Flooding threatens Hawaii, while dry and breezy conditions raise fire danger in the Northeast

April 9, 2026

Red flag warnings for parts of New York. (ABC News)

(NEW YORK) — Amid red-flag fire danger alerts issued for parts of New York and a forecast of potential flooding for Hawaii, the weather is expected to cooperate for Friday’s historic Artemis II splashdown off the coast of Southern California.

The National Weather Service (NWS) issued red-flag alerts on Thursday for several counties in upstate New York, including much of the Hudson Valley stretching from Albany to Westchester County.

The red-flag alerts are expected to last until at least 6 p.m. ET on Thursday as the NWS is forecasting wind gusts of up to 35 mph and relative humidity as low as 20%.

“Any fire that develops will catch and spread quickly,” the NWS said on Thursday, adding that outdoor burning is not recommended.

Elevated fire danger to a lesser extent is also in place for other parts of the Northeast, including sections of Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Rhode Island and as far north as Vermont.

Hawaii flood threat

Already this week, the eastern nose of Hawaii’s Big Island has recorded a rainfall accumulation of 10 inches to 13 inches. The eastern edges of Maui have recorded 6 inches to 12 inches of rain this week as well.

The soggy weather is expected to continue through at least Friday. An area of low pressure is developing west of the islands, drawing abundant moisture northward as it strengthens on Thursday and into Friday.

The Hawaiian islands are bracing for potential heavy rain and thunderstorms that could produce flash flooding in some areas. Landslides may also occur in areas with steep terrain.

Widespread rainfall of possibly 2 inches to 4 inches is still expected through Friday across the Hawaiian islands, and some areas could receive 5 to 10 inches of rain.

The excessive rainfall could cause streams to overflow and produce significant flooding and property damage in urban or low-lying spots due to runoff, and could lead to road closures in several areas.

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said in a statement on Wednesday that President Donald Trump has approved a major disaster declaration for the state ahead of the upcoming storm, freeing up federal resources to respond to the emergency and help in early recovery efforts.

“The recovery from this storm will be long and difficult and will require constant collaboration with the counties and the federal administration — and I am confident that as with other recent disasters, we will benefit from the aloha we share for each other and our collaborative approach with anyone who can offer assistance,” Green said.

Artemis II splashdown weather

The weather forecast remains good for the scheduled splashdown of the Artemis II Orion crew module, according to NASA.

Tentatively scheduled for 8:07 p.m. ET on Friday, NASA says the splashdown site will likely be within 100 miles of the coast of San Diego, California, where the Navy’s amphibious transport dock ship USS John P. Murtha will lead recovery efforts.

The majority of the weather criteria are in order to have a safe recovery mission by sea and by air. Visibility will likely be within the necessary guidelines for the safe flight of recovery helicopters, especially from 50 to 100 miles off the coast.

Weather criteria that need to be met for a safe splashdown and recovery include wave heights of less than six feet, no precipitation or lightning within 35 miles of the splashdown site and winds under 28 mph, with minimal cloud cover and good visibility, according to NASA.

Severe weather in store for Texas and the Panhandle

A new weather pattern will begin to take shape this weekend as stormy weather begins over west Texas and the panhandle.

Moisture flowing in from the Gulf, dry air coming from the Desert Southwest and warm air from the Southeast mixing with colder air from the North are all converging as low-pressure systems move across the region.

The severe weather will likely stretch into next week and spread to Wisconsin and Michigan, possibly peaking on Monday and Tuesday.

DHS warns of increasing trend in domestic partner poisonings

The Department of Homeland Security seal (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

(NEW YORK) — Domestic partners are “increasingly likely” to use chemical and biological toxins to kill or harm their partners, a trend so alarming that the Department of Homeland Security issued a warning to law enforcement.

The warning came in a January intelligence note, obtained by ABC News, that said people intent on harming or killing their domestic partners are turning to poisons like cyanide or ricin to do it, which are “often sourced from online black markets or made at home.”

“The use of chemical and biological toxins in domestic violence cases poses a significant challenge for detection and prosecution due to the often subtle and delayed onset of symptoms,” the intelligence note said.

The document highlighted as an example the case of a Colorado dentist convicted of first-degree murder last year after gradually poisoning his wife with a mix of arsenic, cyanide and tetrahydrozoline, the latter a medication commonly found in over-the-counter eye drops. The dentist secretly dosed his wife by adding the poisons to her protein shakes, according to prosecutors, resulting in her being hospitalized three times in a 10-day span, and then gave her a fatal dose of cyanide while she was ill in the hospital.

“Incidents using chemical or biological toxins to harm or kill are driven by several factors including accessibility of online information, ease of obtaining certain chemicals, and perceived difficulty in detection,” the DHS note said. It also listed an additional 16 cases in the U.S. since 2019 in which individuals were accused or convicted of poisoning current or former spouses, domestic or romantic partners, or family members, 10 of which resulted in the victim’s death.

Substances most often used in domestic poisoning incidents are antifreeze, eye drops, the synthetic opioid fentanyl and the prescription medication colchicine, as well as cyanide and the chemical element thallium, according to the note.

“These substances are often chosen for their ability to mimic natural illnesses, complicating detection and investigation,” the note said.

“If the trend of using chemical or biological toxins to kill or harm continues, we may see an increase in fatalities and long-term health consequences among survivors,” as well as an increase in the “need for specialized training and equipment for first responders,” according to the DHS note.

“The recurring use of these toxins by domestic partners highlights the need for more awareness, regulation, and forensic expertise to address this trend in domestic partner violence,” the note further said.

Bitcoin Depot, a top crypto ATM vendor, to pay nearly M to compensate fraud victims

Bitcoin Depot, a top crypto ATM vendor, to pay nearly $2M to compensate fraud victims

A photo illustration of a physical gold Bitcoin collectible on December 3,2025, in London, England. (Photo by Peter Dazeley/Getty Images)

(MAINE) — One of the country’s top cryptocurrency kiosk vendors has agreed to pay the state of Maine nearly $2 million as part of a settlement to compensate victims of fraud, the state announced on Monday.

Bitcoin Depot, which operates more than 25,000 bitcoin ATMs across the country, will pay the state $1.9 million, which represents money “taken by third-party scammers who defrauded Maine consumers through their kiosks.”

Victims of fraud perpetrated using Bitcoin Depot kiosks may apply for compensation from the state. As part of the settlement, Bitcoin Depot admits to no wrongdoing or violation of state or federal laws.

Bitcoin ATMs, which allow users to insert cash and send it to a digital wallet anywhere in the world in only a few minutes, have emerged as scammers’ top go-to method for separating Americans from their cash, according to experts.

In a typical scam, fraudsters will convince their victims that they must make a payment or safeguard their cash by inserting it in a bitcoin ATM. Once the transaction is executed, experts say, the money can be nearly impossible to recover — making it an attractive method for prospective scammers.

In 2025, Americans lost more than $333 million to bitcoin ATM scams, the FBI recently told ABC News, representing a dramatic uptick from prior years.

Maine has taken some of the nation’s most aggressive steps in limiting the proliferation of scams using bitcoin ATMs, including establishing daily deposit limits and capping transaction fees.

A spokesperson for Bitcoin Depot, which currently faces a separate lawsuit in Iowa, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ABC News.

Judge orders Lindsey Halligan to stop using US attorney title or face disciplinary action

Lindsey Halligan, attorney for US President Donald Trump, holds ceremonial proclamations to be signed by US President Donald Trump, not pictured, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, March 6, 2025. Trump exempted Canadian goods covered by the North American trade agreement known as USMCA from his 25% tariffs, offering major reprieves to the US’s two largest trading partners. (Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

(WASHINGTON) — A federal judge on Tuesday ordered that Lindsey Halligan, President Donald Trump’s appointee as interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, must stop using that title before the court or face disciplinary action.

“Ms. Halligan’s continued identification of herself as the United States Attorney for this District ignores a binding court order and may not continue,” the order from U.S. District Judge David Novak stated.

Judge Novak earlier this month ordered Halligan to explain to the court why she was using the title of U.S. attorney after a judge in that district found that her appointment was improper and violated the Constitution.

The Justice Department’s fiery reply to that order, which included Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche as signatories, drew Judge Novak’s ire.

“Ms. Halligan’s response, in which she was joined by both the Attorney General and the Deputy Attorney General, contains a level of vitriol more appropriate for a cable news talk show and falls far beneath the level of advocacy expected from litigants in this Court, particularly the Department of Justice,” Novak wrote Tuesday.

Halligan, who was a White House aide before being appointed interim U.S. attorney by President Trump, secured indictments against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, only to have them thrown out when U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie determined in November that she had been unlawfully appointed without being either Senate confirmed or appointed by the federal judiciary.

“The Court finds it inconceivable that the Department of Justice, which holds a duty to faithfully execute the laws of the United States even those with which it may have disagreement would repeatedly ignore court orders, while simultaneously prosecuting citizens for breaking the law,” Judge Novak wrote in Tuesday’s order. “If the Court were to allow Ms. Halligan and the Department of Justice to pick and choose which orders that they will follow, the same would have to be true for other litigants and our system of justice would crumble.”

The judge warned that if Halligan continues to use the U.S. attorney title, she will be subject to disciplinary proceedings.

“Ms. Halligan and anyone who joins her on a pleading containing the improper moniker subjects themselves to potential disciplinary action in this Court pursuant to the Court’s Local Rules,” Tuesday’s order said.

The Eastern District of Virginia also issued a job posting to fill the vacancy left by Halligan’s improper appointment.

A spokesperson for the U.S. attorney’s office for the Eastern District of Virginia declined to comment when contacted by ABC News.

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