Hurricane Hone moves south of Hawaii’s Big Island as Category 1 storm
ABC News
Hurricane Hone was moving late Saturday south of the Big Island of Hawaii as a weak Category 1 storm, with winds of 75 mph.
The storm was expected to remain at about the same status, walking the tight line between tropical storm and hurricane on Sunday and into Monday. Hurricanes have winds of 74 mph or greater.
Hone is moving westerly at 12 mph and is currently 105 miles south of Hilo, Hawaii, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Hurricane force winds were only extending about 15 miles from the eye of the storm, meaning the Big Island is only experiencing tropical storm conditions, and is only expected to. Tropical storm force winds were extending up to 125 miles.
A Tropical Storm Warning had been issued as Hone approached Hawaii. That warning remained in effect for Hawaii County at about 11 p.m. on Saturday, weather officials said.
While the storm isn’t expected to make a direct hit on the islands, it is still close enough to deliver some potentially dangerous impacts. Tropical Storm conditions are likely occurring on the Big Island overnight and early Sunday, especially at higher terrains and through passes.
About 6 to 12 inches of rainfall are expected on the Big Island — especially near the windward and southeast-facing slopes — and there is a Flash Flood Watch there. For the smaller islands, about 2 to 4 inches of rain are expected.
Life-threatening surf and rip currents are also impacting Hawaii.
(SPRINGFIELD, Ohio) — Two elementary schools were evacuated and a middle school was closed on Friday in the wake of a new threat sent via email in Springfield, Ohio, according to the school district and the mayor.
The elementary schools released students to their parents, officials said.
It’s unclear if the person who sent Friday’s threat is the same person who sent Thursday’s, Springfield Mayor Rob Rue told ABC News.
On Thursday morning, bomb threats were sent via email “to multiple agencies and media outlets” in the city, according to the city commission office.
Explosive-detecting K-9s helped police clear multiple facilities listed in the threat, including two elementary schools, City Hall and a few driver’s license bureaus, Springfield Police Chief Allison Elliott told reporters. The county court facilities were also cleared “out of an abundance of caution,” she said.
The FBI is working with local police to help identify the source of the threat, Elliott said.
The mayor said there’s a lot of fear in Springfield in the wake of the threats.
“This is a very concerning time for our citizens, and frankly, a lot of people are tired of just, you know, the things that have been spread about our community that are just negative and not true. We need help, not hate,” Rue told ABC News on Friday.
The mayor said he believes these threats are directly connected to the baseless rumors spread online in the wake of viral social media posts claiming Haitian migrants were abducting people’s pets in Springfield order to eat them. The rumors were amplified by right-wing politicians, including former President Donald Trump and his running mate Sen. JD Vance.
“In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs,” Trump said at Tuesday night’s presidential debate. “The people that came in, they’re eating the cats, they’re eating, they’re eating the pets of the people that live there.”
A spokesperson for the city of Springfield told ABC News these claims are false, and that there have been “no credible reports or specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals in the immigrant community.”
“Additionally, there have been no verified instances of immigrants engaging in illegal activities such as squatting or littering in front of residents’ homes,” the spokesperson said. “Furthermore, no reports have been made regarding members of the immigrant community deliberately disrupting traffic.”
The mayor added, “Your pets are safe in Springfield.”
Springfield estimates there are around 12,000 to 15,000 immigrants living in the county; migrants have been drawn to the region because of low cost of living and work opportunities, according to the city. The rapid rise in population has strained housing, health care and school resources, according to the city. City officials also said the migrants are in the country legally and that many are recipients of Temporary Protected Status.
The Haitian Bridge Alliance condemned the “baseless and inflammatory” claims about Haitian migrants, arguing they “not only perpetuate harmful stereotypes but also contribute to the dangerous stigmatization of immigrant communities, particularly Black immigrants from the Republic of Haiti.”
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, who dispelled the rumors this week, said the state would send more resources to Springfield.
The mayor stressed, “Anybody on the national stage that takes a microphone, needs to understand what they could do to communities like Springfield with their words. They’re not helping. They’re hurting communities like ours with their words.”
(MEMPHIS, Tenn.) — Jury selection is set to begin Monday in the federal trial of three former Memphis officers charged in connection with the death of Tyre Nichols: Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith
Nichols, 29, died several days after a January 2023 traffic stop captured in body camera footage and surveillance footage, which allegedly shows officers violently striking Nichols repeatedly and walking around, talking to each other as Nichols was injured and sitting on the ground. His fatal beating triggered protests and calls for police reform.
The medical examiner’s official autopsy report for Nichols showed he “died of brain injuries from blunt force trauma,” the district attorney’s office told Nichols’ family in May 2023.
Five former officers were charged, including Bean, Haley and Smith who are now on trial and have pleaded not guilty, as well as Desmond Mills Jr. and Emmitt Martin III, who have pleaded guilty to some of the federal charges.
Bean, Haley and Smith are accused of violating Nichols’ civil rights through excessive use of force, unlawful assault, failing to intervene in the assault, failing to render medical aid, and conspiring to engage in misleading conduct by attempting to falsify or intentionally withholding details of the arrest in statements and to a supervisor.
Police said Nichols was pulled over for reckless driving, though Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis said she has been unable to substantiate that.
While Nichols’ mother has said that first responders told her her son was drunk and high, the autopsy report shows that his blood alcohol level was .049, the DA’s office said. The district attorney’s office told the family that was “well less than the legal limit to drive.”
If convicted, two of the counts in the indictment carry a maximum penalty of life in prison, while the other two each carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, according to the DOJ.
Martin pleaded guilty to excessive force and failure to intervene, as well as conspiracy to witness tamper, according to the court records. The other two charges will be dropped at sentencing, which has been scheduled for Dec. 5, according to the online records.
Mills pleaded guilty to two of the four counts in the indictment — excessive force and failing to intervene, as well as conspiring to cover up his use of unlawful force, according to the DOJ. The government said it will recommend a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison, based on the terms of Mills’ plea agreement.
All five former officers also face state felony charges, including second-degree murder, aggravated assault and aggravated kidnapping, in connection with Nichols’ death. They pleaded not guilty.
(BIRMINGHAM, Ala.) — Four people were killed and at least 18 others injured in a shooting in Birmingham, Alabama, on Saturday night, police said.
The shooting — which occurred just after 11 p.m. in the 2000 Block of Magnolia Avenue South, in the Five Points South Entertainment District — was “not random and stemmed from an isolated incident where multiple victims were caught in the cross fire,” police said in a statement.
Police are seeking multiple suspects who they said “fired upon a large group of people who were outside in a public area” and then fled the scene in a vehicle.
“Officers arrived on the scene when they observed two adult males and one adult female lying unresponsive on a sidewalk suffering from multiple gunshot wounds,” police said. All three victims were pronounced dead at the scene by Birmingham Fire and Rescue personnel.
Additional victims were then located in the area, while others began arriving at local hospitals. One man was pronounced dead at UAB Hospital, police said.
As of Sunday morning, police said there were a total of 22 gunshot victims — four dead and 18 wounded, “with injuries ranging from non-life-threatening to life-threatening.”
During a press conference Sunday morning, police said they believe it was a “targeted shooting,” and that the targeted individual was among those who are dead. They did not identify the person or say why they might have been targeted.
Birmingham Police Chief Scott Thurmond extended “heartfelt condolences” to the victims and their families.
“Our hearts go out to them as we work through this,” Thurmond said.
Mayor Randall Woodfin called for an end to gun violence, saying his “first priority is public safety.”
“Do not tell me this is not solvable — at the same time, do not tell me this is only on the police to solve it,” Woodfin said. “Elected officials — locally, statewide and nationally — have a duty to solve this American crisis, this American epidemic of gun violence.”
More than 100 shell casings were collected at the scene, and police said they believe a modified automatic weapon with a “gun switch” may have been used in the incident.
No arrests have been made as of Sunday morning.
The police urged anyone with information on the shooting to contact the BPD Homicide Division at 205-254-1764 or anonymously via Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777. Crime Stoppers may award tipsters up to $5,000 in cash for information, the police added.
The Birmingham Police Department is working with the FBI and ATF on the investigation, the department said. Authorities are also seeking information from witnesses.
ABC News’ Jessica Gorman contributed to this report.
