(DANVILLE, Va.) — A Virginia councilman was set on fire in an apparent personal attack at his office on Wednesday, authorities said.
The suspect, Shotsie Michael Buck Hayes, allegedly confronted Danville City Councilman Lee Vogler, 38, at his office and doused him with a flammable liquid, the Danville Police Department said. Both went outside where Hayes allegedly set Vogler on fire, police said.
Hayes, 29, of Danville, is in custody, police said.
Vogler has been taken to a hospital in unknown condition, police said.
It appears Vogler and Hayes know each other “and the attack stems from a personal matter not related to the victim’s position on Danville City Council or any other political affiliation,” police said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(LOS ANGELES) — Former NBA star Gilbert Arenas is charged with allegedly running an illegal gambling business out of a California mansion, where “high-stakes poker games” were played, the Department of Justice announced Wednesday.
He and five others were arrested on Wednesday in connection with the alleged gambling ring, according to the U.S. District Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.
Arenas, 43, has been charged with one count of conspiracy to operate an illegal gambling business, one count of operating an illegal gambling business and one count of making false statements to federal investigators, prosecutors said.
He is scheduled to be arraigned in Los Angeles on Wednesday.
Arenas is a three-time NBA All-Star who played for teams including the Golden State Warriors, Washington Wizards, Orlando Magic and Memphis Grizzlies.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(WASHINGTON) — The Senate confirmed Susan Monarez as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Monarez was confirmed by a vote of 51-47 along party lines on Tuesday evening. Sens. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) and Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) were absent.
She is the first CDC director nominee who required Senate confirmation after Congress passed a law requiring it in 2022.
Monarez holds a PhD, but she is the first CDC director without a medical degree since 1953.
In a post on X, the CDC wrote a congratulatory message to Monarez, saying that she “brings decades of distinguished experience in health innovation, disaster preparedness, global health, and biosecurity to [the CDC].”
“Dr. Monarez will lead [the CDC’s] efforts to prevent disease and respond to domestic and global health threats” and advancing Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “mission to Make America Healthy Again.”
Here’s what to know about Monarez:
According to her biography on the CDC website, Monarez worked on initiatives including the ethical use of artificial intelligence, addressing disparities in maternal morbidity and mortality and improving the national organ donation and transplantation programs.
Monarez also worked in the public sector under former presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Joe Biden, as well as during Trump’s first term. That work included strategies to combat antimicrobial resistance.
Prior to the CDC, Monarez worked in the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, a federal research funding agency that focuses on biomedical and health breakthroughs. In January 2023, she was appointed deputy director of the agency.
Monarez was named acting CDC director in January, stepping down after she was nominated for the permanent position in March. It came after President Donald Trump’s first pick, Dr. David Weldon, had his nomination pulled by the White House due to a lack of votes.
Weldon was expected to be grilled on his past comments questioning vaccine safety, such as falsely suggesting vaccines are linked to autism.
During her confirmation hearing last month, Monarez expressed support for vaccines, in contrast with Kennedy, who has expressed some skepticism.
When questioned on the discredited theory that childhood vaccinations are linked to autism, Monarez stated that she has “not seen a causal link between vaccines and autism.”
In a statement, Dr. Richard Besser, president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and former acting director of the CDC, responded to Monarez’s confirmation, expressing concern over “attacks” on the agency from the administration.
“These attacks have already had major consequences, from exacerbating the worst outbreak of measles to hit our country in a generation to cutting billions of dollars in funding to state and local health departments,” he said in a statement.
Besser noted that Monarez “must fight” for the CDC, in addition to leading it.
“Our nation’s entire public health system depends on CDC having the tools it needs to respond to pandemics, reduce chronic disease, and address health inequities that continue to leave too many communities behind,” the statement continued. “That starts with a director willing to speak the truth, defend science, and stand up for the health of every American.”
(WASHINGTON) — The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on Wednesday, just days after President Donald Trump made an unusual visit to the central bank, calling for a rate cut.
The central bank has defied Trump’s public criticism for months, adopting a wait-and-see approach as central bankers observe the effects of tariffs.
“Uncertainty about the economic outlook remains elevated,” Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), a policymaking body at the Fed, said on Wednesday.
Two Fed governors appointed by Trump — Michelle Bowman and Christopher Waller — dissented from the 12-member vote, saying they would prefer a quarter-point rate cut. It marked the first time two Fed governors have voted against the majority since 1993.
Five meetings and seven months have elapsed since the Fed last adjusted interest rates. The federal funds rate stands between 4.25% and 4.5%, preserving much of a sharp increase imposed in response to a pandemic-era bout of inflation.
The decision on interest rates came hours after a government report showed better-than-expected economic growth over three months ending in June, though a statistical quirk accounted for a significant portion of the sturdy performance.
In theory, robust economic growth eases pressure on the Fed to lower interest rates, since consumers and businesses appear undeterred by high borrowing costs.
Trump has repeatedly urged the central bank to lower interest rates, saying the policy would boost economic performance and reduce interest payments on government debt.
“We have a man who just refuses to lower the Fed rate,” Trump said of Powell last month. “Maybe I should go to the Fed. Am I allowed to appoint myself? I’d do a much better job than these people.”
The Fed is an independent agency established by Congress. Trump is legally barred from appointing himself the head of the central bank.
In recent weeks, Trump has also slammed Powell, citing cost overruns tied to the central bank’s $2.5 billion building renovation project.
The Fed attributes spending overruns to unforeseen cost increases, saying that its building renovation will ultimately “reduce costs over time by allowing the Board to consolidate most of its operations,” according to the central bank’s website.
Federal law allows the president to remove the Fed chair for “cause” — though no president has ever done so. Powell’s term as chair is set to expire in May 2026.
The Fed is guided by a dual mandate to keep inflation under control and maximize employment. In theory, a lowering of interest rates could help stimulate economic activity and boost employment, especially while inflation remains modest.
The central bank, however, issued a forecast last month indicating some concern about a rekindling of inflation due to elevated tariffs. Importers typically pass along a share of the higher tax burden in the form of price hikes.
Tariffs contributed modestly to the rise of inflation in June, though overall price increases owed largely to a rise in housing and food products with little connection to tariffs, analysts previously told ABC News.
Despite its patient approach, the Fed last month forecast two quarter-point interest-rate cuts over the remainder of 2025, carrying over a prediction issued in March.
Earlier this month, Powell said he would not rule out a potential interest rate cut as soon as the July meeting.
“I wouldn’t take any meeting off the table or put any on the table,” Powell told the panel at the European Central Bank forum in Sinatra, Portugal. “It depends on how the data evolve.”
(WASHINGTON) — The pilots of a Black Hawk helicopter that collided with a passenger jet near Washington Reagan National Airport in January never heard an air traffic controller’s instruction to pass behind the jet, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a hearing Wednesday on its investigation into the crash that killed 67 people.
Roughly 15 seconds before the collision, the controller asked the Black Hawk if it had the jet in sight as it was on approach to land. Three seconds later, the controller instructed the helicopter to pass behind the airliner, but the helicopter crew had keyed its microphone at the same time as the controller and never heard the instruction, according to the Black Hawk’s flight recorder.
The new details were part of new evidence and details of the six-month probe reveaed Wednesday. The NTSB released thousands of pages of documents — including new video from the end of the runway showing the crash — about its investigation into the January collision between American Airlines Flight 5342 and the copter that was on a training flight.
The crash killed 64 passengers and crew on the airliner and all three crew on the helicopter.
Families of the victims of the crash sat in the audience of the hearing, some of whom wore pictures of their loved ones around their necks or on buttons. They broke down in tears as officials played the video with newly released surveillance footage of the incident.
During the three-day hearings, the NTSB is expected to question the Army, Federal Aviation Administration officials and others, and present its finding on the crash investigation. The NTSB will focus on a variety of topics in the hearings.
“We’re going to focus on [air traffic control], so air traffic control and training, guidance, procedures, what was going on in the air that night, and again, that is within FAA’s purview,” NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy told reporters on Tuesday.
The NTSB will also discuss collision avoidance systems on aircraft as well as any safety data that was available and unavailable and how safety management systems can be implemented and improved.
The probe findings indicated that the jet and the helicopter were on different frequencies and could not hear each other. The flight data recorder shows that the captain of the American Airlines flight pulled up one to two seconds before the collision, presumably in an effort to avoid the Black Hawk.
More information was also revealed about one of the Black Hawk pilots, Capt. Rebecca Lobach.
In February 2022, Lobach failed a night vision goggle annual examination, but passed other night vision goggle examinations since then, according to investigators.
She had flown 56.7 hours in the last year, an average of 4.7 hours per month. Lobach also had a temporary medical suspension from flight duty in 2024, according to investigators.
On the eve of the investigative hearings, Republican Sen. Ted Cruz introduced legislation called “The Rotor Act,” which would require all aircraft, including military, to transmit ADSB location when flying — a system that allows aircraft to transmit its location to other aircraft as well as to air traffic controllers.
All aircraft flying above 18,000 feet are required to have ADSB, but certain aircraft, including military aircraft, are exempt from transmitting ADSB location for security reasons.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the NTSB recommended to the FAA to require ADSB on all aircraft nearly two decades ago.
“ADSB, and I can’t stress this enough, is a game-changer, a game-changer when it comes to safety and will provide, as we said in 2008 immediate and substantial contribution to safety. This will save lives. This legislation will save lives,” Homendy said.
In its preliminary report, the NTSB said there is no indication the Black Hawk crew could tell it was on a collision course with Flight 5342, which was landing at the same time the helicopter was passing the end of the runway.
The helicopter crew might have had bad information from their altimeter, which measures height, as the pilots had differing altitudes in the seconds before the crash, the NTSB said in its preliminary report in February.
“We are looking at the possibility of there may be bad data,” Homendy said at the time.
The crew of the helicopter might not have heard a transmission from the tower that instructed them to go behind the airliner because the pilot may have keyed her radio at the same second and stepped on the transmission from ATC, the NTSB preliminary report findings showed.
One helicopter pilot thought they were at 400 feet and the other thought they were at 300 feet. The NTSB said it was not prepared to say exactly how high the helicopter was at impact.
(WASHINGTON) — A little over a month since the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced that it and the National Weather Service (NWS) would no longer be receiving critical satellite weather data used in forecasting hurricanes, the Department of Defense now says it will continue to provide the agencies information from the Special Sensor Microwave Imager Sounder (SSMIS).
The U.S. Navy told ABC News that its Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center “had planned to phase out the data as part of a Defense Department modernization effort. But after feedback from government partners, officials found a way to meet modernization goals while keeping the data flowing until the sensor fails or the program formally ends in September 2026.”
The Navy previously told ABC News in a statement that “We can confirm that the Navy’s Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center will no longer contribute to processing and disseminating Defense Meteorological Satellite Program data on July 31, 2025, in accordance with Department of Defense policy. DMSP is a joint program owned by the U.S. Space Force and scheduled for discontinuation in September 2026. The Navy is discontinuing contributions to DMSP given the program no longer meets our information technology modernization requirements.”
The SSMIS instruments are part of three weather satellites that are in low-Earth orbit and are maintained by NOAA in cooperation with the Department of Defense. They provide critical weather information that can’t yet be replaced by other satellites and weather instruments, according to NOAA.
The SSMIS offers forecasters the ability to examine the inner workings of active tropical systems and to better understand their behavior. Specifically, the tool uses microwaves to penetrate clouds and obtain a clearer picture of the inner structure of a tropical cyclone. This enables forecasters to better monitor the current progress of such storms, including the ability to identify the exact center of the weather system for use in creating forecast models.
Other weather satellites use visible and infrared imagery, which can only capture surface-level details of the cloud tops of such storms, rather than what’s happening inside of them. These satellites also are ineffective after sunset, when it’s too dark to see and when direct observations over open water are scarce. Because the SSMIS system doesn’t have these limitations, forecasters rely on the data it collects during such periods.
Weather forecast models are sensitive to initial weather conditions and rely on multiple sources of accurate weather data for forecasting. Any degradation or discontinuity in the data, whether in terms of quality or quantity, could negatively affect the model’s forecasting skill, scientists warn.
Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen; Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
(FREMONT, Neb.) — A man and two children were killed in a large explosion at a Nebraska plant, officials said Wednesday.
The incident occurred midday Tuesday at Horizon Biofuels, a manufacturer of fuel pellets and animal bedding located in Fremont, located approximately 40 miles northwest of Omaha.
The three people were missing following the explosion, with search efforts hindered by the fire and structure concerns, Fremont Mayor Joey Spellerberg said. The response has since moved to a recovery effort, as crews continue to battle the fire, authorities said.
“My heart hurts,” Spellerberg said during a press briefing on Wednesday. “It hurts for this situation, which is a tragedy. We pray for all the families involved.”
The employee was in building with two girls who are believed to be under the age of 12 when the explosion occurred, the mayor said. Their names are not being released at his time, he said.
“The two children were there just waiting for him to get off to go to a doctor’s appointment,” Spellerberg said.
Crews are continuing to battle an active fire on Wednesday and assessing how to safely access the building to recover the victims, Nebraska Task Force One program manager Ashley Engler said during Wednesday’s briefing. The steel warehouse is becoming more unstable as the fire continues to burn, she said.
“We are using all search and rescue resources and capabilities we have, including structural engineers, to obtain access in a safe manner to get to these to these victims,” she said.
Responding firefighters were initially met by “heavy smoke and a lot of flames coming out,” Fremont Fire Chief Todd Bernt said during a press briefing Tuesday afternoon. “We had a lot of structural collapse.”
Fire crews were unable to access the building to conduct a search, Bernt said.
“Early on, we tried to get access, but just due to the collapse with the mangled steel, we were unable to get inside,” Bernt said.
Due to the structural issues, the fire department requested support from Nebraska Task Force One, the chief said.
Bernt said the plant has a lot of wood and some alcohol-based materials stored inside.
The cause of the explosion remains under investigation. The Nebraska State Fire Marshal’s Office and other agencies were on scene.
Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen said he is closely monitoring the incident.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with all involved — and we’re ready to help any way we can,” he said in a statement Tuesday.
One woman who came out to the scene to give out water to first responders on Tuesday said she saw a “large black puff of smoke” following the explosion.
“I was just instantly praying that nobody was hurt,” she told reporters. “That’s all we can hope for. We’re a good community. Everybody will rally together and help each other.”
(NEW YORK) — Over 120 million Americans across 28 states remain on alert for dangerously hot and humid weather on Wednesday as a heat wave continues to bake the eastern half of the country. But relief is on the way beginning Thursday in the Northeast.
Parts of Louisiana and most of Mississippi are under extreme heat warnings on Wednesday, with heat indices — what the temperature feels like with humidity — reaching up to 120 degrees.
Memphis, Tennessee, which is under an extreme heat warning, could see a heat index reaching 115 degrees on Wednesday.
Washington, D.C., could reach a heat index of up to 109 degrees on Wednesday, while it will feel like 104 degrees in Philadelphia and 102 degrees in New York City. For actual temperatures, Philadelphia and Baltimore could reach a daily record high of 99.
New York City marked an official heat wave on Wednesday as it reached 90 degrees for a third consecutive day.
But, a significant cool down will arrive in the coming days.
St. Louis, which has felt like over 110 degrees for more than a week, will finally see temperatures in the 70s on Thursday.
On Friday, highs will reach near 70 degrees from Philadelphia to Boston.
Unfortunately, the extreme heat will continue in the South over the coming days.
Throughout the weekend, high temperatures and humidity will remain in the Deep South, with the extreme heat expecting to hold along the Gulf Coast. A new heat dome may also form over the desert Southwest.
For tips on how to stay safe in a heat wave, click here.
(WASHINGTON) — The National Transportation Safety Board began its three days of investigative hearings on Wednesday into January’s midair collision between American Airlines Flight 5342 and a Black Hawk helicopter near Washington’s Reagan National Airport.
On Wednesday morning, the NTSB released thousands of pages of evidence from the crash and the subsequent investigation — including new video from the end of the runway showing the crash that killed 67 people.
Families of the victims of the crash sat in the audience of the hearing, some of whom wore pictures of their loved ones around their necks or on buttons. They broke down in tears as officials played the video with newly released surveillance footage of the incident.
The crash involved a regional jet that was flying from Wichita, Kansas, into Washington and collided with an Army helicopter on a training flight, killing all 64 passengers and crew on the jet and the three crew members in the helicopter.
During the three-day hearings, the NTSB is expected to question the Army, Federal Aviation Administration officials and others, and present its finding on the crash investigation. The NTSB will focus on a variety of topics in the hearings. The first day will focus on the helicopter’s altimeters and data systems as well as the design and use of the airspace around the airport.
“We’re going to focus on [air traffic control], so air traffic control and training, guidance, procedures, what was going on in the air that night, and again, that is within FAA’s purview,” NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy told reporters on Tuesday.
The NTSB will also discuss collision avoidance systems on aircraft as well as any safety data that was available and unavailable and how safety management systems can be implemented and improved.
Witnesses who are testifying at the hearings include personnel from the Army, American Airlines and the FAA.
On the eve of the investigative hearings, Republican Sen. Ted Cruz introduced legislation called “The Rotor Act,” which would require all aircraft, including military, to transmit ADSB location when flying — a system that allows aircraft to transmit its location to other aircraft as well as to air traffic controllers. All aircraft flying above 18,000 feet are required to have ADSB, but certain aircraft, including military aircraft, are exempt from transmitting ADSB location for security reasons.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the NTSB recommended to the FAA to require ADSB on all aircraft nearly two decades ago.
“ADSB, and I can’t stress this enough, is a game-changer, a game-changer when it comes to safety and will provide, as we said in 2008 immediate and substantial contribution to safety. This will save lives. This legislation will save lives,” Homendy said.
In its preliminary report, the NTSB said there is no indication the Black Hawk crew could tell it was on a collision course with Flight 5342, which was landing at the same time the helicopter was passing the end of the runway.
The helicopter crew might have had bad information from their altimeter, which measures height, as the pilots had differing altitudes in the seconds before the crash, the NTSB said in its preliminary report in February.
“We are looking at the possibility of there may be bad data,” Homendy said at the time.
The crew of the helicopter might not have heard a transmission from the tower that instructed them to go behind the airliner because the pilot may have keyed her radio at the same second and stepped on the transmission from ATC, the NTSB preliminary report findings showed.
One helicopter pilot thought they were at 400 feet and the other thought they were at 300 feet. The NTSB said it was not prepared to say exactly how high the helicopter was at impact.
(WASHINGTON) — The National Transportation Safety Board began its three days of investigative hearings on Wednesday into January’s midair collision between American Airlines Flight 5342 and a Black Hawk helicopter near Washington’s Reagan National Airport.
On Wednesday morning, the NTSB released thousands of pages of evidence from the crash and the subsequent investigation — including new video from the end of the runway showing the crash that killed 67 people.
Families of the victims of the crash sat in the audience of the hearing, some of whom wore pictures of their loved ones around their necks or on buttons. They broke down in tears as officials played the video with newly released surveillance footage of the incident.
The crash involved a regional jet that was flying from Wichita, Kansas, into Washington and collided with an Army helicopter on a training flight, killing all 64 passengers and crew on the jet and the three crew members in the helicopter.
During the three-day hearings, the NTSB is expected to question the Army, Federal Aviation Administration officials and others, and present its finding on the crash investigation. The NTSB will focus on a variety of topics in the hearings. The first day will focus on the helicopter’s altimeters and data systems as well as the design and use of the airspace around the airport.
“We’re going to focus on [air traffic control], so air traffic control and training, guidance, procedures, what was going on in the air that night, and again, that is within FAA’s purview,” NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy told reporters on Tuesday.
The NTSB will also discuss collision avoidance systems on aircraft as well as any safety data that was available and unavailable and how safety management systems can be implemented and improved.
Witnesses who are testifying at the hearings include personnel from the Army, American Airlines and the FAA.
On the eve of the investigative hearings, Republican Sen. Ted Cruz introduced legislation called “The Rotor Act,” which would require all aircraft, including military, to transmit ADSB location when flying — a system that allows aircraft to transmit its location to other aircraft as well as to air traffic controllers. All aircraft flying above 18,000 feet are required to have ADSB, but certain aircraft, including military aircraft, are exempt from transmitting ADSB location for security reasons.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the NTSB recommended to the FAA to require ADSB on all aircraft nearly two decades ago.
“ADSB, and I can’t stress this enough, is a game-changer, a game-changer when it comes to safety and will provide, as we said in 2008 immediate and substantial contribution to safety. This will save lives. This legislation will save lives,” Homendy said.
In its preliminary report, the NTSB said there is no indication the Black Hawk crew could tell it was on a collision course with Flight 5342, which was landing at the same time the helicopter was passing the end of the runway.
The helicopter crew might have had bad information from their altimeter, which measures height, as the pilots had differing altitudes in the seconds before the crash, the NTSB said in its preliminary report in February.
“We are looking at the possibility of there may be bad data,” Homendy said at the time.
The crew of the helicopter might not have heard a transmission from the tower that instructed them to go behind the airliner because the pilot may have keyed her radio at the same second and stepped on the transmission from ATC, the NTSB preliminary report findings showed.
One helicopter pilot thought they were at 400 feet and the other thought they were at 300 feet. The NTSB said it was not prepared to say exactly how high the helicopter was at impact.
