Evacuation order over railcar chemical leak in Ohio canceled: Officials
(CLEVES, Ohio) — Officials in Hamilton County, Ohio, on Wednesday, lifted the evacuation order that was put in place the night before over a chemical leak from a railcar.
Hamilton County’s Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency previously told anyone within half a mile of the rail yard to leave the area immediately.
Authorities confirmed Tuesday night that the leak was styrene, a flammable liquid used to make plastics and rubber, according to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.
“The risk of an explosion is our primary concern,” an official said at a Tuesday night news conference. “We are asking residents within a three-quarter-mile radius to shelter in place as a precaution. Experts have assured us that this is well within the safety norms.”
By Wednesday morning, the rail car was no longer “venting,” officials said at a brief press conference.
No one, including train employees, was injured in the incident, officials said.
Officials said 210 homes in Cleves and Whitewater Townships were located in the designated evacuation zone, though how many people were impacted was not immediately known.
The train consisted of 29 cars, some of which were also carrying styrene, officials said.
“Our first priority upon arriving at the scene was removing anything in close proximity to the leak,” an official confirmed Tuesday.
Only one car was found to have leaked styrene, they said.
Cleves Township is almost 17 miles from Cincinnati, while Whitewater Township is about 22 miles away.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg urged those in the area to follow the directions of officials in a social media post on Tuesday.
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were briefed on the incident, White House officials said in a statement.
“The President has directed his team to provide any resources that may be needed,” the official said. “We urge residents to heed the warnings of emergency personnel, especially those instructed to evacuate.”
Ohio senator and vice presidential nominee JD Vance said in a statement on X that he and his team were monitoring the incident.
“My team and I are closely tracking a potentially hazardous chemical leak coming from a railcar near Cleves, Ohio,” Vance said. “Local authorities are working diligently to keep everyone safe. We will continue to monitor the situation until it has been resolved.”
(MEMPHIS, Tenn.) — A former officer who pleaded guilty to charges connected to the death of Tyre Nichols became emotional during his testimony Tuesday in the federal trial of three ex-Memphis police officers charged in connection with the January 2023 beating death of Nichols.
“I wish I would’ve stopped the punches. It hurts to watch. It hurts inside so much,” said Desmond Mills Jr., who cried during his testimony, according to WATN, the ABC affiliate in Memphis covering the case in the courtroom. “It felt bad every time the picture is on the screen to know I’m a part of that. I made his child fatherless. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I know ‘sorry’ won’t bring him back, but I pray his child has everything he needs growing up.”
Mills struggled to speak after watching body camera video in court of Nichols being struck, according to WATN. Mills admitted to using his baton to hit Nichols three times.
“I was angry because I just [pepper] sprayed myself in the face,” Mills said, according to WATN. “I didn’t give him a chance to give me his hands.”
Justin Smith, Demetrius Haley and Tadarrius Bean were charged on Sept. 12, 2023, with violating Nichols’ civil rights through excessive use of force, unlawful assault, failing to intervene in the assault and failing to render medical aid. These charges carry a maximum penalty of life in prison, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. The officers have pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Mills and Emmitt Martin III, the two other officers who were also charged in this case, have pleaded guilty to some of the federal charges.
Mills pleaded guilty to two of the four counts in the indictment — excessive force and failing to intervene, as well as conspiring to cover up his use of unlawful force, according to the DOJ. The government said it will recommend a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison, based on the terms of Mills’ plea agreement.
Martin pleaded guilty to excessive force and failure to intervene, as well as conspiracy to witness tamper, according to court records. The other two charges will be dropped at sentencing, which has been scheduled for Dec. 5, according to the court records.
When Mills was asked by the prosecution what threat Nichols posed during the officers’ encounter with Nichols as shown in the court through body camera footage, the ex-officer answered, “None,” according to WATN.
Mills claimed that he wanted to leave the Memphis Police Department (MPD) by the time Bean joined the SCORPION unit, the MPD’s former crime suppression unit, which has since been disbanded, because he didn’t like the structure of the team, his former colleagues were inexperienced and the culture of the team was “go, go, go,” according to WATN.
“I just pulled the spray out and I sprayed Mr. Nichols,” Mills, who claimed Smith and Bean were already punching Nichols when he arrived on scene, said, according to WATN. “I failed to assess and analyze … just started spraying.”
Mills could be heard on body camera footage played in the court threatening to pepper-spray Nichols as the Memphis resident called out for his mother, according to WATN.
“I thought it would help and get handcuffs on him,” Mills said, according to WATN.
Mills said Martin and Haley were hostile toward citizens and he didn’t like what he saw, according to WATN. The ex-officer claimed their aggressive approaches resulted in them filing several response to resistance forms, which officers are required to fill out to explain their use of force while on the job.
Mills claimed Haley would come to work “amped up” from his pre-workouts, according to WATN. He said he talked to Haley about his inconsistent use of his body camera video, to which Haley allegedly told him, “F— that sh–.”
Mills said that Haley kicked a handcuffed suspect in the face the day before the Nichols’ encounter and didn’t report it, according to WATN.
“I was going to go along and hide it with the rest of the team,” said Mills, who also didn’t report Haley’s use of force, according to WATN.
The response to resistance form lists Mills as using chemical spray, but not Haley kicking the suspect, according to WATN.
Mills claimed Smith, who’s also on trial, told the unit that they needed to check on Martin’s mental state after he returned to work after being hit by a car on the job, according to WATN.
In court testimony last week, Martin, who was the first to spot Nichols, claimed that he was hit by a car in November 2022 and returned to work Jan. 3, 2023, according to WATN. Martin said he was scared, angry, eager to show he could still do the job and wanted revenge for being struck by a vehicle.
“I wanted some kind of revenge. I was seeing red,” Martin said, according to WATN
Body-camera footage shows that Nichols fled after police pulled him over on Jan. 7, 2023, for allegedly driving recklessly, then shocked him with a Taser and pepper-sprayed him.
Officers allegedly then beat Nichols minutes later after tracking him down. After the police encounter, Nichols was transferred to the hospital in critical condition.
Nichols, 29, died in the hospital on Jan. 10, 2023. Footage shows the officers walking around, talking to each other as Nichols was injured and sitting on the ground.
Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis said she has been unable to substantiate that Nichols was driving recklessly. The incident triggered protests and calls for police reform.
The prosecution told ABC News earlier this month that they will not have any statements until after the trial. The defense attorneys did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
After the police encounter, Nichols was transferred to the hospital in critical condition. The medical examiner’s official autopsy report for Nichols showed he “died of brain injuries from blunt force trauma,” the district attorney’s office told Nichols’ family in May 2023.
The five former officers charged in this case were all members of the Memphis Police Department SCORPION unit — a crime suppression unit that was disbanded after Nichols’ death. All of the officers were fired for violating MPD policies.
“It was ugly,” Mills said when asked by the prosecution why he didn’t tell his supervisor the truth about the Nichols encounter, according to WATN. “So, we didn’t tell lieutenant.”
ABC News’ Deena Zaru and Sabina Ghebremedhin contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — The time of year that typically sees the most tropical systems forming in the Atlantic Basin is almost here.
The past three weeks in the Atlantic Basin have been notably quiet with no named storm formations since Ernesto on Aug. 12.
The last time the Atlantic had no named storm formations between Aug. 13 and Sept. 3 was in 1968, Philip Klotzbach, senior research scientist at Colorado State University, told ABC News. There has not been a named storm anywhere in the Atlantic Basin for more than two weeks.
The peak of the Atlantic hurricane season is Sept. 10, according to the National Hurricane Center. Historically speaking, about two-thirds of all storm activity occurs between Aug. 20 and Oct. 10.
Earlier this year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted a very active Atlantic hurricane season for 2024.
One of the explanations for the lack of storm systems forming in the Atlantic Basin in recent weeks is due to the Saharan Dust moving across the Atlantic Ocean, scientists say. Large Saharan dust outbreaks brought widespread, intense plumes of dust and lots of dry air across the tropical Atlantic during July and much of August, Ed Nowottnick, an atmospheric scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, told ABC News.
Tropical waves have been exiting the African continent so far north that they have been pulling in lots of dust and dry air, limiting their chances for development, according to researchers and tropical weather experts at Colorado State University.
While the frequency of these dust plumes has been around average, they have been more intense and widespread in nature, Nowottnick said.
The timing and location of any dust plumes and large areas of dry air play a big role in tropical development, Nowottnick said. Dust levels are trending down, closer to average for this time of the year, which should begin to minimize its role as an inhibiting factor in the coming weeks.
Unfavorable conditions in the upper atmosphere and a northward displaced storm track across West Africa are also playing a role, experts said.
The northward displaced storm track across West Africa has brought abnormal rainfall to portions of Africa outside the typical setup amid the monsoon season, Dan Harnos, a meteorologist at NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center, told ABC News.
Disturbances crossing this region are then entering the Atlantic over relatively cooler waters and with greater exposure to dry air from the mid-latitudes, which hinder the chances of a storm developing.
What to expect for the rest of the Atlantic hurricane season
Below-average activity remains likely over the next two weeks, according to tropical weather experts at Colorado State University. However, the seasonal forecast remains on track to be above average in the end, after a couple more weeks of usually quiet conditions, they said.
Towards the middle of the month, large-scale environmental conditions look to become more favorable for tropical cyclone activity in the Atlantic Basin.
Three tropical disturbances are currently being monitored for potential development in the Atlantic Basin. But the latest update from the National Hurricane Center indicates that they all have a low chance of development over the next seven days.
There are still no major concerns or threats at this time.
A tropical disturbance moving westward across the Caribbean Sea has a 30% chance of development in the next seven days and a 0% chance in the next two days, forecasts show. This system will bring heavy rain and gusty winds to Nicaragua and Honduras this weekend and then to the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico early next week.
Another tropical disturbance, located off the coast of Africa, has a 20% chance of development in the next week.
A third tropical disturbance has just a 10% of development over the next week as it sweeps across the central Atlantic Ocean.
At this point, it looks like the U.S. is in the clear for the foreseeable future.
Looking ahead to mid-September, NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center’s long-range Global Tropical Hazards Outlook calls for a slight to moderate chance of new tropical development over the Central Atlantic Ocean.
While this isn’t a strong signal for activity ramping up, it highlights that changes are likely coming in a few weeks that support more activity.
NOAA’s hurricane outlook for the 2024 season calls for 17 to 24 named storms, with eight to 13 of them becoming hurricanes, and four to seven of those reaching major hurricane strength. So far, there have been five named storms in the 2024 season, with three hurricanes.
The history of peak hurricane season
The top two busiest Atlantic hurricane seasons on record are 2020 and 2005, respectively, records show. Both years had around half the total number of named storms for the season occurring after Sept. 3.
By Sept. 3, 2020, there had already been 15 named storms, up to the letter “O,” with 15 more named storms to follow through the end of the season, on Nov. 30.
In 2005, there had already been 13 named storms by Sept. 3, up to the letter “M,” with 14 more named storms to follow that year.
The average number of named storms in the Atlantic Basin during one season is 14, with seven hurricanes on average.
Numerous factors play an important role in tropical cyclone activity and a seasonal outlook. This year, the end of El Niño giving way to a developing La Niña event in the equatorial eastern Pacific, near-record warm ocean temperatures across much of the Atlantic Basin, and above-average African monsoon activity were all primary reasons for this forecast.
(WASHINGTON) — Housing costs are top of mind for voters across the country, as rising prices force many renters and potential home buyers to empty their pockets.
Nearly half of all renter households were cost-burdened by their rent in 2023 — meaning they spent more than 30% of their income on housing costs, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
And housing costs? They’ve outpaced inflation since the 1960s, rising 2.4 times faster, according to an analysis of housing data published by property advice site Clever Real Estate in March.
The study found that if home prices only kept pace with inflation, the median home could cost about $177,000 instead of the roughly $431,000 it actually costs.
Housing policy was mentioned during Tuesday’s presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, as Harris touted her newly released policy proposals several times.
“We know that we have a shortage of homes and housing, and the cost of housing is too expensive for far too many people,” she said.
When it comes to housing and rent, here’s a look at the policies Harris and Trump have signaled support for if elected in November.
Harris’ proposals
Harris is calling for the construction of 3 million new housing units to address the supply shortage, she said, by proposing a tax incentive for companies who build units to be sold to first-time homebuyers.
The vice president’s proposal also includes a $40 billion fund to support local governments in “innovative methods” of building affordable housing that have proven to be successful, referencing the construction of housing units in Wake County, North Carolina.
She supports the Stop Predatory Investing Act, which is aimed at removing tax benefits for major corporate or Wall Street investors who acquire large numbers of single-family rental homes and mark up prices.
Harris also backs the passage of the Preventing the Algorithmic Facilitation of Rental Housing Cartels Act, which would prohibit the use of algorithmic systems to artificially inflate the price or reduce the supply of leased or rented residential dwelling units.
Additionally, Harris plans to provide $25,000 in down payment support for first-time home buyers, with expanded support for first-generation home owners.
Trump’s proposals
Trump has promised to eliminate certain regulations on the construction of new homes, which he says will help with the cost.
The former president did not say which specific regulations he hopes to eliminate. During his term as president, he signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in 2017, which lowered the corporate tax rate and created Opportunity Zones, in which people can invest in low-income areas and temporarily defer tax on eligible gains.
Trump also plans to open up portions of federal land for large-scale housing construction.
“These zones will be ultra-low tax and ultra-low regulation,” he said in a Q&A at The Economic Club of New York on Sept. 5.
Trump claimed that undocumented immigrants are behind the rise in housing costs in his policy proposals and speeches, adding that he would ban mortgages for undocumented people. Researchers and officials have attributed rising housing costs to high interest rates, the housing shortage, rent gouging and an increase in construction costs and supply chain constraints to the rising costs.
Trump’s Agenda47, which outlines his plans if he’s elected in November, also notes that he intends to “promote homeownership through Tax Incentives and support for first-time buyers.”