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(NEW YORK) — A submersible carrying five people has gone missing while on a tour of the underwater wreckage of the Titanic off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada.

The deep-sea vessel, operated by OceanGate Expeditions, lost contact about an hour and 45 minutes after submerging on Sunday morning with a 96-hour oxygen supply. The United States Coast Guard, in coordination with the Canadian Coast Guard and the Canadian Armed Forces, immediately launched a search and rescue operation for the 21-foot sealed craft, named Titan.

Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:

Jun 21, 6:57 AM EDT
‘Banging’ picked up by sonar in search area, source says

A source familiar confirmed to ABC News that there were reports of “banging” that were picked up by sonar in the search area on Tuesday morning, but nothing has yet been found.

The U.S. Coast Guard had said early Wednesday that an aircraft with sonar capability “detected underwater noises in the search area,” but remotely operated vehicles were unable to find the origin of the sound.

Jun 21, 6:34 AM EDT
Titanic mapping company ‘fully mobilized’ to help

Magellan, an international exploration company that digitally mapped the Titanic wreckage last year, said Wednesday that it is “ready to support” the search for the missing submersible and is “fully mobilized to help.”

The U.K.-based company told ABC News that it was contacted by the submersible’s operator, OceanGate Expeditions, early Monday and “immediately offered our knowledge of the specific site and also our expertise operating at depth considerably in advance of what is required for this incident.”

“We have been working full-time with U.K. and U.S. agencies to secure the necessary air support to move our specialist equipment and support crew,” Magellan said in a statement.

When asked for comment about media reports that U.S. authorities have failed to give Magellan the necessary permits to participate in the search, the company told ABC News it “does not not wish to comment on any specific media report.”

Jun 21, 12:34 AM EDT
USCG: Canadian aircraft detected ‘underwater noises’ but search ‘yielded negative results’

“Canadian P-3 aircraft detected underwater noises in the search area,” the U.S. Coast Guard tweeted early Wednesday morning. “As a result, ROV operations were relocated in an attempt to explore the origin of the noises. Those ROV searches have yielded negative results but continue.”

The data from the P-3 has been shared with U.S. Navy experts for further analysis, the Coast Guard added.

Jun 21, 12:34 AM EDT
Lawsuit alleged flaws with Titanic sub now missing

A former employee of OceanGate alleged in a 2018 counterclaim lawsuit that he was fired for raising concerns about quality control and testing of potential flaws in the same experimental submersible that went missing this week.

David Lochridge, an engineer and submarine pilot, claimed in his counterclaim against OceanGate that he was hired in 2015 by the Everett, Washington, company to ensure the safety of all crew and clients during the submersible and surface operations of the vessel called Titan. But when he expressed concerns about the design and testing of the minisub’s hull, he said he was terminated by the company.

OceanGate had initially sued Lochridge alleging, among other things, breach of contract, fraud and misappropriation of trade secrets — all claims he denied.

In its lawsuit, OceanGate accused Lochridge of breaching his contract by discussing the company’s confidential information with the Occupational Health and Safety Administration “when he filed a false report claiming that he was discharged in retaliation for being a whistleblower.”

Jun 20, 10:15 PM EDT
Latest Coast Guard bulletin spells out timeline for missing sub search

The U.S. Coast Guard sent out its latest release Tuesday night on the search for the missing submersible at the Titanic crash site.

According to the latest release:

Sunday, June 18, 8 a.m. ET: Submersible launches, supposed to resurface at 3 p.m., but an hour and 45 minutes into the dive, it loses contact.

Sunday, June 18, 5:40 p.m. ET: Coast Guard receives report of overdue submersible.

Monday, June 19: Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, North Carolina, and C-130 Hercules aircraft, as well as a Canadian P8 aircraft equipped with underwater sonar capability, search for the missing submersible, according to a previous release.

Tuesday, June 20, 7 a.m. ET: Bahamian research vessel Deep Energy arrives.

Tuesday, June 20, 4 p.m. ET: C-130 crew from Air National Guard 106th arrives.

Jun 20, 8:33 PM EDT
Experts expressed Titan safety concerns in 2018 letter

Members of a committee specializing in submersibles expressed “unanimous concern regarding the development” of Titan in a 2018 letter addressed to OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, who is one of the passengers aboard the missing vessel.

The letter was obtained by The New York Times and was later authenticated by ABC News.

The letter warned of possible “catastrophic” problems with Titan’s development that could have “serious consequences for everyone in the industry.” The letter goes on to say that OceanGate’s safety claims were “misleading to the public” and insisted Titan be reviewed by a third-party organization.

The letter, which was addressed from the Marine Technology Society, was never approved to be sent to OceanGate though was quickly leaked to its CEO, according to committee chair William Kohnen.

“The letter did represent in 2018 the consensus by many people in the industry that they were not considering following the standard safety protocols and designs that the industry uses,” Kohnen told ABC News.

Though he wishes it was not leaked at the time, nor now to The New York Times, Kohnen said he stands by the letter and its warnings.

“The company had indicated that their state of innovation was beyond, beyond what was allowable within the regulatory standards we have today and that they would proceed without certification,” Kohnen said. “That worried a number of people in the industry.”

Kohnen acknowledged that OceanGate did “heed” some of the comments made in the 2018 letter.

-ABC News’ Amanda Maile and Victor Ordoñe​z

Jun 20, 6:02 PM EDT
NASA weighs in on missing submersible

NASA released a statement Tuesday on the Titan, saying it remains “hopeful the crew will be found unharmed.”

“NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center had a Space Act Agreement with OceanGate, and consulted on materials and manufacturing processes for the submersible. NASA did not conduct testing and manufacturing via its workforce or facilities,” the agency said.

-ABC News’ Gina Sunseri

Jun 20, 6:17 PM EDT
Search teams have covered 7,600 square miles

Search and rescue teams have now covered 7,600 square miles — an area bigger than the state of Connecticut — as they scour the ocean for the missing submersible, Coast Guard officials said.

A grid depicting the expanding search area is expected Tuesday night, according to a public information affairs lieutenant for the First District of the U.S. Coast Guard.

-ABC News’ Miles Cohen

Jun 20, 3:09 PM EDT
US Navy sending salvage experts, equipment to help with submersible

The U.S. Navy said it’s sending to the search site experts and equipment “designed to provide reliable deep ocean lifting capacity for the recovery of large, bulky, and heavy undersea objects.”

The equipment, which can lift up to 60,000 pounds, and the experts will arrive in Canada Tuesday night, the Navy said.

National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said earlier Tuesday that the Navy was”on standby” to help with the search for the missing submersible, because the Navy has “some deep-water capabilities that the Coast Guard wouldn’t necessarily have.”

President Joe Biden is “watching events closely,” Kirby said, adding that Biden and the White House offer their thoughts “to the crew onboard, as well as to the — what is no doubt — worried family members back on shore.”

Jun 20, 1:24 PM EDT
3 Air Force C-17’s transporting equipment to Newfoundland

Three U.S. Air Force C-17 cargo aircraft will be transporting commercial equipment from Buffalo, New York, to Newfoundland, Canada, to help with the search efforts, according to a U.S. official.

-ABC News’ Luis Martinez

Jun 20, 1:16 PM EDT
Search area larger than Connecticut, about 41 hours of oxygen left

Efforts to locate the missing submersible are ongoing, and the “complex” search covers an area larger than the state of Connecticut, Coast Guard Capt. Jamie Frederick said at a news conference Tuesday.

Crews are scouring the ocean 900 miles east of Cape Cod and 400 miles south of St. John’s, Canada, he said.

The missing five-person crew on the submersible has about 41 hours of oxygen left, Frederick noted.

“We will do everything in our power to effect a rescue,” Frederick said.

“We have a group of our nation’s best experts,” he said, and once the sub is located, “those experts will be looking at what the next course of action is” to rescue the crew members.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the crew and their families and their loved ones,” Frederick added.

Jun 20, 12:58 PM EDT
Former ABC News correspondent recounts moment his sub was trapped in Titanic’s propeller

In 2000, Dr. Michael Guillen, then an ABC News correspondent, was filming from the wreck of the Titanic when his vessel became trapped in the propeller.

“When we collided with the propeller, and I started seeing those big chunks of metal raining down on us … the first reaction I had was, ‘This can’t be happening,'” he recalled to ABC News on Tuesday.

“We got caught by this underwater turn and just drove us right into the blades,” Guillen said.

“This voice came into my head and said, you know, ‘This is how it’s going to end for you,'” he recalled. “I’ll never forget those words.”

“I’m very aware of what these poor souls on board the ship the Titan are experiencing,” he said. “I am just heartbroken about it.”

Jun 20, 11:35 AM EDT
French sending assistance

At the request of French President Emmanuel Macron, a French ship named Atalante is diverting to the area of the missing submissive and should reach the area Wednesday night.

The ship has an exploration robot that can dive up to 4,000 meters, according to a spokesman for France’s Ifremer Institute.

Jun 20, 9:04 AM EDT
‘It’s a race against time’

Per Wimmer, an explorer and global financier, told ABC News he was “shocked” and “horrified” to hear of the missing submersible.

“It felt very personal. … I’ve been wanting to go down to the Titanic for more than a decade,” Wimmer said.

He estimated that there’s been between 150 and 200 missions to the Titanic.

There “are very, very few submersibles in the whole world that can go down to the depth of Titanic, which sits at 3,800 meters, or about 12,000 feet,” Wimmer said. “It’s very deep — most submersibles can go down to about 1,000 meters.”

“It’s a race against time, because there’s only 96 hours of oxygen on board. And after that, if you haven’t reached the surface, you starve of oxygen,” he said.

“Our best hope at the moment is that the safety mechanism will be activated,” he said. “It is supposed to be able to float to the surface, little by little, and then they can open the hatch and hopefully get out again. That is the only hope we have, because you do not have enough time to get another submersible that can go that deep.”

Jun 20, 8:19 AM EDT
What to know about the 5 people aboard the missing sub

Renowned explorers and a father-son duo were among the five people aboard a submersible that disappeared in the Atlantic Ocean on Sunday while touring the Titanic wreckage, ABC News has learned.

ABC News has confirmed and identified four of those on aboard as Hamish Harding, a British businessman, pilot and space tourist; Paul-Henri Nargeolet, a French diver and Titanic expert; Shahzada Dawood, a Pakistani businessman, and his son Suleman Dawood.

Jun 20, 7:48 AM EDT
US Coast Guard commander talks search for missing sub

The United States Coast Guard commander leading the search for a missing submersible off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada, said Tuesday morning that crews in multiple aircraft have flown over an area of the Atlantic Ocean “roughly about the size of Connecticut” while “looking for any signs of surfacing.”

“As we continue on with the search, we’re expanding our capabilities to be able to search under the water as well,” Rear Adm. John Mauger, commander of the First Coast Guard District, told ABC News’ Robin Roberts during an interview on Good Morning America.

A commercial vessel with remotely operated vehicles is now on scene that will allow rescuers to search underwater, according to Mauger.

“This is a complex case,” he added. “The Coast Guard doesn’t have all the resources to be able to affect this kind of rescue, although this is an area that’s within our search zone.”

In many cases, Mauger said, the Coast Guard’s role is to coordinate all of the assets and technical expertise that can be used in a search, in addition to operating aircraft or ships when necessary.

“In this particular case, we’ve established a unified command with the United States Navy, with the Canadian Armed Forces, with the Canadian Coast Guard and with the private operator OceanGate Expeditions to make sure that we understand what’s needed and deploy all available equipment to the scene that could be used to locate this submersible, whether it’s on the surface or down beneath the surface,” he said.

Crews have been working “around the clock” to locate the deep-sea vessel since it lost contact with its operator on Sunday morning, according to Mauger.

In the last 24 hours, a Canadian aircraft has been dropping sonar buoys into the water that can pick up sound the submersible may be emitting. Vessels that have the capability to listen with their own sonar equipment are also on scene, according to Mauger.

“If they are making sound, that’s certainly one of the ways that we’re going to use to locate them,” he said.

Jun 20, 6:18 AM EDT
Missing sub is believed to be deeper than NATO rescue capability

A tourist submersible that disappeared in the Atlantic Ocean on Sunday is believed to be at depths that greatly exceed the capabilities of the NATO Submarine Rescue System (NSRS), according to a spokesperson for the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defense.

“As the host nation for NATO’s multinational submarine rescue capability, we continue to monitor the incident in the North Atlantic and will guide and assist in any response activity as appropriate,” the spokesperson told ABC News in a statement on Tuesday.

The U.K. has not been approached to offer assistance in the ongoing search for the deep-sea vessel off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada, according to the spokesperson.

Initial reports indicate that the depths of water involved greatly exceed that which the NSRS team can safely operate — 610 meters for the NSRS submersible and 1,000 meters for the NSRS remotely operated vehicle, according to the spokesperson.

The NSRS is based at the home of the U.K. Royal Navy Submarine Service in HM Naval Base Clyde, the U.K. Royal Navy’s headquarters in Scotland. Introduced in 2006, the tri-national capability team can respond to a stricken submarine in rescuable water which is capable of mating with the NSRS submarine rescue vehicle, according to the spokesperson.

Jun 20, 5:03 AM EDT
Former Navy sub captain on rescue options

Rescuers racing against the clock to save the five people trapped in a tourist submersible nearly two miles deep in the Atlantic Ocean are facing major obstacles that could make saving the people onboard extremely difficult, according to a former U.S. Navy submarine commander.

Retired Capt. David Marquet told ABC News on Monday that this type of rescue operation is complicated because there aren’t nearby U.S. or Canadian underwater vessels that can go as deep as the Titanic wreckage, which sits 13,400 feet below the ocean’s surface. Also, the ocean is pitch black at that depth.

“The odds are against them,” Marquet said. “There’s a ship in Boston that has this ability to either lower cable and connect to it or have a claw. It’s still a thousand miles away.”

Even if a vessel was able to locate the submersible and lower a cable, it’s extremely difficult to safely navigate the waters and attach it, according to Marquet.

“You’ve got to get it exactly right,” he told ABC News. “It’s sort of like … getting one of those toys out of those arcade machines. In general, you miss.”

Rescuers do have one advantage, Marquet said, as weather conditions off the coast of Newfoundland are not rough and will not disturb any boat or vessel there.

Marquet added that if the five people aboard are still alive, they would be asked to sleep to conserve their oxygen.

“We would put the vast majority of the crew to sleep because that’s when you’re using the least amount of oxygen and you’re expelling the least amount of carbon dioxide,” he said.

Jun 20, 4:27 AM EDT
What to know about the missing sub

A submersible on a tour of the Titanic wreckage was reported overdue by its operator OceanGate Expeditions on Sunday, prompting the United States Coast Guard to launch a search and rescue effort for the 22-foot, 23,000-pound vessel.

Designed with life support to sustain five crew members for 96 hours, the submersible would need to be rescued in three days to save its five passengers, according to the Coast Guard.

Stockton Rush founded Washington-based OceanGate in 2009 to make deep-sea exploration more accessible to scientists and tourists. Fourteen years, more than 200 dives and three submersible designs later, the company now finds itself in a desperate search to recover the submersible carrying five people aboard that’s gone missing off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada.

OceanGate confirmed Monday it had lost contact with a submersible, saying in a statement: “We are exploring and mobilizing all options to bring the crew back safely. Our entire focus is on the crewmembers in the submersible and their families. We are working toward the safe return of the crewmembers.”

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — Jack Teixeira, the Massachusetts Air National Guard member accused of leaking classified documents online, is set to be arraigned in federal court on Wednesday.

The 21-year-old Massachusetts native, who was indicted by a grand jury earlier this month, faces six counts of willful retention and transmission of classified information related to the national defense.

Teixeira is accused of abusing his security clearance and posting classified documents on social media sites, according to the Department of Justice. Teixeira allegedly revealed the kinds of military equipment the United States was prepared to give to Ukraine, “how the equipment would be transferred, and how the equipment would be used upon receipt,” according to the indictment.

Teixeira was taken into custody in April. He allegedly began posting classified documents online in January 2022, according to the Justice Department.

Teixeira enlisted in the Air National Guard in 2019, according to his service record, and had top secret security clearance since 2021, according to the Department of Justice.

A spokeswoman for the Teixeira family declined to comment to ABC News last week about the indictment.

Teixeira’s arraignment is scheduled for 3:45 p.m. in Worcester, Massachusetts.

He could face 10 years in prison for each charge if convicted.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — A former employee of OceanGate alleged in a 2018 counterclaim lawsuit that he was fired for raising concerns about quality control and testing of potential flaws in the same experimental submersible that went missing this week with its crew and passengers on an underwater tourist venture to see the wreck of the Titanic.

David Lochridge, an engineer and submarine pilot, claimed in his counterclaim against OceanGate that he was hired in 2015 by the Everett, Washington, company to ensure the safety of all crew and clients during the submersible and surface operations of the vessel called Titan. But when he expressed concerns about the design and testing of the minisub’s hull, he said he was terminated by the company.

OceanGate had initially sued Lochridge alleging, among other things, breach of contract, fraud and misappropriation of trade secrets — all claims he denied.

In its lawsuit, OceanGate accused Lochridge of breaching his contract by discussing the company’s confidential information with the Occupational Health and Safety Administration “when he filed a false report claiming that he was discharged in retaliation for being a whistleblower.”

Lochridge and OceanGate settled the dispute out of court in November 2018.

It remains unclear what caused the submersible to go missing or if any of the concerns that Lochridge raised were a factor.

Neither Lochridge nor OceanGate officials could be reached by ABC News for comment.

In the lawsuit, Lochridge, originally from Scotland, claimed that when he joined OceanGate, the company’s chief executive officer, Stockton Rich, tasked him to conduct a quality control inspection to “ensure the safety of all crew and clients during the submersible and surface operations” of the experimental vessel.

But Lochridge, according to the suit, raised concerns about the design of the submersible’s hull, particularly that it was made of carbon fiber instead of a metallic composition.

Lockridge, according to the suit, objected to OceanGate’s and its CEO’s “deviation from an original plan to conduct non-destructive testing and unmanned pressure testing” on the Titan.

“Lockridge disagreed with OceanGate’s position to dive the submersible without any non-destructive testing to prove its integrity and to subject passengers to extreme danger in an experimental submersible,” the suit said.

OceanGate, according to the lawsuit, intended for the Titan to carry passengers to extreme underwater depths of 4,000 meters, “a depth never before reached by an OceanGate manned submersible composed of carbon fiber.”

During one company meeting, issues of quality control with the submersible were raised “as there were evident flaws throughout the build process,” according to the lawsuit.

Lochridge alleged that he requested paperwork from the company’s engineering director “regarding the viewport test result of the viewport for the Titan,” according to the lawsuit.

“Lochridge was met with hostility and denied access to the necessary documentation that should have been freely available as a part of his inspection process,” the lawsuit said.

Because his “verbal communications were ignored,” Lochridge claims he wrote a report, saying, “Now is the time to properly address items that pose a safety risk to personnel.”

He claimed that since his verbal concerns over key items were dismissed, he wrote his inspection report “so there is an official record,” according to the lawsuit.

“In the Inspection Report, Lochridge identified numerous issues that posed serious safety concerns, and offered corrective action and recommendations for each,” the lawsuit stated. “Lochridge primarily expressed concern regarding the lack of non-destructive testing performed on the hull of the Titan.”

Lochridge, according to the lawsuit, was repeatedly told that no scan of the hull or Bond Line could be done to check for delaminations, porosity and voids of sufficient adhesion of the glue being used due to the thickness of the hull.

“Lockridge was told that no form of equipment existed to perform such test,” according to the lawsuit.

According to the suit, on Jan. 19, 2018, a day after he filed his report, Lochridge was called to the meeting with company executives.

“At the meeting, Lochridge discovered why he had been denied access to the viewport information from the Engineering department — the viewport at the forward of the submersible was only built to a certified pressure of 1,300 meters, although OceanGate intended to take passengers down to depths of 4,000 meters,” the lawsuit said. “The paying passengers would not be aware, and would not be informed, of this experimental design, the lack of non-destructive testing of the hull, or that hazardous flammable materials were being used within the submersible.”

Lochridge claimed he again expressed his concerns at the meeting.

“Rather than address his concerns or undergo corrective action to rectify and ensure the safety of the experimental Titan, or utilize a standard classification agency to inspect the Titan, OceanGate did the exact opposite — they immediately fired Lochridge,” the suit said.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — Guaranteed income experiments are popping up or expanding around the country, offering no-strings-attached temporary cash payments to low-income residents.

Some governmental programs limit what recipients can or cannot pay for with their assistance. Guaranteed income programs select certain groups impacted by income inequality — such as the impoverished or the formerly incarcerated — and gives them monthly cash payments for an allotted amount of time. This allows participants to use money on whatever they need or want, which allows residents to fill in the gaps of what other financial assistance may not cover.

These programs have been lauded by recipients, who say the payments have acted as a support system and offered mental and financial relief.

Recipients have said the money has gone toward things like bills, debt repayment, childcare and more.

Some research has indicated programs have the ability to increase employment in participants, improve financial and housing stability and improve physical and mental health in participants.

The programs are also intended to address racial, wealth or income inequalities. Guaranteed income was a proponent of the civil rights movement in the 1960s, backed by Martin Luther King Jr. to address racial income inequality.

Critics of guaranteed income argue that these programs may encourage dependency and stop people from working — though such claims have been challenged — or may be too expensive to maintain. Some call it a “band-aid” solution to the issue of economic inequality.

Some of the programs are privately funded, while others have been backed by federal, state or local funding.

Here’s where the latest programs or expansions are opening up around the country:

Rochester, New York

In Rochester, New York, a new guaranteed basic income program will provide a monthly payment of $500 to 351 individuals for a year.

Almost 30% of the city’s population is impoverished, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

“Rochester’s GBI program has the potential to create significant opportunities for our residents to not only survive, but to thrive,” said Rochester Mayor Malik D. Evans in his June 15 announcement.

He added, “We continue to work to take our city from a poverty mindset to a prosperity mindset, and to prioritize the well-being and economic stability of our community. GBI is one more program helping to do that.”

Applicants must be older than 18 and are required to have been a Rochester resident for one year, with a household income at or below 185% of the Federal Poverty Level. The program will be financed by $2.2 million of the city’s American Rescue Plan Act funds.

Harris County, Texas

Harris County commissioners voted in favor of giving $500 each month for 18 months to up to 1,500 families living below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level — which is up to approximately $40,000 for a family of four.

“Decades of neglect, inequity, and discrimination have financially destabilized generations of Harris County families, perpetuated poverty, and created unfair barriers to prosperity,” Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis said.

“Unchecked and ongoing inequality has created an economic divide that families can’t overcome on their own, and Harris County has an obligation to act,” Ellis said.

Roughly 16% of county residents live in poverty, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The program, which is backed by $20.5 million in American Rescue Plan Act Funds, is expected to begin in the fall of 2023.

Ann Arbor, Michigan

Ann Arbor will pilot a guaranteed income program focused on low- and moderate-income entrepreneurs. One hundred recipients will receive approximately $530 per month for 24 months.

Recipients are to be “engaged in low-level entrepreneurship, such as gig work, informal businesses from their home, or services provided to neighbors or friends,” according to the June 6 city announcement on the program.

The announcement states that the program aims to address systemic barriers to success faced by small entrepreneurial efforts — especially those led by people of color.

This includes a “lack of access to capital and credit that is the result of longstanding racial wealth stripping and discriminatory lending practices,” the announcement reads.

“Guaranteed income programs are flourishing across our country, and they are proving to be an impactful tool to combat generational poverty,” said Ann Arbor Mayor Christopher Taylor in a press release.

He continued, “By partnering with the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor will increase our understanding of the effectiveness of these programs, and — crucially — serve members of our community who are in need.”

The city will use $1.6 million of its federal American Rescue Plan Act funds to back the basic income pilot.

Cambridge, Massachusetts

Cambridge initially hosted an income program for 130 residents for 18 months, who received $500 a month starting in 2021.

The city’s latest campaign announced in May it has committed $22 million from the federal American Rescue Plan Act to provide assistance to all low-income Cambridge households that meet the requirements.

Families must have at least one child 21 years of younger and earn 250% of the Federal Poverty Level or less. They’ll be given $500 per month for 18 months, the city says.

“People are using these payments to provide them with more opportunity, more resilience, more financial security,” said Cambridge Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui in a previous interview with ABC News.

She added, “There’s also a notion that people are going to spend this money on drugs, booze, and the list goes on. And that’s also incorrect. We know that people are spending and making purchases, on diapers, on clothes, on personal care products, they’re buying groceries.”

Los Angeles County, California

Los Angeles County’s “Breathe” guaranteed income program recently announced it will expand its reach to provide 200 former foster youth from the Department of Children and Family Services system with $1,000 per month for two years.

The program will be funded by the Los Angeles County Poverty Alleviation Initiative. The application process ends on July 3.

This will be part of an independent research study on the program’s impact on the economic stability of participants, as well as their overall health and well-being.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — A Kansas man has been indicted on charges he made threats on Facebook targeting a Nashville Pride event scheduled for this upcoming weekend, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Middle Tennessee announced Tuesday.

Joshua Hensley, 25, allegedly posted on Facebook in April threatening to “make shrapnel pressure cooker bombs” to attack the event, and on the same day also posted he would “commit a mass shooting,” prosecutors said.

He was arrested at his home by the FBI last Thursday and has a detention hearing scheduled for Friday in Kansas, the Department of Justice said.

Hensley, a Hoisington, Kansas, resident, was charged with two counts of transmitting an interstate threat in connection to the event, which is to be held on June 24 and 25, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Middle Tennessee said in a press release.

“We will not tolerate hate-based, threats of violence designed to intimidate Tennesseans,” U.S. Attorney Henry C. Leventis said. “We will continue to work with our partners at the FBI to ensure that the civil rights of all persons are protected.”

Hensley faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each count, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Tennessee is one of a handful of states that has introduced legislation this year targeting the LGBTQIA+ community, including policies banning gender-affirming care.

Gov. Bill Lee signed legislation into law in March that would ban gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth.

The Department of Justice filed a complaint in April challenging the law, asking a U.S. District Court to issue an order to prevent the law from going into effect on July 1.

The law restricts medical procedures specifically for gender-transitioning youth that would impact access to puberty blockers, hormone therapies and surgeries for transgender people under 18.

Violent threats against the LGBTQIA+ community have increased and are intensifying, the Department of Homeland Security said in a briefing in May.

Within the last year, domestic violence extremists and people who commit hate crimes have increased threats of violence against the LGBTQIA+ community, the DHS document said.

“These issues include actions linked to drag-themed events, gender-affirming care and LGBTQIA+ curricula in schools,” DHS said.

A federal grand jury indicted a Maryland man in July for allegedly posing as a federal officer and targeting gay men in a series of attacks at a Washington, D.C., park.

Michael Thomas Pruden was indicted by a federal grand jury on five counts of assault on federal land, one count of impersonating a federal officer and a hate crime sentencing enhancement “alleging that Pruden assaulted four of the victims because of their perceived sexual orientation,” the Justice Department said at the time.

Pruden pleaded not guilty to all counts, according to court records.

His next status hearing is on July 18, court records show.

As for Hensley, the FBI is currently investigating the case.

At this time, it’s unclear who the attorney is representing Hensley.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — A portion of a Florida county has been placed under quarantine as state officials work to get rid of a giant African land snail (GALS), the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) said Tuesday.

The quarantine comes weeks after state officials found the snail in the Miramar area of Broward County, Florida, according to FDACS.

Giant African land snails are considered detrimental to agriculture, the FDACS said.

The snail is known to eat at least 500 different plant species that are deemed economically important, including, “breadfruit, cassava, cocoa, papaya, peanut, rubber, most varieties of beans, peas, cucumbers, melons and plants of horticultural, cultural and medicinal value,” according to the United States Department of Agriculture.

Under the quarantine rule, it is illegal for people to move the giant African land snail from the impacted area without an agreement in place, the FDACS said.

People are also not allowed to remove affected plants, soil, yard waste, debris, compost, or building materials from the quarantine area, according to Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ rules.

State officials will use the pesticide metaldehyde to treat the area, as it’s approved to be used in a selection of vegetables, crops, fruits and some plants in residential areas, the FDACS said.

People living in the designated treatment area will be notified by state officials at least one day in advance before the pesticide treatment takes place, officials said.

“Metaldehyde works by disrupting the mucus production ability of snails and slugs,” the FDACS said on its website. “This reduces their digestion and mobility, and makes them susceptible to dehydration. Snails and slugs that have eaten metaldehyde often seek hiding places, become inactive and begin to die within days.”

GALS were first introduced into Miami in 1966 and by 1973, over 18,000 snails, alongside their eggs, were discovered and destroyed, according to the USDA.

The snails were declared eradicated twice in Florida, first in 1975 after being spotted in 1969, and a second time in 2021, after being seen in Miami-Dade County in 2011, according to state officials.

The giant African land snail isn’t the only pest harmful to agriculture.

Scientists and various state agriculture departments urged people who came across the spotted lanternfly last year to squish it because of its harmful effect on agriculture.

The spotted lanternfly originated in Asia, but was first found in the U.S. in Pennsylvania in 2014, and soon after in other states in the Northeast, including Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York and Virginia.

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services didn’t immediately respond to ABC News’ request on how many miles of the area was placed under quarantine and how long it would last.

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