(NEW YORK) — Evacuations are underway in a Louisiana town following a chemical leak and a fire at a refinery, officials said.
Marathon Petroleum said crews are responding to a release of naphtha — a flammable liquid that can be used as fuel — and a fire at a storage tank at its refinery in Garyville, about 40 miles west of New Orleans.
“The release and fire are contained within the refinery’s property and there have been no injuries,” Marathon Petroleum said in a statement.
“We’re doing everything possible to get the fire out,” a Marathon official said at a news conference.
Evacuations are underway in a two-mile radius, Louisiana State Police said. Marathon said the evacuations are as a precaution.
Some area schools have been evacuated while others are under shelter in place orders.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(NEW YORK) — At least five people have died in Michigan from severe thunderstorms that tore through the state overnight.
A car crash sparked by flooding claimed the lives of a woman and two young children in Kent County, which encompasses Grand Rapids, an official told ABC Grand Rapids affiliate WZZM.
Another person died on a roadway in the Lansing area when a possible tornado moved through the area, according to the Ingham County Sheriff’s Office.
And in Lansing, one person was killed when a tree fell on a house, according to police.
More than 440,000 customers in Michigan are without power Friday morning.
Almost 7 inches of rain fell just south of Detroit, flooding streets and neighborhoods. The Detroit area recorded wind gusts near 70 mph.
Tornadoes were also reported. National Weather Service officials on Friday will conduct damage surveys at the sites of two suspected tornadoes: one in the Grand Rapids area and one in the Lansing area.
Flash flooding from the storm also struck Ohio.
That system is moving east, bringing strong thunderstorms and potential flooding to the Ohio Valley and the Mid-Atlantic.
(MAUI, Hawaii) — Maui County has released a validated list of the names of 388 individuals who have been reported unaccounted for following the deadly Lahaina wildfire disaster that began on Aug. 8.
Officials say the names have been compiled by the FBI and are being provided publicly in an effort to identify those who can be accounted for.
“We’re releasing this list of names today because we know that it will help with the investigation,” said Maui Police Chief John Pelletier in a statement. “We also know that once those names come out, it can and will cause pain for folks whose loved ones are listed. This is not an easy thing to do, but we want to make sure that we are doing everything we can to make this investigation as complete and thorough as possible.”
The names were deemed validated if the first name and the last name of the unaccounted for were provided, as well as a verified contact number for the person who reported the unaccounted individual.
The FBI urges those who recognize a name on the list and know the person to be safe, or have additional information that may help locate them, to contact the agency at (808) 566-4300 or HN-COMMAND-POST@ic.fbi.gov as soon as possible.
Those who believe an individual is still unaccounted for and is not included on the validated list of names should email unaccounted@mpd.ne to provide the Maui Police Department with the information on that person.
For immediate family members of individuals who are believed to be still unaccounted for, officials are asking them to visit the Family Assistance Center in the Monarchy Ballroom at the Hyatt Regency in Ka’anapali to provide a DNA sample to assist with the identification process.
Individuals outside of Maui should contact the FBI at (808) 566-4300 or HN-COMMAND-POST@ic.fbi.gov to coordinate the submission of a DNA sample.
As of late Thursday, officials say 1,732 individuals who had originally been reported as unaccounted for have since been found safe.
(SAN DIEGO) — A U.S. military jet crashed near Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego early Friday, ABC News has learned.
Authorities said the crash happened near Interstate 15 in the early morning hours.
It was unclear what caused the crash and officials have not yet disclosed the condition of the pilot or if there were any other people on board the F/A-18 Hornet aircraft.
A defense official confirms that the Marine F/A-18 crashed during a training flight.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(CHARLESTON, W.V.) — West Virginia has the right to block the sale of the abortion drug mifepristone, even though federal regulators have decided the medication is safe, a federal judge ruled on Thursday.
The decision by U.S. District Judge Robert Chambers is a blow to abortion rights groups that had hoped to strike down state bans using a novel and somewhat arcane legal argument invoking an idea known as “federal preemption.”
In a statement, GenBioPro CEO Evan Masingill said the company was considering “next steps” and maintained that “we are confident in the legal strength of our claims.”
GenBioPro manufactures the generic version of mifepristone.
Since the Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade last year, at least 17 states have ceased nearly all abortions, including access to medication abortion. The limited access has resulted in soaring demand for mifepristone, a single pill that terminates an early pregnancy up to 10 weeks by blocking the hormone progesterone.
While many people rely on unregulated distributors to obtain the drug online — a practice discouraged by drug safety experts — legal access remains heavily restricted by the Food and Drug Administration. Mifepristone can only be prescribed by certified providers who understand how the drug works and agree to look out for potential complications or medical conditions such as ectopic pregnancy, which requires immediate medical attention.
At the same time, the FDA says mifepristone is safe enough to be provided via telehealth appointments and mailed to a patient without evaluating them in person.
In January, GenBioPro filed a lawsuit against West Virginia arguing that the state’s law banning access to the drug was in direct conflict with federal rules governing its distribution.
At the time, advocates hoped the legal strategy could be used to strike down other state abortion bans as well.
Under the Constitution, federal laws preempt state laws when they are in conflict.
In his ruling Thursday, Chambers, who was appointed by President Bill Clinton, cited the “overwhelming evidence of the safety and efficacy of mifepristone” and noted the two decades that the drug has been on the market.
Chambers also said West Virginia shouldn’t be allowed to prohibit telehealth access because it’s still up to the FDA to decide how a drug can be provided to patients.
Still, the judge pointed to the decision by the Supreme Court to leave the question of abortion up to the states and said states have the right to impose “morality-based laws.”
“Morality-based laws often curtail the sale of goods. The vendors of curtailed goods may lose sales opportunities. Outraged, vendors can feel the laws must somehow be unconstitutional,” Chambers wrote. “And yet, the Supreme Court and Courts of Appeals have repeatedly affirmed that morality-based product bans do not intrinsically offend the dormant Commerce Clause.”
(TULAS, Okla.) — The Oklahoma state school board voted unanimously on Thursday to upgrade the status of Tulsa Public Schools (TPS) to “accredited with deficiencies” amid fears the largest school district in the state – with more than 33,000 students – could have lost its accreditation status during the second week of the 2023-2024 school year.
The vote to upgrade the school district’s accreditation status comes after Tulsa Public Schools Superintendent Deborah Gist announced her resignation on Tuesday amid a battle with Republican officials in the state, including Gov. Kevin Stitt and Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters.
“Let this be the beginning of the time clock. It starts right now. Tulsa has been given an opportunity to correct themselves and to be very clear, I will not let this district fail,” Walters said during the meeting on Thursday. “If they do not fix these problems, I will. The clock has started. There will be accountability. This district will not be allowed to fail.”
Walters welcomed Gist’s resignation on Thursday and called for new leadership.
ABC News has reached out to Tulsa Public Schools for comment.
Gist said in a statement on Tuesday that her departure “offers the best chance for control of our schools to remain where they belong, in Tulsa with our elected Board of Education and aligned with the values of our community.”
Gist is set to depart her role as TPS superintendent on Sept. 15 as Ebony Johnson serves as interim superintendent.
Walters previously accused TPS of mismanaging funds and criticized leadership for poor performance on reading and math scores, claiming that more money is spent on administration than in the classroom.
He called for monthly reviews of TPS performance on reading and math, and plans to address alleged financial mismanagement at TPS. ABC News reached out to Walters for further comment.
Before her resignation Gist, a former commissioner of education in Rhode Island, pushed back against Walters’ criticism and said the school board approved a strategic plan that would hold the district “accountable for our educational outcomes,” according to ABC affiliate in Tulsa, KTUL.
The school was demoted to “accreditation with warning” by the school board in July 2022 for allegedly violating HB 1775, an Oklahoma law signed in May 2021 by Stitt that bans the teaching of critical race theory in the state, according to KTUL.
According to the Oklahoma Department of Education (ODE), there are five possible rankings of school districts in the state in the order that follows: accredited with no deficiencies, accredited with deficiencies, accredited with warning, accredited with probation and non-accredited – which means the district would no longer be recognized by the state Board of Education and would lose its funding. If a district loses accreditation students would have to enroll in schools outside the district.
According to the Public School Review (PSR), which evaluates public schools across the country based on a variety of criteria including performance and diversity, the Tulsa Public School District is ranked #505 out of 537 school districts in Oklahoma based on the combined math and reading proficiency testing data for the 2020-2021 school year.
Per PSR, the district also ranks in the top 1% for size and diversity, with 77 schools collectively made up of 78% students of color, including 38% Hispanic, 22% Black and 5% Native American.
In her letter of resignation, Gist accused Walters of singling out TPS and targeting the diverse school district.
“It is no secret that our state superintendent has had an unrelenting focus on our district and specifically on me, and I am confident that my departure will help to keep our democratically-elected leadership and our team in charge of our schools–this week and in the future. So I’m stepping away,” she said.
“Tulsa is a community on the reservations of the Cherokee, Muscogee and Osage Nations, and is home to descendants of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. Our collective history of unrepaired harms is shameful, and depriving Tulsans of their collective voice over their schools would only add insult to injury,” she added.
Meanwhile, Walters welcomed Gist’s resignation and said in a statement obtained by ABC News that TPS “needs a dramatic change in leadership.”
“From day one, I called for the removal of Gist in order to get the district on a path to success. I am optimistic that this is a step in the right direction, that TPS and the community takes their situation seriously,” he said. “Financial transparency and academic outcomes must come next.”
(EAST POINT, Ga.) — body found at a garbage collection station in Georgia Thursday is believed to be missing 2-year-old J’Asiah Mitchell, whose father reported the child had been kidnapped during an armed robbery last week. The toddler’s father was charged with lying about the robbery to police and has been identified as a suspect in the child’s death.
The identity of the child has not yet been confirmed as Mitchell, the East Point Police Department said. The medical examiner will officially identify the body.
“We have not confirmed the identity of the child J’Asiah Mitchell; however, there is high probability based on the circumstances surrounding this case,” police said in a statement.
The body was found at the East Point Transfer Station on Thursday, according to police.
Mitchell’s father, Artavious North, 23, has been identified as a suspect because he was the last person to see the child. Mitchell was reported missing on Aug. 16.
North was charged last week with misdemeanor false report of a crime and felony making false statements, according to court records. North has a bond hearing scheduled for Sept. 1.
Since it was determined that there was no armed robbery, DeKalb police turned the case over to the East Point Police Department.
(LAHAINA, Hawaii) — Maui County says it has filed a lawsuit against local electric companies over damage caused by the devastating Maui wildfires, including ones in Lahaina and Kula.
The lawsuit alleges that Maui Electric Company, Limited, Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc., Hawaiʻi Electric Light Company, Inc., and Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc. acted negligently by failing to power down their electrical equipment despite a National Weather Service red flag warning on Aug. 7.
The deadly wildfires that erupted on the Hawaiian island of Maui on Aug. 8 killed more than 100 people, burned thousands of acres and destroyed more than 2,000 structures.
The lawsuit alleges that the downed, energized power lines “ignited dry fuel such as grass and brush, causing the fires.”
At a press conference on Aug. 15, a representative for Hawaiian Electric said an investigation is underway as to what happened. When pressed about why power lines were not deenergized during powerful winds, the representative said that, unlike California, the state does not have a shut-off program, saying they are “controversial” and not universally accepted, and adding they create a hardship for the vulnerable and people with medical needs. She also pointed out that electricity powers the pumps that provide water to fight the fire.
An official cause of the fire has not been determined.
More than 1,000 people remain unaccounted for, according to officials.
“Maui County stands alongside the people and communities of Lahaina and Kula to recover public resource damages and rebuild after these devastating utility-caused fires,” Maui County said in a press release.
It continued, “These damages include losses to public infrastructure, fire response costs, losses to revenues, increased costs, environmental damages, and losses of historical or cultural landmarks.”
A class-action lawsuit was also filed last Saturday against Hawaiian Electric that alleges that the company “inexcusably kept their power lines energized” despite forecasts of high winds that could topple power lines and potentially ignite a fast-spreading blaze.
Jim Kelly, a spokesperson for Hawaiian Electric Industries, said at the time of that lawsuit: “As has always been our policy, we don’t comment on pending litigation. Our immediate focus is on supporting emergency response efforts on Maui and restoring power for our customers and communities as quickly as possible. At this early stage, the cause of the fire has not been determined and we will work with the state and county as they conduct their review.”
Hawaiian Electric provides power for 95% of Hawaii residents, according to the company’s website.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(MONTGOMERY COUNTY, N.C.) — Authorities said they believe they’ve found the remains of 39-year-old Allisha Watts, a North Carolina woman who has been missing for over a month.
Watts’ boyfriend, James Dunmore, was arrested Thursday for murder, according to the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office.
“This is not the outcome that we had been hoping for, but by finding Allisha today … I hope and I pray it brings some closure to family and friends moving forward,” Sheriff Pete Herron said at a news conference.
Watts was last seen in Charlotte on July 16. Two days later, police said Watts’ Mercedes was found in Anson County, southeast of Charlotte.
Watts’ sister, Stephanie Johnson, told ABC News the 39-year-old was last seen on July 16 with Dunmore, her boyfriend of one year. The couple met when Watts, who lives in Moore County, North Carolina, would drive to Charlotte to visit her cousin, who is Dunmore’s neighbor, Johnson said.
Johnson described her sister, who worked in the mental health field, as a “hard-working, independent, reliable, resourceful, loving, kind, attentive person.”
It was not immediately clear where in Montgomery County the remains were found. Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said Thursday that the “case is no longer considered a missing person investigation.”
“This is not what we prayed for,” Watts’ friend, Dorothy Brower, told reporters on Thursday. “She was found, but it was not how we wanted to find her. She doesn’t deserve what her fate became. Just to dispose of someone who is just one of the best persons you could meet.”
Brower said Dunmore’s “life would’ve been enhanced being with her — but it came to this. … I’m furious.”
“We miss her so much,” she said. “There’s a void.”
(LOS ANGELES) — A gunman, who sources said is a retired police officer, allegedly killed three and wounded six others in a mass shooting at a popular Southern California biker bar.
The shooting was reported just after 7 p.m. PT Wednesday at Cook’s Corner in Trabuco Canyon, and deputies responded within minutes, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.
Dispatchers could hear the gunfire in the background as deputies tried to find the shooter, the sheriff’s office said. Deputies then “contacted” an armed man and a “deputy-involved shooting involving multiple deputies occurred,” the sheriff’s office said.
Four people, including the suspect, identified by prosecutors as John Snowling, were pronounced dead at the scene.
Six others were taken to hospitals, including five people with gunshot wounds. Two of the injured were hospitalized in critical condition and the other four were considered stable.
Investigators believe Snowling was targeting his estranged wife, who was injured in the mass shooting, sources told ABC News.
The only woman hospitalized from the shooting was shot in the jaw and listed in critical condition, according to Providence Mission Hospital.
The second critical patient, an adult male, was shot in the chest, according to the hospital.
Of the four men admitted in stable condition, one was released Wednesday night and two others are expected to be released on Thursday, hospital officials said.
A motive for the attack remains unknown, authorities said.
Orange County Undersheriff Jeff Hallock told reporters there were “upwards of 30 to 40 witnesses” whom deputies will be interviewing.
At least one weapon was recovered at the scene, authorities said.
ABC News’ Matthew Fuhrman and Jolie Lash contributed to this report.
