(NEW YORK) -- Accused CEO killer Luigi Mangione is in a packed Manhattan courtroom on Tuesday for the last scheduled pre-trial conference before jury selection begins next month in his state murder case. 

The last two rows of the courtroom were filled with about 20 Mangione supporters, some wearing shirts declaring his innocence or calling for expanded courtroom access. 

Tuesday's appearance could be the last time Mangione is seen in public before jury selection starts on Sept. 8, and the conference is one of the final opportunities for prosecutors and defense attorneys to finalize details of the high-profile trial. 

Judge Gregory Carro began the hearing by shooting down the defense's claims that access to the trial was limited or that prosecutors were involved in dictating the coverage plans. He told prosecutors that this was not the court's "first rodeo" when it comes to high-profile cases. 

"There has never been a discussion or decision by this court to exclude the public for these proceedings, and quite the opposite is true," the judge said, adding that there will be an overflow room for the trial. 

Prosecutors allege Mangione gunned down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in an assassination-style killing on a Midtown Manhattan street in December 2024. He has pleaded not guilty in separate state and federal cases, and faces the possibility of life in prison if he's convicted in his state murder case. 

In the two months since Mangione last appeared in state court, his defense lawyers abruptly withdrew plans to argue he was experiencing an "extreme emotional disturbance" as he allegedly killed Thompson. The rare psychiatric defense would have involved Mangione's lawyers arguing he experienced a "profound loss of self-control" at the time of the alleged murder and that he should be convicted of the lesser crime of manslaughter, which carries a 25-year maximum sentence. 

Mangione's lawyers withdrew their notice about the planned defense after the judge said his lawyers would have to turn over Mangione's psychiatric records if they chose that route. 

Mangione's lawyers and federal prosecutors in Manhattan also discussed a possible guilty plea in his federal case in June, sources previously told ABC News. The sources said it was not clear how close the two sides came to an agreement before the negotiations stopped, and Mangione's federal trial is scheduled to begin on Jan. 5. 

Prosecutors with the Manhattan district attorney's office have said they would push for a stiffer sentence in his state murder case if Mangione were to plead out of the federal case. 

"Any guilty pleas in these matters must account for the seriousness of defendant's offenses, the loss of an innocent life, the impact of those crimes on the victim's family, and the other state interests that are implicated, including the sanctity of life principle that underpins the state homicide charges," prosecutor Joel Seidermann wrote in July. 

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(GARFIELD COUNTY, Colo.) -- Tyler Boebert, U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert’s oldest son, has been arrested on charges of sexual exploitation of a child, according to the Garfield County Sheriff's Office.

Boebert of New Castle, Colorado, was arrested Aug. 9 on a warrant charging him with sexual exploitation of a child as well as "multiple other charges," the sheriff's office said in a news release.

Boebert's bond was set at $10,000, which he posted the same day, the sheriff's office said.

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

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(NEW YORK) -- The operator of a boat that capsized in New York Harbor, leaving a mother and her baby daughter dead, is facing federal charges of negligence as a ship captain resulting in death and misconduct as a ship captain resulting in death, ABC New York station WABC reported.

Manuel Hernandez, 46, was taken into federal custody on Monday, according to a U.S. official. He appeared in court Monday afternoon and is set to be released on $50,000 bail, WABC reported.

Hernandez was initially arrested on state charges -- 13 counts of reckless endangerment -- according to the New York Police Department.

On Saturday night, the boat overturned near the Statue of Liberty, sending all 14 on board into the water, the Coast Guard said.

The NYPD identified the two people killed as 27-year-old Sara Sanchez and 5-month-old Antonella Garcia of Queens, New York. Sources told ABC News the victims were mother and daughter.

The 12 survivors were rescued with minor injuries, the Coast Guard said.

Sanchez leaves behind her husband, who was on the boat and survived, and their 6-year-old son, who was not on the boat, WABC reported.

Investigators are looking into whether the boat was an illegal charter operation, the Coast Guard said.

ABC News' Luke Barr contributed to this report.

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(NEW YORK) -- The Federal Emergency Management Agency said Monday that it's providing water trailers to Puerto Rico as the island grapples with a water crisis.

The trailers will be distributed for up to 30 days initially, following the Puerto Rican government's request for federal support, a FEMA spokesperson said.

"This support is intended to assist local efforts as Puerto Rico manages increased demand for potable water distribution in affected communities," the spokesperson said.

Puerto Rico Gov. Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon said on Sunday that authorities are working closely with federal agencies as they grapple with a water crisis that has left more than 180,000 households facing 48-hour water supply shuts-off and rationing.

Gonzalez-Colon declared a state of emergency in the U.S. territory on July 31 in response to serious drought and falling levels in water reservoirs. On Friday, authorities began implementing rotating 48-hour water shut-offs in parts of the capital San Juan, as well as neighborhoods in the cities of Carolina, Juncos, Gurabo, Trujillo Alto, Canovanas and Loiza.

The governor told reporters during a press conference on Sunday that an "interagency support plan for municipalities" had been activated to coordinate assistance to the island's communities.

"Mayors have a direct liaison inside the government of Puerto Rico," Gonzalez-Colon said. "Each head of agency has the responsibility to maintain communication with that mayor, to understand the needs that arise, to channel urgent situations, to support the distribution of water trucks, and to facilitate coordination with the agencies that need to intervene."

The island's Public Housing Administration has begun installing community cisterns in different public housing complexes, the governor said, while portable water is also being distributed directly to residents with support from the fire department.

Puerto Rican authorities are working closely with the federal government in their response to the crisis, Gonzalez-Colon said. "We are combining a climate committee, actually a drought committee, with all the scientific people. The federal government is helping us out as well," she said in a press conference on Saturday.

"In the case of Puerto Rico, a few weeks ago was the hottest day in San Juan in 100 years," Gonzalez-Colon said on Saturday, telling CNN that the island was also grappling with almost 1,000 fires across the island.

July was the driest month on record for San Juan in more than 120 years and the fourth hottest on record for the capital. The U.S. Drought Monitor said that as of Aug. 4, almost 25% of Puerto Rico was experiencing a severe drought and another 36% was under a moderate drought.

"This situation is out of our hands," Gonzalez-Colon said last week, blaming the severe weather for the shortages. "Nothing prevents this from worsening," the governor added.

Puerto Rico Resident Commissioner Pablo Jose Hernandez, meanwhile, last week urged Gonzalez-Colon to seek a federal emergency declaration from President Donald Trump. "Faced with the water crisis, Puerto Rico needs an immediate response," Hernandez wrote in a post to X.

Amid concern over disruption to the island's vital tourism and hospitality industry, the government-owned Puerto Rico Tourism Company said in a statement that it was "committed to our tourism industry, providing the necessary support to maintain the continuity of operations in our hostels and guarantee services to their guests."

"Water distribution continues in areas impacted by the scheduled interruption plan, supporting the continuity of services and the care of our visitors," it added.

ABC News' Ayanna Martinez and Luke Barr contributed to this report.

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(WASHINGTON) -- The mother of Tasia Fortune, a 29-year-old woman whose body was found hanging from a tree on Aug. 3 in Jackson, Mississippi, told ABC News on Sunday afternoon that her daughter’s death has “just devastated" her family.

“This has just devastated us,” Fortune's mother, Christy Spivey, said. “Tasia was strong-minded, she was full of laughs and love, she had faith in God. … She had so little and gave so much.”

Spivey said that she last saw her daughter, who is a mother of four, on July 26 after she traveled from Mississippi, where she has lived for over a decade, to Kentucky for a family reunion.

When asked about Fortune’s state of mind the last time she saw her, Spivey said, “She was better than I had seen her in a long time. She was at peace.” Asked if her daughter could have died by suicide, Spivey said, “She did not do this to herself. I know my daughter and she did not do this to herself.”

A spokesperson for the Jackson Police Department (JPD) confirmed to ABC News on Saturday night that police are investigating Fortune’s death and confirmed that the Hinds County Coroner’s Office identified Fortune.

Asked about the status of the investigation and if any persons of interest have been interviewed, the spokesperson did not provide further comment.

The Mississippi State Medical Examiner's Office is conducting an autopsy to determine Fortune’s cause and manner of death, a spokesperson confirmed to ABC News.

Jackson City Council member Kenneth Stokes sent a letter to the U.S. Attorney Baxter Kruger, asking for help in investigating this case, according to a letter obtained by ABC News.

“We are in dire need of the assistance of the U.S. Attorney's Office with the death of an unidentified female discovered hanging in the backyard of an abandoned house on the Road of Remembrance in Jackson, Mississippi,” the letter says.

The woman has since been identified as Fortune.

ABC News reached out to Stokes for further comment. Asked if his office is investigating this case, Kruger did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment.

Police are asking anyone with information about the case to call Crime Stoppers at 601-355-TIPS.

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(WASHINGTON) -- President Donald Trump acknowledged on Sunday that there was "no video or proof" of alleged vandalism to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool after weeks of claiming that damage to the pool's surface was the deliberate work of saboteurs. 

Even after acknowledging contractor error and a lack of evidence of vandalism on Sunday, the president still went back to the case against former Olympian David Hearn, whose charges prosecutors moved to drop after new evidence revealed that the section Hearn was alleged to have damaged was already in disrepair when he arrived.

Trump nonetheless again accused Hearn -- who pleaded not guilty to a felony destruction of property charge in July and has maintained he didn't damage the pool -- of intentional vandalism.

"There was substantial other damage to the Reflecting Pool, also but, unfortunately, there is no video or proof, other than the damage, itself," Trump wrote on social media on Sunday.

Trump also said that there was "some contractor error done by rushing the job for a July 4th opening." 

The president said that contractors were "working on the Pool, and it will reopen shortly," but said that "it was a very small area of this massive Pool" which was damaged, calling it "relatively inconsequential."

"Security cameras have been, and are being, installed," he added.

On Monday, Hearn's lawyers said they were "reviewing all legal remedies" for what they described as "continued harassment."

Norm Eisen of Democracy Defenders Fund, Mary Dohrmann of Washington Litigation Group and Steve Levin of Steptoe LLP said in a statement, "The government is continuing to attack an innocent man. Our first filing in the case on July 10 included photographic evidence from before Mr. Hearn touched the Reflecting Pool proving that he caused no damage. Our other filings provided even more proof."

"Finally, the U.S. Attorney's own motion on July 31 admitted the damage was caused by 'a botched installation and not vandalism,'" the statement added, describing the continued allegations as "outrageous."

Going back as early as June, the president has insisted that the damage to the Reflecting Pool -- which he ordered resurfaced so the bottom would be "American flag blue" -- was purposely destroyed by criminal vandals.

"I can't help it if somebody goes in with a knife and starts hacking it up. And we also have pictures of it," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on June 22. But asked if the president could share the photos, he demurred.

"No, at the right time you'll see it. You'll see it in court. You'll see it in court. But all you have to do is call the Parks Department, call the Department of Interior," Trump said at the time. But that evidence has not been released publicly.

The Justice Department moved to dismiss the case against Hearn in July, acknowledging the damage to the pool "was the result of flawed installation by the contractor." U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro's motion sought to dismiss the case without prejudice, which could still leave Hearn exposed to a future indictment.

Last week, Associate Judge Todd Edelman issued an order granting in part the Department of Justice's request to dismiss the case. Edelman said he would wait to determine whether to grant the dismissal with prejudice after hearing more arguments from the government and Hearn's attorneys. 

Trump criticized Pirro after her office moved to dismiss the case, writing in a post to social media on Aug. 1 that while there "may have been some contractor difficulty" in the installation of a new pool liner, "the major damage was caused by VANDALS!"

"I disagree 100% with Jeanine Pirro," Trump said in his post.

ABC News' Alexander Mallin and Peter Charalambous contributed to this report.

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(NEW YORK) -- A manhunt continued Saturday for a suspect in upstate New York believed to have killed his father and set fire to the home to cover it up, according to law enforcement sources.

The suspect, Thomas Ryan, 32, is known to frequent the Plattsburgh area in Clinton County and is considered armed and dangerous, New York State Police said in a statement Friday.

On Thursday, investigators responded to a fire at a residence on Greenville Turnpike in Greenville, Orange County. After the fire was extinguished, the body of a dead man was found inside the residence, state police said. 

A preliminary investigation revealed the fire was deliberately set and state police are investigating the death as a homicide, police said.

Ring video obtained by ABC News appears to show Ryan running from the burning house. 

Law enforcement sources identified the man found dead as 70-year-old Robert Ryan. Robert Ryan retired to Orange County while the rest of the family lives on Long Island.

Investigators are also looking into Ryan’s mental health history, the sources said.

Stephanie Coiro, the victim's daughter, told ABC News her father did not deserve to be killed.

"My Dad was a pillar in our family and every community he was a part of. He made you feel welcome, he helped when you needed, and then some. He had more character in his pinky than most in their whole bodies, he did not deserve this," she said.

Ryan is 6 foot 2 inches and approximately 200 pounds. He was last seen in the area of Greenville Turnpike wearing black sweatpants and a black t-shirt, according to police.  

Ryan is believed to be operating a 2016 gray Toyota Prius with a New York license plate, HNH-7671, police said.

The New York State Police is asking residents of the Greenville community to review any available home surveillance footage recorded from approximately 6:00 p.m. on Thursday through the overnight hours. Anyone who observes suspicious activity is urged to contact the New York State Police immediately.

Anyone with information about his whereabouts is asked to not approach him and immediately contact New York State Police Troop F Communications at (845) 344-5300 or call 911. Tips can be emailed to FBCICrimeTips@troopers.ny.gov.

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(WASHINGTON) -- The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was partially refilled on Friday to flush out what the National Park Service said were clogged pipes that supply water to the monument, marking the latest twist in the Trump administration's plagued renovation project.

NPS wrote in a sign posted outside the Reflecting Pool that more than half of the 58 supply ports were "deemed nonfunctioning" due to buildup and needed to be cleared.

The posting blamed the clogged lines on "years of neglect by previous administrations," echoing attempts by President Donald Trump to pin the Reflecting Pool's ongoing troubles on his predecessors. 

Leaks and cracks in the piping have long afflicted the pool, which was constructed in the 1920s.

President Barack Obama undertook a $35 million renovation in the 2010s, installing a treatment plant to purify water piped in from the Tidal Basin, but it did not eliminate the leaks from both the pipes and between the slabs of the pool itself.

President Trump has long fixated on the leaking pipes installed during the Obama renovation. When he announced the renovation project in April, he said the pool was "filthy dirty" and had "leaked like a sieve for many years." The administration's spring renovation, however, was limited to repainting the bottom of the pool and installing a new filtration system, leaving the pipes untouched. 

Issues have plagued Trump's $16 million renovation project since it was unveiled earlier this summer. In mid-June, algae blooms turned the pool a murky green and the newly-installed liner appeared to peel off.

Trump has attributed the problems to vandalism. But charges brought against several visitors accused of damaging the pool have not held up in court.

U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, who originally brought the charges, moved to drop four of the cases last week, saying publicly that evidence indicated the damage was caused by a flawed renovation, not intentional sabotage. 

Pirro explained her decision to dismiss the most high-profile charge -- a felony indictment against former Olympian David Hearn -- in a revelatory 20-page filing last Friday, calling the renovation "hasty" and "botched." She said she brought the case before she was provided internal Department of Interior documents proving that concerns about the peeling pool liner predated the alleged vandalism. 

The public about-face drew Trump's ire, who continues to attribute the damage to vandalism, and led to questions about Pirro's future as U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. Meanwhile, Hearn is seeking to dismiss the case with prejudice to ensure charges cannot be revived against him. His lawyers have not ruled out further legal action of their own. 

The pool, which remains fenced off and empty alongside the sides, was drained for repairs in mid-July. Trump claimed at the time that the repairs would "fix the scars and damage that was done by the Vandals" and promised it would be "refilled and put back into service soon."

The National Park Service posting warned on Friday that the "flushing may temporarily discolor the water as buildup in the pipes is cleaned out." The Department of Interior provided a similar explanation when algae first discolored the pool, saying it was residual growth from reactivated supply lines.

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(WASHINGTON) -- A federal appeals court issued a ruling Friday blocking the construction of President Donald Trump's $400 million White House ballroom, concluding that congressional approval is needed for the project. 

Judges Patricia Millett and Bradley Garcia rebuked President Trump for making the unprecedented changes to the historic structure without consulting Congress.

"Each President is a temporary tenant, not the owner, of the White House and its Executive Residence. The President has no -- and claims no -- constitutionally assigned authority over that property," they wrote. 

They concluded that the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which sued to block the construction, demonstrated that only Congress has the authority to approve the changes, and that it never delegated that authority to Trump. 

"Whether or not a massive ballroom should be constructed is for Congress to decide and is not a matter for Executive self-help," they wrote. 

"This holding has nothing at all to do with whether the proposed ballroom is desirable, or not, as a matter of policy. This ruling does not even necessarily mean that the Defendants may not ultimately construct the ballroom. What it does mean is that the Defendants may not do so during the district court's expeditious litigation without securing Congress's authorization, as the Constitution and laws require," they said. 

Trump, in a social media post, said he would immediately appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court.

Judge Neomi Rao dissented from the majority, concluding that the National Trust for Historic Preservation does not have the jurisdiction to bring the lawsuit. She also argued that it is "likely within the President's authority to make improvements to the Executive Residence" and that the Trump administration would be harmed by the blocking construction. 

"The district court elevated the aesthetic displeasure of a single passerby over the government's security interests in the ballroom and the security risks of leaving an open construction site at the President's home and office," she wrote. 

"In deciding the ballroom construction "has to stop!" the district court transgressed the equitable authority of the federal courts. The preliminary injunction is a clear abuse of discretion and must be vacated," Judge Neomi Rao wrote.

The ruling does not take effect for two weeks, allowing time for the Trump administration time to appeal.

The White House announced the construction of the 90,000-square foot ballroom last July, and demolition began suddenly on the East Wing in late October when workers were spotted tearing down that wing of the White House.

While the appeals court acknowledged the national security concerns associated with the East Wing renovations, the majority said that those concerns are not an "automatic get-out-of-law-free card" to violate the law. 

"Congress has not given the Park Service authority, specifically and expressly, or otherwise, to raze protected historic sites in the name of presidential functions or national security," wrote Judges Patricia Millett and Bradley Garcia. 

The majority added that national security concerns are exactly the reason why Congress should be involved in the project. 

"It is Congress's job to ensure that any major construction and security projects at the White House will protect the safety of all Presidents, present and future, while preserving the historical and architectural significance of that unique location. Congress cannot perform its constitutional function when the Executive chooses to proceed wholly unilaterally," they wrote. 

Judge Neomi Rao disagreed with her colleagues, saying that halting the construction "inevitably extends the time during which the President's residence remains less secure."  

"The security risks presented by large offsite events involving the President were unfortunately confirmed by the assassination attempt against President Trump at the Washington Hilton during the White House Correspondents' Dinner," she added in a footnote. 

Judge Rao criticized the analysis reached by her colleagues, arguing that the harms suffered by the Trump administration from a delay would outweigh the "aesthetic harm" cited by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. 

"The government should not be forced to rely on the district court's architectural approval to secure the President's home and office," she wrote. 

The district court judge who originally blocked the construction of the ballroom modified his injunction in April to allow work related to security to proceed, while the ballroom-related construction was halted.

Even if the Supreme Court does not side in Trump's favor, the current legal posture would allow "below-ground construction of national security facilities, work necessary to provide for presidential security, and construction necessary to protect and secure the White House and the construction site itself," the judge wrote.

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(NEW YORK) -- The water level at Lake Mead, the nation's largest reservoir by storage capacity, hit a record low on Thursday.

Lake Mead's pool elevation hit the new low at 1,040.50 feet, breaking the previous record of 1,040.58 feet set in July 2022, according to data published by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation on Friday.

The reservoir, formed by the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River, is located in Nevada and Arizona and supplies water to millions of U.S. residents.

Prolonged drought conditions and exceptionally low snowpack have contributed to the significant declines in water levels at several Colorado River Basin reservoirs this year.

Elevation at the nation's second largest reservoir, Lake Powell, was measuring at 3,521.43 feet as of Thursday, according to the Bureau of Reclamation -- nearing the previous record low of 3,519.92 feet set in April 2023 and the critical level needed for the reservoir to produce hydropower. A new record low at the Utah-Arizona reservoir could also be reached this month, projections show.

The Colorado River basin is a critical system for residents in the western U.S. and Mexico. The basin provides water for up to 40 million people and hydropower to the seven basin states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, according to the Bureau of Reclamation.

Since the beginning of the year, hydrologists have been warning about the potential for water levels at Lake Mead and Lake Powell to hit critical levels as a result of record-low snowpack over the winter months.

Much of the western U.S. entered the winter already grappling with drought conditions from lack of rain. But warmer-than-normal temperatures during the winter prevented snow from accumulating, which led to a lack of snowmelt flowing into watersheds once spring came.

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(NEW YORK) -- A man who federal prosecutors in Atlanta nicknamed "master of disguise" is facing federal charges Thursday for allegedly robbing 10 businesses at gunpoint while dressed in different costumes.

Tracy Mingo is accused of using disguises to evade identification so he could target employees at Circle K, Subway and Family Dollar stores throughout the Atlanta area between October 2025 and January 2026, the FBI said.

Mingo allegedly entered each of the stores late at night -- after all or nearly all customers had left -- and robbed employees at gunpoint, officials said.

He allegedly donned disguises, including a construction worker, a health care professional and a security guard, according to the indictment.

Police and the FBI arrested Mingo in January when they said it appeared he was putting on the same security guard disguise used during the robbery of a Circle K store the night before. Mingo, 33, of College Park, Georgia, is now charged with 20 counts, including Hobbs Act robbery, attempted Hobbs Act robbery, brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

"For months, Mingo allegedly used disguises in an attempt to evade identification and continue targeting innocent workers at gunpoint," FBI Atlanta Special Agent in Charge Marlo Graham said in a statement. "He underestimated the determination of the investigators pursuing him and the strength of the partnerships that exist between the FBI and our state and local law enforcement partners."

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(WASHINGTON) -- A 21-year-old pregnant mother has been detained, along with her infant son, for more than a month at the family immigration detention center in Dilley, Texas, her family and an advocacy group told ABC News.

Laura Rojas Ortiz was in the process of applying for a U visa -- which is for victims or witnesses of crimes -- when she was detained during a check-in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Texas, her mother said.

"She was called to appear [at an ICE office] in Dallas," her mother, Paola, said in Spanish. "She showed up like she always does, and they detained her."

Paola told ABC News that her daughter turned herself in at the southern border over a year ago with her infant son and partner. The mother claims Rojas Ortiz later began the process of applying for a U visa after there was a shooting in her neighborhood and a bullet went through the walls, allegedly grazing her son.

According to Paola and a friend of Rojas Ortiz, the 21-year-old had been wearing an ankle monitor and regularly checking in with ICE before she was detained with her son as part of the Trump administration's ongoing immigration crackdown.

Rojas Ortiz, who is five months pregnant, has been detained for more than 40 days, her family said. Her mother says Rojas Ortiz has a high-risk pregnancy and has not been seen by medical staff at Dilley.

"To this day, she hasn't gotten an ultrasound or been seen by a specialist," Paola told ABC News. "They haven't done blood tests or anything."

Immigrant advocacy groups have said that arrests and detentions of pregnant women violate an ICE directive stating that the agency should not "detain, arrest, or continue to detain individuals known to be pregnant, postpartum, or nursing" except under exceptional circumstances.

Paola said her grandson, who had been drinking only lactose-free milk, has been given whole milk at Dilley.

Paola also told ABC News that when lawmakers recently visited the facility, ICE staff moved her daughter to a "medical room," where she was told she was going to be checked by a doctor.

"And when they left -- so that the politicians wouldn't see her pregnant -- that's when they let her out of that medical room," Paola said.

A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment from ABC News.

Last week, Rep. Joaquin Castro, along with a group of Democratic lawmakers, visited the Dilley facility, where he said more than 500 people are currently detained. Castro said he was only allowed by staff to meet with one minor.

"There are now more children there than there were before," Castro said at a press conference last week. "I believe that is the result of the ICE surge that we've seen over the last month or so. We've seen these raids on the street. We've seen families that have been torn apart on the street, brutality on the street."

Casey Revkin, the executive director of Each Step Home, an organization that supports immigrant detainees, told ABC News that her group has been providing Rojas Ortiz with financial assistance.

"We've been filling Laura's commissary account and the accounts of the families at Dilley every week. These deposits are a lifeline to families in detention," Revkin said. "It's heartbreaking to think of a child not eating, and we're always so relieved when we hear that a mom was able to use the commissary support to buy her children food they can enjoy."

Immigrant advocates, medical professionals, and lawmakers have previously raised concerns about conditions at the South Texas facility.

The top medical official at the Department of Homeland Security, which operates the nation's migrant detention centers, has disputed any suggestion that detainees are being denied proper care.

"These allegations of illegal aliens being denied proper medical care in ICE custody are FALSE," DHS Chief Medical Officer Dr. Sean Conley previously told ABC News in a statement. "It is both policy and longstanding practice for aliens to receive timely and appropriate medical care from the moment they enter ICE custody. This includes medical, dental, women's health, mental health services, any needed follow-up medical appointments, as well as 24-hour emergency care."

"This is better, more responsive healthcare than many aliens have ever received in their entire lives," Conley's statement said.

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(NEW YORK) -- Two municipal water systems in New Jersey were targeted in cyberattacks in the last week, widely thought to be the work of Iran, the state said Wednesday.

The affected utilities, which were not named, were temporarily blinded when automated systems went down. Both utilities shifted to manual operations and the state said there was no disruption to service and both systems have been "secured with strengthened access controls."

"Our New Jersey Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Cell (NJCCIC) responded to two cyber incidents affecting New Jersey municipal water systems this past week. The NJCCIC is working directly with the affected utilities alongside our federal partners at the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency," the state said Wednesday.

"The investigations found that the incidents involved vulnerable internet-exposed control systems, which temporarily limited operators' ability to monitor or manage them remotely. In both cases, staff shifted quickly to manual operations, and there was no disruption to service. Customers had uninterrupted access to safe drinking water throughout," the state said.

Sources told ABC News that Iran remains the prime suspect, perhaps showing how it could retaliate as President Donald Trump threatens to escalate the war. 

Officials are also assessing whether this could be the work of a different state actor mimicking Iran's tactics in a possible attempt to influence what the U.S. does next.

In Georgia, the Clayton County Water Authority briefly issued a boil-water advisory when it was targeted by hackers. Columbus Water Works said it also detected an intrusion, but drinking water was unaffected.

The recent hacks, affecting water and wastewater utilities in at least a dozen states, exploited a vulnerability in widely used utility software, sources told ABC News.

A fix has been issued, but utilities across the country that run the same software are racing to see if they were also hacked.

So far, it appears nobody has become sick, and there have been no widespread disruptions to water supplies. However, officials are still working to understand the scope of the hack and what could have happened to systems Americans depend on every day.

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(WASHINGTON) -- Attorneys for David Hearn, who was alleged to have vandalized the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, filed a motion in D.C. Superior Court, citing "exceptional facts and circumstances" to have the indictment against him dismissed with prejudice.  

The Justice Department moved last week to dismiss the criminal case against Hearn, a former Olympian, acknowledging the damage to the pool "was the result of flawed installation by the contractor."

The filing by Hearn's attorneys follows U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro's motion on Friday seeking to dismiss the case without prejudice, which could still leave Mr. Hearn exposed to a future indictment. 

If the motion filed by Hearn's attorneys is granted, it would block the government from trying to charge him again for the same alleged crime in the future.   

"Here, amid extraordinary political pressure and public pronouncements from President Trump demanding action, and in apparent disregard for their special duties as prosecutors, USAO-DC rushed to obtain a public felony indictment," the filing states, using an acronym for the United States Attorney's Office in the District of Columbia.

"Defying both decency and common sense, the government proceeded to indict Mr. Hearn before it had obtained or evaluated the information necessary to establish a good-faith basis for the charge," the filing continued. 

"The Court should not leave the defendant subject to the possibility of renewed prosecution," the filing states.

Hearn pleaded not guilty to a felony destruction of property charge last month after Pirro's office accused him of allegedly "forcefully and violently" ripping up parts of the pool floor.

Citing President Donald Trump's comments on the matter in recent days, the attorneys representing Hearns added, "That is particularly true when the President of the United States has already voiced his vigorous disagreement with USAO-DC’s dismissal of the case against Mr. Hearn -- saying that the U.S. Attorney “choked,” “folded like an umbrella,” and “made a mistake,” and doubling down on the false claim that the damage was caused by vandalism -- and has previously not hesitated to insinuate himself into cases that historically have been the exclusive province of the DOJ."

Should the court deny the motion to dismiss the indictment with prejudice, Hearn's attorneys asked the court to disclose grand jury materials or to conduct a review in chambers of those materials before granting the government's motion to dismiss the case without prejudice. 

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(NEW YORK) -- The recent release of two credible ransom notes sent to Nancy Guthrie's family in the days after her abduction generated a "slight increase" in tips, but none that have cracked the case, authorities told ABC News.

The 84-year-old mother of "Today" show host Savannah Guthrie was kidnapped from her Tucson, Arizona, home in the early hours of Feb. 1 and remains missing.

On Friday, the Pima County Sheriff's Department released details from two ransom notes received by Tucson media in the days after the abduction.

The first note, sent on Feb. 2 to Savannah Guthrie, said, "We have your mother Nancy. She is safe but scared." The note asked for millions of dollars in Bitcoin and said "she will be killed" if payment was not received.

The note included descriptions of a smartwatch near her bed and a damaged floodlight in the home's backyard.

The second note, sent on Feb. 6 to the Guthrie family, said Nancy Guthrie died and "is buried in nature now," according to the sheriff's department.

"We did not fully grasp the seriousness of her physical condition," the note stated. "We never intended to hurt her, that was not our intention. She perished shortly after she was taken."

The note included an apology and said to the family, "Nothing you could have done could have changed the outcome. We want your family to know this and hope you all can find peace."

In response to an inquiry from ABC News, the sheriff's department said Tuesday that "investigators have seen a slight increase in tips since the two ransom notes were released," adding that "all tips have been followed up on."

Savannah Guthrie again pleaded for help in an Instagram post Saturday, writing, "We need someone to come forward."

"Someone knows something. Someone suspects something," the journalist said. "Someone recognizes the writing in the ransom demand notes. Someone has noticed something different, strange, troubling or just unusual -- perhaps with someone they deeply love. Perhaps they are afraid to come forward."

"We are real people, facing real grief," she said. "We will never stop looking for answers."

Anyone with information is urged to call 911, the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI, or the Pima County Sheriff's Department at 520-351-4900.

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(NEW YORK) -- More than 18 months after it ignited and became one of the most destructive wildfires in U.S. history, authorities announced the cause of the 2025 Eaton Fire in Southern California.

The Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACFD) and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) on Tuesday released a report blaming the Eaton Fire on electrical arcing events that took place on an out-of-service Southern California Edison (SCE) tower.

The Eaton Fire, which started on Jan. 7, 2025, ravaged the community of Altadena near Los Angeles, killing 19 people and destroying more than 9,400 homes and businesses, authorities said.

"I recognize that no report or investigation into the Eaton Fire can ease the deep pain and tragedy our residents have endured," Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony C. Marrone said in a statement. "While the cause has been determined, our focus remains on assisting our residents to rebuild their homes and livelihoods, and ensuring lessons learned drive meaningful and impactful change in memory of the 19 lives lost."

SCE is the primary electric utility company for much of the Southern California, serving 15 million people.

Lawyers representing plaintiffs in numerous lawsuits against SCE released a joint statement, saying the report leaves the company "no place to hide," and called it "an important step toward accountability."

Besides the thousands of homes lost in the Eaton Fire, more than 1,000 other homes were damaged, according to the plaintiffs' lawyers.

The Eaton Fire caused an estimated $8 billion to $10 billion in damage, according to a 2025 report by Verisk, a global data analytics company serving the insurance sector.

"It's time for Edison to stop fighting the victims it harmed and provide every Eaton Fire survivor with the full compensation they deserve," the plaintiffs' lawyers said.

The report by LACFD and Cal Fire found that the origin of the Eaton Fire was a hillside transmission tower above Eaton Canyon Wash, and sparks from the arching electrical lines set dry vegetation beneath the tower on fire. Gusting winds in the area rapidly spread the blaze into residential areas of Altadena, destroying block after block of homes and prompting thousands of evacuations.

It took about a month for firefighters to fully extinguish the Eaton conflagration, which burned about 22 square miles.

The Eaton Fire occurred the same week as the Palisades Fire, which killed 12 people and wiped out more than 6,800 homes in nearby Pacific Palisades and Malibu. The cause of the Palisades Fire was determined to be arson, and a 29-year-old Florida man was arrested in October of 2025 on charges of setting the fire, officials said.

Together, the Eaton and Palisades fires caused an estimated $28 billion in damage, according to Verisk.

David Eisenhauer, an SCE spokesperson, told ABC News on Tuesday afternoon that the utility giant is reviewing the report from the LA County Fire Department and Cal Fire.

"We have taken our potential role in the start of this fire seriously from the beginning," Eisenhauer said. "As we’ve previously said, SCE believes that it is likely that its equipment was associated with the ignition of the Eaton Fire."

Eisenhauer added, "Our hearts are with the Altadena community, and we continue to support them as they recover and rebuild through our Wildfire Recovery Compensation Program."

ABC News reported on Jan. 13, 2025, as the Eaton and Palisades fires were still burning, that one possible theory for the cause of the Eaton blaze involved transmission lines or electric facilities.

At the time, witnesses shared with ABC News Ring camera and cellphone videos that appeared to show what they believe to be the start of the Eaton Fire at the base of a transmission tower in the Eaton Canyon area.

In their report, fire investigators said that pursuant to the California Public Utilities Code, "SCE is to maintain and operate its electrical lines and equipment in a manner that would minimize the risk of catastrophic wildfire posed by them."

SCE has claimed in lawsuits filed earlier this year that Los Angeles County emergency authorities failed to send timely evacuation warnings to residents in east and west Altadena. Most of the people who died in the fire lived in west Altadena.

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(NEW YORK) -- The Trump administration is set to award a multimillion-dollar contract to a small Texas law firm without immigration expertise to provide legal representation for thousands of unaccompanied migrant children in government custody during immigration proceedings.

In a notice published in the Federal Register, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced its intent to award the $150 million contract to Burke Law Group, a law firm headquartered in Houston, Texas.

The notice states the contract would "provide legal orientation, legal consultation, and attorney-of-record representation services for eligible unaccompanied alien children" during immigration proceedings and hearings before U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services while the children remain in government custody.

The proposed award comes after legal service providers across the country have said that the administration has withheld $65 million in overdue fees from the previous contract, alleging it is an attempt to force them to turn over confidential information about the migrant children they represent.

Burke Law Group has 26 employees across eight offices, according to its website. None of the firm's attorneys list immigration law as a practice area. Instead, their practices include administrative law, white-collar defense, commercial litigation, securities litigation and other areas.

ABC News reached out to the law firm for comment and did not immediately get a response.

In December 2023, the Acacia Center for Justice, an immigrant advocacy group, became the prime contract holder with HHS for the Unaccompanied Children Program, overseeing subcontracts with more than 100 service providers that provide legal representation to more than 20,000 unaccompanied migrant children.

A spokesperson with HHS previously told ABC News that its sub-agency, the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), "offered Acacia the opportunity" to receive a new federal contract "based on requirements that include they provide the data on who they represent and that they bill [HHS] when they submit applications for immigration relief." The HHS spokesperson said Acacia refused.

Legal services providers including Acacia have said that ORR was demanding "client-level data that is confidential and legally privileged."

During the Trump administration, Acacia and many of its subcontracted groups have alleged that unaccompanied children and their sponsors are among those being targeted under the administration's immigration crackdown.

In June, DHS agents visited the offices of several Washington-area nonprofit organizations that provide legal services to unaccompanied migrant children. Last year, ABC News reported that the administration was directing immigration agents to track down unaccompanied migrant children in the United States.

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(LOS ANGELES) - A man allegedly armed with a pistol was arrested after he was seen taking photos and videos of the Trump National Golf Club grounds in Los Angeles County over the weekend, authorities announced on Tuesday.

Following his arrest, detectives found more firearms and "multiple notebooks containing concerning statements" at the suspect's residence, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

The suspect was identified as 38-year-old Jeanine John Taele of Downey, California. Taele is being held on $250,000 bond and is expected to appear in court on Aug. 26.

Taele is charged in a federal criminal complaint with possession of an unregistered short-barreled rifle, a felony carrying a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California.

"While we are still investigating the motives of this individual, we are thankful he was apprehended before the President's visit," Bill Essayli, first assistant U.S. attorney, said in a statement. "Federal and local law enforcement stepped in early and prevented what could have been a dangerous situation from occurring. This investigation remains ongoing."

The golf club incident occurred on Sunday, the sheriff's department said, a day before it was announced that President Donald Trump is set to visit the Rancho Palos Verdes property this week for a Republican National Committee dinner.

Deputies responded to the golf course Sunday afternoon after plainclothes federal agents reported a "suspicious individual" who was seen walking on the grounds, taking photos and videos and "appearing to monitor security-planning activities," the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said in a release on Tuesday.

Deputies detained the suspect, later identified as Taele, and located his vehicle in the golf club's parking lot, the sheriff's department said.

Deputies recovered a 16-round magazine containing hollow-point ammunition from his pants pocket, as well as a loaded pistol with a round chambered and an additional loaded magazine containing hollow-point ammunition from his vehicle, authorities said.

Taele was arrested for carrying a concealed firearm and possession of armor-piercing/prohibited ammunition, the sheriff's department said.

Detectives executed a search warrant at Taele's residence Monday afternoon due to the "potential security implications surrounding the incident" and recovered more firearms and ammunition, as well as "multiple notebooks containing concerning statements," body armor and two radio signal devices, the sheriff's department said. It did not elaborate on what was allegedly found in the notebooks.

Taele remains in custody, authorities said. Investigators presented the case to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office earlier Tuesday for filing consideration.

The incident remains under investigation in coordination with the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force and the United States Secret Service, the sheriff's department said. Authorities have "identified no credible threat to our communities," it said.

Trump is planning to attend an RNC dinner at his Rancho Palos Verdes golf club Tuesday evening, where he is set to deliver an economics-focused speech, according to the White House.

Last year, a jury found a man guilty of trying to assassinate Trump at his Florida golf course. Prosecutors said Ryan Routh hid in the bushes of the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach and pointed a military-grade SKS rifle towards Trump and a Secret Service agent. Routh was sentenced earlier this year to life in prison.

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(WASHINGTON) -- The Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday voted to advance acting Attorney General Todd Blanche's nomination to permanently lead the Department of Justice.

Blanche advanced in a 12-10 party line vote. All Republicans voted in favor of him, while all Democrats voted against. 

Republican Sens. John Cornyn and Thom Tillis ultimately supported Blanche after securing an agreement that clarified the scope of President Donald Trump's IRS immunity deal and formally rescinded the administration's so-called $1.8 billion "Anti-Weaponization Fund."

Despite the fact that the agreement reached has no language preventing the resurrection of the controversial fund under a different name or method, Cornyn said the DOJ has been "consistent" about their assertions that the fund is dead. 

"And of course, I expect them to live up to that in any future litigation," Cornyn said in remarks on the Senate panel ahead of the vote.

Tillis also said the agreement reached with Blanche satisfies his concerns. 

"I believe that we have addressed the concerns that I have. The first one I called the 'payout pot for punks.' I've never liked this 1776 fund. It made no sense to me, and I thought it was an insult to the police officers and the people that defended us on January the 6th. It's done. It's been rescinded, and I am satisfied," Tillis said.

Tillis said that both sides on the aisle "have a problem" when it comes to malicious prosecution. He said he hopes to see a "bending of the curve of this absurdity" when Blanche is confirmed.

Ahead of the vote, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley thanked Cornyn and Tillis for their work securing the agreement. He said many senators shared their concerns.

"Formally rescinding the fund and clarifying the scope of release of claims has put this issue to bed once and for all," Grassley said.

Democratic Sen. Chris Coons took a different view on the so-called "Anti-Weaponization Fund" than his Republican colleagues, arguing that Blanche's willingness to go along with its creation in the first place should disqualify him from the attorney general job. 

"In my view, we never should have gotten to this place. As acting attorney general, when asked by the president to do something plainly unethical and corrupt, Mr. Blanche should have simply said no. He did not do that, and I pressed him in his confirmation hearing whether he even tried to talk President Trump out of this widely rejected plan, and he refused to answer," Coons said.

During the hearing, Blanche responded to Coons' questions, saying he was not simply a "yes-man" in giving Trump counsel. 

"I will say that President Trump trusts me to give him counsel. Counsel does not mean I'm a 'yes-man.' And that's true in my case, like it should be in any attorneys general case," Blanche said during his confirmation hearing.

Several Democrats on the panel raised a number of concerns about Blanche.

"Today I think is a sad and embarrassing day for this committee, as it looks like, on a party line vote, we are going to advance out of this committee probably the most discreditable person ever to seek the office of attorney general of the United States," Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse said.

Democratic Sen. Cory Booker, in a lengthy speech, warned that the country was in "dangerous waters" with Blanche.

"This man is not our lawyer. He is not America's lawyer. He is about to become Trump's sword against his adversaries and shield against any scrutiny," Booker said.

What's next for Blanche's nomination? 

Blanche's nomination is now ready for consideration on the Senate floor.

Unless there is an agreement to speed things along, the soonest the Senate can take a procedural vote on Blanche's nomination is Friday. That would set up a final confirmation vote sometime on Saturday.

Though Tillis and Cornyn were the most closely watched Republican votes on the Senate Judiciary Committee, there remains other GOP senators who have raised concerns about Blanche.

With Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell still absent from Congress, Blanche will ultimately only be able to lose the support of two Republicans when his nomination comes up for a vote on the Senate floor.

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(NEW YORK) -- U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested 51,000 individuals in July, according to sources familiar with the data.

The arrests are the largest in a single month in DHS history, according to data.  

It comes as ICE is ramping up arrests at airports -- with ICE arresting over 30 people at airports in July, agency data shows.

Those being detained in some cases do not have criminal records and have valid work authorization or parole documents, according to one immigration attorney that spoke with ABC News.

The Department of Homeland Security has not responded to ABC News' request for comment about the numbers.

In June, DHS announced that the total number of deportations so far this fiscal year is 356,389, according to the numbers posted by ICE.

ICE has quietly been increasing their operations around the country, according to a law enforcement source.

Some allies of President Donald Trump say the numbers should be released in full and the enforcement doesn't go far enough.

"The point is the numbers remain wildly disproportionately low to the scale of illegals let in by Biden and the promise of mass deportation," Mike Howell, the president of the Trump-aligned Oversight Project, told ABC News. "The numbers will stay low until worksite enforcement is the central pillar of the strategy. I'm very worried about the amnesty lobby continuing to use inflated deportation statistics to push for a grand compromise and sell out.  That's why I'm suing DHS for real data and will keep doing it until I don't have to."

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