(NEW YORK) — At least nine states from Georgia to Delaware are under snow and ice alerts as a winter storm moves east — with brutal, record-breaking cold temperatures in the Midwest and Central U.S. in the wake of the storm.
On Tuesday, the storm brought 11 inches of snow to Missouri, 8 inches to Kansas and more than 2 inches to Oklahoma, where freezing rain and sleet left dangerously slick roads.
Now, the storm has moved into the Mid-Atlantic with heavy snow in the forecast for southern Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina through Wednesday night. Up to 10 inches of snow is possible in the Norfolk and Virginia Beach areas of Virginia.
By Wednesday evening, heavy snow is expected to continue for southeastern Virginia, where the highest totals from the storm are expected. Very icy conditions are expected to continue for eastern North Carolina before pushing off the coast Wednesday night.
Airlines canceled roughly 700 flights on Wednesday. Charlotte, North Carolina; Dallas, Texas; and Nashville, Tennessee, have the most cancellations.
On Wednesday morning, the snow fell from Tupelo, Mississippi, to Nashville, Tennessee, to Lexington, Kentucky. Schools in Nashville were closed on Wednesday.
In Kentucky, where severe flooding over the weekend led to 14 deaths, the new storm dropped 2 to 7 inches of snow.
In eastern Kentucky, some officials are unable to get equipment on the roads to clear the snow, Gov. Andy Beshear said Wednesday.
Further south, heavy rain was reported in New Orleans Wednesday morning.
South of Raleigh and into South Carolina, an icy mix is expected.
But behind the storm is an Arctic blast.
Many cities recorded record low temperatures Wednesday morning, including: minus 24 degrees in Rapid City, South Dakota; minus 15 degrees in Billings, Montana; 1 degree in Wichita, Kansas; and 2 degrees in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
The wind chill — what temperature it feels like — is even colder, clocking in at minus 6 degrees in Dallas; minus 19 degrees in Oklahoma City; minus 19 degrees in Wichita; and minus 27 degrees in Minneapolis.
Extreme cold warnings are in effect from South Dakota to Texas. Wind chills Thursday morning will be 20 to 40 degrees below zero in the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest. These extreme conditions could bring frostbite in as little as minutes.
The record cold temperatures will spread further south into the Gulf Coast on Thursday and Friday, with record lows possible in Dallas; Corpus Christi, Texas; Birmingham, Alabama; and Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
It will warm up this weekend, and by next week, temperatures will climb to the 60s and 70s in the South.
(KANSAS) — Andrew Lester, the Kansas City man who pleaded guilty to felony assault in the second degree for the shooting of Ralph Yarl, has died while awaiting sentencing, Clay County Prosecuting Attorney Zachary Thompson announced on Wednesday.
“We have learned of the passing of Andrew Lester and extend our sincere condolences to his family during this difficult time,” Thompson said. “While the legal proceedings have now concluded, we acknowledge that Mr. Lester did take responsibility for his actions by pleading guilty in this case. Our thoughts remain with both families affected by this tragic incident as they continue their healing process.”
Lester, 86, was set to go on trial this week for shooting Yarl, a Black teenager who mistakenly knocked on his door, but ahead of the trial, Lester entered a guilty plea on Friday for felony assault in the second degree.
He was expected to be sentenced in this case during a hearing on March 7.
Second-degree assault, a Class D felony, carries with it the sentencing possibility of up to seven years in prison, Thompson said at a press conference after Friday’s hearing.
Lester was initially charged with one count of felony assault in the first-degree and one count of armed criminal action, also a felony, in the shooting of Yarl, who mistakenly went to Lester’s Kansas City home after arriving at the wrong address to pick up his twin brothers from a play date on April 13, 2023.
Lester, who is white, shot Yarl in the head and right arm, saying he believed someone was trying to break into his house, according to a probable cause statement obtained by ABC News. He initially pleaded not guilty in 2023 and was released on a $200,000 bond.
Yarl was 16 at the time of the shooting and suffered a traumatic brain injury, according to his family.
Yarl’s family told ABC News in a statement Wednesday that “justice was never truly served.”
“The news of Andrew Lester’s passing brings a mix of emotions, but it does not bring justice,” Yarl’s family said.
“We remain committed to seeking a world where no child fears for their life because of their race, and no family has to endure what we have. Ralph’s story is far from over, and neither is our fight for justice,” the family added.
Yarl’s family previously told ABC News Live Prime’s Linsey Davis on Friday that they were not happy with the plea deal that Lester accepted.
“About two years ago, we knew Mr. Lester was guilty,” Yarl’s mother Cleo Nagbe told Davis on Friday. “We let him do what he wanted to do and waited two years after for him to show up and say, ‘I’m going to plead guilty to the lesser of the charges.’ So we’re sick of this. So let’s just move on and give this kid a chance to move on with his life and live on as a regular kid.”
Lester’s attorney, Steve Salmon, previously argued that his client’s mental and physical capacity was a factor in the case, postponing the initial trial date from Oct. 7, 2024 to Feb. 18, 2025. Salmon said the retired air mechanic had heart and memory issues, a broken hip and had lost over 50 pounds.
In November, the judge ruled that Lester was fit to stand trial after reviewing the results of a mental exam.
Yarl opened up about the shooting in an exclusive interview with “Good Morning America” co-anchor Robin Roberts in July 2023, where he reflected on his recovery and the harrowing experience.
“He points [the gun] at me … so I kinda, like, brace and I turn my head,” Yarl told Roberts. “Then it happened. And then I’m on the ground … and then I fall on the glass. The shattered glass. And then before I know it I’m running away shouting, ‘Help me, help me.'”
(WASHINGTON) — In the weeks since President Donald Trump has assumed office, more than 200,000 federal workers at more than a dozen agencies have had their roles eliminated.
The mass culling stems in large part from efforts by Elon Musk and the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency, which has sought to dismantle large swaths of the federal government.
Many of those fired have been classified as probationary employees, a status unrelated to job performance. While probationary employees can be recent hires — typically having served in their roles for under one or two years — the status can also apply to long-serving government employees who’ve changed roles or agencies.
In addition to those who’ve been fired, 75,000 federal workers have accepted buyouts.
Here are the agencies where workers are facing termination:
Department of Education
Dozens of “probationary employees” were let go from the Department of Education last Wednesday, according to two sources familiar with the firings.
Dismantling the Department of Education was one of Trump’s key campaign promises. He has slammed the department as a “con job” that should be “closed immediately,” and has directed Musk to investigate the agency.
The Department of Education is the smallest cabinet-level agency with 4,400 employees. Another 1,400 employees work in the agency’s office of Federal Student Aid.
Department of Homeland Security
More than 400 employees at the Department of Homeland Security have had their positions eliminated, officials said. About half of the cuts were in the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which saw over 200 dismissed.
The firings at FEMA came after Musk slammed federal spending on what he misleadingly called “luxury hotels” for undocumented immigrants.
In addition to the cuts at FEMA, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) lost 130 staffers, and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and DHS Science and Technology had smaller degrees of cuts.
Department of Energy
Roughly 2,000 people have been fired from the Department of Energy, including at the National Nuclear Security Administration.
One of the terminated employees, Krzan Matta, told ABC News the firings were conducted in a “haphazard” and “arbitrary” manner.
“There’s no consideration for the mission. There’s no consideration for whether or not this position is critical,” he said.
United States Agency for International Development
As part of Trump and Musk’s stated objective of shuttering the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), more than 10,000 staffers have been placed on leave, multiple sources told ABC News.
Roughly 600 USAID workers remain in their roles.
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has also been targeted by Trump and Musk, who have said they plan to gut the 1,700-employee consumer watchdog agency.
On Friday, government lawyers representing the agency’s acting director reached an agreement to temporarily hold off on firing CFPB workers while a lawsuit challenging the dismantling of the agency makes its way through court.
Department of Veterans Affairs
More than 1,000 Department of Veterans Affairs employees have been dismissed from their roles, the agency said Thursday.
In a statement, the department said the cuts were part of the “government-wide Trump Administration effort to make agencies more efficient, effective and responsive to the American People.”
Department of Agriculture
The Department of Agriculture (USDA) has also faced significant cuts — including to the U.S. Forest Service, which manages wildfire response and prevention.
Among those who lost their jobs was Carly Arata, who told ABC News she had been a probationary employee at the Natural Resources Conservation Service since September, but worked as a contractor in the role for a year before that.
Arata developed conservation plans for farmers in Georgia and helped them get federal funding.
“These poor farmers. … It’s like I abandoned them, and that’s not the case at all,” Arata said. “They were amazing and cared so much about their land, and I wanted to help them preserve that.”
Environmental Protection Agency
The Environmental Protection Agency has fired 388 probationary employees, Reuters reported.
Department of Health and Human Services
The Department of Health and Human Services has also lost thousands of employees, including at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), according to the Associated Press.
About 700 workers were fired from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), multiple sources told ABC News.
At least 16 of the CDC cuts were to members of the World Trade Center Health Program, which critics said could put the health of 9/11 first responders at risk.
Department of the Interior
About 2,300 people have been fired from the Department of the Interior, according to Reuters.
Approximately 800 of those terminations were reportedly from the Bureau of Land Management.
Another 1,000 workers were fired from the National Park Service, according to the National Parks Conservation Association.
The bulk of the cuts were at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which saw over 200 people cut, and then the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, which saw 130 people cut. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services saw under 50 people cut, and DHS Science and Technology Directorate saw 10 people cut.
Additionally, 12 Coast Guard members who work on diversity, equity and inclusion were affected by the reduction in force, with an offer to support border security efforts at the southwestern border.
Office of Personnel Management
The Office of Personnel Management — which serves as the federal government’s HR agency, and has been overseeing the mass reductions process — has also faced cuts of its own staff.
About 200 probationary employees were told they were being fired in a prerecorded message that instructed them to “gather your personal belongings and exit the premises,” according to an audio recording of the call obtained by ABC News.
General Services Administration
The General Services Administration has also had its staff reduced, with Reuters reporting more than 100 people were laid off.
Small Business Administration
About 720 employees at the Small Business Administration have lost their jobs, Politico reported, reducing its headcount by about 20%.
(MARANA, Ariz.) — Two people were confirmed dead after two small planes collided midair at Marana Regional Airport in Arizona on Wednesday.
There were two people onboard each aircraft, a Lancair and a Cessna, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
The aircrafts collided while upwind of runway 12, according to preliminary information from the National Transportation Safety Board.
“The Cessna landed uneventfully; the Lancair impacted terrain near runway 3 and a post-impact fire ensued,” according to the NTSB.
The planes collided around 8:30 a.m. local time.
The FAA and NTSB will investigate, and NTSB investigators are on their way to the scene with two more on the way, officials said.
The Marana Regional Airport is an uncontrolled field — it does not have an operating ATC control tower. Pilots utilize a Common Traffic Advisory Frequency to announce their position to other aircrafts. The pilot in command is responsible for maintaining a safe distance from other aircrafts.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Deb Cohn-Orbach/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — The U.S. Department of Transportation said the Federal Highway Administration has “terminated approval” of New York City’s congestion pricing plan, the first of its kind in the nation, which went into effect earlier this year.
The DOT shared a letter from Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, in which he said a review found that the “scope of this pilot project as approved exceeds the authority authorized by Congress” under the Federal Highway Administration’s Value Pricing Pilot Program.
“New York State’s congestion pricing plan is a slap in the face to working class Americans and small business owners,” Duffy said in a statement on Wednesday. “Commuters using the highway system to enter New York City have already financed the construction and improvement of these highways through the payment of gas taxes and other taxes. But now the toll program leaves drivers without any free highway alternative, and instead, takes more money from working people to pay for a transit system and not highways. It’s backwards and unfair.”
In response to the letter, a New York state official said that whatever the Trump administration intends, the state will fight in court to preserve congestion pricing.
The congestion pricing plan, which launched on Jan. 5, newly charged passenger vehicles $9 to access Manhattan below 60th Street during peak hours as part of an effort to ease congestion and raise funds for the city’s public transit system. During peak hours, small trucks and charter buses were charged $14.40 and large trucks and tour buses $21.60.
On Donald Trump’s first day in office, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy asked the president and his administration to “reexamine” the highly debated congestion pricing plan and its impact on the Garden State.
In a letter to Trump, Murphy requested that “New York’s congestion pricing scheme receive the close look it deserved but did not receive from the federal government last year.”
In his letter to Hochul, Duffy noted that Trump asked him to review the Federal Highway Administration’s approval of the congestion pricing program upon assuming his position as secretary last month.
“In particular, the President expressed his concerns about the extent of the tolling that was approved by the Department of Transportation on highways that have been constructed with funds under the Federal-aid Highway Program and the significant burdens on the New York City residents, businesses, and area commuters (including those from New Jersey and Connecticut) who regularly use the highway network in the CBD tolling area,” Duffy said.
Duffy also mentioned Murphy’s letter to Trump, in which the governor “expressed significant concerns about the impacts that the imposition of tolls” on New Jersey commuters and residents.
The secretary also said there are pending legal challenges over the plan “which question whether the scope of the project exceeds the authority of VPPP.”
Duffy said the Federal Highway Administration will contact the New York State Department of Transportation “to discuss the orderly cessation of toll operations under this terminated pilot project.”
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which manages the city’s subways as well as bridges and commuter rails, has said the toll would enable it to issue $15 billion in bonds to help fund capital projects.
In response to Murphy’s letter to Trump, Hochul told reporters that if the congestion pricing plan is ultimately killed, “that comes with $15 billion more” the federal government will need to give to New York.
(NEW YORK) — The nation’s largest LGBTQ advocacy organization is urging New York prosecutors to pursue hate crime charges against five suspects arrested in what authorities described as a prolonged “torture” killing of a transgender man.
The group, GLAAD, issued a statement calling on Ontario County District Attorney James Riffs to consider hate crime charges in the homicide of Sam Nordquist, whose body was found in a field in Benton, New York, in Yates County last week.
Riffs said the five suspects in Norquist’s killing were arrested on suspicion of second-degree murder under the state’s depraved indifference statute.
In a statement to ABC News on Wednesday morning, Ritts’ office said that prosecutors filed a certification with the Hopewell Town Court “indicating that the Grand Jury of the County of Ontario voted at least one felony charge against all 5 defendants charged in connection with the death of Sam Nordquist.”
The suspects arrested in the case were identified by New York State Police as Precious Arzuaga, 38, of Canandaigua, New York; Jennifer “Brooklyn” Quijano, 30, of Geneva, New York; Kyle Sage, 33, of Rochester, New York; Patrick Goodwin, 30, also of Canandaigua; and Emily Motyka, 19, of Lima, New York.
The statement from Ritts’ office says the felony charge in the indictment against the suspects will be disclosed once it is filed in Ontario County Court.
“As this is an ongoing investigation and law prohibits us from disclosing any additional information at this time. This is the only update we can provide today,” according to the statement.
A criminal complaint filed in the case alleged that the suspects sexually assaulted Nordquist with a “table leg and broomstick.” The complaint further alleges that the suspects subjected Nordquist to “prolonged beatings by punching, kicking and striking [Nordquist] with numerous objects, including but not limited to sticks, dog toys, rope, bottles, belts, canes and wooden boards.”
According to the complaint, the torture allegedly took place in room 22 at Patty’s Lodge in Hopewell, New York, in Ontario County between Jan. 1 and Feb. 2.
In a joint statement released on Sunday, the state police and Ritts addressed whether investigators are pursuing hate crime charges against the suspects.
“At this time we have no indication that Sam’s murder was a hate crime,” the joint statement reads. “To help alleviate the understandable concern his murder could be a hate crime, we are disclosing that Sam and his assailants were known to each other, identified as LGBTQ+, and at least one of the defendants lived with Sam in the time period leading up to the instant offense.”
Authorities said they released the information after getting “multiple inquiries from across our community, New York State and the entire nation.”
In the statement, officials noted that under the New York State penal code, a hate crime is defined as an offense committed “in whole or in substantial part because of a belief or perception regarding the race, color, national origin, ancestry, gender, gender identity or expression, religion, religious practice, age, disability or sexual orientation of a person regardless of whether the belief or perception is correct.”
In response, GLAAD released a statement Tuesday, saying, “While we are encouraged to see law enforcement act swiftly to investigate this horrific act, we caution investigators from ruling out hate crime charges.”
“Anti-LGBTQ hate can be perpetuated by anyone, regardless of their relationship to the victim or their own gender identity or sexual orientation,” GLAAD said.
Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO of GLAAD, added, “Our hearts are broken over the loss of Sam Nordquist.”
“Sam was more than just a statistic — he was a son, a brother, a friend, and and bright light in the lives of those who knew him,” Ellis said in a statement. “His life was stolen from him after enduring unspeakable cruelty. We stand in solidarity with Sam’s family, friends, and community as they demand justice. We refuse to let Sam’s story fade into silence. We demand accountability, we demand justice, and we demand a world where transgender people are safe, respected, and able to live freely.”
Nordquist’s family filed a missing person report with the New York State Police on Feb. 9, after last hearing from Nordquist on Jan. 1, according to a missing-person flyer issued by the Missing People in America organization.
According to the flyer, Nordquist’s family said he left Minnesota on Sept. 28, 2024, with a round-trip plane ticket to New York. The family, according to the flyer, alleged that Nordquist met a woman online who convinced him to visit her.
The family claimed Nordquist was planning to fly back to Minnesota within two weeks, but never boarded his return flight.
“I don’t understand why someone would do that to another person,” Kayla Nordquist, Sam’s sister, told Saint Paul, Minnesota, ABC affiliate KSTP-TV. “Sam was amazing and would give the shirt off his back to anyone.”
When asked at a news conference on Friday about the missing-person flyer, Capt. Kelly Swift, a New York State Police investigator, declined to comment.
Swift would not disclose details of the abuse, saying the investigation is in its early stages. However, she said, Nordquist was “subjected to repeated acts of violence and torture in a manner that ultimately led to his death.”
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement Sunday that she had directed the State Police to provide any support and resources to Ritts’ office “as they continue their investigation, including into whether this was a hate crime.” The statement further said that Hochul had directed the New York State Division of Human Rights Hate and Bias Prevention Unit to offer assistance and support “to all community members affected by this terrible act of violence,” adding, “There must be justice for Sam Nordquist.”
Hochul also said that she had instructed the New York State Office of Victim Services to offer support to Nordquist’s family.
“The charges against these individuals are sickening and all New Yorkers should join together to condemn this horrific act,” Hochul said in the statement. “We are praying for Sam Nordquist’s family, community and loved ones who are experiencing unimaginable grief.”
New York Attorney General Letitia James also said in a statement, “This is beyond horrifying, and those responsible for this terrible act must be held accountable.”
(MIAMI) — A Florida man has been arrested and charged for shooting 17 times at two men who he mistakenly thought were Palestinian. The victims were actually tourists from Israel, according to police.
Mordechai Brafman, 27, has been charged with two counts of second degree attempted murder, according to state records. The Miami State Attorney’s Office Hate Crimes unit is reviewing the case to see if it meets that statutory requirements for a penalty enhancement.
Florida does not have a hate crime offense, but charges can be enhanced which increases the seriousness of the penalty for a crime if a defendant is convicted, according to the attorney’s office.
Brafman is accused of stopping his truck in a parallel lane, directly in front of the victim’s vehicle before exiting his vehicle on Saturday. As the victims drove past him, Brafman allegedly shot at the vehicle 17 times, “unprovoked,” striking both victims, according to an arrest affidavit.
While in custody, Brafman allegedly said that he saw two Palestinians while driving his truck and he shot and killed both, according to a police report.
One victim sustained a gunshot wound to the left shoulder while the second victim sustained a graze wound to the left forearm, according to the affidavit.
The victims and the defendant do not know each other, according to the affidavit.
Brafman is being held in jail without bond. He is scheduled to be arraigned on March 10.
(NEW YORK) — At least 10 states from Louisiana to Delaware are under snow and ice alerts as this latest winter storm moves east.
On Tuesday, the storm brought 11 inches of snow to Missouri, 8 inches to Kansas and more than 2 inches to Oklahoma.
Freezing rain and sleet fell in Oklahoma and Arkansas, leaving roads extremely dangerous.
On Wednesday morning, the snow fell from Tupelo, Mississippi, to Nashville, Tennessee, to Lexington, Kentucky. Schools in Nashville are closed on Wednesday.
In Kentucky, where the death toll has risen to 14 from severe flooding that struck earlier in the week, this new storm is dropping 2 to 8 inches of snow.
In eastern Kentucky, some officials are unable to get equipment on the roads to clear the snow, Gov. Andy Beshear said Wednesday.
Further south, heavy rain was reported in New Orleans Wednesday morning.
By Wednesday afternoon, the snow is forecast to move into the Carolinas, Virginia, Maryland and Delaware.
The heaviest snow — 5 to 10 inches — will be from just northeast of Raleigh, North Carolina, to Norfolk, Virginia, and Ocean City, Maryland.
South of Raleigh and into South Carolina, an icy mix is possible.
This storm will end by Wednesday night.
But behind the storm is an Arctic blast.
Many cities recorded record low temperatures Wednesday morning, including: negative 25 degrees in Rapid City, South Dakota; negative 15 degrees in Billings, Montana; 1 degree in Wichita, Kansas; and2 degrees in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
The wind chill — what temperature it feels like — is even colder, clocking in at minus 1 degree in Dallas; minus 16 degrees in Oklahoma City; minus 18 degrees in Wichita; and minus 25 degrees in Minneapolis.
The record cold temperatures will spread further south into the Gulf Coast on Thursday and Friday, with record lows possible in Dallas; Corpus Christi, Texas; Birmingham, Alabama; and Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
It will warm up this weekend, and by next week, temperatures will climb to the 60s and 70s in the South.
A Georgia woman is suing a fertility clinic after an in vitro fertilization (IVF) mix-up allegedly led to staff implanting the wrong embryo and to her giving birth to another couple’s biological child.
Krystena Murray, 38, of Savannah, said she selected a sperm donor who looked like her “with dirty blonde hair and blue eyes.” She became pregnant and delivered a baby in December 2023, according to the lawsuit.
However, Murray, who is white and who, according to the complaint, had a white sperm donor, was shocked when she gave birth and the baby boy she delivered was African American, the suit states.
Murray bonded with the baby and wanted to keep him, despite knowing that the clinic, Coastal Fertility Specialists (CFS), had likely implanted somebody else’s embryo, according to the lawsuit.
She requested a DNA test which confirmed her fears that the baby was not genetically related to her. When Murray contacted the clinic, staff alerted the baby’s biological parents of the mix-up, according to the lawsuit.
The other couple sued Murray for custody, and she turned over the baby five months after giving birth. She said she has not seen him since.
“I questioned at first whether I was meant to be a mom, because I had tried for so long,” she told ABC News. “This is something that actually happens, and it’s devastating, and it can ruin someone’s life, and realize that it is an actual possibility.”
A lawsuit was filed on Tuesday afternoon in the State Court of Chatham County, in Georgia.
Murray said she had dreamed of being a mother. When she was asked at a young age what she wanted to be, her response was: a mom.
“They were actually referring to career but, my young mind, that’s what I wanted to do with my life was to be a mom,” she said. “I spent the majority of my younger years thinking I needed to have the perfect person or spouse to start a family and, once I started getting older, I realized that my priorities changed, and I wanted to pursue being a mother sooner rather than later.”
For about 18 months prior to contacting CFS, she said she attempted intrauterine insemination without success. During a press conference on Tuesday, Murray said she contacted CFS, which operates clinics in Georgia and South Carolina, in either late 2022 or early 2023.
Over several months, Murray said she attended many appointments that included follow-up exams and blood tests. She also underwent daily injections over a two-week period to stimulate the ovaries to increase egg production, the lawsuit states.
Murray went through one egg retrieval surgery and became pregnant during her second transfer in May 2023, she said. She gave birth in late December 2023.
“So, the first time I saw my son, like any mom, he was beautiful and literally the best thing I’ve ever seen, but it was also immediately apparent that he was African American,” Murray said during the press conference. “I would like to say my first thought is, ‘He’s beautiful.’ My second thought was, ‘What happened? Did they mess up the embryo, or did they mess up the sperm? And if they messed up the embryo, can someone take my son?’ That was all within the course of the first 10 or 15 seconds of me seeing him.”
Murray said she loved the baby and bonded with him, breastfeeding him and taking him to doctors’ appointments, but she knew the clinic had made a mistake somehow.
She purchased an at-home DNA test and received results in late January 2024, confirming the baby was not genetically related to her, according to the lawsuit.
Murray’s attorneys reached out to CFS in February 2024 to share Murray’s fears, the lawsuit states. In March 2024, the clinic realized its mistake and reached out to the biological parents to let them know their embryo had been transferred into Murray, according to the lawsuit.
The biological parents sued Murray for custody of the child. Another DNA test confirmed the baby was genetically related to them, the lawsuit states.
Murray said she wanted to keep the baby and hired a family law attorney but, after a “tremendous amount of money and time,” they told her that she would likely lose her case.
During a family court hearing in May 2024, Murray said she voluntarily turned the baby over to the other couple, marking the last time she saw him.
Murray said surrendering him over to his biological parents was “the hardest day of my life.”
“I think about him every single day. There’s not a day that I don’t wonder what he’s doing,” she told ABC News. “I raised him for five months, but I didn’t get to see his first steps. I don’t know what his first words are. I don’t know, what milestones he’s hitting.”
“I’m not privy to what type of person he’s becoming or how he’s growing and developing, and it is very hard, and I do think of him every single day and wonder how he is,” she added.
According to her lawsuit, Murray said she doesn’t know what happened to her own embryo, whether it was also mistakenly transferred to another couple or resulted in a pregnancy.
Murray said the process made her question motherhood, but she said she is currently getting treatment at another clinic and hopes she can become a mother soon.
Her lawsuit against CFS and some of its staff was filed by the law firm Peiffer Wolf Carr Kane Conway & Wise for negligence, gross negligence, bailment, breach of fiduciary duty, fraudulent concealment, battery, lack of informed consent, violations of the Georgia Fair Business Practices Act and violations of the South Carolina Unfair Trade Practices Act.
The attorneys are seeking a judgment in excess of $75,000 as well as punitive damages, recovered attorney fees, recovered treble damages and all other costs. CFS did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
Murray’s attorney, Adam Wolf, said he has represented more than 1,000 people against fertility clinics due to errors that allegedly occurred during their treatments. He described Murray’s experience as a patient’s “wildest fear.”
“Having done this work for 13 years now, when you go into a fertility clinic, there’s a risk that they might not get as many eggs as you had hoped, or create as many embryos as you wanted,” he told ABC News. “You might come out of that process without having any embryos. But what you never think in your wildest fear is that your fertility clinic is going to transfer to you an embryo that belongs to somebody else. That is beyond the pale, and it should never happen at a fertility clinic.”
He said he hopes this leads CFS to change its processes and procedures so a mistake like this doesn’t happen again and that more safeguards are put in place across the fertility industry nationwide.
Murray said she hopes to bring more awareness by sharing her story and to let other patients going through something similar know they are not alone.
“You’re not alone and use your voice. Don’t be silenced,” she said. “I feel like if we don’t come forward and we don’t speak our truth and we don’t share our experiences, then there will never be change, and this will just be a repetitive cycle. And use your voice, if not for you, because we can’t change the situation that we’re in, then do it for someone else.”
The family of a passenger who died in the midair collision near Washington, D.C., filed legal claims against the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the United States Army, seeking $250 million in compensation for each claim.
The filings are likely the beginning of a lengthy legal battle stemming from the deadliest aviation incident in the U.S. over the last quarter century, killing all 64 aboard the American Airlines passenger jet and three servicemembers in the Blackhawk helicopter on Jan. 29.
“This was a disaster waiting to happen, and it just so happened that particular night. Everything came together to create this preventable tragedy,” said Robert Clifford, a lawyer representing the family of Casey Crafton. “We want to get to the bottom of it, and this gets us going.”
Crafton was on board the American Airlines regional jet returning from a business trip to his home in Salem, Connecticut, where he lived with his wife, Rachel, and his three young sons. Crafton worked as a technical support manager for an aviation consulting firm after studying aviation management at Bob Jones University.
“Casey was an incredible human being. He was a giver. He was a loving husband and father. He enjoyed coaching his boys on their youth soccer and little league baseball teams. They will be grieving him for the rest of their lives that will never be the same,” Clifford said.
Clifford Law Offices filed two forms yesterday required under the Federal Tort Claims Act to bring claims against both the FAA and Army, seeking $250 million for each claim. Each claim was filed on behalf of Rachel Crafton, Casey’s wife.
Clifford described the $250 million number as a ceiling for the claim made “out of an abundance of caution.”
“You can always go down, you cannot go up. And if you look at, you know, wrongful death claims across the country, it’s not unheard of to have a number that high,” he told ABC News. “You’re talking about a father of three children and a loving wife. It’s a substantial claim.”
The firm has not filed claims against American Airlines, PSA Airlines, Sikorsky Aircraft or Collins Aerospace — though it sent preservation letters to each — as they await more information about the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation, according to the firm’s press release.
Separately, Clifford Law said it has begun an “investigation into potential claims of willful neglect” by airlines operating in the airspace near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, where the crash occurred.
The NTSB — which is leading the investigation– has not yet identified a cause for the collision.
Clifford, who described the incident as “preventable,” alleged that the airlines that fly in and out of Washington, D.C., failed to take “sufficient precautions to protect its passengers.”
With the pre-case claim against the FAA and Army filed, each entity has six months to respond; after six months without a response or if the claims are rejected, Clifford Law could file lawsuits in federal court.
An FAA spokesperson declined to comment on potential litigation.
