Details are still emerging about the circumstances surrounding the helicopter that killed Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, and seven others including the pilot, but the flight was reportedly granted special approval to fly in challenging weather conditions.
Fog was thick Sunday morning in the Los Angeles area when the helicopter took off and made its way toward Gianna Bryant's youth basketball tournament, but air traffic control at Burbank airport gave the pilot Special Visual Flight Rules clearance, allowing the aircraft to enter Burbank's airspace.
A Federal Aviation Administration official said air traffic control's approval would not have extended to Calabasas, where the helicopter crashed. By that point, the official said, it would have been up to the pilot to determine if conditions were appropriate to continue or transition to instrument flight rules.
Witnesses near the site of the crash described conditions as so foggy that people had trouble driving, per The New York Times. "I couldn't see anything, not even a silhouette," said Scott Daehlin who heard the sound of the helicopter flying low before making impact with a nearby hillside. "My first thought was what in the world is a helicopter doing out here in this fog?" Read more at The New York Times. Tim O'Donnell
Immigrants may now face visa and citizenship restrictions based on their past or hypothetical future use of public benefits.
In a 5-4 decision Monday, the Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration's public charge rule to take effect nationwide. The rule would restrict immigrants who are considered or could later be considered a "public charge" from gaining legal status, and comes despite multiple prior courts striking down the rule.
The Monday decision came along ideological lines, with the court's four liberal justices dissenting from the majority opinion. U.S. District Judge George Daniels previously struck down the rule, mirroring critics who've called it a "wealth test" for immigrants by saying the rule is "repugnant to the American dream." Daniels had also placed an injunction on the rule's implementation due to a likely appeal to the Supreme Court, and the higher court lifted that injunction Monday.
The theory of a public charge rule has existed for decades, but wasn't codified until the Trump administration drew up this rule in 2017. The rule targets people attempting to legally immigrate into the U.S. by assessing if they have used public benefits such as food stamps in the past, or if they might use them after gaining legal status. If the government determines a person is or could become a "public charge," they can block a person from getting a visa, green card, citizenship, and other forms of legal status. Kathryn Krawczyk
Federal prosecutors want to talk to Prince Andrew as part of their Jeffrey Epstein investigation, but they're apparently not having much luck.
Geoffrey Berman, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said Monday that federal prosecutors and the FBI are seeking an interview with Prince Andrew as they continue to investigate Epstein's co-conspirators. According to Berman, though, Andrew has provided "zero cooperation," The New York Times reports.
Prince Andrew has faced scrutiny over his ties to the convicted sex offender, who was found dead in his jail cell last year while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. Virginia Roberts Giuffre has claimed Epstein forced her to have sex with Prince Andrew when she was 17, which he has denied.
After a widely-panned interview last year in which Prince Andrew said Epstein "conducted himself in a manner unbecoming," he announced he would "step back from public duties for the foreseeable future," citing the fact that "my former association with Jeffrey Epstein has become a major disruption." At the time, he said that "of course, I am willing to help any appropriate law enforcement agency with their investigations, if required."
As prosecutors seek Prince Andrew's cooperation, Berman emphasized Monday, per The Associated Press, "Jeffrey Epstein couldn't have done what he did without the assistance of others, and I can assure you that the investigation is moving forward." Brendan Morrow
Former production assistant testifies Harvey Weinstein sexually assaulted her: 'I was in such shock'
Former production assistant Mimi Haleyi took the stand Monday as the second Harvey Weinstein accuser to testify in his rape trial, telling the jury he sexually assaulted her in 2006.
Haleyi, who worked as a production assistant on the Weinstein Company-produced Project Runway, alleges Weinstein forcibly performed oral sex on her in his New York apartment, testifying that she "rejected him" but "every time I tried to get off the bed, he would push me back and hold me down," per The Hollywood Reporter.
"I was mortified," Haleyi said. "I was just crying, 'No!' I kept trying to tell him, 'No, don't go there' ... I was in such shock that I just checked out."
Haleyi came forward with her allegation against Weinstein in 2017. She told jurors she didn't call the police after the alleged assault, as Weinstein "has a lot more power and resources and connections" and "I didn't think I would really stand a chance." Two weeks later, Haleyi testified she met Weinstein at the Tribeca Grand Hotel and, in his room, he "just took my hand and pulled me toward the bed."
"I just laid there," she said. "He had intercourse with me. ... I was laying there motionless. I felt numb."
Weinstein is facing rape and sexual assault charges stemming from Haleyi's allegation and the allegation of another woman who says he raped her in 2013. Six accusers are expected to testify during the trial, the first of whom took the stand last week. Actress Annabella Sciorra said Weinstein raped her in the early 1990s, and Rosie Perez later testified that Sciorra told her about the alleged rape.
Weinstein has pleaded not guilty and denied all allegations of non-consensual sex acts. If convicted, he faces possible life in prison. Brendan Morrow