Tropical Storm Francine tracker: Storm forecast to become hurricane as it approaches Gulf Coast
ABC News
(NEW YORK) — Tropical Storm Francine was forecast to strengthen into a hurricane early Tuesday ahead of its expected landfall in Louisiana on Wednesday, the National Hurricane Center said.
The storm’s winds remained at about 65 mph just after midnight, the center said in its 1 a.m. CT update on Tuesday.
“Francine will likely become a hurricane today, with significant strengthening expected before it reaches the coast,” the update said.
Weather officials issued a series of hurricane warnings and watches for coastal areas as the storm has churned in the Gulf of Mexico. Strong winds are extending about 140 miles outward from the storm.
Francine is expected to make landfall Wednesday afternoon in southwestern Louisiana as a Category 2 storm with 100 mph winds.
A Storm Surge Warning was in effect for High Island, Texas, to the mouth of the Mississippi River and Vermilion Bay in Louisiana. A Hurricane Warning was in effect for the Louisiana coast from Sabine Pass eastward to Morgan City, officials said.
The storm is expected to bring rain to much of the coast from northeastern Mexico through Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi. Most areas in the storm’s path will see between 4 inches and 8 inches of rain, with a few areas getting as much as 12 inches.
“This rainfall could lead to considerable flash and urban flooding,” weather officials said.
(LOS ANGELES) — NThe attorney for Lyle and Erik Menendez said he thinks the brothers are “cautiously optimistic that they can see some real relief” after the Los Angeles County district attorney announced he’s recommending resentencing.
Mark Geragos told ABC News’ “Good Morning America” that his goal is to have the brothers home for Thanksgiving.
While district attorney George Gascón said he hopes to get a hearing on the docket within the next 30 to 45 days, Geragos said he thinks there will be a hearing “well before that.”
Gascón said he’s recommending in a court filing on Friday that the brothers’ sentence of life without the possibility of parole be removed, and they should instead be sentenced for murder, which would be a sentence of 50 years to life. Because of the brothers’ ages — they both were under 26 at the time of the crimes — they would be eligible for parole immediately, Gascón said at a Thursday news conference.
The final resentencing decision will be made by a judge and the parole board must also approve, Gascón said.
“We are continuing to be optimistic that Erik and Lyle will be released soon, and best-case scenario would be for us to have Erik and Lyle home for the busy week of Thanksgiving,” she said, which also includes three family birthdays.
“There is no excuse for murder,” Gascón stressed at the news conference, and he added that he doesn’t “believe that manslaughter would have been the appropriate charge [to request in the resentencing filing] given the premeditation that was involved.”
Lyle and Erik Menendez were each sentenced to two consecutive terms of life without parole after they were convicted in 1996 of fatally shooting their parents.
Lyle Menendez was 21 and Erik Menendez was 18 when they killed Jose and Kitty Menendez at the family’s Beverly Hills home in 1989. The brothers argued they acted in self-defense after enduring years of sexual abuse by their father; prosecutors alleged they killed their wealthy parents for financial gain.
Gascón said this month that his office was evaluating new evidence: allegations from a member of the boy band Menudo who said he was molested by Jose Menendez, and a letter Erik Menendez wrote to a cousin eight months before the murders detailing his alleged abuse.
Erik Menendez’s cousin testified about the alleged abuse at trial, but Erik Menendez’s letter — which would have corroborated the cousin’s testimony — wasn’t unearthed until several years ago, according to Geragos.
“I’ve never once doubted Erik and Lyle. I believe them,” the brothers’ cousin, Natascha Leonardo, told “GMA.” “The new evidence that has come out just continues to support our belief.”
Another cousin, Tamara Goodell, added that a new swell of support from the public is due to a younger generation’s understanding that boys and men are also victims of sexual abuse, which wasn’t as well recognized in the 1990s.
“This new generation is really putting up a fight to say, ‘This is not what should’ve been handed to them,'” she said. “At this point, after almost 35 years, they’ve served their time. … Now, it’s time for them to come home.”
One relative — the brothers’ uncle, Milton Andersen — is adamant about keeping them behind bars, though. He said he firmly believes his nephews were not sexually assaulted and were motivated by greed.
“The jury’s verdict was just, and the punishment fits the heinous crime,” he said in a statement.
Gascón told ABC News this month that any recommendation for resentencing would take into account the decades the brothers already served and their behavior in prison.
The brothers made a positive impact while incarcerated, despite “no hopes of ever getting out of prison,” Gascón said. They focused on “creating groups to deal with how to address untreated trauma, creating groups to deal with other inmates that have physical disabilities and may be treated differently. Even in one case, Lyle negotiating for other inmates as to the conditions that they live under,” he said.
Geragos said Lyle Menendez received a college degree behind bars while Erik Menendez provides hospice care to inmates.
“They’ve done great things while in prison. I don’t see anything that’s going to stop them from continuing that work once they’re out,” Geragos said.
(NEW YORK) — Even as the South continues its recovery from the devastation of Hurricane Helene, another storm system is showing the potential for development in the Gulf of Mexico.
Early October is still not far from last month’s peak of the hurricane season.
Most of the tropical systems in the Atlantic will stay away from the U.S., including Tropical Storm Kirk, but one system in the Caribbean could move into the Gulf by the end of the week.
At this time, it is still too early to say how much it will develop and where it will hit. But some of our most trusted computer models bring this system to Florida by early next week with heavy rain.
Right now, it has a 40% chance of development by the end of the week.
If the system is named, it could be called Leslie or Milton, depends on whether something forms in the Atlantic first.
(NASHVILLE, TN.) — One person is dead, and nine others are shot and injured after gunfire erupted during homecoming celebration events for Tennessee State University, Nashville Police Department officials said.
Of the nine injured, three were juveniles ranging in age from 12-14 years old, and all are in non-critical condition at a local hospital, MNPD Public Affairs Director Don Aaron said.
Shortly after 5 p.m., an exchange of gunfire occurred between two groups of people. Officials said it was likely that innocent bystanders were shot during the incident. A total of ten people were shot, with one person, a 24-year-old, succumbing to their injuries.
Five people were transported to local hospitals via ambulance. Five others were transported by private vehicle, Metro Nashville Police Department Public Affairs Officer Brooke Reese said.
Officials believe that some of those injured and hospitalized were involved and are suspected of being involved in the gunfire, said Reese.
Injuries range from minor to critical condition, with some sustaining graze wounds, said Aaron.
One gun, a handgun, was recovered at the scene, he said. Officials believe that the suspects used handguns in the shooting.
Fire and police officials were already at the event to participate in the homecoming parade earlier today, authorities said. Some personnel were already at the scene when gunfire erupted, and used their belts to apply tourniquets to gunshot victims, Nashville Fire Department PIO Kendra Loney said.
Most people celebrating homecoming went to the Tennessee State University football game, which is being held at Nissan Stadium, Nashville North Precinct Commander Anthony McClain said. During the day, there was a large group of people gathered for the parade.
When the gunfire began about two hours ago during the event, “a few folks ruined it for everybody,” McClain said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
