(PLAINFIELD, N.J.) — A huge line of severe weather passed through on Thursday night, killing at least three people in New Jersey and complicating travel for millions on the move for the Fourth of July weekend.
A deadly storm with winds topping 60 mph tore through central New Jersey, forcing one town to cancel its Fourth of July celebrations.
Thursday night’s severe thunderstorm killed at least three people: one in North Plainfield and two in Plainfield, about 30 miles west of New York, ABC New York station WABC reported.
The Plainfield fatalities were 79-year-old Rocco Sansone and 25-year-old Brian Ernesto Valladares, who died when a tree fell on their car, according to the city.
“Our hearts are heavy,” Mayor Adrian O. Mapp said in a statement. “We mourn with the families and stand ready to support them in every way possible.”
Plainfield is under a state of emergency, with the mayor saying the “devastating storm” left “deep scars.”
Homes and cars have been damaged and some houses are structurally compromised from fallen trees, city officials said. Over 80 trees were knocked down, including many that are blocking roads or are entangled with power lines, officials said.
“In light of this tragedy, we cannot, in good conscience, proceed with our Fourth of July parade, concert, or fireworks,” the mayor said in a statement overnight. “This is not a time for celebration. It is a time to regroup and focus all our energy on recovery.”
“There will be a time to celebrate again, to raise our flags and enjoy the joys of community,” the mayor said. “But right now, we must come together to clean up, to support one another, and to begin the work of rebuilding.”
(CHICAGO) — Four people were killed and 14 others wounded in a “deplorable and cowardly” mass shooting in Chicago on Wednesday night, according to the police superintendent.
Around 11 p.m., people were exiting a venue in the River North neighborhood and standing on the sidewalk when a vehicle pulled up and someone in the car opened fire on the crowd, Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling said at a news conference.
“They didn’t care who was struck, and in a matter of seconds, they were able to shoot 18 people,” Snelling said.
The venue was targeted, but it’s not clear who specifically was the target, police said.
The vehicle fled the scene immediately and no one has been taken into custody, police said. Two different calibers of shell casings were recovered, police said.
The victims killed were identified as Leon Andrew Henry, 25; Devonte Terrell Williamson, 23; Taylor Walker, 26; and Aviance King, 27, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Fourteen others were wounded, including several who were hospitalized in critical condition, according to police. The injured victims are all in their 20s and 30s, and 11 of the 14 people hurt are women, police said.
“When I arrived last night it was absolute chaos,” Pastor Donovan Price, who works to help victims of violence, told reporters. “From people screaming, to blood on the streets, to people laying on the streets, a massive police presence. Just horrific. More than I’ve ever seen.”
The hospitals were “almost as chaotic” as the crime scene as people searched for their loved ones, Price said. “It can happen anywhere,” he warned. “It’s devastating.”
A second mass shooting also erupted on Chicago’s far South Side on Wednesday night, leaving four people hospitalized, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said.
“We are frustrated, but we are also grieving,” Johnson said, adding, “We will not rest until there is full accountability.”
Despite the shootings, murders were down 32% year-to-date in the city as of June 29 and shooting incidents were down 39%, according to Chicago’s crime data.
Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images, FILE
(LOS ANGELES, Calif.) — Several Fourth of July celebrations have been canceled in Los Angeles over fears of raids by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to local officials and event organizers.
In early June, ICE agents carried out a series of immigration sweeps across Southern California, sparking protests in Los Angeles that spread nationwide as the raids impacted other parts of the country.
The threat of continued ICE raids has continued, prompting some officials and organizers to express concern over the welfare of revelers congregating in large celebratory gatherings.
The County of Los Angeles Department of Parks and Recreation said it postponed the East Los Angeles Rockin’ 4th of July celebration — as well as the Summer Movies and Concert in the Parks series that takes place at Schabarum Park — due to potential ICE raids.
“Out of caution, and in response to recent ICE enforcement activity impacting our communities, we are prioritizing safety and well-being of our residents, visitors, and staff,” the parks department wrote in a statement posted to Instagram.
Organizers for the Gloria Molina Grand Park Summer Block Party in Los Angeles County wrote on an Instagram post that the event is being postponed out of “an abundance of caution.”
“We know this is disappointing news,” organizers said. “We were so looking forward to celebrating with all of you at #TheParkforEveryone. Please know that your safety is our absolute first priority.”
The party was scheduled to take place Friday afternoon through the nighttime fireworks show.
Postponements and cancellations also occurred in the Bell Gardens and Cudahy, which are predominately Hispanic communities, ABC Los Angeles station KABC reported.
In addition, the El Sereno Bicentennial Committee canceled its 66th Annual Independence Day Parade after several entries were withdrawn leading up to the holiday, organizers announced on June 20. The is typically filled with local groups, schools, organizations and performers as well as classic cars and motorcycle stunt shows on Route 66.
“The people who participate in the parade are some of the most patriotic people you would meet,” parade organizers said in a statement. “Our community has always been a melting pot of many cultures and beliefs. It is what has given our town its strength and resiliency.”
Independence Day celebrations at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, however, are expected to continue — but this year with a drone show, rather than fireworks.
But events in public spaces feel “dangerous” for many residents, Los Angeles City Councilwoman Ysabel Jurado, who oversees District 14, told KABC.
“This is not the time to host large public gatherings because people are afraid,” Jurado said. “For Fourth of July and Independence, it rings hollow for a lot of our constituents here.”
Elsewhere throughout the country, security protocols were ramping up ahead of the holiday. The New York City Police Department is expected to deploy hundreds of officers and impose closures on roads, bridges and train routes due to a heightened threat environment, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch announced Wednesday.
Lone wolf actors are anticipated to be the biggest threat to 4th of July festivities in major cities like New York and San Francisco, multiple federal law enforcement agencies warned.
(STUDIO CITY, Calif.) — Mexican boxer Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., son of the legendary fighter, has been arrested and is being processed for “expedited removal” from the United States due to alleged ties to the Sinaloa Cartel, the Department of Homeland Security announced Thursday.
Chavez was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Wednesday in Studio City, California, DHS said. He is allegedly in the country illegally after overstaying a tourist visa, according to DHS.
Chavez lost to boxer and influencer Jake Paul in a fight on Saturday night in Anaheim, California.
He has an active arrest warrant in Mexico “for his involvement in organized crime and trafficking firearms, ammunition, and explosives,” DHS said in a press release.
“Chavez is also believed to be an affiliate of the Sinaloa Cartel, a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization,” DHS said.
The boxer entered the country in August 2023 with a B2 tourist visa that was valid until February 2024, according to DHS. He filed an application for lawful permanent resident status in April 2024, according to DHS.
“Chavez’s application was based on his marriage to a U.S. citizen, who is connected to the Sinaloa Cartel through a prior relationship with the now-deceased son of the infamous cartel leader Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman,” DHS said.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services flagged Chavez as an “egregious public safety threat” to ICE in December 2024, though his removal was not prioritized, according to DHS.
He was determined to be in the country and removable on June 27 after allegedly making “multiple fraudulent statements” on his lawful permanent resident application, DHS said.
“Under President Trump, no one is above the law — including world-famous athletes,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. “Our message to any cartel affiliates in the U.S. is clear: We will find you and you will face consequences. The days of unchecked cartel violence are over.”
According to DHS, Chavez has prior convictions in California for driving under the influence of alcohol in 2012 and illegal possession of an assault weapon and manufacture or import of a short-barreled rifle in 2024.
Chavez’s father, Julio Cesar Chavez Sr., is one of the greatest boxers of all-time and a huge celebrity in their native Mexico.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Hans Gutknecht/MediaNews Group/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images
(ESPARTO, Calif.) — Seven people remain missing after a warehouse filled with fireworks exploded Tuesday evening in Northern California, officials said.
The blast occurred at a pyrotechnics facility in Esparto, located in Yolo County, triggering a series of massive explosions that began around 6:02 p.m., according to fire authorities.
“First responders and investigators are working diligently with the property owner to determine the whereabouts of those individuals,” Cal Fire and the Esparto Fire Protection District said in a joint statement Wednesday.
Officials are using drones to assess the area due to ongoing safety concerns.
“We obviously do our best to train for every type of incident, but an incident like this is like a once-in-a-career type of incident,” Esparto Fire Chief Curtis Lawrence said Wednesday at a press conference, adding they couldn’t immediately get close enough to the building considering the risk.
The site remains under evacuation orders as authorities warn of a continued threat to the immediate area. While officials said the risk has decreased since Tuesday, they’re maintaining the evacuation zone until a full safety assessment can be completed.
The press conference Wednesday was also interrupted by an angry family member who said her boyfriend and brother-in-law were in the building.
“We’re all sick to our stomach, and we’re all waiting on the information [officials say] we should receive until Saturday, when I want to know today,” she said.
Cal Fire’s Office of the State Fire Marshal said it believes the facility belongs to a licensed pyrotechnics operator. Investigators are working to determine if the operation complied with California’s strict pyrotechnics regulations and federal explosive storage requirements.
“This type of incident is very rare,” Cal Fire officials said, noting that such facilities must follow stringent safety protocols.
The California Highway Patrol is assisting with security while investigators treat the location as an active crime scene.
“Our hearts and thoughts are with those we lost, their families, and everyone impacted in our community,” the management for Devastating Pyrotechnics, the company that owns the pyrotechnics business, said in a statement. “We are grateful for the swift response of law enforcement and emergency personnel. Our focus will remain on those directly impacted by this tragedy, and we will cooperate fully with the proper authorities in their investigation.”
Chicago Fire Department cleans up the crime scene where numerous people were shot at Artis Restaurant and Lounge/Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images
(CHICAGO) — Four people were killed and 14 others wounded in a mass shooting Wednesday night in Chicago, police said.
The carnage erupted in the River North neighborhood, on the 300 block of West Chicago Avenue, when a vehicle pulled up to a location and at least one gunman opened fire on a crowd standing outside, Chicago police said.
The vehicle fled the scene immediately and no one has been taken into custody, police said.
Four people were killed — two men and two women — and 14 others were wounded, including several who were hospitalized in critical condition, according to police.
“When I arrived last night it was absolute chaos,” Pastor Donovan Price, who works to help victims of violence, told reporters. “From people screaming, to blood on the streets, to people laying on the streets, a massive police presence. Just horrific. More than I’ve ever seen.”
The hospitals were “almost as chaotic” as the crime scene as people searched for their loved ones, Price said.
The injured victims are all in their 20s and 30s and 11 of the 14 people hurt are women, police said.
“Seems there was some album release party, people coming from that. An SUV pulls up and just opens fire on a crowd of people,” Price said.
“It can happen anywhere,” he warned. “It’s devastating.”
Despite the shooting, murders were down 32% year-to-date in the city as of June 29 and shooting incidents were down 39%, according to Chicago’s crime data.
(TEXAS) — A federal judge in Texas has ruled that the family of the man charged in the deadly Molotov cocktail attack in Boulder, Colorado, can be deported, dismissing a challenge to their removal filed last month.
Hayam El Gamal, the wife of Mohamed Sabry Soliman, was apprehended following the attack and was initially slated for expedited deportation.
The deportation case involving Soliman’s wife and five children was transferred to Texas. Last month, a judge issued a temporary order halting the family’s deportation, which remained in place until now.
Dismissing the family’s legal challenge, U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia wrote, “Upon review of the parties’ advisories, the record, and the applicable law, the Court finds that it lacks jurisdiction to grant Petitioners the relief they seek and must dismiss this case without prejudice.”
Soliman has been hit with several state charges, including first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder and assault. A preliminary hearing in the state case is set for July 15.
Soliman, who is being held in federal custody, has pleaded not guilty to federal hate crime charges.
Authorities said Soliman threw Molotov cocktails at a group of marchers who were advocating for the release of the Israeli hostages outside the Boulder courthouse on June 1, yelling “Free Palestine” during the attack.
(GALENA PARK, Texas) — A 9-year-old girl has died in after she was intentionally left alone in a hot car while her mom was at work, according to Harris County, Texas, Sheriff Ed Gonzalez.
The girl’s 36-year-old mother left the child unattended in a white Toyota Camry on Tuesday from approximately 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. while she worked at a manufacturing plant in Galena Park, Texas, near Houston, the sheriff’s office said during a press conference.
The mother left the child with some water, partially rolled down the windows of the vehicle and then “proceeded to go to work for the day,” officials said.
“There’s never an excuse to leave a child unattended,” Gonzalez said during the press conference.
Upon returning to the vehicle later in the afternoon when her shift ended, the mother found her daughter unresponsive. Law enforcement was contacted at approximately 2:06 p.m. and detained the mother, officials said. Temperatures in the Houston area reached around 93 degrees Fahrenheit on Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service.
The child was transported to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead, officials said.
Detectives continue to speak with the mother to gain more insight on why the child was kept in the car and the exact timeline of how long she was alone in the vehicle, the sheriff said. Officials are also waiting to receive the child’s autopsy results before deciding whether to press any charges.
Gonzalez said the incident, “which could have been prevented,” is a “unique” situation, since most hot car deaths are typically an accident.
“Maybe she has to make ends meet and keep food on the table and work. But the risk of death or harm — there’s just no reconciling that in my mind. You got to make other arrangements. It’s not worth it to put a child at risk like this, for any particular reason,” Gonzalez said.
He went on to say that nothing at this point shows that the mother “thought this would be the outcome.”
This tragedy marks the third hot car death to occur in Texas in the last four days and at least the 13th child to die in a hot car nationwide this year, according to Kids and Car Safety, an organization focused on “saving the lives of children and pets in and around vehicles.”
(NEW YORK) — Ward Sakeik — a stateless Palestinian woman who was detained on her way back from her honeymoon — has been released from ICE detention nearly five months after her arrest, her husband confirmed to ABC News.
Sakeik, who is married to a U.S. citizen, was arrested at the St. Thomas Airport in the U.S. Virgin Islands in February.
“The Trump administration’s brazenly unconstitutional attempt to deport this young woman in violation of a federal court order should shock the conscience of every American. Had we not intervened, she may very well be in a foreign country right now, separated from her family like so many others illegally deported to third countries,” Eric Lee, Sakeik’s attorney, said in a statement Wednesday.
The government had attempted to deport Sakeik twice — the first of which was to Israel just hours before it launched its attack on Iran in June. The second attempt to deport her was made despite a federal judge ordering that she remain in the northern district of Texas and not be removed from the U.S.
Sakeik’s family is from Gaza, but she is legally stateless and has lived in the U.S. since she was 8 years old. Her family had traveled to the U.S. on a tourist visa and applied for asylum, according to Shaikh.
Sakeik was issued a deportation order more than a decade ago after her asylum case was denied, but she was permitted to stay in the U.S. under what’s known as an “order of supervision,” in which she was given a work permit and regularly checks in with federal immigration authorities, according to her attorney and her husband.
The first stage of her Green Card application was approved last week, according to her husband, Taahir Shaikh.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(MOSCOW, Idaho) — Bryan Kohberger admitted to the killings of four University of Idaho students at his change of plea hearing on Wednesday, pleading guilty to all five counts, despite the former criminology student’s initial eagerness to be exonerated in the high-profile case.
At the Ada County Courthouse in Boise, Idaho, Judge Steven Hippler asked Kohberger how he pleads for each count. Kohberger quickly said “guilty” each time, showing no emotion.
Kohberger — who was charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary in connection with the 2022 killings of the four students — will be spared the death penalty as a part of the plea, according to a letter sent to victims’ relatives. He’ll be sentenced to four consecutive life sentences on the murder counts and the maximum penalty of 10 years on the burglary count, according to the agreement.
At the start of the hearing, Kohberger briefly answered questions from Hippler with “yes” and “no,” marking the first time since his arrest that Kohberger spoke during court proceedings.
He was asked if he was thinking clearly, and Kohberger responded, “yes.” When asked if he was promised anything in exchange for the plea, Kohberger responded, “no.” Asked if he was pleading guilty because he is guilty, Kohberger responded, “yes.”
Hippler asked Kohberger if he “killed and murdered” each victim, naming the four students: Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Kernodle’s boyfriend, Ethan Chapin. Kohberger responded “yes” each time, showing no emotion.
Kohberger’s father shook his head as the victims’ names were read.
Prosecutor Bill Thompson outlined for the judge the state’s evidence against Kohberger, including Kohberger’s DNA matching the male DNA on a knife sheath left by Mogen’s body.
Kohberger also waives his right to appeal as a part of the agreement.
The plea comes just weeks before Kohberger’s trial was to get underway. Jury selection was set to start on Aug. 4 and opening arguments were scheduled for Aug 18.
Prosecutors — who met with victims’ families last week — called the plea a “sincere attempt to seek justice” for the families.
But the dad of 21-year-old victim Kaylee Goncalves blasted the move, accusing the prosecutors of mishandling and rushing the plea deal.
Steve Goncalves said outside court on Wednesday that the prosecution “made a deal with the devil.”
The Goncalves family told ABC News they contacted prosecutors on Tuesday asking for the terms of Kohberger’s deal be amended to include additional requirements: they asked for a full confession and for the location of the alleged murder weapon — described by authorities as a KA-BAR-style hunting knife — which has never been found.
The family said prosecutors turned down the request, explaining that an offer already accepted by the defendant could not ethically be changed. The family said the prosecutors indicated they’re asking the court to allow the prosecution to include a factual summary of the evidence against Kohberger at Wednesday’s hearing, and that more information about Kohberger’s actions would be presented at his sentencing hearing.
The family of 20-year-old victim Ethan Chapin said in a brief statement that they’re at the hearing “in support of the plea bargain.” This is the Chapins’ first appearance at court since their son was killed.
Idaho law requires the state to afford violent crime victims or their families an opportunity to communicate with prosecutors and to be advised of any proposed plea offer before entering into an agreement, but the ultimate decision lies solely with the prosecution.
Kohberger’s parents also attended Wednesday’s hearing, their first time in court with their son since his arrest in Pennsylvania more than two years ago. Attorneys for the Kohberger family said in a statement on Tuesday, “The Kohbergers are asking members of the media for privacy, respect, and responsible judgment during this time. We will continue to allow the legal process to unfold with respect to all parties.”
Prosecutors allege Kohberger fatally stabbed Goncalves, Mogen, Kernodle and Chapin in the students’ off-campus house in the early hours of Nov. 13, 2022.
Two roommates in the house survived, including one roommate who told authorities in the middle of the night she saw a man walking past her in the house, according to court documents. The roommate described the intruder as “not very muscular, but athletically built with bushy eyebrows,” according to the documents.
Kohberger, who was studying for a Ph.D. in criminology at nearby Washington State University at the time of the crime, was arrested at his parents’ home in Pennsylvania in December 2022.
