Rare Gulf Coast winter storm may hit next week: Latest forecast
ABC News
(NEW YORK) — A developing winter storm may bring rare snow and ice to cities along the Gulf Coast, from Texas to Florida.
The storm is set to hit the region on Tuesday.
It is too early to say how much snow or ice will fall, but the rare event could pose a major problem on roads and for utility companies.
The last time New Orleans saw measurable snow was 2009, and the last time the city saw more than 1 inch of snow was 1963.
Tallahassee, Florida, last experienced measurable snow in 2018. The city last had more than 1 inch in 1989.
The storm will also bring unusually cold temperatures to the Gulf. The wind chill — what temperature it feels like — will plunge Tuesday to about 21 degrees in Houston, 26 degrees in New Orleans and 28 in Panama City, Florida.
John Kuklis, a clerk at the Horseshoe Curve Lodge in Altoona, Penn., is seen on “Good Morning America,” on Dec. 11, 2024. ABC News
(ALTOONA, Penn.) — Before he was arrested Luigi Mangione walked into the Horseshoe Curve Lodge in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on Monday looking for a room, according to the desk clerk who greeted him and noticed what he described as the man’s shifty behavior.
“He basically just walked in kind of cagey, just looking around, making sure he wasn’t being watched, asked if he could get a room here,” the hotel clerk, John Kuklis, told ABC News.
But that wasn’t the reason Kuklis had to turn the man away. They didn’t have a clean room available at that early hour, he said.
“I told him that he wouldn’t be able to get one right now, that our housekeeper hadn’t cleaned the rooms yet, that he had to come back at one o’clock. He asked if he could wait here. I told him no, because at the time, I didn’t know that I could just allow him to wait for, you know, half the day. And he said, ‘OK.’ And he turned around and just left. Didn’t say nothing. Never took his mask down,” Kuklis said.
Mangione’s arrival on Monday, the morning he was later arrested, came days after last week’s fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan. Mangione faces a second-degree murder charge in connection with that killing. His defense attorney, Thomas Dickey, said he anticipates that Mangione will plead not guilty.
The Horseshoe Curve Lodge is roughly a 17-minute walk from the McDonald’s where authorities would later confront Mangione, and take him into custody. Rooms at that hotel cost around $60 a night, according to a review of online price quotes.
At first, Kuklis thought the young man might be a veteran just returned to civilian life — there are “a lot of vets that stay here,” Kuklis said, and thought that might perhaps be why the young man was acting somewhat circumspect.
He added, “When [vets] come back, they have — anybody that walks up behind ’em, or you feel a little shadow, or you hear a specific noise, you just kind of look over your shoulders, watch yourself, and he just, he was like, wouldn’t turn his head, but his eyes were constantly looking like, is there somebody coming behind me, watching his surroundings?”
Had Mangione been able to get a room, Kuklis said, he would have been asked to show ID — but that didn’t happen. Mangione has been charged with falsely identifying himself to police, according to a complaint filed in Blair County, Pennsylvania.
Tuesday, officers called the hotel, asking if the suspect had stayed there, the clerk said.
“They called this morning and asked if he had stayed here, I says, no,” Kuklis said, but mentioned to police the young man’s earlier attempt to book a stay. “The officer goes, ‘did he have a mask on? Did he ever take a mask off?'” Kuklis said, realizing in real time to the officer, “No, he never did take the mask off.'”
“Next thing I know there’s three Logan Township police cars pulling in the parking lot. I’m like, holy crap” Kuklis said. “We pulled up our surveillance stuff, they go, ‘Yeah, that’s him.'”
Looking back, Kuklis said he “didn’t even realize” that furtive young man might have been carrying the very weapon allegedly used to gun down the CEO. “I mean, theoretically, I guess he could have just pulled it out and shot me.”
Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — The Mega Millions jackpot has soared to an estimated $1 billion ahead of its Christmas Eve drawing.
The estimated jackpot would make it the seventh-largest in the game’s history and its seventh billion-dollar prize.
It would also be the largest ever won in December, if a ticket matches all six numbers drawn.
The cash value of the jackpot is estimated to be $448.8 million.
The last time the jackpot was won was at $810 million in Texas on Sept. 10. No one has won the grand prize in the last 29 drawings, as the jackpot has ballooned.
The Mega Millions jackpot has only been won on Christmas Eve once before, according to the game. A $68 million jackpot was won in New York on Dec. 24, 2002, though it was never claimed.
The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 302,575,350, according to Mega Millions.
Mega Millions is played in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Tickets are $2 for one play. Tuesday’s drawing is at 11 p.m. ET.
(LOS ANGELES) — At least 24 people have died and more than a dozen others remain unaccounted for as multiple wildfires, fueled by severe drought conditions and strong winds, rage across the Los Angeles area.
Thousands of firefighters are battling wildfires across 45 square miles of densely populated Los Angeles County. About 92,000 people remain under mandatory evacuation orders and another 89,000 are under evacuation warnings.
Status of Palisades, Eaton fires
The Palisades Fire, which began in the Pacific Palisades on Jan. 7, has destroyed about 5,000 structures. It’s covered more than 23,000 acres and is at 14% containment.
The Eaton Fire north of Pasadena also began on Jan. 7 and has destroyed or damaged around 7,000 structures. It’s burned over 14,000 acres and is at 33% containment.
Areas for worst wind conditions this week
The National Weather Service has highlighted these three areas where officials believe there’s the highest chance for explosive fire growth this week. The Hurst Fire is in the highlighted area and the Palisades Fire is near the highlighted area.
The extreme fire risk will last from 4 a.m. Tuesday to noon Wednesday.
Winds could climb as high as 45 to 70 mph and humidity could be as low as 8 to 15%.
-ABC News’ Max Golembo
Crews finding remains in Altadena: Sheriff
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said he knows displaced residents want to return to their neighborhoods, but he warned, “we are in the third day of grid searching” in Altadena.
“It is a very grim task,” he said, noting that every day crews are finding people’s remains.
Twenty-three people have been reported missing: 17 from the Eaton Fire and six in the Malibu area, the sheriff said.
Severe fire conditions to continue through Wednesday
Severe fire weather conditions — high winds with low humidity — will continue through Wednesday, keeping the fire threat in all of Los Angeles County critical, LA Fire Chief Anthony Marrone warned at a news conference.
Amid the “unprecedented disaster,” Marrone shared positive news that the Eaton Fire in Altadena didn’t grow at all on Sunday.
The Eaton Fire has damaged or destroyed over 7,000 structures, Marrone said. He said damage inspections for dwellings are 26% completed.
The super scooper firefighting plane damaged by a drone last week has been repaired, Marrone said. Crews are waiting for the Federal Aviation Administration to give the OK to send the plane back in the air.
Ukraine offers aid
Ukraine may send rescuers to help fight the devastating fires in California, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
“The situation there is extremely difficult, and Ukrainians can help Americans save lives,” Zelenskyy tweeted. “This is currently being coordinated, and we have offered our assistance to the American side through the relevant channels. 150 of our firefighters are already prepared.”
Firefighters from Mexico and Canada have also been deployed to California.
Edison International can’t rule out equipment role in wildfires, CEO says
Pedro Pizarro, the president and CEO of Edison International, told “Good Morning America” on Monday that the company cannot yet rule the possibility that its energy infrastructure played a role in sparking wildfires now raging around Los Angeles.
Fire agencies are investigating whether Southern California Edison — a subsidiary of Edison International — infrastructure sites caused fires in areas devastated by the Eaton and Hurst wildfires.
“You can’t rule out anything ever until you can get your eyes on the equipment,” Pizarro said.
“Typically, when there’s a spark created by equipment, we will see the electrical anomaly — we haven’t seen that,” Pizarro said of a possible incident involving Edison infrastructure and the Hurst Fire burning outside of San Fernando.
“That said, we have not been able to get close to the equipment,” he continued. “As soon as we can get close to it, we’ll inspect and be transparent with the public.”
“We may find something different,” Pizarro added.
Pizarro said Edison also recorded damage to equipment at the site of the Eaton Fire in the mountains north of Pasadena. “We don’t know whether the damage happened before or after the start of the fire,” he said.
Pizarro said that Edison International will be shutting off power to some California residents as a precaution amid red flag warnings.
“We have about 450,000 customers who we’ve warned they may need to have their power shut off,” Pizarro said.
High winds threaten explosive fire growth
Weather officials have issued a “Particularly Dangerous Situation” red flag warning for western Los Angeles County and most of Ventura County beginning on Tuesday at 4 a.m. into Wednesday at noon.
Winds are forecast to be strong enough to potentially cause explosive fire growth.
A new Santa Ana wind event is forecast Monday through Wednesday with the strongest winds Tuesday into Wednesday.
On Monday morning and the rest of the day, winds will begin to pick up in the mountains and higher elevations, gusting 20 to 30 mph, locally as high as 50 mph.
By Tuesday morning at 4 a.m., when the “PDS” conditions begin, gusts in the mountains are expected to near 70 mph possibly and humidity could be as low as 8% for some of the area.
-ABC News’ Max Golembo
68 arrested, many for burglary, in fire evacuation zones, police say
At least 68 people have been arrested in fire evacuation zones, according to law enforcement officials, as police work to secure devastated parts of Los Angeles and firefighters continue to battle wildfires.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said it recorded 29 arrests — 25 in the Eaton Fire area north of Pasadena and four in the Palisades Fire area in western Los Angeles.
The Santa Monica Police Department reported 39 arrests in evacuated areas in its jurisdiction on Saturday night, including 10 for burglary and six for possession of burglary tools. None of those arrested lived in the area, the department said.
-ABC News’ Marilyn Heck
Forecast calls for ‘Particularly Dangerous Situation’ for fires, Newsom warns
Gov. Gavin Newsom warned late Sunday that the week was beginning with a forecast for a “Particularly Dangerous Situation” for new wildfires, even as the firefight against the several fires still burning continued.
“Emergency responders are ready tonight. Pre-positioned firefighters and engines are spread around Southern California,” he said on social media. “Stay safe. Be ready to evacuate if you get the order.”
The warning, which comes from the National Weather Service, says that the fire risk is high in Santa Barbara, Ventura and Los Angeles counties amid strong winds, a lack of recent rainfall and relatively low humidities. The warning begins Monday night and runs through Wednesday morning, the service said.
It’s is the fourth of its kind in three months, Newsom said. The first came ahead of the Mountain Fire in Ventura, which destroyed 243 structures. The second preceded the Franklin Fire in Malibu, which destroyed 20 structures.
And the third preceded the Palisades and Eaton Fires, which have now destroyed thousands of homes and structures, he said.
Death toll in Los Angeles fires rises to 24
There have been at least 24 fire-related deaths in the Palisades and Eaton Fires, according to the latest tally from the County of Los Angeles Department of Medical Examiner.
The number of fatalities is expected to rise as officials continue to battle the dual fires.
According to the medical examiner, there have been 16 confirmed deaths linked to the Eaton Fire and eight fatalities due to the Palisades Fire.
Los Angeles Unified School District reopening some schools Monday
Los Angeles Unified School District announced some schools are reopening Monday, depending on the location of the institution and the weather conditions.
LAUSD said school principals will contact communities directly.
ABC News confirmed that some community members received calls on Sunday about schools reopening.
The district has over 1,500 schools serving roughly 600,000 students in grades K–12. Schools across the district have been closed due to fires since Thursday.
