(NEW YORK) — A volcano that has been dormant for hundreds of thousands of years could be gearing up for a massive explosion, according to new research.
Scientists have measured signs of unrest at the Taftan volcano in eastern Iran, near the Afghanistan border, despite no eruptions in the last 700,000 years, according to a paper published earlier this month in Geophysical Research Letters.
Rapid uplift was detected near Taftan’s 13,000-foot-tall summit between July 2023 and May 2024, while an analysis method to reduce random noise due to atmospheric condition indicated that neither rainfall nor earthquakes triggered the unrest.
Therefore, an explosive eruption is likely imminent, the researchers said.
Changes in gas permeability within the shallow part of the volcano, as well as undetected deep magma movement, have likely led to the hydrothermal pressure buildup.
Taftan experiences frequent fumarolic — or venting of gas — activity, but geologic evidence indicates that it has not experienced a major eruption since 700,000.
“Uncertain” eruptions may have occurred in January 1902 and April 1993, according to the Smithsonian Institution’s Global Volcanism Program.
Currently, Taftan is not monitored at the same level of scrutiny as other volcanoes due to its remote location. Space-based satellite sensing is the only source of data to detect transitions from dormancy to unrest for many remote and unmonitored volcanoes, according to the paper.
The study reveals an urgent need to revise the current volcano risk of the Makran subduction volcanic arc — a stretch of about 275 miles along the Indian Ocean — and establish volcano monitoring networks in the region.
“Our findings reveal that Taftan is more active than previously recognized,” the authors wrote.
U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth delivers remarks as U.S. President Donald Trump delivers an announcement on his Homeland Security Task Force in the State Dining Room of the White House on October 23, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — The United States has carried out another strike against an alleged drug vessel, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Friday.
“Overnight, at the direction of President Trump, the Department of War carried out a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by Tren de Aragua (TdA), a Designated Terrorist Organization (DTO), trafficking narcotics in the Caribbean Sea,” Hegseth wrote on X, where he posted a video of the attack.
It marks the 10th strike in international waters around Latin America since early September. Eight of the attacks have occurred in the Caribbean Sea and two took place in the Pacific Ocean.
Hegseth said six people were killed in the overnight attack.
Hegseth also announced on Friday the deployment of the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group and accompanying aircraft to the waters around Central and South America, a move that would likely add some 3,000 to 5,000 troops to the region and significant firepower.
The Pentagon announced the move without providing details, including when the strike group would arrive and whether it would be in addition to the 10,000 troops already operating in the area.
On Thursday, Two U.S. Air Force B-1 bombers flew what was described as a training mission over the Caribbean Sea, sources familiar with the operation told ABC News.
The strikes are part of what the administration has called its “war” against drug cartels. But the lethal force has raised several legal questions, as past administrations have relied on law enforcement to interdict drug shipments.
At least 43 people are believed to have been killed in the U.S. strikes so far.
“We’re finally treating the cartels as the core national security threat that they really are. The cartels are waging war on America,” Trump said at a White House event on Thursday where he was joined by Hegseth and other officials to discuss the administration actions against cartels.
The president was asked if he would seek a traditional declaration of war from Congress as they ramp up their campaign against drug cartels and traffickers.
“I don’t think we’re going to necessarily ask for a declaration of war,” Trump said. “I think we’re just going to kill people that are bringing drugs into our country. OK? We’re going to kill them. You know? They’re going to be, like, dead. OK.”
Trump again hinted at the possibility of land attacks to target drug cartels, saying on Thursday “the land is going to be next.” He previously said he was “looking into” possible land strikes against Venezuela.
Police officers investigate a U-Haul truck that was involved in an incident outside of Coast Guard Island Alameda on October 23, 2025 in Oakland, California. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
(OAKLAND, Calif.) — Two people were wounded when an “erratic” driver prompted a shooting at Coast Guard Base Alameda, which is located on a small island next to Oakland, California, officials said.
At about 10 p.m. Thursday, a driver was spotted “driving erratically” and apparently trying to use his truck to ram into Coast Guard Base Alameda, the Department of Homeland Security said.
Coast Guard personnel told the driver to stop several times but the driver then allegedly put the truck in reverse and suddenly sped backward toward the Coast Guard security officials, DHS said on Friday.
“Law enforcement officers discharged several rounds of defensive live fire,” which left the truck driver wounded in the stomach and a bystander struck by a fragment, DHS said.
Neither injury was considered life-threatening, DHS said. The truck driver was taken for a mental health evaluation and the bystander has been released from a hospital, DHS said.
No Coast Guard personnel were hurt, DHS said.
Protesters were gathered outside Coast Guard Base Alameda on Thursday after the base said it was planning to host Customs and Border Protection agents there as a place of operations.
President Donald Trump initially said he was sending troops to San Francisco this weekend to clean up crime, but the president said on Thursday he was pulling back on his decision after speaking with San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie on Wednesday night.
“The Federal Government was preparing to ‘surge’ San Francisco, California, on Saturday, but friends of mine who live in the area called last night to ask me not to go forward with the surge in that the Mayor, Daniel Lurie, was making substantial progress,”Trump wrote on his social media platform. “I spoke to Mayor Lurie last night and he asked, very nicely, that I give him a chance to see if he can turn it around.”
ABC News’ Ahmad Hemingway contributed to this report.
New York Attorney General Letitia James stands silently during a press conference on October 21, 2025 in New York City. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
(NORFOLK, Va.) — New York Attorney General Letitia James, appearing in a federal courtroom in Norfolk, Virginia, pleaded not guilty Friday to charges of alleged mortgage fraud, after she was indicted earlier this month by President Donald Trump’s handpicked U.S. attorney.
Interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan — who Trump appointed just days after calling on the his attorney general to act “NOW!!!” to prosecute James and other political enemies — secured an indictment against James on charges of bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution.
Halligan was named U.S. attorney by Trump after Trump ousted her predecessor, Erik Siebert, who sources say had expressed doubts internally about bringing cases against James and former FBI Director James Comey.
James, who successfully brought a civil fraud case against Trump last year and leads multiple lawsuits challenging his administration’s policies, was indicted on charges that she committed mortgage fraud related to a home she purchased in 2020.
According to the indictment, James falsely described the property as a second home to get an advantageous mortgage rate, but used it as an “investment property,” rented to a family of three. The indictment alleged James collected thousands of dollars in rent and would have saved $17,837 over the life of the mortgage versus a loan at a higher rate.
“No one is above the law. The charges as alleged in this case represent intentional, criminal acts and tremendous breaches of the public’s trust,” Halligan said in a statement announcing the charges. “The facts and the law in this case are clear, and we will continue following them to ensure that justice is served.”
But in an internal memo to Siebert in September, prosecutors said James purchased the home in Norfolk, Virginia, for her great-niece and immediately allowed her and her children to begin living in the house rent-free, sources told ABC News. Prosecutors met with James’ niece, who stated that she had never signed a lease, had never paid rent for the home, and that James had often sent her money to cover some of the expenses, the memo concluded, according to sources familiar with its contents.
“It’s baseless,” James said of the charges this month. “It’s nothing more than retribution, retribution for doing my job.”
Attorneys representing James filed a motion Thursday signaling their intent to challenge Halligan’s appointment as unlawful. A similar motion challenging Halligan’s appointment was filed in the case against Comey.
James’ defense attorneys also filed a motion to the court to enforce rules prohibiting leaks from prosecutors, after a Monday report by Anna Bower of the online publication “Lawfare” contained Signal text messages exchanged between Halligan and Bower in the days after charges were filed against James.
“In initiating this contact, Ms. Halligan — the lead prosecutor on this case as of the date of this filing — commented on the credibility and general strength of the evidence presented to the grand jury,” the filing states.
James’ lawyers argue in their filing that Halligan’s comments to Bower run afoul of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, the Code of Federal Regulations, local court rules, the Justice Department Manual, and rules of ethical and professional responsibility.
James’ indictment on Oct. 9 came between the indictments of Comey and former Trump national security adviser John Bolton amid what critics call Trump’s campaign of retribution against his perceived political foes.
Vice President JD Vance has said any such prosecutions are “driven by law and not by politics.”
If convicted, James faces a maximum of up to 30 years in prison per count, up to a $1 million fine on each count, and forfeiture of the property.
An excavator works to clear rubble after the East Wing of the White House was demolished on October 23, 2025 in Washington, DC. Eric Lee/Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — Legend says that George Washington once chopped down his father’s cherry tree.
Satellite images show President Donald Trump’s project to build a $300 million grand ballroom has appeared to take down at least six trees on the White House grounds — including two historic magnolia trees commemorating Presidents Warren G. Harding and Franklin D. Roosevelt.
The satellite images released on Thursday provide the fullest picture yet of the extent of the demolition work on the White House’s East Wing and its effect on the surrounding parkland — changes made without consulting the government commission established by federal law to ensure the preservation and integrity of government buildings in D.C., according to former commission officials who spoke to ABC News.
Visible construction work on the new ballroom appears to have begun more than three weeks ago, according to satellite images of the White House complex taken over the last month. An image taken on Sept. 26 shows preparations for the construction, including the removal of multiple trees in President’s Park.
The Jacqueline Kennedy Garden — established by first lady Edith Roosevelt in 1903 adjacent to the East Wing — was also leveled during the demolition, according to satellite images.Earlier this year, Trump also paved over the Rose Garden, which was designed by the same architect who designed the Kennedy Garden.
The White House said in an announcement this summer that the project would begin in September and be completed “long before the end of President Trump’s term.”
Satellite images of the White House taken by Planet Labs on Thursday show that the East Wing has been leveled, while preparations appear to have begun on nearby land that the ballroom is expected to occupy.
At least six trees that once surrounded the East Wing appear to have been removed from the White House grounds, according to the images.
Two historic magnolia trees originally dating to the 1940s — designated as commemorative trees for Presidents Warren G. Harding and Franklin D. Roosevelt — appear to have been removed during the construction.
A magnolia tree commemorating Harding was originally planted by first lady Florence Harding in 1922 northeast of the entrance to the original 1902 East Wing, according to the National Park Service. The tree was replanted in 1947 and later re-designated as a commemorative tree in the 1950s, according to the park service.
The Roosevelt tree was originally planted in 1942 southeast of the entrance to the newly constructed East Wing, according to the park service. The tree was designated as a commemorative tree in the mid-1950s.
The White House did not respond for a request for comment about the removal of the trees.
Trump previously vowed that the ballroom project would not “interfere with the current” East Wing structure.
“It’ll be near it, but not touching it, and pays total respect to the existing building, which I’m the biggest fan of,” Trump said in July.
A White House official said that Trump intends to submit plans to the National Capital Planning Commission for approval but has not done so yet. According to multiple former members of the NCPC, plans have historically been submitted and approved before any demolition work began.
When speaking about the ballroom project earlier this month, Trump marveled at what he said was the lack of an approval process, compared to his experience constructing buildings in New York.
“I said, ‘How long will it take me?’ ‘Sir, you can start tonight, you have no approvals.’ I said, ‘You gotta be kidding,'” Trump said. “They said, ‘Sir, this is the White House, you’re the President of the United States, you can do anything you want.'”
Kilmar Abrego Garcia speaks during a rally and prayer vigil for him before he enters a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) field office on August 25, 2025 in Baltimore, Maryland. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
(BALTIMORE) — As the Department of Homeland Security continues to seek the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the agency said Friday it had identified a new country of removal that has agreed to accept the wrongly deported Salvador native: the West African nation of Liberia.
In a court notice filed Friday, Department of Justice attorneys said DHS has received “diplomatic assurances regarding the treatment of third-country individuals removed to Liberia from the United States and are making the final necessary arrangements for [Abrego Garcia’s] removal.”
According to the notice, DHS expects “to be able to effectuate removal as soon as October 31.”
Abrego Garcia, who had been living in Maryland with his wife and children, 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. The Trump administration claimed he was a member of the criminal gang MS-13, which his family and attorneys deny.
He was brought back to the U.S. in June to face human smuggling charges in Tennessee, to which he has pleaded not guilty. After being released into the custody of his brother in Maryland pending trial, he was again detained by immigration authorities and is currently being held in Pennsylvania, where the government has told his attorneys that it intends to deport him to a country other than El Salvador.
U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis, who has been overseeing Abrego Garcia’s immigration case in Maryland, has currently banned the government from removing him from the United States.
Friday’s notice comes after the DHS served Abrego Garcia a notice of removal to Ghana that the agency subsequently said was “premature.” Before that, DHS said it was planning to deport Abrego Garcia to Eswatini and Uganda.
In response to Friday’s DHS notice, Abrego Garcia’s attorney said the government “has chosen yet another path that feels designed to inflict maximum hardship.”
“Having struck out with Uganda, Eswatini and Ghana, ICE now seeks to deport our client Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Liberia — a country with which he has no connection, thousands of miles from his family and home in Maryland,” Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg told ABC News. “Costa Rica has agreed to accept him as a refugee, and remains a viable and lawful option.”
According to the DOJ, Liberia is “a thriving democracy” and is “committed to the humane treatment of refugees.”
Tropical outlook for Tropical Storm Melissa. (ABC News)
(NEW YORK) — Tropical Storm Melissa is expected to intensify into a major hurricane this weekend and bring catastrophic flash flooding and landslides to parts of the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Jamaica.
Here’s the latest forecast:
Hurricane conditions are expected to first hit southern Haiti on Saturday and then reach Jamaica on Saturday night or Sunday morning.
Melissa is forecast to strengthen to a major hurricane — a Category 3 or higher — as it brings winds greater than 110 mph to Jamaica from Sunday through at least Tuesday. Extensive damage is forecast due to the length of time Melissa will be hitting the island.
The storm has already led to the death of an elderly man in Haiti who was killed by a downed tree, according to The Associated Press.
Eight to 14 inches of rain could fall from Friday to Sunday night across the southern Dominican Republic, southern Haiti and eastern Jamaica, bringing life-threatening flash flooding and landslides.
Depending on the storm’s track, western Jamaica could see an increase in impacts early next week.
After Melissa moves north of Jamaica, it’s expected to cross southern Cuba and the Bahamas as it moves northwest and out into the Atlantic, avoiding the mainland U.S.
Stock image of a social security card alongside US dollars. (Tetra Images/STOCK PHOTO/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Social security benefits will rise 2.8% starting in January, amounting to an additional $56 per month for 75 million recipients, the Social Security Administration (SSA) said on Friday.
The cost-of-living adjustment for 2026, known as COLA, came in slightly higher than the prior year’s hike of 2.5%. Over the past decade, the average COLA clocked in at 3.1%.
The announcement on Friday came after inflation data for September showed a slight acceleration of price increases, sending inflation to its highest level since January. The fresh reading marked the final piece of data necessary for SSA to calculate COLA for 2026.
“Social Security is a promise kept, and the annual cost-of-living adjustment is one way we are working to make sure benefits reflect today’s economic realities and continue to provide a foundation of security,” SSA Commissioner Frank J. Bisignano said in a statement.
The agency will also hike the maximum amount of earnings subject to the Social Security tax, elevating taxable income from $176,100 to $184,500.
SSA will start notifying recipients about their new benefit amount by mail starting in early December, the agency said.
U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth delivers remarks as U.S. President Donald Trump delivers an announcement on his Homeland Security Task Force in the State Dining Room of the White House on October 23, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — The United States has carried out another strike against an alleged drug vessel, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Friday.
“Overnight, at the direction of President Trump, the Department of War carried out a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by Tren de Aragua (TdA), a Designated Terrorist Organization (DTO), trafficking narcotics in the Caribbean Sea,” Hegseth wrote on X, where he posted a video of the attack.
It marks the 10th strike in international waters around Latin America since early September. Eight of the attacks have occurred in the Caribbean Sea and two took place in the Pacific Ocean.
Hegseth said six people were killed in the overnight attack.
At least 43 people are believed to have been killed in the U.S. strikes so far.
“If you are a narco-terrorist smuggling drugs in our hemisphere, we will treat you like we treat Al-Qaeda. Day or NIGHT, we will map your networks, track your people, hunt you down, and kill you,” Hegseth wrote on X.
The overnight strike came after two U.S. Air Force B-1 bombers flew what was described as a training mission over the Caribbean Sea on Thursday, sources familiar with the operation told ABC News.
The strikes are part of what the administration has called its “war” against drug cartels. But the lethal force has raised several legal questions, as past administrations have relied on law enforcement to interdict drug shipments.
“We’re finally treating the cartels as the core national security threat that they really are. The cartels are waging war on America,” Trump said at a White House event on Thursday where he was joined by Hegseth and other officials to discuss the administration actions against cartels.
The president was asked if he would seek a traditional declaration of war from Congress as they ramp up their campaign against drug cartels and traffickers.
“I don’t think we’re going to necessarily ask for a declaration of war,” Trump said. “I think we’re just going to kill people that are bringing drugs into our country. Okay? We’re going to kill them. You know? They’re going to be, like, dead. Okay.”
Trump again hinted at the possibility of land attacks to target drug cartels, saying on Thursday “the land is going to be next.” He previously said he was “looking into” possible land strikes against Venezuela.
Vegetables on display in a grocery store, August 15, 2025 in Delray Beach, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Consumer prices rose 3% in September compared to a year ago, extending a monthslong uptick that has sent inflation to its highest level since January, government data on Friday showed. The reading came in lower than economists’ expectations.
The fresh data marked a slight increase from a 2.9% year-over-year increase recorded a month prior. An acceleration of price increases over recent months has coincided with a flurry of tariffs issued by President Donald Trump.
Beef prices soared nearly 15% over the year ending in September, data showed. Trump has set off outcry among some ranchers over a plan to import beef from Argentina in an effort to reduce U.S. prices.
Egg prices, a longtime symbol of rising costs, fell almost 5% in September. The price of eggs stands about 1% lower than where it was a year ago. The price of coffee has surged 19% over the past year, the data showed.
The White House touted the September inflation numbers coming in below economists’ expectations on Friday, with Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt posting on social media that they were “good news” for American families.
Leavitt also said on Xthat the ongoing government shutdown would likely result in no inflation report for October, “which will leave businesses, markets, families, and the Federal Reserve in disarray.”
The data arrived more than a week later than originally planned, since the government shutdown has severely hamstrung the release of information about the economy.
The latest acceleration of price increases comes at a wobbly moment for the nation’s economy. In recent months, inflation has picked up while hiring has slowed, posing a risk of an economic double-whammy known as “stagflation.”
The economic conditions have put the Federal Reserve in a bind. If the Fed raises interest rates as a means of protecting against tariff-induced inflation, it risks tipping the economy into a downturn. On the other hand, if the Fed lowers rates to stimulate the economy in the face of a hiring slowdown, it threatens to boost spending and worsen inflation.
Last month, the Fed cut its benchmark interest rate a quarter of a percentage point, opting for its first interest rate cut this year in an effort to revive the labor market.
“It’s a challenging situation when our goals are in tension like this,” Powell said, but he added that the balance of risks had shifted toward greater concern over sluggish hiring.
Policymakers are widely expected to make an additional quarter-point cut when they meet next week, according to CME FedWatch Tool, a measure of market sentiment.
But an elevated inflation reading on Friday could give Fed officials pause, since a rate cut would increase the likelihood of a spike in demand that further drives up prices.
In recent months, tariffs modestly contributed to the uptick in overall inflation, analysts previously told ABC News, but overall price increases owed largely to a rise in housing and food products with little connection to Trump’s levies.
Last week, President Donald Trump threatened 100% tariffs on all China-made goods starting Nov. 1 in response to restrictions placed on rare earth minerals. Beijing has publicly stood firm on the policy, leaving the two sides at an impasse with massive implications for the price of consumer goods imported from China.
