2 killed, several hurt in Halloween night shooting in Orlando, mayor announces local state of emergency
WFTV
(ORLANDO, Fl) — The mayor of Orlando, Florida, is cracking down in the city’s entertainment district after two people were killed and several others injured in a Halloween night shooting.
The suspect, 17-year-old Jaylen Dwayne Edgar, has been taken into custody, Orlando police said.
Officers responded to reports of shots fired just after 1 a.m. Friday, and within minutes, the officers witnessed a second shooting, police said.
One person was killed at the first scene and the second victim was killed at the second scene, police said.
Nine people, aged 18 to 39, were injured, some critically, police said.
The suspect walked by more than 10 officers just before opening fire, Orlando Police Chief Eric Smith said.
Surveillance video captured the chaos of people fleeing the scene as officers apprehended the suspect.
Edgar has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder with a firearm and six counts of attempted first-degree murder with a firearm, police said.
A motive is unknown, Smith said.
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said he’s issuing a local state of emergency for establishments in the downtown entertainment area, which will ban alcohol sales after midnight and implement a curfew from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m.
“It’s unfortunate that the changes in the state concealed weapons laws [in 2023] have made it even easier for people to carry guns,” Dyer said at a news conference.
“You can legally carry a firearm unless you fall into a certain kind of category: underage, convicted felon,” Smith explained. “For most people, it allows them, without getting a concealed weapons permit, to carry a gun concealed.”
ABC News’ Jason Volack contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — The “Trump Trade” was in overdrive Wednesday, making it one for the history books on Wall Street with record finishes for all three major stock indices.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rocketed 3.6%, its biggest one day jump since November 2022. The S&P 500 shot up 2.5% while the Nasdaq climbed nearly 3%.
The biggest winners were companies and sectors that investors are betting will benefit from President-elect Trump’s policies.
Bank stocks, including JP Morgan Chase (JPM), Wells Fargo (WFC), and Bank of America (BAC) rallied on the promise of lower taxes and less regulation. The small-cap Russell 2000 Index (RUT), which includes some regional banks, soared nearly 6%.
It was the biggest surge for the U.S. dollar since 2020, and Carl Icahn, the activist investor and billionaire, said it will lead to less regulation and more mergers and acquisition.
Elon Musk was perhaps the day’s biggest winner. Shares of his Tesla Corporation (TSLA) rocketed nearly 15%. The world’s wealthiest person has been a staunch Trump proponent, donating more than $130 million toward Trump’s election efforts. In his victory speech, the president-elect referred to Musk as a “super genius” and has promised him a role in his administration.
“The biggest positive from a Trump win would be for Tesla and Musk,” wrote Dan Ives, Senior Equity Research Analyst at Wedbush. “We believe a Trump presidency would be an overall negative for the EV industry as likely the EV rebates/tax incentives get pulled. However, for Tesla we see this as a huge positive. Tesla has the scale and scope that is unmatched in the EV industry and this dynamic could give Musk and Tesla a clear competitive advantage in a non-EV subsidy environment, coupled by likely higher China tariffs that would continue to push away cheaper Chinese EV players from flooding the US market,” Ives wrote in a research note.
The cryptocurrency market also cheered Trump’s return to the White House. Bitcoin (BTCUSD) notched a record close, climbing above $75,000. Trump has said he wants the U.S. to be the “crypto capital of the planet” and plans to create a “strategic reserve of bitcoin.”
In September, he even launched his own crypto platform, World Liberty Financial, a new venture with family members to trade cryptocurrencies.
Donald Trump saw his personal wealth balloon during Wednesday’s stock market rally, at least on paper. Shares of his Trump Media and Technology Group (DJT), the parent company of his social media platform Truth Social, soared more than 30% at the market’s open but pulled back considerably to finish just 6% higher. Still, that gave the company a market cap of about $7.2 billion, with Trump’s majority stake worth about $4.1 billion.
(WASHINGTON) — A first-of-its-kind survey has found that 3.3% of U.S. high school students identified as transgender in 2023, with another 2.2% identified as questioning.
The first nationally representative survey from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also highlights the multiple health disparities faced by transgender students who may experience gender dysphoria, stigma, discrimination, social marginalization or violence because they do not conform to social expectations of gender, the CDC reports.
These stressors increase the likelihood transgender youth and those who are questioning may experience mental health challenges, leading to disparities in health and well-being, according to the health agency.
Here are some of the findings:
More than a quarter (26%) of transgender and questioning students attempted suicide in the past year, compared to 5% of cisgender male and 11% of cisgender female students. The CDC urged schools to “create safer and more supportive environments for transgender and questioning students” to address these disparities, including inclusive activities, mental health and other health service referrals, and implementing policies that are LGBTQ-inclusive.
About 7 in 10 questioning students (69%) and transgender students (72%) experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, which the CDC states is a marker of depressive symptoms.
The CDC estimates 40% of transgender and questioning students have experienced bullying at school. About a quarter of transgender students (25.3%) and more than a quarter of questioning students (26.4%) skipped school because they felt unsafe, compared with 8.5% of cisgender male students.
Trans students were more likely to experience unstable housing in the last month than cisgender students. The CDC found 10.7% of trans students and 10% of questioning students said they experienced unstable housing, compared to 2.1% of cisgender males and 1.8% of cisgender females.
The CDC noted this disparity is likely caused of discrimination, such as family rejection.
Additionally, “transgender students might experience discrimination, harassment, and assault among foster, shelter, and other social service providers that make this population less likely to be sheltered when experiencing unstable housing, compounding their vulnerability to experiences of violence, poor mental health, and suicidal thoughts and behaviors,” the report states.
The Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System regularly surveys more than 20,000 high school students in both public and private schools nationwide to monitor adolescent behavior over time to identify key issues and health needs.
If you are struggling with thoughts of suicide or worried about a friend or loved one, call or text the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 for free, confidential emotional support 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
(TALLAHASSEE, FL) — Hurricane Milton strengthened to a Category 4 storm Monday morning as it takes aim at Florida’s west coast.
Landfall is expected as a Category 3 hurricane Wednesday night or early Thursday morning.
Milton is closing in as Floridians are still recovering from the devastation unleashed by Hurricane Helene.
Milton expected to strengthen to Category 5 hurricane
Milton — currently a high-end Category 4 hurricane with 155 mph winds — is forecast to strengthen in a few hours to a Category 5 hurricane with 160 mph winds.
The storm will then weaken slightly as it approaches Florida on Wednesday night.
Milton is forecast to make landfall Wednesday night into Thursday morning as a Category 3 hurricane with 125 mph winds.
Counties issue evacuation orders
Evacuation orders have been issued in counties along Florida’s west coast, including Charlotte, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas and Sarasota.
DeSantis: ‘Time is going to start running out very, very soon’
Fifty-one out of Florida’s 67 counties are under a state of emergency as the state braces for Hurricane Milton, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Monday.
The governor urged residents to pay attention to evacuation orders.
“Time is going to start running out very, very soon,” he warned.
“Please, if you’re in the Tampa Bay area, you need to evacuate,” Kevin Guthrie, executive director of Florida Emergency Management, urged at a news conference.
“Drowning deaths due to storm surge are 100% preventable if you leave.”
Waste removal trucks are urgently trying to get debris from Hurricane Helene off the streets of coastal communities before Milton hits.
DeSantis said debris will continue to be cleared until it’s no longer safe to do so.
Nearly 500 truckloads of debris from the barrier islands and Pinellas County have been moved to debris landfills in the last 24 hours, he said.
St. Pete-Clearwater, Tampa airports to close
The St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport, just outside of Tampa, Florida, will close at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday and stay shut on Wednesday and Thursday.
“The airport is in a mandatory evacuation zone and is not a public shelter,” airport officials tweeted. “Prepare and stay safe.”
Tampa International Airport will suspend operations beginning at 9 a.m. Tuesday and stay closed “until it can assess any damage after the storm,” airport officials said.
Milton strengthens to Category 4
Milton rapidly intensified to a Category 4 hurricane with 150 mph winds Monday morning.
Within hours, Milton strengthened to a Category 2, then a Category 3 and then a Category 4.
Latest forecast: Landfall expected Wednesday night
Hurricane Milton is forecast to make landfall Wednesday night or early Thursday morning as a Category 3 hurricane. Landfall is expected anywhere between just north of Tampa to south of Sarasota.
A record-breaking storm surge of 8 to 12 feet is forecast for the storm surge-prone city of Tampa. This comes just after Hurricane Helene brought a record storm surge of 6 to 8 feet to Tampa Bay.
A hurricane watch was issued for Tampa Bay and Fort Myers, while a tropical storm watch is in effect from Apalachicola to Key West.
Water inundation from Fort Myers to Tampa could be higher than the record-breaking 7 feet recorded during Helene.
Flooding is also a threat since a separate storm has dumped rain on Florida for the last several days.
Milton strengthens to Category 3
Hurricane Milton early on Monday strengthened to a major Category 3 hurricane, with wind speeds of about 120 mph, the National Hurricane Center said.
Milton strengthens to Category 2 hurricane
Hurricane Milton strengthened rapidly early Monday, with wind speeds climbing to 100 mph, making it a Category 2 hurricane, the National Hurricane Center said.
A hurricane watch was issued for the area around Tampa Bay, along Florida’s western coast.
The storm, which is in the Gulf of Mexico, is forecast to become a major hurricane on Monday, meaning its winds are expected to reach or exceed 111 mph.
Landfall is expected on Wednesday night, with the storm expected to be a Category 3 storm with winds of about 125 mph.
-ABC News’ Max Golembo
Milton forecast to be major hurricane
Hurricane Milton, which strengthened on Sunday into a Category 1 storm, is forecast to make landfall as a “major” hurricane on Florida’s west coast this week, the National Hurricane Center said.
“While it is too soon to specify the exact magnitude and location of the greatest impacts, there is an increasing risk of life-threatening storm surge and damaging winds for portions of the west coast of the Florida Peninsula beginning early Wednesday,” the center said in a late Sunday advisory.
