(NEW YORK) — Oranges are synonymous with Florida, but between extreme weather and widespread citrus disease in the sunshine state, the fruit has failed to produce the same yield as years past, sending prices soaring.
Earlier this month the United States Department of Agriculture predicted Florida will produce 16 million 90-pound boxes of oranges, which is a 61% drop compared with last season, when 41 million boxes were produced. The fall is drastic compared to the ’90s, when Florida produced 200 million boxes per year.
Overall food prices rose 9.9% in 2022, according to the USDA, and earlier this year the agency predicted that would increase to 7.1%.
After months of sticker shock at the store and consumer complaints of skyrocketing prices on products like eggs, now orange juice is another pricey pain point.
Orange juice futures — contracts to buy and sell OJ — have nearly doubled over the last year to $2.32 per pound, which has led to price increases at stores.
Earlier this year, fresh orange juice, not from concentrate, hit $10 a gallon, and juice from concentrate hit $6.27 per gallon.
While Florida has long been the top purveyor of orange juice in the U.S., Brazil leads as the top global exporter for orange juice. Shipments from Brazil are up by 58% so far this season, as first reported by Bloomberg.
The damage sustained during hurricane season after Category 4 Ian slammed central Florida’s citrus groves in September further set back production and yield. That paired with extreme weather like deep freezes with a widespread bout of citrus greening disease, which has also plagued some orange juice producers.
According to the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, citrus greening — also known as Huanglongbing (HLB) — is one of the most serious citrus plant diseases with no cure spread by a disease-infected insect that causes crops to produce green and bitter fruits, unusable for sale as fresh whole fruit or juice.
(NEW YORK) — One of the longest commercial flights in the world did a U-turn over the Pacific Ocean to return to its departure airport over 16 hours later because of a closure of New York’s JFK Terminal One.
Air New Zealand 2 took off from Auckland, New Zealand, at 8:00 p.m. local time but rather than arrive at JFK as scheduled 16 hours later, the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner landed back in Auckland at 12:25 p.m. the next day, according to FlightAware. The airplane was more than 2,000 miles from the coast of California when it abruptly turned around to return to New Zealand.
“Due to an electrical fire in Terminal 1 at JFK Airport and the terminal’s subsequent closure, NZ2 Auckland to New York was forced to divert back to Auckland,” a New Zealand Air spokesperson said in a statement.
Specifically asked why the airplane did not land at another U.S. airport, the spokesperson noted that “diverting to another U.S. port would have meant the aircraft would remain on the ground for several days,” which would affect other scheduled flights. The passengers on the flight have been rebooked to the next available service, according to the spokesperson.
JFK Terminal One, which serves over 80 international airlines according to a Port Authority website, closed on Thursday after a small fire prompted a power outage. According to the Port Authority, the terminal remains closed Friday due to continued electrical issues.
When the terminal closed Thursday, the Federal Aviation Administration issued a notice to air missions informing essential airline personnel about the closure; however, the Air New Zealand flight took off before the notice was issued.
When it does arrive at JFK as planned, Air New Zealand 2 has a flight time of roughly 16 hours, making it one of the longest commercial flights offered worldwide.
Thursday’s flight not only brought passengers back to their original departure airport but also landed 55 minutes late, according to FlightAware.
(NEW YORK) — PepsiCo, which releases bottled Starbucks coffee drinks, has announced a recall for one of its products.
Select lots of 13.7-ounce glass bottled Starbucks Frappuccino Vanilla drinks have been voluntarily recalled, a representative for PepsiCo, on behalf of the North American Coffee Partnership, said in a statement to ABC News.
More than 25,000 cases of the glass bottles have been recalled, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The drinks were distributed nationwide.
“The impacted products have best buy dates of March 8, 2023; May 29, 2023; June 4, 2023; and June 10, 2023 and were distributed across the United States,” the statement read. “The removal of these products from the marketplace is currently underway. The products are not sold at Starbucks retail locations.”
The representative did not explain to ABC News why the recall was initiated, though the FDA said it was due to “foreign objects (glass)” in the bottles.
“The North American Coffee Partnership is committed to a high level of quality in the products we serve. Delivering a quality experience to our consumers is our top priority and we always act with an abundance of caution whenever a potential concern is raised,” the statement continued. “If a consumer has purchased a product and has questions or concerns, they can call Consumer Relations at 1-800-211-8307.”
Marvel Studios debuts Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania on Friday.
The movie sees Paul Rudd‘s Scott Lang/Ant-Man, Evangeline Lilly‘s Hope van Dyne/The Wasp, Scott’s daughter, Cassie (Kathryn Newton), and Hope’s parents Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and Janet van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer) sucked into the dangerous subatomic world known as the Quantum Realm.
There they come face to face with Jonathan Majors‘ Kang the Conqueror, a brutal dictator who shares a past with Pfeiffer’s character, who had been trapped there for decades.
Pardon the pun, but both titular size-shifting heroes say there’s been some growth between them.
“I think that he’s kind of grown a lot as over the course of nine years or so that we’ve been doing these movies,” Rudd explains. “He was, you know, brought into this group [The Avengers], has no innate super abilities. But then he went up and fought Thanos. So he’s he’s he’s experienced a thing or two.”
With Thanos vanquished at the end of Avengers: Endgame, Lang “really does want to be a dad … He is happy that most of all of that … seems to be in the rearview mirror.”
Lilly explains of Hope, “Over the course of these three films, I’ve had this incredible arc … where she has … repaired her relationship with her father. She’s reunited with her long-lost mother. She’s fallen madly in love with Scott, and she’s become a stepmom to Cassie.”
Pfeiffer says her character is secretive about the horrors she’s seen in the Quantum Realm, so her survival skills surprise her stranded family. However, the star remains humble about her action scenes, saying with a laugh, “I have no idea what I’m doing.” She says of her Marvel movie hero co-stars, “I just copy what they do.”
Marvel Studios is owned by Disney, the parent company of ABC News.
Rebecca Kiger for The Washington Post via Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — The head of the National Transportation Safety Board said the agency “is working vigorously to understand what caused” the Feb. 3 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.
In a rare series of posts on Twitter on Thursday evening, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy issued “a message to the community” as well as “a plea to those spreading misinformation.”
“To everyone affected: know that @NTSB is working vigorously to understand what caused this train derailment — so it never happens again,” Homendy tweeted. “You have my personal commitment that the NTSB will CONTINUE to share all information publicly as soon as possible following our analysis.”
“Next: NTSB investigators will thoroughly examine the tank cars once decontaminated. As always, we’ll issue urgent safety recommendations as needed,” she continued. “Urgent safety recommendations may be issued at any time; meaning, we don’t wait until the end of our investigation if immediate safety action is warranted.”
She added: “Nothing…nothing is more important than accuracy at a moment like this, which is why the NTSB is deliberate in our approach to investigations. Credibility is ESSENTIAL to our lifesaving mission. The NTSB process WORKS.
Homendy then tweeted: “That leads me to my last point: anyone speculating about what happened, didn’t happen, or should’ve happened is misleading a suffering community — PLEASE STOP SPREADING MISINFORMATION.”
The NTSB chair addressed speculation that a rule on electronically controlled pneumatic (ECP) breaks — if implemented — would have prevented the train derailment, which she said was “FALSE.”
“The ECP braking rule would’ve applied ONLY to HIGH HAZARD FLAMMABLE TRAINS. The train that derailed in East Palestine was a MIXED FREIGHT TRAIN containing only 3 placarded Class 3 flammable liquids cars,” she tweeted. “This means even if the rule had gone into effect, this train wouldn’t have had ECP brakes.”
Finally, Homendy urged members of the public to let her agency lead the investigation.
“Anything else is harmful — and adding pain to a community that’s been through enough,” she tweeted. “But…if this derailment has moved you to want to become a safety investigator, we’d love to have you at the NTSB.”
Earlier this week, the NTSB shared an update on its ongoing probe into the incident, saying “investigators have identified and examined the rail car that initiated the derailment.”
“Surveillance video from a residence showed what appears to be a wheel bearing in the final stage of overheat failure moments before the derailment,” the NTSB said in the investigative update on Tuesday. “The wheelset from the suspected railcar has been collected as evidence for metallurgical examination. The suspected overheated wheel bearing has been collected and will be examined by engineers from the NTSB Materials Laboratory in Washington, D.C.”
On the night of Feb. 3, about 50 cars of a freight train operated by Norfolk Southern Railway derailed in a fiery crash on the outskirts of East Palestine, a tiny village in northeastern Ohio, nestled near the state line with Pennsylvania. Ten of the derailed cars were transporting hazardous materials, five of which contained vinyl chloride, a highly volatile colorless gas produced for commercial uses. There were no injuries reported from the accident, officials said.
Efforts to contain a fire at the derailment site stalled the following night, as firefighters withdrew from the blaze due to concerns about air quality and explosions. About half of East Palestine’s roughly 4,700 residents were warned to leave before officials decided on Feb. 6 to conduct a controlled release and burn of the toxic vinyl chloride from the five tanker cars, which were in danger of exploding. A large ball of fire and a plume of black smoke filled with contaminants could be seen billowing high into the sky from the smoldering derailment site as the controlled burn took place that afternoon, prompting concerns from residents about the potential effects.
A mandatory evacuation order for homes and businesses within a 1-mile radius of the derailment site was lifted on Feb. 8, after air and water samples taken the day before were deemed safe, officials said.
Ohio Department of Natural Resources director Mary Mertz said during a press conference on Tuesday that four tributaries over a space of 7.5 miles along the Ohio River are contaminated, but officials are confident that those waterways are contained and not affecting water supplies. Nevertheless, the contaminated waterways have led to the deaths of some 3,500 fish. None of the 12 different species of dead fish that were detected are considered threatened or endangered, and there was no evidence that non-aquatic life has been impacted, according to Mertz.
Tiffani Kavalec, chief of the Ohio EPA’s surface water division, told reporters on Tuesday that no vinyl chloride or pre-product has been detected in the water. The contamination mostly consists of fire contaminant combustion materials, according to Kavalec.
The office of Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced on Wednesday that the latest tests conducted by the state’s Environmental Protection Agency show five wells feeding into East Palestine’s municipal water system are free from contaminants. But residents with private wells are encouraged to drink from bottled water instead, until their well water has been tested and cleared for consumption, according to the governor’s office.
“With these tests results, Ohio EPA is confident that the municipal water is safe to drink,” DeWine’s office said in a statement. “Because private water wells may be closer to the surface than the municipal water wells, the Ohio EPA recommends that those who receive drinking water from private water wells schedule an appointment for well water testing by an independent consultant.”
During a visit to East Palestine on Thursday, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan emphasized that residents should trust the testing if they’re told it’s safe to move back home. But he said individual families could make different decisions based on their health concerns and that families who haven’t had their homes tested yet should stay away.
“If those homes have been tested and if those homes have been tested by the state and given a clean bill of health, yes, as a father, I trust the science,” Regan told reporters. “I trust the methodology that the state is using. And as a parent, I would.”
“I would encourage every family in this community to reach out to the state or EPA to get their home air quality tested and their water system,” he added. “We have the resources to do it. We want to do it and want people to feel secure and safe in their own homes.”
Regan said the EPA has assisted with the screening of more than 480 homes in East Palestine under the voluntary screening program offered to residents, with no vinyl chloride or hydrogen chloride detected. But he also said that he understands why some residents are questioning the information they’re being provided, while still asking them to “trust” the EPA and reach out to get their residence tested if they have any concerns.
“But for those who can’t,” he added, “I am asking that they trust the government. And that’s hard. We know that there is a lack of trust, which is why the state and the federal government have pledged to be very transparent.”
The EPA administrator also vowed to hold Norfolk Southern Railway accountable.
In an open letter released Thursday, Norfolk Southern Railway President and CEO Alan Shaw stated that the Atlanta-based rail operator has not abandoned East Palestine residents and is committing $1 million to a community support fund as a “down payment” on their contribution in rebuilding the village. He noted the work the company has already started, including cleaning up the derailment site and working to facilitate testing on the water, air and soil in East Palestine.
Earlier this week, Norfolk Southern Railway announced in a statement that it has helped 1,000 families as well as a number of businesses in East Palestine since the Feb. 3 train derailment. The company said it has also distributed $1.2 million to families to cover costs related to the evacuation.
“I hear you, we hear you,” Shaw said in the open letter. “My simple answer is that we are here and will stay here for as long as it takes to ensure your safety and to help East Palestine recover and thrive.”
ABC News’ Victoria Arancio, Peter Charalambous, Brandon Chase, Stephanie Ebbs, Alexandra Faul, Julia Jacobo, Isabella Murray and Alex Presha contributed to this report.
(MEMPHIS, Tenn.) — Five former Memphis police officers accused of murder in connection to the traffic stop beating of Tyre Nichols are due in court for a bond arraignment Friday morning.
The five officers — Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr., Emmitt Martin III and Justin Smith — were fired and arrested on charges including second-degree murder following Nichols’ beating during a Jan. 7 traffic stop.
Nichols, 29, was hospitalized and died three days later.
Graphic footage of the traffic stop was released to the public last month and sparked nationwide outrage.
A sixth officer was fired and a seventh has been relieved of duty in the wake of Nichols’ death. More officers could receive administrative discipline and the district attorney said additional charges could be filed.
At Nichols’ funeral, family attorney Ben Crump said that Nichols’ legacy “will be one of equal justice.”
“It will be the blueprint going forward, because we have to remember that in less than 20 days … they were terminated, they were arrested and they were charged,” he said of the officers.
Nichols’ family is now urging Congress to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which would mandate accountability for police misconduct, address racial profiling and limit use of force for police officers.
(NEW YORK) — Your brain releases feel-good chemicals whenever you are giving, kind, or generous.
Engaging in selfless acts not only serves the people around you, but also gives your mind and body a healthy boost. There’s a term for that warm glow you feel when doing something kind for others: the “helper’s high.”
Kindness is chemical
“The helper’s high is a very real phenomenon,” said Dr. Neha Chaudhary, child and adolescent psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital and chief medical officer at BeMe Health.
Performing an act of kindness stimulates the reward center in our brain, leading to the release of dopamine- the brain’s “feel good” chemical messenger. Dopamine is the same neurochemical behind the euphoric rush produced by exercising, sex, and some recreational drugs.
Being kind also triggers the release of serotonin in the brain, which improves mood and promotes feelings of well-being. Kindness even helps us feel friendlier and more connected by increasing levels of oxytocin- also known as the “love hormone.”
“Scientists think that brains are wired to get a helper’s high as the human species’ way of trying to keep itself alive and thriving through mutual support and less stress for everyone,” said Chaudhary.
The helper’s high is good for your long-term health and well-being
Studies have consistently demonstrated links between the helper’s high and lower levels of cortisol, a stress hormone. Research also shows that giving and kindness are associated with decreased blood pressure, improved self-esteem, less anxiety and depression, and even a longer life.
“Being kind is not only good for our health day-to-day, it might add years to our lives,” said Chaudhary.
The trick is to make kindness a habit
One act of kindness is undoubtedly beneficial, but the physiologic aftereffects are short-lived. To reap the most healthy rewards, repeated acts of kindness are best. Experts say that overtime, those small bursts of feel-good chemicals add up, leading to long-lasting health benefits.
“Think about it: if each and every one of us in the world did one small kind thing for someone else every day, the world would be a much happier, healthier place. Not just because you’d inevitably be a recipient of someone else’s kindness, but because you’d get that boost of feel-good and stress-busting chemicals each day from being kind toward someone else.”
Leah Croll, M.D., is an assistant professor of neurology at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University and an alumnus of the ABC News Medical Unit.
(LONDON) — Nearly 11 days after a massive earthquake and powerful aftershocks rocked southeastern Turkey, two men trapped beneath the rubble have been rescued as the odds of finding survivors diminish by the hour.
Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca posted about the rescues on Twitter, saying both men were pulled alive from the ruins of a collapsed building in hard-hit Hatay province on Thursday evening, 261 hours after the quake.
Mustafa Avci, 33, was rescued first, according to Koca. After initial treatment at a field hospital, Avci was allowed to call a relative whose telephone number he remembered. The health minister tweeted video of the emotional exchange, in which Avci is seen wearing a neck brace and lying on a stretcher as he speaks into a mobile phone held by a rescuer. Avci can be heard asking about his mother and the rest of their family as the man on the other end cries in disbelief. Avci then kisses the hand of the rescuer holding the phone and thanks him.
Hatay’da enkaz altından 261’inci saatte, bu gece kurtarılan Mustafa, tıbbi müdahalenin ardından ilk olarak, telefon numarasını hatırladığı bir yakınını aradı. Kardeşimiz Mustafa’yı bu kadar iyi görmekten çok mutluyuz. pic.twitter.com/t0jrmH0M6r
Mehmet Ali Sakiroglu, 26, was rescued soon after, according to Koca. Sakiroglu was assessed at the field hospital before being transported to the Mustafa Kemal University Hospital in Antakya, where he remains for treatment, Koca said. The health minister tweeted a photo of first responders bringing Sakiroglu into the hospital on a stretcher.
Hayat dolu haberler bu gece birbirini izliyor. Kardeşimiz Mehmet Ali, Hatay’da enkaz altından 261’inci saatte kurtarılan ikinci vatandaşımız. İlk tıbbi müdahalesi Sahra Hastanesinde yapıldı. Şu an Mustafa Kemal Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi Hastanesinde tedavi altında. pic.twitter.com/3WNgR8KkKW
The 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck the region before dawn on Feb. 6 and was followed by hundreds of aftershocks. The quake’s epicenter was in Turkey’s southeastern Kahramanmaras province, not far from the border with Syria. Thousands of buildings were toppled on both sides, according to Turkish and Syrian officials.
The death toll in Turkey and Syria has continued to rise in the days since, reaching 42,000 on Thursday, according to combined figures from both countries.
Although most rescues happen within the first 24 hours after a natural disaster, experts told ABC News that people can survive for up to a week or more while trapped under fallen debris depending on several factors, including weather conditions, the extent of their injuries and whether they have access to air and water.
ABC News’ Kerem Inal and Ellie Kaufman contributed to this report.
(SHREVEPORT, La.) — A Louisiana police officer was charged Thursday in connection with the shooting death of an unarmed man earlier this month, police said.
Shreveport Police Officer Alexander Tyler, 23, was arrested after a review of body camera footage and “other relevant evidence” by the Louisiana State Police Bureau of Investigations, the department said in a statement.
The officer was charged with negligent homicide and was booked into the Caddo Correctional Center, LSP said.
Tyler is accused of fatally shooting 43-year-old Alonzo Bagley, who is Black, on Feb. 3 after he and other officers responded to a domestic disturbance call at an apartment complex where Bagley lived, according to police.
The body camera footage, released by police, appears to show Bagley answering the door with a bottle of liquid in his hand and then walking toward the back of the apartment. Bagley then jumps from the second-floor apartment balcony, fleeing the officers, according to the footage.
Bagley was shot by Tyler, who was running from the other direction.
One round was discharged from Tyler’s service weapon striking Bagley in his chest during the chase, according to the footage. Tyler and the other unnamed officer began rendering first aid shortly after, the footage shows.
Bagley told officers, “Oh god, you shot me,” while slumping onto the ground. He was later pronounced dead at a local hospital.
According to the state police department, “the entire incident took place in approximately 1 minute and 8 seconds.”
Bagley’s family have filed a $10 million lawsuit against Tyler.
The family is currently being represented by Ronald Haley, who also represented the family of Ronald Greene, a Louisiana man who died in 2019 in state police custody. Five Louisiana state police officers have been charged in Greene’s death and are expected to be arraigned in April. State Trooper Kory York’s attorney has previously told ABC News he would plead not guilty.
“Flight does not mean shoot to kill,” Haley said during a press conference Thursday. “Flight does not mean you are the judge, jury and executioner, and that’s what happened. That was what happened in this case…and it is an incident that we see far too often in the state. It’s an incident that we see far too often around this country.”
Tyler’s attorney did not immediately reply to ABC News’ request for comment.
The domestic disturbance call came from Bagley’s wife, and she told the 911 operator that Bagley was “loaded on something” and threatened her and her daughter, according to the audio released by police.
The Shreveport Police Department says their investigation into Bagley’s death is “still active and ongoing.”
Tyler is on paid administrative leave from the police department.
(LOS ANGELES) — Police are investigating after two Jewish men were reportedly shot after leaving religious services in Los Angeles within 24 hours.
The Los Angeles Police Department said in a statement Thursday night that it believes the suspect, who is now in custody, “is responsible for the two shootings in West Los Angeles” on Wednesday and Thursday.
“The facts of the case led to this crime being investigated as a hate crime,” the LAPD said, also adding: “In an abundance of caution, there will continue to be an increased police presence and patrols around Jewish places of worship and surrounding neighborhoods through the weekend.”
According to law enforcement sources, the suspect allegedly has a history of animus toward the Jewish community.
In a statement, the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles said, in part: “We have also learned that the suspect has a history of animus towards the Jewish community and these incidents will be treated as hate crimes. As such, we are encouraged to also have learned that the U.S. Attorney will take the case and file federal charges on civil rights violations.”
The first shooting occurred shortly before 10 a.m. local time on Wednesday, when a man in his 40s was shot while getting into his vehicle, police said. The suspect fired at the victim while driving by, striking him, then took off, police said.
The second shooting occurred Thursday around 8:30 a.m. a couple of blocks from the first incident, when a suspect fired upon a victim at an intersection from a vehicle, police said.
Police described the suspected shooter as an Asian man with a mustache and goatee driving a possible white compact vehicle.
The victims are in stable condition, police said.
Both incidents occurred in LA’s Pico-Robertson area, which is home to many synagogues and religious centers. The victims were leaving houses of worship, according to Jeffery Abrams, regional director for Anti-Defamation League Los Angeles.
The LAPD said it is re-allocating resources “to provide a highly visible and preventative presence in the area.”
“The Los Angeles Police Department is aware of the concern these crimes have raised in the surrounding community,” the LAPD said in a statement Thursday evening. “We have been in close contact with religious leaders as well as individual and organizational community stakeholders.”
The FBI is assisting the LAPD in the case to determine if it was a hate crime.
LA Mayor Karen Bass said her office is monitoring the incidents.
“These attacks against members of our Jewish community are unacceptable,” she said on Twitter.
LA City Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky, who represents the district where both shootings occurred, said that the LAPD will provide “heightened deployment around all Jewish institutions citywide” in the wake of the attacks.
“These two shootings are deeply concerning,” Yaroslavsky said on Twitter. “We have seen a rise in antisemitic attacks in recent months, and while there remain questions on the motivation of these particular shootings, we cannot ignore the pain and trauma that they have triggered in the community.”
Lili Bosse, the mayor of nearby Beverly Hills, also confirmed that police were “placing extra security around our houses of worship in our city.”
The victims were Orthodox Jews leaving their synagogues following morning prayers, according to Agudath Israel of America, an organization representing Haredi Orthodox Jews.
“While we do not yet know who the shooter(s) are, if the cases are related, or what the motivations may have been, Agudath Israel feels that these incidents should be investigated as hate crimes until we know otherwise,” the organization said in a statement earlier Thursday, before police said they believe the cases may be linked. “In the meantime we ask all Los Angeles institutions to be especially vigilant in the days ahead.”
The investigation into both shootings is ongoing, and detectives are looking for surveillance footage and other evidence, police said.
“The Department’s specialized Major Crimes Division has assumed responsibility and is currently interviewing witnesses and pursuing all leads,” LAPD said.
Abrams said the LAPD is working with the Anti-Defamation League amid the investigation into the incidents.
