Potential rainfall in southern Texas through Monday, November 9, 2026. (ABC News)
Heavy rain on Sunday in parts of southern Texas is prompting flash-flood threats that are expected to stretch into Monday and could produce rainfall totals of 7 to 9 inches.
A flood watch remains in effect on Sunday after multiple days of rainstorms have saturated the ground across the South Texas region.
Corpus Christi, Laredo, San Antonio, Brownsville and Kerrville are among the South Texas cities under a flood watch through Monday morning, where widespread rainfall amounts of 2 to 5 inches are likely. Some areas could receive 7 to 9 inches of rainfall from slower-moving and training storms.
Some areas of South Texas have already gotten more than 5 inches of rain since Sunday morning, including areas east of Laredo to near Kingsville.
Moderate to heavy rainfall is expected through Sunday evening for some parts of southern Texas that will linger into Monday morning's commute.
For the remainder of Sunday, a level 2 of 4 threat for flash flooding is in effect across southern Texas, including Brownsville, Corpus Christi, San Antonio and Kerrville. Rainfall rates at times could reach 1 to 2 inches per hour.
On Friday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) to bolster its emergency response to the ongoing flooding threat.
“The State of Texas is prepared to respond to the threat of heavy rainfall and flash floods across South and West Texas," Abbott said in a statement. "I directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management to mobilize additional state emergency response resources to support local officials and help protect Texans. I urge all Texans to remain weather-aware, monitor local forecasts, avoid flooded roadways, and heed guidance from state and local officials.”
The flooding threat in Texas comes just days after catastrophic flooding along the Tennessee-Georgia border, prompting numerous water rescues, officials said.
Emergency officials ordered residents in McCaysville, Ga., and Copperhill, Tenn., to evacuate on Thursday.
The two cities experienced catastrophic flooding after 6 to 9 inches of rain fell over several hours, leading the Ocoee River to rise to a record 18.05 feet. The Ocoee River's previous record crest was 17.8 feet, reached on Feb. 16, 1990.
Sayed Mohassib, 27, was arrested after detectives allegedly developed evidence they say placed him at the scene of the attack. (WABC)
The NYPD said it arrested a New York City teacher's aide Saturday in connection with the killing of Katie Suarez, who was stabbed while jogging in Brooklyn last week.
Sayed Mohassib, 27, was arrested after detectives allegedly developed evidence they say placed him at the scene of the attack, the police said. He has been charged with second-degree murder, according to police.
Suarez, 28, was stabbed in the neck on Oct. 30 while jogging along the Belt Parkway waterfront in Brooklyn. She succumbed to her injuries three days later.
She called her father around 8 p.m. Friday to tell him she was about a half mile from home, according to police.
When she did not arrive back home, her parents went looking for her, and her father found her stabbed in the neck, according to NYPD Chief of Detectives Joe Kenny.
Mohassib currently works as a teachers aide at a Brooklyn public elementary school that is near the crime scene, a source with knowledge of the investigation told ABC News.
He briefly worked for the NYPD before being removed for psychological reasons, the source said. He was later discharged from the Marines for mental health issues and was unsuccessful in an attempt to rejoin the NYPD, according to the source.
No attorney information was available and a motive was not immediately revealed by investigators.
-ABC News' Aaron Katersky and Meredith Ferrell contributed to this report.
A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to return Kenis Lopez Gonzalez to the U.S. (ABC News)
A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to facilitate the return of a Nicaraguan immigrant who was deported to the Central African Republic.
Kenis Lopez Gonzalez, who had been living in Minnesota since 2022 with a work permit, was detained by federal immigration agents in January during Operation Metro Surge, a large-scale federal immigration crackdown undertaken as part of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.
After being detained for eight months, Lopez Gonzalez was placed on a bus with dozens of other immigrants and told he was going to be deported to the Central African Republic, according to court documents. He alleges in court filings that officers shot him with rubber bullets before placing him on a plane in restraints.
Lopez Gonzalez had previously been granted protection from deportation to Nicaragua due to the risk of torture, according to his attorney. He was deported to the Central African Republic without an opportunity to challenge his removal to that country.
"Lopez was struck by projectiles several times and developed welts on his legs, chest, and arms," his attorneys said in court documents. "Eventually, the detainees, who were still wearing restraints, were forced off the bus and onto an airplane."
Lopez Gonzalez has been in Africa since August, along with dozens of Latin American immigrants deported by the Trump administration.
"I'm very scared," Lopez Gonzalez said in Spanish during a press call on Friday.
On Oct. 30, U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Bryan ordered Lopez Gonzalez to be returned, finding that "the threat of irreparable harm to Lopez of remaining in the Central African Republic while his claims are pending is self-evident and was known to Defendants well before they ever forced Lopez (with quickly developing bruises and welts) onto a flight to the Central African Republic."
"Defendants relocated Lopez to an unstable country that they affirmatively knew to have corrupt and ineffective law enforcement and where residents are at the mercy of armed criminal groups," Judge Bryan wrote. "Lopez has no legal status in the Central African Republic and no means by which to provide for himself."
On Friday, Lopez Gonzalez's attorney said the government has so far complied with court deadlines to submit paperwork.
"If they drag their feet, if they slow-walk it, we'll be right back in front of the judge, asking the judge to light a fire under them," said attorney Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg.
Sandoval-Moshenberg -- who also represents Kilmar Abrego Garcia -- said the government has the legal authority to deport his client to a third country, but that he's entitled to a "reasonable fear interview" and a hearing before an immigration judge.
"He's entitled to a trial in front of an immigration judge, and that's all he's asking," Sandoval-Moshenberg said. "And of course, it goes without saying that the trial is supposed to be done before they forcibly put him on a plane, not after the plane lands and kicks him off in Central Africa."
Lopez Gonzalez said on Friday that he's been sick with malaria for five days and has witnessed violence due to the political conflicts in the Central African Republic.
"It's very difficult ... all the violations of due process that each one of us has gone through," he said.
ABC News was previously told by a group of Latin American immigrants who were deported to the Central African Republic that they were dismayed the U.S. government would send them to a place that it warns its own citizens against visiting. A Department of State travel advisory warns Americans not to travel there due to risks of unrest, crime, kidnapping, landmines, health issues, and terrorism.
One of the men interviewed by ABC was ordered returned by a federal judge in Colorado in September. He is still in the Central African Republic.
A spokesperson for DHS said Judge Bryan's order is an "example of an activist judge trying to thwart President Trump's agenda to remove illegal aliens who have no right to be in this country."
"This Biden-appointed judge is openly defying the Supreme Court by ordering this illegal alien's return despite him having already received a final order of removal from a judge and due process," the spokesperson said. "This illegal alien should have never been released into our country by the Biden administration."
The Immigration and Nationality Act allows the Department of Homeland Security to deport migrants to third countries when authorities establish that the individuals could face persecution in their country of origin or if that country cannot accept them.
According to immigration lawyers and advocates, third-country removals are rare, though not new. In recent months, the Trump administration has expanded third-country deportations following formal agreements with nearly three dozen nations to deport asylum seekers, refugees, and migrants with criminal records with little to no notice.
Some of the new destinations include Liberia, Ghana, the Central African Republic, and Sierra Leone.
ABC News anchor Diane Sawyer and chief investigative correspondent Aaron Katersky reinvestigated JonBenét Ramsey's case with new interviews. (ABC News)
In the early hours of Dec. 26, 1996, after a festive family Christmas, Patsy Ramsey walked down the stairs in her Boulder, Colorado, home to discover a terrifying ransom note telling her that her 6-year-old daughter JonBenét Ramsey had been kidnapped.
She immediately called 911 and the Boulder Police Department responded to the scene in three minutes.
The taunting two-and-a-half-page ransom note was addressed to JonBenét's father, John Ramsey, and demanded $118,000 for the safe return of his daughter.
"You stand a 99% chance of killing your daughter if you try to out smart [sic] us," the letter said. There was no sign of JonBenét or further communication from the would-be kidnappers.
A new "20/20" episode, "JonBenét Ramsey: Race Against Time, Who is 'Unknown Male 1?' -- A New Diane Sawyer Investigation" airing Friday, Nov. 6 at 9 p.m. ET on ABC and streaming the next day on Disney+ and Hulu, re-examines the case.
You can get more behind the scenes of each week's episode by listening to "20/20: The After Show" weekly series right on your 20/20 podcast feed on Mondays, hosted by "20/20" co-anchor Deborah Roberts.
Hours later, a police officer asked John Ramsey and a friend to look through the house to see if anything seemed out of place. John Ramsey discovered his daughter’s lifeless body in the basement of their home.
An autopsy report determined that JonBenét had been sexually assaulted and killed by blunt force trauma to the head and strangulation, which was carried out with a makeshift corded torture device called a garrote.
With 19 new interviews, ABC News anchor Diane Sawyer and chief investigative correspondent Aaron Katersky take a fresh look at this cold case, talking with investigators, forensic scientists, genealogy experts, the Boulder Police chief and JonBenét's brothers Burke Ramsey and John Andrew Ramsey, among others.
In the weeks and months after the murder, members of the Ramsey family came under intense scrutiny by both the Boulder police and the general public. Skeptics of the family pointed to several details of the case, including the ransom note, which some close to the investigation believed was staged by a family member to cover up JonBenét's death.
The note was written on Patsy Ramsey’s notepad but after numerous handwriting comparisons, only one indicated that the samples showed any similarities to Patsy’s writing. The Ramsey family vehemently denied any claims they were involved in their daughter's death.
In 2008, DNA was detected on the outside of JonBenét's pajama bottoms using a new testing method called touch DNA analysis. It matched the DNA found inside JonBenét's underwear and traced to the same unknown male, and not to any member of the Ramsey family.
With this development, then-Boulder County District Attorney Mary Lacy wrote a letter to John Ramsey.
"This new scientific evidence convinces us that it is appropriate, given the circumstances of this case, to state that we do not consider your immediate family, including you, your wife, Patsy, and your son, Burke, to be under any suspicion in the commission of this crime," Lacy wrote. "I wish we could have done so before Mrs. Ramsey died."
Later, some Boulder officials said Lacy's letter was inappropriate for a prosecutor, and she should not have cleared the Ramseys while the investigation was ongoing.
In recent years, a new technology called single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) has made it possible to solve cold murder cases nationwide. The advanced testing can retrieve DNA from miniscule samples. Combined with genetic genealogy, it allows officials to identify suspects by matching DNA to that of distant family members in law enforcement databases, using online genetic databases.
Even with this promising new development, challenges remain for investigators. Some DNA samples obtained from the body and crime scene are very small and complex, as multiple DNA strands are mixed together, making it difficult to verifiably match with a single individual.
The current Boulder Police Chief Stephen Redfearn had never before done an interview about the Ramsey case. He sat down with ABC News' Sawyer, telling her that his department is in talks with labs that might be able to test the DNA using forensic genetic genealogy.
He said they are hesitant to send any sample until they have full confidence that the technology is advanced enough to get results that help progress the case. In some cases, if the sample is very small, it can be consumed by the testing.
"We might get lucky because we may only, in some circumstances, with what we have, have one shot at getting it tested," Redfearn said.
Redfearn said they are re-interviewing suspects, testing new evidence and pursuing every lead.
"I would love nothing more than 30 years since this little girl was murdered in her own home, someone finally decides to get something off their chest," he said.
Burke Ramsey, who has largely stayed out of the public eye since his sister's death, praised his parents for how strong they were in the aftermath of the tragedy.
"This awful thing happened to this family, and the world turns against you. And it's cruel," he said.
JonBenét’s older half-brother, John Andrew Ramsey, said investigators must have courage and act aggressively to get the case solved as soon as possible.
"I know we're going to find this person," he said. "This is a case that can be solved. There's a mountain of evidence out there. We've got the DNA testing that's in our favor. It's not a question of if, but when."
One police officer was killed and three others wounded after a gunfight with a suspect who was trying to get on a bus in Lakewood, Colorado, Thursday night, police said.
The suspect was killed in the gunfire, John Romero, the public information officer with the Lakewood Police Department, told reporters at a press conference.
A civilian was also injured in the incident, but the circumstances are unclear, he said.
Officers were called to the area of Colfax and Wadsworth, in Lakewood, about 5 miles west of downtown Denver, at about 6:30 p.m. local time for the report of a "suspicious person," who may have been involved in a hit-and-run earlier in the day, Romero said.
When officers encountered the suspect he was attempting to get on a Regional Transportation District bus, Romero said.
"Within seconds of agents approaching the suspect, the suspect opened fire on our agents. A gunfight ensued," he said.
All four officers were taken to area hospitals, where one of them died. Romero said he did not have the conditions of the three wounded officers.
The identity of the victims and the suspect have not been released.
The Jefferson County Critical Incident Response Team will handle the investigation into the officer-involved shooting, Romero said.
"Right now, our main concern is the family of our fallen agent and our agents here at the Lakewood Police Department," Romero said. "We just want the family to know that we love them, that we're here for them, and Lakewood Police Department is a family, and we will be here for each other."
In a statement, the RTD transportation service said: "RTD is deeply concerned by the shooting that occurred this evening aboard an RTD-contracted operated bus servicing Route 76 in Lakewood. Our thoughts are with those affected directly by this incident. The safety and well-being of our customers, employees and partners remain our highest priority."
In a statement posted on social media, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said: "Law enforcement put their lives on the line for our safety everyday and I am heartbroken to learn that a Lakewood Police Agent was killed in the line of duty this evening."
The FBI seal is shown in the election security command center at FBI headquarters on Nov. 4, 2024. (ABC News)
Three people face charges alleging they schemed to use artificial intelligence to defraud companies of nearly $130 million, federal prosecutors in Manhattan announced Thursday.
Jacob Soall, who called himself "Rocky Balboa," Sharon Hazan and Guy Sheetrit were arrested in Europe and are awaiting extradition to the U.S. to face conspiracy, money laundering and other charges, prosecutors said.
Between July 2024 and February 2026, the trio allegedly used AI to impersonate the voices of corporate executives at numerous companies and attorneys at big law firms in order to trick employees into sending large payments to bank accounts all over the world, according to the newly unsealed indictment.
According to the indictment, they would tell the target company's employees they needed assistance with a confidential financial transaction and would use AI to mimic the CEO's voice or image in calls with the employee.
While pretending to be the CEO, they would direct the employee to get in touch with lawyers at large international law firms who they said were also working on the sham financial transaction, the indictment alleged. They would then impersonate those lawyers to further make the employee believe that the financial transaction was real, the indictment alleged.
Ultimately, the employee would be directed to wire a large sum of money to a particular bank account controlled by members of the conspiracy, costing the companies more than $129 million, according to prosecutors.
The scheme allegedly stole $4,829,580 from a hospital system headquartered in Missouri; $2,684,580 from a bank headquartered in Rhode Island; $2,968,497 from a hospital system headquartered in California; $11,578,474 from a financial technology company headquartered in the United Kingdom; $4,639,918 from a mutual fund company headquartered in Massachusetts; and $5,242,747 from a pet food company headquartered in Florida, among other victims, according to the indictment.
AI technology "offers tremendous potential. But the public should recognize that there are some who seek to use this emerging technology to pursue criminal goals," U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald said in a statement.
The three foreign nationals were arrested in recent months, according to the DOJ. Soall, 41, of Marbella, Spain, and the U.K., was arrested in Spain in June. Hazan, 54, of Israel, was arrested in Spain in August. Sheetrit, 42, of Israel and the United Arab Emirates, was arrested in the U.K. in September.
The charges carry a maximum sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison.
Hazan was previously convicted in Manhattan federal court of conspiracy to commit bank fraud in 2008, according to the DOJ.
First responders are shown at the scene of a shooting at Citigroup in Tampa, Fla., on Nov. 4, 2026. WFTS
The suspect in a deadly shooting at a Citibank business complex in Florida was "irate" after receiving a court summons over some $2,500 in credit card debt that he owed the financial institution, according to authorities.
Hours after allegedly threatening violence against the company, authorities say he crashed his vehicle into the courtyard of the Tampa-area Citibank office complex and opened fire, fatally shooting the first person he saw and sparking panic on the large campus.
Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said there likely would have been more casualties if not for the heroic actions of a Citibank security guard, who shot and killed the gunman after he entered a cafeteria armed with a rifle.
"Phenomenal job by everyone collaboratively coming together to make sure that this tragic incident wasn't catastrophic," Chronister said during a press briefing on Thursday. "Our suspect took one life, and that's one life too many."
Chronister identified the suspect in Wednesday's shooting as 35-year-old Jacob Pearson, a married father of one with no criminal record, who lived in Orlando.
"This was targeted; he targeted Citibank employees yesterday, holding them responsible for his debt," Chronister said.
Around 9 a.m. Wednesday, Pearson contacted an attorney's office contracted by Citibank for collection, "upset" and "irate" that he recently received a summons to go to court over a delinquent payment, according to Chronister.
According to the sheriff, Pearson allegedly told the attorney's office, "Unless you want me to go over there with my AR-15, my bulletproof vest, and my insanity ... cancel this court case. Do you understand me? They are only an hour and three minutes away, so the last thing you want to do is f with me."
Court records show that Pearson owed $2,556.40 on a credit card issued by Citibank and had recently been summoned to appear for a pre-trial conference in the small claims case in February.
The attorney's office contacted Citibank's head of security, who then contacted the Orlando Police Department to request a welfare check on Pearson, according to Chronister.
Pearson had already left by the time officers arrived at this Orlando residence, according to the sheriff. His wife told police she did not know where he went but that he "appeared to be angry," Chronister said.
Orlando police updated the head of security at Citibank, who contacted the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office to report the threat, saying, "We don't know where he's at. We don't know if he intends on following up on that threat," according to Chronister.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office dispatched two law enforcement officers to the Citibank campus, and while coordinating with the Citibank security team on where to go, gunshots were fired in the courtyard shortly after noon, according to Chronister.
The suspect had crashed his vehicle through a gate in the courtyard, exited it carrying a rifle and walked toward the first Citibank employee that he saw and shot her three times, according to the sheriff.
"As he shoots her, his rifle begins to malfunction," Chronister said. "This suspect returns back to his car, retrieves his handgun, walks back over to the victim, who's trying to crawl away with her life, and executes her."
The suspect then entered a cafeteria, where he encountered a security guard who had taken a "tactical position" in the men's restroom after hearing gunshots, according to the sheriff. The two engaged in a gunfight and the security guard struck the suspect five times, Chronister said.
The suspect was transported to an area hospital, where he died, officials said.
The victim was pronounced dead at the scene. Chronister identified her as 41-year-old Leanne Selman, of Palm Harbor. She had worked at Citibank for nine years and was in human resources, the company said.
Chronister identified the "hero" security guard as John Fraley, a Marine Corps veteran who is the vice president of operations on Citibank's security team.
The sheriff said the suspect was armed with 90 rounds of ammunition and was "intent on one purpose, and that purpose was to hunt any human being he could find and kill."
"Because of the heroic actions of this Citibank security officer, vice president of operations, his reign of terror ended," Chronister said.
A Citigroup spokesperson also commended the security team.
"Our hearts are heavy, but they are also full of gratitude," Ed Skyler, the head of Enterprise Services and Public Affairs at Citigroup, said during Thursday's briefing. "We are grateful to the actions of our security team, their heroic actions to prevent this tragedy from becoming even worse."
Skyler said that threats "come in frequently" and are "all assessed."
"This threat was taken incredibly seriously," he said. "Our security team was aware of it, was changing their security posture as the event was starting."
He continued, "We have highly trained, disciplined people on site that thankfully were able to handle the situation, prevent what was a tragedy from becoming something much, much worse."
Skyler said the company is in touch with the victim's family, whom he described as a "bright light" and "beloved" employee, as well as the 9,500 Tampa colleagues, many of whom were on site Wednesday.
"Many witnessed the event, and all were evacuated," he said. "We are making sure we offer whatever resources we can to support them."
The shooting sparked panic as employees fled the scene and four people went to the hospital. During the chaos, two people suffered minor injuries and a third had chest pains, according to Chronister. Police also urged a pregnant woman to go to the hospital "out of an abundance of caution," he said. All have since been released, he said.
Authorities say DNA testing helped crack two decades old cold cases. WTAE
State police in Pennsylvania announced DNA testing has tied together two long-standing cold case deaths and allegedly confirmed a "serial killer" was in Washington County in southwestern Pennsylvania in the 1970s.
Authorities alleged at a press conference on Wednesday that James Richard Clark Sr., who was born in 1957 and died at 66 in 2023, was responsible for the murders of both Susan Rush and Brenda Ritter.
He was 19 and 20 years old, respectively, at the time of the two homicides, and lived in the Washington County area at the time, state police said.
"Testing confirmed there was a serial killer in Washington County during this time frame," said Cpl. James Petrosky, the criminal investigation assessment supervisor with Troop B of the Pennsylvania State Police at the press conference.
Ritter, 18, was killed in 1977. Her remains were found on a hillside, and authorities determined she had been sexually assaulted and strangled, according to WTAE.
Petrosky said additional DNA testing was done in May of 2025, and "identified the same offender murdered both Susan Rush and Brenda Ritter," Petrosky said.
Authorities said families of both victims have been notified and have asked for privacy.
Taking questions at the press conference, Petrosky said authorities were not ruling out that Clark may be responsible for other homicides.
"I believe that once you're a serial killer, you're always a serial killer," he said. "I believe there could potentially be more victims out there."
Two Colorado hikers, Kaden Matsuda, left, and Jackson Donlon, found dead. (Chaffee County Sheriff's Office)
Two college students who went missing on a weekend hike in the Colorado mountains died after an anchor they were using while climbing failed and they fell a "substantial" distance, according to authorities.
Kaden Matsuda, 19, and Jackson Donlon, 20, were found dead in a basin of West Apostle Mountain on Oct. 28, days after setting out on their trip, according to the Chaffee County Sheriff's Office.
An autopsy this week determined that the cause of both of their deaths was multiple blunt force injuries, according to the Chaffee County Sheriff's Office and Chaffee County Coroner's Office. Their deaths were "instant," the offices said in a statement on Tuesday.
An investigation found that the two fell a "substantial" distance while rappelling after their anchor "had a catastrophic failure of unknown cause," the offices said.
A heavy snowstorm had impacted the area while they were on their trip. It is unknown if the storm "had a negative impact leading to the incident, but it did not play a direct contributing factor in their death," the offices said.
The two friends had attended Colorado Mountain College in Leadville. Matsuda -- of Ridgway, Colorado -- was studying to be a wildland firefighter, and Donlon -- of Queensbury, New York -- was studying to become a mountain guide, authorities said.
"Kaden and Jackson lived life at the highest peaks chasing freedoms and panoramic views that most of us only see in pictures. We hope their families and friends find strength in the memories of their vibrant spirits," Chaffee County Sheriff Andy Rohrich said in a statement.
The sheriff said there is also "relief knowing neither of them suffered."
"While their lives were far too short, they spent their final moments together surrounded by the majestic beauty of Chaffee County's high peaks that they loved," he said.
The measles virus, transmission microscopy view. (BSIP/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
A sixth person in Pennsylvania has died of measles, state health officials said Wednesday.
The person was unvaccinated and a resident of Jefferson County, according to the officials.
This brings the nation’s total to seven measles-associated deaths this year, which includes six in Pennsylvania and one in New York.
Pennsylvania has reported 1,467 cases so far this year, becoming the largest outbreak in U.S. recent memory.
The death in Pennsylvania comes just days after New York state reported its first known measles-associated death in the state in over 30 years.
Health officials said a child died in Lewis County amid the ongoing outbreak.
At least 96% of measles cases in the U.S. this year have been among people who are unvaccinated or whose vaccination status is unknown.
Early symptoms include cough, runny nose, fever as high as 104 degrees Fahrenheit and red, watery eyes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Two to three days after symptoms start, patients may develop Koplik spots, which are tiny white spots that may appear inside the mouth on the inner cheek.
Three to five days after symptoms start, patients may experience a rash, first appearing on the face at the hairline before moving downwards to the neck, chest, stomach, arms, legs and feet. Fever may spike even higher than 104 F when the rash appears, the CDC says.
Nationally, more than 4,800 measles cases have been confirmed this year in the U.S., with infections reported in almost every state, according to the CDC. It's the highest number of illnesses from measles since 1991.
The CDC currently recommends that people receive two doses of the MMR vaccine, the first at ages 12 to 15 months and the second between 4 and 6 years old. One dose is 93% effective in preventing measles infection, and two doses are 97% effective, the CDC says.
Infants aged 6 to 11 months living in or traveling to high-risk outbreak areas may receive an early third dose of the MMR vaccine.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Ice melting at the antarctica, global warming is a present danger for future generations (Gonzalo Solari/Getty Images)
This year's ozone hole over the Antarctic was the largest in a decade, according to a new report by NOAA and NASA.
The 2026 ozone hole became the seventh largest in 48 years of monitoring, fueled by an unusually powerful polar vortex which prolonged ozone depletion in the Antarctic and allowed the hole to grow larger, researchers explained.
This is a stark contrast to 2025, when the ozone hole ranked as the fifth smallest since 1992.
"The polar vortex was unusually large this year in part because planetary-scale weather systems that typically well up from the lower atmosphere and break up the vortex were especially weak in August and September," said Amy Butler, a research scientist at NOAA's Chemical Sciences Laboratory.
According to government data, the ozone hole reached its greatest extent for the year on Sept. 18, measuring 10.5 million square miles, about 90% as large as the largest ozone hole on record in 2000.
Despite this year's larger hole, however, NOAA and NASA scientists emphasize that efforts to limit ozone-depleting chemical compounds have had a significant impact and long-term recovery remains on track.
"The 2026 ozone hole is large but could have been 1 to 2 million square miles larger if ozone-depleting substances were as prevalent in the atmosphere today as they were at their year 2000 peak," said Paul Newman, a senior scientist at the University of Maryland and longtime leader of NASA's ozone research team.
For decades, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and other ozone-depleting compounds were widely used in aerosol sprays, foams, air conditioners, and refrigerators, causing significant reductions in ozone levels. Researchers estimate that the ozone hole will recover by the 2070s as the older compounds disintegrate.
"The annual ozone hole has been forming later in the season in recent years, which tells us the ozone layer is healing," Newman added.
The so-called "ozone hole" is not an actual hole in the planet's ozone layer, but rather a large region of the Earth's stratosphere with extremely low ozone concentrations.
Earth's ozone layer acts as a planetary sunscreen, shielding humans, animals, and plants from harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation. When ozone levels drop, more UV rays reach the surface, increasing the risk of adverse health and environmental impacts such as crop damage, skin cancer, and cataracts.
Voters cast their ballots at the Joe E. Amayo Argentine Community Center polling station on Nov. 3, 2026, in Kansas City, Missouri. (Jim Vondruska/Getty Images)
Voters in Missouri rejected an anti-abortion rights measure on the ballot that would have prohibited abortions, with some exceptions, and undone the "right to reproductive freedom" that voters had previously enshrined two years ago.
The failed amendment, led by anti-abortion rights PAC Her Health and Her Future, would have allowed state lawmakers to enact legislation to regulate abortions and access to care, according to the Guttmacher Institute.
The measure voters rejected would have allowed abortions in cases of medical emergencies, fetal anomalies, rape or incest. In cases of rape or incest, abortion would have only been allowed up to 12 weeks gestation.
Under the failed amendment, minors seeking abortion would have needed the consent of a parent or guardian, according to the Guttmacher Institute.
The failed amendment would have also enacted constitutional restrictions on gender-affirming care for minors.
Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, ending federal protections for access to abortion, 13 states have ceased nearly all abortion services and four states have a six-week ban on the books, according to an ABC News tally.
After the overturning of Roe, Missouri enacted a trigger ban, prohibiting most abortions in the state.
In 2024, Missouri voters approved an amendment that enshrined the "right to reproductive freedom" in the state constitution with about 52% of the vote, prohibiting the government from denying or infringing on anyone's right to reproductive freedom.
The 2024 ballot initiative allowed for the overturning of Missouri's total ban on abortion through a subsequent court decision, allowing abortions to resume in 2025, according to the Guttmacher Institute.
According to the Guttmacher Institute, 3,550 abortions were provided by clinicians in Missouri in 2025, a 53.5% increase from 2024.
Due to the restrictions prior to the court decision that allowed abortions to resume in the state, more than 11,600 people traveled out of Missouri for abortion care in 2025, according to the Guttmacher Institute.
Reproductive Freedom for All said it invested six figures in its effort to defeat the 2026 ballot initiative and protect reproductive freedom.
"Missouri Republicans tried to overturn the will of voters, but Missourians fought back and chose reproductive freedom for the third time in two years. Missouri voters have made their voices clear and rejected anti-democratic attempts to take away their power," Reproductive Freedom for All President and CEO Mini Timmaraju said in a statement late Tuesday.
State Sen. Adam Schnelting, who sponsored the proposal that led to Amendment 3 being placed on this year's ballot, told ABC News last month that passing the amendment is "critical to protecting women and children and providing Missourians with a measure that is more in line with their values than the one narrowly passed two years ago."
Schnelting did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment on the election results.
Protesters listen to speakers at a rally in support of a former Cornell University student known as Jane Doe at the Ithaca Commons, October 13, 2026 in Ithaca, New York. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
The criminal investigation into a former Cornell University student's rape claim will be led by a Cornell alumna who has successfully prosecuted sexual offenses in federal court and now works in a private practice that represents women who've said they were trafficked or abused by Jeffrey Epstein.
New York Attorney General Letitia James on Wednesday named Jackie Kelly to conduct the investigation into whether Jane Doe's allegations of a fraternity house gang rape merit criminal charges.
"I thank Attorney General James for entrusting me to lead this investigation with her office," said Kelly. "All New Yorkers deserve a fair and thorough inquiry into the facts of this case. I look forward to lending my years of experience as a federal prosecutor to the Office of the Attorney General as we examine all available evidence."
New York Governor Kathy Hochul earlier removed the district attorney in Tompkins County, who had declined to bring criminal charges after reading a summary of Jane Doe's statements to Cornell University police, in which she alleged in November 2024 that she had been raped by a group of men at the Chi Phi fraternity house. All seven of the fraternity brothers accused in the incident have denied wrongdoing
Hochul last month appointed James as special prosecutor and James has hired Kelly to gather and analyze the evidence and to conduct interviews.
"The Office of the Attorney General is committed to a thorough investigation guided only by the facts, the evidence, and the law," saidJames. "Jacqueline Kelly is a seasoned prosecutor who has overseen numerous cases from investigation through trial. With her criminal legal expertise, commitment to public service, and judicial experience, I am confident that she will lead a fair and comprehensive investigation."
Kelly works in private practice at Boies Schiller Flexner, where she represents victims of sexual assault. She previously worked as a federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York, where, as the inaugural Civil Rights Unit Chief for the Criminal Division, she oversaw the prosecutions of music mogul Sean Combs, fashion mogul Peter Nygard and other sex-crime cases.
Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten concluded in 2024 that what Jane Doe alleged, while "morally disturbing," did not constitute rape under New York law. He had opted to reopen the investigation and bring the evidence to a grand jury before the governor removed him and appointed James to take over.
James is facing calls for her removal from two of the fraternity brothers Jane Doe named in her civil lawsuit. They have cited one of James' social media posts before she was named special prosecutor.
"Attorney General James's public statement, followed just three days later by her assignment to oversee the same matter, creates a serious appearance of prejudgment," said Stuart Bernstein, an attorney for Gillio Lopes.
James has said the claims are without merit, and Hochul has said she has "every confidence" in James' handling of the case.
According to the attorney general's office, Kelly is facing no deadline to reach a conclusion. There is no statute of limitations for the most serious sex offenses in New York, but the two-year statute of limitation for misdemeanors has expired.
In this image posted to social media by the Williamson County Sheriff's Office, Jacob Morley is shown on Nov. 3, 2026. (Williamson County Sheriff's Office)
Jacob Morley, the convicted murderer who escaped a Tennessee prison last month, has been taken into custody near Kansas City, Missouri, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation announced Tuesday.
Morley had escaped from the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville, the Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) announced on Oct. 26.
According to the Williamson County Sheriff's Office in Illinois, authorities responded to a report of a stolen vehicle on Tuesday morning, southwest of Marion, Illinois.
"Investigators subsequently determined that the vehicle, a white 2005 Ford pickup truck utilized as a farm vehicle, had been stolen by 28-year-old Tennessee prison escapee Jacob Allen Morley," the sheriff's office added.
The sheriff's office highlighted coordinated efforts with law enforcement partners resulting "in the apprehension of Jacob Allen Morley by the Missouri State Highway Patrol as he traveled through the Kansas City, Missouri, area."
The Missouri State Highway Patrol confirmed they took the suspect into custody in Carroll County, Missouri, near Norborne, Missouri, which sits about an hour east of Kansas City.
According to MSHP, authorities received information from the TBI that Morley may have been traveling through the state. After authorities located the vehicle using license plate cameras, the Kansas City Police Department followed the vehicle with a helicopter.
Morley was eventually taken into custody "without incident," according to MSHP.
According to TDOC, Morley was serving a life sentence for a conviction in Carter County, Tennessee, for crimes including first-degree murder, aggravated burglary, tampering with evidence, evading arrest and vandalism.
"At approximately 11:30 p.m. on October 25, 2026, staff at NWCX confirmed Morley was unaccounted for and immediately conducted an emergency count and search of the facility," the agency said when it announced his escape on Oct. 26.
Security cameras "confirmed Morley breached the perimeter fence and exited the facility in his TDOC uniform," officials said.
After Morley allegedly stole a truck in Tennessee after his escape, the vehicle was found in Marion, Illinois, the TBI announced on Tuesday, Oct. 27.
After the stolen truck was recovered, little information emerged about Morley's whereabouts until his arrest on Tuesday.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Two people were killed -- one of whom died in a vehicle -- and hundreds of others were rescued since Sunday as a storm brought severe flooding in Palm Bay, Florida, according to Palm Bay Mayor Rob Medina.
The deceased victims have been identified by Florida officials as Joshua Bennett, 34, and Archie Richards, 78
Emergency crews rescued hundreds of people from flooded areas using boats and special high-water vehicles, Medina said in a press conference Tuesday.
Some homes suffered major damage. One family reported that 38 inches of water had filled their living room, Medina told reporters.
"That is devastation within our city," Medina said.
Officials warned that flooding could continue even after the rain stops because water may take several days to drain. They urged residents to stay away from flooded roads, fast-moving water and downed power lines.
Flooding has also affected other parts of Florida, including St. Lucie, Martin and Palm Beach counties. State officials said they are working with local leaders to determine how much damage the storm caused.
A low-pressure system over the Gulf led to continuous onshore flow over the Florida peninsula on Sunday and Monday.
Up to 2 feet of rain fell in southern Brevard County on Sunday and Monday, leading to catastrophic flooding of streets, homes and businesses.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says it rescued more than 60 people in Brevard County on Monday.
Area schools have been closed and polling stations have been relocated, according to officials.
Persistent onshore flow will keep scattered showers along Florida's east coast on Tuesday, with additional rainfall of 1 to 2 inches, with locally 3 to 5 inches or more, possible.
Florida Lt. Gov. Jay Collins visited Palm Bay to see the damage and meet with families affected by the flooding. He thanked first responders and residents who helped their neighbors during the emergency.
"This is heartbreaking. When you talk to citizens who literally just moved here, from Louisiana, got set up, got settled — everything they own is wrecked. It’s a huge loss," Collins said.
The Justice Department in recent days has continued moving at an aggressive clip in ramping up its criminal investigation into the Alaska U.S. Senate race, sources familiar with the matter tell ABC News, with prosecutors in the process of issuing more than 100 subpoenas and at least twenty target letters and preservation notices alerting individuals they are targets of the probe.
The investigation began accelerating last week after The New York Times detailed alleged efforts by Democrats and some in Democratic candidate Mary Peltola's campaign to recruit Daniel J. Sullivan, a retired teacher, to be on the ballot with incumbent Republican Dan S. Sullivan.
The target letters, which are being issued to Democrats whom investigators believe were involved in the recruitment effort, are an unusual step in such an early juncture in the investigation.
Among the recipients are Marc Elias, sources said, an attorney frequently attacked by Republicans over his extensive involvement in election-related litigation on behalf of Democrats.
"No one should be surprised that President Trump's Department of Justice is targeting me and my law firm on Election Day," Elias said in a statement. "This administration has repeatedly weaponized the DOJ against the President's political enemies despite zero evidence of wrongdoing, and we are the latest targets. We will not be intimidated by a sham investigation."
A target letter, which is typically used by the Justice Department to alert an individual they are a "target" of a federal grand jury investigation, does not mean an individual will ultimately face federal charges. According to sources, the letters indicate that a grand jury empaneled in Alaska is probing possible conspiracy and donor fraud related offenses.
Appearing on Fox News Tuesday, Attorney General Todd Blanche said that further DOJ action could be triggered in the event Republican incumbent Dan S. Sullivan narrowly loses, saying, "There is a scenario where the incumbent Sen. Sullivan could lose but really he didn't lose -- really because of ranked-based, it's clear that voters were confused."
"Again, that's why you need to preserve the ballots because you need to look at the individual ballots potentially to see if there was voter confusion, if it's obvious from the ballot itself that the voter, or likely that the voter intended to vote for Sen. Sullivan but was confused because of the fraud that's taken place there," Blanche said.
U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason, who dismissed a Justice Department lawsuit seeking to block certification of the race if Sen. Sullivan loses, said in her ruling that once ballots were cast, an investigation into voter intent would be "impossible" because the government would have to preserve voter secrecy even if ballots cast for Daniel J. Sullivan were somehow segregated.
A DOJ spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ABC News.
Police work a crime scene in Brooklyn, New York where a jogger was stabbed. (WABC)
An avid runner stabbed while jogging less than a mile from her New York City home has died, WABC reported Tuesday, citing the runner's family.
Police told ABC News that Katie Suarez, 28, was stabbed in the neck Friday night while jogging along the Belt Parkway waterfront in Brooklyn, in what appears to be a random, "very violent" attack.
Suarez's family told WABC that she died Monday night. Police are still searching for the suspect.
She called her father around 8 p.m. Friday to tell him she was about a half mile from home, according to police. When she did not arrive back home, her parents went looking for her, and her father found her stabbed in the neck, according to NYPD Chief of Detectives Joe Kenny.
Kenny described a brutal attack in an interview with ABC News on Monday, with a long blood trail of about 150 feet.
"It was a very, very large crime scene," Kenny said.
Police said nothing appeared to have been taken from Suarez and there was no indication of sexual trauma.
"We believe it to be some sort of random attack at this time," Kenny said. "She was a very private person. For someone to know that she was going to be there at that exact time would be extraordinary for us to find out."
The attack occurred along the Shore Parkway Greenway near the city's Bath Beach and Bensonhurst neighborhoods in Brooklyn, according to police. There are no cameras in the area, and a canvass of the neighborhood has so far turned up no video, according to Kenny.
A license plate reader captured about 1,700 cars passing the area at the time of the attack, and detectives are hoping to isolate drivers with dash cameras that may have caught something, Kenny said.
The NYPD released a photo of Suarez while trying to find anyone who may have seen her on Friday. The photo shows Suarez, who has participated in city races before, wearing a T-shirt and bib for the Frozen Bonsai 5K in Prospect Park in March. She was not registered to compete in the New York City Marathon that was held Sunday.
Police asked anyone who may have seen her on Friday between 7:56 p.m. and 8:12 p.m. in the vicinity of the eastbound bike path along the Belt Parkway between Bay 8 Street and Bay 17 Street to come forward.
"We're looking for any interaction that she may have had alongside the pathway," Kenny said. "There's always fishermen out there. We're interviewing them."
Police are offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.
Anyone with information on the assault is asked to contact the NYPD at 1-800-577-8477.
Adam Robinson and Helen Sharp and their children Emma and Charlie in a photo released by their family. Courtesy Robinson Family
A family of four, including two young children, were among those killed when a Learjet slammed into a Florida roadway, according to a relative.
All nine people aboard the Bahamas-bound aircraft -- two crew members and seven passengers -- were killed in Sunday's catastrophic crash in Palm Beach County, authorities said.
Adam Robinson and Helen Sharp and their two young children -- Emma, 4, and Charlie, 2 -- were among those aboard the plane, according to Robinson's brother.
"Helen and Adam were the love affair that will last forever," Anthony Robinson said in an online statement while sharing a photo of the family. "Their warmth, generosity and gift for making people feel welcome touched so many lives. Their loss will be felt deeply by all those who loved them and who they loved in return."
The co-pilot's stepfather also identified her to ABC News on Monday as 20-year-old Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras.
An official from the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office said it is too early for victims' identities to be officially released. The medical examiner's office is engaged in the "lengthy process" of DNA collection and assessment, officials said.
Plane may have been breaking up before crash: NTSB
The 22-year-old twin-engine Learjet 60 crashed after plummeting to the ground at 350 feet per second, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said, creating a huge crater in a roadway.
The plane may have been breaking up before it hit the ground, the National Transportation Safety Board said Monday.
"We do have some indication that the aircraft was breaking up before impact, and so some of this is yet to be determined. We may find parts of the aircraft some distance away from the actual impact site," NTSB board member Tom Chapman said at an afternoon news conference in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Chapman said before beginning a rapid descent from 35,000 feet and making a Mayday emergency call to air traffic control, the aircraft's two-person crew reported they were experiencing icing on the aircraft and "moderate turbulence."
NTSB officials said they do not have precise numbers on the Learjet's airspeed, but said it was traveling at a high rate of speed before the crash.
Aircraft maintenance records showed there was a cockpit voice recorder installed on the jet, according to Chapman, but he said it's unclear if it was still onboard the aircraft during its final flight.
Photos and videos online showed a jet hitting the ground nose-first and bursting into a fireball. The impact of the crash left a crater near a shopping center.
Man injured on the ground
One man who was in a vehicle on the ground "immediately adjacent" to the crash site sustained a leg injury, according to NTSB investigator in charge Timothy Monville.
The jet crashed just before 1 p.m. ET near Military Trail, between Cresthaven Boulevard and 10th Avenue, in the Greenacres community of Palm Beach County, authorities said.
The crash prompted the evacuation of hundreds of people from 77 mobile homes in the area, county officials said following the NTSB briefing.
During Monday's news conference, Chapman gave a timeline of the air disaster, saying that weather conditions are a major focus of the investigation and that the turbulence the crew reported is "certainly a factor."
The Learjet, which belonged to Aurora Aviation, a private company doing business as Upper Jets, took off from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Austin, Texas, around 10:37 a.m. ET on Sunday and was headed to North Eleuthera in the Bahamas, Chapman said, adding that the crew was in communication with air traffic control facilities along the flight route.
At 12:47 p.m. ET, the crew reported they were encountering "moderate turbulence" and "light clear ice" on the aircraft, which the crew said at the time was manageable, according to the NTSB.
While in contact with the Miami Air Route Traffic Center, the crew transmitted that they were at 35,000 feet and that the moderate turbulence was causing the aircraft to experience altitude deviations of about 700 feet, Chapman said. He said the crew also reported that the temperature outside the airplane was minus 47 degrees Celsius, or minus 53 degrees Fahrenheit.
Very soon after, the crew requested permission to climb to 37,000 feet, which was approved by FAA air traffic control, Chapman said. Less than 30 seconds later, a transmission from the airplane announced a descent, followed by a Mayday call.
"Less than 30 seconds later, the airplane transmitted, 'We are in an overspeed condition, descending...,' with the rest unintelligible," Chapman said. "Subsequent communications described that the airplane was descending rapidly and gave an altitude callout."
"Sadly, all aboard were lost," Chapman added.
Neither Monville nor Chapman could say whether the jet flew through an active thunderstorm prior to the aircraft's rapid descent and crash.
Search for debris ongoing
Monville estimated that a debris field from the crash measured about one-half mile by four-tenths of a mile in size and was scattered among ball fields, businesses and houses.
"We're finding debris, but haven't identified parts yet," said Monville, adding that NTSB investigators will be at the scene of the crash for several days collecting evidence.
Monville said the "biggest obstacle" investigators are likely to have is recovering wreckage from the huge crater the crash created. He said current weather conditions also are posing difficulty for investigators and that rainwater had seeped into the crater.
Department of Justice text on the side of their headquarters in Washington, D.C. (Getty Images stock photo)
A federal judge on Monday dismissed a false statements case against two former senior FBI agents accused of lying to Congress about past investigations of Hunter Biden.
In dismissing the case, Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui delivered a scathing rebuke from the bench of current FBI and DOJ leadership, who he accused of seeking to impact the midterm elections.
"What has transpired here cannot be described as anything other than weaponization," the judge said in tossing the case against former FBI officials Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides.
The dismissal follows days of testimony in a series of rare public hearings Faruqui convened to determine whether the government's case against Floris and Benavides met the low bar of probable cause.
Testimony from an FBI agent who led the case revealed it was initiated only after President Donald Trump held a July address in which he alleged there was widespread election fraud and corruption by the FBI under the Biden administration, and that the case was ordered directly by FBI Director Kash Patel.
Prosecutors accused Floris and Benavides of lying to Congress when they were asked about federal investigations of Hunter Biden and the veracity of information allegedly found on his laptop -- but the case fell apart under scrutiny, with Judge Faruqui saying "there is simply nothing" that shows either agent intended to make false statements about the probes.
"Without motive, without direct evidence, I have nothing," Faruqui said.
Faruqui also faulted Patel, Attorney General Todd Blanche and D.C. U.S. attorney Jeanine Pirro for their public statements maligning both Floris and Benavides despite the lack of evidence, and accused the DOJ of rushing to bring charges in advance of the midterms, in apparent violation of a longstanding department practice that limits taking overt investigative steps in politically sensitive investigations within 60 days of an election.
"I will not bury my head in the sand and pretend I cannot read a calendar," the judge said. "I will not lobotomize myself that way."
A spokesperson for the Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Faruqui said it was the first time in his history on the bench that he had ever made a finding that the government failed to reach the relatively low burden of establishing probable cause to bring charges -- which he said adds to mounting evidence that the Trump administration is unwilling to bring some of its more controversial prosecutions before grand juries.
In what he described as a "slapdash job" by the government in seeking to bring charges against decorated former agents like Floris and Benavides, Faruqui said the flawed attempt to prosecute them and the messaging by top administration officials would likely deter qualified investigators from wanting to join the FBI -- and also potentially threatened Congress' ability to get valuable testimony from future witnesses.
"This case is marketing material to discourage people from joining the FBI," Faruqui said, before questioning "what person in their right mind" would want to join the bureau after seeing what happened to Floris and Benavides.
It's not immediately clear whether the government will seek to appeal Faruqui's ruling or if it will attempt to charge Floris and Benavides through other means, such as filing an amended complaint or seeking to indict them in D.C. or another district.
Lindsay Clancy is set to appear in a Massachusetts courtroom on Monday for a pivotal hearing that could determine the future of her triple murder case in the deaths of her children.
Two months after a deadlocked jury ended a lengthy trial this summer in a mistrial, the judge overseeing the case told prosecutors and defense lawyers he plans to discuss a future trial date during Monday’s hearing.
“That’s my goal -- to get this thing tried to as soon as proper without sacrificing anyone's rights, anyone's position. But I don't want this thing to then just start to kind of get kicked down the road, punted, and go forward,” Judge William Sullivan said during September’s hearing.
Neither side has firmly committed to retrying the case, saying they want to see how the judge rules on some post-trial motions before they decide their plans. Judge Sullivan plans to hear arguments on some of those issues during Monday's hearing, including Clancy's motion to dismiss the case and a request for a gag order ahead of a potential second trial.
Below are the three main issues set to come up during Monday's hearing.
Motion to dismiss
Clancy's attorneys are asking Judge Sullivan to dismiss the case, arguing that he failed to fully investigate whether the holdout juror who forced the mistrial properly followed the court's instructions on the law.
Attorneys Martin Weinberg and Kevin Reddington argue there was no need to declare a mistrial at that point, and that retrying the case after improperly ending the first trial would amount to double jeopardy.
Prosecutors argued that Judge Sullivan "properly declared a mistrial" after the jury reported being deadlocked twice, and that investigating the holdout further "would have surely led to judicial coercion of that juror and the impermissible intrusion into the substance of the jury's private deliberations."
“The Court's decision to conduct a limited individual inquiry of each juror and then instruct the collective jury on reasonable doubt - made after carefully considering counsels' proposed alternatives -- was a proper exercise of the Court's discretion,” prosecutors wrote.
Attorneys with the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office also argued the foreperson’s notes about the deadlock did not allege a “personal issue, bias, or extraneous influence attributable to the dissenting juror.”
The holdout juror -- who identified himself as Michael Péguy Desronvil -- said in statements and an interview following the trial that he had no doubts about her guilt.
“How methodical I thought Lindsey was in the execution of the children, so that was really big for me,” he told Fox News. “The thought process that goes behind and to fulfill the commitment of doing that. I thought it was um, it was um, it was uh logical.”
Judge Sullivan will also hear arguments Monday about the defense’s request to further investigate the holdout juror, including by reviewing court documents and his cell phone records. Last month, Judge Sullivan denied a request to hold an evidentiary hearing about the holdout.
“This Court concludes that any further judicial inquiry is inappropriate, given the mandate that the court must not delve into a juror's subjective reasoning, thought process, view of the case, or relationship to the other jurors, and must not inquire into the jury's deliberative content, collective thought process, or any disagreement among the jury,” Judge Sullivan wrote.
Request for a gag order
Judge Sullivan will also hear arguments about a request by prosecutors to impose a gag order, which they argue is necessary to "prevent the carnival atmosphere" from the first trial.
“Restraints on any further extrajudicial statements are necessary in this case to protect the integrity and fairness of the judicial system,” they wrote.
Ahead of a potential second trial, prosecutors said the gag order would “prevent any further pollution of any potential jury venire as well as subsequent witness testimony.”
Defense lawyers pushed back on the request and argued that the concerns raised by prosecutors were speculative.
“It offers no evidence that any prospective juror has been exposed to, or affected by, anything counsel has said. Invoking an important interest is not enough to justify such an order. And if a future venire were already ‘inevitably tainted,’ silencing counsel now could not cure it,” wrote defense attorney Laura McConnell. “The harm the government fears is purely speculative. There is no venire, no jury, and no trial date.”
While gag orders are sometimes imposed during high-profile trials, the defense argued that prosecutors did not meet the high legal bar needed to justify the request.
“The government bears a heavy burden to justify such an order. It offers no evidence. There is no jury, and it is unknown whether one will ever be impaneled. There is no trial date. The Motion should be denied,” McConnell wrote.
Future trial date
Judge Sullivan concluded Clancy's last appearance in court by telling both sides to "be prepared to talk about picking a trial date" during Monday's hearing.
“I think it's important that this case move forward if it has to move forward,” Sullivan said during the Sept. 29 hearing. “Why don't we just pick a trial date that will get this case moving?”
In a rare moment of agreement, both Reddington and prosecutors told the judge that they would rather wait until he resolves the post-trial motions before they agree to a new date.
“We'd rather defer until you make your rulings and then any appellate arguments are presented, rather than pick a trial date,” Reddington said.
Following the hearing, Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz said outside court that his office is still evaluating whether to retry the case.
“We're doing a very thorough review right now, and we're going to continue to do our job to make sure that we do what's best for the interests of justice and the interests of those three children,” he said.
.png)
