(NEW YORK) — Tropical storm warnings have been issued from North Carolina to Maryland on Thursday ahead of a system that’s forecast to develop into Tropical Storm Ophelia.
No storm has formed at this point, but the system will become better organized over the next 24 hours. It’s forecast to strengthen into Tropical Storm Ophelia on Friday or Friday night as the storm closes in on the North Carolina coast.
The rain, tropical storm-force winds and storm surge will reach parts of the Carolinas and the Mid-Atlantic coast late Friday into Saturday.
Ophelia is forecast to make landfall as a tropical storm along the North Carolina coast Saturday morning.
The tropical storm warning covers cities including Wilmington, North Carolina; Norfolk, Virginia; and Ocean City, Maryland. A storm surge watch has also been issued for parts of the North Carolina and Virginia coasts.
The heaviest rain — up to 6 inches — is possible in eastern North Carolina and Virginia. Coastal flooding is possible.
By Saturday morning, the heavy rain will be pushing north through the Interstate 95 corridor, hitting Washington, D.C., to Philadelphia to New York City.
Around 3 inches of rain is possible in coastal areas from North Carolina to New Jersey.
The rain and gusty winds will persist throughout Saturday and then likely weaken by the evening. But the clouds and showers are forecast to stick around for parts of the Northeast on Sunday as the storm slowly leaves the region.
(WASHINGTON) — As an age debate rages around members of Congress, a 96-year-old federal judge has just been barred from hearing cases for at least a year.
Judge Pauline Newman, who has served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit for 39 years, was suspended Wednesday after Chief Circuit Judge Kimberly Moore determined she was no longer able to perform her job, according to court documents.
“Unfortunately, earlier this year mounting evidence raised increasing doubts about whether Judge [Pauline] Newman is still fit to perform the duties of her office. When such evidence is brought to the attention of the Chief Judge and the Judicial Council, there is an obligation to investigate the matter,” the Judicial Council of the Federal Circuit wrote in a court order Wednesday.
“The evidence establishes reasonable concerns that Judge Newman suffers from a disability preventing her from effectively discharging the duties of her office,” the council wrote in a court order.
Newman received a lifetime appointment by then-President Ronald Reagan in 1984.
The Judicial Council alleged that Newman refused “multiple requests” for a meeting and that “multiple colleagues attempted to speak to Judge Newman about her fitness.”
“She refused to speak to them at all or quickly terminated an attempt to discuss the issue,” the council said in the order.
The suspension could be extended if she continues to refuse to participate in a court investigation into concerns she is unable to perform her duties, the court said.
After receiving a complaint about Newman, Moore appointed a special committee on March 24 to launch an investigation into whether Newman was still able to perform the functions of her office.
In court filings, Newman pushed back against allegations, claiming she made “numerous attempts” to resolve the issue in a “truly cooperative and collaborative manner.”
Lawyers for Newman also allege that the process itself and the proposed sanctions are unconstitutional because they undermine Congress’ “sole power of impeachment.”
Greg Dolin, an attorney for Newman, told ABC News they plan to file a petition for review with the Committee on Judicial Conduct and Disability and they will continue to press the case in a district court, where they filed a suit arguing that the suspension is unconstitutional and violates due process.
Newman alleged in court documents that she had a conversation with Moore on March 3 in which Moore said she had probable cause to believe Newman “suffers from a disability” and offered to informally resolve the issue by “demanding that Judge Newman resign or at least take senior status.”
Newman alleged that Moore told her the requirement to step down from active duty was “non-negotiable.”
The order issued Wednesday said more than 20 interviews were conducted with court staff as part of the investigation into Newman’s fitness.
“Those interviews, along with numerous emails sent by Judge Newman, provided overwhelming evidence that Judge Newman may be experiencing significant mental problems including memory loss, lack of comprehension, confusion, and an inability to perform basic tasks that she previously was able to perform with ease,” according to the order.
The order alleged that Newman has “threatened to have staff arrested, forcibly removed from the building, and fired. She accused staff of trickery, deceit, acting as her adversary, stealing her computer, stealing her files, and depriving her of secretarial support.”
In May, the court issued an order for Newman to undergo a 30- to 45-minute interview with a neurologist and full neuro-psychological exam, which would involve six hours of cognitive testing — but the council claimed Newman refused to comply with the order, according to documents.
The council found that by refusing the examinations, Newman committed misconduct, according to court documents.
“The effect of Judge Newman’s refusal to comply with the Order was to thwart this Council’s ability to determine whether Judge Newman has a disability that renders her unable to perform the duties of her important office. An unjustified thwarting of a key part of the investigation into disability is recognized under the Act as misconduct,” according to the court order.
Dolin disputed claims that Newman refused to undergo examinations by physicians, saying she has been examined by a neurologist and a forensic psychologist who spent hours with Newman. Dolin said the physicians who examined Newman found her capable of performing her duties, information that was submitted to the court.
“Judge Newman is not afraid of these tests,” Dolin said. “If a physician were to tell her she is no longer able to perform her duties in the morning, the president will have her resignation in the afternoon.”
Dolin alleged that the committee only wants to hear from the doctors that it hand-picked and it is not committed to accepting the results provided by two independent doctors who examined Newman.
“Chief Judge Moore and the committee she appointed have been interested in one thing and one thing only — keeping Judge Newman off the bench via the exercise of raw power unconstrained by statutory requirements, constitutional limits, any notions of due process, conflict of interest rules, or even basic fairness,” Newman’s lawyers claimed in August court documents.
Dolin said Newman does not want to step down because she believes she has more to contribute, including unique views on patent law, which is only heard in the federal circuit. Newman holds degrees from Vassar College, Columbia University, Yale University and New York University School of Law and taught at George Mason University School of Law.
The court did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
(NEW YORK) — Police said they’ve found a trap floor with drugs in the play area of a New York City day care where a 1-year-old boy died following exposure to fentanyl.
Nicholas Dominici, 1, died on Friday and three other children, ranging in age from 8 months to 2 years, were hospitalized and treated with Narcan and are now recovering, police said. An analysis of urine from one of the victims confirmed the presence of fentanyl, officials said.
Authorities searched the Bronx day care again on Wednesday night and Thursday following a tip they received about a trap door in the floor, law enforcement sources familiar with the case told ABC News.
In the trap floor, investigators found fentanyl, other narcotics and drug paraphernalia, the NYPD confirmed.
Investigators had already found a kilo of fentanyl stored on kids’ play mats, along with a device to press drugs into bricks for sale, according to court records.
Grei Mendez, the operator of the day care, and her tenant, Carlisto Acevedo Brito, are in federal custody on charges of narcotics possession with intent to distribute resulting in death and conspiracy to distribute narcotics resulting in death. They’ve been held without bail.
Mendez and Brito were initially arrested on state charges including murder. The state case has been continued to Oct. 5.
They were indicted by a grand jury on Thursday, Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark said.
Mendez’s attorney said she was unaware drugs were being stored in her day care by Brito, her husband’s cousin, to whom she was renting a room for $200 a week.
A search is ongoing for Mendez’s husband, who, according to court records, was seen on video fleeing the day care out of a back alley carrying two trash bags.
The day care was licensed on May 16 by the state’s Office of Children and Family Services, according to public records. It’s listed as having a capacity for eight children from 6 weeks old to 12 years old.
City health inspectors conducted a surprise inspection of the facility on Sept. 6 and did not find any violations, according to City Health Commissioner Ashwin Vasan.
“I’m very sorry, but one of the things that my child care inspectors are not trained to do is look for fentanyl. But maybe they need to,” Vasan said at a news conference Monday.
(NEW YORK) — At least one person died when a bus carrying high school students from Long Island, New York, crashed while heading to band camp in Pennsylvania, state police said.
Multiple people suffered serious injuries in Thursday’s rollover accident in Orange County, which is about 60 miles north of New York City, according to state police. The number of people hurt was not immediately clear.
The bus, carrying students from Farmingdale High School, rolled over and slid off Interstate 84.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said she’s been briefed on the accident.
“Personnel from the New York State Police and the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services are onsite to assist local emergency response teams,” Hochul said in a statement. “We are grateful for the first responders whose speedy action saved lives and we will continue to support them however necessary. Our hearts are with all who are impacted by this horrific situation.”
Farmingdale School District officials are also at the scene, the district said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(NEW YORK) — A 19-year-old man has been rescued dangling approximately 700 feet above a river in California after getting stuck there while his friend filmed the whole ordeal.
The incident occurred on Monday just before 6:30 p.m. when authorities from the Placer County Sheriff’s Department say they received a call informing them that a 19-year-old male was dangling from a rope on the Foresthill Bridge — a structure that is 730 feet above the North Fork of the American River and has the highest deck in California and the fourth highest in the entire United States.
More than two dozen first responders from Placer County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) and CAL FIRE Nevada-Yuba-Placer Unit responded along with their Technical Rescue Team, Placer County Sheriff’s Office confirmed in a statement posted to social media on Tuesday following the incident.
“PCSO deputies arrived and a command post was set up for both agencies to coordinate incoming resources. TRT and deputies made their way onto the catwalk under the bridge and located the subject,” the statement read. “PCSO’s Search and Rescue (SAR) Mountain Rescue Team was called and multiple team members responded to assist.”
Following an investigation, authorities learned that the 19-year-old who needed to be rescued, along with his 17-year-old friend, were “filming him swing from the underside of the bridge” when the unnamed 19-year-old became stuck hanging from the bridge on a rope approximately 30 feet from the underside of the catwalk, said PCSO. The 17-year-old subsequently called emergency services informing them that the 19-year-old was stuck and needed immediate assistance.
Emergency responders were able to lower a rescuer to the 19-year-old man and were able to successfully bring him back up to the catwalk, PCSO said.
“The 19 year-old was checked on scene by medics and declined any medical attention, not having any obvious injuries,” authorities confirmed. “CALFIRE’s TRT and and PCSO’s SAR did an exceptional job saving this young man’s life.”
The man who was rescued and his 17-year-old friend were ultimately cited for trespassing on the Foresthill Bridge and the subjects were released without further incident.
(NEW YORK) — A 59-year-old man has died after he was attacked and stung by a swarm of bees on the porch of his own home.
The incident occurred in Harlan County, Kentucky — located on the southeastern part of the state on the border with Virginia — on Tuesday when the unnamed victim was moving an old bag of potting soil from the porch of his home when he disturbed a swarm of bees inside the bag, the Harlan County Coroner’s Office said in a post on social media detailing the event.
“CPR was started by family, continued by Lifeguard Ambulance and the Emergency Department until those attempts failed,” authorities said.
Deputy Coroner John W. Jones responded to the hospital following the failed attempts and subsequently pronounced the 59-year-old male victim deceased in the emergency room at 5:50 p.m. on Tuesday.
“The investigation still continues by Deputy Coroner Jones and our heartfelt prayers go out to the entire family and friends,” Jones said in the statement.
The victim’s family has been notified but officials are withholding the name of the man until all his family members have been made aware.
Elijah Nouvelage for The Washington Post via Getty Images
(ATLANTA) — A federal judge has ordered a Dec. 11 trial date to determine what damages Rudy Giuliani will have to pay two former Georgia election workers he was found liable for defaming.
Judge Beryl Howell last month found Giuliani liable for defamatory comments he made about the mother-daughter tandem of Ruby Freeman and Wandrea “Shaye” Moss.
The judge sanctioned Giuliani over erroneous remarks he made accusing the pair of fraudulently manipulating ballots on Election Day 2020 in Georgia, while Giuliani was contesting the 2020 election loss by then-President Donald Trump.
In the days after the election, Freeman and Moss became the subjects of a Trump-backed conspiracy theory that was later found to be “false and unsubstantiated,” according to an investigation by the Georgia Elections Board. Giuliani, in an appearance before a committee of the Georgia state legislature, told lawmakers that a video circulating online showed “Ruby Freeman and Shaye Freeman Moss … quite obviously surreptitiously passing around USB ports, as if they’re vials of heroin or cocaine.”
Giuliani has previously stated that he “does not contest the factual allegations” made by Freeman and Moss regarding his statements, but that his statements were “constitutionally protected.”
The former New York City mayor is already on the hook for more that $130,000 in legal fees in the case.
(SAN FRANCISCO) — A smoky haze is currently blanketing the San Francisco Bay Area due to wildfires burning in the northwest, creating unhealthy air quality for sensitive groups.
The smoke stemming from multiple wildfires that continue to burn in rural areas of Northwestern California is getting pushed southward across parts of Northern California, including the Bay Area. Much of the smoke and haze is located in the upper atmosphere.
Fire officials are letting them burn out since they are not threatening people or property.
The smoke was so thick on Wednesday that the San Francisco Bay Bridge was barely visible from the coastlines along the bay and the San Francisco skyline was barely visible across the bay from the Port of Oakland, ABC San Francisco station KGO reported.
The Air Quality Index for San Francisco on Wednesday afternoon was at 113, or “Code Orange,” signifying unhealthy air pollution levels for sensitive groups.
Much of the smoke and haze is located in the upper atmosphere. The National Weather Service has not issued any air quality alerts for the region, but the Bay Area Air Quality Management District has issued a “Spare the Air” alert through Thursday, which bans burning wood, fire logs or other solid fuel to prevent from further contributing to the poor air quality.
A fire weather watch was in effect for much of Wednesday for the North Bay Hills and Solano County due to gusty winds and low humidity. Red flag warnings were also issued for portions of Napa County, according to the NWS.
San Francisco resident Sarah Ryherd told KGO that it smells like a campfire around the city.
Another resident told the station that they had put a mask on after he began to feel the effects of the air pollution in their throat.
Some schools in the region canceled sports activities due to the smoke, KGO reported. The fine particulate matter, known as PM2.5, contained in wildfire smoke can cause serious health problems if inhaled, especially for vulnerable populations, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Air quality will likely not improve in the region until Friday, said KGO meteorologist Lisa Argen.
Residents were advised to stay indoors and keep their windows closed.
(BOSTON) — Boston College has indefinitely suspended its men’s and women’s swimming and diving programs over what it said was hazing, the university announced Wednesday.
The suspension comes after university administrators “determined that hazing had occurred within the program,” the Boston College athletics department said in a brief statement.
“The University does not — and will not — tolerate hazing in any form,” the statement said.
The school did not provide any additional details on the alleged hazing incident or its investigation.
ABC News reached out to the program’s head coach and diving coach for comment.
All students in the program will continue to have access to academic and medical resources available to all Boston College student-athletes, the athletics department said.
Any form of hazing is prohibited by the university and Massachusetts State Law, the Boston College handbook notes.
Examples of hazing cited in the handbook include alcohol use, as well as “personal servitude; sleep deprivation and restrictions on personal hygiene; yelling, swearing, and insulting new members/rookies; being forced to wear embarrassing or humiliating attire in public; consumption of vile substances or smearing of such on one’s skin; brandings; physical beatings; binge drinking and drinking games; sexual simulation and sexual assault.”
(WEST CHESTER, Pa.) — Officials in Chester County, Pennsylvania, admitted Wednesday that there were failures in official communications following convicted murderer Danelo Cavalcante’s escape from their county prison on Aug. 31.
During the first public meeting of the board that oversees the prison since the two-week manhunt for Cavalcante drew national headlines, Chester County Commissioner Josh Maxwell told residents the ordeal was “something we never expected to happen here in Chester County, a place where people move to be and feel safe.”
Officials stated that they started having “concerns about the leadership and operations” at the prison a year earlier.
“We want to find ways to earn your trust,” Maxwell said. “It’s going to take more than a day, more than a meeting today. It’s going to take weeks and then months and then years without any incidents to earn the community’s trust.”
He added that Cavalcante was “one of the worst prisoners we have had in terms of crimes they committed.”
Maxwell said the board’s concerns a year ago prompted them to hire third-party consultants to evaluate conditions at the prison.
One consultant conducted an unannounced inspection over a three-day span in April, which led to recommendations being delivered in July.
“Those recommendations focused on what they believed to be the root cause of concerns, which was leadership within the prison administration,” Maxwell said.
“Ultimately, corrective actions that were tasked to the previous warden were not satisfactorily undertaken.”
One day prior to the escape, the board accepted the resignation of the jail’s warden and named Howard Holland, a former police chief in nearby Downingtown, as the prison’s interim warden. Maxwell said Holland had spent several months as a “special liaison” to the board during the investigations by consultants.
“Emergency communication was lacking”
Maxwell acknowledged that there were issues with how Chester County residents were informed about the escape from the prison, which is located at the edge of Philadelphia’s suburbs in one of the wealthiest regions of Pennsylvania.
“We do understand and believe that notifications and emergency communication was lacking regarding this prison escape and the county’s Department of Emergency Services will start to make changes immediately,” he said.
Maxwell noted in the event of any future escape, ReadyChesCo, the county’s notification system for residents, will be activated at the same time as the escape alarms.
“In the situation like this, that notification did not go out quick enough. We own that and will ensure that the Department of Emergency Services corrects that for any incident moving forward,” Maxwell said.
Changes ahead in Chester County
During Wednesday’s meeting, the Chester County Prison Board approved a $94,000 contract with TranSystems to design security upgrades to the prison, including enclosing the yard that was where Cavalcante’s escape began.
The board also approved temporary fixes to the prison, including closing off the area above the entrance doors to the prison yard with a security metal soffit, removing basketball hoops and adding correctional officers to the prison yards to supplement the supervision from the guard tower.
During the meeting, representatives from TranSystems shared photos taken inside the prison and offered three possible options for solutions, with the main one being that the prison yards should be fully enclosed with roofing so that detainees cannot climb out of the yard as Cavalcante did.
ABC News’ Charlotte Greer contributed to this report.
