Spring break travel forecast: What you need to know
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(NEW YORK) — Families are gearing up for spring break travel, with 173 million Americans expected to take to the skies in March and April.
Whether you’re packing for a relaxing beach vacation or preparing to explore a new city, here’s what you need to know before heading to the airport:
U.S. airlines expect to carry 173 million passengers from March 1 to April 30 — up 4% from the same time last year, according to Airlines for America.
Airfare for March and April is up compared to last year. The average price per ticket is now $280, which is a 4% increase from the same time last year, according to Hopper.
The cheapest day of the week to fly for both domestic and international travel is Tuesday, according to Expedia. Passengers who fly on Tuesday instead of Saturday and Sunday can save about 15% on average.
The first two weekends of March are the cheapest travel weekends this spring, according to Hopper.
The busiest and most expensive time to fly in the U.S. will be the week of Wednesday, April 2, according to Expedia.
Southwest Airlines said it’s expecting to fly more than 8.2 million passengers between March 8 and March 23. Southwest predicts March 20 will be its busiest day in that time period.
The top destination in the U.S. is Orlando, Florida, followed by Las Vegas, Miami, Los Angeles and New York, according to Expedia.
(LOS ANGELES) — An apparent tornado touched down in a small Northern California city Saturday, flipping cars, causing significant damage and sending several people to the hospital.
The National Weather Service said the apparent tornado touched down at about 1:40 p.m. local time in Scotts Valley, about 30 miles south of San Jose.
Several people were taken to the hospital with injuries, but there are no reported deaths, according to a press release from the Scotts Valley Police Department.
“Emergency medical teams are prioritizing those most in need of care, and we continue to monitor the situation closely,” police said in the news release.
The tornado caused “significant damage” in several areas, police said.
Photos shared by police on social media showed multiple cars turned on their sides along the roadway and in a shopping center parking lot.
The weather service confirmed the tornado based on videos, photos, witness accounts and radar and said a survey team would further investigate damage on the ground to determine how strong it was.
California averages about 11 tornadoes a year, typically in the fall and spring, according to the weather service.
Earlier Saturday morning, the weather service issued the first tornado warning for San Francisco, amid a strong storm that knocked out power for thousands, according to ABC station KGO.
The tornado warning in San Francisco was lifted about 20 minutes later.
Roughly half of California’s farm workers are undocumented immigrants. Via ABC News
(LOS ANGELES) — California’s Central Valley is considered “America’s bread basket,” supplying a quarter of the nation’s food and producing 40% of its fruits, nuts and other table foods.
However, roughly half of California’s farm workers are undocumented immigrants, so President Donald Trump’s plan to fast track mass deportation and the images of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids across the country have spread fear on these farms.
It started shortly before Trump returned to office on Jan. 20. The U.S. Border Patrol raids in Central Valley’s southern Kern County — dubbed “Operation Return to Sender” — hit close to home for people in the region.
“Op Return to Sender brought 78 undocumented noncitizens, many w/criminal records, out of the shadows,” USBP Chief Patrol Agent Gregory Bovino wrote in a Jan. 16 post on X.
The people arrested didn’t all have criminal records, and immigrant rights groups say fear is trickling through undocumented workers.
“You have families that are being ripped apart. You have community members that are living in fear,” immigration attorney Ana Alicia Huerta told ABC News. “They’re scared to go outside. They’re asking neighbors and friends who have status to drive them back and forth because they’re concerned that they may be targeted.”
Advocacy groups say the raids have prompted some farmworkers to stay home, which could reduce the harvesting of produce and other goods.
“It’s not easy to live in fear, when we are the ones putting food on your table,” farmworker Xochilt Nuñez told ABC News in Spanish. “Since the beginning I’ve said, do not bite the hand that feeds you.”
Nuñez has worked in the fields of Central Valley for 16 years, and said she loves the feeling of the soil, the smell and “la libertad” — the freedom of the fields.
“We are glad to be at work at 6 a.m. and have an hour commute,” she said. “We do it happily, from the bottom of our hearts. Because we love this soil.”
She noted that immigrants are “living in terror” because they’re concerned immigration officials will come to the fields. She also expressed concern that farm workers staying home for fear of deportation or actually getting deported may result in produce prices increasing due to a labor shortage.
“Can you believe there are people who have been here for more than 35 years, working, paying taxes and do not have the right to a work permit?” Nuñez said. “We need to be empathetic with those people. Because they do not rest — and the economy lays on their backs.”
The United Farm Workers Foundation, the largest union representing America’s farmworkers, held a virtual press briefing in January after Border Patrol detained at least two of their union members.
“Both members had lived and worked in the United States for over 15 years,” they said. “One leaves behind two children under the age of 10, and the other leaves behind four children between the ages of four and 10.”
Elizabeth Strater, national vice president and director of strategic campaigns for the UFW, said that a report claiming 75% of farm workers were staying home from work is not accurate. She noted that the workers can’t afford to miss work, especially since it is peak harvest season for citrus.
“Farm workers are enduring great anxiety after the chaotic immigration sweeps targeting farmworker communities earlier this month. They still have to provide for their families,” she said. “Regardless of status, they all deserve better than to be profiled and terrorized for simply doing the work it takes to feed this country.”
Some immigrant families are too afraid to leave home to even get groceries, prompting groups like Latino nonprofit Celebration Nation to set up food drives. Its founder, Flor Martinez Zaragoza, told ABC News the group will be feeding farm workers every day for the next six weeks.
“It’s very ironic that we’re feeding those that feed the nation because they’re very food insecure,” she said during a food drive in Fresno.
In Kern County, rapid response groups are teaming up with immigration attorneys like Huerta — she emphasized that people have rights regardless of their status.
“If you’re arrested, don’t sign anything,” she said. “Ask to speak to an attorney.”
Huerta said this isn’t the first time her community has had to fight for their humanity. Central Valley is home to famed labor organizers and civil rights leaders like her grandmother Dolores Huerta, along with César Chávez.
Three generations later, their grandchildren are carrying on that legacy. Andrés Chávez does so as the executive director of the National Chavez Center.
“If there’s anything that the last week has taught us, it’s that it’s going to be a long four years. And so folks like myself and groups like ourselves are having to prepare for this long-term fight,” he told ABC News. “And I think back to my tata César’s words — he would always say, ‘You only lose when you give up.'”
(NEW YORK) — A 9-year-old boy visiting New York City for the holidays will remain hospitalized “for quite some time,” the boy’s mother said after they both were pinned by a taxi cab on Christmas Day.
“[It] hit us from behind. Didn’t even know what had happened,” the 41-year-old mother, who was visiting with her family from Australia, told New York ABC station WABC. “I just remember being on the ground and something on top of me. I could hear the wheels screeching and my son screaming next to me.”
The taxi cab jumped the curb and struck six pedestrians in Herald Square shortly after 4 p.m. on Christmas Day after the 58-year-old driver suffered a medical emergency, police said. All impacted pedestrians suffered non-life-threatening injuries, with three — including the mother and son — transported to area hospitals, officials said.
Witness Ryan Tucker told WABC that he and several other good Samaritans helped lift the cab off the mother and son after the crash.
“I ran over and noticed there was a little boy, his leg was underneath the front passenger tire as it was spinning,” Tucker told the station.
One man shut the car off, according to Tucker.
“There was a whole group of us that ripped the fender off, lifted the car back, and then that’s when I kind of grabbed the little boy,” Tucker told WABC.
Tucker, who was visiting from Oregon, told WABC that his wife was also struck by the taxi on her back shoulder. He said he ensured his wife was OK before joining others to help the mother and son.
The boy broke his right femur in the crash and has “severe” burns on his leg, his mother told WABC.
“He’s going to be in the hospital for quite some time,” she told the station.
“We were just here for Christmas holidays,” she added. “Christmas and New Year’s. Day three in the city and that happened.”
The taxi driver was transported to Bellevue for further evaluation. There is no criminality suspected, police said.
ABC News’ Victoria Arancio and Leah Sarnoff contributed to this report.
