Hurricane Francine live updates: Gulf Coast braces for Category 1 storm’s landfall
ABC News
(NEW YORK) — Hurricane Francine strengthened on Tuesday into a Category 1 storm, with winds reaching 75 mph, as it churned in the Gulf of Mexico. The storm is expected to make landfall Wednesday afternoon or early evening in Louisiana, southwest of New Orleans.
Here’s how the news is developing:
Weather warnings for Gulf Coast states
A raft of warnings was issued for cities in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama ahead of Hurricane Francine’s expected landfall on Wednesday afternoon.
A hurricane watch was issued for New Orleans, with hurricane warnings for Morgan City and Houma on Louisiana’s Gulf Coast.
Tropical storm warnings are in place further east, covering cities including Biloxi, Mississippi, and Mobile, Alabama.
Storm surge warnings were announced for both Biloxi — where water may rise up to 5 feet — and Mobile, where water levels may rise by up to 4 feet.
Francine is expected to make landfall as either a high-end Category 1 or low-end Category 2 hurricane, with winds between 90 and 100 mph, the National Hurricane Center said. The Category 2 classification begins with winds of 96 mph.
Landfall may bring tornadoes in areas around New Orleans, Biloxi, Mobile and Pensacola, Florida.
Heavy rain may cause flash flooding from New Orleans all the way up to Jackson, Mississippi through to Wednesday night. As the storm moves into Mississippi on Thursday, it is forecast to produce flash flooding and gusty winds.
Francine is expected to stall through Thursday night into Friday morning, bringing heavy rain to Memphis, Nashville and Paducah, Kentucky.
Francine 295 miles from Louisiana coast
Hurricane Francine is expected to make landfall southwest of New Orleans as a Category 1 hurricane on Wednesday afternoon.
As of early Wednesday, Francine was 295 miles southwest of Morgan City, Louisiana, heading northeast at 10 mph.
Data collected by Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter aircraft indicated that the storm strengthened in the early hours of Wednesday, with maximum sustained winds close to 85 mph — up from 75 mph on Tuesday night.
New Orleans under Hurricane Watch
Emergency officials in New Orleans, Louisiana, warned residents on Tuesday that they should be prepared to shelter in place as Hurricane Francine approached landfall.
A Tropical Storm Warning and Hurricane Watch were issued for areas along the southern Louisiana coast, including New Orleans. A Flood Watch was also issued in Orleans Parish through Thursday morning, the city said.
Mayor LaToya Cantrell signed an emergency proclamation.
“The storm track has shifted more towards the east, which has the potential to worsen impacts for the city, but the storm remains disorganized,” the city said in a statement.
(NEW YORK) — On the night he was elected the 110th mayor of New York City, former police Capt. Eric Adams vowed to fight for those “this city has betrayed.”
“This city betrayed New Yorkers every day, especially the ones who rely on it the most. My fellow New Yorkers, that betrayal stops on January 1,” Adams said that night in November 2021.
For the past year, federal authorities have been investigating the possibility of corruption at City Hall, issuing subpoenas for Adams and members of his inner circle.
On Thursday, New York Police Commissioner Edward Caban resigned a week after sources told ABC News the FBI seized his cell phone as part of the federal investigation.
Caban released a statement saying he was stepping down because the “noise around recent developments” had made his primary focus on the NYPD “impossible and has hindered the important work our city requires.” He said he will “continue to fully cooperate with the ongoing investigation.”
Caban’s family has connections to nightlife. Richard Caban, the brother of Edward Caban and a former NYPD lieutenant, owned a now-shuttered Bronx restaurant, Con Sofrito. Edward Caban’s twin brother, James Caban, a former NYPD sergeant, owned a Bronx apartment building that once had a bar on the first floor named Twins.
Meanwhile, Adams has denied any wrongdoing. The mayor has not been charged with any crimes stemming from the investigations.
Federal authorities have not commented on what they are specifically investigating. Sources have told ABC News that one of the probes concerns city contracts and a second involves the enforcement of regulations governing bars and clubs.
“I say over and over again, as a former member of law enforcement, I’m very clear. We follow the rules. We make sure that we cooperate and turn over any information that is needed and it just really would be inappropriate to get in the way of the review while it’s taking place,” Adams said in an interview with CBS New York on Sept. 5.
None of the mayor’s aides who have been subpoenaed, had their homes searched, or their electronic devices seized by investigators have been charged with any crimes.
Here is a timeline of the subpoenas, searches and seizures dogging Adams and his inner circle:
Nov. 2, 2023 – FBI agents search the Crown Heights, Brooklyn, home of Brianna Suggs, a campaign consultant and top fundraiser for Adams. Federal agents also search the New Jersey home of Rana Abbasova, the mayor’s international affairs aid. That same day, Adams unexpectedly returned to New York from Washington, D.C., to “address the matter,” despite planned meetings with White House officials and other big city mayors on immigration. The investigation involves a construction company, KSK Construction Group, based in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, sources told ABC News. KSK donated about $14,000 to Adams’ 2021 campaign. Suggs has not been charged with any crimes connected to the probe.
Nov. 6, 2023 – The FBI seizes Mayor Adams’ electronic devices, including an iPad and a cell phone, as part of a federal probe. Sources told ABC News that the investigation was seeking to determine whether the mayor’s campaign received illegal foreign donations from Turkey with a Brooklyn construction company as a conduit.
Nov. 15, 2023 – Adams launches a legal defense fund intended to defray expenses in connection with inquiries by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York into his mayoral 2021 campaign committee.
Jan. 15, 2024 – Vito Pitta, Adam’s longtime campaign compliance lawyer, releases a statement saying the mayor’s legal defense fund had raised $650,000 in just two months.
Feb. 29, 2024 – The FBI, investigating Adam’s fundraising, searches the Bronx home of Winnie Greco, the director of Asian affairs for Adam’s administration. The probe also involves a construction company, KSK Construction Group, sources tell ABC News.
April 5, 2024 – ABC News reports that the FBI is investigating whether Adams received free upgrades on Turkish Airlines, Turkey’s national carrier.
July 2024 – Federal prosecutors in New York serve Adams grand jury subpoenas as part of what sources tell ABC News is an ongoing corruption investigation involving whether his campaign sought illegal donations from Turkey in exchange for pressuring the fire department to rush an inspection of the new Turkish consulate in New York City. The subpoenas seek communications and documents from the mayor, according to sources. In an interview with ABC New York station WABC, Adams says, “Like previous administrations that have gone through subpoenas, you participate and cooperate. You see a subpoena, and you respond. At the end of the day, it will show there is no criminality here.”
Sept. 4, 2024 – The FBI conducts searches at the homes of two of Adams’ closest aids. Federal agents search the upper Manhattan home of First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright, who is engaged to Schools Chancellor David Banks. Agents also search the Hollis, Queens, home of Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Phil Banks. The FBI seized evidence, including electronics, as part of the searches, sources told ABC News. David and Phil Banks are brothers and both have known Adams for years.
Sept. 5, 2024 – ABC News reports that federal investigators subpoenaed the cell phones of four high-ranking New York Police Department officials, including NYPD Commissioner Caban. The subpoenas are part of the same investigation that sent the FBI to search the homes of Deputy Mayors Wright and Banks, sources told ABC News. Tim Pearson, a close adviser to Adams, also receives a subpoena for his cell phone, sources said. The subpoenas, according to sources, are connected to an undisclosed investigation separate from one into whether Adams allegedly accepted illegal donations from Turkey in exchange for official favors.
Sept. 10, 2024 – Adams declines to say at a news conference if he remains confident in Police Commissioner Caban amid news reports claiming Caban is under pressure to resign. When asked if he was confident in Caban’s leadership, Adams says, “I have the utmost confidence in the New York City Police Department.”
Sept. 12, 2024 — Commissioner Caban resigns. His attorneys, Russell Capone and Rebekah Donaleski, release a statement saying they have been informed that Caban is “not a target of any investigation being conducted by the Southern District of New York” and that he “expects to cooperate fully with the government.” Caban says in a statement, “My complete focus must be on the NYPD — the Department I profoundly honor and have dedicated my career to serving. However, the noise around recent developments has made that impossible and has hindered the important work our city requires. I have therefore decided it is in the best interest of the Department that I resign as Commissioner.”
Adams confirms he accepts Caban’s resignation and announces he has appointed former FBI agent and former New York Homeland Security Director Tom Donlon as interim commissioner. “I respect his decision and I wish him well,” the mayor says of Caban. “Commissioner Caban dedicated his life to making our city safe, and we saw a drop in crime for the 13 of the 14 months that he served as commissioner.”
(NEW YORK) — An archery hunter who was knocked down and bitten by a bear while hunting elk with his friend has survived the surprise attack, officials said.
The incident occurred on Sunday morning when the hunter and his friend were hunting elk west of Henrys Lake in Island Park, Idaho, approximately 15 miles west of Yellowstone National Park, and were attacked by an adult male grizzly bear.
During the surprise encounter in the Caribou-Targhee National Forest near the Divide Creek Road, one of the hunters was “knocked down and bitten by the bear,” according to a statement from Idaho Fish and Game regarding the incident.
“Both men were able to utilize their sidearms to shoot the bear, deterring the attack and killing the bear,” Idaho Fish and Game said. “The hunters were able to call 911 and the injured individual was transported by helicopter to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center where he is being treated for non-life-threatening injuries.”
Idaho Fish and Game say they responded to the scene where the attack happened after coordinating with Fremont County Sheriff’s Office, Caribou-Targhee National Forest and Emergency Medical Service teams and that conservation officers conducted a “thorough investigation and determined that the hunters acted in self-defense during a surprise encounter with the bear from a very close distance.”
“I am extremely grateful that both of these individuals survived this encounter,” said Fish and Game Regional Supervisor Matt Pieron. “I have had the opportunity to speak with the injured hunter and his family and they are truly wonderful people. I wish him a speedy recovery from his injuries and the trauma these two hunters experienced.”
According to U.S. Fish and Wildlife, it is illegal to kill bears unless it is in a situation that requires self-defense.
“Grizzly bears in the 48 contiguous states are currently protected as a threatened species. It is illegal to harm, harass or kill these bears, except in cases of self-defense or the defense of others,” U.S. officials said. “Grizzly bear conservation is complex and only made possible through a variety of partnerships with the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee, state wildlife agencies, Native American Tribes, federal agencies, universities and other organizations.”
Idaho Fish and Game took the opportunity to remind people about safety procedures when hunting, suggesting that people venturing out in to the wilderness in north Idaho and the Greater Yellowstone area should always carry bear spray and keep it readily accessible, always hunt with partners and make each other aware of plans, keep an eye out for grizzly bear signs like fresh tracks, retrieve meat as quickly as possible and hang it — along with food and garbage — at least 200 yards from camp and 10 feet off the ground, and finally, by making noise when not hunting, especially around creeks and thick vegetation because “most attacks occur by inadvertently surprising a bear at close range.”
(WASHINGTON) — The FBI has been able to gain extensive analysis on the mindset of the suspected shooter who carried out the July 13 assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, officials said Wednesday, but it has so far been unable to establish a clear motive.
In a media call Wednesday afternoon, the FBI said it has conducted nearly 1,000 interviews, served numerous search warrants, issued dozens of subpoenas and analyzed hundreds of hours of video footage as part of its investigation into the shooting.
As part of their investigation, officials said, they’ve found that Thomas Matthew Crooks engaged in a “sustained, detailed effort” to plan an attack on some kind of major event, but when the Trump rally was announced, he became “hyperfocused” on it as a “target of opportunity.”
In addition to a previously revealed online search conducted by Crooks on July 6 that stated, “How far was [Lee Harvey] Oswald from [John F.] Kennedy,” officials said he also searched “Where will Trump speak from at Butler Farm Show?” as well as “Butler Farm Show podium” and “Butler Farm Show photos.”
In the 30 days prior to the attack, Crooks reportedly conducted “more than 60 searches related to former President Trump and President Biden,” the FBI said.
Through a review of Crooks’ online activity dating back to 2019, investigators said they’ve also found he had conducted multiple searches related to explosive devices including, “How to make a bomb from fertilizer” and “How remote detonators work.”
The FBI released a picture in tandem with its briefing Wednesday showing an improvised explosive device it has said was found inside Crooks’ vehicle. The FBI said that after an analysis of the device, it determined the components were all purchased legally and “readily available online.”
Officials also provided an update to the timeline of the actions leading up to the moments of the shooting. According to video obtained from a local business, Crooks first climbed onto the roof of the AGR complex at 6:05 p.m. and traversed a series of rooftops before allegedly firing eight rounds at 6:11 p.m., officials said, meaning he was on the rooftop for a total of six minutes before he allegedly began firing and then was killed by a Secret Service countersniper.
