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(NEW YORK) — Just days after a new report revealed antisemitic incidents reached an all-time high in 2022, a new ad campaign calling on non-Jewish people to condemn such discrimination crossed millions of Americans’ TV screens.

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) found antisemitic incidents increased by more than 30% in 2022 compared to 2021, according to a report published last month. The anti-hate and anti-bias advocacy group counted 3,697 antisemitic incidents in 2022 — the highest total since the ADL began tabulating those incidents in 1979, according to group’s March report. Those incidents mark a 36% increase from the 2,717 incidents the organization tabulated during the previous year, which was at the time a historic high. Reported incidents range from harassment to vandalism and assaults on individuals.

The organization collects data through reports from victims, which ADL staff work to verify, as well as details from law enforcement and the media.

“There is no one single reason why antisemitic incidents are on the rise. But there are several trends, including the emboldening of extremists and hate groups, in part due to the political discourse,” Emily Snider, an Antisemitic Incident Specialist at the ADL’s Center on Extremism, told ABC News.

Some organizations announced they were taking action following the report’s release. On March 27, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, donning a blue lapel pin on his blazer, announced the The Foundation to Combat Antisemitism’s “Stand Up to Jewish Hate” campaign, slated to air on national television.

“This little blue square represents the Jewish population in the United States — 2.4%,” said Kraft, pointing to the pin. “But we’re the victims of 55% of the hate crimes in this country.”

“Let the Jewish community know they are not fighting alone,” one online video states.

Biden administration officials have also spoken about the importance of protecting Jewish institutions and other faith communities. On March 23, the Department of Homeland Security rolled out PreventionResourceFinder.gov, a website that provides resources to prevent “targeted violence and terrorism.”

Antisemitism serves as a “connective tissue” that brings together different hate and extremist groups, Susan Corke, director of the Intelligence Project at the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), told ABC News.

When asked whether the SPLC has tracked a similar rise in antisemitic incidents, Corke said that while the SPLC does not track specific events, statistics from the ADL along with other data from the SPLC show “that there’s been a shift to more public spectacle, that there’s more hateful incidents that are intersecting people in their daily lives.”

Those incidents include “flyering,” defined as hate groups distributing flyers with antisemitic propaganda. One such incident occurred in October 2022, when antisemitic flyers faulting Jewish people for health, social and racial issues were distributed in Beverly Hills, California.

“My family was forced to flee our homeland when I was a year old because of antisemitism and violence, so to see some of the same ideas, Jewish conspiracy theories, pop up at our home it’s really terrifying,” Sam Yebri, a Jewish refugee from Iran, told ABC News after the incident.

Another public spectacle of antisemitism: graffiti on Jewish institutions. In October, Ben and Esther’s Vegan Jewish Deli in Portland, Oregon, was vandalized with a swastika.

“As a Jew, it’s something that I’ve dealt with my whole life,” Justin King, the deli’s owner, told ABC station KATU. “My childhood synagogue was shot up in Miami, and to this day they still have the shotgun holes in the stained glass windows.”

“This type of action needs to upset people. And if it didn’t, I would have to question where I am living,” King told KATU.

Corke noted that hate crimes are often underreported, as police departments are not required to report hate crimes to the federal government. She noted the rise in hate crimes against one group is often indicative of discrimination on the rise more broadly, such as the increased harassment against Asian Americans since the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“When we see rises in hate crimes or hate incidents, among any particular group of people, you tend to see that across all the categories,” Snider said.

Snider said there could also be some overlap between the perpetrators of antisemitic and anti-Asian American crimes, including within organized white supremacist groups.

The rise of antisemitic incidents requires the appropriate attention to be fully understood, Snider and Corke said.

“I don’t think it’s ever too much work to shine light on hate. … And we do need media, and politicians, and school officials, and also our entire society to shine light when hate happens in order to hopefully effect the change,” Snider told ABC News.

Corke called for “a different kind of awareness” that places these incidents in a broader context.

“Because when there’s a hate crime, there’s expressions of concern and then it dies down. I think what people are failing to understand, that this is a more organized and longer-term, campaign, movement, by the far right to undermine democracy in America,” she said.

“[We should be] recognizing that a hate crime is more than just that one crime, but it really harms the whole community and is intentional to create this larger fear in society,” she added.

But even amid the concerning trends, Snider said that the Jewish community in America should use the ADL’s report as a renewed wakeup call — while still remaining proud of its identity.

“Our communities are strong. We’re strong. We’re resilient. I wish we didn’t have to be resilient, but we are. And I hope that the Jewish community continues to take these incidents seriously, continues to firm up security at their institutions,” Snider said. “But always, always, always, it’s important to remain firmly proud, proud to be Jewish, and feel empowered to express your Jewish identity authentically, however that looks like for you.”

ABC News’ Luke Barr and Kendall Ross contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(SAN FRANCISCO) — Bob Lee, Cash App founder and executive at cryptocurrency firm MobileCoin, is dead after a “horrific” act in San Francisco on Tuesday, San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said on Wednesday.

Police responded to a report of a stabbing early Tuesday, around 2:35 a.m., and found a 43-year-old man suffering from stab wounds, a San Francisco Police Department report said.

The report did not name the victim, but the details matched Lee, who was 43 years old.

Officers called for medics, who transported the victim to a nearby hospital with life-threatening injuries, the police report said, adding that the victim ultimately died from the injuries.

“We do not tolerate these horrific acts of violence in San Francisco,” Jenkins said.

Lee served as the first chief technology officer at Square, a digital payment company founded by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey.

“Bob was a dynamo, a force of nature,” Joshua Goldbard, the CEO of MobileCoin, told ABC News in a statement.

“He was made for the world that is being born right now, he was a child of dreams, and whatever he imagined, no matter how crazy, he made real,” Goldbard added.

During the 2000s, Lee worked at Google, where he helped develop Android.

Cash App and the San Francisco Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Lee is survived by his wife, Krista, and their two children.

“Bob’s real resume is the hearts and minds he touched in his time on earth,” Goldbard said. “Bob’s legacy is the feeling that you can make a difference if you try, and of course his amazing children.”

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(BALTIMORE) — A Maryland man was charged Tuesday for allegedly threatening the Human Rights Campaign, a prominent LGBTQ+ rights organization, in what police say appears to be a response to the March 27 Nashville, Tennessee, mass shooting at a Christian school.

The man who allegedly threatened the Human Rights Campaign, Adam Michael Nettina, is charged with interstate communications with a threat to injure for allegedly leaving a voicemail on March 28 in which he threatened to “slaughter,” shoot and assault members of the organization.

Authorities say they believe he references the Nashville shooting in his voicemail. Nashville police have said the school shooter identified as transgender, adding the shooter was assigned female at birth but pointed to a social media account linked to the shooter that included use of the pronouns he/him.

“You guys going to shoot up our schools now? Is that how it’s going to be?” the voicemail said, according to DOJ documents.

It continued, “We’re waiting. And if you want a war, we’ll have a war.”

The threat follows concerns from LGBTQ groups about anti-LGBTQ hate and violence.

Some prominent Republicans promoted anti-transgender rhetoric and speculated that the Nashville shooter’s gender identity played a role in the gun violence despite research showing that mass shootings are overwhelmingly committed by cisgender men and that transgender people are four times more likely to be victims of violence.

“The LGBTQ+ community is under attack in statehouses across the country and on social media platforms,” read a statement from Elizabeth Bibi, spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign, sent to ABC News. “This violent, hateful rhetoric leads to stigma, and stigma leads to physical violence.”

“As we see radical politicians sow hate and fear with anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric, we have seen the physical threats to our community multiply – from armed men at Pride parades, to threats of violence against local drag shows at libraries, to bomb threats at children’s hospitals, to the continued rise in fatal violence against members of our community, especially Black transgender women,” Bibi continued.

Advocates say that falsely painting the entire LGBTQ community as inherently dangerous and responsible for the actions of one person will promote violence against the community.

“Every study available shows that transgender and nonbinary people are much more likely to be victims of violence, rather than the perpetrator of it,” the Human Rights Campaign said in a statement following the shooting. “Regardless of the reason for this shooting, the use of violence is reprehensible and we renew our call for common-sense gun safety.”

If convicted, Nettina faces a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison. Legal representation for Nettina was not available.

The case was investigated by the FBI Baltimore Field Office.

The Human Rights Campaign said it received two threatening voicemails late last month.

“We are grateful to law enforcement for acting so quickly to keep our community safe, and we condemn any and all violent words or deeds. We will continue our work to call out those who spread violence, fear and disinformation.”

ABC News’ Alexander Mallin contributed to the report.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — Donald Trump called for the return of the death penalty in a series of ads in 1989 amid the case of the “Central Park Five” – five Black and brown boys wrongfully accused of rape and assault in New York City.

More than 30 years later, some of the now-exonerated men say the former president’s indictment is “karma.”

The case known as the “Central Park Five” began on April 19, 1989, when jogger Trisha Meili was raped, brutally beaten and left for dead in the park. She survived and testified, but did not remember her assault.

Five Black and Latino teens — Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise — were taken into custody, hounded in police interrogations and ultimately gave false confessions.

Trump took out full page ads in local newspapers days after the attack, calling to “Bring back the death penalty. Bring back our police!” The ads never explicitly call for the death penalty against the then-dubbed “Central Park Five.”

The five were wrongfully convicted of various crimes, but their convictions were vacated in 2002 following a confession from a different man whose admission was affirmed by DNA evidence. Following a settlement between New York City and the five men, Trump said the city should not have settled with the Central Park Five and continued to rail against the men, according to an op-ed he wrote in the Daily News at the time.

In response to Trump’s arraignment, Salaam released a statement on Tuesdsay in the format of Trump’s full-page 1980s ads:

Santana, one of the now-“Exonerated Five,” criticized those who support Trump on Monday, and asked his social media followers to “never forget” Trump’s actions against the five men: “#Neverforget … because we never had a chance to,” said Santana in an Instagram post.

Salaam also spoke on MSNBC last week about Trump’s indictment and the failings of the justice system in the past.

“For someone to say that ‘if they could do it to Trump, they could do it to anyone,’ — they do it to black and brown people all the time,” said Saalam. “The fact that Black and brown people are in prison, have been there for crimes they haven’t commit, like myself, is … a travesty of justice. And the truth of the matter is that we need this legal system to work and I’m excited to see what will happen on Tuesday.”

Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records on Tuesday after being indicted by a Manhattan grand jury last week.

ABC News’ Nakylah Carter contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — Communities across the United States — from small towns to big cities — were on alert for tornadoes on Wednesday, as a major storm system sweeps through areas still reeling from devastating twisters.

There were an unspecified number of injuries and fatalities confirmed in Missouri’s Bollinger County after a tornado hit the Glenallen area, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

At least nine other tornadoes had already been reported across Iowa and Illinois, including a “large and extremely dangerous tornado” that touched down near Canton, Illinois, on Tuesday evening, according to the National Weather Service.

On Wednesday morning, the National Weather Service issued a tornado watch for parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana and Ohio. The cities of Little Rock, Arkansas, and Detroit were included in the watch areas, where forecasters said conditions will be favorable for tornadoes and severe thunderstorms. People were warned to seek shelter.

As the storm continues to move east, severe weather is in the forecast for a vast area — from western Texas to western New York. Cities in the bull’s-eye for damaging winds, large hail and tornadoes on Wednesday include Memphis, Louisville, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Chicago, Detroit and Cleveland, according to the latest forecast.

The forecast comes just days after a powerful storm system unleashed violent tornadoes and severe thunderstorms across the country, killing at least 32 people and leaving thousands without power.

The National Weather Service has confirmed at least 81 tornadoes touched down in 14 states on March 31 and April 1. It was the largest single tornado outbreak to hit the U.S. in a year, since the one that spawned 140 twisters in southeastern states — from Texas to Maryland — on April 12-13, 2020.

Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:

Apr 05, 1:30 PM EDT
At least 5 confirmed dead in Bollinger County, Missouri

At least five people have died in Bollinger County, according to local Sheriff Casey Graham.

“Several of our communities in Bollinger County, specifically the Grassy and Glenallen areas, were hit with what appears to be a significant tornado early this morning,” Graham said in statement posted on Facebook.

Images show that the village of Glenallen sustained heavy damage. It sits just 4 miles from Marble Hill, the county seat.

Search and rescue efforts remain ongoing, Sgt. Clark Parrott of the Missouri Highway Patrol, told ABC News on Wednesday morning.

-ABC News’ Will McDuffie

Apr 05, 11:01 AM EDT
Tornado watch issued for Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Louisville

The National Weather Service has issued a tornado watch for several regions under threat of severe storms on Wednesday.

Included in the advisory are central and southern Indiana, north-central Kentucky and southwest Ohio. The formation of tornadoes could be “likely” in cities like Indianapolis, Cincinnati and Louisville, according to the NWS.

The threats include “widespread” damaging wind gusts up to 70 mph, the advisory states.

The tornado watch is in effect until 5 p.m. ET.

Apr 05, 10:54 AM EDT
Multiple fatalities reported in Missouri’s Bollinger County

An unspecified number of injuries and fatalities have been confirmed in Missouri’s Bollinger County after a tornado hit the Glenallen area, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

At least nine other tornadoes had already been reported across Iowa and Illinois, including a “large and extremely dangerous tornado” that touched down near Canton, Illinois, on Tuesday evening, according to the National Weather Service.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson announced he will visit hard-hit Bollinger County.

Parson will “assess damage and learn what resources will be needed during recovery” in the rural county in the state’s southeast, he said in a tweet.

“We appreciate the work of our first responders and the many neighbors who reached out to help their neighbors, and our prayers are with the loved ones of those who were killed in the storms,” the governor said.

Apr 05, 10:54 AM EDT
Parts of 8 states on alert for tornadoes

Parts of eight states — Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana and Ohio — are on alert for tornadoes Wednesday as a major storm sweeps through areas already reeling from devastating twisters.

As the storm continues to move east, severe weather is in the forecast for a vast area from western Texas to western New York.

The forecast comes just days after a powerful storm system unleashed violent tornadoes and severe thunderstorms across the country, killing at least 32 people and leaving thousands without power.

The National Weather Service confirmed at least 81 tornadoes touched down in 14 states on March 31 and April 1. It was the largest single tornado outbreak to hit the U.S. in a year, since the one that spawned 140 twisters in southeastern states — from Texas to Maryland — on April 12-13, 2020.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. Park Police released video on Tuesday showing the moment one of its officers shot and killed a teenager last month in Washington, D.C.

The incident occurred on the morning of March 18. An officer with the Metropolitan Police Department was responding to a call at approximately 8:51 a.m. ET about a suspicious vehicle parked at 34th Street and Baker Street NE. Upon arrival, the officer found the car with the engine running and the driver — identified as 17-year-old D.C. resident Dalaneo Martin — apparently asleep inside, according to separate press releases from the Metropolitan Police Department and the U.S. Park Police.

After determining the vehicle was stolen, the officer called for backup. Additional Metropolitan Police Department officers as well as two U.S. Park Police officers arrived on scene to assist, police said.

Footage from the officers’ body cameras, released by the Metropolitan Police Department and the U.S. Park Police, show them attempting to remove Martin from the car at approximately 9:30 a.m. ET. The videos show an officer cutting plastic that was in place of the right backseat window and unlocking the door. The two U.S. Park Police officers then enter the vehicle from the backseat doors and grab Martin by his hands while shouting, “Police! Don’t move!”

Martin awakes and a brief struggle ensues, the video shows. Martin drives the car away with one of the U.S. Park Police officers inside while the other falls out onto the street, the videos show. Body camera footage from the officer still in the backseat shows Martin pulling his hands away and placing them on the steering wheel while continuing to drive. The officer shouts at him from the backseat to “stop” while Martin yells back, “Get off of me!”

“Stop, man, just let me out,” the officer says in the video while pulling out his firearm. “Let me go!”

Martin keeps driving, the footage shows.

With his gun drawn, the officer then shouts: “Stop! Stop or I’ll shoot!”

About a second later, the officer is seen in the video firing his weapon multiple times, with the bullets appearing to strike Martin in the back. The vehicle then crashes into a house on 36th Street NE.

Another video shows both U.S. Park Police officers rendering aid to Martin, who is seen lying on the grass next to the car after the crash.

Medics arrived and pronounced Martin dead at the scene, according to police.

No one inside the home was injured from the crash. A handgun was recovered from inside the vehicle, police said.

The two U.S. Park Police officers involved in the incident were taken to a local hospital for treatment. The one who fell out of the car did not sustain any life-threatening injuries, officials said. Both officers were placed on paid administrative leave while the Metropolitan Police Department conducts an investigation into the incident, according to police.

A Maryland-based law firm representing Martin’s family has called for “a full investigation.”

“Dalaneo Martin was just 17 years old when he was brutally murdered at the hands of a Park Police Officer, leaving a five-month old child without a father,” the law firm said in a statement to D.C. ABC affiliate WJLA. “We are calling for a full investigation of the officers involved in this shooting. These officers need to be held accountable for taking another black child from our community.”

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — Communities across the United States — from small towns to big cities — were on alert for tornadoes on Wednesday, as a major storm system sweeps through areas still reeling from devastating twisters.

There were an unspecified number of injuries and fatalities confirmed in Missouri’s Bollinger County after a tornado hit the Glenallen area, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

At least nine other tornadoes had already been reported across Iowa and Illinois, including a “large and extremely dangerous tornado” that touched down near Canton, Illinois, on Tuesday evening, according to the National Weather Service.

On Wednesday morning, the National Weather Service issued a tornado watch for parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana and Ohio. The cities of Little Rock, Arkansas, and Detroit were included in the watch areas, where forecasters said conditions will be favorable for tornadoes and severe thunderstorms. People were warned to seek shelter.

As the storm continues to move east, severe weather is in the forecast for a vast area — from western Texas to western New York. Cities in the bull’s-eye for damaging winds, large hail and tornadoes on Wednesday include Memphis, Louisville, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Chicago, Detroit and Cleveland, according to the latest forecast.

The forecast comes just days after a powerful storm system unleashed violent tornadoes and severe thunderstorms across the country, killing at least 32 people and leaving thousands without power.

The National Weather Service has confirmed at least 81 tornadoes touched down in 14 states on March 31 and April 1. It was the largest single tornado outbreak to hit the U.S. in a year, since the one that spawned 140 twisters in southeastern states — from Texas to Maryland — on April 12-13, 2020.

Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:

Apr 05, 11:01 AM EDT
Tornado watch issued for Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Louisville

The National Weather Service has issued a tornado watch for several regions under threat of severe storms on Wednesday.

Included in the advisory are central and southern Indiana, north-central Kentucky and southwest Ohio. The formation of tornadoes could be “likely” in cities like Indianapolis, Cincinnati and Louisville, according to the NWS.

The threats include “widespread” damaging wind gusts up to 70 mph, the advisory states.

The tornado watch is in effect until 5 p.m. ET.

Apr 05, 10:54 AM EDT
Multiple fatalities reported in Missouri’s Bollinger County

An unspecified number of injuries and fatalities have been confirmed in Missouri’s Bollinger County after a tornado hit the Glenallen area, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

At least nine other tornadoes had already been reported across Iowa and Illinois, including a “large and extremely dangerous tornado” that touched down near Canton, Illinois, on Tuesday evening, according to the National Weather Service.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson announced he will visit hard-hit Bollinger County.

Parson will “assess damage and learn what resources will be needed during recovery” in the rural county in the state’s southeast, he said in a tweet.

“We appreciate the work of our first responders and the many neighbors who reached out to help their neighbors, and our prayers are with the loved ones of those who were killed in the storms,” the governor said.

Apr 05, 10:54 AM EDT
Parts of 8 states on alert for tornadoes

Parts of eight states — Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana and Ohio — are on alert for tornadoes Wednesday as a major storm sweeps through areas already reeling from devastating twisters.

As the storm continues to move east, severe weather is in the forecast for a vast area from western Texas to western New York.

The forecast comes just days after a powerful storm system unleashed violent tornadoes and severe thunderstorms across the country, killing at least 32 people and leaving thousands without power.

The National Weather Service confirmed at least 81 tornadoes touched down in 14 states on March 31 and April 1. It was the largest single tornado outbreak to hit the U.S. in a year, since the one that spawned 140 twisters in southeastern states — from Texas to Maryland — on April 12-13, 2020.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — Communities across the United States — from small towns to big cities — were on alert for tornadoes on Wednesday, as a major storm system sweeps through areas still reeling from devastating twisters.

There were an unspecified number of injuries and fatalities confirmed in Missouri’s Bollinger County after a tornado hit the Glenallen area, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

At least nine other tornadoes had already been reported across Iowa and Illinois, including a “large and extremely dangerous tornado” that touched down near Canton, Illinois, on Tuesday evening, according to the National Weather Service.

On Wednesday morning, the National Weather Service issued a tornado watch for parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana and Ohio. The cities of Little Rock, Arkansas, and Detroit were included in the watch areas, where forecasters said conditions will be favorable for tornadoes and severe thunderstorms. People were warned to seek shelter.

As the storm continues to move east, severe weather is in the forecast for a vast area — from western Texas to western New York. Cities in the bull’s-eye for damaging winds, large hail and tornadoes on Wednesday include Memphis, Louisville, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Chicago, Detroit and Cleveland, according to the latest forecast.

The forecast comes just days after a powerful storm system unleashed violent tornadoes and severe thunderstorms across the country, killing at least 32 people and leaving thousands without power.

The National Weather Service has confirmed at least 81 tornadoes touched down in 14 states on March 31 and April 1. It was the largest single tornado outbreak to hit the U.S. in a year, since the one that spawned 140 twisters in southeastern states — from Texas to Maryland — on April 12-13, 2020.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(SUTHERLAND SPRINGS, Texas) — Victims of the 2017 mass shooting at a Sutherland Springs, Texas, church have reached a tentative agreement with the Justice Department to settle their yearslong legal battle with the government for $144.5 million, according to an attorney for the victims and the Justice Department.

Twenty-six were killed and 22 were injured in the Nov. 5, 2017, massacre at the small, rural First Baptist Church.

The Sutherland Springs families “have gone through so much pain and loss in the most horrific way,” trial attorney Jamal Alsaffar said in a statement to ABC News. “But despite that, these families fought for justice, endured and won two trials against the Federal Government, and made this country safer as a result.”

The agreement is “not final,” Alsaffar said, and will require final signoff from Attorney General Merrick Garland, but if approved, it would bring to a close a complex and uncomfortable process for the DOJ as it sought to appeal a judge’s ruling that found the government largely responsible for the shooting.

In July 2021, a judge ruled that the U.S. Air Force was 60% responsible for the church shooting because it failed to alert the FBI that the shooter, Devin Kelley, was previously investigated and court martialed for assaulting his then-wife and her stepson on an Air Force base, which would have flagged him as barred from purchasing a weapon under the NICS background check system.

The DOJ’s appeal of the ruling was roundly criticized by gun control advocates and survivors of the attack who accused the Biden administration of undermining its own positions on the importance of the national background checks system.

District judge Xavier Rodriguez had ordered the government to pay victims more than $230 million in damages, saying that evidence presented at trial “conclusively established that no other individual — not even Kelley’s own parents or partners — knew as much as the United States about the violence that Devin Kelley had threatened to commit and was capable of committing.”

After the government expressed its intent to appeal, many of the survivors, still struggling with expensive medical care to treat the injuries they suffered, spoke out in excruciating detail how the delays in receiving settlement money left them essentially in limbo.

“No words or amount of money can diminish the immense tragedy of the mass shooting in Sutherland Springs,” Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta said in a statement Wednesday. “Today’s announcement brings the litigation to a close, ending a painful chapter for the victims of this unthinkable crime.”

The DOJ added in a statement, “The NICS plays a critical role in combatting gun violence, and the federal government is always striving to improve the functioning of that system. The Department continues to work actively to combat gun violence as part of its comprehensive violent crime reduction strategy.”

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — A tornado warning was issued on Wednesday in a region that included parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Missouri, the National Weather Service said.

“A couple tornadoes possible,” the service said. “Scattered large hail and isolated very large hail events to 2.5 inches in diameter possible.”

The warning came after a “large and extremely dangerous tornado” struck down near Canton, Illinois, Tuesday evening, according to the service.

The tornado warning is in effect until 8:00 p.m., local time and NWS has warned people to seek shelter.

Heavy tornado activity is forecast in regions in the U.S. still reeling from a line of devastating tornadoes that killed dozens of people.

A major storm moving east on Tuesday is expected to produce another severe weather outbreak in the Midwest, mid-South, and Great Lakes, bringing strong, long-track tornadoes, damaging winds and large hail. More than 95 million Americans are on alert for these severe weather conditions.

Cities in the bull’s-eye include Little Rock, Arkansas, Springfield, Missouri and Davenport and Des Moines, Iowa, forecasts show.

As the storm moved through the Rocky Mountains and Southwest overnight, places like Utah saw wind gusts up to 135 mph and up to 17 inches of snow, according to the National Weather Service.

Severe storms could even reach as far south as Austin, Texas, and Dallas and as far north as Chicago, Milwaukee and Green Bay, Wisconsin. The inclement weather is expected to begin Tuesday afternoon and last overnight into Wednesday, with nocturnal tornadoes possible from Arkansas to Illinois and Iowa. A tornado watch was issued until 10 p.m. CT for parts of Missouri, Iowa and Illinois.

The threats of damaging winds and tornadoes will continue east on Wednesday into the Great Lakes, Ohio and Tennessee River Valley.

A severe threat area is expected through Wednesday night from Louisiana all the way to western New York. Enhanced risk for damaging winds and tornadoes will affect cities from Memphis and Nashville to Chicago again, Cincinnati, and Detroit.

The forecast comes just days after a powerful storm system unleashed a line of violent tornadoes and severe thunderstorms across 14 states. At least nine EF3 tornadoes — wind speeds ranging from 136 to 165 mph — were confirmed to have touched down in Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Tennessee and Delaware on Friday and Saturday.

The damage was especially extensive near Little Rock, Arkansas, where an apartment complex was left in ruins following the strong twisters. At least five people were killed in Arkansas as a result of the storms.

At least one EF4 tornado — with winds ranging from 166 to 200 mph — was confirmed in Iowa on Friday.

At least 32 people in nine states were killed in the storms.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.