Kilmar Abrego Garcia speaks during a rally and prayer vigil for him before he enters a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) field office on August 25, 2025 in Baltimore, Maryland. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
(BALTIMORE) — As the Department of Homeland Security continues to seek the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the agency said Friday it had identified a new country of removal that has agreed to accept the wrongly deported Salvador native: the West African nation of Liberia.
In a court notice filed Friday, Department of Justice attorneys said DHS has received “diplomatic assurances regarding the treatment of third-country individuals removed to Liberia from the United States and are making the final necessary arrangements for [Abrego Garcia’s] removal.”
According to the notice, DHS expects “to be able to effectuate removal as soon as October 31.”
Abrego Garcia, who had been living in Maryland with his wife and children, was deported in March to El Salvador’s CECOT mega-prison, despite a 2019 court order barring his deportation to that country due to fear of persecution. The Trump administration claimed he was a member of the criminal gang MS-13, which his family and attorneys deny.
He was brought back to the U.S. in June to face human smuggling charges in Tennessee, to which he has pleaded not guilty. After being released into the custody of his brother in Maryland pending trial, he was again detained by immigration authorities and is currently being held in Pennsylvania, where the government has told his attorneys that it intends to deport him to a country other than El Salvador.
U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis, who has been overseeing Abrego Garcia’s immigration case in Maryland, has currently banned the government from removing him from the United States.
Friday’s notice comes after the DHS served Abrego Garcia a notice of removal to Ghana that the agency subsequently said was “premature.” Before that, DHS said it was planning to deport Abrego Garcia to Eswatini and Uganda.
In response to Friday’s DHS notice, Abrego Garcia’s attorney said the government “has chosen yet another path that feels designed to inflict maximum hardship.”
“Having struck out with Uganda, Eswatini and Ghana, ICE now seeks to deport our client Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Liberia — a country with which he has no connection, thousands of miles from his family and home in Maryland,” Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg told ABC News. “Costa Rica has agreed to accept him as a refugee, and remains a viable and lawful option.”
According to the DOJ, Liberia is “a thriving democracy” and is “committed to the humane treatment of refugees.”
Tropical outlook for Tropical Storm Melissa. (ABC News)
(NEW YORK) — Tropical Storm Melissa is expected to intensify into a major hurricane this weekend and bring catastrophic flash flooding and landslides to parts of the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Jamaica.
Here’s the latest forecast:
Hurricane conditions are expected to first hit southern Haiti on Saturday and then reach Jamaica on Saturday night or Sunday morning.
Melissa is forecast to strengthen to a major hurricane — a Category 3 or higher — as it brings winds greater than 110 mph to Jamaica from Sunday through at least Tuesday. Extensive damage is forecast due to the length of time Melissa will be hitting the island.
The storm has already led to the death of an elderly man in Haiti who was killed by a downed tree, according to The Associated Press.
Eight to 14 inches of rain could fall from Friday to Sunday night across the southern Dominican Republic, southern Haiti and eastern Jamaica, bringing life-threatening flash flooding and landslides.
Depending on the storm’s track, western Jamaica could see an increase in impacts early next week.
After Melissa moves north of Jamaica, it’s expected to cross southern Cuba and the Bahamas as it moves northwest and out into the Atlantic, avoiding the mainland U.S.
Stock image of a social security card alongside US dollars. (Tetra Images/STOCK PHOTO/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Social security benefits will rise 2.8% starting in January, amounting to an additional $56 per month for 75 million recipients, the Social Security Administration (SSA) said on Friday.
The cost-of-living adjustment for 2026, known as COLA, came in slightly higher than the prior year’s hike of 2.5%. Over the past decade, the average COLA clocked in at 3.1%.
The announcement on Friday came after inflation data for September showed a slight acceleration of price increases, sending inflation to its highest level since January. The fresh reading marked the final piece of data necessary for SSA to calculate COLA for 2026.
“Social Security is a promise kept, and the annual cost-of-living adjustment is one way we are working to make sure benefits reflect today’s economic realities and continue to provide a foundation of security,” SSA Commissioner Frank J. Bisignano said in a statement.
The agency will also hike the maximum amount of earnings subject to the Social Security tax, elevating taxable income from $176,100 to $184,500.
SSA will start notifying recipients about their new benefit amount by mail starting in early December, the agency said.
U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth delivers remarks as U.S. President Donald Trump delivers an announcement on his Homeland Security Task Force in the State Dining Room of the White House on October 23, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — The United States has carried out another strike against an alleged drug vessel, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Friday.
“Overnight, at the direction of President Trump, the Department of War carried out a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by Tren de Aragua (TdA), a Designated Terrorist Organization (DTO), trafficking narcotics in the Caribbean Sea,” Hegseth wrote on X, where he posted a video of the attack.
It marks the 10th strike in international waters around Latin America since early September. Eight of the attacks have occurred in the Caribbean Sea and two took place in the Pacific Ocean.
Hegseth said six people were killed in the overnight attack.
At least 43 people are believed to have been killed in the U.S. strikes so far.
“If you are a narco-terrorist smuggling drugs in our hemisphere, we will treat you like we treat Al-Qaeda. Day or NIGHT, we will map your networks, track your people, hunt you down, and kill you,” Hegseth wrote on X.
The overnight strike came after two U.S. Air Force B-1 bombers flew what was described as a training mission over the Caribbean Sea on Thursday, sources familiar with the operation told ABC News.
The strikes are part of what the administration has called its “war” against drug cartels. But the lethal force has raised several legal questions, as past administrations have relied on law enforcement to interdict drug shipments.
“We’re finally treating the cartels as the core national security threat that they really are. The cartels are waging war on America,” Trump said at a White House event on Thursday where he was joined by Hegseth and other officials to discuss the administration actions against cartels.
The president was asked if he would seek a traditional declaration of war from Congress as they ramp up their campaign against drug cartels and traffickers.
“I don’t think we’re going to necessarily ask for a declaration of war,” Trump said. “I think we’re just going to kill people that are bringing drugs into our country. Okay? We’re going to kill them. You know? They’re going to be, like, dead. Okay.”
Trump again hinted at the possibility of land attacks to target drug cartels, saying on Thursday “the land is going to be next.” He previously said he was “looking into” possible land strikes against Venezuela.
Vegetables on display in a grocery store, August 15, 2025 in Delray Beach, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Consumer prices rose 3% in September compared to a year ago, extending a monthslong uptick that has sent inflation to its highest level since January, government data on Friday showed. The reading came in lower than economists’ expectations.
The fresh data marked a slight increase from a 2.9% year-over-year increase recorded a month prior. An acceleration of price increases over recent months has coincided with a flurry of tariffs issued by President Donald Trump.
Beef prices soared nearly 15% over the year ending in September, data showed. Trump has set off outcry among some ranchers over a plan to import beef from Argentina in an effort to reduce U.S. prices.
Egg prices, a longtime symbol of rising costs, fell almost 5% in September. The price of eggs stands about 1% lower than where it was a year ago. The price of coffee has surged 19% over the past year, the data showed.
The White House touted the September inflation numbers coming in below economists’ expectations on Friday, with Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt posting on social media that they were “good news” for American families.
Leavitt also said on Xthat the ongoing government shutdown would likely result in no inflation report for October, “which will leave businesses, markets, families, and the Federal Reserve in disarray.”
The data arrived more than a week later than originally planned, since the government shutdown has severely hamstrung the release of information about the economy.
The latest acceleration of price increases comes at a wobbly moment for the nation’s economy. In recent months, inflation has picked up while hiring has slowed, posing a risk of an economic double-whammy known as “stagflation.”
The economic conditions have put the Federal Reserve in a bind. If the Fed raises interest rates as a means of protecting against tariff-induced inflation, it risks tipping the economy into a downturn. On the other hand, if the Fed lowers rates to stimulate the economy in the face of a hiring slowdown, it threatens to boost spending and worsen inflation.
Last month, the Fed cut its benchmark interest rate a quarter of a percentage point, opting for its first interest rate cut this year in an effort to revive the labor market.
“It’s a challenging situation when our goals are in tension like this,” Powell said, but he added that the balance of risks had shifted toward greater concern over sluggish hiring.
Policymakers are widely expected to make an additional quarter-point cut when they meet next week, according to CME FedWatch Tool, a measure of market sentiment.
But an elevated inflation reading on Friday could give Fed officials pause, since a rate cut would increase the likelihood of a spike in demand that further drives up prices.
In recent months, tariffs modestly contributed to the uptick in overall inflation, analysts previously told ABC News, but overall price increases owed largely to a rise in housing and food products with little connection to Trump’s levies.
Last week, President Donald Trump threatened 100% tariffs on all China-made goods starting Nov. 1 in response to restrictions placed on rare earth minerals. Beijing has publicly stood firm on the policy, leaving the two sides at an impasse with massive implications for the price of consumer goods imported from China.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney speak as they pose for a photo, at a world leaders’ summit on ending the Gaza war on October 13, 2025 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. (Photo by Suzanne Plunkett – Pool / Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump said he’s terminating trade negotiations with Canada citing a negative TV advertisement about tariffs. Trump claimed, without evidence, that the ad aimed to sway the outcome of a U.S. Supreme Court case over the policy set to come before justices next month.
“TARIFFS ARE VERY IMPORTANT TO THE NATIONAL SECURITY, AND ECONOMY, OF THE U.S.A. Based on their egregious behavior, ALL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS WITH CANADA ARE HEREBY TERMINATED,” Trump posted on his social media platform.
“Canada is trying to illegally influence the United States Supreme Court in one of the most important rulings in the history of our Country,” Trump said on Friday morning.
Trump did not specify which law Canada had allegedly broken.
The ad campaign in question was rolled out earlier this month by the Canadian province of Ontario. The ad features audio with excerpts of a 1987 address by then-President Ronald Reagan that came as he imposed some duties on Japanese products but cautioned about the long-term economic risks of high tariffs and the threat of a trade war.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford called for a spirit of partnership between the two countries in a post on X on Friday.
“Canada and the United States are friends, neighbours and allies. President Ronald Reagan knew that we are stronger together. God bless Canada and God bless the United States,” Ford said.
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute said in a statement on social media Thursday evening that the Canadian ad campaign used “selective audio and video” of Reagan and “misrepresents” what he said in the address.
Referring to the Canadian ad campaign, Trump said, “They only did this to interfere with the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court, and other courts.”
The Supreme Court is set to decide this term whether Trump’s sweeping global reciprocal tariffs are an illegal use of emergency authority granted by Congress — and whether tens of billions of dollars collected so far must be refunded.
Earlier this month, in a White House meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Trump signaled optimism about a potential U.S.-Canada trade deal, saying the two sides had “come a long way” in negotiations.
In July, Trump issued a 35% tariff on most goods and raw materials from Canada.
French police officers stand in front of the Louvre Museum after a robbery in Paris, France, on October 19, 2025. (Photo by Jerome Gilles/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
(LONDON) — Investigators have collected more than 150 trace samples, including fingerprints, bits of DNA and other silent evidence, from the scene of the Louvre heist, a source close to the Minister of the Interior in France has told ABC News.
The samples are now being analyzed in Paris as authorities work to identify the suspects and the manhunt for the four main suspects in the brazen heist enters its sixth day on Friday.
Investigators have said they are in a race against time to catch the culprits, fearing they will dismantle the eight pieces they got away with and attempt to fence the many diamonds, precious stones and gold piecemeal.
On Thursday, a dramatic video surfaced capturing two of the thieves wanted in the brazen $102 million jewel heist at the Louvre as they exited the crime scene on a mobile cherry picker and fled on motorbikes with the loot.
Two French law enforcement sources confirmed to ABC News on Thursday that investigators are aware of the video and are reviewing it for clues as part of the investigation. The sources said the video was taken from inside the Louvre by members of the museum security staff.
The video, circulating online and verified by ABC News, shows the two thieves coming down from the targeted Apollo Gallery at the world-famous museum in a truck-mounted mechanical cherry picker.
In the footage, alarms can be heard going off in the background. The alleged perpetrators — one wearing a motorcycle helmet and the other covering their face with a balaclava and wearing a yellow construction worker vest – are seen making their way to the street.
Across the street from the escaping thieves, people can be seen walking and jogging along the Seine River as traffic goes by. The thieves are then seen jumping on a motorcycle and speeding off with the jewels.
French investigators said the entire robbery from start to getaway took seven minutes.
Among the eight pieces of jewelry taken was a pearl and diamond tiara from the collection of Queen Marie-Amelie and Queen Hortense, according to the Louvre. The tiara, according to the Louvre, is composed of 212 pearls of various sizes and nearly 2,000 diamonds. The piece was commissioned by Emperor Napoleon III for his marriage to Eugenie de Montijo in 1853.
Also stolen was another tiara from the collection of Queen Marie-Amelie and Queen Hortense composed of sapphires and 1,083 diamonds, according to the Louvre.
Officials said earlier this week that evidence collected so far points to “organized crime,” but added that investigators have not ruled out that the heist could have been an inside job.
Police officers investigate a U-Haul truck that was involved in an incident outside of Coast Guard Island Alameda on October 23, 2025 in Oakland, California. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
(OAKLAND, Calif.) — Shots were fired by law enforcement officers late Thursday after a driver failed to comply with verbal commands and attempted to back into Coast Guard Base Alameda in California, officials said.
At approximately 10:00 p.m. PST on Thursday, Coast Guard security personnel standing watch on Coast Guard Island observed a vehicle driving erratically and attempting to back into Coast Guard Base Alameda, posing a direct threat to the safety of Coast Guard and security personnel, according to a spokesperson from the United States Coast Guard.
“Coast Guard personnel issued multiple verbal commands to stop the vehicle, the driver failed to comply and proceeded to put the vehicle in reverse,” officials said. “When the vehicle’s actions posed a direct threat to the safety of Coast Guard and security personnel, law enforcement officers discharged several rounds of live fire.”
No Coast Guard personnel were injured in the incident. Additional details on the driver were not immediately available.
The FBI is leading the investigation and are coordinating with law enforcement partners in the area.
Officials said additional information will be released as it becomes available.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
ABC News’ Ahmad Hemingway contributed to this report.
A Alaska Airline plane flies past the stadium while teams warm up prior to a NWSL match between Bay FC and San Diego Wave at PayPal Park on August 16, 2025 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/NWSL via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Alaska Airlines operations have been restored after a significant IT outage resulted in a system-wide ground stop of flights for Alaska and Horizon, according to Alaska Airlines.
The ground stop was lifted at 11:30 p.m. PST as the company said they are “working to get our operations back on track as quickly and safely as possible.”
“Since this afternoon, we’ve had more than 229 flight cancellations,” the airline said. “Additional flight disruptions are likely as we reposition aircraft and crews throughout our network.”
“We appreciate the patience of our guests whose travel plans have been disrupted. We’re working to get them to their destinations as quickly as we can. Before heading to the airport, we encourage flyers to check their flight status,” the statement continued. “A flexible travel policy is in place to support guests as operations return to normal following an IT outage.”
The airline had grounded their flights nationwide on Thursday after the airline said it was experiencing an “IT outage affecting operations,” saying the issue was a failure in its primary data center and not a cyberattack or related to any other event.
As the ground stop stretched on, the airline said it was canceling Alaska Airlines flights as well as flights on Horizon Air, a regional airline owned by the airline. Hawaiian Airlines flights were not affected.
The Federal Aviation Administration first issued a ground stop about 7:30 p.m. ET after a request by the airline.
“We deeply apologize to our guests whose travel plans have been disrupted today,” the airline said in a statement. “We’re working to get them to their destinations as quickly as we can.”
It’s the second IT outage affecting the airline this year.
New York Mayor Eric Adams poses with mayoral candidate, Andrew Cuomo during the NBA game between the New York Knicks and the Cleveland Cavaliers at Madison Square Garden, October 22, 2025, in New York City. (Al Bello/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Less than a month after dropping out of the mayor’s race, embattled incumbentEric Adams on Thursday endorsed former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who has been ramping up his attacks against Democratic nominee state Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani.
Adams, who stepped aside due to low poll numbers and scandals involving a federal indictment that was later dismissed, made the announcement the day after he and Cuomo sat courtside together for the New York Knicks NBA home opener at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night, right after a contentious mayoral debate between Mamdani, Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa.
Mamdani responded on his social media accounts.
“Corruption goes courtside,” he wrote, sharing the photo that Cuomo posted.
Adams and Cuomo appeared together Thursday afternoon to announce the endorsement.
“Am I angry that I’m not the one taking down Zohran, the socialist and the communist? You’re darn right I am,” Adams said. “But you know what? The city means more to me than anything, and it is time for us as a family to come together.”
Mamdani is a self-identified democratic socialist but does not identify as a communist.
Cuomo thanked Adams for putting his ambition aside to endorse him “because he cares more about New York City, and he believes Zohran is an existential threat to New York City, and we all have to do our best to make sure that Zohran does not become the next mayor.”
Mamdani, who defeated Cuomo in the primary and is leading in the polls, slammed Adams’ endorsement and linked both men to the Trump administration.
“We also know that this is the art of the deal. We have a president of this country who has spoken publicly of his desire for Eric Adams to drop out of the race. Eric Adams dropped out. [He has] spoken of his desire for candidates to consolidate behind Andrew Cuomo. Today, Eric Adams is endorsing Andrew Cuomo,” Mamdani told reporters at an event.
Adams’s indictment on bribery charges was dismissed by the Department of Justice in the spring and led to several career federal prosecutors resigning in protest. The mayor, who spoke with White House officials since Trump returned to office, had pleaded not guilty and denied any wrongdoing.
Cuomo resigned from the governor’s office in 2021 following mounting sexual harassment allegations and probes into his handling of nursing home deaths during the COVID pandemic.
Cuomo denied the sexual harassment allegations and accusations that he didn’t do enough to prevent deaths during the pandemic. The governor hasn’t been charged in either of those instances.
Mamdani argued that Cuomo, who is running on a third-party line after losing the Democratic primary, and Adams are “two illustrations of the same broken politics.”
Adams called Cuomo a “snake” during the campaign and criticized the former governor for his scandals throughout the summer before Adams dropped out of the race. He initially refused to endorse any candidate but vocally opposed Mamdani.
Cuomo has also been attacking Mamdani over several issues, including his inexperience, ties to the Democratic Socialists of America and comments about the Israel and Gaza conflict that the former governor has argued were antisemitic.
Mamdani has refuted those arguments and promised to work for all New Yorkers, including its Jewish population.
The Democratic nominee also slammed Cuomo over recent comments and posts the former governor and his campaign made in the last 24 hours.
Cuomo took a shot at Mamdani during an interview that aired Thursday morning with conservative radio host Sid Rosenberg.
“God forbid, another 9/11 — can you imagine Mamdani in the seat?” Cuomo said.
Rich Azzopardi, a spokesman for Cuomo, told ABC News that the former governor “was referring to Mamdani’s close friend Hasan Piker, who said ‘America deserved 9/11,’ a statement 9/11 families called on Zohran Mamdani to denounce but he refused for months.”
Cuomo did not bring up Piker’s name or his comments during the Rosenberg interview.
Mamdani was asked on Thursday if he thought Cuomo’s comments were Islamophobic.
“Yes, I believe that they were,” he said. “We’re speaking about a former governor who in his final moments in public life is engaging in rhetoric that is not only Islamophobic, not only racist, is also disgusting and is his final closing argument with less than two weeks before Election Day.”
Cuomo is also under fire for an AI-generated video that was posted briefly by his X account during Wednesday’s debate.
The now-deleted video consisted of stereotypical imagery that declared that Mamdani is supported by criminals. The start of the video features a small watermark saying that it is AI-generated and at the end says it was “paid for by Cuomo for NYC.”
“Zohran Mamdani’s opponents want you to believe he’s an inexperienced radical whose policies will make New York City more dangerous. But what do his actual supporters think?” the video begins.
A slate of people portrayed as aligning themselves with the Democratic candidate are then depicted in a stereotypical manner with stereotypical attire — including a Black man shoplifting and at one point wearing a Palestinian keffiyeh, a domestic abuser, a trespasser, a man with a van full of prostitutes, a drunk driver and a homeless man buying drugs.
Cuomo’s campaign said the video was a “draft proposal” that was not approved and posted by accident.
The Cuomo campaign has launched ads online and on TV over the last few weeks that use AI-generated videos
One took a subtle shot at Mamdani’s lack of experience, showing Cuomo in a several different jobs like Wall Street broker before he says, “I’m Andrew Cuomo and I could pretend to do a lot of jobs, but I know what I know, and I know what I don’t know.”
Another shows former Mayor Bill de Blasio dressed up and talking like the “Austin Powers” character Dr. Evil with his sidekick Mini Me that looked like Mamdani.
