justin finch explains.eporter: saturday will mark one year since the supreme court reversed roby weight federal abortion protection. today some 25 million women of childbearing age now live in states where abortions are now harder to get. president biden, signing an executive order friday calling for federal agencies to help expand americans' access to low-cost contraception. >> we will make sure that a woman can access what she needs to take care of herself. reporter: the order, largely seen as a symbolic as federal law already requires insurers cover fda approved contraception. in washington, the president and vice president, attending a reproductive rights event and earning early endorsements from pro-abortion access groups, including planned parenthood. today 20 democratic leaning states have protected abortion access. while more than a dozen republican led states have some kind of abortion restriction policy in place or pending, with 13 enacting the or total bans. >> my understanding is baby deserve eq

abc's justin finch joins us live from miami with the very latest. justin good morning. andrew good morning. federal and local law enforcement have been working on a security plan now for several days for a former president trump and also for the crowds he's called to rally here outside of miami. federal court this morning. security ramping up in downtown miami. the secret service already surveilling near the federal courthouse where former president donald trump is set to formally face charges alleging he mishandled classified records and obstructed government efforts to get them back to get indicted over nothing. you get indicted over the presidential records act, which they don't even admit. they call it the espionage act. trump now, the first current or former american president to face federal criminal charges and to do so while campaigning for another term, if even half of it is true, then he's toast. it's a very detailed indictment, and it's very, very. trump insisting he's done nothing wrong and that he will never leave the 2024 race. a new abc news ipsos poll fi

in miami i am justin finch. reggie: san francisco officials are starting to figure out what is next for the westfield mall. the mall's operator announced it is giving up control as the occupancy continues to drop. ryan curry choices live with what mayor london breed is saying. ryan: mayor london breed gave this statement, she and her office are moving past this saying they are focused on what to do with the future of the site moving forward. for right now, operations of the mall are ongoing. talks with westfield have pointed to the conclusion that eventually, they would lead to a future where they are no longer operating in san francisco. they will soon only have half the retail space being used. other stores like ba republic will soon be closing. sales dropped from 450 million in 2019 to 298 million in september last year. they will be transferring management to someone new to operate the mall handing it back over to its current lender. we spoke with the bay area council saying that downtown continues to strugg

justin finch reports crucial role. >> this marks one supreme court.re's also federal abortion protection. today, 25 million women now live in states where it's harder to get abortion. this. it is fundamental. it is a fight to restore roe v. wade. the law the land once again. were going to do that. >> a democratic leaning state is protecting abortion access while republican-led states have policies in place. 13 for a total ban. >> my understanding is washington post poll. it is opposing the decision. nancy pelosi carries republicans to take legislation that would restore abortion protection. >> constituents will have a lot more in the next election. >> across the aisle, current republican presidential candidate mike pence double sound. >> every republican candidate for president should support a ban on abortion before 15 weeks. next vice president harris is set to observe one year since the abortion decision with a major speech on reproductive rights in north carolina. justin finch, abc news washington. >> joe biden released a statement as we mark one

justin finch, abc7 news. kumasi: stay with us throughout the day. the former president will be arraigned around noon on the west coast and abc news is planning on doing live coverage. you can watch it live right here on abc7 and wherever you stream. 7000 shirts made by oakland a's fans will be handed out at the oakland coliseum and all of the shirts say one word, sell. that is a message to john fisher. fans are urging him to sell the team to someone who will keep the is -- keep the oakland a's in oakland. they are planning to pack the coliseum to show thata' a's have always been rooted in oakland. reggie: the las vegas ballpark proposal appears to be stolen again. there were waterways as lawmakers returned to the special session to discuss the stadium funding bill. a's are asking to put million to finance a new stadium. gloria rodriguez is in the studio with what is happening today. lawyer -- gloria: the assembly is expected to have an informational presentation about the funding for the proposed stadium in las vegas. five minutes to take roll and w

justin finch, abc news, washington. >> it has been two years since the deadly call apps of a high-rise- deadly collapse of a high-rise condo in surfside, florida. this residential building partially collapsed. the town called it the worst non-weather-related disaster. . property after the collapse. still ahead, woody's on the wharf. the classic cars rolling through santa cruz and why the tradition is so special to multiple generations. and a live look outside this morning. a little overcast today. we will have your forecast coming up in a few minutes. (yelping) fear not, i got you. choice hotels has a hotel for every type of stay. like a comfort with the kiddos. spacious! that's what they all say. stay twice and get a $50 gift card when you book direct at choicehotels.com. - i'm sherry - and i'm john. i'm a pharmacist. as we were starting to age, it's like, well how can we help our cognitive abilities? we saw prevagen. i did read the clinical study and went ahead and gave it a try. i feel that prevagen is helping me with overall clarity and as a pharmacist, i've recommended it to, not

abc's justin finch is there. hey, justin, what can we expect today ? hey there, ryan. and good morning. and law enforcement here in miami promising very tight security as violent rhetoric heats up online. ahead of today's historic arraignment . but this morning, a major ruling just hours before a former president trump surrenders to federal authorities in miami on charges that he mishandled classified documents. a judge last night denied a request from media outlets, including abc news, seeking video and audio access to the hearing. the judge saying a court reporter will provide only transcripts of the proceedings. meanwhile, trump made the rounds on conservative radio outlets saying he will plead not guilty today. i didn't do anything wrong, did nothing wrong. president records act. it's not even a criminal event. there is no criminality here. trump and his supporters have called for protest at the courthouse, slamming the special counsel's indictment, claiming trump is the victim of a double standard at the justice department. law enforcement officials are bracing fo

abc's justin finch has those details. justin, good morning. >> andrew good morning.enior us official is revealing more about the mysterious deal between the kremlin and the wagner mercenary group who got even closer to moscow than we first thought. this morning, new details about the apparent deal between moscow and yevgeny prigozhin, the leader of the wagner mercenary group who attempted a rebellion against the kremlin. a senior us official tells abc news pregame john stopped his trip saturday and accepted a deal to go into exile in belarus after it became clear that russian defense leaders were going to align with vladimir putin. the official also says prigozhin and his troops got closer to moscow than previously reported about 100 miles from the russian capital making much faster progress than they imagined, she shooting down helicopters and a fighter jet along the way. an angry putin yesterday claimed the armed rebellion would have been suppressed. in any case, denouncing the organizers for betraying russia, though never mentioning prigozhin by name. pagosa also

abc's justin finch is here to explain. justin, good morning. >> morgan good morning. we are awaiting some blockbuster decision this morning, including rulings on student loans and affirmative action. the supreme court is expected to hand down a new round of opinion this morning. one decision could determine whether president biden's $400 billion plan to forgive student loan debt is constituted final. the plan would forgive up to $20,000 in debt for people like ashley robinson. >> it's like throwing money out the window and setting it on fire. if the court rules against biden's debt relief, robinson says she may join a growing movement calling for a union of defiant borrowers who will simply stop making payments. i have sworn up and down that i am just not paying on these anymore . >> for robinson says she's paid about $33,000 toward her $50,000 loan balance. but she says when she checked her balance recently, the total she owes remained around 50,000 because of the interest rate. >> trying to make these payments . it's i know i've made at least 100 at this point, but

abc's justin finch is here now with more. justin, where does putin stand now? >> andrew, good morning. that remains to be seen. the state department says the militia groups unimpeded march towards moscow shows the walls around putin may finally be cracking. this morning, several questions remain in the wake of a short lived rebellion against the kremlin, which has the white house questioning the strength of president vladimir putin's regime. >> 16 months ago, putin was on the doorstep of kyiv in ukraine , looking to take the city in a matter of days. a race to the country from the map now. now he's had to defend moscow. >> on friday, yevgeny prigozhin , the leader of the wagner mercenary group, a key asset for russia on the front lines in parts of ukraine, announced a revolt against russian military leaders. prigozhin and his troops took control of two russian military hubs in the south, russian media reported the downing of multiple helicopters and a military communications plane. pagosa's troops cheered by many russians. but just 120 miles from moscow. so the

abc's justin finch is here with those details. justin, good morning. andrew good morning. and long before last week's indictment in the classified records case, the washington post reports former president trump rejected the idea of arranging a settlement with the justice department. the post says trump attorney christopher kise wanted to quietly approach the justice department last fall to broker a deal that would avoid charges. the deal would have included returning all the documents. trump was reportedly not interested. in the meantime, sources say trump is narrowing down a list of potential new lawyers for the case. but with no court date set yet, they've been able to take their time. the indictment does not seem to be hurting trump politically, though a new poll shows trump enjoys 53% support among republican and republican leaning voters, compared to 56% last month. and the trump campaign says it's now raised $7 million since last week's indictment. lionel, justin, thank you. nine more women are suing bill cosby, accusing him of sexual assault between the late 70s an

let's get right over to abc's justin finch, joining us with those details. justin good morning. >> lionel good morning. president biden had strong words for that decision saying this is not a normal court. the landmark ruling by the supreme court effectively ending affirmative action could have consequences far beyond higher education. president biden last night saying the court went too far right, adding the court has become not just conservative, but it's like a throwback. earlier a reporter asked biden if the supreme court is a rogue court. is this a rogue court? >> this is not a normal court in a 6 to 3 decision, the court's conservative justices declared the admissions policies at the two schools at the center of the case, harvard and the university of north carolina, violate the constitution's guarantee of equal protection of the laws. >> just as clarence thomas, who acknowledges benefiting from affirmative action himself, writing while i am painfully aware of the social and economic ravages which have befallen my race and all who suffer discrimination,

the details are coming to light now that jack teixeira has been indicted and abc's justin finch is here now with more. justin, good morning . rihanna and good morning. the indictment claims jack teixeira potentially jeopardized the supply of military aid to ukraine by leaking the kind of hardware the us was preparing to deliver. federal prosecutors allege 21 year old jack teixeira was risking us national security and the lives of us service members, allies and others to impress friends online, including on chat groups on the discord gaming platform. i'm in the six count grand jury indictment charging teixeira with willful retention and transmission of classified information. a revelation about the real time impact of teixeira's alleged leaking. this was a deliberate criminal act. the indictment explaining that teixeira's alleged leaks included key details about the us providing military support for ukraine's fight against russia, including how that equipment would be transferred and used. teixeira worked as an it specialist for the massachusetts air national guard , earning a top secret

abc's justin finch joins us now from washington. and justin, a potential hurdle here, not everyone is thrilled with steel. andrew good morning. and that is right. the often divided house, though, delivering more than enough votes to launch that debt ceiling deal into the senate, where some members are already slamming the bill on the house floor. a major win for the debt limit deal. yays are 314. the nays are 117. the bill is passed. a true bipartisan effort with 165 democrat cats and 149 republican voting yes, delivering almost 100 more votes than needed to pass the deal struck between the president and the house speaker. in a statement, president biden said loots the house vote, calling the budget agreement a bipartisan compromise and saying it protects critical programs that millions of hardworking families, students and veterans count on. house speaker kevin mccarthy celebrating. i thought it'd be almost impossible just to get to 218. the legislation agreed to by president biden and speaker mccarthy calls for a pulling back billi

abc's justin finch is here now with the very latest. justin, good morning. >> good morning, andrew. trump now says the recording of him talking with a staffer about a classified document from the pentagon was just his bravado. this morning, former president trump offering a new explanation for that audio recording, quote , in the indictment related to his handling of classified documents. trump telling abc's rachel scott, if you want to know the truth, it was bravado. i was talking and just holding up papers and talking about them . but i had no documents. >> as he continued to insist throughout the duration of our interview with him that he did nothing wrong. he maintains the fact that he wasn't actually showing classified documents. but you heard the recording for yourself. >> trump spoke to rachel after abc news aired the recording from a meeting at trump's new jersey golf club in 2021, in which trump described a document he says was compiled by former trump joint chiefs chairman general mark milley, outlining a potential attack on iran. >> i just found. isn't that amazing? just

abc's justin finch is in washington with the very latest. justin, good morning. andrew good morning. the senate passing this deal before midnight with 44 democrats and 17 republicans voting yes. and sparing the nation its first ever default. with only days to spare, the biden mccarthy debt ceiling deal cleared the senate . the ayes are 63. the nays are 36. the 60 vote threshold having been achieved and the bill is passed at the upper chamber passing the compromise legislation after racing through a series of amendments, votes and incoming fire from some senators on the right and left. but the people who negotiated this out, i wouldn't let them buy me a car. this debt ceiling agreement will cut programs for some of the most vulnerable people in america. in a statement, president biden thanked senate leaders for quickly passing the bill and adding, no one gets everything they want in a negotiation and calling the bipartisan agreement a big win for our economy and the american people. while senate majority leader chuck schumer hailing democrats for pushing the packa

let's get right to abc's justin finch. he has more from bedminster, new jersey, where trump spoke last night. justin, good morning. andrew good morning. trump spoke to supporters here last night about his arraignment, calling it a day of infamy for america. former president trump was defiant last night hours after his arrest on federal criminal charges related to his handling of classic documents. today, we witnessed the most evil and heinous abuse of power in the history of our country. at his new jersey golf club, hundreds of supporters, including major republican donors, sang happy birthday to trump, who turned 77 today. they. is likely to be his legal argument in the case, falsely claiming that he could keep classified documents under the presidential records act. i had every right to have these documents earlier in this miami courthouse, trump was silent as his lawyer entered a not guilty plea to 37 federal charges, including conspiracy and obstruction. special counsel jack smith, who led the investigation, was sitting

justin finch has the details. reporter: the justice department, laying out its argument against the former president, donald trump, and his aide in a 49 page indictment. >> i invite everyone to read it in full, to understand the scope and gravity of the crimes charged. reporter: the charges, 37 criminal counts in total including 31 counts of lawful retention -- willful retention of national defense information, one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice and one count of scheme to conceal. the indictment stems from the grand jury probe into his alleged mishandling of classified documents and efforts to hamper return to the government in accordance of the law. the unsealed indictment includes images of places where trump kept classified documents. including a bathroom and bedrooms. the dispute resulting in an fbi search of trump's mar-a-lago home this year. >> we have one set of laws in this country and they apply to everyone. reporter: in new jersey, the first new images of the former president seen golfing at his