The Statue of Liberty stands in New York Harbor on April 03, 2025, in New York City. Markets worldwide have plunged following President Donald Trump’s latest announcement on tariffs. In a move that has caused controversy among both Republicans and Democrats, Trump announced sweeping new tariffs on major U.S. trade partners. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — As President Donald Trump calls for military intervention in cities across the nation, gun violence and major crime are at a record low in America’s largest city, the New York Police Department announced Wednesday.
There were fewer shootings in NYC during the first nine months of the year than in the same time period of any prior year, officials said in a press release sharing third-quarter crime data.
The record-low number of shootings coincided with a broader drop in crime, including in the subways, officials said.
“The NYPD’s precision policing has delivered record-low shooting incidents and victims over the last nine months, and the safest quarter ever on our subways,” Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said in a statement.
“This is not a coincidence — it’s the result of an unprecedented, data-driven deployment of thousands of officers to the areas they are needed most,” Tisch said.
The NYPD’s announcement comes amid Trump’s crackdown on crime in major American cities, deploying National Guard troops to Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and Portland, with plans to expand to more “one by one.”
During an address to several hundred of the nation’s top military commanders on Tuesday, Trump reiterated his attacks on Democratic-led cities, alleging domestic crime is a “war from within.”
“What they’ve done to San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, they’re very unsafe places. And we’re going to straighten them out one by one,” the president said. “That’s a war, too. It’s a war from within.”
Breaking down the crime data from the first nine months of 2025, the NYPD reported that citywide shooting incidents are down more than 20% (553 vs. 693) to their lowest level ever, and down 15.6% (216 vs. 256) for the third quarter.
This drops marks the fewest shootings in any third quarter in recorded history, the department said, attributing it, in part, to nightly foot patrols in high-crime precincts, public housing projects and the subways.
Murders are down citywide by more than 17.7% (241 vs. 293) year-to-date and 17.5% (85 vs. 103) for the quarter, bringing them both to their second-lowest levels ever.
Burglaries dropped 3.8% (9,410 vs. 9,783) for the year and more than 9% (3,100 vs. 3,419) in the third quarter, the second-lowest level in recorded history.
Robberies declined 9.8% (11,402 vs. 12,639) year-to-date and more than 5% (4,166 vs. 4,396) for the quarter.
The NYPD also announced a 13% drop in rape, even after New York changed a state law to broaden the definition of rape and sexual assault in January 2024.
Jane Goodall and her son Hugo Eric Louis van Lawick appearing on the ABC TV special ‘Jane Goodall and the World of Animal Behavior: The Lions of the Serengeti’ in Africa, 1976. Walt Disney Television Photo Archive/ABC via Getty Images
(CALIFORNIA) — Jane Goodall, the famed primatologist, anthropologist and conservationist, has died, according to the institute she founded. She was 91 years old.
Goodall died of natural causes while in California on a speaking tour of the United States, the institute said in a statement on social media on Wednesday.
The British primatologist’s “discoveries as an ethologist revolutionized science, and she was a tireless advocate for the protection and restoration of our natural world,” according to the institute.
Goodall was only 26 years old when she first traveled to Tanzania and began her important research on chimpanzees in the wild. Throughout her study of the species, Goodall proved that primates display an array of similar behaviors to humans, such as the ability to develop individual personalities and make and use their own tools.
Among the most surprising discoveries Goodall made was “how like us” the chimpanzees are, she told ABC News in 2020.
“Their behavior, with their gestures, kissing, embracing, holding hands and patting on the back,” she said. “… The fact that they can actually be violent and brutal and have a kind of war, but also loving an altruistic.”
That discovery is considered one of the great achievements of 20th-century scholarship, according to the Jane Goodall Institute.
Goodall’s love of animals began practically at birth, she told ABC News. As a child growing up in London and Bournemouth, she dreamed of traveling to Africa and living among the wildlife. When she was 10, she read the books “Doctor Dolittle” and “Tarzan,” and the inspiration changed the trajectory of her life.
The initial arrival into Tanzania’s Gombe National Park proved to be challenging. The terrain was steep and mountainous, the forests were thick, and threats from buffalo and leopards lurked in the wilderness. But her lifelong ambition had finally been realized, and Goodall knew she was where she was meant to be.
“It was what I always dreamed of,” she told ABC News.
Goodall later earned a PhD in ethology, the study of animal behavior, from the University of Cambridge. Her thesis detailed the first five years of study at the Gombe reserve.
In 1977, Goodall founded the Jane Goodall Institute with Genevieve di San Faustino. Headquartered in Washington, D.C. with offices in 25 cities around the world, the organization aims to improve the treatment and understanding of primates through public education and legal representation.
Goodall’s research garnered both scientific honors and mainstream fame, and she was credited with paving the way for a rise in women pursuing careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) over the years. The number of women in STEM has increased from 7% to 26% in the six last decades, according to The Jane Goodall Institute, which cited census information from 1970 to 2011.
In 1991, she also founded Roots & Shoots, a global humanitarian and environmental program for young people.
She was named a United Nations Messenger of Peace in April 2002. The anthropologist continued to lend her voice to environmental causes well into her 80s and 90s.
In 2019, Goodall acknowledged the climate crisis and the importance of mitigating further warming, telling ABC News that the planet is “imperiled.”
“We are definitely at a point where we need to make something happen,” she said. “We are imperiled. We have a window of time. I’m fairly sure we do. But, we’ve got to take action.”
Goodall even partnered with Apple in 2022 to encourage customers to recycle their devices to reduce individual carbon footprint and cut down on unnecessary mineral mining around the world.
“Yes, people need to make money, but it is possible to make money without destroying the planet,” Goodall told ABC News at the time. “We’ve gone so far in destroying the planet that it’s shocking.”
Goodall emphasized in 2020 that there is still much to learn from “our closest-living relatives.”
“They’re still teaching us,” she said during the diamond jubilee anniversary of studying the species.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Goodall hypothesized that humans brought outbreak upon themselves, given that bats were the suspected driver of cross-species contraction of the virus.
“We have disrespected the natural world. We’ve disrespected animals, and we’ve been cutting down forests. Animals have been driven into closer contact with people. Animals have been hunted, killed and eaten. They’ve been trafficked,” she told ABC News in 2020. “So, animals of different species have been crowded together in the wild animal meat markets in Asia, bush meat markets in Africa, and this creates a fantastic environment for a virus or bacteria, virus in this case, to jump from an animal to a person.”
Goodall’s place in pop culture history was further cemented in 2022 when toymaker Mattel announced a special edition Barbie doll modeled after Goodall in honor of the 62nd anniversary of her first visit to Tanzania’s Gombe National Park.
“My entire career, I’ve wanted to help inspire kids to be curious and explore the world around them,” Goodall said in a statement at the time.
The doll is dressed in a khaki shirt and shorts, and holds a pair of binoculars and a notebook. The doll itself is also sustainable, made from ocean-bound plastic.
Goodall was the recipient of several honors throughout her life. In 1995, she was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for “services to zoology” and promoted to Dame Commander in 2003. Goodall’s other honors included the French Legion of Honor, Japan’s Kyoto Prize and the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom.
She is survived by a son, Hugo Eric Louis van Lawick, from her first marriage to Dutch nobleman and wild photographer Baron Hugo van Lawick, as well as three grandchildren. Her second husband, former Tanzanian parliament member Derek Bryceson, died of cancer in 1980.
(NEW YORK) — Stocks closed higher on Wednesday, just hours after a government shutdown began, defying fears among some observers about the economic risk posed by a potentially prolonged impasse.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 43 points, or 0.09%, while the S&P 500 climbed 0.34%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq increased 0.42%.
The Dow and S&P 500 each closed at record highs on Wednesday.
The uptick extended a period of resilient performance for markets, which shrugged off the looming impasse a day earlier. Each of the major indexes ticked up on Tuesday.
The shutdown coincides with a rough patch for the U.S. economy, at least by some key metrics. A recent hiring slowdown has stoked recession fears, while inflation has proven difficult to fully contain.
Fresh hiring data on Wednesday morning deepened concern about the labor market. Private sector employment declined by 32,000 jobs in September, registering well short of economists’ expectations of 45,000 jobs added, according to data firm ADP research.
A government shutdown typically risks only modest damage for the U.S. economy, stemming mainly from furloughed public workers, who temporarily lose out on pay and put a dent in U.S. consumer spending, analysts previously told ABC News.
The impact of a shutdown could be more significant this time around, however, since the wobbly economy may strain under the weight of a potentially prolonged interruption, while a halt in the release of key economic data could make it more difficult for policymakers to steer the economy, they added.
(NEW YORK) — Sean “Diddy” Combs is opposing a prosecution request to allow his former assistant — who testified under the pseudonym “Mia” — to deliver a victim impact statement at his sentencing hearing on Friday.
“Simply, she is not a victim of anything,” defense attorney Marc Agnifilo said in a letter to the judge on Wednesday.
In July, a jury found Combs guilty of transportation to engage in prostitution in connection with his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura, and guilty of transportation to engage in prostitution in connection with another ex-girlfriend, who testified under the pseudonym “Jane.”
Federal prosecutors conceded that “Mia” — who testified about abuse she said she suffered while working as Combs’ assistant — is not a victim of transportation for the purposes of prostitution.
The defense called “Mia” a liar, saying she testified at trial “with a made up voice and demeanor” and now wants to “sully” the sentencing hearing.
“Moreover, that she is so eager to return to court, when she plainly does not have to, and is not even entitled to, puts her proffered fear of testifying at trial into clear relief. This was a show for her,” Agnifilo said.
While the music mogul was convicted of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, he was found not guilty of racketeering conspiracy, the most serious charge. He was also found not guilty of both charges of sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion in connection with Ventura and “Jane.”
Combs is scheduled to be sentenced on Friday.
Federal prosecutors argue Combs deserves at least 11 years in prison, while Combs’ attorneys are seeking time served. Combs has been held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn since his September 2024 arrest.
The sentencing hearing comes after Judge Arun Subramanian denied Combs’ request to throw out his conviction on Tuesday, saying the defense arguments that prostitution requires a financial motive or participation in the sexual activity “don’t hold water.”
(WASHINGTON) — As the first government shutdown in seven years got underway on Wednesday, tens of thousands of federal workers face the risk of missing paychecks as broader America braces for the absence of some key services.
Starting on Wednesday, 750,000 federal employees are expected to be furloughed, and essential employees will have to work without pay for the duration of the shutdown, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
The workers will be placed on leave without pay and will get paid retroactively once the shutdown is over.
“The number of furloughed employees could vary because some agencies might furlough more employees the longer a shutdown persists and others might recall some initially furloughed employees,” the CBO said in a statement.
While Oct. 1 paychecks have already gone out to some 2 million U.S. military troops, they may miss their next payday on the fifteenth of this month if lawmakers can’t reach a compromise to end the shutdown.
Jaime Billert of New York, whose husband serves in the U.S. Coast Guard, told ABC News that she’s already spoken to her children about setting priorities and cutting back on expenses, including dining out.
Billert said she told her children, “Your dad’s not getting paid right now. That’s our sole source of income.”
Other federal employees deemed essential — including Transportation Security Administration (TSA) workers, air traffic control workers and U.S. Border Patrol agents — will be required to continue working without pay.
Jon Zumkehr — a corrections officer at a federal prison in Thomson, Illinois, and president of Local 4070 of the American Federation of Government Employees — said he and his co-workers are concerned about how long the shutdown will last.
The federal government stoppage in December of 2018 lasted 35 days and cost the U.S. economy $11 billion, according to the CBO.
Meanwhile, members of Congress, whose average annual salary is around $174,000, will still collect their paychecks during the shutdown as mandated under Article 1, Section 6 of the Constitution.
Other impacts of the shutdown could also affect national parks, which remain partially open but could face staff shortages during the shutdown.
In previous government shutdowns, national parks that remained open but unstaffed experienced vandalism and destruction of wildlife habitats, according to a recent letter signed by 40 former park superintendents and sent to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.
In a statement on its website on Wednesday, the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., announced that its museums, research centers and the National Zoo will use prior-year funds to remain open to the public during the shutdown at least through Oct. 6.
If the shutdown goes beyond a week, other government services could be cut off.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), which assists 7 million low-income mothers and their children, is expected to run out of funding in about a week.
Some key federal agencies are expected to continue running during the shutdown, including the U.S. Postal Service.
Social Security payments are not expected to be affected by the shutdown. Federal financial aid for students is also expected to keep flowing and and student loan payments will still be due, according to the Department of Education.
(NEW YORK) — Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic candidate for mayor of New York City and a state assemblyman, said on ABC’s “The View” on Wednesday — just days after incumbent Mayor Eric Adams left the race — he was not concerned over recent threats by President Donald Trump to withhold federal funding from New York City if he gets elected.
Trump wrote on Monday on his social media platform, “Remember, he needs the money from me, as President, in order to fulfill all of his FAKE Communist promises. He won’t be getting any of it, so what’s the point of voting for him?”
Mamdani, a self-described democratic socialist, has emphasized — including on “The View” on Wednesday — that he does not identify as a communist.
“This is just one of the many threats that Donald Trump makes. Every day he wakes up, he makes another threat, a lot of the times about the city that he actually comes from,” Mamdani said.
“And what is angering to me is not what Donald Trump does, because we’ve come to expect that from him, but it’s the idea that we have to accept that as the law, the idea that we have to accept that as normal. We have to fight that because we know, not only is it an overreach from a federal administration, it’s an example of what he’s done elsewhere,” he added.
Asked about Trump’s more recent desire to use U.S. cities for military training and how he could stop him, Mamdani responded, “[Trump] wants to do a whole lot of things with this city, and we’re going to fight him every step of the way, as long as it is something that comes at the expense of this city.”
Separately, on why Democratic leaders who have have not yet endorsed him, such as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Mamdani downplayed the importance of endorsements more broadly.
He praised endorsements from figures such as New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, but added, “but also the fact that I wouldn’t be sitting here with you if it was endorsements that made all the difference. It was the people of the city.”
Mamdani has faced pushback over some of his comments and stances on the Israel-Hamas war and Israel more broadly, including framing Israel’s conduct in the war as a “genocide” and declining to support Israel’s existence as a Jewish state, although he has said he supports Israel’s right to exist as a state. The Israeli government has pushed back against claims it is committing genocide.
Asked by co-host Sara Haines why should voters who see that as a moral red line should trust his clarity and judgment, Mamdani said that New York City would be the main focus of his administration.
“And also, millions of New Yorkers, myself included, care deeply about what’s happening in Israel and Palestine,” he added.
“And so, to be very, very clear, of course, I condemn Hamas. Of course I’ve called October 7 [the attack on Israel by Hamas] what it was, which is a horrific war crime. And of course, my belief in a universality in international law is also the same set of beliefs that have led me to describe what’s happening in Gaza as a genocide.”
He added soon after, “I can’t stop that as the mayor of the city. I can make clear my own values, my own commitments, and it is a value and a commitment to humanity, to safety, to justice for all people, that extends to everyone, Israelis, Palestinians, and everyone else.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer speaks to the members of the media during a press conference, following Senate Democrats weekly policy lunch on Capitol Hill in Washington, September 30, 2025. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — The Senate on Wednesday — the first day of a government shutdown — once again failed to pass bills aimed at funding the government as congressional leaders continue to trade blame for the shutdown.
The Senate held two votes on funding bills that mirrored the failed votes they took on Tuesday, resulting in a government shutdown that took effect at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday. Both failed — resulting in the government shutdown continuing.
The first vote was, once again, a procedural vote on the Democrats’ government funding proposal that includes the health care provisions they’ve been seeking. It failed by a vote of 47-53. As was the case on Tuesday night, every Democrat voted for it and every Republican voted against it.
The second vote in the series was a procedural vote on the clean, House-backed Republican stop-gap funding bill that failed Tuesday night. Democrats continued to hold the line during Wednesday’s vote, leading it to fail with a vote of 55-45.
Democratic Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto and John Fetterman, as well as Independent Angus King, voted — as they had Tuesday — with Republicans to advance the GOP funding solution. But no additional Democrats broke ranks during the vote series. Republican Sen. Rand Paul voted no, so Republicans would have needed to pick up at least five more Democrats to advance this bill, which needed 60 votes to pass.
Majority Leader John Thune said that Republicans are on the hunt for those few additional Democrats to support their clean, short term funding bill.
In floor remarks ahead of the Wednesday votes, both leaders opened by blaming the other party.
“Here we are, Democrats have bowed to the far left and they’ve shut down the federal government,” Thune said on the floor. “As of this morning critical federal employees including members of the military, border patrol agents and air traffic controllers are working without pay and a number of government services are unavailable or at risk.”
Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, meanwhile, said “Donald Trump and Republicans have barreled us into a shutdown because they refuse to protect America’s health care.”
Schumer, in his speech, said Republicans won’t be able to “bully” Democrats into stepping down from their demands that health care be addressed as part of government funding.
At a press conference Wednesday morning, Thune said Democrats “have taken the American people hostage in a way that they think benefits them politically, at the consequence of the cost of what’s going to happen to the American families if this government shutdown continues.”
Speaker Mike Johnson slammed Democrats during the Wednesday morning press conference.
“Every single bit of this was entirely avoidable,” Johnson said, adding that Democrats should pass the clean CR as they did in the House.
“Democrats in Congress have dragged our country into another reckless shutdown to satisfy their far-left base,” Johnson said. “Whether or not the government remains open or reopens is entirely up to them.”
Democrats hit back during a press conference of their own Wednesday morning.
“Republicans control the Senate, the House and the White House. They need Democratic votes to fund the government, so it’s on them to talk with us,” House Democratic Caucus Vice Chair Pete Aguilar said.
On Tuesday, Schumer urged Republicans to come to the negotiating table.
“So, we want to sit down and negotiate, but the Republicans can’t do it in their partisan way, where they just say ‘It’s our way or the highway,’” Schumer reiterated at a news conference following Senate votes Tuesday night.
Schumer rehashed the failed votes on the Senate floor — placing the blame on Republicans who “have failed to get enough votes to avoid a shutdown.”
The Senate is expected to take votes on other matters in the afternoon and then they’re expected to depart for Yom Kippur. Though things could always change if some sort of deal is struck. The Senate is not expected to hold any additional votes on government funding until Friday at the earliest, all but assuring this shutdown stretches on at least until Friday.
ABC News’ Lauren Peller and Sarah Beth Hensley contributed to this report.
(LONDON) — Munich’s famous Oktoberfest event briefly closed on Wednesday following a bomb threat linked to a fire at a residence in the north of the city, police said.
A 57-year-old German man who police said was behind the threat was found near the residence with a backpack containing an explosive device that had to be defused. He died by suicide, according to Munich police.
Oktoberfest resumed Wednesday afternoon following a search of the grounds involving explosive detection dogs, authorities noted.
“The threat has not been confirmed,” Munich police said.
The man allegedly set fire to the residence during a family dispute in the Lerchenau district of northern Munich early Wednesday before taking his own life near a lake, police said.
Two other people — the suspect’s 81-year-old mother and 21-year-old daughter — were injured during the incident and subsequently hospitalized, according to police.
Officials said they discovered “explosive devices” in the building and that special forces were called in to defuse the bombs.
Police said they also found a letter written by the suspect containing an unspecified threat of explosives related to Oktoberfest, prompting authorities to temporarily close the fairgrounds in the vast Theresienwiese public space for several hours to conduct the searches. The grounds opened at 5:30 p.m. local time.
The investigation is ongoing, officials noted.
In a video statement posted to X, Munich police spokesman Thomas Schelshorn said the “major operation” in Lerchenau had been underway since 4:45 a.m. Wednesday.
“We’ve discovered a burning house, a single-family home, burning cars nearby and a dead man at Lerchenau Lake, which may also be related to this,” Schelshorn said.
“We also have an unspecified threat of explosives for the Theresienwiese,” he added. “That’s why cordoning off and searching measures are taking place here. And that’s also why the Oktoberfest isn’t opening on time today.”
Police said there is no indication of any threat at other Munich locations.
(NEW YORK) — Stocks ticked higher in midday trading on Wednesday, just hours after a government shutdown began, defying fears among some observers about the economic risk posed by a potentially prolonged impasse.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 71 points, or 0.15%, while the S&P 500 jumped 0.1%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq increased 0.1%.
The uptick extended a period of resilient performance for markets, which shrugged off the looming impasse a day earlier. Each of the major indexes ticked up on Tuesday, including a record high for the Dow.
The shutdown coincides with a rough patch for the U.S. economy, at least by some key metrics. A recent hiring slowdown has stoked recession fears, while inflation has proven difficult to fully contain.
Fresh hiring data on Wednesday morning deepened concern about the labor market. Private sector employment declined by 32,000 jobs in September, registering well short of economists’ expectations of 45,000 jobs added, according to data firm ADP research.
A government shutdown typically risks only modest damage for the U.S. economy, stemming mainly from furloughed public workers, who temporarily lose out on pay and put a dent in U.S. consumer spending, analysts previously told ABC News.
The impact of a shutdown could be more significant this time around, however, since the wobbly economy may strain under the weight of a potentially prolonged interruption, while a halt in the release of key economic data could make it more difficult for policymakers to steer the economy, they added.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Here are some frequently asked questions about how a government shutdown impacts travel:
Will TSA work in a shutdown?
Transportation Security Administration workers at airport checkpoints will continue to work — without pay — during the shutdown.
According to Department of Homeland Security documents, 58,488 employees out of the total TSA workforce of 61,475 will be retained during a shutdown.
Will my flight get canceled?
No. Commercial flights will continue to operate and airline employees will not be impacted.
How will air traffic controllers be impacted?
Over 13,000 air traffic controllers will continue to work — without pay — during a shutdown, according to the Department of Transportation’s shutdown plan.
Air traffic controller hiring and training would continue during a shutdown, as would air traffic control modernization, according to the DOT’s shutdown plan.
During the 2018-2019 government shutdown, ATC training was stopped. NATCA, the union representing air traffic controllers, previously told ABC News that the shutdown in 2018-2019 “eroded critical layers of safety necessary to support and maintain the [national air space]. Many of the safety activities that proactively reduce risk and increase the safety of the system were suspended during that shutdown.”
What happened to air travel during the 2018-2019 shutdown?
During the 2018-2019 shutdown, which lasted for 35 days, TSA officers called out of work at an increased rate due to financial hardship, a TSA spokesperson told ABC News at the time. Those staffing shortages caused some TSA lines to close, which led to an increased wait time for passengers to get through security.
ABC News reported that air traffic controllers called out sick at the centers in New York, Washington, D.C., and Jacksonville, Florida, leading to a staffing-related ground stop at New York’s LaGuardia Airport and flight delays at some New York and Florida airports. Hours after flights were stopped, President Donald Trump ended the shutdown. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., credited the controllers with ending the shutdown, The New York Times reported.
What about train travel?
Amtrak said in a statement that its operations will continue as usual.
“Passengers planning to travel on Amtrak trains in the Northeast Corridor and across the country in the coming days and weeks can be assured that Amtrak will remain open for business,” Amtrak said.
