40 million people in the Midwest in path of severe weather, possible tornadoes
Severe weather outlook for Friday, June 12, 2026. (ABC News)
(NEW YORK) — More than 40 million people from Kansas City to Chicago are in the path of severe weather on Wednesday, a day after a tornado tore through a Michigan town, damaging numerous homes.
Destructive winds in excess of 70 mph, tennis ball-sized hail, and strong tornadoes are all possible across the Midwest on Wednesday afternoon and into Thursday.
Some areas of the Midwest are at risk of multiple rounds of storms that could produce flash flooding.
Minneapolis; Omaha, Nebraska; and Wichita, Kansas, are also under a level 2 out of 5 threat for severe weather on Wednesday afternoon.
On Thursday, the threat for severe weather will be at a 3 out of 5 for parts of Missouri, Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana and Illinois — including the cities of Chicago, Milwaukee, Grand Rapids, Michigan; Madison, Wisconsin and Springfield, Illinois. The areas are at risk of destructive winds of up to 80 mph, large hail and strong tornadoes.
On Thursday morning, Iowa is expected to see a destructive storm complex roll through the state and into Wisconsin.
‘It literally sounded like a freight train’
The blustery weather comes on the heels of an EF-1 tornado that ripped through the town of Freeland, Michigan, about 13 miles north of Saginaw, on Tuesday afternoon. The twister damaged 40 homes and businesses in the community, local officials said.
The tornado ripped the roof off an auto shop as workers hunkered down inside.
“I was in my shop, and then it was like all of a sudden, my brother came running out. He said, ‘We got to take cover.’ When somebody says, ‘We gotta take cover,’ it’s too late,” Al Wisniewski, owner of AW Racecars, told ABC affiliate station WJRT in Flint, Michigan.
Wisniewski said he sheltered in place in his automotive shop as the twister hit.
“It literally sounded like a freight train coming through here,” said Wisniewski, adding that neither he nor other workers in the shop were injured. “The whole building was shaking and everything, and there’s no place to go.”
Also on Tuesday, the town of Lanesville, Indiana, about 17 miles west of Louisville, Kentucky, was hit with flash flooding after more than a half-foot of rain fell in two hours, officials said.
Storm threat moving East amid summer-like heat in New York City
On Thursday, New York City, Philadelphia, Detroit, Indianapolis, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and Richmond, Virginia, are forecast to be at a level 2 out of 5 threat for severe weather.
Meanwhile, temperatures across the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast are expected to rise along with the humidity.
New York City and Washington, D.C., are forecast to reach the 90s on Thursday and possibly on Friday and Saturday.
Meanwhile, Raleigh, North Carolina, is forecast to hit the century mark on Thursday and Friday.
Heat indices, or what the temperature feels like, are expected to be in the mid-90s to near 100 degrees from New York to the Vermont border.
But the summer-like weather in the Northeast is also expected to come with severe weather. Storms are expected to reach cities along the I-95 corridor in the Northeast on Thursday evening.
The mix of hot and severe weather in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic is expected to continue into Friday.
USA, New York, Finger Lakes Region, Ithaca, Cornell University, elevated view of McFaddin Hall, summer (Walter Bibikow/Getty Images)
An upstate New York prosecutor this week reopened an investigation into a 2024 incident at Cornell University in which a former undergraduate student filed a lawsuit alleging she was drugged and raped by seven men at the Chi Phi fraternity house.
Here is a timeline of key events in the case based on ABC News reporting, police documents, official statements from Cornell and the Tompkins County District Attorney’s Office, and a lawsuit filed by the alleged victim, identified only as Jane Doe.
August 2022 –Jane Doe begins her freshman year at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.
Oct. 18, 2024 – An individual overdoses on ketamine “on or about October 18, 2024” at the Chi Phi fraternity house, according to a heavily redacted report obtained by ABC News that was prepared by Cornell University from a series of hearings the university held in 2025 as part of its internal investigation of Jane Doe’s allegations.
Oct. 19-20, 2024 – Jane Doe alleges she was drugged and “gang raped” by seven men during a party at the Chi Phi fraternity house to which she was invited by one of the men she has accused of assaulting her, according to Jane Doe’s lawsuit. She arrived at the party, according to investigation documents, already intoxicated after consuming alcohol at her sorority house and at two bars.
In a later statement to police, Jane Doe, who was 20 at the time, said she was carded when she entered the bars, and one of the establishments marked her hand with an X indicating she was under 21, and the other gave her an under-21 wristband to wear. However, she says she was able to purchase a drink at one of the bars and only briefly stayed at the other, but made no mention of ordering alcohol there. Neither bar has issued a statement.
Jane Doe says she continued drinking alcohol once arriving at the Chi Phi fraternity house and accepted drugs before agreeing to participate in a sexual threesome and subsequently losing consciousness. One of the drugs Jane Doe alleges she was forced to ingest is ketamine.
Oct. 20, 2024 – In the early morning hours, one of the fraternity members allegedly messages the fraternity’s Snapchat group to claim there was “free” sex upstairs.
Oct. 23, 2024 – Jane Doe exchanges text messages with the man who invited her to the Chi Phi fraternity house party, later identified in her civil lawsuit as Male No. 1. Apparently referring to rumors spreading about the sexual activity that occurred at the fraternity, she writes, “My reputation is destroyed and I’m utterly ashamed.” In the same exchange, she also texts, “everyone needs to grow up because sexuality and sex and [stuff] is changing and stuff like this is going to become more common. i’m also really open minded tho. i love u king.”
Oct. 30, 2024 – In another text message, Jane Doe writes to Male No. 1 that she was “uninvited” to a Chi Phi event. “i know this was going to happen. the woman will always get the short end of the stick,” she writes. “yall aren’t my friends. yall are covering your a****.”
Nov. 7, 2024 – In a text message to Jane Doe obtained by ABC News, Male No. 1 writes he is concerned he is “being labeled an assaulter.” Jane Doe replies in part “I haven’t said anything” and in the same text exchange also says, “i know there are rumors i was gang banged.”
Nov. 8, 2024 – Jane Doe writes to Male No. 1 in a text message, “i think i’m done talking to you. i know you lied.” That same day, she files a report with the Cornell University police, telling them about the alleged sexual incident that occurred at the Chi Phi fraternity house between her and members of the fraternity. Also that same day, the university places the Chi Phi fraternity chapter on temporary suspension for alleged violations of the student code of conduct and issues temporary suspensions to several students involved in the incident.
Nov. 14, 2024 –Jane Doe makes a formal statement to Cornell campus police, who ask the Tompkins County District Attorney’s Office to review it and determine whether a crime had been committed. Prosecutors decide not to file charges.
Nov. 26, 2024 –Cornell Interim President Michael Kotlikoff issues a statement describing “serious and deeply disturbing allegations of drug abuse and sexual violence at the Chi Phi fraternity house.” The statement says campus police “continues to pursue its criminal investigation” and the university’s “Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards and the Office of Institutional Equity and Title IX have been diligently reviewing all reported information regarding the many allegations that have been received pertaining to events at the fraternity.”
The statement further says that the Chi Phi fraternity “remains under a temporary suspension order that was issued on November 8, 2024, for alleged violations of the Student Code of Conduct. In addition, late last week, interim measures in the form of temporary suspensions were issued for a number of students to protect the immediate physical health and safety of all students.”
In a statement, Cornell says the Chi Phi fraternity was closed in 2024 and “remains barred from campus.”
Trey Robb, the interim executive director of Chi Phi Fraternity, says in a statement that all the accused members were kicked out of the Cornell chapter within three days of Jane Doe filing her police report in 2024.
Jan. 14, 2025 –Cornell commences a Title IX investigation in response to Jane Doe’s formal complaint filed with the university’s Title IX coordinator, according to Jane Doe’s lawsuit.
Feb. 6, 2025 – Kolikoff and Cornell Provost Kavita Bala announce the establishment of the Presidential Task Force on Campus Sexual Assault, “to focus on addressing and preventing sexual assault on campus – a serious and persistent problem, both nationally and here on our campus.” The announcement says the task force will deliver a report that summer “that outlines evidence-based strategies for addressing sexual assault at Cornell, including a timeline for implementation, metrics for success, and a plan to institutionalize this work.”
May 2 to May 29, 2025 – Cornell’s Title IX Office conducts at least 12 hearings on Jane Doe’s allegations, conducting 50 interviews with 32 witnesses, including the men Jane Doe alleges assaulted her. According to a heavily redacted report of the hearings obtained by ABC News, Jane Doe describes her night at a fraternity house surrounded by multiple men: “I felt like bait,” she says. ‘I felt like lions around me. It just was a totally debilitating place to be in.”
Nov. 4, 2025 – Cornell releases the results of the 2025 Cornell Survey of Sexual Assault and Related Misconduct (SARM), showing 35% of undergraduate women and 8% of undergraduate men reported experiencing nonconsensual sexual contact involving force or incapacitation since attending Cornell.
Sept. 16, 2026 – Jane Doe files a civil lawsuit against Cornell, the Chi Phi chapter, her Delta Delta Delta sorority, and others, including the seven men she alleges drugged and raped her at the Chi Phi fraternity house.
Sept. 21, 2026 –The Cornell Daily Sun, the student newspaper, publishes an editorial condemning the university’s handling of the incident. “Cornell has failed to protect its students,” the editorial says, in part.
Sept. 27, 2026 – Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten issues a statement saying that after speaking with Jane Doe and her attorney, he is reopening the investigation. Van Houten further said that in her sworn statement to Cornell police, Jane Doe did not allege she was drugged against her will or gang raped. “On the contrary, Jane Doe’s statement described her participation in drug use and sexual conduct as voluntary, conscious, and consensual,” says Van Houten, who releases a summary of Jane Doe’s initial police statement.
Sept. 28, 2026 – Lawyers for two of the seven men accused in the case, Scott Kretzschmar and Scott Norris, issue statements denying their clients were involved in the alleged sexual assault.
The same day, the Ithaca Police Department issues a statement saying that the sexual assault alleged by Jane Doe “was not reported to the Ithaca Police Department,” which “learned of these allegations recently through the media.”
Responding to questions about why the university didn’t bring in the Ithaca police to investigate the allegations, Cornell issues a statement saying, “The Cornell University Police Department is a unit of the university, and its officers are special deputy sheriffs pursuant to NY Educational Law 5709 whose duties include the enforcement of law and order on Cornell property. This incident occurred in Cornell’s jurisdiction.”
Sept. 29, 2026 –New York Gov. Kathy Hochul calls for an outside investigation into Cornell University’s campus culture and its response to Jane Doe’s allegations. In an interview with ABC News that same day, Van Houten defends his office’s 2024 decision not to bring charges in the case while at the same time describing the allegations as “morally disturbing.”
Later that day, Hochul says Cornell University agrees to initiate an independent investigation, and the university issues a statement saying, “Cornell shares Governor Hochul’s commitment to addressing campus culture issues, which affect universities across the nation and New York. We are committed to continuing to work with state officials to advance student safety and wellbeing.”
ABC News obtains the full statement Jane Doe gave to Cornell police in October 2024. In parts of the statement not included in Van Houten’s summary, Jane Doe told officers that the incident at the Chi Phi fraternity house “felt like coercion.”
That same day, an attorney for Gillio Lopes, a third man accused in the alleged rape, issued a statement denying the allegations against his client.
Oct. 1, 2026 – Hochul on Thursday said she issued an executive order to appoint Attorney General Letitia James as a special prosecutor for the alleged “gang rape” that took place at a Cornell fraternity in 2024.
“Newly released information continues to raise serious questions about the investigation conducted by the Cornell Police Department and the decision by the Tompkins County District Attorney not to prosecute an alleged sexual assault on Cornell University’s campus,” Hochul said in a statement.
“This has, in turn, undercut my faith, and the public’s faith, in the District Attorney’s ability to effectively investigate and prosecute the case at this time,” Hochul added.
In a statement, James said she is “ready to lead a process New Yorkers can trust, guided by the facts and the law.”
The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting pool is shown partially filled on Aug. 5, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was partially refilled on Friday to flush out what the National Park Service said were clogged pipes that supply water to the monument, marking the latest twist in the Trump administration’s plagued renovation project.
NPS wrote in a sign posted outside the Reflecting Pool that more than half of the 58 supply ports were “deemed nonfunctioning” due to buildup and needed to be cleared.
The posting blamed the clogged lines on “years of neglect by previous administrations,” echoing attempts by President Donald Trump to pin the Reflecting Pool’s ongoing troubles on his predecessors.
Leaks and cracks in the piping have long afflicted the pool, which was constructed in the 1920s.
President Barack Obama undertook a $35 million renovation in the 2010s, installing a treatment plant to purify water piped in from the Tidal Basin, but it did not eliminate the leaks from both the pipes and between the slabs of the pool itself.
President Trump has long fixated on the leaking pipes installed during the Obama renovation. When he announced the renovation project in April, he said the pool was “filthy dirty” and had “leaked like a sieve for many years.” The administration’s spring renovation, however, was limited to repainting the bottom of the pool and installing a new filtration system, leaving the pipes untouched.
Issues have plagued Trump’s $16 million renovation project since it was unveiled earlier this summer. In mid-June, algae blooms turned the pool a murky green and the newly-installed liner appeared to peel off.
Trump has attributed the problems to vandalism. But charges brought against several visitors accused of damaging the pool have not held up in court.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, who originally brought the charges, moved to drop four of the cases last week, saying publicly that evidence indicated the damage was caused by a flawed renovation, not intentional sabotage.
Pirro explained her decision to dismiss the most high-profile charge — a felony indictment against former Olympian David Hearn — in a revelatory 20-page filing last Friday, calling the renovation “hasty” and “botched.” She said she brought the case before she was provided internal Department of Interior documents proving that concerns about the peeling pool liner predated the alleged vandalism.
The public about-face drew Trump’s ire, who continues to attribute the damage to vandalism, and led to questions about Pirro’s future as U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. Meanwhile, Hearn is seeking to dismiss the case with prejudice to ensure charges cannot be revived against him. His lawyers have not ruled out further legal action of their own.
The pool, which remains fenced off and empty alongside the sides, was drained for repairs in mid-July. Trump claimed at the time that the repairs would “fix the scars and damage that was done by the Vandals” and promised it would be “refilled and put back into service soon.”
The National Park Service posting warned on Friday that the “flushing may temporarily discolor the water as buildup in the pipes is cleaned out.” The Department of Interior provided a similar explanation when algae first discolored the pool, saying it was residual growth from reactivated supply lines.
A Tesla crashed into the outdoor dining area of an Urbane Cafe in Simi Valley, California, on Monday afternoon, killing one person and injuring five others, authorities said. (KABC)
(SIMI VALLEY, Calif.) — A car crashed into the outdoor dining area of an Urbane Cafe in Simi Valley, California, on Monday afternoon, killing one person and injuring five others, authorities said.
The crash was reported at about 2:30 p.m. near Tierra Rejada and Madera roads in a busy shopping center, according to Simi Valley Police.
Aerial footage from ABC News Los Angeles station KABC showed a white Tesla lodged in the restaurant’s outdoor patio after the collision.
One person was pronounced dead at the scene, while five others suffered minor injuries, according to the Ventura County Fire Department.
Authorities have not released the identity of the person who died, and additional information about the victims was not immediately available.
Investigators said they are still working to determine the cause of the crash. The Tesla driver was a 64-year-old woman with four juvenile passengers in the car, police told KABC.
The driver and one passenger were taken to a hospital for minor injuries, according to KABC.
“We’re still trying to determine if speed was involved. We do know that the Tesla was going northbound through the parking lot. It was attempting to make a right-hand turn to go eastbound toward Madera and, unfortunately, did not make the turn and went over the sidewalk when it struck the female victim,” Simi Valley police Sgt. Rick Morton told KABC.
Earlier this month, a Tesla Model 3 crashed into a home in Katy, Texas, killing a woman. Her family has since filed a lawsuit against Tesla and the driver, alleging the vehicle’s driver-assistance technology contributed to the crash.
Tesla has disputed those claims, saying the driver manually overrode the system by pressing the accelerator. Federal safety officials are investigating the crash.
Authorities have not said whether any driver-assistance technology was engaged at the time of Monday’s crash.
“We don’t believe it was an intentional act, but until we can determine what the cause was, whether it was mechanical failure or there was impairment by the driver, it’s still to be determined,” Morton said.
