Passengers evacuate plane on slides after Delta flight aborts takeoff
Elijah Nouvelage/Bloomberg via Getty Images
(ATLANTA) — Hundreds of passengers were forced to evacuate on slides during a snowstorm after their Delta flight aborted takeoff from Atlanta due to an engine issue Friday morning, the airline said.
Delta Flight 2668 was traveling from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport to Minneapolis-St. Paul when it suspended takeoff shortly after 9 a.m. due to “an indication of an engine issue,” the airline said.
Passengers exited the Boeing 757-300 aircraft through emergency slides and ground transportation was used to take them back to the terminal.
Four passengers reported minor injuries in the incident, with one transported to an area hospital, the airport said. The other three were treated at the scene, the airport said. The nature of their injuries was not immediately clear.
The plane was carrying 201 passengers and seven crew members.
“Nothing is more important than the safety of our people and customers, and we apologize to our customers for their experience,” Delta said in a statement. “We are working to support our customers and get them to their destinations as safely and quickly as possible.”
The Federal Aviation Administration said it will investigate.
Operations at the Atlanta airport were delayed due to the incident and the “ongoing severe weather,” the airport said in a statement.
Approximately 2 inches of snow had fallen by noon in Atlanta, the most in seven years, as a massive winter storm impacts the South.
More than 2,600 flights across the country have been canceled as of midday Friday due to the storm, with Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas and Nashville seeing the biggest impacts.
(NEW YORK) — The Federal Aviation Administration issued a ban on drone operations in several areas of New Jersey until Jan. 17, unless operators are granted special permission from the government due to “special security reasons.”
Uncrewed aerial drones have been lighting up the sky at night in New Jersey and nearby states for weeks, since about mid-November, leading to concern from residents and speculation online. Some had demanded answers from local and state officials for answers.
The temporary flight restrictions, which are set to last until Jan. 17, have been implemented beginning Wednesday in the following locations: Hamilton, Bridgewater, Cedar Grove, North Brunswick, Metuchen, Evesham, Camden, Gloucester City, Westampton, South Brunswick, Edison, Branchburg, Sewaren, Jersey City, Harrison, Elizabeth, Bayonne, Winslow, Burlington, Clifton, Hancocks Bridge and Kearny.
The restrictions say no uncrewed aircraft systems can operate within a nautical miles of the airspace specified in each Notice to Airmen, or NOTAM, including from the ground up to 400 feet. Recreational drones are allowed to operate up to 400 feet, under FAA rules.
The previously issued temporary flight restrictions for Bedminster and Picatinny Arsenal remain in place.
The government may use “deadly force” against the drones if they pose an “imminent security threat,” the NOTAM said.
Pilots who fail to abide by those restrictions could be “intercepted, detained, and interviewed by the law enforcement/security personnel.” The FAA said it could also take administrative action, including imposing civil penalties and suspending or revoking the operators’ certificates, as well as pursuing criminal charges.
This ban comes after Sunday’s press briefing where an FAA official said there have “without a doubt” been drones flying over New Jersey, pointing to the fact that there are nearly a million drones are registered in the U.S.
The FBI has received more than 5,000 tips in the last few weeks about drone sightings in New Jersey and other states, said a multiagency statement, which was released Monday by the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, the FAA and the Department of Defense.
“Having closely examined the technical data and tips from concerned citizens, we assess that the sightings to date include a combination of lawful commercial drones, hobbyist drones, and law enforcement drones, as well as manned fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and stars mistakenly reported as drones,” the joint statement said.
(WASHINGTON) — Two apparent assassination attempts, a terrorist-inspired attack in New Orleans, an explosion in Las Vegas and a pair of global conflicts see President-elect Donald Trump returning to the Oval Office under circumstances that can only be described as high pressure and high stakes.
Monday’s inauguration of the 47th president — which will be the first to take place indoors since 1985 — will occur against a backdrop of domestic and international threats, all of which need to be mitigated to ensure a safe, peaceful transfer of power.
Presidential inaugurations have always been targets for nefarious activities, most often tied to groups with opposing political positions who plan acts of civil disobedience. Unfortunately, that dynamic has changed and threats against public officials have increased exponentially.
Assassination attempts seemed to dominate the news last year, including an attempt on Trump’s life (closely followed by an apparent second attempt) and the fatal attack on United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson. This makes the security concern for Trump’s second inauguration unlike any in recent history.
In 1998, the National Special Security Event (NSSE) procedures were established by President Bill Clinton as part of Presidential Decision Directive 62. This laid out the security roles of federal agencies at major events after the 1996 Olympic bombings in Atlanta, where a lack of an overall coordinating federal agency was cited as a security gap that needed to be addressed.
The Presidential Threat Protection Act of 2000 added special events explicitly to the powers of the Secret Service, making it the clear federal coordinator for all large NSSE-declared events.
Under that planning process, the Secret Service has to coordinate all federal, state and local resources for the event, which this year is taking place amid unprecedented threats from assassinations, ISIS-inspired attacks, vehicle ramming attacks and potential domestic violent and foreign actor threats.
This means every facet of the inauguration, from aerial surveillance and perimeter access controls to mass transit, road closures and security sweeps must all be planned and prepared for. In this environment, the Secret Service will also lean on interagency coordination centers to vet and address all risks that arise.
The Department of Defense is one of the critical stakeholders and resource providers for inauguration ceremonies and security. Defense Department support assets are sure to be employed to assist with K-9 and technical security sweeps, along with aviation security and aiding the Coast Guard in making sure the Potomac River is safe.
These assets have a dual responsibility: they are mandated by policy to support the Secret Service and to follow the commander in chief by law.
Perhaps the one that will be most critical is the interagency intelligence operation, which is co-chaired by the Secret Service, FBI and Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department.
With the current threat levels, these groups are sure to be running down leads locally, nationally and internationally to mitigate any potential threat to the inauguration or any of the high-level people attending.
Presidential movements on Inauguration Day will be a particular focus for planners. From the swearing-in inside the U.S. Capitol Rotunda to celebratory gatherings Trump may attend, each movement that day will have Secret Service security mitigation measures in place.
Under the Secret Service NSSE umbrella and through the dedication of its personnel, Monday’s inauguration should be a well-planned and secure event despite the historic threat environment.
(Donald J. Mihalek is an ABC News contributor, retired senior Secret Service agent and regional field training instructor who served during two presidential transitions. He was also a police officer and served in the U.S. Coast Guard. The opinions expressed in this story are not those of ABC News.)
(LOS ANGELES) — The president of a mortgage lending company in California has been arrested on suspicion of murder after allegedly driving drunk through an intersection and killing an 88-year-old man, police said.
The traffic collision happened on Friday at approximately 6:15 p.m. when Orange County Sheriff’s deputies in California responded to a report of a traffic collision involving two vehicles at the intersection of Golden Lantern and Stonehill Drive in Dana Point, California – some 60 miles south of downtown Los Angeles, according to a statement from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.
“Deputies arrived and discovered a Land Rover SUV and a Ford Transit van had been involved in a head-on collision,” police said. “Based on preliminary investigation, the Land Rover was traveling westbound on Stonehill Drive and turned left against a red arrow signal in front of the Ford Transit van traveling eastbound on Stonehill Drive.”
The driver of the transit van was taken to the hospital where he was treated for serious but non-life-threatening injuries.
However, an 88-year-old passenger of the transit van, Melvin Joseph Weibel of Dana Point, “succumbed to his injuries sustained in the collision and was pronounced deceased at the scene,” according to authorities.
The 48-year-old woman who was driving the Land Rover — Serene Francie Rosenberg of Dana Point — was immediately arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and booked into the Orange County Jail for murder and DUI causing injury.
Police confirmed that she had three prior convictions, but did not offer details on the charges that led to those convictions.
The company she works for, OCMBC, expressed its “deepest sympathies following the tragic traffic accident that occurred in Dana Point on January 31, 2025.”
“Our thoughts are with everyone affected by this heartbreaking event and we intend to monitor the situation closely, responding with care and responsibility in accordance with our company’s core values,” OCMBC said.
The company also announced that Rosenberg had been placed on administrative leave, and John Hamel, former Chief Capital Markets Officer, had “assumed the permanent role of President,” the company said.
“This leadership transition ensures continued stability and operational excellence,” said OCMBC.
“This has been a difficult time for everyone affected by this tragic event, and our hearts go out to those impacted,” said Rabi Aziz, CEO of OCMBC.
Meanwhile, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department’s Major Accident Investigation Team is investigating the collision and is asking for anyone with additional details or who may have witnessed the collision to contact the Orange County Sheriff’s Department’s Traffic Bureau.
