(NEW YORK) — Hurricane Gabrielle, which has now rapidly intensified into a major Category 3 storm, is the second major hurricane of the 2025 Atlantic season, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Gabrielle, currently located southeast of Bermuda, now has maximum sustained winds of 120 mph.
Gabrielle is also the second tropical system to undergo rapid intensification this year.
On average, the second major hurricane forms around Sept. 19, meaning Gabrielle’s status aligns with what is typically expected during the Atlantic hurricane season.
As the system continues to track over warm waters and favorable atmospheric conditions, Gabrielle could strengthen even more on Monday before it begins to weaken by Wednesday.
There are currently not any tropical alerts for Bermuda as the storm is expected to pass to the east, keeping rain and wind away from the island.
As the storm passes east of Bermuda, Gabrielle will produce large swells and rip currents along the island through early this week.
The hurricane will push northeast and back out to the central Atlantic in the coming days and will weaken in the process. The storm could sweep along or north of the Azores — a group of islands west of Portugal — on Thursday night and Friday.
As of Monday, Gabrielle does not pose a threat to the United States.
ABC News’ Kenton Gewecke contributed to this report.
Tiona Islar has been arrested on charges of injury to a child. Bexar County Sheriff’s Office
(SAN ANTONIO) — Authorities in San Antonio are investigating the apparent hot car deaths of a 3-year-old girl and her 6-year-old brother after the local sheriff said there were “inconsistencies with the story” told by the children’s mom.
The mother, Tiona Islar, allegedly told authorities she last saw her son and daughter in the home around 10 a.m. Saturday, Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said. Islar said she fell asleep, and then around 3 p.m. she found the children in the car and took them inside, Salazar said. Authorities were called around 3:25 p.m., the sheriff said.
A responding deputy “was simultaneously trying to perform CPR on both children, but unfortunately was not successful,” Salazar said. The siblings were pronounced dead at the scene, Salazar said.
Islar, 28, has been arrested on charges of injury to a child, according to the sheriff’s office.
Islar was “mostly cooperative” when taken in for questioning on Saturday, the sheriff told reporters, but he added the circumstances surroundings the deaths were not clear.
“The initial report was for, that the children were left in a car,” the sheriff said on Saturday. “However … there just are some inconsistencies with the story that we’re being given.”
“Something’s not adding up with this case,” Salazar said.
A sheriff’s office spokesperson said on Monday that authorities are still investigating and they’re awaiting the cause and manner of death from the medical examiner.
At least 29 children have died in hot cars in the U.S. this year, according to national nonprofit KidsAndCars.org. At least 1,159 children have died in hot cars since 1990.
Salazar warned, “Every second counts when you’re talking about a child in a hot car.”
“If you come upon a child locked in a car, make every intent to open the doors initially,” he told reporters. “If they’re locked, at that point, it’s safe to say, break a window, do whatever you have to do to get that kid out of there.”
View of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park are seen in Tennessee. (Patrick Gorski/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — A 21-year-old man was found dead in Great Smoky Mountains National Park after a multi-day search, according to the National Park Service.
Ryan Lake was last seen in Nashville on Thursday, with officials locating his vehicle on Saturday, the NPS said in a press release on Sunday.
On Monday, park officials said Lakes was found dead at approximately 2:45 p.m. on Sunday in the Big Creek area of the national park.
“Please respect the privacy of the family during this time,” the NPS said in a press release obtained by ABC News.
According to the NPS website, the Big Creek area is a “dense forest” and a “secluded area on the northeast edge of the park near the North Carolina-Tennessee border.”
The area is also known for “numerous streams and waterfalls,” according to the NPS website.
Park officials previously said “several organizations” were assisting the NPS with search efforts.
To learn more about how to stay safe when embarking on a multi-day hike excursion, click here.
View of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park are seen in Tennessee. (Patrick Gorski/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Park rangers in the Smoky Mountains are searching for a missing 21-year-old man who was last seen in Nashville four days ago, according to the National Park Service.
Ryan Lakes was last seen in the Tennessee capital on Thursday, with park officials locating his vehicle on Saturday, the NPS said in a press release on Sunday.
Park officials are scanning the Big Creek area of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in their search for Lakes, officials said. According to the NPS website, the Big Creek area is a “dense forest” and a “secluded area on the northeast edge of the park near the North Carolina-Tennessee border.”
The area is also known for “numerous streams and waterfalls,” according to the NPS website.
Lakes is a white male with brown hair and hazel eyes, is approximately 5 feet, 5 inches tall and weighs 130 pounds, the NPS noted.
He was last seen wearing dark-colored gym shorts, a dark-colored T-shirt, brown tennis shoes and a black backpack, according to the NPS.
Park officials said “several organizations” are assisting the NPS with search efforts.
Officials asked that anyone who has seen Lakes or has any information on his whereabouts contact the NPS Tip Line at 888-653-0009 or submit a tip on their website.
The National Park Service did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
To learn more about how to stay safe when embarking on a multi-day hike excursion, click here.
Members of the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Protective Service police provide security as Ryan Wesley Routh, the suspect in the apparent assassination attempt on Donald Trump, is brought before a judge at the federal courthouse for an initial appearance on September 16, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
(WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.) — Ryan Routh, the man accused of trying to kill Donald Trump on his West Palm Beach golf course last year, is defending himself before a Florida jury.
Routh, who is representing himself despite lacking any legal education or experience, plans to call three witnesses on Monday — a gun expert and two character witnesses — as he tries to make a case why a jury should spare him from the possibility of spending the rest of his life in prison.
His defense case is expected to take about half the day, with closing arguments currently scheduled for Tuesday.
Routh has broadly described his defense strategy as emphasizing his “gentleness, peacefulness, and nonviolent caring for humanity,” according to court filings.
Among the exhibits Routh plans to use are a design for a DIY skatepark, videos and photos showing him recruiting and fundraising for the Ukrainian military, a photo of a flash mob he organized, and a church bulletin from 1980 when he was awarded an Eagle Scout award.
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon — who has repeatedly clashed with Routh over his unusual courtroom tactics — has curtailed much of Routh’s defense. She blocked many of his proposed witnesses, including an ex-girlfriend and several Palestinian scholars, and prohibited him from arguing that his actions were justified or that he would not have followed through with the assassination attempt.
Routh’s unorthodox defense case follows seven days of testimony from 38 witnesses called by federal prosecutors seeking to prove Routh came within a few hundred yards of killing then-candidate Trump on Sept. 15. Jurors heard from the Secret Service agent who said he spotted Routh hiding in the bushes of Trump’s golf course with an assault rifle, the man who illegally sold the gun to Routh, and a series of law enforcement witnesses who tied Routh’s fingerprints and DNA to the gun abandoned at the crime scene.
FBI agents also testified that Trump would have been less than 130 feet from Routh had Routh not been spotted by a Secret Service agent. Routh’s rifle, they argued, can hit a target ten times that, and the shot could have been made without a scope.
Two brothers who worked with Routh also testified about receiving a box from him in April 2024 — five months before the alleged assassination attempt — that contained wires, pipes, and bullets. After Routh’s arrest, the brothers said they opened the box to find a 12-page letter that prosecutors argue amounts to a confession from Routh.
“This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump, but I failed you. I tried my best and gave it all the gumption I could muster. It is up to you now to finish the job; and I will offer $150,000 to whomever can complete the job,” the handwritten letter said.
Routh has argued that the letter does not describe the alleged assassination attempt.
At the conclusion of the government’s case on Friday, Routh argued that prosecutors had failed to prove their case and that Judge Cannon, who previously oversaw and dismissed one of Trump’s criminal cases, should toss the case. Routh claimed that the area in the bushes where he was allegedly found was a public area where anyone could carry a gun.
“They maybe proved that someone was outside the fence with a gun, but the gun was never fired,” Routh argued.
Judge Cannon denied Routh’s motion, concluding that prosecutors have provided enough evidence to let the jury decide the case.
(GLENDALE, Ariz.) — A man has been arrested and charged after he allegedly impersonated a law enforcement officer and brought a weapon to the stadium where Charlie Kirk’s memorial service will be held on Sunday, according to officials.
Joshua Runkles, 42, was booked on charges of carrying a weapon into a prohibited place and impersonating a police officer, according to the Arizona Department of Public Safety.
Runkles was arrested at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, after showing “suspicious behavior,” according to Arizona DPS.
Runkles is not a law enforcement officer, according to DPS. He was taken into custody by the DPS and booked into the Maricopa County Jail.
“An investigation is ongoing to determine his intent and purpose at the stadium. Runkles has since been released on bond,” according to Arizona DPS.
Later, in a statement posted on X, Turning Point USA spokesman Andrew Kolvet said the individual “was doing advance security for a known guest planning to attend the memorial service tomorrow. We do not believe this person was attempting anything nefarious, however the advance was not done in proper coordination with the TPUSA security team or US Secret Service.”
Kolvet said the arrest came before the site had been fully sealed and locked down.
The U.S. Secret Service said it was investigating in coordination with local law enforcement an “individual who was observed exhibiting suspicious behavior” at State Farm Stadium.
The individual was approached by Secret Service agents and said during the encounter that he was a member of law enforcement and that he was armed, a Secret Service spokesperson told ABC News.
This individual was not a member of authorized law enforcement working the event and an investigation is ongoing as to why he was there, the spokesperson said.
(NEW YORK) — Immigration can be a hot-button topic, something frequently discussed on cable news and splashed across the headlines. But to one enterprising young author, it’s also the perfect material for a children’s book that helps young people understand each other’s roots.
Last month, Scarsdale, New York, high school senior Max Reddy Spencer wrote and self-published a children’s book titled “We Are All Immigrants.”
Spencer, the son of an Indian American mother and a white American father, said he was motivated to share the message that we are all more alike than different.
“We Are All Immigrants” follows the story of a young boy with a very similar background as Spencer’s. But he said he wanted the character to stand in for every child.
“I didn’t name the protagonist in the book,” he told ABC News. “I did that intentionally, actually, as a way to try to make the boy represent all of us and also not be the highlight of the story … I wanted the characters he interacted with to be the center of focus and attention.”
Through the boy’s journey in the book, he discovers that most people in his life who live in the United States are, in fact, immigrants. Whether it be his Venezuelan American neighbor, his Taiwanese American teacher, or his Italian American lunch cook, he begins to understand the fabric of his community is woven from different, diverse backgrounds.
Spencer said his book aims to make conversations about immigration more accessible to children, and it doubles as a coloring book with illustrations generated by artificial intelligence.
For Spencer, immigration is deeply personal, he said. His maternal grandparents immigrated from India. His grandfather was from a tiny, rural village in south India called Pathur, in Andhra Pradesh, India. His grandmother’s hometown was called Madanapalle.
Spencer said he grew up understanding America is built on immigration and that his goal in writing the book was to teach children about immigration, while also encouraging people to reflect on their similarities.
“I am very much pro-immigration from an economic and cultural perspective, but I am mostly just trying to remind our country that we are all far more similar than we are different,” he said. “I know that is obviously far more than my little book can do. But that was a big piece of what I was trying to share.”
Previously, Spencer started an initiative called the Inspiration Project, which collects and distributes free children’s books to underserved communities. His goal is to collect more than 3,000 children’s books to redistribute before he graduates high school. He estimated he’s collected at least 2,000 so far.
Spencer said he is donating all the proceeds from “We Are All Immigrants” to the organization Hearts & Homes for Refugees, a New York-based organization that helps resettle refugee families.
(NASHUA, N.H.) — One man was killed and several people were wounded after a shooting at a New Hampshire country club Saturday evening, authorities said.
It happened at the Sky Meadow Country Club in Nashua when a man entered the club and fired several gunshots, according to the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office.
A “person of interest” in the shooting was detained at the scene by police officers, according to Peter Hinckley, senior assistant attorney general, who spoke to reporters during a news conference Saturday night.
Authorities said there was no further danger to the public.
Attorney General John M. Formella and Nashua Police Department Chief Kevin Rourke later released a statement naming the suspect as Hunter Nadeau, 23.
The victim was named as Robert Steven DeCesare, 59. Two other adults were shot and wounded, the statement said. There is “no known connection” between the suspect and the victim, Formella and Rourke said.
Nadeau was charged with one count of second-degree murder, the statement said. “Additional charges likely will be brought, including for the additional shooting victims,” the statement added.
Nadeau is expected to be arraigned in Nashua on Monday, Formella and Rourke said.
Initially, Nashua police said two armed suspects fled the scene of the shooting and that one was at large, but they later said surveillance video confirmed there was only one shooter.
The country club contains a golf course, a wedding venue and a restaurant. Authorities did not specify the exact location of the shooting.
A nearby Sheraton Hotel was being used as a unification site.
Nashua Mayor Jim Donchess said he was saddened by the shooting and thinking of the families affected.
“I’ve heard from other mayors in other places of course … It had always crossed my mind, ‘Well, it’s unlikely ever to happen in Nashua.’ But now it has,” he told reporters during the news conference. “And I think the message is for every community out there: No matter how unlikely it seems, it can happen. It can happen where you live.”
Nashua is a city of about 92,000 people in southern New Hampshire near the border with Massachusetts.
“As we learn more about tonight’s shooting in Nashua, my heart goes out to the families of those impacted,” New Hampshire Sen. Maggie Hassan said in a post on social media. “And I’m grateful for the work of the law enforcement officers and first responders at the scene.”
(NEW YORK) — The federal indictment that makes Luigi Mangione eligible for the death penalty if he’s convicted of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson should be dismissed because a “torrent of prejudice from multiple public officials” violated his constitutional rights and made it impossible for him to receive a fair trial, defense attorneys argued in a new court filing Saturday.
Mangione has pleaded not guilty to four federal charges, including one death-eligible count of using a firearm to commit murder, that accused him of tracking Thompson’s whereabouts, traveling to New York where Thompson was attending an investor conference, stalking him on the street and then firing several shots from a 9mm pistol.
The defense conceded there is a high bar to dismiss an indictment due to pretrial publicity but argued, “there has never been a situation remotely like this one where prejudice has been so great against a death-eligible defendant.”
Defense attorneys pointed to what they called a “dehumanizing, unconstitutional” perp walk in New York, during which Mangione was televised clambering out of a helicopter in shackles.
“This was done solely to prejudice him and without the slightest legitimate law enforcement objective,” defense attorneys Karen Friedman Agnifilo and Avi Moskowitz argued.
“The United States Attorney General as well as law enforcement personnel and the highest New York City elected official took every opportunity to prejudice Mr. Mangione’s chances of having a fair grand jury hearing and fair legal proceedings in this death penalty case,” the defense’s filing said. “Placing their own, and their administration’s, political agendas above the constitutional safeguards assured to every criminal defendant, and especially one facing a death sentence, they serially violated the constitution, the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, this court’s local rules and traditional notions of fairness.”
The defense pointed to public statements, social media posts and television appearances by Attorney General Pam Bondi that they said made clear the decision to seek the death penalty was based on politics and not merit.
In April, Bondi directed federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty for Mangione if he is convicted of Thompson’s murder.
“Mangione’s murder of Brian Thompson — an innocent man and father of two young children — was a premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America,” Bondi said in a statement at the time.
“The Attorney General of the United States is telling the public that based on her personal experience as a capital prosecutor who tried death penalty cases throughout her career that Mangione is guilty and should be executed,” the defense said. “In addition, she also called the incident ‘an act of political violence’ even though Mr. Mangione was charged in a complaint with stalking a single person who was not a politician, or an activist, and who was not otherwise engaged in politics.”
Meanwhile, a judge this week dismissed two state murder charges related to acts of terrorism as Mangione made his first Manhattan courtroom appearance in five months.
Judge Gregory Carro tossed out first and second-degree murder charges that accused Mangione of murder as a crime of terrorism. The judge said the evidence presented to the grand jury was insufficient to support the terrorism charge.
The rest of the indictment remains, with the judge refusing to dismiss another second-degree murder charge, to which Mangione has pleaded not guilty.
“We respect the Court’s decision and will proceed on the remaining nine counts, including Murder in the Second Degree,” the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said in a statement following the ruling.
(NEW YORK) — Some pop-up showers and thunderstorms are possible on Saturday, mainly to the north of areas hit hardest by flash flooding recently, but there is no organized threat of flash flooding today as tropical moisture begins to thin out. No flood alerts are currently in effect.
However, another burst of monsoonal moisture will bring a low threat (Level 1 of 4) of flash flooding to parts of the Desert Southwest Sunday into Monday.
Isolated downpours and thunderstorms could bring localized areas of flash flooding to parts of far southern California and Arizona for Sunday.
For Monday, the low flood threat shifts east into parts of New Mexico.
Any burn scar areas will be especially prone to dangerous flash flooding which could trigger debris flows and mudslides. Burned soil lowers the threshold for flash flooding, meaning even lower rainfall totals can lead to significant flash flooding and other impacts, which unfold quickly.
Into the rest of next week, dry and quiet weather is forecasted for much of the Southwest.
Over the last couple of days, heavy rain and flash flooding drenched the Southwest and even became deadly in one instance.
In Barstow, California, a 2-year-old was swept away after their family’s car was swept off a road and overtaken by floodwaters. The City of Barstow announced on Friday that “After more than 20 hours of extensive search and rescue operations, emergency responders located the child’s body.”
Flash flooding occurred in other parts of the Southwest as the heaviest downpours dropped 1 to 2 inches of rain in around an hour for some spots, causing some roads to be washed out and anything in the way of rushing floodwaters to be swept away.
Tropical Storm Gabrielle Tropical Storm Gabrielle continues to churn in the central Atlantic, fighting off unfavorable atmospheric conditions.
Gabrielle is slowly improving in structure late Saturday morning but continues to deal with wind shear and dry air, all conditions that tropical cyclones struggle to survive in.
The storm is expected to move into an area with less wind shear and dry air, as well as warm water, allowing it to likely become a hurricane by late Sunday.
However, it will not bring any direct impacts to land as it stays east of Bermuda early next week and eventually turns northeast across the north-central Atlantic by the middle of next week.
If it does become a hurricane, Gabrielle would become the 2nd hurricane of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season. On average, the 2nd hurricane forms around August 26, making this hurricane almost a month later than normally expected.
Hurricane hunter flights are scheduled to fly into Gabrielle to get a better idea of the storm’s current structure and strength.
The National Hurricane Center is also watching a weak tropical wave located off the west coast of Africa as it produces some disorganized thunderstorms.
It has a 20% chance of development in the next seven days as it slowly treks across the central Atlantic. If it does become more developed, it would likely take the same track as Gabrielle, avoiding any direct impacts for land.
Tropical activity in the Atlantic is forecasted to slowly ramp back up over the next few weeks as conditions gradually become more favorable for development.
The Atlantic hurricane season runs through Nov. 30.
