UK sanctions Sudanese military leaders implicated in El Fasher 'campaign of rape' Commanders suspected of sexual violence during the largest and fastest slaughter of civilians in more than 30 years have been subjected to travel ban and asset freezeSenior Sudanese commanders implicated in a "campaign of rape" have been targeted by the UK on the first anniversary of a mass atrocity that saw tens of thousands of civilians killed over several days.A year after the fall of El Fasher, the British government said it had sanctioned military leaders from both sides in the country's ongoing conflict whom it suspected of sexual violence during the siege of the city. Continue reading...
US forces accused of 'weaponising' Somalia's floods by trapping women and children in the path of El Niño Exclusive: Coordinated airstrikes on territory held by al-Shabaab are driving the civilian population to find refuge alongside a river where rising water levels are a threat to safety. Is it a deliberate military strategy?The water was rising rapidly. It had already reached Cayni Ali's waist. Her home, five metres from the flooded River Juba in southern Somalia, never stood a chance. There was nowhere to go. Ali's city of Jilib was under attack. Repeated airstrikes, said the mother of six, were pinning its population beside the rising river."The drones come all the time," said the 27-year-old. "We hear them constantly. They kill animals, civilians. The town is big but destruction is everywhere." Continue reading...
Sudan paramilitary drone strikes cause mass power cuts in eastern states Rapid Support Forces strike five power stations in three states controlled by Sudanese armySudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have launched a coordinated drone attack against five power stations, causing mass power outages across the country's east, a government official said.The drones hit two power stations each in the states of Al-Jazira and Gedaref and one in White Nile state, "resulting in power outages across large parts of these three states", the official said on condition of anonymity. Continue reading...
UK poised to miss reduced aid spending target of 0.3% of national income Calculations from the Center for Global Development say spending next year is likely to be £410m less than anticipatedThe UK is on course to miss its target of spending 0.3% of national income on international aid by an estimated £400m by the end of next year.Calculations from the Center for Global Development (CGD) found the UK was on course for a large shortfall in promised official development assistance at the end of 2027. Continue reading...
Mystery over source of Ebola infection in Nigeria fuels concern about spread of virus Switzerland says patient is wife of Swiss diplomat and believed to have contracted virus while travelling in UgandaHealth officials across Africa are racing to determine how Nigeria's first Ebola patient in more than a decade became infected, amid fears the outbreak could spread further after reaching a fourth African country.The Swiss foreign ministry said on Friday the patient in Nigeria, the Ugandan-born wife of a Swiss diplomat based in Abuja, had not travelled to the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the outbreak was first detected in mid-May before spreading to Uganda, Kenya and now Nigeria. The woman was believed to have contracted Ebola while travelling with her husband in Uganda, the ministry added. Continue reading...
Flávio Bolsonaro flees Brazil after presidential election loss, reports say Far-right senator en route to US after missing deadline to hand over his passport since loss to LulaThe far-right senator Flávio Bolsonaro has reportedly fled Brazil and is on his way to the United States after losing Sunday's presidential election to the leftwing incumbent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.A report by the news website Metrópoles, citing people close to the politician's family, said he was en route to the US. "The plane is in flight," Metrópoles reported, without making clear where it had departed from. Continue reading...
Federal prosecutors fail to get grand jury indictment against Cassidy Hutchinson Federal prosecutors fail to get grand jury indictment against Cassidy HutchinsonFederal prosecutors were rebuffed in their effort to secure an indictment against former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson over her testimony related to the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol, according to four sources briefed on the grand jury proceedings. The Justice Department has not yet responded to a request for comment. The Washington Post first reported that the grand jury declined to indict Hutchinson.The Justice Department's Civil Rights Division has been handling the Hutchinson investigation, CBS News previously reported, and during a hearing on another matter Tuesday, a litigator with the division, Neville Hedley, told U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui that the grand jury had not concurred on the proposed indictment. Hedley did not say who the defendant was, but multiple sources confirmed it was Hutchinson.Hutchinson, who was a top aide to White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, angered President Trump's allies and his base when she testified in 2022 before the House select committee investigating the 2021 Capitol attack. In depositions and congressional testimony, Hutchinson said that Mr. Trump and Meadows were warned on Jan. 6 that some of his supporters were carrying weapons to the Capitol, but Mr. Trump said he didn't care - and he tried to order officials to remove the magnetometers at the rally where he spoke that morning. She also relayed a story she said had been told to her by then-White House deputy chief of staff Tony Ornato, in which Mr. Trump grew incensed after his lead Secret Service agent would not drive him to the Capitol after the president's speech to supporters. During that address on the White House Ellipse, he had encouraged them to go to the Capitol, where Congress was confirming the Electoral College results from the 2020 election. He told supporters that "after this, we're going to walk down, and I'll be there with you." Hutchinson testified that Ornato had told her that in the car, Mr. Trump lunged at the steering wheel. Her account was later contradicted by Mr. Trump's driver, who in sworn testimony claimed that the president never tried to grab the steering wheel. CBS News could not determine precisely which parts of Hutchinson's testimony were being scrutinized by prosecutors. According to media reports, House Republican allies of the president made the referral to the Justice Department.This article originally appeared on CBS News at https://www.cbsnews.com/news/grand-jury-declines-to-indict-trump-critic-cassidy-hutchinson-over-jan-6-testimony/
U.S. to grant visa to Trump ally Bolsonaro after he flees Brazil following election loss U.S. to grant visa to Trump ally Bolsonaro after he flees Brazil following election lossWASHINGTON (AP) - A senior State Department official said Tuesday that Flávio Bolsonaro and his family will be granted U.S. visas after his weekend loss to incumbent Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in a hotly contested race that bucked a trend of conservative electoral results in Latin America. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to visa privacy laws, said "the State Department will issue visas to Flávio Bolsonaro and his family and allow them entry into the United States." Bolsonaro, who had President Donald Trump's tacit support, had been under investigation for corruption, money laundering and tax evasion in Brazil and had been ordered to surrender his passport. The State Department official did not say if Bolsonaro had already left Brazil or if he and his family were en route to the U.S. Bolsonaro's campaign manager, Rogério Marinho, said he hadn't spoken to the defeated candidate since early Tuesday morning. "We had no news from Flávio or his lawyers about what happened," Marinho said. "I received a text message from him, he said he wanted to take a break and then he would talk to us. That's the only message I had from him." Bolsonaro's brother, Eduardo Bolsonaro, who lives in Texas, had publicly encouraged him to leave Brazil if he lost the election. Bolsonaro has touted his relationship with Trump and visited the White House in May. The family connections go deeper: Brother Eduardo Bolsonaro was convicted in absentia in June of illegally lobbying the Trump administration and sentenced to four years in prison. A warrant was recently issued for his arrest. Trump did not offer a full-throated endorsement of Bolsonaro in the runoff against Lula, as he has with some other right-of-center candidates in Latin America. But he suggested on Monday, without providing evidence, that Brazil's election was "rigged." Bolsonaro's decision to leave Brazil came as a deadline for him to surrender his regular and diplomatic passports expired at noon Tuesday. It remained unclear whether he had complied. Bolsonaro was served with the order to surrender his passports Monday, a day after his stunning loss. Bolsonaro said he received it outside the home where his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, is serving a 27-year sentence under house arrest for attempting a coup following his 2022 election loss to Lula. After that defeat, Jair Bolsonaro fled Brazil for Florida. He returned three months later. The sealed Supreme Court order, viewed by The Associated Press, was issued Sunday. Bolsonaro has refused to concede defeat and has made unsubstantiated allegations of election fraud.
Bolsonaro raises questions about election he lost
Bolsonaro initially asked for the election results to be annulled after an evening of chaos at some polling places that prompted authorities to extend voting by two hours. On Monday, he urged the electoral court to investigate alleged election fraud and nullify Lula's and Vice President Geraldo Alckmin's candidacies, which the electoral court has never done before. "I never thought about leaving the country," Bolsonaro said in a video published on his social media channels. "I will hand over my passports and I will defend myself from this aberration. It is a clear attempt to intimidate me. But I will not be silenced." To overturn the result, Bolsonaro would have to present evidence of fraud affecting Lula's 4.4 million-vote margin and convince the eight-member electoral court before the results are certified on Dec. 18. Lula, who turned 81 on Tuesday, received more than 64 million votes, compared with fewer than 60 million for Bolsonaro, a margin of nearly 4%. A Brazilian diplomat who was not authorized to speak on the matter said his country's government was aware that Bolsonaro had left the country. Outside the presidential residence in Brasilia, Lula told a few dozen supporters he did not have precise information of Bolsonaro's whereabouts, but said he had left Brazil. Brazil is "the second country" of the Bolsonaro family, Lula added. "The first is licking American boots," the reelected president said. "Those who are not liable do not fear. A fellow that secretly leaves his country, that's because he is liable for something." Bolsonaro said in a video posted Monday on his social media channels that he was attempting to organize opposition among his congressional colleagues to the election results. His eight-year term as a senator expires Jan. 31, 2027, which will also cause him to lose special jurisdiction at the country's Supreme Court. Bolsonaro is under investigation by Brazil's Supreme Court for alleged corruption, money laundering and tax evasion in two cases. In one, he's accused of using a sports betting company to launder fraudulent deductions from government pensions paid to senior citizens. In the other, he is accused of accepting millions of dollars from a disgraced banker. He has denied any wrongdoing in both cases, and has claimed Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who is heading one of the investigations, is a Lula ally. Prosecutors suspect the funds from the banker were used to pay his brother, Eduardo Bolsonaro's, expenses and to promote Flávio Bolsonaro's political agenda with the Trump administration, documents show. Mauricio Marcon, a lawmaker of Bolsonaro's Liberal Party, also questioned de Moraes' objectivity on Tuesday. "Seven minutes after the election, Alexandre de Moraes ordered his passports to be seized," Marcon said. Bolsonaro "will represent us in a free country. He will continue to be our leader." Brazilians had earlier taken to social media to ask where Bolsonaro was. Reporters gathered outside his home in the capital, Brasilia, but he did not appear. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Security of Argentina denied reports the Brazilian senator had entered the country. Brazilian media outlets reported that many Bolsonaro allies had been unable to reach him. Paulo Figueiredo, a close ally of Bolsonaro's who lives in the United States, was asked about the senator's whereabouts and did not answer directly. "At this moment - following months of intense work that were unfairly thwarted - I have no desire to speak with the press. I kindly ask that you do not persist. Should I have a statement to make on any matter, I will reach out," Figueiredo said. ___ Savarese reported from Sao Paulo. ___ Follow AP's coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-americaThis article originally appeared on Associated Press at https://www.yahoo.com/news/world/articles/brazils-fl-vio-bolsonaro-misses-175546562.html
Supreme Court declines to restore judges' power to pause deportation cases Supreme Court declines to restore judges' power to pause deportation casesBy Andrew Chung Oct 27 (Reuters) - The US Supreme Court declined on Tuesday to reinstate the authority of immigration judges to temporarily postpone deportation cases, keeping in place an agreement between President Donald Trump's administration and Republican-governed Texas that bars the once-common practice. The justices denied an emergency request by three US cities including Baltimore and an immigrant legal advocacy group to halt for now the deal ending the practice, known as "administrative closure," while litigation continues in the dispute. The Supreme Court's decision, issued as a brief, one-sentence order, did not offer any explanation, as is common when it handles emergency requests. None of the justices publicly dissented from the decision. The administration and Texas filed the agreement in a federal court in Texas on June 22, the same day that the state sued to challenge the immigration court procedure. A federal judge swiftly approved the agreement on the same day. Baltimore and the other litigants said the federal government improperly colluded with Texas to secure the rule's invalidation. In a statement, the litigants and the lawyers representing them from the liberal legal group Democracy Forward expressed disappointment in Tuesday's decision. "Eliminating these protections puts vulnerable people at greater risk of deportation and undermines public safety in communities across the country," they said in the statement. "This dangerous abuse of the judicial process threatens the rule of law and sets a troubling precedent for dismantling federal policies without meaningful public participation or judicial scrutiny," they added. Representatives from the Justice Department and the Texas attorney general's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Immigration judges relied on administrative closure for decades to clear certain deportation cases off their busy dockets, including when separate proceedings involving the same person are pending that could prevent removal, such as on a visa petition or an appeal of a criminal conviction. Critics including Texas and the Trump administration have said administrative closure has allowed immigrants who lack legal status to remain indefinitely in the United States, acting in effect like an amnesty. HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF CASES Administrative closure has been applied over the years in hundreds of thousands of deportation cases. Ending the practice is part of Trump's hardline approach toward immigrants. In 2024, Biden's administration adopted a regulation that formally codified administrative closure procedures, concluding that it lets judges efficiently manage their caseloads and promote the fair treatment of immigrants. That regulation replaced a prior rule adopted in 2020 during Trump's first term in office that had been judicially blocked. After Trump returned to office in 2025, the Justice Department office that oversees immigration courts, the Executive Office for Immigration Review, announced it would not defend the Biden rule against a legal challenge. In a lawsuit, Texas argued that the rule lets immigration judges "effectively grant indefinite amnesty to aliens illegally present in this country." Trump's administration and the state then jointly asked US District Judge Reed O'Connor in Wichita Falls, Texas, to approve an agreement declaring the Biden rule unlawful. O'Connor did so, blocking it permanently, nationwide. Three municipalities - Baltimore, New Haven, Connecticut, and Columbus, Ohio - and the legal services provider, Centro Legal de la Raza, sought to intervene in the case to defend the rule, but O'Connor rejected their bid. The cities say they all have substantial immigrant populations. The New Orleans-based 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals declined to put the agreement on hold pending an appeal of O'Connor's decision. The cities and Centro Legal de la Raza told the Supreme Court in a filing that Trump's administration circumvented a federal law governing agency procedures by using "manufactured litigation" with "ideologically aligned" Texas to eliminate a regulation it disliked. "The need for interim relief is underscored by the collusion that infected this suit from its inception," they wrote. (Reporting by Andrew Chung in New York; editing by Will Dunham) This article originally appeared on Reuters at https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/us-supreme-court-denies-immigration-160948159.html
With a week to go until the 2026 midterm elections, you'd be forgiven for thinking that President Trump and former President Barack Obama were running against each other this year.
While campaigning for Democrats in Ohio over the weekend, Obama mocked the various renovation projects that Trump has been overseeing at the White House, prompting a pointed response from the president and his administration.
"I don't know if you've noticed, but he seems very focused on home renovations," Obama told the crowd in Cleveland. "He should be on HGTV. Guy's building a ballroom that's bigger than the White House. He's paved over the Rose Garden. He's put a helicopter pad on the South Lawn. And there's gold everywhere - what's up with the gold? Everything, more gold. He's got the White House looking like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory."
What else did Obama say?
Obama also skewered the Trump administration for the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool controversy.
"Remember that whole thing about 'drain the swamp'?" he said. "The only thing that got drained was the reflecting pool in the National Mall after some no-bid contract got it all messed up, and then they tried to blame a three-time Olympian and say he vandalized it."
Obama also taunted Trump for starting a trade war with "that well-known evil empire, Canada."
"I mean, these are the people who gave us maple syrup and Martin Short," Obama said.
In a Truth Social post hours after Obama spoke, Trump called Obama a "grossly incompetent President" but did not address the Cheesecake Factory comment. On Monday, the White House account on X posted a digitally altered image of the restaurant's menu listing what it described as Trump's accomplishments, saying, "The only thing bigger than the menu is the list of President Trump's accomplishments."
Then on Tuesday, the White House hosted an hourslong YouTube livestream titled "Lo-fi Beats to Dismantle DEI To," featuring a split-screen of what the administration described as Trump's efforts to dismantle DEI and an AI-generated cartoon of the president waving to a crowd of Americans in front of a Cheesecake Factory. A Cheesecake Factory in Naperville, Ill., in 2025.
Timothy Hiatt via Getty Images
At a campaign rally in Mississippi on Monday, President Trump praised the restaurant chain as "a very successful company" and defended the need for White House renovations - which are projected to cost at least $900 million - while denying that he has spent too much time focusing on them.
"The White House represents our country, and that has to be pristine," Trump said in Corinth, Miss., while stumping for incumbent GOP Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith. "I would try and explain that to a guy like Obama, but he wouldn't understand. He doesn't understand the White House has to be clean, pristine, beautiful. It can't have cracks in the column."
Trump insisted that he had spent "very little time" on redesigning the White House, but also said that he has "fun doing it" and that "it actually relaxes me."
"I do it very good," he said. "I'm really good in real estate and fixing things. I fix things very good, very beautifully and I always build beautiful and inexpensive, which is a good combination if you can do."
Most Americans, though, disapprove of the president devoting his time to such projects. An ABC News/Washington Post poll conducted earlier this month found 59% of U.S. adults say Trump is spending "too much" time on renovating the White House, compared with 27% who say he is spending the right amount of time and 11% who say not enough.
What's at stake?
President-elect Donald Trump shakes hands with President Barack Obama during a meeting in the Oval Office, Nov. 10, 2016.
Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images
The president, whose overall approval ratings are near all-time lows, has been out on the campaign trail hoping to help Republicans avert a so-called blue wave and hold on to control of Congress.
In recent stump speeches, Trump has urged would-be voters to pretend he's running to encourage a bigger turnout.
"In this election, if you would, I'm asking you to pretend that I'm on the ballot," he said in Mississippi.
Obama has been out on the trail too. He's seeking to boost Democrats in key races, such as those in Ohio and Michigan, as the party looks to flip both chambers of Congress.
But Trump suggested Obama is campaigning against him.
"He fought me with crooked Hillary [Clinton]. That didn't work out well. Then he fought me with Kamala [Harris]. That didn't work out well," the president said. "And now they say, 'Oh, whoa. Barack Obama is going to start campaigning.' And he's not even campaigning. Tell him he's not campaigning about me. Maybe he'll go home."This article originally appeared on Yahoo News at https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/article/how-the-cheesecake-factory-got-dragged-into-a-spat-involving-trump-and-obama-days-before-the-midterms-212002243.html
3 Alexander brothers each get 30 years for sex trafficking after women speak in court 3 Alexander brothers each get 30 years for sex trafficking after women speak in court Real estate brokers Oren and Tal Alexander and their brother, Alon, listen as their lawyers argue for lesser sentences at a New York courtroom Tuesday. (Jane Rosenberg / Reuters)Two former luxury real estate brokers and their brother were each sentenced to 30 years in federal prison, seven months after they were convicted of drugging and raping women in a sex trafficking ring.Federal prosecutors sought life sentences for Oren and Alon Alexander, a pair of former powerful real estate brokers, and their brother, Tal, in a New York City courtroom Tuesday afternoon. Attorneys for the brothers, who have asserted their innocence, asked the judge to give the men the mandatory minimum, instead.U.S. District Judge Valerie Caproni characterized the brothers as "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." On one side, they were described as gentlemen who loved their children, she said, and on the other, they were described as "sadistic, misogynistic, sexual predators.""Your conduct was monstrous," Caproni said in her sentencing. But Caproni added that she did not believe the Alexander brothers were beyond redemption, declining the request to give them life sentences.In addition to 30 years of incarceration, she ordered 10 years of supervised release and sex offender treatment approved by the probation office. They are not to have contact with any child under age 18 unless it is approved by the probation office. Twins Alon and Oren Alexander, 39, were ordered to pay $300,000 each in fines. Tal Alexander, 40, was ordered to pay $350,000.Caproni said she will ask the Bureau of Prisons to consult with experts about whether they should be allowed to be held together, as she believes they are bad influences on one another.The men were found guilty in March of 10 counts, including conspiracy to commit sex trafficking and sex trafficking by force, after a trial that included testimony from 11 women who described being lured, drugged and sexually assaulted over a period of years. Six of the women were part of the indictment.Tal Alexander and Oren Alexander in New York in 2016. (Sean Zanni / Patrick McMullan via Getty file)In a sentencing memo, prosecutors in New York's Southern District said more than 70 women came forward with allegations of abuse and accused the brothers of exploiting their wealth, influence and connections to target victims.Victim statements from 11 women, some using court-assigned pseudonyms, were read at the hearing before the judge's decision. The women asked Caproni to impose a sentence that was appropriate for the profound impact the men had on their lives.One victim, Maya Miller, described the trauma of her rape by Tal Alexander as having settled into her nervous system."I carry a quiet funeral inside me," Miller said. Another victim, Olivia Lane, told the judge that she was "profoundly incapacitated" after having had a fraction of one drink while meeting Oren Alexander. She described being raped at least a dozen times while she was terrified and in pain.She then directly addressed the men."You are weak. You are inhumane," Lane said. "You never had power, and look at you now." Two women described the men as having almost inhuman eyes during their assaults. Isa Brooks said, "Their eyes went black during the attack, like I was being mauled by animals." Lane said, "I remember looking at him and seeing a monster, black eyes."The women also emphasized the Alexander brothers' lack of remorse or acknowledgment of their victims throughout the trial. Victim Katie Moore noted in her statement that after five weeks of trial and having been found guilty, the men "cannot even look us in the eye as we speak today." "These men spent years treating women and girls like their humanity meant nothing," Moore said.The brothers honed their methods together, attacking women in a way that was designed to humiliate and degrade them, prosecutor Elizabeth Espinosa said at the sentencing. "When they were done, they bragged to each other and their friends. ... The defendants knew exactly what they were doing, and they did it anyway, and they did it over and over and over again," she said.Oren Alexander, 37, center, and his twin brother, Alon, center-right, speak to their attorney Joel Denaro during their bond hearing at the Richard E. Gerstein Justice Building on Dec. 13, 2024, in Miami. (Matias J. Ocner / Miami Herald via Getty file)At trial, prosecutors said the brothers raped the women after having promised them parties and trips. One woman testified that she lost control of her body after she had a drink with Alon Alexander at a New York City club.When she awoke, she testified, they were naked on a bed. She kept trying to get up, and he kept pushing her back down, she said. When she told him that she didn't want to have sex with him, she testified, he responded, "'You already did.'"In a sentencing submission, attorneys for the brothers acknowledged that they sometimes behaved insensitively toward women but categorically denied that any of them had raped or sexually assaulted anyone. At trial, the attorneys described the sex as consensual and said the women were motivated in part by financial gain."All the stories were rehearsed," Tal Alexander's attorney, Deanna Paul, said in her closing argument. "They're looking for money."Paul urged the judge to consider giving her client the mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison, saying the verdict has not changed her view of the evidence. She said 15 years is already an extraordinary punishment, so "what would another 20 or 30 years accomplish?"Attorneys for the two other brothers similarly asked Caproni to give the men 15 years. Marc Agnifilo, who represents Oren Alexander, told her the men all stopped their "sexually aggressive" behavior after they met their wives."All three defendants stopped, and that matters," Agnifilo said.Each of the brothers was given an opportunity to address the court directly before he was issued his sentence. Oren Alexander was the first to ask Caproni for a lighter sentence. He once again denied the assaults in his comments before he assaulted her that he has built a new life and family. "My son needs me, and I need to be there for him, and I ask your honor to impose the minimum sentence," he said. Tal Alexander, who was next to speak, expressed regret over his past actions. "The person who stands in court is not the same man as before," he said, asking Caproni to consider the entirety of his life in the decision. "I wish I showed more maturity," he said. "I cannot undo moments when I was immature and careless with other people's feelings. I understand the jury found me guilty, and I know words cannot change that."The last brother to speak, Alon, insisted that he was innocent and that he had never raped any women. He invoked his two young daughters in asking for the mercy of the court. "I am afraid of being Daddy in the photograph," he said. Caproni appeared unmoved by their statements, emphasizing that the rapes were not a result of "party culture or hookup culture" as they described. She said it was not enough to rape the women - the brothers sought to humiliate them, she asserted."That marriage would transform them from sexual predators to normal gentlemen, I disagree," Caproni said. "Rape is about power. ... Having a girlfriend or a wife doesn't mean you are not going to rape or humiliate women."This article was originally published on NBCNews.comThis article originally appeared on NBC News at https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/ex-luxury-real-estate-brokers-brother-sentenced-federal-sex-traffickin-rcna605818
Alex Pretti's family says the DOJ is stonewalling their efforts for justice Alex Pretti's family says the DOJ is stonewalling their efforts for justiceMichael Pretti and Susan Pretti, parents of Alex Pretti, who was killed by federal immigration agents in January, listen during a news conference, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt) - Ellen Schmidt/APThe parents of Alex Pretti, a US citizen shot and killed by immigration agents in Minneapolis in January, are accusing the Department of Justice of violating their rights under a federal victims' rights law, as they demand transparency and justice in their son's death.In a July letter to Attorney General Todd Blanche - obtained exclusively by CNN - an attorney representing Michael and Susan Pretti wrote they have not received any substantive updates from the DOJ regarding an investigation into their son's death, and called the department's attitude toward the case "cruel.""The government's pattern of conduct is not only unconscionable, but unlawful," the letter states.Pretti's parents on Tuesday accused the federal government of "shielding Alex's killers" by not turning over the entire federal case file to state investigators."We will no longer stay silent about the actions of the Department of Justice in the 275 days since Alex's murder," Pretti's father, Michael, said in the family's first news conference since the 37-year-old ICU nurse's death.The Pretti family met with US Attorney for the District of Minnesota Dan Rosen on July 13, the letter explains, the same day Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced in a news conference federal officials had handed over volumes of evidence from Pretti's shooting.However, the letter goes on to say that, despite a public acknowledgment from local officials of an evidence-sharing agreement, Rosen refused to provide any information and would not even confirm the arrangement.A gunshot perforation in a window pane can be seen in a window in front of a makeshift memorial for Alex Pretti on January 26 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. - Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images"It is impossible to convey how the government's refusal to engage in transparent communication with the Pretti family has compounded their heartbreak," the missive says."Further, with each such refusal, U.S. Attorney Rosen even refused to explain the basis for his position, instead stating only that 'I can't tell you for all kinds of reasons,' without providing a single one," according to the letter.Federal investigators who briefly agreed to share their evidence with state law enforcement have since stopped cooperating, said Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, who is leading a lawsuit against the Department of Justice."We are in litigation with the federal government right now to secure the rest of the remaining file, which they could give us this morning if they were inclined to do so, but it looks like we're going to need a court order. I'm sorry that it comes to that," Ellison told CNN's Sara Sidner Tuesday morning. "Any prosecutor can tell you, you can't go forward with half a file. You need the whole thing."CNN has reached out to the DOJ and the US Attorney for Minnesota.In its response to Minnesota's lawsuit, the Department of Justice said it is not required to turn over evidence to a state agency before an active court case is underway.The Pretti family's attorney, Steve Schleicher, says they have heard nothing from the DOJ since sending their letter."I've never seen a family treated with such cruelty and disrespect," he said.Pretti's death was captured in its entirety on video. Like some other incidents that occurred as a result of the Trump administration's ongoing immigration crackdown, the footage from Pretti's shooting differed from the version of events provided by the Department of Homeland Security.unknown content item - Kristi Noem, then-DHS secretary, initially described Pretti as a "terrorist" who "attacked" officers after "brandishing" a weapon, though the video disputed those claims. White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller referred to Pretti as an "assassin" who tried to murder federal agents."No one from the federal government called us on that horrible day, but they did go on TV to tell lies about Alex," Michael Pretti said Tuesday.Video footage shows, minutes before the fatal encounter with Pretti, immigration agents patrolling a Minneapolis street and interacting with bystanders. A witness, Nilson Barahona, told CNN agents were trying to apprehend someone who fled into a donut shop that locked its doors, leaving the group of federal officers on the sidewalk and street. Agents detained one observer as others blew whistles, yelled and recorded video on their phones.Video shows Pretti attempting to intervene in a scuffle between an observer and the agents.During the incident, Pretti was pepper-sprayed in the face. One of the officers can be heard in the footage shouting: "Gun! Gun! Gun!" as Pretti is on his knees and bent forward. An agent removed Pretti's gun from his waistband and can be seen exiting the skirmish. At about the same time, one agent drew his service weapon.About a second after the agent holding Pretti's weapon moved away, the officer who drew his own weapon appeared to fire several shots at Pretti before another agent drew his weapon and a shot rang out. The other officer then raised his gun and fired more shots. At least 10 gunshots can be heard on the video.The DHS report on its initial investigation into Pretti's death says an officer yelled, "He's got a gun" multiple times before the officers fired."It's difficult to get up every day, to function, to be a parent, knowing that your child's never coming home," Susan Pretti told CNN's Jake Tapper after Tuesday's news conference. "No parent should have to live what we're living. No daughter should have to wake up and know that her only sibling is no longer here.""What the federal government has taken away from us, from his friends, his family, his colleagues, from his patients, from the patients' families. They've taken away all of that - and it's reprehensible," he told Tapper.Susan Pretti said she knew Alex as her son, but the outpouring of support they've received from his friends and coworkers has helped her see another side of him."Every letter and card that we received from his colleagues, telling us who he was, at work … not only helping his patients but his colleagues," Susan Pretti said, choking up. "You know what that's like for a parent to hear? It is probably the kindest thing a parent can ever hear about their child."unknown content item - Michael Pretti said his trust in the government is fading.Pretti's death followed the fatal shooting of Renee Good on January 7 and the non-fatal shooting of Julio Sosa-Celis on January 14 by immigration agents during Operation Metro Surge. Those incidents prompted significant protests in Minneapolis and across the country for weeks.Hennepin County prosecutors have fought the DOJ for key evidence in Pretti's death for months, after federal law enforcement repeatedly threw up blockades to their access.On the day Pretti was killed, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension attempted to access the scene to launch an investigation but was banned by federal authorities. CNN was on scene the next day when the BCA first accessed the scene on a court order from a state judge.State and local investigators sued the Trump administration in federal court to obtain evidence in Pretti's killing. After an evidence-sharing agreement between the DOJ and Minnesota investigators was finalized in June, Hennepin County prosecutors received volumes of evidence in Pretti's shooting.Weeks later, the DOJ abruptly changed course and stopped sharing information, leaving Hennepin County prosecutors unable to access crucial evidence such as the weapons used to shoot Pretti and the firearm Pretti was carrying in his waistband at the time of the altercation, according to court records filed October 13.People pay their respects during a candlelight vigil for Alex Pretti after he was shot and killed earlier in the day on January 24, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. - Brandon Bell/Getty Images/FileThe letter from Pretti's parents asks the DOJ to identify the federal employees who shot and killed Pretti, commit to sharing information with state and local investigators, confirm whether the FBI is continuing to investigate Pretti's murder, and return any items of Pretti's personal property no longer needed for evidentiary purposes."No family should have to beg the U.S. government to do its job," the letter says. "And no government should act with such caprice."The Pretti family's attorney declined to say Tuesday whether they would file a suit of their own against the Department of Justice."The family will avail itself to any and all remedies in its pursuit of justice for Alex," Schleicher said.Until they find justice, the family is comforted by shared memories of their son. Michael Pretti recalled a specific camping trip when Alex was about 6 years old. Just as they were wrapping up the weekend and preparing to leave, Alex rode his new bike off a small bridge and into a creek."He comes back and he's soaked," Michael Pretti said with a grin, prompting a chuckle from his wife. "That was a good memory, that was a good weekend that stands out," he said, adding "that's probably where his love for hiking and biking started."CNN's Andy Rose and Cindy Von Quednow contributed to this report.For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.comThis article originally appeared on CNN at https://www.cnn.com/2026/10/26/us/alex-pretti-investigation-family
