(NEW YORK) — A multiday severe weather outbreak is set to bring tornadoes, flash flooding and damaging winds from the Midwest to the South and the East Coast.
The severe weather begins in the Midwest on Friday night. Residents from Peoria, Illinois, to St. Louis, Missouri, to Paducah, Kentucky are in the bull’s-eye for damaging winds and potential tornadoes. This region is labeled level 4 out 5 for severe weather.
On Saturday afternoon and evening, the highest threat for tornadoes moves to the Deep South, focusing on Mississippi and Alabama.
A level 4 out 5 severe risk is in effect for New Orleans; Jackson, Mississippi; Mobile, Alabama; and Birmingham, Alabama, where strong/significant tornadoes and destructive winds are expected.
A level 3 out of 5 severe risk has been issued from Nashville, Tennessee, to Atlanta to the Florida Panhandle.
Severe storms could even stretch as far north as the Ohio Valley on Saturday.
On Sunday, the severe storms will be weaker as they target the East Coast from Florida to Pennsylvania.
Damaging winds, large hail and brief tornadoes will be possible for the Southeast on Sunday afternoon, while heavy rain and damaging winds will hit the Northeast on Sunday night.
(NEW YORK) — The detaining of Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia University student and Palestinian activist who possessed a green card, has raised questions about the deportation risks faced by lawful permanent residents amid the Trump administration’s escalating crackdown on immigration.
President Donald Trump’s administration, which has alleged that Khalil was a supporter of Hamas, has said it has the authority to deport Khalil under the Immigration and Nationality Act.
“Secretary [Marco] Rubio reserves the right to revoke the visa of Mahmoud Khalil under the Immigration and Nationality Act, the Secretary of State has the right to revoke a green card or a visa for individuals who are adversarial to the foreign policy and national security interests of the United States of America,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said during a press conference this week.
Khalil, whose detention has sparked protests this week, is married to an American citizen who is eight months pregnant.
Under the Immigration Nationality Act, which experts say is rarely invoked, the government can charge a green card holder as being deportable without being convicted of a crime if there are reasonable grounds to believe they engaged in certain criminal or terrorist activities.
But experts and immigration attorneys ABC News spoke with said the statute does not give the secretary of state the power to deport green card holders like Khalil without going through a procedure.
“The way the statute is constructed, it doesn’t mean that Secretary Rubio can just say, ‘Oh, I determined this, and therefore we’re just going to deport you out of the country,'” said Greg Chen of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. “You would still need to go through a process.”
After the federal government invokes the statute, individuals like Khalil are entitled to argue their case before an immigration judge. Khalil is set to appear before an immigration judge later this month in Louisiana.
“There are some due process and protective procedures that the person is entitled to,” Chen said, “including being given a notice of the charges, and an opportunity to confront that evidence and to bring his or her own evidence in response.”
Chen told ABC News that typically it can take months or even years for immigration cases to “go from start to finish” — but because of Khalil’s “unique circumstances,” a judge can prioritize a case and expedite the process.
Experts told ABC News there are a number of reasons why an individual could lose their green card, including marriage fraud, immigration fraud, violent crimes and other offenses.
Andrew Nietor, an immigration attorney, told ABC News said that while there are cases where the government invokes the Immigration and Nationality Act for certain green card holders with criminal convictions, he said he has never seen a case like Khalil’s.
“I’ve never seen this ground of deportation invoked,” Nietor said. “It’s almost always a green card holder who is almost always in deportation proceedings because of some type of criminal conviction.”
(LOS ANGELES) — Authorities are searching for the man who broke into a Los Angeles-area house and gunned down a father while his wife and son were home, officials said.
The 61-year-old victim was attacked at about 6:26 p.m. Tuesday at his home in Arcadia, about 8 miles east of Pasadena, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office said.
The 13-year-old son and his mother were pulling into their driveway when the intruder “approached them and forced them into the home” where there was a “confrontation” between the intruder and the father, sheriff’s Lt. Steven De Jong told Los Angeles ABC station KABC.
It’s not clear if the boy and his mom witnessed the shooting, but De Jong called it a “very frightening situation for the entire family.”
The 13-year-old son called 911 to report that his dad was shot by an intruder, De Jong said.
A motive is not known, but De Jong said “it appears that this is possibly personally motivated, from my preliminary inspection of the crime scene.”
“This individual that made entry into the house engaged the male victim,” he explained. “So it appears that maybe he was the intended target.”
A “couple” weapons were recovered at the house, but it’s not clear if they belonged to the suspect or the family, he said.
It’s possible the dad “armed himself and attempted to defend himself,” De Jong said.
No arrests have been made, according to the sheriff’s office.
Anyone with information is asked to call the sheriff’s homicide bureau at 323-890-5500.
Alex Segre/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — At least 98 people were arrested Thursday at a protest in the lobby of Trump Tower in Manhattan that called for the immediate release of Mahmoud Khalil — the pro-Palestinian activist and green card holder arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement this week.
Protesters are facing charges of trespass and resisting arrest, according to the New York Police Department.
Hundreds of Jewish protesters wearing “Not in Our Name” t-shirts staged a sit-in in the lobby of Trump Tower in Manhattan. Protesters entered the lobby in two groups, including many who entered the public lobby area in civilian clothes hiding their protest gear underneath, according to police.
The NYPD said it is familiar with this protest group and its tactics. As in other Trump Tower incidents, police were only called to the public lobby area once Trump’s security deemed it necessary
The protesters carried banners in support of Khalil, who was a leader of protests against the war in Gaza at Columbia University, that said “Jews say Free Mahmoud & Free Palestine” and “Fight Nazis Not Students.”
“As Jews of conscience, we know our history and we know where this leads. This is what fascists do as they cement control. This moment requires all people of conscience to take bold action to resist state violence and repression. Free Mahmoud now,” Jane Hirschmann, a Jewish New Yorker whose grandfather and uncle were abducted by the Nazis during Hitler’s rise to power, said in a statement.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations also announced it is filing a federal lawsuit on behalf of Khalil and other students against Columbia University and the U.S. House Committee on Education and Workforce over the committee’s request to disclose thousands of student records.
Khalil, who has not been charged with a crime, is currently being held in Louisiana after being detained in New York earlier this week.
His wife, who is 8 months pregnant, said the couple have been preparing for the arrival of their baby.
“Mahmoud has been ripped away from me for no reason at all. I am pleading with the world to continue to speak up against his unjust and horrific detention by the Trump administration,” she said in a statement to ABC News on Wednesday.
President Donald Trump’s administration has alleged that Khalil — who was a leader of the pro-Palestinian encampment protests on Columbia’s campus — was a supporter of Hamas. Baher Azmy, one of Khalil’s lawyers, called his client’s alleged alignment with Hamas “false and preposterous.”
“Setting aside the false and preposterous premise that advocating on behalf of Palestinian human rights and to plead with public officials to stop an ongoing genocide constitutes alignment with Hamas, his speech is absolutely protected by the Constitution, and it should be chilling to everyone that the United States government could punish or try to deport someone because they disapprove of the speech they’re engaged in,” Azmy told ABC News on Monday.
The administration has not provided any evidence showing Khalil’s alleged support for the militant group.
Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post via Getty Images
(CHARLESTON, S.C.) — The sister of Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett was recently targeted with a bomb threat, the Charleston, South Carolina, Police Department said on Wednesday.
Over the weekend, an executive assistant at the Charleston County Sheriff’s Department received an email just before midnight on March 8 with “a threat of a potential explosive device in a mailbox” at the home of Amanda Coney Williams, the sheriff’s department said in a statement to ABC News.
The employee only works during the week, so she did not see the email until Monday morning, the sheriff’s department said. After discovering the email, she notified Sheriff Carl Ritchie “within five minutes of arriving to work,” to which Ritchie forwarded the email to the Charleston Police Department.
“Using a 1×8-inch threaded galvanized pipe, end caps, a kitchen timer, some wires, metal clips and homemade black powder, I’ve constructed a pipe bomb which I recently placed in Amy Coney Barrett’s sister’s mailbox at her home,” according to the email obtained by the Charleston Police Department.
The email also said the “device’s detonation will be triggered as soon as the mailbox is next opened,” with the suspect signing off the email with “Free Palestine,” police said.
Officers arrived at the residence at approximately 9:30 a.m. on Monday and inspected the mailbox, police said.
CPD’s Explosive Device Team along with local fire and emergency medical services crews were also on the scene, according to police.
The incident was determined to be a false alarm, police said.
Investigators spoke to David Williams, the husband of Amanda Coney Williams, who said he was not sure who would target their residence, but stated “an unknown person possibly related to the sender of the email had attempted pizza deliveries to some households related to Amy Coney Barrett, sometime over the weekend,” police said on Wednesday.
The investigation is still active, police said.
Justice Barrett was appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court in 2020 during President Donald Trump’s first term. She is a devout Catholic, mother of seven children and was the youngest Supreme Court nominee since Clarence Thomas in 1991.
(WASHINGTON) — The Department of Justice is preparing for Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency to begin working with the agency to identify “cost-cutting” measures, with Attorney General Pam Bondi this week establishing an internal DOJ team to help facilitate the review of the nation’s top law enforcement divisions, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.
In an email to DOJ division leaders on Wednesday, Assistant Attorney General Jolene Ann Lauria announced the formation of a “JUST DOGE” team, which will work with White House officials and “DOGE counterparts” to identify “savings and cost-cutting measures” within the department, according to a copy of the email reviewed by ABC News.
The “JUST DOGE” team, formed earlier this week by the attorney general, is solely made up of senior DOJ officials, including “co-leads” AAG Lauria, Associate Deputy Attorney General James McHenry, Counselor to the Attorney General Sean Day and Counsel to the Deputy Attorney General Vetan Kapoor.
According to the email, the new team will oversee the internal budget reviews and identify potential efficiencies at the Justice Department — efforts that Musk’s own DOGE personnel have spearheaded at other federal agencies.
“The JUST-DOGE team will lead directed reviews and identify cost savings and other potential efficiencies in DOJ’s budget,” the email read.
A Justice Department spokesperson told ABC News, “President Trump and Elon Musk are doing historic work to identify and eliminate wasteful spending on behalf of American taxpayers, and JUST DOGE will advance this mission at the DOJ in order to ensure the Department’s resources are best utilized to Make America Safe Again.”
Besides leadership, key roles on the “JUST DOGE” team include Deputy Assistant Attorney General Michael J. Williams, who will oversee human resources; DAAG William N. Taylor II, who will be responsible for management and procurement; DAAG Christopher C. Alvarez, who will lead financial management and budgeting; and DAAG Meunda Rogers, who will head data and IT, according to the email.
The formation of the team has stirred unease among some DOJ officials who worry that Musk’s DOGE operatives could move aggressively to slash department personnel and programs, sources told ABC News. Meanwhile, others see the creation of the “JUST DOGE” team, which is composed entirely of current DOJ staff, as an attempt by department leadership to maintain control over the review process and create a buffer against Musk’s team, which has been granted broad access and power at other agencies.
Several of Musk’s DOGE representatives have been seen inside Justice Department offices in recent days, heightening concerns that the DOJ — the agency responsible for enforcing federal law — could become the next major target of Musk’s cost-cutting push.
Musk, who sources tell ABC News has been in direct contact with Bondi since joining the administration, previously joked in an interview with podcaster Joe Rogan about Biondi’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files in February, when she ruffled feathers in the White House by trumpeting the release of a binder of materials that contained almost no new information. Musk, who at times in the interview defended Bondi, also called the move by the attorney general “disappointing.”
(NEW YORK) — Dangerous, heavy rain is pounding the Los Angeles area, bringing a threat of flooding and debris flow to spots impacted by the recent devastating wildfires.
The rain will fluctuate from heavy to moderate to light throughout the morning, and rates may approach 1 inch per hour on steeper terrain.
One to 2 inches of rain is expected in the LA area, with more rain possible at higher elevations.
The rain will reach San Diego on Thursday morning and will end across Southern California in the afternoon.
Over 20 million people from the Los Angeles area to the San Diego area are under a flood watch.
The greatest risk for flooding and debris flow is in burn scar areas left by wildfires.
The burn scars and mountains around San Diego — where 1 to 3 inches of rain is expected — are the greatest risk for debris flows and rockslides.
In LA County, evacuation orders and warnings were issued for some burn scar areas impacted by January’s devastating Eaton and Palisades fires, according to the sheriff’s department and the mayor’s office.
“Wireless Emergency Alerts have been sent to targeted areas in and around where the Evacuation Warnings and Orders will be in effect,” the mayor’s office said.
(MADISON, N.J.) — The FBI is now involved in the investigation into a suspected arson earlier this month at the New Jersey home of a Bayer pharmaceutical executive, law enforcement sources told ABC News.
At approximately 7:30 a.m. on March 4, a fire was reported at an occupied, private residence in Madison, New Jersey, according to the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office.
The Madison Fire Department was able to quickly extinguish the flames and the structure “sustained no significant damage and there were no reported injuries,” according to the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office.
“The safety and security of our employees are of utmost importance to Bayer. The incident is under active investigation. We appreciate the quick response of local law enforcement,” Bayer said in a statement.
There have been no arrests related to the incident, officials said.
Bayer’s headquarters is located in nearby Hanover Township, New Jersey. The pharmaceutical company is known for products like Aleve and Alka-Seltzer.
The New York Police Department, Metropolitan Transportation Authority Police and New Jersey Transit Police are also part of the investigation.
The FBI’s Newark office declined to comment about its role in investigating the fire.
This suspected arson comes at a time of heightened concern in the health care industry following the December murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
Individuals mobilized by economic grievances are taking Thompson’s murder as inspiration for threats and attack plotting, expanding their target set to include government and public safety officials, according to a Homeland Security report obtained by ABC News.
“Within days of the late December murder of a health insurance CEO, we observed online threats targeting high-profile executives. In the past several weeks, some threats citing similar grievances and referencing the CEO’s murder as inspiration are now targeting federal, state and local government officials,” the document said.
A growing amount of Americans feel hostility toward prominent chief executives, with a 2023 Ipsos survey finding that more than two-thirds of Americans think the nation’s economy is rigged to the advantage of the rich and powerful.
Similarly, a 2022 Pew survey found that only 1 in 4 adults believed large businesses have a positive effect on the way things are going in the country.
A woman was charged for allegedly holding her “severely emaciated” stepson in captivity for over 20 years, since he was 11 years old, and forcing him to endure “prolonged abuse, starvation, severe neglect, and inhumane treatment,” police said. Facebook / Waterbury Police Department
(WATERBURY, Conn.) — A woman was charged for allegedly holding her “severely emaciated” stepson in captivity for over 20 years, since he was 11 years old, and forcing him to endure “prolonged abuse, starvation, severe neglect, and inhumane treatment,” police said.
The discovery of the now 32-year-old man happened on Feb. 17, when Waterbury Police Department officers in Connecticut, along with personnel from the Waterbury Fire Department, responded to a report of an active fire at a residence on Blake Street at approximately 8:42 p.m.
The fire was quickly extinguished by authorities and two occupants were found inside the home at the time. The first person was identified as 56-year-old Kimberly Sullivan, the owner of the property who called authorities for help, and the second person was identified as a 32-year-old man who was later determined to be Sullivan’s stepson.
Sullivan was evacuated to safety following the fire but the male occupant, who had suffered smoke inhalation and exposure to the fire, had to be assisted from the home by Waterbury Fire Department personnel and was placed in the care of emergency medical services.
However, the case immediately took a turn when police began to speak with the man.
“While receiving medical care, the male victim disclosed to first responders that he had intentionally set the fire in his upstairs room, stating, ‘I wanted my freedom,’” officials said in their statement regarding the case. “He further alleged that he had been held captive by Sullivan since he was approximately 11 years old.”
“Following these alarming statements, the Waterbury Police Department Major Crimes Unit, in collaboration with the Waterbury State’s Attorney’s Office, launched an extensive investigation,” authorities continued. “Detectives determined that the victim had been held in captivity for over 20 years, enduring prolonged abuse, starvation, severe neglect, and inhumane treatment.”
The 32-year-old was also found in a “severely emaciated condition and had not received medical or dental care” during his time in captivity inside the home over the past two decades, according to police.
“Investigators further discovered that he had been provided with only minimal amounts of food and water which led to his extremely malnourished condition,” police continued.
As a result of the investigation, Sullivan was identified as a suspect, and an arrest warrant was issued on Tuesday.
Sullivan was located by police on Wednesday and taken into police custody by the Waterbury Police Department on charges of assault in the first degree, kidnapping in the second degree, unlawful restraint in the first degree, cruelty to persons and reckless endangerment in the first degree, police said.
“The suffering this victim endured for over 20 years is both heartbreaking and unimaginable,” said Waterbury Police Chief Fernando Spagnolo. “This case required relentless investigative effort, and I commend the dedication of our officers and the Waterbury State’s Attorney’s Office. Their unwavering commitment ensured that justice is served, and the perpetrator is held fully accountable for these horrific crimes.”
Sullivan was subsequently arraigned in court and her bond was set at $300,000. She is now expected to be placed in the custody of the Connecticut Department of Corrections while she awaits trial.
(GLASGOW, Ky.) — Eli Heacock was like many 16-year-olds.
The Glasgow, Kentucky, teenager enjoyed playing tennis, telling “dad jokes” and spending time with his father, who his mom said was “his best friend.”
“He was our tornado. He kept us on our toes all the time,” said his mother, Shannon Heacock.
But everything changed in an instant after Eli Heacock died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on Feb. 28, his mom told ABC News.
Since his death, his mom said local and federal investigators have said they believe Eli Heacock may have been targeted in an alleged sextortion scheme.
“Eli was on a good track. We had no reason to believe there was an issue at all. We knew nothing about sextortion or how it works,” Eli Heacock’s father, John Burnett, told ABC News.
Sextortion is a term “used to describe a crime in which an offender coerces a minor to create and send sexually explicit images or video,” according to the FBI. Once the offender receives the explicit content from the child, they then threaten to release the compromising content “unless the victim produces additional explicit material,” the FBI said on its website.
One type of sextortion is “financially motivated sextortion,” which follows a similar pattern, but is motivated by the goal of financial gain, not sexual gratification, the FBI said. After receiving explicit material, the offender will threaten to release the content unless a payment is made, the FBI said.
Financial sextortion has resulted “in an alarming number of deaths by suicide,” the FBI said on its website.
But, the explicit pictures do not need to be taken by the child to qualify as sextortion, Burnett said. In his son’s case, he said the offender made AI-generated images of Eli Heacock, sent them to the teenager and demanded $3,000 or else the pictures would be released or his family would be harmed.
“Their intention was to convince Eli their sincerity that they could, in fact, harm him or someone he loved with pictures that they generated,” Burnett told ABC News.
His mother said she regularly checked her son’s phone, but the interaction occurred during the night and the situation must have “put him in panic mode.”
In the text messages she saw, her son sent a portion of money to the offender, to which the anonymous user replied, “This is not enough.”
Eli Heacock’s twin sister discovered her brother’s body, ran to her parents and said “Eli was hurt,” Shannon Heacock said.
The 16-year-old was rushed to the hospital, but succumbed to his injuries on Feb. 28, his mother said.
“How can your lives change that fast over merely $3,000 someone wanted off the internet from a kid? I play a lot of ‘What if I did this? What if I did that?’ We don’t need anybody to add to our guilt because we carry it very heavily right now,” Shannon Heacock told ABC News.
Upon arriving at the hospital, a local FBI detective reviewed Eli Heacock’s phone, recognized it as a potential sextortion case and put the teenager’s phone on airplane mode, his mother said.
The investigation into Eli Heacock’s death is still in its beginning stages, his father said, with both local detectives and federal investigators reviewing the contents of the 16-year-old’s phone.
The family has also been in contact with Rep. Steve Riley, a lawmaker in the Kentucky House of Representatives, who has championed a bill in the Kentucky legislature making sextortion a felony and establishing penalties for those convicted of the crime. The bill is now on its way to Gov. Andy Beshear to be signed into law, Shannon Heacock said.
The Heacocks are not the only family mourning the loss of a loved one after a sextortion scheme. In 2023 alone, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children received 26,718 reports of financial sextortion — up from 10,731 reports in 2022.
Shannon Heacock urges parents to check their children’s phones at all times because, in her experience, “even the happiest child is hiding something.”
“It’s no longer to be scared of the white van that drives around, you have to be scared of the internet,” Shannon Heacock said.
If you or someone you know are experiencing suicidal, substance use or other mental health crises please call or text 988. You will reach a trained crisis counselor for free, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can also go to 988lifeline.org.
