New Mexico Republican Party headquarters targeted in suspected arson attack, officials say

New Mexico Republican Party headquarters targeted in suspected arson attack, officials say
New Mexico Republican Party headquarters targeted in suspected arson attack, officials say
New Mexico Senate Republicans

(ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.) — The New Mexico Republican Party headquarters was targeted in a suspected arson attack on Sunday, according to party officials.

At approximately 5:56 a.m. on Sunday, Albuquerque Fire Rescue was dispatched to the headquarters for a reported structure fire, officials said.

The flames were brought under control within five minutes of their arrival and there were no reported injuries, fire rescue said.

The structure suffered “damage to the front entryway and smoke damage throughout the building,” fire rescue said.

The words “ICE=KKK” were also spray-painted on the building, officials said.

The Republican Party of New Mexico said the incident was a “deliberate act of arson.”

“This horrific attack, fueled by hatred and intolerance, is a direct assault on our values, freedoms and our right to political expression,” party officials said in a statement on Sunday.

Party officials said this is not an isolated incident, claiming it is part of a “disturbing pattern of politically motivated violence that has plagued our country — fueled in part by the silence and implicit encouragement from progressive leaders who refuse to condemn these acts.”

Republican Party of New Mexico Chairwoman Amy Barela said those who “resort to violence to undermine our state and nation must be held accountable.”

“The Republican Party of New Mexico will not be silenced,” Barela said in a statement. “We will emerge from this stronger, more united and more determined to fight for the people of New Mexico and the future of our country.”

The Democratic Party of New Mexico said on X that it also “condemns the vandalism of the @NewMexicoGOP office as strongly as possible.”

“We firmly maintain that this sort of act has absolutely no place in our Democracy, & that peaceful discourse & organization are the only ways to approach political differences in our country,” the party wrote. “We hope whoever is responsible is found and held accountable.”

New Mexico Democratic Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez added, “Political violence is unacceptable, including the arson attack on New Mexico’s GOP headquarters. The perpetrators must be held accountable. Every American should be able to freely and safely participate in our democracy.”

Leticia Muñoz, the executive director of the State Republican Party of New Mexico, said she is “thankful to first responders and law enforcement who saved our office from burning to the ground.”

“My resolve is even stronger today to continue to ‘FIGHT’ for our state,” Muñoz said in a statement.

Albuquerque Fire Rescue is working with the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to investigate this incident, officials said.

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Severe weather heading to the South after killing 5, knocking out power in Midwest

Severe weather heading to the South after killing 5, knocking out power in Midwest
Severe weather heading to the South after killing 5, knocking out power in Midwest
Members of the Chicago White Sox grounds crew struggle to deploy the rain tarp in the bottom of the seventh inning as hail and rain delay a game against the Los Angeles Angels at Rate Field on March 30, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Matt Dirksen/Getty Images)

(CHICAGO) — Hundreds of thousands of customers were without power across the Midwest on Monday after deadly, severe weather battered the region on Sunday.

More than 310,000 customers are without power in Michigan Monday morning. Another 55,000 are without power in Wisconsin and 48,000 are in the dark in Indiana.

The National Weather Service said it recorded more than 200 wind damage reports and at least four tornadoes were reported across Michigan, Missouri, Tennessee and Kentucky.

Five fatalities have been attributed to the storm.

Three children — a 2-year-old girl, her 4-year-old brother and their 11-year-old cousin — were killed when the car they were in was hit by a tree in Michigan, the Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Office said. Weather appeared to be the main contributing factor, the sheriff’s office said.

In Valparaiso, Indiana, one person was killed when “severe crosswinds” blew a tractor and a trailer onto their sides, according to local authorities.

The National Weather Service said a second person was killed north of Millersburg, Indiana, when wind from a thunderstorm blew over an Amish buggy.

The severe weather threat continues Monday, with both tornado and severe thunderstorm watches in effect across multiple states in the South.

Some storms could bring hailstones the size of tennis balls and damaging winds of up to 60 mph.

The storms are expected to reach New Orleans and Atlanta in the morning. The severe weather will hit Jacksonville, Florida; Charleston, South Carolina; and Charlotte, North Carolina, by the afternoon.

The Southeast region is where the strongest of the storms are expected, with damaging wind, large hail and tornadoes possible.

Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and New York could see storms by the evening rush hour.

ABC News’ Darren Reynolds and Jessica Gorman contributed to this report.

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State Sen. Randy Fine says he doesn’t think he disagrees with Trump on anything

State Sen. Randy Fine says he doesn’t think he disagrees with Trump on anything
State Sen. Randy Fine says he doesn’t think he disagrees with Trump on anything
ABC News

(WASHINGTON) — Florida state Sen. Randy Fine, the Republican candidate in Tuesday’s special U.S. House election for the seat vacated by former Rep. Mike Waltz, said on ABC News Live on Monday that doesn’t think be breaks with President Donald Trump on policies.

“I don’t think so,” Fine told ABC News Live anchor Diane Macedo when asked if he disagrees with Trump on anything.

“I mean, look, I was the second Florida legislator to endorse [Trump] over Gov. [Ron] DeSantis [in the 2024 presidential primaries] … And so no, I mean, I believe in the America First agenda and the Donald Trump agenda. And more importantly, I think that when you have a team captain, you have to support the team,” Fine said.

Fine’s race is one of a pair of special elections for the U.S. House in Florida on Tuesday that might have an impact on the balance of power in the U.S. House of Representatives.

While the Republicans are favored to win in each district — given that both districts were ruby-red in 2024 — some have speculated that the margin between the Republicans and Democrats in each district could be tighter than anticipated, and voices within the Republican Party have raised concerns over Fine’s campaign. Fine and his allies, including President Donald Trump, have maintained he has momentum.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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3 people, including 3-year-old girl, critically hurt in fire and possible explosion at Detroit apartment building

3 people, including 3-year-old girl, critically hurt in fire and possible explosion at Detroit apartment building
3 people, including 3-year-old girl, critically hurt in fire and possible explosion at Detroit apartment building
slobo/Getty Images

(DETROIT) — Three people, including a 3-year-old girl, were critically hurt in a fire and possible explosion at an apartment building in Detroit, officials said.

The fire was reported around 4 a.m. Monday, and when crews arrived, they found people “hanging off” windows, “ready to jump,” Detroit Executive Fire Commissioner Chuck Simms told reporters.

“Firefighters immediately went into action” and rescued all 12 people in the building: six adults and six children, Simms said.

Three people who were in the same apartment were hospitalized in critical condition: a 30-year-old man with severe burns to 90% of his body; a 27-year-old woman with severe burns to about 20% to 40% of her body; and a 3-year-old girl who suffered burns to 15% of her body, Simms said.

The other injured victims were hospitalized in stable condition, including a 26-year-old mom and her four children, Simms said. He described their injuries as “scrapes and bruises.”

A cause is not known, Simms said. The investigation is focused on the apartment where the three victims suffered serious burn injuries, he said.

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3 missing US soldiers found dead in Lithuania, search continues for 4th soldier

3 missing US soldiers found dead in Lithuania, search continues for 4th soldier
3 missing US soldiers found dead in Lithuania, search continues for 4th soldier
US Army

(PABRADĖ, Lithuania) — Three of the four U.S. Army soldiers who went missing during a training mission near Pabradė, Lithuania, last week were found dead on Monday, but the search is ongoing for the fourth soldier, the Army said.

Their identities were not released.

The M88 Hercules armored recovery vehicle the soldiers were in when they went missing was removed from a swamp early Monday morning after six days of work to retrieve it, the Army said.

The soldiers, who are all based in Fort Stewart, Georgia, went missing on Tuesday during a training exercise, the Army said.

On Wednesday, their 63-ton-vehicle was found submerged in about 15 feet of water and “clay-like mud” in a training area, the Army said.

“Most likely, the M88 drove into the swamp,” and the vehicle “may have just gone diagonally to the bottom,” Lithuanian Defense Minister Dovile Sakaliene told ABC News via phone last week.

The multiday search effort was complicated by the swamp’s muddy conditions, officials said.

The Army said last week it brought in assets including “a large capacity slurry pump, cranes, more than 30 tons of gravel, and subject matter experts.”

“The Polish Armed Forces have also volunteered a unit of military engineers, which is bringing in an additional water pump, tracked recovery vehicles, other additional equipment and supplies needed along with 150 personnel,” the Army said.

On Saturday, a U.S. Navy dive team arrived at the site, joining Lithuanian divers, the Army said.

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Missing US soldiers’ vehicle pulled from swamp in Lithuania, no update on soldiers

3 missing US soldiers found dead in Lithuania, search continues for 4th soldier
3 missing US soldiers found dead in Lithuania, search continues for 4th soldier
US Army

(PABRADĖ, Lithuania) — The U.S. Army vehicle that was carrying four soldiers when it went missing near Pabradė, Lithuania, has been pulled from a swamp after six days of “relentless effort” to retrieve it, the Lithuanian Ministry of Defense said Monday.

The M88 Hercules armored recovery vehicle was salvaged Sunday night and the work at the site is ongoing, the Lithuanian Ministry of Defense said.

No updates about the whereabouts or conditions of the missing soldiers were provided.

The soldiers, who are all based in Fort Stewart, Georgia, went missing on Tuesday during a training exercise, the Army said.

On Wednesday, their 70-ton vehicle was found submerged in about 15 feet of water and “clay-like mud” in a training area, the Army said.

“Most likely, the M88 drove into the swamp,” and the vehicle “may have just gone diagonally to the bottom,” Lithuanian Defense Minister Dovile Sakaliene told ABC News via phone last week.

The multiday search effort has been complicated by the swamp’s muddy conditions, officials said.
The Army said last week it brought in assets including “a large capacity slurry pump, cranes, more than 30 tons of gravel, and subject matter experts.”

“The Polish Armed Forces have also volunteered a unit of military engineers, which is bringing in an additional water pump, tracked recovery vehicles, other additional equipment and supplies needed along with 150 personnel,” the Army said.

On Saturday, a U.S. Navy dive team arrived at the site, joining Lithuanian divers, the Army said.

“We are going to use every resource available from all our countries to find our missing soldiers,” Maj. Gen. Curtis Taylor, 1st Armored Division commanding general, said in a statement Saturday.

The soldiers’ families are being kept up to date on recovery efforts, the Army said.

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Stocks plunge as Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs loom

Stocks plunge as Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs loom
Stocks plunge as Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs loom
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

(NEW YORK) — U.S. stocks plunged in early trading on Monday ahead of the expected introduction of President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs on Wednesday, measures the president said will impact “all countries.”

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 315 points, or 0.75%, while the S&P 500 declined 1.1% on Monday morning. The tech-heavy Nasdaq plunged 1.75%.

Tesla, the electric carmaker led by billionaire Trump-advisor Elon Musk, dropped nearly 6%.

The downturn in U.S. markets followed a wave of selloffs worldwide.

Japan’s Nikkei index fell more than 4% and South Korea’s KOSPI slipped 3% after opening on Monday. In Europe, the British FTSE 100 fell by 1.18%, the German DAX index fell by 1.82% and France’s CAC 40 dropped by 1.76%.

Gold — a traditional safe-haven asset — reached a new record high of $3,128 per ounce.

Trump told reporters this weekend that his tariffs could affect “all the countries.”

“The tariffs will be far more generous than those countries were to us, meaning they will be kinder than those countries were to the United States of America,” he said.

“Over the decades, they ripped us off like no country has never been ripped off in history and we’re going to be much nicer than they were to us, but it’s substantial money for the country,” Trump said.

Auto tariffs of 25% are among those expected to come into effect on April 3. The measures will apply to imported passenger vehicles, including cars, SUVs, minivans, cargo vans and light trucks, according to a White House statement released last week.

Analysts widely expect the tariffs to raise prices for foreign-made cars, since importers will likely pass along a share of the tax burden to consumers.

Cars produced in the U.S. are also expected to undergo significant price hikes since manufacturers will bear higher costs for imported parts and face an uptick in demand as buyers seek out domestic alternatives, experts have told ABC News.

Trump dismissed concerns about auto tariffs this weekend. “The automakers are going to make a lot of money,” he said. “American automakers or international automakers, if you’re talking about them, are going to build in the United States.”

“The people that are going to make money are people that manufacture cars in the United States,” he continued. “Outside of the United States, that’s going to be up to them. I don’t care too much about that. But you have a lot of companies coming into the country to manufacture cars.”

ABC News’ Hannah Demissie contributed to this report.

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Eric Adams pushes judge to dismiss charges before ballot deadline

Eric Adams pushes judge to dismiss charges before ballot deadline
Eric Adams pushes judge to dismiss charges before ballot deadline
Graeme Sloan for The Washington Post via Getty Images

(NEW YORK) — New York City Mayor Eric Adams asked a federal judge on Monday to drop criminal corruption charges before a political deadline this week — trying to speed up a decision by the judge in the case.

The mayor wants the case dropped before petitions to get on the June primary ballot are due on April 3, according to his lawyer.

“Now, with the petition-filing deadline just days away, we respectfully urge the Court to issue its decision as soon as possible,” the mayor’s attorney, Alex Spiro, said in a letter to Judge Dale Ho.

The Justice Department has asked the judge to dismiss the charges without prejudice to free Adams to cooperate with President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda. Without prejudice means the charges could resurface.

Ho accepted a legal brief urging him to dismiss the case with prejudice, meaning it could not be revived, eliminating an incentive for the mayor to bow to administration demands.

Adams pleaded not guilty in federal court last September to charges related to an alleged conspiracy with Turkish nationals that landed him lavish gifts in exchange for beneficial treatment.

Trump’s Justice Department asked in February to dismiss the charges, a move that caused several prosecutors to step down in protest, including the Trump-appointed interim U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Danielle Sassoon, who alleged a quid pro quo.

“It is a breathtaking and dangerous precedent to reward Adams’s opportunistic and shifting commitments on immigration and other policy matters with dismissal of a criminal indictment,” Sassoon wrote at the time. “Nor will a court likely find that such an improper exchange is consistent with the public interest.”

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Markets jittery as Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs loom

Stocks plunge as Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs loom
Stocks plunge as Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs loom
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

(NEW YORK) — Foreign markets saw a wave of selloffs on Monday morning ahead of the expected introduction of President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs on Wednesday, measures the president said will impact “all countries.”

Japan’s Nikkei index fell more than 4% and South Korea’s KOSPI slipped 3% after opening on Monday. In Europe, the British FTSE 100 fell by 1.18%, the German DAX index fell by 1.82% and France’s CAC 40 dropped by 1.76%.

Gold — a traditional safe-haven asset — reached a new record high of $3,128 per ounce.

U.S. markets will open Monday morning after tumbling at the end of last week. The Dow Jones closed 1.7% down on Friday, the S&P 500 down 1.97% and the Nasdaq Composite down 2.7%.

Trump told reporters this weekend that his tariffs could affect “all the countries.”

“The tariffs will be far more generous than those countries were to us, meaning they will be kinder than those countries were to the United States of America,” he said.

“Over the decades, they ripped us off like no country has never been ripped off in history and we’re going to be much nicer than they were to us, but it’s substantial money for the country,” Trump said.

Auto tariffs of 25% are among those expected to come into effect on April 3. The measures will apply to imported passenger vehicles, including cars, SUVs, minivans, cargo vans and light trucks, according to a White House statement released last week.

Analysts widely expect the tariffs to raise prices for foreign-made cars, since importers will likely pass along a share of the tax burden to consumers.

Cars produced in the U.S. are also expected to undergo significant price hikes since manufacturers will bear higher costs for imported parts and face an uptick in demand as buyers seek out domestic alternatives, experts have told ABC News.

Trump dismissed concerns about auto tariffs this weekend. “The automakers are going to make a lot of money,” he said. “American automakers or international automakers, if you’re talking about them, are going to build in the United States.”

“The people that are going to make money are people that manufacture cars in the United States,” he continued. “Outside of the United States, that’s going to be up to them. I don’t care too much about that. But you have a lot of companies coming into the country to manufacture cars.”

ABC News’ Max Zahn and Hannah Demissie contributed to this report.

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Desperate search for survivors continues in Bangkok high-rise collapse from 7.7 quake

Desperate search for survivors continues in Bangkok high-rise collapse from 7.7 quake
Desperate search for survivors continues in Bangkok high-rise collapse from 7.7 quake
Lauren DeCicca/Getty Images

(BANGKOK) — A desperate search for survivors continued Sunday — from a collapsed high-rise building that was under construction in Bangkok, Thailand, to the rubble of ancient buildings in neighboring Myanmar — as a series of powerful aftershocks from Friday’s 7.7-magnitude earthquake made it precarious for rescuers digging through debris, officials said.

The death toll in the Bangkok metropolitan region rose to 18 on Sunday, according to government officials. In Myanmar, the epicenter of Friday’s earthquake, at least 1,644 people were dead and another 139 were officially missing. At least 3,408 people were injured in Myanmar alone, officials said.

The number of deaths across the devastated region is expected to rise, officials said.

In the Bangkok metropolitan area, home to more than 17.4 million people, search-and-rescue workers were focused on a collapsed high-rise building in the Chatuchak district of Bangkok. At least 11 people, believed to all be construction workers, have been confirmed dead and another 78 people remain missing in the rubble of the 34-story Sky Villa condominium, according to the Bangkok Metropolitan administration.

More than 30 people were injured when floors of the building that was under construction began to pancake on top of each other around 1:30 p.m. local time on Friday, trapping construction workers in the debris and creating a large dust cloud that enveloped the area, officials said. The building collapsed about half an hour after the powerful earthquake, centered in Myanmar, struck.

Family members of the missing construction workers gathered near the collapsed building as search-and-rescue crews dug through the pile of debris by hand, racing against time in a search for survivors.

One brother and sister told ABC News their parents were among the workers who were in the building at the time of the collapse and are now among those unaccounted for.

American tourists Garret Briere and his wife told ABC News they never could have imagined that their first vacation to Thailand would end up being one of the most terrifying experiences of their lives.

The couple from Washington state was in the mall across the street from the Sky Villa construction site when the massive earthquake hit. Briere said he watched in horror as the building fell in the quake’s aftermath and described panicked people running for their lives away from the structure. Briere said a huge dust cloud enveloped the area.

“We ran out of the building because it started shaking,” Briere said. “I grabbed my wife’s hand and I said, ‘Don’t let go.’ Immediately, we were just covered in dust and debris, and we couldn’t see, and there were thousands of people just in a panic.”

It took just several seconds for the entire building to be reduced to a 7-story-high pile of rubble, the couple said.

The epicenter of the earthquake was in Mandalay, Myanmar, the country’s second-largest city. Bangkok is about 600 miles from the epicenter.

A series of aftershocks continued to shake the region Sunday. A 5.1 magnitude aftershock struck about 17 miles north of Mandalay on Sunday afternoon, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The USGS also recorded another strong aftershock as a 4.2 magnitude quake struck near Shwebo, which is about 68 miles northwest of Mandalay, earlier on Sunday.

Several videos emerged Sunday showing rescuers pulling survivors from the rubble in Myanmar. The Myanmar Fire Services Department released a video overnight showing rescuers pulling a woman alive from a collapsed building. People could be heard cheering in the background as the woman was taken to medics for treatment.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted Friday about the potential U.S. response to the earthquake.

“My prayers go out to the people of Burma and Thailand who are impacted by the earthquake,” Rubio wrote in a social media post. “We’ve been in contact with these countries and, as @POTUS said, stand ready to provide assistance.”

Rubio also confirmed the State Department’s teams in the affected countries were “safe and secure.”

The U.S. Embassy in Myanmar has suspended nonemergency consular services for the time being. The U.S. mission to Thailand has not reported any disruption in services.

ABC News’ Karson Yiu, Gamay Palacios and Preechaya Rassadanukul contributed to this report.

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