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  • These are the women expected to testify against Harvey Weinstein at his second sexual assault trial | CNN

    These are the women expected to testify against Harvey Weinstein at his second sexual assault trial | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Reporting five years ago on Harvey Weinstein’s alleged sexual abuse spurred women to speak publicly about their own experiences with sexual violence in what became known as the #MeToo movement.

    Now, in a Los Angeles courtroom, eight women are set to testify in a trial altogether similar to the one that led to Weinstein’s landmark conviction two years ago.

    Weinstein, the 70-year-old movie producer, has pleaded not guilty to 11 charges based on allegations of sexual assault at Los Angeles hotels between 2004 to 2013.

    Opening statements in the trial began Monday and one woman has already testified about her alleged assault. Three more women are expected to testify directly to the charges, and four other women are expected to testify as “prior bad acts” witnesses, meaning their testimony isn’t directly connected to a charge but can be considered as prosecutors try to show Weinstein had a pattern in his behavior.

    He was found guilty in New York in 2020 of first-degree criminal sexual act and third-degree rape and was sentenced to 23 years in prison. He has appealed.

    Here’s what we know about the women set to testify in the California case and the charges connected to their allegations based on comments from the prosecution, the defense and their testimony.

    Weinstein is charged with forcible oral copulation and forcible rape of Jane Doe 4 between September 1, 2004, and September 30, 2005.

    Jane Doe 4 has been identified as Jennifer Siebel Newsom, a filmmaker and the wife of California Gov. Gavin Newsom. In a statement, her attorneys confirmed she would be testifying against Weinstein in court.

    “Like many other women, my client was sexually assaulted by Harvey Weinstein at a purported business meeting that turned out to be a trap,” said Beth Fegan, one of Siebel Newsom’s attorneys. “She intends to testify at his trial to seek some measure of justice for survivors and as part of her life’s work to improve the lives of women.”

    Siebel Newsom is a Stanford University graduate who has written, directed and produced several documentaries, including “Miss Representation,” “The Mask You Live In” and “The Great American Lie.” During her time as California’s first partner, Siebel Newsom has advocated for working mothers and launched initiatives focused on closing the gender pay gap, among other efforts.

    In opening statements, prosecutor Paul Thompson said the assault occurred when Siebel Newsom was a “powerless actor trying to make her way in Hollywood.” Weinstein invited her to “discuss her career” at the Peninsula Hotel, and in a hotel room, he assaulted and raped her, the prosecutor said.

    Defense attorney Mark Werksman countered that Siebel Newsom had consensual sex with Weinstein because she wanted his help getting roles and producing films.

    Werksman also said Weinstein donated to two of Gov. Newsom’s political races and that Siebel Newsom took her husband to a Weinstein party. “She brought her husband to meet and party with the man who raped her. Who does that?” he asked.

    Siebel Newsom has written about the incident with Weinstein in vague terms. In October 2017, just a day after The New York Times published its bombshell report on Weinstein, she wrote an opinion editorial for the Huffington Post saying she believed the report because she had a similar experience with Weinstein.

    “I was naive, new to the industry, and didn’t know how to deal with his aggressive advances ― work invitations with a friend late-night at The Toronto Film Festival, and later an invitation to meet with him about a role in The Peninsula Hotel, where staff were present and then all of a sudden disappeared like clockwork, leaving me alone with this extremely powerful and intimidating Hollywood legend,” she wrote.

    Weinstein is charged with forcible oral copulation, sexual penetration by foreign object and forcible rape of Jane Doe 1 on or about February 18, 2013, in Los Angeles County, according to the indictment.

    Jane Doe 1 was a model and actress who was married, had three children and was living in Italy in 2013. She speaks Russian, Italian and English, but her English was not very good at the time, she said.

    She was the first witness to testify in the trial and said she was staying in a hotel for the Los Angeles Italia Film Festival when she got a call that Weinstein wanted to see her. She testified she had met him previously in Rome.

    He came to her hotel room and tried to rape her, she testified.

    “I wanted to die. It was disgusting. It was humiliating, miserable. I didn’t fight,” she testified in court. “I remember how he was looking in the mirror and he was telling me to look at him. I wish this never happened to me.”

    Years later, she told her daughter about the assault in an attempt to connect with her about a similar issue, she testified. Jane Doe 1 then went to the police in October 2017 because she promised her daughter she would, she testified.

    In the defense’s opening statements, Werksman said she had fabricated the story and argued there was no evidence he went to her hotel room. Under cross-examination, she acknowledged she had no evidence to show the jury that would prove she was with Weinstein that night and said she couldn’t remember everything about the incident.

    “I remember a lot but I forgot a lot also,” she said.

    Weinstein is charged with sexual battery by restraint of Jane Doe 2 on or about February 19, 2013, in Los Angeles County.

    Jane Doe 2 was a 23-year-old model and aspiring screenwriter who had been modeling since she was 12, Thompson said in opening statements.

    She alleges she was assaulted during the Los Angeles Italia Film Festival, according to Thompson. She met with Weinstein at a restaurant at the Montage hotel and told him she wanted to be a screenwriter, the prosecutor said. The meeting then moved to a space upstairs, and when Weinstein led her into a bathroom, another woman shut the door behind Jane Doe 2, the prosecutor said.

    While she was trapped inside with Weinstein, he allegedly undid her dress, groped her and masturbated, the prosecutor said.

    The next day, she went to a pre-scheduled meeting with a Weinstein Company employee and was advised to go on “Project Runway,” a Weinstein-produced reality TV show.

    Werksman, the defense attorney, said in opening statements that Jane Doe 2 fabricated her story and noted that she met with the Weinstein Company employee the next day.

    Weinstein is charged with sexual battery by restraint of Jane Doe 3 on or about May 11, 2010.

    Jane Doe 3 was a licensed massage therapist who often worked with celebrities and athletes, Thompson said.

    In 2010, she massaged Weinstein and then went to the restroom to wash her hands, and he followed her into the bathroom, backed her into a corner, groped her and masturbated, Thompson said.

    Weinstein had suggested Jane Doe 3 could write a book about her massage work, Thompson said, and afterward an aide to Weinstein paid her $200 for the massage and put her in touch with Miramax’s book division about a potential book deal.

    In contrast, Werksman argued that their sexual interaction was consensual and part of an arrangement. He said that Jane Doe 3 gave him four additional massages after the alleged assault.

    “She made a deal. Sex in exchange for something of value. Jane Doe 3 and Mr. Weinstein were friends with benefits,” Werksman argued.

    Weinstein is charged with four counts related to Jane Doe 5: forcible oral copulation and forcible rape between November 3 and November 9, 2009, and forcible oral copulation and forcible rape on or about November 5, 2010, according to the indictment.

    However, prosecutors did not mention her or her accusations in opening statements of the trial, and neither did the defense. The current status of these charges is not clear.

    “While we have no comment at this time, our office is tirelessly ensuring all of the victims in this case receive justice,” the district attorney’s office said.

    Like in his New York trial, Weinstein’s LA trial will feature testimony from several “prior bad acts” witnesses.

    There are four of these witnesses in this case, identified by their first name and initial. Each of these women alleged they were assaulted by Weinstein outside of LA jurisdiction.

    In all, the defense argued these witnesses were being used solely to “confuse and overwhelm” the jury. Werksman defended Weinstein’s actions as part of the “casting couch” culture at the time.

    The prosecution said the testimony from these women will prove Weinstein’s guilt on the charges.

    “Each of these women came forward independent of each other, and none of them knew one another,” Thompson told the jury.

    Ambra B. went to Weinstein’s office for a meeting in Manhattan in 2015 and he grabbed her breast and put his hand up her skirt, prosecutors said. She reported the incident to the NYPD, which then directed her to speak with him on the phone and at a hotel restaurant and secretly record their conversations, according to Thompson. No charges were filed against Weinstein.

    Werksman argued nothing on the recording was tantamount to a confession and dismissed her as someone playing a “junior G-man” in an undercover sting targeting Weinstein.

    Ashley M., a dancer in the movie “Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights,” was alone in a hotel room with Weinstein in 2003 and said he groped her and masturbated on her, according to Thompson.

    Werksman argued she did not resist or refuse the interaction at the time.

    Natassia M. met Weinstein and briefly interacted with him at an industry party for the 2008 British Academy of Film and Television Arts Awards and alleges he raped her at her hotel, according to Thompson.

    Werksman said there was no evidence of rape and notes they maintained contact for years afterward.

    Kelly S. was an actor in 1991 when, in a hotel room for the Toronto International Film Festival, Weinstein raped her, Thompson said. In 2008, at the same festival, she went to his hotel room with the intention of confronting him, and when he allegedly started groping her and masturbating, she left the room, the prosecutor said.

    Werksman attacked the idea that she didn’t confront him immediately upon seeing him again in 2008 and said she didn’t report the incident to police until 2018.

    Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported Harvey Weinstein was arrested in the alleged incident involving Ambra B.

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  • Body of Joshua Jones, American killed in Ukraine, returned to Ukrainian custody | CNN

    Body of Joshua Jones, American killed in Ukraine, returned to Ukrainian custody | CNN

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    Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine
    CNN
     — 

    The body of an American man killed in August while fighting alongside the Ukrainian military has been returned to Ukrainian custody by the Russian military.

    A CNN team witnessed the transfer in the Zaporizhzhia region on Wednesday.

    The American is 24-year-old Joshua Jones, who was killed in August. The US State Department has informed Jones’ family about the body’s return, Jones’ father, Jeff Jones, told CNN on Wednesday.

    Joshua Jones’ mother, Misty Gossett, told CNN that the return of her son’s body “means everything” and that it feels like the weight of the world has been lifted off her.

    “I’m proud of my son’s character,” Gossett said. “He was selfless in risking his life for a country that we have no connection to at all. But he felt the calling, and there was no talking him out of it.”

    The transfer took place just north of Vasylivka, in the Zaporizhzhia region, between Ukrainian and Russian-controlled Ukraine. The two sides had agreed to a two-hour ceasefire in no-man’s land between Russian and Ukrainian-held Ukraine.

    A Ukrainian ambulance was on site to transport Jones’ body. The Ukrainians said that they were able to identify the body by Jones’ tattoos and other identifying characteristics. The Russians had also sent photos of the body in advance.

    Ukraine released a Russian soldier on Wednesday as part of a larger swap, in which 10 Ukrainians were already freed.

    In a tearful phone call, Jeff Jones told CNN: “We got him back!”

    “I cannot tell you what a burden is lifted off this family,” said Jones. “I couldn’t give up that hope.”

    Jones said he got a message from the International Legion on Wednesday morning at 6:30 a.m. via the Signal app. He said he missed it. At 7 a.m. he got a call from his son’s fiancée with the news.

    A little later, the US Embassy in Kyiv called him and verified the return.

    Gossett characterized her last conversation with her son as “fun,” telling CNN’s Jake Tapper on Wednesday that Jones sent her a photo three days before his death showing his long beard and ponytail.

    She said she joked about barbershops not being open and commented on the red color in his beard. “His whole life he’s looked like his dad, but I saw Mama in that red beard,” she said.

    “Joshua, he was a soldier, he was a born soldier,” Gossett said. “He was named after the battle of Jericho, and he proved he lived up to his name so valuably.”

    On Wednesday, US State Department spokesperson Ned Price expressed his condolences to Jones’ family in a statement, saying the “United States is appreciative of Ukraine for including recovery of this individual’s remains in its negotiations with Russia.”

    He added that the remains “will soon be returned to the family.”

    Jones’ remains were found in the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), a Russian-backed, self-declared republic that has governed a breakaway portion of Ukraine’s Donetsk region since 2014.

    DPR officials said in August that Jones’ body had been transferred to a mortuary in the region, and that they were ready to discuss a transfer of his remains.

    Jones became one of a number of Americans who have been captured or killed in Ukraine since the outbreak of war in February.

    Stephen Zabierslki was killed in May and Marine Corps veteran Willy Cancel was killed in April. In July, the State Department said two American citizens were killed in Donbas.

    Two American veterans, Andy Tai Ngoc Huynh and Alexander John-Robert Drueke, were captured in June while fighting for Ukraine in a battle near Kharkiv. The pair were released last month as part of a prisoner swap between Russia and Ukraine that was brokered by Saudi Arabia.

    And CNN has previously reported that a third American, US Marine veteran Grady Kurpasi, went missing in action in June.

    Russia is the only country that considers the DPR independent. The international community does not recognize the region and its institutions, and considers the territory to be part of Ukraine. Independent watchdog groups have long accused the separatists of a dismal human-rights track record and ill-treatment of prisoners.

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  • Why Pennsylvania’s race could determine who wins the Senate | CNN Politics

    Why Pennsylvania’s race could determine who wins the Senate | CNN Politics

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    CNN
     — 

    Tell me who wins the Pennsylvania Senate race, and I’ll probably be able to tell you who controls the Senate next year.

    Such a declarative statement may seem like hyperbole, but the stakes after Tuesday’s debate in Pennsylvania – which represents Democrats’ best chance of picking up a Republican seat – are sky high. And while we don’t know how voters will ultimately view what they saw (or heard in the aftermath) of the televised event, neither candidate has much room for error.

    Republican Mehmet Oz had been closing in on Democrat John Fetterman, according to an average of polls. Fetterman sported a seven point advantage on September 1. By debate eve, the lead was down to two points.

    The movement in the Pennsylvania polls is part of a trend we’ve seen in the swing states of 2022. Democrats have also lost ground over the last 60 days in Arizona, Nevada, New Hampshire – which they’re defending – and Wisconsin, which, after Pennsylvania, is their next-best pickup opportunity. In Georgia, which Democrats are also defending, they’ve been steady.

    Democrats likely must win four of these six races – and right now, they hold an advantage in four. This includes Pennsylvania.

    One interesting way to see the importance of Pennsylvania in the Senate math is by looking at statistical modeling from a website like FiveThirtyEight. If you know that Fetterman wins, then Democrats have a three-in-four chance of holding onto the Senate. If you know that Oz wins, then Republicans have a three-in-four chance of wresting away control of the Senate. No other state has that type of swing associated with it.

    The big question is whether either candidate will be able to catapult from Tuesday’s debate to quell doubts voters had about them.

    Much has been made of Fetterman’s health following a stroke earlier this year. A CBS News/YouGov poll before the debate found that 45% of voters believed that Fetterman was not healthy enough to serve in the Senate. That was up from 41% in September.

    But Oz has his vulnerabilities too. Perhaps less spoken about in the press in the lead up to the debate was whether Oz could make himself more likable than he had been in the wake of a nasty May primary. Fetterman had a positive net favorability (favorable – unfavorable) rating in the last CNN/SSRS poll. Oz, however, had a -17 point net favorability rating.

    Oz’s problem, of course, has been part of a larger problem facing Republican Senate nominees nationwide. Republicans in most of the competitive swing states have net negative favorability ratings. They’ve slowly been improving their images in the polls, although their Democratic opponents remain better liked for the most part.

    Republicans, like Oz, have been helped significantly by the fact that President Joe Biden’s approval rating is beneath his disapproval rating. And recent generic ballot surveys such as the CNN/SSRS poll and Monmouth University poll show that Republican candidates are now winning a larger share of the voters who disapprove of Biden than they were during the summer.

    This marks, perhaps, the irony of the Pennsylvania Senate race – and the race for the Senate overall. Biden seems to be becoming a more important factor, even as the individual Senate candidates become better known.

    Biden may end up bringing the Democratic candidates down with him, despite voters liking them more than they like their GOP options.

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  • 7 injured at a Missouri theme park after a train ride derails | CNN

    7 injured at a Missouri theme park after a train ride derails | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Several people were injured Wednesday at an amusement park in Branson, Missouri, after sections of a train ride derailed from the track, the park said.

    Six guests and one employee were transported by ambulance to get medical treatment, the Silver Dollar City theme park said in a statement on Twitter. The park did not detail the extent of the injuries.

    “Onsite paramedics provided emergency care until first responders arrived,” the park said.

    The Frisco Silver Dollar Line Steam Train brings guests on a scenic 20-minute ride through the countryside, interrupted by a theatrical “stick-up” by a band of train robbers, the park’s website says. The ride is billed as a staple of the park that has been in operation since 1962.

    Gary Eldridge and his family came to Silver Dollar City for the pumpkin festival and were riding in the last car of the train when it derailed, he told CNN.

    “We had just passed the part of the ride where they gave the moonshine skit,” Eldridge said. “We went around the next corner and the car in front of me acted like it hit a bump and started shaking real bad. It derailed and took the cars in front of it with it.”

    A video he took of the toppled train shows several bright red train cars flipped on their side, some with their wheels detached and sitting on the track.

    Eldridge’s family was in a car that didn’t flip and were unharmed, he said.

    “At this time, we are wholeheartedly focused on providing support for guests and team members in partnership with Stone County first responders,” the park statement said.

    Silver Dollar City has not commented on a possible cause of the accident.

    A dispatcher at the Stone County Sheriff’s Office declined to comment Wednesday.

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  • California doctor faces involuntary manslaughter charge in 2019 death of jail inmate | CNN

    California doctor faces involuntary manslaughter charge in 2019 death of jail inmate | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    A doctor has been charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection with the death of an inmate at a detention facility in Southern California in November 2019, according to the San Diego County District Attorney’s office.

    Elisa Serna, 24, was an inmate at the Las Colinas Detention Facility in Santee when on November 10, 2019, she said she was dizzy and nauseous and was moved to the medical observation unit, the district attorney’s office said in a news release at the time. The next day Serna fell while a nurse was in her cell to take her vital signs and later died, authorities said.

    The nurse, Danalee Pascua, had been charged with involuntary manslaughter in November 2021. She has pleaded not guilty.

    Dr. Friederike Von Lintig, 57, was charged with involuntary manslaughter, according to an amended criminal complaint filed in San Diego County. She was the physician on duty the day Serna died, according to a news release Wednesday from the district attorney. She was arraigned Wednesday morning.

    Von Lintig was a contracted staff member of Coastal Hospitalist Medical Associates and later employed by Correctional Healthcare Partners, according to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department.

    CNN has requested further information from the district attorney and is seeking contact information for Von Lintig’s attorney. CNN has been unsuccessful in attempts to reach the doctor.

    “Since the initial filing, The District Attorney’s Office has continued to review the matter and has received additional analysis from experts, including from the Medical Board of California, which lead to today’s charges,” Wednesday’s news release says. “The additional evidence developed in this case demonstrates that criminal negligence by this physician contributed to the inmate’s death.”

    The release didn’t give specifics on the new evidence.

    Von Lintig’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 29.

    In November, the district attorney’s office said when Pascua went to check on the inmate, “Serna fell in the defendant’s presence. The defendant failed to get Serna’s vitals, did not move Serna into a recovery position and left Serna on the ground in the cell. About an hour later, Pascua and deputies returned to Ms. Serna’s cell and began futile life-saving measures.”

    Pascua, 37, is due in court Thursday.

    “We are continuing to deny the allegations brought against Ms. Pascua,” her attorney, Alicia C. Freeze, told CNN. “We have always wondered why this inmate’s sad passing has come down onto the shoulders of Ms. Pascua only – a young nurse with an impeccable record who had only clocked in for work an hour or so prior to the woman’s death. We will continue to advocate for Ms. Pascua’s innocence.”

    Freeze said Pascua was not arrested and “appeared timely” when she was given a “Notify Letter” to appear in court.

    The “only conditions are restricting her ability to practice nursing, which we have challenged as unconstitutional and will be litigated at the new preliminary hearing date,” Freeze said in an email.

    The maximum sentence for someone convicted in California of involuntary manslaughter is four years, according to the district attorney.

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  • Blinken says the consequences for using a nuclear weapon have been conveyed to Putin | CNN Politics

    Blinken says the consequences for using a nuclear weapon have been conveyed to Putin | CNN Politics

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    Washington
    CNN
     — 

    The consequences for Russia if it uses a nuclear weapon in its war on Ukraine have been conveyed to Russian President Vladimir Putin, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday.

    “We’ve also communicated directly and very clearly to the Russians, President Putin about the consequences,” the top US diplomat said at a Bloomberg event. Blinken did not indicate how it was communicated to Putin or by whom, and principal deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel later suggested that US officials had not communicated directly with him.

    “You have seen members of this administration dialogue directly with their counterparts in Russia and express these concerns and the potential for dire consequences,” which “no doubt have likely made its way to President Putin,” Patel said at a State Department briefing.

    Biden administration officials have said that Moscow has been warned at the highest levels of the consequences for use of nuclear weapon in the war, but Blinken’s remark is the first explicit mention that the message has been communicated to Putin himself.

    Blinken denounced Russia’s latest claim that Ukraine is considering the use of a “dirty bomb” as “another fabrication and something that is also the height of irresponsibility coming from a nuclear power.”

    He said the United States has communicated directly with the Russians “about trying to use this false allegation as a pretext for any kind of escalation.”

    “The reason this particular allegation gives us some concern is because Russia has a track record of projecting, which is to say, accusing others of doing something that they themselves have done or are thinking about doing,” Blinken said.

    Blinken reiterated that the US is tracking the Kremlin’s nuclear saber-rattling “very carefully,” but hasn’t “seen any reason to change our nuclear posture.”

    Despite Putin’s rhetoric, Russian Ambassador to the United Kingdom Andrey Kelin told CNN on Wednesday that Russia will not use nuclear weapons in its war against Ukraine.

    “Russia is not going to use nukes. It is out of the question,” Kelin told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour.

    However, actions taken by Moscow in recent weeks – the “dirty bomb” allegations, attacks on civilian infrastructure, looming defeats on the battlefield, and its annual military exercise – have increased concerns, a senior administration official said.

    This official told CNN that the potential collapse of parts of Russia’s military in Ukraine could be the factor that could cause Putin to turn to nuclear weapon use. As such, the US is keeping a close eye on the developments in the Kherson region, where it’s not easy for Russian soldiers to retreat.

    Russia informed the US of its annual GROM exercise, which includes its strategic nuclear forces, the Pentagon said. The Kremlin said in a statement Wednesday that Putin was leading military training drills involving practice launches of ballistic and cruise missiles.

    The official said it may “sounds alarmist” to cite concerns about planned exercises but noted that they cannot be viewed in a silo: they do allow Russians to practice doing things like getting missiles into place and flying bombers to sea at a time when they are being pushed into a corner on the battlefield in Ukraine.

    Despite these increased concerns, US officials have not seen evidence of Russian actions that would indicate Moscow is preparing to use nuclear weapons.

    “We’ve seen no need to change our own nuclear posture. We don’t have any indication that Moscow is preparing to use nuclear weapons. But this type of rhetoric is concerning for many reasons,” State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said on Tuesday.

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  • Soaring inflation is throwing retirees’ budgets into chaos | CNN Business

    Soaring inflation is throwing retirees’ budgets into chaos | CNN Business

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    CNN
     — 

    At the Senior Friendship Center in Sarasota, Florida, talking about inflation really strikes a chord.

    At a card table there, CNN met with a group of seniors, all on fixed incomes, who spoke about feeling the squeeze from steep price hikes over the past year.

    Katherine Janes, 81, said she had to turn to her son for financial help.

    “It makes things a little easier,” Janes said. “Everything is expensive.”

    Ron Longhurst cut back on evening socializing, which has been difficult as a single 79-year-old.

    “Day-to-day, I stay home more,” he said. “You think twice about the big night out… I’m taking maybe a week or two longer between haircuts.”

    Ann Smith, 82, cut down on her favorite “simple pleasure” — drinking soda.

    “I used to enjoy a Coke or two a day,” she said. “I now do one a day, maybe one every other day instead.”

    Seniors on a fixed income have been hit particularly hard by inflation, with September prices up 8.2% from a year ago. The price hikes are even steeper in areas like Tampa, Florida, where the housing market has exploded.

    Sharon Johnson, 67, said her family’s monthly rent in Tampa jumped $350 this year, rising to roughly $3,100 per month. And with other bills surging, like her utilities, it has thrown her budget into chaos.

    “The cost of living is not working well right now for us. It’s hard,” Johnson said. “I’ve never had to feel a worry about how we were going to eat, but today, we’re only doing light foods, sandwiches.”

    Sharon Johnson, 67, said her rent jumped by $350 a month this year, throwing her budget into chaos.

    They already have some boxes packed, expecting another rent hike when their lease ends early next year.

    Johnson, a retired university counselor, and her husband, a retired engineer and teacher, moved to Florida from Michigan three years ago, bringing along her sister and nephew to live with them.

    The family would like to buy a home, but the draining price hikes and red-hot housing market are making that more difficult. Johnson says they may have to downsize as a result.

    “We are middle income, but with less to work with than when we worked full time,” Johnson said. “We have worked hard. And we’ve been honest. Then why is it going in reverse?”

    Next year, Social Security recipients will receive an annual cost-of-living adjustment of 8.7%, the largest increase since 1981.

    But for now, many seniors are feeling little relief.

    Barbara Smith, 70, is a caretaker and also volunteers at Trinity Cafe in Tampa, a restaurant that serves free meals to the less fortunate. But she said she has come to rely on the take-home meal she gets after her shift and it is often the only one she eats all day.

    “Then I don’t have to go and purchase it, because I don’t have the money to do that,” Smith said.

    As she weathers price hikes on food, gas, and personal items, she’s stopped buying puzzles, her favorite hobby. The strain of inflation can be isolating, she said.

    “If it wasn’t for volunteering, I’d probably be insane by now,” she said.

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  • Man who sold gun used in Texas synagogue standoff sentenced to 95 months in prison | CNN

    Man who sold gun used in Texas synagogue standoff sentenced to 95 months in prison | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    The man who sold a pistol to a gunman who used it to hold four people hostage at a Colleyville, Texas, synagogue in an 11-hour standoff in January has been sentenced to 95 months in prison, the US attorney for the Northern District of Texas announced.

    Henry “Michael” Dwight Williams, who had been indicted in February, pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm in June. He was sentenced by Chief US District Judge David Godbey to seven years and 11 months in federal prison on Monday, court records show. CNN has reached out to Williams’ attorney, Suzy Vanegas, for comment.

    On January 15, FBI agents recovered a pistol from the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue, where Malik Faisal Akram, a British national, had held four people hostage before he was fatally shot by federal law enforcement agents, a criminal complaint states.

    Williams, who had previously been convicted of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, sold the semi-automatic Taurus G2C pistol to Akram on January 13, according to the complaint.

    The FBI tied Williams to Akram through cell phone records. When agents first interviewed Williams on January 16, he told them that he remembered meeting a man with a British accent, but that he couldn’t recall the man’s name, according to the release from the US attorney’s office.

    Agents reinterviewed Williams on January 24, after he was arrested on an outstanding state warrant. Williams then confirmed he sold Akram the handgun at an intersection in South Dallas. “This defendant, a convicted felon, had no business carrying – much less buying and selling – firearms,” US Attorney Chad Meacham said.

    “We are grateful to the FBI, which sprang into action as soon as the synagogue hostage crisis began, and to the agents who worked tirelessly to track the weapon from Mr. Akram to the defendant.”

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  • 4 takeaways from the New York governor debate | CNN Politics

    4 takeaways from the New York governor debate | CNN Politics

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    CNN
     — 

    New York Gov. Kathy Hochul squared off with Republican Rep. Lee Zeldin on Tuesday in their first and only pre-election debate, offering a series of tense and testy exchanges over crime, abortion rights, the 2020 presidential election and campaign finance ethics.

    Their one-on-one came as recent polls show a tightening race, with the Democrat’s lead having dwindled to single digits in one survey. No Republican has won statewide office in New York since 2002.

    Zeldin, a conservative backed by former President Donald Trump, has campaigned furiously on his opposition to the state’s bail reform law and criticized Hochul’s handling of crime, which has ranked high up on the list of voters’ concerns in nearly every survey of the race.

    Both candidates sought to align themselves with New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat who has pushed for new and substantial rollbacks to bail law, but they predictably diverged on Trump and his successor, President Joe Biden.

    Zeldin praised Trump’s policy agenda during the debate, but, in a nod to a state that voted overwhelmingly for his opponent, did not directly say whether the former President should run again in 2024.

    Hochul, breaking from some tepid statements from fellow Democrats, was clear and concise on Biden’s future. Asked if she thought he should run again, she said, “Yes, I do.”

    Here are the four big takeaways from Tuesday night’s debate.

    Crime has emerged as the central talking point of the election and that held for large portions of the debate on Tuesday, with Zeldin criticizing Hochul for not taking more aggressive steps to combat its rise and promising to fire a controversial Democratic prosecutor in Manhattan.

    Hochul responded by talking up various initiatives but also frequently tried to turn the tables on the Republican, pointing to his opposition to gun control measures, including a bipartisan deal recently passed in Congress.

    “I’m running to take back our streets,” Zeldin said in the first volley of the debate.

    Hochul dismissed her opponent’s attacks as vague and cynical.

    “You can work on keeping people scared or on keeping people safe,” she said, adding, “There is no crime fighting plan if it doesn’t include guns.”

    Zeldin sought to pivot off the gun argument by noting that firearms didn’t play a role in many recent hate crimes or when innocent bystanders have, in recent months, been pushed on to subway tracks.

    “They tell me these stories,” Zeldin said of voters he’s met, “about having to hug a pole or grab a guardrail because they’re afraid of being pushed in front of an oncoming subway car.”

    “All you have is rhetoric,” Hochul shot back. “I have a record of getting things done.”

    The state’s bail reform law, passed in 2019 but rolled back twice since, was also a flashpoint. Even after the moderators rolled out statistics showing it’s difficult to discern whether the law, which makes it more difficult to hold suspects in pre-trial detention, led to a rise in crime, both candidates – Zeldin to a much greater degree – spoke about their desire for further changes.

    Hochul has, before and during the campaign, sought new tweaks. Zeldin wants the legislation off the books entirely – a desire in step with even some liberal New Yorkers – calling it “the will of the people.”

    In a state Biden won by nearly 2 million votes, with more than 60% of ballots cast, Zeldin’s vote in Congress against certifying the election has become a reliable cudgel for Democrats.

    On Tuesday night, Hochul wielded it early and often.

    When Zeldin talked about trying to remove Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who was elected to the job, Hochul connected it to the congressman’s actions after the 2020 presidential election.

    “In Lee Zeldin’s world,” she said, “you overturn elections you disagree with.”

    Zeldin said he had the “constitutional authority” and “constitutional duty” to try his best to unseat Bragg, who has been criticized for not more aggressively prosecuting low-level crime.

    Eventually, the moderators offered Zeldin an opportunity of sorts to disavow his past actions. Asked if he would, knowing what he does now, still vote against certifying the 2020 election, Zeldin demurred.

    “The issue still remains today,” the Republican said. “Election integrity should always matter.”

    Pressed then on whether he would accept defeat, should Hochul win in two weeks, Zeldin said he would – but his disdain for the question was obvious.

    “First off, losing is not an option,” Zeldin answered. “Secondly, playing along with your hypothetical question: Of course” he would accept the results, he said.

    The Republican also came under consistent attack over his anti-abortion policy views and celebration of the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade.

    Zeldin has argued the issue is moot: New York state has passed strict abortion rights protections and, even if he wanted to, he could not change them.

    Still, he did not directly answer a question from the moderators asking whether he would sign off on new restrictions if Republicans took hold of the state legislature – something Zeldin insisted was immaterial because “it’s not happening.”

    Hochul returned to the issue frequently, touting the state law and promising to protect it from conservative politicians like Zeldin.

    “What we have in New York state is simply a codification of Roe v. Wade,” Hochul said, when asked if she would put any restrictions on abortion. She then added, “You know why nothing changed the day after the Dobbs decision? It’s because I’m the governor of New York and he’s not.”

    Zeldin also sought to fend off questions about a recent remark, which he has since walked back, stating he wanted to appoint an anti-abortion rights state health commissioner.

    “My litmus test,” he insisted, “is that (the health commissioner) is going to do an exceptional job.”

    Again though, on the issue of whether he would support funding for Planned Parenthood, Zeldin swerved and suggested it would be a bargaining chip with Democratic leaders in Albany.

    “I’ve heard from New Yorkers who say that they don’t want their tax dollars, for example, for people who live 1,500 miles away from here,” Zeldin said.

    The Bills have one of the best records in pro football this year, but Zeldin hopes they might be a losing issue for Hochul, at least outside Buffalo.

    The state this year approved $600 million in funds to build the team, which is owned by a billionaire, a new stadium in Buffalo. The county is also chipping in an estimated $250 million.

    Hochul defended what critics call a corporate handout as a job-creating maneuver – an argument belied by other cities’ past experiences doing the same – and claimed the Bills were “looking elsewhere,” or considering moving to another city, and said she’d heard from people that they’d been in contact with officials in other states.

    “You think about the identity of the community – like Broadway is to New York City, the Buffalo Bills are to Western New York,” said Hochul, a Buffalo native.

    Zeldin became exasperated at the suggestion the Bills were seriously considering leaving the city – “They’re not,” he snapped – and said the eleventh hour deal to secure the money was “irresponsible on process and substance.”

    Throughout the debate, Zeldin also criticized what he described as Hochul’s “pay to play” governorship, accusing her of trading state contract cash for campaign donations.

    Hochul rejected the charge, which has been reported on inconclusively by a number of local media outlets.

    “There has never been a quid pro quo, a policy change, because of a contribution,” the governor said, before pivoting to an attack on Zeldin’s outside support, specifically the more than $8 million invested in pro-Zeldin super PACs by Ronald Lauder, heir to the cosmetics giant Estée Lauder.

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  • Julie and Savannah Chrisley get emotional about family’s struggle amid legal drama | CNN

    Julie and Savannah Chrisley get emotional about family’s struggle amid legal drama | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Savannah Chrisley believes her mother Julie is handling her current legal issues better than she is.

    The pair sat down for an episode of the podcast “Unlocked with Savannah Chrisley” that came out Tuesday and their conversation was emotional.

    Todd and Julie Chrisley, Savannah’s parents, were convicted in June of conspiracy to defraud banks out of of more than $30 million in loans.

    According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the reality stars who found fame on the series “Chrisley Knows Best,” are set to be sentenced on November 21. They are facing up to 30 years in prison.

    Their daughter said during the podcast that she’s angry because “my whole life could change” as her parents are her support system.

    She pointed out that her parents have dived deeper into their Christian faith in this time and tearfully asked her mother about that.

    “Everyone has it hard,” Julie Chrisley said. “But the one thing God has said is ‘I will never leave you, I will never forsake you.’ He didn’t promise us it was always going to be rainbows and sunshine. But he always promised that the rain would eventually stop.”

    She said that they were no better than anyone else to go through hard times, but believes that people go through challenge to propel them into their destiny.

    “I believe you don’t have a testimony without a test,” Julie Chrisley said tearfully.

    Savannah Chrisley urged people to “do the research” when it comes to her parents’ legal issues and said the whole legal experience has “broken” her father.

    Julie Chrisley said she has a great deal of fear.

    “It’s fear for my parents. It’s fear for my mother-in-law because I’m the caregiver,” she said. “I’m the person who takes care of everyone.”

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  • Six takeaways from the Pennsylvania Senate debate between Fetterman and Oz | CNN Politics

    Six takeaways from the Pennsylvania Senate debate between Fetterman and Oz | CNN Politics

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    CNN
     — 

    The first and only debate between Democrat John Fetterman and Republican Mehmet Oz quickly devolved into a series of personal and biting attacks in what has become the highest stakes Senate race in the country.

    Throughout the night, Fetterman’s delivery was at times halting and repetitive, with the Democrat – who suffered a stroke in May – dropping words during answers and occasionally losing his train of thought. Much of the attention heading into the debate was on Fetterman’s ongoing recovery and how his struggle with auditory processing and speech could impact a debate against someone who rose to national prominence hosting a syndicated television show.

    But the debate also emphasized the deep policy differences between the candidates, with the two candidates sparring over energy policy, abortion and the economy.

    Oz clearly entered the debate hoping to cast Fetterman as someone too extreme to represent Pennsylvania, using the term “extreme” countless times to describe several the Democrat’s positions. And Fetterman, in an effort to quickly negate many of criticisms, used the phrase the “Oz rule” to describe his opponent’s relationship with the truth.

    Here are six takeaways from Tuesday night’s debate:

    Fetterman struggled to detail his position on fracking, given he once said he never supported the industry and “never” will.

    Oz came prepared on the issue, hitting Fetterman when asked about it.

    “He supports Biden’s desire to ban fracking on public lands, which are our lands, all of our lands together,” Oz said. “This is an extreme position on energy. If we unleashed our energy here in Pennsylvania, it would help everybody.”

    When Oz raised Fetterman’s comments about fracking, Fetterman pushed back.

    “I absolutely support fracking,” Fetterman said. “I believe that we need independence with energy and I believe I have walked that line my entire career.”

    He added, “I have always supported fracking and I always believe independence with our energy is critical.”

    But that isn’t true – Fetterman has a long history of antipathy toward the practice of injecting water into shale formations to free up deposits of oil and natural gas that were not economically accessible before.

    “I don’t support fracking at all and I never have,” Fetterman told a left-wing YouTube channel in 2018 when running for lieutenant governor. “And I’ve, I’ve signed the no fossil fuels money pledge. I have never received a dime from any natural gas or oil company whatsoever.”

    When the moderators noted that position, Fetterman appeared at a loss for words.

    “I do support fracking and I don’t, I don’t, I support fracking and I stand and I do support fracking,” Fetterman said.

    Oz has declined for weeks to give a firm answer about how he would vote on a bill proposed South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham that would ban abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy.

    And this debate was no different.

    “There should not be involvement from the federal government in how states decide their abortion decisions,” Oz said when asked about abortion, before turning the issue on Fetterman and calling him “radical” and “extreme.”

    But when directly asked how he would vote on the Graham bill, Oz declined to answer, claiming he was giving a bigger answer by saying he was “not going to support federal rules that block the ability of states to do what they wish to do.”

    The lack of an answer gave Fetterman an opening.

    “I want to look into the face of every woman in Pennsylvania,” Fetterman said. “You know, if you believe that the choice of your reproductive freedom belongs with Dr. Oz then you have a choice. But if you believe that the choice for abortion belongs with you and your doctor, that’s what I fight for. Roe v Wade for me is, should be the law.”

    Fetterman, however, went beyond that position during the primary.

    When asked by CNN whether he supported “any restrictions on abortion,” Fetterman said he did not. He took a similar position during a primary debate.

    Oz used the moment, again, to call Fetterman out, saying it was “important” for Fetterman to “at least acknowledge” that he had taken another position on abortion.

    But it was an Oz comment that Democrats, including the Fetterman campaign, have seized on after the debate.

    Oz said he thought the debate about abortion should be left to “women, doctors, local political leaders,” a continuation of his argument that states, not the federal government should decide the issue.

    Top Democrats see the comment as an opening to link Oz with Pennsylvania Republican gubernatorial nominee Doug Mastriano, a state senator who introduced a 2019 bill that would require physicians to determine if a fetal heartbeat is present prior to an abortion and prohibit the procedure if a heartbeat is detected.

    Their argument: Oz thinks politicians like Mastriano – either as state senator or possibly as governor – should decide the issue.

    The Fetterman campaign announced after the debate it would put money behind an ad highlighting the Oz comment.

    The Fetterman campaign went to great lengths to avoid debating – until the criticism from editorial boards, the Oz campaign and others became too untenable to keep resisting.

    After watching the debate in Harrisburg, even though Fetterman’s speech has shown signs of considerable improvement with every passing week since his May stroke, it’s an open question whether it was a wise decision to put him on the stage with Oz. It was, at many points, difficult to watch.

    Most, if not all, Democrats will almost certainly give him the benefit of the doubt, but it’s an open question whether voters will.

    Fetterman struggled to prosecute a consistent case against Oz and to keep up with the speed of the hourlong debate. Oz, for his part, rarely talked about his rival’s recovery from a May stroke. Of course, he didn’t have to.

    If any Pennsylvania voters missed the debate, not to worry.

    There’s sure to be millions of dollars’ worth of new ads – replaying many of the uncomfortable moments – from the top Republican super PAC that doubled down on the race earlier Tuesday.

    Do debates matter? In less than two weeks, Pennsylvania voters will help answer that question. But this one will certainly reverberate for the rest of the campaign.

    In an age when politicians are being careful about how they embrace President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, that caution was not on display Tuesday night.

    When asked if he would back Trump in 2024, Oz – who received Trump’s endorsement during the contentious Republican primary in the commonwealth – said, “I will support whoever the Republican party puts up.”

    “I would support Donald Trump if he decided to run for president, but this is bigger than one candidate,” Oz said.

    And for his part, Fetterman did not run away from Biden, who has made Pennsylvania – which he flipped back to Democrats in 2020 – one of the few states he has repeatedly visited during the 2022 midterms.

    “If he does choose to run, I would absolutely support him, but ultimately, that’s ultimately only his choice,” Fetterman said. “At the end of the day, I believe Joe Biden is a good family man, and I believe he stands for the union way of life.”

    It was clear Oz was more comfortable than Fetterman on the debate stage – something Fetterman aides expected and attempted to highlight ahead of time with a pre-debate memo noting, “Dr. Oz has been a professional TV personality for the last two decades.”

    But the differences were apparent from the outset.

    Democratic Pennsylvania candidate Lt. Gov. John Fetterman participates in the Nexstar Pennsylvania Senate at WHTM abc27 in Harrisburg, Pa., on Tuesday, October 25, 2022.

    Fetterman appeared nervous on stage, drawing a sharp contrast with Oz, who was at ease, often smiling and seemingly comfortable.

    Fetterman attempted to hit back at Oz’s near constant barbs, at times interrupting while the candidate was answering – most noticeably during the closing arguments.

    “You want to cut Social Security,” Fetterman interjected as Oz was speaking about meeting seniors worried about their Social Security checks.

    Oz kept speaking, as moderator WPXI anchor Lisa Sylvester chimed in, “Mr. Fetterman, it’s his turn for his closing.”

    Oz avoided attacking Fetterman’s stroke recovery, a move that was out of step with his campaign, which at times used a mocking tone to attack the Democrat. But Oz did point out that his opponent only agreed to take the debate stage once.

    “This is the only debate I could get you to come to talk to me on, and I had to beg on my knees to get you to come in,” Oz said.

    Fetterman again declined to release more medical information beyond the two letters his primary doctors have put out. Most recently, Fetterman’s doctor wrote that the Democrat “has no work restrictions and can work full duty in public office.”

    Fetterman said he deferred to his “real doctors” on whether to release more medical information, a subtle dig at Oz, and stressed his presence on the stage and activity on the campaign trail was proof enough that he was fit for the job.

    “Transparency is about showing up. I’m here today to have a debate. I have speeches in front of 3,000 people in Montgomery County, all across Pennsylvania, big, big crowds,” Fetterman said. “You know, I believe If my doctor believes that I’m fit to serve, and that’s what I believe is appropriate.”

    When pressed by moderator WHTM abc27 News anchor Dennis Owens, Fetterman replied, “My doctor believes I’m fit to be serving.”

    This story has been updated with more from the debate.

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  • A 5.1 magnitude earthquake strikes near San Jose, US Geological Survey reports | CNN

    A 5.1 magnitude earthquake strikes near San Jose, US Geological Survey reports | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    The US Geological Survey (USGS) is reporting a 5.1 magnitude earthquake in Seven Trees, near San Jose, California.

    Preliminary information from the USGS says the quake was 6.9 kilometers (4.2 miles) deep and hit around 11:42 a.m. PT Tuesday.

    “Additional shaking from aftershocks can be expected in the region. We are continuing to monitor this region,” the California Geological Survey tweeted.

    Earthquakes are measured using seismographs, which monitor the seismic waves that travel through the Earth after an earthquake strikes. Quakes between 2.5 and 5.4 in magnitude are often felt, but only cause minor damage, according to Michigan Tech’s UPSeis website.

    This is a developing story.

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  • Father of teen killed in school shooting says he has to plan a funeral instead of the girl’s sweet 16 | CNN

    Father of teen killed in school shooting says he has to plan a funeral instead of the girl’s sweet 16 | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Alexandria Bell was just a month away from her 16th birthday – a milestone she was supposed to celebrate with her father, who lives out of state.

    “My daughter was planning on coming out here to California and celebrate her birthday with me on November 18,” Andre Bell told CNN affiliate KSDK.

    “But now we have to plan her funeral.”

    Alexandria was one of two people killed Monday at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School in St. Louis.

    Teacher Jean Kuczka, 61, also was killed when a gunman armed with almost a dozen high-capacity magazines opened fire in the school.

    “I really want to know: How did that man get inside the school?” Bell told KSDK.

    “It’s a nightmare,” he said. “I am so upset. I need somebody – police, community folks, somebody – to make this make sense.”

    As the shooting unfolded in St. Louis, a Michigan prosecutor who just heard the guilty plea of a teen who killed four students last fall said she was no longer shocked to hear of another school shooting. “The fact that there is another school shooting does not surprise me – which is horrific,” Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said.

    “We need to keep the public and inform the public … on how we can prevent gun violence. It is preventable, and we should never ever allow that to be something we just should have to live with.”

    Alexandria was a member the Saint Louis Dazzling Diamonds dance group. Her fellow dancers created a poster with Alexandria’s image that is now part of a growing memorial in front of the school.

    Her friend Dejah Robinson said the two were planning to celebrate Halloween together this weekend.

    “She was always funny and always kept the smile on her face and kept everybody laughing,” Robinson said, fighting back tears.

    The slain teen’s father said his daughter could make every day better.

    “Alexandria was my everything. She was joyful, wonderful and just a great person,” Bell told KSDK.

    “She was the girl I loved to see and loved to hear from. No matter how I felt, I could always talk to her, and it was alright. That was my baby.”

    Robinson, who attends another school, said she wants lawmakers to act on gun control.

    “They been knowing what’s happening, and they could have been did something,” she said. “But clearly they ain’t doing nothing and they won’t.”

    Kuczka, a health and physical education teacher, was looking forward to retiring in the next few years, her daughter Abigail Kuczka said.

    Jean Kuczka

    “Jean was passionate for making a difference and enjoyed spending time with her family,” her daughter said in a statement sent to CNN.

    Alexis Allen-Brown was among the alumni who fondly remembered Kuczka’s impact on her students. “She was kindhearted. She was sweet. She always made you laugh even when you wasn’t trying to laugh,” Allen-Brown said.

    “She made you feel real, inside the class and out. She made you feel human. And she was just so sweet.”

    In her biography on the school’s website, Kuzcka said she had worked at Central VPA High School since 2008. “I believe that every child is a unique human being and deserves a chance to learn,” she wrote in her bio.

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  • Kei Komuro, husband of Japan’s Princess Mako, passes New York bar on third try | CNN

    Kei Komuro, husband of Japan’s Princess Mako, passes New York bar on third try | CNN

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    Reuters
     — 

    The third time’s the charm in the New York bar exam for Kei Komuro, a law clerk at law firm Lowenstein Sandler and the husband of Japan’s Princess Mako.

    Komuro’s name appeared on the list of those who passed New York’s July bar exam released October 20, after the Japanese press zeroed in on his failure to pass the July 2021 and February 2022 attorney licensing tests.

    He beat the odds as a repeat bar-taker – just 23% of the more than 1,600 people who took the July exam after failing at least once passed, according to statistics from the New York Board of Law Examiners. The pass rate for those taking the exam for the first time in July was 75%.

    Komuro has been an object of fascination and scrutiny in his native Japan for years, partly due to his status as a commoner. Princess Mako, the niece of Emperor Naruhito, who is now known as Mako Komuro, is no longer a member of the imperial family following the couple’s October 2021 marriage.

    Komuro graduated with a Juris Doctor (J.D.) from Fordham University School of Law in May 2021 and has been working as a law clerk in Lowenstein Sandler’s New York headquarters for the past year – a designation firms typically bestow on new hires who have not yet passed the bar exam.

    His success in the latest bar exam clears the way for him to be elevated to associate at Lowenstein, though the firm did not respond to requests Monday for clarification on his current status. Komuro, who works in the firm’s corporate and technology groups, also did not respond to requests for comment.

    With more than 300 attorneys, Lowenstein Sandler is the 140th-largest law firm in the country and ranked 103rd in US law firm revenue with $392 million in 2021, according to the American Lawyer.

    Bar exam tutors say the test is especially difficult for non-native English speakers. The pass rate for foreign-educated lawyers, or LL.M.s, was 44% in July. Komuro began his US legal studies in Fordham’s LL.M. program in 2017 before transferring over to its J.D. program. The first-time bar exam pass rate among Fordham’s 2021 J.D.s was 94%.

    July’s bar exam passers are scheduled to be officially admitted into the New York bar on January 11.

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  • Plane crash into multi-family home in New Hampshire kills 2 people on board, officials say | CNN

    Plane crash into multi-family home in New Hampshire kills 2 people on board, officials say | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    A single-engine airplane crashed into a home Friday evening near an airport in New Hampshire, killing both people on board, officials said.

    Although parts of the multifamily home where eight people lived erupted in flames following the crash, no fatalities were reported on the ground.

    “There were no injuries at the multifamily building. Unfortunately, those on the plane have perished,” Keene officials said, describing the crash as an accident and saying emergency personnel was responding to the scene.

    The men who died were identified as Lawrence Marchiony, 41, of Baldwinville, Massachusetts, and Marvin David Dezendorf, 60, of Townshend, Vermont, according to the Keene Police Department.

    The Beechcraft Sierra aircraft crashed north of Keene Dillant-Hopkins Airport just before 7 p.m. Friday, the Federal Aviation Administration told CNN.

    “Last night at 6:48 p.m., the call came into 911, so our first responders responded to the call. It was a plane crash, a small plane that hit a multifamily building and started a subsequent fire that was declared out at 8:47 p.m.,” Mayor George Hansel said during a Saturday news conference.

    “The crash occurred right after departure from the Dillant-Hopkins Airport shortly after departure,” Hansel added.

    The mayor said the eight people who resided in the home were displaced and the Red Cross is helping to relocate them.

    The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash. The transportation safety board will oversee the investigation and release updates.

    “This incident is still under investigation, further information regarding the accident will be made public when it is released by the NTSB,” the City of Keene said in a news release posted to Facebook Monday.

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  • Harvey Weinstein’s 2nd sexual assault trial begins with eight accusers set to testify, prosecutors say | CNN

    Harvey Weinstein’s 2nd sexual assault trial begins with eight accusers set to testify, prosecutors say | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Eight women who say they were sexually assaulted by movie producer Harvey Weinstein will testify at his criminal trial in Los Angeles over the coming weeks, prosecutors said in opening statements Monday.

    “Each of these women came forward independent of each other, and none of them knew one another,” prosecutor Paul Thompson told the jury, according to a pool report.

    Four of the women’s testimony will be directly connected to specific charges. These women include Jennifer Siebel Newsom, a filmmaker and the wife of California Gov. Gavin Newsom; Jane Doe 1, a model and actress who lived in Italy at the time; Jane Doe 2, a 23-year-old model and aspiring screenwriter; and Jane Doe 3, a licensed massage therapist, according to a pool report.

    The most recent indictment in the case indicated there were five women directly connected to charges. CNN is working to clarify the difference between that indictment and the prosecutors’ opening statements.

    In addition, four women will testify as “prior bad acts” witnesses, meaning their testimony isn’t related to a specific charge but can be used by the jury as prosecutors try to show Weinstein had a pattern in his actions. These women will testify about assaults outside of Los Angeles jurisdiction, Thompson said.

    Weinstein, 70, has pleaded not guilty to charges including rape and forcible oral copulation related to incidents dating from 2004 to 2013, according to the indictment.

    In court Monday, he appeared hunched over as he clambered from a wheelchair into a chair at the defense table. Wearing a suit and tie, he primarily looked at jurors throughout the proceedings.

    The trial in California is his second such sexual assault case since reporting by The New York Times and The New Yorker in 2017 revealed Weinstein’s alleged history of sexual abuse, harassment and secret settlements as he used his influence as a Hollywood power broker to take advantage of young women.

    At the time, Weinstein was one of the most powerful men in Hollywood and helped produce movies such as “Pulp Fiction,” “Clerks” and “Shakespeare in Love.”

    The revelations led to a wave of women speaking publicly about the pervasiveness of sexual abuse and harassment in what became known as the #MeToo movement.

    Weinstein was found guilty in 2020 in New York of first-degree criminal sexual act and third-degree rape and was sentenced to 23 years in prison. Yet he has maintained his innocence, and New York’s highest court agreed in August to hear his appeal in the case.

    In opening statements, Thompson outlined the women’s accusations and noted the similarities in their stories. The women will testify that Weinstein lured them into private meetings, often in hotel rooms, and then sexually assaulted them, Thompson said.

    “I’m shaking and I’m kind of being dragged to the bedroom,” he quoted one woman as saying, according to the pool report.

    Thompson also highlighted the women’s understanding of Weinstein’s imposing physical size as well as his power in Hollywood to make or break careers, the pool report said.

    “I was scared that if I didn’t play nice something could happen in the room or out of the room because of his power in the industry,” one woman said, according to Thompson.

    The women allegedly told friends and family members about their assaults, and those people may also be called to testify in the trial to confirm or deny such conversations.

    Notably, the licensed massage therapist told Mel Gibson, the famed actor and director, about her assault, Thompson said.

    The trial in Los Angeles comes two years after Weinstein was convicted in New York of similar charges featuring different women.

    The New York charges were based on testimony from Miriam Haley, who testified that Weinstein forcibly performed oral sex on her in 2006 at his Manhattan apartment, and from Jessica Mann, who testified that he raped her in 2013 during what she described as an abusive relationship.

    He did not testify in his own defense, but at his sentencing he offered an unexpected, rambling speech which oscillated between remorse, defense of his actions and confusion.

    “I’m not going to say these aren’t great people, I had wonderful times with these people, you know,” Weinstein said of the women who accused him of assault. “It is just I’m totally confused, and I think men are confused about all of these issues.”

    The former movie producer appeared in frail health during the trial and used a walker as he arrived to and left court each day. He used a wheelchair to arrive to the sentencing in March 2020 as well as in a court hearing in Los Angeles in July 2021. His attorneys have argued the lengthy prison sentence was a de facto life sentence due to his failing health.

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  • London-based TV channel sparks Iranian leaders’ ire amid protests | CNN

    London-based TV channel sparks Iranian leaders’ ire amid protests | CNN

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    Editor’s Note: A version of this story first appeared in CNN’s Meanwhile in the Middle East newsletter, a three-times-a-week look inside the region’s biggest stories. Sign up here.


    Abu Dhabi
    CNN
     — 

    A top Iranian military official issued a warning to Saudi Arabia last week as his government continued to face off against protesters at home. “You are involved in this matter and know that you are vulnerable, it is better to be careful,” he said at the sidelines of a military drill.

    Major General Hossein Salami, the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was referring to what state news outlets called a “media war” that they say is being waged against “the Iranian youth and nation” by foreign conspirators seeking to create unrest in the country by supporting protesters there.

    Then, on Thursday Iran again warned Saudi Arabia, as well as the United States and the United Kingdom, to “stop interfering in the country’s internal affairs.”

    Iran last week said it sanctioned a number of media outlets in the UK for “supporting terrorism” and “inciting violence”, reported Tasnim news agency The sanctioned entities include, among others, Volant Media, Global Media, and DMA Media, as well as the “anti-Iranian TV channels” that the companies support, such as Iran International, reported Tasnim agency.

    Now in their sixth week, protests have swept through the Islamic Republic following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died on September 16 after being detained by “morality police” and taken to a “re-education center,” allegedly for not abiding by the country’s conservative dress code.

    As the protests rage, Iran is turning up the heat on its adversaries, mainly the United States and Israel. But last week, Saudi Arabia found itself in the line of fire, which risks further complicating attempts by the two regional rivals to mend ties.

    Riyadh hasn’t publicly commented on the protests. The kingdom’s foreign minister refused to give his view when asked to during an interview with Al Arabiya news channel on October 12.

    “Saudi Arabia has a fixed policy of non-interference in the internal affairs of states,” he said. “Surely, we are following [the situation] and we wish Iran and its people the best.”

    Iran and Saudi Arabia severed ties in 2016 and both parties have backed opposite sides in proxy conflicts across the Middle East. Last year, they began direct talks in an attempt to improve relations. Baghdad has hosted five rounds of talks so far, the last of which was held in April.

    At the heart of Iran’s most recent accusations against Saudi Arabia may be Iran International, a Persian-language news channel that broadcasts from London. The channel has become one of the go-to sources for many Persian speakers looking for news on the protests. It has been at the forefront of covering the demonstrations, getting breaking news and exclusive footage of the events on the ground. Its Twitter account has over a million followers.

    Founded in 2017, Iran International has previously come under scrutiny by the Iranian government. Some say it is due to their coverage of the protests at home, which in recent weeks have rocked the Islamic Republic.

    Salami didn’t name the channel in his warning, but government-backed Iranian media last week accused Saudi Arabia of funding it. Saudi Arabia has not addressed the allegations. Karim Sa djadpour, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace think tank in Washington DC, said on Twitter that Iran has demanded the shuttering of the channel in talks with Saudi Arabia, citing a senior Gulf official.

    In 2018, Iran International released a statement denying connections to any government, including Saudi Arabia or Iran after The Guardian reported that it was funded by a firm whose director has ties to Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

    Saudi Arabia did not comment on the Guardian report. The Saudi government did not respond to CNN’s request for comment.

    “We have heard these accusations before most often promoted by those in whose interests it is to deny a free press,” a spokesperson for Volant Media told CNN.

    “Iran International and its sister channel, Afghanistan International, are editorially independent television channels owned by Volant Media, a company based in London owned by a Saudi Arabian/British citizen; it has no state backing or affiliation,” added the spokesperson.

    Azadeh Moaveni, associate professor of journalism at New York University, described the channel as “one of the most pernicious and damaging forces to enter the Iranian media sphere,” calling it an arm of Saudi foreign policy. “I would not describe Iran International as pro-reform, or organically Iranian in any manner,” she told CNN.

    Mohammad Marandi, a professor at the University of Tehran who was also an adviser to the Iranian nuclear talks negotiating team, said there’s “no doubt” that Iran International is funded by Saudi Arabia. A prominent figure on state-funded Iranian outlets, Marandi added that Iran International spreads rumors, ethnic and sectarian strife “and it tries to use misinformation to create fear, chaos and promote violence.”

    Saudi Research and Marketing Group, a media conglomerate with ties to the Saudi ruling family, has run the Persian language website of the UK’s Independent newspaper since 2018. Its account on Instagram, where many Iranians get their news, has over 600,000 followers.

    CNN’s parent company is Warner Bros. Discovery, which has a partnership with Saudi Research and Media Group, a Saudi joint stock company.

    Saudi Arabia has for years accused Iran of doing the same with its own Arabic-language news channels: targeting Arab audiences with propaganda. State-run Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting runs Al Alam TV, an Arabic news channel that has interviewed Saudi opposition figures and has been blocked by Arab states. Iran-backed Hezbollah’s Al Manar channel has also been blocked.

    “It’s about time Iran gets a taste of its own medicine,” said Ali Shihabi, a Saudi author and analyst. “Iran has spent decades inciting and funding instability in the Arab world so having them pay the price of such behavior themselves is certainly a source of satisfaction to a lot of people,” he told CNN.

    The channel “is making an impact on public behavior in Iran and they are nervous about their domestic situation,” added Shihabi.

    Analysts say that Iran’s tight grip on domestic media outlets and its lack of freedom of expression have created “fertile ground” for anti-establishment platforms such as Iran International to flourish.

    “It is not so much the broadcasters themselves, but the situation in Iran has provided the possibility for broadcasters outside of Iran to gather a certain degree of popularity in the Iranian context,” said Gholam Khiabany, a reader in media and communications at Goldsmiths, University of London.

    Harun Najafizada, a former journalist at Iran International who is now a director at the sister Afghanistan International news channel, said the parent company Volant Media is privately funded but “I don’t care as long as they do not influence my editorial take,” adding that shareholders never interfere in decision making.

    Iran International stood out from other Western-backed Persian language news outlets “by taking the side of the disenchanted, oppressed, voiceless people,” while competitor Persian channels in the West were focused on bringing balance by giving the Iranian government a voice, he told CNN.

    “They have a vision, of course – they don’t do it for God,” said Najafizada, referring to the shareholders. “That vision is democracy.”

    Just two days after Salami’s first warning, however, Ali Akbar Velayati, a top adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, was quoted saying that the two countries should reopen their embassies to facilitate a rapprochement, according to the semi-official Iranian news agency ISNA.

    “We are neighbors of Saudi Arabia and we must coexist,” he was cited as saying by ISNA. “The embassies of the two countries should reopen in order to solve our problems in a better way.”

    Business owners and factory workers in Iran’s Kurdish region went on strike over the weekend as anti-government protests continued.

    Video shared with CNN by pro-reform activist outlet IranWire shows Sanandaj, the capital of the Kurdish region, quiet at the beginning of the work week as stores remain shut.

    The Norway-based Iranian rights group Hengaw said shopkeepers were on strike in Bukan, Sanandaj and Saqez, as well as Marivan. Strikes and protests have become common in cities and towns across Iran as people unite against the regime.

    The nationwide protests are now in their fifth week, triggered by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died three days after being arrested by the country’s morality police and taken to a re-education center.

    Here’s the latest on this developing story:

    • Iran will file a lawsuit against the United States claiming the US had direct involvement in recent riots, Kazem Gharibabadi, the deputy head of the Iranian judiciary and secretary of the country’s High Council for Human Rights, said on Saturday, according to state news agency IRNA.
    • The Coordinating Council of Iranian Teachers’ Trade Associations (CCITTA) on Saturday called for a nationwide strike in protest at the recent deaths and detention of students in the country, according to a statement published on Telegram. The council also announced a period of public mourning for students who have died in recent weeks from Thursday through Saturday, and called for a sit-in on Sunday, October 23 and Monday, October 24.
    • Protests took place in central Berlin on Saturday, with close to 80,000 people standing in solidarity with Iran, German state broadcaster RBB reported, citing police officials.

    Israel and Lebanon could sign maritime border agreement on Thursday, Biden energy adviser says

    Senior US adviser for global energy security Amos Hochstein said on Sunday that Israel and Lebanon could sign their historic maritime borders agreement as early as Thursday.

    • Background: “We’re going to have a deal. We’re going to sign it hopefully this Thursday,” Hochstein said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” “And I hope that this continues our commitment to stability in the region and prosperity for both countries,” he added.
    • Why it matters: The US-brokered agreement settles a years-long maritime border dispute involving major oil and gas fields in the Mediterranean. Still technically at war, Lebanon and Israel both have much to gain. Not only does the agreement cool down recent security tensions, it also allows Israel to begin drilling and exporting gas to Europe and offers potential economic relief to Lebanon.

    Human Rights Watch says LGBTQ people subjected to arrest and mistreatment in Qatar ahead of World Cup

    Human Rights Watch (HRW) has accused Qatar’s security forces of arbitrarily arresting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people and subjecting them to ill-treatment in detention ahead of the FIFA World Cup.

    • Background: HRW said in a report issued Monday that it documented six cases of “severe and repeated beatings and five cases of sexual harassment in police custody between 2019 and 2022,” the most recent of which took place in September. Security forces arrested people in public places based solely on their gender expression and unlawfully searched their phones, the HRW report said, adding that as a requirement for their release, security forces mandated that transgender women detainees attend “conversion therapy sessions” at a government-sponsored “behavioral healthcare” center. Homosexuality is illegal in Qatar and punishable by imprisonment. A Qatari official told CNN that the HRW allegations “contain information that is categorically and unequivocally false.”
    • Why it matters: Ahead of the FIFA World Cup, which starts November 20, Qatar has said it would welcome LGBT visitors, after concerns were raised from the LGBT community over how safe they will be at the tournament.

    Egypt has ordered the release of prominent activist, presidential pardon committee member says

    Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi on Monday pardoned a prominent activist and former parliamentarian, Zyad el-Elaimy, according to a presidential pardon committee member.

    • Background: Jailed since 2019, el-Elaimy was one of the key participants in the 2011 uprisings that led to the downfall of former longtime ruler Hosni Mubarak. His release is “in response to calls by political parties and forces,” presidential pardon committee member Tarek el-Khouly wrote on Facebook. Young members of political parties, politicians and the presidential pardon committee also coordinated to help secure his release, added el-Khouly. El-Elaimy was given a five-year sentence last year on charges of spreading false news.
    • Why it matters: The release comes two weeks ahead of November’s COP27 summit in Egypt. The country has come in for sharp criticism in recent months, with activists denouncing global leaders’ attendance in the light of Sisi’s questionable human rights record. Egypt has been promoting moves to improve its rights record, but activists and critics have described recent reforms as mostly cosmetic.

    United Arab Emirates: #Diwali

    Also known as Deepavali, the holiday is widely trending across social platforms in the United Arab Emirates, with many flooding Twitter with colorful photos of candles and wishing joy and prosperity to the world.

    Some are also posting photos of themselves in traditional celebratory garments. Diwali is one of the most important festivals in Hinduism, the largest religion in India. This year, it falls on October 24.

    India and the UAE share a strong political and economic relationship, one that has grown closer in recent years.

    The Indian expatriate community in the UAE is around 3.5 million, according to the Indian embassy in the UAE, adding that it is reportedly the largest ethnic community in the oil-rich Arabian Gulf state. Approximately 15% of the diaspora are in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, added the Indian embassy, while the rest are in six northern Emirates, including business hub Dubai.

    The UAE also accounts for 33% of foreign remittances to India, at more than $20 billion a year.

    Diwali is also significant for Sikhs and Jains. It is celebrated in India, Nepal, Malaysia, Singapore and other countries with South Asian diasporas.

    Palestinian girls wearing traditional embroidered dresses perform during a ceremony marking the start of the olive harvest season in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza on Sunday.

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  • 2 students injured in school shooting in St. Louis, suspect in custody police say | CNN

    2 students injured in school shooting in St. Louis, suspect in custody police say | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Two students were injured in a shooting at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School in St. Louis on Monday morning, according to a tweet from the district, and police report the suspect is in custody.

    “Police are on site … following reports of an active shooter and both CVPA and Collegiate are on lockdown,” St. Louis Public Schools tweeted, referring to the adjacent Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience.

    The “shooter was quickly stopped by police inside CVPA,” the post said.

    The St. Louis Police Metropolitan Police Department reporting the active shooter on Twitter, and about 45 minutes later, tweeted, “At this time, the scene is secure and there is no active threat.”

    The high school is a magnet school about 6 miles southwest of downtown.

    Students were being evacuated from campus “to safe and secure sites,” the district said. People are being asked to avoid the area, and parents have been informed they can pick up their children at Gateway Stem High School, about a mile and a half north of CVPA.

    Word of the shooting comes on the same day Michigan teen Ethan Crumbley pleaded guilty to murder charges in a Michigan school shooting last year that left four people dead and seven injured. On November 1, Nikolas Cruz will be sentenced for the February 2018 shooting at Florida’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where 17 people died.

    As the shooting in St. Louis was unfolding, a Michigan prosecutor addressed the nation’s gun violence in the wake of Crumbley’s guilty plea.

    “It’s not just about sharing with other departments. Gun violence is preventable. That’s what I’ve learned, and the fact that there is another school shooting does not surprise me – which is horrific,” Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said. “It is preventable, and we should never, ever allow that to be something we just should have to live with.”

    The FBI’s St. Louis field office is assisting local law enforcement in its response to the shooting, spokesperson Rebecca Wu said. The Kansas City, Missouri, field office for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosive is assisting as well, spokesperson John Ham said in a statement.

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  • Los Angeles officials condemn demonstrators seen in photos showing support of Kanye West’s antisemitic remarks | CNN

    Los Angeles officials condemn demonstrators seen in photos showing support of Kanye West’s antisemitic remarks | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Los Angeles officials are condemning the display of banners from a freeway overpass this weekend by a group of demonstrators seen in bystander photos showing support for antisemitic comments recently made by rapper Kanye West, also known as Ye.

    West has recently made a series of antisemitic outbursts, notably on October 8, when he tweeted he was “going death con 3 [sic] On JEWISH PEOPLE,” and also that, “You guys have toyed with me and tried to black ball anyone whoever opposes your agenda,” without specifying what group he was addressing, according to the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine records pulled by CNN.

    His tweet has since been removed, and Twitter locked his account. In an interview conducted after the controversial tweet, West told Piers Morgan that he was sorry for the people that he hurt, though he also said that he didn’t regret making the remark.

    Photos taken Saturday show a small group of demonstrators with their arms raised in what appears to be the Nazi salute behind banners reading, “honk if you know” alongside “Kanye is right about the Jews.”

    Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón lambasted the incident on Twitter Sunday saying, “We cannot tolerate the #AntiSemitism that was on full display today [Saturday] on an LA Fwy. #WhiteSupremacy is a societal cancer that must be excised. This message is dangerous & cannot be normalized. I stand with the Jewish community in condemning this disgusting behavior.”

    Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti also took to Twitter, saying, “We condemn this weekend’s anti-Semitic incidents. Jewish Angelenos should always feel safe.There is no place for discrimination or prejudice in Los Angeles. And we will never back down from the fight to expose and eliminate it.”

    The number of reported incidents of assault, vandalism and harassment targeting Jewish communities and individuals in the United States was the highest on record in 2021, according to the Anti-Defamation League.

    A total of 2,717 antisemitic incidents were reported last year – the highest on record, according to an ADL audit released in April. That was a 34% increase compared to the 2,026 incidents reported in 2020, the group said.

    “This is an outrageous effort to fan the flames of antisemitism gripping the nation,” ADL of Los Angeles Regional Director Jeffrey Abrams said in a statement posted on the group’s Twitter account Sunday. “This group, known for espousing antisemitism and white supremacist ideology, is now leveraging Ye’s antisemitism and is proof that hate breeds more hate.”

    Abrams went on to call out Adidas, which is reviewing its partnership with West, saying “decisive action against antisemitism by Adidas is long overdue.”

    CNN has been unable to reach a representative for West for comment.

    The banner appeared over the busy Los Angeles freeway a day before Beverly Hills police reported antisemitic flyers being distributed in the city, CNN affiliate KCAL/KCBS reported.

    Beverly Hills Mayor Lili Bosse condemned the flyers and the banner as “disgusting hate speech” in a tweet. “As a daughter of an Auschwitz survivor, I will always bear witness and speak out.”

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  • Ethan Crumbley is expected to plead guilty Monday in shooting at Michigan high school that killed 4 students, prosecutors say | CNN

    Ethan Crumbley is expected to plead guilty Monday in shooting at Michigan high school that killed 4 students, prosecutors say | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    A teenager accused of killing four students and wounding seven others at a Michigan high school last year is expected to plead guilty to murder charges Monday, prosecutors said.

    Ethan Crumbley is set to plead guilty to all 24 charges against him, including one count of terrorism causing death and four counts of first-degree murder, for fatally shooting the four students at Oxford High School on November 30, according to the prosecutor’s office.

    Crumbley, who was 15 when the shooting happened, previously pleaded not guilty to the charges, but is expected to change his plea at a hearing in Oakland County Circuit Court.

    Crumbley will receive no plea deal, according to Oakland County Chief Assistant Prosecutor David Williams.

    CNN has reached out to Crumbley’s attorneys for comment.

    The teenager’s parents, Jennifer and James Crumbley, were each charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter related to the shooting after prosecutors accused them of giving their son easy access to a gun and ignoring signs that he was a threat before the shooting.

    Prosecutors argued Jennifer and James Crumbley played “a much larger role than just buying their son a gun,” and there were many things the parents could have done, other than simply locking up the gun, which could have prevented the tragedy.

    The parents have pleaded not guilty, and their attorneys have argued in court documents the charges have no legal justification and the couple should not be held responsible for the killings their son is accused of committing.

    The trial for the parents was initially scheduled to begin Monday but was postponed last month to start in January. Meanwhile, Jennifer and James Crumbley remain in custody at a county jail.

    James Crumbley had purchased the gun used in the shooting just four days before the deadly attack, prosecutors have said.

    During the teenager’s arraignment, prosecutors described Ethan Crumbley “methodically and deliberately” walking the hallways, aiming a gun at students and firing at close range after emerging from a school restroom holding the firearm.

    Students and teachers relied on tactics they’d learned in active shooter drills to protect themselves. When the gunfire erupted, frightened students barricaded doors, turned off the lights, and called for help. Some of the children armed themselves with scissors, in case they needed to fight back.

    Four students died that day: Madisyn Baldwin, 17; Tate Myre, 16; Hana St. Juliana, 14; and Justin Shilling, 17. Six other students and one teacher were injured.

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