National

(NEW YORK) — The megadrought that has plagued the West for several decades is not only expected to persist, but drought conditions will also likely intensify and expand east, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

About 55% of the continental U.S. is experiencing drought conditions, which will likely worsen in the Great Plains, particularly the central and southern Plains, such as Texas and Oklahoma, NOAA scientists said during a monthly climate call Thursday.

These areas will be experiencing extreme fire danger on Friday as conditions are worsened by the arid landscape and ground fuel that allows wildfires to explode. The region will likely see well below the average precipitation as the summer months approach, according to NOAA.

Many places in the West have been experiencing drought for three consecutive years without any significant recovery in sight.

California and Nevada are already breaking records for dryness this year, after they both had their driest period of January through March on record. This is the time of year that the region typically receives the most rain and snow, making the statistic all the more concerning, the scientists said. California’s snowpack is currently at 30% of its average.

So far in 2022, California has only received 15% of its normal precipitation. In 2021, California received 65% of its normal precipitation during this same period.

This year will likely be among the top 10 warmest on record, according to NOAA. Globally, March was sixth warmest on record, and record warm March temperatures were observed across 5% of the global area, according to NOAA.

In Antarctica, where summer just transitioned to fall, one station reached its highest temperature ever recorded, and temperatures at one point were up to 70 degrees above average, the scientists said.

Research indicates that climate change is contributing to the extent, severity and duration of the drought in the Western U.S. The drought is likely to cost the U.S. billions of dollars in 2022, the scientists said.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(PHILADELPHIA) — Health officials in Philadelphia voted Thursday evening to drop the city’s indoor mask mandate, just days after the requirement officially went back into effect on Monday.

“Due to decreasing hospitalizations and a leveling of case counts, the city will move to strongly recommending masks in indoor public spaces as opposed to a mask mandate. Given the latest data, the Board of Health voted tonight to rescind the mandate,” a representative from Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney’s office told ABC News on Thursday.

It is still unclear exactly when the mandate will officially be lifted.

Philadelphia first ended its mask mandate in the beginning of March before reinstating it a little over a month later. The new mask mandate that went into effect Monday required masks in all indoor public spaces, including schools, childcare settings, businesses, restaurants, and government buildings.

“I sincerely wish we didn’t have to do this again. I wish this pandemic was over just as much as any of you but I am very worried about our vulnerable neighbors and loved ones,” Health Commissioner Cheryl Bettigole said during a press conference when the new mandate was first announced April 11. “My hope that our actions today will slow the spread of COVID and help us avoid seeing our ERs, once again, gets so crowded, that people can’t get timely care when they need it.”

The abrupt shift comes just hours after Kenney had defended the decision to reinstate the city’s mask mandate during a Thursday interview with Washington Post Live.

“Our health professionals recommended that we do a mandate again, because their data have shown that mandates get people to wear them more than just highly recommended,” Kenney said in the interview. “Our case counts were 240% higher than they were when we got rid of the mask mandate a month ago. … Our belief is that wearing masks again will tamp down the case counts and hospitalizations … and allow us … to get back to more normalcy.”

The city’s mask mandate had drawn sharp criticism from some residents, with some local business owners going as far as to file a lawsuit against the city in an effort to overturn the requirement.

When asked about the pushback, Kenney insisted that he believes wearing a mask is the “simplest” action someone can take to keep their community safe.

“The mask issue … has become such a politicized issue. It’s the most simplest thing you can do to keep yourself safe and to keep people safe. And the politicization of this issue … has just made everyone crazy about it. It’s not a big burden to wear a mask,” Kenney told Washington Post Live. “I’m sad to say that this nation has devolved into a selfish bunch who want what they want for themselves and are sometimes not willing to help each other out as Americans.”

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(COVINGTON, Ga.) — A small plane crashed in the lot of a General Mills plant in Georgia shortly after takeoff Thursday evening, killing all aboard, authorities said.

The plane took off from the Covington Municipal Airport around 6:45 p.m., Covington Police Department Captain Ken Malcom said during a press briefing.

Witnesses told police it appeared that the aircraft, believed to be a Cessna twin-engine propeller plane, was having trouble gaining altitude and that it sounded like there was engine trouble.

Malcom said the plane then suddenly veered and crashed into the lot of the General Mills plant, located about a mile from the airport. The plane went down in an isolated area that stored tractor-trailers, some of which caught fire, he said.

There were no survivors, Malcom said. It is unclear how many people were aboard the plane, and police are working to determine who the victims are, he said.

No one was injured on the ground, according to Malcom, who noted that many lives were potentially saved since the plane didn’t crash directly into the plant.

Fire personnel was still working to put out the fire at the scene several hours after the crash.

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the incident.

ABC News’ Darren Reynolds contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(DULUTH, Minn.) — A family of four, including two children, were fatally shot while sleeping in their Minnesota home in what police believe to be a murder-suicide incident, authorities said.

The suspected gunman, a relative of the family, was found dead in the home from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, Duluth Police Department Chief Mike Tusken said.

“It’s just a sad day,” a visibly shaken Tusken said during a briefing on the incident Thursday.

“In 32 years, we haven’t seen anything like this, when we’ve had four victims of a homicide,” he said.

The victims were publicly identified by police following next-of-kin notification as Riana Lou Barry, 44; Sean Christopher Barry, 47; Shiway Elizabeth Barry, 12; and Sadie Lucille Barry, 9.

Duluth police had responded to the home in the East Hillside neighborhood shortly after noon on Wednesday, stemming from a request for a welfare check in neighboring Hermantown regarding an individual experiencing a mental health crisis.

A family member had provided the Hermantown Police Department with a message the suspect allegedly sent to them and later posted on social media indicating that he intended to harm himself and other family members, authorities said.

Hermantown police were unable to locate or make contact with the suspect, identified as 29-year-old Brandon Taylor Cole-Skogstad. They provided Duluth police with the address of the Duluth home owned by the suspect’s aunt and uncle, authorities said. Duluth police had also received information that the suspect had access to a weapon, Tusken said.

Duluth police who responded to the home heard what they believed to be a single gunshot as they knocked on the door, authorities said.

After securing the scene, police initially used robots and drones to search the premises, though the devices were unable to enter all the rooms, Tusken said. A room-by-room search by a tactical team found the victims in their beds dead from apparent gunshot wounds, he said. A family dog was also found dead, he said.

A 9mm handgun was found near the suspect, the chief said.

A 911 call history search did not indicate any prior concerns involving Cole-Skogstad, police said.

“This is a tragedy for Minnesota, a tragedy for, certainly, the city of Duluth and for this community,” said Tusken, who added that he hopes getting the facts out will provide some “closure and healing.”

No further details were provided amid the ongoing investigation.

Duluth City Council President Arik Forsman told reporters he knew the family, who was known for selling Girl Scout cookies at an East Hillside church.

“No family or community should have to go through what has been happening over the last 24 hours,” he said. “It’s hard to put into words the sadness that I feel as a councilor, as a Duluthian and as a father.”

“That was compounded when the names were released, because these folks were my neighbors in Lakeside,” he continued.

Duluth Mayor Emily Larson said the incident is “deeply painful” for the community.

“As a parent and member of a family, it is wrenching to consider what the Barry family might be feeling,” she said in a statement. “There is only loss to every part of this story. To the Barry family: our community mourns with you and we share in your pain. Because your loss is our community’s loss.”

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — A wildfire inferno is setting up in multiple states as dangerous fire conditions threaten to spread the fires even further.

At least 14 fires are currently burning through Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Texas and Oklahoma.

North of Flagstaff, Arizona, where the Tunnel Fire has been scorching through communities after sparking on Sunday, about 750 homes have been evacuated. The Tunnel Fire has burned through 20,000 acres so far and is 0% contained.

About 100 miles southwest of Flagstaff, the Crooks Fire in Prescott, Arizona, has blazed through 2,000 acres and is also 0% contained.

Voluntary evacuations have been ordered in Jarales, New Mexico, where the Bosque Fire has burned through 165 acres and is expected to grow, while mandatory evacuations were issued in Boulder County, Colorado, after the Table Mountain Fire grew to 52 acres.

Red flag and high wind alerts had been issued Thursday for eight states from Arizona to Nebraska. Relative humidity is also down to 5%, with wind gusts as high as 70 mph are possible. The wind is being created by a storm system moving through the West on Thursday and Friday.

The worst fire conditions Thursday are expected to stretch from New Mexico to Colorado. A decades-long megadrought in the West has also contributed to the fire danger in the region.

The fire danger is expected to worsen even more on Friday, with states from New Mexico to Colorado classified as being in extreme fire danger, the highest level of fire danger.

The storm system moving West will bring severe weather from Texas to Minnesota, with damaging winds, large hail and the possibility of isolated tornados.

ABC News’ Max Golembo and Marilyn Heck contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — A New York City mother found stabbed to death inside a duffel bag was allegedly killed by a handyman she’d been having an off-and-on affair with for two years, the NYPD said.

The suspect, David Bonola, was arrested just before 1 a.m. Thursday, days after he allegedly dumped Orsolya Gaal’s body in her son’s hockey bag, police said at a news conference Thursday.

Bonola, 44, allegedly stabbed 51-year-old Gaal dozens of times at her Queens home early Saturday morning while her 13-year-old son was upstairs, according to police sources.

Police described it as a domestic dispute, saying “their relationship was considered at an end.”

After the murder, police believe Bonola sent a text message to Gaal’s husband from her phone that referenced a previous crime and indicated the rest of the family was in danger. Police said there was no past crime and no danger to Gaal’s husband and two children.

Authorities said Bonola was seen on video rolling the duffel bag, leaving a bloody trail behind him.

After disposing of the body, Bonola allegedly fled through a park, where police said they found his jacket.

Gaal’s body was found Saturday morning.

Bonola turned himself in Wednesday night after officers canvassed his Queens neighborhood, according to police sources. He’s charged with murder, criminal tampering and criminal possession of a weapon, according to the NYPD.

NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig said Bonola “made incriminating statements” but he didn’t elaborate.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — A person is in custody in connection with the death of Orsolya Gaal, the New York City mother found stabbed to death inside a duffel bag, police sources told ABC News.

Gaal was found in a duffel bag in Queens on Saturday morning. The 51-year-old was stabbed dozens of times, according to police sources.

Story developing…

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(ALANTA) — Attorneys for Robert Aaron Long, the suspect in the Atlanta spa shootings case, are seeking to dismiss the death penalty as he awaits trial on multiple murder charges for the March 2021 massacre.

Long, 23, was indicted last year for the deaths of four women that occurred at Gold Spa and Aromatherapy Spa in Fulton County, Georgia.

He previously pleaded guilty to four other murders that took place the same day at Young’s Asian Massage in Cherokee County. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole, plus an additional 35 years.

Long pleaded not guilty in Fulton County last year to four counts of murder, among other charges. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has said she’d seek the death penalty and hate crime charges against Long.

Long appeared in Fulton County court Tuesday for a motions hearing. His attorneys have filed dozens of motions on his behalf ahead of the trial, which is expected to start this fall.

In seeking to dismiss the death penalty, his attorneys argued that the death penalty statute violates his constitutional rights and that the capital jury process could be biased against him.

They also argued that Long’s age should bar the death penalty.

“The Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment protects Mr. Long from disproportionate and excessive punishment,” defense attorneys Jerilyn Bell and Christian Lamar wrote. “Mr. Long’s youth at the time of the offense — he was 21 years old — substantially lessens his culpability, and a sentence of death would be disproportionate to his diminished moral blameworthiness.”

In announcing that she would seek the death penalty, Willis told reporters that the case “warrants the ultimate penalty.”

Willis also filed sentencing enhancements under Georgia’s hate crime law, which offers guidelines for anyone convicted of targeting a person based on race, color, religion and gender. Willis said at the time that race and gender played a role in the shooting.

In the shooting spree, which occurred across two spas on March 16, 2021, six out of the eight people killed were Asian women.

The victims in Fulton County were Suncha Kim, 69; Soon Chung Park, 74; Hyun Jung Grant, 51; and Yong Ae Yue, 63.

Paul Michels, 54; Xiaojie “Emily” Tan, 49; Daoyou Feng, 44; and Delaina Yaun, 33, were killed in the shooting in Cherokee County.

When he entered his guilty plea in Cherokee County court last year, Long said he loathed his sex addiction and that he blamed it on the spas he claims to have frequented for sex.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(PITTSBURGH) — As the investigation to identify suspects entered its fourth day in a mass shooting at a Pittsburgh Airbnb house that left two teenagers dead, police amended the number of gunshot survivors from eight to nine.

The Pittsburgh Police Department said in a statement that the new non-fatal gunshot victim was taken to a hospital in a private car and arrived at an emergency room on the morning of the shooting in stable condition.

Pittsburgh Police Chief Scott Schubert said another five people suffered cuts and broken bones fleeing the gunfire, some by jumping from second-story windows.

No arrests have been announced in the shooting that occurred early Sunday morning during a party at an Airbnb rental in the East Allegheny neighborhood of North Pittsburgh that police said was attended by more than 200 people.

Schubert said Tuesday that about two hours before the shooting erupted, a police officer responded to a noise complaint at the Airbnb house, but left after issuing a verbal warning to keep the noise down.

“There was nothing unusual to indicate that something was wrong,” Schubert said. “We have some information that shows that a lot of these people didn’t come until after midnight.”

The shooting erupted around 12:40 a.m. Sunday, and investigators collected 90 shell casings from the scene, including 50 from inside the Airbnb home.

Schubert said the shooting broke out after an “altercation” inside the house, but has declined to elaborate.

The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the two 17-year-olds killed in the shooting as Mathew Steffy-Ross and Jaiden Brown. Both teens were scheduled to graduate from high school in June, according to friends and loved ones.

“Matthew was a fun, loving kid that cared so much about everybody. Matthew would give you the shirt off your back,” Steffy-Ross’ great-aunt, Bonnie McLain, told ABC affiliate station WTAE-TV in Pittsburgh.

She described Steffy-Ross, a senior at Grace Non-Traditional Christian Academy in Pittsburgh, as having “the biggest smile in the world.”

“He cared about people and he loved people, and he acted upon it,” McLain said, adding that she last spoke to her nephew on Saturday morning and heard of his death from a neighbor on Sunday.

Pittsburgh community activist Lee Davis of the Greater Valley Coalition Against Violence told WTAE that he was a mentor to both Steffy-Ross and Brown.

“I have been to over 100 funerals in the 17 years I have been doing this work, and I thought I was all cried out, but when I seen what happened to Jaiden and Matt, the tears just came all over again,” Davis said. “It just hurt my heart.”

Davis said he knew Brown, a senior at Woodland Hills High School in Pittsburgh, since he was a child.

“His energy was great,” Davis said of Brown. “Everybody loved him, and he became very well-liked in the community. To see this happen to him was really heartbreaking … because he had a very bright future.”

Cathy Jo Welsh, a member of the youth anti-violence program Helping Out Our People in Pittsburgh, said Brown’s father died from an illness a few years ago and that Steffy-Brown’s mother died recently.

“(Steffy-Brown) was just getting his bearings from losing his own mother and just learning how to live with trauma and grief,” Welsh told WTAE.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — The man accused of pushing a New York City woman to her death in front of an oncoming subway train in January was deemed unfit to stand trial at a court hearing Tuesday in accordance with findings from a psychiatric evaluation.

Simon Martial, 61, will now be sent to a psychiatric facility under the custody of the city’s Department of Mental Health and Hygiene, according to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Briggs’ office.

The DA’s office did not contest the determination, but told ABC News that the office will continue to review the case and pursue Martial’s conviction.

Michelle Alyssa Go had been standing on the southbound N/Q/W/R platform at Times Square station on Jan. 15, looking at her phone, when she was suddenly shoved, unprovoked, onto the tracks, police say. She was pronounced dead at the scene just weeks after celebrating her 40th birthday.

Martial, who is homeless, fled the station but turned himself in later that day, according to police. He was charged with second degree murder.

New York County Defender Services, which is representing Martial, declined to comment Wednesday when reached by ABC News.

Though police have not classified the tragic attack as a hate crime, Go’s death heightened anxiety around a rise in anti-Asian sentiments and violence, weighing heavily on many as they came together for vigils in Times Square and San Francisco’s Chinatown in honor and remembrance of the Fremont, California, native and several other Asian crime victims back in January.

Go was a consultant for Deloitte and a longtime volunteer and advocate for the homeless, according to ABC affiliate WABC-TV.

Her family released a statement describing her as a “beautiful, brilliant, kind, and intelligent woman who loved her family and friends, loved to travel the world and help others.”

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.