(WASHINGTON) — As President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office, one of his first orders of business will be to decide about the fate of TikTok in the United States — and some of his cabinet appointees appear to be split on the issue.
Sources familiar with the president-elect’s thinking told ABC News that he may try to stop the ban of the popular social media app, which according to a new law must either find a new U.S. owner by Jan. 19 or face a ban.
Trump’s pick to lead the FCC, Brendan Carr, signaled support for banning TikTok in 2022.
“I think either a total ban or some sort of action like that that’s going to completely sever the corporate links back into Beijing,” Carr told NPR, referencing concerns about possible data usage on the Chinese-owned app.
Former Rep. Matt Gaetz — Trump’s controversial pick to for attorney general, who would lead the department that would enforce any ban — voted against a ban of the app while he was a member of the House — though he signaled some support for the initiative.
“Banning TikTok is the right idea. But this legislation was overly broad, rushed and unavailable for amendment or revision. This is no way to run a railroad (or the internet),” Gaetz wrote on X, formerly Twitter, at the time.
TikTok and its parents company, ByteDance, have sued the U.S. government over the potential ban, ABC News previously reported, saying it’s unconstitutional and violates the First Amendment, while pushing back on claims about the app being security risk.
“Congress itself has offered nothing to suggest that the TikTok platform poses the types of risks to data security or the spread of foreign propaganda that could conceivably justify the act,” TikTok’s lawsuit said.
A spokesperson for Trump’s transition team did not respond to a request for comment from ABC News.
As ABC News previously reported, Trump could try to stop the ban through a number of methods, including pushing Congress to repeal the law banning the app, refusing to enforce the ban, or helping TikTok find a U.S. buyer to comply with the law and render the issue moot.
The ban of the app was spearheaded in Congress by former Rep. Mike Gallagher, who said in an April interview with the New York Times that TikTok posed an “espionage threat” and a “propaganda threat” and that China is “America’s foremost adversary.”
Responding to allegations regarding TikTok, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Nig last year said that China “has never and will not” direct companies to illegally collect data in other countries, according to The New York Times.
In testimony before Congress, TikTok’s CEO also said the app was “free from any manipulation from any government” and that he had “seen no evidence that the Chinese government has access to that data. They have never asked us, we have not provided it,” according to NPR.
Gallagher resigned early this year and took a job with software company Palantir Technologies. A spokesperson for Gallagher rebuffed questions raised at the time over his swift move to Palantir, a company that was vocal about its opposition to TikTok, according to Forbes magazine.
“Congressman Gallagher knows and complies with the House Rules, which includes those about negotiating outside employment,” the spokesperson said in a statement regarding the Forbes report.
(ATHENS, Ga.) — The suspect accused of murdering Laken Riley on the University of Georgia’s campus was found guilty on all charges Wednesday, including malice murder and felony murder.
Prosecutors called the evidence against the suspect “overwhelming,” while the defense raised the theory that the defendant could be an accomplice but not the killer during closing arguments in his trial.
Jose Ibarra, 26, was accused of killing the 22-year-old nursing student while she was out for a run after prosecutors said she “refused to be his rape victim.” Jose Ibarra, an undocumented migrant, was charged with malice murder and felony murder in connection with her death, which became a rallying cry for immigration reform from many conservatives, including President-elect Donald Trump.
Jose Ibarra waived his right to a jury trial and the case was presented over four days in the Athens-Clarke County courtroom to Judge H. Patrick Haggard, who rendered the verdict on Wednesday.
Sobbing could be heard in the courtroom as he read the guilty verdicts on each charge.
Before announcing his verdict, Haggard told the courtroom that he wrote down two statements from the attorneys during closing arguments.
One was a statement by the prosecutor, who said the “evidence was overwhelming and powerful.”
The other was one by the defense attorney, who said that the judge is “required to set aside my emotions.”
“That’s the same thing we tell jurors,” he said. “That’s the way I have to approach this, and I did. Both of those statements are correct.”
Court is on recess until 12:30 p.m. ET, at which point Haggard said he is ready to move ahead with sentencing.
Jose Ibarra faces a minimum sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole.
Prosecutors called 28 witnesses while laying out what they said was evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that Jose Ibarra killed Riley, who died by blunt force head trauma and asphyxia.
Special prosecutor Sheila Ross told the court Jose Ibarra encountered Riley while she was on her morning jog on Feb. 22 while he was out “hunting” for women on the Athens campus.
Ross said Riley “fought for her life” in a struggle that caused Jose Ibarra to leave forensic evidence behind. Digital and video evidence also pointed to him as the only killer, she said.
“The evidence in this case has been overwhelming, and the evidence in this case has spoken loud and clear — that he is Laken Riley’s killer, and that he killed her because she would not let him rape her,” Ross said during her closing argument on Wednesday.
A forensics expert testified that Jose Ibarra’s DNA was found under Riley’s right fingernails, and that his two brothers, who lived with him in an apartment near the campus, were excluded as matches.
When Jose Ibarra was questioned by police a day after the murder, he had visible scratches on his arms, officers said. He also had scratches on his neck and back, which Ross said could have only been left by Riley.
“In order to not find him guilty, you would have to disbelieve your own eyes,” Ross said.
“She marked him. She marked him for everyone to see. She marked him for you to see,” Ross told the judge.
Prosecutors argued Jose Ibarra hindered Riley from making a 911 call, and said his thumbprint was left on her phone. Data from his Samsung phone and the Garmin watch Riley was wearing on her run showed the devices overlapped and were in close proximity in the forest where she was found dead, an FBI analyst testified.
Jose Ibarra was captured on Ring footage discarding a bloody jacket and disposable gloves near his apartment about 15 minutes after Riley died, prosecutors said. The individual’s face can’t be seen in the video, but Jose Ibarra’s roommate testified that it was him. The defendant’s brother, Diego Ibarra, also identified him as the person in the video while being questioned by police a day after the murder.
Riley’s DNA was found on the jacket and gloves, the forensics expert said. Jose Ibarra’s DNA was also found on the jacket, while his two brothers were excluded as matches, the expert said.
“That is what we call consciousness of guilt in our business — he threw away those items because he knew he had killed her, and he threw them away because he didn’t want anyone to find him,” Ross said.
Her DNA was also found on an Adidas cap he was seen wearing in the video, the expert said. That cap was not discarded, Ross surmised, because Jose Ibarra could not see that there was actually blood on it.
Jose Ibarra was also seen in different clothes from the dumpster Ring footage discarding unidentifiable items in a bag that was never recovered by police hours after the killing. Ross surmised that the bag contained the clothes he was wearing earlier, which were also similar to ones he was wearing in a selfie posted on Snapchat earlier that morning.
“His digital evidence of posting selfies of himself wearing what is basically his rapist gear an hour before he leaves his house that condemns him, he has condemned himself,” Ross said.
The defense called three witnesses, including a neighbor who said Diego Ibarra had threatened her the night of Riley’s murder.
The defense said they had planned to call two additional witnesses — including Diego Ibarra, who is in federal custody awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to possessing a fraudulent green card, however, his attorney did not wish for him to testify.
“While the evidence in this case is voluminous, it is circumstantial,” defense attorney Kaitlyn Beck told the judge.
Beck told the judge they advised Jose Ibarra to have a bench trial “trusting that your honor could and believing that your honor would set aside the emotions in this case and simply consider the evidence.”
She argued there is doubt about what was tested and said the judge should be “skeptical” of the DNA evidence.
She presented an “alternative theory” that Diego Ibarra was actually Riley’s murderer, and that Jose Ibarra was an accomplice in covering up the evidence.
“Maybe it was him throwing away the jacket, as Diego said, maybe he was covering up for his brother,” Beck said.
“Under that theory, of course, Jose would be guilty of tampering, but that theory does not prove that he was present or involved in the murder of Laken Riley,” she said.
She said since three gloves were discarded, which “suggests that there are multiple pairs of hands wearing those gloves.”
On rebuttal, Ross called the defense’s theory “desperate” and a “mischaracterization of the evidence.”
“There is no reasonable explanation for all of this evidence other than he is guilty of every single count in this indictment,” Ross said.
Diego Ibarra told officers during questioning that he was asleep at the time the killing occurred. A Georgia Bureau of Investigation testified earlier Wednesday that there was no evidence to contradict that statement.
Jose Ibarra, a migrant from Venezuela who officials said illegally entered the U.S. in 2022, waived his right to testify during the trial. He had pleaded not guilty to the charges, including malice murder and felony murder.
Additional charges in the 10-count indictment included aggravated battery, kidnapping with bodily injury, aggravated assault with intent to rape, obstructing or hindering a person making an emergency telephone call and tampering with evidence. The latter charge alleged that he “knowingly concealed” evidence — the jacket and gloves — involving the offense of malice murder.
Jose Ibarra was also charged with a peeping tom offense. Prosecutors said that in the hours before Riley’s murder, he spied through the window of a UGA graduate student, and said the incident “shows his state of mind” that day.
The student testified that she called police after hearing someone trying to open her door.
Ross said the person at the student’s apartment was wearing clothes similar to the ones Jose Ibarra had on in the Snapchat selfie posted earlier that morning, including the Adidas cap.
(AUSTIN, Texas) — Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham is offering the incoming Trump administration 1,402 acres it purchased along the Texas-Mexico border to be used in a mass deportation operation.
In a letter to President-elect Donald Trump, Buckingham said she’s offering the land “to be used to construct deportation facilities.”
The Texas General Land Office purchased the plot of land from a farmer in October to facilitate Texas’ efforts to build a wall.
“My office is fully prepared to enter into an agreement with the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or the United States Border Patrol to allow a facility to be built for the processing, detention, and coordination of the largest deportation of violent criminals in the nation’s history,” Buckingham wrote in the letter, dated Tuesday.
Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs told ABC News Live on Monday that she would not use state police or the National Guard to help with mass deportation.
“We will not be participating in misguided efforts that harm our communities,” she said.
Trump on Monday confirmed he would declare a national emergency to carry out his campaign promise of mass deportations of migrants living in the U.S. without legal permission, and pledged to get started on the mass deportations as soon as he enters office.
A spokeswoman for the Trump transition team said the president-elect will “marshal every lever of power” to launch his mass deportation plans.
“Local and state officials on the frontlines of the Harris-Biden border invasion have been suffering for four years and are eager for President Trump to return to the Oval Office. On day one, President Trump will marshal every lever of power to secure the border, protect their communities, and launch the largest mass deportation operation of illegal immigrant criminals in history,” Karoline Leavitt said.
In an interview with Fox News, which first reported the news of the Texas General Land Office’s offer, Buckingham reiterated she is “100% on board” with the incoming administration’s promise to deport criminals.
The plot of land is in Starr County, about 35 miles west of McAllen, Texas.
“Now it’s essentially farmland, so it’s flat, it’s easy to build on. We can very easily put a detention center on there — a holding place as we get these criminals out of our country,” she told Fox News.
(WASHNGTON) — Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to be attorney general, is meeting with senators on Capitol Hill Wednesday morning alongside Vice President-elect JD Vance, making his case for the job hours before the House Ethics Committee is set to discuss its report on him.
The Justice Department also spent years probing sexual misconduct allegations against Gaetz, as well as allegations of obstruction of justice, before informing Gaetz last year that it would not bring charges. Gaetz has long denied any wrongdoing related to the allegations investigated during the congressional and Justice Department probes.
After Trump announced Gaetz has his attorney general pick, the Florida congressman resigned from the House, meaning the House Ethics Committee no longer has the jurisdiction to continue its investigation into him — however Republicans and Democrats have argued whether a break in that precedent is necessary for the Senate to perform its constitutional duty to advise and consent to presidential nominations.
Republican Sens. Josh Hawley and Lindsey Graham met with Vance and Gaetz Wednesday morning.
Graham told reporters that the meeting went well and that Gaetz deserves a fair nomination process.
“Here’s what I told him, no rubber stamps and no lynch mob. I’m not going to be part of a process that leaks information that shouldn’t be leaked,” Graham said. “I’m not going to legitimize the process to destroy the man because people don’t like his politics. He will be held to account in the confirmation process. He deserves a chance to make his argument why he should be attorney general.”
Hawley was walking into the meeting when he told reporters that in his view, Congress should move forward with Gaetz’s confirmation process and respond to the allegations against him.
“Do the hearing and let him respond to everything under oath in public,” Hawley told reporters.
The fate of the Gaetz report is in the hands of the committee, and it’s not clear if the committee will vote on whether to release the report.
If there is a vote, a majority of the five Democrats and five Republicans on the committee must approve its public disclosure — meaning at least one Republican must break party ranks to join Democrats to force its release.
(CHAPEL HILL, N.C.) — Madyson Barber, a grad student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, was researching young transiting systems in space when she made a remarkable discovery.
Barber used data from NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite to observe the brightness of stars over time. During the observations, Barber noticed some “little dips” in brightness, indicating that a “transiting” planet may be passing near Earth.
The planet, named IRAS 04125+2902 b, is estimated to be 3 million years old, which is considered “young” for stars, Barber said. Earth is about 4.5 billion years old and took an estimated 10 million to 20 millions to form. The next youngest known planet is about 10 million years old, Barber said.
“It’s about the same as a 10-day-old baby in human timescale,” she added. “So, super, super young in comparison to our home.”
Nicknamed “TIDYE-1b” by researchers, the new planet has been shown to have an orbital period of 8.83 days, according to a paper published Thursday in Nature. It has a radius about 10.7 times larger than Earth and has approximately 30% of the mass of Jupiter.
TIDYE-1b orbits a star of about the same age named IRAS 04125+2902.
Astronomers noted some unusual characteristics of the star, which is located relatively close to Earth at 160 parsecs, or 522 lightyears, away, researchers said. The outer protoplanetary disk surrounding the star is misaligned and the star has a depleted inner disk.
The combination of these unique features allowed scientists to observe the transiting protoplanet.
“If part of the planetary discs were still present, it would be in the same plane of rotation as that spinning star and the orbiting planet,” Barber said. “So the disc would block our observations of the star.”
Astronomers are still learning about the planet. They were able to calculate the upper mass limit by looking at the radial velocity of the star, which is the movement of the star over time, and measuring “little wiggles in that movement,” Barber added.
“Other than that, there’s not a whole lot we can say about the planet at this point,” she said.
Right now, the researchers are only 95% confident in the measurements they’ve taken for the planet’s upper mass limit, and they hypothesize that the planet’s real mass is actually much smaller, Barber said.
“Because we don’t have a ton of these young transiting systems that we know of, it’s really important that we look for more so that we can have a better picture of what that formation and evolution looks like, so we can better understand how our own home formed and evolved,” Barber said.
The researchers believe the new planet could be a precursor of the super-Earth and sub-Neptune planets that are frequently found orbiting main-sequence stars.
The system could also be a useful target for studying the early stages of planet formation due to its young age, the rare disk misalignment and the relatively close location to Earth, Barber said.
(NEW YORK) — President-elect Donald Trump’s criminal hush money conviction in New York must be dismissed “to facilitate the orderly transition of Executive power,” Trump’s defense attorneys argued Wednesday in a letter to the court.
Defense attorneys Todd Blanche and Emil Bove — both of whom Trump nominated last week to top DOJ posts in his new administration — sought the judge’s permission to file a motion to dismiss the case.
“Continuing with this case would be uniquely destabilizing,” the defense letter argued. “Just as a sitting President is completely immune from any criminal process, so too is President Trump as President-elect.”
The defense filing comes one day after Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg opposed dismissing the case but consented to freeze of all remaining proceedings, including sentencing, until after Trump completes his term.
The defense sought a Dec. 20 deadline to file its motion to dismiss Trump’s 34-count felony conviction for falsifying business records.
Blanche and Bove said that would give Trump time to address “the positions taken by DOJ in the federal cases” Trump faces over the his election interference efforts and his handling of classified documents.
Both of the federal cases are currently paused while the Justice Department evaluates how to proceed.
Trump was convicted in May of all 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to a hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels to silence allegations about a 2006 sexual encounter with Trump in order to boost his electoral prospects in the 2016 presidential election.
His conviction carries a maximum penalty of up to four years in prison, but first-time offenders would normally receive a lesser sentence.
Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead via Flickr
(WASHINGTON) — President-elect Donald Trump continues to announce his picks for top jobs inside his administration, most recently naming nominees for energy secretary and to helm the Federal Communications Commission.
Meanwhile, fallout continues for former Rep. Matt Gaetz, Trump’s choice to serve as attorney general. The House Ethics Committee was investigating Gaetz for alleged sexual misconduct and illicit drug use. Calls are growing for the panel to release its report on Gaetz, who resigned from the House last week.
Trump announces Matt Whitaker as NATO ambassador
In a statement Wednesday, President-elect Trump announced former acting attorney general Matt Whitaker as ambassador to NATO.
Whitaker was an active member of Trump’s 2024 campaign.
“Matt is a strong warrior and loyal Patriot, who will ensure the United States’ interests are advanced and defended,” Trump said.
Gaetz, Vance meet with senators on Capitol Hill ahead of House Ethics Committee meeting
Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, President-elect Trump’s nominee to be attorney general, is meeting with senators on Capitol Hill Wednesday morning alongside Vice President-elect JD Vance — hours before the House Ethics Committee is set to discuss its report on Gaetz.
The fate of the Gaetz report is in the hands of the committee, which has a reputation for being tight-lipped. It’s not clear if the committee will vote on whether to release the report.
GOP Sens. Josh Hawley and Lindsey Graham met with Vance and Gaetz Wednesday morning.
Graham told reporters that the meeting went well and that Gaetz deserves a fair nomination process.
“Here’s what I told him, no rubber stamps and no lynch mob. I’m not going to be part of a process that leaks information that shouldn’t be leaked,” Graham told reporters. “I’m not going to legitimize the process to destroy the man because people don’t like his politics. He will be held to account in the confirmation process. He deserves a chance to make his argument why he should be attorney general.”
Hawley was walking into the meeting when he told reporters that in his view, Congress should move forward with Gaetz’s confirmation process and respond to the allegations against him.
“Do the hearing and let him respond to everything under oath in public,” Hawley told reporters before entering the meeting.
-Allison Pecorin, Julia Cherner, Hannah Demissie
What to know about Dr. Oz
President-elect Donald Trump announced Tuesday that heart surgeon-turned-TV-host Dr. Mehmet Oz would lead the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
So is he a real doctor? What would he be in charge of in the role? And what are some of his past controversies?
Read more here about what to know about Oz, his medical career and some medical claims he’s made that have come under fire.
Lara Trump said she would ‘absolutely’ accept Senate appointment to fill Rubio seat if asked
Lara Trump, Republican National Committee co-chair and daughter-in-law of President-elect Trump, said Wednesday morning on Fox and Friends First that she would “absolutely” accept an appointment to the U.S. Senate to replace Sen. Marco Rubio Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis chooses her.
DeSantis will need to appoint someone to replace Rubio, who has been nominated to be Trump’s secretary of state. Rubio has not resigned from the Senate yet and like all Cabinet picks, is not confirmed yet — although his confirmation process is expected to go smoothly.
“I would be honored … to serve as the next senator from my state — right now, I’ve lived here for three and a half years — of Florida. Absolutely,” Lara Trump said.
Later, she added that DeSantis would “choose the best person for this position.”
“If he asks me to do it, yes, absolutely. It would be an honor,” she said.
-Oren Oppenheim
Stephen Miller indicates Trump would use recess appointments for Cabinet
Stephen Miller, President-elect Donald Trump’s deputy chief of staff of policy, joined Hannity on Tuesday evening where he discussed a wide range of topics including several of Trump’s day one missions — including recess appointments to his Cabinet.
Asked if some Cabinet appointments were to become troublesome if Trump would use the recess appointment process, Miller said he would.
“Yes, the president has won a mandate, and he will use all lawful constitutional means to fulfill that mandate on behalf of the people who voted for him in record numbers,” Miller said.
Indicating that immigration will be a priority, Miller said mass deportations will occur immediately.
“It is going to be at light speed,” Miller said. “The moment that President Trump puts his hand on that Bible and takes the oath of office, as he has said, the occupation ends, liberation day begins.”
Miller added that Trump will “immediately sign executive orders sealing the border shut, beginning the largest deportation operation in American history, finding the criminal gangs, rapists, drug dealers and monsters that have murdered our citizens and sending them home.”
-Kelsey Walsh, Lalee Ibssa, Soorin Kim
Trump is the ‘decision-maker,’ his press secretary replies when asked about her role
Karoline Leavitt gave her first interview since being chosen as President-elect Donald Trump’s press secretary last week.
Asked if there would be daily press briefings during her appearance on Fox News, Leavitt punted to Trump.
“It’s certainly something I’ll discuss with President Trump. Ultimately, he is the decision-maker, as you know, that was the way in his first White House. It was the way on our campaign, and I will defer to him,” Leavitt said.
She didn’t address whether they’d knock traditional media aside for right-side broadcasters or podcasters, as some news outlets have indicated.
“We hope there will be decorum, certainly, and we will try to instill that. But we’re not shy of the hostile media,” she said. “We’ve dealt with that now in the campaign for the last year. Nobody does it better than President Trump.”
Explaining that the most effective communication methods might include “bringing different voices into the press briefing room” and vaguely stating that it might also “include some different rules,” she added: “Ultimately, it’s about serving the American people and getting President Trump’s message across to them.”
-ABC News’ Lalee Ibssa, Soo Rin Kim and Kelsey Walsh
Trump picks Linda McMahon for education secretary
President-elect Donald Trump announced he is nominating Linda McMahon, a former World Wrestling Entertainment executive and the former Small Business Services secretary, to lead the Department of Education.
McMahon, who served as Trump’s Small Business Services administrator for two years, has no teaching or experience but served one year on the Connecticut State Board of Education.
Her appointment must be approved by the Senate.
ABC News’ Kelsey Walsh, Lalee Ibssa and Soo Rin Kim
Texas land commissioner offers 1,400 acres to Trump for ‘deportation facilities’
Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham is offering the incoming Trump administration 1,402 acres the office has purchased along the Texas-Mexico border to be used for a mass deportation operation, according to a letter on Tuesday to the president-elect.
Buckingham said she’s offering the land “to be used to construct deportation facilities.”
“My office is fully prepared to enter into an agreement with the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or the United States Border Patrol to allow a facility to be built for the processing, detention, and coordination of the largest deportation of violent criminals in the nation’s history,” Buckingham wrote.
The move shows that despite the governors of border states California and Arizona pledging to not aid the Trump administration’s mass deportation plans, the incoming administration will have allies in Republican-led states.
Buckingham said she is “100% on board” with the incoming administration’s promise to deport criminals in an interview with Fox News, which was the first to report the news.
The plot of land is in Starr County, about 35 miles west of McAllen, Texas. The Texas General Land Office purchased it from a farmer in October to facilitate Texas’ efforts to build a wall.
“It’s essentially farmland, so it’s flat, it’s easy to build on,” Buckingham told Fox News. “We can very easily put a detention center on there — a holding place as we get these criminals out of our country.”
-ABC News’ Armando García
House Ethics Committee to meet behind closed doors Wednesday
The bipartisan House Ethics Committee is scheduled to meet Wednesday afternoon to discuss its report on the investigation of former Rep. Matt Gaetz, who resigned from office last week after Trump chose him as his nominee for attorney general.
It’s not entirely clear if the committee will hold a vote on whether to release the report.
-ABC News’ Lauren Peller, John Parkinson and Will Steakin
Dr. Oz picked as Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator
Dr. Mehmet Oz has been selected to serve as the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Trump announced.
The agency is within the Department of Health & Human Services. The position requires Senate confirmation.
Trump indicated that Dr. Oz will work closely with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to take on chronic diseases.
Oz, a former heart surgeon turned TV talk show host, unsuccessfully ran for Senate in Pennsylvania in 2022, losing to Democratic Sen. John Fetterman.
Fetterman told reporters Tuesday that as long as Oz protects Medicare and Medicaid, he’s open to confirming him.
“He’s not my first choice and certainly, Trump was definitely not my first,” Fetterman said. “We’re going to have to work with these individuals, and if he’s about protecting and preserving Medicaid and Medicare, then, I don’t know why that’s controversial.”
-ABC News’ Kelsey Walsh, Lalee Ibssa, Soo Rin Kim and Hannah Demissie
Trump says he’s not reconsidering Gaetz nomination
President-elect Trump attended Tuesday’s SpaceX launch in Texas, joining Elon Musk– SpaceX CEO and now a close ally of Trump’s.
Trump was asked by a reporter if he was reconsidering the nomination of former Rep. Matt Gaetz for attorney general.
“No,” he said.
-ABC News’ Lalee Ibssa, Soo Rin Kim and Kelsey Walsh
Dr. Oz picked as Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator
Dr. Mehmet Oz has been selected to serve as the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service, Trump announced.
The agency is within the Department of Health & Human Services. The position requires Senate confirmation.
Trump indicated that Dr. Oz will work closely with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to take on chronic diseases.
Oz, a former heart surgeon turned TV talk show host, unsuccessfully ran for Senate in Pennsylvania in 2022, losing to Sen. John Fetterman.
-ABC News’ Kelsey Walsh, Lalee Ibssa and Soo Rin Kim
Vance arranging meetings for Gaetz and Hegseth on Capitol Hill this week
Vice President-Elect JD Vance will make the rounds on Capitol Hill this week, arranging meetings between key GOP senators and Trump’s Cabinet nominees — attorney general pick Matt Gaetz and defense secretary pick Pete Hegseth — a source familiar with the plans confirmed to ABC News.
In a statement to ABC News, Trump’s transition team said it is working quickly to ensure the president-elect’s nominees get through their confirmation process. The statement also said that former Rep. Doug Collins, Trump’s pick for veterans affairs secretary, and Rep. Elise Stefanik, who was nominated as U.N. ambassador, will also visit the Hill.
“President Trump’s incoming administration is moving at an accelerated schedule in order to make good on getting key nominees confirmed in order to start delivering for the American people. Rep. Collins, Rep. Gaetz, Pete Hegseth, and Rep. Stefanik will all begin their meetings this week with additional Hill visits to continue after the Thanksgiving recess,” said Trump-Vance transition spokesman Brian Hughes.
Senators on Capitol Hill have told ABC News that they plan to meet with Vance and Trump’s Cabinet nominees.
Republican Sens. John Kennedy and Mike Lee told reporters that they would meet with Gaetz and Vance on Wednesday.
-ABC News’ Hannah Demissie and Allison Pecorin
Trump nominates Howard Lutnick as commerce secretary
Trump has announced Howard Lutnick as his commerce secretary pick.
The appointment requires Senate confirmation.
CEO of investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald, Lutnick has been serving as co-chair of the Trump Transition team alongside Trump’s former Small Business Administrator Linda McMahon, spending the past two weeks at the Trump Transition War Room he has set up at Mar-a-Lago recommending and vetting potential candidates for Trump’s administration officials.
Lutnick has frequently joined Trump on the campaign trail and hosted numerous fundraisers for Trump alongside some of the major Republican donors like John Paulson, Duke Buchan and Woody Johnson.
The billionaire businessman was also vying for the job of treasury secretary, sources said, competing against investor and hedge fund manager Scott Bessent, who has also been considered a top contender for the role.
Lutnick’s aggressive push to be tapped as Trump’s treasury secretary as he spent hours with the president-elect nearly every day as a co-head of the transition team had frustrated some close to Trump, sources said.
Elon Musk has been a close ally of Lutnick, publicly endorsing him for the treasury spot recently and often seen together at events, including at the AFPI gala last week.
He had donated $1 million to Trump’s inaugural committee in 2017 and most recently donated $5 million to pro-Trump super PAC Make America Great Again Inc.
Lutnick has been a vocal advocate for cryptocurrency, speaking at the annual Bitcoin Conference in Nashville earlier this year where Trump and RFK Jr. also spoke.
-ABC News’ Soo Rin Kim, Lalee Ibssa and Kelsey Walsh
Nearly 100 House Dems urge release of Gaetz draft report
Nearly 100 House Democrats urged House Ethics Committee leadership on Tuesday in a letter to immediately release their draft report of allegations into “serious misconduct” by former Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida.
In the letter — which was led by Illinois Democratic Rep. Sean Casten and sent to committee Chairman Michael Guest, R-Miss., and ranking member Susan Wild, D-Penn. — the members wrote that “given the seriousness of the charges against Representative Gaetz,” withholding any findings of their investigation might “jeopardize the Senate’s ability to provide fully informed, constitutionally required advice and consent regarding this nomination.”
“Representative Gaetz’s abrupt resignation from Congress should not circumvent the Senate’s ability to fulfill its constitutional responsibilities,” the letter, signed by 97 Democrats, stated.
Speaker Mike Johnson has insisted the report should not be publicly released, as Gaetz is now a former member of the House. He has also stressed that the same principle should apply to potential access for senators reviewing the nominees.
-ABC News’ Isabella Murray, Lauren Peller and John Parkinson
Speaker Johnson denies discussing Gaetz draft report with House Ethics chairman
House Speaker Mike Johnson denied that he has discussed the details of the draft ethics report on Matt Gaetz with House Ethics Chairman Michael Guest, and further denied that President-elect Donald Trump or Gaetz have pressured him to bury the report.
“I haven’t talked to Michael Guest about the report. I talk to all my colleagues but I know where the lines are. I have no idea about the contents of the report,” Johnson told reporters as he walked back to his office after his news conference this morning.
Despite persistent questions, Johnson maintained his position that Gaetz’s resignation from the House last week should put an end to the ethics inquiry.
“My job is to protect the institution and I have made very clear that I think it’s an important guardrail for our institution that we not use the House Ethics Committee to investigate and report on persons who are not members of this body,” Johnson declared. “Matt Gaetz is not a member of the body anymore.”
Johnson denied that Gaetz or Trump had pressured him to block release of the draft report, repeating that the speaker “has no involvement” in the ethics report and “can’t direct the ethics committee to do anything.”
“I’ve simply responded to the questions that have been asked of me about my opinion on whether that should be released. Matt Gaetz is no longer a member of Congress and so we don’t issue ethics reports on non-members,” he said. “I think it’s an important guardrail for us to maintain for the interest of the institution so that’s my position.”
“I wouldn’t have that conversation with [Gaetz]. Because that’s not appropriate for us to do that,” Johnson continued. “President Trump respects the guardrails of our institution as well, and I’m very guarded about those things. So neither of those gentlemen would breach that.”
-ABC News’ Jay O’Brien, John Parkinson, Lauren Peller, Isabella Murray
Musk backs Gaetz for AG amid allegations: ‘Gaetz will be our Hammer of Justice’
Billionaire Elon Musk is throwing his support behind Matt Gaetz, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general, as allegations continue to surface surrounding what witnesses told the House Ethics Committee regarding the former congressman.
“Matt Gaetz has 3 critical assets that are needed for the AG role: a big brain, a spine of steel and an axe to grind,” Musk wrote on X. “He is the Judge Dredd America needs to clean up a corrupt system and put powerful bad actors in prison.”
“Gaetz will be our Hammer of Justice,” he added.
Musk also directly addressed the allegations against Gaetz, stating that he considers them “worth less than nothing.”
Musk’s public support for Gaetz comes as the billionaire continues to play a large role in Trump’s transition, as ABC News has previously reported.
Speaker Johnson says he hasn’t discussed Gaetz ethics drama with Trump
House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters Monday he has not talked to Trump about a draft report on the House Ethics Committee’s investigation into former Rep. Matt Gaetz — as members on both sides of the aisle call on the speaker to release the draft despite Gaetz’s resignation and the committee’s lack of jurisdiction over former members.
“I have not discussed the ethics report with President Trump. And as you know, I’ve spent a lot of time with him,” Johnson, R-La., said. “He respects the House and the parameters, and he knows that I would not violate any of those rules or principles, and so it has not been discussed.”
The speaker also said he hasn’t discussed the report with Trump’s advisers.
“They’re busy filling the Cabinet,” he said. “This has not been a subject of our discussion.”
Johnson reiterated his position against the release of the draft report. He also brushed off the fact that there is some precedent for its release following a member’s exit from Congress, saying the House is now in a “different era.”
“I’ve made this really clear. There’s a very important principle that underlies this, and that is the House Ethics Committee has jurisdiction over members of Congress — not former members, not private citizens, not someone who’s left the institution,” he said. “I think that’s a really important parameter for us to maintain. I think it’s important for the institution itself.”
Johnson said that he would not support a private viewing of the report for senators under the “same principle.”
-ABC News’ John Parkinson, Isabella Murray and Lauren Peller
Top Dem on House Ethics Committee says Gaetz report should be released
The top Democrat on the House Ethics Committee — Pennsylvania Rep. Susan Wild — told reporters Monday that she believes the committee’s report on former Rep. Matt Gaetz should be disclosed to the public.
“You either are going to disclose it or you’re not going to disclose it. So, and there’s plenty of precedents in the Ethics Committee to disclose the report even after a member has resigned,” Wild said.
Wild, who is leaving office at the end of this session, said it’ll take “one or more” Republicans to join Democrats on the committee to achieve a majority vote to release the report.
Asked if that’s a possibility, Wild said she hasn’t talked to all of the members and doesn’t know, but she stressed that all eight members of the ethics panel now have access to the draft report.
“I believe there will be a unanimous Democratic consensus that it should be released,” she added.
Wild said there is a scheduled committee meeting on Wednesday, but said it “remains to be seen” what the chairman’s agenda is.
“But I believe we should vote on whether we are to disclose it [Gaetz report] or not, and we’ll see what happens after that,” she said.
House Ethics Committee Chairman Michael Guest, R-Miss., told reporters Monday that he has read the Gaetz report but declined to comment further due to the confidentiality of the committee.
-ABC News’ Lauren Peller, John Parkinson and Isabella Murray
Trump nominates Sean Duffy as transportation secretary
Trump announced Monday he is nominating former Wisconsin Rep. Sean Duffy for transportation secretary.
The position requires Senate confirmation.
“He will prioritize Excellence, Competence, Competitiveness and Beauty when rebuilding America’s highways, tunnels, bridges and airports,” Trump said in a statement. “He will ensure our ports and dams serve our Economy without compromising our National Security, and he will make our skies safe again by eliminating DEI for pilots and air traffic controllers.”
Duffy co-hosts “The Bottom Line” on Fox Business and is a Fox News contributor.
-ABC News’ Hannah Demissie
Trump to attend SpaceX launch on Tuesday: Sources
Trump is expected to attend Tuesday’s SpaceX launch in Texas, multiple sources told ABC News.
SpaceX said it is planning to hold the sixth integrated flight test of its Starship megarocket from its Starbase in Cameron County, Texas, on Tuesday afternoon.
SpaceX founder Elon Musk, who will co-lead the Department of Government Efficiency, has rarely left Trump’s side since the election — appearing in family photos with Trump at Mar-a-Lago and even traveling with him to New York for Saturday’s UFC fight.
Trump frequently marveled at the intricacies of the SpaceX rocket launch while on the campaign trail.
“It was so exciting, so I’m watching it, and this monstrous thing is going down, right and it’s coming down, it’s first of all, doing all sorts of flips up in the air,” Trump said at his last campaign rally of the cycle in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
-ABC News’ Kelsey Walsh, Lalee Ibssa and Katherine Faulders
How Democrats could force the Ethics Committee to release the Gaetz report
All eyes will be on the House Ethics Committee’s expected closed-door meeting this Wednesday — but it’s possible that Congress can go around the committee entirely to release the panel’s findings on former Rep. Matt Gaetz.
According to House rules, any member of Congress can go to the floor and tee up a vote on a “privileged resolution” that would force the Ethics Committee to release its report on Gaetz, within two legislative days.
The member would only have to argue that not releasing the report impacts the “dignity” or “integrity” of the House or “reputation” of its members.
The action would be unusual, but not unprecedented. In the 1990s, Democrats repeatedly tried to force the Ethics Committee to divulge information about investigations into then-Speaker Newt Gingrich.
Those efforts came up short because Republicans closed ranks around Gingrich and the majority. But Gaetz is incredibly unpopular on Capitol Hill, and it would only take a handful of Republicans — along with all Democrats — to pass the resolution.
“If you’re a member of Congress, do you really want to be in the business of defending Matt Gaetz?” former Rep. Charlie Dent, R-Pennsylvania, who led the Ethics Committee, said to ABC News on Monday.
The Ethics Committee was investigating allegations of sexual misconduct and illicit drug use against Gaetz, who resigned last week after being named Trump’s pick for attorney general.
If the Ethics Committee doesn’t vote to release its findings on Wednesday, expect more Democrats to raise the possibility of forcing a floor vote — one that would force Republicans on the record about Gaetz.
-ABC News’ Benjamin Siegel
Hegseth flagged as potential ‘insider threat’ by Guardsman who was ‘disturbed’ by ‘Deus Vult’ tattoo
The National Guardsman who in 2021 pegged Pete Hegseth as a potential “insider threat” clarified in an interview with ABC News that his complaint targeted a “Deus Vult” tattoo on the Fox News host’s arm, not a cross on his chest, as Hegseth has repeatedly claimed.
As Reuters and The Associated Press first reported, Sgt. DeRicko Gaither sent an image of the “Deus Vult” tattoo to Maj. Gen. William Walker shortly before President Joe Biden’s inauguration. The phrase, which translates to “God wills it,” has since been co-opted by white nationalist groups.
“This information is quite disturbing, sir,” Gaither wrote in the email to Walker, who has not responded to ABC News’ request for comment. “This falls along the lines of (an) Insider Threat.”
Hegseth — Trump’s pick for defense secretary — claimed in his book, “The War on Warriors,” that he was removed from service ahead of Biden’s inauguration because fellow servicemembers had flagged a tattoo of the Jerusalem Cross on his chest as a white nationalist symbol.
But Gaither clarified in a text message to ABC News that his complaint targeted the “Deus Vult” tattoo, despite “the narrative that has been out there.”
“Just so we are clear. This has NOTHING to do with the Jerusalem Cross tattoo on his chest,” Gaither said. “This has everything to do with the ‘DEUS VULT’ Tattoo on his inner bicep.”
Gaither, who confirmed the contents of his complaint to ABC News, emphasized that “this wasn’t then and isn’t now a personal attack towards Pete Hegseth.”
“The information received and [the] email sent on January 14th was the protocol that had to be followed because of the position assignment that I was assigned to,” explained Gaither, who was at the time assigned as the Guards’ head of security. “The protocol was followed and would be followed again if this issue involved any other service member, myself included.”
Hegseth fired back at the initial coverage of this matter in the AP by claiming it was “Anti-Christian bigotry.”
“They can target me — I don’t give a damn — but this type of targeting of Christians, conservatives, patriots and everyday Americans will stop on DAY ONE at DJT’s DoD,” Hegseth wrote on social media on Friday.
-ABC News’ Nathan Luna and Lucien Bruggeman
Homan says he’s headed to Mar-a-Lago to put ‘final touches’ on deportation plan
Incoming “border czar” Tom Homan said Monday that Trump’s new administration is already working on a plan to deport undocumented immigrants and that he’s headed to Mar-a-Lago this week “to put the final touches” on it.
Speaking on Fox News’ America Reports, Homan reiterated his plan to “take the handcuffs of ICE” and ramp up arrests.
“ICE knows what they’re looking for. They just never go arrest them, because Secretary Mayorkas has told them [to] tone down the arrests,” Homan said.
Homan also repeated his claim that ICE will “arrest the bad guys first.” He said that under the Biden administration, the removal of “criminal aliens” has decreased 74%. ABC News has not independently verified the accuracy of that claim.
Homan acknowledged during the interview that a mass deportation plan will require significant resources and that he doesn’t know what the current ICE and Customs and Border Protection budgets are, though added that Trump is “committed” to getting the funding for his plan.
-ABC News’ Armando García
‘Dangerous’: Caroline Kennedy weighs in on RFK’s views on vaccines
Caroline Kennedy weighed in on her cousin Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s views on vaccines during remarks on Monday after he was announced as the nominee for Health and Human Services secretary.
“I think Bobby Kennedy’s views on vaccines are dangerous, but I don’t think that most Americans share them. So we’ll just have to wait and see what happens,” she said at the National Press Club of Australia.
“You know, I grew up with him,” she added. “So, I have known all this for a long time and others are just getting to know him.”
Kennedy added that her uncle, Sen. Ted Kennedy, had fought for affordable health care, and that her family was proud of President Barack Obama signing the Affordable Care Act, which she said was built on Sen. Kennedy’s work.
“I would say that our family is united in terms of our support for the public health sector and infrastructure and has greatest admiration for the medical profession in our country, and Bobby Kennedy has got a different set of views,” Caroline Kennedy said.
–ABC News’ Oren Oppenheim
Trump transition live updates: Ethics Committee expected to meet on Gaetz: Sources
President-elect Donald Trump continues to announce his picks for top jobs inside his administration, most recently naming nominees for energy secretary and to helm the Federal Communications Commission.
Meanwhile, fallout continues for former Rep. Matt Gaetz, Trump’s choice to serve as attorney general. The House Ethics Committee was investigating Gaetz for alleged sexual misconduct and illicit drug use. Calls are growing for the panel to release its report on Gaetz, who resigned from the House last week.
‘Dangerous’: Caroline Kennedy weighs in on RFK’s views on vaccines
Caroline Kennedy weighed in on her cousin Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s views on vaccines during remarks on Monday after he was announced as the nominee for Health and Human Services secretary.
“I think Bobby Kennedy’s views on vaccines are dangerous, but I don’t think that most Americans share them. So we’ll just have to wait and see what happens,” she said at the National Press Club of Australia.
“You know, I grew up with him,” she added. “So, I have known all this for a long time and others are just getting to know him.”
Kennedy added that her uncle, Sen. Ted Kennedy, had fought for affordable health care, and that her family was proud of President Barack Obama signing the Affordable Care Act, which she said was built on Sen. Kennedy’s work.
“I would say that our family is united in terms of our support for the public health sector and infrastructure and has greatest admiration for the medical profession in our country, and Bobby Kennedy has got a different set of views,” Caroline Kennedy said.
–ABC News’ Oren Oppenheim
House Ethics Committee expected to meet to discuss Gaetz report
The House Ethics Committee is expected to meet on Wednesday and discuss its report of Rep. Matt Gaetz, multiple sources tell ABC News.
While the meeting can still be cancelled, sources said the committee could potentially take a vote on whether to release the report.
-ABC News’ Rachel Scott and Will Steakin
‘Morning Joe’ co-hosts say they met with Trump on Friday
MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski said on Monday morning that they had met with President-elect Donald Trump on Friday at Mar-a-Lago.
The goal of the meeting, they said, was to “restart communications” among the liberal-leaning morning show hosts and the incoming administration.
“Last Thursday, we expressed our own concerns on this broadcast, and even said we would appreciate the opportunity to speak with the president-elect himself. On Friday, we were given the opportunity to do just that. Joe and I went to Mar-a-Lago to meet personally with President-elect Trump. It was the first time we have seen him in seven years,” Brzezinski said.
Scarborough said the hosts and Trump did not “see eye to eye on a lot of issues, and we told him so.”
“What we did agree on was to restart communications,” Brzezinski added, noting that Trump seemed “cheerful” and “upbeat.”
(NEW YORK) — Melissa Lucio, the death row inmate who was convicted of capital murder in the death of her 2-year-old daughter, is speaking out in an exclusive statement and audio recording to ABC News for the first time since a judge found last month that the Texas mother who has been behind bars for nearly 17 years is “actually innocent.”
“More than words. There are truly no amount of words, no matter how eloquently spoken, that can begin to convey the thanks I feel in this moment,” Lucio said in a statement and audio recording that was shared Tuesday exclusively with ABC News by Lucio’s close friend, filmmaker Sabrina Van Tassel. “I want to thank everyone that has fought so hard. Not just for me, but more importantly for Mariah’s memory.”
Van Tassel’s 2020 Hulu documentary, “The State of Texas vs. Melissa,” propelled Lucio’s case to the national spotlight ahead of a scheduled April 2022 execution that was delayed amid public pressure for the court to review her case.
In a 62-page ruling that was signed on Oct. 16, 2024, and reviewed by ABC News, Senior State District Judge Arturo Nelson recommended that Lucio’s conviction and death sentence be overturned in the 2007 death of her daughter Mariah.
The judge found that prosecutors suppressed evidence and testimony – including statements from Lucio’s other children – that could support the argument that Lucio was not abusive and that her daughter’s death was accidental after a fall down the stairs.
“This Court finds (Lucio) has satisfied her burden and produced clear and convincing evidence that she is actually innocent of the offense of capital murder,” Nelson wrote.
“(T)his Court concludes there is clear and convincing evidence that no rational juror could convict Applicant of capital murder or any lesser included offense,” Nelson added.
“It is safe to say I find myself still in shock and awe of everything that has transpired this past week,” Lucio said in the statement, reflecting on the judge’s recommendation.
“But this story began long before this moment and I want to thank each and every person who has played such a significant part, and not only bringing the truth to light, but fighting so very hard to do so,” she added, proceeding to thank her supporters for being instrumental in getting her execution delayed in 2022 as the court reviews her case.
Lucio thanked her attorneys at the Innocence Project, the coordinator of the “Free Melissa Lucio” campaign, Abraham Bonowitz, and namely, Van Tassel, who Lucio credits with bringing attention to her story through the documentary.
In her statement to ABC News, Lucio recounted the first time she met Van Tassel, who was working on a story about women on death row when Lucio agreed to an interview with her, and said that she “felt led” to speak to her.
“Without her tireless dedication to me and my cause, I do not believe I would be alive today. She brought worldwide attention to the system that has been sweeping issues like mine under the proverbial rug for decades and getting away with it,” she added, reflecting on the 2020 documentary.
Amid growing calls for the court to review her case in 2022, Lucio was granted a stay of her scheduled April 27, 2022, execution by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on April 25, 2022 – after nearly 15 years on death row.
In an exclusive statement to ABC News, Van Tassel said that in the wake of the judge’s ruling, “there is real hope that her death sentence could be overturned, paving the way for Melissa Lucio to finally walk free.”
“This possibility exceeds all my expectations, and I pray for the day we can finally hold each other in our arms,” she said.
The judge’s recommendation was sent to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals for review.
ABC News reached out to the Cameron County District Attorney’s Office, which prosecuted this case, but a request for comment was not immediately returned.
Vanessa Potkin, director of special litigation at the Innocence Project, and one of Lucio’s attorneys, said in a statement last week that “After 16 years on death row, it’s time for the nightmare to end. Melissa should be home right now with her children and grandchildren.”
(NEW YORK) — The climate crisis is not a distant threat; it’s happening right now and affecting what matters most to us. Hurricanes intensified by a warming planet and drought-fueled wildfires are destroying our communities. Rising seas and flooding are swallowing our homes. And record-breaking heatwaves are reshaping our way of life.
The good news is we know how to turn the tide and avoid the worst possible outcomes. However, understanding what needs to be done can be confusing due to a constant stream of climate updates, scientific findings, and critical decisions that are shaping our future.
That’s why the ABC News Climate and Weather Unit is cutting through the noise by curating what you need to know to keep the people and places you care about safe. We are dedicated to providing clarity amid the chaos, giving you the facts and insights necessary to navigate the climate realities of today — and tomorrow.
Dangerous hurricanes are being made even worse because of climate change, study finds
Hurricanes are getting stronger, and humans are primarily to blame. A new study from Climate Central adds to a growing body of evidence that human-amplified climate change is indeed leading to more intense storms.
The study, published in the journal Environmental Research: Climate, found that 84% of Atlantic hurricanes between 2019 and 2023 were, on average, 18 mph stronger because of climate change. That additional wind speed resulted in 30 hurricanes reaching an entire category higher in strength (Category 3 to Category 4 or Category 4 to Category 5, for example) compared to a world without human-amplified climate change.
The researchers say sea surface temperatures are being made hotter by global warming, fueling these rapidly intensifying cyclones. The authors cite Hurricane Milton as an example. They found that Milton intensified by 120 mph in under 36 hours. At the time, ocean temperatures were at record levels or near record levels, which Climate Central’s Climate Shift Index: Ocean determined were made 400 to 800 times more likely by climate change.
Over the past half-century, the ocean has stored more than 90% of the excess energy trapped in Earth’s system by greenhouse gases and other factors, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
“Every hurricane in 2024 was stronger than it would have been 100 years ago,” Dr. Daniel Gilford, climate scientist at Climate Central and lead author of the study and report, said in a statement. “Through record-breaking ocean warming, human carbon pollution is worsening hurricane catastrophes in our communities.”
The researchers identified three storms between 2019 and 2023 that became Category 5 hurricanes, the highest level on the scale, because of our changing climate.
When the scientists applied the same study methodology to storms in 2024, they determined it was unlikely Beryl and Milton would have reached Category 5 status without the impact of climate change. And they found that every Atlantic hurricane in 2024 saw an increased maximum wind speed, ranging from 9 to 28 mph, because human-amplified climate change resulted in elevated ocean temperatures.
Since 1980, tropical cyclones, a generic term for hurricanes and tropical storms, have cost communities $1.4 trillion in damages and claimed more than 7,200 lives, according to The National Center for Environmental Information.
-ABC News Climate Unit’s Matthew Glasser and ABC News meteorologist Dan Peck
Biden pledges $325 million in clean tech funding for developing nations
On Tuesday, the Biden administration announced $325 million in funding to the Clean Technology Fund (CTF) for global clean energy projects. The funding comes as climate leadership conferences continue worldwide, with COP29 underway in Azerbaijan and the G20 summit in Brazil.
Projects range from implementing renewable energy sources, like solar and wind, to more efficient energy use in transportation.
The Clean Technology Fund provides money for permanent climate projects for middle-income and developing countries, allowing them to jump the financial hurdle and implement much-needed new green tech and energy.
Nine countries currently give money to the Fund through grants and loans. Operated by the World Bank, the program distributes money to eligible countries through global development banks.
This financial commitment is another example of the Biden administration trying to lock in climate funding and programs before President-elect Donald Trump takes office.
Since 2022, the U.S. has contributed $1.56 billion in concessional loans to the fund, and in October of this year, they contributed another $20 million in grants. Since it was established in 2008, the Fund has contributed $7.28 billion in loans and grants globally.
A report released last week highlighted that advancing climate progress in middle-income countries is crucial for setting the world on a path to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. These countries are not only the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, but they also host the majority of the world’s nature and biodiversity.
-ABC News’ Charlotte Slovin
Countries pledge to reduce potent greenhouse gas that comes from food waste at COP29
As the world’s nations try to decide on a plan of action for limiting the impacts of climate change, the head of the United Nations Environment Programme says reducing methane emissions could be the “emergency brake” the world needs.
Methane is a potent greenhouse gas responsible for about 30% of the rise in global temperatures since industrialization, according to the International Energy Agency.
“Reducing methane emissions this decade is our emergency brake in the climate remit,” Martina Otto, head of the Secretariat, Climate and Clean Air Coalition at the UNEP, said at a press conference with the COP29 presidency.
“To cut the emergency we need to harness the fact that methane has a much higher global warming potential and is shorter lived in the atmosphere, which means we can curb near-term warming.”
Tuesday is food, water and agriculture day at COP29 – an occasion marked this year by a new agreement to cut methane emissions from food waste.
Over 30 countries have already committed to the Declaration on Reducing Methane from Organic Waste, which targets methane emissions from organic waste like food. The move complements additional global efforts to tackle methane emissions, including the Global Methane Pledge, which aims to reduce methane emissions by 30% by 2030.
“Urgent work is needed to help the agricultural sectors adapt to a warming planet,” COP29 lead negotiator Yalchin Rafiyev said.
Rafiyev explained that the Baku Harmoniya Climate Initiative for Farmers — an effort launched by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the COP29 presidency — will give farmers tools for building climate resilience and secure funding.
“We are also committed to taking every opportunity for mitigation, particularly on methane,” Rafiyev said, noting previous COP’s progress on methane emissions. “We must address all the major sources of methane emissions, including fossil fuels, agriculture and organic waste.”
“Transforming agriculture and food systems is going to be critical if we are to achieve the Paris Agreement, whether it’s on the side of adaptation and building resilience, or indeed on the side of mitigation,” Kaveh Zahedi, director of the Office of Climate Change, Biodiversity and Environment at the FAO, said. “And on this food, agriculture and water day, we’re so delighted that the cop 29 presidency has been shining a light on this.”
-ABC News Climate Unit’s Kelly Livingston
UN climate lead says millions of lives are at stake and delegates should ‘cut the theatrics’
As COP29, the annual U.N. global climate conference, heads into its second and final week, the United Nations’ top climate representative is reminding delegates of what’s at stake if they fail to act now.
During his opening remarks on Monday, Simon Stiell, the U.N. climate change executive secretary, chastised the delegates, warning them that they are losing sight of the forest because they are “tussling over individual trees” and that “bluffing, brinksmanship and pre-mediated playbooks burn up precious time.”
“So let’s cut the theatrics and get down to real business,” he said.
Later in the day, Stiell urged climate leaders and public officials to unite on adaptation policy and finance.
“This year, we saw how every bit of preparation – every policy, every plan – is the difference between life and death for millions of people around the world,” Stiell said.
Stiell emphasized that we know how to adapt to our changing climate technologically but need the will to act.
“We have the tools, the science, the ability to achieve these outcomes,” he said.
The biggest roadblock, he said, is ensuring countries have enough money to do the work.
“Of course, we cannot ignore the adaptation elephant in the room: there is a stark financial gap we must bridge,” Stiell said.
According to Stiell, the expenses associated with adaptation are rapidly increasing, especially for developing nations. By 2030, these expenses could amount to $340 billion annually and soar to $565 billion annually by 2050. Without proper funding, he said billions of lives are on the line.
“The IPCC’s Working Group II report told us that almost half the human population live in climate vulnerable hotspots, where people are 15 times more likely to die from climate impacts,” Stiell said.
Stiell encouraged public and private sector funders to rise to the occasion and meet global needs in new ways.
“Think beyond traditional grants and loans,” Stiell said. “Philanthropies, the private sector, and bilateral donors must step up with the urgency that this crisis demands.”
He added, “The funding exists. We need to unlock and unblock it.”
-ABC News’ Charlotte Slovin
Hundreds of US counties lack sufficient air quality monitoring
Cities, counties and government agencies use air quality monitors to measure the pollutants and particulates that can cause significant health problems. However, according to a new report, hundreds of counties across the United States lack these essential measurement tools.
According to the American Lung Association’s 2024 State of the Air report, more than two-thirds of U.S. counties do not have official ground-based air quality monitoring stations. As a result, dangerous levels of pollution are going undetected and unaddressed.
The association used satellite data to estimate that 300 of the 2,700 U.S. counties with incomplete or no air monitoring data had potentially failing grade levels of fine particulate matter between 2020 and 2022.
Lexi Popovici, lead report author and a senior manager of the American Lung Association, said satellite data could help fill the data gap left by the missing air monitors and help people and officials, particularly in rural areas, take protective measures. She said the technology could also supplement existing ground monitors and ultimately create a more comprehensive air quality monitoring system.
“Using satellite data actually helps fill in those gaps to identify pollution in places that might otherwise go undetected, and this can help millions of Americans understand what air quality they are breathing,” Popovici said.
Fine particulate pollution is a mix of solid or liquid particles suspended in the air – smaller than a strand of human hair – that can be present even in air that looks clean, according to the EPA. These pollutants are considered the most dangerous forms of air pollution and are linked to asthma, lung and heart disease, and other respiratory health issues.
Popovici said subsequent reports will focus more on the potential of community air quality resources and ways to mitigate environmental injustices.
One person was killed and two were injured by falling trees in Washington state as a powerful storm moved into the Pacific Northwest.
In Lynwood, a woman in her 50s was killed when a tree fell on a homeless encampment Tuesday night. In Puget Sound, two were transported to hospitals when a tree fell on a trailer, officials said.
The storm exploded into a bomb cyclone off the coast, near Vancouver Island, Canada, where winds gusted near 101 mph.
A bomb cyclone means the pressure in the center of the storm drops 24 millibars within 24 hours.
Wind gusts reached 50 to 84 mph from Northern California to Washington.
As the storm sits and spins over the ocean this week, it will help to push a plume of Pacific moisture called an atmospheric river into Oregon and Northern California.
Alerts are in effect through Friday for flooding, snow, avalanches and high winds.
Some places could see more than 1 foot of rain this week. A flood watch has been issued in Northern California.
