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ABC National - WOND

Edith Polverini/Getty Images (TEXAS) -- A flood watch remains in effect for more than 11 million people in Texas and Oklahoma on Saturday morning as a number of flood warnings are in effect as residents are urged not to drive on flooded roads.Several rivers in the Houston area are at major flood stage, with the Trinity River, located northeast of Houston, likely swelling to its highest level on record today.Not only is it forecast to go higher than it was during Hurricane Harvey in 2017, but it is likely to surpass its all-time record from 1945.The heaviest rain has eased up in southeast Texas on Saturday morning, with the region set to experience a reprieve for the day.However, on Sunday, a mass of heavy rain is positioned to move back in and is expected to drench that region with an additional 1 to 3 inches of rain. There should also be heavy rain across much of Oklahoma, with cities like Oklahoma City and Tulsa facing 1 to 3 inches as well.Meanwhile, powerful thunderstorms have popped up seemingly every day this week across parts of Texas, and that will be the case again on Saturday.An enhanced risk for severe thunderstorms is in the forecast for parts of western Texas on Saturday and this afternoon and into the evening, strong storms could bring the potential for damaging wind, huge hail and scattered tornadoes to cities like Midland and San Angelo, Texas.Additionally, that severe weather threat is expected to shift east into the Houston area on Sunday, bringing a flooding rain chance with it as the potential for more severe thunderstorms on Monday in the central plains from Dallas to Sioux Falls is possible.Across parts of the country, the first scorching heat wave of the year next could happen by the middle of the week as temperatures across much of the south are expected to jump into the 90s and 100s.Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Houston , Texas , United-states , Trinity-river , Oklahoma-city , Oklahoma , Edith-polverini-getty , Getty-images , Hurricane-harvey , San-angelo , Sioux-falls

WOND News - VNC News

Brigantine City Council is looking for back up from other municipalities to oppose offshore wind. The Press of Atlantic City reports members called on the Atlantic County Board of Commissioners to use its powers, including legal actions, to try to stop wind turbine projects from being built just a few miles off the state’s coast. ... Read more

Atlantic-city , Brigantine-city-council , Atlantic-county-board , Wond , Ond-am , 400am , 400 , Ews-talk , Ews , Alk , Tlantic-city

ABC National - WOND

Al Seib/ Los Angeles Times(SANTA CRUZ, Ca.) -- The captain of a scuba dive boat that caught fire off the California coast in 2019, killing 34 people, was sentenced to four years in federal prison on Thursday, according to ABC Los Angeles station KABC.The sentence also included three years of supervised release, KABC reported.A federal jury found Jerry Boylan, 70, of Santa Barbara, guilty of seaman's manslaughter in November 2023 in connection with the deadly boat fire.Boylan was the captain of the Conception, a 75-foot boat that caught fire while it was docked at Platt's Harbor near Santa Cruz Island during a scuba diving excursion in the early morning hours on Sept. 2, 2019, while passengers and crew members were sleeping. One crew member and 33 passengers died, while Boylan and four other crew members jumped overboard and survived.The judge issued the sentence after hearing more than a dozen victim impact statements.A federal grand jury initially indicted Boylan on 34 counts of misconduct or neglect of ship officer -- commonly known as seaman's manslaughter -- in 2020. He faced a maximum of 340 years in prison if convicted. His attorneys argued that the deaths were the result of a single incident -- not separate crimes -- and he was subsequently charged with only one count, which carried a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.Federal prosecutors sought the maximum sentencing, arguing in a court document filed last month ahead of sentencing that the seasoned captain set sail with the "full knowledge of the potentially catastrophic consequences of his reckless conduct.""He knew that his crew was inexperienced and that he had not trained them to fight a fire. He knew that he had never conducted a single fire drill with his crew. He knew that he habitually ignored the most basic tenet of maritime fire safety in failing to maintain a roving patrol at night," prosecutors wrote.Prosecutors further claimed that Boylan "has never apologized, much less taken any responsibility for the atrocity he caused," and did not attempt any rescue during the fire and instead saved himself."He was the first to abandon ship. He instructed his crew to do the same, multiple times. In so doing, he left all 34 victims onboard the Conception to die," prosecutors wrote.Boylan's attorneys argued for five years of probation, including three years of home incarceration, citing the captain's age, "significant" health issues and the "profound grief, remorse, and emotional despair" he has felt since the accident. They also pushed back at the prosecutors' portrayal of him as "callous and uncaring.""That insensitive portrayal is based on nothing but a cruel caricature," his attorneys wrote in a court document filed last month ahead of the sentencing. "It in no way reflects the real person who continues to suffer on a daily basis since the day of the horrible Conception accident in which he nearly lost his own life."His attorneys argued Boylan did not "abandon" the vessel but alerted the Coast Guard, jumped out of the burning wheelhouse "only at the last possible second" and helped rescue the surviving crew in the ocean, among other efforts.His attorneys also cited a National Transportation Safety Board report that determined that the probable cause of the accident was the failure of the Conception's owner and operator, Truth Aquatics, to "provide effective oversight of its vessel and crewmember operations, including requirements to ensure that a roving patrol was maintained, which allowed a fire of unknown cause to grow, undetected, in the vicinity of the aft salon on the main deck."The cause for the fire could not be identified due to the boat burning and sinking, though it started in the rear of the main back salon where the passengers had plugged in their phones and other devices before going to sleep, the NTSB report said.The owner of Truth Aquatics, Glen Fritzler, has not commented on the NTSB report or Boylan's case.In a statement days after the incident, Fritzler said he was "utterly crushed" and "devastated" by the accident."Our lives have been irreversibly changed by this tragedy and the sorrow it has caused," he said. "The families and friends of the victims and survivors are now, and forever, in our thoughts and prayers."Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

California , United-states , Santa-cruz-island , Glen-fritzler , Al-seib-los-angeles , Santa-barbara , Jerry-boylan , National-transportation-safety-board , Los-angeles , Coast-guard , Truth-aquatics , Wond

ABC Health - WOND

Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty Images(PHOENIX, Az.) -- Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs on Thursday signed repeal legislation of a long dormant, near-total abortion ban that was recently revived by the state Supreme Court, stirring widespread controversy and debate.Hobbs' signature will reverse the pending reactivation of the restrictive abortion law that dates to 1864 -- but it won't do so immediately.Instead, the ban, which was ruled last month to be enforceable by the Arizona Supreme Court in light of the U.S. Supreme Court overruling Roe v. Wade in 2022, cannot be struck down by the new repeal law until 90 days after the Arizona Legislature adjourns its session by the end of June.However, the Civil War-era law, which bans nearly all abortions with exception only for a woman whose life is in danger, is on track to take effect on June 27, Arizona's attorney general has said.Hobbs, a Democrat, told ABC News earlier this week she was "hopeful" the legislative adjournment will come in "the next few weeks." The three-month clock on the repeal taking effect could then make for a gap of two or three months wherein the 1864 ban would be law."I'll do everything in my power to delay the implementation of the ban," the governor said.The Arizona attorney general, Democrat Kris Mayes, requested on Tuesday that the state's Supreme Court put on hold its order reviving the 1864 law.Planned Parenthood filed a similar request on Wednesday that cites "legislative deference," the principle it says the court used to justify its reinstatement of the ban. The women's health advocacy group says it should defer to the Legislature's will after it passed a repeal, with a handful of Republicans joining the Democratic minority in the statehouse.Once the 1864 ban is repealed, a separate, 15-week ban, that also doesn't make exceptions for rape or incest, will take effect in the state.Abortion rights activists said they won't be satisfied with such an outcome."Unfortunately, Arizonans will still be living under a law that denies us the right to make decisions about our own health. Arizonans cannot afford to celebrate or lose momentum," a spokesperson for Arizona for Abortion Access said after the repeal passed the Senate yesterday.Voters will likely consider the issue directly in November, as pro-abortion access advocates are pushing a ballot initiative that would enshrine abortion rights in Arizona's Constitution. Abortion opponents have been considering their own initiatives to counter this proposal.ABC News' Isabella Murray contributed to this report.Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Phoenix , Arizona , United-states , Kris-mayes , Arizona-supreme-court , Us-supreme-court , Arizona-legislature , Supreme-court , Universal-images-group , Katie-hobbs , Civil-war-era , Democrat-kris-mayes

ABC Entertainment

CBSAs part of its announcement of its 2024-25 season, CBS announced it has tapped Drew Barrymore to be the center square in an all-new version of the classic TV game show Hollywood Squares. Squares has been slated for a midseason bow. Like previous iterations of the show, contestants play tic-tac-toe with star-filled cubes for cash and prizes. "The celebrities are asked questions and the contestants judge the legitimacy of their answers to win the game," CBS explains for the uninitiated.The host of her eponymous hit chat show is also producing Squares through her Flower Films banner. The series will premiere in January as part of CBS' Game Show Wednesdays lineup, paired with returning shows The Price Is Right at Night and Raid the Cage.Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Hollywood , California , United-states , Drew-barrymore , Flower-films , Game-show-wednesdays , Price-is-right , Wond , Ond-am , 400am , 400

ABC World - WOND

pop_jop/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- Russian military personnel are operating out of an air base in Niger that is still hosting a small number of American troops, two U.S. officials tell ABC News.One of the officials said the Russian trainers arrived several weeks ago at Niger's "Airport 101" near the capital of Niamey, and do not present an immediate security concern to U.S. troops.The Russian forces are operating out of a hangar at a location far away from U.S. forces and not on any property owned or being used by the United States, the officials said Thursday."The Russians are housed in a separate compound and do not have access to US forces, spaces, or equipment," one official said.Still, the development -- first reported by Reuters -- speaks to U.S. concerns that Russia is aggressively trying to gain a foothold in West Africa, and specifically Niger where U.S. troops have been asked to leave after building a remote $150 million counterterrorism drone base in Agadez.Following a coup in July 2023, the ruling junta in Niger demanded the exodus of U.S. troops. Talks between the two countries broke down this spring, and the Pentagon said it would comply by withdrawing forces but didn't say how soon.The Russian military instructors arrived in Niger about three weeks ago, citing an agreement between the junta and Russian President Vladimir Putin to increase cooperation, according to several media reports citing Niger state television.A U.S. official declined to say how many American troops remained at Airport 101 within proximity of the Russian forces there, but said the footprint was minimal.The Biden administration had already begun consolidating troops in the region last fall as a precautionary measure, relocating troops at Airport 101 to the U.S. drone base in Agadez some 571 miles away.Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Niamey , Niger , Russia , United-states , Washington , Agadez , Russian , Russians , American , Vladimir-putin , Reuters , West-africa

ABC Politics - WOND

Views divided on Israel-Hamas War. -- ABC News/Ipsos(WASHINGTON) -- Nearly four in 10 Americans in a new ABC News Ipsos poll say the United States is doing too much to support Israel in its war with Hamas, up from about three in 10 in January. And more trust former President Donald Trump than President Joe Biden to handle the issue, though few call it critical in their choice of a candidate.With protests raging across U.S. college campuses, views on U.S. policy are fragmented. About a third of Americans say the U.S. is doing too little to help protect Palestinian civilians caught up in the war -- yet a quarter say it's doing too much. The rest, 38%, see the U.S. effort in this regard as about right. Those results are little changed from January.See PDF for full results.On Israel, there has been a shift: Early this year, 31% said the U.S. was doing too much to support Israel in its war with Hamas, while today 38% say so, up 7 percentage points. Twenty percent see too little U.S. support for Israel and 40% call this about right.Ideological gaps are profound on both questions, with liberals far more apt than others to say the U.S. is doing too much to support Israel and too little to protect Palestinian civilians. Notably, given campus protests, views among young people are similar to those among all adults, and it's older people, not the youngest, who are more likely now than in January to say the U.S. is doing too much to support Israel in the war.The survey was produced for ABC by Langer Research Associates, with fieldwork by Ipsos. In terms of domestic politics, it finds that 37% trust Trump more than Biden to handle the issue; 29% trust Biden more, an 8-point gap. Notably, 33% don't trust either Biden or Trump to handle it.Still, salience is low. Just fewer than half of Americans, 48%, say the war between Israel and Hamas will be an important issue to them in the November election, including 12% who say it will be one of the single most important issues. As is not uncommon with foreign affairs, it ranks a distant last in importance out of 10 issues tested in the survey.Watch "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" on ABC Sunday morning for more results from the survey.GroupsWhile protests are centered on colleges, it's ideology that most sharply differentiates attitudes on U.S. policy toward the Israel-Hamas conflict. Fifty-one percent of liberals say the U.S. is doing too much to support Israel in the war; that drops to 38% of moderates and 28% of conservatives. (It peaks, at 56%, among those who call themselves very liberal.)On civilian casualties in Gaza, the inverse holds true, with even broader gaps. Fifty-nine percent of liberals (including 69% of those who are very liberal) say the U.S. is doing too little to help protect Palestinian civilians. That falls sharply to 29% of moderates and 17% of conservatives.Partisanship is a factor as well. Forty-three percent of independents and 40% of Democrats say the U.S. is doing too much to support Israel; this falls to 29% of Republicans. Conversely, 47% of Democrats say the U.S. is doing too little to help protect Palestinian civilians. Thirty-six percent of independents share this view, falling off sharply to 15% of Republicans.By age, regardless of the protests on college campuses, views on U.S. policy among adults aged 18-24 are largely consonant with those among all adults. Older people, though -- especially seniors -- are less apt than others to say the U.S. is doing too much to support Israel.ChangeThe 7-point shift since January in views on policy toward Israel occurred chiefly in the political center and ideological center-left -- among independents and people who say they're "somewhat" liberal. Seeing the U.S. as doing too much to support Israel is up 13 points among somewhat liberals and 11 points among independents, while essentially unchanged among very liberals and conservatives alike. It's also up more sharply among college graduates (+11 points) than non-graduates (+5) and among women (+10) as opposed to men (+5).Additionally, the view that the U.S. is doing too much to support Israel is virtually unchanged since January among 18- to 24-year-olds. It's among people aged 25 and older that this attitude has increased.MethodologyThis ABC News/Ipsos poll was conducted online via the probability-based Ipsos KnowledgePanel® April 25-30, 2024, in English and Spanish, among a random national sample of 2,260 adults. Results have a margin of sampling error of 2 percentage points, including the design effect, for the full sample. Sampling error is not the only source of differences in polls.The survey was produced by Langer Research Associates, with sampling and data collection by Ipsos. See details on ABC News survey methodology here.Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Washington , United-states , Israel , Spain , Gaza , Israel-general- , Americans , Palestinian , Spanish , George-stephanopoulos , Joe-biden , Ipsos-knowledgepanel

ABC Business - WOND

A person golfs on the first day of tourism resuming in west Maui, two months after a devastating wildfire, on Oct. 08, 2023 near Lahaina, Hawaii. Mario Tama/Getty Images, FILE(HONOLULU) -- Hawaii Gov. Josh Green signed a bill into law to give counties more authority to regulate short-term vacation rentals amid the ongoing state housing crisis and aftermath of the Maui wildfires.Now, a day after the bill signing, local advocates from Lāhainā Strong are joining County Maui Mayor Richard Bissen to announce a new policy aimed at regulating and phasing out "thousands of transient vacation rentals that have not gone through the traditional permitting process."It’s time we take a stand to house our people by phasing out illegal short term rentals. Today, alongside Lahaina Strong, Hawai‘i’s Hoteliers and Hotel Labor Unions, we united in support of counties’ authority to phase out Short Term Rentals (STRs). pic.twitter.com/Yy9yFgcQbL— Governor Josh Green (@GovJoshGreenMD) April 24, 2024 The Maui wildfires in August 2023 exacerbated the island's housing crisis, burning thousands of structures and displacing thousands of residents.Residents have long complained about the impact of tourism and luxury home and resort development on housing accessibility, as well as the lack of affordable housing and rentals for residents.In Lahaina, 25% of the region's housing units are listed as short-term rentals, according to the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization. To the south of Lahaina, that percentage jumps to 41.8%. To the north, it jumps to 87%.Additionally, Hawaii residents have some of the highest housing costs in the nation -- about 2.7 times higher than the national average -- according to the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization.In Maui Thursday, Mayor Bissen announced that he directed the Planning Commissions to consider phasing out and prohibiting the use of transient vacation rentals in the Apartment District, which allows condos, apartments and planned developments that are not hotels to operate as short-term rentals without any state or county permit."This was won through the struggle of our grassroots movement, which put the opportunity and need to tackle our Maui vacation rental crisis into the dialogue through relentless advocacy, public education, community organizing — and even a 174-day and counting sustained occupation of Kā‘anapali Beach," said Jordan Ruidas, founder and campaigns coordinator of Lāhainā Strong."Now, we call on the Maui County Planning Commissions and County Council to swiftly join us in action to ensure dignified housing for fire survivors and return our communities to local people."Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Hawaii , United-states , Honolulu , Richard-bissen , Josh-green , Hotel-labor-unions , University-of-hawaii-economic-research-organization , County-maui-mayor-richard-bissen , Lahaina-strong , Short-term-rentals , Governor-josh-green , Hawaii-economic-research

ABC Politics - WOND

Megan Varner/Getty Images(ATLANTA) -- A controversial Republican-backed bill that would criminalize state bail funds and expand the list of charges that require cash or property bail has been signed into law by Gov. Brian Kemp."This bill carries out important bail reforms that will ensure dangerous individuals cannot walk our streets and commit further crimes," said Kemp, in statements provided by his office concerning the signing of the bill.The bill adds roughly 30 charges that would be ineligible for release without a property or cash bond. These charges include unlawful assembly and obstruction of a law enforcement officer, and racketeering and conspiracy.These are some of the charges that have been made against several "Cop City" protesters, who have been demonstrating against the construction of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, which will be used for specialized training for both law enforcement and fire department service workers.The bill would also make it a misdemeanor for "any individual, corporation, organization, charity, nonprofit corporation, or group in any jurisdiction" to submit bail for more than three people a year. Bail is the money a defendant must pay to get out of jail while they await a trial, according to legal research database Justia. It's collateral for the court to ensure that the defendant will return for the remainder of their criminal trial.Bail funds and local advocacy groups often pay for arrestees linked to certain causes to be released from jail as soon as possible. For example, this could affect Southerners On New Ground, which bails out Black mothers and caregivers on Mother's Day or groups like the Atlanta Solidarity Fund, which bails out protesters who have been arrested during demonstrations. When Sen. Kim Jackson asked if the bill would impact her church congregation's ability to post bail as a charity, Sen. Josh McLaurin said that it would, according to the language of the legislation.McLaurin – who is opposed to the bill – argued that this would force judges to set bail even in cases in which defendants would have otherwise been released on their own recognizance, including those who are charged with low-level or non-violent offenses. He added that it could worsen conditions in Georgia jails."We have to remember somebody is innocent until proven guilty when they're held pretrial," said McLaurin. "So, what that means is it is unconstitutional to use cash bail or pretrial procedure as punishment."Republican Sen. Randy Robertson argued the legislation would make communities feel safer and address concerns about violence."Our county jails are not overpopulated with misdemeanants who cannot afford to make bond," he said, according to the local news outlet Georgia Recorder.He also cited the Supreme Court case – Citizens United v. FEC – which ruled that restrictions on "independent expenditures" is a ban on speech.Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Atlanta , Georgia , United-states , Brian-kemp , Randy-robertson , Megan-varner-getty , Josh-mclaurin , Kim-jackson , Atlanta-solidarity-fund , Supreme-court , Atlanta-public-safety-training-center , Southerners-on-new-ground

ABC National - WOND

Scott Heins/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- Harvey Weinstein is scheduled to be retried "sometime after Labor Day," a judge said Wednesday, as the disgraced film mogul appeared in a Manhattan courtroom for the first time since the New York Court of Appeals threw out his rape conviction.Court officers wheeled Weinstein's wheelchair into and out of the courtroom in Manhattan Supreme Court Wednesday afternoon. He sat before Judge Curtis Farber in a dark suit and tie and made no statements during his 20-minute appearance."It was a strong case in 2020 when the defendant was convicted and remains a strong case in 2024," Assistant District Attorney Nicole Blumberg said.Weinstein had been serving a 23-year prison sentence after a jury found him guilty in 2020 of sexually assaulting former production assistant Miriam Haley and raping aspiring actress Jessica Mann in 2013.Mann appeared in court on Wednesday, seated in the second row near Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg."She's here today to show that she is not backing down," Blumberg said of Mann. "She wanted everyone to know the truth and that the defendant may have power and privilege but she has the truth."Defense attorney Arthur Aidala said Weinstein "proclaimed his innocence from the day I met him five years ago" and expressed doubt about the strength of the prosecution's case, noting, "He was acquitted of the most serious counts."The initial trial and conviction followed an explosive New York Times article in October 2017 that reported Weinstein had reached at least eight settlements with women who accused him of sexual misconduct over decades. The story sparked an avalanche of accusations from women who came forward with similar accounts and largely kicked off the #MeToo movement, targeting prominent celebrities for sexual misconduct.Weinstein was arrested on May 25, 2018, on charges alleging he sexually assaulted two women.Prosecutors said the movie producer abused his power to take advantage of aspiring female actors, like the alleged victims, to coerce them into unwanted sexual encounters. According to the prosecution, the quid pro quo of assisting them with their careers in exchange for sexual favors on demand was both common behavior and a well-known secret throughout the film industry.He was found guilty in February 2020 of two felonies -- criminal sexual assault and third-degree rape. He was acquitted of the two most serious charges -- predatory sexual assault and first-degree rape.The New York Court of Appeals overturned Weinstein's conviction on Thursday. In a 4-3 opinion, the court said they found the trial judge "erroneously" allowed three women to testify about alleged sexual assaults that were not part of the underlying criminal charges.The Court of Appeals decided the evidence of uncharged crimes "was unnecessary" to establish Weinstein's intent and "served only to establish defendant's propensity to commit the crimes charged."The opinion said the rule against propensity evidence "serves as a judicial bulwark against a guilty verdict based on supposition rather than proof."The Manhattan District Attorney's Office had said following the decision that it intended to retry Weinstein if the complaining witnesses were willing to participate in another trial.Haley is still considering whether to testify at the retrial, according to her attorney, Gloria Allred.Weinstein, 72, remains in custody. He was transferred to Rikers Island and then the New York City jail medical unit at Bellevue Hospital Center late last week ahead of the court appearance, his spokesperson said.Aidala said Wednesday the defense would not seek release on bail."Mr. Weinstein has very, very serious medical issues," Aidala said. "He's being treated at Bellevue Hospital."Aidala remarked following the court appearance that the "most obvious" difference between the two proceedings is the judge."['Farber's] handling of the courtroom and his reputation for fairness and intelligence are exactly what we hope for in this legal process," Aidala told reporters.Aidala said that even if Weinstein were to lose the retrial, "he's already served more time than the remaining minimal charge would require."Weinstein was also convicted of sex offenses in Los Angeles in 2022 and sentenced to 16 years in prison there.Aidala said he's appealing that case.His lawyers' appeal brief in that case is due by May 20, The Associated Press reported.Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

New-york , United-states , Bellevue-hospital-center , Rikers-island , Manhattan , Curtis-farber , Gloria-allred , Miriam-haley , Scott-heins-getty , Los-angeles , Harvey-weinstein , Alvin-bragg