ABC News’ Linsey Davis reports on Brittney Griner’s detention and trial in Russia, and the high stakes diplomatic efforts to bring the WNBA superstar back home following her guilty plea.
A United States Army sergeant and his brother have been charged in a failed murder-for-hire scheme that targeted four individuals, including two juveniles, according to officials. Servicemember Jeremiah Peikert, 30, was arrested on Thursday by Connecticut State Police, accused of conspiring with his brother, Joshua Peikert, 32, who was incarcerated at the Corrigan Correctional Center in Uncasville at the time of the alleged scheme, according to court documents. The two brothers have been charged with conspiracy to commit murder and conspiracy to commit risk of injury to minors, according to court documents.
A flood watch remains in effect for more than 11 million people in Texas and Oklahoma on Saturday as a number of flood warnings were issued as residents are urged not to drive on flooded roads. During a press conference on Saturday afternoon, Harris County, Texas, Judge Lina Hidalgo said 178 people and 122 pets have been rescued amid the flooding, and no deaths or injuries have been reported. The east fork of the San Jacinto River crested at 77.8 feet above sea level and the water is still rising on the west fork, according to Hidalgo.
As the Kentucky Derby kicked off for its 150th running at Churchill Downs in Louisville on Saturday, Wynonna Judd took to the track for an emotionally charged rendition of the national anthem. Judd's performance added a poignant layer to this year's event, as it coincides with the second anniversary of her mother, Naomi Judd's passing. For Wynonna, a Kentucky native, who has long been deeply connected to horse racing, this performance proved to be a tribute to her roots.
Valerie Bertinelli took to Instagram on May 3 with a candid Instagram post. The veteran actress and TV personality opened up about the difficulty she faced watching the "Behind the Music" episode featuring her son, rock musician Wolfgang Van Halen. Known for her iconic roles on television and her marriage to rock icon Eddie Van Halen, Bertinelli pulled back the curtain on the challenges of motherhood in the public eye.
An urgent search is underway in Clovis, New Mexico, after police say a 10-month-old baby was abducted, two women were found dead with apparent gunshot wounds, including the child's mother, and the mother's 5-year-old child was found injured on the scene. Police issued an Amber Alert for the baby, Eleia Maria Torres, Friday which was still active Saturday morning. Torres has brown eyes and brown hair, is 28 inches tall, and weighs 23 pounds, according to officials.
A missing zebra that was on the run for nearly a week after escaping a trailer in Washington state was corralled this weekend, officials announced Saturday. The female mare, named Shug, was one of four zebras that escaped from a trailer near North Bend, Washington -- approximately 30 miles east of Seattle -- on April 28, according to a press release from Regional Animal Services of King County. The group of zebras was being transported from Winlock, Washington, to Anaconda, Montana, when the animals got loose while the owner had reportedly stopped to fix a problem with the trailer, the organization said, noting the other three zebras were recaptured within hours of the escape.
Amid the buzz of Kentucky's Derby season, Larry Birkhead and daughter, Dannielynn Birkhead, made a stylish entrance into the pre-Derby scene. The father-daughter duo stepped out on May 3 to take in the Derby weekend festivities. Larry gave fans a peek into their outing on Instagram, sharing snapshots of their night at the Barnstable-Brown Gala.
About 36,000 feet in the air en route from Doha, Qatar, to Madrid, Víctor Alegre, a commercial pilot, heard his GPS alert him that he was 1,800 feet from the ground. This interruption is an example of GPS spoofing, a technology that has started to be used more commonly in modern warfare. GPS spoofing occurs when the GPS signal is intercepted by a third party and incorrect information is relayed back to the device.
As protests continue erupting at U.S. college campuses over the war in Gaza, law enforcement from coast to coast is being tasked with carrying out a complex choreography: How to protect the constitutional right to free speech, while navigating volatile and potentially unsafe social unrest. Dynamic scenes of massive encampments, vocal demonstrations and building occupation have now been playing out on private and public college properties – where police assistance has to be requested, not forcibly and unilaterally imposed. Protests broke out last month at colleges and universities across the country in connection with the war in Gaza, with many pro-Palestinian protesters calling for their colleges to divest of funds from Israeli military operations or companies benefitting from the war.
President Joe Biden on Friday awarded 19 Americans with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor. Biden kicked off the ceremony in the East Room by calling it "one of their favorite events at the White House." Biden shared anecdotes and accomplishments of the awarded individuals, and at times touched on the politics of the moment.
One of Donald Trump's closest former advisers testified Friday about the "frantic" hours in after his campaign learned about the existence and imminent release of the "Access Hollywood" tape, offering a glimpse into one of the most consequential moments of the 2016 presidential election. Hope Hicks spent nearly three hours on the witness stand, at one point breaking down in tears. Trump is on trial for allegedly falsifying business records to hide the reimbursement of a hush money payment his then-attorney Michael Cohen made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in order to boost his electoral prospects in the 2016 presidential election.
Protests calling for colleges and universities to divest funds from Israeli military and governmental operations in Gaza, or companies they claim benefit from it, have continued to spread on campuses across the country, including Yale University, New York University, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and more. Many universities have a long history of divesting – that is, removing one's funds from an asset, in essence reversing a previous investment – in companies that have connections to or otherwise support fraught political issues, such as genocide, apartheid and other practices.
Noem's book, "No Going Back," has drawn backlash for how she describes shooting and killing her 14-month-old dog, Cricket, in an incident she said happened 20 years ago. Now, Noem -- widely rumored to be seeking to be a potential vice-presidential pick for former President Donald Trump -- is addressing new questions over an account of a meeting she said she had with the North Korean leader while she served in Congress.
As abortion laws have become stricter across the nation, especially in the South, following the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the bathroom walls of one women's healthcare clinic in Florida have become a refuge for women seeking care. Around one year ago, patients at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Jacksonville started leaving messages of support for each other on the walls of the bathroom in the clinic's lobby, according to Morgan Daniel, the health center supervisor at Planned Parenthood Jacksonville. Daniel said staff members noticed the messages after a few were left initially on the baby changing station in the bathroom.
Tens of thousands of Igloo-branded youth water bottles are being recalled due to a potential choking hazard. Youth Sipper Bottles are impacted by the recall. The agency said the silicone covers on the sippers can detach while they're being used, posing a possible choking hazard for children.
A key figure in Robert F. Kennedy Jr's effort to make the ballot in all 50 states was arrested Saturday in New York City for allegedly striking a woman, according to the New York City Police Department. Trent Pool, 37, whose petitioning company Accelevate 2020 received more than $300,000 from the Kennedy campaign in March, according to federal finance records, "wrapped his hand around [the woman's] neck making it hard for her to breath and then struck her with a closed fist, causing pain," the 25-year-old woman, who refused medical attention on scene, told police, according to an NYPD spokesperson. A Kennedy spokesperson told ABC News that Pool told campaign aides "the alleged incident never occurred" and referred ABC News to Pool's lawyer.
The Houston area is bracing for "catastrophic" flooding Friday as severe downpours and extreme weather pummel parts of Texas. Harris County's Office of Emergency Management moved to its highest activation level Friday morning in anticipation of the imminent flooding, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo told reporters during a news conference. Hidalgo warned residents that the forecast has changed as heavy rains have already fallen in northern Polk County and will make their way to Harris County sooner than expected.
Texas Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar and his wife were indicted Friday on charges of conspiracy and accepting nearly $600,000 in bribes from foreign entities, the Justice Department announced. Prosecutors allege Cuellar and his wife, Imelda Cuellar, began accepting the roughly $600,000 in bribes beginning as early as December of 2014 from an oil and gas company owned by Azerbaijan's government as well as a bank headquartered in Mexico City. While Cuellar's wife allegedly propped up sham front companies on the promise of providing consulting services to the two companies in order to launder the payments, she "performed little to no legitimate work under the contracts" all while Rep. Cuellar was promising to use his office for the benefit of Azerbaijan's foreign policy as well as influencing "high-ranking" officials in the executive branch to benefit the Mexico City bank, according to the indictment.
On Tuesday night, hundreds of New York Police Department officers entered Columbia University and the City College of New York to remove protestors who had set up encampments and taken over administrative buildings in opposition to Israel's conduct in its conflict against Hamas, U.S. military support for Israel and colleges' investments in companies tied to Israel — just one in a series of clashes on college campuses across the country that have captured the attention of the media and the public. Scenes of left-leaning collegiate protestors upset with President Joe Biden for his continued support for Israel — even as he's become more critical of its operations — and the lack of a ceasefire have raised the prospect that the Israel-Hamas conflict could significantly hurt Biden's support among younger voters in the 2024 presidential election.
Columbia University has seen student protesters camping out on the school’s campus since April 17. Pro-Palestinian protesters are calling for the Ivy League school to financially pull out from companies and institutions that “profit from Israeli apartheid, genocide and occupation in Palestine,” according to an online statement from the group Columbia University Apartheid Divest. Following Columbia University President Minouche Shafik’s congressional hearing about antisemitism on campus, the encampment drew a larger group of protesters.