Special counsel Jack Smith expected to wind down Trump prosecutions: Sources

(NEW YORK) — Haitian migrants residing in Springfield, Ohio, shared with ABC News their harrowing experiences of living in constant fear, expressing deep concerns about their safety that prevent them from venturing outside their homes.

In a town of more than 58,000 residents, threats of bombings and shootings led to the closure of city buildings and schools for several days. Wittenberg University canceled all activities on Sunday and classes on Monday as a precautionary measure.

James Fleurijean, a Haitian Community Help & Support Center member, stated that the continual spread of false and divisive statements from prominent politicians was fostering an environment of fear.

“I know some parents like for this period of time they’re trying to keep their children home, like, by the time they see how things gonna be, like, wait for a couple of weeks to see if things that are calm down, or if things gonna escalate,” Fleurijean said. “You see, that’s why, like some parents, they don’t even send their children to school, like, for this week.”

Politicians, including former President Donald Trump, have heightened their fears. At the presidential debate with Vice President Kamala Harris last week, Trump claimed, “In Springfield, people are resorting to eating dogs, cats, and other household pets.”

Trump did not specify the ethnicity of the migrants he claimed were eating pets in Springfield, but on X, his running mate JD Vance continuously raised the issue of Haitian illegal immigrants draining social services.

“Kamala Harris dropped 20,000 Haitian migrants into a small Ohio town and chaos has ensued,” Vance said on X.

Vance appeared on NBC’s Meet the Press and informed reporters that Ohio locals have been lodging complaints for at least a year now.

“I have heard firsthand from multiple constituents – people who made 911 calls a month ago, a year ago, who were making these complaints,” Vance said. “I trust my constituents more than I do the American media that has shown no interest in what’s happened in Springfield until we started sharing cat memes on the Internet.”

ABC News spoke with a 28-year-old Haitian man who wanted to remain anonymous. He said he had come to Springfield from New Jersey less than a year ago to search for work. While waiting for ABC News, a passerby yelled “TRUMP” at him, he said.

The man mentioned that he used to see a lot of Haitians on the street, but he doesn’t see them anymore. He believes they are afraid. He mentioned that the Haitian community has felt terrorized.

Ohio’s Republican Gov. Mike DeWine has dismissed the rumors about Haitian immigrants eating pets as nonsense. He says the discussion has to stop and the focus should be on moving forward, not dogs and cats.

“Ohio is on the move, and Springfield has really made a great resurgence with a lot of companies coming in,” DeWine said. “These Haitians came in to work for these companies. They’re very happy to have them there. And, frankly, that’s helped the economy.”

The majority of the 12,000 to 15,000 migrants who have arrived in Springfield over the past four years are from Haiti, according to the city of Springfield. These Haitian migrants left their country due to gang-related violence and poverty, in search of stability, safety, and job opportunities. They came to the U.S. under the Temporary Protected Status designation.

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(NEW YORK) — A report has found that broken power lines caused the deadly August 2023 wildfire in Maui.

The wildfire on the Hawaiian Island killed 102 people and destroyed more than 2,200 structures, causing more than $5 billion in damages.

The nearly 300-page report released Wednesday comes from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), which worked with local officials like the County of Maui Department of Fire and Public Safety to determine the cause.

The fire was initially blamed on the combination of high winds and dry weather. However, the investigation found that the widespread destruction was caused by a single fire that started by the “undetected re-energization of broken utility lines, which caused sparks that ignited unmaintained vegetation,” Maui Fire Chief Bradford Ventura said during a press conference Wednesday.

The investigation found no definitive conclusion with how the ignition started, Ventura said, but noted that the report found the fire cause to be accidental.

“The origin of the fire was the overgrown vegetation at and surrounding utility pole 25 off of Lahainaluna Road,” according to the report. “The cause of the fire was the re-energization of broken utility lines which caused the ejection of molten metallic material (sparks) to fall to the base of pole 25, igniting the unmaintained vegetation below.”

The investigation also ruled out the possibility that there had been two separate fires. 

“This, in fact, was one fire,” Ventura said.

The wildfire was the fifth deadliest in U.S. history and the worst natural disaster in Hawaii’s history, according to the U.S. Fire Administration. It sparked several other investigations centered on police response and the response from state and Maui county agencies.

In the days before the Aug. 8 wildfire, the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency issued a red flag warning of “gusty winds and dry fuels” creating a risk of “extreme fire.”

Fingers were pointed between the local agencies and companies connected to the fire. A report from state Attorney General Anne E. Lopez found that there is no evidence that Hawaiian Electric, Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, Maui Fire Department, Maui Police and others had developed plans to deal with such a fire risk.

A preliminary Maui Police Department report in February found that the understaffed police force grappled with communications and equipment issues that hadn’t been anticipated. The police investigation didn’t address the utility’s potential culpability for the fires, the origin of the blazes or the fire crews’ response.

The report found that police went without proper protective gear while juggling frantic traffic evacuations and that emergency dispatch for the island was overwhelmed by a call volume it was unable to handle. It also noted that suspended cables and downed electrical wires were strewn across roadways, cutting off what could have been critical routes for escape.

In August, Hawaii Gov. Josh Green announced a historic $4.037 billion settlement to resolve claims arising from the tragedy. The settlement addresses roughly 450 lawsuits filed by individuals, businesses and insurance companies in both state and federal courts against seven defendants — state of Hawaii, County of Maui, Hawaiian Electric, Kamehameha Schools, West Maui Land Co., Hawaiian Telcom and Spectrum/Charter Communications.

They say they “undertook significant efforts to find a resolution that addresses the needs and ensures the well-being of plaintiffs, all affected individuals, and their families,” according to a press release from Green’s office.

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(TAMPA, Fla.) — Tampa General Hospital put its flood barrier to the test during Hurricane Helene late last month, helping protect the facility from record storm surge.

As Hurricane Milton is expected to bring record-breaking storm surge yet again to the region, the hospital — located on the bay near downtown Tampa — is surrounded by the water-impermeable barrier once more.

Milton is expected to make landfall Wednesday night near Sarasota, south of Tampa, as a Category 3 hurricane. The National Weather Service in Tampa Bay warned on Monday that Milton could be the “worst storm to impact the Tampa area in over 100 years.”

While several health care facilities are suspending service due to Milton, Tampa General Hospital, the region’s only Level I Trauma Center, is preparing to continue normal operations.

The hospital said it has several mitigation measures in place for the storm, including its barrier, made by the company AquaFence. The fence is built to withstand storm surge up to 15 feet above sea level, the hospital said.

Peak storm surge in the Tampa Bay area topped six feet during Helene, which set a new record. The flood barrier “worked effectively to prevent the storm surge from flooding” the main campus, the hospital said in the wake of Helene.

Milton could bring a record-breaking storm surge to the Tampa Bay area. Six to nine feet of storm surge is forecast for the Tampa Bay area.

The hospital said Tuesday it had completed assembly of its flood barrier ahead of Milton “to protect vulnerable areas of the campus against storm surge and flooding.”

“While AquaFence has proven effective in the past, it is just the first line of defense and one of many mitigation efforts we’ve implemented this week to safely continue care for our patients,” Jennifer Crabtree, chief of staff at Tampa General, said in a statement to ABC Orlando affiliate WFTV.

Other measures to help sustain hospital operations during the storm include an on-site water source, in the event that water service is disrupted, and an on-site energy plant located 33 feet above sea level that is built to withstand the impact and flooding of a Category 5 hurricane, the hospital said. The hospital said it has also stocked up on more than five days of supplies, including food and linens, and more than 5,000 gallons of water.

Tampa Bay, and many areas across the surrounding peninsula, are particularly vulnerable to hurricanes since these regions have not been hit with a major hurricane in decades.

Hospital systems in the region have invested in flood mitigation, hardening their facilities and moving electrical equipment to levels to protect against flooding, according to Mary Mayhew, president and CEO of the Florida Hospital Association.

“Flooding is such a huge concern,” Mayhew told ABC News. “And now, on the heels of Helene, where we have debris that is, strewn up and down the Gulf Coast, drains are plugged, they’re filled with sand.”

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