Radar screens at major US airport go dark weeks after outage wreaked havoc
The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed Friday that there was another air traffic control outage this morning affecting Newark Liberty International Airport.
The development comes after the FAA issued a ground stop at the airport, due to construction, that was in effect until 11:15 a.m. ET.
The Federal Aviation Administration said “There was a telecommunications outage that impacted communications and radar display at Philadelphia TRACON Area C, which guides aircraft in and out of Newark Liberty International Airport airspace.
“The outage occurred around 3:55 a.m. on Friday, May 9, and lasted approximately 90 seconds,” it added.
4 REASONS FOR THE NEWARK AIRPORT MELTDOWN
Last week, air traffic controllers at the FAA facility in Philadelphia lost radar and radio signals while directing planes to Newark for nearly 90 seconds as well, causing significant delays and flight cancellations that remain ongoing.
Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., called the latest reported outage “big news.”
“My understanding is there was yet another outage in the last hours, another 90 second outage of radar and radio in the region. That’s the second time in a matter of days,” he told reporters at Newark airport on Friday.
“Travelers have had it with the delays. I’ve heard from a lot of them. They’re calling me, they’re talking to me. You see them posting about the delays, about the cancellations,” Gottheimer added. “This airport is a key hub for our economy in the region. Twenty percent of America’s GDP runs through this region.”
“But what they are frustrated about and angry about and concerned about is because right now, the airport simply lacks the FAA tower staffing levels, modern technology and infrastructure that we need to make sure that this airspace, the busiest airspace in the world, runs efficiently, smoothly and safely, 24/7,” he continued. “You add that to the ongoing runway construction here at Newark, which was planned, and you can see why things overall are a mess at this airport and why things are jammed up and why those delays are occurring every day right now, and cancellations occurring every day.”
NEWARK AIRPORT ‘ONE OF MANY VOLCANOES WAITING TO ERUPT,’ PILOT SAYS
Gottheimer said “”We must immediately move more air traffic controllers from other parts of the country to this short-staffed region” and “We should pay these air traffic controllers whatever it takes to get them there — the bonuses, the overtime.”
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby told customers in a note on Friday that last week’s technology failure resulted in “dozens of diverted flights, hundreds of delayed and canceled flights and, worst of all, thousands of customers with disrupted travel plans.”
To try and minimize the impact that this will have on customers, Kirby said the carrier is unilaterally canceling 35 round-trip flights per day from its Newark schedule, which has already been reduced.
“It’s disappointing to make further cuts to an already reduced schedule at Newark, but since there is no way to resolve the near-term structural FAA staffing issues, we feel like there is no other choice in order to protect our customers,” Kirby added.
American Airlines said that its customers have also been impacted.
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“The challenges in Newark have led to delays and disruptions for airlines and their customers – including American – and demonstrate the urgent need to staff up and modernize our air traffic control system,” the carrier said in a statement to FOX Business.
Trump fires Librarian of Congress who promoted ‘woke’ agenda as Dems cry foul
Democratic leaders erupted late Thursday after it was reported that President Trump had abruptly fired Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden.
Hayden was notified of her firing in an email late Thursday from the White House’s Presidential Personnel Office, according to an email seen by The Associated Press.
“Carla,” the email reportedly began. “On behalf of President Donald J. Trump, I am writing to inform you that your position as the Librarian of Congress is terminated effective immediately. Thank you for your service.”
Nominated by former President Barack Obama and confirmed by the Senate in 2016, Hayden, whose term was set to expire next year, was the first woman and the first African American in the role. Advocates praised her tenure for helping to modernize the Library and make it more accessible with initiatives in rural communities and online.
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But Hayden had come under fire from the conservative advocacy group American Accountability Foundation, which accused her and other library leaders of promoting children’s books with “radical” content and literary material authored by Trump opponents.
Earlier Thursday, just hours before the firing was made public, AAF derided Hayden on X as “woke” and “anti-Trump,” accusing her of promoting “trans-kids.”
“It’s time to get her OUT and hire a new guy for the job!” the group wrote.
In a follow-up post on X, the group celebrated news of Hayden’s firing, thanking President Trump.
Hayden’s reported firing ignited the fury of prominent Democratic leaders, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York.
NEW RESISTANCE BATTLING TRUMP’S SECOND TERM THROUGH ONSLAUGHT OF LAWSUITS TAKING AIM AT EXECUTIVE ORDERS
Jeffries applauded Hayden as “an accomplished, principled and distinguished Librarian of Congress.”
“Donald Trump’s unjust decision to fire Dr. Hayden in an email sent by a random political hack is a disgrace and the latest in his ongoing effort to ban books, whitewash American history and turn back the clock,” Jeffries said.
“Enough is enough,” Schumer said, calling Hayden a “trailblazer, a scholar, and a public servant of the highest order.”
Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., said Hayden was “callously fired” by Trump and demanded an explanation.
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“Hayden, has spent her entire career serving people — from helping kids learn to read to protecting some of our nation’s most precious treasures,” said Rep. Joseph Morelle of New York, the top Democrat on the House Administration Committee that oversees the Library.
New Mexico Sen. Martin Heinrich, the top Democrat on the Senate panel that oversees funding for the library, said the firing, was “taking his assault on America’s libraries to a new level.”
“Dr. Hayden has devoted her career to making reading and the pursuit of knowledge available to everyone,” he said.
The Library of Congress holds a vast collection of the nation’s books and history, which it makes available to the public and lawmakers. It houses the papers of nearly two dozen presidents and more than three dozen Supreme Court justices. It also has collections of rare books, prints and photographs, as well as troves of music and valuable artifacts.
Robert Newlen, the principal deputy librarian, said he would serve as acting librarian of Congress “until further instruction” in a separate email seen by the AP.
“I promise to keep everyone informed,” he wrote to colleagues.
Hayden’s firing comes as the Trump administration has been purging officials seen as not aligning with the president’s agenda – from the Justice Department to the Pentagon and beyond.
Earlier Thursday, Cameron Hamilton, the acting administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, was fired just one day after telling lawmakers that dismantling the agency – as President Trump has proposed – is a bad move.
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Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House and the Library of Congress for additional details.
Biden stumbles over key fact about 2024 election after he dropped out of the race
Former President Joe Biden appeared Thursday to misstate how long then-Vice President Kamala Harris had to try to win the race after he stepped down, suggesting on “The View” she had “six months” when she had less than four.
“Some have even argued that leaving the race and endorsing your vice president, Vice President Harris, over a hundred days before the election hampered her campaign. What do you say to those critics?” “View” co-host Sunny Hostin asked him.
Biden appeared to misremember the number of months Harris had to win the election between when he relinquished the nomination on July 21 and election day on November 5, or perhaps did not understand the question, instead stating the number of months that were left in his term that ended on January 20.
BIDEN TELLS ‘THE VIEW’ HE WASN’T SURPRISED HARRIS LOST, BLAMES SEXISM AND RACISM
“I say, number one, that there were still six full months,” he said. “She was in every aspect, every decision I made. Every decision we made. And I don’t think, I hope I didn’t sound the wrong way. I don’t think anybody thought we’d be successful as we were. I don’t think anybody thought we’d pass the Recovery Act. I don’t think anyone thought we’d have – we’d deal with the [CHIPS and Science Act]. I don’t think anybody thinks we’d have all we got done in a close race, think about it.”
He went on to claim, “We got more major legislation passed to fundamentally change the direction of the country than any president has in a long, long time.
And so, we’re in a situation where we came into office, and we agreed on two things. One, I was sick and tired of trickle-down economics. And my dad used to say, ‘Not a whole lot trickled down in his kitchen table,’ and so we built the economy from the middle out and the bottom up.”
Biden also said Trump had just gone through the worst 100 days any president has ever had.
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At another point during his appearance on “The View,” Biden touted his work for the six months after he dropped out of the race, saying he’d done a “pretty good job.”
“The strongest economy in the world we left. That’s not hyperbole, that’s a fact,” Biden said. “We created more jobs in one term than any president has in American history. And so my point is that we had a very successful effort to change the direction of the country and we did, and she was every single part of that.”
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VP Vance weighs in on India-Pakistan conflict after Trump makes offer
Vice President JD Vance suggested the U.S. will not intervene in the ongoing conflict between India and Pakistan, arguing the dust-up is “fundamentally none of our business.”
“We can’t control these countries,” Vance told Fox News’ Martha McCallum on “The Story” Thursday. “We’re not going to get involved in the middle of a war that’s fundamentally none of our business and has nothing to do with America’s ability to control it.”
Vance’s comments came after President Donald Trump offered his help to repair relations between the two neighbors in Asia.
“Oh, it’s so terrible. My position is, I get along with both,” Trump told reporters Wednesday. “I know both very well, and I want to see them work it out. I want to see them stop. And hopefully they can stop now. They’ve got a tit-for-tat, so hopefully they can stop now. But I know both. We get along with both countries very well. Good relationships with both. And I want to see it stop. And if I can do anything to help I will. I will be there as well.”
PAKISTAN SHOOTS DOWN MORE THAN TWO DOZEN DRONES LAUNCHED BY INDIA
Vance, however, said the U.S. does not believe the issue will devolve into a nuclear conflict as he called on both sides to de-escalate.
“America can’t tell the Indians to lay down their arms. We can’t tell the Pakistanis to lay down their arms. And so we’re going to continue to pursue this thing through diplomatic channels. Our hope and our expectation is that this is not going to spiral into a broader regional war or, God forbid, a nuclear conflict.”
The vice president’s comments come after India attacked nine sites in longtime foe Pakistan’s territory in response to a terrorist attack that killed 26 mostly Indian tourists in the disputed Kashmir region.
India said it had intelligence that a terrorist group based in Pakistan was responsible for the attack.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s military reported that the strikes killed at least 26 people – including women and children – and claimed India’s action amounted to an “act of war.” Pakistan said it shot down five Indian fighter jets in response, claiming that the move was justified given India’s strike.
India has since launched drones into Pakistan, which its military forces say they shot down. India has also called up its reservists to ready for the potential of a protracted conflict.
TRUMP OFFERS TO HELP INDIA, PAKISTAN AMID GROWING CONFLICT: ‘I WANT TO SEE THEM STOP’
Vance has emerged as the standard-bearer for the Trump administration’s non-interventionist wing, giving voice to an American-first foreign policy that breaks sharply from GOP orthodoxy and has been labeled isolationist by hawkish critics.
He claimed the U.S. was “making a mistake” when it began the offensive campaign against the Houthis in March.
“I think we are making a mistake,” Vance wrote in a private Signal chat, inadvertently leaked to a journalist and later published by The Atlantic.
“I am not sure the president is aware how inconsistent this is with his message on Europe right now.” The commercial ships attacked in the Red Sea are largely European.
Vance has favored diplomatic negotiations with Iran to thwart its nuclear program and was on the attack at a White House meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in February.
“Right now you guys are going around forcing conscripts to the front lines because you have manpower problems,” Vance told Zelenskyy. “You should be thanking the president for trying to bring an end to this conflict,” he added during a meeting that devolved into a near-shouting match.
Trump, for his part, is seemingly behind Vance and his restraint-minded approach, naming the vice president as a potential successor to the presidency in an NBC interview last week.
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“You look at Marco, you look at JD Vance, who’s fantastic,” Trump said on the future of the top of the Republican ticket, referring to Vance and Secretary of State and interim national security advisor Marco Rubio.
“Certainly you would say that somebody’s the V.P., if that person is outstanding, I guess that person would have an advantage.”
MSNBC host loses a shocking amount of viewers in just one episode
MSNBC’s Jen Psaki bombed on Wednesday night.
Psaki took over MSNBC’s coveted 9 p.m. ET timeslot on Tuesday through Fridays this week as “The Rachel Maddow Show” returned to only airing on Mondays, after Maddow temporarily returned to airing five nights a week during President Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office.
Psaki, a former Biden administration press secretary, hosted “Inside” on Sundays and Mondays, and now hosts “The Briefing” at the critical hour.
On Tuesday, Psaki’s “The Briefing” debuted with 1.2 million viewers and 139,000 in the advertiser-coveted demographic of adults aged 25-54, but her second episode on Wednesday plummeted to just over one million total viewers and only 65,000 in the demo.
JEN PSAKI, THE EX-BIDEN FLACK WHO DEFENDED HIS MENTAL FITNESS, LAUNCHES EXPANDED ROLE AT MSNBC
MSNBC’s newest program shed a staggering 53% of its demo viewers compared to the first episode only one day prior. Psaki’s program also lost a whopping 67% of viewers between the ages of 18-49 after only one episode, as “The Briefing” averaged 113,000 on Tuesday and only 37,000 on Wednesday.
MSNBC had much better results at 9 p.m. ET last week with Maddow at the helm, as she averaged 1.9 million total viewers and 141,000 among viewers aged 25-54. Psaki’s second episode managed to shed 46% of those totals among total viewers and 54% in the critical demo.
Psaki’s Wednesday episode was outdrawn by 38 different cable news offerings among the advertiser-coveted demo despite the cushy timeslot. MSNBC’s 9 p.m. ET program was outdrawn by everything Fox News Channel had to offer, along with 13 different CNN shows and seven MSNBC programs.
JEN PSAKI INSISTS SHE ‘NEVER SAW’ DIMINISHED BIDEN WHILE WORKING AS PRESS SECRETARY
On Wednesday, Psaki’s “The Briefing” also had fewer viewers among adults aged 25-54 than various repeats of “Friends,” “Seinfeld,” “Everybody Loves Raymond,” “Bob’s Burgers,” “The King of Queens,” and “That 70s Show,” along with Nickelodeon’s “Paw Patrol,” Hallmark’s “Reba,” and TLC’s “My Strange Addiction,” and many other basic cable offerings.
Psaki also failed to boost her primetime colleagues, as it was MSNBC’s lowest-rated Wednesday from 8-11 p.m. among both total viewers and the demo since January 8, before Trump was sworn in for his second term.
It was also MSNBC’s lowest-rated 9 p.m. program among the demo on a Wednesday since Alex Wagner managed only 40,000 advertiser-coveted viewers on December 11, 2024.
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Psaki served as Biden’s first press secretary from 2021 until May 2022.
New study uncovers reason for nearly every alligator attack on humans
Have Floridians finally figured out what causes most alligator attacks? A group of researchers from the Sunshine State say yes.
A recent study from the University of Florida delved into the topic and found there was one reason that caused 96% of alligator bites. With help from experts from Centre College in Kentucky, the team recently published their results in the journal Human – Wildlife Interactions.
“[This] research is the first to develop a ranking system that categorizes human actions immediately before an alligator encounter,” the University of Florida said in a statement.
EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ALLIGATOR ‘STOLEN’ IN GEORGIA, PROMPTING FRANTIC CRIES FROM OWNER AND SOCIAL MEDIA FANS
So what causes alligator bites? Most of the time, the study says, it’s the fault of humans.
“Researchers found that in 96% of recorded incidents, some form of human inattention or risk-taking preceded the attack,” the university’s statement said.
“The findings show how alligator bites are not random; they’re preventable.”
The study went as far back as the 1730s to reach its conclusion.
The research team analyzed nearly 300 years’ worth of records, from 1734 to 2021, on human-alligator interactions using the CrocBITE database.
11-FOOT-LONG ‘KING ARTHUR’ THE ALLIGATOR SPOTTED AT SOUTH CAROLINA GOLF RESORT WITH MYSTERIOUS HEAD PIECE
“The team then augmented that information with internet searches, literature review and communications with wildlife agencies,” the statement added.
“Each case was classified by the level of human behavior risk: no risk, low, moderate or high.”
Most bites “occurred following moderate-risk behaviors, such as swimming or wading in areas known to be inhabited by alligators,” the release noted.
“The highest proportion of fatal bites occurred after high-risk behaviors, such as deliberately entering alligator-inhabited waters,” the press release noted.
“In contrast, low and no-risk behaviors, like walking near water or simply being present on land, rarely resulted in attacks.”
In a statement, Centre College professor Mark Teshera said that creating a ranking system was important “because it showed that the overwhelming majority of bites stemmed from some level of humans engaging in risky behavior in places where alligators live.”
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“Therefore, we should not call these encounters ‘attacks,'” he added.
University of Florida professor Frank Mazzotti said the study’s takeaway is that many unfortunate alligator interactions can be avoided. He urged the public to have situational awareness around wildlife.
“Many bites can be prevented if humans are aware of their surroundings and minimize risky behaviors such as walking small pets near bodies of water or swimming where alligators are known to be present,” he said.
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Mazzotti added, “Ultimately, the study underscores that situational awareness and informed choices, especially during recreational activities in alligator country, can help protect both people and wildlife.”
Karen Read defense offers dictionary to police sergeant in heated exchange
Defense attorney Alan Jackson kicked off Friday’s cross-examination
of Massachusetts State Police Sgt. Yuri Bukhenik with a heated line of questioning surrounding Bukhenik’s initial theory that John O’Keefe had been struck with a cocktail glass before his death.
“Based on [Karen Read’s] statement ‘I hit him,’ I assumed that the Mr. O’Keefe was impacted with something,” Bukhenik said. “[In the] initial hours of the investigation, we had those statements, ‘I hit him.’ We had the statements, ‘Oh my God, did I hit him?’ So utilizing that information, with the evidence at that point that we had, was a broken cocktail glass. So a theory would be, why is the cocktail glass broken? Because it came into contact with the victim. So that’s why my information communicated to the medical examiner’s office was a possible domestic [incident] involving a glass strike to the victim.”
“So the answer to my question, Sergeant, is you are working off of theories, correct?” Jackson asked.
“We were working off of a report of an injured male party and then we developed the information, collected the evidence and developed an investigation,” Bukhenik explained.
“Do you know what the word ‘theory’ means?” Jackson said.
“I’m sorry,” Bukhenik said. “English is a third language for me. So if you can bring up the Webster’s Dictionary, I can read it out.”
“You want me to pull up the Webster’s Dictionary to define a word that you used in an answer 40 seconds ago?” Jackson fired back. “We’re working off a ‘theory.’ You said it, not me.”
Massachusetts state police sergeant Yuri Bukhenik was grilled by defense attorney Alan Jackson regarding an evidence bag he gathered that appeared to be signed by former investigator Michael Proctor.
“And you didn’t fill this bag out, did you?” Jackson asked.
“No,” Bukhenik said. “I did not.”
“Who did?” Jackson said.
“I do not know who did,” Bukhenik said. “I don’t know.”
“You don’t recognize the handwriting?” Jackson asked.
“No, I do not,” Bukhenik answered.
“You don’t recognize the handwriting of your partner and subordinate, Michael Proctor?” Jackson asked, leading to an objection from prosecutor Hank Brennan.
“Were you with Michael Proctor when this was bagged?” Jackson asked.
“No, I was not,” Bukhenik said. “I was by myself.”
“Did you get it to give the items of evidence to Michael Proctor in this bag?” Jackson said.
“No, I did not,” Bukhenik answered.
“Who did you give it to to bag?” Jackson asked.
“I bagged it myself,” Bukhenik said.
“Whose hardwriting is that?”
“I do not know,” Bukhenik said.
“If you bagged it yourself, why don’t you fill out the evidence envelope?” Jackson asked.
“I bagged and turned it over,” Bukhenik answered. “I told him exactly where it was and what time, so someone else wrote the information.”
Jackson went on to show Bukhenik a second bag of evidence with Proctor’s signature, with the handwriting seemingly matching the bag Bukhenik could not identify.
Judge Beverly Cannone called Court into session Friday with Massachusetts State Police Sgt. Yuri Bukhenik returning to the witness stand for his second day of cross-examination by defense attorney Alan Jackson.
Karen Read arrived at the Norfolk Superior Courthouse flanked by her defense team as her murder trial looks to wrap up its third week on Friday.
The defense is set to continue cross-examining Michael Proctor’s police partner, Yuri Bukhenik, following Thursday’s tense testimony.
A Massachusetts State Police sergeant who played a key role in the investigation that led to Karen Read’s original mistrial on murder charges testified Thursday that, early on, he told other authorities that John O’Keefe may have been hit in the face with a bar glass, causing injuries to his face and head.
Investigators, however, ultimately alleged that Read struck her Boston cop boyfriend with the back of her Lexus SUV and fled the scene, leaving him to die in the cold, on Jan. 29, 2022. Police arrested her on hit-and-run manslaughter charges days after she found him dead outside 34 Fairview Road in Canton, Massachusetts, and prosecutors secured an indictment for second-degree murder months later.
Defense lawyer Alan Jackson got State Police Sgt. Yuri Bukhenik to concede on Thursday that he called the medical examiner’s office and said there was a possibility that O’Keefe could have been hit in the face with a cocktail glass.
“Did you contact the medical examiner’s office at in (sic) the morning of … January 29th, 2022?” Jackson asked.
“Yes,” Bukhenik replied.
“And did you state to them that there was a possibility that the decedent, John O’Keefe, was struck in the face with a cocktail glass?”
“I don’t recall my words exactly, but that sounds accurate to what I might have said,” the sergeant replied.
Read the full story here.
Karen Read’s trial is set to enter Day 13 as former investigator Michael Proctor’s police partner, Yuri Bukhenik, returns to the stand for cross-examination.
On Thursday, prosecutor Hank Brennan looked to further solidify the state’s timeline of events leading up to and directly after John O’Keefe’s death outside 34 Fairview on Jan. 29, 2022. Testimony concluded for the day with defense attorney Alan Jackson grilling Bukhenik on his investigation with Proctor in an attempt to poke holes in the state’s version of events.
Read is on trial for allegedly striking O’Keefe with her vehicle in a drunken argument and leaving him to die in a blizzard. If convicted, she faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Why the Menendez brothers’ resentencing was stalled last month
The resentencing hearing for Lyle and Erik Menendez was originally set to continue in April 2025 but was unexpectedly delayed due to unresolved legal disputes.
The brothers’ defense team sought to disqualify the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office from the case, citing alleged bias and a conflict of interest. The DA’s office, led by Nathan Hochman, called the move a “desperate argument.”
“In the opposition, the District Attorney’s Office has argued that in a ‘drastic and desperate step,’ the defense has decided to ‘sidestep the central issue of resentencing’ and present an argument ‘devoid of merit’ to recuse the entire District Attorney’s Office,” Hochman said. “The entire defense argument over recusal boils down to the defense not being happy with the current District Attorney’s position on resentencing. While this desperate argument may work in a press interview, it fails in a court of law based on an adversarial system of justice.”
Erik and Lyle Menendez’s state parole board risk assessment also remains central to the delayed hearing. California Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered the test to determine an inmate’s potential risk to public safety if released.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic said that the discussions over the admissibility of the state parole board’s comprehensive risk assessments will be considered on Friday.
Both issues caused the hearing to come to a screeching halt and begin proceedings for Friday, May 9.
As the Menendez brothers returned to court in their long-running fight for a reduced sentence, Lyle Menendez took to social media to lambaste the “reindeer games” played by the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office.
“So today is the day that issues will be worked out,” he wrote in a Facebook group. “The motion to disqualify the DA will be heard and very very likely will be denied. Then, in chambers, issues regarding the CRA [Comprehensive Risk Assessment] will be decided.”
The court is expected to rule on two key issues: a motion to recuse District Attorney Nathan Hochman and whether a confidential Comprehensive Risk Assessment (CRA) can be considered in court. The CRA has been a source of controversy after the prosecution publicly referenced its contents before the defense had access.
The older brother wrote that he is “hopeful” that the resentencing hearing date will be set for next week.
“Barring any reindeer games, and in this case that is certainly not a given, a new resentencing hearing date will be assigned, and we are hopeful that it will be next week,” he wrote. “We will wait for the judge to make it official.”
The brothers, who have now served over three decades in prison, are seeking a chance at parole under updated California laws recognizing the impact of youth and trauma in sentencing.
Fox News Digital’s Stepheny Price contributed to this report.
On the eve of a critical hearing that could reshape the future of killer brothers Erik and Lyle Menendez’s legal journey, the family behind the Justice for Erik and Lyle Coalition called for the recusal of the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office.
The family coalition has been vocal about what they describe as a pattern of overreach by the DA Nathan Hochman’s office.
“The issue is not about what the [risk assessment] contains or how District Attorney Hochman chooses to characterize Erik and Lyle,” the family wrote in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital. “We know who they are, how much they’ve grown, how remorseful they are… The issue is that the DA once again tried to box us in and put the cart before the horse.”
Their frustrations came to a head last month, when Hochman held a press conference speaking publicly about a draft risk assessment (CRA) tied to the Menendez brothers.
They likened the situation to “walking into a job interview and finding out your therapy notes had already been shared with the employer.”
The Menendez family coalition argued that the DA’s office has exhibited a pattern of behavior to “tilt the scales of justice.”
One family member, however, objected to the resentencing and filed an amicus brief in opposition through his attorney, Kathleen Cady.
More than three decades after Lyle and Erik Menendez were convicted of murdering their parents in a case that captivated the nation, the brothers are once again at the center.
In 1989, the Menendez brothers shot and killed their parents, José and Kitty Menendez, in their Beverly Hills mansion. The prosecution painted the brothers as spoiled heirs. The defense, led by attorney Leslie Abramson, argued they acted out of desperation after enduring years of abuse at the hands of their father.
Despite a highly publicized trial, which included two hung juries, they were ultimately sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The pair surged back into the spotlight when, in October 2024, Netflix released a true-crime documentary titled The Menendez Brothers, and in September 2024, the series Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story reignited interest in the case.
The series sparked renewed debates of alleged child abuse and the fairness of their initial trial. The timing came as former DA George Gascón opened the door for clemency.
However, the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office, now led by Nathan Hochman, has opposed this effort, claiming the brothers still haven’t accepted full responsibility for their actions.
Why Dolly Parton refuses to judge singing competition shows
While many celebrities may jump at the chance to sit in a “The Voice” spinning chair or hand out an “American Idol” golden ticket, fans will not find country music legend Dolly Parton doing either.
The “9 to 5” crooner revealed why she has turned down offers to sit on the judging panel for the popular singing competition shows.
“I’ve been asked to do that a lot of times,” Parton told E! News. “It’s too hard for me. That’s why I don’t accept it, because I know how sincere everybody is. Even if they’re not that good, they believe they are. And I just can’t hurt people.”
DOLLY PARTON DOESN’T KNOW IF SHE’S ‘STILL CONSIDERED A COUNTRY ARTIST’
While Parton, 79, has no interest in criticizing aspiring artists, she joined “American Idol” season 7 as a guest mentor in 2008. During this season, several top contestants chose to perform her songs, including winner David Cook.
“It’s too hard for me. That’s why I don’t accept it, because I know how sincere everybody is.”
Parton was additionally tapped in as a guest mentor on “The Voice” twice – in 2015 for season 9 and in 2016 for season 11.
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Although being a music judge is not in the cards for Parton, the country star is gearing up to debut her autobiographical musical, “Dolly: An Original Musical,” on Broadway in 2026. She has also recently celebrated the 40th anniversary of her theme park, Dollywood.
“I’m just very proud of all of it, because I’ve seen it grow. It’s like having a house full of kids. Every time something new goes in, it’s like, ‘Oh, we got a new baby, we got a new kid in the family,’” she told E! News.
DOLLY PARTON’S ‘TO HELL WITH YOU’ APPROACH FUELED DECADES OF SUCCESS
“But it’s an amazing park and it’s catered to families… we’re proud of that. I think I’m as proud of that as anything, that people want to come back.”
The “Jolene” singer’s comments come after the recent death of her longtime husband, Carl Dean.
Parton announced Dean’s death in a heartfelt statement that she shared on Instagram on March 3.
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“Carl and I spent many wonderful years together,” Parton wrote. Words can’t do justice to the love we shared for over 60 years. Thank you for your prayers and sympathy.”
On March 7, Parton took to Instagram to reveal a new song that she had dedicated to Dean, titled “If You Hadn’t Been There.”
“I fell in love with Carl Dean when I was 18 years old,” she wrote along with a throwback photo of herself with her spouse.
“We have spent 60 precious and meaningful years together,” Parton continued in her caption. Like all great love stories, they never end. They live on in memory and song. He will always be the star of my life story, and I dedicate this song to him.”
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