New Jersey wildfire: Strong winds complicate firefighters’ efforts
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(OCEAN COUNTY, NJ) — Firefighters continue to battle a wildfire in New Jersey that has burned over 15,000 acres, with strong winds on Sunday complicating their efforts, officials said.
The Jones Road Wildfire, located in Ocean County, has burned 15,300 acres and is only 65% contained as of Sunday, according to the New Jersey Forest Fire Service.
The National Weather Service issued an “increased risk of rapid fire spread” for Sunday afternoon for portions of southern New Jersey. Minimum humidity values will be around 30% to 35%, combined with “northwest winds 15 to 20 mph with 30 to 40 mph gusts.”
Officials said these windy conditions are complicating the containment process for this wildfire, with the gusts causing already-burned trees to fall throughout the woods, creating serious hazards.
“The NJ State Forest Fire Service is again requesting for folks to stay out of the woods that were affected,” the Lacey Township Police Department said in a statement on Sunday. “It’s a dangerous combination of fire and wind.”
Firefighter operations will continue for the “next several days” due to these powerful winds, officials said.
The NWS said the wind should “diminish fairly rapidly by early this evening.”
The New Jersey State Forest Service is urging the public to avoid fire-affected wooded areas, warning of dangerous conditions. The NWS also said outdoor burning is “strongly discouraged” during this time.
Trace amounts of rain fell over the southern portion of the fire on Saturday, and precipitation that “varied in amount” hit the northern section of the flames. Crews are “currently mopping up hotspots and patrolling the fire perimeter,” the forest fire service said.
So far, one commercial building and multiple outbuildings and vehicles were destroyed by flames, with a complete damage assessment underway, officials said.
Officials said they will provide more updates on the fire’s containment on Monday afternoon.
The Jones Road Wildfire was first spotted at approximately 9:45 a.m. on April 22 in the Greenwood Wildlife Management area in Waretown, New Jersey, officials said.
A 19-year-old man, Joseph Kling of Waretown, was arrested on suspicion of starting the fire and charged with second-degree aggravated arson for allegedly purposely destroying a forest; and third-degree arson for allegedly recklessly endangering buildings or structures, New Jersey officials announced on Thursday.
Kling was arrested after investigators determined the fire to be “incendiary by an improperly extinguished bonfire,” officials said.
The origin of the fire, according to investigators, is near the Waretown address the Kling listed as his home.
During his first court appearance on Thursday afternoon, Kling did not enter a plea to the charges. A detention hearing is scheduled for Tuesday.
ABC News’ Jason Volack and Bill Hutchinson contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — The federal judge overseeing the case of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man who was deported to El Salvador in error, slammed the government’s handling of the case Friday and ordered the Justice Department to provide her with “daily updates” on its efforts to bring him back.
“From now until compliance, [I am] going to require daily statuses, daily updates,” U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis said at a hearing in Maryland on Friday. “We’re going to make a record of what, if anything, the government is doing or not doing.”
The judge said she will require updates on Abrego Garcia’s location, what steps the Trump administration has taken to facilitate his return, and what additional steps the government will take to return him.
The judge said the Supreme Court, in its ruling on the matter late Thursday, was quite clear in directing the Trump administration to facilitate the return of Abrego Garcia.
“The Supreme Court has spoken quite clearly,” Judge Xinis said. “And yet, I can’t get an answer today about what you’ve done in the past, which means, again, the record as it stands, is that nothing has been done.”
Judge Xinis began the hearing by asking the government to answer where Kilmer Armando Abrego Garcia is — but Deputy Assistant Attorney General Drew Ensign told the judge that he does “not have the information” regarding Abrego Garcia’s whereabouts.
“Where is he and under whose authority?” Xinis repeatedly asked.
“I do not have that knowledge, and therefore I cannot relate that knowledge,” Ensign said.
“I’m not asking for state secrets, I’m asking where one man who is wrongly and illegally deported, removed from this country [is],” Xinis said.
“Your Honor, I do not have the information provided to me that I can provide to you,” Ensign said again.
The judge decided to go ahead with Friday’s hearing after the Trump administration sought to delay the hearing until next week. The Justice Department on Friday morning asked her to reschedule the hearing for Wednesday, April 16, two days after El Salvador President Nayib Bukele is scheduled to meet with the White House — but the judge, in a filing, kept the hearing date as scheduled.
Judge Xinis scheduled the hearing after the U.S. Supreme late Thursday affirmed her earlier ruling ordering the Trump administration to “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s return to the United States after he was mistakenly sent to an El Salvador prison last month.
Judge Xinis had also ordered the Trump administration to file, by 9:30 a.m. ET Friday, a supplemental declaration from an individual with personal knowledge acknowledging the current physical location of Abrego Garcia and what steps the administration will take to facilitate his immediate return.
Attorneys for DOJ requested the deadline for the supplemental declaration be moved to next week, but in her filing the judge moved the deadline back by only two hours. In response, the DOJ told Judge Xinis in a filing that they were unable to provide her the information she requested on such a short deadline.
“In light of the insufficient amount of time afforded to review the Supreme Court’s Order following the dissolution of the administrative stay in this case, Defendants are not in a position where they ‘can’ share any information requested by the Court. That is the reality,” the DOJ’s filing said.
“It is unreasonable and impracticable for Defendants to reveal potential steps before those steps are reviewed, agreed upon, and vetted,” they added. “Foreign affairs cannot operate on judicial timelines, in part because it involves sensitive country-specific considerations wholly inappropriate for judicial review.”
The Supreme Court on Thursday largely upheld Judge Xinis’ ruling last week ordering the Trump administration to bring Abrego Garcia back.
“The order properly requires the Government to ‘facilitate’ Garcia’s release from custody in El Salvador and to ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador,” the Supreme Court’s unsigned order stated.
Abrego Garcia — despite having protected legal status preventing his deportation to El Salvador, where his attorneys say he escaped political violence in 2011 — was sent to that country’s notorious CECOT mega-prison following what the government said was an “administrative error.”
The Trump administration has claimed Abrego Garcia was a member of the MS-13 gang, which his lawyers and his wife deny, and argued in legal filings that because Abrego Garcia is no longer in U.S. custody, the courts cannot order him to be returned to the U.S. nor order El Salvador to return him.
In response to the Supreme Court ruling, the Trump administration has emphasized its role in carrying out foreign policy, which was also cited in the high court’s order.
The Supreme Court said the lower-court judge should “clarify” her earlier order “with due regard for the deference owed to the Executive Branch in the conduct of foreign affairs. For its part, the Government should be prepared to share what it can concerning the steps it has taken and the prospect of further steps.”
In a statement, a Justice Department spokesman said: “As the Supreme Court correctly recognized, it is the exclusive prerogative of the President to conduct foreign affairs. By directly noting the deference owed to the Executive Branch, this ruling once again illustrates that activist judges do not have the jurisdiction to seize control of the President’s authority to conduct foreign policy.”
Reacting to the Supreme Court ruling, the attorney for Abrego Garcia told ABC News that “the rule of law prevailed.”
“The Supreme Court upheld the District Judge’s order that the government has to bring Kilmar home,” said Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg. “Now they need to stop wasting time and get moving.”
ABC News’ Alexander Mallin and Devin Dwyer contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — Three months after President Donald Trump returned to office and began issuing a series of executive orders against organizations and law firms whose actions have opposed him, a longtime Washington, D.C., attorney is launching a new firm that aims in part to represent those who he says have been “unlawfully and inappropriately targeted” by the Trump administration.
Attorney Abbe Lowell, who has represented high-profile clients including Hunter Biden and Jared Kushner, says the new firm, Lowell & Associates, will provide legal representation and counsel to individuals and institutions “facing politicized investigations, civil and administrative actions,” according to a press release announcing the new venture.
“This firm is prepared for today’s dynamic legal landscape, offering a leaner model than larger firms can provide,” Lowell said in a statement. “I started my private practice career in my own firm and am excited to once again lead a small yet nimble team ready to represent companies, non-profits and individuals in need of our experience and dedication.”
Clients of the newly launched firm include a number of individuals who have been targets of executive orders or other actions taken by the Trump administration.
They include whistleblower attorney Mark Zaid, and New York Attorney General Letitia James — who successfully sued Trump and his company for fraud, resulting in a $354 million civil fraud fine. Since Trump took office, James has been referred to the Department of Justice for investigation by a federal agency over mortgage fraud allegations, which she denies.
“Attorney General James is focused every single day on protecting New Yorkers, especially as this Administration weaponizes the federal government against the rule of law and the Constitution,” a spokesperson for James’ office said in a statement to ABC News after the referral was announced. “She will not be intimidated by bullies — no matter who they are.”
Lowell’s new firm is also representing former Trump administration employee Miles Taylor, who wrote the high-profile 2018 “Anonymous” op-ed in the New York Times and released a book about his time in Trump’s previous administration. Trump has now called him a “traitor,” and in a presidential memorandum ordered Taylor stripped of any security clearances he may have, and said he was directing the Department of Justice to investigate him.
Lowell, formerly a partner at Winston & Strawn, is joined at the firm by another attorney who has pushed back on the executive orders targeting big law. Brenna Trout Frey went viral on social media for resigning from the high-profile law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom after it struck a $100 million dollar deal with Trump to avoid being targeted.
“We are not here to make statements, we are here to litigate, win, and help reinforce the legal guardrails that hold our democracy together,” said Trout Frey of the new firm.
Lowell is also joined by attorney David Kolansky, who worked alongside Lowell for years in his representation of Hunter Biden and of Matthew Grimes, who was charged and later acquitted alongside longtime Trump ally and friend Tom Barrack, now Trump’s ambassador to Turkey.
Hunter Biden was convicted in 2024 on three federal gun-related charges and pleaded guilty to unrelated tax charges, before he was pardoned by his father, then-President Joe Biden.
(NEW YORK) — Attorney General Pam Bondi called the recent spate of arson attacks and vandalism against Tesla vehicles “nothing short of domestic terrorism” and promised harsh punishments for perpetrators if they are caught.
The White House also weighed in on the recent attacks Wednesday, with Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt calling the vandalisms “despicable.”
“Democrats were big supporters of Tesla and of electric vehicles until Elon Musk decided to vote for Donald Trump. So we would like Democrats to also come out and condemn this heinous violence that we have seen,” Leavitt said.
The statements from Bondi and Leavitt came after the latest incident in which five Tesla vehicles were damaged when a fire was started at a Tesla Collision Center in Las Vegas on Tuesday morning. That was the latest in a wave of incidents aimed at the electric vehicle company, according to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
“This was a targeted attack against a Tesla facility,” said Dori Koren, assistant sheriff for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
Along with the burning vehicles, officials said the word “RESIST” was spray-painted across the doors of the facility and three rounds of shots were fired at the additional Teslas. The suspect approached the business wearing black clothing and is believed to have used Molotov cocktails and a firearm to conduct his attack, police said.
Officials received notice that an individual had “set several vehicles on fire in the parking lot and caused damage to the property.”
Police and the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force are investigating this incident, which they believe was an isolated attack. Authorities are still searching for a suspect.
Two Tesla Cybertrucks also caught on fire at a dealership in Kansas City, Missouri, on Monday evening, according to the Kansas City Police Department.
Tesla vehicles, dealerships and charging stations have been vandalized, suffered arson and faced protests in recent weeks since the company’s CEO Elon Musk began his work at the White House spearheading the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.
In the statement Tuesday, Bondi said, “The swarm of violent attacks on Tesla property is nothing short of domestic terrorism.” In some of the cases, she said the Justice Department is charging perpetrators with crimes that carry five-year mandatory minimum sentences.
“We will continue investigations that impose severe consequences on those involved in these attacks, including those operating behind the scenes to coordinate and fund these crimes,” she said in the statement.
In the Kansas incident, a police officer in the area spotted smoke coming from one Cybertruck at a Tesla dealership on State Line Road shortly before midnight. The officer attempted to put out the flames using a fire extinguisher, but the fire spread to a second Cybertruck parked next to the original one, police said.
The Kansas City Fire Department ordered the bomb and arson unit to assist on the scene, the fire department said. Officials were able to put out the flames and the vehicles were “covered with a fire blanket to prevent reignition,” the fire department said.
“The circumstances are under investigation but preliminarily the fire is being investigated for the potential of being an arson,” police said in a statement on Monday.
There have been no arrests made for this incident, police said. The FBI is assisting the Kansas City Police Department in this investigation.
This follows a spree of similar incidents that have occurred across the country in the last few weeks.
Last week, “more than a dozen” shots were fired at a Tesla dealership in Tigard, Oregon, according to Kelsey Anderson, the public information officer at the Tigard Police Department.
Additionally, three Teslas were vandalized in Dedham, Massachusetts on March 11, according to the Dedham Police Department. Officials said “words had been spray-painted” on two Tesla Cybertrucks, with all four tires of the trucks and a Tesla Model S being “reportedly damaged.”
Earlier this month, a Tesla charging station was targeted in South Carolina, where an individual spray-painted an expletive directed at President Trump along with “LONG LIVE UKRAINE” on the ground in red paint and threw homemade Molotov cocktails at the station, according to the North Charleston Police Department.
Federal ATF agents arrested 24-year-old Daniel Clarke-Pounder in that incident, charging him with arson of property in interstate commerce.
During a search of his apartment, agents said they found a purple composition notebook that contained a three-page handwritten statement which asserted anti-government beliefs and statements opposed to DOGE.
“The statement made mention of sending a message based on these beliefs and was signed with the initials ‘DC,'” court records said.
Protests against the company have also occurred at dealerships nationwide. Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs told ABC News the demonstrations and the company’s plummeting stocks — which have tumbled nearly 48% this year — can all “be tied to [Musk’s] time at DOGE.”
“It has been a distraction for the company and it’s been a problem for the brand,” Frerichs said.
In recent weeks, four top officers at the company have sold off $100 million in stock, according to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Musk, the owner of X, said on Monday that his companies “make great products that people love and I’ve never physically hurt anyone, so why the hate and violence against me?”
“Because I am a deadly threat to the woke mind parasite and the humans it controls,” Musk said on X.
Musk has also reposted reactions that criticized previous Tesla attacks, including one that said those responsible for the Las Vegas attack are “terrorists and should be treated accordingly.”
A spokesperson for Tesla did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
ABC News’ Jack Moore and Aaron Katersky contributed to this report.
