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(NICHOLAS COUNTY, W. Va.) — A missing miner trapped in a flooded West Virginia coal mine for nearly a week has been found dead, according to West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey.

“At approximately 6:00 a.m. this morning, water levels inside the Rolling Thunder Mine in Nicholas County had receded sufficiently for rescue crews to safely enter. The team began their search, examining every section as they advanced underground. At 7:37 a.m., one two-man team located the body of the missing miner, foreman Steve Lipscomb,” Morrisey said in a statement posted on X.

Alpha Metallurgical Resources, the company that owns the mine where Lipscomb was trapped, also confirmed Lipscomb’s death in a statement obtained by ABC News.

“During routine operations, a crew in the underground mine encountered a sudden and substantial inflow of water. Tragically, Steven Lipscomb, 42, of Elkview, W. Va., was unable to reach safety. He was last seen attempting to ensure his crew made it out safely,” the statement reads.

“Our hearts are broken,” Andy Eidson, the CEO of Alpha Metallurgical Resources, said in the statement. “Steve joined our company in 2006 and was a dedicated employee, respected leader and friend to many. His actions to ensure the safety of his crew members were heroic. On behalf of the entire organization, we extend our prayers and deepest sympathies to his wife, two children and all who knew and cared for him.”

Rescuers had been searching for Lipscomb, whose name was not immediately released, since Saturday, when he became trapped in the flooded mine. Crews pumped 6,000 gallons of water per minute from the mine, Morrisey said earlier this week.

“The big strategic goal right now is to drain as much of the water as possible, so that can give the mine rescue individuals the opportunity to go in and further their search,” Gov. Morrisey said at a Wednesday press conference, adding that it was being drained at a rate of approximately one inch of water per hour. “Separately there’s an effort to open up a hole to be able to do the drill to ultimately have a capsule that goes down.”

Morrisey said on Monday that dive teams were working to find pockets of air where the miner might be located while the mine was being drained.

“This has been an around-the-clock response since Saturday, and we’re going to continue to do everything imaginable to help,” said Morrisey. “We’re going to continue to push, because we want to make sure that we give the miner every opportunity to live.”

Lipscomb’s death at Rolling Thunder Mine is the second mining fatality in West Virginia this month, following the death of another miner at a different mine last Thursday, according to Morrisey.

“Our coal miners are among the hardest-working and most courageous people in our state. They represent the strength, humility, and resolve that define West Virginia. We owe these men and women an enduring debt of gratitude for the sacrifices they make every day to power our communities and our nation,” Morrisey posted on Facebook earlier this month.

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(NEW YORK) — Airline disruptions continued across the U.S. on Thursday morning, with at least 989 flights canceled before about 5 a.m. ET, according to tracker FlightAware, as officials warned that it may take days for airports to get back up to speed.

It could take up to a week for air travel to return to normal operations after the government shutdown ends, Airlines for America President and CEO Chris Sununu said at a press briefing Wednesday afternoon.

The Federal Aviation Administration froze flight reductions on Wednesday that were initially set to increase on Thursday, as the number of canceled flights in the United States has steadily decreased this week.

The FAA issued an emergency order on Wednesday evening freezing the flight reductions at its current level of 6%.

Under a prior order, airlines had been required to reduce operations at 40 “high-impact airports” by 8% by Thursday and by 10% by Friday. The new order means those reductions will no longer increase.

With Thanksgiving just two weeks away, Sununu said he doesn’t see any impacts lasting into the holiday season.

“I don’t think any flights over the Thanksgiving week have actually been canceled yet. I think the airlines have been pretty tight working with the FAA looking a few days out to be sure,” said Sununu. “We’re still a good week plus away from that Thanksgiving week. There’s still plenty of time to make sure that everything over the Thanksgiving week goes off as originally planned.”

However, consumer confidence in travel declined during the shutdown and a survey by the American Hotel and Lodging Association found that nearly 20% of Americans have canceled or changed their Thanksgiving travel plans.

“Our poll has shown that that consumer confidence has impacted travel, and concerns about that have led to some changes with what we’re seeing is that 75% have lost or spent money as a result, already because of being affected negatively by travel and future intentions,” President and CEO of American Hotel and Lodging Association Rosanna Maietta said.

The 6% flight reductions will remain in place “as the FAA continues to assess the situation and determines when airlines and systems can safely and gradually return to normal operations,” the Department of Transportation said.

The order comes after more than 900 flights were canceled Wednesday in the U.S. as of approximately 8 p.m. ET, with departures from the busy hubs of Chicago, Denver and Atlanta leading the list of the most cancellations, according to FlightAware.

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(NEW YORK) — A federal judge in New York decided the wealthy Alexander brothers must face charges they conspired for more than a decade to drug, sexually assault and rape dozens of women, rejecting the luxury real estate brokers’ attempt to dismiss the indictment by arguing it is legally deficient.

The judge, Valerie Caproni, agreed to dismiss one of the charges, attempted sex trafficking, ruling it falls outside the statute of limitations. 

She ruled the rest of the charges in the sex trafficking case must stand.

“As much as Defendants want to characterize the charged conduct as just men behaving badly, that is not what the Indictment charges,” Caproni wrote in her order, entered on Wednesday. “The charges are that three grown men conspired to entice women and girls to travel in interstate and foreign commerce, to provide things of value to those women and girls, and to use force and drugs in order to have sexual contact with those victims.”

Former luxury real estate brokers Tal and Oren Alexander and their brother Alon have pleaded not guilty. They argued, in part, that the indictment should be dismissed because the federal government was seeking to prosecute a local crime of sex trafficking. The judge rejected the argument.

“This is far from a ‘local’ crime; it stretches from Martha’s Vineyard to New York to Florida to Israel and involves the movement of women and girls from various Points A to various Points B where they would be, as planned by Defendants, sexually assaulted. Prosecuting this case federally simply does not run afoul of the balance between federal and state authority,” Caproni wrote.

The brothers are next due in court on Nov. 24.

Oren and Tal Alexander gained notoriety in New York’s luxury real estate market through their company, Alexander Group, and have been under federal investigation alongside Oren’s twin, Alon, since late 2024.

They have been accused of luring women to nightclubs and parties, then drugging and sexually assaulting them.

Oren Alexander’s lawyer, Richard Klugh, said earlier this year the charges were misguided and lacked merit. Defense attorney Deanna Paul, who is representing Tal, called the allegations “speculative” earlier this year.

Alon Alexander’s attorney, Howard Srebnick, said in response to the May superseding indictment that Alon “passed a lie detector test, administered by a former, senior FBI polygraph examiner, establishing his innocence to the accusations in the earlier version of the indictment.”

The brothers are being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn awaiting trial, which is currently scheduled for January.

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(WASHINGTON) — The Trump administration’s claim that states were “unauthorized” to begin issuing full SNAP benefits over the weekend is “untethered to the factual record,” a federal judge ruled on Wednesday. 

U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani issued a temporary restraining order that prohibits the Trump administration from trying to force states to “undo” benefits that they began disbursing over the weekend. 

She also ordered the administration to ensure that the emergency funds for SNAP — which cover about 65% of November benefits — are made available to states by Thursday. 

With the government shutdown nearing an end, the ruling appears unlikely to immediately change the status of the benefits, though it supports the Democratic state officials who began dispensing benefits. 

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday that full SNAP benefits will be paid out once the shutdown is resolved.

On Friday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which operates the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, notified states that it was “working towards implementing November 2025 full benefit issuances” to comply with an order from U.S. District Judge McConnell that the Trump administration fully fund SNAP with emergency funds.

But the USDA backtracked the next day, telling states they must “immediately undo any steps taken to issue full SNAP benefits for November 2025,” with the administration saying the full SNAP payments by states were “unauthorized.”

Judge Talwani, in her ruling Wednesday, said the Trump administration “confused the record” by offering contradictory guidance. 

“In light of this record, the court finds that USDA’s assertion — that the States took ‘unauthorized’ action when they were complying with a court order that had not yet been stayed and with the USDA’s own directive — untethered to the factual record,” she wrote. 

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(WASHINGTON) — The Trump administration’s claim that states were “unauthorized” to begin issuing full SNAP benefits over the weekend is “untethered to the factual record,” a federal judge ruled on Wednesday. 

U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani issued a temporary restraining order that prohibits the Trump administration from trying to force states to “undo” benefits that they began disbursing over the weekend. 

She also ordered the administration to ensure that the emergency funds for SNAP — which cover about 65% of November benefits — are made available to states by Thursday. 

With the government shutdown nearing an end, the ruling appears unlikely to immediately change the status of the benefits, though it supports the Democratic state officials who began dispensing benefits. 

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday that full SNAP benefits will be paid out once the shutdown is resolved.

On Friday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which operates the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, notified states that it was “working towards implementing November 2025 full benefit issuances” to comply with an order from U.S. District Judge McConnell that the Trump administration fully fund SNAP with emergency funds.

But the USDA backtracked the next day, telling states they must “immediately undo any steps taken to issue full SNAP benefits for November 2025,” with the administration saying the full SNAP payments by states were “unauthorized.”

Judge Talwani, in her ruling Wednesday, said the Trump administration “confused the record” by offering contradictory guidance. 

“In light of this record, the court finds that USDA’s assertion — that the States took ‘unauthorized’ action when they were complying with a court order that had not yet been stayed and with the USDA’s own directive — untethered to the factual record,” she wrote. 

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(WASHINGTON) — Top administration officials met with Rep. Lauren Boebert Wednesday morning about the effort to force a House vote on the release of Justice Department’s Epstein files, multiple sources told ABC News.

The meeting, with top White House and Justice Department officials, was part of an effort to get Boebert to remove her name from the petition to release the files, the sources said.

It came just hours before House Speaker Mike Johnson was to swear in Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva, who has said she intends to add the final signature to that petition to force a vote on the release of the files.

Attorney General Pam Bondi, Deputy AG Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel were among those present for the meeting, which occurred at the White House, the sources said.

It wasn’t immediately clear following the meeting whether Boebert had decided to remove her name, the sources said.  Boebert is among four Republicans who have signed onto the petition. The others are Reps. Thomas Massie, Nancy Mace and Marjorie Taylor Greene.

The White House and Boebert’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ABC News.

CNN was first to report that a meeting was planned for Wednesday.

The Trump administration has been dealing with the fallout from its decision not to release materials related to the investigation into Epstein, the wealthy financier and convicted sex offender who died by suicide in jail in 2019, following the blowback it received from MAGA supporters after it announced in July that no additional files would be released.

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(NEW YORK) — At least 893 flights were canceled in the United States on Wednesday morning, with departures from the busy hubs of Chicago, Denver and Atlanta leading the list of the most cancellations, according to FlightAware.

Another 1,117 flights had been delayed as of about 1 p.m. ET, according to FlightAware.

Chicago O’Hare International topped the tracker’s list of cancellations, with 45 as of about 1 p.m. local time. Next was Denver with 43 and Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson with 37.

Wednesday’s flight cancellations appeared set to continue a dayslong streak of headaches at American airports, which were operating under duress amid a federal government shutdown.

The cancellations and delays have slowly crept down throughout the week, however, as Congress appeared ready to end the shutdown. The House of Representatives was set to vote on the bill Wednesday night.

As of 8:30 a.m. ET, there were no staffing issues with the exception of the ongoing shortage unrelated to the shutdown at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, according to Cirium, an aviation analytics company.

More than 1,200 flights in the U.S. were canceled on Tuesday, while another 2,600 were delayed. Winter weather that caused headaches in the Midwest and East on Monday and Tuesday were also no longer a factor for airports on Wednesday.

The Federal Aviation Administration continues to limit capacity at 40 major U.S. airports. Many federal employees, including Transportation Security Administration staffers, were working without pay as the partisan impasse dragged on in Washington.  

And while things have improved, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned the cancellations could cause major issues this weekend if the shutdown does not come to an end.

“If the government doesn’t open, it’s going to radically slow down,” Duffy said during a press conference on Tuesday. “If this doesn’t open, you might have airlines that say, ‘We’re going to ground our planes.’ That’s how serious this is.”

Airlines have not received any guidance on whether flight reductions will be adjusted once the shutdown ends, according to Chris Sununu, the president and CEO of Airlines for America, a trade association representing U.S. carriers.

Unless another directive is issued by the FAA, airlines plan to implement an 8% flight reduction on Thursday and a 10% reduction on Friday, Sununu said.

Once the government shutdown ends, it will take about a week before air travel operations return to normal, Sununu said. If the shutdown ends this week, smooth travel is expected over the Thanksgiving holiday, he said.

“There’s still plenty of time to make sure that everything over the Thanksgiving week goes off as originally planned,” Sununu said during a press conference on Wednesday.

ABC News’ Ayesha Ali contributed to this report.

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(SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, Calif.) — Authorities said they are searching for an at-risk woman who was last seen at a bonfire on a California beach.

Danielle Staley, 35, of Utah, went missing while visiting the California Central Coast with a friend, according to the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office.

She was last seen with a group of people at a bonfire on Rio Del Mar State Beach in Aptos shortly before midnight on Nov. 6, according to the sheriff’s office.

She was reported missing the following day, the sheriff’s office said.

Investigators have not ruled out foul play, and Staley is considered at-risk due to the circumstances of her disappearance, according to the sheriff’s office.

“Staley’s personal belongings were found on the beach, and she has not been in contact with her family — behavior that is uncharacteristic and has raised additional concern,” the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. “At this time, investigators are not ruling out foul play; however, the case is being treated as a missing person at risk due to the circumstances.”

Staley has been visiting the area with a friend, and they had been staying in a camper van near Rio Del Mar State Beach, according to the sheriff’s office.

The friend is cooperating with authorities, the sheriff’s office said.

Residents and businesses with surveillance video in the areas of Rio Del Mar Beach, Beach Drive, Treasure Island and Spreckels Drive have been asked to contact the sheriff’s office so deputies can review the footage.

“Detectives have been diligently working to track down any information and continue to do so,” the sheriff’s office said.

Authorities described Staley as 5’6″ and 120 pounds with blonde hair. She was last seen wearing a dark, hooded sweatshirt and leopard print leggings.

Anyone with information on Staley is urged to contact the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office at 831-471-1121.

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(NEW YORK) — Dazzling waves of color are lighting up the skies this week.

After green and pink displays of auroras lit up the sky Tuesday night, another Northern Light array is expected to bring a gleaming light show to the northern part of the U.S. Wednesday night.

The auroras are being caused by one of the strongest geomagnetic storms of the year, which occurs when electrons from the sun collide with Earth’s magnetic field to produce colored lights, according to NOAA.

“Aurora is the name given to the glow or light produced when electrons from space flow down Earth’s magnetic field and collide with atoms and molecules of the upper atmosphere in a ring or oval centered on the magnetic pole of Earth. The collisions produce light much like how electrons flowing through gas in a neon light collide with neon and other gasses to produce different colored light bulbs,” NOAA’s website reads.

Two dozen states could see the Northern Lights Wednesday night per NOAA’s aurora viewline map that includes Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.

Mike Bettwy, a meteorologist at the Space Weather Prediction Center, told ABC News that the auroras on Wednesday could be as clear as the ones on Tuesday.

“We had three coronal mass ejections leave the Sun since late last week. The third and final one is expected to impact our atmosphere later today and tonight. It is difficult to predict with a high degree of certainty or precision, but it is possible this will be as impactful as last night’s event. There were reports of aurora as far south as Tampa, Florida, overnight,” Bettwy said.

“While not unprecedented, it is quite unusual for the aurora to be visible at these low latitudes; probably only occurring once or twice per solar cycle,” he added.

The best time to see the aurora is between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m., according to NOAA.

NASA recommends going to the darkest area and using a long exposure to get the best photos of the light show, per their guidance.

NASA did not immediately reply to requests for comment from ABC News.

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(WASHINGTON) — The Justice Department prosecutor handpicked by President Donald Trump to lead the criminal cases against New York Attorney General Letitia James and former FBI Director James Comey is now the subject of a bar complaint that alleges she is unfit to be an attorney and that her actions constitute an “abuse of power.” 

The progressive watchdog group Campaign for Accountability filed a complaint against Interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan on Tuesday and requested that the state bars in Florida and Virginia initiate investigations into her conduct. 

The complaint alleges that Halligan repeatedly violated the professional and ethical rules that govern the legal profession, including by making false statements and by bringing cases that are unsupported by probable cause. 

“Weaponizing the DOJ to prosecute the president’s enemies could destroy the democratic principles at the foundation of our Constitution,” the complaint said. “Ms. Halligan’s active participation in this course of action is an abuse of her governmental authority and is prejudicial to the administration of justice, adversely reflecting on her fitness as a lawyer.”

A spokesperson for the U.S. attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, which Trump named Halligan to lead on Sept. 20, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Trump tapped Halligan — a White House aide and former insurance lawyer with no prosecutorial experience — to the high-profile legal post after he forced out Trump-appointed U.S. attorney Erik Siebert who sources said had resisted bringing cases against Comey and James. Career prosecutors who investigated Comey and James recommending against bringing charges, ABC News previously reported. 

The indictments came after Trump, in a social media post, called on Attorney General Pam Bondi to act “NOW!!!” to prosecute James and Comey in what critics call a campaign of retribution against Trump’s perceived political foes. Vice President JD Vance has said any such prosecutions are “driven by law and not by politics.” 

“Ms. Halligan was well aware President Trump had installed her as Interim U.S. Attorney specifically to indict Mr. Comey and Ms. James and, within just a few days of joining the office, she did just that — despite career officials having found the cases insupportable,” the complaint said. 

“Halligan’s actions appear to constitute an abuse of power and serve to undermine the integrity of the Department of Justice and erode public confidence in the legal profession and the fair administration of justice,” said the complaint. 

Comey pleaded not guilty in October to one count of false statements and one count of obstruction of a congressional proceeding related to his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2020, while James, who successfully brought a civil fraud case against Trump last year, pleaded not guilty to charges of mortgage fraud.

A federal judge is already examining Halligan’s conduct after defense attorneys raised concerns with the legality of her appointment.

Most complaints to state bars result in no action or discipline being taken, although state bar investigations — which can take years — can result in suspension or disbarment.

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