Ryan C. Hermens/Lexington Herald-Leader/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
(FRANKFORT, Ky.) — The rain may have stopped, but Kentucky’s governor warned the danger isn’t over from the four days of deadly storms that devastated the central U.S. with catastrophic flooding and destructive tornadoes.
Many roads remain flooded and some rivers and creeks are at or above flood stage, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said at a news conference Monday.
“Do not drive through water, do not move barricades,” Beshear pleaded.
He stressed that even when water is receding, it’s still dangerous to drive.
Twenty people have died since Wednesday from the storms, with the fatalities spanning Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, Georgia, Arkansas, Mississippi and Indiana.
Two of the 20 deaths were in Kentucky: a woman and a 9-year-old boy who both died in the floodwaters, the governor said.
The governor said the death toll may have been higher if not for the swift water rescue teams.
One person last seen boating in floodwaters has been reported missing in McCracken County, Kentucky, Beshear said.
The rainfall from these storms was historic. More than 15 inches of rain deluged Benton, Kentucky — the most rain on record in a four-day period for the western part of the state — and over 14 inches of rain inundated Arkansas and Tennessee.
Some rivers are expected to continue to rise this week. Up to 40 river gauges across the region are forecast to be in the flood stage.
“We’re not out of the woods yet,” said Michael Muller, the judge/executive in hard-hit Franklin County, Kentucky, about 30 miles outside of Lexington.
“Stay at home, help your neighbors, don’t be out if you don’t have to be out,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has announced a new website, Floodsmart.gov, to help people directly access flood insurance quotes.
“It’s quick and easy and takes just a few minutes. Insured survivors recover faster,” Cameron Hamilton, senior official performing the duties of FEMA administrator, said in a statement. “With spring flooding and hurricane season both approaching fast, it’s important to take this first step so you can better protect the life you’ve built.”
ABC News’ Max Golembo and Luke Barr contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals has rejected the Trump administration’s emergency motion to block a federal judge’s order to return Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia to the U.S. after he was sent to a prison in El Salvador despite having protected legal status.
In a unanimous decision, the panel of three judges agreed U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis’ order requiring the government “to facilitate and effectuate the return of [Garcia] by the United States by no later than 11:59 pm on Monday, April 7, 2025,” should not be stayed.
“The United States Government has no legal authority to snatch a person who is lawfully present in the United States off the street and remove him from the country without due process,” the judges said. “The Government’s contention otherwise, and its argument that the federal courts are powerless to intervene, are unconscionable.”
Xinis had ruled on Saturday that the man must be returned to the U.S.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(HONOLULU) — A Hawaii man was arrested for allegedly trapping an elderly woman in her car for several days and later forcing her to withdraw money from her bank account, according to the Honolulu Police Department.
On March 30, officials received reports of a kidnapping incident occurring in the Kailua and Kaneohe area, police said.
The suspect, a 22-year-old male, was arrested on Thursday for allegedly restraining a 78-year-old woman from leaving her vehicle for about three or four days, police said in a statement.
The woman was then brought to a bank by the suspect and “instructed to withdraw money from her account,” police said.
She was able to inform the employees at the bank, “who in turn contacted the police and informed the police of the situation,” officials said.
The suspect was “positively identified and arrested for kidnapping and robbery,” police said.
On Saturday, the suspect was charged with first-degree robbery, with a bail set to $30,000, police said.
The name of the suspect was not released by police.
(WASHINGTON) — As fallout continues from President Donald Trump’s destabilizing tariff policy on virtually all U.S. trading partners, some Republican senators are warning about the risks for American families.
Sen. Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican and ardent Trump supporter, made headlines when he spoke out — first on Fox News last week and in recent days on his podcast “Verdict.”
“Tariffs are a tax on consumers, and I’m not a fan of jacking up taxes on American consumers, so my hope is these tariffs are short-lived, and they serve as leverage to lower tariffs across the globe,” Cruz told Fox Business host Larry Kudlow.
Cruz reiterated that point on his podcast, saying it would be a win if the administration used the policy as leverage to quickly negotiate down tariffs imposed by other nations but if it stays in place long term it could increase inflation, hurt job growth and possibly put the U.S. into a recession — the latter of which would result in a “bloodbath” for the Republican Party in the 2026 midterm election.
“If we’re in a scenario 30 days from now, 60 days from now, 90 days from now with massive American tariffs and massive tariffs on American goods in every other country on Earth, it’s a terrible outcome,” he said on Friday.
Trump officials, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Agriculture Secretary Broke Rollins, were confronted with his comments during Sunday morning news shows. They largely sidestepped the comments as they projected optimism about the policy’s long term impact.
Sen. Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican, voiced similar concerns as Cruz.
“Tariffs are taxes and Americans are paying the price,” Paul wrote on X last week.
Paul also spoke on the Senate floor criticizing Trump’s argument that the tariffs are necessary because of what he claimed was a “national emergency” regarding trade deficits. Paul said Congress needed to reassert its constitutional power to regulate tariffs and foreign trade.
“I am a Republican. I am a supporter of Donald Trump,” Paul said. “But this is a bipartisan problem. I don’t care if the president is a Republican or a Democrat. I don’t want to live under emergency rule. I don’t want to live where my representatives cannot speak for me and have a check and balance on power.”
“One person can make a mistake and guess what — tariffs are a terrible mistake,” Paul said.
“Tariffs are like whiskey: A little whiskey, under the right circumstances, can be refreshing — but too much whiskey, under the wrong circumstances, can make you drunk as a goat,” Sen. John Kennedy, a Louisiana Republican, said last week.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican, introduced a bill last week that would require Congress to approve any new tariffs. Grassley teamed up with Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell on the legislation.
Cantwell said on CBS News “Face the Nation” on Sunday that seven Republicans were on board with the bill. Rep. Don Bacon, a Nebraska Republican, told CBS he was “beginning support” for a similar measure in the House.
But the legislation faces an uphill battle, as it would need significant Republican support in both chambers to pass and Speaker Mike Johnson opposes the the idea.
And so far, there are limited signs of any widespread cracks in overall support for Trump.
Sen. John Barrasso, a member of Republican leadership, said on Sunday that he believed Trump’s actions on tariffs were constitutional.
“So, in terms of the tariffs, I believe they’re a tool, and I think we have to go after China,” Barrasso said on CBS. “They have been abusing us for years, and I believe the President is on firm constitutional grounds.”
House and Senate lawmakers are returning to Washington on Monday.
(WASHINGTON) — A group of business groups and conservative lawyers are preparing a legal challenge to President Donald Trump’s tariffs, arguing he does not have the legal authority to impose them.
Sources familiar with the effort say they are preparing to file the challenge in the coming weeks, possibly as soon as this Friday.
One prominent legal figure close to Trump told ABC News there is “a very good chance” the U.S. Supreme Court would find Trump’s tariffs unconstitutional.
The issue is this: Congress, not the president, has the power to impose taxes and regulate trade. In imposing these tariffs, President Trump cited the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which gives the the president power to regulate international commerce in the event of a national emergency.
But the IEEPA — which specifically cites the power to impose sanctions and seize foreign assets — does not mention tariffs. And, even if one argues the right to impose tariffs is implied, it’s not clear what “national emergency” could justify the imposition of global tariffs.
“There is a strong argument that the tariffs imposed under the IEEPA are not legal or constitutional,” a prominent conservative lawyer close to President Trump told ABC News. “Under that particular statute, tariffs are not listed amongst the various actions a president can take in response to the declaration of a nation emergency.”
The lawyer adds: “And when you combine that with the fact that Article 1, Section 8 [of the Constitution] clearly gives Congress the power to impose duties — tariffs — I think those two things in combination raise a very, very serious legal question.”
Another conservative lawyer familiar with the expected legal challenge to Trump’s tariffs predicted the Supreme Court would rule 9-0 against the administration if it reaches the high court.
A lawsuit has already been filed against the 20% sanctions Trump imposed on China earlier this year. The White House cited the IEEPA in imposing those tariffs as well, and the president said they were in response to China’s failure to stop the flow of fentanyl into the United States.
The suit was filed in a federal court in Florida last week by The New Civil Liberties Alliance, a conservative legal, on behalf of a Florida-based paper company called Simplified.
Trump’s tariffs are the first time a president has attempted to impose global tariffs by citing the IEEPA. The steel and aluminum tariffs Trump imposed on China during his first term where narrower and done under a different congressional authorization. But that act doesn’t specifically give the president the authority to impose tariffs — and it’s not clear what the emergency is that would justify his actions under the law.
Tariffs have never previously been imposed under the emergency power Trump is using here. The tariffs he imposed in his first term (and President Joe Biden’s tariffs, too) were imposed citing different congressional authorizations.
(NEW YORK) — U.S. stocks tumbled at opening on Monday as President Donald Trump’s tariffs stoked fears of a wider global trade war and Wall Street firms sounded alarms about a possible recession. The sell-off hit U.S. firms hours after a historic rout in foreign markets.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 1,600 points, or 4.3%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq declined 5%.
The S&P 500 plunged 4.6%, tipping the index into bear market territory, a term used to designate a 20% drop below a previous peak.
The market downturn stretches back to Trump’s announcement of far-reaching tariffs last week. The Dow suffered its worst week since 2020, and the Nasdaq ended last week in a bear market.
Hong Kong leads Asian slide
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index lost nearly 9% shortly after the market opened on Monday, the steep decline triggering a circuit breaker that temporarily halted trading. Japan’s broader TOPIX index sank 8%.
In Taiwan, the Taiex lost 9.7%, while in Singapore the STI fell more than 8%.
South Korea’s KOSPI index fell more than 5.5% in Monday trading, with Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 sliding more than 6% before recovering slightly.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 13.22% — its worst one-day performance since 1997 during the Asian Financial Crisis — with Chinese tech stocks like Alibaba and Baidu among the big losers.
On the mainland — where there are fewer international investors — the Shanghai Composite Index dropped more than 7%, despite being buoyed by state-owned investors known as the “National Team.”
India’s stock markets also struggled. The BSE’s Sensex dropped 5.19% while the broader Nifty tumbled 5%.
Asian markets collectively posted their worst day trading session since 2008.
Europe joins rout
European indexes followed suit on Monday morning.
The British FTSE 100 index fell 6% upon opening, while the pan-European Stoxx 600 index dropped more than 6%.
Germany’s DAX index fell 10%, France’s CAC lost 6.6% and Italy’s FTSE MIB slid 5.7%.
US braced for more losses
Investors expected continued market turmoil on Monday in response to Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs announced last week.
Speaking with reporters on Air Force One on Sunday, Trump addressed the recent market turbulence and subsequent fears of an imminent recession.
“Now what’s going to happen with the market? I can’t tell you, but I can tell you, our country has gotten a lot stronger, and eventually it’ll be a country like no other, it’ll be the most dominant country economically in the world,” Trump said.
“I don’t want anything to go down, but sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something and we have such a horrible — we have been treated so badly by other countries because we had stupid leadership that allowed this to happen,” the president added.
U.S. markets closed significantly down on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 2,230 points, or 5.5%, while the S&P 500 plunged 6%.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq declined 5.8%. The decline put the Nasdaq into bear market territory, meaning the index has fallen more than 20% from its recent peak.
The trading session on Friday marked the worst day for U.S. stocks since 2020. The second-worst day for U.S. stocks since 2020 happened on Thursday, a day earlier.
ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman, Karson Yiu, Zunaira Zaki, Max Zahn and Hannah Demissie contributed to this report.
(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) — An 80-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly shooting and killing another man in a turkey hunting incident in Northern California, authorities said.
The 65-year-old victim was shot once on Sunday morning while turkey hunting at the Fremont Weir Wildlife Area, which is about 20 miles north of Sacramento, the Sutter County Sheriff’s Office said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The suspect, 80-year-old John Lee, of Sacramento, was turkey hunting separately from the victim, authorities said.
Lee was taken into custody on charges of second-degree murder and negligent discharge of a firearm, the sheriff’s office said.
(CHANDLER, AZ) — Lori Daybell, the mother convicted of murdering two of her children in a so-called doomsday plot, is now on trial in Arizona on allegations she conspired to also kill her fourth husband.
Opening statements are scheduled to start Monday in Maricopa County in the 51-year-old’s latest trial. She is representing herself and has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder.
The trial is scheduled through mid-May.
She was indicted by a Maricopa County grand jury in 2021 in connection with the killing of her estranged husband, Charles Vallow, who was fatally shot by her brother in July 2019 during a confrontation at her home in Chandler, Arizona.
Her brother, Alex Cox, told police he shot his brother-in-law in self-defense. Police were investigating the claims when Cox himself died from natural causes months later.
Dubbed the “doomsday mom,” Lori Daybell is currently serving life in prison without parole after a jury found her guilty of two counts of first-degree murder for the 2019 deaths of her children, Joshua “J.J.” Vallow, 7, and Tylee Ryan, 16.
J.J. and Tylee were last seen in September 2019 and, following a monthslong search, their remains were found on an Idaho property belonging to Lori Daybell’s fifth husband, Chad Daybell, in June 2020.
She was also found guilty of conspiring to kill her children and her husband’s first wife, Tamara Daybell, in the high-profile case.
She and Chad Daybell, the author of religious fiction books, both reportedly adhered to a doomsday ideology. She once claimed she was “a god assigned to carry out the work of the 144,000 at Christ’s second coming in July 2020” and didn’t want anything to do with her family “because she had a more important mission to carry out,” according to court documents obtained by ABC News.
Friends have said Lori Vallow’s 13-year marriage to Charles Vallow started to deteriorate after she became a fan of Daybell’s books, with the two separating in 2019. Their blended family had included Tylee from Lori Daybell’s third marriage, and Charles Vallow’s nephew J.J., whom they adopted.
Lori Daybell has denied murdering her children, saying in court at her sentencing in July 2023: “Jesus Christ knows the truth of what happened here. … No one was murdered in this case. Accidental deaths happen. Suicides happen. Fatal side effects from medications happen.”
Chad Daybell was also convicted of murdering the two children, as well as his first wife, in a separate trial in last year. He was sentenced to death and now awaits execution on Idaho’s death row.
In Arizona, Lori Daybell is additionally accused of scheming with her brother to kill Brandon Boudreaux, the ex-husband of her niece.
She will stand trial for premediated murder in that case in Maricopa County following the murder trial. She has pleaded not guilty.
(HONG KONG) — Key global stock markets tumbled upon opening on Monday as the world’s reaction to President Donald Trump’s tariffs campaign continued — and as U.S. futures signaled more turmoil for American markets.
In the U.S., Dow Jones futures were down about 1,200 points or 3.33% on Monday morning. S&P 500 and NASDAQ futures were down about 3.5%. A drop of 7% on the S&P 500 before 3:35pm ET will trigger a market-wide circuit breaker that will halt trading for 15 minutes.
Hong Kong leads Asian slide
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index lost nearly 9% shortly after the market opened on Monday, the steep decline triggering a circuit breaker that temporarily halted trading. Japan’s broader TOPIX index sank 8%.
In Taiwan, the Taiex lost 9.7%, while in Singapore the STI fell more than 8%.
South Korea’s KOSPI index fell more than 5.5% in Monday trading, with Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 sliding more than 6% before recovering slightly.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 13.22% — its worst one-day performance since 1997 during the Asian Financial Crisis — with Chinese tech stocks like Alibaba and Baidu among the big losers.
On the mainland — where there are fewer international investors — the Shanghai Composite Index dropped more than 7%, despite being buoyed by state-owned investors known as the “National Team.”
India’s stock markets also struggled. The BSE’s Sensex dropped 5.19% while the broader Nifty tumbled 5%.
Asian markets collectively posted their worst day trading session since 2008.
Europe joins rout
European indexes followed suit on Monday morning.
The British FTSE 100 index fell 6% upon opening, while the pan-European Stoxx 600 index dropped more than 6%.
Germany’s DAX index fell 10%, France’s CAC lost 6.6% and Italy’s FTSE MIB slid 5.7%.
US braced for more losses
Investors are bracing for continued market turmoil on Monday in response to Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs announced last week.
Speaking with reporters on Air Force One on Sunday, Trump addressed the recent market turbulence and subsequent fears of an imminent recession.
“Now what’s going to happen with the market? I can’t tell you, but I can tell you, our country has gotten a lot stronger, and eventually it’ll be a country like no other, it’ll be the most dominant country economically in the world,” Trump said.
“I don’t want anything to go down, but sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something and we have such a horrible — we have been treated so badly by other countries because we had stupid leadership that allowed this to happen,” the president added.
U.S. markets closed significantly down on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 2,230 points, or 5.5%, while the S&P 500 plunged 6%.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq declined 5.8%. The decline put the Nasdaq into bear market territory, meaning the index has fallen more than 20% from its recent peak.
The trading session on Friday marked the worst day for U.S. stocks since 2020. The second-worst day for U.S. stocks since 2020 happened on Thursday, a day earlier.
ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman, Karson Yiu, Zunaira Zaki, Max Zahn and Hannah Demissie contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — A contract to inspect low-income and other assisted housing for gas leaks, faulty smoke detectors and other life-threatening deficiencies was terminated by the Trump administration in February as part of its cost-cutting efforts, according to a Department of Government Efficiency database, potentially leaving thousands of vulnerable Americans in harm’s way.
Tom Feehan, a veteran home inspector who lost work as part of the termination, told ABC News that these legally required inspections frequently uncover painted-over ceiling sprinklers, defective gas ranges and any number of home-related liabilities that can pose a danger to occupants.
“By not doing [the inspections], we’re not catching those,” Feehan said. “So those are not being repaired, and it’s putting people at risk.”
Last year, the contractor, Project Solutions Inc., in its third year of working with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, was assigned to inspect roughly 6,200 public housing and multifamily properties across the country over the course of 12 months. In addition to flagging dangerous conditions, the inspections ensure that tenants have hot and cold water, safe electrical outlets, and working heating and cooling systems, experts said.
A HUD official told ABC News that the contract was for “software modification,” despite Project Solutions identifying the contract as being for inspection services. The HUD official declined to elaborate on the reason behind the contract’s termination.
The sudden termination threatens thousands of inspections, according to Robin Miller, a contract manager at Project Solutions, including those at roughly 250 “priority” properties, where inspections were already delayed or significant deficiencies were found during previous inspections.
Project Solution’s contract termination was among more than 7,000 federal contracts canceled by DOGE and posted to the agency’s “Wall of Receipts” web page in recent weeks. The DOGE site claimed that terminating the inspection contract would return $285 million to taxpayers.
But Miller, the Project Solutions official, said that figure was inflated because it was based on a high estimated ceiling value that wasn’t reflective of what the contract would actually cost. According to federal spending records, HUD had only awarded Project Solutions roughly $29 million so far.
Experts said it was unclear how housing officials planned to carry out the outstanding inspections.
HUD spokesperson Kasey Lovett said in a statement that “HUD is reviewing all contracts for efficiency and effectiveness to accomplish good government goals,” and that “certain contracts were found not to accomplish HUD’s mission with economy, efficiency, and effectiveness.”
Industry experts said that the inspections, which are required by law, will likely fall to other contractors at a similar price. But arranging those inspections will take time, experts said, and delaying inspections compounds the risks for tenants.
“We’re helping low-income people and we’re helping senior citizens maintain a safe, livable environment,” Feehan said. “And with not getting these inspections done on time, it’s hurting them.”
Another HUD-certified inspector based in Illinois, who asked that their name not be used so they could speak freely about their field of work, told ABC News that one of the properties that was scheduled to be inspected until the Project Solutions contract was canceled was a 24-unit multifamily property that had received far below the “failing” score, meaning significant deficiencies were found during its previous inspection and the property needed more frequent inspections. The property was already past due its Dec. 13, 2024, inspection date, and its inspection has yet to be rescheduled, the inspector said.
Project Solutions was one of at least three contractors that were hired to inspect HUD-insured and assisted properties under the agency’s Real Estate Assessment Center program, which is aimed at “improving housing quality by performing accurate, credible, and reliable assessments” of its properties.
“I 100% agree that all governments, all organizations, businesses, even personal family units, should routinely review budget and spending habits and cut things out that are not necessary,” the Illinois inspector said. “Get rid of the fraud, waste abuse — but you have to be responsible about it.”
“If it wasn’t for DOGE, we’d still be doing the contract. That’s my opinion,” Feehan said. “DOGE is trying to get rid of waste, fraud and abuse. I didn’t see where there was waste fraud and abuse with PSI.”
Alia Trindle, co-director of political strategy at housing advocacy group Right to the City Alliance, stressed that many HUD-funded buildings have been in dire shape for decades due to past funding cuts. She said for some properties, tenants and advocates have had to organize to push for basic repairs after years of neglect.
“Working-class and poor communities have to contend with substandard and neglected housing that could have devastating long-term health consequences for those that live there, from mold to pest to a lack of access to basic utilities like water and heat,” Trindle said.
“So regular inspections, whether done by HUD or HUD-affiliated groups or by municipalities, are critical to ensuring that those who are responsible for this housing stock do the bare minimum to maintain them,” she said.
