(CHICAGO) — Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport issued a ground stop on Friday, pausing departures amid snowy and icy conditions.
The stop came as the clipper system that brought heavy snow and airport delays to the Upper Midwest on Thursday is moving on Friday morning through the Illinois city.
Up to 10 inches of snow fell in the Upper Midwest on Thursday. Ten states are now on snow alert, stretching from Wisconsin down through the mountains of North Carolina.
A band of moderate snow with low visibility is moving into Chicago just in time for their morning commute.
A dusting to 1 inch is possible, just enough to make the roads very slick and dangerous in the city.
Also this morning, snow is moving through Michigan and Ohio and on its way to the Northeast.
This afternoon and evening the rain and snow will move into the I-95 corridor making roads slick.
Rain and snow will continue for the I-95 corridor into early Saturday morning.
Most areas will see only a dusting, the same as Chicago, but this could be enough to make roads dangerously slick, as temps fall to near freezing.
Locally about 3 to 6 inches of snow are possible in the mountains of West Virginia and into western NY, and northern New England.
Locally more than a foot possible in the highest elevations.
Christmas Eve rain or snow in the Northeast?
Another storm system is expected for Christmas Eve in the Northeast, with rain and snow possible.
Rain and snow could fall along the I-95 corridor on Tuesday, Christmas Eve.
With this storm, the highest chance for accumulating snow will be in upstate NY and in New England. It is too early to say how much snow is possible.
An arctic plunge will move into the Northeast this weekend, as temperatures fall into the teens and single digits Saturday night into Sunday.
Wind chills could be below zero for inland areas and in the single digits even for coastal major cities.
Looking ahead, warmer weather is forecast after Christmas for the Northeast and most of eastern U.S.
(LOS ANGELES) — The workers union representing Starbucks baristas across the country announced members in Los Angeles, Chicago and Seattle will go on strike in the days leading up to Christmas.
Workers United, which has unionized more than 525 U.S. Starbucks locations, said in a press release Thursday that unfair labor practices and stalled negotiations with the company are the catalyst behind the holiday season strike.
The union says five days of escalating strikes will begin Friday and continue until Dec. 24 in “three of the company’s priority markets” during what it called the company’s busiest days of the year.
During the strike period, the walkouts “are expected to spread each day and ultimately reach hundreds of stores from coast to coast by Christmas Eve” unless the company honors a February commitment made with the union.
In February 2024, Workers United and Starbucks announced they would work on a “foundational framework” to reach a collective bargaining agreement for stores, something the union says has not come to fruition.
In a statement on Thursday following the strike announcement Starbucks said Workers United delegates “prematurely ended” its bargaining session with the coffee giant this week.
Starbucks added that the company is “focused on enhancing” employee experiences by offering an average wage of $18 per hour and benefits including health care, free college tuition, paid family leave and company stock grants.
“We are ready to continue negotiations to reach agreements,” Starbucks said, adding, “We need the union to return to the table.”
Workers United, however, said despite “repeatedly pledging publicly” that it intends to reach contracts by the end of the year, Starbucks has not yet presented workers with a “serious economic proposal.”
“Nobody wants to strike. It’s a last resort, but Starbucks has broken its promise to thousands of baristas and left us with no choice,” Fatemeh Alhadjaboodi, a five-year Starbucks barista and bargaining delegate, said in the release.
“In a year when Starbucks invested so many millions in top executive talent, it has failed to present the baristas who make its company run with a viable economic proposal. This is just the beginning. We will do whatever it takes to get the company to honor the commitment it made to us in February,” Alhadjaboodi added.
“The holiday season should be magical at Starbucks, but for too many of us, there’s a darker side to the peppermint mochas and gingerbread lattes,” Arloa Fluhr, a bargaining delegate who has worked off and on at Starbucks for 18 years said in the release.
“I’m a mom of three, including my daughter who is diabetic. I know what it’s like to panic because my hours were slashed and I won’t be able to pay my bills and could lose access to healthcare, including my daughter’s insulin. That’s why we’re steadfast in our demands for Starbucks to invest in baristas like me,” Fluhr added.
ABC News’ Zunaira Zaki contributed to this report.
(LOS ANGELES) — An event celebrating the top restaurants in Los Angeles left at least 80 people sickened with norovirus due to an outbreak linked to raw oysters, LA County’s Department of Public Health confirmed to ABC News.
The outbreak stemmed from an event at the Hollywood Palladium celebrating the Los Angeles Times’ list of the 101 best restaurants on Dec. 3, according to the agency.
Norovirus is a very contagious virus that causes vomiting and diarrhea and is commonly referred to as the “stomach flu” or the “stomach bug,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
It is the leading cause of foodborne illness in the United States. Other symptoms may include stomach pain, fever, headache, body aches, or dehydration. Proper handwashing, disinfecting contaminated surfaces, washing laundry in hot water, and staying home when sick are ways to prevent further spread, according to the CDC.
“At this time, over 80 attendees that consumed the oysters have reported illness,” a spokesperson with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health said in a statement.
The oysters that were served and have since been recalled were Fanny Bay Select oysters and Fanny Bay XS oysters from Pacific Northwest Shellfish Co., according to the statement.
The pack date of the oysters was listed as Nov. 25 or later and the date of the recall notice was Dec. 13, the agency added.
Following the recall, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a warning on Dec. 18 to restaurants, retailers and consumers not to sell or eat the oysters in question due to potential norovirus contamination.
The warning was directed at 15 states across the country from Hawaii, California and Arizona to Illinois, Pennsylvania and New York. The FDA said the outbreak is believed to have originated in British Columbia, Canada.
Santa Monica Seafood, which supplied the oysters for the event, said in a statement to ABC News the company is “aware of the ongoing investigation into the recent food illness outbreak linked to oysters served” and is cooperating with the Public Health Department.
The retailer added that while the investigation is ongoing, “There is no evidence to suggest mishandling at any point in the supply chain, including by Santa Monica Seafood or any of the restaurants participating in the LA Times event.”
Tickets to the Los Angeles Times’ restaurant event associated with the outbreak cost eventgoers anywhere from $264 for general admission to upwards of $600 for VIP.
ABC News has reached out to the L.A. Times for a comment.
(NEW YORK) — U.S. immigration authorities in 2024 removed the largest number of people in the country illegally in a decade, according to a new report.
In fiscal year 2024, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) removed 271,484 noncitizens — the highest number since 2014, according to the agency’s year-end report, released Thursday.
According to the report, of those removed from the country:
88,763 had charges or convictions for criminal activity;
3,706 were known or suspected gang members;
237 were known or suspected terrorists; and eight were human rights violators
The deportation numbers showed a 90% increase from the past two fiscal years, according to ICE data.
The 2024 fiscal year ended Sept. 30.
The numbers come as President-elect Donald Trump and his allies have been sharply critical of the Biden administration’s immigration policy and its handling of the southwest border. On the campaign trail, Trump vowed to carry out “mass deportations” of people living in the country illegally.
In the last fiscal year, ICE also issued 149,764 immigration detainers for noncitizens with criminal histories — an increase of 19.5% from last fiscal year, when it issued 125,358 detainers.
A detainer is a request from ICE to state and local officials running jails and prisons to hold a noncitizen with removal orders.
Detainers will become a big part of how the incoming Trump administration will seek to deport people from the country, but the challenge is some cities and states don’t recognize the detainers, thus making the jurisdiction a “sanctuary” city or state.
ICE focused its efforts in 2024 on violent offenders, according to the report.
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), which falls under ICE, conducted 32,608 criminal arrests, seized over 1.6 million pounds of narcotics, identified and/or assisted 1,783 victims of child exploitation, and assisted 818 victims of human trafficking, according to the report.
(CARISBAD, Calif.) — A judge granted a gun violence protective order against a Carlsbad, California, man who authorities allege was communicating with the Abundant Life Christian School shooting suspect.
Carlsbad police filed the application for a gun violence emergency protective order against Alexander Charles Paffendorf in San Diego County Superior Court on Tuesday. FBI agents “stopped and detained” him after they allege “he was discovered plotting a mass shooting” with Natalie “Samantha” Rupnow, the suspected school shooter in Madison, Wisconsin, according to court records obtained by ABC News.
Paffendorf allegedly admitted to authorities “that he told Rupnow that he would arm himself with explosives and a gun and that he would target a government building,” a Carlsbad police officer wrote on the protective order application form.
FBI agents saw messages from Paffendorf to Rupnow, the officer stated. Paffendorf has not been charged with a crime.
Rupnow, 15, allegedly opened fire with a handgun at Abundant Life Christian School on Monday morning, killing a fellow student and teacher. Six others were injured.
She died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities said.
The restraining order requires Paffendorf to surrender all guns, ammunition and magazines to law enforcement or “sell them to or store them with a licensed firearms dealer” within 48 hours of receipt of the order.
The Carlsbad Police Department said in a statement Thursday, “Carlsbad is not the lead agency on this investigation, but we are in communication with our federal partners, and we do not believe there to be a threat to our city. Because this is an ongoing investigation being handled by another agency, there are no other details to share at the moment.”
The FBI said Thursday it is “not aware of any ongoing threats associated with this matter in Wisconsin or California.”
The agency added, “The Madison Police Department is leading the ongoing investigation into the school shooting in Wisconsin with the assistance of the Milwaukee and San Diego field offices of the FBI, the Carlsbad, California Police Department, and other law enforcement partners. As this is an ongoing investigation, we do not have any further comment.”
A hearing for Paffendorf is scheduled for Jan. 3. Attorney information for the California man was not immediately available.
A judge has denied a motion to dismiss charges in the Uvalde, Texas, criminal case stemming from the 2022 mass shooting and has set a tentative trial date.
Former Uvalde school district police chief Pete Arredondo, who was the on-site commander at Robb Elementary School on the day of the shooting, and former school officer Adrian Gonzales appeared in court for a joint pretrial hearing on Thursday.
Arredondo faces 10 counts of child endangerment and abandonment on behalf of the injured and surviving children in classroom 112. Gonzales faces 29 counts: 10 counts for each surviving child and 19 for each deceased child. Arredondo and Gonzales have both pleaded not guilty.
Their charges stem from the May 24, 2022, mass shooting during which a gunman killed two teachers and 19 students at the elementary school. Law enforcement waited some 77 minutes at the scene before breaching a classroom and killing the gunman.
The judge on Thursday denied the motion to quash Arredondo’s indictment. The judge also set a tentative trial start date for October 2025.
Arredondo had filed a motion asking the court to declare his child endangerment indictment invalid, arguing the gunman was solely responsible for the shooting.
Arredondo has repeatedly defended his actions and told investigators he did not believe the gunman was an active shooter when he arrived. He also has insisted he was not in command of the police response.
The indictment alleges that despite having time to respond to the shooting, Gonzales failed to act to impede the gunman and failed to follow active shooter training by not advancing toward the gunfire.
Gonzales’ defense attorney, Nico LaHood, has said, “There was over 370 officers there. We have not seen or even heard of a theory of why Mr. Gonzales is being singled out.”
Families of victims and survivors who were in the courtroom Thursday said they were relieved the case is moving forward.
“It was hard being inside the courtroom while Pete was with his attorneys as we listened to their arguments about why he felt he wasn’t responsible for Jackie’s death,” said Gloria Cazares, whose 9-year-old daughter, Jackie, was killed. “After two and half years, it finally feels like things are progressing.”
During the hearing, attorneys discussed their frustration with their inability to receive an unredacted copy of a U.S. Customs and Border Protection report about the agency’s response to the Robb Elementary shooting.
To date, Arredondo and Gonzales are the only indicted law enforcement officers of the 376 officers who were among the police response to the shooting.
(NEW YORK) — The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has reached a settlement with Amazon over allegations of hazardous workplace conditions, ABC News first reported Thursday. The settlement requires that Amazon adopt “corporate-wide ergonomic measures” to reduce the risk of injuries to workers.
The 10 facilities cited in the settlement, located in New York, Florida, Idaho, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Illinois and New Jersey, all had a high number of complaints of workplace injury. Amazon will have to pay a $145,000 penalty, adopt workplace safety measures and allow OSHA access to inspect those facilities for the next two years, according to the terms of the settlement.
Though the settlement only mandates oversight on those 10 facilities, all Amazon facilities will be required to adopt new safety measures and provide procedures for their employees to voice their concerns about workplace conditions.
A Department of Labor official said the settlement is the “largest of its kind” and “will resolve all outstanding ergonomic litigation” by the agency against Amazon. The official noted, however, that the settlement will not affect the investigation into the company by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York over allegations Amazon conspired to conceal injuries and risks to workers at its warehouses. Amazon has denied those allegations.
“Today’s agreement acknowledges our progress and notes that we should keep implementing and following our existing comprehensive ergonomics policies and procedures,” Amazon said in a statement following the announcement of the settlement. “There isn’t a claim of wrong-doing on Amazon’s part for the withdrawn citations, nor a directive to adopt new safety controls. We appreciate OSHA’s willingness to consider all the facts and reach today’s agreement with us, and we look forward to continuing to work with them going forward.”
ABC News reached out to Amazon for additional comment.
This settlement comes as Amazon workers have gone on strike at facilities across the country, citing low pay, lack of benefits and poor conditions.
(NEW YORK) — Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, is charged in a four-count federal criminal complaint with stalking, murder through the use of a firearm and a firearms offense involving a silencer.
He waived extradition on Thursday morning and was transported via plane and helicopter from Pennsylvania to New York.
Mangione is expected to make his initial appearance in federal court in lower Manhattan Thursday afternoon.
A special edition of “20/20” airing Dec. 19 at 10 p.m. ET on ABC looks at the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson and the manhunt that led to the arrest of Luigi Mangione, who went from the Ivy League to alleged killer.
Mangione agreed to be extradited during an appearance in court in Blair County, Pennsylvania, on Thursday morning.
Mangione stood as the judge read him his rights. The Ivy League graduate answered “yes” when asked if he understood and answered “yes” when asked if he wanted to waive extradition.
NYPD officers sat in the front of the courtroom and took custody of Mangione after his appearance.
Spectators gathered outside the courthouse as Mangione was taken inside.
One person held a sign reading “Deny, Defend, Depose,” echoing the words written on shell casings and a bullet at the murder scene.
Adam Giesseman, who had a sign that said “Free Luigi” and “Murder for Profit is Terrorism,” told ABC News, “Our country is broken.”
Another waiting spectator, who only gave her first name, Natalie, voiced frustration that the insurance system is “set up for profit over people’s health.”
“It’s unfortunate that this happened, and I’m not glorifying it in any way — but it’s brought attention to the issue that affects all Americans,” she said.
The federal charges could make Mangione eligible for the death penalty. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole if convicted of the state charges.
Mangione’s New York lawyer, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, said in a statement, “The federal government’s reported decision to pile on top of an already overcharged first-degree murder and state terror case is highly unusual and raises serious constitutional and statutory double jeopardy concerns.”
“We are ready to fight these charges in whatever court they are brought,” Agnifilo added.
Danielle Filson, a spokesperson for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, said, “The state case will proceed in parallel with any federal case.”
Mangione, 26, is accused of gunning down Thompson outside a Hilton hotel on Dec. 4 as the UnitedHealthcare CEO headed to an investors conference. Prosecutors alleged Mangione waited nearly an hour for Thompson to arrive.
A Manhattan grand jury upgraded charges against Mangione to include first-degree murder in furtherance of terrorism, prosecutors announced Tuesday.
The killing in the heart of Midtown Manhattan was “intended to evoke terror,” Bragg said.
In New York, Mangione is also charged with two counts of second-degree murder, one of which is charged as killing as an act of terrorism; two counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree; four counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree; one count of criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree; and one count of criminal possession of a forged instrument in the second degree.
In Pennsylvania, where Mangione was arrested on Dec. 9 after nearly a week on the run, he faces charges including allegedly possessing an untraceable ghost gun. Mangione had a 9 mm handgun with a 3D-printed receiver, a homemade silencer, two ammunition magazines and live cartridges when apprehended, prosecutors said.
Mangione’s case in Pennsylvania will be kept active; at the conclusion of his trial in New York, prosecutors would determine how to proceed, Blair County District Attorney Peter Weeks said on Thursday.
Mangione’s next hearing in Pennsylvania is scheduled for Feb. 24. This hearing may get postponed or be conducted as a remote Zoom appearance given the impracticality of returning Mangione to Pennsylvania for an in-person hearing, Weeks said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(NEW YORK) — The Federal Aviation Administration issued a ban on drone operations in several areas of New Jersey until Jan. 17, unless operators are granted special permission from the government due to “special security reasons.”
Uncrewed aerial drones have been lighting up the sky at night in New Jersey and nearby states for weeks, since about mid-November, leading to concern from residents and speculation online. Some had demanded answers from local and state officials for answers.
“At the request of federal security partners, the FAA published 22 Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFRs) prohibiting drone flights over critical New Jersey infrastructure,” the FAA said in a statement Thursday.
The temporary flight restrictions, which are set to last until Jan. 17, have been implemented beginning Wednesday in the following locations: Hamilton, Bridgewater, Cedar Grove, North Brunswick, Metuchen, Evesham, Camden, Gloucester City, Westampton, South Brunswick, Edison, Branchburg, Sewaren, Jersey City, Harrison, Elizabeth, Bayonne, Winslow, Burlington, Clifton, Hancocks Bridge and Kearny.
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said the flight restrictions were issued “out of an abundance of caution.”
“We continue to assess there is no public safety threat relating to the reported drone sightings,” the spokesperson said in a statement Thursday. “In coordination with the FAA and our critical infrastructure partners who requested temporary flight restrictions over their facilities, out of an abundance of caution, the FAA has issued temporary flight restrictions over some critical infrastructure facilities in New Jersey.”
The restrictions say no uncrewed aircraft systems can operate within a nautical mile of the airspace specified in each Notice to Airmen, or NOTAM, including from the ground up to 400 feet. Recreational drones are allowed to operate up to 400 feet, under FAA rules.
The previously issued temporary flight restrictions for Bedminster and Picatinny Arsenal remain in place.
The government may use “deadly force” against the drones if they pose an “imminent security threat,” the NOTAM said.
Pilots who fail to abide by those restrictions could be “intercepted, detained, and interviewed by the law enforcement/security personnel.” The FAA said it could also take administrative action, including imposing civil penalties and suspending or revoking the operators’ certificates, as well as pursuing criminal charges.
This ban comes after Sunday’s press briefing where an FAA official said there have “without a doubt” been drones flying over New Jersey, pointing to the fact that early a million drones are registered in the U.S.
The FBI has received more than 5,000 tips in the last few weeks about drone sightings in New Jersey and other states, said a multiagency statement, which was released Monday by the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, the FAA and the Department of Defense.
“Having closely examined the technical data and tips from concerned citizens, we assess that the sightings to date include a combination of lawful commercial drones, hobbyist drones, and law enforcement drones, as well as manned fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and stars mistakenly reported as drones,” the joint statement said.
(NEW YORK) — Ingrid Lewis-Martin, the former chief adviser to New York City Mayor Eric Adams, surrendered at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office on Thursday morning to face criminal charges.
The exact charges against her are expected to to be announced later Thursday.
Lewis-Martin resigned from her position on Sunday.
The case against her stems from an ongoing investigation by the district attorney’s office and the city’s Department of Investigation, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.
The case is separate from federal charges against Adams, the sources said. Adams, who has denied any wrongdoing, is facing corruption charges over allegedly accepting years of luxury travel gifts in exchange for, among other things, persuading the fire department to approve the opening of the new Turkish consulate in Manhattan despite the lingering safety concerns of inspectors.
Lewis-Martin’s attorney, Arthur Aidala, said Monday that he expected her to be indicted in connection to allegedly improper gifts, according to WABC.
“Pieces of puzzles are going to be put together to make it look as horrible as possible,” Aidala, sitting alongside Lewis-Martin, told reporters Monday. “But we know the truth, and the truth is Ingrid Lewis-Martin never broke the law.”
She and her son, Glenn Martin II, reported to the courthouse in lower Manhattan early Thursday. Two other men are also facing charges, WABC reported.
The two men allegedly loaned Glenn Martin II $100,000 so he could buy a Porsche after Lewis-Martin had allegedly assisted the men with a problem with the Buildings Department relating to a hotel construction project, according to WABC.
“I am being falsely accused of something,” Lewis-Martin told reporters Monday. “I don’t know exactly what it is, but I know that I was told that it is something that is illegal, and I have never done anything that is illegal in my capacity in government.”
Lewis-Martin had her cellphone seized in September when she returned from a trip to Japan and also had her home in Brooklyn searched.
