Ava Pittman

My Recent Work

NewsNation •

Suspect in Brown University, MIT professor shootings found dead: Police

(NewsNation) — Federal authorities said the man suspected of killing two students at Brown University and an MIT professor was found dead inside a storage facility in New Hampshire, ending a six-day, interstate manhunt.


Police in Providence, Rhode Island, identified the suspect as Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, 48, a Portuguese national who once studied at Brown University.


Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said Valente was born in Torres Novas, Portugal, and became a U.S. legal p...
NewsNation •

Brown University manhunt: Police release videos of person of interest

(NewsNation) — Authorities have released more video and pictures of a man they believe is a suspect in Saturday’s shooting at Brown University, which killed two students and injured nine others.


The two victims were sophomore Ella Cook and freshman Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov and officials have said the shooting occurred in a classroom. The release of the sole person of interest has left law enforcement without any known suspect and intensified efforts to identify the gunman.


The newly releas...
NewsNation •

Person of interest in custody following Brown University shooting

(NewsNation) — A person of interest is in custody in connection with Saturday’s shooting at Brown University that left two people dead and nine injured, officials confirmed Sunday morning.


The male suspect remained at large until around 3:45 a.m. on Sunday, following an active-shooter incident at Brown University in Providence, R.I. The apprehension occurred at Hampton Inn and Suites on Centre of New England Boulevard in Coventry, R.I., about 17 miles southwest of the school.


Detectives s...
NewsNation •

$15M reward offered for ex-Canadian Olympian, suspected drug kingpin

(NewsNation) — The U.S. Department of Justice is offering a $15 million reward for the capture of suspected Canadian drug kingpin and former Olympian Ryan Wedding, who is accused of engineering a large narco-drug trafficking and narco-terrorism organization backed by a Mexican drug cartel.


Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Wednesday the reward has grown by $5 million as new indictments against Wedding and co-conspirators were unsealed this week. The additional charges, which include witnes...
NewsNation •

Drug busts, arrests surge amid Trump’s war on drugs

(NewsNation) — As the Trump administration wages a war against drug cartels in the Caribbean, the war on drugs continues at home.


A major fentanyl bust shut down a large-scale drug ring stretching across New York.


Officials seized enough of the deadly drug to potentially kill every person who lives in Suffolk County, the second-largest county in New York, with more than 1.5 million people.

The district attorney’s office led the operation, assisted by the Drug Enforcement Administration a...
NewsNation •

‘Ghost plates’ speeding through streets of New York

NEW YORK (NewsNation) — Law enforcement agencies across New York have launched a coordinated crackdown on drivers using illegal “ghost plates,” fake, covered or obscured license plates that enable motorists to evade tolls and hide criminal activity.


A NewsNation exclusive ride-along with the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office Ghost Plate Task Force revealed how routine traffic stops for missing or obscured plates are uncovering serious criminal offenses. 


The multiagency task force, which inc...
NewsNation •

Trump criticizes UN, says peace agenda is being overlooked

(NewsNation) — President Donald Trump returned to the United Nations on Tuesday, delivering an address touting his second-term foreign policy achievements and condemning world leaders.


Trump took the stage at the U.N. General Assembly, opening his remarks by stating the teleprompter wasn’t working, so he’d “speak from the heart,” instead.


Trump quickly slammed the U.N. and questioned its purpose, stating that the United States brokered agreements that ended seven “unendable wars” because t...
NewsNation •

NYC mayoral race heats up with Trump pushing for dropouts

(NewsNation) — The New York City mayoral race is heating up as President Trump pushes for a whittling down of candidates.


At the center of it all is presumptive favorite Zohran Mamdani, who is facing growing pressure from both Democratic and Republican contenders. On Thursday, President Trump told reporters he doesn’t think Mamdani can be beaten unless the race narrows with some candidates dropping out soon. This comes amid allegations that Trump is trying to influence the race by brokering b...
NewsNation •

MS-13 gang violence fueled by young members, New York DA says

(NewsNation) — The violence brought on by the notorious Salvadoran gang MS-13 has left a deep mark in Suffolk County, New York, where District Attorney Raymond Tierney has led the prosecution of dozens of violent cases during his tenure as a federal prosecutor in the Eastern District.


“I prosecuted approximately 67 murders that occurred on Long Island, which were alleged to have been committed by the MS-13,” Tierney said.


Earlier this year, the U.S. State Department designated MS-13 as a t...
NewsNation •

Judge in Trump hush money case weighs if he violated gag order

NEW YORK (NewsNation) — Prosecutors asked New York Judge Juan Merchan on Tuesday to hold former President Donald Trump in contempt of court for allegedly violating a gag order at least 10 times in his hush money trial.


Prosecutors claim Trump wrote or said negative things in social media posts about witnesses, jurors, and others involved in the case, and asked Merchan to fine the former president $1,000 for each violation.

Todd Blanche, Trump’s attorney, has refuted the prosecution’s claims...
NewsNation •

Trump in court for hush money trial opening statements

NEW YORK (NewsNation) — Former President Donald Trump‘s New York hush money trial began Monday with opening statements.


Prosecutors laid out their arguments against Trump just days after New York Judge Juan Merchan rejected Trump’s legal team’s last-ditch effort to delay the trial after claiming the jury selection process was unfairly rushed last week. The jury, which was chosen over four days, consists of seven men and five women with six alternates.


The judge informed the jury Monday th...
NewsNation •

Migrants suspected of assaulting NYC police due in court Tuesday

(NewsNation) — Seven men, all migrants, will be in court Tuesday for a hearing on their upcoming trial for allegedly assaulting multiple New York City police officers.


Yohenry Brito, 24, and six others connected to the attack in Times Square are expected in court for a case hearing and to set a possible trial date.


The incident happened earlier this year, and the case caused a firestorm of controversy when many of the suspects were arrested then released.

So far, eight men have been char...
NewsNation •

NYC proposal would fund mental health staff for migrant shelters

(NewsNation) — New York City is considering a new benefit for migrants arriving to the city.


A trio of Big Apple lawmakers want to put mental health coordinators in each of the city’s 218 migrant shelters, which could add millions to the growing bill New Yorkers are paying for asylum-seekers.


It’s still a work in progress, but the proposed legislation that would offer mental health services to migrants is already facing pushback, even from some Democrats who say the city can’t afford it....
NewsNation •

Daniel Penny’s NYC subway chokehold death trial set for October

NEW YORK (NewsNation) — A New York judge on Wednesday set an Oct. 8 trial date for Daniel Penny, the Marine veteran indicted in the chokehold death of Jordan Neely on a New York City subway last year.


The judge said the trial will take between four and six weeks. Another hearing was set for Sept. 17 for arguments on a motion to suppress evidence.


Penny has pleaded not guilty to second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in connection to Neely’s death.


A judge previousl...
NewsNation •

Fire chiefs warn about lithium-ion batteries after spate of fires

Thank you for signing up!(NewsNation) — Lithium-ion batteries are now a leading cause of fire and fire deaths in New York City, according to reports, and the problem is spreading across the country.


Last month, a fire ignited by a lithium-ion battery at a Harlem apartment building killed a 27-year-old man, making him the city’s first fatality this year related to the batteries.


It was the 31st time this year that a malfunctioning lithium-ion battery sparked a fire, leaving close to 30 pe...
NewsNation •

NYC hotel murder suspect back in Arizona court

(NewsNation) — The suspect accused of killing a woman in a New York City hotel and stabbing two others in Arizona is back in a Scottsdale courtroom Wednesday.


Investigators believe they may have stopped a potential serial killer in his tracks with 26-year-old Raad Almansoori’s arrest because they say he expressed a desire to kill female sex workers.


Police say Almansoori killed 38-year-old Denise Oleas-Arancibia inside a New York City hotel room, choking and beating her with an iron becau...
NewsNation •

Anti-Jewish hate crimes surge 214% amid Israel-Hamas war: NYPD

Subscribe to more newsletters here.Thank you for signing up!NEW YORK (NewsNation) — Incidents against Jews in New York City more than tripled in October, according to monthly crime statistics from the New York Police Department (NYPD).


“I have not witnessed in my entire time in the city, the level of outward hate that I’m seeing,” said New York City Mayor Eric Adams.


The NYPD reported the city experienced a 214 percent increase in hate crimes against Jewish people in October 2023, compare...
NewsNation •

As Maine manhunt continues, officials identify victims

LEWISTON, Maine (NewsNation) — As more than 350 local, state and federal law enforcement members continue their search Friday for Maine shooting suspect Robert Card, the shelter in place order has been lifted for Maine residents.


Maine Department of Public Safety Commissioner Michael Sauschuck announced Friday evening the order has been rescinded except for hunting restrictions in Lisbon, Lewiston, Bowdoin and Monmouth.


Since Card — accused of killing 18 people and injuring 13 more in the...
NewsNation •

Pennsylvania escapee sightings emerge as his mother joins search

(NewsNation) — Investigators are starting to uncover clues regarding the whereabouts of a convicted murderer who escaped the Chester County Prison in Pocopson Township, Pennsylvania.


Officials report four confirmed sightings of Danelo Cavalcante. He was most recently spotted on surveillance cameras at Longwood Gardens twice Monday night, authorities said Tuesday.


The perimeter for the search has now shifted south after officials said Cavalcante likely slipped through the original perimet...
NewsNation •

Ocean City wind farm controversy grows ahead of 2024 construction

OCEAN CITY, N.J. (NewsNation) — There’s a growing fight over green energy in a New Jersey resort town, with some in Ocean City trying to pull the plug on a massive wind farm project that would install nearly 100 wind turbines off the coast.


Supporters of the project say the wind farm is vital to fighting climate change; yet opponents argue it will actually be bad for the environment and be an eyesore.


The wind turbines will be built about 15 miles from the town, but will still be visible...
NewsNation •

Escaped, recaptured inmate Burham charged with unlawful flight

(NewsNation) — Pennsylvania prison escapee and homicide suspect Michael Burham has been charged with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution after he fled from a Warren County jail.


Burham will be arraigned on the federal charge this week and is expected to face additional charges. He is temporarily being held at the Erie County Prison.


Police say when Burham was captured, he was wearing his jail-issued pants inside out, and appeared to be wet, dirty and worn out.

While interviewing the e...
NewsNation •

Watch: Daylight shows destruction and devastation of deadly tornadoes

Thank you for signing up!MONETTE, Ark. (NewsNation Now) — Daylight showed the continued devastation and destruction in the aftermath of the deadly tornadoes that swept the Midwest last week.


The tornado outbreak Friday that killed at least 88 people in five states — 74 of them in Kentucky — cut a path of devastation that stretched from Arkansas, where a nursing home was destroyed, to Illinois, where an Amazon distribution center was heavily damaged.


In Monette, Arkansas, NewsNation report...
NewsNation •

Three men guilty of murder in the killing of Arbery

BRUNSWICK, Ga. (NewsNation Now) — Three white men were found guilty of murder in the killing of Ahmaud Arbery.


Greg McMichael, 65, who pursued Arbery was convicted of eight of nine counts. His son Travis McMichael, 35, was convicted on all counts.


William “Roddie” Bryan, 52, the neighbor who recorded the cellphone video that showed the killing, was convicted of six of nine counts, including murder.

The 12-person jury came back with its verdict after two days, about 10 hours of deliberati...
NewsNation •

Who is responsible for deadly crowd surge; Jerry Springer weighs in on Astroworld

CHICAGO (NewsNation Now) — On “Banfield,” Ashleigh looks into who is to blame and who is to pay after a crowd surge at a Travis Scott concert left eight dead and hundreds injured.


NewsNation’s Brian Entin has the latest on the tragedy from Houston. Joey Guerra, a music critic for the Houston Chronicle, also weighs in on what happened.


Madeline Eskins, an ICU nurse who passed out during the Astroworld concert, joins the show to talk about how she was able to help others after regaining co...
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