(NEW YORK) — A “potentially dangerous” asteroid the size of a bridge is expected to pass by Earth Monday, NASA said.

The asteroid — called 1994 XD — has a span of 1,500 feet, comparable to that of the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City, according to the space agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. It even has its own satellite that circles it, which was discovered in 2005.

There is currently no danger of the asteroid hitting Earth, with the object passing the planet at a distance of about 1.9 million miles.

That’s roughly eight times the average distance between Earth and the moon but also about 20 times closer than Venus gets at its nearest to Earth.

Although it’s common for asteroids to make relatively close approaches, this is one of the bigger asteroids to do so. Because of its size, NASA has classified it as a “potentially hazardous object.”

1994 XD might be hard to see with the naked eye because it will be passing Earth at roughly 48,000 miles per hour, according to NASA’s Center for Near Earth Object Studies.

Near-Earth objects are entities such as asteroids and comets that orbit the sun like the planets do. This asteroid orbits the planet every 1,310 days, roughly equivalent to about three-and-a-half years.

The asteroid has made several close approaches to Earth in the past and is expected to make at least three more over the next three decades, according to spacereference.org.

1994 XD is not the only asteroid that will pass Earth this week. Two other asteroids, each roughly the size of an airplane, will also pass by Monday. Additionally, one the size of a bus and another the size of a building, will pass by Earth Tuesday.

As of June 1, NASA has discovered 10,472 asteroids that are larger than 460 feet, with an estimated 15,000 left to be found. Overall, 32,103 near-Earth asteroids of all sizes have been discovered.

Additionally, there have been seven asteroids over the last 30 days and 105 over the last 365 days that have passed closer to Earth than the moon, according to NASA.

Recently, NASA has taken steps to purposely stop asteroids in case of a future impact with Earth. In September, the agency performed its first planetary defense mission known as the Double Asteroid Redirection Test, which involved colliding a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with an asteroid to adjust its speed and path.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(HOWELL, Mich.) — A 2-year-old child in Michigan died from an accidental shooting Sunday evening after accessing an unsecured firearm, authorities said.

Police initially responded to the report of a shooting at 6 p.m. in the Rolling Oaks subdivision of Howell, Michigan, according to a statement from the Howell Police Department.

“It was reported that a 2.5-year-old child had gained access to an unsecured firearm that resulted in an accidental shooting,” the release noted.

The victim was transported to a local hospital, where the child was pronounced dead.

The Howell Police Department has not released additional details about the incident, and the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office, which also responded to the incident, declined to provide information as well.

Incidents involving children accessing unsecured firearms are common, with nearly one child shooting themselves or someone else using an unsecured firearm every day, according to gun-violence prevention nonprofit Everytown for Gun Safety.

Between 2015 and 2022, at least 895 children under the age of 5 and preschoolers were able to shoot themselves or someone else, wounding or killing at least 933 children, according to Everytown.

The Howell shooting also comes less than two months after Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed bills requiring safe storage requirements for firearms.

“Universal background checks and safe storage are long-overdue steps we are proud to take today that will save lives by keeping guns out of the hands of criminals and domestic abusers and children in the home,” Whitmer said at the time of the bill signing.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — New York City Mayor Eric Adams signed an executive order Monday protecting gender-affirming health care.

In celebration of Pride Month, Executive Order 32 will protect access to transgender care for people by preventing the use of city resources to detain, prosecute or investigate any individual who is providing or receiving gender-affirming health care services.

“As states across the nation continue their onslaught of attacks on our LGBTQ+ neighbors, New York City is doing what we have always done — standing up for justice and against discrimination,” said Adams in a statement.

He continued, “This executive order reaffirms the fact that hate has no place in our city and that all people deserve the right to gender-affirming care and protection against prosecution for being who they are.”

Gender-affirming care can refer to social affirmation, puberty blockers, hormone therapy and surgical procedures, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

At least 19 states have banned gender-affirming care for transgender youth, with some efforting or implementing restrictions to care for transgender adults, as well.

Supporters of the bans for trans youth argue that transgender people should wait until they are legally adults before making these decisions.

Critics say gender-affirming care restrictions are an infringement on the rights of families to make their own health decisions.

Major national medical associations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and more than 20 others agree that gender-affirming care is safe, effective, beneficial and medically necessary.

“Health care is a basic human right and no one should be punished for providing or seeking care that is essential to a person’s physical, mental and emotional well-being,” said NYC Health + Hospitals President and CEO Mitchell Katz, in a statement.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — The U.S. is nowhere near out of the woods from the dangers of smoke billowing from hundreds of wildfires burning throughout Canada.

A grayish haze continued to linger over much of the Northeast on Monday, nearly a week after the air quality emergency in the region began to confine millions of people indoors.

Philadelphia’s Air Quality Index measured at 101 on Monday morning, or “Code Orange,” which is unhealthy for sensitive groups such as young children, the elderly, pregnant women and those with pre-existing lung and heart conditions, according to AirNow.gov.

New York City teetered toward Code Orange as well, with an AQI of 100 on Monday morning. Other major cities that remained in “Code Yellow,” or “moderate” air quality, included Boston, at 94; Buffalo, New York, at 76; Baltimore at 71 and Washington, D.C. at 65.

Canada suffered an “unprecedented” start of the wildfire season, which will continue to remain severe throughout the summer due to warm and dry conditions, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said last week as more than 400 wildfires burned throughout the country. A fire season outlook issued by the Canadian government last week said “the potential for continued higher-than-normal fire activity across most of the country throughout the 2023” is due to ongoing drought and forecasts for warm temperatures.

There are currently 450 active wildfires burning in Canada, with more than 4.8 million acres burned, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre. More than 220 of the active fires have been deemed out of control, fire officials said.

New York Sen. Chuck Schumer called on Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack on Sunday to double the number of firefighters being sent to Canada in order to prevent a “summer of smoke” in the Northeast.

For weeks, the smoke from wildfires in different regions in Canada has been making its way South. In May, air quality alerts were issued in Montana, Idaho, Colorado and Arizona due to wildfires burning in Alberta. By May 31, smoke from wildfires burning on the other side of the country, in Nova Scotia, led to the first stretch of air quality alerts in the Northeast.

By last week, major cities in the Northeast were breaking records for deteriorating air quality due to wildfires burning in Quebec– with New York City reaching 484, nearly reaching highest end of “hazardous” AQI ratings at 500. The AQI in places like India and China are around 150 on any given day, according to IQAir, a website that publishes air quality data around the world.

As the wildfires continue in Canada and eventually start on the West Coast of the U.S., the smoke being emitted from the heavy flames will continue to compromise air quality as it moves east, experts said.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(EAGLE PASS, Texas) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said authorities will install a floating water barrier to prevent migrants from attempting to cross rivers in heavily trafficked areas of the Rio Grande Valley.

The barrier will be made up of a string of buoys that can be placed and dismantled in different areas throughout the border, Texas Department of Public Safety Director Col. Steven McCraw said at the ceremony.

“We’re securing the border at the border,” Abbott said. “What these buoys will allow us to do is prevent people from even getting to the border.”

The governor announced the initiative at a bill-signing ceremony on Thursday, where he signed six border-related bills.

McCraw said the first 1000-foot stretch will be placed by July 7 in Eagle Pass, Texas, which shares the border with the Mexican city of Piedras Negras. The buoys will range in size but will be about four feet long, he said.

When contacted by ABC News, a spokesperson for the city of Piedras Negras said they had been given no information about the barrier. It’s unclear if any other local Mexican officials have been consulted with or told about the governor’s plans.

The announcement followed the signing of several bills meant to address border security, including one that designates Mexican Cartels as “foreign terrorist organizations.”

McCraw said safety risks were assessed before deciding to place the string of buoys.

“We don’t want anybody getting hurt, in fact, we want to prevent people from getting hurt, prevent people from drowning,” McCraw said.

Rochelle Garza, President of the Texas Civil Rights Project, said the plan would only add to the risks immigrants face when crossing the river.

“Gov. Abbott continues to overreach and violate our U.S. Constitution by meddling in federal immigration and border issues. We need the Federal government to ensure that those seeking the safety of our country are welcomed with dignity. And we need our state government to focus on investing in our border communities. People already face the risk of drowning in the Rio Grande due to plants, debris, and an unpredictable current – these barriers would only add to the danger they already face,” said Garza.

DPS did not respond to a request for comment when asked if it had and information that signaled the placement of the buoys could lead to an increase in deaths for people attempting to swim across.

The current near Eagle Pass can be particularly dangerous. There are areas that are sometimes shallow enough to cross on foot, but sudden drop-offs and a strong current has led to drownings.

Bishop Evans, a sergeant with the Texas National Guard deployed to the border under Gov. Abbott’s Operation Lone Star drowned in April 2021 attempting to save two migrants who appeared to be struggling to stay afloat in the river near Eagle Pass. His family spoke with ABC News as they sought more information from the Texas Military Department.

In June 2021, a spokesperson for the Texas National Guard told ABC News throw-ropes had been ordered but not delivered by the time Sgt. Evans went beyond his duties and dove into the water.

“If it could happen to Bishop, then certainly it could happen to anyone,” Sgt. Evans’ aunt Felisha Pulled told ABC News.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.