11-year-old girl rescued as sole survivor of shipwreck off Italian coast
John M Lund Photography, Inc./ Getty
(ITALY) — An 11-year-old girl was miraculously rescued after three days of being stranded at sea when a shipwreck off Italy’s Lampedusa island is believed to have killed the remaining passengers on the vessel.
Germany’s CompassCollective, the charitable organization that rescued the girl at 3 a.m. on Wednesday, said its boat was en route on a different rescue operation when they heard her shouting from the water.
“It was an incredible coincidence that we heard the child’s voice despite the engine running,” Skipper Matthias Wiedenlübbert said in a press release detailing the rescue.
The shipwrecked metal boat, which had initially set off from Sfax, Tunisia, was caught in a storm that lasted several days in the central Mediterranean, according to the release.
There were an estimated 45 passengers onboard the ship before it sank, the organization said.
The 11-year-old girl said she drifted in the water for three days with two improvised life rings made from air-filled inner tubes and a simple life jacket.
She survived without any drinking water or food and despite suffering from hypothermia, she was “responsive and oriented,” according to the release.
The girl told the organization she had been in contact with two other passengers in the water two days after the shipwreck, but that the contact had broken off.
After receiving medical attention, the girl was moved to a migrant holding center in Lampedusa where Italian Red Cross staff were looking after her, according to the organization.
CompassCollective’s Katja Tempel said the rescue signals an ongoing crisis for migrants embarking on dangerous journeys by boat in attempts to get to Europe.
“Even in storms, people are forced to use risky escape routes across the Mediterranean. We need safe passages for refugees and an open Europe that welcomes people and gives them easy access to the asylum system. Drowning in the Mediterranean is not an option,” Tempel said in the release.
According to data from the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the migration route between Tunisia, Libya, Italy and Malta is one of the most dangerous passages in the world with over 24,300 people disappearing or dying since 2014.
“The persisting humanitarian crisis in the central Mediterranean is intolerable,” IOM Director General António Vitorino said in 2023. “With more than 20,000 deaths recorded on this route since 2014, I fear that these deaths have been normalized,” he added.
(NEW YORK) — The climate crisis is not a distant threat; it’s happening right now and affecting what matters most to us. Hurricanes intensified by a warming planet and drought-fueled wildfires are destroying our communities. Rising seas and flooding are swallowing our homes. And record-breaking heat waves are reshaping our way of life.
The good news is we know how to turn the tide and avoid the worst possible outcomes. However, understanding what needs to be done can be confusing due to a constant stream of climate updates, scientific findings, and critical decisions that are shaping our future.
That’s why the ABC News Climate and Weather Unit is cutting through the noise by curating what you need to know to keep the people and places you care about safe. We are dedicated to providing clarity amid the chaos, giving you the facts and insights necessary to navigate the climate realities of today — and tomorrow.
Biden bans offshore oil and gas drilling in 625 million acres of ocean
Just days before he leaves office, President Joe Biden is taking executive action to ban offshore oil and gas drilling in more than 625 million acres of ocean.
Using a provision in the 1953 Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act that gives the president the authority to ban drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf ocean zone, Biden declared the entire U.S. East Coast, the eastern Gulf of Mexico, the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California and portions of the Northern Baring Sea in Alaska off limits to future oil and natural gas leasing.
“My decision reflects what coastal communities, businesses, and beachgoers have known for a long time: that drilling off these coasts could cause irreversible damage to places we hold dear and is unnecessary to meet our nation’s energy needs. It is not worth the risks,” Biden said in a statement.
The decision is not unprecedented. President Barack Obama used the act to ban oil and gas production in parts of the Arctic and North Atlantic oceans. And President Donald Trump used it to prohibit drilling off both Florida coasts and the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina. Trump also tried to overturn the Obama decision in 2019, but a U.S. District Court judge ruled that it would require an act of Congress to undo the ban. With that ruling, Trump may have difficulty ridding himself of the ban.
Environmental groups are praising the decision, and one senior administration official told ABC News that the ban is “one of the most significant climate actions the president could take” regarding climate protection and natural resource protection.
The American Petroleum Institute panned the move, saying, “American voters sent a clear message in support of domestic energy development, and yet the current administration is using its final days in office to cement a record of doing everything possible to restrict it.”
The group, which represents America’s natural gas and oil industry, is urging “policymakers to use every tool at their disposal to reverse this politically motivated decision and restore a pro-American energy approach to federal leasing.”
But Biden is pushing back on the criticism, and the White House says hundreds of municipalities and thousands of elected officials have formally opposed offshore drilling in these areas because of health, environmental and economic threats.
“We do not need to choose between protecting the environment and growing our economy, or between keeping our ocean healthy, our coastlines resilient, and the food they produce secure and keeping energy prices low. Those are false choices,” Biden added in his statement.
While the eastern Gulf of Mexico is considered a lucrative region for drilling, the oil and gas industry has not shown much interest in developing some of the other areas receiving the new protection. And there’s been bipartisan pressure to protect many of these locations as many legislators don’t want oil platforms near their beaches.
-ABC News Climate Unit’s Matthew Glasser and ABC News White House Correspondent MaryAlice Parks
Could the UK be a model for clean electricity production?
When it comes to curbing climate change, scientists have been clear. The world needs to stop burning fossil fuels. However, much of the world still depends on significant amounts of oil, gas and coal for its energy needs.
England kicked off the coal power revolution in 1882 and, for the next 142 years, burned the greenhouse gas-emitting energy source. But last year, the U.K. became the first G7 country to phase out coal power plants. When the Ratcliffe-on-Soar plant in Nottinghamshire closed in September, it marked the end of an era for the most-polluting fossil fuel in that region.
A new analysis by Carbon Brief, a U.K.-based climate publication, found that by eliminating coal and adopting more clean energy sources, the U.K. has significantly cleaned up its electricity generation, meaning it’s generating the least amount of greenhouse gas emissions in its history.
According to the analysis, in 2024, renewable energy sources reached a record-high 45% in the country, while fossil fuels made up 29%. Nuclear energy accounted for another 13%. Over the last decade, renewable energy sources have more than doubled. As a result, carbon emissions have plunged by two-thirds over that time.
While gas-fired power plants are still the U.K.’s single-largest source of electricity, wind power has almost caught up. However, the analysis found that when new wind projects come online in the coming months, the U.K. will likely generate more power from wind than gas in 2025.
While the incoming Trump administration calls for more drilling and fossil fuel use, including coal, in the United States, the U.K. just had its cleanest year ever for electricity generation. The combination of sunsetting coal power plants and increasing the amount of renewable energy is moving the country in the direction scientists say is crucial for stopping the worst impacts of human-amplified climate change.
-ABC News Climate Unit’s Matthew Glasser
New York will make polluters pay for climate change damage
New York State is establishing a “Climate Superfund” that will make companies that release large amounts of greenhouse gas emissions financially responsible for some of the damage that climate change caused to the state’s infrastructure, communities and ecosystems.
On Thursday, Gov. Kathy Hochul, signed a bill into law requiring large fossil fuel companies to “pay for critical projects that protect New Yorkers.” Citing the hundreds of billions of dollars the state will have to spend on climate adaptation through 2050, the law requires that the companies responsible for most carbon emissions, more than a billion metric tons, between 2000-2018 pay nearly $3 billion annually for the next 25 years.
“With nearly every record rainfall, heatwave, and coastal storm, New Yorkers are increasingly burdened with billions of dollars in health, safety, and environmental consequences due to polluters that have historically harmed our environment,” Hochul said in a press statement.
The new law calls climate change “an immediate, grave threat to the state’s communities, environment, and economy.” According to NASA, 97% of climate scientists believe human activity, specifically burning fossil fuels, is the primary driver of climate change and global warming. And those changes to the climate have resulted in more intense and more frequent extreme weather events.
The New York legislature said the “Climate Superfund” was now possible because scientific research enables them “to determine with great accuracy the share of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere by specific fossil fuel companies over the last 70 years or more, making it possible to assign liability to and require compensation from companies commensurate with their emissions during a given time period.”
“The governor’s approval of the Climate Change Superfund Act is a welcome holiday gift for New York taxpayers,” said Blair Horner, executive director of the New York Public Interest Research Group, in a statement. “Until her approval, New York taxpayers were 100% on the financial hook for climate costs. Now Big Oil will pay for much of the damages that they helped cause.”
The state anticipates collecting up to $75 billion over 25 years, and the law requires that at least 35% of the funds go to disadvantaged communities.
New York State Senator Liz Krueger said the new legislation was modeled after the federal Superfund law that requires polluters to pay for toxic waste cleanups.
But not everyone is cheering the new legislation. In a letter to Gov. Hochul, urging her to veto the bill, the Business Council of New York State, which represents more than 3,000 companies, chambers of commerce and associations, wrote, “The bill discriminates by targeting only the largest fossil fuel extraction and processing firms, including petroleum, natural gas, and coal.”
The Council added, “This legislation ignores the near universal use and benefits associated with fossil fuel.” They argued that the new law would do nothing to address what they said is the primary cause of carbon emissions: “consumption.”
There are still a lot of specifics that have yet to be determined, and the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation is responsible for figuring out the program’s details over the next few years. With legal challenges all but certain, it will be some time before the companies actually have to pay up.
-ABC News Climate Unit’s Matthew Glasser
Could climate change bring more earthquakes?
Earthquakes are usually triggered by seismic activity deep beneath the Earth’s surface and far beyond the influence of atmospheric conditions. However, according to new research, there may be instances where climate change can impact seismic activity.
A recent Colorado State University study suggests that melting glaciers could impact earthquake activity in some areas. Researchers analyzed southern Colorado’s Sangre de Cristo Mountains during the last ice age. They found the active fault responsible for triggering earthquakes was held in place by the weight of glaciers sitting on top of it.
Thousands of years ago, as the last ice age ended and the planet began to naturally warm, glaciers in this region began to melt. The study found that as the ice melted, there was less pressure on the quake-prone fault, which triggered an increase in earthquake activity. Basically, the glacier was holding the fault in place — less ice, less weight.
There is limited scientific evidence linking changes in Earth’s climate to earthquake activity. Still, this study demonstrates that, in some cases, climate-related events, like melting glaciers, could influence seismic events.
Sean Gallen, Geosciences associate professor and senior author of the study, highlights that this research helps us better understand the factors that can drive earthquakes.
Even though the study focused on investigating links between Earth’s natural climate variability (an ice age) and seismic activity, this research shows how other glacier-adjacent faults worldwide could respond as greenhouse gas emissions accelerate global warming.
As human-amplified climate change continues to drive global glacier melt, earthquake activity along these faults could increase as glaciers recede.
“We see this in the rapid mountain glacial retreats in Alaska, the Himalayas and the Alps,” said Cece Hurtado, an author of the study. “In many of these regions, there are also active tectonics, and this work demonstrates that as climate change alters ice and water loads, tectonically active areas might see more frequent fault movements and earthquakes due to rapidly changing stress conditions.”
(LONDON) — A ceasefire went into effect at 4 a.m. local time Wednesday morning after Israel’s Cabinet approved the U.S.-backed proposal to end the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah after prolonged negotiations.
The Israel Defense Forces continues its intense airstrike and ground campaigns in Gaza, particularly in the north of the devastated Palestinian territory.
Tensions also remain high between Israel and Iran after tit-for-tat long-range strikes in recent months and threats of further military action from both sides.
Biden says US to make ‘another push’ on Gaza ceasefire
President Joe Biden said Wednesday that the U.S. “will make another push with Turkey, Egypt, Qatar, Israel and others to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza” over the coming days, following the success of ceasefire talks in Lebanon.
Negotiations, Biden said in a post to X, must end “with the hostages released and an end to the war without Hamas in power.”
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Lebanon PM confirms ceasefire acceptance
Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati confirmed Lebanon’s acceptance of the ceasefire in an address on Wednesday.
“We affirm the government’s commitment to implementing Security Council Resolution 1701 in all its provisions,” he said, referring to the 2006 U.N. Security Council measure that sought to end the last bout of cross-border fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.
Resolution 1701 stipulated that Hezbollah must withdraw all forces north of the Litani River and that all Israeli forces must leave — and no longer violate the sovereignty of — Lebanon.
Mikati did not address the separate U.S.-Israeli agreement backing Israel’s right to continue to strike anywhere in Lebanon if deemed necessary for self-defense.
-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz and Somayeh Malekian
Hezbollah allies welcome Israel ceasefire
Hezbollah allies on Wednesday praised the group for securing its ceasefire deal with Israel.
In a press conference Wednesday morning, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said Tehran supports “ending Israel’s aggression against Lebanon as a part of the ceasefire.”
Iran — the founder and director of the so-called “Axis of Resistance” of which Hezbollah is a key element — maintains “unwavering support for the Lebanese government, people and resistance,” Baqaei said.
Hamas, meanwhile, said in an official statement that it welcomed the ceasefire and praised Hezbollah’s support of Palestinians, as well as the “great sacrifices” of the group’s members including late leader Hassan Nasrallah.
Israel’s acceptance of the deal, Hamas added, is a “milestone” in “destroying” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “illusions of changing the map of the Middle East by force and his illusions of defeating or disarming the resistance forces.”
Yemen’s Houthis — who have been attacking shipping and launching long-range strikes into Israel — also praised Hezbollah’s “steadfastness,” framing the ceasefire deal as an Israeli defeat.
“The conflict with the Zionist enemy is an inevitable conflict and the wars with it are rounds in a conflict that will inevitably end with its demise,” the Iran-backed group said in a statement.
-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz, Samy Zyara and Somayeh Malekian
IDF attacked ‘dozens’ of targets in hours before ceasefire
The Israel Defense Forces said its warplanes bombed “dozens” of Hezbollah targets across Lebanon in the hours leading up to the Wednesday morning ceasefire.
The IDF said in a post to social media that the targets included “Hezbollah command centers, launchers, weapons storage facilities and terrorist infrastructure sites in Beirut, Tyre and Nabatieh.”
The IDF also struck “several smuggling routes between Syria and Lebanon, which were used by Hezbollah to smuggle weaponry,” the force said.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Lebanese army preparing to deploy south after ceasefire
The Lebanese Armed Forces said in a Wednesday morning statement that it was “taking the necessary measures to complete the deployment in the south as mandated by the Lebanese government” after the ceasefire deal with Israel came into effect.
The ceasefire agreement stipulates that Lebanese troops will take up positions in the south of the country and prevent the return of Hezbollah forces — who are expected to withdraw north of the Litani River — to the area.
LAF commander General Joseph Aoun met with caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Wednesday to discuss the security situation in the south of the country, a statement posted to Mikati’s X channel said.
The LAF is expected to deploy around 5,000 troops to the area as part of the 60-day ceasefire. United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon soldiers will remain in southern Lebanon to assist.
Israeli troops are expected to withdraw from their positions in south Lebanon in phases during the same timeframe.
-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti
Israel ceasefire ‘a test for all Lebanese,’ parliament speaker says
Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri said in a Wednesday address that the nascent ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah is “a test for all Lebanese, from all sects, to save their country and protect its constitutional institutions.”
Berri — the leader of the Hezbollah-allied Amal Movement who has been negotiating on Hezbollah’s behalf — said the Lebanese “people were able to neutralize the effects of the Israeli aggression” and saluted late Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in September.
“We call on all our displaced people in all our regions and the sister countries that hosted them to return,” Berri added. “We are in dire need of national unity among all the Lebanese people.”
Berri called for the “speedy election” of a new Lebanese president and thanked all those “who contributed to the ceasefire.”
Hezbollah is yet to issue any official statement on the ceasefire, which went into effect at 4 a.m. local time Wednesday.
-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz and Joe Simonetti
IDF fires on vehicle in south Lebanon after ceasefire begins
The Israel Defense Forces said Wednesday its troops fired on a vehicle carrying several people “in a zone prohibited for movement in Lebanese territory” shortly after the ceasefire came into effect at 4 a.m. local time.
“IDF troops fired to prevent them from advancing and the suspects left the area,” the IDF wrote in a post to X.
The Israeli air force, it said “remains ready to act across Lebanese territory” while the Israeli air defense network “is also in a high state of defensive readiness.”
“The IDF will act against anyone who tries to violate the ceasefire agreement and will not allow damage to the security of the residents of Israel,” the force wrote.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
IDF warns southern Lebanese not to return home despite ceasefire
Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Avichay Adraee said Wednesday morning that Lebanese civilians who fled their homes in the south of the country should not return to their homes until told to do so, despite the start of the ceasefire.
Twenty minutes after the ceasefire came into effect, Adraee said in a post to X that the IDF remains “positioned in its posts in southern Lebanon.”
“Do not approach the villages that the IDF has evacuated or IDF soldiers in the area,” he wrote. “For your safety and the security of your families, avoid entering the area.”
“We will update you when it is safe to return to your homes,” Adraee added.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah is now in effect
The ceasefire went into effect at 4 a.m. local time Wednesday morning.
Representatives of Hezbollah still have not said anything on the record about the agreement.
When submitting the deal for approval, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the deal still relies on the actions of Hezbollah.
“The duration of the ceasefire depends on what happens in Lebanon,” Netanyahu said in the statement. “We will enforce the agreement and respond forcefully to any violation. We will continue together until victory.”
Strikes reported in central Beirut minutes after ceasefire deal announced
There were reports of strikes in central Beirut minutes after President Joe Biden finished speaking, announcing a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah.
The ceasefire is set to take effect at 4 a.m. local time Wednesday.
-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz
Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire will begin at 4 am local time on Wednesday
A ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah will begin at 4 a.m. local time on Wednesday under a U.S.-brokered deal, President Joe Biden announced Tuesday.
“Israel did not launch this war. The Lebanese people did not want this either,” Biden said in an address Tuesday.
“This has been the deadliest conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in decades,” Biden said.
Biden warned that Israel “retains the right to self-defense” if Hezbollah or anyone else attacks Israel.
Biden also called for a ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza. The U.S. is working with Egypt, Turkey and other partners to attain a ceasefire in Gaza, Biden said.
“The people in Gaza have been through hell,” Biden said.
Israel’s cabinet has approved the U.S.-backed ceasefire proposal between Israel and Hezbollah.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had submitted the proposal to the cabinet for approval Tuesday.
Far-right Israeli Minister Ben Gvir was the only minister who voted against deal. The 10 other ministers in the cabinet voted in favor of the deal.
Netanyahu thanked President Joe Biden for “the US involvement in achieving the ceasefire agreement,” and for “the understanding that Israel will maintain freedom of action in its enforcement,” a statement said.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Gaza’s Civil Defense stops operating in Gaza City due to lack of fuel
Gaza’s Civil Defense vehicles — which serve emergency functions like search and rescue operations — are no longer operating in Gaza City because the agency is out of fuel, it announced Tuesday.
Gaza’s Civil Defense stopped operating in northern Gaza on Oct. 23.
More than 44,000 people have been killed and over 104,000 injured in Gaza since Oct. 7, the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health said Tuesday.
Israeli strikes hit Beirut, southern Lebanon, as ceasefire talks continue
At least seven people were killed and 37 were injured in Israeli strikes on the Dahieh area of Beirut on Tuesday as Israel continued to strike multiple areas throughout Lebanon, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health.
The strikes come amid reports of Israel and Hezbollah nearing a ceasefire agreement.
The Israel Defense Forces issued multiple evacuation orders for areas in the southern suburbs of Beirut and areas in southern Lebanon, including nine warnings about strikes in the Dahieh area of Beirut.
Hezbollah fired 45 projectiles toward Israel on Tuesday, the IDF said. One person was seriously injured after one of the rocket salvos landed in the Haifa and Krayot area of Israel, Israeli emergency services said.
-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz and Jordana Miller
Israel strikes 20 targets in Beirut
Israel said it conducted strikes on 20 targets in Beirut, including components of Hezbollah’s military and financial systems.
“Among the targets struck were a Hezbollah aerial defense unit center, an intelligence center, command centers, weapons storage facilities, an operations room, an artillery storage facility, and terrorist infrastructure sites,” Israel said in a statement.
Israel also targeted Al-Qard Al-Hassan Association — a nonprofit that gives out loans — alleging it is used by Hezbollah to collect and store funds.
Israel had sent evacuation orders about 20 minutes before the strikes hit. The IDF said they are attacking Hezbollah in Beirut on “a large scale.” Black smoke was still visible and covering part of Beirut hours later.
The strikes began just minutes before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was set to meet with his cabinet to discuss a cease-fire deal with Hezbollah.
Earlier Tuesday, there were three other strikes in Beirut.
Israel bombs Beirut suburbs again
Fresh airstrikes shook Beirut’s southern Dahiya suburbs on Tuesday morning, with the Israel Defense Forces claiming to have targeted six Hezbollah targets including infrastructure sites used by the group’s coast-to-sea missile unit.
The IDF said it struck around 30 Hezbollah targets in Dahiya over the past week. The suburb — parts of which are close to the city’s international airport — is known as a Hezbollah stronghold and has borne the brunt of months of near-daily airstrikes on the Lebanese capital.
The strikes followed soon after an IDF warning for residents to evacuate parts of Dahiya.
Lebanese authorities said that 3,768 people in Lebanon had been killed by Israeli strikes as of Sunday.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Israel says troops reached Lebanon’s Litani River
The Israel Defense Forces said Tuesday that its forces conducted operations near Lebanon’s Litani River — the waterway around 18 miles of the Israeli border which Israeli leaders have demanded serve as a buffer keeping Hezbollah units out of the country’s south.
Reaching the Litani would mark the deepest penetration of Israeli forces into Lebanon since the IDF withdrew from the country in 2000. Israeli troops did not push up to the Litani in the 2006 war with Hezbollah.
Soldiers “raided several terrorist targets, engaged in close-quarters combat with terrorists, located and destroyed dozens of launchers, thousands of rockets and missiles and weapons storage facilities” in operations in the Litani River region, the IDF said in a post to X.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Lebanon death toll rises ahead of possible cease-fire
Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health said Tuesday that the death toll from Israel’s military operations in the country had risen to 3,768 people as of Sunday.
Another 15,699 people have been wounded since renewed fighting between the Israel Defense Forces and Hezbollah began on Oct. 8, 2023, the ministry said.
Israel continued airstrikes on Monday night and Tuesday morning even amid reports of an imminent cease-fire deal. Lebanon’s National News Agency reported six people killed in multiple attacks in the southern Nabatieh Governorate.
IDF spokesperson Avichay Adraee also issued fresh evacuation warnings for Beirut’s southern Dahiya area on Tuesday morning ahead of planned airstrikes there.
-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz
Details of Israel-Hezbollah cease-fire deal emerge
A cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah would begin soon after its announcement, with the aim of achieving a permanent cease-fire after 60 days, according to an Israeli source with knowledge of the potential deal.
The U.S. will head a committee, joined by French and Arab partners, to monitor and verify the implementation of the ceasefire, the source said.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will hold a security cabinet meeting Tuesday to discuss the deal and hold a cabinet vote, Israeli officials said.
There is almost unanimous support in the cabinet for the U.S.-brokered cease-fire deal, and it is expected to be approved. Far-right leader Ben Gvir is expected to vote against it.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
‘We don’t believe we have an agreement yet’: State Department
The U.S. is hopeful that Israel and Hezbollah are close to a cease-fire deal, but striking a pact “is up to the parties, not to us,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a briefing Monday.
“We don’t believe we have an agreement yet. We believe we’re close to an agreement. We believe that we have narrowed the gap significantly, but there are still steps that we need to see taken, but we hope — we hope that we can get there,” Miller said.
Echoing comments earlier Monday by White House National Security spokesperson John Kirby, Miller emphasized that “nothing’s final until everything’s final.”
“Oftentimes the very last stages of an agreement are the most difficult, because the hardest issues are left to the end,” Miller said.
-ABC News’ Chris Boccia
Israeli strikes kill 31, injure at least 62 people in Lebanon
Israeli forces conducted strikes Monday in the southern suburbs of Lebanon’s capital Beirut and in southern Lebanon as talks of a cease-fire between Hezbollah and Israel continued on both sides.
At least 31 people were killed and 62 others injured in the strikes on southern Lebanon, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said in a post on X.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
No indication Netanyahu will call in cabinet and vote to approve Lebanon cease-fire
There are no indications that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu intends to call in his cabinet and vote to approve the Lebanon cease-fire Monday night, Israeli officials told ABC News.
Netanyahu is planning a series of meetings Tuesday to discuss the Lebanon cease-fire deal, including talks with his minister of strategic affairs, former American ambassador Ron Dermer, along with his most senior defense officials.
Later in the afternoon, Netanyahu will hold a larger cabinet meeting that includes the far-right. That meeting may lead to a final vote to approve a deal, though that remains unclear. A deal can pass even if one of the two far-right leaders opposes it.
The cease-fire would last for 60 days, but would not require the Israel Defense Forces to withdraw right away.
-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti and Jordana Miller
White House says deal is close but nothing is final
A cease-fire deal between Israel and Hezbollah was close, White House National Security Spokesperson John Kirby reiterated in a briefing Tuesday, but he would not give details about the deal or specific timing, saying he had to be careful not to get in the way of the tenuous diplomacy.
“We believe that the trajectory of this is going in a very positive direction. But again, nothing is done until everything is done. Nothing’s all negotiated till everything is negotiated. And you know, we need to keep at the work to see it through so that we can actually get the ceasefire for which we’ve been working for for so long and so hard,” Kirby said.
Kirby declined to say if any announcement from President Joe Biden and French President Emanuel Macron should be expected over the next few days.
-ABC News’ Cheyenne Haslett
Far-right Israeli minister says Lebanon cease-fire would be a ‘big mistake’
Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said Monday that a potential cease-fire agreement to end the fighting in Lebanon would be “a big mistake.”
Ending the war would be a “missed opportunity” to “eradicate Hezbollah,” Ben-Gvir wrote on X.
Ben-Gvir has previously pressured Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reject any cease-fire deal in Gaza, where fighting continues with Hamas and other militant groups.
“We must continue until the absolute victory,” Ben-Gvir said of both the Gaza and Lebanon fronts.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Khamenei calls for ‘death sentence’ for Netanyahu, Israeli leaders
In an address to thousands of Basij militia members on Monday, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the International Criminal Court arrest warrants issued last week for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant were insufficient.
“What [they have] done in Gaza and Lebanon is not a victory, it is a war crime,” Khamenei said.
“Now they have issued arrest warrants for them; this is not enough,” he added of the ICC decision. “A death sentence must be issued for Netanyahu and the criminal leaders of this regime.”
The ICC also issued an arrest warrant for Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif, who the Israel Defense Forces claimed to have killed in an airstrike in Gaza in July.
Netanyahu’s office expressed its “disgust” at the decision and dismissed the ICC warrant as “absurd.”
-ABC News’ Somayeh Malekian and Joe Simonetti
Israeli airstrikes hit Beirut suburbs
The Israel Defense Forces said its warplanes “conducted intelligence-based strikes on several Hezbollah command centers” in southern Beirut on Monday.
The strikes again focused on the Dahiya area in the south of the Lebanese capital, which is known as a Hezbollah stronghold.
Monday’s bombings followed an intense day of strikes on Sunday, as diplomats continued to push for a cease-fire agreement to end the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller and Joe Simonetti
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UAE arrests 3 people accused of rabbi’s killing
The United Arab Emirates’ Interior Ministry said Monday it arrested three Uzbek nationals suspected of the kidnapping and killing of Moldovan-Israeli rabbi Zvi Kogan.
Kogan, 28, was an ultra-Orthodox rabbi who went missing on Nov. 21. He managed a kosher grocery store in Dubai.
The ministry identified the three detained men as Olimpi Tohirovic, 28, Mahmoud John Abdul Rahim, 28, and Azizi Kamilovic, 33. It did not say whether charges had been filed and did not suggest a motive.
Israeli leaders have framed the killing as an antisemitic terror operation. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday his nation would “act by all means” to “bring justice to the murderers and their senders.”
-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti
IDF issues new Beirut airstrike warnings
Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Avichay Adraee said on Monday morning that Israeli warplanes would soon begin new airstrikes in Beirut, following 24 hours of intense bombing of the city’s southern suburbs.
Adraee ordered residents of the Haret Hreik area of the southern Dahiya suburbs — known as a Hezbollah stronghold — to flee their homes and stay at least 500 meters from target buildings identified on an IDF map.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
More strikes on southern Beirut suburbs
There were more strikes Sunday night in the southern suburbs of Beirut, which have been pounded by dozens of Israeli strikes in the last few days.
The Israel Defense Forces said Sunday night’s strikes in Dahieh were on “12 Hezbollah command centers.”
-ABC News’ Victoria Beaulé
29 dead in central Beirut after Saturday’s airstrike
The death toll from an Israeli strike Saturday in central Beirut has risen to 29, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health.
The update on casualties came as emergency workers continued to search collapsed buildings for survivors of the strike, an official said.
At least 67 people were also injured in the Israeli strike, according to the Ministry of Health.
-ABC News’ Victoria Beaule
Israeli official confirms Netanyahu holding meeting on Lebanon cease-fire
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was holding a meeting with security officials on Sunday night regarding ongoing Lebanon cease-fire talks, an Israeli official told ABC News.
The development comes after Netanyahu met last week in Israel with U.S. Special Envoy Amos Hochstein and discussed a possible cease-fire in Lebanon. Hochstein also traveled to Beirut, Lebanon, to discuss a cease-deal between Hezbollah and Israel.
(NEW YORK) — The climate crisis is not a distant threat; it’s happening right now and affecting what matters most to us. Hurricanes intensified by a warming planet and drought-fueled wildfires are destroying our communities. Rising seas and flooding are swallowing our homes. And record-breaking heatwaves are reshaping our way of life.
The good news is we know how to turn the tide and avoid the worst possible outcomes. However, understanding what needs to be done can be confusing due to a constant stream of climate updates, scientific findings, and critical decisions that are shaping our future.
That’s why the ABC News Climate and Weather Unit is cutting through the noise by curating what you need to know to keep the people and places you care about safe. We are dedicated to providing clarity amid the chaos, giving you the facts and insights necessary to navigate the climate realities of today — and tomorrow.
US climate envoy tells global climate conference the fight must continue despite election results
With the future of U.S. climate and environmental policies uncertain following the presidential election, the world is gathering in Baku, Azerbaijan, to talk climate change. COP29, formally known as the 29th Annual Conference of Parties, opened Monday with questions about the United States’ commitment to global climate goals in light of the 2024 election results.
At a press conference on Monday, U.S. Climate Change Envoy John Podesta told reporters, “For those of us dedicated to climate action, last week’s outcome in the United States is obviously bitterly disappointing.”
“It is clear that the next administration will try to take a U-turn and reverse much of this progress,” Podesta said. “And I know that this disappointment is more difficult to tolerate as the dangers we face grow ever more catastrophic,” he added.
In sharp contrast to President-elect Donald Trump calling climate change a hoax, promising to “drill, baby, drill,” and roll back unused Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) funds, Podesta highlighted the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to combat climate change, including the move to rejoin the Paris Agreement and the climate and clean energy investments made through the IRA and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
Podesta said that while the Biden Administration will work with the incoming Trump Administration to ensure a peaceful transfer of power, “This is not the end of our fight for a cleaner, safer planet.”
“Facts are still facts. Science is still science,” he added. “The fight is bigger than one election, one political cycle in one country, this fight is bigger still, because we are all living through a year defined by the climate crisis in every country of the world.”
Podesta pointed to extreme heat records, recent hurricanes in the Southeast United States, flooding in Spain, severe drought in southern Africa, and wildfires in the Amazon as some examples of the acute impacts of climate change felt around the world just this year.
Following then-President Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement in 2017, a coalition of local and state government leaders, organizations and private industry members announced the joint declaration, “We Are Still In.”
Podesta reminded attendees of that effort, saying that while a Trump White House may pose challenges for federal level climate action, the U.S. is not giving up on its goals and that support for clean energy, an issue that “has become bipartisan in the United States.”
“You might not know that by reading the newspapers, but it has,” he said. “57% of new clean energy jobs created since the Inflation Reduction Act passed are located in congressional districts represented by Republicans.”
He added, “We can and will make real progress on the backs of our climate committed states and cities, our innovators, our companies and our citizens, especially young people, who understand more than most that climate change poses an existential threat that we cannot afford to ignore. Failure or apathy is simply not an option.”
-ABC News Climate Unit’s Kelly Livingston and Matthew Glasser
How a university is using AI to reduce cafeteria food waste
Food waste is a massive problem. According to the UN, the world wastes more than a billion tons annually. Here at home, Americans waste around 80 million tons each year. And worldwide, nearly 40% of all the food we produce is lost or wasted, according to the WWF.
At the same time, Feeding America, a nationwide network of food banks and pantries, says 47 million people in the U.S. face hunger, including 1 in 5 children. Then, there are the significant environmental impacts of sending so much wasted food to landfills. Left to decompose, this organic waste releases methane, a powerful greenhouse gas that’s far more potent than carbon dioxide.
Erin Murphy, a student at Georgia State University (GSU) in Atlanta and a sustainability initiatives intern, saw all the food her peers were wasting and wanted to do something about it. She applied for a grant to bring new technology to campus that uses artificial intelligence to examine food waste and provide real-time data on what’s left behind.
The technology, aptly named “Raccoon Eyes,” analyzes the food left on each plate, categorizing and weighing the leftovers to provide detailed data on the waste and recommendations for reducing the leftovers.
When students finish their meals, they place their plates on a conveyor belt, where “Raccoon Eyes” captures an image of the plate. AI then uses that picture to evaluate the contents. This data is displayed on an online dashboard, offering real-time insights to the dining staff.
Ivan Zou, the co-founder of “Raccoon Eyes,” said the information helps identify trends, such as how many plates of a specific meal were uneaten. For example, the system showed that students ate most of the salmon they put on their plates during a particular meal, but they left behind a lot of french fries during another meal.
Jennifer Wilson, GSU’s Director of Sustainability, said that since the program’s launch in January, the AI has analyzed over 400,000 plates and found that approximately 21% contained food waste.
And it turns out that some of the most popular items, like chicken, pizza, and french fries, also generate the most waste. However, the dashboard’s detailed feedback also reveals that popular meals often have leftover portions because students take too much, not because the food is unpopular. This nuanced insight helps dining services adjust not only the menu but also portion sizes and serving methods.
The initiative is already making a difference. In the first four months, GSU reduced food waste by 23%, thanks to AI insights and increased student awareness.
The program even encourages feedback through a kiosk where students can leave comments like “sorry for my waste.” Such feedback has proven invaluable, guiding the dining team in refining their offerings, for instance, by making more of the crowd-favorite Hot Cheetos sushi and less of other less popular items.
-ABC News Climate Unit’s Matthew Glasser, ABC News’ Matt German, and ABC News meteorologist Dan Manzo
Drought in US improves slightly but still a problem for half the country
Heading into November, widespread drought conditions are still a significant concern across the country, with the Northeast currently experiencing some of the worst impacts, according to a U.S. Drought Monitor update released Thursday.
Overall, more than half of the contiguous United States is still grappling with drought. But there are some areas where things are improving slightly. A large swath of the central U.S. saw its drought situation improve, according to the data.
As a result, countrywide drought coverage decreased from 54.08% to 51.89% week over week. Moderate to severe drought conditions expanded in the Northeast, with portions of southern New Jersey now experiencing extreme drought conditions. Recent heavy rain in the Southern Plains brought drought improvements to parts of Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas.
October was one of the driest months on record for the U.S., triggering a significant increase in the area and severity of drought conditions. While the overall drought coverage has decreased slightly, over 87% of the lower 48 states continue to experience abnormally dry conditions, the most extensive coverage area ever recorded by the U.S. Drought Monitor, which began tracking the data in 2000.
Drought is a complex phenomenon influenced by various factors. Among these, extreme heat is strongly linked to human-amplified climate change. More frequent and intense extreme heat events can worsen the effects of drought. Drought risk has increased in the Southwest over the past century, according to the federal government’s Fifth National Climate Assessment.
Over the next week, measurable rain is forecast across most of the country, with widespread significant rainfall likely across portions of the Midwest, Plains and Pacific Northwest.
Looking ahead, NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center said most of the country will likely experience above-average precipitation in mid-November, particularly in the Midwest, Plains and West. Most of the East Coast and Gulf Coast can expect near-average rainfall during this period. No part of the nation should experience below-average precipitation during this time.
-ABC News meteorologist Dan Peck and ABC News Climate Unit’s Matthew Glasser
2024 a near certainty to be the warmest year on record
It’s now virtually certain that 2024 will surpass 2023 as Earth’s warmest year on record, according to a new report by Copernicus, the European Union’s Climate Change Service. As of October 2024, the average global year-to-date temperature was 0.16 degrees Celsius (or 0.29 degrees Fahrenheit) higher than it was in 2023, which is the warmest year ever recorded.
While .16 degrees may not seem significant, even small global temperature increases can trigger substantial changes in weather patterns, leading to more extreme events like heatwaves, droughts, floods, and wildfires, according to climate scientists at NASA.
Last month was also the second warmest October globally, with an average temperature of 15.25 degrees Celsius, or 59.45 degrees Fahrenheit.
Copernicus noted that 2024 will likely be the first year to be 1.5 degrees Celsius warmer (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) than the pre-industrial average of 1850-1900.
The global average temperature over the past twelve months (November 2023 through October 2024) was 1.62 degrees Celsius or 2.92 degrees Fahrenheit above pre-industrial levels.
The Paris Agreement goals aim to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius to prevent the worst outcomes of climate change.
Global daily sea surface temperatures across most of the world’s oceans remain well above average, including much of the Atlantic Basin. Unusually warm sea surface temperatures can make hurricanes more intense and may play a role during the remainder of the Atlantic Hurricane Season, which ends on November 30th.
Persistent marine heatwaves are also a major concern for the world’s coral reefs as the largest global coral bleaching event on record continues to impact these delicate ecosystems. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) says that nearly 77% of the world’s coral reef areas have experienced bleaching-level heat stress during this latest event, the second global coral reef bleaching event in the last 10 years.
-ABC News meteorologist Dan Peck and ABC News Climate Unit’s Matthew Glasser
Study finds use of renewable energy sources reduces risk of blackouts
The Texas freeze of 2021 knocked out power for more than 10 million people, leaving some without heat for days. In the aftermath of the storm, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott told a national news network that “Wind and solar got shut down.” He added, “They were collectively more than 10% of our power grid, and that thrust Texas into a situation where it was lacking power on a statewide basis.”
However, in the aftermath, a research study found that renewable energy sources (RES) weren’t to blame. Instead, the researchers found that Texas “failed to sufficiently winterize its electricity and gas systems after 2011.”
Other blackouts have also been blamed on RES, including the 2016 blackout in South Australia and a 2019 outage in the U.K., both of which involved disruptions to wind farms.
Now, according to a new study from The University of Tennessee, grids with higher renewable energy penetration are actually less vulnerable to blackouts than those more reliant on traditional, non-renewable sources.
The analysis found that as the proportion of renewable energy in the grid increases, the intensity of blackouts — measured by the number of affected customers and the length of outages — decreases. This finding challenges the notion that renewable energy inherently makes power grids more fragile.
The researchers analyzed over 2,000 blackouts across the U.S., looking specifically at how renewable energy levels and various weather patterns influenced outage severity. They discovered that high levels of renewables didn’t contribute to an increase in weather-related blackouts.
In grids where renewables made up more than 30% of the energy supply, blackout events were generally less intense and shorter in duration. This trend held even during extreme weather, like high winds and storms, which can place heavy demands on power systems.
-ABC News Climate Unit’s Matthew Glasser
Researchers say they’ve devised the perfect placement for EV chargers
When you buy a gas-powered car, you rarely worry about where to fill it up. That’s because gas stations are everywhere. A 2022 McKinsey survey found that more than 40% of prospective electric vehicle (EV) buyers want that same degree of convenience when it comes to public charger availability for EVs.
Engineers at Cornell University say they have devised a solution for where to place EV charging stations so they are convenient for drivers and profitable for companies.
Using Bayesian optimization, a mathematical method that efficiently analyzes complex data to achieve these results, the research team discovered that for urban areas that it’s best to install an equal percentage of medium-speed and fast chargers. And because motorists use different speed chargers for different reasons, the researchers said it is essential to consider how they are being used when placing them around town.
For example, the engineers found that fast charging is more important at grocery stores when consumers are only inside for 20 minutes. Work and home charging stations should be medium speed because drivers usually park for hours at a time at those locations.
The researchers say their approach can boost investor returns by 50% to 100% compared to random placement strategies.
The team simulated the behavior of 30,000 vehicles over 113,000 trips in the Atlanta region, considering various traffic patterns and driver decisions. This method allowed them to determine optimal charging station placements.
Yeuchen Sophia Liu, the study’s lead author, told the Cornell Chronicle that, “Placing publicly available charging stations around cities sounds like a simple thing, but mathematically, it’s actually very hard.”
She added, “Economically strategic placement of charging stations could play a pivotal role in accelerating the transition to zero-emission vehicles.”
-ABC News Climate Unit’s Matthew Glasser
Nearly 40% of the world’s trees face extinction, according to new assessment
Climate change, deforestation, invasive pests and disease all threaten to permanently wipe out nearly 40% of the earth’s trees, according to a new assessment by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
The organization, comprised of 1,400 member organizations worldwide and 16,000 experts, said more than one in three tree species across 192 countries is now facing extinction, especially trees found on islands.
development and agriculture, as well as the other threats faced by tree species across the globe.
Since 1964, the IUCN has hosted its “Red List,” a database of threatened species from around the world. The research group found that 16,425 of the 47,282 tree species on their list are at risk of extinction — more than 2,000 of which are used for medicines, food, and fuels.
“Trees are essential to support life on Earth through their vital role in ecosystems, and millions of people depend upon them for their lives and livelihoods,” said Grethel Aguilar, IUCN director general, in a statement.
According to their analysis, “the number of threatened trees is more than double the number of all threatened birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians combined.”
The group is calling for more habitat protection and restoration to protect these species and the creation of seed banks and botanical gardens to ensure they don’t disappear forever.
“The significance of the Global Tree Assessment cannot be overstated, given the importance of trees to ecosystems and people. We hope this frightening statistic of one in three trees facing extinction will incentivize urgent action and be used to inform conservation plans,” said Eimear Nic Lughadha from the Royal Botanic Gardens, in a statement.
-ABC News Climate Unit’s Matthew Glasser
Report finds climate change increased heat deaths among older adults by 167%; worsened food security
The health and economic costs of climate change are rising worldwide, according to the newly released 2024 Lancet Countdown, a yearly report hosted by University College London and involving more than 300 researchers.
According to the report, “Of the 15 indicators monitoring climate change-related health hazards, exposures, and impacts, ten reached concerning new records in their most recent year of data.”
With global communities facing an additional 50 days of “dangerous heat,” heat-related deaths among older adults increased by a record-breaking 167% in 2023 compared to the 1990s, according to the report’s findings.
In addition to the heat impact, the Lancet report found that climate change is significantly worsening food insecurity, with 151 million more people facing shortages compared to previous decades. And more than 3 million people died in 2021 because of air pollution and fine particulate matter.
The researchers also found that global extreme weather costs have increased by 23% from 2010-14 to 2019-23, amounting to $227 billion annually.
-ABC News Climate Unit’s Kelly Livingston and ABC News Medical Unit’s Sony Salzman
