(BOCA CHICA, Texas) — SpaceX is set for a Monday morning launch of its powerful Starship rocket — which is expected to eventually carry passengers to the moon and Mars.
The uncrewed launch of the world’s largest rocket will mark the first flight test of a “fully integrated” Starship spacecraft and the so-called Super Heavy rocket, SpaceX said.
The 150-minute test window opened at 7 a.m. CT Monday, SpaceX said and is currently aiming for a 8:20 a.m. CT launch. A live webcast of the flight test began 45 minutes before expected liftoff.
The timing comes after the Federal Aviation Administration on Friday approved SpaceX’s launch of the nearly 400-foot-tall rocket from a remote site on the southernmost tip of Texas near Boca Chica Beach.
During a Twitter “Spaces” event for subscribers Sunday evening, Musk warned to set expectations “low.”
Following blastoff, the first stage of the Super Heavy rocket is expected to splash down about 20 miles off the coast of Boca Chica while the Starship vehicle orbits around the globe before splashing down off the coast of Hawaii.
For this first flight test, SpaceX said it will not attempt a vertical landing of Starship or a catch of the booster.
SpaceX said this flight test will “inform and improve the probability of success in the future as SpaceX rapidly advances development of Starship,” which is designed to carry up to 100 people on long-duration, interplanetary flights.
NASA has already announced plans to use a Starship to put astronauts on the lunar surface in 2025.
ABC News’ Gina Sunseri contributed to this report.
(LOUISVILLE) — Two people were killed and other four were injured in a shooting in Louisville, Kentucky, on Saturday night.
Louisville Metro Police said they received a call at about 9 p.m. reporting multiple people had been shot at Chickasaw Park.
Two people were dead when police arrived at the scene, Deputy Chief Paul L. Humphrey said. Another four people were transported to University of Louisville Hospital, where one was in critical condition, Humphrey said.
The shooting comes days after a gunman opened fire at Old National Bank in Louisville, killing four people.
Mayor Craig Greenberg said on Saturday that “this is not who we are.”
He said that “the love and support and strength that we’ve seen all week long throughout the city continues to bring us together and move us towards a safer city, a stronger city and a healthier city.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(DADEVILLE, Ala.) — At least four people were killed and multiple others injured when a shooting broke out late Saturday at a crowded birthday party in a small rural Alabama town, authorities said.
The shooting in Dadeville, Alabama, about 60 miles northeast of Montgomery, unfolded around 10:34 p.m., according to a statement released Sunday morning by the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency.
Special agents from ALEA launched a death investigation at the request of the Dadeville Police Chief, according to the ALEA statement.
ALEA released no further details.
Brownie Caldwell, a Dadeville city council member councilwoman, confirmed to ABC News that an investigation of a shooting at a venue in downtown Dadeville was underway Sunday morning. Caldwell said she could not confirm the number of casualties.
Caldwell referred all questions to the |Alabama Law Enforcement Agency.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Apr 16, 4:26 PM EDT
At least 15 hurt, 5 critical, in deadly Dadeville shooting
At least 15 people were treated for gunshot wounds at hospitals following a shooting that killed four others at a “sweet 16” birthday party in Dadeville, Alabama, officials said.
Five of the victims were in critical condition Sunday afternoon, Heidi Smith, a spokesperson for Lake Community Hospital told ABC News.
Smith said at least 15 people were initially treated at Lake Community Hospital, all suffering from gunshot wounds.
Smith said nine of the patients were in higher need of care and some were transferred to other medical facilities. Five of the patients were in critical condition, while four were in stable condition.
The ages of those hospitalized were not immediately released.
Three of the injured victims were transferred to Baptist Medical Center in Montgomery, one was transferred to Children’s Hospital in Birmingham and another was moved to the University of Alabama Hospital in Birmingham, Smith said. One patient was transferred to Piedmont Hospital in Piedmont, Alabama, Smith said.
-ABC News’ Elwyn Lopez
Apr 16, 4:20 PM EDT
Biden calls on congress to enact gun reform
President Joe Biden released a statement Sunday calling on Congress to enact “common sense” gun control legislation in response to shootings over the weekend in Alabama and Kentucky that left a total of six people dead.
“This morning, our nation is once again grieving for at least four Americans tragically killed at a teen’s birthday party in Dadeville, Alabama as well as two others killed last night in a crowded public park in Louisville,” Biden said. “Jill and I are praying for their families, and for the many others injured and fighting for their lives in the wake of this weekend’s gun violence.”
As he has done in previous mass shootings, Biden urged Congress to enact gun reform legislation.
“What has our nation come to when children cannot attend a birthday party without fear? When parents have to worry every time their kids walk out the door to school, to the movie theater, or to the park?” Biden said. “Guns are the leading killer of children in America, and the numbers are rising — not declining.”
Biden said the level of gun violence in America is “outrageous and unacceptable,” and noted that Americans “agree and want lawmakers to act on common sense gun safety reforms.”
“Instead, this past week Americans saw national Republican elected leaders stand alongside the NRA in a race to the bottom on dangerous laws that further erode gun safety. Our communities need and deserve better,” said Biden.
Apr 16, 1:05 PM EDT
Biden briefed on Dadeville shooting
President Joe Biden has been briefed on the deadly shooting at a birthday party in Dadeville, Alabama, according to the White House.
Biden and his staff are closely monitoring the investigation and has been in touch with local officials and law enforcement to offer support, according to the White House.
Apr 16, 12:40 PM EDT
Police chief pleads for prayer
An emotional Dadeville police chief pleaded for prayer for his city on Sunday and law enforcement investigators pleaded for tips from the public in finding those responsible for a shooting at a birthday party that left four dead and multiple people injured.
“The city of Dadeville is a tight-knit community, full of wonderful people. I ask you to please keep our community in your prayers. I ask you to please keep my police department in your prayers,” Police Chief Jonathan Floyd said at a news conference.
Sgt. Jeremy Burkett of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency confirmed the shooting broke out at a birthday party and asked for any witnesses to call the state police tip line at .
Burkett also confirmed that four people were killed and “a multitude” of people were injured, but did not disclose the conditions of those wounded.
Burkett did not take questions during the news conference. He released no information on whether any arrests have been made in the incident.
Tallapoosa County Schools Superintendent Raymond Porter said grief counselors will be at Dadeville schools on Monday, but did not say whether any students were among the dead or injured.
The district will make “every effort to comfort” children impacted, said Porter.
“Don’t lose sight of the fact that those are the ones most impacted by this situation,” said Porter, who also called on local clergy to reach out to families of those killed or injured to offer assistance.
“I’m also asking that you please do not let this moment define what you think of the city of Dadeville,” Floyd said. “What we’re dealing with is something no community should have to endure.”
Apr 16, 10:48 AM EDT
Loved ones of those killed, injured say shooting preceded by argument: Pastor
Ben Haynes, the senior pastor at First Baptist Church in Dadeville, told ABC News Sunday morning that he’d been at a hospital overnight with the families of those killed and injured.
Haynes said family members told him gunfire erupted inside a small venue where a birthday party was taking place when tempers flared during an argument. Haynes said there were more than 50 people at the party when the shooting occurred.
Apr 16, 10:14 AM EDT
‘I grieve with Dadeville’: Alabama governor
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey released a statement Sunday expressing grief over a shooting at a birthday party in Dadeville, Alabama, that left four people dead and multiple others injured.
“This morning, I grieve with the people of Dadeville and my fellow Alabamians. Violent crime has NO place in our state, and we are staying closely updated by law enforcement as details emerge,” Ivey tweeted.
(NEW YORK) — A spring storm moving across the Great Lakes region was set to deliver a blast of snow to parts of the Upper Midwest by Sunday evening.
The storm is the same one that’s triggered severe thunderstorms over the weekend across parts of the Heartland and the South.
Winter weather alerts are currently in effect from Minnesota to Illinois.
Wind advisories are in effect from northeastern Kansas to Minnesota, as well, including cities such as Kansas City, Missouri; Des Moines, Iowa, and Minneapolis, with possible wind gusts up to 45 mph.
Behind this system, colder, blustery conditions are moving in, sending temperatures plummeting.
Heavy snow was expected to fall across parts of Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin by Sunday evening.
Windy conditions may lead to blowing snow at times and lower visibility, impacting people traveling.
Windy conditions will persist across much of the Midwest into the evening.
Colder air is sweeping across the Ohio River Valley up to Michigan.
Heavy rain will impact the eastern Great Lakes with scattered, stronger thunderstorms possibly down into the central Appalachians. Some thunderstorms could bring isolated damaging wind gusts.
More than 26 million Americans were under a severe weather threat Saturday, with severe thunderstorms stretching from Illinois to Texas.
Accumulating snow is forecast for much of the Great Lakes region through Monday, with the bulk of snow expected to accrue Sunday night into the morning.
A large swath of Wisconsin could get 6 to 10 inches of snow, with some areas seeing closer to a foot. Little to no snow accumulation is expected in Chicago.
Minneapolis-Saint Paul and areas northwest of Chicago are forecast to get between 1 to 3 inches of snow.
The spring storm will continue to slowly spin over the Great Lakes and eventually up into southern Canada on Monday as it begins to weaken, with the storm’s cold front expected to swing across the Northeast this morning, bringing rain and scattered showers.
South Florida braced for a slow-moving storm, bringing torrential downpours on Sunday evening. Given the recent extreme rainfall event, the flash flooding threshold is lower in Fort Lauderdale.
Possible thunderstorms could exacerbate the lingering flooding issues in Fort Lauderdale, which saw more than 2 feet of rain, shut down the city’s airport and strand drivers on flooded streets.
(DADEVILLE, Ala.) — At least four people were killed and multiple others injured when a shooting broke out late Saturday at a crowded birthday party in a small rural Alabama town, authorities said.
The shooting in Dadeville, Alabama, about 60 miles northeast of Montgomery, unfolded around 10:34 p.m., according to a statement released Sunday morning by the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency.
Special agents from ALEA launched a death investigation at the request of the Dadeville Police Chief, according to the ALEA statement.
ALEA released no further details.
Brownie Caldwell, a Dadeville city council member councilwoman, confirmed to ABC News that an investigation of a shooting at a venue in downtown Dadeville was underway Sunday morning. Caldwell said she could not confirm the number of casualties.
Caldwell referred all questions to the |Alabama Law Enforcement Agency.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Apr 16, 1:05 PM EDT
Biden briefed on Dadeville shooting
President Joe Biden has been briefed on the deadly shooting at a birthday party in Dadeville, Alabama, according to the White House.
Biden and his staff are closely monitoring the investigation and has been in touch with local officials and law enforcement to offer support, according to the White House.
Apr 16, 12:40 PM EDT
Police chief pleads for prayer
An emotional Dadeville police chief pleaded for prayer for his city on Sunday and law enforcement investigators pleaded for tips from the public in finding those responsible for a shooting at a birthday party that left four dead and multiple people injured.
“The city of Dadeville is a tight-knit community, full of wonderful people. I ask you to please keep our community in your prayers. I ask you to please keep my police department in your prayers,” Police Chief Jonathan Floyd said at a news conference.
Sgt. Jeremy Burkett of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency confirmed the shooting broke out at a birthday party and asked for any witnesses to call the state police tip line at .
Burkett also confirmed that four people were killed and “a multitude” of people were injured, but did not disclose the conditions of those wounded.
Burkett did not take questions during the news conference. He released no information on whether any arrests have been made in the incident.
Tallapoosa County Schools Superintendent Raymond Porter said grief counselors will be at Dadeville schools on Monday, but did not say whether any students were among the dead or injured.
The district will make “every effort to comfort” children impacted, said Porter.
“Don’t lose sight of the fact that those are the ones most impacted by this situation,” said Porter, who also called on local clergy to reach out to families of those killed or injured to offer assistance.
“I’m also asking that you please do not let this moment define what you think of the city of Dadeville,” Floyd said. “What we’re dealing with is something no community should have to endure.”
Apr 16, 10:48 AM EDT
Loved ones of those killed, injured say shooting preceded by argument: Pastor
Ben Haynes, the senior pastor at First Baptist Church in Dadeville, told ABC News Sunday morning that he’d been at a hospital overnight with the families of those killed and injured.
Haynes said family members told him gunfire erupted inside a small venue where a birthday party was taking place when tempers flared during an argument. Haynes said there were more than 50 people at the party when the shooting occurred.
Apr 16, 10:14 AM EDT
‘I grieve with Dadeville’: Alabama governor
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey released a statement Sunday expressing grief over a shooting at a birthday party in Dadeville, Alabama, that left four people dead and multiple others injured.
“This morning, I grieve with the people of Dadeville and my fellow Alabamians. Violent crime has NO place in our state, and we are staying closely updated by law enforcement as details emerge,” Ivey tweeted.
(LOUISVILLE) — Two people were killed and other four were injured in a shooting in Louisville, Kentucky, on Saturday night.
Louisville Metro Police said they received a call at about 9 p.m. reporting multiple people had been shot at Chickasaw Park.
Two people were dead when police arrived at the scene, Deputy Chief Paul L. Humphrey said. Another four people were transported to University of Louisville Hospital, where one was in critical condition, Humphrey said.
The shooting comes days after a gunman opened fire at Old National Bank in Louisville, killing four people.
Mayor Craig Greenberg said on Saturday that “this is not who we are.”
He said that “the love and support and strength that we’ve seen all week long throughout the city continues to bring us together and move us towards a safer city, a stronger city and a healthier city.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(NEW YORK) — Maymah, a weightlifter and social media influencer who just goes by her first name, was part of Gymshark’s sports hijab launch in London.
When asked about what it’s like working out or weightlifting with a regular hijab, she says, “If I was doing something like running or skipping when there’s a lot of head movement, it could be quite annoying and it distracts you from your actual workout.”
So when her manager told her about Gymshark’s sports hijab, she immediately agreed to join their campaign.
The sports hijab is a one piece adjustable head scarf designed to stay in place, so that hijabis don’t have to wear a cap underneath their scarf and use pins.
Gymshark isn’t the first company to design a sports hijab. Ibtihaj Muhammad made history in 2016 as the first U.S. Olympic athlete to compete in a hijab made by Nike.
She says, “it was an opportunity, I think, to show Muslim women around the globe that there is no limits to what we’re capable of… and sport, I’ve always believed, is a place for everyone to exist.”
However, athleticwear isn’t the only challenge for Muslim athletes. Once a year, Muslims fast for the month of Ramadan – including athletes, even those who compete at elite levels.
“I competed for Team USA for about 11 years and Ramadan was just a part of, you know, life. And though it’s difficult, I do find fasting to be like riding a bike. And as an athlete you learn how to prepare your body for, you know, the month of Ramadan,” Ibtihaj shares.
Abstaining from food and drink isn’t the only challenge for her.
“If we as a community, society, made more of an effort to really understand why Muslims are fasting and really making more inclusive spaces, in a sense that especially young athletes feel comfortable talking about the fact that they’re fasting, making spaces more comfortable for athletes to even express that like, yes, not even water we can have water, I think would go a long way.”
Progress is being made, however. There’s now more Muslim representation in sports. From Ibtihaj on that grand stage in the Rio Olympics, to Adama Sanogo, a UConn basketball player who led his team to the NCAA Men’s Basketball championship while fasting, alongside fasting teammates Samson Johnson and Hassan Diarra.
There’s also some accommodation. The English Premiere League this year began pausing soccer matches for Muslim athletes to break their fasts.
“Growing up I can only think of a couple of athletes to even look up to as role models let alone now the situations and scenarios we see like the Premiere League example and like hockey player like Nazem Kadri that wins the Stanley Cup and decides, every player gets a day with the cup to celebrate with their friends and family, and he decides I’m going to bring this championship to my childhood mosque. And the Stanley Cup had never stepped foot in a mosque previous to that.” says Arda Ocal, one of the few Muslim sports anchors for ESPN.
He says there’s something to admire about Muslims who compete while fasting.
“The science of peak level athletics is fascinating to begin with and how they become champions etc but to add a layer to that, one that’s already grueling and challenging like fasting during Ramadan but then still competing at those highest levels, that’s remarkable.”
Muslim athletes have told him, it isn’t always easy, but…
“They like putting their bodies to the test in that way, to give them an extra layer of challenge. Continuing to compete and continuing to train while fasting gives them something to look forward to and they feel an immense sense of pride and accomplishment when they’re able to do that.”
To Arda, it’s about planting seeds for the next generation.
“If I’m inspiring one kid out there to say wow that name looks similar to mine or this person has the same faith as me or we’re from the same part of the world, maybe I can do this, I see myself in this person… that’s extremely important to me.”
(NEW YORK) — SpaceX is eyeing a Monday morning launch of its powerful Starship rocket — which is expected to eventually carry passengers to the moon and Mars.
The unmanned launch of the world’s largest rocket will mark the first flight test of a “fully integrated” Starship spacecraft and the so-called Super Heavy rocket, SpaceX said.
The 150-minute test window opens at 7 a.m. CT Monday, SpaceX said, while noting that the schedule is “dynamic and likely to change.” A live webcast of the flight test will begin about 45 minutes before liftoff.
The timing comes after the Federal Aviation Administration on Friday approved SpaceX’s launch of the nearly 400-foot-tall rocket from a remote site on the southernmost tip of Texas near Boca Chica Beach.
Following blastoff, the first stage of the super heavy rocket is expected to splash down about 20 miles off the coast of Boca Chica while the Starship vehicle orbits around the globe before splashing down off the coast of Hawaii.
The timing comes after the Federal Aviation Administration on Friday approved SpaceX’s launch of the nearly 400-foot-tall rocket from a remote site on the southernmost tip of Texas near Boca Chica Beach.
For this first flight test, SpaceX said it will not attempt a vertical landing of Starship or a catch of the booster.
SpaceX said this flight test will “inform and improve the probability of success in the future as SpaceX rapidly advances development of Starship,” which is designed to carry up to 100 people on long-duration, interplanetary flights.
NASA has already announced plans to use a Starship to put astronauts on the lunar surface in 2025.
ABC News’ Gina Sunseri contributed to this report.
(VIRGINIA) — Two men were shot and killed at a party in off-campus housing near James Madison University in Rockingham County, Virginia, according to police.
The Rockingham County Sheriff’s Department responded to a report of shots being fired at around midnight Saturday. When they arrived on scene, police determined that there had been a party and two males were shot.
Rescue units responded to the scene and both subjects were pronounced dead in the residence. Virginia State Police and JMU Police also responded to the scene.
Police identified the deceased as 22-year-old D’angleo Marquise Gracy and an unnamed 17-year-old male. Neither were students at JMU.
No suspects are in custody, but police said there is no known reason to believe there is an ongoing threat to the community.
“At this time the incident appears to be an isolated one that stemmed from an incident at the party. It is strongly believe there are individuals with specific information relating to this crime, and anyone who may have any information of any kind is encouraged to please contact the Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office at (540) 564-3800,” Sheriff Bryan Hutcheson said in a press release.
A representative for JMU told ABC News that the residence where the shooting occurred was not JMU-owned property.
JMU President Jonathan Alger also released a statement in an email to the JMU community, according to university student newspaper The Breeze.
“Although they were not JMU students, they have connections with our local community and many across our campus will be impacted,” Alger wrote. “As a university, we believe in the importance of supporting one another during difficult times. We extend our deepest condolences to the families and friends of these two individuals.”
The ongoing investigation is being handled by the Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office.
(NEW YORK) — More than 26 million Americans from the Heartland into the South are under a severe weather threat Saturday.
Severe thunderstorms are possible from Illinois to Texas through the evening, affecting cities including Houston, New Orleans, St. Louis and Little Rock, Arkansas. Numerous severe thunderstorms are possible in a region along the Missouri and Arkansas border.
The primary hazards will be strong, potentially damaging wind gusts and large hail — though brief, isolated tornadoes cannot be ruled out. Frequent lightning is another concern.
The severe weather threat is expected to last from 4 to 10 p.m. ET, as a line of storms develops and moves through the threat area.
Areas of heavy rain and strong thunderstorms have started to sweep through parts of the northern Gulf Coast Saturday. A flood watch is in effect for cities including New Orleans and Biloxi, Mississippi. A severe thunderstorm watch is also in effect from New Orleans to Mobile, Alabama.
This storm system is forecast to continue to move up across the Great Lakes on Sunday, strengthening as it does so. A few scattered, strong thunderstorms could sweep through the central Appalachians into parts of the Southeast — all associated with the trailing cold front. Snow, strong winds and plummeting temperatures are also expected to target parts of the Upper Midwest.
A winter storm watch has been issued for much of Wisconsin and extending into extreme southeastern Minnesota and portions of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
As much as 4 to 6 inches of snow is possible in parts of Wisconsin by Sunday night into Monday morning, while a light snow accumulation of 1 to 4 inches is possible across parts of Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
Blowing snow will likely lower visibility in areas and could lead to travel impacts in the region.
