2 people climb to the top of Empire State Building spire, unfurl banner
The Empire State building and the skyline of Manhattan is viewed on January 21, 2015 in New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Two people climbed to the top of the Empire State Building and unfurled a banner on top of its spire Wednesday afternoon.
The unidentified people appeared to be wearing masks.
The black banner appeared to reference a Jimi Hendrix quote and said in white letters, “When the power of love beats the love of power the world knows peace.”
An NYPD helicopter was sent to the scene and is standing by. The building’s observation deck was cleared of visitors as police arrived.
The building spire is 1,454 feet above the ground.
The two climbers eventually took the banner and made their way down to a lower part of the spire.
Once they got to there, one climber appeared to propose to other before they hugged and took pictures.
The two are now in police custody.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
An emergency hazmat incident at an aerospace facility in Garden Grove, California, has prompted evacuations in the area, May 22, 2026. (KABC)
(LOS ANGELES) — The evacuation zone around a failing chemical tank in Southern California is shrinking after officials said the “worst-case scenario” of a catastrophic explosion has been averted.
About 16,000 people remain under evacuation orders, Garden Grove Police Chief Amir El-Farra said during a press briefing Monday evening. That’s down from 50,000 in the city of Garden Grove and several surrounding communities at the height of the crisis when officials thought they faced only two options: an explosion or a chemical spill.
“The most catastrophic and worst-case scenario was mitigated and resolved,” Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) Interim Chief TJ McGovern said during the evening press briefing.
Officials said earlier Monday the crisis is not fully averted, but if an explosion or leak were to occur, it would be significantly smaller than the initial worst-case scenario.
The tank is located at an aerospace facility in Garden Grove, about 30 miles south of Los Angeles.
Earlier Monday, local authorities said the temperature was declining within the chemical tank, located at an aerospace facility, eliminating concerns of an explosion, local authorities said on Monday morning.
“We are happy to report that the threat of a BLEVE [Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion] is now off the table,” McGovern said during an update. “That threat has been eliminated.”
Since the temperature inside the tank has decreased, it has allowed the chemical inside to solidify, but it is unclear how much, according to McGovern.
The situation began unfolding on Thursday, a chemical tank filled with toxic chemicals at GKN Aerospace, a manufacturing company that builds engines and landing gear for both commercial and military aircraft, was showing signs of overheating, which could cause it to overheat or spill, officials said.
The 34,000-gallon tank contained methyl methacrylate, an industrial chemical used in plastic manufacturing, according to the OCFA. The chemical is primarily a respiratory irritant. Short-term exposure can cause skin and eye irritation, as well as breathing problems, according to the EPA.
The “unprecedented” situation caused officials to order about 50,000 people in the vicinity to evacuate in case a leak sent toxic fumes wafting through the neighborhood or caused an explosion could result in a dangerous fireball.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a state of emergency in Orange County in response to the incident.
Authorities said a crack in the tank, discovered by firefighters late Saturday, relieved some of the pressure within the tank, Covey said.
While officials were confident that the crack wouldn’t lead to any chemical leaks, they continued to monitor air quality in the region.
Any areas outside of the roughly 10-square-mile evacuation zone “are currently considered completely safe and day-to-day activities can continue as normal,” the OCFA said in an update Sunday afternoon.
Within the zone are schools, hospitals, nursing homes, fire and law enforcement stations and critical infrastructure. Multiple roads were also closed in the area.
“We appreciate your support and the patience while we work through this incident together,” Covey said.
In a statement on Monday, GKN noted that its technical specialists worked with OCFA “to assess the storage tank more closely” on Sunday evening.
“The team safely and successfully removed external insulation material from the tank in order to help advance efforts to cool its contents,” the company said.
Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer, the top prosecutor in Garden Grove, has launched a criminal probe into the ongoing chemical tank incident at GKN Aerospace, ordering the company not to destroy or manipulate any records, his office said.
The probe seeks to determine how a major military and commercial aircraft gear manufacturer could have allowed such a toxic failure to occur, according to the district attorney.
“This is an incredibly volatile situation with extraordinary efforts being made by first responders to prevent a potentially catastrophic disaster,” Spitzer said in a statement on Monday.
Spitzer has also established an anonymous tip line and online reporting form, calling on anyone with information to come forward — including current and former employees of the company who might offer insight into the quality control and safety at the site.
“Given the very real risk to human life as a result of this event, it is crucial that anyone who has information about this incident or the industrial operations of GKN Aerospace Transparency Systems, Inc. come forward and report it so that it can be thoroughly investigated by law enforcement,” he said.
GKN declined to comment specifically on the district attorney’s investigation, but pointed to its Monday statement.
“We are continuing to work around the clock with the OCFA, the EPA and all relevant federal, state and local agencies to mitigate the ongoing risk of a leak. We remain extremely thankful for their dedication and hard work,” the company said.
“We apologize for the ongoing disruption this incident is causing and our priority remains its safe resolution, so that residents can return to their homes as quickly as possible.”
ABC News’ Meredith Deliso, Nadine El-Bawab, Jaclyn Lee, Alex Stone, Jenna Harrison, Connor Burton and Sasha Pezenik contributed to this report.
TikTok logo is displayed on a mobile phone screen for illustration photo. Krakow, Poland. On April, 20th, 2026. (Photo by Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — An alleged TikTok antagonist is accused of stabbing a 17-year-old to death outside his New York City apartment building, authorities said.
Andrew Tollinche, 22, has been charged with murder, manslaughter and criminal possession of a weapon in connection with the killing outside his Bronx home on Wednesday, according to New York City police.
Detectives had been looking for Tollinche after determining the stabbing stemmed from his posts on TikTok. Tollinche allegedly antagonizes people on the social media platform, and neighborhood teens have recently been gathering outside his home, knocking on his door and calling him out, according to police.
The victim, Jonathan Melo, who has no criminal record, was part of a group that went to the suspect’s apartment building, according to police. The interaction turned sour, and Tollinche went inside to grab a knife, came outside and allegedly stabbed the 17-year-old in the back, police said.
Melo was rushed to a hospital where he was pronounced dead, officials said.
Tollinche has a prior unsealed arrest for allegedly raping a minor in 2025, according to records. He has other prior interactions with police, some of them stemming from social media posts.
Tollinche is due in court on Friday. It was not immediately clear whether he had a lawyer.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks in front of the American flag to the press as he departs the White House on May 12, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — A District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals panel is set to hear arguments Thursday over the Trump administration’s bid to reinstate executive orders that sought punishing sanctions against four elite law firms over their past representation or employment of perceived political foes of President Donald Trump.
Four separate district court judges had previously granted permanent restraining orders sought by the four law firms — Perkins Coie, Susman Godfrey, Wilmer Hale and Jenner & Block — after determining the EOs were unconstitutional.
Some of the judges derided the White House’s efforts to punish the firms in particularly blistering terms, likening the pressure campaign mounted last year by the Trump administration against ‘Big Law’ as akin to McCarthyism and the ‘Red Scare’ era in American history.
Staring down similar prospects of facing executive orders that sought to virtually eliminate their interactions with the government, at least nine other elite firms entered into controversial settlements with the Trump administration in exchange for providing pro bono legal services for causes supported by the White House.
Those settlements, which in sum totaled nearly $1 billion by the White House’s calculation, led to an exodus of high-profile attorneys at several of the firms who said the agreements amounted to capitulation in response to an unlawful intimidation campaign by the Trump administration.
In March, the Justice Department appeared inclined to drop their appeal of the injunctions and even notified attorneys and the circuit court that it was withdrawing the case.
Less than 24 hours later, however, the department abruptly reversed course and said it would continue arguing the appeal after multiple news articles described the move as a major victory for the firms that mounted the legal battle.
It’s unclear whether that back-and-forth will surface in oral arguments Thursday as the law firms seek to convince a three-judge panel to uphold the injunctions — which barred the Trump administration from implementing sanctions that included barring firm attorneys from accessing some federal properties and restricting their security clearances. Several of the firms described in detailed filings how the orders, if implemented, would effectively bankrupt them.
The administration, however, argued the orders were well within President Trump’s power to issue, and described the district courts’ orders as an impermissible intrusion on the executive branch.
“This appeal of those sweeping decisions is not about the sanctity of the American law firm; it is about lower courts encroaching on the constitutional power of the President to discuss and address invidious racial discrimination, national security risks, and other problems with certain law firms,” DOJ attorneys said in a court filing in March.
