(NEW YORK) — Four individuals are at large after posing as police officers and robbing a deli in New York City, officials said.
On Sunday at approximately 8:14 a.m., police responded to a 911 call of a commercial burglary at a deli in Brooklyn, the NYPD said in a statement provided to ABC News.
When officers arrived on the scene, they were informed “four unidentified individuals had entered a commercial establishment, displayed a firearm and forced a 48-year-old male, a 68-year-old male and a 40-year-old male to the ground,” police said.
The robbery, which was captured on surveillance footage, shows the suspects wearing NYPD jackets and zip-tying the victims.
The individuals fled the scene with a bag of “unknown property” in a dark-colored van in an unknown direction, police said.
Police said there have been no arrests and the investigation remains ongoing. The individuals were described as males with dark complexions, last seen wearing dark-colored clothing, officials said.
There were no reported injuries as a result of the incident, police said.
The United Bodegas of America previously urged the NYPD to conduct live monitoring from every bodega, with a panic button in place at each establishment. Fernando Mateo, spokesperson for the organization, said earlier this month that panic buttons would “give the bodega owner a sense of security.”
“These bodegas are community centers. They are places where people come not only to buy food, they come to socialize, to talk. We need the panic button to become law,” Mateo said on April 18.
The United Bodegas of America is expected to plead once again on Tuesday for officials to instate panic buttons at bodegas.
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump, upon his return to the White House, appears to have quickly turned one of his more ominous campaign promises into reality.
Among his first acts after being sworn in inside the Capitol Rotunda was to strip the security clearances from 51 former intelligence officials who signed a letter during the 2024 campaign describing a news story abut the public release of emails from Hunter Biden’s laptop as potentially part of a Russian disinformation operation.
In the days that followed, he removed protective details for former officials who received threats over their work, including retired Gen. Mark Milley, Dr. Anthony Fauci, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and others. Trump’s reasoning at the time was, “You can’t have a security detail for the rest of your life.”
Trump told supporters at his first 2024 rally, back in March 2023: “I am your retribution.”
Now, 100 days into his second term, his list of targets appears to be growing. And much of the action is aligned with his own political interests.
“He’s really taking it to the next level,” said Nick Akerman, a former federal prosecutor who helped investigate President Richard Nixon during the Watergate scandal.
Some predictable Trump targets have included former President Joe Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris, whose access to classified information he revoked. (While it is the norm for former presidents to receive briefings, the move against Biden came after Biden stripped Trump of having access to them in 2021, citing his “erratic behavior.”)
Trump’s list of his critics who he said should no longer have access to classified material also included Hillary Clinton, his 2016 opponent; former Republican Reps. Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, who investigated his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol attack; New York Attorney General Letitia James, who prosecuted his company for fraud; and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who led the hush money case against Trump that resulted in the first-ever criminal conviction of a former president.
Trump also signed executive orders against some of the nation’s top law firms.
Perkins Coie, which represented Clinton’s 2016 campaign, was the subject of an order mandating its lawyers have their security clearances stripped. The executive action also sought to terminate any government contracts that might exist with the firm or other entities that it represents, bar agencies from hiring employees of Perkins Coie and prohibit the firm’s staff from accessing government buildings.
Trump also took aim at WilmerHale, which has ties to former special counsel Robert Mueller, with an order alleging it engages in “conduct detrimental to critical American interests” in its pro-bono work. Trump ordered his administration to suspend the security clearances of WilmerHale employees and also requires government contractors to disclose any business they do with the law firm.
Richard Painter, who served as a White House ethics lawyer in the George W. Bush administration, criticized Trump’s attacks on law firms as an affront to the rule of law.
“The executive orders against law firms are a fundamental infringement on the right to counsel and the right of lawyers to represent clients of their choice without retribution by the government,” Painter said.
“The First Amendment right to petition the government for redress of grievances includes the right to legal representation in court for anybody, even Democrats,” Painter added.
Several universities have found themselves in Trump’s crosshairs as his administration made demands regarding campus policies and governance. Harvard University, after refusing, had $2.2 billion in federal grants frozen.
News media, too, hasn’t been spared.
The Associated Press was barred from White House events because the outlet wouldn’t refer to the Gulf of Mexico only as the “Gulf of America,” after Trump’s order renaming the body of water, though the outlet appeared to gain back some access as the White House instituted a new policy lumping wire service reporters into a broader collective of print outlets. The White House has also suggested funding for NPR and PBS, which Trump accused of being left-leaning, is a waste of taxpayer money.
Trump signed orders directing the Department of Justice to investigate two individuals who worked in his first administration who became outspoken critics of his leadership.
Chris Krebs, resigned from his job at a private cybersecurity firm after Trump directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to review Krebs’ actions while leading the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA) — a job Trump appointed him to in 2017. Krebs has long assured the 2020 election was secure, criticizing Trump for spreading debunked claims of election fraud.
“For those who know me, you know I don’t shy away from tough fights. But I also know this is one I need to take on fully — outside of SentinelOne,” Krebs said in a social media post announcing his resignation. “This will require my complete focus and energy. It’s a fight for democracy, for freedom of speech, and for the rule of law. I’m prepared to give it everything I’ve got.”
Miles Taylor, the deputy chief of staff to former Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, was also the target of an order from Trump directing the Justice Department to launch an investigation as Trump alleged he may have committed “treason.”
Taylor penned a 2018 New York Times op-ed describing Trump as “detrimental to the health of our republic” and a 2019 book about the first administration under the pseudonym “Anonymous” before going public in 2020.
Trump’s targeting of various individuals and institutions come after he, for years, accused President Joe Biden of weaponizing law enforcement.
“Those days are over and they are never going to come back. They’re never coming back. Now, as the chief law enforcement officer in our country, I will insist upon and demand full and complete accountability for the wrongs and abuses that have occurred,” Trump said as he spoke at the Justice Department in March.
Republicans have praised some of Trump’s moves, namely against universities and some news outlets.
“The vast majority of the American people do not want to prop up these institutions,” Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik said when the Trump administration made demands of Harvard and other schools. Stefanik added, “Higher education has fundamentally lost its way, and it’s increasingly out of touch, and the tuition rates go higher and higher. So we need to defund across the board, and President Trump is rightly holding these schools accountable.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson, while criticizing NPR and PBS, said, “The American people support the free press, but will not be forced to fund a biased political outlet with taxpayer funds.”
But critics said it’s Trump who is wielding the powers of the presidency to go after political opponents in sweeping fashion.
“All of these things are much more blatant and much more out in the open,” Akerman said, attributing Trump’s boldness, in part, to the Supreme Court’s blockbuster ruling last year granting presidents some immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts.
Painter’s message for Trump, as a former White House ethics chief: “He’s got to focus on carrying out his agenda as president, not just going after his personal enemies and political enemies.”
“Using the presidency to go after political enemies is a very dangerous thing, very dangerous for democracy, and he shouldn’t be doing that,” Painter said.
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump is set to provide tariff relief for carmakers on Tuesday, just weeks after the onset of auto levies triggered warnings of price increases.
An administration official confirmed that the 25% tariff on finished foreign-made cars and parts will remain — but today’s announcement will prevent tariffs from stacking on top of other tariffs he’s imposed, such as duties on steel and aluminum.
Trump’s 25% tariff on foreign auto parts goes into effect on Saturday and automakers will also be reimbursed for those tariffs up to an amount equal to 3.75% of the value of a U.S.-made car for one year. Reimbursement would fall to 2.5% of the car’s value in a second year, and then completely phased out altogether.
Speaking at the White House on Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent touted the tariff adjustment as a means of ensuring carmakers bring manufacturing to the U.S.
“President Trump has had meetings with both domestic and foreign auto producers, and he’s committed to bring back auto production to the US. We want to give the automakers a path to do that quickly, efficiently and create as many jobs as possible,” Bessent said.
Trump is expected to deliver remarks about the policy change in Michigan on Tuesday. Details of the plan were first reported in the Wall Street Journal.
U.S. automakers on Tuesday applauded the easing of tariffs.
“Ford welcomes and appreciates these decisions by President Trump, which will help mitigate the impact of tariffs on automakers, suppliers and consumers,” Ford told ABC News in a statement.
GM also voiced praise for the move. “We’re grateful to President Trump for his support of the U.S. automotive industry and the millions of Americans who depend on us. We believe the President’s leadership is helping level the playing field for companies like GM and allowing us to invest even more in the U.S. economy,” the company told ABC News in a statement.
The 25% tariff on imported cars took effect on April 3. It applies to an array of passenger vehicles, including cars, SUVs, minivans, cargo vans and light trucks.
The tariffs will almost certainly raise foreign-made car prices, experts previously told ABC News, since importers typically pass along a share of the tax burden to consumers in the form of extra costs.
The policy change offers automakers a chance to relocate their manufacturing, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told ABC News in a statement.
“This deal is a major victory for the President’s trade policy by rewarding companies who manufacture domestically, while providing runway to manufacturers who have expressed their commitment to invest in America and expand their domestic manufacturing,” Lutnick said.
The move aims to give automakers an opportunity to move their supply chains for parts back to the U.S.
“President Trump is building an important partnership with both the domestic automakers and our great American workers,” Lutnick also said in the statement.
(WASHINGTON) — While final seat totals are still pending, Canadian broadcasters have called that Mark Carney led the Liberals to victory in Canada’s election on Monday.
It is still not clear whether the Liberals will form a minority or majority government. As of Tuesday morning, the Liberals had won or were leading in 168 out of 343 ridings. Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives are set to remain in opposition, with 144 ridings so far. Parties need 172 seats to form a majority.
Carney’s victory cements the Liberal Party’s decade in power, replacing former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who had been leading the country since 2015.
Carney stepped in as prime minister-elect when Trudeau resigned in March.
In a social media post on the day of Canada’s election, President Donald Trump suggested that Canadians should vote for him in order for Canada to become the 51st state.
“Elect the man who has the strength and wisdom to cut your taxes in half, increase your military power, for free, to the highest level in the World, have your Car, Steel, Aluminum, Lumber, Energy, and all other businesses, QUADRUPLE in size, with ZERO TARIFFS OR TAXES, if Canada becomes the cherished 51st. State of the United States of America,” Trump said on Monday, seeming to refer to himself as the candidate.
He added, “America can no longer subsidize Canada with the Hundreds of Billions of Dollars a year that we have been spending in the past. It makes no sense unless Canada is a State!”
Despite Trump’s suggestion, Canadians cannot vote for him since he is not on the ballot. There are 16 registered political parties in Canada — with the Liberals and the Conservatives being the most dominant. Other parties include the Green Party, the Libertarian Party, the United Party and the Canadian Future Party.
In response to the president’s post, Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre issued a sharp reply, saying Trump should “stay out of our election.”
“The only people who will decide the future of Canada are Canadians at the ballot box. Canada will always be proud, sovereign, and independent, and we will NEVER be the 51st state,” Poilievre wrote in a post on X. “Today, Canadians can vote for change so we can strengthen our country, stand on our own two feet, and stand up to America from a position of strength.”
Canadian Prime Minister and Liberal Party leader Mark Carney posted a video on X on Monday with the message: “This is Canada — and we decide what happens here.”
Canada has a parliamentary system, meaning if the Liberals win a majority of seats in the election, or are able to form a minority government with members of another party, Carney will continue to serve as prime minister.
Nearly all of the polls for the election are expected to close by 9:30 p.m. ET on Monday.
(CHATHAM, Ill.) — An Illinois community is reeling after an SUV drove into an after-school camp, killing four, but police said the crash does not appear to be targeted.
The driver struck the YNOT After School Camp building in Chatham, just outside of Springfield, on Monday afternoon, killing two 7-year-olds, an 8-year-old and an 18-year-old, according to the Illinois State Police.
Six children were taken to hospitals, including one who remains in critical condition, police said Tuesday.
According to camp founder Jamie Loftus, the SUV drove through a farm field before hitting the east wall of the camp building. The SUV then exited the building on the west side, went across a gravel road and became lodged against a power pole and baseball field fence, Loftus said.
The driver, 44-year-old Marianne Akers of Chatham, is not in custody, police said. The cause of the crash remains under investigation, but police said it didn’t appear to be targeted. Akers — who was the only person in the vehicle — wasn’t hurt, police said.
“I cannot gather the words to express much of anything that will make sense in print,” Loftus said in a statement. “However, I do know that our families who suffered loss and injury today, are hurting very, very badly. They are friends and their kids are like our kids. The Village of Chatham and Ball Chatham Schools are going to need their populations and that of the outside world to love them, pray for them, think of them.”
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said, “Our community lost a group of bright and innocent young people with their whole lives ahead of them.”
“Parents said goodbye to their kids this morning not knowing it would be the last time,” he said in a statement. “My heart is heavy for these families and the unimaginable grief they’re experiencing — something that no parent should ever have to endure.”
Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post via Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — For John Robinson, a retired coal miner who spent his career in the Virginia mines helping to power America into the 21st century, not a moment passes that he isn’t feeling the full effects of his black lung diagnosis.
With the support of a burdensome oxygen machine, Robinson joined a handful of other retired Central Appalachian miners to sit down with ABC News’ Jay O’Brien in the heart of coal country.
“You are suffocating. You are suffocating. And that’s what’s going to kill you,” Robinson told O’Brien. “I got a wife and two kids and two grandbabies, you know, and I want to live.”
Black lung, the debilitating respiratory illness common in coal miners, has made a staggering resurgence in the past 25 years, particularly among the younger generation of miners as they cut through more rock to access deeper, hard-to-reach coal seams, exposing them to harmful dust particles called silica — which experts say is about 20 times more toxic to the lungs than pure coal dust.
And even as President Donald Trump vows to reinvigorate America’s coal industry, critics say his administration has stripped away key protections for the miners. In his first 100 days in office, Trump’s administration has decimated the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, or NIOSH, the federal agency that protects miners from black lung, and paused enforcement of a new safety rule that would lower the level of silica dust in the mines.
“You don’t take care of the miners, you ain’t going to mine coal,” another miner told O’Brien. “The machine don’t run by itself, you know what I’m saying?”
“There is no block of coal worth any man’s life,” said another miner.
Some of the more than 800 NIOSH employees placed on administrative leave — around two-thirds of the entire workforce, sources said — have taken matters into their own hands, setting up a guerilla “war room” around a Morgantown, West Virginia, dining table to do what little federal work they can before they’re officially laid off in June, while campaigning for their important work to continue.
“So, what is going to happen now to the average coal miner if this work isn’t being done?” O’Brien asked Dr. Scott Laney, a veteran NIOSH epidemiologist who was placed on administrative leave.
“It’s going to lead to premature mortality and death in these miners,” Laney said. “There’s just no getting around it.”
A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement to ABC News that “the Trump Administration is committed to taking care of coal miners, who play a vital role in supporting America’s energy,” and that a black lung surveillance program previously run by NIOSH would be folded into a new bureau called the Administration for a Healthy America.
But the spokesperson did not say when the program’s work would fully resume or how the work would continue without any of the experienced employees who have been laid off.
“Somebody has to continue to do the work to protect the coal miners, to protect U. S. workers — the work that NIOSH does,” said Dr. Noemi Hall, another NIOSH epidemiologist on administrative leave. “They can’t just stop everything. Yeah, we just can’t stand for that.”
For current miners, the stakes couldn’t be higher — or more urgent.
Sources said hundreds of unread X-rays conducted as part of the Coal Workers’ Health Surveillance Program, the NIOSH program that screens and monitors the respiratory health of miners, remain in limbo, with no doctors to analyze the results and report them to patients.
“[Those miners] will go on continuing to be exposed at the rates that they are,” Laney said. “Their disease will progress more quickly than it ever should have.”
ABC News obtained a letter sent by HHS this month to coal mine operators telling them the Coal Workers’ Health Surveillance Program was paused, saying, “We cannot accept any miner’s respiratory health screenings (x-ray, spirometry, or forms) at this time.”
“Nobody else in the federal government does the work that we do to protect U.S. workers,” Hall said. “Nobody else, you know, specifically at CDC, nobody else at NIH, nobody else in the United States does what we do. When we are gone, when our work is gone, our research is gone — nobody steps up to take our place.”
Amanda Lawson, who works at a health center in West Virginia, told ABC News that last week three miners came in and had horrible X-rays. She says she’s already feeling the effects of the NIOSH cuts.
“There’s nobody to send them to get them some protection and get them moved out of the dust,” Lawson said. Without NIOSH’s right-to-transfer program, those miners will remain working in the mines, rather than being transferred to safer working conditions.
On Capitol Hill, even some of Trump’s most fervent supporters have rebuked Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for their removal of those positions.
Sen. Shelly Moore Capito, R-W.V., said earlier this month that she harbors “strong disagreements with the administration,” and Rep. Riley Moore, a congressman who represents the West Virginia’s Morgantown area, said the NIOSH cuts were a “mistake that we are working to roll back.”
“I believe in the President’s vision to right size our government, but I do not think eliminating the NIOSH coal programs and research will accomplish that goal,” Capito wrote in a letter to Kennedy earlier this month, urging him to reinstate NIOSH employees, whose work she called a “vital health program.”
The HHS spokesperson did not answer a question about Capito’s concerns.
Robinson’s wife Vonda says she’s spoken to members of Congress about the Coal Workers’ Health Surveillance Program cuts.
“If we’re going to have coal and we’re going to have to produce it for America and we’ll have a coal industry, we’ve got to have coal miners and we have to take care of our coal miners,” Vonda Robinson told ABC News.
“I don’t think the people in Washington have any, well, had any idea what the Coworkers Health Surveillance Program even did,” Anita Wolfe, who was the director of the program for 20 years, told ABC News. She says she’s also spoken to members of Congress.
Wolfe says a critical part of the program has been its state-of-the-art mobile unit that’s equipped with an X-ray machine. She said the vehicle would often be parked in easily accessible locations to make it easier for the miners to get screenings. It’s now parked at the NIOSH facility in Morgantown.
“It breaks my heart,” Wolfe said. “I mean, the miners liked that mobile.”
In deep red coal country, several of the miners who met with ABC News have faith that Trump will reinstate protections for coal miners.
“If they’ll give Trump time and let him work out his — he’s got a plan,” Robinson told O’Brien. “I mean, he knows what he’s doing. He’s a smart man.”
“What if he doesn’t?” O’Brien asked.
“I feel sorry for the miners,” Robinson replied.
ABC News’ Cheyenne Haslett contributed to this report.
(VATICAN CITY) — The cardinal of Baghdad, Louis Raphael Sako, reportedly told journalists at the Vatican on Tuesday that he expects a “short conclave” that could select Pope Francis’ successor in as little as two days.
“It will be a short conclave, two, three days,” Sako said, as quoted by Italy’s ANSA news agency, speaking to reporters before today’s general congregation.
“There is a very fraternal atmosphere and a spirit of responsibility,” the cardinal said.
When asked if he had an idea of who he would vote for to become the new pope, Sako replied: “I have a very clear idea but I cannot say it.”
The conclave to elect the Catholic Church’s 267th leader will begin Wednesday, May 7, the Vatican announced on Monday. Cardinals will convene at the Vatican to begin the process.
Francis, who died last Monday at the age of 88, was buried on Saturday in the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome.
ABC News’ Kevin Shalvey contributed to this report.
Yurii Tynnyi/Suspilne Ukraine/JSC “UA:PBC”/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images
(LONDON) — U.S. and Russian officials continued Ukraine peace discussions on Monday as the Kremlin announced a 3-day ceasefire during May’s Victory Day celebrations — and as Kyiv cited continued Russian missile and drone attacks as evidence that Moscow has no genuine interest in peace.
On Monday, Russia’s Foreign Ministry released a transcript of an interview with Foreign Secretary Sergei Lavrov in the Brazilian Newspaper O Globo, in which he set out maximalist demands for a deal.
Among Moscow’s demands, Lavrov reportedly said, are Ukraine’s non-admission to NATO and future non-aligned status and international recognition of Russian control of all Ukrainian regions claimed annexed by the Kremlin — including Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, both of which are only partially occupied by Russian forces.
Lavrov also said Russia is still seeking the “demilitarization” and “denazification” of Ukraine, the lifting of international sanctions and the return of frozen Russian assets.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Lavrov by phone “at Lavrov’s request” on Sunday, the State Department announced on Monday. Rubio has previously said that the U.S. is still evaluating whether the Kremlin is serious about reaching an agreement to end its 3-year-old invasion of Ukraine.
The conversation was a follow-on to Special Envoy Steve Witkoff’s visit to Moscow last week, with Rubio and Lavrov discussing “next steps in Russia-Ukraine peace talks” and “the need to end the war now,” per the State Department’s readout.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, meanwhile, on Monday unilaterally announced a ceasefire to mark Victory Day — the 80th anniversary commemoration of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in 1945.
The ceasefire will last from May 8 to May 10, the Kremlin said. “Russia believes that the Ukrainian side should follow this example,” its statement said. “In the event of violations of the truce by the Ukrainian side, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation will give an adequate and effective response.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was dismissive of the proposal.
“Russia has consistently rejected everything and continues to manipulate the world, trying to deceive the United States,” he wrote in a statement posted to Telegram.
“Now, yet again, another attempt at manipulation: for some reason everyone is supposed to wait until May 8 before ceasing fire — just to provide Putin with silence for his parade,” he continued.
“We value human lives, not parades,” Zelenskyy wrote. “That’s why we believe — and the world believes — that there is no reason to wait until May 8. The ceasefire should not be just for a few days, only to return to killing afterward. It must be immediate, full, and unconditional — for at least 30 days to ensure it is secure and guaranteed. This is the foundation that could lead to real diplomacy.”
Cross-border strikes continued into Tuesday morning, with Ukraine’s air force reporting 100 Russian drones launched into the country overnight. The air force said it shot down 37 of the drones with another 47 lost in flight without causing damage.
Russia’s Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said its forces downed 40 Ukrainian drones overnight.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed frustration with the slow progress being made on reaching a deal to end the war, an agreement he claimed on the campaign trail he would secure within 24 hours of returning to office.
On Sunday, Trump told reporters he wants a deal to end the war in “two weeks or less,” but later said a little more time might be acceptable. The president added he was “very disappointed” that Russia continued to carry out strikes in Ukraine days after he appealed to Putin to stop the attacks while negotiations continued.
Vice President JD Vance told conservative influencer Charlie Kirk on Monday that he is not certain that a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia will be reached, but that he remains optimistic.
“The biggest breakthrough is that we’ve got both of them talking about what they would need in order to stop fighting but what one side needs is different from what the other side needs,” Vance said.
“It’s the job of diplomacy to try to bring those two sides together,” Vance added. “I can’t say 100% certainty, Charlie, we’re going to be able to do it, but I do think that we’re trying very hard, and I feel more optimistic about it today than I did two weeks ago, and I feel more optimistic two weeks ago than I did two months ago.”
Vance added that the administration has found itself “frustrated” with Russians and Ukrainians during the peace talks.
“If I could bring people on the inside, I think what they see is that sometimes you’re incredibly frustrated with Ukrainians,” he said. “Sometimes you’re incredibly frustrated with the Russians.”
“You know, that is the nature of the negotiation as you’re going back and forth, and sometimes you just want to throw your hands up, but that’s what President Trump doesn’t let us do,” Vance said.
ABC News’ Will Gretsky and Fritz Farrow contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — Severe weather continues to impact the Midwest on Tuesday as intense storms are affecting millions of people.
The atmosphere did not recover well from Monday morning’s severe weather in the region, enabling the storm line to roll through in the later afternoon and evening as millions were impacted by intense weather events.
There were two reported tornadoes, one near Kenyon, Minnesota, where a farm suffered damage, and one near Fall Creek, Wisconsin, where structure damage was also recorded, though no injuries reported.
Other reports include a roof blown off a shed near Morristown, Minnesota, and roof damage to a large commercial warehouse near Kenyon — both of which may be related to the Kenyon but has not yet been fully confirmed.
Ten states reported storm damage from hail, wind and tornadoes, from Texas all the way to the upper peninsula of Michigan.
Elsewhere, hail up to the size of baseballs was reported in parts of Kansas, and hail larger than a baseball was reported in Oklahoma.
Severe storms are still underway on Tuesday morning in northern Texas and Oklahoma as golf ball-sized hail has already been reported early Tuesday in Oklahoma amid numerous severe thunderstorm warnings.
Meanwhile, a severe thunderstorm watch has been issued for northern Oklahoma and southern Kansas until 10 a.m. CT.
More than 50 million Americans are in today’s storm zone stretching 14 states from Texas to New York as super cellular storms are expected to begin around 3 p.m. CT along this entire path and continue into the evening hours.
There are two areas of heightened severe potential — an enhanced risk from west Texas to southwest Oklahoma including Midland, Lubbock and Wichita Falls in Texas — and the other from Louisville, Kentucky to near Watertown, New York, encompassing Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Columbus, Cleveland and Buffalo, though the severe threat is not expected to continue past midnight for the northeastern portion of this system.
However, in Texas and Oklahoma, the severe threat may linger into the early morning hours of Wednesday with the severe potential including severe wind gusts, large to very large hail and a few tornadoes.
Flash flooding could also be a major concern for the Texas and Oklahoma portion of this event.
Given the scenario expected to play out starting Tuesday afternoon and overnight into Wednesday, which includes multiple rounds of very heavy and hours-long thunderstorms over the same consecutive locations, widespread flash flooding is expected.
However, because the ground in this area is already saturated from weekend flooding, this is an even more dire forecast and is primed for numerous potentially life-threatening flash floods.
The topsoil is already full, and streams are already high, meaning the water will have nowhere to go but stay above ground, and it may flood areas that don’t usually see flooding.
On Wednesday, the moderate risk will slide just east, extending from north of Dallas to Branson, Missouri, where there is also a chance for those heavy storms to produce damaging wind, large hail and a few tornadoes.
Meanwhile, a flood watch is in effect from north Texas to central Missouri for more than 6 million Americans across five states until Thursday morning and some areas could see more than 5 inches of rain in a 12-hour period.
(WASHINGTON) — In a speech to a joint session of Congress in March, President Donald Trump took direct aim at diversity, equity and inclusion policies, saying hiring and promotion practices should be based on merit, not race and gender.
“We’ve ended the tyranny of so-called diversity, equity and inclusion policies all across the entire federal government and indeed the private sector and our military. And our country will be ‘woke’ no longer,” said Trump, using the term some conservatives have adopted to negatively describe progressive values.
In the first 100 days of his new administration, Trump has wielded the power of the Oval Office in an attempt to root out DEI programs beyond the federal government, threatening to withhold billions of dollars in federal funding and grants from universities, including Harvard University, unless they fall in line.
A new ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll released on Sunday indicated that the country is almost evenly split on the issue. While 51% of respondents said they believe DEI efforts help level the playing field, 47% said such policies create unfair discrimination.
Despite the president’s claim that DEI in America is history, supporters say Trump’s war against what they refer to as “wokeism” is far from over.
“It’s definitely not over. And those of us who want to see corporate America get back to neutral and focusing on uniting Americans around creating value rather than dividing us on the basis of race and sex, we have a long, long way to go,” said Stefan Padfield, executive director of the Free Enterprise Project, which is part of National Center for Public Policy Research, a non-partisan conservative think tank in Washington, D.C.
Padfield said one of his primary focuses is on “reversing what we might refer to as the woke capture of corporate America” by filing shareholder proposals, engaging in litigation and conducting educational research across the nation.”
“One of the things that I and others on our side are concerned about is this idea and this notion that somehow we’ve won,” Padfield told ABC News.
Using the analogy of the Allied troops storming the beach at Normandy during the 1944 D-Day invasion, Padfield said, “Could you imagine if the Allied forces just packed up and left and claimed to have won World War II after they took Normandy beach? It would be a very different world.”
“So, we’ve got a very long march to go and certainly the proponents of DEI and related ESG [environmental, social and governance] agendas, they’re making very clear that they’re not going to go quietly, certainly,” Padfield said.
Target boycott
In a letter dated Feb. 12, 2025, a coalition of the nation’s largest civil and human rights organizations, including the NAACP and the National Urban League, asked for an urgent meeting with congressional leadership “to discuss actionable steps to protect diversity, equity, and inclusion programs to ensure equal opportunity for all Americans.”
The letter was addressed to House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. “We are deeply concerned about the recent executive actions by the Trump Administration that seek to undo decades of bipartisan support for civil and human rights,” the coalition wrote.
“Diversity is and will always be one of America’s greatest strengths because a diverse America is an innovative and prosperous America,” the letter said. “Diversifying our institutions, providing opportunities, and working to ensure that everyone is included are not partisan values. These values strengthen our nation and are rooted in our country’s history of advancing equal opportunity and ‘liberty and justice for all.'”
The letter goes on to characterize the actions taken by the Trump administration as “misguided” and, according to the coalition, “seek to erode progress and stifle opportunity for all.”
The letter emphasizes that America’s strength and leadership “in an increasingly diverse and competitive world depends on our ability to be an inclusive society.” It goes on to say that history has shown that without clear-cut guidelines that encourage diversity, equity and inclusion, institutions will “continue discriminatory and exclusionary patterns that hold us all back.”
Some corporations have taken Trump’s cue and have started to eliminate or roll back DEI programs. After Minnesota-based retailer Target announced in January that it would phase out some of its DEI initiatives, the Rev. Jamal Bryant, senior pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, a megachurch in the Atlanta suburb of Stonecrest, Georgia, organized a 40-day “fast” of Target.
Bryant said he encouraged followers of his movement to fight back with their pocketbooks and not shop at the chain’s stores from the first day of Lent, March 5, until Easter Sunday.
In an interview with ABC News, Bryant said he announced at his church on Easter that the “fast” is now a full-fledged boycott of Target.
“We began the boycott against Target because the Black community felt betrayed,” Bryant said.
Among the programs Target said it is phasing out is one established in the wake of the 2020 police-involved killing of George Floyd, a 46-year-old African American man. The program assists Black employees in building meaningful careers and promoting Black-owned businesses.
“For them to roll back DEI, it was felt as a slap in the face,” Bryant said.
Bryant noted that the Montgomery bus boycott led by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1955 and 1956 lasted 381 days.
“We have just been boycotting Target for 10 weeks and I think that the African American community is resolved that we’re not going back into the store until we see a market change,” Bryant said.
In response to the boycott, Target, which has 2,000 stores nationwide and employs more than 400,000 people, said in a April 23 statement, “We have an ongoing commitment to creating a welcoming environment for all team members, guests, and suppliers.”
“It’s core to how we support and grow our business,” Target said. “We remain focused on supporting organizations and creating opportunities for people in the 2,000 communities where we live and operate.”
But Target isn’t the only major U.S. company scaling back on DEI programs. McDonald’s, Meta, Walmart, Ford, John Deere and Harley-Davidson have all announced they are eliminating some DEI programs.
Some of the companies changed their DEI programs after coming under pressure from conservative groups.
Conservative political commentator and anti-woke activist Robby Starbuck publicly attacked Walmart’s DEI programs. This prompted the big-box retail giant to announce it was rolling back diversity policies and pivoting from the term DEI in internal communications.
After Walmart said it was eliminating the use of the phrase “DEI” altogether, Starbuck said in a social media post, “This is the biggest win yet for our movement to end wokeness in corporate America.”
In a statement to ABC News, Walmart said, “Our purpose, to help people save money and live better, has been at our core since our founding 62 years ago and continues to guide us today. We can deliver on it because we are willing to change alongside our associates and customers who represent all of America.”
Universities under fire
The Trump administration has also threatened to withhold federal funding and grants from universities nationwide that decline to roll back DEI programs or curb protests on campuses, including pro-Palestinian demonstrations that the administration deems antisemitic.
Some universities have fought back against the administration.
The Trump administration threatened to withhold from Harvard University $2.2 billion in multi-year grants and $60 million in multi-year contract value after demanding that the school end its DEI programs, adopt what the administration deems merit-based admissions, and cooperate with immigration authorities.
But Harvard President Alan Garber has refused to give in to the White House’s demands, writing in an April 14 letter addressed to members of the Harvard community, that the school “will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights” by agreeing to the terms proposed by the Trump administration.
On April 21, Harvard sued the Trump administration, asking a Massachusetts federal judge to block Trump’s funding freeze, arguing that it is “unlawful and beyond the government’s authority.” Harvard also argued that by withholding funds, the Trump administration is violating the First Amendment, flouting federal law, and threatening life-saving research.
“All told, the tradeoff put to Harvard and other universities is clear: Allow the Government to micromanage your academic institution or jeopardize the institution’s ability to pursue medical breakthroughs, scientific discoveries, and innovative solutions,” Harvard’s lawyers wrote.
Trump’s Department of Education has also attempted to pressure public schools K-12 to do away with DEI programs or risk losing federal funding. Education groups sued the administration over the move.
Federal judges in both Maryland and New Hampshire issued rulings this month siding with the education groups.
“This Court takes no view as to whether the policies at issue here are good or bad, prudent or foolish, fair or unfair,” wrote U.S. District Judge Stephanie A. Gallagher of Maryland, a Trump appointee, on Thursday. “But this Court is constitutionally required to closely scrutinize whether the government went about creating and implementing them in the manner the law requires. The government did not.”
New Hampshire U.S. District Court Judge Landya McCafferty also issued an order Thursday partially blocking the Department of Education from withholding funding to public schools that did not end DEI programs.
“Ours is a nation deeply committed to safeguarding academic freedom, which is of transcendent value to all of us and not merely to the teachers concerned,” McCafferty wrote, adding the “right to speak freely and to promote diversity of ideas and programs is…one of the chief distinctions that sets us apart from totalitarian regimes.”
The Department of Education did not immediately respond to the rulings on Thursday.
Two sides, similar arguments
Supporters of doing away with DEI programs claim the policies are racist, discriminatory and further divide the nation, while advocates for keeping the programs argue it is racist, discriminatory and divisive to end them.
Rev. Bryant told ABC News that he believes Trump is pursuing his “war on woke” to appeal to his base.
“I think he’s playing to his base of uneducated white males, who for some reason feel threatened,” Bryant said. “They’re getting ready to see that America is better when we’re together, not when we are segregated.”
Bryant said Trump’s fight against wokeism has been an attack on civil rights that demonstrators have shed blood and died for going back to the 1950s and 1960s.
“It looks like we’re going back to yesteryear and it’s a very disturbing probability,” Bryant said.
On the other hand, Padfield described most DEI programs in corporate America as “overt racial discrimination.”
“It’s problematic because it sets the corporation up for legal liability and it’s problematic on a moral basis because that’s not the country that we want to live in, where some of our most powerful institutions have decided that the way to get what they want in terms of demographic outcomes is just start brazenly and, in fact, proudly, discriminating on the basis of race and sex,” Padfield said.
Padfield added, “The problem is that the pro-DEI solution actually makes things worse and divides us further. And what I’m hoping for is that ultimately corporate America wakes up and starts addressing these inequalities on a colorblind basis.”
