(LOS ANGELES) — Extreme fire danger is set to threaten Southern California early this week.
The National Weather Service in Los Angeles issued a rare “particularly dangerous situation” red flag warning from Monday night through Wednesday morning. The worst conditions for Los Angeles and Ventura counties will be Monday night through Tuesday.
“Use extra caution with any source of flame,” the National Weather Service advised.
Wind gusts are forecast to climb to 60 to 80 mph and relative humidity could fall to 2% to 15% Monday night through Tuesday night. With these conditions, wildfires could spread very quickly.
“Be ready to evacuate quickly, especially if in canyon, foothill, and mountain areas,” the Los Angeles County Office of Emergency Management warned.
Winds should finally begin to subside Wednesday afternoon into Wednesday night.
(TIJUANA, MEXICO) — A 31-year-old man was arrested for allegedly trying to hijack a Mexican domestic commercial flight and reroute the aircraft to the U.S. Sunday morning, according to Mexican authorities and the airline, Volaris.
At some point after the flight took off this morning from León traveling to Tijuana, the Mexican man — identified by authorities only as Mario N — attacked a flight attendant and tried to storm the cockpit.
The plane was diverted to Guadalajara, where the Mexican National Guard arrested him.
It’s unclear the exact motive, but Mexico’s federal Department of Security said that airline personnel reported the man said that a close relative had been kidnapped and shortly before takeoff he received a death threat if he traveled to Tijuana.
The man was traveling with his wife and two children, Mexican authorities said.
Once the suspect was arrested in Guadalajara, the plane continued on to Tijuana without incident.
EAST HAMPTON, NY – JULY 2: Jay-Z and Sean Combs attend Puffy’s Fourth of July Party at Sean Combs’ House on July 2, 2000 in East Hampton, NY. (Photo by Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter and Sean “Diddy” Combs are accused of raping a 13-year-old girl at an after-party following the 2000 Video Music Awards, according to an amended civil lawsuit filed Sunday.
“Another celebrity stood by and watched as Combs and Carter took turns assaulting the minor,” the lawsuit said without naming the celebrity.
In a statement posted to the Roc Nation X account on Sunday, Jay-Z denied the allegations made against him in the filing.
Jay-Z was added to the lawsuit that was originally filed in October as one of several anonymous complaints by Texas attorney Tony Buzbee.
Many of the lawsuits did not survive because the plaintiffs declined to be named; however, in this case, the judge said the then-13-year-old showed sufficient cause to continue anonymously.
Carter was identified in the original complaint as Celebrity A.
The plaintiff alleged she was noticed by a limousine driver who invited her to the after-party where Combs and Carter raped her.
In his statement, Jay-Z claimed Buzbee had sent his lawyer a “demand letter” ahead of the filing.
“My lawyer received a blackmail attempt, called a demand letter, from a ‘lawyer’ named Tony Buzbee. What he had calculated was the nature of these allegations and the public scrutiny would make me want to settle,” Jay-Z wrote.
“No sir, it had the opposite effect! It made me want to expose you for the fraud you are in a VERY public fashion. So no, I will not give you ONE RED PENNY!!” he added in the statement.
In his response, the music mogul questioned why the filing was a civil lawsuit rather than a criminal filing.
“Whomever would commit such a crime against a minor should be locked away, would you not agree? These alleged victims would deserve real justice if that were the case,” Jay-Z wrote.
Jay-Z went on to address the fact that his family, including his children, may be affected by the filing.
“My only heartbreak is for my family. My wife and I will have to sit our children down, one of whom is at the age where her friends will surely see the press and ask questions about the nature of these claims, and explain the cruelty and greed of people,” he wrote.
In a statement to ABC News Buzbee said, “The pleading speaks for itself. This is a very serious matter that will be litigated in court.”
Buzbee also took to his personal Instagram account on Sunday, saying he would not be “bullied or intimidated,” without mentioning the specific lawsuit, Jay-Z or Diddy by name.
“People will see through this effort to discredit me and my clients and the truth will be revealed,” Buzbee wrote. “I also won’t allow anyone to scare my clients into silence. Sunlight is the best disinfectant and I am quite certain the sun is coming,” he added.
Combs’ legal representatives responded to the filing in a statement to ABC News on Sunday, saying, “This amended complaint and the recent extortion lawsuit against Mr. Buzbee exposes his barrage of lawsuits against Mr. Combs for what they are: shameless publicity stunts, designed to extract payments from celebrities who fear having lies spread about them, just as lies have been spread about Mr. Combs.”
“As his legal team has said before, Mr. Combs has full confidence in the facts and the integrity of the judicial process. In court, the truth will prevail: that Mr. Combs never sexually assaulted or trafficked anyone — man or woman, adult or minor,” Combs’ representatives said in the statement.
(NEW YORK) — A man’s masked face caught peering at a camera from the back of a taxi. Monopoly money in a backpack ditched in Central Park. And bullet casings with words scrawled on them.
Those are just a few of the details that the New York Police Department has released to the public in the five days since a masked gunman fatally shot the chief executive of a health insurance company in Manhattan.
The evidence has painted a picture of a “fully masked” suspect who appeared to have planned his movements with precision, but law enforcement is “on the right track,” Mayor Eric Adams told ABC News’ New York station WABC on Sunday.
“As I say, the net is closing and closing,” Adams said. “This was an extremely challenging investigation. A fully masked person. The amount of detective work it took to put the pieces together — we feel we’re getting closer and closer.”
As the manhunt continued for the suspect, whom investigators have not publicly identified, police in New York and elsewhere said they were still looking for evidence in Wednesday’s fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York City. The NYPD believes it is making good progress toward identifying the suspect, but has so far not done so, sources told ABC News.
NYPD detectives arrived on Saturday in Georgia. Investigators have said the suspect took a bus to New York, arriving on Nov. 24 from Atlanta, although it was unclear if his travels began in that city. And the FBI is assisting the nationwide manhunt, according to law enforcement sources.
Back in New York on Sunday, members of the New York Police Department’s dive team were again searching underwater in the Central Park. They were seen in the water near the Bethesda Fountain.
The masked gunman shot Thompson at point-blank range at 6:44 a.m. on Dec. 4 outside the New York Hilton Midtown, where Thompson’s company was holding an investors conference. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch described the attack as “brazen” and “targeted.” The suspect is thought to have left the scene of the shooting and taken a bike north into the park.
Adams on Sunday declined to comment on specific evidence, saying only that “every piece is important.” And he spoke generally about the ongoing underwater search.
“Everywhere is important. Everyplace is important,” Adams said, adding a moment later, “It’s dark down there, you know.”
The backpack had been found nearby in Central Park. Police have not yet recovered the distinctive gun used in the shooting.
The suspect took a taxi to the Port Authority bus facility at 178th Street and boarded a bus out of New York City following the shooting, according to police.
NYPD officials released images on Saturday that they said were of the suspected shooter. The man appeared to have been in the back of a taxi, where he could be seen peering through the open slider in the partition between the seats. Another photo appeared to show the man walking by the window of a cab. It was unclear when the photos had been taken.
Investigators believe they secured DNA samples from several pieces of evidence discovered at or near the crime scene, law enforcement sources told ABC News. The DNA samples are currently at the NYC Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to be run through databases for a possible match — a process that could take several days, the sources said.
Police were also able to extract a fingerprint off a water bottle the suspect bought at a Starbucks. The print is smudged, so it is unclear whether it will be helpful to the investigation, sources said.
“I don’t want to do anything that’s going to tip him off that we’re on his trail, but we feel really good where we are,” Adams said on Sunday. “Finding the knapsack, getting the cab photos, looking at some of the evidence that we have available to us, we feel really good where we are.”
ABC News’ Aaron Katersky, Mark Crudele, Bill Hutchinson, Jon Haworth, Ivan Pereira and David Brennan contributed to this report.
(PARIS) — In a rare moment of unity, world leaders convened on Saturday to attend the ceremonial reopening of the famed Notre Dame Cathedral in France.
Five years after flames engulfed the historic site in the center of Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron expressed “gratitude” to those who saved, helped and rebuilt Notre Dame.
The ceremony was attended by 1,500 dignitaries, including first lady Jill Biden, President-elect Donald Trump, Prince William and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The first lady was the official U.S. representative after President Joe Biden declined an invitation to attend the ceremony, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, citing a scheduling conflict.
Trump kicked off his first foreign trip since his reelection and met with Macron at the Elysee Palace before the ceremony.
The meeting comes at a time when Macron’s government is undergoing a political crisis after his prime minister, Michel Barnier, resigned after facing a no-confidence vote. Macron, who became president in 2017, has vowed he will serve until the end of his term in 2027 despite facing calls from some to resign.
The cathedral, a landmark of Gothic architecture in the heart of France’s capital, was built around 1260 AD and stood for 850 years, seeing more visitors than the Eiffel Tower or the Louvre. Notre Dame attracted more than 13 million global tourists yearly prior to the fire.
Macron delivered on the famed promise he made while standing outside the scorched landmark days after the fire that it would be rebuilt in five years.
The rebuilding took 1,200 oak trees felled from forests across France to replace the framework of the roof and 1,000 construction workers.
Though Notre Dame is set to reopen to the public on Sunday with its first public mass, much of the construction is set to continue for years.
A criminal investigation into what started the fire is about to be completed, but so far no cause has been cited and an indictment hasn’t been issued from the Paris prosecutor’s office.
(WESTFORD, Mass.) — A Democratic member of Congress has become the latest victim of increased threats against federal lawmakers in the last two weeks.
Rep. Lori Trahan of Massachusetts said Saturday that her family and home received a bomb threat. No one was harmed and the Westford Police Department, U.S. Capitol Police and the Massachusetts State Police are all investigating the threat, she said.
“It’s a good time to say the obvious: threats of violence and intimidation have no place in our country,” Trahan said in a statement.
The threat against Trahan came a week after several Democratic members received similar threats against their families.
Reps. Joe Courtney, Jahana Hayes, Jim Himes and John Larson, who all represent districts in Connecticut, said their homes were targeted on Thanksgiving. Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy, Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse and Rep. Seth Magaziner, also of Rhode Island, said they were targets of bomb threats last week
No bombs were found and none of the elected officials nor their families were hurt, authorities said.
The investigations into the threats are ongoing.
Some of President-elect Trump’s cabinet selections were also targeted with threats last week.
Investigators are looking into bomb threats sent to Rep. Elise Stefanik, Trump’s pick for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations; Brooke Rollins, Trump’s pick for agriculture secretary; Lee Zeldin, the former congressman Trump has tapped to lead the EPA; and Pete Hegseth, Trump’s pick for defense secretary.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and President Joe Biden condemned last week’s threats.
“House Democrats will not be deterred or intimidated from serving the people by violent threats,” Jeffries said in a statement last week.
(ANNAPOLIS, Md.) — A federal judge paused the child sexual abuse case involving President-elect Donald Trump’s education secretary pick Linda McMahon, her husband Vince McMahon and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).
The Maryland lawsuit, filed in October by five John Does who worked as the ringside crew when they were teens, alleges WWE co-founders Linda and Vince McMahon turned a blind eye to years of sexual abuse of the underaged “ring boys” by an announcer and executives at the company. The McMahons have denied the claims.
The stay in the case is a major development for the businesswoman and former Small Business Administration head — Linda McMahon’s cabinet role is tasked with investigating sexual misconduct in education programs.
Linda McMahon has been meeting with senators who will determine whether she’ll be confirmed for the position in Trump’s second administration while her apparent lack of experience in schools is being debated.
U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar granted a stay in the case pending a ruling by the Supreme Court of Maryland in the Maryland Child Victims Act of 2023 (CVA). The CVA could repeal the statute of limitations in certain civil actions relating to child sexual abuse, according to Maryland House Bill 1. This includes sexual abuse and any other sexual conduct that is a crime.
Earlier this week, the defendants, WWE, it’s parent company TKO, and the McMahons, sought a stay in the case until the Maryland Supreme Court rules on CVA’s constitutionality. The defendants argued a motion to stay was key in the case involving alleged abuse from roughly forty years ago. A decision by the high court is expected Aug. 31, 2025.
The scathing lawsuit came just weeks before Linda McMahon’s nomination for education secretary. The decades-old sexual abuse allegations were slammed by her attorney, Laura Brevetti. In November, Brevetti told ABC News the FBI investigated the allegations at the time and found no grounds to further investigate the claims, calling the most recent lawsuit “baseless.”
The plaintiffs in the lawsuit did not immediately respond to ABC News’ requests for comment. However, the allegations could impact McMahon’s confirmation for the cabinet position.
Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., told ABC News if there’s evidence proving Linda McMahon concealed the alleged sexual abuse scandal then it would be a “pretty big concern.”
(NEWARK, N.J.) — Six people who were traveling in a vehicle in Newark, New Jersey, were killed after the car crashed off an elevated roadway Friday night, the authorities said.
The incident took place around 10:47 p.m. at the intersection of Raymond Boulevard and Blanchard Street, where the vehicle was traveling on a southbound on-ramp, according to the Essex County Prosecutor’s office.
“While on the ramp, the vehicle somehow went off the roadway, became airborne, and struck a support column for the Pulaski Skyway before landing on the ground. Upon landing, the vehicle caught fire,” the prosecutor’s office said in a statement.
The six people who were killed were not immediately identified.
(WASHINGTON) — The family of Austin Tice, the American freelance journalist and Marine Corps veteran who was kidnapped while reporting in Syria in 2012, said it has been in contact with a “significant source” that confirmed he is alive and well.
“We have from a significant source that has already been vetted all over our government that Austin Tice is alive, Austin Tice is treated well, and there is no doubt about that,” said Tice’s mother, Debra.
National security adviser Jake Sullivan met with the family of Tice, who has been missing for more than 12 years after he was abducted on Aug. 13, 2012, at the White House on Friday.
“Jake Sullivan has regularly met with the families of wrongfully detained Americans,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said following the meeting. “We’re going to continue to make sure that we get Americans who are wrongfully detained, Americans home to their families.”
The Biden administration has successfully brought 75 unjustly detained Americans back to the United States.
Although reporters asked for more information about the source, the Tice family said it could not share more, claiming the U.S. government is restricting it from doing so for reasons the family does not understand. ABC News reached out to the family.
However, Tice’s father, Marc, said the family is “working toward” making more information public and that the source is “very different” from others who had given the family false hope in the past.
“We are confident in that this information is fresh,” he said. “It indicates as late as earlier this year that Austin is alive and being cared for.”
The U.S. government has continuously operated under the assumption that, despite his lengthy captivity and limited intelligence about his whereabouts, Tice is still alive. But its belief is primarily founded on a lack of evidence to suggest he is dead rather than evidence proving he is alive, according to multiple sources.
Questions about who exactly is holding Tice have cropped up over the past few years. The Biden administration has been careful with its wording on this, issuing statements saying that “we know with certainty that he has been held by the Government of Syria” because officials believe it is possible Tice is now in the custody of another group. However, the administration still believes the Syrian government has the power to bring about his release.
If the new source does have legitimate insight into Tice’s conditions, it stands to reason the source would likely also have information about whatever entity is holding him in custody, which could provide clues to his exact location.
The Syrian government has never publicly acknowledged playing any part in Tice’s disappearance, but during talks under the Trump administration, Syrian officials said they would provide proof of life in exchange for the United States fulfilling sweeping demands, according to officials familiar with the private negotiations. The Trump administration did not comply, and the Syrian government did not hand over any information about Tice.
The FBI has offered a reward of up to $1 million for information leading to the safe location, recovery and return of Tice.
(NEW YORK) — The search for an unidentified gunman who fatally shot UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, and the investigation into a possible motive, remain ongoing Friday.
Thompson, 50, was shot Wednesday morning outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel, where the insurance group’s investors conference was being held. The masked gunman appeared to be lying in wait outside the Hilton hotel before shooting Thompson at close range, police said.
Police said they are interviewing Thompson’s colleagues and family about any potential specific threats while they investigate a motive into the shooting.
Evidence collected from the scene of the shocking shooting include shell casings with the words “deny,” “defend” and “depose” written on them, according to police sources.
ABC News contributor Brad Garrett, a former FBI agent, said he believes the shooter is “trying to send a message” through the words.
“It strikes me that it has to do with insurance companies using those terms in some of their processes of turning down claims,” Garrett told ABC News Live’s Stephanie Ramos when asked about the words. “It’s a common complaint by people of having claims denied, and so I think this shooter is trying to send a message that someone — either himself or a loved one or someone close to him — has been harmed by this insurance company.”
“There wouldn’t be, logically, any other reason,” he added.
The words on the shell casings also echo the title of a 2010 book “Delay, Deny, Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don’t Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It.” Police are aware of the similarity, and are investigating whether one possible motive is anger at the insurance industry, sources said.
The book was written by legal scholar and insurance expert Jay Feinman, a professor emeritus at Rutgers Law School in New Jersey.
It explores abuses of auto and homeowners insurance to “avoid paying justified claims,” according to its summary.
“Today the name of the game is delay, deny, defend: to improve their profits, insurance companies delay payment of justified claims, deny payment altogether, and defend their actions by forcing claimants to enter litigation,” the book description states.
This strategy is not restricted to auto and homeowners insurance, the introduction states. “All insurance companies have an incentive to chisel their customers in order to increase profits,” it says.
ABC News has reached out to Feinman for comment.
In a response to a post on X that mentioned his book and the words on the shell casings, Feinman said he has “no comment” to media inquiries.
Police are working to identify the gunman in the shooting and his whereabouts.
After the shooting, the perpetrator fled on foot into an alley, where a phone was recovered, then fled on a bike, according to NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny.
Other evidence recovered from the scene includes a water bottle and candy wrapper, police sources said.
Police have also collected video of the suspected gunman all over the city, including in the subway, in cabs and a McDonald’s, since he arrived in New York City on Nov. 24 on a Greyhound bus, sources told ABC News.
In each place, he paid with cash and he made sure to keep his mask on, which indicates to detectives he knew he was coming to the city to commit the crime, sources said.
Police have released several photos of the shooting suspect while asking for the public’s help in identifying him. They include images of him unmasked taken from a surveillance camera at an Upper West Side hostel, where it appears the suspect shared a room with two other men, according to police sources.
UnitedHealthcare’s parent company, UnitedHealth Group, the largest health insurer in the world, said they are “working closely” with the NYPD in the wake of the shooting.
“So many patients, consumers, health care professionals, associations, government officials and other caring people have taken time out of their day to reach out. We are thankful, even as we grieve,” UnitedHealth Group said in a statement on Thursday. “Our priorities are, first and foremost, supporting Brian’s family; ensuring the safety of our employees; and working with law enforcement to bring the perpetrator to justice.”
“We, at UnitedHealth Group, will continue to be there for those who depend upon us for their health care,” the statement continued. “We ask that everyone respect the family’s privacy as they mourn the loss of their husband, father, brother and friend.”
