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FBI employees in Trump Mar-a-Lago case seek clarity on subpoenas in Florida 'grand conspiracy' probe

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Former FBI employees involved in the criminal investigation into President Donald Trump's retention of classified documents have been subpoenaed to appear before a grand jury in a broad Florida-based conspiracy probe, their lawyers revealed Thursday as they asked a judge to clarify whether they can testify without violating an order restricting the release of information.

The subpoenas require the former FBI employees to testify in Fort Pierce, Florida, as the Justice Department pursues an ill-defined theory of a "deep state" conspiracy to deprive Trump of his civil rights and keep him from power.

The investigation so far has been focused largely on former government officials who examined ties between Russia and Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, but the subpoenas disclosed Thursday hint at the far-reaching nature of an investigation that is also scrutinizing the FBI's 2022 search of Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida for classified documents. That search formed the basis of one of four criminal cases Trump faced between his first and second terms.

Justice Department officials are pressing ahead with the investigation after the resignation this month of Joseph diGenova, a Trump ally who had been brought in to help lead the probe that has animated right-wing commentators who have long alleged former law enforcement and intelligence officials conspired against the Republican president.

The filing on behalf of the subpoenaed employees tees up a fresh legal question for U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, the Trump-appointed judge who not only dismissed the classified documents prosecution of Trump but also sits in the Fort Pierce courthouse where the Justice Department has centered its yearlong conspiracy probe of Trump's perceived foes.

Cannon last February issued an order blocking the release of a report on the classified documents investigation prepared by special counsel Jack Smith, whose team in 2023 brought dozens of felony charges against the then-Republican candidate, and barring the release of information about the case to non-Justice Department employees.

Now, lawyers for the subpoenaed former employees are asking Cannon to clarify whether that order precludes their clients from being able to testify before the grand jury since they'll be asked about the investigation.

Without clarity, they say, they may be forced to decide between being in contempt of the order if they testify, "not providing full, unconstrained testimony" in order to comply with the order or invoking their constitutional rights against self-incrimination -- an option they say "creates unnecessary negative options for innocent former civil servants."

3 US news outlets return to White House after judge orders Trump to lift ban

NEW YORK (AP) -- Three news organizations banned from the White House for days were back Thursday after a judge handed CNN, MS NOW and Politico a reprieve in an extraordinary showdown between President Donald Trump and outlets whose coverage he dislikes.

But media coverage of Trump's White House was hardly normal. On a high-profile day when Chinese leader Xi Jinping was visiting Washington and attending a state dinner, no major American network was airing live coverage.

After the White House banned CNN from a rotation of five major U.S. broadcast outlets who take turns shooting and sharing video, the other four -- in a show of solidarity -- were still declining to participate in the so-called video pool.

Though CNN and MS NOW were back on the White House grounds Thursday, both news outlets said their journalists were denied access to Xi's state dinner arrival. CNN wrote in a blog post that the White House said it would only allow a photojournalist and an audio technician to the event, and refused to allow a reporter and a producer entry.

MS NOW reported that journalist Laura Barrón-López was also denied entry to the arrival ceremony on the portico ahead of the state dinner. Barrón-López was one of the journalists whose press credentials were reinstated under the judge's order.

Reporters and producers from other networks were allowed in, CNN wrote.

The president posted online that TV networks "refused to cover one of the Biggest and Most Beautiful Events to take place in many years … because they knew how good it would be, they didn't want credit to be given to "TRUMP."

It was a chaotic day for the media at the White House and in court.

Initially, in the morning, CNN, MS NOW and Politico journalists were denied entry. A Secret Service agent had confiscated their credentials as part of the ban. After the ruling for the outlets in the early hours Thursday, White House operations officials were notified to restore access to the affected reporters, but said they needed time to find, reactivate and deliver their entry badges. The process took over two hours, according to an administration court filing.

In his decision to provisionally lift the ban, U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly ordered the White House to "immediately return, reinstate, and restore" the three outlets' access. He said they had met the legal thresholds to obtain a temporary restraining order and were likely to succeed in showing that their press passes were revoked without due process.

The ruling did not address CNN's removal from the White House video pool. The White House did not respond to an email seeking comment.

Trump administration turns to Supreme Court as third-country deportations are thrown into question

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A ruling to halt deportations of people to countries other than their own threw a core immigration policy of the Trump administration into question, at least temporarily, and prompted a desperate appeal to the Supreme Court on Thursday.

The administration said the ruling by the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals came Wednesday just minutes before midnight, forcing the cancellation of a flight with 70 people that was headed to three countries. It said justices needed to step in to "halt that chaos" and said the flight cancellation "required a new round of diplomatic engagement with each of the three countries," which it did not name.

Plaintiffs for immigrants sought emergency relief from the appeals court Wednesday night, saying they heard from "multiple sources" that a deportation flight was scheduled the next day from Alexandria, Louisiana, to Burundi, Rwanda and the Central African Republic.

Within hours of that request, the appeals court said it was clarifying a ruling against the policy last week and said a previous order allowing flights to continue while legal challenges play out was no longer in effect.

Administration officials reacted furiously. Attorney General Todd Blanche said the order "in the dark of night" robbed authorities of "an entirely legal and valuable tool to stem the tide of illegal immigration."

The vast majority of people deported to countries other than their own have been sent to Mexico, but under a series of often-secret agreements, the administration has deported thousands of others to more than two dozen countries, from Liberia to Guyana.

Some have found themselves in countries they'd never heard of before their arrivals and held there against their will. Some also face serious safety risks, and are left with little choice except to return to the home countries they were fleeing.

This month, lawyers for two men deported to Equatorial Guinea said they were beaten and held at gunpoint in a hotel-turned-detention center by police who covered their heads with bags.

The government asked for an immediate halt to lower court orders finding that people must have the chance to object before the U.S. government deports them to countries other than their homelands.

Man who was shot during 2024 Trump campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, has died

James Copenhaver, one of three campaign rally attendees shot in 2024 during an assassination attempt on then-candidate Donald Trump, has died in Pittsburgh, his lawyer said Thursday. He was 76.

Copenhaver was in the bleachers during the event in Butler, Pennsylvania, when a 20-year-old gunman opened fire from a nearby rooftop, grazing Trump's right ear with one bullet. Copenhaver was struck in the arm and in the abdomen, wounds that left him with lingering injuries and walking with a cane.

Two other attendees were also shot -- David Dutch, who survived, and Corey Comperatore, who shielded his family from gunfire and was killed.

Copenhaver died Wednesday at Allegheny Health Network's West Penn Hospital in Pittsburgh, according to a statement from the Allegheny County medical examiner cited in local media accounts.

Copenhaver's lawyer, Joseph Feldman, said in a statement issued on behalf of the family that he died surrounded by loved ones. The statement did not specify if his death was directly related to the injuries he suffered at the rally.

Copenhaver and his wife, Marianne Copenhaver, sued the federal government in June, alleging that the Secret Service and Department of Homeland Security had "utterly failed" to provide appropriate security at the rally. Copenhaver's injuries required multiple surgeries, including a transection of his colon, and he had lingering kidney and other damage, including a loss of feeling in his leg. The lawsuit described the wounds as "debilitating, grievous, permanent and life altering."

The family's statement Thursday called Copenhaver above all else a devoted husband, father and grandfather who instilled the values of hard work, integrity and the service to others in his children.

"James's dedication to this great country was a defining part of his life," it said. "As a veteran, he proudly served our nation in the armed forces, and his love of country never wavered. James was a true American patriot who believed deeply in the freedoms and ideals upon which this nation was founded, and he embodied the very best traits of our great nation."

In a statement posted to social media, Trump on Thursday called Copenhaver "a true American Patriot."

"Jim showed tremendous bravery, courageously continuing to FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT, and maintaining a positive spirit despite unimaginable hardships," Trump wrote.

Homeland Security defends officers in immigrant's fatal car crash in Michigan

Federal immigration officers were about a half-mile away when a man who was illegally in the U.S. crashed a car at high speed and died in Michigan last weekend, authorities said Thursday, attempting to rebut any claim that they were in hot pursuit.

The death of Mario Coronado Juarez has angered friends and activists, and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has directed state police to investigate the Sunday morning crash in Grand Rapids.

Juarez, a native of Guatemala, apparently was not the specific target of officers. But he was driving a car that was registered to another person who was also in the U.S. illegally and wanted back in Guatemala, the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement.

"As officers attempted the stop to confirm the identity of the driver, the driver of the vehicle fled at a high rate of speed," DHS said. "In the interest of public safety, ICE officers immediately discontinued the enforcement action."

"A short time later, officers saw smoke nearly half a mile from the attempted stop and discovered the vehicle had crashed into a tree and caught fire," DHS said.

The agency said officers tried to help Juarez and put out the fire before Grand Rapids first responders arrived. Juarez, who was in his 30s, died at the scene.

ICE officers have followed and arrested people believed to be targets who turn out to be someone else. But as the agency rapidly expands with the hiring of 12,000 officers, its long-held practices are getting more scrutiny.

In Evanston, Illinois, a U.S. citizen was left bloodied on the side of the road Sunday after a confrontation with immigration officers who mistook him for a fugitive, police said. Homeland Security said the man initially refused to identify himself despite "lawful commands."

Grand Rapids Mayor David LaGrand supports a state police investigation of Juarez's death. The city police department said it had no role Sunday until called to the crash site.

8 sailors in Lincoln carrier group attempted suicide on extended deployment, Navy leader says

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Eight sailors attempted suicide while deployed with the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group, which spent a record-setting uninterrupted time at sea supporting the Iran war, the Navy's top civilian leader said this week.

Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao provided the information to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand in a letter dated Tuesday after the New York Democrat inquired last month about the strike group's crew. The Lincoln's extended deployment drew the nation's attention following reports of crew stress and poor mental health, as well as supply shortages, including food and hygiene products.

Eight attempts in a strike group of 6,000 sailors over 10 months is actually low, experts say. The Navy reported 356 suicide attempts across the service in 2024, while there were more than 1,500 attempts among all active duty personnel that year, according to the latest annual report.

However, the reported attempts are not the best measure for conditions on the Lincoln and its supporting destroyers, particularly with no other additional details, said Dr. Harold Kudler, a former national lead for mental health services at the Department of Veterans Affairs and a retired VA psychiatrist.

"But something happened to get those families upset. Something happened to raise concerns about the health and well-being of those troops," Kudler said, referring to media reports that quoted sailors and their families. "It reverberated through the military and reverberated across the country. So we need to understand what that was because we don't need that to happen again."

Gillibrand had asked Cao several questions focused on ship conditions, including about the availability of mental health support and healthy food as well as hygiene. The senator also asked if there were any suicides.

"There have been no suicides on board during this deployment," Cao wrote in the letter, which was obtained by The Associated Press and reported earlier by CNN. "Since the beginning of LINCOLN'S deployment, there have been a total of eight suicide attempts across the strike group -- this number includes the LINCOLN crew and Sailors from the carrier wing, strike group and destroyer squadron staff, escorting destroyers, and all embarked aviation squadrons."

Cao wrote that the carrier deployed with a psychologist, a clinical social worker, a counselor, three behavioral health technicians and a therapy dog.

Cao said the Lincoln maintained adequate food supplies, but because combat operations limited resupply opportunities, meal options were reduced from two to one for a short time. However, he wrote that four nutritionally balanced meals were served daily.