(NEW YORK) — Emergency rooms across the country are seeing a spike in tick bite cases, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
July has already seen the highest number of tick-related ER visits since 2017, with the Northeast region reporting the most cases, the CDC said.
Young children and elderly adults appear particularly vulnerable, with those under 10 and over 70 years old having the highest rates of emergency room visits, according to the CDC.
For residents in the New York tristate area, the threat is particularly severe. The Fordham Tick Index, which monitors tick activity in southern New York, Connecticut and Northern New Jersey, currently rates the bite risk as “very high” – 9 out of 10 on its scale.
The CDC reports that climate change may be contributing to the increasing numbers. In regions where Lyme disease is already present, milder winters result in fewer disease-carrying ticks dying during cold months, the agency notes.
According to CDC data, May typically marks the annual peak for tick-bite emergencies. These rising numbers have prompted health officials to remind the public about the dangers posed by these tiny insects.
The CDC warns that ticks can transmit various diseases through their bites, many of which share similar symptoms. Most people who visit emergency rooms report fever and chills, headaches, fatigue and muscle aches. Some patients also develop distinctive rashes, particularly those associated with Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.
With outdoor activities in full swing this summer, the CDC has issued several recommendations to prevent illness. The agency advises avoiding wooded and brushy areas with high grass and leaf litter, and staying in the center of trails when hiking. It also recommends using Environmental Protection Agency-registered insect repellents containing DEET, Picaridin, or other approved ingredients.
The CDC recommends treating outdoor clothing and gear with permethrin, which remains effective even after multiple washes. Those planning to use both sunscreen and insect repellent should apply sunscreen first, followed by the repellent.
Health officials are also emphasizing that no area is immune to tick activity.
(FAIRFIELD, Idaho) — A possible sighting of Travis Decker — the dad accused of murdering his three daughters over a month ago — is being investigated in the wake of a family saying they may have spotted the fugitive father in Idaho late last week, according to the U.S. Marshals Service.
Paityn Decker, 9; Evelyn Decker, 8; and Olivia Decker, 5, were found dead near the Rock Island Campground in Chelan County, Washington, on June 2, after they left home for a planned visit with their father on May 30, according to police.
It’s been over one month since the girls’ bodies were found, and the manhunt for Decker, an Army veteran, continues.
On Saturday, the U.S. Marshals Service received a tip from a family camping in the Bear Creek area of Sawtooth National Forest — about 32 miles north of Fairfield, Idaho — saying they saw someone “consistent with the description of Travis Decker,” the U.S. Marshals Service said in a press release on Sunday.
The person was described as a white male, anywhere from 5 feet, 8 inches tall to 5 feet, 10 inches tall, wearing a black mesh cap, black gauged earrings, a cream colored T-shirt, black shorts, low-top sneakers and a black Garmin-style watch, officials said. He also had a long ponytail, an “overgrown” beard and mustache and was carrying a black JanSport backpack, officials said.
The U.S. Marshals Greater Idaho Fugitive Task Force, a statewide cooperative to “locate and arrest violent state and federal fugitives,” will investigate the possible sighting, with the help of local Idaho officials.
The U.S. Marshals Service is also still offering a $20,000 reward for information leading directly to Decker’s arrest.
“This suspect should be considered armed and dangerous,” the U.S. Marshals Service said on July 3.
Last week, officials revealed that bloody handprints found on the tailgate of Decker’s truck — which was found near the girls’ bodies — matched the father’s DNA profile.
Chelan County officials said last week that drones and cadaver and tracking dogs are continuing to be used in the search efforts. The National Park Service is also planning to send out “swift water search and rescue teams in the near future to conduct more searches of bodies of water around the crime scene,” officials said.
An affidavit previously revealed that Decker’s Google searches leading up to the murders allegedly included “how does a person move to Canada” and “how to relocate to Canada.”
Decker is currently wanted for three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of kidnapping, police said.
Officials said anyone who has any information on Decker or knows of his whereabouts should not attempt to contact him, but instead call 911 or the U.S. Marshals Communication Center immediately.
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump and Elon Musk are once again trading public insults after the Tesla billionaire, the world’s richest man, said he will create a new political party.
Musk, who has been floating the idea of creating a third political party for weeks in the wake of his split with the president, reignited the push over the weekend after the passage of Trump’s sweeping tax cut and spending bill — which Musk railed against over its estimated impact adding trillions to the national debt.
“When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste & graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy,” Musk posted on X on Saturday. “Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom.”
Trump on Sunday slammed the idea as “ridiculous.”
“I think starting a third party just adds to confusion,” Trump told reporters. “It really seems to have been developed for two parties. Third parties have never worked, so he can have fun with it, but I think it’s ridiculous.”
The president went further in a social media post, lashing out at Musk directly.
“I am saddened to watch Elon Musk go completely ‘off the rails,’ essentially becoming a TRAIN WRECK over the past five weeks,” Trump wrote on his conservative social media platform, Truth Social. “He even wants to start a Third Political Party, despite the fact that they have never succeeded in the United States — The System seems not designed for them.”
Trump began his second term with a strong alliance with Musk, who was appointed a “special government employee” to oversee the Department of Government Efficiency, a newly-formed entity aimed at slashing government spending.
Musk left the administration in late May, and soon after Musk began to criticize Trump’s megabill. Musk said every lawmaker who supported the legislation should “hang their head in shame” and at one point issued a threat to Republicans supporting it, saying they “will lose their primary next year if it is the last thing I do on this Earth.”
Trump, in his social media post, explained their differences on electric vehicle mandates in the legislation and why he pulled the nomination of Musk’s associate to lead NASA.
Trump claimed that Musk told him he had “no problems” with him ending subsidies for EV purchases.
“No more EV Mandate. I have campaigned on this for two years and, quite honestly, when Elon gave me his total and unquestioned Endorsement, I asked him whether or not he knew that I was going to terminate the EV Mandate – It was in every speech I made, and in every conversation I had. He said he had no problems with that – I was very surprised!” Trump wrote.
The president went on to argue that he felt that it was in the best interest of the American public not to have Musk associate Jared Isaacman lead NASA due to their space industry connections.
“I also thought it inappropriate that a very close friend of Elon, who was in the Space Business, run NASA, when NASA is such a big part of Elon’s corporate life. My Number One charge is to protect the American Public!” Trump wrote.
Musk unloaded on X in response to Trump’s lengthy post, mocking it by replying, “What’s Truth Social?” and slamming the president’s bill as a betrayal of DOGE’s purpose.
In one post replying to a screenshot of Trump’s Truth Social message, Musk agreed with a comment urging Vice President JD Vance to “make sure the President has his facts straight.”
Musk then responded, writing: “What the heck was the point of @DOGE if he’s just going to increase the debt by $5 trillion??”
Despite the heated back-and-forth and Musk’s repeated threats to form a new party, it’s unclear whether Musk has begun the formal process of creating his own party by filing paperwork with the Federal Election Commission.
Musk has said that his political party would target “just 2 or 3 Senate seats and 8 to 10 House districts,” which he believes “would be enough to serve as the deciding vote on contentious laws.”
Musk compared it to how “Epaminondas shattered the myth of Spartan invincibility at Leuctra” by using “Extremely concentrated force at a precise location on the battlefield.”
In another post, Musk detailed that while backing a candidate for president in 2028 was “not out of the question,” the party’s focus “for the next 12 months is on the House and the Senate.”
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump on Monday will sign an executive order delaying steep levies on dozens of countries that were set to take effect on Wednesday, the White House said.
Trump’s so-called reciprocal tariffs will now take effect on Aug. 1, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.
Minutes earlier, Trump announced 25% tariffs on South Korea and Japan that would take effect at the start of August. Twelve additional countries would receive notifications Monday about new tariffs, Leavitt said.
Trump delayed the “reciprocal tariffs” in April, vowing to strike roughly 90 trade deals in 90 days. So far, the White House says it has reached trade agreements with only the United Kingdom and Vietnam, as well as a preliminary accord with China.
“The president and his trade team want to cut the best deals for the American people and the American worker,” Leavitt said.
The return of the policy would dramatically hike tariffs on dozens of trade partners. Examples include a 49% tariff on Cambodia and a 37% tariff on Bangladesh.
Here’s what to know about Trump’s tariff deadline and what it means for you:
What was Trump’s July 9 tariff deadline?
The deadline on Wednesday traced back to the Rose Garden “Liberation Day” tariff announcement on April 2, when Trump imposed country-specific levies on most U.S. trading partners as part of a wider policy rollout.
The major stock indexes lost about $3.1 trillion in value the next day, suffering their biggest one-day decline since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Days later, Trump imposed a 90-day suspension of the country-specific tariffs, sending the market to one of its largest ever single-day increases.
Since then, the stock market has climbed to a record high and key measures of economic performance have proven resilient.
On Wednesday, the 90-day suspension was set to expire. The vast majority of nations targeted by the tariffs had yet to strike a trade agreement with the U.S., meaning the deadline could have brought back the slate of tariffs that had triggered the April stock selloff.
Is the Trump administration pushing back its tariff deadline?
The White House on Monday said it plans to push back the July 9 deadline.
The announcement came after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Sunday said the Trump administration planned to send letters to about 100 countries, warning that high tariffs could return at the start of next month.
The letters, Bessent told CNN, will tell target countries “if you don’t move things along, then on August 1st, you will boomerang back to your April 2nd tariff level.”
Trump appeared to echo the plans in a social media post on Sunday, saying the White House would soon send out “UNITED STATES TARIFF Letters.”
In a separate social media post on Monday, Trump threatened to place an additional 10% tariff on countries that align with BRICS nations, suggesting he had not backed off his commitment to levies.
BRICS nations, which recently voiced “serious concerns” about unilateral tariffs, are made up of founding members Brazil, Russia, India and China, among a few others.
Where do Trump’s tariffs stand now?
In recent weeks, Trump has dialed back some of his steepest tariffs. Another batch of tariffs remains in legal limbo following a pair of federal court rulings in May, though the levies remain in place for now.
A trade agreement last month between the U.S. and China slashed tit-for-tat tariffs between the world’s two largest economies.
Still, an across-the-board 10% tariff applies to nearly all imports, except for semiconductors, pharmaceuticals and some other items.
Goods from Mexico and Canada face tariffs of 25%, though the measure excludes products covered under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA. In May, Trump vowed to double steel and aluminum tariffs. Tariffs still apply to autos and car parts.
Jim Reid, a research strategist at Deutsche Bank, said in a memo to clients on Monday that the firm’s economists estimate a current effective tariff rate of 15%.
The level of tariffs has fallen “a good deal below the implied rate from Liberation Day,” but it remains “well above the low single figures before Trump returned to office,” Reid added.
Citing the pullback of other tariffs, Reid voiced skepticism about sturdiness of the Aug. 1 deadline.
(NEW YORK) — The catastrophic flash floods in Texas have left communities reeling, claiming at least 90 lives and displacing families across the Hill Country. As recovery operations continue, safety concerns have intensified — not just for the current disaster but for how future flash flood events will be managed.
Officials say the tragedy has spotlighted confusion surrounding how disasters are categorized and managed, particularly around terms like response, rescue and recovery. Understanding these distinctions is essential to grasping how emergency teams work during such events.
How disaster response is organized
In the U.S., large-scale disaster management follows a tiered structure called the Incident Command System (ICS). This well-established framework is designed to ensure consistent coordination during crises, whether it’s a terrorist attack like 9/11, a major hurricane like Katrina, or the devastating floods currently hitting Texas.
Under ICS, the response is managed at local, state and federal levels. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott emphasized that all three tiers are currently active in the flood response, with resources being shared across jurisdictions. The terminology used under ICS is standardized, helping ensure that all agencies involved are aligned in their actions and goals.
As of this week, Abbott extended the state’s disaster declaration to cover 15 counties, while President Donald Trump approved a federal disaster declaration for Kerr County, one of the hardest-hit areas.
Response vs. Rescue vs. Recovery
Disaster operations follow a general pattern: response, then rescue, then recovery.
The Response Phase begins when the ICS is activated. This involves setting up an Emergency Operations Center and appointing an incident commander to coordinate efforts across all agencies.
The Rescue Phase prioritizes saving lives. In an event like the Texas floods, it would typically include: – Land-based search teams using GPS grid searches. – K9 search-and-rescue dogs. – Boat and helicopter rescues carried out by the U.S. Coast Guard and Texas National Guard. – A U.S. military “Reaper” drone providing aerial surveillance to guide rescue teams.
Importantly, the safety of responders is a top priority — ensuring they don’t become additional victims.
A family reunification process is also underway to help reconnect loved ones affected by the flooding.
Eventually, operations will shift to the Recovery Phase, which focuses on finding those still missing and restoring the devastated infrastructure. Abbott said that this transition in Texas will not happen until all missing people are accounted for. For comparison, after 9/11, the shift from rescue to recovery at Ground Zero occurred around 24 to 48 hours post-impact.
Investigations and mental health support
Due to the tragic loss of life, evidence recovery is now part of the process. Investigators may need to conduct forensic or criminal inquests to determine the cause of deaths and evaluate any liability.
Mental health support teams are already in place. The trauma of such a disaster affects victims, families and even the rescuers. Crisis counselors, FBI and state victim support specialists and grief support services should be available and will be a key part of the long-term response.
The long road ahead
Recovery will include debris removal, damage assessments and rebuilding efforts — a difficult road that will require extensive state and federal support.
Meanwhile, officials are urging all Texans to be vigilant and prepared for future weather emergencies.
What to do in a flash flood
If you’re in a flood-prone area, here are key safety tips:
– Always be weather aware and monitor alerts. – Leave early if conditions deteriorate. – Have an emergency kit and communication plan. – Seek high ground immediately when flooding is imminent.
Several resources can help you stay informed:
– FEMA Mobile App — Provides real-time alerts and shelter information. – Weather alert apps — Multiple are available for download and can offer advanced warnings.
For all types of disasters, meteorologists say that it’s important to have at least two ways of receiving important weather alerts. Your phone should have the Emergency Alert System activated, but you’ll also need a NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) weather radio because it does not require cell service or electricity to operate.
“I really believe every person in the country should have a NOAA weather radio,” ABC News Chief Meteorologist Ginger Zee said. “This is battery powered and will wake you from a dead sleep. The timely warnings from NWS that night can be programmed to go off and would wake folks and give them at least a few minutes, if not longer, to seek higher ground.”
How you can help
The American Red Cross is one of several organizations assisting with victim support, shelter and supplies.
Donald J. Mihalek is an ABC News contributor, retired senior Secret Service who served on the president’s detail and as an NSSE coordinator for UNGA contingency operations. He was also a police officer and served in the U.S. Coast Guard helping coordinate search and rescue operations.
Richard Frankel is an ABC News contributor and retired FBI special agent who was the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Newark Division and, prior to that, the FBI’s New York Joint Terrorism TASK force. He was involved in the investigation and recovery efforts of TWA Flight 800, the 9/11 attacks and the 2013 Westgate Mall attack in Kenya.
The opinions expressed in this story are not those of ABC News.
(CHATHAM COUNTY, N.C.) — Crews in North Carolina are “overwhelmed” with water rescues and search efforts on Monday after Chantal, then a tropical storm, made landfall a day earlier, causing record-breaking flooding in the central part of the state and at least one death, officials said.
While the storm has dissipated as of Monday morning, Chantal — the third named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season — brought up to 6 inches of rain in some areas, causing many to be displaced from their homes.
A woman in Chatham County, North Carolina, died on Sunday after she drove into the floodwaters and was swept approximately 100 feet off the roadway, according to the North Carolina State Highway Patrol.
More than 120 roads have closed due to flooding and a portion of Highway 902 collapsed and was washed away, officials said.
“Just because the water may have subsided in some areas it is still dangerous to travel in some places,” Chatham County Sheriff Mike Roberson said on Monday.
In Orange County, North Carolina, the storm brought 5 to 9 inches of rain, causing flooded roads along with fallen trees and power lines. The counties of Alamance, Moore and Orange have declared states of emergency, according North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein.
“I urge all North Carolinians to listen to any guidance from local weather and local emergency management officials and be aware of any road warnings and closures before they leave the house,” Stein said in a statement.
The Eno River near Huckleberry Springs — just outside of Durham, North Carolina — rose more than 20 feet in less than six hours as of Monday morning, and the Haw River near Burlington grew from 2 feet to 32.5 feet in just 13 hours.
More than 33,000 customers were still without power in North Carolina as of noon on Monday and the town of Hillsborough, North Carolina, issued a notice asking residents to boil their water as flooding from the Eno River impacted the local water treatment plant.
The town will have a “limited supply of water until the river recedes and the drinking water can be processed to refill the water tanks,” officials said.
Chantal will continue to move northeast on Monday, with flood watches in effect for northeast Virginia through central New Jersey. About 2 to 3 inches of rain is possible in these areas, with the storm hitting Baltimore and Philadelphia on Monday afternoon and New York City seeing light rain on Monday evening into Tuesday morning.
ABC News’ Kenton Gewecke and Ahmad Hemingway contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — The federal judge overseeing Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s wrongful deportation case in Maryland has denied the Trump administration’s request to dismiss the case.
U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis, at a hearing Monday in Maryland, pressed DOJ attorneys on why they claimed in May court filings that they could not return Abrego Garcia to the U.S. after securing an indictment against him in Tennessee on charges of human smuggling.
“Your client secured an indictment against Mr. Abrego Garcia on May 21 … how could you six days later say you had no power to produce him?” Judge Xinis asked. “Why else would you file a criminal indictment against someone who you can’t produce? It’s illogical.”
Abrego Garcia, who 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, was brought back to the U.S. last month to face charges in Tennessee of allegedly transporting undocumented migrants within the U.S. while he was living in Maryland. He has pleaded not guilty.
Judge Xinis, pointing to a filing submitted by the DOJ in May that said the U.S. government did not have the power to bring Abrego Garcia back from detention in El Salvador, repeatedly asked DOJ layers about the timeline of the criminal probe and whether the Tennessee indictment played a role in his release.
“Those are powerful arguments to say ‘I don’t have the power’… yet, at the same time, you’re putting in place the power of the prosecutorial arm to charge an individual, who you say will never come back to the United States, with a crime,” Judge Xinis said.
“You began a criminal investigation … on April 28, which was a month after this case began, and common sense would dictate that the only possible defensible use of investigative criminal resources would be if you eventually secured an indictment to bring Mr. Abrego Garcia back,” Judge Xinis said.
When DOJ attorney Bridget O’Hickey said the investigation into Abrego Garcia in Tennessee did not begin on April 28, Judge Xinis said the attorney was contradicting the government’s sworn testimony in the criminal case.
“That’s noteworthy to me, because I do believe that your client has taken a different position in front of the Tennessee court,” Judge Xinis said.
O’Hickey said Abrego Garcia was not indicted “with the purpose of bringing him back.”
“He was indicted because he was under investigation for those criminal charges,” O’Hickey said.
When Judge Xinis asked the plaintiffs how they found out Abrego Garcia was returned to the U.S., Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg said, “We found out on ABC News.”
Judge Xinis was also scheduled to hear arguments Monday over whether Abrego Garcia should be transferred to Maryland as he awaits trial in Tennessee.
Abrego Garcia’s attorneys filed an emergency motion last week seeking to have him returned to Maryland as he awaits trial, but government attorneys say they will seek to deport him to a country other than his native El Salvador, where he is prohibited from being sent due to a 2019 court order.
The magistrate judge overseeing the Tennessee case is expected to release him on bond as he awaits trial, setting up a battle over his potential removal.
In a court filing last week, Abrego Garcia’s attorneys said he had been subjected to severe mistreatment including “beatings, severe deprivation, inadequate nutrition and psychological torture” while he was held in CECOT, arguing that he “could face persecution or torture if removed directly to various other countries, including but not limited to countries with notorious human rights abuses like Libya, South Sudan, and Eritrea.”
The next hearing in Abrego Garcia’s criminal case is set for July 16 in Tennessee.
Robert McGuire, acting U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee, filed a motion last week to set a jury trial date “within 70 days of his initial appearance.”
(MCALLEN, Texas) — A suspect is dead after opening fire at the entrance of the Border Patrol sector annex in McAllen, Texas, on Monday morning, authorities said.
The suspect, identified as 27-year-old Ryan Louis Mosqueda, fired at the federal building that houses the U.S. Border Patrol offices at the McAllen International Airport, McAllen Police Chief Victor Rodriguez said at a news conference. The suspect never made it inside the building but fired “many, many rounds at the building,” Rodriguez said.
A photo of the door of the building showed the damage from bullets striking the glass.
Mosqueda was “neutralized” by Border Patrol agents and local police, according to McAllen police and the Department of Homeland Security.
Two officers and a Border Patrol employee were injured, including one officer who was shot in the knee, DHS said. He is expected to be fine, police said.
There is no known motive, Rodriguez said.
Mosqueda was reported missing from a Weslaco, Texas, address at 4 a.m., police said, adding they don’t have more details on the missing person’s report.
Mosqueda has a Michigan address and arrived in a car with Michigan tags, Rodriguez said. His car had additional weapons and ammunition inside, Rodriguez said.
City officials said all flights at McAllen International Airport were delayed following the incident.
(MCALLEN, Texas) — A suspect is dead following an active shooter incident at the entrance of the Border Patrol sector annex in McAllen, Texas, according to a Department of Homeland Security official.
Border Patrol agents and local police “neutralized” the shooter, according to DHS.
One McAllen police officer was struck in the leg, apparently when officers returned fire at the suspect, according to two officials familiar with the incident.
City officials said all flights at nearby McAllen International Airport are delayed.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(NEW YORK) — The federal judge overseeing Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s deportation case in Maryland will hear arguments Monday over whether Abrego Garcia should be transferred to Maryland as he awaits trial on human smuggling charges in Tennessee.
Abrego Garcia’s attorneys filed an emergency motion last week seeking to have him returned to Maryland should he released on bond, but government attorneys say they will seek to deport him to a country other than his native El Salvador, where he is prohibited from being sent due to a 2019 court order.
U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis, who has been handling Abrego Garcia’s Maryland case, will also hear arguments from the Trump administration seeking to have Abrego Garcia’s Maryland case dismissed.
Abrego Garcia, who 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, was brought back to the U.S. last month to face charges in Tennessee of allegedly transporting undocumented migrants within the U.S. while he was living in Maryland. He has pleaded not guilty.
The magistrate judge overseeing the Tennessee case is expected to release him on bond as he awaits trial, setting up a battle over his potential removal.
In a court filing last week, Abrego Garcia’s attorneys said he had been subjected to severe mistreatment including “beatings, severe deprivation, inadequate nutrition and psychological torture” while he was held in CECOT, arguing that he “could face persecution or torture if removed directly to various other countries, including but not limited to countries with notorious human rights abuses like Libya, South Sudan, and Eritrea.”
The next hearing in Abrego Garcia’s criminal case is set for July 16 in Tennessee.
Robert McGuire, acting U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee, filed a motion last week to set a jury trial date “within 70 days of his initial appearance.”
