Nebraska governor recovering from serious injuries after being bucked off a horse
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
(NEBRASKA) — Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen is recovering from serious but non-life-threatening injuries after being bucked off a horse, his office said Monday.
The incident happened when the Republican leader was riding on horseback with family members near Columbus on Sunday.
The governor was thrown from a new horse, his office said. His injuries included “minor lacerations to his spleen and kidney, seven broken ribs, a partially collapsed lung resulting from the rib damage, and a minor fracture in one of his vertebrae,” his office said in an update on Monday.
“In summary, the Governor’s injuries were serious but not life-threatening and could have been much worse,” the statement added.
Pillen, 68, was initially transported to Columbus Community Hospital before being sent to the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha “out of an abundance of caution,” his office previously said.
The governor is expected to remain in the hospital for a few days for observation and plans to work from his hospital room, his office said Monday.
“The Governor looks forward to returning to his office soon after Christmas and wishes a blessed and safe holiday to all Nebraskans,” his office said in the statement.
Pillen, who played football at the University of Nebraska under legendary coach and former Rep. Tom Osborne, took office in January 2023.
ABC News’ Darren Reynolds and Sasha Pezenik contributed to this report.
(MADISON, WI) — Details are still emerging about the course of the Madison, Wisconsin, school shooting that left three people — among them the 15-year-old female shooter — dead and several others injured on Monday.
Police said that Natalie Rupnow, who went by Samantha, used a handgun to kill one teacher and one fellow student in the shooting.
Rupnow died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound before officers reached the school, police said. Officers did not fire their weapons.
Two students sustained life-threatening injuries and are in critical condition, while one teacher and two other students were treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
Police said in a Monday briefing that the shooting was contained to “a classroom in a study hall full of students from multiple grade levels.”
Police have not yet suggested any motive for the attack nor said whether they believe the victims were specifically targeted.
The suspect’s father reportedly spoke with police at one of their facilities shortly after the incident. Police are “trying to determine what he knew or may have not known about what happened today, but again, he lost someone as well,” Barnes said.
“The parents are fully cooperating, we have no reason to believe that they have committed a crime at this time,” Barnes said.
A second-grader made the 911 call, Barnes said. “Let that soak in for a minute,” Barnes added. “A second-grade student called 911 at 10:57 a.m. to report a shooting at school.”
President Joe Biden called the incident “shocking and unconscionable” in a statement Monday evening that called on Congress to act, “now.”
He insisted that they pass “commonsense” gun safety laws including universal background checks, a national red flag law and a ban on both assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.
“It is unacceptable that we are unable to protect our children from this scourge of gun violence,” the statement said, adding, “We cannot continue to accept it as normal.”
Biden also mentioned his administration’s efforts to combat the gun violence epidemic in the United States, including the implementation of the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, while stating that more needed to be done and offering his prayers to those affected in Madison.
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers said in a statement, “There are no words to describe the devastation and heartbreak we feel,” calling the shooting a “gut-wrenching tragedy.”
Evers said he and his wife are “praying for the families and loved ones of those whose lives were so senselessly taken and for the educators, staff, and the entire Abundant Life school community.”
“It is unthinkable that a kid or an educator might wake up and go to school one morning and never come home,” he said. “This should never happen, and I will never accept this as a foregone reality or stop working to change it.”
(NEW ORLEANS) — President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden will head to New Orleans on Monday to meet with the families and community members impacted by the devastating truck attack that killed 14 and injured dozens, the White House said.
The suspect, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, drove a pickup truck onto a sidewalk and around a parked police car serving as a barricade to plow into pedestrians over a three-block stretch on Bourbon Street early on New Year’s Day, police said.
Jabbar then exited the damaged vehicle armed with an assault rifle and opened fire on police officers, law enforcement said. Officers returned fire, killing Jabbar. At least two officers were injured, authorities said.
FBI Deputy Assistant Director Christopher Raia called the attack a premeditated “act of terrorism” but said there was no additional threat to the public.
The FBI and Department of Homeland Security has issued a joint intelligence bulletin warning the nation’s 18,000 law-enforcement agencies about potential copycats, ABC News learned. The bulletin was sent out of an abundance of caution to sensitize law enforcement around the country to be on the lookout for any activity pointing to the use of vehicles as a method to inflict mass casualties, sources told ABC News.
“We advise federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial government and law enforcement officials and private sector security partners to remain vigilant of potential copycat or retaliatory attacks inspired by this attack and other recent, lethal vehicle-ramming incidents across the globe,” the bulletin said.
The bulletin notes that ISIS has been promoting the use of vehicles as a terrorism weapon since around 2014.
Sources told ABC News that ISIS has ramped up calls for its supporters to launch low-tech, mass casualty ramming attacks in recent months, especially since the most recent Israel-Hamas conflict began in October 2023.
Jabbar, a 42-year-old Army veteran and U.S.-born citizen from Texas, drove from Houston to New Orleans on Tuesday evening and posted several videos online “proclaiming his support for ISIS,” and mentioning he joined ISIS before this summer, Raia said.
The bulletin stated that Jabbar was inspired by ISIS but that there remains no evidence of any co-conspirators. A senior law-enforcement official told ABC News that there is so far no sign of ISIS claiming responsibility for the New Orleans attack.
“Law enforcement should be aware that in many cases attackers have conducted vehicle-ramming attacks with secondary weapons and may continue the attack with edged weapons, firearms, or IEDs after the vehicle has stopped,” the bulletin said. The tactic could be “attractive” for foreign terrorist organizations and other actors due to its low complexity threshold, the warning said.
An intelligence bulletin from the New York Police Department obtained by ABC News indicated that ISIS supporters did celebrate the attack online. Violent extremists, the bulletin said, “continue to view densely populated walkways, parades, mass gatherings and other outdoor events along streets, especially during holidays, as vulnerable targets of opportunity.”
“This enduring threat underscores the criticality of pre-staged blocker cars and the deployment of other effectively configured countermeasures including heavy block, barriers and bollards,” it added.
Surveillance footage showed Jabbar placing two improvised explosive devices in coolers in the Bourbon Street area, Raia said. He had a remote detonator in the truck to set off the two devices, Biden said. Both devices were rendered safe, officials said.
Bomb-making materials have been recovered at Jabbar’s Houston home, sources confirmed to ABC News. The items found were also referred to as “precursor chemicals” by agents in the field, sources said.
Law enforcement cleared and reopened Bourbon Street on Thursday as the investigation continued. New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell said authorities had the “confidence” to reopen the area to the public ahead of the Sugar Bowl Thursday afternoon, which was initially scheduled for Wednesday but postponed in the wake of the attack.
“I want to reassure the public that the city of New Orleans is not only ready for game day today, but we’re ready to continue to host large-scale events in our city,” she said. “Our hearts and prayers continue to go out to the victims’ families,” Cantrell added.
There is no apparent direct connection between the New Orleans attack and Wednesday’s Tesla Cybertruck explosion outside the Trump International Hotel Las Vegas, which is also being investigated as a possible act of terror, Raia from the FBI said Thursday.
Passenger captures the moment an United Airlines plane gets filled with smoke after engine issue and the following evacuation on slides at Houston airport, Feb. 2, 2025. (Ashlyn Sharp)
(HOUSTON) — Passengers on a United Airlines flight from Houston to New York were evacuated before takeoff on Sunday due to engine issues, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
No injuries were reported, according to the Houston Fire Department, which was assisting at the scene.
The FAA said takeoff was “safely aborted” due to a “reported engine issue.”
“Passengers deplaned on the runway and were bused to the terminal,” the FAA said in a statement.
United Airlines confirmed the incident, saying passengers evacuated the aircraft “via a combination of slides and stairs.”
In one video taken by a passenger, smoke could be seen coming out of the plane.
In another video, passengers were seen deplaning via the aircraft’s evacuation slide.
One passenger, Kelcie Davis, called it a “terrifying experience” in a post she shared on TikTok.
“Engine blew out right as our wheels were leaving the ground,” Davis said. “Plane lost control on the runway for a few seconds, but thank god our pilot was able to get the plane back under control. Only one slide was working for the entire plane to evacuate.”
ABC News’ Ayesha Ali and Camilla Alcini contributed to this report.
