National

Wife sought following Massachusetts cop's death believed to have been found dead: Police

Posted yesterday at 3:35pm

Image of Karen Soloman provided by Worcester Police Department. (Worcester Police Department)

(NEW YORK) -- A woman who had been sought in connection with the death of her husband, a Massachusetts police officer, is believed to have been found dead, police said Monday, calling the case a "tragic murder-suicide."

A search had been ongoing for Karen Solomon, 58, after her husband -- 57-year-old Worcester Police Department Patrolman Kurt Solomon -- was found dead in a home last week.

This is a developing story.

Hawk Fire tops 15,000 acres near Reno, spurs 42,000 evacuations and remains out of control

Posted yesterday at 3:20pm

The Hawk Fire seen in the hills near Reno, Nevada, Aug. 22, 2026, has grown to more than 10,000 acres and is threatening hundreds of homes, officials said. (Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District)

(RENO, Nev.) -- An out-of-control brush fire that ignited over the weekend in the hills in Northern Nevada near Reno has grown to more than 15,000 acres, prompting a massive evacuation of 42,000 people, authorities said on Monday.

A preliminary investigation has found that the Hawk Fire was human-caused, authorities said. They did not immediately release details on whether the blaze was intentionally or accidentally set.

"We do know it was human-caused because there were no natural ignition sources that were present in that area," Chief Richard Edwards of the Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District said at a news conference on Sunday.

About 90,000 people have been affected by the wildfire, including 42,000 who have been forced to evacuate their homes and another 45,000 people who have been warned to be prepared to evacuate, officials said.

About 14,000 homes are in the evacuation area and authorities confirmed that some residences have been destroyed.

The fire remained 0% contained after burning 15,051 acres, Nevada fire officials said in an update on Monday morning.

Officials reported some good news on Monday, saying firefighters made progress overnight in battling the blaze "despite extreme fire behavior observed during the incident."

"Hot, dry and breezy conditions are expected to continue supporting active fire behavior over the next 48 hours. The fire has the potential to spread northeast and northwest, and conditions remain dynamic and subject to rapid change," fire officials said in the update.

About 1,000 firefighters and other first responders are battling the fire from the ground and air, officials said.

At least three civilians and three first responders have been injured by the fire, officials said.

The number of homes destroyed or damaged remains unclear. Officials said unsafe conditions have prevented them from getting a clear damage assessment.

The fire was continuing to move in the direction of heavily populated urban areas, authorities said.

Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo said in a statement over the weekend that the fire was "spreading quickly and threatening homes and structures" and that he had declared a state of emergency for Washoe County.

"The Hawk Fire is a very dynamic incident for us as it's being driven by the winds," said Truckee Meadows Fire Chief Richard Edwards in a video posted to social media. "The wind-driven fires move very rapidly into our residential areas, creating a lot of challenges for our firefighters to save homes and protect lives."

He urged residents to pay attention to evacuation orders, leave early if directed and have a travel bag ready.

Weather in the fire zone northwest of Reno is expected stay mild on Monday, with highs in the middle 80s, with gusts up to 25 mph, and relative humidity around 25%.

On Tuesday, temperatures are expected to the upper 80s, with gusts between 25 and 30 mph.

The Washoe County School District announced that all classes, events and activities are canceled on Monday.

"The decision to close schools is due to evacuations, impacts on the regional public safety resources, and to help keep roads clear for emergency vehicle," the school district said in a statement.

Northwest Specialty Hospital in Reno announced Sunday that it was evacuating patients from the facility "out of an abundance of caution."

"Patients have been safely transported to appropriate locations where their care will continue without interruption – no patients or staff remain in the building," the statement said.

About 10,000 utility customers remained without power on Monday, down from about 60,000 at the peak of the blaze, officials said.

Northern Nevada Health Systems said it had temporarily closed the emergency room at North Valleys north of Reno due to evacuations.

"My heart goes out to anyone in our community who has been impacted by the dangerous and fast-moving Hawk Fire," Reno Mayor Hillary Shieve said in a statement on social media, urging residents to evacuate if told to do so and saying some structures had already burned.

The statement added: "Our firefighters and first responders are heroically fighting the fire and the high winds to save lives, homes, businesses, livestock and pets."

The Washoe County Sheriff's Office said it was monitoring the fire.

ABC News' Kyle Reiman contributed to this report.

Mother and 2-year-old killed by lightning strike in Florida neighborhood

Posted yesterday at 3:10pm

Fire department ambulance responds to the scene of an emergency.(MattGush/Getty Images)

(NEW YORK) -- A mother and her 2-year-old daughter were killed Sunday after being struck by lightning in a neighborhood north of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, according to officials.

Margate Police Department and Margate Fire Rescue responded to a 911 call at about 2:30 p.m. on Sunday that two individuals had been struck by lightning and were found lying on the sidewalk in Margate, Florida, according to a Margate Police Department press release.

It appeared as though the woman and her daughter had just exited their car when lightning hit them, sending their bodies to the ground, witness Prince Moody told ABC Miami.

The mother, identified as 31-year-old Kenya Glasgow, was rushed to North Broward Medical Center in Deerfield Beach, and her daughter to Broward Health Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale, accompanied by a police escort, according to police.

Both victims were pronounced dead shortly after arriving at the hospitals, police said.

First responders and medical personnel immediately provided CPR and other life-saving efforts upon arriving at the scene, according to police.

Moody said he rushed outside to help after seeing an orange glow through his window and being told by his son that a lady had been hit.

"Very traumatic scene," Moody said. "I offered aid as much as I could, calmed the family down, and I started praying. I called 911 immediately."

It was very emotional to see two lifeless bodies on the ground, Moody said.

The Margate Police Department is investigating the incident.

Police have not released any additional details at this time.

Trump administration to tout efforts to shut down Education Department as school year begins

Posted yesterday at 12:35pm

A person walks past the U.S. Department of Education on March 20, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

(WASHINGTON) -- With hundreds of thousands of students returning to classrooms this week, President Donald Trump and Department of Education Secretary Linda McMahon are hosting a "Back to School" event at the White House on Monday.

But the "wins" the administration is celebrating include highlighting their efforts to shut the department down as well as progress on bolstering school choice.

The event on Monday afternoon will be headlined by Trump, McMahon and supporters of their effort to bolster school choice, offer voucher expansions and restore parental rights, according to a White House official. The event will also tout the president's education reforms from the Working Families Tax Cuts Act and McMahon's continued efforts to return Department of Education responsibilities back to the states.

"President Trump and Secretary McMahon will host students and parents in the Rose Garden on Monday to celebrate the start of the new school year,” White House Spokesperson Liz Huston told ABC News in a statement, adding that the 2:30 p.m. event will celebrate the administration's "wins" for American students, including an expansion of education freedom through a provision of the tax law.

Monday is the first day back for public school students in Washington, D.C., and other major school systems.

The Trump administration has prioritized school choice -- a growing practice that allows public education funds to follow students to the schools or learning environments families choose -- and urged families to leave what they contend are failing public schools amid historic learning loss and lagging test scores for students.

School choice has become a buzzword in education circles over the years and can simply mean putting parents in charge of their child's education. However, some education advocates contend that it helps to gut public school funding and funnel resources to private schools.

Removing federal bureaucracy and Washington oversight from education was a campaign pledge for Trump that McMahon has called her "final mission." The president directed McMahon to put herself out of a job by dissolving the department using all necessary steps permitted by law.

Since her confirmation, McMahon has partnered with several agencies that can co-manage the department's responsibilities and severely gutted the department's workforce by slicing its staff nearly in half.

For more than a year, the Education Department has urged states' governors to opt-in to the school choice model within the president's tax law. The tax law provides a charitable donation incentive for individuals and businesses to fund scholarship awards for students to cover expenses related to K-12 public and private education starting in 2027.

The agency has also handed out more than two dozen unrestricted waivers to states, gifting them millions of federal dollars and dropping certain federal requirements so that fewer strings are attached to the aid they receive from the government.

While the White House argues that most American students and families will be eligible to benefit from its school choice program and they will benefit from lower costs, critics fear that the provision within the president's megabill could defund or harm the traditional public school system.

As the agency is reoriented to restore power to local communities and families, education experts stress that education is already a local-level issue in the U.S. On average, state and local education agencies provide about 90% of public school funding across the country.

Meanwhile, conservatives argue that the tax law provides more options for families -- not less. Education Policy Analyst Colleen Hroncich previously told ABC News there has been an "uptick" in frustrated families who have chosen alternatives to traditional public education, such as public charter, private, home and microschooling.

Hroncich, of the libertarian think-tank the Cato Institute's Center for Educational Freedom, noted that there was a rise in popularity for these options during the COVID-19 pandemic because of school closures.

Parental rights advocate, Tiffany Justice, praised the administration for prioritizing choice in education.

"President Trump has always been crystal clear: every parent has the fundamental right to direct their children’s education," Justice told ABC News in a statement. "Under his leadership, and with Secretary Linda McMahon at the helm, this administration is putting parents firmly in the driver’s seat -- expanding real school choice so families, not bureaucrats, decide what’s best for their kids."

USPS makes new rules for mail-in ballots, but they are less restrictive than Trump's demands

Posted yesterday at 11:54am

An election worker processes mail-in ballots for the California state primary election at the Los Angeles County Ballot Processing Center on June 5, 2026, in City of Industry, California. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

(WASHINGTON) -- The United States Postal Service (USPS) has released a new rule adding verification requirements to all mail-in ballots, falling short of President Donald Trump's expectations but providing additional scrutiny.

These changes will not go into effect unless the Supreme Court lifts an injunction imposed by a lower court. If given the go-ahead, the postal service said the changes would occur immediately.

Under the proposed change, states would be required to collect and report basic voter information, such as a voter's name and home address, attached to a unique barcode on every mail-in ballot distributed. Currently, there is no standardized requirement or method for states to track this information, instead letting each state independently decide how its mail-in voting system operates.

State election authorities would then be required to input this information into a "federal ballot mail portal" before the ballot is accepted into the mail stream.

The USPS said it would not deliver ballots to any state not in compliance with these changes.

The move comes after months of attempts by the Trump administration to collect voter information in the name of election integrity. Some experts are concerned that consolidation of that information into federal hands undermines the Constitution's system of state-run elections.

"If the administration can determine who is American enough to register to vote, who can prove it sufficiently, then they would have a lot of power to shape the electorate," said Jonathan Diaz, director of voting advocacy for the bipartisan nonprofit Campaign Legal Center.

The new requirements fall short of Trump's demands -- his March executive order on mail-in ballots would have established statewide voter citizenship lists from Social Security or immigration databases, established uniform ballots, and had the USPS "coordinate with the USPS Office of Inspector General and the Department of Justice for investigation of suspected unlawful use of the mail involving Federal election materials."

Most of these demands are included but watered down in the USPS' final rule, ultimately creating a system that would track eligible voters by name and address, but keep citizenship largely out of it.

"No other voter information, such as birthdate, social security number, or other voter registration details, will be uploaded to the Portal," the USPS said. "The Postal Service will not play any role in determining voter eligibility, maintaining voter rolls, or counting ballots."

This rule is not a mail-in ballot ban, nor does it include the military, disability, illness, and travel exceptions requested by the president.

Trump's appeal to the Supreme Court over his executive order directing USPS to make these rules remains pending.

On Monday morning, the Trump administration notified the Supreme Court of the USPS rule finalization, saying it merely imposes "modest envelope design requirements" on states that wish to use U.S. mail to distribute ballots.

The government insists that the rules fall short of "restricting" mail-in voting and leave out many of the president's demands.

"USPS will not perform any verification of voter eligibility or the like," Solicitor General John Sauer told the court. The USPS will "not refuse to transmit ballots from individuals who were not on the state-provided list."

The rule does say data collected "will help to facilitate enforcement of federal law."

"It will provide federal law enforcement with a list of individuals to whom states planned to mail a ballot (and who may potentially use the mail to vote), along with the associated barcode data," the USPS said.

The rule comes alongside months of gridlock for the SAVE America Act, the GOP's signature piece of election reform that would require photo ID and proof of citizenship to vote.

"To Vote a person must show PHOTO VOTER I.D., PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP, AND THAT THERE WILL BE NO MORE CROOKED, CORRUPT, & DESTABILIZING MAIL-IN BALLOTS (EXCEPTIONS for Military, Disabled, Illness, and Travel!)," the president wrote on social media. "THE SAVE AMERICA ACT’S non-passage is CRAZY, and a serious threat to any politician who votes against it!"

The president has long demanded the bill make it through Congress, even calling on the termination of the Senate filibuster to make it easier to pass, though Democrats and some Republican lawmakers say the rules would disenfranchise too many American voters. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

"Alaska’s 20-year struggle to implement REAL ID demonstrates just how incredibly difficult the enforcement of federal mandates can be and how unlikely it is that the SAVE America Act could be effectively implemented on an expedited basis," Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski said in a statement.

"Free and fair elections are the cornerstone of our democracy. As doubt is cast on their legitimacy and public trust erodes, we would do well to avoid partisan reforms that sound good on paper but may work very differently in the real world," she added.

The USPS said it received "more than 200,000 comments" on the change and recognized concerns in its rule Friday.

"While the Postal Service acknowledges the range of disagreement on this point, the incidence of voter fraud does not impact the proposed rule’s legal grounding," the USPS said. "Such enhanced visibility will help identify potential issues that would have otherwise gone undetected; at the very least, it will provide increased assurance that any potential issues are more capable of being effectively identified and investigated."

The USPS said the rule will be officially published on Aug. 26. A U.S. appeals court upheld the district judge's injunction in July, keeping any changes to mail-in ballots on hold while litigation continues.

ABC News' Devin Dwyer contributed to this report.

Active-duty military spouses detained amid Trump's deportation campaign

Posted yesterday at 11:40am

Army Sgt. Hedar Leonel Turcios Juarez’s wife was detained by masked ICE officers outside a Walmart as their 6-year-old daughter watched. (Army Sgt. Hedar Leonel Turcios Juarez)

(WASHINGTON) -- Army Sgt. Hedar Leonel Turcios Juarez woke up to a gut-wrenching call at 3:40 a.m. Tuesday: Cristy Maryori Villafranca Trejo, his wife and the mother to their 6-year-old daughter, was aboard a plane about to be deported to Honduras.

Turcios told ABC News that he scrambled to stop it. He stayed on the phone with an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer, sending documentation showing that his wife's immigration case was still pending. After the officer confirmed the paperwork, Villafranca was pulled from the flight and returned to Camp East Montana, the detention center at Fort Bliss, Texas, where she remains.

It was the latest turn in an ordeal that began July 11, when masked ICE officers detained Villafranca outside a Walmart as the couple's young daughter watched. Villafranca left Honduras in 2016 due to violent crime in the country, her husband said.

"My wife is everything to me, to my family, for my daughter, and it's just sad that we are still being treated like criminals, just because we weren't born in this country," said Turcios, who became a U.S. citizen in 2024 after joining the military.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, did not reply to an ABC News request for comment about Villafranca's case.

Turcios' family is hardly alone. President Donald Trump's mass deportation campaign has swept up more than 50 parents and spouses of service members during his second term, with at least six deported, according to an investigation by the Associated Press.

Danitza James, CEO of Repatriate Our Patriots, which works with Families United to help active-duty service members and veterans reunite their families, said that, beyond providing legal representation, the organization's only other strategy has been to call Congress to request help.

She said she is currently working with eight active-duty service members and one veteran whose family members have been detained as of Aug. 20. ABC News spoke with two of the families that she is working to unite.

The cases complicate one of the administration's central arguments for its aggressive expansion of immigration enforcement. Trump has repeatedly said ICE is targeting the "worst of the worst," and has described immigrants who entered the U.S. illegally as "animals" and "dangerous criminals" that should not be in the country.

An ABC News review of state and federal records did not find criminal records for any of the military spouses named in this story in the states where they live.

"She's been a very supportive wife since the first day that I decided to join the military. I was deployed for nine months. She took care of my family," Turcios said of his spouse. "She's not a threat to anybody. We're just trying to keep our family together."

The Trump administration's detention of undocumented spouses and parents of active-duty service members comes as the U.S. is at war with Iran, leaving troops without the support of their families and shifting their focus away from their military careers, advocacy groups say. Some have been forced to take leave from duty to care for their children in their spouses' absence, according to advocacy groups and families ABC News interviewed.

"There are so many military families of active-duty service members that are living in the shadows of this immigration machine, that is putting them in fear of seeking resources and asking for help, while their service member is actively serving our country, and sacrificing for our nation," said James of Repatriate Our Patriots.

Military service has long been a pathway to citizenship

For decades, military families have occupied a protected corner of the immigration system, according to the National Military Family Association. Under policies embraced by Republican and Democratic administrations, the undocumented parents and spouses of service members have generally been shielded from deportation.

Military recruiters have also long promoted military service as a pathway to citizenship, including through programs which can allow undocumented relatives of troops to remain in the country while applying for a green card and work authorization.

The bargain extends to troops themselves. Green card holders can join the U.S. military and troops can apply for naturalization after a year of honorable service, an incentive that stretches back to the Civil War. During World War I, Congress went further, streamlining the citizenship process for troops whose enlistment could effectively mean automatic citizenship.

“Having a family member in the military is not a free pass to violate our nation’s laws," a DHS spokesperson said in response to the recent arrest by ICE of the father of an active-duty sailor for alleged immigration violations. "Military service by an immediate relative does not automatically grant parole, lawful status, or immunity from immigration enforcement."

Racial and ethnic minorities are making up a growing share of the military. In the Army, the Pentagon's largest service by far, Hispanic recruits grew from about 19% of new enlistees in 2020 to nearly 27% last year, according to internal service data reviewed by ABC News.

Naturalizations through military service have also more than tripled over roughly the same period, rising from about 4,500 in 2020 to 16,000 in 2024, according to Department of Homeland Security data. The Philippines, Mexico, Jamaica and Nigeria were among the leading countries of origin for troops who became U.S. citizens through their service.

Turcios left Honduras in 2014, also to escape violence in the country, he said. After attending high school in the U.S. he joined the military and became a U.S. citizen in 2024 after a nine-month deployment to the Middle East. Then he began pursuing citizenship for his wife, hoping his service would help expedite her naturalization process, he said.

Instead, Villafranca, undocumented spouses and parents of many other active-duty military personnel have been forced into detention, according to lawyers, advocacy groups and military families.

Villafranca relayed allegedly inhumane conditions in Camp East Montana, according to her husband. The facility is the country's largest detention center, which sits on land formerly used for Japanese-American internment camps during World War II.

Turcios said his wife had to wear the same clothes for about four days. Access to clean clothing remained an issue until he reached out to Rep. Veronica Escobar, D- Texas, who sent an inquiry to ICE regarding Villafranca's lack of clean clothing. Turcios said that after a few weeks, they finally fixed the issue.

Detained at green card interview

Army Staff Sgt. Alexis Jaramillo has served in the military for 11 years and is currently stationed at Fort Polk, Louisiana. His wife, Maisa Lopes Eliaser, came to the U.S. from São Paulo, Brazil, in 2019 on a tourist visa, which she had overstayed while Jaramillo was helping her pursue citizenship.

She was taken into custody in front of Jaramillo, who was dressed in uniform, and their five-year-old son during an appointment to be interviewed to get her green card.

Lopes Eliaser spent two days in Pickens County Jail in Georgia before being transferred to the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center, where she slept in a large room with approximately 80 people for about six weeks, her husband said.

On July 13, Lopes Eliaser said ICE officers put her on a bus to the Alexandria International Airport in Louisiana. She was then flown to Bogotá, Colombia, where the plane stopped before its final destination, Brazil. During the layover, Lopes Eliaser called her husband using someone else's phone, he said.

Jaramillo said he had been communicating with Sen. Mark Kelly, a Navy veteran, about his wife's case before she was taken to the airport. When Lopes Eliaser disappeared from the detainee-tracking app that Jaramillo was checking, he contacted Kelly again to ask for help bringing her home.

"Maisa's case is an example of this administration's focus on targeting the loved ones of those who've stepped up to serve our country. It's wrong and makes no sense at all," Kelly wrote in a statement to ABC News.

Kelly's office told ABC News that his casework team established communications with the ICE field office and kept Jaramillo updated.

DHS did not respond to a request for comment on Eliaser's case at the time.

What members of Congress are doing

Jaramillo credits Kelly for contacting ICE and getting Lopes Eliaser eventually returned to the U.S. When she landed in Brazil, she was flown back to the Alexandria International Airport without ever stepping off the airplane. Jaramillo and Lopes Eliaser were reunited and are currently together at their home in Louisiana.

"That was a nightmare. That was a really, really nightmare," Jaramillo said. "I'm never going to explain best how difficult it was and still is."

While Jaramillo and Lopes Eliaser are now united, they are still dealing with the aftermath of her detention and deportation. Jaramillo had to take leave to care for his son and fight to get his wife back. Now that his wife is back home, he said he will return to service on Monday.

Since Lopes Eliaser was first detained, Jaramillo said he has incurred more than $7,000 in legal fees and costs associated with submitting paperwork, approximately equal to over a month's pay.

Jaramillo said his wife is still experiencing health issues from the conditions of detention, which he said were crowded and where she also lacked access to clean clothing. Jarmillo said he took her to see a doctor Thursday.

James said that many of the other cases of active-duty military service members' families being detained have involved members of Congress making calls to reunite families.

Kelly has publicly been involved with two other cases of military families targeted by the Trump administration for deportation.

In a letter sent Aug. 9 to DHS, the Defense Department and the Department of Veterans Affairs, congressional Democrats wrote that they will investigate whether the Pentagon and DHS are coordinating to deport military service members and their families.

"The best way to bring change to this is to the legislative or policy, because this should not be a phone call. This should not be a one-case change," James said. "This is clearly impacting more than 50 military spouses and cases across the board, and there needs to be a change that is codified."

Trump says he'll impose new 50% tariffs on Canadian cars and steel in January, escalating trade war

Posted yesterday at 10:51am

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on June 16, 2026, in Evian-les-Bains, France. (Evelyn Hockstein - Pool/Getty Images)

(WASHINGTON) -- President Donald Trump on Monday said in a social media post that he will ratchet up tariffs on Canada-made cars and auto parts in January, escalating a trade war between the United States and Canada.

The moves comes after negotiations between Canada and the U.S. broke down over the weekend. A fresh round of 50% U.S. tariffs on some Canadian goods took effect on Saturday, prompting a vow from Canada to retaliate with a set of its own levies.

The latest announcement from Trump promised to double tariffs from 25% to 50% on Canadian cars and auto parts starting on Jan. 1, 2027. The elevated levy will also apply to steel and trucks, according to the president.

"On Trade, and in other ways, also, they are among the worst Nations in the World to deal with," Trump said his social media platform on Monday. "They feel entitled, and yet, WE DON’T NEED CANADA, THEY NEED US!"

It is unclear why Trump is waiting until January.

In the first half of 2026, the U.S. exported $175.8 billion in goods to Canada -- the second biggest export trading partner after Mexico -- accounting for 14% of all U.S. exports, according to the Census Bureau.

The sharp criticism arrived days after Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney issued blistering remarks about the U.S. approach to trade negotiations. He said talks broke down after American negotiators made requests that were unfavorable to Canada.

"They asked too much and offered too little," Carney said at a Saturday press conference.

According to Carney, the 50% tariff would be applied to roughly $28 billion of Canadian goods and that Canada would match the U.S. "dollar for dollar." Canada's retaliatory tariffs would go into effect on Sept. 8 and more details will be revealed later, the prime minister said on Saturday.

Carney noted that one of the sticking points was changes by the U.S. over its levels of tariffs on automobiles that he claimed would have hurt Canada's economy over time.

He criticized the Trump administration, saying it "uses economic integration as a weapon."

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Tropical Storm Moke to pass south of Hawaii, bringing heavy rain to the Big Island

Posted Saturday afternoon

(NEW YORK) -- Tropical Storm Moke continues to churn in open waters in the Central Pacific, just days after Hurricane Lala left widespread destruction across Hawaii.

The new system is currently located about 755 miles southeast of Hilo, Hawaii, with winds of 50 mph.

It is moving west-northwest at 12 mph and is expected to pass south of the Hawaiian islands through the weekend into early next week.

Moke is forecast to remain at tropical storm strength through next Wednesday before weakening Thursday.

On the current forecast track, rain and gusty winds will arrive to the Big Island Saturday night and continue through the beginning of next week.

The storm is expected to produce rainfall totals of 5 to 10 inches, with maximum amounts of 15 inches across the Big Island.

Rainfall totals of 1 to 3 inches, with maximum amounts of 5, are expected across the remainder of the Hawaiian islands.

This rainfall may produce life threatening flooding and mudslides, especially in steep terrain and over areas that were affected recently by Hurricane Lala.

Lala moved south of the Big Island on Sunday as a Category 1 hurricane, damaging or destroying more than 100 homes and cutting off some communities, according to the governor. The storm dumped more than a foot of rain over parts of the state, with the highest elevations getting more than 40 inches. Thousands on the Big Island are still without power.

Lindsay Clancy's defense rests case after psychiatrist testimony

Posted Friday afternoon

Lindsay Clancy listens to testimony at Plymouth Superior Court on August 18, 2026. (Photo by Jonathan Wiggs/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

(BOSTON) -- Lindsay Clancy's defense attorney rested their case on Friday after calling one final witness to testify about the effects of postpartum psychosis.

Prosecutors are now calling three additional witnesses as part of a brief rebuttal case, and closing arguments could happen as early as Monday.

Forensic psychiatrist Phillip Resnick, who reviewed Clancy's medical records and evaluated her several months after the killings, at the request of the defense, testified Friday that he believes Clancy was in the throes of postpartum psychosis when she killed her three children and attempted to take her own life in January 2023.

Resnick told jurors that in his opinion, Clancy was unable to tell the difference between right and wrong and lacked control at that time.

Clancy has pleaded not guilty to three counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of her 5-year-old daughter Cora, 3-year-old son Dawson, and infant son Callan, who died after being strangled by Clancy at the family's home in the Boston suburb of Duxbury on Jan. 24, 2023.

Defense lawyers do not contest that Clancy was responsible for the deaths of her three children, instead arguing she should not be held criminally responsible for their deaths because she was suffering from postpartum psychosis at the time of the killings.

Resnick is a professor of psychiatry who has researched postpartum psychosis and testified as a key witness in the trial of Andrea Yates, a Texas mother accused of drowning her five children in a bathtub in 2001. He also served as a consultant on the cases of notorious serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, Oklahoma City bombing culprit Timothy McVeigh, "Unabomber" Theodore Kaczynski, and the high profile murder cases of Scott Peterson and Casey Anthony, according to his biography.

Resnick testified Friday that, in his opinion, Clancy was not "psychotic every minute she was functioning" on the day of the killings but suffered a "command hallucination" after her then-husband Patrick Clancy left their family home to run errands that evening.

"My opinion is that Miss Clancy was, due to her mental disease, unable to conform her conduct to the requirements of the law on the day that she took the lives of her children," he told jurors. "It was a matter where she was just following the command rather than being able to make any decision to do it or not."

Resnick testified that Clancy, in his opinion, experienced "not only a command hallucination on the day that she killed her children" but also "a delusion of influence."

"She felt that her body was taken over by an external force, where she was in a dream state and did not have control of her own body -- it's almost like she was a puppet, and someone else was pulling the strings," he told jurors.

He added, "At the time of the crime itself on Jan. 24, 2023, Ms. Clancy was frankly psychotic. So, in that sense, she had a postpartum psychosis."

Resnick further testified that Clancy "was obsessive about caring for her children" and likely believed her children "would be in terrible shape" if she only took her own life that day.

"In her mind, she believed that she would be doing her children a favor by having them go to heaven with her rather than remain on earth without her doing the mothering," he testified.

Jurors are set to hear closing arguments and begin deliberating early next week, after both sides rest their cases.

Earlier this week, on Thursday, jurors heard from a hospital chaplain who testified that she met with Clancy more than 200 times in the past three years since she killed her three children.

Sheila Cavanaugh, a board-certified chaplain at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, testified that Clancy had told her she heard a "persistent" male voice ordering her to kill her children and herself in the months before she strangled them and attempted to take her own life.

Cavanaugh's testimony came after jurors heard from defense witness Paul Zeizel earlier in the week, who also testified about Clancy's claim she heard a voice telling her to kill her children.

Prosecutors have attempted to cast doubt on Clancy's claim that she heard a male voice in her head telling her to kill her children and take her own life prior to the killings. According to Reddington, prosecutors have also suggested that Zeizel planted the idea Clancy heard a voice telling her to kill her children during their first meeting, two days before she made a similar comment to her husband over the phone.

Reddington has pushed back on that allegation, and an officer who stood guard outside Clancy's hospital room testified previously that there was no evidence Zeizel planted the idea.

As the case nears its end, thousands have come to Clancy's support online, and hundreds of supporters dressed in pink rallied outside the courthouse and the state hospital where Clancy is being held on Thursday.

A fundraiser for Clancy's parents had raised $996,000 as of Friday morning.

If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org. Free, confidential help is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You are not on your own.

Hearing underway on Karmelo Anthony's bid for new trial in track meet stabbing

Posted Thursday afternoon

Austin Metcalf in a family provided photo. (Metcalf Family)

(FRISCO, Texas) -- A Texas judge is hearing arguments Thursday on whether Karmelo Anthony should get a new trial, two months after a jury convicted and sentenced him to 35 years in prison for fatally stabbing a fellow student at a high school track meet.

The hearing comes a day after the Collin County judge who presided over the murder trial was removed from further proceedings in the case.

Prosecutors called the deadly stabbing "unjustified" and "plain and simple murder," while the defense argued that Anthony acted in self-defense when he stabbed 17-year-old Austin Metcalf at a track meet in Frisco in April 2025.

After hearing four days of testimony, a Collin County jury found Anthony, 19, guilty of murder following three hours of deliberation on June 9. The same jury sentenced him to 35 years in prison after several more hours of deliberation.

Anthony's attorneys claimed in a motion seeking a new trial that the teen was "coerced" into waiving his right to testify, stemming from a purported dispute between defense attorneys and prosecutors about whether his testimony would be covered by an agreement limiting some character evidence in the trial. Defense attorneys alleged this denied him a "complete defense."

The defense also alleged that Collin County Judge John Roach improperly instructed the jury and that his courtroom restrictions, which limited public access to the proceedings, denied Anthony a fair trial.

In a statement to ABC Dallas affiliate WFAA ahead of this week's hearings, Collin County First Assistant District Attorney Bill Wirskye said Anthony's new, post-trial attorneys "filed a motion containing several inaccurate characterizations of the trial proceedings."

"I and the entire prosecution team conducted this trial ethically and in full compliance with the Court's ruling and any agreements with defense counsel," Wirskye added.

In opening remarks during Thursday's hearing, defense attorney Russell Wilson said Anthony decided not to testify because he believed the prosecution would not adhere to the agreement not to question him about his past behavior, beyond what happened during the confrontation at the track meet, WFAA reported.

Wirskye, meanwhile, said he offered the agreement to "stay away from historical character and stick to the facts -- what happened under the tent" in order to "keep the peace" amid what he said was intense public vitriol over the case that led to threats against both sides, WFAA reported. He said the trial defense attorneys agreed to it, and that the "agreement was held."

Wirskye also pushed back on defense claims that Anthony had insufficient time to decide whether to testify and noted that prosecutors wanted him to take the stand, saying, "There's nothing better in my business than a testifying defendant," WFAA reported.

The hearing is ongoing, with the defense so far calling Derrick Jackson, the former Collin County public information officer, to discuss the courtroom protocols, and Mike Howard, one of Anthony's trial attorneys.

A new judge is presiding over Thursday's hearing, after Judge Sid Harle granted the defense's motion to recuse Roach from any further matters in the Anthony case.

In his order issued Wednesday, Harle wrote that there were grounds for recusal "in that the evidence adduced at the hearing is such that the respondent judge's impartiality might reasonably be questioned."

Retired Kaufman County District Judge Michael Chitty has been assigned to oversee the case.

In the defense motion seeking to recuse the trial judge from the post-trial proceedings, Anthony's attorneys questioned both Roach's impartiality in the case and his courtroom restrictions.

The motion cited what it called "problematic comments" Roach made during an interview following the verdict, in which it said the judge "endorsed the jury's guilty verdict" and defended his courtroom restrictions. It also pointed to a public letter Roach released following the trial, in which he stated that those who worked on the case "contributed to ensuring the process was conducted fairly."

Anthony's attorneys said Wednesday that they are "pleased" with Harle's decision to recuse Roach and "look forward to presenting the merits of Karmelo's motion for a new trial to a fair and independent judge."

Ahead of the high-profile trial, Roach imposed a gag order and barred any electronics from the courtroom during the proceedings due to the attention the case had garnered.

"Due to the significant public and media interest in this case, the Court finds that specific procedures are necessary to ensure the Defendant's right to a fair and impartial trial, the orderly administration of justice, the safety and security of all participants, and reasonable public access consistent with constitutional requirements," Roach wrote in a May order.

On Wednesday, Chitty ordered that the trial procedures will remain in effect at this time for future proceedings in the case.

Woman arrested for allegedly plotting New York state Capitol attack

Posted Thursday afternoon

The New York State Capitol Building in Albany. (Demerzel21/Getty Images)

(NEW YORK) -- The FBI arrested a woman who they allege was plotting to attack the New York State Capitol building in Albany.

The FBI alleged in a criminal complaint Thursday that Jessica Bowie, 35, pledged allegiance to ISIS in online communications and began planning the attack in July.

The suspect converted to Islam about five years ago and in messages with unidentified users pledged support to ISIS, the criminal complaint said.

Bowie had allegedly discussed her plans with FBI informants and spent weeks doing surveillance of the Capitol, including taking pictures from various vantage points, including an "observation hall nearby," the criminal complaint said.

She allegedly bought bomb materials from a hardware store on Aug. 5 and plotted with the informants for the next two weeks, according to the complaint.

The informants allegedly met with Bowie on Wednesday and provided her with an inert explosive device and an inert handgun along with instructions on how to detonate the explosive, the complaint said.

The FBI soon arrested her, the complaint said.

Upon being interviewed by FBI agents she allegedly said, "There’s no helping me, you guys know enough, there’s no helping me, I’m ... going to prison for the rest of my life," according to the complaint.

"Material support is up to 20 years in prison, I already Googled it before, I know I’m going to jail," she allegedly said.

Attorney information for the suspect was not immediately available.

This is a developing story.

Trump shows off multimillion-dollar White House helipad and adds his signature

Posted Thursday morning

President Donald Trump signs a piece of stone at the construction site of a helipad on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Aug. 19, 2026. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

(WASHINGTON) -- President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed his name on one of the slabs of a new multimillion-dollar granite helipad being built on the White House South Lawn as he showcased the ongoing construction project for the first time.

"It's very exciting, very exciting, and I think it will be here for a long time," Trump told reporters as he gave them a tour and touted the project, which will feature the U.S. seal.

But questions are mounting about who is paying for the project and if taxpayers might be on the hook.

Trump announced the helipad in July from the Oval Office, and said that Sikorsky, the manufacturer of the Marine One fleet that carries the president, would pay for the build.

"They are paying for the cost of it. It's about $5 or $6 million. They're paying the full cost," Trump said at the time.

On Wednesday Trump reiterated that Sikorsky was footing much of the bill with additional "donations from numerous people, including me."

A spokesperson for Lockheed Martin, Sikorsky's parent company, told ABC News in a statement last month that its contribution was "made to the National Park Service."

They added that their work with the administration was being "guided by rigorous ethics and compliance standards."

Trump said crews were working nearly around the clock to bring the project in for a landing, starting as early as six in the morning and wrapping at midnight.

In addition to landing Marine One, the helipad would be used for when foreign dignitaries come for state visits and as a cocktail space ahead of events at the ballroom he's constructing. He has in the past said it could also be used for news conferences.

The president said his signature, and that of those leading the project, will be on the back of the head of the eagle, which is part of the U.S. seal, and would not be visible once the project is complete.

ABC News has asked the White House Historical Association whether there are any past instances of a president inscribing their own name on a project on the grounds.

The president has said the landing zone is being built to allow newer Marine One helicopters that ferry the president to make trips to the White House.

"This is a helipad at the highest level. It can land any helicopter in the world, no matter how big, no matter how powerful, no matter how strong," he said.

Lockheed Martin delivered a new fleet of Sikorsky helicopters to the Air Force in 2024, but the White House has had to keep using the older fleet for South Lawn departures and arrivals because they burn the grass. The newer helicopters have been used at other locations.

A construction worker told the president that the helipad could be completed by "the 21st," though it was not clear if that was of August or September. Trump is slated to welcome Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sept. 24.

"Oh, so we might make it for President Xi? That would be great," Trump said. He later added, "Not imperative, but it would be very nice to have it done."

He also admitted that work was delayed for a week after he asked for the helipad to be raised to account for a slope in the lawn.

"Sorry to take an extra week and a half, but lifting it up was one of the best things we've ever done, right? Trump said to the construction workers standing around him.

Pregnant woman has been held for weeks following immigration lawyer scam, family says

Posted Thursday morning

Kelly Ocampo believed her sister had been granted bond to be released from ICE detention. (Kelly Ocampo)

(DILLEY, Texas.) -- Last month, Kelly Ocampo believed she received good news: Her 21-year-old pregnant sister had finally been granted bond and was going to be released from the family immigration detention center in Dilley, Texas.

The letter she received from a lawyer to whom she had paid more than $3,000 was written on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement letterhead and stated that the ICE bond for Maria Alejandra Gomez-Quiroz was approved.

"This notice confirms that the immigration bond ordered by the Immigration Court has been successfully paid through an official payment method authorized by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)," the letter stated.

When Ocampo received the letter, her sister had been in detention for a few weeks. But now, a month after she believed the bond was approved, her sister -- who is five months pregnant -- is still in federal immigration custody.

"It was a scam," Ocampo told ABC News.

Ocampo believes she was scammed by an individual posing as an immigration attorney, and said her sister has now been detained for over 40 days. Ocampo and her family spent all their savings on the alleged lawyer to try to get her sister released, she said.

ABC News reached out to the person Ocampo says claimed to be a lawyer, but did not receive a response.

Ocampo told ABC News that her sister and partner were fleeing violent guerrillas in Colombia and were planning on applying for asylum in the U.S.

Gomez-Quiroz was arrested by U.S. Border Patrol at the border in June.

She is one of at least 500 people detained at Dilley and one of four pregnant women being held there as part of the Trump administration's ongoing immigration crackdown, according to lawmakers.

Her detention comes as a federal district judge in California has ordered the appointment of a special master and independent monitor to examine "time in custody" at the Dilley facility to ensure that the government is complying with guidelines established in previous legal settlements.

Immigration lawyers have argued that the administration is detaining people longer than allowed by previous court settlements.

Immigrant advocacy groups have also said that arrests and detentions of pregnant women violate an ICE directive stating that the agency should not "detain, arrest, or continue to detain individuals known to be pregnant, postpartum, or nursing" except under exceptional circumstances.

ABC News previously reported on a different 21-year-old pregnant woman who has been detained at Dilly for more than 50 days with her 2-year-old son.

Immigrant advocates, medical professionals and lawmakers have previously raised concerns about conditions at the South Texas facility.

The order from the California judge also calls for the special master and independent monitor to monitor compliance with "adequate access to medical care" at Dilley.

DHS officials have previously disputed any allegations of substandard medical care at the detention facility.

A spokesperson for DHS said Gomez-Quiroz was convicted of illegal entry on July 6 and stated that she remains in ICE custody pending the outcome of her removal proceedings.

In response to concerns from Gomez-Quiroz's family that she has been experiencing lower abdominal pain, a DHS spokesperson said, "It is a longstanding practice to provide comprehensive medical care from the moment a person enters ICE custody."

"She's been very depressed," Ocampo told ABC News. "My mom is desperate ... this is a very hard situation.

14 face charges related to alleged cocaine ring at Penn State fraternities

Posted about a week ago

The booking photo for Agostino Abbatiello. (Pennsylvania Office of State Attorney)

(NEW YORK) -- Charges were announced Monday against 14 people in connection with an alleged cocaine-trafficking operation involving students associated with two Penn State fraternities, the Pennsylvania attorney general's office said.

Thirteen current or former students, as well as a student's father, face felony or misdemeanor charges, according to a press release. At least four defendants are current students, the attorney general's office said.

"This was a coordinated and highly profitable drug-trafficking crew revolving around two senior members of the fraternities, other fraternity brothers, and pledges," Attorney General Dave Sunday said in a statement. "In fact, according to the evidence uncovered, cutting and packaging cocaine was, for some pledges, an indoctrination into the fraternities."

Penn State officials placed the Delta Upsilon fraternity on an interim suspension, the school said in a statement. The other fraternity, Sigma Chi, where members were allegedly involved, is not recognized as an official fraternity at the school, the statement said.

The allegations stem from 2023 and 2024, Penn State said, adding that both fraternities operate off campus.

The investigation, which the attorney general dubbed "Operation Drugs Unlimited," found that two members of the group -- Agostino Abbatiello and Thomas Robinson -- were alleged to have been the main suppliers to the group, roles that included "making regular trips to Philadelphia and New York for large quantities of cocaine," officials said.

"The cocaine was then cut and packaged -- primarily at the Delta Upsilon and Sigma Chi fraternity houses -- and distributed mainly to Penn State University students," according to the attorney general's office.

Officials said they tracked how the cocaine was allegedly obtained, packaged and sold, saying, "Most of the payments were made in cash or via payment apps."

Abbatiello, 24, the alleged leader of the cocaine-trafficking ring, surrendered Tuesday morning, prosecutors said. He was denied bail at his arraignment

Abbatiello and Robinson, along with two others, Mohammed Hurabi and Lars Zeepvat, face charges including felony corrupt organizations, conspiracy, dealing in proceeds of unlawful activity and related offenses, the attorney general's office said.

Another person, Robert Zanolla, faces charges of felony conspiracy and criminal use of a communication facility, as well as related misdemeanors, the office said.

The eight remaining student-age defendants face misdemeanor counts of possession and possession of drug paraphernalia, the office said.

"Paul Robinson is charged with felony tampering, hindering apprehension for taking steps to conceal evidence, including a safe containing drugs and cash, and obstructing the investigation," the release said, identifying him as the father of one of the students.

The charges were announced by Sunday's office in cooperation with the State College Police Department and the 54th Statewide Investigating Grand Jury.

"We are horrified by these serious allegations against current and former students," said Andrea Dowhower, Penn State's vice president for Student Affairs, in a statement.

Dowhower added, "Criminal activity, including hazing, such as this has no place at our institution, and we will cooperate with law enforcement in any way we can. We will continue to enhance our efforts around health and safety and hazing educational efforts for all our organizations."

Padres minor league coach detained by ICE at El Paso airport

Posted about a week ago

Oswaldo Pirela is seen in this undated photo. (Photo courtesy of Jorge Pirela)

(NEW YORK) -- U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested a member of the San Diego Padres' minor league coaching staff, according to his family and the agency.

Oswaldo Pirela, the team's minor league catching coordinator who is based in Arizona, was detained Sunday morning at El Paso International Airport while he was traveling for work, his brother and mother told ABC News.

Pirela, 34, a married father of two daughters, entered the U.S. legally from Venezuela in 2014 and was allowed to remain in the country until 2018, the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement Tuesday. However, the agency alleged that he, "overstayed his welcome."

"When approached by law enforcement officers, he was not in possession of legal documentation granting him status in the country. He will remain in ICE custody pending removal proceedings and will receive due process," DHS said in a statement.

Pirela's family said in social media posts that he has done nothing wrong and is in the country legally.

"Oswaldo, like me and other members of our family, was directly affected by persecution from the Venezuelan regime. We came to the United States seeking safety through the legal process, applied for asylum through the proper channels, and have worked hard to build our lives and become contributing members of American society," his brother, Jorge Pirela, said in an Instagram post on Monday.

The Padres said in a statement to ABC News Tuesday that it is aware of Pirela's arrest.

"We are working to gather additional information and will not have any further comment at this time," the team said.

A LinkedIn profile for Pirela, confirmed by his brother, said he played for the Texas Rangers from July 2008 to November 2011. After arriving in America in 2014, he worked landscape management before returning to baseball as a coach.

He has been with the Padres since 2024, according to the LinkedIn profile.

Minnesota sues Texas governor to compel extradition of ICE agent for trial

Posted about a week ago

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison speaks during a press conference about federal detention of children at the State Capitol building on Feb. 3, 2026, in St. Paul, Minnesota. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

(WASHINGTON) -- Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison has filed a federal lawsuit against Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to compel the extradition of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent charged with assault over a nonfatal shooting and alleged false reporting during Operation Metro Surge.

The ICE agent, Christian Castro, is accused of firing a gun at the front door of an occupied home in Minneapolis on Jan. 14, striking a Venezuelan man in the leg, then lying about the circumstances of the shooting, according to prosecutors.

Castro was charged in May with four counts of second-degree assault and one count of falsely reporting a crime. A Hennepin County District Court judge found probable cause for the charges and issued a nationwide warrant for Castro's arrest, according to Ellison's office.

On May 29, Texas Rangers located and arrested Castro, after which a Cameron County judge ordered him detained pending extradition proceedings, according to Ellison's office.

Four days after Castro's arrest, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz sent Abbott an extradition request, but, according to Ellison's office, the Texas governor has "withheld a rendition warrant" directing law enforcement to transfer Castro back to Minnesota for prosecution.

"Now, Governor Abbott is trying to shield Castro from being held accountable for these serious charges by refusing to extradite him to Minnesota," Ellison said in a statement on Tuesday. "Abbott's refusal to extradite Castro is unconstitutional and violates federal law and Texas law. I will not stand for that, so I'm taking Abbott to court. Christian Castro will stand trial in Minnesota."

ABC News reached out to the Texas governor's office for comment on the Minnesota lawsuit but has not yet received a response.

The lawsuit also alleges that Manuel Trevino -- the sheriff of Cameron County, Texas, who is named as a defendant in the federal complaint -- has failed to make Castro available for extradition.

Ellison's office said the attorney general will also be requesting a temporary restraining order "barring the Cameron County Sheriff's Office from releasing Castro."

The Cameron County sheriff declined to comment on the lawsuit.

Navy ship without power for 4 days in South China Sea

Posted about a week ago

Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Benfold (DDG 65) conducts routine operations in the South China Sea July 23, 2026. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Andrew Novak)

(WASHINGTON) -- A power failure aboard a U.S. Navy destroyer operating in the South China Sea last month left the ship's crew without potable water, hot food, working toilets or air conditioning for four days.

The outage stemmed from an engineering failure aboard the USS Benfold, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, Cmdr. Matthew Comer, a 7th Fleet spokesperson, said in a statement to ABC News.

The incident adds to concerns about the strain on the Navy as it juggles the Iran war and an expanding slate of global commitments.

The Benfold, a 30-year-old ship, was sailing with the George Washington carrier strike group on July 24 when an issue with the ship's generators caused a complete loss of power aboard the destroyer, according to Comer.

The George Washington strike group is slated to relieve the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Middle East, where the carrier and its crew have faced an extended deployment supporting the Iran war.

"There were no injuries to the crew, who demonstrated resilience, grit, professionalism, and unwavering steadiness in their response," Comer said of the power failure on the Benfold.

It's unclear why the incident wasn't disclosed by the sea service at the time.

ABC News reached out to the Navy for more information about the circumstances surrounding the power outage.

The Benfold was towed by contracted tugboats to Subic Bay in the Philippines, arriving July 28, where Navy maintenance specialists met the ship to begin repairs. Sailors were provided food and moved into contracted lodging ashore beginning the following day, Comer said.

Power was restored July 30, and repairs were completed on Aug. 7; the Benfold departed Subic Bay a day later, Comer added.

It’s unclear whether the Benfold returned to its home port of Japan or continued to sail with the Washington.

14 face charges related to alleged cocaine ring at Penn State fraternities

Posted about a week ago

The Old Main building on the campus of Penn State University, Oct. 11, 2024, in State College, Pennsylvania. (Dmitry Vinogradov/Getty Images)