Category: National

(NEW YORK) — U.S. household debt, including mortgages, credit cards, auto loans and student loans, reached an all-time high of $18.8 trillion in the first three months of the year, according to new data Tuesday from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

The increase in overall debt was driven by higher balances on mortgages and auto loans.

Student loan debt slightly decreased to $1.66 trillion. However, many borrowers are falling behind on their payments, with more than 10% of student loan balances now past due, nearing pre-pandemic levels, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said.

Credit card debt dipped by $25 billion during the first quarter of the year, with outstanding card balances at $1.25 trillion. Credit card debt is up by $70 billion over the past year.

On a call with reporters Tuesday morning, researchers at the New York Fed described Americans’ overall credit as “stable,” but noted there are weaknesses among younger consumers and lower-income households.

According to officials, mortgage balances are $13.2 trillion and auto debt stands at $1.69 trillion.

The record-high household debt comes amid rising inflation, which rose for a second consecutive month, government data on Tuesday showed. 

Prices rose 3.8% in April compared to a year earlier, marking an increase from a year-over-year inflation rate of 3.3% in the prior month. Annual inflation jumped to its highest level in three years, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data showed.

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(NEW YORK) — Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said Tuesday that members of the media “should not be surprised” if they receive subpoenas for information related to their sources on stories pertaining to national security-sensitive matters, following a Wall Street Journal report that the outlet received subpoenas stemming from its coverage of the war in Iran.

“Prosecuting leakers who share our nation’s secrets with reporters, in turn risking our national security and the lives of our soldiers, is a priority for this administration,” Blanche said. “Any witness, whether a reporter or otherwise, who has information about these criminals should not be surprised if they receive a subpoena about the illegal leaking of classified material.”

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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(BALTIMORE) —  The federal government indicted two foreign companies Tuesday in connection with the cargo ship crash that collapsed Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge in 2024.

A shoreside superintendent of the M/V Dali, the vessel involved in the crash, was also charged by federal prosecutors.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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(DENVER, Colo.) — Passengers on a Frontier Airlines flight were forced to deplane at the gate Sunday evening in Denver after an ammunition magazine was found on the aircraft as it was preparing for departure, according to the airline. 

Frontier says preliminary investigation indicates the magazine belongs to a law enforcement officer who may have left it behind on a previous flight.

There were no injuries, officials said. All passengers were deplaned and rescreened out of precaution, and the plane also went through a security sweep, and nothing additional was recovered from the flight, according to the airline.

Flight 4765 was scheduled to travel from Denver to Phoenix. Due to the delay, the flight crew exceeded their duty time, and passengers were booked on another flight, which departed Monday morning, according to Frontier Airlines.  

TSA says it is aware of the incident, and the FBI is leading the investigation.

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(WASHINGTON) — A nonprofit organization is attempting to stop the Trump administration’s repainting of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, alleging that the plan “willfully disregards legal limits established by Congress.”

The Cultural Landscape Foundation filed a lawsuit on Monday in D.C. federal court asking a judge to halt the renovations until the Trump administration gets approval from Congress.

“Every day that the resurfacing continues, the historic character of the Reflecting Pool is being further and fundamentally altered,” the lawsuit alleged about the project, part of President Donald Trump’s D.C. “beautification” efforts that include renovations to the White House East Wing and a planned triumphal arch near Arlington National Cemetery.

Because the reflecting pool and its surrounding landscape are on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the National Mall Historic District, the lawsuit alleged that Trump administration should have gotten approval for the changes under the Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act.

“This latest desecration of the reflecting pool is part of a pattern — epitomized most notably by the rush to destroy the East Wing of the White House — in which this Administration willfully disregards legal limits established by Congress,” the lawsuit alleged.

The Cultural Landscape Foundation is a D.C.-based nonprofit that maintains a database of cultural landscapes and advocates for the preservation of threatened landscape architecture.

In a statement to ABC News, a spokesperson for the Department of the Interior defended the renovations, which includes repainting the pool “American Flag Blue” and installing a new filtration system.

“President Trump has done more to make our nation’s capital a shining beacon than any other president in the history of this country. The National Park Service chose the best company to expedite the repair of the iconic Reflecting Pool ahead of our 250 celebrations,” the statement said.

The statement did not address whether the Trump administration sought any kind of approval for the project or if they plan to do so. 

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(NEW YORK) — Beachgoers planning out their summer swims on the East Coast may take a moment to consider the yearly arrival of a famed ocean predator.

A juvenile white shark named Nori has been coasting its way north along the eastern seaboard and pinged a shark-tracking system off the coasts of New Jersey and New York last week.

According to OCEARCH, a nonprofit tracking shark movements, Nori is “the first tagged white shark on the Global Shark Tracker to begin this year’s seasonal northward jump.”

Nori, an eight-foot ten-inch female pinged the tracking system off the coast of south New Jersey on Tuesday night, again further north off the coast on Wednesday night, and by Friday night, the shark had pinged off the coast of Long Island around Southampton, New York, according to an OCEARCH map.

“Juvenile white sharks are not typically among the first sharks to begin this northward movement, making Nori’s early migration particularly interesting to follow,” OCEARCH senior data scientist John Tyminski said in a statement.

“The first sharks to move north are often the larger adults and subadults, possibly because their size allows them to tolerate colder waters more effectively,” Tyminski added.

Nori was first tagged in Nova Scotia in October of last year, and had since traveled south to the coast of the Carolinas for the winter before making its move north this spring.

The post from the nonprofit shared, “Nori’s movement north from the staging areas off the Carolinas may signal that the larger seasonal migration of western North Atlantic white sharks is not too far off.”

How to stay safe from sharks in the ocean this summer

As temperatures begin to rise and beachgoers flock to sandy shores this summer, swimmers can follow a few simple guidelines to take caution and reduce the risk of a shark attack.

In a website message, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation says, “Humans assume risk whenever they enter any wild environment, whether on land or in the water. When in the ocean, part of this risk includes interacting with apex predators such as sharks.”

The message continues explaining that although eliminating all risk is not possible, “people can modify their behavior to minimize potential interactions with sharks and reduce overall risk.”

The department recommends “avoiding areas with seals,” staying clear of areas with “schools of fish, splashing fish, or diving seabirds,” keep swimming times during daytime hours and “avoid swimming at dusk, night, and dawn.”

The department also recommends avoiding murky waters and listening to lifeguard and park staff instructions at all times.

“The vast majority of unprovoked incidents are the result of test bites, which occur when a shark misidentifies a human as their preferred prey,” the site reads.

“There is no evidence which suggests that sharks in New York are intentionally pursuing or ‘attacking’ humans,” the message finished.

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(SEATTLE) — A student at the University of Washington in Seattle was found stabbed to death in a campus housing building, Seattle police said, and now authorities are searching for the killer.

The victim — a 19-year-old transgender woman — was found in a laundry room at about 10:10 p.m. Sunday, according to Seattle police.

“The circumstances leading up to the murder are under investigation,” police said in a statement on Monday.

Police said “officers are actively searching for the suspect” and they described him as a “black male with a beard, 5’6-8″ tall, wearing a vest with button up shirt, and blue jeans.” The university added the suspect is believed to be between the ages of 25 and 30 with a slim build and black hair.

The University of Washington issued an alert about the homicide at the Nordheim Court Apartments at 10:40 p.m. Sunday, saying, “If you are at Nordheim Court, stay indoors and lock doors and windows.” Around 1 a.m., the university said that the residents no longer needed to stay inside.

The university called the crime “deeply distressing” and said counseling is available. The university said the King County Medical Examiner will identify the victim in the coming days.

The police department said it urges anyone with information to call its Violent Crimes Tip Line at 206-233-5000.

ABC News’ Tristan Maglunog contributed to this report.

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(TALLAHASSEE, Fla.) — Attorneys representing the family of Florida State University shooting victim Tiru Chabba have filed a federal lawsuit against OpenAI and its artificial intelligence platform ChatGPT, alleging that the company could have done more to prevent the shooting.

The complaint, which was filed on Sunday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, also names the shooting suspect, Phoenix Ikner, as a defendant.

According to ChatGPT logs released by law enforcement in Florida, Ikner allegedly consulted ChatGPT as he planned the attack and asked pointed questions about gun operations and media coverage. He even consulted the platform about the busiest time on the FSU campus, according to the logs.

Chabba’s family attorney, Bakari Sellers, said these messages date back about 18 months ago and include 16,000 different “disturbing chats.”

“This is the same person who asked, you know, how can he become infamous? He asked about the Columbine shooting. He asked about what time should he go to campus? What time are most people going to be there?” Sellers said, describing the alleged messages that Ikner sent to ChatGPT.

“He literally utilized open AI and Chat GPT as his co-conspirator, utilized it as a resource to carry out mass murder,” Sellers added. “There was nothing in place to prevent that from happening and so lives were lost. That’s the inherent danger, there has to be something in place to prevent that from happening.”

Drew Pusateri, an OpenAI spokesperson, told ABC News in a statement: “Last year’s mass shooting at Florida State University was a tragedy, but ChatGPT is not responsible for this terrible crime. After learning of the incident, we identified an account believed to be associated with the suspect and proactively shared this information with law enforcement. We continue to cooperate with authorities. In this case, ChatGPT provided factual responses to questions with information that could be found broadly across public sources on the internet, and it did not encourage or promote illegal or harmful activity. ChatGPT is a general-purpose tool used by hundreds of millions of people every day for legitimate purposes. We work continuously to strengthen our safeguards to detect harmful intent, limit misuse, and respond appropriately when safety risks arise.”

The lawsuit comes after Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced last month that the Office of Statewide Prosecution launched a criminal investigation into OpenAI and ChatGPT after prosecutors reviewed the chat logs.

“Florida is leading the way in cracking down on AI’s use in criminal behavior, and if ChatGPT were a person, it would be facing charges for murder,” Uthmeier said in a statement on April 21. “This criminal investigation will determine whether OpenAI bears criminal responsibility for ChatGPT’s actions in the shooting at Florida State University last year.”

OpenAI did not respond to ABC News’ request when asked about the probe by the attorney general.

The shooting, which took place on the FSU campus on April 17, 2025, injured six people and killed two people – Chabba and Robert Morales, both of whom worked for the university’s dining services.

Ikner, whose trial is set for October 2026, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and seven counts of attempted murder. He has pleaded not guilty.

ABC News’ Luke Barr and Jeana Fermi contributed to this report.

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(WASHINGTON) — Cole Allen, the suspect in the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner, pleaded not guilty on Monday to all counts.

Allen — who is accused of trying to assassinate President Donald Trump at the April dinner at the Washington Hilton hotel — faces four felony counts, including attempted assassination of the President of the United States, assault on a federal law enforcement officer with a deadly weapon, transportation of a firearm and ammunition over state lines with the intent to commit a felony and discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence.

The armed 31-year-old was tackled by law enforcement after rushing through a security checkpoint at the hotel, where thousands of journalists as well as Trump and members of his Cabinet were gathered for the annual event, according to prosecutors. Allen allegedly wrote that administration officials were his targets, according to a criminal complaint.

Allen, who did not speak at all during Monday’s hearing, wore an orange prison jumpsuit and was shackled around his hands and feet. He looked down at the ground when the charges against him were read.

Allen’s defense attorneys said they might seek to have the entire U.S. Attorney’s office for the District of Columbia recused from the case, arguing they could potentially be a victim overseeing the prosecution.

Defense attorney Eugene Ohm argued that U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro’s “very public” and “close” relationship with Trump — who was the alleged intended target of the attack — might also play a factor in potentially recusing herself.

Judge Trevor McFadden seemed to want to get clarity about what both Pirro and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s roles are in the prosecution.

The government has until May 22 to respond to the defense’s motion.

Allen is due back in court on June 29.

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(LOS ANGELES) — A Frontier Airlines flight taking off for Los Angeles from Denver International Airport on Friday night struck an individual walking on a runway, according to the airline and airport officials.

The incident occurred shortly after 11:00 p.m. local time on Runway 17L, the airline said in a statement early Saturday. There were 224 passengers and 7 crew members on board, Frontier said.

The person struck was at least partially consumed by one of the engines, an official confirmed to ABC News, causing a brief engine fire.

According to air traffic control audio obtained by ABC News, pilots reported an engine fire and smoke inside the aircraft following the incident.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Saturday the victim had breached airport security, deliberately scaled a perimeter fence and ran onto the runway.

The person was struck by the plane during takeoff at high speed, Duffy said.

Preliminary reports are that 12 were injured and five were taken the hospital, according to the secretary.

“Emergency response and investigation are ongoing,” the Denver International Airport said earlier. “The NTSB has been notified. Runway 17L will remain closed while the investigation is conducted.”

A source briefed on the incident told ABC News that airport security was inspecting the east perimeter fence on Saturday morning for gaps and the person struck did not appear to be connected to the work occurring on a parallel runway.

“We are investigating this incident and gathering more information in coordination with the airport and other safety authorities,” Frontier Airlines said. “We are deeply saddened by this event.”

Local law enforcement handles airport security and is investigating the breach with support from the Federal Aviation Administration and Transportation Security Administration, Duffy said.

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