(MICHIGAN) — Jennifer Crumbley, who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the shooting her son carried out at a Michigan high school, is asking to be released from prison as her appeal moves through the courts.
Dezsi said that Crumbley should be allowed to post bond, which would let her leave the Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility while promising to appear at court dates.
“There’s no reason to keep her locked up,” Dezsi said. “She hasn’t hurt anyone, and she’s not a flight risk. This case is an overreach, blaming a parent for the problems of a whole nation.”
The trials were a rare case of parents facing criminal charges over their role in a shooting carried out by their child.
Dezsi called the sentence unfair and claimed the case was based on secret deals with two witnesses.
“Keeping Mrs. Crumbley in prison sets a bad example and rewards unfair prosecutions,” Dezsi said.
“We’re not just standing up for her — we’re standing up for all Americans who could face this kind of situation someday,” he added.
The court hasn’t decided yet whether she’ll be allowed to post bond. The Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
The Crumbleys’ son, Ethan Crumbley, was 15 years old at the time he opened fire at Oxford High School in 2021, killing four students. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Prosecutors said Jennifer and James Crumbley ignored several warning signs in the days leading up to the shooting. The parents also bought their son the gun used in the shooting and failed to secure the weapon and limit their son’s access to it, prosecutors argued.
(WASHINGTON) — Marianne Williamson, spiritual leader and author who ran two longshot Democratic presidential campaigns in 2020 and 2024, is running for chair of the Democratic National Committee, framing her run as a way to reimagine the Democratic Party as the party regroups and takes stock of its losses during the 2024 election cycle.
“I feel that in order for the Democrats to rise like a phoenix on the ashes of our electoral defeat, we need to look at more than just the outer issues, such as data analysis and field organizing and fundraising,” Williamson said. “We need to transform — in a way, we need to reinvent the Democratic Party in order to counter what MAGA is bringing to the table.”
In an accompanying blog post, Williamson stressed Democrats must better understand President-elect Donald Trump’s appeal and strategy to better counter it, adding that she wants to “reinvent the party from the inside out.”
“President Trump has ushered in an age of political theater — a collective adrenaline rush that has enabled him to not only move masses of people into his camp, but also masses of people away from ours. It does not serve us to underestimate the historic nature of what he has achieved,” Williamson wrote. “In fact, it’s important that we recognize the psychological and emotional dimensions of Trump’s appeal. We need to understand it to create the energy to counter it.”
“As Chairwoman, I will work to reinvent the party from the inside out. For if we want a new President in four years, and a new Congress in two, then we must immediately get about the task of creating a new party,” she added later.
Williamson also said that she would have a “a 365-days-of-the-year strategy” to allow Americans to be politically involved yearround and that she wants the party to inspire Americans.
Williamson was unable to generate a groundswell of support in either of her bids for president, although she stayed in the race until the Democratic presidential primaries concluded and she gained some traction with Democrats who wanted to protest the White House on the Israel-Hamas war.
“We have a very frayed bond of affection with millions of Americans particularly working people in the United States. We have to address the problem on that level. On the level of the heart. On the level of the mind,” Williamson told ABC News Live anchor Kyra Phillips on Thursday afternoon. “People aren’t feeling it about Democrats anymore. At least not enough of them to make for the kind of victory we need in ’26 and ’28.”
Williamson needs to get the support of at least 40 DNC members to qualify for the first DNC candidate forum in early January. The DNC plans on hosting four moderated forums before the election.
She joins a handful of other declared candidates for DNC chair, including Wisconsin Democratic Party chair Ben Wikler and Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party chair Ken Martin and former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley. Jamie Harrison, the current chairman, isn’t running for reelection.
DNC leadership elections will be held at National Harbor outside Washington on Feb. 1.
(SEATTLE, Wash.) — A month after a woman was caught stowing away on a Delta Air Lines flight headed to France, ABC News has confirmed another unticketed individual was caught on a flight headed to Hawaii, this time on Christmas Eve.
The recent stowaway was apprehended after boarding a flight from Seattle to Honolulu on Dec. 24, according to the airline.
Delta flight 487 was taxiing for departure when it returned to the gate after the crew learned of an unticketed passenger onboard. The identity of the individual has not been released.
“As there are no matters more important than safety and security, Delta people followed procedures to have an unticketed passenger removed from the flight and then apprehended,” Delta said in a statement to ABC News.
The flight was delayed more than two hours as TSA conducted additional security checks and rescreened all passengers, according to the airline.
Law enforcement responded to Seattle–Tacoma International Airport and detained the unticketed passenger.
According to the airport officials, the stowaway exited the plane after it returned to the gate, and the Port of Seattle Police located them in a terminal restroom with the help of video surveillance.
The passenger was arrested for trespassing and booked into South Correctional Entity jail, according to Seattle Tacoma International Airport authorities.
In their investigation, airport authorities found that the stowaway had gotten through a TSA security checkpoint the evening before the flight without a boarding pass but was properly screened otherwise.
TSA said in a statement to ABC News it is working with the Port of Seattle Police on this incident.
Additionally, Delta said the investigation is ongoing, but preliminary findings suggest the passenger boarded the plane without showing a boarding pass at the gate.
News of the second Delta Air Lines stowaway comes after Svetlana Dali, a Russian national, was caught stowing away on a Delta Air Lines flight from the United States to France in November.
Dali had snuck aboard Delta Flight 264, which departed from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York and was bound for Charles-de-Gaulle International Airport in Paris.
According to a statement from the French Interior Ministry at the time, “She was not admitted to French territory due to lack of a valid travel document (visa) and was placed in the waiting area for the time necessary for her re-routing to the United States since she held a valid US residence permit.”
Just over a week later, Dali was arrested again on Dec. 4 after cutting off her ankle monitor and trying to sneak into Canada, law enforcement sources told ABC News at the time.
The person she was staying with in Philadelphia discovered the bracelet cut and alerted authorities.
Dali was apprehended in Buffalo, New York, while aboard a Greyhound bus trying to cross into Canada.
ABC News’ Aaron Katersky contributed to this report.
(SEATTLE, Wash.) — A month after a woman was caught stowing away on a Delta Air Lines flight headed to France, ABC News has confirmed another unticketed individual was caught on a flight headed to Hawaii, this time on Christmas Eve.
The recent stowaway was apprehended after boarding a flight from Seattle to Honolulu on Dec. 24, according to the airline.
Delta flight 487 was taxiing for departure when it returned to the gate after the crew learned of an unticketed passenger onboard. The identity of the individual has not been released.
“As there are no matters more important than safety and security, Delta people followed procedures to have an unticketed passenger removed from the flight and then apprehended,” Delta said in a statement to ABC News.
The flight was delayed more than two hours as TSA conducted additional security checks and rescreened all passengers, according to the airline.
Law enforcement responded to Seattle–Tacoma International Airport and detained the unticketed passenger.
According to the airport officials, the stowaway exited the plane after it returned to the gate, and the Port of Seattle Police located them in a terminal restroom with the help of video surveillance.
The passenger was arrested for trespassing and booked into South Correctional Entity jail, according to Seattle Tacoma International Airport authorities.
In their investigation, airport authorities found that the stowaway had gotten through a TSA security checkpoint the evening before the flight without a boarding pass but was properly screened otherwise.
TSA said in a statement to ABC News it is working with the Port of Seattle Police on this incident.
Additionally, Delta said the investigation is ongoing, but preliminary findings suggest the passenger boarded the plane without showing a boarding pass at the gate.
News of the second Delta Air Lines stowaway comes after Svetlana Dali, a Russian national, was caught stowing away on a Delta Air Lines flight from the United States to France in November.
Dali had snuck aboard Delta Flight 264, which departed from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York and was bound for Charles-de-Gaulle International Airport in Paris.
According to a statement from the French Interior Ministry at the time, “She was not admitted to French territory due to lack of a valid travel document (visa) and was placed in the waiting area for the time necessary for her re-routing to the United States since she held a valid US residence permit.”
Just over a week later, Dali was arrested again on Dec. 4 after cutting off her ankle monitor and trying to sneak into Canada, law enforcement sources told ABC News at the time.
The person she was staying with in Philadelphia discovered the bracelet cut and alerted authorities.
Dali was apprehended in Buffalo, New York, while aboard a Greyhound bus trying to cross into Canada.
ABC News’ Aaron Katersky contributed to this report.
(LONDON) — There are early indications that a Russian anti-aircraft system may have struck the Azerbaijan Airlines plane that crashed in Kazakhstan, killing dozens, a U.S. official told ABC News.
There is new evidence that the passenger plane may have been shot down by a Russian surface-to-air missile from a Pantsir-S1 system, a high-level Azeri government source told ABC News.
If Russia did indeed strike the Azerbaijan plane, the U.S. official said it would be yet another example of Russia’s recklessness in the war with Ukraine. The plane was flying over an area where Moscow’s air defense has battled Ukrainian drones recently.
The White House referred ABC News to officials in the region as the investigation continues.
At least 38 people are dead and 29 others injured after the Azerbaijan Airlines passenger aircraft crashed near Kazakhstan’s Aktau Airport on Wednesday morning, a spokesperson for Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Emergency Situations told ABC News.
Many of the 29 survivors were hospitalized, including two children, the spokesperson said.
The aircraft was flying from Baku in Azerbaijan to Grozny in Russia when it crashed near Aktau in Kazakhstan, the spokesperson said. The flight had been rerouted to Aktau due to fog in Grozny, Russian news agencies reported.
The prosecutor general’s office of Azerbaijan has launched a criminal case regarding the facts of the crash, officials announced during a press briefing on Wednesday.
“Currently, the investigation process is ongoing in cooperation with the prosecutor’s office of Kazakhstan. All versions are being explored in the criminal case,” Farid Huseynov, a spokesperson for Azerbaijan Airlines, said.
Aviation authorities from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Russia are collaborating to determine the exact cause of the crash, a spokesperson for Kazakhstan’s ministry of emergency situations said.
The plane was carrying 69 people: 64 passengers and five crew members. Based on preliminary data, the passengers included 37 Azerbaijani citizens, six from Kazakhstan, three from Kyrgyzstan and 16 from Russia, officials said.
Embraer, the aircraft manufacturer, released a statement about the crash, saying, “We are closely monitoring the situation, and we remain fully committed to supporting the relevant authorities.”
ABC News’ Dragana Jovanovic and David Brennan contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — The Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, D.C, caused panda-monium on Christmas Day when it released a video of it’s newest celebrities, Bao Li and Qing Bao.
In the video, the giant pandas are seen rolling in grass, climbing trees and being “unbearably cute.”
The young pandas were brought to the zoo this past fall.
Bao Li, pronounced as BOW-lee, is a male and was born Aug 4. 2021. According to the National Zoo website, “Bao” means precious and treasure in Mandarin Chinese. The name “Li” refers to vitality and strength, and “Bao Li” means an active and vital power.
Qing Bao, pronounced ching-BOW, is a female and was born Sep 12. 2021. Her name means “green” and “treasure” in Mandarin Chinese. According to the National Zoo website, “Qing” describes the lush and mountainous habitat of pandas. “Bao” reflects how cherished and adored she is.
The pandas are set to debut to the public on Jan 24, 2025, in their renovated habitat on Asia Trail.
Infared image taken by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department heat-seeking drone shows location of a 78-year-old man who went missing on Dec. 23, 2024. Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department
(LOS ANGELES) — High tech and quick thinking are being credited in the rescue of a missing 78-year-old man after sheriff’s deputies deployed a heat-seeking drone and found the Southern California resident 80 minutes after his family reported him missing, officials said.
The Christmas week rescue unfolded in Malibu on Monday night as temperatures in the area plunged into the 40s, upping the urgency of finding the missing man quickly, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD).
A family called 911 about 7:30 p.m. Pacific time to report their elderly relative, who suffers from dementia, had vanished after leaving his residence around 4:30 p.m. to fetch his mail, sheriff’s officials said.
“The temperature was 48 degrees and dropping. Deputies swiftly initiated a search and rescue operation, broadcasting a description of the missing person over the radio and entering his information into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) missing persons database,” according to the LASD.
As the sheriff’s department’s homicide bureau and missing persons unit were notified, the deputies who arrived at the scene quickly deployed a drone, or an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), equipped with infrared technology to scour the area from the sky, the sheriff’s department said.
“At approximately 8:50 p.m., a UAS located the missing person lying in a field of thick brush about a quarter mile away from his residence. Fortunately, he had only sustained minor abrasions from a fall and was transported to a local hospital for treatment and further evaluation,” the sheriff’s department said.
Sheriff’s officials said the rescue operation highlighted “the importance of swift action, teamwork, and innovative technology in locating missing persons, especially those who are vulnerable due to medical conditions.”
The LASD has been using drones since 2017.
As of Dec. 18, sheriff’s deputies had deployed drones in nearly 60 incidents this year, including 12 search and rescue operations, according to online department records. Drones have also been used by the LASD in at least 45 high-risk tactical operations, including 13 incidents involving barricaded suspects.
(LONDON)– Rebel forces in Syria are building a transitional government after toppling the regime of President Bashar Assad in a lightning-quick advance across the country.
Meanwhile, the ceasefire in Lebanon is holding despite ongoing Israeli airstrikes on Hezbollah targets, which Israeli officials say are responses to ceasefire violations by the Iranian-backed militant group. The Israel Defense Forces continues its intense airstrike and ground campaigns in Gaza.
Tensions remain high between Israel and Iran after tit-for-tat long-range strikes in recent months and threats of further military action from both sides. The IDF and the Yemeni Houthis also continue to exchange attacks.
14 Syrian security force members killed in clashes: Syrian official
Fourteen members of the Syrian security forces, part of Syrian de-facto leader Ahmad al-Sharaa’s militia, were killed and 10 were wounded after “being ambushed” by supporters of ousted former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the countryside of Tartus on Syria’s western coast, the Syrian minister of the interior said Thursday.
There were wide-scale clashes Wednesday between al-Sharaa’s forces and supporters of al-Assad in six cities across Syria including Latakia, Tartus, Jableh, Homs and some parts of Damascus. Curfew was imposed on six cities and reinforcements are being sent to the Syrian coastal area.
-ABC News’ Nasser Atta
5 journalists killed by Israeli strike in Gaza: Medical sources
Five journalists were killed in Gaza on Wednesday evening, medical sources and the Gaza government media office said.
Israeli forces bombed a journalists’ vehicle in front of the Al-Awda Hospital in the Nuseirat camp in central Gaza, Gaza medical sources said.
Israeli forces claimed the five killed were Islamic Jihad operatives in a statement about the attack from the Israel Defense Forces.
“Intelligence from multiple sources confirmed that these individuals were Islamic Jihad operatives posing as journalists,” the IDF said.
-ABC News’ Sami Zyara, Diaa Ostaz and Bruno Nota
Israeli forces conduct strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen: IDF
Israeli forces conducted strikes on Houthi military targets in Yemen on Thursday, the Israel Defense Forces said.
The military targets struck were “used by the Houthi terrorist regime to smuggle Iranian weapons into the region and for the entry of senior Iranian officials. This is a further example of the Houthis’ exploitation of civilian infrastructure for military purposes,” the IDF said in a release.
Houthi forces have launched drones and missiles towards Israel over the past week.
-ABC News’ Dana Savir
Missile from Yemen sets off attack alerts in Israel
A missile fired by Houthi forces from Yemen in the early hours of Wednesday set off sirens across central Israel, the Israel Defense Forces said.
The IDF said the missile was intercepted before reaching Israel. “Details are being investigated,” the IDF wrote on X.
Wednesday morning’s incident was the fourth time in a week that Houthi fire set off sirens in Israel.
On Saturday, 16 people were injured when a missile hit a playground in Tel Aviv after Israel’s air defense system failed to intercept it.
Negotiation team returning after ‘significant week’: Israeli PM office
The Israeli negotiation team will return to Israel from Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday after a “significant week of conducting negotiations” regarding a ceasefire and hostage deal, the Israeli Prime Minister’s office said in a statement.
“The team returned for internal consultations in Israel regarding the continuation of negotiations for the return of our hostages,” the statement continued.
-ABC News’ Anna Burd
IDF ‘besieging’ 3 Gaza hospitals, health ministry says
The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza said in a statement Tuesday that Israeli forces are “intensifying” their attacks on three hospitals in the devastated and depopulated northern portion of the strip.
Israeli troops, the ministry in the Hamas-run territory said, are “besieging and directly targeting the Indonesian Hospital, Kamal Adwan Hospital and Al-Awda Hospital during the past hours and insisting on putting them out of service.”
The ministry said Israeli troops were “forcing the wounded and patients to evacuate the Indonesian Hospital,” while bombing “all departments of Kamal Adwan Hospital and its surroundings around the clock without stopping.”
“Shrapnel is scattered inside the hospital yards, causing terrifying sounds and serious damage,” the ministry said.
“We appeal to all international and UN institutions and concerned parties to urgently intervene to protect the health system in the Gaza Strip,” the ministry wrote.
On Monday, Palestinian officials said 20 people were injured when Israeli forces detonated a “robot bomb” in the vicinity of Kamal Adwan Hospital.
The IDF has not commented on the latest developments around Kamal Adwan or the other north Gaza hospitals.
-ABC News’ Nasser Atta
3 Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza
The Israel Defense Forces said Monday that three soldiers were killed in combat in northern Gaza.
Cpt. Ilay Gavriel Atedgi, 22, Staff Sgt. Netanel Pessach, 21, and Sgt. First Class (res.) Hillel Diener, 21, were all killed by an explosion during an operation in the Beit Hanoun area, which has been a focus of Israel’s intense recent offensive in the northern part of the strip.
Israel’s toll in the ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza and the border zone is now 391.
Health officials in the Hamas-run territory say more than 45,300 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023.
-ABC News’ Dana Savir and Ellie Kaufman
20 injured after bomb detonates near Gaza hospital
Twenty people were injured among the medical staff at Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza Monday evening after a “robot bomb” was detonated in the hospital’s vicinity, according to medical sources.
ABC News has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces for a comment.
-ABC News’ Samy Zyara
Israeli forces kill Hamas operative in Gaza City, IDF says
Israeli forces killed the head of the national security directorate of Hamas’ security mechanism during an attack on Sunday in Gaza City, the Israel Defense Forces said.
The Hamas operative, Tharwat Muhammad Ahmed Albec, was “operating in a command and control center” that was embedded in a “compound that previously served as the ‘Musa bin Nusayr’ school” in a neighborhood in Gaza City, the IDF said in a statement on Monday.
Hamas has yet to comment on the IDF’s statement.
-ABC News’ Dana Savir
‘Certain progress’ made in hostage negotiations: Netanyahu
“Certain progress” has been made in ongoing hostage and ceasefire negotiations, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during a speech at the Israeli parliament on Monday.
“I can carefully say there has been a certain progress” made in the ongoing negotiations, Netanyahu said, adding that he “doesn’t know how long it’s going to take.”
“We will continue to operate in any way and without a pause until we bring them all back home from the enemy’s land,” he said.
-ABC News’ Dana Savir
Hamas reports Israeli attack on Gaza’s Nuseirat refugee camp
Hamas on Monday said the Israel Defense Forces killed or wounded at least 50 people in an air and ground assault on the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.
An IDF airstrike was followed by an incursion into the camp supported by 17 heavy vehicles, among them tanks and bulldozers, Hamas said.
Israeli forces also attacked Nuseirat camp two weeks ago, killing at least 33 people according to the Gaza Government Media Office.
The IDF is yet to comment on Monday’s operation.
-ABC News’ Diaa Ostaz and Tomek Rolski
Netanyahu says Israel will act against Houthis after missile strike
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that his nation would “act forcefully” against the Houthis in Yemen after a weekend missile attack on Tel Aviv injured 16 people, according to Israeli emergency authorities.
“Just as we acted forcefully against the terrorist arms of Iran’s evil axis, so we will act against the Houthis — the result will be the same,” Netanyahu said in a statement posted to X.
Since October 2023, the Houthis have been launching attacks on commercial and military vessels in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and Arabian Sea, as well as long-range drone and missile attacks towards Israel.
On Thursday, the Israel Defense Forces said it intercepted a Houthi missile but that debris destroyed a school building in Tel Aviv.
The Houthis — which have close ties with Iran and are part of the Tehran-led “Axis of Resistance” — are demanding an end to Israel’s war in Gaza, launched in response to Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, infiltration attack into southern Israel.
The U.S. and U.K. — supported by other allies — have launched a series of strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen since January. Israel has also launched significant strikes in Yemen in recent months, most recently on Thursday.
At least 7 dead after IDF strikes humanitarian area in Gaza
At least seven people were killed after an Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis, which is located in the southern Gaza Strip.
The strike hit a collection of tents within what had been designated a humanitarian area, where displaced people were sheltering.
The Israel Defense Forces acknowledged the strike on Sunday, saying in a statement it was “an intelligence-based strike on a Hamas terrorist.”
“Prior to the strike, numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians, including the use of precise munitions, aerial surveillance, and additional intelligence,” the IDF said.
– ABC News’ William Gretsky
21 killed in Gaza, IDF northern offensive continues
The Gaza Ministry of Health said Saturday that 21 people were killed and 61 injured in three separate Israeli attacks over the last 24 hours in the Hamas-run territory.
A total of 45,227 people have been killed since the start of the war, health officials said.
Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces continued intense operations in northern Gaza, particularly around the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahia.
The director of the hospital said there is shooting “around the clock” nearby, adding that on Friday the third floor and the hospital entrance were shelled.
The director said the IDF is blocking the entry of all requested medical supplies. Nine people need urgent evacuation for surgery in Gaza City and the hospital is currently treating over 70 people, he said.
(LUCASVILLE, OH) An inmate allegedly assaulted and killed a veteran corrections officer on Christmas Day at an Ohio prison, an attack authorities said was “beyond comprehension.”
Officer Andrew Lansing was attacked Wednesday at the Ross Correctional Institution (RCI) in Chillicothe, about 43 miles south of Columbus, according to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.
The inmate suspected of killing Lansing was not immediately identified by prison officials, who said he had been transferred to the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility, a maximum security prison in Lucasville, Ohio.
“The loss of a staff person is difficult, but to lose a family member on Christmas Day at the hands of someone in our custody is a tragedy beyond comprehension,” Annette Chambers-Smith, director of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, said in a statement. “Instead of going home after his shift to be with his family on this holiday, Officer Lansing made the ultimate sacrifice, and our agency will never be the same.”
Chamber-Smith released few details on the attacks, including where in the sprawling 1,707-acre prison Lansing was assaulted and whether the inmate was armed with a weapon.
Lansing was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The prison, which houses more than 2,000 inmates, has been put on lockdown as the Ohio State Highway Patrol investigates the homicide.
Chamber-Smith described Lansing as “a long-time, well-respected employee” at the Ross Correctional Institution and added, that his “untimely death — on Christmas Day — is heartbreaking for his family, the entire Ross Correctional Institution family, and our agency as a whole.”
“Officer Lansing was loved by his colleagues and known to be a great support for his fellow RCI staff,” Chamber-Smith said. “He was a friendly, outgoing officer who treated everyone with respect and was always a professional.”
(NEW YORK) — Holiday spending surged in 2024, blowing past expectations and outpacing customer purchases over the gift-buying season last year, according to data released on Thursday by Mastercard SpendingPulse, which gauges in-store and online retail sales.
The end-of-year flex of consumer strength marks the latest indication of resilient U.S. buying power, which has kept the economy humming despite a prolonged stretch of high interest rates.
Retail sales climbed 3.8% from Nov. 1 to Dec. 24 compared with the same period last year, Mastercard SpendingPulse data showed. The boost in spending exceeded a Mastercard SpendingPulse estimate of 3.2%, while outperforming last year’s growth of 3.1%. The retail sales data excludes automotive purchases.
“Solid spending during this holiday season underscores the strength we observed from the consumer all year,” Michelle Meyer, chief economist at the Mastercard Economics Institute, told ABC News in a statement.
Jewelry sales grew more than any other product category, climbing 4% compared to last year, the data showed. Spending on apparel and electronics also climbed at a solid pace.
The shopping surge was most pronounced online, where spending grew 6.7% compared to the same period last year, the data showed.
While the overall spending reflects the health of U.S. consumers, the pattern of purchases indicates a search for discounts, Meyer said.
“The holiday shopping season revealed a consumer who is willing and able to spend but driven by a search for value as can be seen by concentrated e-commerce spending during the biggest promotional periods,” Meyer added.
The holiday sales growth suggests the U.S. economy has remained robust, even amid high borrowing costs.
Gross domestic product grew at a solid 2.8% annualized rate over three months ending in September, the most recent quarter for which data is available.
The labor market has slowed but proven sturdy. The unemployment rate stands at 4.2%, a historically low figure.
Consumer spending accounts for nearly three-quarters of U.S. economic activity.
The increase in holiday spending coincided with an initial bout of relief for borrowers, as the Federal Reserve cut interest rates by a total of one percentage point over the final few months of the year. However, interest rates still stand at a historically high level of between 4.25% and 4.5%.
Lower interest rates typically stimulate economic activity by making it easier for consumers and businesses to borrow, which in turn fuels investment and spending. However, interest rate cuts usually influence the economy after a lag of several months, meaning the recent lowering of rates likely had little impact on holiday spending.
Earlier this month, the central bank predicted fewer rate cuts next year than it had previously indicated, suggesting concern that inflation may prove more difficult to bring under control than policymakers thought just a few months ago.
Speaking at a press conference in Washington, D.C., earlier this month, Federal Chair Jerome Powell indicated that the willingness to keep interest rates high stemmed in part from the health of the U.S. economy and the shoppers propelling it.
“We think the economy is in a really good place,” Powell said, later adding: “Growth of consumer spending has remained resilient.”
