Washington
Appeals court won’t reinstate AP access to presidential events
The U.S. Court of Appeals on Tuesday denied an appeal by The Associated Press for a hearing on its efforts to restore full access to cover presidential events, not ending its case but allowing the White House to continue its control over access to President Donald Trump.
The news outlet wanted the court to overturn a three-judge panel’s June 6 ruling not to let AP back into the events until merits of the news organization’s lawsuit against Trump was decided. But the court on Tuesday declined to hear that appeal.
It all stems from Trump’s decision in February to keep AP journalists out of the Oval Office, Air Force One and other events too small for a full press corps, in retaliation for the news outlet’s decision not to follow his lead in changing the Gulf of Mexico’s name.
The AP sued in response. In April, a district court ruled that the administration could not exclude journalists based on their opinions. The Trump administration immediately turned to the U.S. Court of Appeals to successfully delay implementation of the ruling before the court could consider the full merits of the case.
Next up: This fall, the appeals court considers those full merits.
“We are disappointed by today’s procedural decision but remain focused on the strong district court opinion in support of free speech as we have our case heard,” said Patrick Maks, an AP spokesman. “As we’ve said throughout, the press and the public have a fundamental right to speak freely without government retaliation.”
The White House did not immediately return a request for comment.
Since the start of the case, the White House has instituted new rules for access to the limited-space events. AP photographers have been regularly permitted back, but its reporters only occasionally.
On Monday, the White House said it would not allow a reporter from The Wall Street Journal onto Air Force One to cover Trump’s weekend trip to Scotland because of the outlet’s “fake and defamatory conduct” in a story about the president and late financier Jeffrey Epstein.
California
Lawyer seeks release for Erik Menendez, citing medical condition
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Erik Menendez has been hospitalized, prompting his attorney to seek his release from prison ahead of an upcoming parole hearing.
The 57-year-old had been serving a sentence of life without parole along with his brother Lyle Menendez after being convicted of murdering their parents in their Beverly Hills, California, home in 1989. A judge recently resentenced the brothers to 50 years to life, making them immediately eligible for parole.
They will appear in front of the state parole board Aug. 21 and 22. If the board determines they are eligible for parole, Gov. Gavin Newsom must review the decision before they are released.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation confirmed Erik Menendez was taken to an outside medical facility Friday and remained there Tuesday “in fair condition.”
His lawyer, Mark Geragos, told TMZ that Menendez was having a “serious medical condition” and should receive a prison furlough, something the governor granted some inmates during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Geragos did not elaborate on the condition, but he said releasing Menendez was the “only fair and equitable thing to do” so he had time to prepare for his parole hearing properly.
Geragos’ office confirmed his comments to TMZ but did not make him available for an interview.
Newsom’s office and a representative for the family declined to comment.
A judge last week ordered Los Angeles prosecutors to explain why Erik and Lyle Menendez’s murder convictions should not be reexamined in light of new evidence supporting their claims of sexual abuse by their father.
While defense attorneys at the time argued the brothers acted out of self-defense after years of sexual abuse by their father, prosecutors said the brothers killed their parents for a multimillion-dollar inheritance.
The order was in response to a habeas corpus petition filed by the Menendez brothers in May 2023 seeking a review of their convictions in a process separate from their resentencing bid.
New Jersey
Law banning immigration detention contracts overturned by US appeals court
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday struck down a New Jersey law that bans operators from contracting with the federal government to run immigration detention centers in the state.
The 2-1 ruling means the private prison firm CoreCivic Corp. can continue to operate the Elizabeth Detention Center. The ruling marked a victory for President Donald Trump’s administration as it continues a crackdown on immigration around the country that has included efforts to expand a network of detention centers in a bid to ramp up deporations of certain immigrants.
“Just as states cannot regulate the federal government itself, they cannot regulate private parties in a way that severely undercuts a federal function,” U.S. Circuit Judge Stephanos Bibas, an appointee of President Trump, wrote.
The law, he said, “interferes with the federal government’s core power to enforce immigration laws.”
The 2021 law signed by New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy barred CoreCivic from renewing its contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The company sued, and a district judge sided with the firm before the state appealed the ruling to the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court.
Attorney General Matthew Platkin, in a social media post, called Tuesday’s ruling disappointing and said states have the right to protect people within their borders. He said the office is considering its next steps.
“As recent events at Delaney Hall underscore, entrusting detention to for-profit companies poses grave risks to health and safety,” he said, referring to recent turmoil over conditions at a 1,000-bed private prison facility that opened in May in Newark.
U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver, a Democrat, was charged by Trump’s Justice Department with assaulting immigration officers at a May 9 visit to the Newark facility. McIver has pleaded not guilty to the charges. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, who was also arrested on a trespassing charge at Delaney Hall that was later dropped, has filed a malicious prosecution lawsuit.
CoreCivic, in a statement Tuesday, said that it does not make arrests or enforce immigration laws.
“Our responsibility is to care for each person respectfully and humanely while they receive the legal due process that they are entitled to,” spokesman Ryan Gustin said.
California
DA: Man charged in the killings of an ‘American Idol’ exec and her husband called 911 afterward
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The man accused of killing an “American Idol” executive and her husband used the couple’s gun to kill them and later called the police, authorities allege.
Los Angeles police previously said they responded to a 911 call about a burglary that afternoon, July 10, but left after finding “no signs of forced entry or trouble.”
Officers found the bodies of Robin Kaye and Thomas Deluca four days later at their home in the Encino neighborhood of Los Angeles while carrying out a welfare check. They had been shot to death.
During a town hall meeting Monday, Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman told concerned residents that the man charged in the killings, Raymond Boodarian, made the initial 911 call, ABC7 reported. He said Boodarian used a gun registered to one of the victims in the attack, which authorities believe happened when they arrived home unexpectedly while he was burglarizing the place.
Boodarian, 22, was arrested the day after the bodies were found. His lawyer, Brad Siegel, didn’t immediately respond to an Associated Press voicemail Tuesday seeking comment.
Kaye had been with “American Idol,” the hit singing competition TV series, for more than 15 years and was working on the upcoming season at the time of her death. She had also worked in the music departments of several other productions, including “The Singing Bee,” “Hollywood Game Night,” “Lip Sync Battle,” and several Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants.
California
Driver accused of ramming into crowd outside LA nightclub charged with 37 counts of attempted murder
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The driver accused of ramming his car into a crowd outside a Los Angeles nightclub over the weekend was charged with 37 felony counts of attempted murder, prosecutors said Tuesday.
Fernando Ramirez, 29, was also charged with 37 felony counts of assault with a deadly weapon. If convicted, he could face multiple sentences of life imprisonment.
Ramirez is accused of intentionally driving his car onto the sidewalk as partygoers were leaving the Vermont Hollywood venue at the end of a reggae hip-hop event early Saturday. The motive for the attack, which injured 37 people, was still unknown.
A phone number for Ramirez could not be found in an online database search, and the public defender’s office said they have not been appointed to represent him.
“When he drove that car onto that sidewalk, he aimed it at a whole sea of pedestrians,” LA County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said in announcing the charges.
The car came to a stop after colliding with several food carts, which became lodged underneath the vehicle, and bystanders attacked the driver, police said. Injuries ranged from minor to serious fractures and lacerations, and some people were briefly trapped beneath the vehicle.
After fleeing the scene, Ramirez was later found to have been shot in the lower back, but authorities have not identified the suspected gunman. Officials said Tuesday they were still looking for the shooter.
“We understand that this brazen act has shaken the community and but for the good grace of God, this could have been a mass casualty incident” Hochman said. He added that eight people suffered “great bodily injury.”
Among those injured, 23 people were taken to hospitals, said Ronnie Villanueva, Interim Fire Chief of the Los Angeles Fire Department.
Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said “it’s truly a miracle that no one was killed that day.”
Ramirez has a criminal history that includes a battery and gang-related charge in 2014, an aggravated battery conviction for a 2019 attack on a Black man at a Whole Foods grocery store in Laguna Beach, California, and a domestic violence charge in 2021, records show.
In the 2019 attack, he was also convicted of a civil rights misdemeanor, and the assault was considered a hate crime because he told police he hated Black people. But a California appeals court in 2021 said he made that statement after invoking his Fifth Amendment rights, and only the battery conviction was allowed to stand. Ramirez was released from custody after more than two years in jail and prison.
Ramirez “has proved to be violent to strangers and family alike and clearly has a lack of concern for the safety of others,” Orange County prosecutors said in a court filing for the 2019 attack.
A 2024 drunken driving case and 2022 domestic violence charge were pending at the time of the nightclub crash, according to records.
Appeals court won’t reinstate AP access to presidential events
The U.S. Court of Appeals on Tuesday denied an appeal by The Associated Press for a hearing on its efforts to restore full access to cover presidential events, not ending its case but allowing the White House to continue its control over access to President Donald Trump.
The news outlet wanted the court to overturn a three-judge panel’s June 6 ruling not to let AP back into the events until merits of the news organization’s lawsuit against Trump was decided. But the court on Tuesday declined to hear that appeal.
It all stems from Trump’s decision in February to keep AP journalists out of the Oval Office, Air Force One and other events too small for a full press corps, in retaliation for the news outlet’s decision not to follow his lead in changing the Gulf of Mexico’s name.
The AP sued in response. In April, a district court ruled that the administration could not exclude journalists based on their opinions. The Trump administration immediately turned to the U.S. Court of Appeals to successfully delay implementation of the ruling before the court could consider the full merits of the case.
Next up: This fall, the appeals court considers those full merits.
“We are disappointed by today’s procedural decision but remain focused on the strong district court opinion in support of free speech as we have our case heard,” said Patrick Maks, an AP spokesman. “As we’ve said throughout, the press and the public have a fundamental right to speak freely without government retaliation.”
The White House did not immediately return a request for comment.
Since the start of the case, the White House has instituted new rules for access to the limited-space events. AP photographers have been regularly permitted back, but its reporters only occasionally.
On Monday, the White House said it would not allow a reporter from The Wall Street Journal onto Air Force One to cover Trump’s weekend trip to Scotland because of the outlet’s “fake and defamatory conduct” in a story about the president and late financier Jeffrey Epstein.
California
Lawyer seeks release for Erik Menendez, citing medical condition
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Erik Menendez has been hospitalized, prompting his attorney to seek his release from prison ahead of an upcoming parole hearing.
The 57-year-old had been serving a sentence of life without parole along with his brother Lyle Menendez after being convicted of murdering their parents in their Beverly Hills, California, home in 1989. A judge recently resentenced the brothers to 50 years to life, making them immediately eligible for parole.
They will appear in front of the state parole board Aug. 21 and 22. If the board determines they are eligible for parole, Gov. Gavin Newsom must review the decision before they are released.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation confirmed Erik Menendez was taken to an outside medical facility Friday and remained there Tuesday “in fair condition.”
His lawyer, Mark Geragos, told TMZ that Menendez was having a “serious medical condition” and should receive a prison furlough, something the governor granted some inmates during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Geragos did not elaborate on the condition, but he said releasing Menendez was the “only fair and equitable thing to do” so he had time to prepare for his parole hearing properly.
Geragos’ office confirmed his comments to TMZ but did not make him available for an interview.
Newsom’s office and a representative for the family declined to comment.
A judge last week ordered Los Angeles prosecutors to explain why Erik and Lyle Menendez’s murder convictions should not be reexamined in light of new evidence supporting their claims of sexual abuse by their father.
While defense attorneys at the time argued the brothers acted out of self-defense after years of sexual abuse by their father, prosecutors said the brothers killed their parents for a multimillion-dollar inheritance.
The order was in response to a habeas corpus petition filed by the Menendez brothers in May 2023 seeking a review of their convictions in a process separate from their resentencing bid.
New Jersey
Law banning immigration detention contracts overturned by US appeals court
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday struck down a New Jersey law that bans operators from contracting with the federal government to run immigration detention centers in the state.
The 2-1 ruling means the private prison firm CoreCivic Corp. can continue to operate the Elizabeth Detention Center. The ruling marked a victory for President Donald Trump’s administration as it continues a crackdown on immigration around the country that has included efforts to expand a network of detention centers in a bid to ramp up deporations of certain immigrants.
“Just as states cannot regulate the federal government itself, they cannot regulate private parties in a way that severely undercuts a federal function,” U.S. Circuit Judge Stephanos Bibas, an appointee of President Trump, wrote.
The law, he said, “interferes with the federal government’s core power to enforce immigration laws.”
The 2021 law signed by New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy barred CoreCivic from renewing its contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The company sued, and a district judge sided with the firm before the state appealed the ruling to the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court.
Attorney General Matthew Platkin, in a social media post, called Tuesday’s ruling disappointing and said states have the right to protect people within their borders. He said the office is considering its next steps.
“As recent events at Delaney Hall underscore, entrusting detention to for-profit companies poses grave risks to health and safety,” he said, referring to recent turmoil over conditions at a 1,000-bed private prison facility that opened in May in Newark.
U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver, a Democrat, was charged by Trump’s Justice Department with assaulting immigration officers at a May 9 visit to the Newark facility. McIver has pleaded not guilty to the charges. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, who was also arrested on a trespassing charge at Delaney Hall that was later dropped, has filed a malicious prosecution lawsuit.
CoreCivic, in a statement Tuesday, said that it does not make arrests or enforce immigration laws.
“Our responsibility is to care for each person respectfully and humanely while they receive the legal due process that they are entitled to,” spokesman Ryan Gustin said.
California
DA: Man charged in the killings of an ‘American Idol’ exec and her husband called 911 afterward
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The man accused of killing an “American Idol” executive and her husband used the couple’s gun to kill them and later called the police, authorities allege.
Los Angeles police previously said they responded to a 911 call about a burglary that afternoon, July 10, but left after finding “no signs of forced entry or trouble.”
Officers found the bodies of Robin Kaye and Thomas Deluca four days later at their home in the Encino neighborhood of Los Angeles while carrying out a welfare check. They had been shot to death.
During a town hall meeting Monday, Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman told concerned residents that the man charged in the killings, Raymond Boodarian, made the initial 911 call, ABC7 reported. He said Boodarian used a gun registered to one of the victims in the attack, which authorities believe happened when they arrived home unexpectedly while he was burglarizing the place.
Boodarian, 22, was arrested the day after the bodies were found. His lawyer, Brad Siegel, didn’t immediately respond to an Associated Press voicemail Tuesday seeking comment.
Kaye had been with “American Idol,” the hit singing competition TV series, for more than 15 years and was working on the upcoming season at the time of her death. She had also worked in the music departments of several other productions, including “The Singing Bee,” “Hollywood Game Night,” “Lip Sync Battle,” and several Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants.
California
Driver accused of ramming into crowd outside LA nightclub charged with 37 counts of attempted murder
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The driver accused of ramming his car into a crowd outside a Los Angeles nightclub over the weekend was charged with 37 felony counts of attempted murder, prosecutors said Tuesday.
Fernando Ramirez, 29, was also charged with 37 felony counts of assault with a deadly weapon. If convicted, he could face multiple sentences of life imprisonment.
Ramirez is accused of intentionally driving his car onto the sidewalk as partygoers were leaving the Vermont Hollywood venue at the end of a reggae hip-hop event early Saturday. The motive for the attack, which injured 37 people, was still unknown.
A phone number for Ramirez could not be found in an online database search, and the public defender’s office said they have not been appointed to represent him.
“When he drove that car onto that sidewalk, he aimed it at a whole sea of pedestrians,” LA County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said in announcing the charges.
The car came to a stop after colliding with several food carts, which became lodged underneath the vehicle, and bystanders attacked the driver, police said. Injuries ranged from minor to serious fractures and lacerations, and some people were briefly trapped beneath the vehicle.
After fleeing the scene, Ramirez was later found to have been shot in the lower back, but authorities have not identified the suspected gunman. Officials said Tuesday they were still looking for the shooter.
“We understand that this brazen act has shaken the community and but for the good grace of God, this could have been a mass casualty incident” Hochman said. He added that eight people suffered “great bodily injury.”
Among those injured, 23 people were taken to hospitals, said Ronnie Villanueva, Interim Fire Chief of the Los Angeles Fire Department.
Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said “it’s truly a miracle that no one was killed that day.”
Ramirez has a criminal history that includes a battery and gang-related charge in 2014, an aggravated battery conviction for a 2019 attack on a Black man at a Whole Foods grocery store in Laguna Beach, California, and a domestic violence charge in 2021, records show.
In the 2019 attack, he was also convicted of a civil rights misdemeanor, and the assault was considered a hate crime because he told police he hated Black people. But a California appeals court in 2021 said he made that statement after invoking his Fifth Amendment rights, and only the battery conviction was allowed to stand. Ramirez was released from custody after more than two years in jail and prison.
Ramirez “has proved to be violent to strangers and family alike and clearly has a lack of concern for the safety of others,” Orange County prosecutors said in a court filing for the 2019 attack.
A 2024 drunken driving case and 2022 domestic violence charge were pending at the time of the nightclub crash, according to records.
