Mom convicted in Michigan school shooting case asks to be released from prison

(NEW YORK CITY) — As people across a large section of the U.S. mainland were breaking out T-shirts and shorts Wednesday amid record-breaking high temperatures, several inches of snow blanketed the mountaintops of Hawaii and residents across the Great Plains were bracing for possible tornadoes.

The U.S. forecast for Wednesday offered a smorgasbord from balmy to severe weather heading into the Halloween weekend.

As firefighters in Colorado battled wildfires and meteorologists issued red-flag fire danger warnings, high elevations of Hawaii’s Big Island resembled the Rocky Mountains in winter.

Several inches of snow blanketed the summits of Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea, the tallest peaks in Hawaii and part of the state’s Volcanoes National Park.

“Due to winter weather conditions, the summit is currently closed for both day and overnight use, and permits for Mauna Loa Summit Cabin are temporarily on hold,” the Volcanoes National Park said in a statement on its Facebook page.

Meanwhile, in the actual Rockies, a major storm system moving in is expected to bring up to a foot of fresh October snow. But elsewhere in Colorado, firefighters were dealing with what investigators suspect is a “human-caused” wildfire that spread to 166 acres near the town of Divide and was 60% contained on Wednesday.

The wintry weather expected for the Rockies was countered by record-breaking temperatures across a large part of the nation from Detroit, where it’s forecast to get up to 80 degrees on Wednesday. In Laredo, Texas, the temperature is expected to hit 94, which would set a new daily record.

On Tuesday, daily temperature records were broken in Austin, Texas, where it hit 90 degrees; Chicago, where the temperature soared to 82, tying a record; and Cleveland, Ohio, which reached 78 and also tied a record.

Detroit on Tuesday reached a record-breaking 79 degrees. Green Bay, Wisconsin, reached 82 degrees Tuesday, surpassing a record for the day set in 1937.

Parts of the Northeast could see the warmest Halloween on record, officials said.

In the Heartland, which has also been experiencing high temperatures this week, severe weather moving in could spawn a few strong tornadoes Wednesday afternoon and into the evening from Texas to Iowa.

The National Weather Service is also warning of an enhanced risk of severe thunderstorms Wednesday for portions of eastern Kansas, northeast Oklahoma and northwest Missouri.

“Severe thunderstorms capable of producing large hail, damaging wind gusts, and a few tornadoes, are expected today into tonight across the middle Missouri Valley and central/southern Plains, including parts of eastern Kansas and Oklahoma into Missouri,” the NWS said in a detailed outlook it issued Wednesday.

ABC News’ Max Golembo contributed to this report.

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(NEW YORK) — A captain in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps faces federal murder and terrorism charges in New York, according to a criminal complaint unsealed Friday that charges Mohammad Reza Nouri with orchestrating the murder of an American citizen to avenge the drone strike killing of a top Iranian general.

Stephen Troell, a 45-year-old American living in Baghdad, was killed in front of his wife in November 2022 after federal prosecutors said Nouri gathered intelligence on Troell’s daily routine, procured weapons and housed the operatives who carried out the murder.

“We allege that Mohammad Reza Nouri, an officer in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, orchestrated the murder of Stephen Troell, an American citizen living in Iraq, carrying out the Iranian Regime’s efforts to take vengeance for the death of Qasim Soleimani,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement announcing the charges. “Stephen should still be alive today, and the Justice Department will work relentlessly to ensure accountability for his murder.”

The U.S. has said Iran sought revenge for the January 2020 death of Soleimani in an American drone strike in Baghdad.

In November 2022, the Iranian regime struck in Iraq. A group of operatives working on behalf of the IRGC brutally murdered Troell in Baghdad, where he worked at an English language institute, as Troell was driving home with his wife after work.

Nouri, 36, allegedly “played a key role in the IRGC’s targeting and ultimate murder of Troell,” whom Nouri appears to have believed was working as an American or Israeli intelligence officer.

According to the complaint, Nouri accumulated data including Troell’s date of birth, coordinates of his residence, occupation, work schedule, telephone number, wife’s name, and children’s names, among other information. In the weeks leading up to the murder, he allegedly coordinated with one of his co-conspirators to procure firearms and a vehicle for use in the attack.

Troell was driving home from work with his wife when heavily armed gunmen in two cars forced the couple to stop shortly before they reached their residence, blocked any possible escape route, approached Troell on the driver’s side, and, using an assault weapon, shot and killed Troell as his wife witnessed the attack in the passenger seat.

Less than a half hour after the attack, Nouri sent an encrypted messages inquiring about the wellbeing of the operatives tasked with carrying out the hit, allegedly asking, “The guys are fine?” and “They are doing well?”

In March 2023, Iraqi authorities arrested Nouri and he was subsequently convicted by an Iraqi court for his role in Troell’s murder. He remains in custody in Iraq.

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(ALPINE, TEXAS) — A hiker has been found dead at a national park in Texas after authorities discovered a car had been parked for several days and launched a search and rescue operation, officials said.

The body of the unnamed 24-year-old hiker was discovered in Big Bend National Park in Texas on Monday after an aerial and ground search by National Park Service rangers and U.S. Border Patrol. Supported by helicopters from the Texas Department of Public Safety and U.S. Customs Air and Marine Operations, they found the hiker’s remains along the park’s “rugged” Marufo Vega Trail, according to a statement from the National Park Service.

“The day before, park rangers observed a vehicle that had been parked for multiple days at the Trailhead for Marufo Vega / Strawhouse / Ore Terminal Trail,” NPS said. “Records indicated that there were no overnight backpackers listed for that area for those nights. A quick search by the park pilot was unable to locate hikers in the area.”

On Monday morning, the park search and rescue team was mobilized across three different trails and air assets were directed to the remote area, authorities said.

“The victim was located along the rugged Marufo Vega Trail. A Department of Public Safety helicopter was utilized to remove the body from the remote area,” NPS said.

The Marufo Vega Trail is a “spectacular yet challenging 14-mile loop that winds through rugged desert and along rocky limestone cliffs. No shade or water makes this trail dangerous during the warmer times of year,” park officials continued. “Even though it is late October, daily temperatures along the Rio Grande and desert areas of Big Bend remain extreme; close to 100 degrees each afternoon. Park Rangers wish to remind all visitors to be aware of the dangers of extreme heat. Hikers should be prepared to carry plenty of water, salty snacks, and to plan on being off desert trails during the heat of the afternoon.”

“Big Bend National Park staff and partners are saddened by this loss,” stated Deputy Superintendent Rick Gupman. “Our entire park family extends condolences to the hiker’s family and friends.”

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