (KETK) — As Texas continues to attract major technology investments, state lawmakers are raising concerns about how the rapid growth of data centers could affect water supplies, particularly in rural parts of East Texas.

The Texas House Committee on Natural Resources held a hearing Tuesday to examine the industry’s water demands as state officials work on the next Texas State Water Plan ahead of the 2027 legislative session.

Much of the discussion centered on whether the state has enough information to accurately predict future water needs as more data centers move into Texas.

Temple McKinnon, director of Water Supply Planning Divisions for the Texas Water Development Board, testified that the agency surveyed industrial facilities, including 341 data centers, earlier this year to better understand water usage in 2025. However, only about 17% of facilities responded.

That response rate drew criticism from lawmakers.

McKinnon acknowledged the low participation and said the agency relies on historical data and estimates when survey responses are unavailable.

“Many facilities, there’s low response rates across the board, there can be, and when we don’t get a response, we do whatever we can to estimate around it. We might roll that over depending on past use,” McKinnon said.

Lawmakers questioned whether those estimates are sufficient given the pace at which data centers are being developed across the state.

State Rep. Trent Ashby, R-Lufkin, shifted the conversation toward East Texas, where he said some counties lack groundwater conservation districts that monitor and regulate groundwater use.

Ashby asked McKinnon whether a data center located in a county without a groundwater conservation district would face any restrictions on groundwater pumping:

“So if you’re in a county with a data center or proposed data center and there is no GCD (groundwater conservation district), there is no requirement or obstacle if you’re a data center to overcome to pump as much groundwater as you want, am I correct?” Ashby asked.

“There would be no entity in place to regulate that use, yes,” McKinnon responded.

The exchange highlighted concerns from some East Texas residents who worry that growing industrial water demands could strain local groundwater supplies in areas with limited oversight.

Ashby said he has heard from constituents concerned that future data center development could impact water availability for rural communities that depend on wells and aquifers.
Google announces $10M Texas water impact fund; makes data center water use pledges

Lawmakers emphasized that additional studies and more accurate reporting will be necessary to understand the long-term impact that data centers could have on Texas water resources and to determine whether current planning efforts adequately account for future growth.

Texans remain wary of the rapid growth of data centers, citing concerns like noise, water use, energy demand, and land impact. A UT Austin Texas Politics Project poll reflects that sentiment, showing 56% oppose local data?center construction while 29% support it. Still, lawmakers noted a competing pressure: the national?security risk of falling behind China in the race for advanced artificial intelligence.

Throughout the hearing, multiple county?level officials urged the Legislature to give local governments more authority to block or regulate data?center projects. They argued that communities should have a stronger voice in deciding whether these facilities fit their long?term development goals.

The hearing remained underway Tuesday afternoon. Committee Chairman State Rep. Cody Harris, R-Palestine, said discussions could continue into the evening as lawmakers gather information to help shape future water policy and planning efforts across Texas.

Officials to ramp up scam protection

SMITH COUNTY — Amid a surge in cryptocurrency scams sweeping East Texas, Smith County Sheriff Larry Smith convened regional lawmakers Monday in an urgent bid to confront what he warned is becoming a rapidly escalating threat. According to our news partner KETK, the meeting was attended by several lawmakers, including Sen. Bryan Hughes, State Representatives Cole Hefner and Daniel Alders, and the Captain of the Texas Federal Crimes Intelligence Center, Jeff Roberts.

Driven by a spike in cases, Smith convened the meeting after a growing number of East Texas seniors were coerced into depositing thousands of dollars into Bitcoin ATMs, funds that vanish instantly and are rarely recoverable.

Unfortunately many East Texans have failed to realize they were being scammed before being left in financial ruin. In early May, a Georgia inmate orchestrated a crypto kiosk scam by directing an elderly Smith County woman to a local crypto kiosk after claiming they were a sheriff’s office employee. The scam resulted in the woman losing $13,000 and the scammer was charged with theft from the elderly. Continue reading Officials to ramp up scam protection

Revivals of ‘The Sound of Music,’ ‘A Few Good Men’ headed to Broadway

Jasmine Amy Rogers attends the 78th annual Tony Awards Meet The Nominees Press Event at Sofitel New York on May 8, 2025, in New York City. (Jenny Anderson/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions) | Tom Blyth attends Dom Pérignon Révélations 2026 at Guggenheim Bilbao on June 4, 2026, in Bilbao, Spain. (Pierre Mouton/Getty Images for Dom Perignon)

Revivals of The Sound of Music and A Few Good Men are headed to Broadway.

Both productions will make it to the Great White Way as part of Lincoln Center Theater's 2026-27 season.

The Sound of Music revival will open at the Vivian Beaumont Theater in spring 2027. Tony nominee Jasmine Amy Rogers will star as Maria von Trapp in this production of the classic musical. The role was made famous by Julie Andrews in the beloved 1965 film adaptation.

The Sound of Music originally opened on Broadway in 1959. It has not been revived since 1998. Performances start on March 23, 2027, with an opening night of April 15.

Headed to the Vivian Beaumont Theater this fall is a revival of the play A Few Good Men.

Bradley Whitford and Tom Blyth are set to star in the production, with Blyth making his Broadway debut. Tony winner Michael Arden will direct the first-ever Broadway revival of Aaron Sorkin's courtroom drama, which starts performances on Oct. 8 and has an opening night of Oct. 29.

Blyth took to Instagram on Tuesday to celebrate his upcoming Broadway debut.

"broadway debut baby! back to the old stomping ground," Blyth wrote. "You can’t handle the truth!!!"

A Few Good Men was first produced on stage in 1989. It was then adapted into the 1992 film that starred Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson and was directed by Rob Reiner.

‘I did not know’: Former Epstein secretary Lesley Groff denies any awareness of boss’ sex crimes

Lesley Groff (C), a former assistant to Jeffrey Epstein, arrives to testify at a closed-door interview with the House Oversight Committee on Capitol Hill on June 09, 2026, in Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

(WASHINGTON) -- Lesley Groff, the former executive secretary of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, attempted to deflect any culpability in Epstein’s crimes, telling lawmakers that she routinely scheduled massages for her boss but never booked appointments for anyone she knew to be underage, according to a House Oversight Committee transcript released Tuesday.

"I never met these women, so I didn't know if they were young or how old they were," Groff said during her appearance earlier this month. "I thought that it was just something that he did, like going to the gym."

Groff, who worked for Epstein in New York for more than 18 years, was previously described by her boss as an "extension of my brain." She appeared as part of the committee's ongoing inquiry into the federal government's handling of investigations into Epstein and his alleged accomplices.

Once identified by federal prosecutors as a potential co-conspirator in Epstein's crimes, Groff said she hoped her interview would "dispel the false notions" that she "knowingly enabled or conspired with him to commit his evil acts."

Over the course of an eight-hour interview, Groff faced at times skeptical inquiries from committee members and staff, who questioned how she could have been unaware of Epstein's predilection for sexualized massages, the transcript shows.

"You want us to believe that after 18 years working in the employ of Mr. Jeffrey Epstein that not on one occasion did you believe that any of your contacts in setting up these appointments with Jeffrey Epstein were either a minor or an underage person, correct?" asked Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill.

"That is correct," Groff replied.

"This strains credulity, Ms. Groff," Krishnamoorthi said.

"Ms. Groff, do you think that a 14-year-old sounds the same as a person in their 20s or 30s or 40s?" asked an attorney for the committee.

"It's possible. I don't know. I was not evaluating voices," Groff replied. "Nobody ever sounded like they were underage."

Groff, now 59, appeared voluntarily for the interview, which was not under oath and not recorded. It marks the first time she has faced questions since speaking to the FBI in New York in 2021, two years after Epstein's death. Later that year, prosecutors informed her that she would not be charged, according to her attorneys.

Groff told the committee that she was hired by Epstein in 2001 and was immediately "astonished by the truly impressive people in his circle," including past presidents, actors, musicians and scientists.

"I actually felt lucky to have found such an amazing job. I was thrust into the lifestyles of the rich and famous," she said in her prepared opening remarks.

She said Epstein's directive for daily massages was a "very small part" of her duties in coordinating Epstein's schedule. From the moment she was hired, Epstein and his then-partner Ghislaine Maxwell "established guardrails" and made it clear that she was never to associate with their friends.

"Their business was none of my business," she said she was told.

When Epstein came under law enforcement scrutiny in Florida in the mid-2000s -- first by the Palm Beach police and later by the FBI -- Groff said he told her he had been set up for blackmail by a girl who lied about her age.

"It was a shakedown, he claimed, for money," Groff said. "At the time, I actually felt sorry for him. I thought, 'Wow, this must be really difficult to be a wealthy person and not know who you can trust because everybody wants your money.'"

Groff said she first learned of the criminal investigation when the FBI showed up at her home in Connecticut in 2007.

"I let them in my house and sat with them on my sofa, and they started asking me some questions. That's how I found out," she said. "I think my head was probably spinning. I had no idea."

Groff told the committee she excused herself to check on her son and then called Epstein's in-house lawyer about the FBI visit. She said she was advised not to talk to the agents without a lawyer.

"And so I went downstairs and said, 'I don't think I should be speaking to you without an attorney present.' And they didn't really like that, and then they left," she said.

Groff said that after Epstein went to jail in 2008, she considered resigning. She stayed, she said, because she "actually believed he had been set up" and because she saw that the "same VIP's continued to surround" him after his conviction.

"I looked around the office and I felt people smarter than me were still there and stayed there. All his contacts and business people, no one left," she said, according to the transcript.

After Epstein's arrest in July 2019, federal prosecutors in New York included Groff in a list of potential co-conspirators and sent her a subpoena. Her attorney informed the government, just four days after Epstein's arrest, that Groff "would invoke her Fifth Amendment privilege against compelled self-incrimination" if called to appear before a grand jury, according to DOJ records released in response to the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

Prosecutors informed Groff's lawyer that "numerous victims [of Epstein] had indicated that she was responsible for scheduling massages during which they were sexually abused," and that she should consider cooperating with the investigation, according to the DOJ records.

Groff eventually interviewed with the investigators two years later, telling prosecutors that "making massage appointments was just another appointment she had to make" for Epstein.

The DOJ files also include an account from a witness -- who was a minor at the time of her alleged abuse by Epstein -- who told the FBI that she felt Groff "knew that the massage appointments were sexual" and "felt it was pretty obvious Lesley knew what was going on." The witness also alleged that she explicitly told Groff she was not 18 years old and needed money for an abortion, according to the FBI report.

Asked by a committee attorney about those allegations, Groff said she felt "terrible for this survivor" but contended the witness's recollections were inaccurate.

"I'm not saying that what she's thinking -- that she told someone -- but she did not tell me," Groff said. "I think she is mistaken. I know she is mistaken."

Groff said that after Epstein was released from jail in 2010, she was never again asked to book a massage appointment for him. She acknowledged she booked travel -- at Epstein's direction -- for women who would later allege to have been sexually exploited. But she contended she had no reason to think the women were being abused.

"I believed them to be traveling assistants, and none of them ever looked unhappy or under duress," she said. "In hindsight, it's terrible, I can't imagine what they were going through."

She said she was not alarmed by now-public email messages from Epstein's associates sharing photographs and information about foreign women -- because of Epstein's connections in the modeling and fashion industries. She conceded that some of the emails released by the Justice Department appear alarming in retrospect, but insisted she had no reason to be concerned at the time.

"I did not know that this was occurring. I never saw anything inappropriate," she said. "Everything to me -- that I was doing, I feel like now, looking through a dirty lens, things look dirty. But at this time, I was unaware of anything that was going on."

Groff said that since Epstein's arrest in 2019, she has struggled to sleep and eat, been the target of harassment and death threats, and been "shunned" by many of her friends and acquaintances.

She was one of four women listed as potential co-conspirators in Epstein's controversial non-prosecution agreement in 2007, which she said, "remains her scarlet letter."

Bill Gates told House panel Epstein was plotting to blackmail him about extramarital affairs

Microsoft Co-Founder Bill Gates stops to speak to the media as he arrives to testify at a closed-door interview with the House Oversight Committee on Capitol Hill on June 10, 2026, in Washington, DC. The committee is continuing to hold closed-door interviews as part of their investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. (Photo by Tom Brenner/Getty Images)

(WASHINGTON) -- After Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates tried to end his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender attempted to use compromising information about Gates' extramarital affairs to force his way back into Gates' life -- but never explicitly threatened him, Gates told the House Oversight Committee earlier this month, according to a transcript of the closed-door session released Tuesday.

Gates appeared before the panel on June 10 as part of its ongoing probe into the government's handling of its investigations into Epstein.

Gates, according to the transcript, said Epstein used an adviser to send him "veiled" threats, appeared to coach Gates' adviser on how to potentially blackmail him, and mixed fact and fiction to leverage compromising information against the software billionaire.

"I was not blackmailed, but, you know, as you look at these emails, you know, it looks like Mr. Epstein's brainstorming was going in that direction," Gates said about materials from the Epstein files released earlier this year by the Department of Justice. "It appears that in many cases he, at least in emails to himself, was sort of rehearsing how either he or he coaching someone else might choose to blackmail me, but none of those messages were ever sent to me."

During the interview, Gates acknowledged having at least three extramarital affairs, though he said that Epstein was involved with none of the women and that Epstein only learned about them after he and Epstein had cut ties.

The testimony offers a rare window into how Epstein allegedly tried to use compromising information to manipulate at least one powerful public figure. The Department of Justice said last year it found no credible evidence that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals.

Gates told lawmakers that his interactions with Epstein were limited to business, that he never witnessed Epstein commit a crime, and that he did not suspect that the women who were traveling with the disgraced financier were victims of sex trafficking. Asked about photos showing him with some of Epstein's victims, Gates said Epstein occasionally asked to take photographs of Gates with women who Gates said he believed were Epstein's assistants.

"I have never victimized anyone. While he may have sought to foster a personal relationship, I was never interested in that and never reciprocated," Gates told lawmakers.

Gates told the Oversight panel that he first began to meet with Epstein in 2011 because he thought the financier's purported connections with the wealthy could help advance the Gates Foundation's global health work. When they first began to meet, Gates said he was aware of Epstein's "bad reputation stemming from his criminal conviction," but continued to see Epstein.

"I was aware that he had a criminal conviction," Gates said. "I knew that it was of a sexual nature, but, no, I don't think I knew, dug into the specifics, although I probably should have."

Gates said he only became aware of the full extent of Epstein's crimes in 2018 after the Miami Herald's in-depth reporting on Epstein's lenient deal with federal prosecutors.

Gates said he thought the other high-profile individuals with whom Epstein socialized helped create an "image of legitimacy," acknowledging that his own relationship with Epstein likely bolstered that image.

"I was so focused on the possibility of raising funds for global health that I allowed that goal to override my better judgment," Gates said. "If the time I spent with Epstein lent him credibility, I am deeply sorry. I've learned a significant lesson and am now far more careful about who I engage with, even in a limited capacity."

Describing Epstein as a "dilettante" with a surface-level knowledge of science and academics, Gates said that Epstein suggested he "provided advice to lots of billionaires" who might be able to advance philanthropic causes.

"He talked about Wall Street billionaires, he talked about Middle East billionaires. He made it sound very extensive ... maybe for me to have a good impression of him," Gates said.

While Gates insisted that his meetings with Epstein "weren't social," he recounted that some of those dinners involved "wide ranging discussion" with academics and bankers, including one dinner that included entertainment from magician David Blaine. Gates also said that Epstein repeatedly invited him to his private island, as well as an erotic show in Paris -- invites that Gates said he refused.

According to Gates, his science adviser claimed they could likely go backstage to meet some of the performers that Epstein had dated, but Gates said he did not want to be spotted at an erotic show with Epstein.

"It wasn't consistent with the relationship I had with Epstein," Gates said. "I guess not only is my appearing at an erotic event a risk to my reputation, it would be compounded by appearing with somebody who, although I didn't know the full extent of it, had been convicted of a sexually related crime."

After occasionally meeting with Epstein for about three years, Gates said he began to express concerns that Epstein was "stringing" him along with his claims that he could deliver "meaningful philanthropic support." According to Gates, Epstein set up a series of meetings in 2014 with high-profile individuals including hotel billionaire Thomas Pritzker, media billionaire Mort Zuckerman, and private equity investor Leon Black to demonstrate his connections to purportedly help Gates' philanthropy work, though Gates said the meetings were a "dead end."

"At that point, I concluded Epstein would never deliver on his promises. I told him we would go no further and stopped communicating or meeting with him," Gates told the panel.

After Gates tried to cut ties with Epstein in 2014, he said the disgraced financier attempted to force his way back into his life, including by leveraging his knowledge of Gates' extramarital affairs.

While Gates said he never disclosed the affairs to Epstein, he speculated that Epstein learned about the indiscretions through his relationship with Gates' science adviser Boris Nikolic. Gates said that Nikolic was aware of the affairs because of their close relationship, including at least one instance when he used meeting with Nikolic as an alibi to rendezvous with one of the women.

"One time it was a scheduling thing, when we were in London, where I said to him I was going to disappear and wanted him to show that I was meeting with him at that time," Gates said.

When Nikolic began the process of leaving the Gates Foundation, he engaged Epstein to help him negotiate the terms of his departure, Gates said. Epstein traveled to Seattle at one point to assist in Nikolic's negotiation, Gates said, and Nikolic eventually began to make "veiled" threats via email.

"It's hard to characterize the Epstein stuff because there was never a direct threat of any kind. There was always this veiled language like 'we should remain friends,' you know, which made me wonder what Dr. Nikolic had shared with him," Gates said.

Asked about two draft emails released by the Department of Justice seemingly written by Epstein on behalf of Nikolic, Gates said the notes -- which vaguely referenced the affairs and suggested that Gates has contracted a sexually transmitted disease -- appeared to be part of a plot to attempt to "blackmail" him.

While Gates acknowledged at least three affairs, he explicitly denied contracting a sexually transmitted disease from the affairs, suggesting Epstein mixed falsehoods with known compromising information to use as leverage.

"If those emails that contained some truth and some false things were ever sent, then we could say there was an attempt at blackmail that never happened," Gates said.

After he severed his relationship with Epstein, Gates claimed that the disgraced financier attempted to force his way back into his orbit, including by seeking reimbursement for money he claimed to have paid a woman with whom Gates had an affair. He told lawmakers that Epstein had nothing to do with the relationship and said he was unaware of any money that Epstein may have paid the woman, telling lawmakers that he believed the requests for payment were a "tactic [for Epstein] to reengage" him.

"I'd never asked him to do anything with respect to the person we're discussing, so I was rather surprised. That was the first time I knew explicitly that he'd become aware of that affair," Gates told lawmakers.

ABC News' John Parkinson contributed to this report.

‘Permanent repair’ to Reflecting Pool to come around July 4, Trump says

The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool continues to show signs of an algae bloom on the National Mall on June 22, 2026, in Washington, DC. President Donald Trump said that another round of repairs to the iconic basin will begin immediately after paint started peeling following the completion of a recent $14 million no-bid restoration project. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

(WASHINGTON) -- President Donald Trump said Tuesday the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool will be drained again for "permanent repair" around the Fourth of July, and said that six people have now been arrested for alleged damage to the site.

The Reflecting Pool has been plagued with algae and peeling paint in the days since the Trump administration completed its renovation, which cost taxpayers more than $16 million.

Trump said in a social media post that "large areas of grass are being replaced" around the pool and that the administration "will drain some of the water, either immediately before or after the Fourth of July, to do the permanent repair."
Trump has blamed the Reflecting Pool's issues on vandals, though has yet to offer evidence.

"Six people have been arrested, and seven people have been cited, for the damage they did to our Country's now beautiful Reflecting Pool," Trump wrote in the post.

"The 350 foot gash, made by a very sharp knife or razors, is actually numerous slashes over a very long 350 foot length. It was purposefully and criminally done, and somebody had to work very hard, probably in the dark of night, to create such a condition. Likewise, the small area at the bottom of the Pool was cut and powerfully lifted off the surface leaving very jagged, uneven edges," Trump wrote.

On Monday, during an Oval Office event, Trump directed reporters to the Interior Department and the Parks Department for information on ongoing investigations into alleged damages but provided no evidence himself.

The Interior Department and the U.S. Park Police have not responded to multiple outreaches for evidence of the alleged vandalism.

Trump's post comes after White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, during a Fox News interview on Monday night, said the number of vandalism-related arrests had risen to six.

Earlier on Monday afternoon, an Interior Department spokesperson said there had been five arrests for vandalism, five federal citations and 14 vandalism-related police reports.

Algae and leaks have long plagued the Reflecting Pool, which was constructed in the 1920s. Former President Barack Obama made his own attempt at renovations during his administration and spent roughly $35 million on the changes.

ABC's Emily Chang contributed to this report.

Congress agrees on war powers resolution for 1st time since Iran war began

(WASHINGTON) -- The Senate on Tuesday adopted a House-passed Iran war powers resolution by a 50-48 vote in a symbolic, yet rare, rebuke of President Donald Trump.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Another hydrothermal explosion has occurred at Yellowstone National Park

Looking south, toward Black Diamond Pool (steaming blue area in the left middle ground) along a fissure that formed during a small hydrothermal explosion on June 13, 2026, in Biscuit Basin, Yellowstone National Park. The fissure is about 18.5 meters (61 feet) long and filled with near-boiling water. (USGS)

(WYOMING) -- Another hydrothermal explosion has occurred at Yellowstone National Park, highlighting the unstable nature of the reserve's extensive volcanic network, the U.S. Geological Survey says.

On June 13, a small hydrothermal explosion occurred at Yellowstone's Biscuit Basin -- a popular thermal area located less than 2 miles northwest of Old Faithful, according to the USGS.

The explosion occurred at 5:09 a.m. local time and did not cause any injuries, according to the USGS. A new pool formed as a result of activity.

Monitoring equipment at Biscuit Basin registered anomalous activity, including seismic activity and infrasound -- a low-signal acoustic signal -- coming from the direction of the Black Diamond Pool, where a hydrothermal explosion occurred on July 23, 2024.

When park rangers went to investigate, they noticed that water in the Firehole River flowing downstream from Biscuit Basin included a light-gray to milky runoff, an "odd" observation, according to the USGS.

A camera installed at the Black Diamond Pool in 2025 recorded a dark-colored stream jetting out of the ground north of the pool. Geologists assessing the activity discovered that large volumes of hydrothermal water had surged into the Firehole River from three sets of newly formed vents in the Black Diamond Pool.

The vents allowed pathways to the surface for water measuring at or slightly above boiling temperatures. As the water converted to steam, it triggered a hydrothermal explosion, the USGS said.

One of the vents was found to be a crack to the north-northwest of the pool measured about 61 feet long and 5 feet wide in some places. The crack was surrounded by several rocks that had been ejected during the explosion. Another linear vent located to the northeast measured about 49 feet long.

The water measured between 185 degrees and 200 degrees Fahrenheit, the USGS said.

Days after, geologists found that a new pool containing "vigorously" boiling water -- described as gray in color and full of silt -- had formed near the middle of the vent group.

The pool likely formed as a result of collapse of the land beneath it.

Camera observations taken on June 18 showed intermittent episodes of spouting within the pool. Some of the water spouts reached between 20 feet and 30 feet, geologists said. When not displaying geyser-like activity, the pool was actively boiling.

The explosion emphasizes the unstable and hazardous nature of hydrothermal activity in the region, the USGS said.

No one was impacted by the latest incident because Biscuit Basin has been closed since the 2024 explosion.

Temporary seismic monitoring stations have been installed within the basin to record signals related to the evolution of the newly formed vents, the USGS said.

Sharp drops in Big Tech companies pull indexes mostly lower on Wall Street

NEW YORK (AP) – Wall Street gave up more of its recent gains Tuesday after a sell-off in big technology stocks spread from Asia back to the U.S. over worries about potentially higher interest rates by the end of the year.

The S&P fell 1.4%. The benchmark index is coming off 11 weekly gains out of the last 12, led largely by technology stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which is less influenced by tech stocks, gave up an early gain and closed just 0.1% lower. The Nasdaq composite fell 2.2%.

Markets throughout Asia fell. South Korea’s Kospi index, a big winner in the AI boom, sank 10%. Stocks in Europe also fell.

The selling largely targeted companies that have seen their values surge amid the frenzy over artificial intelligence technology. Their pricey stock values give them more influence over the broader market’s direction. On Tuesday, more stocks gained ground within the S&P 500 than fell, but tech companies overpowered gains elsewhere.

Micron Technology slumped 13.2% and Nvidia fell 4.1%. Samsung Electronics slumped 12.3% in South Korea.

SpaceX wavered in early trading then closed 1% higher. The space exploration and artificial intelligence company had a soaring market debut less than two weeks ago. The company plans to raise money through a bond offering, partly to fund AI development.

The growing likelihood of interest rate hikes later this year has helped deflate the massive run-up in AI-related stocks in recent days as traders worry that the higher rates could hamper economic growth.

Those Big Tech gains have been significant, sending major indexes on record-setting runs throughout 2026. Within the S&P 500, the tech sector alone is up 25.5% just over the last three months and 16.6% for the year. In Asia, South Korea’s Kospi has nearly doubled so far in 2026, even after Tuesday’s plunge.

Analysts have been warning that high-flying technology stocks could be due for a downturn.

“Viewed through this lens, a period of consolidation is reasonable, in our view, after such a sharp move higher,” wrote Brock Weimer, investment strategy analyst at Edward Jones, in a research note.

Many technology companies have been spending heavily on AI technology. The potential for higher interest rates can stifle future spending and hurt prices for investments. The Federal Reserve has signaled that it could raise interest rates at least once before the end of the year. Wall Street sees an 85% chance that the central bank will raise its benchmark interest rate this year, according to date from CME Group. That’s compared to 60% a week earlier.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury slipped to 4.50% from 4.51% late Monday. The yield on the 2-year Treasury fell to 4.20% from 4.24% late Monday. Bond yields remain high, though, amid worries about inflation.

Inflation has been heating up throughout the year. The impact from tariffs helped halt and reverse what had been an easing of inflation growth. The U.S. war with Iran quickly pushed energy prices higher, including gas prices. Higher energy costs have also made shipping more expensive for a wide range of goods, and that has been weighing on businesses and households. A report due Thursday with an inflation measure that is preferred by the Fed is expected to show that inflation rose to 4.1%, in May.

Oil prices have eased amid negotiations between the U.S. and Iran to end their war. The price for a barrel of U.S. crude for August delivery fell 0.9% to settle at $73.21. The September delivery price for a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, fell 0.9% to settle at $76.80. Prices are still above levels of roughly $70 per barrel before the war began.

All told, the S&P 500 fell 107.33 points to 7,365.46, while the Nasdaq dropped 579.56 points to 25,587.04. The Dow lost 45.87 points to close at 51,666.84.

Supreme Court says Exxon can sue Cuba over $1B in seized property — potentially boosting US financial pressure on the country

Rain clouds roll over the United States Supreme Court building on June 18, 2026 in Washington, DC. The high court handed down three decisions Thursday, including United States v Hemani where the court ruled 9-0 to limit a federal ban on drug users' Second Amendment right to own firearms. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

(WASHINGTON) -- The Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that oil giant Exxon Mobil can sue the Cuban government over more than $1 billion in seized property, potentially giving the United States greater financial leverage over the cash-strapped country.

In a 6-3 decision split along ideological lines, Justice Brett Kavanaugh said that state-owned companies can't argue they are protected by sovereign immunity to fight litigation over assets seized by Cuba's communist government.

The decision -- as well as a similar case last month when the Supreme Court ruled companies can be held liable for using seized property -- comes as the Trump administration ratchets pressure on the struggling island nation through embargoes and a criminal indictment of former leader Raul Castro. The decision could open the door to more litigation over assets seized by the Cuban government, adding pressure to the economically distressed country.

The case revolved around the interpretation of the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act of 1996, also known as the Helms-Burton Act, which was passed by Congress after Cuba shot down two unarmed planes flown by humanitarian organization Brothers to the Rescue. The law established the right of U.S. nationals to sue over property seized by the Cuban government, though every president until President Donald Trump waived that provision.

The day Trump allowed lawsuits against Cuba in 2019, Exxon Mobil sued over their property in the country -- including hundreds of gas stations, an oil refinery, depots and packaging plants -- valued at more than $1 billion. In court, the Cuban government argued that the companies were protected by the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) and that Exxon would need to show they were exempted from that law for the case to proceed. Both the district and circuit courts sided with Cuba -- eventually leading the case to the Supreme Court, which reversed those rulings in the opinion on Tuesday.
"It would make little sense for Congress to construct an elaborate statute authorizing suits against the Cuban government agencies and instrumentalities if, because of the FSIA, almost no suits could ever get through the courthouse door,” Justice Kavanaugh wrote.

Justice Kavanaugh wrote that “the entire architecture of the Helms-Burton Act" establishes that sovereign immunity does not apply and that ruling otherwise would "badly undermine Congress’s design and thwart the President’s statutorily authorized assessment of current developments in Cuba."

"After the President has allowed suits under the Act to go forward, there is no additional FSIA hurdle that a plaintiff must clear in order to sue Cuban agencies or instrumentalities," wrote Kavanaugh. "The Helms-Burton Act authorizes private suits against Cuban agencies and instrumentalities -- suits that would largely be nonstarters if subjected to the FSIA’s requirements."

The court’s three liberal justices dissented from the majority, writing that the Helms-Burton Act falls short of the high legal bar to show that it eliminates claims of sovereign immunity.

"Nothing in the text or 'architecture' of the Helms-Burton Act suggests that Congress abrogated the sovereign immunity of these defendants -- much less that it did so with the requisite unmistakable clarity," Justice Elena Kagan wrote.

Last month, the Supreme Court delivered a similar defeat for Cuba, ruling that cruise lines Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Norwegian and MSC can be held liable for using a port confiscated by the Cuban government.

Federal officials plan to offload some warehouses purchased for immigrant detention

DETROIT (AP) – U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is retreating from a plan to use warehouses to hold up to 10,000 people on a single site, jettisoning a key piece of former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s $38-billion plan to rapidly expand detention capacity this year.

The federal government, which was sued by Michigan and a Detroit suburb, informed a judge Monday that a warehouse purchased in Romulus will be sold. Plans also are unraveling in Social Circle, Georgia, and the El Paso suburb of Socorro, local officials said.

The three cities are among 11 where the federal government spent a combined $1.074 billion on warehouses.

The New York Times first reported last week that federal immigration officials now plan to get rid of seven of the 11 warehouses — either giving them to other federal agencies or selling them outright.

DHS didn’t confirm the reports but said in a statement that it is “moving swiftly to utilize EXISTING detention space with our state and county partners.”
Pushback to warehouse purchases was immediate

“Wildly foolhardy” is how Claire Trickler-McNulty, a former ICE official under the Obama, Trump and Biden administrations described the plans to convert the buildings into immigrant detention.

One issue was that Noem’s purchases were largely carried out of public view and angered communities that were caught by surprise. Some only learned about ICE’s ambitions after the agency bought or leased space for detainees.

After Noem was fired, her replacement, Markwayne Mullin, quickly paused the purchase of new warehouses.

Objections came from Republicans and Democrats alike

Some were opposed on moral grounds to ICE’s presence in their neighborhoods, while others questioned whether the facilities would be a drain on local resources, such as sewer and water systems.

Seven federal lawsuits were filed, and regulatory roadblocks created hassles elsewhere.

Meanwhile, questions about how much DHS paid for some warehouses triggered an internal audit. The agency shelled out double what the New Jersey warehouse was valued at in tax records and nearly five times more than the assessed value of the Social Circle warehouse.

Trickler-McNulty, the former ICE official, said ICE does have a few facilities that it owns that it inherited from its predecessor agency, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, but generally ICE has contracted out its detention needs.

“Facilities over 2,000 people just break down. It’s very hard to run a very big facility, to keep it staffed, to keep all of it moving,” she said.
Former head of plumbing business takes over for Noem

Mullin, who took over and expanded his family’s plumbing business before representing Oklahoma in the U.S House and Senate, acknowledged there had been issues at his confirmation hearing.

He noted that most municipalities don’t have the capacity in their infrastructure for waste and water.

Indeed the water issues were such a challenge that a federal lawsuit filed over the Salt Lake City warehouse, the costliest purchased at $145.4 million, said ICE officials told the mayor that they might need to truck water and sewage from the facility as an “interim solution.”

Plans begin to unravel

The New York Times story, which cited internal documents that the newspaper obtained, said the Salt Lake City warehouse is among those that federal immigration officials plans to hand off or sell. Also on the list is the Romulus warehouse, as well as one in New Jersey and two each in Georgia and Pennsylvania.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said it would have been an “abomination” if the 249,000-square-foot Romulus warehouse was transformed into immigrant detention, as was planned when it was purchased for $34.7 million,

“The ICE warehouse proposal was every bit as ill-conceived as it was cruel and unnecessary, and I am relieved that this chapter is coming to a close,” Nessel, a Democrat, said.

Social Circle, Georgia, announced last week in a statement that it has received notification from U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, a Republican, that the Department of Homeland Security is no longer pursuing an ICE detention facility there.

Meanwhile, acting ICE Director David Venturella told officials in the El Paso area during a visit there earlier this month that the agency has changed its plans for three warehouses it purchased in nearby Socorro for $122 million, said Rep. Veronica Escobar, who was present for the visit.

Escobar, a Democrat who represents El Paso, said during a news conference that ICE no longer plans to detain up to 8,500 immigrants in the facilities as originally envisioned, and instead will convert the property into an ICE campus, she said. The site will include an unspecified smaller number of detainees but also ICE offices and training space, she said.
Frustrations persist as communities seek details

However, many of the communities remained frustrated, as they struggled to get information about possible sales.

In Pennsylvania, state and local officials said Tuesday that they hadn’t received any new information from DHS about two warehouses bought earlier this year by the department. Both are being held up by the state’s denial of permits over concerns that drinking water and sewer service are inadequate to handle thousands of inhabitants.

U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser, whose district includes both warehouses, said he met Friday with DHS personnel, but that the agency hadn’t made a decision whether to use them as detention centers or sell them.

In Georgia, the city manager in Oakwood, said Tuesday he is talking to his state congressional delegation, trying to confirm rumors that a warehouse there will be sold. “I have not heard anything yet,” B.R. White said.
Work appears to continue on other warehouses

In Maryland, where a judge extended a stoppage on transforming a sprawling warehouse into a processing facility for immigrants, ICE is currently collecting public comments about the environmental impacts of the facility. And an announcement earlier this month disclosed more details on plans for the facility, including six secure recreation yards.

Patrick Dattilio, the founder of Hagerstown Rapid Response, which formed in opposition to housing ICE detainees in the warehouse, said there has been little communication outside of the lawsuit. But he remains committed to keeping it from opening.

“It’s a big warehouse,” Dattilio said. “It’s not meant for people.”