Firefighters extinguish a blaze after a Russian drone strike on May 3, 2025 in Kharkiv, Ukraine. (Photo by Yevhen Titov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
(LONDON) — An estimated 50 people were hurt, including an 11-year-old child, when Russia attacked the city of Kharkiv with drones late Friday, officials said.
Calling it a “massive attack,” Kharkiv governor Oleg Synegubov wrote on Telegram that the drones hit four parts of the city while causing fires and damaging homes, buildings and cars.
The Kharkiv mayor said 12 different locations in those four districts were hit and that eight people are still in the hospital in moderate condition.
Even though there could be more attacks, emergency workers are on the ground putting out fires and cleaning up damage as medical staff worked hard to help the injured.
Only hours early, Russia had launched another attack, this time on Zaporizhzhia, hurting 29 people.
These attacks happened just before Russia’s planned three-day ceasefire for its World War II holiday as Ukraine says this “ceasefire” is just for show and not real, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy saying the drones hit homes, not military places.
“Russia attacks when people are in their homes, putting their children to bed,” he said.
Earlier this week, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov warned on Wednesday that “a whole series of nuances” needs to be addressed before Russia will agree to any U.S.-brokered peace deal to end Moscow’s 3-year-old invasion of Ukraine.
President Vladimir Putin, Peskov said, “said that he supports this initiative — the establishment of a ceasefire, he supports it, but before going for it, a whole series of questions need to be answered and a whole series of nuances need to be resolved,” as quoted by the state-run Tass news agency.
Zelenskyy again urged greater international pressure on the Kremlin this week, citing the latest round of drone strikes a few days ago in which 45 people were injured in Kharkiv — including two children — and one person was killed in Dnipro.
“Russian drones continue flying over Ukrainian skies all morning,” Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram. “And this happens every single day. That’s why pressure on Russia is needed — strong, additional sanctions that actually work. Not just words or attempts at persuasion — only pressure can force Russia to agree to a ceasefire and end the war.”
ABC News’ David Brennan contributed to this report.
“We’re seeing lots of customer demand for the M5 Touring,” said Juliana Ochs, a manager of business development for BMW Luxury Class and M. Image via BMW.
(NEW YORK) — Think your giant sport-utility vehicle is cooler than the middling station wagon? Think again.
German automaker BMW recently entered the U.S. “super wagon” category with its high performance M5 Touring, a ludicrously fast family hauler (starting price $121,500) that can smoke a two-seater sports car on a racetrack — again and again. This is the wagon you wish your parents drove.
The wagon’s turbocharged 4.4-liter V8 packs 717 horsepower and BMW claims a 0 to 60 mph sprint in 3.5 seconds. Bonus: the M5 Touring is a plug-in hybrid and gets about 25 miles of pure electric range, allowing owners to cruise through town (almost) unnoticed.
“We’re seeing lots of customer demand for the M5 Touring … customers don’t want to sacrifice utility and performance,” Juliana Ochs, a manager of business development for BMW Luxury Class and M, told ABC News. “The Touring is the new kid on the block. There was a strong ask for it here in the U.S. and we listened to our customers.”
The M5 Touring, which has been on sale in Europe, is just starting to arrive at U.S. dealerships. Few enthusiasts have ever seen one in person.
“People are definitely calling in about the M5 Touring,” Jordan Bray, a sales adviser at BMW of Latham, New York, told ABC News. “There’s a cult following when it comes to wagons — not just BMW, but all manufacturers. We’re super excited to see it.”
Bray said interested buyers may have trouble getting access to one.
“I don’t know how many dealers want to give up allocations for that car,” he said.
Tyson Jominy, vice president of data and analytics at J.D. Power, said wagons, like the forgotten minivan, have been unfairly maligned by U.S. motorists.
“There are excellent minivans out there and excellent wagons,” he told ABC News. “They both have a stigma that is long out of date in my opinion. Wagons are a sleeper agent — you can probably get away with a lot of stuff that may be frowned upon by your local police.”
Jominy noted that the market for premium, six-figure wagons like the M5 Touring and Audi RS6 Avant caters to a very niche customer — one who may also have a Ferrari parked in the garage.
“A ‘super wagon’ is fan service to your most loyal owners,” he said. “Your most loyal owners know about your global portfolio and the forbidden fruit that exists out there. And one of the secrets in the auto industry is that wagon buyers spend real money. Premium luxury wagon buyers typically get zero incentives.”
Plus, there are many other reasons to own a wagon, Jominy argued.
“They will drive better because they’re lower to the ground and keep their center of gravity,” he noted. “They’re better handling vehicles and drivers should get better fuel economy than an SUV.”
When Audi introduced enthusiasts to its RS6 Avant in 2019 (starting price $126,600), the wait time to get one was two to three years, according to Mark Dahnke, an Audi spokesperson. The automaker sells about 1,000 units in the U.S. and interest is still strong — including with families.
Like the M5 Touring, the RS6 Avant’s performance credentials match or exceed sports cars that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars more: 621 hp, 627 lb.-ft. of torque, 0-60 mph in 3.3 seconds. And unlike low-slung, compact sports cars, the menacing RS6 doubles as a stylish people mover that can go just about anywhere and perform capably on dirt trails and and slippery roads.
“It is a very special car for which its buyers receive applause from every fellow enthusiast,” Dahnke told ABC News. “Everyone from Bugatti to R8 owners applaud your decision to buy an RS6 Avant Performance.”
Mercedes-Benz recently said the 2026 E53 Hybrid wagon heads to U.S. dealers later this year. The company’s last high-performance wagon, the E63 S, immediately won over wealthy enthusiasts’ hearts and wallets. Mercedes is expecting a similar reaction to this model, which makes 577 hp from a turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six and an electric motor.
“As a performance plug-in hybrid, it combines the best of both worlds: exhilarating driving dynamics and performance with the efficiency of all-electric driving for daily commutes,” a Mercedes spokesperson told ABC News. “The wagon also benefits from the numerous advancements introduced with this new generation E-Class, including all-new electronic architecture, third-generation MBUX infotainment, greater connectivity and expanded comfort features.”
The U.S. wagon market has been shrinking, however. Volvo recently ended production of its well-liked V60 Polestar Engineered plug-in wagon. The new Subaru Outback, which was unveiled at the New York International Auto Show in April, looks more like, well, an SUV.
But Tony Quiroga, editor-in-chief of Car and Driver, said the options available for this niche segment are “pretty cool.”
“I think the RS6 Avant sort of proved that there is a market and BMW wants to tap into that,” he told ABC News. “The M5 Touring is a halo car … it’s for the enthusiasts who maybe are disappointed that BMW built so many SUVs. A wagon works just as well as an SUV in so many cases. And it’s more fun to drive.”
Patrick Lalewicz, a product manager at BMW, acknowledged that BMW owners can get a thrill from other M vehicles on the market, like the M5 Sedan and X5M SUV. The M5 Touring, however, grabs all the attention.
“New and young customers coming into the brand with the M5 Touring,” he told ABC News. “They car is so rare and sought after. Customers want something special.”
(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. Army is planning a historic parade through the streets of Washington, D.C., on June 14 that will coincide with and be part of the Army’s long-planned 250th celebration.
The parade will involve some 6,600 soldiers, tanks and infantry vehicles, helicopter flyovers and parachute jumps, according to several people familiar with the planning effort, and will also occur on President Donald Trump’s 79th birthday.
“The Army is celebrating its 250th Birthday with multiple events leading up to June 14,” the Army said in a statement Friday evening. “The national level celebration will include a spectacular fireworks display, a parade, and a day-long festival on the National Mall in Washington, DC. The festival will feature displays of Army equipment, military demonstrations, musical performances, and a fitness competition.
“Given the significant milestone of 250 years, the Army is exploring options to make the celebration even bigger, with more capability demonstrations, additional displays of equipment, and more engagement with the community,” it added. “Parade planning is actively underway, and we anticipate approximately 150 vehicles, 50 aircraft, and 6,600 Soldiers to highlight the Army’s 250 years of service to the nation.”
Officials said earlier Friday that the parade had been a possible add-on but had cautioned that no final decisions had been made. The Associated Press first reported details involving the latest plans.
The timing and White House involvement in planning efforts have stoked speculation that Trump is using the Army’s birthday as an excuse to get the kind of grand military parade he wanted during his first term in office. That event was scrapped after estimates topped $90 million.
The cost for this year’s June 14 parade is unclear, officials said, but it will likely be steep. The event will require involvement from several federal agencies, including those requiring security. The Army plans to have soldiers from each of the its 10 divisions represented in the parade, according to a U.S. official.
Earlier this year, city officials expressed concern that heavy vehicles such as tanks would tear up the roads and noted the city would require significant reimbursement to fix any damaged infrastructure.
The tanks would not be allowed to cross the bridges from Virginia into Washington, D.C., only allowing them to operate inside the city along certain roads, according to one official familiar with the planning.
Last month, the Army confirmed the possibility of a parade but called it pre-decisional.
(Photo by Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — One of the key witnesses in the Karen Read murder retrial continued to testify for a third day Friday on the events surrounding the death of Read’s boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe, who was found unresponsive in the snow outside a Massachusetts home in 2022.
Prosecutors allege, following a night of drinking in Canton, that Read struck O’Keefe with her Lexus SUV outside of a get-together at another officer’s home and left him to die in a blizzard in January 2022. An autopsy found that the 46-year-old died of hypothermia and blunt force injuries to the head.
After a jury was unable to reach a verdict in the initial murder trial last year, Read is being retried on charges including second-degree murder, vehicular manslaughter while operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol and leaving the scene of a collision causing death. She has pleaded not guilty and maintains her innocence.
Jennifer McCabe, a friend of O’Keefe who had testified during the first trial, took to the stand for the third day during the retrial on Friday in Dedham, Massachusetts.
In her extensive testimony this week, McCabe recounted that she had attended a social gathering at a bar the night before O’Keefe was found unresponsive in the snow with him, Read and others. McCabe was also at the get-together following the gathering at the bar at a home belonging to her sister and brother-in-law, a Boston police officer.
McCabe and another friend of O’Keefe’s — Kerry Roberts — another key trial witness who testified last week — drove with Read through a blizzard to search for O’Keefe after he never came home the night before, ultimately finding him outside McCabe’s sister’s home unresponsive.
McCabe testified Wednesday that while talking to a first responder at the scene, she heard Read say, “I hit him, I hit him, I hit him.”
Defense attorney Alan Jackson grilled McCabe on her recollection of the events of that day and in the days, weeks, months and years after, highlighting inconsistencies in her various testimonies and against police reports.
In one instance, Jackson noted that, after receiving a call from O’Keefe’s niece and Read that O’Keefe was missing, McCabe had called her sister, though she did not mention that call while testifying to the grand jury that indicted Read on the manslaughter and murder charges.
“There’s nothing nefarious,” McCabe said about the call, testifying that her sister did not answer and she didn’t remember calling her.
Asked by Jackson on her use of the word “nefarious,” McCabe said, “There’s nothing about me calling my sister that is nefarious, and I feel like you’re insinuating it might be and it’s not.”
Mark Jarret Chavous/The Enterprise via AP Jackson also questioned McCabe about a broken taillight on Read’s SUV. McCabe testified that Read first mentioned the broken taillight in the early morning call with O’Keefe’s niece, though Jackson said that wasn’t included in a police report. McCabe stood by her account.
When pressed on forgetting certain details from that time, McCabe said, “There are certain things I’ll never forget.”
Jackson’s cross-examination also focused on McCabe’s Google search for how long it takes to die in the cold. She testified this week that Read asked her to Google that after finding O’Keefe in the snow, with the search made after 6 a.m. Though Jackson said there is evidence it was made at 2:27 a.m. that morning, hours before O’Keefe was found. McCabe denied she made the search at 2:27 a.m. and said she searched it later that morning, upon Read’s request.
Jackson also alleged that a group chat including McCabe and several family members showed they were colluding in the days following the death to coordinate their statements, which McCabe denied.
As he wrapped up his cross-examination, Jackson grilled McCabe on the moments after they found O’Keefe in the snow outside her sister’s home, and why she didn’t run in to check on her sister and brother-in-law.
“The reason you didn’t go inside the house is because you knew better,” he charged.
McCabe said she wasn’t worried because “something happened on the front lawn that had nothing to do with anything inside that house.”
“You weren’t worried about them at all because you knew what really happened, didn’t you?” he countered.
“At that moment, I didn’t know that he was hit by a vehicle and there was taillight found next to him,” she responded.
On re-direct, special prosecutor Hank Brennan questioned McCabe on her state of mind upon finding O’Keefe.
“I was shocked, confused, nervous, scared, anxious — my friend was lying there on the ground, I didn’t know what happened,” she said.
On the Google search, McCabe affirmed that Read asked her to search how long to die in the cold, and that she had never attempted that search before then.
Brennan brought up McCabe’s texts with Roberts later that day, including one in which Roberts texted, “I can’t stop seeing him in the snow, Jen, this is awful.”
“Is your state of mind collusion?” Brennan asked McCabe, to which she responded, “No.”
McCabe has been dismissed as a witness. The trial adjourned for the day, with a forensic scientist from the Massachusetts State Police Crime Lab on the stand.
Following McCabe’s testimony on Wednesday, Read alleged McCabe was lying on the stand, saying she never told the witness to make a Google search that morning.
“Every statement’s different. Under oath. Not under oath,” she said. “This is very similar to what we saw a year ago.”
(WASHINGTON) — The Department of Justice has reached an agreement in principle to settle a lawsuit brought by the family of Ashli Babbitt, a pro-Trump rioter who was shot by a U.S. Capitol Police officer during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
The details of the proposed settlement were not made clear during a Friday hearing before federal Judge Ana Reyes, of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
Babbitt’s family members sued the government in January 2024 seeking $30 million for what they allege was her wrongful shooting death by Capitol Police Officer Michael Byrd.
Byrd was cleared of any wrongdoing following an internal investigation into the actions leading up to his shooting of Babbitt as she tried to climb through a broken window that led to the House Speaker’s Lobby, where several lawmakers and their staff were sheltering from rioters.
Babbitt’s attorneys disclosed the agreement in principle was reached during the hearing, which was convened on an emergency basis after one of Babbitt’s prior attorneys sought a preliminary injunction on Friday to ensure he received payment for his work on the case if a settlement was formally announced.
Robert Sticht, the lawyer for Babbitt’s family, said he expected the family to sign the formal settlement agreement within the next three weeks.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed his solidarity with Babbitt’s family and called for “justice” for what he has said was her “murder” at Byrd’s hands — in line with his broader vocal support for the pro-Trump rioters who attacked the Capitol to overturn his 2020 election loss.
In March, Trump said in an interview with Newsmax he wasn’t aware of the lawsuit brought by Babbitt’s family but promised he would “look into” it.
“I’m a big fan of Ashli Babbitt, OK, and Ashli Babbitt was a really good person who was a big MAGA fan, Trump fan, and she was innocently standing there — they even say trying to sort of hold back the crowd,” Trump said. “And a man did something unthinkable to her when he shot her, and I think it’s a disgrace. I’m going to look into that. I did not know that.”
(HENRY’s LAKE, Idaho) — Seven people were killed in a crash between a van and a pickup truck on an eastern Idaho highway near Yellowstone National Park, officials said.
The Mercedes passenger van — which was operating as a tour vehicle — collided with the Dodge Ram pickup around 7:15 p.m. Thursday on U.S. Highway 20 near Henry’s Lake, the Idaho State Police said.
Fourteen people were in the van and one was in the pickup. Six people in the van and the truck driver died in the crash, police said.
The cause remains under investigation, police said.
Henry’s Lake is about 17 miles from West Yellowstone, Montana, which is a gateway to Yellowstone National Park.
U.S. Highway 20 closed for nearly seven hours after the crash and has since reopened, police said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(NEW YORK) — Measles cases in the U.S. have surpassed 900 as outbreaks continue to spread across the county, according to new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data published Friday.
A total of 935 cases have been confirmed in 29 states including Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia and Washington.
At least six states including Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, New Mexico, Ohio and Texas are reporting outbreaks, meaning three or more related cases.
The CDC says 13% of measles patients in the U.S. this year have been hospitalized, the majority of whom are under age 19.
Among the nationally confirmed cases, CDC says about 96% are among people who are unvaccinated or whose vaccination status is unknown.
Meanwhile, 2% are among those who have received just one dose of the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine and 2% are among those who received the required two doses, according to the CDC.
Dr. Conrad Fischer, chief of infectious diseases at One Brooklyn Health in New York City, told ABC News he is concerned about the growing number of cases in the U.S.
“This is a disease that was at the level of complete eradication; this should not be happening,” he said. “It’s very sad to have an enormously safe vaccine that has been used in billions of people and to have a sort of cultural societal amnesia about what these illnesses were like in the past.”
In the decade before the measles vaccine became available, the CDC estimates that 3 to 4 million in the U.S. were sickened by measles every year, about 48,000 were hospitalized and about 400 to 500 people died. About 1,000 people suffered encephalitis, which is swelling of the brain.
Measles was declared eliminated from the U.S. in 2000 due to a highly effective vaccination program, according to the CDC. But vaccination rates have been lagging in recent years, leading to an increase in cases.
In Texas, where an outbreak has been spreading in the western part of the state, at least 663 cases have been confirmed as of Tuesday, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.
Meanwhile, officials in Denton County — in the eastern part of the state outside Dallas and Fort Worth — reported its first measles case this week in a patient who attended a Texas Rangers game.
The infected individual, an adult with unknown vaccination status, visited Globe Life Field and a handful of restaurants and other locations, Denton officials said.
Additionally, Chicago reported its first measles cases this week, one in a suburban Cook County resident with unknown vaccination status and another in an adult Chicago resident who traveled internationally and received one dose of the MMR vaccine, according to the Chicago Department of Public Health and Cook County Department of Public Health.
It comes as a WHO report this week found that cases in the Americas are 11 times higher this year than they were at the same time last year.
Six countries, including the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Belize and Brazil, have reported a total of 2,318 cases so far this year. Last year had 205 cases at the same time.
Fischer said measles is not a benign virus and can cause serious complications, especially among vulnerable individuals such as young children and immunocompromised people.
“Measles has a chance to literally destroy your brain, to cause pneumonia, ear infections and, although it is only fatal in a relatively small number of people, it spreads so amazingly easily that even if it’s only a few percentages, it’s something extremely dangerous,” he said.
Fischer emphasized that measles is the most contagious infectious disease known to humans, even compared to other dangerous diseases like tuberculosis.
“For instance, tuberculosis will spread only to two or 3% of the people exposed,” he said. “But if you are not vaccinated and you’re exposed to someone with measles, you have a 90% chance of getting that infection.”
Dr. Whitney Harrington, a physician in the division of infectious diseases at Seattle Children’s Hospital, told ABC News the U.S. is at risk of measles becoming endemic again unless vaccination rates increase.
The CDC currently recommends that people receive two doses of the MMR vaccine, the first at ages 12 to 15 months and the second between 4 and 6 years old. One dose is 93% effective, and two doses are 97% effective against measles, the CDC says.
“We really know that vaccines are the single most important public health intervention for preventing infectious disease,” Harrington said. “And we know that they’ve dramatically decreased really the number of cases and the severity of cases of many infections, including measles.”
She encouraged parents who have not vaccinated their children yet to speak with a doctor or a health care provider about vaccination and the benefits of vaccination.
ABC News Youri’ Benadjaoud contributed to this report.
(CHARLESTON, S.C.) — A man is accused of intentionally plowing into a 10-year-old, a 12-year-old and a teacher in a hit-and-run outside a school at a church on Sullivan’s Island, South Carolina, officials said.
Justin Collin Adams, who was taken into custody on Thursday following an hourslong manhunt, is charged with three counts of attempted murder and first-degree assault and battery, according to online records. He was held without bond at a Friday court appearance.
Adams is accused of intentionally targeting children Thursday afternoon at the Sunrise Presbyterian Church on Sullivan’s Island, a beach town just outside of Charleston, authorities said.
Adams allegedly first drove onto the playground and struck a 12-year-old, who suffered minor injuries, an officer said in court Friday.
He then allegedly sped toward where kids were seeking protection and hit a teacher who “flew over the hood and onto the roof and onto the ground,” the officer said.
Adams allegedly then drove onto the sidewalk and struck a 10-year-old, pinning him under the car, the officer said.
A federal criminal investigator — who is a member of the church and spoke on behalf of the families at Friday’s court appearance — said about 40 students witnessed the attack.
The teacher remains in the hospital with serious injuries, the church member said.
One child was treated at the scene and released, police said, and the second child was admitted to a hospital and later discharged, according to a hospital spokesperson.
The 10-year-old had 4.6 inches of ground clearance under the car, the church member said, calling his survival a “miracle.”
The 10-year-old’s mom gave an emotional statement in court Friday, saying, “I hope that no other mother had to get this phone call that I had to endure yesterday.”
“By the grace of God, they were saved,” she said, adding, “I am here to hopefully get justice for all of the children.”
Adams, 36, allegedly ditched his sedan after the crash and fled on foot, possibly armed with a knife, according to Isle of Palms police Sgt. Matt Storen.
Authorities launched a massive manhunt, which included grid searches of houses, drones scanning the sky and checkpoints at the entryway to Sullivan’s Island, police said.
A sergeant in a Charleston County aviation unit helicopter ended up spotting the suspect, who was found in a boat at a dock across the street from the church, officials said.
Adams’ attorney said in court that two weeks ago Adams voluntarily checked himself in to a hospital psychiatric unit. He was diagnosed with depression and prescribed Lexapro, which is used to treat anxiety and depression, his lawyer said.
(WASHINGTON) — The White House on Friday released President Donald Trump’s proposed budget for the 2026 fiscal year, which calls for $163 billion in cuts to federal spending.
Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought, in a letter to Congress alongside the proposal, said the cuts to discretionary funding would lead to “significant savings.”
“The President is proposing base non-defense discretionary budget authority $163 billion — 22.6 percent below — current-year spending, while still protecting funding for homeland security, veterans, seniors, law enforcement, and infrastructure,” Vought wrote.
While budget proposals are essentially wish-list for the administration, they serve to illustrate the president’s priorities and what the White House hopes is a jumping off point for negotiations with Congress.
The cuts proposed would come from the Department of Education, the Department of Health and Human Services, USAID and the Environmental Protection Agency, among others.
However, Trump is proposing a 13% increase to defense spending, which would bring it to $1.01 trillion for the next fiscal year.
The administration’s also proposing $175 billion to go toward the southern border.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia speaks with a Tennessee state trooper on the side of I-40 in 2022. Tennessee Highway Patrol
(NEW YORK) — Newly released video shows the moments when Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the man wrongfully deported from the United States to a prison in El Salvador, was pulled over by state troopers in Tennessee in 2022.
The video, which was obtained by ABC News through a public records request, shows members of the Tennessee Highway Patrol questioning Abrego Garcia on the side of Interstate 40 after nightfall.
Abrego Garcia was not charged or arrested during the traffic stop, which lasted for more than an hour. This stop is separate from the stop in March by federal agents in Maryland that led to Abrego Garcia being taken into custody and ultimately deported to El Salvador.
Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran native who has been living with his wife and children in Maryland, 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 — after the Trump administration claimed he was a member of the criminal gang MS-13. His wife and attorneys deny that he is an MS-13 member.
The 2022 traffic stop was disclosed in April in a press release issued by the Department of Homeland Security, which said it had a “bombshell investigative report” regarding the stop alleging that Abrego Garcia was a suspected human trafficker. The release included a screengrab of the body camera video.
“The encountering officer decided not to cite the subject for driving infractions but gave him a warning citation for driving with an expired driver’s license,” the release added.
“Kilmar worked in construction and sometimes transported groups of workers between job sites, so it’s entirely plausible he would have been pulled over while driving with others in the vehicle,” Jennifer Vasquez, Abrego Garcia’s wife, said in a statement after the release was issued.
The DHS press release said that the 2022 traffic stop occurred on Dec. 1, but an incident report released by the Tennessee Highway Patrol indicated that the stop took place on Nov. 30.
The traffic stop occurred in the Cookeville area, roughly 80 miles east of Nashville.
The trooper who pulled Abrego Garcia over told him that he was driving 75 miles per hour in a 65 mph zone. Abrego Garcia told the trooper that his license was suspended because he was waiting for an immigration paper, adding that he lives in Maryland and that the car he was driving belonged to his boss.
“You got a bunch of people in here, don’t you,” a trooper said after approaching the Chevrolet Suburban that Abrego Garcia was driving, according to the body camera video.
After going to his police car and returning, the trooper asks Abrego Garcia about how many rows of seats were in the car.
“I’ve never seen one with that many seats in it,” the trooper says.
“Oh, really?” Abrego Garcia responds.
The trooper then asks Abrego Garcia if there is anything illegal in the car.
“Nothing sir,” Abrego Garcia replies.
Abrego Garcia is asked to step out of the car and tells the trooper that he was traveling from St. Louis, Missouri, where he had a work project.
“Right now, I’m going back to home,” Abrego Garcia says before the trooper has a K-9 sniff the exterior of the vehicle. It appears that the police dog did not locate anything suspicious.
Troopers later allowed Abrego Garcia to sit in the back of a patrol car to escape the cold temperatures while they spoke among themselves and questioned his passengers, but no one at the scene was taken into custody.
“Thank you, bro,” Abrego Garcia says. “Thank you so much.”
Abrego Garcia was ultimately allowed to drive off, smiling at the trooper who stopped him as he exited the patrol car and returned to the Chevrolet.
The Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security blurred license plates and redacted part of the audio of the traffic stop.
A federal judge ruled last month that the Trump administration must “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s return to the United States, and the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously affirmed that ruling, “with due regard for the deference owed to the Executive Branch in the conduct of foreign affairs.”
The Trump administration, while acknowledging that Abrego Garcia was deported to El Salvador in error, has said that his alleged MS-13 affiliation makes him ineligible to return to the United States. Several members of the administration, including Attorney General Pam Bondi and White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, have suggested that the matter is up to El Salvador President Nayib Bukele.
