(NEW YORK) — Federal prosecutors in New York officially dropped charges against Tova Noel and Michael Thomas – the two correctional officers on duty when Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide in a federal lockup there.
In August 2019, Epstein was found dead in his cell in the early hours of the morning at the now-closed Metropolitan Correctional Center, where he was awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
Noel and Thomas allegedly falsified government records and fell asleep on the job according to a November 2019 indictment. Leaders from the federal correctional officers union argued this case was unprecedented and typically would be handled administratively.
In May, the two officers entered into a deferred prosecution agreement – contingent on Thomas and Noel completing community service and having good behavior.
In a Thursday court filing, prosecutors said they were dropping the case, formally ending the prosecution of the two officers.
The Justice Department has yet to release any report regarding the timeframe leading up to Epstein’s suicide or days after.
Documents obtained by ABC News through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request in early December from the Bureau of Prisons do shed a little light on what occurred.
“I have no interest in killing myself,” Epstein told a BOP psychologist two weeks before he died by suicide, according to the documents.
Epstein also previously attempted suicide on July 23, according to the records, which were first obtained by the New York Times.
Included in the records was an e-mail from an unnamed inmate who worked in the kitchen at MCC.
“Jeffrey Epstein definitely killed himself. Any conspiracy theories to the contrary are ridiculous,” this inmate wrote to the BOP. “He wanted to kill himself and seized the opportunity when it was available.”
This inmate told BOP officials he heard Epstein ripping up the bed sheet he used to hang himself.
Former Attorney General William Barr told The Associated Press shortly after the suicide that it was the “perfect storm of screw ups” that lead to his death.
Earlier this week, Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime associate of Epstein, was convicted on five of six counts related to the abuse and trafficking of underage girls.
Maxwell faced a six-count indictment for allegedly conspiring with and aiding Epstein in his sexual abuse of underage girls between 1994 and 2004.
Prosecutors alleged that Maxwell played a “key role” in a multi-state sex trafficking scheme in which she allegedly “befriended” and later “enticed and groomed multiple minor girls to engage in sex acts with Epstein” and was also, at times, “present for and involved” in the abuse herself.
(NEW YORK) — The travel chaos continues for an eighth consecutive day Friday, with almost 1,300 U.S. cancellations as of 11 a.m. ET. The airlines have been grappling with the one-two punch of bad winter weather and a surge in crew COVID cases that have left them short-staffed, and forced airlines to cancel nearly 10,000 flights since Christmas Eve.
Now the Federal Aviation Administration is warning of staffing issues of its own, such as sick air traffic controllers. In addition, the FAA warned on Thursday that weather, holiday traffic and COVID-19 “are likely to result in some travel delays in the coming days.”
“Like the rest of the U.S. population, an increased number of FAA employees have tested positive for COVID-19,” the FAA said in a statement. “To maintain safety, traffic volume at some facilities could be reduced, which might result in delays during busy periods.”
The travel turbulence couldn’t have come at a worse time as millions of Americans travel during what could be the busiest travel period since the start of the pandemic. Roughly 8.5 million fliers are expected to pass through U.S. airports from now until Jan.3, according to estimates from the Transportation Security Administration.
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport has been hit particularly hard this week — holding the No. 1 spot for the most cancellations in the world for three days in a row. Denver International took its place on Friday morning, topping the list with more than 250 cancellations.
Carriers are trying to proactively cancel flights to give travelers time to rebook.
JetBlue Airways, which has seen sick calls in some departments up 200-300% more than average, canceled more than 1,200 flights over the next few weeks.
“While the new CDC guidelines should help get crewmembers back to work sooner, and our schedule reduction and other efforts will further ease day-of cancellations, we expect the number of COVID cases in the northeast — where most of our crewmembers are based — to continue to surge for the next week or two,” the airline said in a statement. “This means there is a high likelihood of additional cancellations until case counts start to come down.”
Delta Air Lines is already planning to cancel 200 to 300 daily flights for the upcoming weekend, citing “increasing winter weather and the omicron variant.”
Thousands of travelers who have had to call the airlines to change their flights have been met with long wait times.
Alaska Airlines was reporting hold times of up to 20 hours on Thursday.
Delta and JetBlue are quoting hold times of one hour and 35 minutes and two hours and 16 minutes, respectively.
On Monday, airlines got their first sign of possible relief when the CDC shortened the isolation period for asymptomatic and fully vaccinated individuals who contract COVID-19 from 10 days to five.
JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes told CNBC Thursday that the new guidelines are definitely going to help, but that “the size of the problem really is just the number of people contracting it.”
“Things are likely to get worse before it gets better,” he said.
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) — While the Biden administration has once again extended the pause on student loan repayments, some progressives said that unless more is done, it could cost Democrats in the midterms in 2022.
The progressive wing of the Democratic Party is sounding the alarm over potentially losing voters and subsequent races due if the campaign promise from the Biden-Harris administration go unfulfilled.
Before the pause was extended, several prominent Democrats voiced their concerns about payments starting again and how it could cost them the midterms.
Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., tweeted, that “forcing millions to start paying student loans again” will cost Democrats the midterms.
The total amount of student loan debt in the U.S. currently stands at $1.75 trillion.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., said it would be “delusional” to believe that Democrats can get reelected without taking action on student debt.
It is actually delusional to believe Dems can get re-elected without acting on filibuster or student debt, Biden breaking his BBB promise, letting CTC lapse, 0 path to citizenship, etc
Esp when they run from convos abt race+culture (which is what 1/6 was abt)
Natalia Abrams, president of the Student Debt Crisis Center, a nonprofit focused on ending the student debt crisis, told ABC News that “Democrats and lawmakers need to be careful because this is something the public has said they want.”
“If you can afford to pause student loan payments over and over again, you can afford to cancel it,” NAACP President Derrick Johnson tweeted after President Joe Biden announced his administration would extend the federal pause on student loan repayment for the third time in December.
Vice President Kamala Harris responded to Ocasio-Cortez’s comment in a recent interview with CBS News, saying that Secretary of Education Cardona is looking into what the Biden administration can do to alleviate the pressure that borrowers are enduring from student loan debt. However, Harris also acknowledged the impact student debt is having on individuals across the country.
“Graduates and former students across our country are literally making decisions about whether they can have a family, whether they can buy a home,” she said.
Harris was then asked if the Biden administration needs to deliver on its promise of forgiving student loan debt before the 2022 midterms in which Harris agreed.
“Well, I think that we have to continue to do what we’re doing and figure out how we can creatively relieve the pressure that students are feeling because of their student loan debt. Yes.”
During the 2020 election, Biden promised to forgive a minimum of $10,000 of federal student loans per borrower.
Additionally, we should forgive a minimum of $10,000/person of federal student loans, as proposed by Senator Warren and colleagues. Young people and other student debt holders bore the brunt of the last crisis. It shouldn’t happen again.
There are two major issues standing in the way of Democrats tackling student debt. First, there’s no agreement within the Democratic Party on who has the power to cancel student debt.
Several Democrats, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Warren, have pushed the Biden admin to use executive authority to cancel federal student loans. Still, the Biden administration has pushed back, saying they do not know if Biden has the authority to do so.
When asked about Biden’s campaign promise to cancel $10,000 of federal student loan debt in mid-December, Press Secretary Jen Psaki said that if Congress sent Biden a bill to cancel student debt, he would be “happy to sign it.”
Back in July, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a press conference that President Biden does not have the legal authority to use executive action to cancel federal student loan debt.
“People think that the president of the United States has the power for debt forgiveness; he does not,” said Pelosi. “He can postpone, he can delay, but he does not have that power, that has to be an act of Congress.”
Another issue that stands in the way of Democrats making any headway on student debt is that there seems to be no consensus on how much to cancel.
Several Democrats, including Schumer and Rep. Ayanna Pressley D-Mass., have urged canceling $50,000 of federal student loan debt, which Biden said he would “not make happen” when asked about it during a CNN town hall in February.
In that same town hall, Biden reiterated his support for canceling $10,000 dollars in student loan debt.
Democrats have about five months before the pause on federal student loans repayment expiries.
“I think one of the best things that Democrats can do to secure midterms would be to cancel student debt,” Abrams told ABC News. “At the very least keep loans on pause.”
GETTY/Helen H. Richardson/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post
(COLORADO) — The wildfires that tore through Boulder County, Colorado Thursday afternoon are an unfortunate example of how climate and weather can combine to disastrous effect.
As with many climate change-amplified disasters, the conditions that set the stage for the explosive and fast-moving fires had been developing and intensifying in the months prior.
It has been very dry and very warm across Colorado for several months with various temperature and precipitation records broken in both Boulder and Colorado as a whole. The period of July 1 to Dec. 15, 2021, was the warmest and driest on record for the city of Denver. The city is also on track to have one of their warmest Decembers on record.
Earlier in the month, Denver set a record for its longest stretch without snow, 232 days. When it finally snowed on Dec. 10, it was the latest measurable amount on record, and was two months later than the average first measurable snowfall. Through the end of December, Denver typically sees around 20 inches of snow. On the evening of the fires on Dec. 30, it had only seen 0.3 inches.
The drought monitor released just hours before the fires showed all of Colorado in drought, with over 22% of the state, including eastern Boulder County, in extreme drought.
While strong wind events are common in Colorado, a wind event with gusts over 100 mph, combined with very dry conditions became a recipe for disaster. Strong wind events in Colorado can also be extremely localized due to several microclimates caused by rapid elevation and terrain changes within the state.
Unfortunately, these conditions were the key player for the rapid and erratic spread of the Marshall fire in Boulder County, which has become the most destructive fire ever in Colorado based on the number of structures destroyed. This makes back-to-back years Colorado has seen its most destructive fire ever. Prior to Marshall fire, Colorado’s most destructive fire was the East Troublesome Fire in 2020.
While it is challenging to link climate change to any single event, or a even a couple events over the years, as the parts of the western U.S. become drier and deal with more extreme temperatures, that events like erratic and rapid fire spread will likely become more common.
(NEW YORK) — The New Year’s Day Powerball jackpot rose to $500 million, up from $483 million. The new jackpot estimate has a cash equivalent of $355.9 million.
The jackpot was raised after no ticket matched all six numbers drawn in Wednesday’s drawing. There have been 37 drawings in a row without a jackpot winner.
“Ticket sales have been strong through the holidays, and we anticipate the majority of ticket purchases for the next drawing will happen on New Year’s Day,” said May Scheve Reardon, Powerball Product Group chair and Missouri Lottery executive director.
The Powerball jackpot was last hit on Oct. 4 in California when a single ticket won a $699.8 million grand prize. This was the fifth largest prize in Powerball history.
Game leaders urged players to check their tickets for one of the nine ways to win.
Wednesday’s drawing produced one winning Match 5 ticket worth $1 million in Georgia and two winning Double Play tickets, worth $500,000 each, sold in Michigan and Puerto Rico.
Powerball will also be holding a special $1 million drawing just after midnight, eastern time, on Jan. 1. The winner will be chosen from five finalists who entered the promotion through their local lottery.
The largest Powerball jackpot hit this year was on Jan. 20 for $731.1 million in Maryland.
(NEW YORK) — The brother of Ghislaine Maxwell says that he denies any possibility that his sister is guilty of the sex trafficking crimes she was convicted of on Wednesday.
Kevin Maxwell, in an American television exclusive, spoke to ABC News a day after a jury convicted his sister of conspiring with and aiding serial sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in his sexual abuse of underage girls.
Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s longtime associate, was convicted Wednesday on five of six counts related to the abuse and trafficking of underage girls between 1994 and 2004.
Kevin Maxwell told ABC News’ James Hill that his sister had been unfairly portrayed as Epstein’s “demon queen” accomplice, and that while accusers’ testimony might have been moving, she should not be pilloried for her longtime associate’s crimes.
“I think that anybody who sat in and listened to the accusers’ testimony — I’m a dad, I’m a brother, anybody, just any normal guy listening to their testimony — is going to have been moved. And I can also understand anger. But that doesn’t mean that I believe for a single second that my sister is guilty of the crimes of which she was convicted,” Kevin Maxwell said.
Epstein, the one-time millionaire financier, died by suicide in jail in 2019.
Ghislaine and Kevin Maxwell are two of the children of controversial British publishing mogul Robert Maxwell, who drowned in the Atlantic Ocean after falling off his yacht in 1991.
Kevin Maxwell sat through his sister’s trial for a substantial portion of the proceedings, often accompanied by her other siblings, Isabel, Christine and Ian. Less than 24 hours after his sister was convicted, he told ABC News that he was “still shocked” at the verdict in what he described as a “tremendous injustice.”
His sister will appeal the verdict, Maxwell said, and he was certain that it would be overturned and that she would be vindicated.
“The reality is that there are myriad jury cases, miscarriages of justice involving juries, where the verdicts have been overturned on appeal. This will just be yet another one,” Maxwell said.
“Because of the, we think, very strong legal grounds and evidential grounds for the appeal, obviously that has to wait for sentencing, so it’s some way off, but the work is already in hand and we’re very confident,” he said.
Though multiple accusers testified that Ghislaine Maxwell had groomed them for Epstein’s abuse — and had at times participated in it herself — Kevin Maxwell pushed back on her role.
“There’s no, simply no, question that there are many victims of Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes,” Maxwell said. “They’re simply not crimes that were committed by my sister.”
Kevin Maxwell would not say if he had anything to tell Epstein’s accusers and those who say Ghislaine Maxwell played a role in abetting Epstein’s crimes.
“I don’t want to use this opportunity to denigrate in any way the evidence that’s been given by those accusers; that’s their evidence,” he said. “As I say, I remain absolutely persuaded of Epstein’s crimes. I’m equally persuaded that my sister will be exonerated on appeal, and these guilty verdicts will be overturned.”
(NEW YORK) — COVID-19 has touched all corners of the world — and fear, anxiety, and grief have followed in its wake. The pandemic has taken a toll on the mental health and well-being of many, due to the climbing death toll, the social isolation, the constant internal monologue for some asking “do I have the virus?” and more, experts say.
Mental and physical health are intertwined and sometimes stress can manifest itself physically, according to experts. So if you’re having migraines, have missed a period, lost hair, or had other irregularities in your daily life, it may be due to pandemic stress, they said.
“Think about it like erosion,” said Craig Sawchuk, a psychologist at the Mayo Clinic, in an interview. “It just leads to wear and tear across time.”
However, there may be other underlying causes for these issues. Ailments that someone experiences during a stressful time should not solely be attributed to stress, and the Mayo Clinic recommends that symptoms be evaluated by a medical professional.
According to psychology experts, when people are under mental stress, there is a fight or flight response from the central nervous system.
Sawchuk said the body uses a high amount of energy to deal with whatever the threat may be, which is why people can experience a rush of adrenaline, an elevated heart rate, increased blood pressure, heavier breathing and tense muscles.
Because of the amount of energy needed to tackle what’s causing stress, vital organs, muscles, and systems steal resources from other non-essential systems in the body, said Kory Floyd, a professor of communication and psychology at the University of Arizona.
“The mind is saying to itself, ‘those systems are important, but they’re not important if our survival is at stake.'” Floyd told ABC News. “When you pull resources away from those systems, they don’t function optimally, which is why we end up with stomach aches or why we end up having a hard time getting pregnant, why we end up with a headache or having a difficult time sleeping.”
When that acute stress lasts for long periods of time — like a pandemic that is almost two years old — it can cause trouble for the less essential systems of the body and disrupt their functions.
“It’s almost like that sympathetic nervous system volume knob has just been cranked this entire time,” Sawchuk told ABC News. “It’s causing other systems to shut down, like digestion and reproduction. This is where you get things like missed periods, low sex drive … hair loss and skin-related problems because we’re not getting into a restoration mode.”
Stress begins to deeply affect people physically. It may look different on every individual, experts say, but some symptoms are more common than others.
“The body can only produce so many symptoms,” Sawchuk said. “When we look at each individual, they may tend to express their distress or experience that stress in different ways. So for some people, it may show up in their skin,” such as acne or psoriasis.
Sawchuk added, “For other people, it may show up in terms of just being exhausted.”
The clinical psychologists interviewed by ABC News say they’ve seen an increase in reports of headaches, migraines and sleep disruptions among patients during the pandemic.
Chronic stress can also cause digestive issues and stomach-related problems. Low sex drive and missed menstruation cycles — that are not caused by pregnancy — may also be signs that stress is starting to disrupt one’s reproductive systems.
One study in the Journal of Dermatological Treatment found that short-term stress-related cases of alopecia areata, an autoimmune disorder that causes hair loss, increased following the start of the pandemic, and researchers expected the number to continue to rise. Other psychiatry-related dermatologic diseases were also expected to rise, including psoriasis and chronic hives.
Aches and pains in the body, especially tension in the jaw and neck may also be due to stress.
Cindy Ackrill, an editor at the American Institute of Stress, says there is no shame in taking steps to alleviate stress and better one’s mental health. These issues won’t be reversed in the blink of an eye, Ackrill says, and there are simple ways to start the process towards healing.
“The first thing is to notice what tends to rev you up and what tends to calm you down,” Ackrill said. “You can start to balance those out again — what depletes your energy, what re-energizes you — so that you can strategize to put those back together in the immediate feeling of stress.”
Experts say leaving stress-related issues unchecked can lead to serious, long-term health problems. If you may be exhibiting symptoms of chronic or intense stress, seek help.
“Look for tiny little differences you can make,” Ackrill advised. “Going to bed five minutes earlier, spending five minutes on the phone with a friend. Look for tiny little shifts you can make that don’t feel like a lot of work.”
Ackrill added, “We live in a world that’s very stressful and we are all on a journey together to figure out how to do it.”
(NEW YORK) — If you were planning to ring in 2022 with a couple dozen of your friends this New Year’s Eve, many officials and health experts are warning against it.
“Omicron and delta are coming to your party,” Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker warned at a press conference Monday. “You need to think twice about how many people will be gathered together.”
From London to Tokyo to Paris and Athens, the latest coronavirus surge has already spoiled many annual festivities across the globe.
This week, San Francisco officials canceled their annual celebration, citing concerns over the nation’s latest COVID-19 surge.
“This rise in cases will impact us in a number of ways—including with staffing levels, which led us to make the tough but right decision to cancel New Year’s Eve fireworks. Despite these challenges, we are focused on providing the necessary services to take care of our City,” Mayor London Breed tweeted.
And in Atlanta, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced the decision to cancel the city’s Peach Drop on Tuesday, following advice from public health professionals.
Nationwide, the U.S. is facing its worst surge on record, with more Americans testing positive for the virus every day than at any other point in the pandemic.
Federal data shows that as of Tuesday, the U.S. is reporting an average of 277,000 new cases a day, shattering the nation’s previous record average of 250,000 cases reported a day, set last January. In the last week, the U.S. has reported nearly 1.9 million new cases.
Coronavirus-related hospitalizations are also steadily rising. More than 90,000 Americans are hospitalized with the virus — a total that has doubled since early November.
Health experts like Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to the White House, have been vocal about their concerns over the nation’s New Year’s Eve celebrations, fearing such events will accelerate viral spread.
“Should you change or cancel your plans? If your plans are to go to a 40 to 50 person New Year’s Eve party with all the bells and whistles and everybody hugging and kissing, and wishing each other a Happy New Year, I would strongly recommend that this year, we do not do that,” Fauci said during a press briefing on Thursday.
Many cities move forward with celebrations, despite ongoing surge
Despite the nation’s record-breaking surge, many cities are still opting to move forward with plans.
Even as New York reported its highest coronavirus cases on record Thursday, with more than 74,000 residents testing positive, thousands of revelers in New York City’s Times Square will welcome the new year with the famous ball drop.
“We want to show that we are moving forward, and we want to show the world that New York City is fighting our way through this,” New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio told NBC Thursday. “It’s really important to not give up in the face of this.”
According to city officials, on average, 58,000 people flock to the annual celebration. However, this year, the festivities will be limited to 15,000 people. The city said it will also require proof of vaccination and attendees will be required to wear masks.
Despite these precautions, Mike Levine, chairman of the New York City Council’s Health Committee, has called for the event to be canceled, tweeting on Wednesday that he “100%” agreed that the city shouldn’t hold its celebration.
However, de Blasio said that there are no plans to cancel the event.
In Nevada, which is now reporting its highest number of new COVID-19 cases in a year, an estimated 300,000 people are expected to attend a New Year’s Eve fireworks show on the Las Vegas Strip.
“We encourage everyone to look out for one another, take personal responsibility and proactively take actions to limit the spread of COVID-19,” said Clark County Commissioner Michael Naft.
Although Chicago will move forward with its annual New Year’s Eve bash, officials are urging prudence, asking residents to stay home if they feel unwell.
“If you think it’s the cold, if you think it’s the flu, it’s probably COVID,” said Dr. Allison Arwady, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health. “We need you to stay home.”
With more than 5,300 people hospitalized across the state, Illinois is now averaging more cases than at any other point in the pandemic.
“I’m not going to be the mom and tell people what they should and shouldn’t do, but I know what I’m going to do,” said Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot. “I’m going to be home watching on my television set and I encourage other people to take advantage of that.”
Officials use New Year’s Eve celebrations to mitigate spread, vaccinate residents
Some cities, like Boston, have announced plans to mitigate the spread of infection at their annual celebrations.
As part of Boston’s First Night event, city workers will distribute 1,000 rapid test kits, and provide a COVID-19 vaccination and booster shots clinic to all people ages 5 and older.
“Welcoming 2022 and gathering to make plans for the new year is an important, healing, joyful ritual and tradition that happens in Boston, and this year, we are making sure that public health leads the way,” Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said at a press conference Thursday.
In Raleigh, North Carolina, officials will offer on-site COVID-19 testing, and require all guests in attendance to show proof of vaccination or a recent negative COVID-19 test.
Fauci stressed on Wednesday that ultimately, small-scale gatherings at home, such as those with close family members and friends, who have all been vaccinated and boosted, are still the safest type of event to hold.
“If you were in a situation with a family setting, in your home, with family, parents, children, grandparents, and everyone is vaccinated and boosted, although the risk is never zero in anything, the risk is low enough that we feel you should continue to go through with those plans,” Fauci said.
(WASHINGTON) — The Biden administration on Wednesday asked the Supreme Court to hear arguments on ending the Trump-era “Remain in Mexico” policy.
The program — formally called the Migrant Protection Protocol — bars asylum seekers from entering the U.S. while immigration courts review their claims. Biden campaigned against the policy, but his administration has hit several legal roadblocks trying to do away with it. Humanitarian organizations have documented high rates of murder, kidnapping and extortion on top of squalid conditions facing those subjected to “Remain in Mexico.”
The program was suspended at the start of the Biden administration, but in August, a federal judge in Texas ordered the administration to resume the protocols after finding the policy change “arbitrary and capricious.”
The Biden administration appealed the ruling, but the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals this month upheld the ruling.
“DHS failed to reasonably consider its own factual findings regarding the benefits of MPP,” the court wrote.
“DHS lacks the resources to detain every alien seeking admission to the United States. That means DHS can’t detain everyone [it] says it “shall” detain. So it’s left with a class of people: aliens it apprehended at the border but whom it lacks the capacity to detain,” they continued.
The Biden administration has acknowledged “Remain in Mexico” likely deterred migrants from coming to the U.S., a concession to Republicans who have cited the temporary repeal of the policy as the driving force behind the record number of arrests at the border. But officials argue the humanitarian consequences outweigh any potential benefits.
In its filing Wednesday, the Biden administration asked for an expedited briefing to allow for arguments in the case in the court’s April sitting.
ABC News’ Quinn Owen and Luke Barr contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — Jeep evangelists listen up: Your rugged adventure mobile is going silent.
The gas-guzzling SUVs that have rolled off Jeep’s assembly lines for 80 years will be recast as “green” vehicles that live up to the brand’s off-roading reputation, according to Christian Meunier, the global CEO of Jeep.
Meunier’s ultimate goal? For Jeep to become a “zero-emission freedom brand.”
First up: The Wrangler 4xe, a plug-in hybrid that went on sale this year and already accounts for nearly 25% of Jeep’s volume. The 4xe makes 375 horsepower and has an EPA fuel economy of 49 MPGe (miles per gasoline-gallon equivalent, including electricity). Drivers get 21 miles of electric-only driving range when the 14.0-kWh lithium-ion battery is charged. Under the hood is a 2.0-liter turbocharged inline four-cylinder engine.
The Wrangler 4xe outsold the Prius in the first-quarter of 2021 and is now the No. 1 PHEV in the country. The Grand Cherokee 4xe arrives next year.
“The 4xe could make Jeep die-hards change their mind about leaving [internal combustion engines],” Meunier told ABC News. “When you drive electric Jeeps you fall in love with them.”
He added, “A lot of torque is awesome for off-road driving. It’s cool to be green.”
Electrification may be Jeep’s future — with a few exceptions. EPA fuel economy estimates of the newly launched Rubicon 392, the most powerful Wrangler with a mighty 6.4-liter Hemi V8 engine that produces 470 hp and 470 lb.-ft. of torque, clock in at 13 mpg (city) and 17 mpg (highway).
“The 392 is more of a niche market — 3% of total Wrangler sales. So very limited in volume and very exclusive,” Meunier said.
Jeep also reintroduced its iconic Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer to compete in the increasingly cutthroat luxury three-row SUV category. Moreover, Meunier and his team are aggressively targeting drivers in key markets — Europe, China and Latin America — to expand Jeep’s customer base. North America makes up two-thirds of Jeep’s global sales.
“There is a very big product offensive across the globe … [our] reliance on North America is getting less and less every day,” Meunier said.
Meunier spoke to ABC News about where the brand is headed and how to get more Americans to accept EVs. The interview below has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Christian, you want to make Jeep the greenest SUV brand in the world.
A: Our vision is really to be the zero-emission freedom brand and we have a plan to get there. It’s clearly a commitment to say we’re the greenest SUV brand in the world. Twenty-five percent of our sales in the U.S. are 4xe. I think next year it will be more. The 4xe is the most capable Wrangler. We’re pretty confident that we’re going to be the greenest, the most electrified SUV brand at a global level, which is a big departure from where Jeep was a few years ago.
When are we going to see an all-electric Jeep in the U.S.?
A: That’s a good question. The only thing I can tell you is that by 2025 we’ll have a BEV [battery electric vehicle] in every single segment and pretty much across the globe. And the first [all electric] Jeep will be launched at the end of next year.
We brought the Magneto [Jeep’s BEV concept] and 4xe to the Easter Jeep Safari in Moab. A lot of the hardcore off-roaders told us that the torque … of the Magneto and 4xe could make them change their mind about leaving ICE [vehicles].
Does Jeep feel extra pressure to produce an all-electric Wrangler to compete in the off-roading space? There is the Rivian R1T, GMC Hummer EV and upcoming Ford F-150 Lightning.
A: We will do it. The question is when and how. We’re full speed ahead on electrification. It’s an obvious thing for Jeep to accelerate the electrification for Wrangler and the other models.
Magneto was really a concept test … we wanted to have an impression from our community. We value enormously the community input and feedback. We have a lot of interaction with them.
How do you get Americans to buy EVs?
A: I think it will take a little bit of time. It takes product to prove that it’s equivalent or better and it doesn’t create annoyance. I think Americans enjoy their freedom and want to be able to use their cars whenever they want. And they want to drive as many miles as they want. When the technology is good they’ll jump on it. Americans are very open to [EVs] as long as it makes their lifestyle equal or better.
Which model in your opinion is the most important for the brand?
A: The two most iconic products that exist today when you talk about Jeep are Wrangler and Grand Cherokee. The Grand Cherokee is a wildly civilized machine. The best-selling Jeep in the U.S. is the Grand Cherokee with 250,000 units. Wrangler is No. 2, with 213,000 units. We’re off to a strong start with Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer — a premium extension of what Jeep is about.
Ford and Land Rover are determined to steal market share from the Wrangler with the Bronco and Defender. Have Jeep owners defected from the company? How can the Wrangler keep ahead of the competition?
A: The Wrangler has never sold as quickly as right now. We have zero stock on the ground and dealer inventory. Competition is healthy — it creates more visibility to a segment and it puts Wrangler more on the radar as well. It forces us to become better, come up with new ideas, new technologies. We’re not afraid of competition, it’s good. Is there a little cross shopping? Maybe. We don’t see a lot of defection from the Jeepers to Ford or another brand.
What is the biggest challenge facing every automaker right now?
A: The biggest challenge is — I would say there are many of them. We have raw materials going through the roof. Steel prices. Precious metal. Inflation in the materials we use to build cars so that puts pressure on the cost side. We have the microchips shortage which is a challenge for everyone. It forces us to be innovative and engineer cars with alternative solutions. The cost of electrification is quite high. We cannot pass everything to the customer so that puts pressure on us. We’re working with a lot of economies of scale to mitigate these issues. A lot of headwinds on the cost side.
So does that mean Jeep will have to raise prices on all vehicles next year?
A: It’s not only about pricing. It’s also about making sure we’re more efficient in the way we build cars.
