Alaska Airlines flight, FedEx cargo plane nearly collide at Newark airport: Radar data
A traffic tower is seen at Newark Liberty International Airport on May 14, 2025 in Newark, New Jersey. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — An Alaska Airlines 737 and a FedEx 777 cargo plane nearly collided as they attempted to land on intersecting runways at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, according to radar data from FlightRadar24.
The incident happened around 8:17 p.m. Tuesday as the Alaska flight arrived from Portland, Oregon, and the FedEx plane arrived from Memphis, Tennessee, according to the data.
Air traffic control told the Alaska plane to go around seconds before it touched down while the plane was just 150 feet in the air, according to air traffic control audio and FlightRadar24 data. Meanwhile, the FedEx plane continued its landing on the intersecting runway.
Preliminary data from Flightradar24 shows the Alaska plane cleared the FedEx plane by just 300 to 325 feet.
Alaska Airlines and FedEx did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks at a press conference during moving day at Gracie Mansion on January 12, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — A New York City Council employee was detained during a “routine” immigration appointment on Long Island on Monday, according to city officials, who called the incident an “egregious government overreach.”
Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he is “outraged” by the worker’s arrest.
“This is an assault on our democracy, on our city, and our values,” he said in a statement on X. “I am calling for his immediate release and will continue to monitor the situation.”
The Department of Homeland Security defended the arrest late Monday, saying the employee is in the U.S. illegally and has an alleged criminal history that includes an arrest for assault. The agency did not provide additional details on the assault arrest.
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin identified the employee in a statement Monday night as Rafael Andres Rubio Bohorquez, whom she alleged is a “criminal illegal alien from Venezuela.”
McLaughlin said Rubio Bohorquez entered the U.S. on a B2 tourist visa in 2017 that required him to leave the country by Oct. 22, 2017.
“He had no legal right to be in the United States,” McLaughlin said in a statement. “Under Secretary Noem, criminal illegal aliens are not welcome in the United States. If you come to our country illegally and break our law, we will find you and we will arrest you.”
The employee was detained by federal immigration officials during an appointment in Bethpage in Nassau County earlier Monday, according to NYCCouncil Speaker Julie Menin.
The speaker said the employee has legal authorization to remain in the country until this coming October.
Menin said the employee is a “central staff member working as a data analyst for approximately a year.”
The city council learned of his detainment Monday afternoon, when the employee used his one phone call to contact the council’s human resources department for help and said he had been detained, according to Menin.
“DHS confirmed that this employee had gone in for a routine court appointment and was nevertheless detained. They provided no other basis for his detainment,” Menin said during a press briefing on Monday. “On the contrary, he was a city council employee who is doing everything right. He went to the court when he was asked.”
Menin said the city council is demanding the return of the employee, whom she did not identify, citing privacy concerns.
Democratic New York Congressman Dan Goldman said the employee is of Venezuelan descent and is a “law-abiding immigrant with work authorization.”
“I want to be very clear: There is no indication that there’s anything about this individual other than his immigration status that caused him to be arrested,” he said during Monday’s press briefing.
DHS said the staffer was not authorized to work in the U.S.
The employee has been transferred to a detention center in Manhattan, according to Menin. She said the city council has been unable to reach his family members.
Goldman said his office has reached out to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“We will continue to fight this,” he said. “We will continue to push for not only this person’s release, which is so obviously necessary, but for this immigration dragnet to stop.”
New York Attorney General Letitia James also called for the staffer’s immediate release, saying in a statement on X, “We will not stand for attacks on our city, its public servants, and its residents.”
In response to the incident, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said, “This is exactly what happens when immigration enforcement is weaponized.”
“Detaining people during routine court appearances doesn’t make us safer,” she said in a statement on X. “It erodes trust, spreads fear, and violates basic principles of fairness.”
Luigi Mangione speaks to his attorney, Jacob Kaplan, during a suppression of evidence hearing in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan Criminal Court on December 18, 2025 in New York City. (Luiz C. Ribeiro-Pool/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Luigi Mangione asked a judge on Wednesday to postpone his federal trial from September 2026 to January 2027.
Mangione argued he could not properly prepare for his federal trial — which is set to begin with jury selection on Sept. 8 and opening statements on Oct. 13 — while he is on trial in the state case, which begins June 8.
The state trial would be ongoing while hundreds of potential jurors for the federal case begin filling out questionnaires on June 29.
“Mr. Mangione is now in the impossible position of having to review 800 jury questionnaires during the week of June 29, 2026, while on trial for second-degree murder in state court,” defense attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo wrote in a letter to the judge. “As a practical matter, this would not be possible.”
She also argued potential jurors would be “bombarded” by news accounts of the state trial.
“As a result, forcing Mr. Mangione to start the state trial on June 8, 2026 — three weeks before potential federal jurors start filling out juror questionnaires a few blocks away in Mr. Mangione’s federal case — guarantees that the fairness and impartiality of Mr. Mangione’s federal jurors will be negatively impacted by weeks of media reporting,” the defense said.
Federal prosecutors are expected to oppose moving the trial date.
Mangione pleaded not guilty to state and federal charges after he was arrested for allegedly gunning down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Midtown Manhattan in December 2024.
In January, U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett took the death penalty off the table in the federal case.
The Carnival Horizon cruise ship sits docked in the Caribbean Sea at the Aruba Cruise Terminal, November 11, 2025, in Oranjestad, Aruba. Gary Hershorn/Getty Images
The teenager was due in court in Miami on Wednesday morning for his arraignment, though he waived his appearance, according to a filing from his attorney.
Prosecutors alleged that the stepbrother “sexually assaulted and intentionally killed” Kepner. The Florida high school senior died from mechanical asphyxiation, officials said.
Anna Kepner’s father, Chris Kepner, is married to the suspect’s mother, Shauntel Kepner.
Chris and Shauntel Kepner said in a statement last week, “Our family is devastated by the loss of Anna and continues to grieve this unimaginable tragedy.”
“This situation is deeply painful and complex for our entire family,” the Kepners said. “Anna was deeply loved, and we remain committed to honoring her life and memory every day.”
ABC News’ Sasha Pezenik contributed to this report.
