(NEW YORK) — It’s Thanksgiving, you’re enjoying your favorite foods at the dinner table, when a family member brings up who they voted for in the 2024 presidential election.
Arguments ensue.
The food doesn’t taste as good.
And now everyone’s a politician.
In a contentious election year, conversations about politics at the dinner table are inevitable.
But Elaine Swann, a lifestyle and etiquette expert, has some tips on how to best handle these conversations this Thanksgiving.
“One of the things that I recommend for any host to do is set aside time and or space for people to talk politics,” Swann told ABC News. “This means you set the rules and you tell folks, listen, when you come here, here’s when we’re going to talk politics.”
Swann suggests chatting about the election is done before or after dinner. And move people to a different room for dessert to express themselves, she said.
Although talking politics is normally discouraged in settings like this, Swann said she believes people are really passionate about the past election. She wants these conversations to bring people together rather than drive them apart.
“It’s important for us to have these conversations in order to bring folks together,” she said. “But keep in mind, the purpose is not to convince one person of anything. It’s also to bring the family together and help people understand your own perspective and views.”
Swann encourages everyone to follow her three core values of etiquette, which are respect, honesty and consideration. She also said “to let folks know, look, you’ve got one chance, two chances, or three chances, and then you’re out.”
If conversations are getting a bit out of hand, Swann recommends changing the subject. In addition, she said to have a slideshow of family photos displayed on the TV or have a mediator to instill some control in these conversations.
Finally, Swann asks hosts to “bring that holiday vibe into their homes.”
“As a host, be present, be aware and also be an advocate for those who feel like they’re being beat up on,” Swann said.
(NEW YORK) — A man was nearly electrocuted to death after being hired to hang Christmas lights on a large tree in Massachusetts, police said.
The incident occurred on Wednesday at approximately 10 a.m. when the Wellesley Police Emergency Communications Center received a 911 call reporting a man had possibly been electrocuted on Falmouth Circle in Wellesley, according to a statement from the Wellesley Police Department.
“The victim, a contractor hired by a resident, was installing holiday lights on a large tree using a pole,” authorities said. “It appears that the pole being used came into close proximity, or contact with, a primary electrical line on a utility pole. The victim appears to have then received a life-threatening electrical shock.”
The man who suffered the electric shock immediately fell unconscious, appeared to be having a seizure and had stopped breathing, police said.
The Wellesley Police Dispatcher subsequently provided the person who called the emergency services CPR instructions and the caller administered CPR until officers arrived on scene a few moments later.
“Wellesley Police Officers Tim Gover, Mike Pino, and Scott Whittemore were the first emergency responders to arrive on scene and observed that the victim appeared to be in sudden cardiac arrest,” police said. “A co-worker of the victim was performing chest compressions as instructed by Wellesley Police Dispatchers. Wellesley Police Officers took over CPR and began to clear the area, as the actual cause of the electrocution was unknown at the time.”
Emergency responders then used a defibrillator on the victim while continuing to provide CPR. Multiple shocks were given to the man until he was revived and regained a pulse, police said.
“The victim was transported to Newton Wellesley Hospital by Needham Fire,” according to the Wellesley Police Department. “The victim was initially treated at Newton Wellesley Hospital, and then transferred to the Massachusetts General Hospital.”
Wellesley Police Detectives conducted an investigation and determined that the large pole the man was using to string the holiday lights came into close proximity, or actual contact with, a primary electrical line on the top of the utility pole and he was electrocuted when contact was made.
“The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was contacted per departmental policy to investigate,” police said. “OSHA investigators responded to the scene and are working with the WMLP and Wellesley Police. The Wellesley Police, Fire, and WMLP Departments extend our thoughts and prayers to the victim and his family during this tragic incident.”
The incident is currently under investigation and no further information is available at this time.
(CUMBERLAND, Md.) — A 28-year-old prison inmate has been killed in his own cell by another prisoner who was serving time in the same facility, police said.
The inmate, identified as Robert Warren — a state prison inmate serving time at the North Branch Correctional Institution in Cumberland., Maryland — was declared deceased in his cell on Monday by emergency medical service personnel, according to a statement from the Maryland State Police released on Wednesday.
A suspect, also an inmate, has been identified but police have not released his identity since he has not yet been charged at this time. Authorities are expected to release more information once the suspect has been charged, police said.
Maryland authorities did not say how the man was killed or how long they suspect he had been dead for when his body was discovered in his cell but they did confirm that Maryland State Police investigators are “continuing an investigation into the death of a state prison inmate in Allegany County.”
“The Maryland State Police Homicide Unit was contacted by investigators from the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services Internal Investigative Unit (DPSCS IID) about an inmate death,” according to the Maryland State Police. “Autopsy results from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled Warren’s death as a homicide.”
State Police Homicide Unit investigators are continuing the investigation and assistance is being provided by State Police crime scene technicians and investigators with the DPSCS Internal Investigative Unit.
“Upon completion, the investigation will be presented to the Allegany County State’s Attorney’s Office for review regarding charges,” police said.
(NEW YORK) — Amid the Thanksgiving travel rush, a stowaway was discovered Tuesday night onboard a Delta Air Lines flight out of JFK Airport in New York City headed to Paris.
Authorities said the stowaway was discovered on board Delta Flight 264 from JFK to Paris and removed after the plane landed at Charles de Gaulle Airport.
The person who boarded the flight bypassed the document check podium and a gate agent, but was fully screened at a security checkpoint at JFK, a TSA spokesperson told ABC News. That means they weren’t carrying any prohibited items and did not pose a security risk, TSA said.
It’s unclear how the person got around the document check podium.
The FBI is aware of the incident.
No other details about the person who boarded the flight have been made public.
A representative for Delta said the airline is “conducting an exhaustive investigation of what may have occurred and will work collaboratively with other aviation stakeholders and law enforcement to that end.”
A video taken by another passenger on board the flight shows the flight attendants walking down the aisle as the pilot’s voice on the intercom says, “We are just waiting for the police to come on board … They directed us to keep everyone on the plane until they sort out the extra passenger.”
(NEW YORK) — AAT&T customers are being urged to stay cautious as thieves are using cellular data to track and steal deliveries, particularly iPhones.
Police report a nationwide surge in package thefts by organized criminal groups targeting FedEx shipments of new AT&T iPhones, sometimes resulting in violence.
“Criminal actors obtain cell phone tracking and delivery location information before the deliveries, providing competing organized theft groups the opportunity to intercept the delivery and steal cell phones from delivery personnel or consumers,” according to a law enforcement bulletin obtained by ABC News. “Violent encounters with criminal actors are escalating as subjects use various tactics, techniques, and procedures to obtain the devices.”
There has been a minimum of 77 reported incidents of theft in Northern Virginia alone, highlighting a troubling trend in the area, according to local authorities. In addition, the New York Police Department said it is investigating at least 55 similar theft cases, warranting close attention.
This surge is not isolated, as similar incidents have emerged across various states, indicating a broader, more widespread issue that may require a coordinated response from law enforcement agencies nationwide.
“We work with law enforcement agencies and parcel carriers to protect our deliveries from these sophisticated criminals,” AT&T said in a statement.
To elude law enforcement, the thieves have adopted the guise of delivery personnel, according to authorities. They cleverly utilize DoorDash bags and don Amazon or construction vests to blend seamlessly with legitimate couriers. Alarmingly, they often strike just moments after packages are left on doorsteps, snatching them away before anyone notices, police warn.
In Chicago, a man and woman duo were caught on video stealing packages along Damen Avenue in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood last week. Cameras have captured three different thefts and appear to involve the same people, according to ABC affiliate WLS in Chicago.
The video shows a woman walking to the front door and dancing on the walkway. She then grabs a package from the porch and runs to a waiting car parked across the street. The homeowner is alerted to the delivery and shouts at the thief, but it’s too late, according to WLS.
In another video obtained by WLS, a man grabs a package with one arm, then picks up another package on the front steps before returning to a similar gray vehicle used in a previous theft.
Both women said they filed reports with the Chicago Police Department and hope somebody recognizes the man and woman in the videos.
“They’ve got the same M.O. They come up, cigarette hanging out of their mouth, both of them. It looks like a husband-and-wife duo, like a Bonnie and Clyde,” a victim told WLS. “They’re just going over to these people’s houses. They don’t even know what’s in these packages; so, I’m not sure what they’re doing with them. Are they selling them or what?”
Investigators are trying to understand how criminals identify and target specific houses.
“We have rigorous safety and security programs in place and regularly remind our team members of the importance of both personal and package safety,” FedEx said in a statement.
(WASHINGTON) — The number of abortions performed in the U.S. fell slightly in 2022, the year the Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade, a new federal report found.
In 2022, a total of 613,383 legal abortions were reported by 48 areas. Among the 47 areas that consistently reported data from 2021 to 2022, there was a decrease of 2% from the 622,108 abortions performed in 2021 to 609,360, according to the annual abortion surveillance report, published Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The 48 areas included 46 states, the District of Columbia and New York City, excluding California, Maryland, New Hampshire and New Jersey.
The abortion rate was 11.2 abortions per 1,000 women between ages 15 and 44 in 2022, a decrease of 3% from 11.6 abortions per 1,000 women the prior year, according to data from 46 states and New York City.
Rates were lowest in Missouri and highest New Mexico, respectively, in 2022. After Roe v. Wade was overruled, Missouri passed a near-total abortion ban with limited exceptions while abortions remained unrestricted based on gestational duration in New Mexico. However, in 2024, Missouri voters approved an amendment enshrining the right to reproductive freedom in the state constitution, including abortion care.
Dr. Adam Jacobs, medical director of the division of complex family planning at the Mount Sinai Heath System in New York, said he does not believe Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health — the Supreme Court decision that led to Roe v. Wade’s overruling — is a major reason why abortion rates dropped between 2021 and 2022.
“Many of the bans did not go into place or a lot of the structural changes did not go into place in the calendar year of 2022, so I don’t think you would see that impact in this report,” he told ABC News.
Jacobs said abortion numbers and rates have been decreasing for years, and key reasons include the Affordable Care Act. The law gives women more access to preventive services, including long-lasting reversible contraception.
The report found that women in their 20s accounted for more than half of abortions in 2022 and had the highest abortion rates. Comparatively, adolescents under age 15 and women aged 40 or older accounted for the lowest percentages of abortions and had the lowest abortion rates.
Between 2013 and 2022, abortion rates decreased among all age groups except for women between ages 30 and 34, for whom rates increased.
When it came to breaking down the share of abortions based on gestational age, the report found that most abortions, or 78.6%, were performed at 9 weeks gestation and nearly all abortions were performed under 13 weeks gestation.
More than half of abortions were early medication ones performed at or under 9 weeks gestation followed by surgical abortions at or under 13 weeks gestation.
Surgical abortions performed past 13 weeks gestation accounted for just 6.9% of all abortions in 2022 and medication abortion past 9 weeks gestation accounted for 4.3%.
Black women accounted for the highest percentage of abortions at 39.5% followed by white women at 31.9% and Hispanic women at 21.2%, according to the report.
Black women had the highest rate at 24.4 abortions per 1,000 women between ages 15 and 44 and white women had the lowest rate at 5.7 abortions per 1,000 women.
Jacobs said that gains have been made in providing care to marginalized groups, but factors including unequal access to quality family planning services may be why abortion rates are higher for Black women compared to white women.
“If you have access to highly effective contraception, you end up having [fewer] unintended pregnancies,” he said.
For 2022, 87.7% of abortions were among unmarried women compared to 12.3% among married women, the report found.
Additionally, a plurality of abortions, or 40.6%, were among women who had never had a previous live birth, and a majority, or 56.1%, were among those who had never received an abortion before.
In 2021, the most recent year for which data from the CDC’s Pregnancy Mortality Surveillance System were reviewed, five women died because of complications from legally induced abortions.
As of Wednesday, 13 states have ceased nearly all abortion services and four states have enacted six-week bans, according to an ABC News tally. Meanwhile, nine states and the District of Columbia have no restrictions based on gestational duration.
(NEW YORK) — Leah Kim remembers her dad for his infectious smile and loving heart.
“His legacy is for people to live their lives with joy,” she told ABC News.
Seuk Kim, 49, was a pilot, animal rescuer and father of three. He began flying during the pandemic and, having a passion for animals, he started rescuing dogs.
“He stumbled across a rescue organization in which pilots could fly animals, dogs, cats, bunnies, you name it,” his daughter said.
On Sunday, Seuk Kim was flying three dogs from Maryland to a shelter in upstate New York when he hit turbulence and poor visibility.
He requested to change altitude, but his plane crashed near Albany. Seuk Kim and one of the dogs he was transporting didn’t survive the crash.
But 18-month-old Pluto was found nearby with minor injuries, as well as Whiskey, who dug a hole in the snow despite having two broken legs.
Pluto and Whiskey are only two of the hundreds of dogs Seuk Kim has rescued in recent years.
There’s nothing he loved more, according to his daughter.
“Over the summer, I actually flew a rescue mission with him,” Leah Kim said. “As much attention as he was paying to flying, he was looking back every couple minutes at the dogs, and he was smiling. And I don’t think I’ve ever seen him smile that much.”
His daughter added that she had wanted pomegranates for months and while she was at work on Saturday, her dad went out, got her one, took out all the seeds and put them in a little container.
“I was crying while I was eating them, but I wasn’t sad at all, because it was just a reminder that he’s always in our lives,” she said. “He’s always looking out for us. He’s still providing even though he’s gone.”
(WELCHES, Ore.) — The search for a missing hiker and her two dogs in Oregon’s Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness was suspended late Tuesday after four days, officials said.
However, authorities said they are continuing to gather information and establish a timeline leading up to the disappearance of 61-year-old Susan Lane-Fournier, and said it remains an active missing person’s investigation.
“Based on weather conditions and the likelihood of survivability, the decision was made to suspend operations after all four volunteer search teams returned from the field,” the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement.
“From Saturday through Tuesday, dozens of search volunteers, drone teams, and air-scent and trailing K9s spent more than 800 search hours looking for Ms. Lane-Fournier,” the department said.
Investigators are now looking to speak with anyone who saw Lane-Fournier or has information about her whereabouts in the week leading up to her disappearance.
Lane-Fournier was believed to be hiking with her two large Malinois-mix dogs. She was thought to be in the Green Canyon Way Trail area of Welches in Oregon, according to the sheriff’s department.
Lane-Fournier was reported missing after failing to show up at work.
Deputies did not find Lane-Fournier at her residence after she was reported missing by her employer. A community member saw her white 1992 Ford F-250 parked along a road near the trail a day later.
Lane-Fournier, who also goes by the name Phoenix, is 5-foot-2, weighs 150 pounds and has reddish-brown hair.
(COLUMBUS, Ohio) — Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has signed a transgender bathroom ban for students into law.
The law requires students in the state’s K-12 schools, as well as colleges and universities, to use the restroom or facility that aligns with their sex assigned at birth.
The law notes it is not intended to prevent schools from building single-occupancy facilities and does not ban someone of the opposite gender from entering to help another person.
Ohio joins at least 14 other states in banning transgender people from using bathrooms that align with their gender identity, according to the Human Rights Campaign.
Supporters say the ban eases concerns about student’s privacy and protection. Critics of the bill say it creates unfounded fears about transgender students and may instead put trans students in danger of discrimination or violence.
DeWine’s office previously declined ABC News’ request for comment ahead of the bill’s signing. He told reporters this past summer that he has to look at “specific language” in the legislation.
“I’m for people, kids, to be able to go to the bathroom with the gender assignment so that they have that protection, but I’ll have to look at the specific language,” DeWine told reporters.
Transgender health care, bathroom access, sports participation and more have been a key focus for Republican legislators nationwide in recent years — a wave that has prompted hundreds of anti-LGBTQ bills in the 2024 legislative session alone, as tracked by the American Civil Liberties Union.
DeWine has gone against state Republican legislators on transgender issues in the past. He vetoed a transgender youth care ban bill in December 2023, which would have restricted gender-affirming puberty blockers, hormone therapy or surgeries.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(NEW YORK) — The prosecution and defense are preparing for Monday’s closing arguments in the Daniel Penny trial as it comes to a close after a break for the Thanksgiving holiday.
Penny put Jordan Neely, 30, a homeless man, in a fatal 6 minute-long chokehold after Neely boarded a subway car acting erratically.
Penny, 25, is charged with manslaughter and negligent homicide in the May 2023 choking death of Neely on the New York City subway. He pleaded not guilty.
Here are the key takeaways from the trial so far:
The prosecution’s argument
Prosecutors argue that Penny, a former Marine trained in martial arts, should have known that his chokehold maneuver was turning fatal, arguing that Penny held onto Neely “for far too long” — more than 5 minutes after the train pulled into the station and passengers were able to exit.
Neely entered a moderately crowded subway car on an uptown F train at the Second Avenue stop and began yelling and moving erratically, when Penny put Neely in a chokehold. Thirty seconds later, the train arrived at the next station and essentially all the passengers left the train car.
Footage of the interaction between Penny and Neely, which began about 2 minutes after the incident started, captures Penny holding Neely for about 4 minutes and 57 seconds on a relatively empty train with a couple of passengers nearby.
“He was aware of the risk his actions would kill Mr. Neely and did it anyway,” Assistant District Attorney Dafna Yoran said in her opening statements. “Jordan Neely took his last breaths on the dirty floor of an uptown F train.”
Prosecutors further argued that while Penny may be an “honorable veteran” and “nice young man,” he used too much force for too long and was reckless with Neely’s life because “he didn’t recognize his humanity.”
She later continued, “Under the law, deadly physical force such as a chokehold is permitted only when it is absolutely necessary and for only as long as is absolutely necessary. And here, the defendant went way too far.”
The second-degree manslaughter charge only requires prosecutors to prove Penny acted recklessly, not intentionally, according to prosecutors.
The defense’s argument
Defense attorney Thomas Kenniff countered that Penny sought to protect passengers, claiming he was responding to Neely’s “unhinged rage.”
“This is a case about a young man who did for others what we would want someone to do for us,” Kenniff said. “It doesn’t make him a hero, but it doesn’t make him a killer.”
Penny claims to have heard Neely say “I will kill,” said Kenniff, who has said there was no opportunity for his client to de-escalate or stop Neely from the harm he was threatening.
Borrowing from “a bit” of martial arts training he received in the Marine Corps, Penny put Neely into a chokehold without intending to kill him, the defense said, but to hold him until police arrived.
“His conduct was consistent with someone who values human life and that’s why he was trying to protect it so fiercely,” the defense attorney said.
Kenniff insisted his client “does not want to use any more force than is necessary,” but Neely “aggressively resisted” while in Penny’s grip. He said Penny thought Neely, who police say was unarmed, might have a weapon as he waited for police.
Daniel Penny’s interview with police
Jurors saw body camera video that had not yet been publicly released of Penny’s initial encounter with police, more than 4 minutes after he let go of Neely.
On the first day of the trial, the jury saw the officer’s body-worn camera footage that captured the attempts to save Neely and showed his lifeless body on the subway floor.
When searched for weapons, the only thing officers found in Neely’s pockets was a muffin. Nothing else was found in the jacket, Officer Teodoro Tejada confirmed.
Penny is heard saying, “I put him out,” when the officer asked what happened. To prosecutors, the footage — which had not been seen publicly until the trial — is evidence Penny disregarded Neely’s basic humanity.
The defense used Tejada’s testimony to suggest to the jury Penny did not behave like a criminal by fleeing the scene.
“Did he appear cooperative?” the lawyer asked.
“Yes,” the officer replied.
“It didn’t appear that he had anything to hide?” Kenniff asked.
“No,” Tejada said.
Video of Jordan Neely’s subway chokehold death
In a video taken by then-17-year-old high school student bystander Ivette Rosario, a witness can be heard calling out to Penny, “He’s dying…you need to let him go.” Others are heard yelling on the clip to “get the cops!”
Rosario testified that she did not hear anyone say that Neely is “dying” at the time and it’s not clear whether Penny heard it either.
Man who helped restrain Neely testifies A Bronx man who helped Penny restrain Neely ”jumped in and tried to help” so Penny could release his chokehold, according to the man’s testimony.
Eric Gonzalez, who is seen in video footage holding Neely by the wrist, boarded the subway and noticed Penny holding down Neely “with his legs around his waist and his arm around his neck.” Gonzalez testified he did not know why Penny was restraining Neely but he heard people yelling to call for the police.
Gonzalez said he waved his hands in front of Penny’s face to get his attention.
“I said, ‘I will grab his hands so you can let go,’” Gonzalez told the jury. “Just giving him a different option to hold his arm — well, to restrain him until the police came.”
Prosecutors asked Gonzalez to clarify: “If I held his arm down, he could let go of his neck,” he said.
Gonzalez said he watched Neely’s body go limp and let go of him before Penny did the same.
“I tried to shake Jordan Neely to get a response out of him, feel for a pulse, and then I walked away,” Gonzalez said.
Conflicting testimony about the cause of death
Dr. Cynthia Harris of the city’s Chief Medical Examiner’s Office conducted Neely’s autopsy in 2023 and ruled Neely’s death a homicide, with the cause of death as “Compression of neck (chokehold).”
She testified at the trial that “the consensus was unanimous” in the medical examiner’s office that Neely had died from the chokehold, according to Associated Press reporting: “There are no alternative reasonable explanations,” she said.
Forensic pathologist Satish Chundru disputed that determination in his testimony in defense of Penny, according to the AP, arguing that Neely died from “combined effects” of his schizophrenia, synthetic marijuana, a blood condition and his efforts to struggle against Penny.
“In your opinion, did Mr. Penny choke Mr. Neely to death?” defense lawyer Steven Raiser asked, according to AP.
“No,” replied Chundru.
Prosecutors argued that Chundru’s testimony departed from medical literature and his own opinion in similar cases, but Chundru testified that the cases were not comparable to this one, according to the AP.
Marine Corps instructor who trained Penny testifies
According to the AP, Joseph Caballer, the combat instructor who trained Penny, said that Penny was taught how to knock a person unconscious — but that the technique could kill someone if held too long. He argued that someone performing the technique is supposed to let go when the person is rendered unconscious, and testified that Penny used the chokehold in an “improper” manner when asked by prosecutors.
However, the defense claims Penny did not use a strong enough hold to kill Penny, the AP reports.
