Chances of asteroid striking Earth in the next decade has nearly doubled, NASA says
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(NEW YORK) — The chances of an asteroid striking Earth within the next decade has doubled in a matter of weeks, according to NASA astronomers.
The asteroid, discovered just after Christmas and named 2024 YR4, could strike the planet in December 2032 as it approaches during another journey around its orbit, according to NASA’s Center for Near Earth Object Studies.
When the detection of the asteroid was announced last month, NASA predicted just a 1.3% probability of it hitting Earth. The likelihood has increased to 2.1%.
The overall probability may be low, but a 2% chance of an asteroid strike is “uncommon,” Davide Farnocchia, navigation engineer with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, told ABC News.
“Getting something with a probability this high, like 2%, which is high for us,” he said.
On the Torino scale — the method for categorizing the impact hazard associated with near-Earth objects — 2024 YR4 is ranking at three out of 10, Farnocchia said, adding that most space objects rank at a zero.
The object was discovered in late December as it made a close approach towards Earth, but it is now moving away, Farnocchia said.
The elongated shape of the orbit takes the asteroid around the sun and into Earth’s vicinity before it ventures far out between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.
Because of the unusual orbit, the asteroid will disappear starting in April until 2028, according to NASA.
The uncertainty surrounding this space rock is still prominent as astronomers race to find out as much as they can about the asteroid before they lose sight of it.
“We don’t want to take any chances,” he said.
The asteroid measures between 130 feet and 330 feet in diameter and large enough to potentially cause localized damage were it to strike a populated city, according to NASA.
In 1908, the Tunguska asteroid, which was a similar size, flattened trees over an area of about 1,250 miles after it exploded in the skies over Siberia.
The worldwide astronomy community is paying close attention to this asteroid and any others that could potentially impact the planet using multiple telescopes as well as measurements to detail the objects’ positions in space, Farnocchia said.
“We are tracking this object every night,” he said.
(NEW ORLEANS) — A young mother teaching her son to read. A former college football player “on top of the world” living in New York City. An 18-year-old aspiring nurse. A father of two remembered as the “life of the party.”
Family members and friends have begun identifying the 15 people who died in the truck-ramming attack early Wednesday morning on Bourbon Street in New Orleans.
The suspect, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, was allegedly “hell-bent” on killing as many people as possible when he steered a pickup truck around barricades and plowed into a crowd of people ringing in the New Year, according to New Orleans Superintendent of Police Anne Kirkpatrick.
Here’s what we know about the victims so far:
Kareem Badawi
Kareem Badawi was identified as one of the victims killed in Wednesday’s attack in a statement from the Episcopal School of Baton Rouge, from which he graduated last year.
A fellow alumnus was critically injured and is hospitalized, the school said.
Badawi was attending the University of Alabama, according to a statement from the university president.
Tiger Bech, 27
Tiger Bech’s death was confirmed to ABC News by his mother, Michelle Bech.
Michelle Bech said her son, 27, played football at Princeton University and moved to New York City after graduating in 2021 to work for Seaport Global, a capital markets firm.
She told ABC News that her son lived life to the fullest and was “on top of the world.”
She said her son was in Louisiana for a long weekend of hunting and fishing, two of his favorite activities, with college friends from Princeton. He was scheduled to fly back to New York City Wednesday afternoon.
His younger brother, Jack Bech, is a wide receiver for Texas Christian University Football. Michelle Bech said Tiger Bech frequently flew down from New York City over the past two years to attend his brother’s games.
In a statement to ABC News, Princeton’s football coach Bob Surace described Tiger Bech as “a ferocious competitor with endless energy, a beloved teammate and a caring friend.”
Nikyra Cheyenne Dedeaux, 18
Nikyra Cheyenne Dedeaux’s death was confirmed to ABC News by her mother, Melissa Dedeaux.
Melissa Dedeaux remembered her 18-year-old daughter as a kind and outgoing young woman who was excited to attend nursing school this year.
“She was a sweet person. She was outgoing, she was very loved,” said Melissa Dedeaux, who said goodbye to her daughter for the final time Tuesday night.
Melissa Dedeaux said she begged her daughter not to go to Bourbon Street for New Years’ Eve like she had done the year prior.
Melissa Dedeaux said she was worried about the danger of the area, and she needed her daughter to pick her up from her overnight shift at work at 7:30 a.m.
When another family member picked her up from work, she said she sensed something was wrong. She said her brother-in-law broke the news to her once she got home.
Melissa Dedeaux said she hopes others remember her daughter as a kind person.
“She was a good person, and even though she was loved by many, it can happen to anybody,” she said.
Hubert Gauthreaux, 21
Huber Gauthreaux, 21, was identified as a victim in Wednesday’s attack in a statement from the Archbishop Shaw High School in Marrero, Louisiana, from which he graduated in 2021.
“It is with great sorrow that we share that alum Hubert Gauthreaux, Class of 2021, was tragically killed in the senseless act of violence that occurred early this morning in the French Quarter,” a statement from the school said. “He was 21 years old.”
Reggie Hunter, 37
Reggie Hunter’s death was confirmed by his first cousin, Shirell Jackson.
“He did not deserve this,” she told ABC News’ Diane Macedo. “It’s senseless; it’s cruel. …I wish none of this had ever happened.”
Jackson said Hunter, 37, leaves behind two sons, 11-year-old Landon Hunter and 18-month-old Christian Hunter. She described her cousin as the “life of the party” with a big heart who was funny, loving and caring.
“This is hurting all of us differently and on so many levels,” she said. “We were expecting so much life to live with our cousin … Just a beautiful person who did not deserve this and had so much more life to live.”
Nicole Perez, 27
Nicole Perez, 27 was confirmed as one of the victims by Kimberly Usher-Fall, her employer and family friend.
Usher-Fall said Perez had recently been promoted to a manager at one of her stores and she was really excited about the position.
She said Perez brought her 4-year-old son, Melo (Melvin), with her to work and she was helping him learn how to read.
“She was a great mother,” Usher-Fall told ABC News’ Diane Macedo. “She just was a really exciting little young lady and she was getting herself together.”
Usher-Fall said Perez was out with her friends for New Year’s Eve when she was struck by the truck. She was taken to University Hospital but succumbed to her injuries.
Usher-Fall has previously shared the news of Perez’s passing Wednesday morning on a GoFundMe page.
“She was so beautiful and full of life. Her son Melo is now without his momma, and we are without our friend and dedicated employee. I’m hoping to get some help for her burial expenses and to help her son with expenses he will need to transition into a new living situation.”
Matthew Tenedorio, 25
The death of Matthew Tenedorio, 25, was confirmed to ABC News by his parents, Louis and Cathy Tenedorio.
Tenedorio worked as a fiber optics and video professional at the Superdome and Smoothie King Center, according to his parents, who said they felt he had a boundless future.
Cathy Tenedorio described her son as the “life of the room” whose warmth and humor was treasured by his friends. Asked what she would miss about her son, she answered, “Everything. His beautiful face, laugh. ‘I love you mom.’ You know he was just a wonderful son.”
The Tenedorios last saw their son at dinner on New Year’s Eve before he departed for a night out with friends on Bourbon Street.
They both qualms about him staying out late on New Year’s Eve.
“But all I did was just hug him and tell him, ‘I love you. Happy New Year. Please text me when you get home.’ And that text never came,” Cathy Tenedorio said.
The Tenedorios began trying to contact their son Wednesday morning, attempting to piece together his last steps by asking his friends. They described a scene of chaos and carnage that caused the group to split up. By the time the shooting stopped, they couldn’t find Matthew, his parents said.
“By noon, I had a good idea that something terrible happened to my son,” Louis said.
Louis and Cathy recounted calling hospitals and reporting their son missing and then eventually going to a family reunification center at the University Medical Center hospital.
“I heard parents screaming and crying this afternoon. It just broke my heart,” Cathy Tenedorio said, describing the agony of waiting to learn their son’s fate.
(NEW YORK) — International consulting firm McKinsey & Company agreed Friday to resolve criminal charges with federal prosecutors in two states for its role in helping Purdue Pharma boost sales of OxyContin and other opioid painkillers, fueling an addiction epidemic.
McKinsey agreed to pay $650 million as part of a deferred prosecution agreement, according to court documents filed Friday.
As part of the agreement, McKinsey will “not do any work related to the marketing, sale, promotion or distribution of controlled substances” and will not contest the facts of the government’s criminal charges.
Those agreed-upon facts said McKinsey “knew the risks and dangers associated with OxyContin” but “designed strategies to help Purdue Pharma” to “turbocharge” OxyContin prescriptions.
“This included a strategy to identify which current OxyContin prescribers would likely generate the greatest number of additional prescriptions if called on by Purdue Pharma’s sales force,” court records said.
During a six year period from 2012-2018, McKinsey “knowingly and intentionally conspired with Purdue Pharma L.P. and others to aid and abet the misbranding of prescription drugs, held for sale after shipment in interstate commerce, without valid prescriptions,” according to the charging document that had been filed jointly by the United States Attorney’s offices for the District of Massachusetts and the Western District of Virginia.
McKinsey was charged with conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and with destroying documents.
In 2019, McKinsey said it would no longer advise clients on opioid-related businesses.
The company reached a $573 million agreement in 2021 with attorneys general in 47 states who said the company worked to drive sales of opioids, contributing to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(NEW YORK) — President-elect Donald Trump slammed the judge in his criminal hush money case Tuesday, a day after the judge refused to dismiss Trump’s conviction on the grounds of presidential immunity.
New York Judge Juan Merchan on Monday rejected Trump’s request to vacate the verdict in the case based on the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity decision.
Trump had sought to dismiss his criminal indictment and vacate the jury verdict on the grounds that prosecutors, during the trial earlier this year, introduced evidence relating to Trump’s official acts as president that was inadmissible based on the Supreme Court’s subsequent ruling that Trump is entitled to presumptive immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts undertaken while in office.
“Acting Justice Juan Merchan has completely disrespected the United States Supreme Court, and its Historic Decision on Immunity,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform Tuesday, calling Merchan’s ruling, without evidence, “completely illegal.”
Merchan, in his ruling, determined that the evidence in the case related “entirely to unofficial conduct” and “poses no danger of intrusion on the authority and function of the Executive Branch.”
The judge “wrote an opinion that is knowingly unlawful, goes against our Constitution, and, if allowed to stand, would be the end of the Presidency as we know it,” Trump wrote in his post.
Trump was found guilty in May on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to a hush money payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in order to boost his electoral prospects in the 2016 presidential election.
