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(WASHINGTON) –Food banks are seeing a surge of demand across the country as the government shutdown weathers its fourth week – and military families are among those turning to public pantries to put food on the table.

The Armed Services YMCA (ASYMCA), a nonprofit that provides support and assistance to military families, told ABC News that they’ve seen a 30%-75% jump in demand at its food banks near military bases since the shutdown began, as military personnel go without pay while the funding impasse wears on.

The ASYMCA in Killeen, Texas, near Fort Hood, told ABC News that they’ve seen a 60% spike in military families seeking food at their location.

Amy George, senior vice president of Military Family Services for the ASYMCA, told ABC News that the shutdown is hurting military families.

“When you see service members in their military uniform raising their hands and saying, ‘hey, I need a little extra support in the form of food,’ it is surprising and shocking,” George said. “We do want America to see this picture, to try to better understand that these are some of the challenges that military families are facing.” 

The Pentagon diverted money in its budget to prevent military families from missing their paychecks earlier this month. But as their next payday approaches on Oct. 31, it’s unclear if they will get paid this time.

“I think we’re concerned, like everybody else, and very hopeful that it’ll end sooner than later,” George added of the shutdown. 

The Senate on Thursday failed to advance a bill sponsored by Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., that would have provided appropriations to pay military personnel and “excepted employees” of federal agencies being affected by the shutdown. 

One client of the ASYMCA food bank in Killeen told ABC News that she feels caught in the middle of a political battle, and that she would have to visit a second food bank later that day in order to feed her family.

“I feel like we’re in the crossfire,” she said. “Our families are struggling, and it’s causing way too much stress and a burden on our families.”

She urged lawmakers on Capitol Hill to end the shutdown: “Finish it, get together. Make a plan.”

Government food assistance programs across the country also could end on Nov. 1 if the government shutdown, now the second-longest in U.S. history, continues beyond that date. Many states are warning that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, which is administered by states but funded by the federal government via the U.S. Department of Agriculture, could halt benefits.

In a letter to state health officials obtained by ABC News during the second week of the shutdown, Ronald Ward, the acting head of SNAP, said the program on which millions of low-income Americans rely “has funding available for benefits and operations through the month of October.”

“If the current lapse in appropriations continues, there will be insufficient funds to pay full November SNAP benefits for approximately 42 million individuals across the nation,” Ward added.

Earlier this month, Feeding America, a nationwide network of food banks, also urged Congress to end the shutdown.

“Many people in America are a single missed paycheck away from needing support from their local food banks. A prolonged shutdown will deepen the strain, and more families will seek help at a time when food banks are already stretched due to sustained high need,” Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, CEO of Feeding America, said in a statement.

“We urge Congress to end the shutdown,” she added.

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(ONTARIO, Calif.) — The driver of a semi-truck that slammed into multiple vehicles, killing three people, on a California highway was allegedly under the influence of drugs, authorities said.

The driver — identified by authorities as 21-year-old Jashanpreet Singh — was booked for vehicular manslaughter and driving under the influence of drugs in connection with Tuesday’s chain-reaction crash on Interstate 10 in Ontario, according to the California Highway Patrol.

He is in the United States illegally and an immigration detainer has also been placed on him, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

Authorities said Singh was driving a Freightliner semi-truck and failed to stop in time when traffic in his lane had slowed or stopped Tuesday afternoon. Three people were killed and at least four others injured in the multi-vehicle crash, police said.

Dash camera footage of the crash showed the truck slam into multiple vehicles in a fiery crash, then veer off into the shoulder and ram into additional vehicles before coming to a stop.

Eight vehicles, including four commercial vehicles, were involved in the crash, police said.

“This is sadly a reminder of how precious life is and how fast it could be taken away at the hands of somebody who is driving irresponsibly, somebody who is impaired,” California Highway Patrol Officer Rodrigo Jimenez told Los Angeles ABC station KABC.

Singh, of Yuba City, is being held without bail and is scheduled to appear in court on Thursday, online jail records show.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement has also lodged an arrest detainer for Singh, according to DHS, which said he is in the U.S. illegally from India, entering through the southern border in 2022.

“This tragedy follows a disturbing pattern of criminal illegal aliens driving commercial vehicles on American roads, directly threatening public safety,” DHS said on X.

When contacted for information on the truck driver’s commercial license, a California Highway Patrol spokesperson told ABC News they are not releasing any further information on Singh at this time.

Singh has a valid commercial driver’s license that expires in October 2026, KABC reported, according to the California Department of Motor Vehicles.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy reacted with outrage to the incident.

“This is exactly why I set new restrictions that prohibit ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS from operating trucks,” he said on X on Thursday.

Since taking office, Duffy has issued an order announcing new guidelines to strengthen English language enforcement for commercial truck operators, following an executive order from President Donald Trump that reinforced English requirements for truck drivers.

Last week, Duffy said the Transportation Department will withhold $40 million from California after an investigation found it to be the only state failing to enforce English language requirements for truckers.

“This is exactly why @USDOT has withheld $40 MILLION from California for failure to comply with our rules to protect drivers,” Duffy said on X on Wednesday in response to the deadly crash. “We cannot allow our roads to be a dangerous place!”

The investigation came after a deadly Florida collision in August involving a foreign truck driver who authorities said made an illegal U-turn on a highway and caused a crash that killed three people. The driver was charged with three counts of vehicular homicide.

Florida authorities have said the driver, who is from India, entered the country illegally from Mexico in 2018.

When interviewed, the driver did not speak English, according to DOT. He had been issued a non-domiciled commercial driver’s license by California in 2024, as well as a regular commercial driver’s license by Washington state in 2023, DOT said.

California officials said he had a valid work permit at the time.

In September, Duffy announced stricter eligibility requirements for noncitizens seeking non-domiciled commercial learner’s permits and commercial driver’s licenses.

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(SAN DIEGO) — Three federal officers were injured after a man, who Immigration and Customs Enforcement said is in the country illegally, allegedly rammed his car into their vehicles to evade arrest, according to the agency.

The incident occurred on Wednesday when the suspect rammed his vehicle, “striking ICE officers before crashing into multiple government vehicles,” ICE San Diego Field Office Director Patrick Divver said.

The suspect was in the U.S. illegally from Kuwait and had a “final order of deportation from the United States,” Divver said.

“This illegal criminal alien who is wanted in his home country of Kuwait and who has a violent criminal history, weaponized his vehicle to narrowly miss hitting an innocent bystanders and striking ICE officers before crashing into multiple government vehicles,” Divver said in a statement to ABC News.

The identity of the suspect was not released by ICE.

Michael Burreec, a witness to the car ramming, told ABC San Diego affiliate KGTV that the incident occurred in a residential neighborhood with a 20 mph speed zone and a day care center nearby.

Divver said the suspect’s “blatant disregard for human life and the rule of the law is exactly why ICE San Diego will continue to pursue, arrest and remove dangerous illegal aliens who threaten our communities.”

The three injured federal officers and the suspect were treated at a local hospital, Divver said. ICE will pursue criminal charges against the suspect for “assaulting, resisting, opposing, and impeding” federal officers, he added.

“This is another unfortunate example of the continued misinformed and unjust rhetoric against ICE empowering individuals to flee and assault federal officers conducting lawful enforcement actions in accordance with applicable congressionally approved federal law,” Divver said.

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(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump said Thursday that he’s pulling back on his decision to send troops to clean up crime in San Francisco this weekend.

Trump claimed on social media that he spoke with the city’s mayor, Daniel Lurie, Wednesday night, who asked the president to “give him a chance” to turn things around.

“The Federal Government was preparing to ‘surge’ San Francisco, California, on Saturday, but friends of mine who live in the area called last night to ask me not to go forward with the surge in that the Mayor, Daniel Lurie, was making substantial progress. I spoke to Mayor Lurie last night and he asked, very nicely, that I give him a chance to see if he can turn it around,” Trump wrote on his social media platform.

Trump said the move could be a mistake, that he could fix things “much faster,” but ultimately said, “Let’s see how you do.”

“Therefore, we will not surge San Francisco on Saturday,” Trump concluded.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

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(KITTITAS COUNTY, Wash.) — Rescuers in Washington trekked through 5 miles of snow to save two stranded hikers who had “no shelter but a blue plastic tarp,” with officials urging those who go on outdoor adventures to prepare accordingly.

The two hikers had lost their way in “unexpected snow” in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness area in the Cascade Mountains shortly before 11 a.m. on Sunday when they called the Kittitas County Sheriff’s Department for help.

The hikers used text-to-911 to say they were “lost, wet and cold, with no shelter but a blue plastic tarp” and that they were “unable to make their way off the snowy mountainside where they were perched,” the sheriff’s department said.

After hiking 5 miles through the snowy conditions, rescuers found the hikers, who were “wet and cold but uninjured,” officials said. The hikers were assisted off the slope they were perched on and out of the wilderness, officials said.

The sheriff’s department emphasized that as the seasons change, mountain conditions can change fast.

Officials said any outdoor enthusiast should pack “10 essentials” for any hiking or camping excursion: navigation, sun protection, insulation, illumination, first-aid supplies, fire starters, nutrition, hydration, emergency shelter and a repair kit and tools.

In the wake of several costly rescues over the summer, one official in Washington is proposing an ordinance that would fine an individual “if they are found to be reckless or negligent in their actions where search and rescue is requested to respond.”

“I need to find a creative way to deter the current behavior we are witnessing while attempting to recoup the financial burden placed on our county for an unfunded state mandate,” Skamania County Sheriff Summer Scheyer announced in June after the county experienced a 400% increase in search and rescue missions.

In June, Scheyer said the ordinance was “still in the planning phase,” but believed it would serve as an “added deterrent for those who take exceptional risks and expect the services we are required to provide as a result of their own actions.”

It is unclear whether the ordinance has passed in Skamania County. The Skamania County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.

Cris Hazzard, a professional hiking guide and author, known as “The Hiking Guy,” previously told ABC News that several minutes of “homework” before embarking on an outdoor excursion — including checking the website of the trail or park or downloading an app like AllTrails — can help hikers avoid challenging conditions or become aware of specific closures.

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(MIAMI) — Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups has been charged in an illegal poker operation tied to the Mafia, while Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier is among several people charged in a separate but related illegal gambling case, authorities announced on Thursday.

Billups, in his fifth season as head coach, was arrested in Oregon, where he is expected to make an initial court appearance on Thursday, sources said.

The poker games were allegedly rigged in favor of those running the games, using advanced technology, such as rigged shuffling machines and even X-ray technology to read cards facing down on the table, U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. said.

Christopher Raia, assistant director in charge of the FBI’s New York Field Office, called it a “massive, nationwide takedown” of 34 defendants in connection with two separate sports betting and illegal poker schemes.

Among the defendants are current and former NBA coaches and players as well as 13 Mafia members and associates, Raia said.

Billups coached the Trail Blazers in their season opener on Wednesday night, a loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Billups was also a star player, mostly for the Detroit Pistons, before retiring in 2014. He was a five-time All-Star in his 17 years in the NBA and led the Pistons to the NBA title in 2004, being named Finals MVP.

He was the No. 3 overall pick in 1997 and finished his career with 15.2 points and 5.4 assists per game.

Rozier and former Cleveland Cavaliers player and assistant coach Damon Jones were charged in a separate case, authorities announced.

They allegedly passed inside information to four co-defendants, who are accused of passing the information to a network of sports bettors, sources said. Those bettors allegedly placed wagers with online sports books or retail betting outlets, which prohibit betting based on nonpublic information.

The indictment included an example from March 23, 2023, when Rozier — then playing for the Charlotte Hornets — allegedly tipped off a co-defendant that he planned to leave the game early with a purported injury, sources said. He left the game nine minutes in. A co-defendant and others allegedly placed $200,000 in wagers, betting Rozier would underperform his statistics.

FBI Director Kash Patel announced the charges at a news conference Thursday, saying over 30 people were arrested in the “historic” and ongoing cases.

Rozier is in his 11th year in the league. He’s appeared in 665 games and has averaged 13.9 points per game over 665 games played. He was a key contributor for the Boston Celtics on playoff runs in 2016-19 before joining the Hornets.

His team opened the 2025 season Wednesday night in Orlando, but Rozier did not play as he deals with a hamstring injury.

Last year, former Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter pleaded guilty to wire fraud and received a lifetime NBA ban after he bet on his team to lose, pretended to be hurt for gambling purposes and shared confidential information with gamblers.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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(NEW YORK) — The woman charged with abandoning her newborn at a Midtown Manhattan subway station told investigators she gave birth just hours before she left the baby at the bottom of a staircase, according to court documents.

The baby girl was found wrapped in a blanket at the southbound 1 train platform at 34th Street-Penn Station during the Monday morning rush hour, the New York Police Department said. The umbilical cord was still attached, indicating she had likely been born within a few hours, according to the criminal complaint.

The baby was taken to the hospital in stable condition, police said, with New York City Transit President Demetrius Crichlow calling it “the miracle on 34th Street.”

Police said the mother, 30-year-old Assa Diawara, was caught on surveillance footage carrying a bundle in her arms through the turnstiles at the subway station. More footage showed her leaving the station empty-handed, the complaint said.

Diawara allegedly admitted she was the woman in the videos and said she gave birth late Sunday night into early Monday morning, the complaint said.

Diawara was taken into custody early Wednesday on charges of abandonment of a child and endangering the welfare of a child, police said.

Detectives identified her by following a trail of surveillance camera footage, an NYPD official said. Video showed Diawara taking a car service to Jamaica, Queens, and then investigators canvassed the area where she was dropped off and found a neighbor who recognized her from the surveillance footage, the official said.

Diawara has made her first court appearance and was granted supervised release. She is due to return to court in December.

New York’s Abandoned Infant Protection Act permits a parent to leave a newborn in a safe place — like a hospital, police station or fire station — up to 30 days after the baby’s birth. The parent would not be prosecuted and can remain anonymous as long as the baby is left in a safe place and the appropriate person is notified.

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(LA MESA, Calif.) — A 25-year-old police officer in California has died in the line of duty after she was hit by a car while stopping to help two motorists involved in a collision, authorities said.

La Mesa Police Officer Lauren Craven was driving eastbound on Interstate 8 at Fairmount Avenue while returning to the city of La Mesa from San Diego Central Jail when she stopped to assist two motorists involved in a traffic collision on the freeway on Monday night just before 10:30 p.m., according to a statement from the La Mesa Police Department.

“After exiting her vehicle to assist, she was tragically struck and killed by another motorist,” officials said. “California Highway Patrol officers performed lifesaving efforts, but tragically, Officer Craven died at the scene.”

Officer Craven, 25, joined the department in February 2024 and was assigned to the Patrol Division.

The California Highway Patrol is currently handling the investigation and no further information regarding the other parties involved has been made available.

“The La Mesa Police Department would like to thank our allied agencies for their unwavering support,” police said following the announcement of Craven’s death. “We ask that the La Mesa community keep Officer Craven, her family, and the La Mesa Police Department in their thoughts and prayers.”

“Officer Craven’s actions in her final moments exemplified her unwavering dedication to service and the safety of others — a reflection of how she lived every day,” authorities said. “Officer Craven was known for her tenacity, courage, and compassion — qualities that inspired her peers and strengthened her community. “Her legacy of service and sacrifice will never be forgotten.”

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(NEW YORK) — New York Attorney General Letitia James launched a portal on Wednesday for members of the public to submit photos and videos of Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity after federal agents carried out a joint ICE crackdown in New York City’s Chinatown neighborhood one day earlier.

In a statement on Wednesday, James vowed to review the materials to determine if any laws were violated, including “unlawful questioning, detention, or intimidation.”

“Every New Yorker has the right to live without fear or intimidation,” James said. “If you witnessed and documented ICE activity yesterday, I urge you to share that footage with my office. We are committed to reviewing these reports and assessing any violations of law. No one should be subject to unlawful questioning, detention, or intimidation.”

On Tuesday, a large law enforcement presence was seen on Canal Street, a prominent hub for shopping in Lower Manhattan, with ICE and federal partners from multiple agencies conducting a “targeted, intelligence-driven enforcement operation” that was “focused on criminal activity relating to selling counterfeit goods,” Assistant Department of Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement on Tuesday.

Vendors were seen packing up their tables and attempting to flee the area, which is known for merchants selling designer knockoffs, New York ABC station WABC reported.

On Wednesday morning, acting ICE Director Todd Lyons told Fox News that New York City will see an “increase in ICE arrests” because there are “so many criminal illegal” immigrants.

“You will see us making those criminal arrests to make New York safe again. It’s definitely intelligence driven, it’s not random. We aren’t pulling people off the street. There was a specific reason based on criminal intelligence and criminal activity that we showed up on Canal Street,” Lyons said.

“The nine arrested, their rap sheets are long,” Lyons told Fox News. “Forgery, possession of drugs, drug trafficking, robbery, assault. These are criminal aliens that were being targeted. We do these based on criminal intelligence and that’s what we had.”

The targeted enforcement is in contrast to U.S. Border Patrol, which has been deployed in Chicago and Los Angeles and does conduct random enforcement actions.

Lyons said store owners had been complaining about the retail for some time.

“If you look at the video, everything was fine with the officers talking to those individuals and making arrests until violent protesters showed up,” Lyons said.

Earlier on Tuesday, the New York City Police Department said on X it had “no involvement in the federal operation that took place on Canal Street.”

A spokesperson for City Hall said in a statement it also had “no involvement in this matter.”

“Mayor Adams has been clear that undocumented New Yorkers trying to pursue the American Dream should not be the target of law enforcement, and resources should instead be focused on violent criminals,” the statement said.

If the circumstances escalate and an individual assaults or interferes with a legal law enforcement action, Mayor Eric Adams has instructed the NYPD to intervene, a source familiar with the situation told ABC News.

Crime rates are at record lows in New York City, according to the latest police data.

Over the first nine months of 2025, the NYPD reported citywide shooting incidents were down more than 20% (553 vs. 693) year-to-date, their lowest level ever.

Murders are also down citywide by more than 17.7% year-to-date and burglaries dropped 3.8% (9,410 vs. 9,783) for the year, the second-lowest level in recorded history. 

ABC News’ Peter Charalambous, Aaron Katersky and Meredith Deliso contributed to this report.

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(NEW YORK) — In a matter of seconds, a New York City mom said she worried her 10-month-old boy might not live to see his first birthday after he started to choke and suddenly could not breathe. But thanks to two police officers who saved the child, the “endless bundle of joy” is alive.

“Knowing that my son’s alive, he’s OK, he’s happy, he’s growing, I get to see his first birthday in a month, that’s the biggest blessing I could ever ask for,” the child’s mom, Azia Rodriguez, told ABC News on Wednesday.

On Oct. 10 at approximately 4:40 p.m., officers responded to a 911 call for a choking baby, and once on the scene, observed a “10-month-old male child in an unresponsive state due to an obstruction in his breathing passage,” the New York City Police Department said in a statement to ABC News.

Prior to alerting first responders, Rodriguez said her son, Makai Laboy, had just been put down for a nap. As she was watching him via the baby monitor camera, she noticed he was “tossing and turning back and forth.”

She then went into the room where he was sleeping in their Queens home and saw he was throwing up, she said.

Rodriguez said she immediately picked her son up and placed his chest on her palm to start patting his back, which caused more vomit to come out. Makai was then breathing normally and laughing, but proceeded to throw up again, Rodriguez said.

Then, “two seconds later,” she said phlegm began to come out of his mouth and he was “swallowing it back in,” which appeared to obstruct his airways.

Rodriguez called 911, and officers performed “lifesaving measures which caused the obstruction to be dislodged,” the NYPD said.

Rodriguez said the moment when officers saved Makai “happened so quickly” that she “didn’t acknowledge or grasp what had happened” until after she watched it unfold via the police’s body-worn camera on Tuesday.

In the video, officers are seen repeatedly patting the baby’s back until Makai — who was wearing pajamas adorned with police cars — was able to breathe on his own.

While reliving the harrowing moments was “a lot to process” for Rodriguez, she said she is “more confident in first responders than I’ve even been.”

“Words can’t thank the cops enough for what they did,” Makai’s father, 28-year-old Brandon Laboy, told ABC News

“It showed in a matter of seconds, that situation could have been a thousand times worse than it was. But with their instincts, their quick thinking, they were able to save his life,” Laboy said.

Rodriguez said she is planning on personally thanking the two officers who saved her son, saying she will be “hugging them and never letting them go.”

“When you become a mom, you hear stories like this, but you never think that you’d go through it,” Rodriguez said while holding back tears.

The family, who is getting ready to celebrate Makai’s first birthday on Nov. 12, encouraged parents to “always have a baby camera” and emphasized that in these situations, “every second counts.”

“All that matters is making sure there’s a smile on their face,” Rodriguez told ABC News.

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