Former CNN journalist Don Lemon pleads not guilty to charges in Minnesota church incident

(NEW YORK) — Turning on the tap for a glass of water or to wash produce may become significantly less predictable because of climate change.

According to a study published in Communications Earth & Environment, climate change is making access to drinkable water more difficult in the United States.

Hazards intensified by climate change, like drought and flooding, threaten both the quantity and quality of drinking water across the U.S., according to the study.

As a result, water utilities serving 67 million customers across the U.S. are at high risk from climate hazards, roughly a fifth of the entire U.S. population.

Looking at 1,500 municipal water utilities across the country, researchers found that water utilities in every U.S. region are vulnerable to climate hazards. While drought impacts water utilities in the Western states more directly, saltwater from coastal flooding worsens groundwater quality, and extreme cold can wear on pipes. Additionally, water utilities in the upper Midwest and Northeast are particularly vulnerable to climate hazards due to older infrastructure.

“Much of our infrastructure was built many decades ago,” Costa Samaras, professor of civil environmental engineering at Carnegie Mellon University and co-author of the study, told ABC News. “It was built not for the climate that we’re experiencing now.”

Given the age of existing infrastructure and lack of adaptive capacities, water utilities are less likely to quickly recover from increasingly common climate hazards. According to the study, water utilities are already experiencing higher operating expenses and more revenue lost from hazards.

The study found that some of the largest water utilities in the country are also some of the most vulnerable to climate hazards. In Texas, where the most vulnerable utilities serve a growing number of customers, more investments in water utility infrastructure are key to keeping up with the increasing population.

To make matters worse, most drinking water utilities in the U.S. are not financially planning for future climate risks. As water utility companies try to keep their costs down, short-term emergency fixes are prioritized in order to resume service while investments to prevent more extreme future hazards get put on the back burner.

“When you’re not thinking strategically about asset management and long-term planning, it’s really easy to become stuck in a negative financial loop,” said Zia Lyle, postdoctoral researcher at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and co-author of the study. Intensifying climate risks create larger financial burdens on utility companies to maintain service, limiting investments in future resilient infrastructure.

In addition to poor asset management, the study found that bond disclosures for the municipal water utilities do not typically include information on climate risks.

“The lack of disclosure here indicates a real systematic lack of climate risk assessments,” said Lyle. “When we interviewed drinking water utility managers, some of them were just unaware of how this range of hazards can affect all the different aspects of their system.”

Though it is becoming more common, only 30% of utilities discussed climate change in their bond statements in 2024. Without disclosure, those buying municipal bonds are left unaware of the risks their drinking water utilities face. In six states alone — Michigan, Illinois, California, Massachusetts, Virginia, and Texas — bond debt is currently around $500 million. Paired with decreased funding from the federal government, the lack of assessment and disclosure only increases the financial strain on drinking water utilities.

As climate hazards intensify, the financial risk combined with climate risks puts millions of customers and water utilities in a vulnerable position.

Some states are addressing the risks their drinking water utilities face. In Colorado, Denver Water is currently assessing the risks drought poses to their utilities so that they can plan appropriately and ensure water for their customers in the future.

Between appropriate risk assessment and increased investment from the state and federal governments, ensuring future access to drinking water is still possible.

“Now is the time for systems to invest,” said Dr. Zyle. “Overall, capital is more affordable now, and they can make these investments before it becomes too expensive.”

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(BATAVIA TOWNSHIP, Ohio) — A 19-year-old who crashed and became trapped upside down in a river in Batavia Township, Ohio, was pulled from her sinking pickup in a dramatic rescue captured on body camera footage.

The footage from the Clermont County Sheriff’s Office obtained by ABC News showed first responders on Feb. 22 working to safely rescue Andi Burns as rising, freezing water filled the truck and a dispatcher stayed on the line to keep her calm.

Burns was driving home from work on State Route 222 when she lost control of her vehicle on black ice, hit a tree and plunged off a steep embankment into the Little Miami River, according to a copy of the accident report from the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

Deputies and firefighters arrived on the scene to find the truck overturned in the river, according to the sheriff’s office.

According to Clermont County officials, Burns was wearing an Apple Watch that automatically called 911 using its crash detection feature.

“Please God please,” Burns was heard saying on the 911 call, telling dispatch that her head was “barely up” from the water.

In an interview with ABC News recalling the incident, Burns said she was “terrified.”

“It was completely black out, pitch black,” she said. “I didn’t think that anybody could hear me or knew what happened — I just was starting to freak out.”

Rescuers jumped into the water and shouted for tools to shatter a window and pop the door as they fought to reach her, according to the body camera footage.

“Grab my hand, grab both my hands,” one of the firefighters could be heard telling Burns in the footage.

Firefighter and EMT Tommy Jetter, who’s in his first year on the job, told ABC News that “the way that the car went in and flipped upside down altogether, that’s a very, very dangerous car accident wreck.”

He credited Burns for “being able to stay awake and find that air pocket and for her staying calm is very impressive.”

With the cab of the truck nearly filled with water and her head just inches from the water, crews were able to free Burns and pull her to safety, according to the footage.

“We got her!” the rescue team was heard shouting in the body cam footage.

Burns did not sustain any serious injuries and was able to walk away from the scene with just bruises, the accident report says.

“Surviving that car accident of one being in the water is very, very, very lucky, very fortunate, God was definitely on her side for that,” Jetter said.

Burns told ABC News she plans to become an EMT in Clermont County.

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(HONOLULU) — Opening statements are expected to begin Thursday in the trial of a doctor accused of trying to kill his wife on a Hawaii hiking trail last year.

Gerhardt Konig has been charged with second-degree attempted murder. He has pleaded not guilty.

The trial is set to get underway at 9 a.m. local time in Honolulu.

The anesthesiologist is accused of beating his wife, Arielle Konig, with a rock on the Pali Puka Trail on Oahu on March 24, 2025.

He allegedly pushed her and hit her in the head with a rock approximately 10 times while grabbing the back of her head and smashing her face into the ground, according to the probable cause statement for his arrest. He also allegedly attempted to use two syringes on her, according to the document.

Arielle Konig suffered injuries, including large lacerations to her face and head and was hospitalized in serious condition following the alleged attack, according to the probable cause document. 

Gerhardt Konig has been in jail since his arrest. A judge denied his motion to dismiss the indictment last month.

Arielle Konig’s attorney has previously told reporters that she intends to testify during the trial. She filed for divorce in May 2025, online court records show.

In a petition for a restraining order filed shortly after the arrest, she said Gerhardt Konig had previously accused her of having an affair, “which led to extreme jealousy on his part” and led him to try to “control and monitor all of my communications.”

Konig worked as an anesthesiologist on Maui. Following his arrest, Maui Health said his medical staff privileges at Maui Memorial Medical Center have been suspended pending investigation.

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