"The Talk of the Town"
(NASHVILLE, Tenn.) — Antioch High School in Nashville is on lockdown after shots were fired inside the school, according to Metro Nashville Public Schools.
At least two students were shot in the cafeteria, according to Nashville police. The shooter then shot himself, police said.
The shooter “is no longer a threat,” the school district said in a statement.
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(LOS ANGELES) — Much-anticipated rain could be headed to drought-stricken Southern California this weekend — but rainfall also brings the threat of landslides in the wake of Los Angeles County’s devastating fires.
Rain and mountain snow are expected in Southern California on Saturday and Sunday.
Rainfall rates are expected to be light, up to 1 inch over the course of the weekend.
But thunderstorms are possible; lightning could spark new fires and the thunderstorms would cause heavier rainfall.
Heavy rain over the vulnerable wildfire burn scars would be extremely dangerous because it could lead to landslides.
The extreme burn scars are the result of the Palisades and Eaton fires, which erupted on Jan. 7. The wildfires ripped across the LA communities of Pacific Palisades and Altadena, destroying neighborhoods, claiming more than two dozen lives and forcing more than 100,000 people to evacuate.
“We’ve never seen a burn scar in an urban area of this scope and magnitude,” LA City Council member Traci Park said Tuesday.
“I normally pray for rain. God knows, we generally need it,” Park said during a news conference. “But right now, let me point out the obvious: The burn scar of the Palisades Fire not only sits feet from the ocean itself, but already on hillsides that are already prone to slide, and which have already absorbed a tremendous amount of water from firefighting, broken pipes and melted pools.”
“Adding water to this mess and saturated, unstable hillsides is the last thing we need,” she continued. “But we already know at some point, it’s going to happen. And let me remind folks burn scars don’t absorb water at a normal rate. They simply add to the risk of floods, landslides and debris flow.”
LA Mayor Karen Bass issued an executive order on Tuesday to shore up the burn areas ahead of the rain.
“This is to prevent additional damage to areas already ravished by fire, and also to protect our watershed, beaches and ocean from toxic runoff,” Bass said during the news conference. “The action plan I have directed our city Public Works bureaus to implement includes the installation of barriers, debris removal and diverting runoff from our stormwater system and into our sewer system where it can be treated.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday that he’s deploying specialized debris flow teams to Southern California ahead of the rain.
Among the state resources will be more than 400 California Conservation Corps members who’ll “be working on watershed protection at firestorm burn scar areas to place silt fencing, straw wattles, and compost socks to act as physical barriers to filter contaminants found in rainwater runoff,” the governor’s office said. “More Corpsmembers will be trained to augment capacity in the coming days.”
More than 80 California National Guard service members are also headed to the scene “with 2 dozers, 1 excavator, 1 loader, 4 dump trucks and other engineering assets to haul 527,000 cubic yards of materials in local debris basins,” the governor’s office said.
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(NEW YORK) — A Florida man who prosecutors alleged attacked police with an explosive device during the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol — and whose case was dropped following President Donald Trump’s sweeping pardons and commutations issued Monday, was arrested Wednesday on pending federal gun charges, according to court records.
Daniel Ball, 39, was taken into custody Wednesday morning, according to an arrest warrant, on a separate indictment returned by federal prosecutors in Florida last summer that charged him for unlawfully possessing a gun as a felon.
He had at least three previous felony convictions — one dating back to 2017 for domestic violence battery by strangulation and two in October of 2021 — nine months after the Jan. 6 riot, for resisting law enforcement and battery on a law enforcement officer.
Ball was among the few defendants being held pretrial in connection with his Jan. 6 case, after prosecutors accused him of using an explosive device to assault officers trying to protect the Capitol in the Lower West End Tunnel.
Ball further was allegedly seen on video joining rioters in an unsuccessful attempt to break through a police line, before retreating to throw “dangerous weapons” at the line of officers, according to court records.
A federal judge ordered Ball detained in May of 2023 after determining he posed a serious ongoing danger to the general public if released, and to members of law enforcement in particular.
Ball has not entered a plea to the weapons charge and ABC News has reached out to an attorney listed as representing him for comment.
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(NEW YORK) — In the days since President Donald Trump assumed office, many people online have begun expressing alarm to find they were unwittingly following Trump on Instagram and Facebook.
Across social media, posts have proliferated by people concerned after discovering they were automatically following accounts for Trump, as well as Vice President JD Vance, first lady Melania Trump and the White House.
Meta, the company that owns Facebook and Instagram, denied claims they forced users to follow the accounts.
The accounts are managed by the current presidential administration, and switch over when a new administration takes office, a spokesperson for Meta said.
Former President Joe Biden’s account remains archived under another handle, @potus46archive.
“People were not made to automatically follow any of the official Facebook or Instagram accounts for the President, Vice President or First Lady,” Meta spokesperson Andy Stone said in a post on Threads. “Those accounts are managed by the White House so with a new administration, the content on those Pages changes. This is the same procedure we followed during the last presidential transition.”
Stone also addressed concerns that people were unable to follow the accounts, saying, “It may take some time for follow and unfollow requests to go through as these accounts change hands.”
The company made the same transition in 2021, handing the Facebook and Instagram accounts for the president, vice president, first lady and White House from Trump’s administration to that of President Joe Biden.
The same process took place in 2017, when President Barack Obama’s administration passed its accounts on to the Trump administration.
“In 2017, we worked with both the Obama Administration and incoming Trump Administration to make sure the transition of their Facebook and Instagram accounts was seamless on January 20th, and we expect to do the same here,” Meta, then known as Facebook, told Reuters in 2020.
Instagram users also expressed concern they were temporarily unable to search for the words “Democrat” or “Democrats.”
Meta said they were aware of the issue, and said it was a glitch affecting “a number of different hashtags on Instagram — not just those on the left.”
“We’re working quickly to resolve this,” Stone, the Meta spokesperson, said in another post.
The online uproar comes on the heels of the inauguration, where Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg — along with several other high-profile tech CEOs — were in attendance.
Meta announced earlier this month they would end fact-checking on their platforms, which was put in place after the 2016 election.
Critics have accused the recent move of being a partisan effort to appease Trump, who has repeatedly slammed the company for alleged anti-conservative bias.
In a video posted by the company, Zuckerberg said fact-checking had proven to be “too politically biased” and had destroyed “more trust than they’ve created.”
“The recent elections also feel like a cultural tipping point towards once again prioritizing speech,” Zuckerberg added.
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(NEW YORK) — The Gulf Coast is digging out from a once-in-a-lifetime snowstorm that struck from Texas to Florida, closing airports and crippling roadways.
Over 2,000 flights were canceled on Tuesday and more than 1,300 flights have been canceled on Wednesday.
Multiple fatalities have been reported due to car crashes and hypothermia.
In the Atlanta area, DeKalb County officials declared a state of emergency on Wednesday and are urging all residents to shelter in place due to the severe winter weather. Over 100 cars have been reported stranded on roadways, keeping crews from responding to emergencies, officials said.
Many areas saw more snow than they have in at least 130 years.
Florida saw its most snow on record, with a preliminary 8.8 inches of snow observed in Milton, north of Pensacola.
The southeast part of Houston saw over 4 inches, making it one of the top snowstorms to impact the area.
Mobile, Alabama, and Pensacola, Florida, saw all-time record highs with 7.5 inches and 7.6 inches respectively.
In Louisiana, Baton Rouge saw 7.6 inches, New Orleans saw 8 inches and Lafayette recorded 9 inches.
New Orleans demolished its most recent highest snow total, which was 2.7 inches in 1963.
Snow is still falling early Wednesday in Georgia, Florida and the coastal Carolinas.
About 5 inches have so far been reported in parts of coastal North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.
The snow is expected to end this morning but rain will continue in Florida.
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(NEW YORK) — Cellphones will no longer be allowed in New York schools if Gov. Kathy Hochul gets her way.
The New York governor announced on Tuesday a proposal to ban smartphones from hallways, classrooms and during lunchtime.
“We are not developing the skills we need because kids are distracted by cellphones,” Hochul said during a budget address in Albany. “I am announcing today a proposal that will transform our classrooms, return them to a place of learning.”
By restricting the use of devices from “bell to bell,” Hochul said schools will be distraction-free, allowing students to focus solely on learning.
“Our kids will be finally free from the endless disruptions from social media and all the mental health pressures that come from it,” Hochul said.
Students who have medical needs or are non-English speakers will still be permitted to use their cellphones at school. If approved, the governor said school districts will have the flexibility on how they interpret the policy.
The proposal will require approval by the state Legislature, since Hochul introduced it during her state budget instead of issuing an executive order.
Previously, New York City Schools Chancellor David Banks said he was exploring a cellphone ban for city public schools, but Mayor Eric Adams said it required more study.
Eight states have already implemented cellphone restrictions to some degree in schools, including California, Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, Minnesota, Ohio, South Carolina and Virginia, according to The Associated Press.
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(TALLAHASSEE, FL) — For much of the Gulf Coast, the snowstorm that’s expected to end soon was a once-in-a-lifetime snowstorm.
Many areas saw more snow than they have in at least 130 years, making this truly a historic event.
Florida just saw the most snow on record, with a preliminary 8.8 inches observed in Milton, which is north of Pensacola. This is the highest snow total on record for the state, according to the National Weather Service.
Snow reports from the last 24 hours include about 1.2 inches in Houston, Texas. That’s the official number because it was taken at the city’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport, but the southeast part of the city saw over 4 inces. The NWS said it “is one of the top snowstorms to impact the Houston area.”
Elsewhere in the South, the snowfall was higher. In Louisiana, Baton Rouge saw 7.6 inches, New Orleans saw 8 inches and Lake Charles saw at least 4.8 inches, with up to 6 inches in some areas. Lafayette has seen 9 inches.
The snowfall the most recent highest total in New Orleans was from New Year’s Even in 1963 when 2.7 inches fell.
The 7.5 inches that fell in Mobile, Alabama, and the 7.6 inches in Pensacola, Florida, were all-time records.
Snow is still falling early Wednesday along the coastal Carolinas, in Georgia and in northern Florida.
About 5 inches have so far been reported in parts of coastal North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. Even North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, said it’s seen 3.8 inches — and it’s still snowing there.
The snow is expected to end around 7 a.m. for the east coast, exiting Charleston, South Carolina, and Wilmington, North Carolina, last.
Rain will continue in the Florida peninsula into the afternoon, heading south and exciting Miami, with lingering spot showers expected through the evening and again on Thursday for the Florida peninsula.
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(RALEIGH, NC) — A police officer has been seriously injured after a suspect opened fire at authorities from inside a home, officials said.
Officers were called to a home in the Renaissance Park neighborhood of Raleigh, North Carolina, just after 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Raleigh Police Deputy Chief of Operations Rico Boyce said.
Once at the scene, someone inside the home opened fire at responding officers, causing officers to return fire before striking and fatally wounding the suspect, police said.
One officer was shot during the exchange and was transported to a local hospital with serious injuries, Boyce said.
The incident was contained to the home, and the emergency alert that was sent to those in the area has since been lifted, Deputy Chief Boyce continued.
“I have been briefed by Chief Patterson concerning the shooting of a Raleigh police officer tonight. The officer is being treated at the hospital now. Anna and I are praying for a complete recovery,” North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein posted on social medi
Police did not give any further details behind the motivation of the shooting or the identities of those involved.
The investigation is currently ongoing.
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(NEW JERSEY) — On Donald Trump’s first day in office, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy asked the president and his administration to “reexamine” New York City’s highly debated congestion pricing plan, the first of its kind in the nation, and its impact on the Garden State.
Murphy said Tuesday he has not yet heard from Trump on his letter, which 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 the letter, Murphy noted the state plans to amend its pending lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration over congestion pricing. Murphy told reporters Tuesday that the Biden administration did an “incomplete” study on the impacts of the plan.
“The Biden administration, which is why we sued in the first place, did not do what is called an environmental impact study, which takes longer, but is more comprehensive,” Murphy said during a Q&A at an unrelated press event. “It would have included environmental impact on New Jersey. That’s why we took legal action. I’ve said publicly from moment one, we will live with the results of that study.”
“We’re asking the Trump administration to do what the Biden administration did not do,” he continued.
The congestion pricing plan, which launched on Jan. 5, newly charges 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. The extra per-ride surcharge is 75 cents for taxis and black car services, and $1.50 for Ubers and Lyfts. During peak hours, small trucks and charter buses will be charged $14.40, while large trucks and tour buses must pay $21.60.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which manages the city’s subways as well as bridges and commuter rails, has said the toll enables it to issue $15 billion in bonds to help fund capital projects.
In response to Murphy’s letter to Trump, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul told reporters on Tuesday 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.
“That’s $15 billion of lost investment that we will need to have — not from the state, but from the federal government,” Hochul said during a presentation on the state’s 2026 executive budget.
In his letter to Trump, Murphy noted congestion pricing is one area where the Democratic governor believes their “priorities align.” He cited remarks Trump made during his campaign for president, in which he called the plan a “massive business killer and tax on New Yorkers, and anyone going into Manhattan,” as well as after the election, in which he called it the “worst plan in the history of womankind.”
“For my part, I am open to congestion pricing in concept,” Murphy wrote in the letter, though said the resulting plan is a “disaster for working- and middle-class New Jersey commuters and residents” who now need to pay a fee on top of bridge or tunnel tolls.
“And adding insult to injury, New Jersey communities are not being fully compensated for the additional traffic and attendant pollution that will be re-routed to them because of congestion pricing,” he wrote.
New York City’s congestion pricing plan got underway following a yearslong environmental review process. After postponing the launch of the program days before it was set to start last year, Hochul revived it with a new, phased-in toll plan that initially lowers the fee.
A week after the launch, preliminary data showed the plan is working, with an average of 7.5% fewer vehicles than would have been expected in the district without congestion pricing, officials said.
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(OHIO) — Four Chilean nationals were arrested in connection with the burglary that occurred at Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow’s home in December, according to court records.
On Jan. 10, 2025, a special agent with the Ohio State Highway Patrol spotted suspicious luggage being carried into a vehicle outside of a hotel in Fairborn, Ohio, according to court records.
When the agent pulled the car over, Alexander Chavez, Bastian Morales, Jordan Sanchez and Sergio Cabello, allegedly showed the agent fake identification. The car smelled of marijuana and it was later confirmed that the four men were in the country illegally, court records filed in Clark County, Ohio, say.
When police searched the car, they say they found “two Husky automatic center punch pools wrapped in a cloth towel behind the glove box.”
Police say these tools are used by South American theft groups to break glass and enter houses.
The affidavit says that in the vehicle police found an “old LSU shirt and Bengals hat believed to be stolen from the December 9, 2024 burglary in Hamilton County, Ohio.”
On Dec. 9, Joe Burrow’s home in Hamilton County, Ohio, was burglarized, according to police records.
The affidavit says the men were brought to the Clark County Sheriff’s Office for further questioning. When a detective called one of the cell phone numbers that was placed at the scene via cellphone data, Morales’ phone started ringing, according to court records.
Morales was also seen allegedly carrying a Louis Vuitton style bag and was previously identified “as a male possibly involved in a burglary offense” on the day of the burglary at Burrow’s home.
“This is an ongoing investigating involving multiple burglaries across the United States of America, specifically targeting multi-million dollar residences and your affiant and brother investigators have arrested at least six different South American burglary groups, five of which were Chilean nationals,” a criminal complaint says.
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