1 dead in Washington state flooding as levee breach prompts evacuations
In an aerial view, a person stands atop of property engulfed by floodwater on December 14, 2025 in Snohomish, Washington. Brandon Bell/Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — At least one person is dead in Washington as flash flooding hits the state, prompting evacuation orders in some areas, officials said
A 33-year-old male driver was removed from a vehicle that was “completely submerged in water” at around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday, according to Snohomish County Fire District 4. The driver died after apparently driving past road closure signs into an area that remains flooded, according to officials.
“The vehicle left the roadway and entered a lower farmland/ditch area containing approximately six feet of water. Upon arrival, deputies located the vehicle in the water. Fire Rescue Swimmers made contact with the vehicle and removed the driver from the car,” according to the fire district.
Lifesaving measures were attempted but the driver was pronounced dead at the scene, officials said. There were no other occupants in the vehicle, according to officials.
“At this time, it is unknown whether drugs or alcohol were contributing factors. Positive identification of the decedent, as well as the cause and manner of death, will be determined by the Snohomish County Medical Examiner’s Office,” officials said.
An evacuation order and flash flood warning are currently in effect for Pacific, Washington, on Tuesday due to a levee breach on the White River. This comes after a separate levee breach in Tukwila, a suburb of Seattle located in King County, prompted a flash flood warning and evacuation orders on Monday.
Times of moderate to heavy rain are forecast to move through Washington on Tuesday, with a widespread swath of heavy rain and some thunderstorms arriving late afternoon and through the evening, according to the National Weather Service.
Wednesday will feature snow in the mountains and drier conditions at lower elevations, the National Weather Service said.
ABC News’ Kenton Gewecke contributed to this report
Nick Reiner attends AOL Build Speaker Series at AOL Studios In New York on May 4, 2016 in New York City. (Laura Cavanaugh/FilmMagic)
(LOS ANGELES) — Nick Reiner is expected to appear at an arraignment on Wednesday to enter a plea in the murders of his parents, renowned director Rob Reiner and his wife Michele Reiner.
The 32-year-old faces two counts of first-degree murder with the special circumstance of multiple murders.
Nick Reiner made a brief first court appearance on Dec. 17 and waived the right to a speedy arraignment.
Since his last appearance, sources told ABC News that law enforcement and defense attorneys have been working to piece together Nick Reiner’s psychiatric and substance abuse history. Legal experts say California law allows defense attorneys to signal as early as Wednesday’s hearing whether they will seek to use mental health in their defense.
Nick Reiner has a documented history of addiction and substance abuse treatment, and friends have told investigators that his mental health had been deteriorating prior to the murders.
He could enter a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity Wednesday, though that could also come later.
Under California law, a jury can find a defendant not guilty by reason of insanity, which would result in confinement to a state psychiatric hospital rather than prison. That process can begin at arraignment but is not required to.
To pursue this defense, attorneys must demonstrate that the accused suffered from a mental illness prior to developing an addiction. A mental illness caused solely by addiction does not meet the legal standard.
Nick Reiner’s defense attorney Alan Jackson issued a statement last month, reading: “We ask that during this process, you allow the system to move forward in the way that it was designed … not with jumping to conclusions, but with restraint and with dignity and with the respect that this system and this process deserves and that the family deserves.”
Rob Reiner and Michele Reiner were found stabbed to death in their Brentwood home on Dec. 14.
The night before the murders, Nick Reiner — who had been open about battling drug addiction since he was a teenager, and had been living on his parents’ property — got into an argument with Rob Reiner at a holiday party, and was seen acting strangely, sources told ABC News.
Nick Reiner was taken into custody in downtown Los Angeles hours after the bodies were discovered.
Rob and Michele Reiners’ other children, Jake and Romy Reiner, said in a statement last month, “Words cannot even begin to describe the unimaginable pain we are experiencing.”
“The horrific and devastating loss of our parents, Rob and Michele Reiner, is something that no one should ever experience. They weren’t just our parents; they were our best friends,” they said.
“We are grateful for the outpouring of condolences, kindness, and support we have received not only from family and friends but people from all walks of life,” Jake and Romy Reiner said. “We now ask for respect and privacy, for speculation to be tempered with compassion and humanity, and for our parents to be remembered for the incredible lives they lived and the love they gave.”
Larry Summers, president emeritus and professor at Harvard University, during an interview in New York, US, on Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. Summers earlier this month warned that while financial markets have so far shown limited concern with regard to the Federal Reserve’s independence, the situation “could turn very quickly.” (Photographer: Victor J. Blue Bloomberg via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Larry Summers, a former Treasury secretary under President Bill Clinton and the former president of Harvard University, has resigned from the board of the tech company OpenAI, according to statements released Wednesday.
“Larry has decided to resign from the OpenAI Board of Directors, and we respect his decision. We appreciate his many contributions and the perspective he brought to the Board,” a statement from the OpenAI Board of Directors reads.
Summers’ resignation came just two days after he released a statement saying he was “deeply ashamed” of his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. Summers’ email exchanges with Epstein were released last week by the House Oversight Committee.
No Epstein survivor has alleged wrongdoing by Summers and there is no public record evidence to suggest Summers was involved in any of Epstein’s crimes.
“In line with my announcement to step away from my public commitments, I have also decided to resign from the board of OpenAI,” a statement from Larry Summers said. “I am grateful for the opportunity to have served, excited about the potential of the company, and look forward to following their progress.”
Larry Summers previously announced that he was stepping back from public life after his apparent communications with Epstein were made public.
Summers is currently a member of Harvard’s faculty, according to the Harvard Crimson newspaper. But there have been calls, including from Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, for Harvard to sever ties with him.
Harvard has announced that it will begin a new investigation into Summers’ association with Epstein, according to the Harvard Crimson. The university reviewed its ties to Epstein five years ago, including donations he made to the university.
“I am deeply ashamed of my actions and recognize the pain they have caused. I take full responsibility for my misguided decision to continue communicating with Mr. Epstein,” Summers said in a statement on Monday.
He added, “While continuing to fulfill my teaching obligations, I will be stepping back from public commitments as one part of my broader effort to rebuild trust and repair relationships with the people closest to me.”
It has been previously reported that Summers maintained a relationship with Epstein for many years, particularly during Summers’ term as president of Harvard from 2001 to 2006.
Summers flew at least four times on Epstein’s aircraft, according to flight records made public during litigation against Epstein, and he was the top official at Harvard during a time when the university received millions in gifts from Epstein.
All of those gifts were received prior to Epstein’s guilty plea in Florida in 2008 to charges of solicitation of prostitution with a minor, according to the university’s review of its Epstein connections.
An EBT sign is displayed on the window of a grocery store on October 30, 2025, in Brooklyn, New York. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — New work requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) are set to go into effect on Feb. 1 and it could mean that millions of Americans lose their benefits.
Nearly 42 million Americans, including low-income families and vulnerable households, rely on the federal program to help pay for groceries or other household essentials.
However, under President Donald Trump’s megabill that was signed into law in July, work requirements were amended for most people to receive benefits for longer than three months over three years.
Under the megabill, the upper age limit for those who need to meet work requirements was raised from age 54 through age 64 for the first time for able-bodied adults without dependents.
Additionally, exemptions were changed for parents or other family members with responsibility for a dependent under 18 years old to under 14 years old.
“Millions of people will unnecessarily be kicked off the rolls,” Joel Berg, CEO of the nonprofit Hunger Free America, told ABC News. “They will lose the food they need, and sometimes family members need. … More Americans will go hungry. Soup kitchens and food pantries and the food banks that supply them will not have the resources to meet this need.”
According to August 2025 estimates from the Congressional Budget Office, about 1.1 million people will lose SNAP benefits between 2025 and 2034, including 800,000 able-bodied adults through age 64 who don’t live with dependents and 300,000 parents or caregivers up to age 64 with children aged 14 and older.
An additional 1 million people who are able‑bodied adults ages 18 to 54 — or 18 to 49 starting in 2031 — who do not live with dependents but would have received a waiver from work requirements could also lose benefits.
Exemptions were also removed for homeless individuals, veterans and young adults who were in foster care when they turned age 18 under the megabill.
Berg said it could be very difficult for these populations to not only get jobs but provide the documentation to prove to the government they are meeting work requirements.
“It will be extraordinarily difficult for them, and they are among the most vulnerable Americans already,” he said. “Some of the most vulnerable populations — homeless people, veterans and young people who just left foster care — are going to lose their food, lose their groceries and there is no plan in place to fix that.”
CBO estimates that while there will be reductions in SNAP participation among these groups, it will be partially offset by the increases in participation among American Indians, who received exemptions under the megabill.
Supporters of the work requirements have said they are necessary to combat waste, fraud and abuse. SNAP benefits are administered under the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) by the Department of Agriculture.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said in an interview on Fox Business on Friday that SNAP benefits are meant to be used temporarily and not long-term.
“The American dream is not being on [a] food stamp program,” Rollins said. “The American dream is not being on all these programs. That should be a hand up, not a handout. … As of yesterday, we have moved 1.75 million people off of SNAP. … A stronger economy, higher wages, I mean this is what we’re fighting for every day, not bigger programs, smaller programs. People to have real jobs, real health care, a real opportunity for their children and their grandchildren.”
FNS didn’t immediately respond to ABC News’ request for further comment.
Data from the 2023 American Community Survey shows the majority of American families receiving SNAP benefits had at least one family member working in the past 12 months.
However, work requirements can reduce program participation. A 2021 report from the National Bureau of Economic Research found SNAP work requirements could lead to up to 53% of eligible adults exiting the program within 18 months.
“These work requirements aren’t really about promoting work. They’re about dehumanizing people and attacking the ‘other’,” Berg said. “Most SNAP recipients are pro-work, and most SNAP recipients are already working, or children or people with disability or older Americans. So all this is sort of a diversionary debate.”
