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(NEW YORK) — The sawmills of Maine generate a lot of wood waste each year: 1 million tons to be exact. For years, it was just discarded as a byproduct of the lumber industry. Now researchers at the University of Maine’s Advanced Structures & Composite Center (ASCC) have figured out a way of using those wood residuals to create homes.

However, they’re not building them in the conventional way. They’re printing them using the world’s largest 3D printer of its kind.

“We thought, ‘How do we turn that wood waste into something very valuable?'” Habib Dagher, the ASCC’s executive director, told ABC News.

The result is a prototype, 600-square foot home that they’re calling BioHome3D.

The homes are constructed using just two ingredients: wood waste and corn resin. By combing the two ingredients, the ASCC creates pellets for the 3D printer.

“These pellets are fed right into the printer. They’re heated and they’re extruded through a printer head, and that’s how we produce this house, layer by layer,” Dagher explained. “Now this material is what’s 100% renewable, because it is really bio based.”

A BioHome takes about a week to create, is made of material that’s stronger than concrete and is completely recyclable, according to Dagher. He said the house can be broken down into the original pellets and then be used to print something else like another house or a boat, which the ASCC is also 3D printing.

“We’ve done it five times over, so we’ve recycled it five times and looked at what happens to the properties,” Dagher said. “The good news is the properties hold up good enough. So, there’s so many applications for those materials.”

The places where we spend most of our time — buildings — are among the largest producers of greenhouse gas emissions in the world. Building construction and operations are responsible for about 40% of global greenhouse gas emissions and produce about a third of the world’s waste, according to the World Green Building Council. The United Nations Environment Program says the building and construction sector is “by far” the largest emitter of greenhouse gases of any industry in the world.

Dagher said its 3D printing technology reduces the amount of labor needed, the level of waste and allows for all the building materials to be prefabricated in a controlled environment. Sensors placed in and around the home to test how it’s handling the elements show that, over the past three years, it’s performing just like a home manufactured in the traditional way.

Dagher said its 3D printing technology reduces the amount of labor needed, the level of waste and allows for all the building materials to be prefabricated in a controlled environment. Sensors placed in and around the home to test how it’s handling the elements show that, over the past three years, it’s performing just like a home manufactured in the traditional way.

The university is currently building a “factory of the future” to expand its sustainable manufacturing research and production. The new facility will also train a new generation of workers and collaborate with companies on 3D printing projects.

Another company, Miami-based Renco USA, is also building sustainable housing but it’s using interlocking bricks made from recycled materials instead of 3D printers.

“It’s all interlocking, like a Lego, so all the pieces have this same top and bottom component here, and they fit together,” Patrick E. Murphy, managing director of Renco, told ABC News. “They’re as easy as that.”

The bricks are put together using a simple rubber mallet and held in place with adhesive.

The material, molded from repurposed materials like glass fibers and resin — along with stone — is stronger than concrete, fire resistant and designed to withstand a Category 5 hurricane, according to Renco.

Renco just built its first U.S.-based factory, which has the capacity to build 7,000 houses or apartments per year. Its most recent project, a 96-unit complex in Palm Springs, Florida, was built in just eight weeks, the company said.

The process is so simple, it can be adopted by anyone, according to Murphy.

“Anyone who can build a Lego set can build a home using Renco’s blocks,” Murphy said

ABC News’ Climate Unit contributed to this report.

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(NEW YORK) — Karen Read arrived in court Tuesday for the first day of her second murder trial as her defense team maintains her innocence, saying she is the victim of a botched investigation and law enforcement cover-up.

However, prosecutors allege that a drunk and angry Read knowingly slammed her SUV into her boyfriend — Boston police officer John O’Keefe — outside of a get-together at another officer’s home and left him to die in a blizzard in January 2022.

Read pleaded not guilty to charges including second-degree murder, vehicular manslaughter while operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol and leaving the scene of a collision causing death.

One of the trial’s key witnesses, Kerry Roberts, who was O’Keefe’s lifelong friend, spoke exclusively to “Good Morning America” on Wednesday morning, saying she is speaking out because she believes people have forgotten O’Keefe was the victim in this case.

“I think people have forgotten John in general,” Roberts told ABC News’ Matt Gutman in the “GMA” interview. “He is the victim. He’s lost his life. He’s not coming back.”

The judge in Read’s first trial declared a mistrial on July 1, 2024, after the jury said it was unable to reach a unanimous consensus on the fifth day of deliberations. Roberts also testified in the first trial, though she wasn’t cross-examined.

Roberts, who took the stand on Tuesday and will continue testifying Wednesday, is a critical witness for the prosecution because she was among the the first people Read called at 5 a.m. on the morning of the blizzard trying to find O’Keefe.

Roberts told ABC News she then relayed to Brendan Kane, another longtime friend of O’Keefe, the contents of her call that morning with Read.

“The first phone call was, ‘John’s dead.’ Then she hung up,” Roberts told “GMA.”

It was early morning and dark outside when Roberts then picked up Read and Jennifer McCabe, another O’Keefe friend who Karen had called, but whom Kerry said she didn’t really know. Kerry drove the women to the house where Read had dropped O’Keefe off.

“It was so snowy you couldn’t see,” Roberts said. “And as we were driving, Karen would lean in between us, and she was frantic. I mean, she knew John was missing, so she was frantic about it, as I would be. And then we turned to pull down Fairview, and she saw him on the lawn, and I didn’t.”

Roberts and Read jumped out of the vehicle where the two women performed CPR on O’Keefe until police arrived, according to Roberts.

“We went to go find him, and make sure he got home OK,” Roberts said. “And when you find him and he’s not OK, it was, it was pretty hard.”

O’Keefe became a police officer, just like his grandfather, and stayed close with his family, including his sister, Kristen. When she and her husband died within months of each other, O’Keefe took his niece and nephew in as his own. Roberts said she acted essentially as his right hand during this period.

“It was like all hands on deck,” Roberts said. “When they would go to dance recitals and stuff, father-daughter dances, I would do their hair and get the boutonniere and get the corsage. He did a great job. This was one of my best friends”

In the three years since Read was arrested, the town of Canton has been transformed as neighbors have taken sides and witnesses have been harassed.

“It’s all about which side are you on,” Roberts told “GMA.”

“We’re John’s closest friends and family, and we still haven’t been able to grieve because of all of this. It’s all lost on this circus,” Roberts said.

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(COLCHESTER, Vt.) — A federal judge in Vermont set a hearing for next Wednesday to decide whether to release Mohsen Mahdawi, the Columbia student who was arrested last week, while his case proceeds.

Mahdawi, who was arrested last Monday during his citizenship interview, was present during the hearing.

U.S. District Judge Geoffrey W. Crawford kicked off Wednesday’s hearing by asking Mahdawi if he was being treated well in the deletion facility in Vermont.

“I’m grateful for the kindness of the state, your honor,” Mahdawi said.

Before briefly discussing the motion from Mahdawi’s attorneys to release him, Judge Crawford extended the temporary restraining order that was issued by a separate judge last week to keep Mahdawi in Vermont.

“I don’t want Mr. Mahdawi to be whisked away to another state,” Judge Crawford said.

Mahdawi, who co-founded a university organization called Palestinian Student Union with detained Columbia student Mahmoud Khalil, is a permanent resident of the U.S. and was taking his last step in the process for him to become a U.S. citizen before his arrest, his attorneys said.

In a court filing on Monday, Mahdawi’s attorneys said that he is not a flight risk or a danger to the community.

Mahdawi’s attorneys said his release is necessary to avoid “what is a devastating punitive consequence of Mahdawi’s continued detention, namely, the disruption of his education.”

During the hearing Wednesday, attorneys for Mahdawi argued that the federal judge in Vermont should preserve the court’s jurisdiction in the case and said that an immigration court “does not have the authority to address the egregious violation of his First Amendment.”

The judge seemed to agree with Mahdawi’s attorneys and pointed out that Mahdawi is a Vermont resident and that he was arrested in the state.

“If he’s moved to another state, it creates a second tier of issues,” Judge Crawford said. “He’s a Vermont resident, he was arrested in Vermont.”

The judge said that he will give the government until Monday to reply to Mahdawi’s attorneys’ motion for release.

During the hearing, Michael Drescher, the acting U.S. attorney for the District of Vermont, said he was not authorized to “justify” the extension of the TRO to keep Mahdawi in Vermont. Drescher also requested an opportunity to respond to Mahdawi’s attorney’s motion from Tuesday requesting his release.

The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately reply to ABC News’ request for comment.

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(WASHINGTON) — A day after a federal judge ordered the government to more fully answer questions about the wrongful deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Trump administration, in a sealed motion Wednesday, asked the judge to pause discovery for seven days.

U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis, who last week slammed Justice Department attorneys over their inaction over Abrego Garcia’s wrongful detention and ordered government officials to testify under oath through expedited discovery, ordered the government Tuesday to more fully answer and respond by Wednesday evening to discovery requests from Abrego Garcia’s attorneys.

“Given that this Court expressly warned Defendants and their counsel to adhere strictly to their discovery obligations … their boilerplate, non-particularized objections are presumptively invalid and reflect a willful refusal to comply with this Court’s Discovery Order and governing rules,” Xinis wrote Tuesday.

Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran native who has been living with his wife and children in Maryland, was deported in March to El Salvador’s CECOT mega-prison — despite a 2019 court order barring his deportation to that country due to fear of persecution — after the Trump administration claimed he was a member of the criminal gang MS-13.

The Trump administration, while acknowledging that Abrego Garcia was deported to El Salvador in error, has said that his alleged MS-13 affiliation makes him ineligible to return to the United States. His wife and attorney have denied that he is an MS-13 member.

Judge Xinis early this month ruled that the Trump administration must “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s return, and the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously affirmed that ruling, “with due regard for the deference owed to the Executive Branch in the conduct of foreign affairs.”

Earlier Tuesday, government attorneys asserted that providing detailed information on the legal basis for Abrego Garcia’s confinement would be “wholly inappropriate and an invasion of diplomatic discussions,” according to a joint letter outlining the discovery disputes between the parties.

“Upon Abrego’s repatriation to El Salvador, his detention was no longer a matter of the United States’ confinement, but a matter belonging to the government of El Salvador — which has been explained to the Plaintiffs repeatedly,” the government said.

Attorneys for Abrego Garcia in the letter accused the Trump administration of responding to their discovery requests by producing “nothing of substance” and providing interrogatory responses that are “non-responsive.”

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(HIGHLAND PARK, Ill.) — Robert Crimo III, the gunman who killed seven people and injured dozens in a mass shooting in Highland Park, Illinois, on July 4, 2022, will be sentenced on Wednesday after pleading guilty in March.

Survivors and relatives of those killed in the shooting at the Independence Day parade are expected to address Crimo at the sentencing hearing, according to The Associated Press.

In March, Crimo pleaded guilty to 21 counts of first-degree murder, three counts for each person killed, and dozens of attempted murder charges, according to Chicago ABC station WLS.

Survivor Ashbey Beasley, who fled the parade with her son when the gunfire broke out, said in March the plea brought an “immense amount of relief.”

“Every single time I see [Crimo], it’s stressful,” she told reporters back in March. “I think it’s upsetting for everyone…Just knowing that his plea has been entered and we will not have to see him again is what we all need.”

Crimo appeared ready to accept a guilty plea last June during a hearing, only to reject the deal in front of devastated members of the victims’ families. He was expected to plead guilty to seven counts of murder and 48 counts of aggravated battery with a firearm at the hearing at the time, according to the AP.

“We have Fourth of July coming up and it will be two years,” Leah Sundheim, whose mother, Jacquelyn Sundheim, was killed in the shooting, said at a news conference at the time. “All I wanted was to be able to fully grieve my mom without the looming trial, knowing that he was going to spend the rest of his life in jail. And instead, we were yet again shown [Crimo’s] complete and blatant disregard for humans.”

Crimo told police he wore women’s clothing during the shooting and used makeup to hide his facial tattoos and blend in with the crowd during the chaos, prosecutors said. Crimo was apprehended hours later and prosecutors said he confessed to the shooting.

Crimo’s father, Robert Crimo Jr., pleaded guilty last year to reckless conduct, admitting to signing the Firearm Owner’s Identification card for his son to apply for gun ownership.

The younger Crimo was 19 at the time and too young to get a FOID card on his own. Illinois at the time required people ages 18, 19 or 20 to have parent or guardian authorization.

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(OCEAN COUNTY, N.J.) — A wildfire in New Jersey has exploded to over 8,500 acres after igniting Tuesday near Toms River and threatening more than 1,000 structures, shutting down a major highway and causing thousands of people to flee the flames.

The Jones Road Wildfire was just 10% contained on Wednesday morning, according to the New Jersey Forest Fire Service.

“Smoke and everything was right in my backyard. Everything was covered in black ashes,” said Kelly Mendoza, one of the evacuees.

Fanned by wind gusts and dry vegetation, the fire started in Ocean County around 12:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday and exploded overnight from a few hundred acres to 8,500, according to the Forest Fire.

New Jersey Lt. Gov. Gov. Tahesha Way, who is serving as acting governor while Gov. Phil Murphy is out of the country, declared a state of emergency in Ocean County on Wednesday morning, freeing up resources to battle the blaze.

“Due to its accelerated growth, with an estimated burn of 8,500 acres, threatening more than 1,000 structures, requiring the evacuation of residents in the area, and the loss of power to over 25,000 residents, I am declaring a State of Emergency for Ocean County,” Way said in a statement. “I encourage all residents in the County to continue to monitor the proper channels, and to use caution and follow all safety protocols.”

The fire is located south of Toms River along the Garden State Parkway. At one point on Tuesday evening, flames jumped the parkway, prompting officials to close it and bringing one of New Jersey’s busiest roads to a halt.

Officials said the blaze was threatening structures in Ocean and Lacey Townships.

“As the day progressed, it was kind of scary,” evacuated resident Michael Ferrara told ABC News about weighing his decision to leave or stay.

Ferrara said he watched in horror as flames and smoke closed in on his neighborhood, prompting him to heed the mandatory evacuation orders.

He said the first thing that went through his mind was keeping himself and his family safe.

“But what are you going to take with you — birth certificates, passports?” Ferrara said. “It’s just a very eerie feeling.”

According to ABC News’ Philadelphia station WPVI, more than a thousand structures are under threat and more than 3,000 residents have evacuated the area as evacuation notices remain in place.

A forced power outage due to the fires has also left at least 25,000 customers in the dark, though no injuries across the states of New Jersey have been reported as of Wednesday morning.

Wednesday’s forecast is expected to be breezy through the morning with winds gusting up to 20 mph from the north, but winds should calm this afternoon as high pressure starts moving into the region with the next chance for rain beginning Friday night.

On Wednesday morning, firefighters lifted the evacuation order and cautioned residents to stay on alert.

“I hope that I have a home to return back to,” one distraught evacuee told ABC News.

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