Nighttime shot of unfurled police tape next to flashing lights from a police car. (halbergman/Getty Images)
(SANDY, Ore) — Multiple people were killed and an officer was shot and wounded in a domestic violence situation in Oregon, officials said.
When officers responded to a shooting and domestic disturbance shortly before 4 p.m. Sunday, the officers came under gunfire and returned fire, Sandy Police Chief Patrick Huskey said at a news conference.
One officer was shot multiple times, Huskey said. The officer has been hospitalized in stable condition and expected to survive, he said.
Multiple victims are dead, the chief said, but he did not say how many victims or their identities.
While the suspect was barricaded in the home, police urged residents to lock their doors and stay inside.
The suspect surrendered around 8 p.m., police said, and the shelter in place order has been lifted.
The chief called the shooting a “traumatic event for our community.”
Sandy Mayor Kathleen Walker said in a statement, “Our Sandy community grieves the unimaginable loss of lives from a domestic violence incident. … Please keep our officer, the victims and their loved ones, and everyone in our community in your thoughts.”
(SAUKVILLE, Wis.) — Tom Uttech has lived on his 52-acre property in Saukville, Wisconsin, for nearly 40 years.
From outside Uttech’s home art studio, the landscape is filled with rolling hills, topped with wildflowers that build to the highest point in the township, where rows of evergreens that Uttech says he planted by hand in 1988 have since grown into mature trees.
“That kind of scares me because I didn’t think I was that old,” Uttech said of the trees that he’s watched grow over the decades.
The 83-year-old renowned landscape painter, whose work has been displayed at museums across the country, has spent hundreds of hours and years of work over the last few decades maintaining and curating his land into a sweeping prairie that has come to serve as the inspiration for his work and his livelihood.
It’s a lifetime of work that Uttech now says has come under threat after receiving a letter in the mail from his utility company informing him that a massive power line would need to be built through his property, undoing years of work and stripping away the muse for his art.
“I couldn’t believe it, and I still don’t,” Uttech told ABC News correspondent Elizabeth Schulze when asked what his initial reaction was to the news. “They’d be putting power lines that are 300 or something feet tall, taller than apparently the Statue of Liberty.”
Uttech later learned that the transmission line would be used to help power a massive $15 billion data center campus that’s set to be built on over 500 football fields’ worth of farmland in nearby in Port Washington — a signature part of the Trump administration’s $500 billion Stargate partnership with OpenAI and Oracle, which President Donald Trump hopes will help supercharge the artificial intelligence revolution.
Uttech is facing what other residents in his town — and others around the country — are facing more and more: the risk of losing parts of his land to eminent domain, the government’s legal authority to seize private property for public use, in support of the growing expansion of AI data centers as the demand to power them continues to grow.
The threat, in some ways, is a physical manifestation of what many people like Uttech fear the artificial intelligence boom could mean for their work.
Across the United States there currently more than 3,000 data centers, and that number will soon grow by 1,200 more now under construction, according to Data Center Map, an industry service that tracks data center development.
”These facilities are so energy-intensive,” Ari Peskoe, who directs the Electricity Law Initiative at Harvard University, told ABC News. “A single sort of warehouse can use as much electricity as a large U.S. city. The amount of new infrastructure that has to be built to power that facility is unlike anything we’ve seen in generations.”
The Trump administration has pushed to rapidly build and deploy AI with urgency, arguing it will be vital to stay ahead of rivals like China and protect national security.
“I’m going to help a lot through emergency declarations, because we have an emergency, we have to get this stuff built,” Trump said at a White House event announcing the Stargate initiative last January. “So they have to produce a lot of electricity. And we’ll make it possible for them to get this production done easily, at their own plants if they want.”
‘It’s going to transform our community’ In nearby Port Washington, Mayor Ted Neitzke wants to make sure that investment is made right in his town, which he says is desperate for it.
“It’s exciting because it’s going to transform our community, it’s going to create a tax base and jobs and secondary and tertiary workforce and opportunities that we have not even envisioned, and it’s going to lead us into a real renaissance,” said Neitzke, who told ABC News the project would bring thousands of new jobs and much needed tax revenue.
“In a few years when the financing and everything is all done and the deal solidifies, they will pay the overwhelming majority of property taxes for the citizens of the city of Port Washington,” he said.
A representative for the industry group Data Center Coalition, when asked about the Port Washington project, told ABC News that the industry is making “multi-billion-dollar investments across the nation, including Wisconsin, to advance the digital economy, and in the process, provide significant benefits to local communities.”
“These include creating hundreds of thousands of high-wage jobs, providing billions of dollars in economic investment, and generating significant local, state, and federal tax revenue that helps fund schools, transportation, public safety, tax relief for residents and small businesses, and other community priorities,” the group said.
On top of outcries from the community over growing eminent domain concerns, the project has ignited backlash from some residents who are fearful that, as has been the case in some other communities around the country, the data center’s potential stress on the current electrical grid could lead to higher electric bills.
Nationwide, electricity prices jumped 6.9% in 2025 — more than double the inflation rate of 2.9% — according to new analysis by Goldman Sachs economists, who said they “expect data centers to boost electricity demand significantly, accounting for about 40% of total power demand growth over the next five years.”
In response, activists in Wisconsin, led by the community group Great Lakes Neighbors, have organized protests including a rally at the state capitol earlier this month. The tensions in the city were on full display last December when multiple anti-AI data center protesters were arrested, and one was dragged out of the city council meeting after chanting “Recall, recall, recall,” directed at Mayor Neitzke, after her allotted time had ended.
“I did go to the council meeting purely intending to speak. I had a speech prepared. Again, I had spoken earlier in other council meetings,” Christine LeJeune, the protester who was forcibly removed from the council meeting, told ABC News about the incident, adding that from her perspective, “the message was if you speak out, then this is what will happen to you.”
Pressed on the arrests at the recent council meeting, Neitzke, who faced a failed recall attempt over his support for the data center project, defended law enforcement when asked about the incident, while adding that incidents like that are “not the norm here.”
“I stand right next to our police department,” Neitzke said. “I thought they were very kind. They were very cordial, multiple warnings. Please, please, please.”
The mayor told ABC News that amid the backlash over the project, he’s been on the receiving end of threats to him and his family.
“I can play you the voicemails of the threats I receive from all over the country to my family’s safety,” he said. “What I did not see coming was that our officers following the law and enforcing the law would lead to people threatening our physical safety. That’s not OK.”
Paying their own way With the construction of the data center already underway, local activists around Port Washington are hoping to push for commitments from companies to cover increases to their bills and not pass any increases on to customers.
Both OpenAI and Oracle said in statements to ABC News that they were committed to paying their own way and said they would mitigate the impact of these data centers on customers and their electricity bills by pledging to build out renewable energy sources to create more power.
“In Wisconsin, and across all of our U.S. Stargate sites, we are committed to paying our own way on energy so that our operations do not increase local electricity prices,” OpenAI spokesperson Jamie Radice said in a statement. “Our Port Washington site will help support AI services used by millions of people and businesses across the country — the majority of whom use it for free — and it will bring jobs and long-term investment to the region.”
In a statement to ABC News, Oracle said, “In partnership with WE Energies, we’re paying our own way on energy so ratepayers’ bills and electric grid reliability are never impacted by our data center. Seventy percent of the energy used for the Port Washington campus will come from zero-emission sources, including wind, solar, and batteries. The project will add about 2,000 MW of new zero-emission power to Wisconsin’s grid, which means more reliable, affordable energy will be available to local families and businesses. Oracle — not ratepayers — will fund these electrical infrastructure upgrades.”
The fate of Uttech’s land rests with whether the American Transmission Company (ATC) moves forward with what the company has called either the “preferred route” for the new transmission lines — or the “preferred alternative route,” the latter of which follows existing transmission lines. The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin, the state agency that regulates utilities, will review ATC’s project application for the data center, including the proposed route options, and will select the final route.
Vantage, the data center operator, told ABC News in a statement that it supports the alternative route and that they are “committed to being a good neighbor” and are “prioritizing investing in sustainable energy, minimizing local impact and partnering closely with the community to be an economic driver for the state while enhancing the daily lives of residents.”
“Residents and businesses in Port Washington will not see an increase in their electric bills due to this project,” the Vantage statement said.
A representative from ATC told ABC News that they consider “several factors such as cost to ratepayers, landowner impacts, environmental sensitivities, and engineering considerations when studying power line routes and locations for supporting infrastructure” and that “The route designated as ‘preferred’ offers a lower cost to ratepayers and maximizes the use of existing corridors.”
“We understand that others may favor the alternative route for different considerations,” the ATC representative said.
‘I’m not going to just roll over’ Uttech, who at 83 still regularly jumps on a four-wheeler to traverse his sprawling property in search of inspiration, is working with the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, a conservative law firm, to take on the data center that could cost him his land.
“The use of eminent domain power must be the absolute last resort … This is not such a case,” the firm wrote in a letter to ATC. “We will do all we can to protect the Uttech family’s private property rights.”
“Building the power lines on their land would cause irreparable damage to the natural beauty and wildlife the Uttech family has spent decades developing, and which Tom enjoys as inspiration for his work,” WILL deputy council Lucas Vebber said.
While Uttech says he understands that AI is a growing billion-dollar industry that is already in motion and can’t be stopped, he is vowing to continue his fight.
“They brought the fight to me and I’m not going to just roll over,” he told ABC News, saying he plans to fight “right to the end.”
People wait in long TSA lines as the partial government shutdown continues for several weeks at airports like Chicago OâHare in Chicago, IL, United States on March 09, 2026 (Photo by Peter Zay/Anadolu via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — The Transportation Security Administration rolled out a new video at airports across the country Friday warning travelers of longer-than-usual wait times and staffing shortages, blaming Democrats for the partial government shutdown.
“You may be experiencing longer-than-average wait times due to the ongoing Democrat shutdown of TSA and the Department of Homeland Security,” the agency’s video message says.
At several airports nationwide, passengers have seen security wait times ranging from 20-30 minutes to as long as two hours at certain points, with travelers being advised to arrive at the airport early to allow adequate time for screening.
The roughly 30-second video message was released as TSA officers begin receiving their first $0 paycheck Friday, with the length of the shutdown nearing a month. The message also encourages travelers to show gratitude toward the TSA officers.
“The TSA Officers you are interacting with have shown up to work despite having missed paychecks. Please take the opportunity to thank the dedicated men and women of the TSA when you fly today,” the video message says.
Assaults on TSA officers have increased during the shutdown, Acting Deputy Administrator Adam Stahl told ABC.
“We’ve seen increases in assaults on our TSA officers which is always completely unacceptable, particularly unacceptable right now,” he said in an interview. “And so we just ask our passengers to please be respectful, thank them because they’re doing an incredibly difficult job under incredibly difficult circumstances.”
Stahl said the agency has “zero tolerance” for such behavior and works with the law enforcement authorities, including the Department of Justice, so those responsible face ramifications for their actions.
Though the rate of unscheduled absences by TSA officers has more than doubled since the shutdown began, Stahl said there are no safety concerns about TSA’s operations and that the agency’s focus remains on the impact to wait times.
“We don’t have any significant concerns about the integrity of the screening process right now as it stands, but again this is going to continue to worsen as the days continue and we’re really focused and really urge Senate Democrats to get back to the drawing table, get back to negotiating table, so we can get back to normal operations,” Stahl said.
A similar video featuring outgoing Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was rolled out by the agency during last year’s government shutdown. It received pushback from several major airports that refused to play it, citing the Hatch Act — a law that restricts the political activities of federal employees, as well as some state and local employees who are involved in or work in federally funded programs.
On Thursday, Senate Democrats blocked a fourth vote to fund the Department of Homeland Security, refusing to fund the agency without any reforms to ICE and CBP.
The package would have provided funding for the Department of Homeland Security through September. The agency has been shut down since Feb. 14.
Ahead of the vote, Democrats once again attempted to get support to fund other agencies, besides ICE and CBP, that are a part of DHS and that have been shut down. After their effort to fund all other agencies besides CBP and ICE was blocked Wednesday by Republicans, Democrats took a piecemeal approach Thursday, making individual requests to pass funding for TSA, CISA, Coast Guard and FEMA.
“What Republicans are saying is that we want to hold TSA, our airports, the protection of our coastline, the defense of this nation from cyberattacks and our response to emergencies hostage to their determination to continue to fund a law enforcement operation at ICE that is out of control,” Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said during a speech on the floor as part of the Democratic effort to pass the bills to fund the individual agencies.
Republicans blocked each of those efforts, arguing that the whole of DHS should be funded.
“To my Democrat colleagues, if you have a bill that you want to defund ICE with, put it on the floor. I guarantee you it will get voted down because it is an extremely unpopular position. We are not going to let you get to that result by way of holding everyone else hostage. If you want to support all the agencies in this negotiated bill you have a way to do it,” Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mont., said.
ABC News’ Allison Pecorin contributed to this story.
Members of the Johnson family attend a candlelight vigil, April 19, 2026, in Shreveport, Louisiana, for eight children were killed and two women were wounded during a domestic violence incident. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
(SHREVEPORT, La.) — As an investigation continued into the motive of Sunday’s fatal shootings of eight children in Shreveport, Louisiana, allegedly by the father of seven of the victims, police officials released a timeline detailing the 68-minute massacre.
“April 19 … will be written in the pages of history as one of the worst days that could have ever happened here in Shreveport,” Chief Wayne Smith of the Shreveport Police Department said at a news conference on Monday.
Smith said the suspect, Shamar Elkins, a former member of the Louisiana Army National Guard, allegedly used an assault-style pistol to kill seven of his children and an eighth child related to him. A teenage boy was also injured when he jumped off the roof of a house to escape the shooting, police said.
While Elkins died after police opened fire on him following a car chase, Smith said it remains unclear whether he was shot to death or died by suicide.
Smith said domestic violence is believed to be the primary motive behind the killings. The chief said two women, including the mother of seven of the children who were killed, were wounded in the incident and remain hospitalized.
He said investigators are probing five different crime scenes connected to the shootings.
Police said the children killed, siblings and one cousin, ranged in age from 3 to 11. The victims, according to the Caddo Parish Coroner’s Office, were identified by their mothers as Jayla Elkins, 3; Shayla Elkins, 5; Kayla Pugh, 6; Layla Pugh, 7; Markaydon Pugh, 10; Sariahh Snow, 11; Khedarrion Snow, 6; and Braylon Snow, 5.
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry announced on Monday that the Love One Louisiana Foundation, a nonprofit founded by his wife, Sharon, will pay all expenses for the children’s funerals, according to ABC affiliate station KTSB.
“Both she and I recognize no amount of money or act of charity can repair the pain, but [what] we can lean on is that this act of charity can stand as a beacon of faith and belief that good things still happen in this world,” Gov. Landry said during a visit to Shreveport.
Timeline of the deadly rampage During Monday’s press conference, Smith went over a timeline of the deadly attacks that occurred before sunrise on Sunday:
5:55 a.m. — Shreveport Police received the first call regarding a disturbance at a residence on W. 79th Street in the Ceder Grove neighborhood of South Shreveport. The caller stated that they were on top of the house while the suspect was inside, and a male had been shot.
5:58 a.m. — A police dispatcher received an additional call from the same 911 caller, indicating the suspect was a relative of the caller.
5:59 a.m. — A dispatcher was advised by the caller that approximately nine individuals resided at the W. 79th Street location. The caller stated that the suspect, Elkins, had shot everyone inside the home.
6 a.m. — The caller advised the dispatcher that she and her children fled the W. 79th Street house onto the roof and that they were in the backyard.
6:01 a.m. — Shreveport officers arrived at the W. 79th Street residence.
6:03 a.m. — Officers made contact with the 911 caller at the West 79th Street residence.
6:05 a.m. — Officers requested the Shreveport Fire Department stage at a location near the West 79th Street home, close to Linwood Avenue.
6:07 a.m. — A second 911 caller reported a shooting at a home on Harrison Street in Shreveport. The caller stated that her boyfriend shot her and fled the scene with her three children.
6:08 a.m.– The second caller identified the suspect who shot her and took her children as Elkins.
6:10 a.m. — A police dispatcher links the Harrison Street shooting with the shooting on West 79th Street and determines that they were related.
6:15 a.m. — Officers received information that the suspect had carjacked a red Kia Sportage at West 79th Street near Linwood Avenue.
6:17 a.m. — Shreveport police traffic units out on random patrol observed the carjacked Kia heading southbound on Interstate 49.
6:18 a.m. — Officer radioed in that they were chasing the stolen car over a bridge in crossing the Red River into Bossier City.
6:20 a.m. — Officers involved in the chase reported that the children taken from the Harrison Street residence may be inside the fleeing vehicle.
6:23 a.m. — Officers advised dispatch that they were exiting the interstate near the Swan Lake area of Bossier City.
6:25 a.m. — Officers back in Shreveport find the victim injured in the Harrison Street shooting.
6:29 a.m. — Officers report and exchange of gunfire with the suspect on Brompton Lane in Bossier City.
6:40 a.m. — Police officers advised a dispatcher that the suspect vehicle was empty and no children were located inside. Chief Smith did not say during Monday’s news conference what happened to the children taken from the Harrison Street residence.
6:43 a.m. — Officers in Shreveport cleared the West 79th Street home and found multiple deceased victims.
7:03 a.m. — The suspect, Elkins, is pronounced dead at the scene on Brompton Lane in Bossier City.
