(SANFORD, Fla.) — Passengers traveling on an Amtrak Auto Train from a Washington, D.C., suburb Monday evening expected to arrive in the Orlando area by Tuesday morning. But their planned 17-hour journey experienced significant delays caused by a freight derailment.
The train rolled into the station in Sanford, Florida, on Wednesday morning, ending the 37-hour trip. The 563 passengers and 333 vehicles onboard had been delayed by almost 20 hours.
The southbound Amtrak Auto Train was detoured off its normal route due to the derailment of a CSX freight Monday night and was stopped in Denmark, South Carolina, while waiting for a new crew to arrive, Amtrak said.
“The train was detoured off its normal route in order to continue operating south,” Amtrak told ABC News late Tuesday, confirming that the train was moving again.
“We have been providing regular updates to customers, along with meals, snack packs and beverages,” it said. “The onboard staff is working with pet owners to provide bathroom breaks.”
The Amtrak Auto Train train, which departed Lorton, Virginia, at 5 p.m. Monday, was initially scheduled to arrive in Sanford, Florida, by 10 a.m. Tuesday. Only a few certified crews are able to operate the Auto Train, which carries passengers and their vehicles daily between the two destinations.
The CSX freight train collided with an unoccupied vehicle on the tracks in Lake City, South Carolina, shortly before 11 p.m. Monday, CSX said in a statement. No injuries were reported.
Auto Train service on Tuesday was canceled, while Silver Meteor and Silver Star trains that departed on Monday are operating on a detour and missing stops due to the derailment, Amtrak said.
Passengers were apparently calling 911 from the train when it was stuck, according to several videos obtained by ABC News in which a conductor can be heard asking people to stop calling police.
“For those of you that are calling the police, we are not holding you hostage,” a conductor can be heard over the loudspeaker. “We are giving you all the information in which we have. We are sorry about the inconvenience.”
The conductor can also be heard telling people not to open their windows to smoke on the train.
(SPRINGFIELD, Ill.) — Illinois on Tuesday became the latest U.S. state to ban the sale or possession of semiautomatic weapons.
Just hours after the legislation’s passage in both chambers of the Illinois General Assembly, Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the “Protect Illinois Communities Act” into law during a ceremony at the State Capitol in Springfield. Supporters, some of whom were gun violence survivors, erupted with applause and cheers as the governor presented the signed document.
“For a long time now, I and many other leaders in the Illinois General Assembly have prioritized getting the most dangerous weapons off our state’s streets,” Pritzker said in a statement Tuesday. “Today, honoring the commitment we made, we passed one of the strongest assault weapons bans in the nation, one I will be proud to sign.”
Nine U.S. states as well as Washington, D.C., now prohibit the sale or possession of military-style weapons, driven largely by deadly mass shootings in their communities.
For Illinois, the ban came six months after a gunman wielding a semiautomatic rifle shot and killed seven people at a 4th of July parade in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park.
“No Illinoisan, no matter their zip code, should have to go through life fearing their loved one could be the next in an ever-growing list of victims of mass shootings,” the governor said. “However, for too long people have lived in fear of being gunned down in schools, while worshipping, at celebrations or in their own front yards. This legislation will stop the spread of assault weapons, high-capacity magazines, and switches and make our state a safer place for all.”
Pritzker, the Democratic incumbent who defeated Republican challenger state Sen. Darren Bailey in November to win a second term, had campaigned for reelection on the promise of stricter gun laws.
According to the Illinois State Rifle Association, the ban affects nearly 2.5 million legal firearm owners in the state.
“Challenge accepted,” ISRA executive director Richard A Pearson said in a statement Tuesday, in response to the ban. “The Illinois State Rifle Association will see the State of Illinois in court.”
(NEW YORK) — A man has been arrested after multiple dogs were found dead in a dumpster during a period of several weeks at the end of last year.
The series of deaths began on Nov. 15 when animal control officers in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, were alerted to the discovery of three dead pit bulls — one adult dog and two puppies — that were found in a dumpster inside a plastic tub that was covered in feces and urine.
“The adult female dog was starved and had a broken foot,” Myrtle Beach Police Department said in a statement released to the media. “The two six to eight-week-old puppies were drowned.”
The case went unsolved for nearly six weeks until another incident occurred on Dec. 26 when animal control officers were again called to the same dumpster. This time following the discovery of a dead 10 to 12-week-old pit bull puppy that was found in a plastic tub discarded next to the same dumpster the other three dogs were found in on Nov. 15. Authorities say the puppy had died of “illness and drowning.”
An investigation by the Myrtle Beach Police Department eventually led authorities to arrest and charge 33-year-old Raahkeem Orlando Young of Myrtle Beach following an investigation into the deaths of the animals.
“Young was connected to the case after officers located a receipt discarded with a puppy on the 26th that led officers back to Young using cameras from the store and the city traffic and street cameras,” Myrtle Beach Police Department said in a statement announcing his arrest.
Young has now been charged with four counts of felony animal cruelty and four counts of failure to properly bury animals after being taken into custody on Jan. 7.
Young was subsequently released on a personal recognizance bond later that day. A trial date has not yet been set.
The Myrtle Beach Police Department said that this is still an active investigation and ask that anybody with information pertaining to the case contact the Myrtle Beach Animal Control Unit.
(NEW YORK) — The teenager accused of attacking New York City Police Department (NYPD) officers with a knife on New Year’s Eve now faces federal charges, the Department of Justice said.
Trevor Bickford was charged with four counts of attempted murder of officers and employees of the U.S. government and persons assisting them, according to a federal complaint, which alleges the 19-year-old was on a “jihadist mission” when he attacked the officers.
Bickford allegedly told investigators the attack was unsuccessful because none of the officers died and because he did not achieve martyrdom, according to the complaint, which was filed Tuesday in the Southern District of New York.
Each count carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, for an aggregate potential sentence of 80 years in prison if convicted, according to federal prosecutors.
Bickford, who is currently in state custody, will face the latest charges in federal court “at a later date,” prosecutors said.
“We are deeply grateful for the bravery of the officers who were injured in this horrible attack and who put their lives on the line every day to serve their communities,” Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in a statement. “Together with our law enforcement partners at every level of government, the Justice Department will continue to work to disrupt, investigate, and prosecute those who target and attack law enforcement and endanger the American people.”
Bickford also faces more than a dozen state charges in connection with the New Year’s eve attack.
A grand jury in New York returned an indictment Friday against Bickford, charging him with 18 criminal counts — including three counts of attempted murder in the first degree in furtherance of an act of terrorism, and one count of aggravated assault on a police officer as a crime of terrorism.
Bickford was shot and arrested by officers on Dec. 31, not too far from Times Square, after he allegedly attacked three NYPD officers with an 18-inch kukri knife near West 52nd Street and Eighth Avenue, outside the secure area that had been set up for New Year’s Eve celebrations.
“All eyes are on Times Square on New Year’s Eve and these charges reflect the seriousness of this alleged threat to the safety of our city and our officers,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement.
The suspect will be formally arraigned on Feb. 1, according to the district attorney’s office.
Bickford of Wells, Maine, carried out what a senior police official told ABC News was a terror attack likely motivated by Islamic extremism.
“I wanted to kill an officer in uniform,” Bickford allegedly told police, according to the criminal complaint. “I saw the officer and waited until he was alone. I said ‘Allahu Akbar.’ I walked up and hit him over the head with a kukri. I charged another officer but dropped the knife and I tried to get the police officer’s gun but couldn’t.”
Bickford’s attorneys didn’t immediately comment about the indictment. He is currently being held without bail.
Federal investigators allegedly had Bickford under their radar before the attack, according to investigators.
Thomas Galati, NYPD Chief of Intelligence and Counterterrorism, told ABC News the FBI interviewed Bickford last month in Maine after his mother reported her concern that her son was possibly becoming radicalized. The FBI determined Bickford wanted to fight in Afghanistan and placed him on a federal watch list to prevent him from traveling overseas.
Bickford was able to acquire a large amount of cash, and ride an Amtrak train to New York City on Dec. 29, according to investigators.
(NEW YORK) — Those who make their living out on the open ocean now have the opportunity to partake in a side hustle that simultaneously tidies up the environment.
Commercial fishermen have been offered a “bounty” to collect derelict fishing gear, often the culprit of the death of marine animals, and bring the debris back to shore.
Hawaii Pacific University’s Center for Marine Debris Research has launched a project to pay eligible commercial fishers to remove fishing gear at sea before it strikes Hawaii’s coral reefs or wildlife, according to a press release from the university.
The fishermen will be paid a bounty of between $1 and $3 per dry pound of derelict fishing gear found at sea and brought back to Oahu, the research center said.
The research center first tested the program between 2020 and 2021, when researchers trying to determine where the fishing gear was coming from paid fishermen who were already fishing near the northwest Hawaiian islands, the main Hawaiian islands and the North Pacific gyre a bounty to collect the debris and bring it back, Raquel Corniuk, research manager for Hawaii Pacific University’s Center for Marine Debris Research, told ABC News.
“So it’s incentivizing them when they’re already coming across this stuff, and then they can get paid to bring it back,” Corniuk said.
The research center recognized a “vessel of opportunity” once they began receiving positive feedback from fishermen who participated, Corniuk said.
Now, in partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Marine Debris Program, the Hawaii Longline Association and Hawaii’s Department of Land and Natural Resources, the program has enough funding to pay to remove 100 metric tons, or 220,462 pounds, of derelict fishing gear over the next two years.
Fishing gear accounts for an “alarming” amount of plastic in the ocean, according to The Nature Conservancy. More than 100 million pounds of plastic pollution from lost or abandoned industrial fishing gear enters the ocean each year, according to a 2021 report.
The pollution is one of the most harmful forms of marine debris to marine animals and habitats.
The fishing gear entangles and drowns animals, such as sea turtles, whales and sharks, and smothers and kills the coral reefs surrounding the shores, according to the research center.
The majority of the pollution that washes onto the beaches of Hawaii is derelict fishing gear, Corniuk said.
“When I first saw the damage caused by these large ghost nets on corals in Kane’ohe Bay, I was motivated to prevent it from happening,” Corniuk said, describing the new program as a “win-win” for fishermen and marine environments, especially considering the fishing gear can be a navigational hazard and often gets caught in vessels.
The debris will be repurposed by artists, educators and recycling researchers, according to the research center. Any remaining debris will be converted to electricity for the city and county of Honolulu.
The university is conducting another study to determine where the derelict fishing gear is originating from, likely not Hawaii-based fisheries, according to the research center.
“Derelict fishing gear and ghost nets continue to be a persistent economic and ecological threat to Hawaii,” the coordinator for NOAA’s Marine Debris Program’s Pacific Islands Region, Mark Manuel, said in a statement. “Our ultimate goal is to have a sea free of debris.”
(WASHINGTON) — Federal safety regulators said Tuesday that they plan later this year to begin gathering “data and perspectives” on the “potential hazards associated with gas stoves.”
In a statement, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) clarified that it has not proposed any regulatory action on the appliances at this time.
Commissioner Richard Trumka Jr. told Bloomberg News in an interview published Monday that the stoves were “a hidden hazard” and “any option is on the table.”
“Products that can’t be made safe can be banned,” Trumka said.
New regulation on the appliances would only apply to new products, Trumka later wrote in a tweet.
“My guiding duty is protecting consumer health and safety. Gas stoves can emit dangerous level of toxic chemicals – even when not in use,” he wrote.
In its statement, the CPSC said regulatory action “would involve a lengthy process,” including public input. “Commission staff also continues to work with voluntary standards organizations to examine gas stove emissions and address potential hazards,” the agency said.
Some studies show an association between gas cooking and a higher risk of asthma in children. Other studies in adults haven’t shown this increased risk. However, experts agree that anyone who lives in a home with a gas stove — particularly in small apartments — can take steps to lower the risk, including using a hood vent while cooking or opening windows.
The potential for increased regulation drew criticism from some lawmakers and industry groups.
Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, reacted to the news by saying, “It’s clear President Biden prioritizes his radical energy policies over the needs of the American people.”
Sen. Joe Machin, D-W.Va., said in a statement that his gas stove would be the last thing to “ever leave my house,” adding, “If this is the greatest concern that the Consumer Product Safety Commission has for American consumers, I think we need to reevaluate the commission.”
The American Gas Association (AGA), a trade group for local energy companies, argued a ban would place “significant costs” on consumers.
“Any efforts to ban highly efficient natural gas stoves should raise alarm bells for the 187 million Americans who depend on this essential fuel every day,” the AGA said in a statement.
ABC News’ Anne Flaherty, John Parkinson, Sony Salzman and Trish Turner contributed to this report.
(LIMERICK TOWNSHIP, Pa.) — Police have had no credible sightings a week after a Pennsylvania woman who failed to pick up her son from the bus stop went missing, authorities said.
Jennifer Brown, 43, of Limerick Township, was last seen at 2 p.m. on Jan. 3 by a “friend and business associate,” according to the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office, which is asking for the public’s help in the missing person case.
Brown was scheduled to pick up her son from the bus stop the afternoon of Jan. 4 “but did not show up,” the district attorney’s office said in a statement.
“Her vehicle was parked outside of her home, and her car keys, wallet, purse and work cellphone were found inside,” the district attorney’s office said.
Brown’s personal cellphone, which was not found, has been silent since Wednesday morning, authorities said.
“Law enforcement is very concerned about the welfare of this mother,” Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele said in a statement.
Steele updated Tuesday that authorities are still looking for Brown despite receiving hundreds of tips.
“Our detectives are looking at all aspects of her disappearance and have interviewed numerous people connected to her life,” he said in a statement. “We have received hundreds of tips from the general public, but unfortunately none have provided any significant leads, and there have been no credible sightings of Jennifer to date.”
Steele said his office is unable to share more details about the investigation “without jeopardizing our work.”
The family is offering a $10,000 reward for information that helps locate her, Steele’s office said.
“It’s literally like we’re living in a movie that we watch on TV, it’s so surreal and unbelievable,” Tiffany Barron, a spokesperson for the family, told Philadelphia affiliate WPVI. “Jennifer would never ever just disappear, she would never abandon her son.”
Residents of Limerick Township, located about 35 miles northwest of Philadelphia’s Center City, were stunned by the mother’s disappearance.
“To have something like this happen a few houses away is a shock,” neighbor Lisa Tomarelli told WPVI. “I’m a praying person and praying and hoping for some kind of resolution, some kind of answer.”
Brown is described by police as 5’1″, approximately 150 pounds with brown hair and green eyes. Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to call Limerick Township Police at 610-495-7909 or the Montgomery County Detective Bureau at 610-226-5553.
(A Louisiana mom shot and killed a home invader to protect her two young children, authorities said.
The suspect, 51-year-old Robert Rheams, was armed with a shovel and a lug wrench when he allegedly forced his way into a woman’s home in Hammond around 5 a.m. Sunday, according to the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office.
A “physical altercation” broke out between the homeowner and Rheams, after which the resident shot the intruder, according to the sheriff’s office.
Rheams was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said.
Rheams was on parole at the time of the home invasion after spending about 20 years in prison for armed robbery, according to the sheriff’s office. Rheams also allegedly committed a carjacking hours before the home invasion, authorities said.
No arrests have been made, the sheriff’s office said.
“This case appears to be a homeowner exercising second amendment rights to protect herself and her children from a violent home invasion,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement. “Once the investigation is complete, the case will be forwarded to the District Attorney’s Office for further review.”
(NEW YORK) — Allen Weisselberg, one of former President Donald Trump’s most trusted and loyal employees, was escorted out of court in handcuffs Tuesday after being sentenced to five months in jail for evading more than $1.7 million in taxes on unreported income in the form of company-provided perks that included the rent on his Manhattan apartment, the leases on cars for himself and his wife and tuition for his grandchildren.
Weisselberg, 75, was sentenced to five months on Rikers Island, New York City’s notorious jail complex, followed by five years’ probation, after he pleaded guilty in August to orchestrating a 15-year tax scheme while working at the Trump Organization as chief financial officer.
He appeared for his sentencing dressed casually in blue pants, a white T-shirt and an olive green fleece jacket.
“He is obviously dressed the way he is dressed because he expects to be remanded today,” defense attorney Nicholas Gravante told the judge.
As part of a plea deal, Weisselberg testified over three days in November against the Trump Organization at its criminal trial, which resulted in a conviction against the company for paying the personal expenses of some executives without reporting them as income, and for compensating them as independent contractors instead of full-time employees.
He was promised a sentence of five months in jail and five years’ probation in exchange for his testimony, and agreed to repay nearly $2 million in taxes owed.
“The People believe that Mr. Weisselberg provided truthful testimony about the underlying facts of his allocution and plea,” a prosecutor, Susan Hoffinger, said.
Weisselberg walked a fine line during his testimony in the Trump Organization trial. He conceded he evaded $1.7 million in taxes by taking part of his compensation in off-the-books luxuries like rent, car leases and private school tuition. He also said the scheme benefitted two entities of the Trump Organization — Trump Corporation and Trump Payroll Corporation — by causing them to have a lower payroll tax burden. However, he said nothing to implicate Trump himself in the scheme.
Weisselbarg “knew and thought in his mind that there were benefits to the companies,” Hoffinger told the judge.
Though the plea agreement called for a predetermined five-month jail term, Gravante asked for an additional reduction, citing Weisselberg’s lack of criminal history, his military service, his full acceptance of responsibility and, the attorney said, the lack of danger he posed to the community.
“Each month makes a big difference when you’re 75 years old, because each week you’re incarcerated represents a larger percentage of his life,” Gravante said.
“I think the words expressed by Mr. Gravante express my thoughts and my feelings,” Weisselberg said.
The judge declined, saying an even stiffer sentence would be appropriate for conduct “driven by greed.”
“I would be imposing a sentence much greater than that,” Judge Juan Merchan said, citing evidence in the trial of the Trump Organization that Weisselberg arranged a $6,000 payment for his wife so she could later claim Social Security benefits.
“At a time when so many Americans work so hard in the hope they might one day benefit from their contributions to Social Security, your client found a way to get his wife a $6,000 payroll payment so she could one day receive the benefits to which she was not entitled,” Merchan said.
Weisselberg, while no longer the Trump Organization’s chief financial officer, remained employed with Trump’s family real estate firm and expected to make more than $1 million last year in salary and bonuses, according to his testimony at trial.
He pleaded guilty in August to one count of grand larceny in the second degree; three counts of criminal tax fraud in the third degree; one count of scheme to defraud in the first degree; one count of conspiracy in the fourth degree; one count of criminal tax fraud in the fourth degree; four counts of offering a false instrument for filing in the first degree; and four counts of falsifying business records in the first degree.
“Allen Weisselberg admitted in Court that he used his position at the Trump Organization to bilk taxpayers and enrich himself,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said at the time of his guilty plea. “Instead of paying his fair share like everyone else, Weisselberg had the Trump Organization provide him with a rent-free apartment, expensive cars, private school tuition for his grandchildren and new furniture — all without paying required taxes.”
Weisselberg testified at the trial of the Trump Organization that he reduced his reported salary by the total amount of personal expenses paid and that the company benefitted by paying less in payroll taxes. He also testified his primary motive was greed.
As part of this testimony, he told a story about sitting with Trump in his office on the 26th floor of Trump Tower one day in 2012 when Donald Trump Jr. walked in with checks for his father to sign to cover tuition payments for Don Jr.’s children.
Trump looked over at Weisselberg with a chuckle and said, “I might as well pay for your grandkids too,” according to Weisselberg’s testimony.
Trump then began paying $100,000 a year for Weisselberg’s two grandchildren to attend Columbia Grammar School. Weisselberg did not declare it as income and never paid taxes on it, he testified.
Trump, who was not a defendant in the case against the Trump Organization, denied any wrongdoing and called the case “a continuation of the Greatest Political Witch Hunt in the History of our Country.”
(NEW YORK) — Mega Millions ticket holders will be watching Tuesday’s 11 p.m. drawing closely as the numbers for the third-largest prize in the game’s history are revealed.
The jackpot has climbed to $1.1 billion with no winner since Oct. 14. The cash option is $568.7 million.
While it’s the third-largest prize in Mega Millions history, it is the fifth-largest in U.S. lottery history. The largest prize in lottery history came in November 2022, when a single Powerball winner took home $2.04 billion.
The odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot are 1 in 302.5 million.
The lucky winner can opt for either an annuity or the cash option.
The Mega Millions annuity is paid out as one immediate payment, followed by 29 yearly payments with each payment growing by 5%.
“This helps protect winners’ lifestyle and purchasing power in periods of inflation,” according to the Mega Millions website.
Or, the winner can opt for the cash option: a one-time, lump-sum payment of the cash in the Mega Millions jackpot prize pool.
