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(NEW YORK) — After a scrubbed attempt this week, NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 mission successfully lifted off Friday evening from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida headed for the International Space Station.

NASA astronauts Sunita “Suni” Williams and Butch Wilmore are now one step closer to returning home from the ISS.

Powered by a Falcon 9 rocket, the spacecraft reached a speed of 17,500 mph as it headed into space after lifting off on Friday at 7:03 p.m. ET.

Docking at the ISS is scheduled for Saturday at 11:30 p.m. ET. They will open the hatch and enter the station at 1:05 a.m. ET on Sunday.

The launch was initially planned for Wednesday evening but postponed due to a problem with a ground support clamp arm on the Falcon 9 rocket. SpaceX subsequently said the hydraulic system issue was fixed and the crew was once again cleared for take-off on Friday.

Dragon is transporting the Crew-10 team made up of NASA astronaut Anne McClain, the mission’s commander; NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers, the mission pilot; Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Takuya Onishi; and cosmonaut Kirill Peskov, with Roscosmo, Russia’s space agency.

Crew-10 will relieve four astronauts who are part of the current station crew, including Williams and Wilmore. The two astronauts planned to spend about a week on the ISS, but that brief stop turned into a nine-month mission when NASA determined that it was unsafe to bring them home on the Boeing Starliner spacecraft they rode into orbit.

The duo arrived at the ISS in early June, but in September, NASA opted to bring the Starliner back home empty due to concerns about technical issues with the craft. This mission marked Boeing’s first crewed flight of the Starliner. An empty Starliner landed safely back on Earth on Sept. 6.

The two American astronauts became part of the ISS Crew-9 team and have been actively engaged in research and maintenance of the station ever since. The extended time in space also allowed Williams to break the record for the most spacewalking time by a woman, with 62 hours and 6 minutes in the vacuum of space.

NASA has long insisted that Williams and Wilmore were never stuck or stranded.

In September, three months after the pair arrived at the ISS, a Roscosmos Soyuz spacecraft arrived at the station with two cosmonauts and an American astronaut. Several weeks later, American astronaut Nick Hague and cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov arrived at the station onboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon Freedom spacecraft. Both vehicles have remained docked to the ISS and available for emergencies ever since.

The SpaceX Crew Dragon Freedom capsule that brought Hague and Gorbunov to the ISS is currently docked at the station will be the one that brings Williams, Wilmore and the two other Crew-9 astronauts back home. Endurance will remain docked at the station along with the Soyuz.

There is a period of overlap when the new team and the current crew of seven work collaboratively to ensure a smooth handover. NASA has said Williams and Wilmore could be home as soon as Wednesday.

NASA said that Crew-10 will conduct more than 200 scientific experiments and technology demonstrations during their mission to help humans eventually go deeper into space.

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(NEW YORK) — At least one person is dead after severe weather hit Butler County, Missouri on Friday night, officials said.

There were previous reports of three deaths due to the storm, but Robert Myers with the Butler County Emergency Management Agency confirmed to ABC News that there was some miscommunication in the field and when comparing notes with the sheriff and coroner.

Emergency management is working through the damage now this morning, but Myers said daylight will give them a better idea of the amount of destruction.

The Black River Coliseum has been opened as shelter and Myers said that there are people with injuries in nearby hospitals but did not have an exact number.

Millions of Americans across the country are on alert for a severe weather outbreak as violent, long-track tornadoes with damaging winds of up to 80 mph and large hail is expected across the Midwest and South as the cross-country storm moves east.

There is a rare high risk warning issued for violent tornadoes in Mississippi and Alabama on Saturday afternoon and into the evening.

So far there have been 23 reported tornadoes overnight across four states – Missouri, Arkansas, Illinois and Mississippi as the severe weather outbreak continues into Saturday. Winds gusted up more than 80 mph causing damage in the Midwest from Missouri to Wisconsin.

Tornado watches remain in effect for parts of five states, from Alabama to Ohio, as the storm pushes eastward on Saturday with gusts of winds over 70 mph in some areas.

The Storm Prediction Center said that numerous significant tornadoes, some of which could be long-track and potentially violent, are expected and cities in the high risk areas include Hattiesburg, Jackson, Tuscaloosa and Birmingham.

The most dangerous tornado threat should begin Saturday during the late morning to early afternoon hours in Louisiana and Mississippi before spreading into Alabama late afternoon into the evening, followed by the western Florida panhandle and into western Georgia through late Saturday night.

The severe storms are expected to be weaker on Sunday as the storms reach the East Coast from Florida to the Mid-Atlantic.

Damaging winds, large hail and brief tornadoes on Sunday afternoon will be possible for the Southeast, while heavy rain and damaging wind threat will reach the Northeast Sunday evening into the overnight.

The severe weather outbreak is all part of a major cross-country storm system that is also prompting fire danger and red flag warnings across the Plains.

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(NEW YORK) — A dangerous, multiday severe weather outbreak is set to bring tornadoes, flash flooding and damaging winds to the Midwest, the South and the East Coast, with the worst of the weather hitting the South on Saturday.

This is the first outbreak of this magnitude this year and is only the third time the National Weather Service has issued a high risk warning one day ahead.

The severe weather begins in the Midwest on Friday evening.

Residents from Davenport, Iowa, to Peoria, Illinois, and St. Louis to Memphis, Tennessee, are in the bull’s-eye for strong tornadoes. Destructive winds from thunderstorms could reach 90 mph and hail could be as large as baseballs.

On Saturday, the highest threat for tornadoes moves into the Deep South, focusing on eastern Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and the western Florida Panhandle.

In a rare warning, the highest risk level for severe weather/tornadoes has been issued from Jackson, Mississippi, to Birmingham, Alabama, where Gov. Kay Ivey issued a state of emergency. Those in the area should brace for numerous, significant tornadoes, some of which could be long-track and potentially violent.

The most dangerous tornado threat will begin in Louisiana and Mississippi late Saturday morning and the early afternoon. The threat spreads into Alabama in the late afternoon and evening and then reaches Florida and Georgia late Saturday night.

Destructive winds up to 80 mph and large hail are also in the forecast.

The severe storms will cover a large area, spreading as far north as Atlanta and Nashville, Tennessee.

On Sunday, the severe storms will be weaker as they target the East Coast from Florida to Pennsylvania.

The tornado threat will be focused on the Carolinas and Georgia in the afternoon.

Storms with the potential for damaging winds will reach the Northeast by the evening and last through early Monday morning.

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(AUSTIN, Texas) — A man is facing charges after five people were killed and 11 were hospitalized in a collision involving 17 vehicles, including a semi-truck, in Austin, Texas, authorities said.

Solomun Weldekeal Araya, 37, has been charged with five counts of intoxication manslaughter and two counts of intoxication assault, according to Austin police.

The accident unfolded at approximately 11:23 p.m. on Interstate 35 southbound, according to Capt. Krista Stedman, public information officer for Austin-Travis County EMS. Crews arrived on scene to find multiple patients pinned in their cars, officials said.

Five people died at the scene: three adults, one child and one infant, authorities said. Eleven others were taken to hospitals.

“This incident was incredibly chaotic, and it was spread out over about a tenth of a mile,” Stedman said. “We were able to get all the critical patients off the scene within about 40 minutes and, considering how complex the scene was, that’s pretty impressive.”

The National Transportation Safety Board said it’s launched a safety investigation.

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(NEW YORK) — In a letter to the Trump administration this week, electric automaker Tesla raised concerns about President Donald Trump’s ongoing tariffs, warning that the company could be “exposed” to retaliatory tariffs and urging the administration to “consider the downstream impacts.”

The comments were made in an unsigned letter on Tesla letterhead to United States Trade Representative Jamison Greer. It came after the USTR office earlier this year said it would be conducting a “review of unfair trade practices.”

The letter, dated March 11, comes from the company of tech billionaire Elon Musk, who has been leading the effort to slash government spending and downsize the federal workforce. It’s unclear if Musk was personally involved in sending the letter, and he has not addressed it on his social media platform, X.

As ABC News has reported, some Tesla shareholders have publicly questioned Musk’s commitment to the company as Tesla shares have fallen dramatically since Musk joined the Trump administration.

“As a U.S. manufacturer and exporter, Tesla encourages USTR to consider the downstream impacts of certain proposed actions taken to address unfair trade practices,” the letter said.

Tesla representatives did not respond to questions from ABC News, including questions regarding who wrote the letter. A White House spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In the letter, Tesla noted that tariff actions by the Trump administration have resulted in “immediate reactions” by the targeted countries, including increased tariffs on electric vehicles.

“Past U.S. special tariff actions have thus (1) increased costs to Tesla for vehicles manufactured in the United States, and (2) increased costs for those same vehicles when exported from the United States, resulting in less competitive international marketplace for U.S. manufacturers,” the letter said. “USTR should investigate ways to avoid these pitfalls in future actions.”

The letter also urged the administration to take into consideration supply chain issues when it comes to “future trade policy actions,” pointing, as an example, to what they say are shortages of lithium-ion batteries despite the company’s own efforts to manufacture them domestically.

“Nonetheless, even with aggressive localization of the supply chain, certain parts and components are difficult or impossible to source within the United States,” the letter states. “Tesla supports a process by USTR to further evaluate domestic supply chain limitations to ensure that U.S. manufacturers are not unduly burdened by trade actions that could result in the imposition of cost-prohibitive tariffs on necessary components, or other import restrictions on items essential to support U.S. manufacturing jobs.

“Trade actions should not (and need not) conflict with objectives to further increase and support domestic manufacturing,” the letter said.

ABC News’ Will Steakin and Kelsey Walsh contributed to this report.

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(NEW YORK) — The Department of Homeland Security has arrested a second student who was involved with Columbia University protests, the agency announced.

Leqaa Korda was arrested by agents from Homeland Security Investigations for allegedly overstaying her expired visa — which terminated on Jan. 26, 2022. She was also allegedly arrested in 2024 for her involvement in the protests, according to DHS.

Korda is a Palestinian from the West Bank, according to DHS.

The arrest comes nearly a week after plain-clothed Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrested Mahmoud Khalil, a green card holder who was also involved in the protests at Columbia University.

The agency said another student involved in the protests — Ranjani Srinivasan, an urban planning student at Columbia and Indian citizen — used the CBP Home app to self-deport.

“It is a privilege to be granted a visa to live and study in the United States of America,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said. “When you advocate for violence and terrorism that privilege should be revoked, and you should not be in this country. I am glad to see one of the Columbia University terrorist sympathizers use the CBP Home app to self-deport.”

Federal agents with DHS also searched two Columbia University student residences Thursday night but did not arrest or detain anyone.

In a statement, Columbia President Katrina Armstrong said the DHS agents had two search warrants signed by a federal magistrate judge authorizing them to enter non-public areas of the university and conduct searches of two student rooms.

“I am writing heartbroken to inform you that we had federal agents from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in two University residences tonight,” Armstrong said in the statement. “No one was arrested or detained. No items were removed, and no further action was taken.”

The searches were part of the Trump administration’s crackdown on individuals it has described as espousing the views of Hamas and threatening the safety of Jewish students, according to sources.

Khalil was one of the leaders of the university encampment protests last spring, and is being held in Louisiana.

Khalil, a green card holder who has not been charged with a crime, is set to appear before an immigration judge on March 27.

Trump administration officials have said Khalil was detained for his purported support of Hamas. Baher Azmy, one of Khalil’s lawyers, called his client’s alleged alignment with Hamas “false and preposterous.”

Earlier Thursday, at least 98 people were arrested at a protest in the lobby of Trump Tower in New York City calling for Khalil’s release.

Separately, Columbia University announced Thursday that students who occupied the campus’ Hamilton Hall during pro-Palestinian protests last spring have been expelled, suspended for several years or had their degrees temporarily revoked.

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(NEW YORK) — The arrest of Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil was a “targeted, retaliatory detention and attempted removal of a student protestor because of his constitutionally protected speech,” his attorneys said Thursday in a new petition seeking his immediate release.

Khalil, a leader of the Columbia University encampment protests last spring, was detained on March 8 and is being held in Louisiana as of Thursday.

He possesses a green card and has not been charged with a crime.

Officials from President Donald Trump’s administration have said Khalil was detained for his purported support of Hamas. But Baher Azmy, one of Khalil’s lawyers, called his client’s alleged alignment with Hamas “false and preposterous.”

His lawyers argued in their petition that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had determined that Khalil’s presence in the United States would have potentially serious foreign policy consequences based on lawful activity — namely his participation in protests and his statements about Israel.

“Neither Secretary Rubio nor any other government official has alleged that Mr. Khalil has committed any crime or, indeed, broken any law whatsoever,” the amended petition said.

“The Rubio Determination and the government’s subsequent actions, including its ongoing detention of Mr. Khalil in rural Louisiana, isolating him from his wife, community, and legal team, are plainly intended as retaliation and punishment for Mr. Khalil’s protected speech and intended to silence, or at the very least restrict and chill, his speech now and in the future, all in violation of the First Amendment,” it continued.

His lawyers conceded Khalil is “an outspoken student activist” who called Israel’s actions in Gaza “genocide,” but they also said he has been “committed to peaceful protest.”

Khalil was taken from New York to New Jersey following his arrest. He was later transferred to Louisiana. The complaint described a process in which “Mr. Khalil felt as though he was being kidnapped. He was reminded of prior experience fleeing arbitrary detention in Syria.”

The petition claims that the arrest violated Khalil’s First and Fifth Amendment rights, as well as the Administrative Procedure Act.

At least 98 people were arrested at a protest in the lobby of Trump Tower in New York City calling for Khalil’s release earlier in the day on Thursday.

Separately, Columbia University announced Thursday that students who occupied the campus’ Hamilton Hall during pro-Palestinian protests last spring have been expelled, been suspended for several years or had their degrees temporarily revoked.

Khalil is set to appear before an immigration judge on March 27.

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(DENVER) — An American Airlines plane caught fire at Denver International Airport in Colorado on Thursday, sending passengers down emergency slides and onto the wing of the aircraft. Twelve were people being taken to the hospital with minor injuries, airport officials said.

The Boeing 737-800 plane was diverted to Denver shortly after departing from Colorado Springs, Colorado. While the plane was taxiing to the gate, the engine caught fire, and its passengers evacuated.

The incident, which sent smoke billowing across the tarmac, took place at approximately 5:15 p.m., local time.

There were 172 passengers and six crew members aboard AA Flight 1006.

All passengers were able to exit the plane.

American Airlines told ABC News that passengers evacuated the plane through emergency slides, the overwing exit and some onto the jet bridge.

A statement from Denver International Airport said 12 people were taken to the hospital with minor injuries.

The plane was traveling from Colorado Springs, Colorado, to Dallas, Texas, when it was diverted to Denver after the “crew reported engine vibrations,” according to the Federal Aviation Authority.

The plane diverted after about 20 minutes into the flight and was in the air for about an hour before it landed.

In an earlier statement to ABC News, American Airlines said, “We thank our crew members, DEN team and first responders for their quick and decisive action with the safety of everyone on board and on the ground as the priority.”

The airline also said that it was arranging for a replacement aircraft to take passengers the rest of the way to the intended destination, Dallas Fort-Worth.

The FAA is investigating the incident.

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(NEW YORK) — Alaska’s Mount Spurr, an active volcano near the most populated region in the state, is getting even closer to an eruption, according to volcanologists.

Scientists at the Alaska Volcano Observatory measured “significantly elevated” emissions of volcanic gas coming from Mount Spurr, located in the Aleutian Arc in southern Alaska about 75 miles west of Anchorage, according to a statement released Wednesday.

In addition, elevated earthquake activity, ground deformations and newly activated fumaroles — or gas vents — at the volcano’s Crater Peak have been recorded, indicating that the probability of eruption has increased, researchers at the observatory said.

Small earthquakes have been occurring above ground at Mount Spurr since April, Matthew Haney, scientist in charge of the Alaska Volcano Observatory in Anchorage, told ABC News last month.

An overflight on March 7 measured about 450 metric tons per day of sulfur dioxide from Mount Spurr’s summit vent — an increase from less than 50 metric tons in December, according to the observatory.

Over the last month, more than 100 earthquakes per week have been occurring at the site as well. Ground deformation and collapse of snow and ice into the summit crater lake that formed during the unrest also continues, scientists said.

An increase in gas emissions confirms that new magma has entered the Earth’s crust beneath the volcano, indicating that an eruption is likely in the next weeks or months, according to the observatory.

While an eruption is “not certain,” it is the most likely outcome of the current unrest, according to the observatory. If the magma stalls and does not reach the surface, the unrest could instead decrease over the next weeks and months, similar to events from 2004 to 2006, researchers said.

Eruptions that occurred in 1953 and 1992 were explosive — lasting a few hours and producing ash clouds that were carried downwind for hundreds of miles, according to the observatory. The August 1992 eruption caused the Anchorage airport to close for 20 hours due to the wind and ash event that accompanied the eruption.

There is little geological evidence to suggest other past eruptions in the last 5,000 years, according to the observatory.

The volcano alert level for Mount Spurr as of Thursday was at “yellow” or “advisory,” indicating that the volcano is exhibiting signs of elevated unrest above known background level

Mount Spurr is monitored constantly due to its proximity to Anchorage, the most populated city in Alaska, Haney said. There are 11 remote seismic stations situated around Mount Spurr.

Primary hazards to south-central Alaska communities during eruptions at Mount Spurr include far-traveled airborne ash clouds and ashfall, according to the observatory.

Volcanologists will be monitoring for further increases in seismic activity, gas emissions and surface heating to indicate that an eruption is imminent, according to the observatory. The detection of volcanic tremor — a continuous shaking that can last for several minutes rather than short, small earthquakes — would like prompt the level to raise, Haney said.

Should monitoring data suggest that an eruption is likely within hours or days, the observatory will raise its alert level to orange or red.

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