(NEW YORK) — Dexter Scott King, the youngest son of civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr., died Monday from prostate cancer, according to The King Center.
He was 62 years old.
“The sudden shock is devastating,” his brother Martin Luther King III said in a statement. “It is hard to have the right words at a moment like this. We ask for your prayers at this time for the entire King family.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(LOS ANGELES) — Nearly 30,000 professors, librarians and other employees in the California State University system are set to launch a five-day strike on Monday, potentially canceling classes for hundreds of thousands of students over the first week of the spring semester.
The worker protest follows months-long contract negotiations centered on pay increases and other workplace improvements for employees at the nation’s largest public university system, which serves about 460,000 students spread across 23 campuses.
Faculty members have demanded a 12% pay hike, a higher minimum salary and longer parental leave, among other demands, Charles Toombs, president of the California Faculty Association and a professor at San Diego State University, told ABC News.
“We need to be paid for the tremendous work we do to make the California State University System a great system,” Toombs told ABC News.
It remains unclear how many members will participate in the strike and, in turn, the extent of disruption for campus activities.
“I expect most of the classes on every campus to be canceled,” Toombs said, speaking on the phone as he picketed in the rain in San Diego on Monday. “There may be some individual faculty members who hold classes anyway but the majority of members are in favor of a strike.”
Ninety-five percent of union members voted in October to authorize a strike, after CSU stood by its offer of a 5% pay increase for faculty to go into effect on Jan. 31.
Last month, some faculty participated in one-day strikes at four CSU campuses in response to the standoff.
CSU did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
In a previous statement, Leora Freedman, the CSU’s vice chancellor for human resources, said the university system was forced to step aside from negotiations due to union intransigence.
“We have been in the bargaining process for eight months and the California Faculty Association has shown no movement, leaving us no other option,” Freedman told The Mercury News.
Toombs expressed optimism that the strike would help bring about an agreement this week.
If the two sides fail to reach a deal, however, the union would consider other labor actions, such as rolling strikes across different campuses or a request that faculty fulfill only the minimum amount of work.
“Nothing has been decided,” Toombs said. “Hopefully we’ll have a deal.”
On Friday, CSU reached a tentative contract agreement with more than 1,000 plumbers, electricians and other skilled trade workers who had otherwise planned to participate in the strike this week.
The tentative deal included guaranteed annual salary increases and the return of a salary-step system that codifies promotions, according to a statement from Teamsters Local 2010, which represents the workers.
“We achieved this historic agreement by standing together as Teamsters — and in solidarity with our sister Unions at CSU — to take powerful action like CSU has never seen before,” Teamsters Local 2010 Secretary-Treasurer Jason Rabinowitz said in a statement on Friday, encouraging union members to join the picket lines in support of striking faculty.
In a statement, CSU Chancellor Mildred García applauded the agreement.
“The work of our Teamsters-represented employees is invaluable, providing our students with an environment that supports their success,” García said.
“I am thankful and appreciative that we have been able to arrive at a fiscally sustainable agreement that fairly compensates them for their skilled and dedicated work,” she added.
(NEW YORK) — A Georgia judge has issued a stay of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ deposition in the the divorce case of her top prosecutor, amid allegations that she and prosecutor Nathan Wade were involved in an improper relationship while prosecuting the election interference case against former President Donald Trump.
The judge said that he will determine whether Willis has any relevant information after Wade is deposed in the divorce proceedings next week.
“The key part to me is whether [Willis] lacks unique personal knowledge or has unique personal knowledge of a matter that’s relevant to the subject matter,” the judge said in ordering the stay. “Only after I hear what Mr. Wade has to say can do I think I can make a determination about whether [Willis] has any unique knowledge about these issues.”
Willis’ deposition had been scheduled for Tuesday.
Michael Roman, one of Trump’s co-defendants in his Georgia election interference case, is seeking to dismiss the indictment against him and disqualify Willis, alleging she “engaged in a personal, romantic relationship” with one of the top prosecutors she brought in to work on the case, which allegedly resulted in financial gain for both of them.
At the start of Monday’s hearing, the judge — at the request of Ashleigh Merchant, the attorney for Roman who first filed the motion containing the allegations — ordered the divorce case between Wade and his wife be unsealed and made public.
The ruling came over the objections of Wade’s attorney, who argued that the “current status” of the case “clearly shows the harm that is done to these parties.”
The attorney for Wade’s wife consented to unsealing, saying they have “no objection.” A media coalition that includes ABC News also argued for the unsealing of the case.
Willis’ subpoena, according to court documents, was served on Willis the same day Roman filed allegations that she was having an improper relationship with Wade, who she brought in to help her prosecute the case against Trump. The filing alleges Wills “engaged in a personal, romantic relationship” with Wade, which allegedly resulted in financial gain for both of them.
Wade’s wife had asked the judge in her divorce case to enforce the subpoena in order to “determine details” surrounding Wade and Willis’ relationship. Her filing included credit card records that appear to show Wade paid for multiple trips to Miami and San Francisco for him and Willis during the election probe.
Willis’ attorney, Cinque Axam, told the judge during Monday’s hearing that Willis’ testimony is not relevant to the divorce case because it is a “no fault divorce.”
“Both parties have alleged that [the marriage] is irretrievably broken,” Axam said. “Alleging adultery is not relevant.”
The judge asked if Willis’ attorney was saying his client lacks “unique” personal knowledge that could not be discovered in some other way. Axam responded that, “The knowledge that she may or may not have is not unique.”
“Miss Willis does not share any accounts with [Wade], D.A. Willis does not determine what he spends his money on — no matter where it comes from,” Axam said.
Andrea Hastings, an attorney for Wade’s wife, argued in favor of the deposition.
“I have questions,” Hastings said more than once. “And she needs to answer them.”
Since the motion containing the allegations was filed earlier this month, a spokesperson for the DA’s office has issued only one statement, saying they would respond to the allegations “through appropriate court filings.”
Speaking last week at the Big Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church during a Martin Luther King Jr. Day service, Willis appeared to address the allegations for the first time, calling herself a “flawed” and “imperfect” person and defending Wade as a “great friend and a great lawyer.” She did not deny the allegations, though she suggested they were motivated by race.
The Fulton County judge overseeing the election interference case has set an evidentiary hearing on the allegations for next month and ordered the DA’s office to respond to the allegations in court by Feb. 2.
Trump’s attorney has said he is considering adopting Roman’s motion, which is seeking to have Willis disqualified from the case and the indictment dismissed.
Roman, Trump and 17 others pleaded not guilty in August to all charges in a sweeping racketeering indictment for alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in the state of Georgia. Four co-defendants subsequently took plea deals in exchange for agreeing to testify against other defendants.
(SOUTH BEND, Ind.) — A house fire in South Bend, Indiana, killed five children on Sunday evening, according to fire officials.
Crews responded to a residential fire at 222 North LaPorte Ave at approximately 6:15 p.m. local time. When they arrived, a two-story structure was engulfed in flames. South Bend firefighters said they found several victims trapped on the second floor of the building.
Six individuals were rescued from the home and five were later pronounced dead, officials said. The surviving victim was rushed to a local hospital and later airlifted to a specialized pediatric burn center in Indianapolis for further treatment. The ages of the victims are not currently known.
One adult was in the house at the time of the fire and was uninjured, fire officials told ABC News.
Amid the rescue efforts, one firefighter was injured after falling through the second floor and was transported to the hospital for treatment, according to officials. The firefighter is expected to make a full recovery, officials noted.
“While this incident casts a shadow of sorrow over our community, particularly due to the loss of young lives, it is also a poignant reminder of the courage and dedication displayed by the members of the South Bend Fire Department,” the department said in a statement.
“The firefighters of Engine 2, in their unyielding commitment to protect and serve, exhibited a profound disregard for their own safety in the face of extreme danger. Their actions reflect the highest ideals of selflessness and a citizens-first ethos, characteristics emblematic of the bravery inherent in our city’s first responders,” the statement continued.
The South Bend Fire Department said it is working with state and local authorities to investigate the cause of the fire.
(NEW YORK) — A Georgia judge is set to hear arguments on Monday over whether to enforce a subpoena issued to Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis as part of her top prosecutor’s divorce case, which she received amid allegations that she and the prosecutor were involved in an improper relationship while prosecuting the election interference case against former President Donald Trump.
Willis is seeking to quash the subpoena she received from the wife of special prosecutor Nathan Wade, in order to avoid her deposition in the case, which is set for Tuesday.
Willis claims in a court filing that her deposition would be “outside the scope of discovery” in the divorce matter and that it amounts to “attempt to harass and damage her professional reputation.”
“The sought after deposition of District Attorney Willis is not relevant to the subject matter involved in the pending action and should not be permitted,” the filing from Willis’s attorney said.
The subpoena, according to court documents, was served on Willis the same day a co-defendant in her case against Trump filed allegations that she was having an improper relationship with Wade, who she brought in to help her prosecute the case against Trump. The filing, from Trump co-defendant Michael Roman, alleges Wills “engaged in a personal, romantic relationship” with Wade, which allegedly resulted in financial gain for both of them.
Wade’s wife has asked the judge in her divorce case to enforce the subpoena in order to “determine details” surrounding Wade and Willis’ relationship. Her filing included credit card records that appear to show Wade paid for multiple trips to Miami and San Francisco for him and Willis during the election probe.
In her filing seeking to quash the subpoena, Willis claims that she “cannot provide unique personal knowledge” on matters relevant to the divorce because the marriage is ending on the grounds that it was “irretrievably broken.”
“Because the parties agree that the marriage is irretrievably broken and the concept of fault is not at issue, there is no information that District Attorney Willis could provide that might prove relevant to granting or denying the divorce,” the filing says. “Thus, any information sought from District Attorney Willis would be irrelevant to the divorce proceedings pending in this Court.”
Court filings allege the relationship between Willis and Wade began “while Wade was married” and that he filed for divorce “a day after his first contract with Willis commenced.”
The judge on Monday is also set to hear arguments from Ashleigh Merchant, the attorney for Roman who first filed the motion containing the allegations, who is seeking to have the divorce proceedings unsealed. A media coalition that includes ABC News is also set to argue for the unsealing of the case.
Since the motion containing the allegations was filed earlier this month, a spokesperson for the DA’s office has issued only one statement, saying they would respond to the allegations “through appropriate court filings.”
Speaking last week at the Big Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church during a Martin Luther King Jr. Day service, Willis appeared to address the allegations for the first time, calling herself a “flawed” and “imperfect” person and defending Wade as a “great friend and a great lawyer.” She did not deny the allegations, though she suggested they were motivated by race.
The Fulton County judge overseeing the election interference case has set an evidentiary hearing on the allegations for next month and ordered the DA’s office to respond to the allegations in court by Feb. 2.
Trump’s attorney has said he is considering adopting Roman’s motion, which is seeking to have Willis disqualified from the case and the indictment dismissed.
Roman, Trump and 17 others pleaded not guilty in August to all charges in a sweeping racketeering indictment for alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in the state of Georgia. Four co-defendants subsequently took plea deals in exchange for agreeing to testify against other defendants.
The U.S. military has ended an “exhaustive” 10-day search and rescue mission for two Navy SEALs who went missing on Jan. 11 in the waters of the Gulf of Aden and are now presumed deceased, according to a new statement from U.S. Central Command.
The military is conducting recovery operations for the service members, CENTCOM said Sunday night.
“We mourn the loss of our two Naval Special Warfare warriors, and we will forever honor their sacrifice and example. Our prayers are with the SEALs’ families, friends, the U.S. Navy, and the entire Special Operations community during this time,” Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, CENTCOM’s commander, said in the statement.
Military officials said that the U.S., Japan and Spain used air and naval resources and “searched more than 21,000 square miles” for the missing SEALs, scouring the gulf off the coast of Somalia — to no avail.
“Out of respect for the families, no further information will be released at this time,” CENTCOM said.
The two SEALs went into water in mid-January during a nighttime boarding mission to interdict a dhow suspected of carrying Iranian-made weapons for Houthi militants in Yemen, military officials have said.
Dhows are small fishing or cargo vessels that are sometimes used by Iran to smuggle weapons.
As a small Navy craft approached the dhow on Jan. 11, one of the SEALs fell into rough waters and, following protocol, a second SEAL dove into the water in a rescue attempt, according to officials.
The rest of the SEALs continued with the mission on the dhow and seized Iranian-made ballistic and cruise missile parts and warheads similar to those being used by the Houthis in more than 30 attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, officials said.
The Houthis have said their attacks are in response to Israel’s bombardment of Gaza as the Israelis target Hamas fighters as retaliation for Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attack.
For years, the U.S. Navy has intercepted dhows in the Gulf of Aden that are suspected of carrying Iranian-made weapons to the Houthis.
During these missions, boarding teams typically pull aside the dhows in small water craft to undertake a “flag verification” mission if the dhow is unflagged or has replaced its flag to mask its smuggling.
The seizure involving the SEALs was the first since the Houthis began their strikes, most of which have been repelled by U.S., French and British warships.
The SEALs were operating from the USS Lewis B Puller, an expeditionary sea base and converted freighter topped with landing decks for helicopters and capable of releasing small watercraft.
“In the wintertime, the sea state is typically 8-12 feet,” said Eric Oehlerich, an ABC News contributor and retired SEAL commander. “The horizon is flat, so 8-12 feet is 8 feet above the flat horizon — and then eight feet, it’s like a 16 foot wave.”
According to Oehlerich, those high-water conditions increase the risk to nighttime ship boardings, which are carried out in pitch-black darkness.
He described it as one of the most difficult missions that a SEAL can undertake, requiring constant training.
“You have the risk of your boat capsizing in close proximity to larger vessels, you have to establish a solid ladder point, you have to climb a ladder at night over the open ocean between two ships — they’re smashing into each other — and then get on board,” he said.
“And then your problem starts with what you’re going to do … with whomever is on board that boat,” he added.
The Jan. 11 seizure also marked the first time since November 2019 that the U.S. Navy has taken Iranian-made ballistic missile and cruise missile components believed to be headed for the Houthis.
The military said the 14 mariners aboard the dhow were taken off the vessel and are in U.S. custody, though their future status remains to be determined.
After they were taken off the dhow, the vessel was deemed unsafe and sunk by naval forces.
A mother and her three daughters were shot and killed in a domestic violence incident at a suburban Illinois home, authorities said.
Officers responded to a 911 call at the home in Tinley Park around 11:30 a.m. Sunday and found the four women dead, according to the public safety department in Tinley Park, about 30 miles south of Chicago.
A man was taken into custody and police recovered the gun used in the shooting, the department said.
The victims were identified as Majeda Kassem, 53; Halema Kassem, 25; Hanan Kassem, 24; and Zahia Kassem, 25, officials said.
An ice storm moving through parts of the U.S. on Monday is expected to cause serious travel disruptions.
Eleven states from Texas to Michigan are on alert for ice, freezing rain and mixed precipitation that could create a nightmare for many commuters. Ice storm warnings have been issued in Oklahoma, Arkansas and Missouri.
The storm system is forecast to sweep through the Heartland and the South Monday morning, bringing freezing rain, sleet and heavy rain to Interstates 40, 35, 70, 80 and 90.
The ice is expected to end in the South by the afternoon as warmer air moves in with heavy rain. But icy conditions are forecast to continue into the evening for Chicago, Indianapolis, Detroit and Cleveland.
Ice and snow are forecast to move into the Northeast on Tuesday morning and continue throughout the afternoon from Erie, Pennsylvania, to Buffalo, New York, and into Boston, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.
Several inches of snow with a glaze of ice are expected from Pennsylvania to New York’s Hudson Valley to New England. Roads there could be slick during rush hour on Tuesday evening.
After the ice storm is over, rounds of heavy rain are forecast to pummel the South this week, with some areas getting up to a half a foot of rainfall from Texas to Mississippi, including Houston and New Orleans. Flash flooding and even severe weather with a chance of a few tornadoes will be possible along the Gulf Coast.
Meanwhile, heavy rain is heading to the West Coast.
A flood watch Monday spans from Sacramento in Northern California to San Diego in Southern California, where 2 to 4 inches of rainfall is expected.
Heavy, wet snow is in the forecast for the Sierra Nevada mountain range, where local snowfall amounts of 1 to 2 feet will be possible. The National Weather Service has issued an avalanche watch there for Monday.
The arctic air is set to depart areas east of the Rocky Mountains this week, with temperatures expected to reach well above normal from Kansas to New York. Temperatures could surpass 40 degrees in Chicago, 60 in Nashville and 50 in New York City.
Weeks after a mid-cabin door plug fell off during the ascent of an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9, the FAA is recommending flight operators check another model of Boeing airplanes.
On Sunday night, the FAA issued a statement recommending operators of the Boeing 737-900ER “visually inspect mid-exit door plugs to ensure the door is properly secured.” In a statement late Sunday night, Boeing said it fully supports “the FAA and our customers in this action.”
The 737-900ER has the same door plug design as the 737 Max 9.
According to the FAA’s safety alert, some operators that were conducting additional inspections on their 737-900ER mid-exit door plugs “noted findings with bolts during the maintenance inspections.”
The FAA noted that the Boeing 737-900ER has over 11 million hours of operation and 3.9 million flight cycles, and the door plug has not been an issue. Major airlines that fly the Boeing 737-900ER include Alaska, Delta and United.
In a statement, United, which has 136 of the aircraft in its fleet, said it has “started proactive inspections” of its “Boeing 737-900ER aircraft earlier this week.” The company expects them to be concluded in the next few days. The airline said it expects no disruption to customers.
Alaska Airlines also issued a statement saying it began inspecting the 900 ER planes “several days ago.”
“We have had no findings to date and expect to complete the remainder of our -900ER fleet without disruption to our operations,” the statement read.
In its statement, Delta Airlines said, “we elected to take proactive measures to inspect our 737-900ER fleet. We’re in full compliance with regulation from federal authorities regarding the safety of our aircraft, and at this time we do not anticipate any operational impact.”
This will impact 380 aircraft across the world, a source told ABC News.
Earlier this month, the door plug fell out of an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-Max 9 after the plane took off for Ontario, California, after departing Portland.
Six crew members and 171 passengers were on board Flight 1282, the airline previously said.
The cabin became depressurized shortly after takeoff, and the pilots asked for an emergency landing, according to the transcript of an air traffic control call from LiveATC.net.
The door was found several days later. The NTSB is investigating the incident.
(KATY, Texas) — Three people were killed and at least two people were injured during an overnight shooting at a home that may have been used as a short-term rental in Katy, Texas, law enforcement said.
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said that reports for the shooting came in at about 2 a.m. Sunday morning, during a gathering that included up to about 20 people. Those who attended appear to have been in their 20s, officials said.
One man and one woman were pronounced deceased at the scene, and another man died at a local hospital, Gonzalez said.
Two others are receiving treatment at the hospital, though their conditions are unknown, Gonzalez said. Officials said they believe that others may have been transported privately to area hospitals.
Officials said they are still trying to determine how many people were involved in the shooting, Gonzalez said. Multiple people were shot inside the home, and there is evidence that rounds were fired on the street outside the home, according to law enforcement.
There is no known immediate threat to the public at this time, though officials are still trying to determine the motive for the shooting, Gonzalez said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
