(CHESTER, NY) — A 68-year-old woman is in stable condition after being rescued from a vehicle fire that engulfed her car when it flipped over during a crash on a highway in New York, police said.
The incident occurred shortly after 4 a.m. on Sunday morning when units from the Chester Police Department in New York were dispatched along with other emergency service units to “a report of a motor vehicle on Kings Highway near Knapps View Park,” according to a statement from the Chester Police Department.
When authorities arrived on scene, they discovered that the driver was still trapped in the vehicle that had been consumed by flames, police said.
“Officer Nicholas Contino was the first police officer to arrive on scene,” authorities said in their statement. “He gave his fire extinguisher to a passing motorist and worked to locate the operator in the vehicle. He was able to break the sunroof glass and free her from the vehicle. With the assistance of two passing motorists and a paramedic from Empress EMS, she was removed from the vehicle and away from the fire.”
The woman who was driving the car has not been named by authorities, but officials did say that she was a 68-year-old resident of Warwick, New York, and that she suffered burns to about a third of her body.
The woman was immediately taken to Westchester Medical Center’s Burn Unit and currently remains in stable condition.
“Officer Contino’s effort greatly increased the motorist’s chances for survival and he is commended for a job well done,” police said.
Yevhen Titov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images
(LONDON) — Russian drone strikes and bombs killed at least three people in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv overnight, regional officials there said, even though Moscow’s latest drone and missile barrage elsewhere was significantly smaller than preceding nights.
Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said in a post to Telegram that another 56 people were injured by Russian attacks overnight, which included the use of Iranian-designed Shahed attack drones, first-person view commercial-style drones and KAB guided bombs.
More than 103 residential buildings were damaged, Terekhov said, describing the destruction as “enormous.”
Kharkiv — Ukraine’s second largest city with a pre-war population of around 1.4 million — sits just 20 miles from the Russian border. That proximity has seen the city bombarded throughout Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Kharkiv has also faced intense recent attacks as Moscow expanded its drone and missile campaign, plus as Russian forces reportedly mass along the nearby border and threaten new incursions.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said of the strikes on Kharkiv, “Every new day now means new vile strikes by Russia, and almost every strike is indicative. Russia deserves increased pressure, with literally every hit on ordinary life it proves that pressure is not enough. And we should not be afraid, not postpone new decisions that could complicate the situation for Russia.”
“Without this, they will not go for real diplomacy,” Zelenskyy added. “And this depends primarily on the United States and other world leaders. Everyone who called for an end to the killings and for diplomacy must act.”
Elsewhere on Tuesday night, at least five people were injured by Russian shelling in the southern Kherson region, local officials said in a post to Telegram. One person was also killed and another injured by Russian shelling in the eastern Donetsk region, officials said.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 85 drones and one missile into the country overnight, of which 49 drones were shot down or otherwise neutralized. Impacts were recorded in 14 locations, with drone debris falling in two other locations, the air force said.
Zelenskyy said in a Tuesday night post to Telegram that he had spoken with Defense Minister Rustem Umerov about “our efforts to counter drones, protect against missiles and reinforce our air defense.” The meeting came after Monday night’s massive Russian attack on cities including Kyiv.
“The Russians have once again used ballistic missiles from North Korea,” Zelenskyy said of Monday night’s attacks. “We are also tracking evidence that Russian-Iranian drone technologies have spread to North Korea. This is extremely dangerous both for Europe and for East and Southeast Asia.”
“The longer this war continues on our territory, the more warfare technologies evolve and the greater the threat will be to everyone,” Zelenskyy added. “This must be addressed now — not when thousands of upgraded Shahed drones and ballistic missiles begin to threaten Seoul and Tokyo.”
Russia’s Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said its forces shot down 33 Ukrainian drones overnight into Wednesday morning.
In Russia’s Tambov region — around 260 miles southeast of Moscow and 230 miles from the closest Ukrainian-controlled territory — acting governor Evgeny Pervyshov said on Telegram that a fire broke out in the town of Kotovsk due to falling drone debris. “The situation is under control,” Pervyshov wrote.
But Andriy Kovalenko, the head of the Counter-Disinformation Center operating as part of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, said in a Telegram post that an explosives plant in the area was hit by drones.
Kovalenko claimed that the Tambov gunpowder plant had been forced to suspend operations by the strike. “It produces gunpowder used for various types of small arms, artillery and rocket systems,” he said of the facility.
“The enterprise is one of the main suppliers of explosives for the Russian army,” Kovalenko added. “With the beginning of a full-scale war in Ukraine, production at the plant has increased significantly.”
The governor of Russia’s western Belgorod region said six people were also injured by a Ukrainian drone strike on a factory in the town of Shebekino. All were hospitalized, the governor said in a post to Telegram.
ABC News’ Oleksiy Pshemyskiy and Ellie Kaufman contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — Just over a year after Donald Trump became the first former president to be found guilty of a felony, an appeals court is set to hear the president’s bid to move his case to federal court.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit has scheduled oral arguments Wednesday to consider whether to move the president’s criminal hush money case from state to federal court.
Trump was found guilty last year on 34 felony counts after Manhattan prosecutors alleged that he engaged in a “scheme” to boost his chances during the 2016 presidential election through a series of hush money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, and then falsified New York business records to cover up that alleged criminal conduct.
Trump’s lawyers have argued that the conduct at issue during his criminal trial included “official acts” undertaken while he was president, giving the president broad immunity for his actions and the right to remove the case to federal court. They say that the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling last year granting the president immunity for official acts — which was decided after Trump was convicted in May — would have prevented prosecutors from securing their conviction.
“The fact that it was not until after the conclusion of his state criminal trial that the Supreme Court issued its landmark decision defining the contours of presidential immunity — including a broad evidentiary immunity prohibiting prosecutors from inviting a jury to probe a President’s official acts, as President Trump’s removal notice alleges occurred here — supplies good cause for post-trial removal,” Department of Justice lawyers argued in an amicus brief filed with the court.
Trump decried the prosecution as politically motivated and successfully delayed his sentencing multiple times before New York Judge Juan Merchan, on the eve of Trump’s inauguration, sentenced the former president to an unconditional discharge — the lightest possible punishment allowed under New York state law — saying it was the “only lawful sentence” to prevent “encroaching upon the highest office in the land.”
“I did my job, and we did our job,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who brought the case, said following Trump’s conviction. “There are many voices out there, but the only voice that matters is the voice of the jury, and the jury has spoken.”
Bragg has pushed back on Trump’s attempt to remove the case from state court, arguing that a case cannot be moved to federal court after sentencing.
“These arguments ignore statutory indicia that Congress intended for removal of criminal cases to happen before sentencing by anticipating that essential federal proceedings will take place prior to a final criminal judgment,” prosecutors have argued.
Trump’s appeal will be heard by a panel of three federal judges, each of whom was nominated to the bench by Democratic presidents.
With Trump’s former defense attorneys now serving top roles at the Department of Justice, the president will now be represented by former Acting Solicitor General Jeffrey Wall of the elite law firm Sullivan & Cromwell. In an usual step, lawyers with the Department of Justice filed an amicus brief in support of Trump’s request.
“The United States has a strong and direct interest in the issues presented in this appeal,” they argued.
If the appeals court grants Trump’s request, his conviction would still remain. The only change is that his appeal will play out in a federal, rather than state, courtroom.
In either scenario, Trump could ultimately ask the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene. Moving the case into federal court could also open up the possibility that Trump could potentially pardon himself.
(BELGRADE and LONDON) — Eleven people injured in a school shooting in Graz, Austria, on Tuesday are still being treated but are not in life-threatening condition, officials at the three hospitals treating the patients told ABC News.
Ten people were killed in the shooting at a high school in Austria’s second-largest city on Tuesday, with the shooter also dying by suicide in a bathroom during the incident, according to local officials.
Twelve people were initially injured, one of whom died in hospital on Tuesday.
Austrians observed a nationwide minute of silence on Wednesday morning to mourn the victims.
The suspect, a 21-year-old Austrian citizen and former student of the school who never graduated, acted alone, authorities said. The shooter used a long gun and a handgun which were found at the scene and are now being investigated, a Styria police spokesperson said.
The suspect — who was not employed at the time of the shooting — legally owned the two weapons used in the attack, officials said.
Police had no prior records on the suspect, a spokesperson said, and there was no prior warning. Officials searching the premises where the suspect lived found a farewell letter, but police have not offered a motive for the attack.
“The school shooting in Graz is a national tragedy that has deeply shocked our entire country,” Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker said in a statement posted on social media.
He added, “Young people suddenly ripped from the lives they had ahead of them. There are no words for the pain and grief that all of us — all of Austria — are feeling right now.”
ABC News’ Morgan Winsor, Kevin Shalvey, Felix Franz and Megan Forrester contributed to this report.
(NORFOLK, VA) — A 21-year-old Navy sailor who mysteriously disappeared in Virginia has been found dead, and another sailor is in custody, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service said.
Angelina “Angie” Resendiz was last seen on the morning of May 29 at her barracks in Miller Hall at Naval Station Norfolk, according to the Virginia State Police.
Resendiz’s body was found in a wooded area in Norfolk on Monday; the remains were confirmed to be the missing sailor on Tuesday, NCIS said.
Another Navy sailor “has been placed in pretrial confinement” in connection with Resendiz’s death, NCIS said. The sailor was not named.
“Charges under the Uniform Code of Military Justice are pending,” NCIS said in a statement. “NCIS remains committed to uncovering the facts surrounding the tragic death of Seaman Resendiz to ensure accountability and justice.”
Resendiz, a Texas native, was a culinary specialist assigned to the USS James E. Williams, the Navy said.
Resendiz joined the Navy in 2023 after high school “because she felt it was something that called her,” her mother, Esmeralda Castle, wrote to ABC News last week.
As a culinary specialist, “She thought that one day she might be able to cook for the president and other world leaders,” Castle said. “She worked really hard on her ship.”
“People that care about Angie shared with me that the last person she was with was missing with her,” and “that person showed up [on June 2] but not Angie,” Castle said.
“There are no answers for me,” she said. “I just want my kid.”
(LONDON) — At least 36 Palestinians were killed while attempting to get aid in southern Gaza on Tuesday, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health.
This is the highest death toll from a shooting near an aid distribution center in Gaza since the opening of the U.S.- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aid distribution sites last month, according to numbers from the health ministry.
The shooting happened when Israeli forces opened fire near an aid distribution site in central Gaza on Tuesday morning, according to two local hospitals in Gaza. Over 100 people were injured in the shooting, according to the two hospitals.
The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement it fired “warning shots to distance suspects,” who were advancing in the area and “posed a threat to troops.”
The IDF said the warning shots were fired “hundreds of meters form the aid distribution site,” before it opened in the statement.
“The IDF is aware of reports regarding several individuals injured in the area,” it said. “An initial inquiry suggests that the number of reported individuals injured does not align with the information held by the IDF.”
“The details are under review,” the IDF said.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation — which has been running aid distribution in Gaza since Israel lifted its 11-week blockade last month — resumed aid distribution on Monday after previous shootings near aid sites, saying it gave out 1,386,000 meals at two sites. The GHF has not specified what it considers a meal.
The GHF has closed its aid distribution sites several times since it began distributing meals after several shooting incidents. As of Tuesday, at least 163 people had been killed while trying to get aid from GHF aid distribution sites, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
The blockade was instituted to pressure Hamas to release the remaining hostages taken during Hamas’ surprise terror attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, that killed 1,200 people and led to the capture of hundreds, Israel said.
The GHF was first announced on May 19 — three days after the Israeli government began its increased military operation in Gaza. After the end of an 11-week Israeli blockade on aid entering Gaza, the GHF — a private contractor backed by the U.S. and Israel — took over distributing aid in Gaza.
Humanitarian groups and the United Nations have said the GHF politicizes aid and criticized the role of IDF forces in the operation.
Palestinians in Gaza remain at risk of extreme starvation and famine even after Israel lifted the blockade on all humanitarian aid entering the Strip, according to aid groups like the U.N., the International Committee of the Red Cross and others.
(WASHINGTON) — A fresh inflation report to be released on Wednesday will provide the latest test for President Donald Trump’s tariffs as some retailers and economists warn the policy will raise prices.
So far, the economy has defied fears of price hikes, instead giving way to a cooldown of inflation over the months since Trump took office.
Economists expect inflation to have jumped slightly in May, registering year-over-year price increases of 2.4%. That would mark an increase from an inflation rate of 2.3% over the year ending in April, which amounted to the lowest inflation level since 2021.
The small increase in inflation anticipated by economists would keep price levels near the Federal Reserve’s target rate of 2%, putting them well below a recent peak of 9% in 2022.
In recent weeks, Trump has dialed back some of his steepest tariffs, easing the costs imposed upon importers. Such companies typically pass along a share of the higher tax burden in the form of price hikes.
A trade agreement between the U.S. and China in May slashed tit-for-tat tariffs between the world’s two largest economies and triggered a surge in the stock market. Within days, Wall Street firms softened their forecasts of a downturn.
The U.S.-China accord came weeks after the White House paused a large swath of Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs targeting dozens of countries. Trump also eased sector-specific tariffs targeting autos and rolled back duties on some goods from Mexico and Canada.
Still, an across-the-board 10% tariff applies to nearly all imports, except for semiconductors, pharmaceuticals and some other items. Those tariffs stand in legal limbo, however, after a pair of federal court rulings late last month.
Tariffs remain in place for steel, aluminum and autos, as well as some goods from Canada and Mexico.
Warning signs point to the possibility of elevated prices over the coming months.
Nationwide retailers like Walmart and Best Buy have voiced alarm about the possibility they may raise prices as a result of the levies.
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, or OECD, said this month it expects U.S. inflation to reach 4% by the end of 2025, which would mark a sharp increase from current levels.
Federal Chair Jerome Powell, in recent months, has warned about the possibility that tariffs may cause what economists call “stagflation,” which is when inflation rises and the economy slows.
Stagflation could put the central bank in a difficult position. If the Fed were to raise interest rates, it could help ease inflation, but it may risk an economic downturn. If the Fed were to cut rates in an effort to spur economic growth, the move could unleash faster price increases.
For now, the Fed appears willing to take a wait-and-see approach. At its last meeting, in May, the Fed opted to hold interest rates steady for the second consecutive time.
“For now, it does seem like a fairly clear decision for us to wait and see,” Powell said at a press conference in Washington, D.C., last month.
The Fed will announce its next rate decision on June 18. Investors peg the chances of a decision to leave rates unchanged at 99.9%, according to the CME FedWatch Tool, a measure of market sentiment.
(SAN ANTONIO) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said he was deploying the Texas National Guard to multiple locations across the state to “ensure peace and order.”
The deployment comes ahead of planned protests this week in Texas, including on in San Antonio.
A statement from Abbott’s office obtained by ABC News’ affiliate KSAT confirmed the deployment, saying Guardsmen were ready to “uphold law and order across our state.”
“Peaceful protests are part of the fabric of our nation, but Texas will not tolerate the lawlessness we have seen in Los Angeles,” Abbott’s office said in a statement. “Anyone engaging in acts of violence or damaging property will be swiftly held accountable to the full extent of the law.”
Abbott’s move comes amid the escalating protests in Los Angeles, where activists have been protesting the Trump administration’s immigration policies.
The protests in Los Angeles have at times turned violent. And President Donald Trump ordered both the National Guard and the Marines to Southern California in recent days.
“Peaceful protest is legal,” Abbott said on Tuesday. “Harming a person or property is illegal & will lead to arrest.”
He said the Texas National Guard would “use every tool & strategy to help law enforcement maintain order.”
Assistant Chief of the San Antonio Police Department Jesse Salame also confirmed to KSAT that Guard members have been sent to San Antonio.
(LONDON, PARIS and BELGRADE) — Ten people are dead and at least a dozen are injured after a shooting on Tuesday at a high school in Graz, Austria, the city’s mayor said, adding that the alleged shooter is also dead.
Austrian state police confirmed the death toll, after earlier saying on social media that there had been several fatalities at the school, the BORG Dreierschützengasse.
Among the dead were three males and seven females, officials said.
At least 12 people were injured, some severely, officials said during a press conference on Tuesday. Of the ten victims who died, nine were students — aged 15 to 17 — and one was a teacher, police said. Those who were injured in the attack were all students, police said.
The shooter died by suicide in a bathroom in the school during the incident, a Styria police spokesperson said. One of the individuals severely injured, a female adult, died Tuesday evening, the University Hospital Graz confirmed to ABC News.
“Today is a day of sorrow and processing the dramatic incident,” Styria Gov. Mario Kunasek said at the press conference.
The suspect, a 21-year-old Austrian citizen and former student of the school who never graduated, acted alone, authorities said. The shooter used a long gun and a handgun, that were found at the scene and are now being investigated, a Styria police spokesperson said. The suspect — who was not employed at the time of the shooting — legally owned the two weapons used in the attack, officials said.
Police had “no prior police records on this individual,” Karner said. “There was no prior warning,” he added.
As of Tuesday evening, the reasoning behind the attack still remains unclear, police said. When officials were searching the premises of where the suspect lived, they found a farewell letter, but police did not mention a motive for the attack.
“The school shooting in Graz is a national tragedy that has deeply shocked our entire country,” Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker said in a statement posted on social media.
He added, “Young people suddenly ripped from the lives they had ahead of them. There are no words for the pain and grief that all of us — all of Austria — are feeling right now.”
Officers responded after gunshots were heard at the school, the Styria State Police said in a message posted on social media, later adding, “The school was evacuated and all persons were brought to a safe meeting point.” The 300 officers who responded to the scene were able to secure the scene within 17 minutes, a Styria police spokesperson said.
When police originally arrived on the scene, one of the victims was found outside the school building, but still on the school grounds, while the rest were found inside, officials said.
As of Tuesday afternoon, 40 people remain at the scene of the incident and there is support being provided for students and parents, Kunasek said.
Emergency vehicles, including Cobra tactical vehicles, had been deployed to the site, police said. Video shot near the scene showed a street lined with ambulances and other emergency vehicles.
Stocker declared a three-day national period of mourning, with a nationwide moment of silence for the victims at 10 a.m. local time on Wednesday, he said.
The city of Graz sits in southern Austria, in the Styria province. It’s the second-largest Austrian city by population, with about 300,000 residents.
Officials are expected to provide additional updates regarding the incident on Wednesday.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump on Monday threatened to use “heavy force” against “any” protesters at the military parade being held in Washington this weekend.
“We’re going to celebrate big on Saturday,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office right after he spoke about sending the National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles to quell protests there. “If any protesters want to come out, they will be met with very big force.”
The parade to honor the Army’s 250th anniversary also falls on the president’s 79th birthday and comes just days after Trump ordered troops to Los Angeles to respond to protests against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations.
“People that want to protest will be met with big force,” he said, noting that he hadn’t heard of any plans to protest at the military parade in Washington yet. “But this is people that hate our country. They will be met with heavy force.”
ABC News reached out to the White House for comment on what kind of force Trump was referring to in his comments Tuesday.
Trump has touted the size and anticipated spectacle of the military parade, saying on Monday, “We have many tanks. We have all sorts of new ones and very old ones old from World War I and World War II,” and that the military and the U.S. roles in victories in World War I and World War II need to be celebrated as other countries do with their militaries.
“It’s going to be a parade, the likes of which I don’t know if we’ve ever had a parade like that. It’s going to be incredible,” he said, adding that “thousands and thousands of soldiers” will march through the streets in military garb from various eras of the U.S. military. “We have a lot of those army airplanes flying over the top, and we have tanks all over the place.”
Twenty-eight Abrams tanks, 28 Bradley Fighting Vehicles, 28 Stryker vehicles, and four Paladin self-propelled howitzers will participate in the parade, as will eight marching bands, 24 horses, two mules and a dog.
Fifty aircraft will fly overhead as well.
The U.S. Secret Service and Washington officials said Monday they were tracking nine small protests but that they didn’t expect any violence.
“From a Secret Service perspective, it’s simply people using that first amendment right to protest because we’re not going to do anything with that,” said Matt McCool, the special agent in charge of the Secret Service’s Washington Field Office. “But if that turns violent or any laws are broken, that’s when [the Metropolitan Police Department], Park Police, Secret Service will be involved.”
Still, the National Guard, including the District of Columbia National Guard and those from other states, will be activated but not armed.
Outside of Washington, progressive groups plan to hold protests against the Trump administration as the parade occurs, with the flagship “No Kings” protest occurring in Philadelphia.
ABC News’ Anne Flaherty and Beatrice Peterson contributed to this report.
