New York Jets defensive player Kris Boyd while playing for his former team, the Houston Texans in 2024. (Todd Rosenberg/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — A 39-year-old man was fatally shot early Sunday near a Midtown Manhattan nightclub, and the New York City Police Department said the shooter remains on the run.
The incident happened a week after New York Jets player Kris Boyd was shot and wounded outside of a Midtown Manhattan restaurant.
NYPD officers were alerted around 4:13 a.m. on Sunday that a person had been shot near a nightclub on West 46th Street and 12th Avenue in the Midtown West neighborhood, less than a block east of the Intrepid Museum.
“Upon arrival, officers observed a 39-year-old male with gunshot wounds to the back and groin,” according to an NYPD statement.
The victim, whose name was not immediately released, was taken by ambulance to Mount Sinai Morningside Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to the NYPD.
No arrests have been announced and police are working to identify the suspect.
The violence follows the unrelated Nov. 16 shooting of 29-year-old Boyd, a Jets defensive back and specialty teams player, outside the Midtown Manhattan restaurant Sei Less, located 156 W. 38th Street, roughly two miles from Sunday morning’s shooting.
Boyd was shot around 2 a.m. after and he and some friends emerged from the restaurant at closing time and got into a scuffle on the street with another group that had been inside the restaurant, according to a statement from the NYPD.
Boyd remains hospitalized with a bullet lodged in his lung, law enforcement sources told ABC News. Jets coach Aaron Glenn told reporters on Wednesday that he spoke to Boyd and that he is confident the player will be okay.
The Boyd shooting is believed to have stemmed from words exchanged between Boyd, who was with two other Jets players and a friend at Sei Less, and another group “chirping” about their clothing, law enforcement sources told ABC News.
No arrests have been announced in the Boyd shooting. However, police sources on Thursday told ABC News that detectives have identified a possible suspect and are looking to question him.
(CHICAGO) — At least seven people were injured in a shooting in downtown Chicago on Friday night, police said.
Officers were on patrol when they observed a large group of people on the sidewalk close to the Chicago Theater on State Street, according to a statement from the Chicago Police Department.
“Officer’s heard gunshots being fired, and the large group began fleeing the scene,” authorities said. “Officers immediately responded to the area and discovered seven people had sustained gunshot wounds from the gun fire.”
The victims were all treated by the Chicago Fire Department and taken to local hospitals, authorities said.
The shooting happened during a very busy night downtown, with the city holding its Christmas tree lighting ceremony, according to ABC News’ Chicago station WLS.
Though police have not disclosed the identities of any of the victims, they have confirmed that six of them have been listed in good condition and one of them has been listed in fair condition.
No suspects are in custody and detectives are currently investigating the circumstances that led up to the incident.
(NEW YORK) — A proposal from the Trump administration to revise the Endangered Species Act could have critical impacts on the most vulnerable animals, plants and habitats throughout the U.S., according to environmental advocates.
Earlier this week, the U.S. Department of the Interior outlined several rules within the ESA that it plans to roll back.
Included in the proposed revisions are changes to the listing of protected species and critical habitat (50 CFR part 424), which would be based on the “best scientific and commercial data available,” according to the Interior Department.
This would make economics a factor in what was previously science-based decision-making, Susan Holmes, executive director of the Endangered Species Coalition, told ABC News.
“For example, if the Trump administration determined that the economic harm to a golf course would be greater than protections for the Florida panther, then they could make that determination,” she said. “It would essentially potentially put money over the science.”
The Interior Department has also proposed changes to the 4(d) provision, which casts a blanket protection over threatened species, which presumptively prohibits killing or harming them unless federal agencies outline species-specific alternatives. The revision would require species-specific rules tailored to each threatened species instead.
“Overturning the 4(d) rule would remove protections for threatened species, make it more difficult to list species in need, reduce habitat conservation and open loopholes to undermine protections for imperiled species,” animal welfare group Humane Society of the United States said.
Conservation group Defenders of Wildlife said it would also deprive newly listed species from “automatically receiving protections from killing, trapping, and other forms of prohibited ‘take.'”
This could impact species now proposed for listing, such as the Florida manatee, California spotted owl, Greater sage grouse and Monarch butterfly.
“The rule provides an important safety net for vulnerable wildlife, giving species time to recover their populations before they become critically endangered,” Kitty Block, president and CEO of Humane World for Animals, said in a statement.
The Interior Department said the change “aligns service policy with the National Marine Fisheries Service’s longstanding species-specific approach.”
The Trump administration is also proposing to restrict the amount of habitats that are protected under the ESA (50 CFR part 17). The rule would narrow the definition of “critical habitat” to exclude currently unoccupied but historic habitat.
According to the Interior Department, the revised framework provides “transparency and predictability for landowners and project proponents.”
“Habitat is the number one reason why species go extinct,” Holmes — from the Endangered Species Coalition — said. “We know, to protect a species, we have to protect the habitat where they live, where they breed, they feed.”
The move reaffirms the federal government’s commitment to “science-based conservation that works hand in hand with America’s energy, agricultural and infrastructure priorities,” Fish and Wildlife Service Director Brian Nesvik said in a statement.
“By restoring clarity and predictability, we are giving the regulated community confidence while keeping our focus on recovery outcomes, not paperwork,” Nesvik said.
Changes on a rule on interagency cooperation (50 CFR part 402) would make it easier for federal agencies to greenlight projects such as mining, drilling, logging and overdevelopment without fully assessing the impact on threatened and endangered species or their habitats, according to Defenders of Wildlife.
The Endangered Species Coalition’s Holmes told ABC News that “there would be less compliance, less consultation between the federal agencies.”
The proposal seeks to return to the 2019 consultation framework by reinstating definitions of “effects of the action” and “environmental baseline,” according to the Interior Department.
Since the Endangered Species Act was passed in 1973, it has saved 99% of listed species from extinction since its inception, a study published in 2019 found. It has since become one of the nation’s bedrock environmental laws.
Wildlife and environmental advocates condemned the proposed revisions.
Revisions to these rules would “drastically weaken protection for endangered species,” Holmes said.
“These devastating proposals disregard proven science and risk reversing decades of bipartisan progress to protect our shared national heritage and the wildlife that make America so special,” Andrew Bowman, president and CEO at Defenders of Wildlife, said in a statement.
The Humane Society of the United States described the move as “yet another attack on wildlife” by the Trump administration.
“The proposal to repeal this rule is completely reckless,” Block said. “Even if they are listed as ‘threatened’ under the ESA, species could become extinct without its protections.”
Environment advocates also accused the Trump administration of failing to “read the room” in terms of how Americans feel about protecting nature.
Polling data published in June 2025 found that four out of five Americans support the ESA, according to the International Fund for Animal Welfare.
The polling also found that 81% of Americans say they are concerned about the environment, including the welfare of animals and including nature, and that 70% factor the value of nature into government decision-making.
In addition, 84% of those polled believe the U.S. should focus on preventing endangered species from becoming extinct, and 78% support the goals of the ESA.
“Trump’s attacks on the Endangered Species Act seriously misread the room. Most people are not going to allow the sacrifice of our natural world to a bunch of billionaires and corporate interests,” Kristen Boyles, an attorney with environmental law group Earthjustice, said in a statement.
The attempt to alter the ESA follows other attacks against wildlife by the Trump administration this year, including proposals to rescind the Roadless Rule and Public Lands Rule, according to the environmental organization Sierra Club.
If the proposed rules were to come into effect, they would benefit industry and developers, the advocates said.
“The Trump administration is stopping at nothing in its quest to put corporate polluters over people, wildlife and the environment,” Sierra Club Executive Director Loren Blackford said in a statement. “After failing in their latest attempt to sell off our public lands, they now want to enable the wholesale destruction of wildlife habitat for a short-term boost in polluters’ bottom lines.”
In a statement to ABC News, the White House said the proposed rules will streamline protections under the ESA.
“President Trump is cutting red tape across the administration — including at the Department of Interior, where he is making it easier to delist recovered species and focus protections where they are truly needed,” White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly told ABC News in an emailed statement. “Joe Biden expanded bureaucracy and sowed confusion, but President Trump and Secretary Burgum are returning power to Americans by eliminating regulatory barriers and respecting private property while maintaining core conservation goals.”
A 30-day period of public comment is in place following the Interior Department’s proposal.
(NEW YORK) — A significant change in the atmosphere means the weeks after Thanksgiving could be colder and snowier than normal across portions of the United States.
It’s all thanks to a disruption in the polar vortex. Here’s what you need to know.
Why is this happening?
Our atmosphere consists of many layers of moving air; the troposphere is where our weather happens and above it is the stratosphere. Over both poles, a ring of strong mid-level winds called the polar vortex traps cold, sub-arctic air.
There are two of these polar vortexes — one in the troposphere that affects weather every winter, and one in the stratosphere that contains much colder air but only affects the surface weather during winter less frequently.
When polar vortex winds are strong, this frigid air remains near the poles. But when the polar vortex is weak and is disturbed, the frigid air can spill out from the North Pole, down south towards the surface.
Scientists are still trying to understand these disturbances and why they occur, but they can drive the most intense cold-air outbreaks and winter weather bursts in the U.S.
Sometimes, the polar vortex simply stretches out, bringing quick bursts of cold air and some wintry weather to the U.S. In more extreme cases, a phenomenon called “sudden stratospheric warming” — or SSWs — can trigger more significant disruptions to the polar vortex.
While it may seem counterintuitive, a sudden warming in the stratosphere above the poles often weakens these winds, disrupting the polar vortex and allowing cold air to spill out from the North Pole and down into places like the U.S., Europe and Asia.
These events can take weeks to unfold and can have cascading impacts. Some of these events can lead to strong cold outbreaks and snowier spells, while others have little impact near the surface.
According to Dr. Amy Butler, a meteorologist and lead of the Stratospheric Modeling & Analysis program at National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, SSWs occur once every other winter, But “there are only one to two major events in late November in the record back to 1958.”
“We have this unprecedented disruption in the polar architecture where it’s so early in the season … There’s not many past analogs to draw from and say [with confidence] about how this is going to go,” said Dr. Judah Cohen, a climatologist at MIT and the director of seasonal forecasting for Atmospheric and Environmental Research (AER) at the JANUS Research Group.
Cohen added that an SSW is not a given yet and that we could simply see the polar vortex be stretched out past Thanksgiving, but it would still result in a noticeable change to colder and possibly more wintry weather for parts of the U.S.
La Niña will also play a role in this pattern shift, as will the forecasted weather conditions for the winter ahead.
“With North America, we have a weak La Nina and other patterns in the Pacific that have a direct influence on the weather as well,” said Dr. Jason Furtado, associate professor in the School of Meteorology at the University of Oklahoma. Furtado also added that these, consequently, lead to a higher chance of a colder December.
What does it mean for the forecast?
Long-range forecasts from NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center favor below-average temperatures for the majority of America from late November into December.
However, this outlook deals with average temperatures over the period, so they don’t account for short-term variations that occur over days or weeks — meaning there could be a cold snap for a few days then warmth for the rest of the period, with the average leveling out or warmer.
What does it mean for snow?
These disturbances to the polar vortex can plunge cold air south and often create more chances for snow. However, the relationship between these two is not as straightforward.
According to NOAA, this pattern change supports more winter-like conditions across the central U.S. and increase the potential for heavy snow. Specifically, the increased potential for heavy snowfalls along the Great Lakes, a region historically known for lake-effect snow.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visits Athens, Greece, on November 16, 2025, for a meeting with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and the signing of a cooperation agreement at the Maximos Mansion. (Photo by Nikolas Mhtrousias/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — As President Donald Trump pushes Ukraine and Russia to commit to a peace deal before Thanksgiving, both leaders suggested they would engage on it but signaled doubts it could succeed.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned his country may face a difficult choice between losing its “dignity” or the support of its most important ally –presumably the United States, though Zelenskyy didn’t mention by name — as the Trump administration pressured Kyiv to accept the plan that would impose harsh concessions on Ukraine and that many Ukrainians fear would be effectively a capitulation.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said the deal, which Russia has helped develop and contains many of its key demands, could serve as a “basis” for a solution to the conflict, but accused Kyiv of being unwilling to accept it.
Zelenskyy addressed the nation in a powerful speech, where he vowed not to betray the country and said the next week would “be very difficult.”
Trump’s 28-point peace plan demands provisions that the Kremlin has long demanded and that have been previously dismissed as non-starters for Kyiv, including that Ukraine cut its armed forces by more than half and cede swaths of territory not yet occupied by Russia, according to a draft proposal obtained by ABC News.
Officially, the 28-point peace plan notes that “Ukraine will receive reliable security guarantees,” which a senior U.S. administration official told ABC News included a NATO-style security guarantee. Under that provision, the U.S. and its allies could respond with military force if Russia attacks Ukraine in the future, according to the official.
The plan comes after Ukraine suffered heavy losses in the last few weeks and Russian forces captured more territory. Zelenskyy himself is currently under pressure because of the worst corruption scandal of the war that involves top officials, which has rocked his administration.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine is facing “one of the most difficult moments in our history” and that Ukraine in the coming days may have to choose between “dignity” and the “risk of losing a key partner.”
“Either complicated 28 points, or an extremely tough winter — the toughest — and further risks. A life without freedom, without dignity, without justice,” he said.
Zelenskyy compared the current situation to the first days of the war, when he refused to flee and Ukrainians held back Russia.
“They said: either this, or nothing. Either you sign this, or you will simply be eliminated. We did not betray Ukraine then; we will not do it now. And I know for certain that in this truly one of the hardest moments of our history, I am not alone,” he said.
Zelenskyy spoke with Vice President JD Vance about the plan on Friday.
“We managed to cover a lot of details of the American side’s proposals for ending the war, and we’re working to make the path forward dignified and truly effective for achieving a lasting peace,” a readout from the Ukrainian president read.
Putin, in a meeting with his national security council that was televised, said Russia was in possession of the 28-point plan and suggested Moscow was prepared to take it as a basis for “a final peace settlement” but had yet to discuss it in detail.
Putin said Russia had previously discussed a version of the plan with the Trump administration around his and Trump’s summit in Alaska this summer, calling the 28-point draft an “essentially modernised” one.
“We confirmed that, despite certain difficult issues and complications, we nevertheless agree with these proposals and are ready to show the flexibility that has been offered to us,” Putin said.
But he claimed since the summit that the Trump administration had paused and claimed that was because Ukraine is unwilling to accept the plan.
“I believe the reason is the same: the US administration has not yet managed to secure the agreement of the Ukrainian side, as Ukraine is opposed to it. Apparently, Ukraine and its European allies are still under the illusion that they can inflict a strategic defeat on Russia on the battlefield,” Putin said.
The Russian leader vowed that if Ukraine did not discuss the proposals, Russia would continue to attempt to seize more cities and achieve its goals via force.
Zelenskyy on Friday warned Putin would attempt to use the peace talks to try to frame Ukraine as unwilling to accept peace, while making unjust demands.
“There will be a constructive search for solutions” with the U.S., he said. “I will present arguments, I will persuade, I will offer alternatives, but we will certainly not give the enemy any reason to say that Ukraine does not want peace, that it is Ukraine who disrupts the process and is not ready for diplomacy. That will not happen.”
(PHOENIX) — A Phoenix toddler remains missing, as the search to find her heads into the weekend, according to police.
The Phoenix Police Department is asking for help in locating 3-year-old Wednesday Guilford, who they say vanished Thursday with her mom, Kendal Guilford.
“Detectives are looking for 3yo Wednesday Guilford. She was last seen with her biological mother 32yo Kendal Guilford near 44th St. and Baseline Rd. walking a black French Bulldog,” the Phoenix Police Department posted on X late Thursday night.
Phoenix Police Department’s Sergeant Brian Bower told ABC News that Guilford’s family reached out for help locating her on Wednesday, and the case is civil, not criminal.
“This case does not involve any criminal nature and there is no custody documentation. Because there is no formal court paperwork for custody, and mom does not have a place to live, family members are worried for Wednesday’s welfare. This is more of a civil issue with detectives concerned for Wednesday’s welfare,” he said.
Bower said that Kendal Guilford is alleged to be homeless and use drugs.
“Mom is known to be homeless. She stays at friends’ houses, here and there. Dad was staying with the kid. Dad invited mom back over. Mom’s known to use drugs, so Dad’s like, ‘Hey, if you want to come over!’ Dad leaves the house for a little bit — when he gets back with other family members, the mom is gone with the daughter,” he said.
Bower added that Kendal Guilford is “not going to get arrested” if police find her and her daughter.
Wednesday Guilford is described as 3 feet tall and 40 pounds with brown eyes and brunette hair, according to local affiliate KNXV. The outlet noted that she was last seen wearing a pink dress with floral print and black flats.
Kendal Guilford is said to be 5 feet, 7 inches tall and 200 pounds with blue eyes and orange-blond hair, KNXV reported. She was last seen wearing a grey sweat suit and glasses with clear frames, according to the Arizona station.
Anyone with information regarding Wednesday Guilford can call the Phoenix Police Department Missing Persons Unit at (602) 534-2121.
U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois
(CHICAGO) — A man accused of pouring gasoline on a woman and setting her on fire on a Chicago L train in an unprovoked attack will remain in custody, a judge ruled on Friday, saying he poses a danger to the community.
The suspect — Lawrence Reed, 50, of Chicago — faces a federal terrorism charge for what prosecutors called a “horrific and gruesome attack” that left the victim with severe burns.
During a detention hearing on Friday, Reed declined legal counsel and decided to represent himself, telling the judge he would also like to be detained for his safety, Chicago ABC station WLS reported.
The attack occurred Monday night near the Clark and Lake station on a Chicago Transit Authority Blue Line train and was captured on CTA security video, authorities said.
Authorities said Reed was also captured on surveillance footage filling up a bottle at a gas station pump 20 minutes before allegedly pouring the liquid on the victim and then, after she fought him off and ran away, lighting her on fire. Prosecutors said the security footage clearly captures the suspect’s face.
The victim, a 26-year-old woman, had been sitting on the train looking at her phone with her back to the suspect when she was randomly attacked, prosecutors said.
She was transported to a local hospital in critical condition with severe burns. She remains hospitalized with critical injuries, prosecutors said Wednesday.
Reed was arrested the following day and charged with committing a terrorist attack against a mass transportation system. He has not yet entered a plea, online court records show.
Prosecutors had asked the court to detain the suspect pending trial, arguing in a motion ahead of Friday’s court hearing that he “presents a clear danger and persistent threat of terror to the community” based on the circumstances of the crime and his criminal history.
“The state court system has been unable to contain defendant’s violent crimes, and federal intervention is now needed,” U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois Andrew Boutros wrote in the government’s detention motion.
Reed has been arrested by Chicago police at least 72 times over the past 30 years, with at least 15 of the arrests since 2016, according to the filing.
He has approximately 15 convictions, including for criminal damage to government property, drug possession and an arson incident in 2020 in which he lit a government building in downtown Chicago on fire, according to the filing.
At the time of Monday’s attack, Reed was facing aggravated battery charges in the Circuit Court of Cook County for striking someone in the head at a hospital in Berwyn, Illinois, three months ago, according to the filing. A judge ordered him released from custody on electronic monitoring “over the objection of the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office,” and another judge later removed the condition of electronic monitoring, according to Boutros. He was ordered to follow a curfew that would not have allowed him out of his residence at the time the train attack occurred, Boutros said.
“Defendant has been leniently treated in state court, including receiving probationary sentences for violent offenses and pre-trial release for a victim-involved crime,” Boutros wrote. “In exchange for such lenient treatment, defendant has consistently re-offended and delved further into criminality.”
Boutros also argued Reed’s behavior during his initial court appearance on Wednesday — in which he “disrupted the proceedings by singing, babbling, and instructing the Court to not speak to him” — shows that he is also “unable or unwilling to cooperate at this stage in the proceedings.”
Based on his conduct during the hearing, the judge recommended Reed undergo a psychological evaluation, according to court records.
Stock image of police lights. Douglas Sacha/Getty Images
(INDIAN RIVER COUNTY, Fla.) — A sheriff’s deputy has died and another was injured on Friday after a suspect opened fire when officials were attempting to serve an eviction notice in Indian River County, Florida, according to the local sheriff.
“What an awful day, six days before Thanksgiving,” Indian River County Sheriff Eric Flowers said during a press conference on Friday.
The two deputies, as well as a locksmith, were shot while serving an eviction notice to Michael Halberstam.
Halberstam, who has previous narcotics and misdemeanor assault charges, opened fire as the sheriff’s deputies came in the home. Halberstam was also injured in the shooting and remains in critical condition in the hospital, officials said.
Deputy Terri Mashkow, 47, was killed in the shooting, officials confirmed.
Florida Gov. DeSantis also confirmed the shooting earlier on Friday.
“There is a lot going on. Just know Florida Department of Law Enforcement is engaged, working with the sheriff and the local community. We will hope for the best results of that,” DeSantis said during an unrelated press conference on Friday.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier also confirmed the shooting during an unrelated press conference on Friday. Uthmeier did not provide any further details on the incident, but held a moment of silence.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
John Bolton speaks during the 2025 Texas Tribune Festival on November 13, 2025 in Austin, Texas. Brandon Bell/Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — Government lawyers at a hearing Friday in John Bolton’s classified documents case raised the possibility that more charges could be coming for the former Trump national security adviser.
Bolton was back in court Friday one month after pleading not guilty to all 18 counts of an indictment charging him with unlawful retention and dissemination of national defense information.
When U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang pressed Justice Department attorneys on their proposed seven-month timeline for the case, a government attorney said the agency is going through the process of reviewing all the documents seized at Bolton’s residence “not only for the government to consider potential other charges, but for [Bolton’s lawyer] to be able to present a defense which may be based on the documents that are still being processed.”
Chuang pushed back on the government’s proposed timeline and said the government should be ready to go to trial within 70 days of last month’s indictment.
“Frankly, most of this probably should have been done before the indictment,” Judge Chuang said.
“You should already know what the documents are,” the judge told prosecutors. “The only question is whether they should be produced and when. So I guess I’m not sure why we need seven months for that.”
Bolton’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, said his client fully agrees that the issues in the case “outweigh any normal right he would have to a speedy trial.”
Bolton, who became a critic of President Donald Trump after his time in the first Trump administration, is charged with eight counts of unlawful transmission of national defense information as well as 10 counts of unlawful retention of national defense information amid what critics call Trump’s campaign of retribution against his perceived political foes.
Vice President JD Vance has said any such prosecutions are “driven by law and not by politics.”
Seven of the transmissions referenced in the indictment allegedly occurred during the time when Bolton was serving at Trump’s national security adviser in 2018 and 2019, while another document was allegedly sent by Bolton just days after Trump removed him from the administration in September 2019.
After a lengthy discussion Friday on the number of documents needed to be processed and the issue of classified information, Judge Chuang set a Jan. 12 deadline for the parties to submit a joint status report on the remaining document review.
The judge also set a deadline of Feb. 13 for Bolton’s lawyers to file any pretrial motions.
Bolton has been a target of Trump’s ire since leaving Trump’s first administration and publishing a tell-all book.
Federal agents in August searched Bolton’s Maryland residence and Washington, D.C., office related to allegations that Bolton possessed classified information.
Stock image of police lights. Douglas Sacha/Getty Images
(INDIAN RIVER COUNTY, Fla.) — At least three deputies were shot Friday morning in Indian River County, Florida, according to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
DeSantis said officials are monitoring the incident.
“There is a lot going on. Just know Florida Department of Law Enforcement is engaged, working with the sheriff and the local community. We will hope for the best results of that,” DeSantis said during an unrelated press conference on Friday.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier also confirmed the shooting during an unrelated press conference on Friday. Uthmeier did not provide any further details on the incident, but held a moment of silence.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
