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.
(WASHINGTON) — Former President Donald Trump has waived his right to be present at his arraignment in his federal election interference case and has authorized his attorney to enter a plea of not guilty on his behalf, according to a filing Tuesday.
Special counsel Jack Smith unsealed a new indictment last week related to Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The superseding indictment included the same charges but removed allegations related to Trump’s official acts as president in light of the Supreme Court’s ruling on presidential immunity.
The court has not yet set a formal date for Trump’s new arraignment.
Both sides are due to appear in court on Thursday for a previously-scheduled conference in the case.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Ryan Garza/Detroit Free Press via USAToday Network
(GROSSE POINT, Mich.) — The parents of a teenage passenger killed in a high-speed car crash in Michigan are pushing for authorities to charge the mother of the driver.
In November 2023, Flynn MacKrell was riding in a car with his then-16-year-old friend who was driving over 100 mph in a 25 mph residential zone, according to police. The 16-year-old lost control and crashed into a tree, killing the 18-year-old MacKrell, according to police.
MacKrell died two months into his freshman year at the University of Dayton, according to his obituary.
The teen driver was charged with second-degree murder and has pleaded not guilty. He is awaiting trial. A lawyer for the family declined to comment, citing pending litigation.
But MacKrell’s family said they want the driver’s mother held responsible, too, saying the mother knew her son had a habit of driving excessively fast.
“He had no regard for his passenger safety, no regard for pedestrian safety. And the mother knew it,” MacKrell’s dad, Thad MacKrell, told ABC News.
The 16-year-old’s phone had Life360 — an app that shows how fast a car is going and where it is, according to an investigation report obtained by ABC News.
The driver’s mom repeatedly texted him in the weeks and months before the crash to stop speeding, at one point writing, “I have screen shots of you … driving 123 mph,” according to the report.
“Any reasonable person would have done something very, very simple — they would have taken the keys away. And she didn’t do it. And our son is dead,” Thad MacKrell said.
“Every day, we wake up in shock and disbelief that our beloved Flynn is gone,” MacKrell’s mom, Anne Vanker, said. “And it was 100% preventable.”
The MacKrell family is pointing to the Oxford, Michigan, school shooter case, in which the teenage gunman’s parents were held criminally responsible for giving their son the gun he used in the 2021 shooting, which killed four people. This April, the gunman’s parents, Jennifer and James Crumbley, were sentenced to 10 to 15 years after each was found guilty of four counts of involuntary manslaughter in separate trials.
ABC News legal contributor Brian Buckmire said, “In the Crumbley case, we’re talking about a gun that is a, per se, dangerous weapon. One of its intentions is to harm or kill another. A vehicle or car is not necessarily a, per se, dangerous weapon.”
“It becomes a dangerous weapon when used reckless or negligently,” he continued. “So the way we view those two objects may have a different opinion as to how this case is pursued.”
The prosecutor’s office said it is reviewing the MacKrell case. Investigators have submitted a “warrant request” for a relative of the teen driver, prosecutors told ABC News.
The driver’s case is “adult designated,” according to the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office. If convicted, “an adult designation allows the judge to have the option of sentencing the defendant as a juvenile, or as an adult, or to fashion a blended juvenile sentence with the option of imposing an adult sentence if the juvenile is not rehabilitated,” the prosecutor’s office said.
(NEW YORK) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom is urging schools across the state to restrict students’ cellphone usage in classrooms, he said in a letter to schools.
Los Angeles Unified School District — the second largest district in the U.S. — and Santa Barbara Unified have already implemented restrictions on the use of cellphones in schools.
In 2019, Newsom signed a bill into law granting districts the authority to regulate the use of the devices during school hours.
“Excessive smartphone use among youth is linked to increased anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues. A recent Pew Research Center survey found that 72% of high school and 33% of middle school teachers report cell phone distractions as a major problem,” Newsom wrote in the letter.
“Combined with the U.S. Surgeon General’s warning about the risks of social media, it is urgent to provide reasonable guardrails for smartphone use in schools,” the letter said.
Newsom also argued that reducing the use of phones in class leads to improved concentration, better academic outcomes and enhanced social interactions.
The push for limited cellphone usage in schools comes amid concerns from public health leaders that social media platforms are contributing to a mental health crisis among young people. In June, Surgeon General Dr. Vivek H. Murthy called for a warning label to be added to social media platforms stating that social media usage can be associated with significant mental health harms for adolescents.
Virginia also announced it will restrict cellphone use in public K-12 schools. Restrictions in that state are set to go into effect starting 2025.
