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tv   America This Morning  ABC  May 21, 2024 4:30am-5:01am PDT

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right now on america this morning, former president trump's defense likely resting its case today in his hush money trial after an explosive day in court yesterday. the judge admonishing a witness, even clearing the courtroom at one point. what to expect today. plus trump making news overnight
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for a social media post suggesting his election victory will bring a unified reich, a term associated with germany. >> the new reaction coming in under arrest in paradise. >> an american father could learn his fate today as he faces prison time for bringing two rounds of ammunition into turks and caicos. what he's saying ahead of his court hearing. dramatic new video showing the arrest of a former mlb pitcher taken into custody in an underage sex sting. >> taking aim at i. >> actress scarlett johansson threatening legal action claiming chatgpt copied her voice and the legal battle involving graceland. >> you ain't nothin goin on. >> how elvis's granddaughter is hoping to block the sale of the historic landmark. >> from abc news. this is america this morning. >> good morning everyone. i'm andrew dymburt. >> good morning to you. i'm rhiannon ally. we begin with an explosive day in donald trump's
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hush money trial. a defense witness is returning to the stand today after the judge threatened to strike his testimony. >> the chaos unfolded once michael cohen left the stand, following an admission that he stole money from trump's company. here's abc's lionel moise. >> after prosecutors rested their case in donald trump's hush money trial, some tense moments in the courtroom between the judge and a surprise witness called to the stand by trump's legal team. robert costello is a lawyer who advised trump fixer michael cohen after his hotel room and office were raided by the fbi in 2018. in court, trump's legal team got cohen to admit under oath that he stole $30,000 from the trump organization, focused on destroying his credibility as a witness. but when robert costello took the stand, things got heated. costello said he told cohen all his problems would go away if he just told the feds the truth about donald trump and the deal with stormy daniels. but he said cohen insisted trump knew nothing
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about those payments, that he did this on his own, saying, i swear to god, bob, i don't have anything on donald trump. prosecutors objected several times, and when judge juan merchan upheld those objections, costello could be heard from the witness stand saying geez and mumbling ridiculous under his breath. the judge furious, ultimately clearing the jury t address costello directly. if you don't like my ruling, you don't give me side eye and you don't roll your eyes, do you understand that? costello glared at him. are you staring me down? the judge asked the judge, then, clearing the entire courtroom. costello ultimately resumed testimony, but some legal experts say his outburst could work against the defense team. don't make yourself a sideshow to what could be a very important message that would that michael cohen lied. >> and you can't believe michael cohen. and it's the goal and object of that criminal defense team to take this away from falsifying business records and
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make it a case about the extorter, stormy daniels and the liar, conniving agenda driven michael cohen. costello could have given a little bit more, but he lost that opportunity to a large extent before adjourning . >> trump's lawyers tried to get the case dismissed. hopefully, the motion to dismiss this trial will go through because this trial is a disaster for our country. but the trial is far from over, with the defense team expected to rest its case today ahead of the holiday, the jury will be excused until after memorial day, with jury instructions and closing arguments and deliberations next week. the former president is not expected to take the stand. trump's legal issues have been a major cost as he prepares to take on joe biden in the presidential election, disclosure reports show trump's save america super pac spent $3.3 million in legal bills last month, also showing more than a million in legal fees, which have yet to be paid to various law firms. rhiannon andrew. >> lionel. thank you. trump is facing backlash over social
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media posts with wording associated with germany. a video that appears to suggest there will be a, quote, unified reich if he wins the election. the phrase pops up as part of hypothetical news headlines. the biden camp responded to the post, saying trump is telling america exactly what he will do if he regains power. a trump campaign official said this was not a campaign video. it was created by a random account online and reposted by a staffer who clearly did not see the word. >> iran's supreme leader declared five days of public mourning after the helicopter crash that killed the country's president and top diplomat. abc's em nguyen has reaction from the u.s. and tehran. good morning. >> i'm rhiannon. good morning. iran will hold memorial services today for president raisi as new video surfaces of the crash site . crowds gathered in iran overnight to mourn the loss of president ebrahim raisi, who was killed in a helicopter crash on the northern iranian mountainside, new video shows.
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the moment search teams reached the wreckage after more than a dozen hours of searching through heavy fog in the immediate aftermath of the crash. conspiracy theories of foreign involvement are cropping up online, but u.s. defense secretary lloyd austin, making it clear the u.s. had nothing to do with the crash. >> the united states had no part to play in in that crash. and so and that's that's a fact, plain and simple. >> the state department says the iranian government even requested help from the u.s. government in finding the helicopter, but was unable to assist for what officials called logistical reasons. the loss of iran's president, coming at a time of heightened tension, considered iran's second most powerful person behind ayatollah ali khamenei, raisi was considered a top contender to one day replace the 85 year old supreme leader in 2022. raisi was responsible for the brutal crackdown on protesters in iran
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and oversaw the massive missile and drone attack on israel last month. we have been quite clear that ebrahim raisi was a brutal participant in the repression of the iranian people for nearly four decades, he was involved in numerous horrific human rights abuses. >> that said, we regret any loss of life. >> crowds now gathering in iran as the nation mourns the loss of president ebrahim raisi, along with several others in the helicopter crash. but some in iran, along with those in exile in berlin and london celebrating the loss of a man they considered a tyrant. iranian authorities have now agreed to hold the presidential election on june 28th. rhiannon. >> all right. thank you for that . >> president biden is joining israel in slamming the chief prosecutor of the international criminal court. the prosecutor is seeking arrest warrants for israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu, along with three hamas leaders, over their actions taken during the war. he said israel is using starvation
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of palestinians as a method of warfare and collective punishment against civilians. >> unfortunately, these crimes continue to this day. israel, like all states, has the right to defend its population. those rights, however, do not absolve israel of its obligations to comply with international humanitarian law. >> the icc has no jurisdiction over israel, and mr. khan's actions will not stop us from waging our just war against hamas. >> a three judge panel will decide whether to issue the arrest warrants, which could make it hard for netanyahu to travel abroad. >> now to turks and caicos, where tyler wenrick could learn his fate. today, he is one of several americans charged with carrying ammunition into the tropical nation. u.s. lawmakers are now pleading for leniency. this morning, one of the americans facing prison time in turks and caicos over ammunition in their luggage is speaking out ahead of his plea hearing later today. i have a lot of fear and
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anxiety. >> you know the best outcome to this is that the judge will find leniency and compassion in the situation and steer away from that 12 year sentence and be able to give a sentence that is less than that in a fine. >> hopefully tyler wenrick is one of five americans recently charged with carrying small amounts of ammunition into the tropical nation. wenrick was found with just two rounds. he said he mistakenly left in his backpack after a trip to a gun range. yesterday, a bipartisan delegation of u.s. lawmakers traveled to turks and caicos to ask for leniency. senator john fetterman, who was part of the delegation, saying, i left these meetings optimistic that we can get this resolved and look forward to working with my colleagues in congress and tci officials to bring these american citizens home. just last week, a grandmother from florida was arrested at the airport after two bullets were found in her luggage.
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>> i was afraid i didn't know what was going to happen because i couldn't believe they was in there. >> three other men are also waiting for the courts to decide their fate. one could receive his sentence as soon as friday. the turks and caicos passed strict gun laws two years ago after a rise in violence and gun trafficking. the new laws mean the americans face a minimum sentence of 12 years plus a fine. but the court can make exceptions. the state department has warned any americans who are traveling to turks and caicos to carefully check their luggage. we will hear more from tyler wenrick coming up on gma. >> time lapse video shows the cargo ship dolly being moved into the port of baltimore. the ship that brought down the key bridge was moved from the crash scene to a terminal moving about one mile per hour. cruise ships will return to the port this coming weekend, and full port operations are expected by the end of the month. early numbers show the czar's predictions of a record travel summer appear to
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be on track. the agency says friday and sunday were among the five busiest in u.s. history. less than a week before the memorial day holiday. both saw more than 2.8 million travelers pass through airport checkpoints. >> so let's take a look at your morning weather. >> good morning. we're facing some damaging thunderstorms through much of the midwest into the mississippi valley today in through this evening and tonight with large hail, damaging wind and tornado threats as well. the storms will be aggressively moving east across the mississippi valley late in the day and in through the evening and into the night as well. it'll be very warm in the northeast on tuesday, but also tomorrow, wednesday, a day with near record highs for some, with highs within a few degrees of records with highs in the 80s and 90s. i'm accuweather meteorologist jeff cornish. coming up, the nascar driver facing a possible suspension for throwing punches. >> also ahead, authorities return to the new york home of rex huberman, the man charged in
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the so-called gilgo beach killings, setting up a tent in the front yard. so what prompted the search? >> and a former mlb pitcher taken into custody during an underage sex sting? what we're
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all right, it's go time. must see live on gma. >> we're back with a fire at a tesla factory near san francisco. officials say it started last night in an oven at a manufacturing facility. no one was hurt. the exact cause, though, remains under investigation. >> friday marks five years since connecticut mother jennifer dulos disappeared. dulos seemingly vanished after taking her kids to school and has never been found. she and her husband, fotis dulos, were in a custody battle during their divorce. jennifer's mother, gloria farber, is raising the couple's five children. she spoke about her daughter's disappearance with abc affiliate wtnh.
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>> how it happened is just so horrendous. i know, i mean, a poor thing. i mean, i just i just feel i don't know what made him just absolutely go off the rails. >> fotis dulos died by suicide just after being charged with her murder. his girlfriend is being sentenced for conspiracy and other charges next week, and investigators spent hours yesterday at the long island, new york, home of a suspect charged with murdering four women. prosecutors said it was part of the ongoing investigation. rex huberman has pleaded not guilty to killing those four women. investigations into other unsolved murders in the same area are ongoing. >> a former major league pitcher is among 27 people arrested in florida in an underage sex sting, video shows former red sox pitcher austin maddox arriving at a home where police made a dramatic takedown and arrest. they say maddox thought he had arranged to meet an
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underage girl, but he actually had been communicating over the internet with an undercover agent. as you can see from these photographs, these men run the gamut of ages, backgrounds and races. >> but i'm just very happy that they're off the street. >> austin maddox is facing four felony counts. he's being held on a $300,000 bond. well, a post-race punch could lead to a nascar suspension. ricky stenhouse jr took a swing at kyle busch after sunday's all star race in north carolina. he blamed busch for causing a wreck that knocked stenhouse out of the $1 million race. stenhouse could be suspended for the punch. busch may face discipline for the wreck coming up, the fast food wars, heating up, but wendy's is now offering for breakfast. also ahead, actress scarlett johansson threatening legal action, claiming chatgpt copied her voice. how the copied her voice. how the company is responding next my moderate to severe plaque psoriasis held me back... now with skyrizi, i'm all in with clearer skin. ♪ things are getting clearer...♪
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wires in the brain had pulled out of position. well, the wall street journal reports that neuralink says it fixed the problem before the second person gets the chip next month. >> now to scarlett johansson threatening legal action against openai. the actress claims it artificial intelligence copied her voice. the company is now responding to her allegations. this morning, openai is pausing the use of one of its chatgpt voices after actress scarlett johansson said the voice sounded eerily similar to her own. johansson said she was approached by openai ceo sam altman about doing voice work for the chatbot, but that she declined. after hearing the released demo, she wrote, i was shocked, angered and in disbelief, adding my closest friends and news outlets could not tell the difference. the oscar nominated actress hired lawyers to inquire about the process of generating the voice. >> hi. >> hi, how are you doing? >> johansson famously starred in 2013. her playing an ai voice assistant. much like chatgpt product. >> it seems like i'm having so
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many new feelings that i don't think i've ever been felt before. >> that was her actual voice from the movie, and this is a sample of chatgpt. i generated chatbot sky. >> you've got me on the edge of my. well, i don't really have a seat, but you get the idea. fans called out the similarity and comments on that youtube video shared by openai. >> the company disputed the comparison in a blog post, writing ai should not deliberately mimic a celebrity's distinctive voice, and that the voice of sky belongs to a different professional actress who they say was cast for the voice before they reached out to johansson. altman writing in a statement we are sorry to miss johansson that we didn't communicate better. that voice is one of five options on chatgpt. s app. the other options are still available. >> coming up, the legal battle to stop the sale of graceland, plus the private island off of florida selling for a massive florida selling for a massive price. shingles. some describe it as an intense burning sensation,
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it's go time. must see live on gma. >> it's time to check the pulse. and we begin with the new fast food. >> yes. wendy's with the newest entry offering an english muffin, breakfast sandwich and potatoes for three bucks. that follows mcdonald's announcement of a new value meal starting next month. experts say it's a trend that's actually good for consumers. >> it's a great deal for consumers at the drive through. it's an even better deal for wendy's. if one competitor is lowering prices to raise their sales, everyone's going to follow suit and then you'll have a lot more cheap options. >> fast food prices in march were 33% higher than they were in 2019. >> next, graceland up for sale or is it? >> well, a foreclosure notice, says elvis presley's famed home will be auctioned off on thursday. it's based on a lien from an unpaid loan apparently taken out by presley's daughter,
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lisa marie, who died last year. but presley's granddaughter says the loan documents are fake. she is asking the court to stop the sale. one home has already been sold, is a record setter in palm beach, florida, and it did not go to auction. >> it was just sold for $152 million, a record for a property on the intracoastal waterway without additional ocean frontage. >> the mansion is nearly 29,000 total square feet, including 11 bedrooms. there's also lighted tennis courts. and you don't need just one pool. why not have
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now a five dramatic video of a fiery crash overnight. we are live on the scene and we're working to confirm details right now. >> and a business tried playing loud music to get an encampment to go away, but now that encampment is filing a lawsuit. >> more details this morning about speeding cameras being put in all over the bay area. the fines you could face in one city. good morning to you. it's tuesday, may 21st. >> start the check of our forecast with drew. all right. >> we're getting ready for the warmest day of the week today. so we'll have temperatures well above average later o

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