4 dead after US refueling aircraft goes down in western Iraq
A Boeing C-135 Stratotanker / Stratolifter military aircraft known as KC-135 of the United States Air Force USAF configured as Air Tanker Transport for aerial refueling. (Photo by Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Four service members were killed when their refueling aircraft “went down” in friendly airspace in western Iraq, according to U.S. Central Command.
“Four of six crew members on board the aircraft have been confirmed deceased as rescue efforts continue,” CENTCOM said Friday.
The KC-135 aircraft went down at approximately 2 p.m. ET when two aircraft were involved in “an incident,” CENTCOM said in a brief statement Thursday, confirming that “one of the aircraft went down in western Iraq, and the second landed safely.”
Gen. Dan Caine addressed the crashed refueling plane, saying the incident is being treated as an active rescue and recovery mission.
“The incident occurred over friendly territory in western Iraq while the crew was on a combat mission, and again, was not the result, as CENTCOM has said, was not the result of hostile or friendly fire,” Caine said Friday. “We’re still treating this as an active rescue and recovery operation, as CENTCOM announced this morning, four airmen have been recovered, and the Air Force and US Central Command will provide updates as information becomes available.”
The other aircraft involved was also a KC-135 tanker, according to a U.S. official.
The circumstances of the incident are currently under investigation and the identities of the service members who died in the incident are being withheld until 24 hours after next of kin have been notified, officials said.
KC-135 aircraft are not equipped with parachutes and do not have ejection seats, which are primarily in fighter aircraft, officials have told ABC News.
Passengers and crew members of KC-135s instead are trained on how to exit the aircraft when it is on land or on water, officials said.
According to a 2008 Air Force profile of the tanker crews, the move to get rid of parachutes was made because the tankers “seldom have mishaps, and the likelihood a KC-135 crew member would ever need to use a parachute is extremely low.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Ed Martin, former Interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, departs following a meeting at the White House on January 9, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Al Drago/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — The Washington, D.C., Bar initiated disciplinary proceedings against Justice Department pardon attorney Ed Martin over allegations he improperly threatened to withhold federal funding from Georgetown University’s law school and then attempted to sideline an investigation into his conduct while serving as D.C.’s top federal prosecutor last year, according to a disciplinary petition.
In a two-count petition filed last week with the D.C. Court of Appeals Board of Professional Responsibility, attorneys with the D.C. Bar’s Office of Disciplinary Counsel alleged that Martin engaged in “conduct that seriously interferes with the administration of justice,” including by allegedly demanding that a judge suspend the attorney investigating his actions.
“Mr. Martin knew or should have known that, as a government official, his conduct violated the First and Fifth Amendments to the Constitution of the United States,” the disciplinary petition said.
According to the complaint, Martin – while serving as the interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia last year – threatened to withhold federal funding and freeze hirings from Georgetown University Law Center over allegations that the school was promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) measures.
After sending letters to the dean of Georgetown’s law school about DEI programming last year, Martin allegedly told the school’s interim president that their answers about DEI would “bear directly on Georgetown University’s status as a 501(c) nonprofit and its receipt of nearly $1 billion of federal tax money.”
“He demanded that Georgetown Law relinquish its free speech and religious rights in order to continue to obtain a benefit, employment opportunities for its students,” the petition said. “His demand did not provide Georgetown Law fair notice of what is allegedly prohibited because he did not define ‘DEI,’ cited no authority for his demand, and did not describe what actions, and what timetable, might satisfy his demand.”
After a retired judge reported Martin’s conduct to the Office of Disciplinary Counsel, Martin allegedly attempted to sideline the investigation by sending a letter directly to the chief judge and senior judges on the D.C. Court of Appeals, according to the complaint.
“In that letter, he stated that he would not be responding to Disciplinary Counsel’s inquiry, complained about Disciplinary Counsel’s ‘uneven behavior,’ and requested a ‘face-to-face meeting with all of you to discuss this matter and find a way forward.’ He copied the White House Counsel ‘for informational purposes because of the importance of getting this issue addressed,'” the complaint said.
The complaint alleges that Martin – after being told to not directly communicate with judges – sent another letter to the chief judge demanding that the court suspend the investigator probing his conduct and dismiss the case against him.
With the charges filed, D.C.’s Board on Professional Responsibility is expected to refer the petition to a hearing committee.
Martin’s interactions are just one among a series of controversies from his brief tenure as Washington’s top federal prosecutor from January to May 2025 before his temporary appointment to the position lapsed and he failed to gain enough support from Republican senators for his confirmation to the post.
He was then appointed to four separate senior positions in the Justice Department before sources said he was effectively demoted earlier this year after multiple other incidents where he faced admonishment from leadership for his conduct.
Martin remains in his role as pardon attorney, according to the DOJ, and has used the post to float controversial clemency recommendations to the White House while frequently citing the phrase, “No MAGA left behind.”
The ethics complaint was filed the same week that the DOJ proposed new regulations that would seek to give Attorney General Pam Bondi the authority to suspend state bar investigations, arguing the policy is necessary to combat the “weaponization” of the complaint process. It’s not immediately clear what legal basis the department would have to intervene in state-level proceedings, however.
Martin and a DOJ spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the complaint.
Georgetown Law’s then-Dean William Treanor previously responded to Martin’s letter, affirming the school’s speech protections under the First Amendment. He accused Martin of mounting “an attack on the University’s mission as a Jesuit and Catholic institution.”
(NEW YORK) — A cross-country storm continued on Monday to produce heavy snow and strong winds in the upper Midwest and Great Lakes region, including an ice storm in northern Michigan, prompting thousands of flight cancellations and delays.
More than 3,400 flights within or out of the United States have already been canceled on Monday and more than 14,000 flights have been delayed, according to FlightAware.com, which tracks flights throughout the nation.
Between Saturday and Monday morning, more than 5,000 flights were canceled nationwide due to weather, with 3,000 flights scrapped on Sunday alone.
A major winter storm sweeping across the country has produced blizzards, ice storms and widespread destruction across parts of the Midwest and Great Lakes states.
Overnight, parts of Wisconsin recorded more than 2 feet of snow, including the city of Wausau, which received 23.4 inches of snow on Sunday and was adding to its snow totals on Monday morning.
Blizzard conditions are still occurring in parts of Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois and Minnesota, where the city of Minneapolis recorded 8.8 inches of snow overnight and into Monday.
Meanwhile, more than 391 reports of damaging winds have been recorded from Texas to Ohio. At least eight states — including Tennessee, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Mississippi and New York — have reported destructive wind gusts of 70 mph.
More than 500,000 utility customers from Texas to New York were without power on Monday morning, according to the website PowerOutage.com.
Most of the power outages are in northern Michigan, where an ongoing ice storms have toppled power lines.
Fire and ice
The March storm is also forecast to continue whipping up dry and windy conditions in the South, fueling a critical fire threat in areas of the central U.S. already dealing with wildfires.
In Nebraska, three wildfires, the largest being the Morrill Fire, have burned more than 700,000 acres of land across multiple counties in western Nebraska and killed at least one person in Arthur County, Gov. Jim Pillen said at a news conference on Saturday.
On Monday, red flag warnings for fire weather danger are in place from southern Texas through southern Louisiana, including the cities of Houston, Austin, San Antonio, and Corpus Christi.
Severe weather outlook for Monday
On Monday, a moderate risks of severe storms is forecast to spread into South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and up to Maryland, including the cities of Washington, D.C., Richmond and Raleigh.
Severe storms are also expected to develop from Georgia to Pennsylvania, including the cities of Savannah, Charleston, Charlotte, Baltimore and Philadelphia. Destructive winds gusts greater than 70 mph could develop in these areas, especially from South Carolina to Maryland.
There’s also a risk of tornadoes popping up about midday from South Carolina to Maryland.
A line of severe thunderstorm could also spawn tornadoes from the Florida Panhandle to the West Virginia. A tornado watch was in place earlier for Florida, Alabama and Georgia.
A tornado watch is also in place for Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia, and much of New Jersey until 7 pm ET on Monday.
More snow in store for the East Coast
By 6 p.m. ET, snow is expected to be falling from western Virginia, West Virginia, eastern Pennsylvania and western New York. Showers and thunderstorms are also forecast to move along the East Coast from North Carolina to Maine.
The weather system is expected to move out late Monday afternoon. But lake-effect snow is expected to continue through Tuesday on the eastern side of the Great Lakes.
Snow could also make a brief appearance from the Dakotas to Ohio on Tuesday and into Tuesday night.
Record heat wave in the West
Record heat is expected to continue as a summer-like heat dome settles over the West.
Many cities throughout the West — Sacramento, San Jose, Las Vegas, Phoenix and Denver — could reach all-time high temperatures for March.
Extreme heat alerts have been issued from southern Arizona up to the Bay Area of Northern California, where temperatures could reach the mid-90s.
Part of Southern California could see temperatures climb to 109 degrees.
President Donald Trump greets Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney during a world leaders’ summit on ending the Gaza war on October 13, 2025 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. (Evan Vucci – Pool / Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump threatened a 100% tariff on Canada if the country goes through and solidifies a trade deal with China.
“If Canada makes a deal with China, it will immediately be hit with a 100% Tariff against all Canadian goods and products coming into the U.S.A. Thank you for your attention to this matter!,” Trump wrote in a post on his social media platform.
Canadian officials did not immediately respond Saturday.
In his post, Trump does not make clear the deal he is referring to between China and Canada, but the two countries reached an agreement last Friday which would see Canada slash its 100% tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles in exchange for lower tariffs on Canadian agricultural products in China.
This is Trump’s latest attack against Canada and it comes after yesterday’s social media post where he claimed Canada was against his so-called “Golden Dome” missile defense project and blasted the country’s trade deal with China.
In remarks Thursday, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney pushed back on Trump’s criticism.
“Canada and the United States have built a remarkable partnership in the economy, in security, and in rich cultural exchange,” Carney said. “But Canada doesn’t live because of the United States. Canada thrives because we are Canadian.”
Last Friday, Trump was asked whether he was worried about the growing closeness between China and Canada as Carney was visiting the country. Trump indicated he had no problem with Carney signing a trade deal with China.
“That’s what he should be doing. It’s a good thing for him to sign a trade deal. If you can get a deal with China, you should do that,” Trump said at the time.
In his post Saturday, Trump referred to the Canadian leader as “governor” rather than prime minister, which he had taken to doing with former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in reference to Trump’s suggestion that Canada should become the 51st U.S. state.
The latest threat against Canada also comes after Trump walked back tariffs he threatened to impose on European allies who didn’t agree to his efforts to acquire Greenland. Trump said he and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte have “formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland.”
