Trump didn’t mention them, but Renee Good and Alex Pretti loomed over State of the Union address
Rep. Norma Torres holds up a photo of Minnesota shooting victim Alex Pretti who was killed during an immigration enforcement operation during U.S. President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address during a Joint Session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol on Feb. 24, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump did not mention their names in his speech, but Alex Pretti and Renee Good loomed over the State of the Union address.
Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse, and Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, were both fatally shot in January by federal law enforcement deployed to Minneapolis during the Trump administration’s “Operation Metro Surge” immigration crackdown.
While the deaths of Good, who was killed on Jan. 7, and Pretti, who was killed on Jan. 24, were captured on video and garnered national attention, the president did not broach the subject of their demise.
But some Democrats attending the State of the Union attempted to invoke their names during Trump’s hour-and-48-minute speech.
During the address, Rep. Norma Torres, D-Calif., held up photos of Pretti and Good that included a caption in all capital letters, reading, “PREMEDITATED MURDER.”
Trump has previously lamented the deaths of Good and Pretti and instituted a drawdown in federal law enforcement in Minneapolis in the wake of their deaths.
During his speech Tuesday, the president blamed the Democrats for the current partial government shutdown stemming from an impasse over immigration enforcement. Funding for the Department of Homeland Security ran out on Feb. 14.
“Now they have closed the agency responsible for protecting Americans from terrorists and murderers,” Trump said of the Democrats. “Tonight, I’m demanding the full and immediate restoration of all funding for the border security, homeland security of the United States, and also for helping people clean up their snow.”
At one point, Trump prompted heckling from Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., and Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., when he said the Democrats should be “ashamed.”
“One of the great things about the State of the Union is how it gives Americans the chance to see clearly what their representatives really believe,” Trump said in his speech. “So, tonight I’m inviting every legislator to join with my administration in reaffirming a fundamental principle. If you agree with this statement, then stand up and show your support: the first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens.”
While it appeared that all of the Republican lawmakers in the chamber stood up and applauded, most of the Democrats remained seated.
While seated next to each other, Omar and Tlaib repeatedly shouted at Trump. Omar was heard yelling, “You have killed Americans! You have killed Americans!” in an apparent reference to the deaths of Good and Pretti.
Tlaib shouted “liar” and referenced the Epstein files.
The barbs from Tlaib and Omar continued as Trump said, “I’m also asking you to end deadly sanctuary cities that protect the criminals and enact serious penalties for public officials who block the removal of criminal aliens, in many cases, drug lords, murderers, all over our country. They’re blocking the removal of these people out of our country. And you should be ashamed of yourself.”
During her rebuttal address for the Democrats, Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger said the nation’s “broken immigration system is something to be fixed — not an excuse for unaccountable agents to terrorize our communities.”
“And yet, our president has sent poorly trained federal agents into our cities, where they have arrested and detained American citizens and people who aspire to be Americans — and they have done it without a warrant,” Spanberger said.
She added, “They have ripped nursing mothers away from their babies, they have sent children — a little boy in a blue bunny hat — to far-off detention centers, and they have killed American citizens on our streets.”
In a statement released immediately after the State of the Union, Rep. Betty McCollum, D-Minn., also mentioned the killings of Good and Pretti.
“Here in Minnesota, we have seen what happens when President Trump gets his way and a Republican majority in Congress goes along,” McCollum said. “We’ve seen the damage from masked, unidentifiable federal agents invading and occupying our communities to sow chaos, violence, and division. We’ve seen Minnesotans racially profiled and assaulted. We’ve seen the killing of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents.”
Meredith Gaudreau, widow of former Columbus Blue Jackets hockey player, Johnny Gaudreau speaks with ABC News, Feb. 24, 2026. (ABC News)
(NEW YORK) — Meredith Gaudreau, the widow of professional hockey player Johnny Gaudreau, is speaking out about the emotional moment the U.S. men’s hockey team celebrated her husband and their children at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics.
As soon as USA beat Canada 2-1 in the gold medal game on Sunday, the players brought two of Johnny Gaudreau’s kids onto the ice. Three-year-old Noa and Johnny Jr. — who turned 2 that same day — posed with their dad’s number 13 jersey as they sat in the arms of the new Olympic champions.
“They didn’t have to do that,” Meredith Gaudreau told ABC News Live on Tuesday.
“I was just very, very proud, and I’m very thankful to them for including my kids in it, and just honoring my husband the way they do,” she said. “It’s the classiest thing. They do all these really kind gestures and include our kids in everything, because I know that’s exactly what John would want.”
Meredith Gaudreau said she told her daughter, “Daddy’s friends want to take a picture with you and Johnny. … You get to do this because of daddy and they love and they miss him, too.”
“She was really excited,” she said. “… She’s started to put things together and she’s very, very proud.”
Johnny Gaudreau’s parents were also in the crowd to witness the special moment.
Johnny Gaudreau, a 31-year-old Columbus Blue Jackets star known as “Johnny Hockey,” died on Aug. 29, 2024, alongside his brother, Matthew Gaudreau, 29, a former pro hockey player.
The brothers were riding bikes in New Jersey on the eve of their sister’s wedding when they were struck by a driver suspected of being under the influence of alcohol, according to police. The suspected driver was arrested and has pleaded not guilty to charges of aggravated manslaughter, vehicular homicide, evidence tampering and leaving the scene of an accident. He’s not yet gone to trial.
“Still every day is kind of a gut punch,” Meredith Gaudreau said. “So when the guys do what they can to still include John and our kids, it just means everything to me. You know, these guys are really good people, really good friends of ours. And I just consider them really great role models.”
She added that it shows “how much they love John and all the respect they have for him. … I am really proud of John for having that type of impact.”
Meredith Gaudreau said her third baby, Carter — who was born about seven months after his father died — didn’t travel with them to the Olympics, but watched the game from home.
“He doesn’t have a passport yet cause he’s only, almost 11 months old. So I felt so bad, but he watched along and he looks pretty good wearing number 13!” she said.
Matthew Gaudreau also left behind a wife, Madeline Gaudreau, who was pregnant at the time of his death. Their son, Tripp, was born four months after the crash.
Homes at Mondo’s Beach between the Solimar and Faria Beach communities west of Ventura have their sea walls tested Wednesday morning, January 06, 2016, as the third storm this season’s El Nino moves in with more rain and heavy surf. (Photo by Al Seib/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — El Nino is increasingly likely to return later this year, bringing potentially significant impacts to our weather, the upcoming hurricane season and global temperature trends, though its timing and strength remain uncertain, experts told ABC News.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) issued an El Nino Watch on Thursday, meaning that conditions are favorable for its development over the next six months. NOAA’s latest forecast puts the chance of El Nino developing in June through August at 62%, with higher odds expected by the fall months.
El Nino refers to the warmer-than-average phase of the El Nino–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), a natural cycle where sea surface temperatures across the central and eastern equatorial Pacific rise and fall. The cooler-than-average phase is called La Nina, while near-average conditions are known as ENSO-neutral.
The current La Nina is expected to fade over the next month as equatorial Pacific waters warm, with ENSO-neutral conditions likely to persist through much of the Northern Hemisphere summer.
If El Nino forms, its potential strength remains highly uncertain. NOAA says there is roughly a 1 in 3 chance it will be strong by the end of the year, though current forecasts favor a weak-to-moderate event.
El Nino and La Nina events occur at irregular intervals, typically every 2 to 7 years. El Nino has been somewhat more frequent than La Nina in past observations, but both phases vary in timing and intensity from one cycle to the next.
Forecasters caution that El Nino predictions tend to be less accurate at this time of year and could change in the coming months.
“Keep in mind that because we’re making these forecasts during the spring season, a time of lower model accuracy, so there is large uncertainty,” said Michelle L’Heureux, physical scientist at NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center.
This is largely because spring in the Northern Hemisphere is when sea surface patterns across the tropical Pacific Ocean are in a transitional phase.
“Predictions issued at this time of year are typically less reliable due to the so-called boreal spring predictability barrier, a well-known limitation affecting ENSO outlook skill,” the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said in a statement.
There is usually a delay between the onset of El Nino and its associated effects, meaning it will likely be well into the second half of the year before impacts begin to unfold, based on the latest forecasts.
“An estimate for the length of time before consistent impacts are observed once El Nino forms is typically 1-2 months,” Jon Gottschalck, Chief of the Operational Prediction Branch at NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center told ABC News. “This varies largely depending on other climate factors active at the time in both the tropics and extratropics, as well as the time of the year.”
Typical El Nino impacts across the United States
Impacts from El Nino, similar to La Nina, tend to be most consistent and pronounced from late autumn through early spring following the event’s onset, NOAA says.
Experts caution that the impacts on weather patterns are nuanced. Each season is different, and typical El Nino conditions don’t always materialize.
“Every El Nino is different in terms of timing, magnitude, and geographic extent, and such differences lead to variability in the impacts — on temperatures and rainfall, for example — on a global scale,” Andrew Kruczkiewicz, senior staff researcher at Columbia Climate School, said.
Typically, during El Nino, the northern half of the United States and parts of Alaska are more likely to see warmer than average temperatures, with near- to below-average temperatures favored along the southern tier of the U.S., most likely from Texas to the Southeast.
For precipitation, wetter than average conditions are typically observed along the southern tier of the U.S. in parts of California, the Southwest, Gulf Coast and Southeast U.S. Below average precipitation is frequently observed across parts of the northern Rockies, south-central Mississippi Valley, Ohio Valley and Great Lakes regions.
El Nino typically increases the odds of above-average snowfall in the southern Rockies, south-central Plains, mid-Atlantic and coastal areas of the Northeast with below-average snowfall favored in the northern Rockies, northern Plains and Great Lakes regions.
“The more consistent impacts on precipitation and temperature don’t occur until the winter months — so for 2026-27,” L’Heureux added.
How El Nino could influence hurricane season activity
The impact of El Nino on this year’s Atlantic and Eastern Pacific hurricane seasons will largely depend on when it unfolds and how strong it gets.
El Nino conditions often suppress activity during the Atlantic hurricane season by producing unfavorable atmospheric winds. In the Eastern Pacific, the opposite occurs, with favorable conditions supporting above-average hurricane season activity.
“It will likely suppress the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season somewhat, with increased sinking air and upper level wind shear over the Atlantic,” said Andy Hazelton, an associate scientist at the University of Miami’s Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies.
Vertical wind shear, which refers to changes in wind speed and direction with height in the atmosphere, is often a primary factor in below-average hurricane season activity. Strong vertical wind shear can tear a developing tropical system apart or even prevent it from forming, NOAA says.
Other factors, such as sea surface temperatures, also play an important role in tropical cyclone development and strength. Unseasonably warm ocean waters can partially offset the effects of unfavorable atmospheric winds. However, that will largely depend on sea surface temperature readings as the hurricane season ramps up, which is still months away.
“It’s a little early to say how far below average the Atlantic might be. That will also depend on what the Atlantic sea surface temperatures do – right now they’re average or a little below,” Hazelton added.
NOAA is expected to issue its official hurricane season outlook in May. The Eastern Pacific season begins May 15, followed by the Atlantic season on June 1.
Since El Nino is only one of several important variables considered, Gottschalck said it is important to wait until the outlook is released in May.
Global temperature records could be challenged again
The year 2024 ranked as the planet’s warmest year on record, following the last El Nino event, which emerged in mid-2023 and persisted through spring 2024, according to NOAA.
“The warmer ocean temperatures associated with El Nino, together with its tendency to favor warmer conditions in many areas, often contribute to warmer than normal global annual temperatures,” Gottschalck said.
Record highs in global average temperature often occur during El Nino years, but the phenomenon isn’t the sole reason for the record-breaking warmth, climate scientists say. Short-term El Nino temperature spikes occur on top of the long-term global warming trend, which is primarily driven by human-caused greenhouse gas emissions.
“The WMO community will be carefully monitoring conditions in the coming months to inform decision-making. The most recent El Nino, in 2023-’24, was one of the five strongest on record and it played a role in the record global temperatures we saw in 2024,” WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo said in a statement.
According to NOAA, 2025 ranked as the third-warmest year on record globally, trailing 2024 and 2023. The slightly lower ranking came amid recent La Nina conditions, which typically cause a temporary dip in global average temperatures.
Similar to the last event, El Nino typically has the greatest impact on global temperatures after it peaks, NOAA says, meaning a spike in global temperatures often lingers into the year following the event’s onset. The intensity of any upcoming El Nino will play a major role in whether global temperature records could be challenged in the near future.
According to the latest outlook from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, there is more than a 90% chance that 2026 will rank among the five warmest years on record, but the probability of it becoming the warmest year currently stands at about 1%. Those odds could rise significantly in 2027, depending on how the event unfolds.
Ballots arrive at the Fulton County Elections Hub and Operation Center on election night on November 5, 2024 in Fairburn, Georgia. Megan Varner/Getty Images
(FULTON COUNTY, Ga.) — A top Fulton County official on Thursday blasted the Trump administration for the FBI’s seizure of 2020 election ballots, saying the move is about “intimidation and distraction.”
County officials said the FBI seized original 2020 voting records Wednesday while serving a search warrant at the county’s Elections Hub and Operations Center.
The development comes after President Donald Trump has repeatedly said there was voter fraud in the 2020 election, specifically in Georgia, that contributed to his election loss. Georgia officials audited and certified the results following the election.
“Every audit, every recount, every court ruling has confirmed what we the people of Fulton County already knew: Our elections were fair and accurate and every legal vote was counted,” Robb Pitts, the chairman of the Fulton County Board of Commissioners, said at a press briefing Thursday.
“These ongoing efforts are about intimidation and distraction, not facts,” Pitts said.
Last month, the Justice Department sued Fulton County for access to its 2020 election records, including ballot stubs and signature envelopes.
Asked why the county did not turn over the records then, Pitts said “there is a fight” over the ballots, but that county attorneys reviewed the warrant and said was in their best interest to comply.
“Fulton County has nothing to hide,” he said, “Fulton County elections are fair and lawful, and the outcome of the 2020 election will not change.”
The search warrant authorized the FBI to search for “All physical ballots from the 2020 General Election,” in addition to tabulator tapes from voting machines and 2020 voter rolls, among other documents, according to a copy of the warrant obtained by ABC affiliate WSB.
The warrant says the material “constitutes evidence of the commission of a criminal offense” and had been “used as the means of committing a criminal offense.” It was signed by federal magistrate Judge Catherine Salinas.
Specifically, the warrant listed possible violations of two statutes — one which requires election records to be retained for a certain amount of time, and another which outlines criminal penalties for people, including election officials, who intimidate voters or to knowingly procure false votes or false voter registrations.
