Plus, the State Department said they were aware of reports of U.S. doctors trapped in Gaza. It is working with Israel to reopen the Rafah gate to facilitate the departure of U.S. citizens.
The judge who oversaw former President Donald Trump’s hush money criminal trial in New York made the parties aware Friday of a post to the court system’s Facebook page. Judge Juan Merchan said the comment, now labeled as one week old, responded to a routine court system notice, posted on May 29, 2024, regarding oral arguments in the Fourth Department of the Appellate Division unrelated to this proceeding. In a separate letter, Judge Merchan granted defense attorney Todd Blanche permission to attend Trump’s pre-sentence investigation interview.
President Joe Biden on Sunday visited a World War I cemetery outside Paris where American troops are buried as his last stop on his trip to France. The visit to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery was notable, as it draws a contrast with former President Donald Trump, who in 2018 declined to visit the same cemetery, citing bad weather. Later reports, however, claimed Trump described those buried there as "suckers" and "losers."
Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas defended the Biden administration's new asylum restrictions and consequences for migrants who cross the border illegally in an interview with ABC News' "This Week" on Sunday. "Our intent is to really change the risk calculus of individuals before they leave their countries of origin and incentivize them to use lawful pathways that we have made available to them and keep them out of the hands of exploitative smugglers," Mayorkas told "This Week" co-anchor Martha Raddatz. The number of people in processing for expedited removal from the border has more than doubled since President Joe Biden issued the proclamation to significantly curb asylum for illegal border crossers in the southwest, administration officials said Friday.
White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Peter Lerner separately praised a recent Israeli hostage rescue operation that freed four Israeli captives in Gaza amid fierce fighting against Hamas. Sullivan said the Biden administration has been "working for months" with Israel to help it recover the remaining hostages from Gaza, some of whom are believed to be dead, while pressing for precautions to be taken to avoid civilian casualties as rescue efforts continue.
It's nearly impossible not to smile when you squeeze the throttle on the new Aston Martin Vantage. Aston executives may wax on about the Vantage's state-of-the-art infotainment system, but what's under the hood is more exciting: a heavily reworked, hand-built 4.0 twin-turbo V8 that delivers 656 horsepower and a thunderous howl. Take it for a spin on winding roads or test its limits on a race track -- the car's rowdy, brash exhaust note reacts to every input the driver decrees.
The Los Angeles City Council president is demanding answers after security cameras captured two Burbank Police officers allegedly dropping off a homeless man near his office and driving away as he lay on the ground this week. Councilman Paul Krekorian released the video that showed the two uniformed officers pull up to the street in North Hollywood on June 6, get the unidentified man out of their marked vehicle in handcuffs, uncuffing him and then driving off as he appeared to get on the ground on all fours. Krekorian said his office staffers were able to find the man and get him medical care after they were given the security footage, he said.
An Oklahoma teen and her family are speaking out after the 19-year-old was attacked by a shark last month in Galveston, Texas. Damiana Humphrey, 19, told "Good Morning America" she was wading in the water about waist-deep when a 4 to 5-foot shark latched onto her hand. Humphrey's father, Troy, also spoke to "GMA."
Three swimmers, including two teens, were attacked by sharks in two separate incidents while they were at beaches in Walton County, Florida, on Friday, the authorities said. A 45-year-old woman was swimming just past a sandbar with her husband at Watersound Beach when she was bitten by a shark around 1:20 p.m., South Walton Fire District Chief Ryan Crawford told reporters. One victim was bitten by a shark and sustained "significant injuries," and was flown to Ascension Sacred Heart Pensacola Hospital in critical condition, Crawford said.
Severe weather is shifting into eastern Colorado and Kansas on Saturday, with threats of large hail and damaging winds -- and a possible isolated tornado. Meanwhile, record heat will begin to wind down in the western U.S. but will continue in Florida. Isolated severe storms will span across a larger area, from Colorado to western Kentucky.
Apollo 8 astronaut William Anders, who took the iconic "Earthrise" photograph while in lunar orbit that showed the Earth from the moon's surface, has died, NASA administrator Bill Nelson said Friday. Anders was born in Hong Kong and graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, in 1955.
Last week, Biden gave limited permission for Ukrainian forces to fire back at Russians attacking Kharkiv from just across the border with United States' weapons, but the administration has been emphatic that it still opposes strikes on key military targets elsewhere on Russian territory. "It should not be construed as a shift away from our broader policy that we don’t encourage or enable U.S. weapons to be used against targets inside Russia," a U.S. official said. Zelenskyy has been vocal about the importance of using long-range Western weapons, like the U.S.-provided Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS), against military targets in Russia.
Hunter Biden's criminal gun trial abruptly ended for the week on Friday after his daughter Naomi Biden testified that her dad "seemed great, he seemed hopeful" just days after he purchased a Colt revolver in October of 2018, bolstering the defense claim that he was not abusing drugs around the time he procured the gun. Whether Hunter Biden will testify in his own defense remains an open question, as his attorneys suggested they needed the weekend to make that "last decision" before resting their case. Naomi Biden, the 30-year-old daughter of Hunter Biden, testified that she twice saw her father during the timeframe in 2018 when Hunter Biden's attorneys said he was not actively using drugs, and each time, she testified, he "seemed great."
A transgender student is speaking out along with their family after allegedly being assaulted while using the bathroom in their Minnetonka, Minnesota, high school. Cobalt Sovereign, 17, told ABC News they were using the men's bathroom around 2:30 p.m. local time when a male student started peering over the stall while they were using the facility. In the hallway, Sovereign said they were followed by the student and two others.
Former President Donald Trump continues to center his third presidential campaign on retribution against his political allies, saying in a recent interview that at times revenge is "justified" -- comments that President Joe Biden's campaign seized on Friday to point to Trump's focus on personal and political retribution. "Donald Trump is back on [the] trail -- now a convicted felon but still unhinged and consumed by his obsession with revenge," the Biden campaign's Ammar Moussa said in a statement to ABC News.
A Mississippi mom is reminding parents not to feel pressured to make summer a perfect and magical time for their children. Whitney Caves, a mom of one and a licensed professional counselor, shared an Instagram post about what she has consistently seen when the weather turns warm and school lets out for the summer.
As Hunter Biden continues his trial in Delaware over allegations he lied on a gun permit application, first lady Jill Biden has been in his corner, showing support while also juggling her official duties. Almost every day this week, Jill Biden was in court watching the proceedings along with other family members and growing emotional as details of Hunter Biden's drug addictions, fraught relationships and other dark aspects of his past were brought up by prosecutors. The first lady's commitment to attending the trial was evident as she flew back late Thursday from France, where she accompanied President Joe Biden to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day, to attend Friday's court hearings before flying back overseas to attend a state dinner being hosted by the French prime minister on Saturday.
Nike released new "Girl Dad" sneakers ahead of Father's Day, in honor of the late basketball legend Kobe Bryant and his late daughter Gianna "Gigi" Bryant, both of whom died in a helicopter crash in January 2020. The athletic apparel company's new Kobe 4 Protro "special edition" sneakers were released late Thursday and by Friday, had already sold out, according to a product page on Nike's official website. "This special edition of the Kobe 4 Protro pulls inspiration from a courtside moment shared between Kobe and Gigi," stated the product description.
A group of American lawmakers honored the bravery of World War II veterans who took part in D-Day with a parachute jump into Normandy on Friday morning, using some of the same vintage planes that flew American paratroopers over France 80 years ago. The lawmakers are all military veterans, and were led by Reps. Jason Crow, D-Colo., and Michael Waltz, R-Fla. The other participants included: Reps. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, Ronny Jackson, R-Texas, Rich McCormick, R-Ga., Mark Green, R-Tenn., Cory Mills, R-Fla., Darrell Issa, R-Calif. and Keith Self, R-Texas. Crow, an Army Ranger who served in two units that played key roles in the invasion of Normandy on D-Day, said the jump was a "very personal experience."
Get ready for a summer of savings with fast food companies dishing out deals, discounts, and freebies on popular menu items. McDonald's and Burger King recently announced dueling $5 meal bundles in an effort to drive customer retention, and other competitors are plating up seasonally timed promotions to entice eaters as well. The Miami-based burger chain confirmed last month to ABC News that it was accelerating value offers with its $5 Your Way deal launching in June.
A New York City police officer has been arrested for allegedly shooting another driver in an apparent road rage incident, prosecutors said. Officer Hieu Tran, 27, was taken into custody at the New York City Police Department on Thursday in connection with last month's shooting in Voorhees Township, New Jersey, the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office said. Tran allegedly shot a 30-year old-man on the night of May 17, and the victim remains in the hospital, prosecutors said Friday.