KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — JT Toppin had 26 points and 10 rebounds to lift No. 9 Texas Tech to a 76-74 victory over Baylor in the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals on Thursday night.
The second-seeded Red Raiders never trailed but almost gave up the lead in the final minute after missing their final 10 field-goal attempts. VJ Edgecombe’s attempt at a tying jumper at the buzzer missed off the glass.
Darrion Williams scored 14 points and Elijah Hawkins and Kerwin Walton had 12 each for Texas Tech (25-7), which will face Arizona in Friday’s semifinals.
Norchad Omier had 29 points and 15 rebounds for seventh-seeded Baylor (19-14).
Takeaways
Baylor: The Bears need more offense from players other than Omier. Edgecombe, with 11 points, was the only other Baylor player in double figures.
Texas Tech: The Red Raiders shot 19.4% from the field in the second half, including 3 of 15 from 3-point range.
Key moment
Omier picked up two fouls in 11 seconds, the second with 9:46 left, giving him four for the game. He went to the bench with the Bears trailing 68-58. The Bears managed to cut into the lead, but their momentum was stalled when Jeremy Roach picked up his fourth foul with 5:29 left.
Key stat
Texas Tech hit 12 3-pointers in the first half, including 11 of 15 in the first 12:35, and finished 15 of 34 (44.1%). The Red Raiders averaged 10.1 3-pointers per game at a 37.8% clip this season.
Up next
The Bears have been projected to earn an at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament. The Red Raiders split their games with Arizona this season.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Chase Hunter scored 21 points, Jaeden Zackery added 11 points and No. 10 Clemson battled back to beat SMU 57-54 on Thursday night for its ninth straight win to reach the Atlantic Coast Conference semifinals.
Ian Schieffelin chipped in with nine points and 12 rebounds for the Tigers (27-5), who are seeking their first ACC Tournament title.
Matt Cross led SMU (23-10) with 13 points, while Boopie Miller had 10.
SMU led most of the second half, but Viktor Lakhin’s lane jumper gave the Tigers a 52-51 lead with 4:50 left in the game.
SMU had a chance to tie or take the lead after Hunter missed a 3 with 17 seconds left. The Mustangs called timeout with 12.5 seconds left, but Chuck Harris missed a corner 3. There was a battle for the rebound before the ball went out of bounds. It was initially ruled the ball went off a Clemson player, but after reviewing the play officials ruled SMU touched the ball last.
Hunter was fouled on the inbounds play and made a free throw with 2.1 seconds. Cross’ full-court heave at the buzzer fell short.
Takeaways
SMU: Cross picked up his fourth foul midway through the second half, but the Mustangs didn’t waiver and stayed right with the Tigers until the end.
Clemson: Starting guard Dillon Hunter appeared to jam a finger late in the first half and did not return. Coach Brad Brownell said after the game Hunter might have broken his hand. Hunter had an ice bag on his right hand in the locker room after the game. He will have X-rays on Friday.
Key moment
Hunter drove through the lane, stopped and then hit a turnaround jumper to put Clemson up by four with less than two minutes remaining.
Key stat
SMU finished 1 of 14 from 3-point range.
Up next
Clemson moves on to face No. 13 Louisville, a 75-73 winner over Stanford, in the semifinals. SMU looks to be headed to the NIT.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Otega Oweh made a baseline jumper with 0.5 seconds left after No. 15 Kentucky had blown a late lead in the final minutes, and the Wildcats beat Oklahoma 85-84 on Thursday night to advance to the Southeastern Conference Tournament quarterfinals.
The sixth-seeded Wildcats (22-10), who led by 10 with 1:20 left, won their third straight and now will play fifth-ranked and third-seeded Alabama on Friday night.
Oweh finished with 27 points. Koby Brea added 22 and Andrew Carr 11.
No. 14 seed Oklahoma (20-13) won its SEC Tournament debut only to lose to a former Sooner for the second time since Feb. 26. Oweh led Kentucky against his old school with another late bucket.
Jeremiah Fears scored 28 points for Oklahoma, including a basket that gave the Sooners an 84-83 lead with 5.6 seconds remaining.
Takeaways
Oklahoma: The Sooners will have to wait for their first win against Kentucky after dropping their second this season and fifth all-time to the Wildcats. They also lost for the first time on a neutral court this season in their seventh such game.
Kentucky: Winners of this tournament a league-high 31 times, this was just the second time the Wildcats had played in the second round. Now the Wildcats keep chasing their first title here since 2018.
They did it with starting guard Lamont Butler playing only eight minutes, leaving at 9:35 of the first half with a right shoulder issue seconds after finishing a fast-break with a layup for his only points.
Key moment
Fears scored seven straight points capped by his layup to give the Sooners their first lead since 15:51. They trailed by as much as 77-65 with 4:31 left.
Key stat
The Sooners couldn’t stop Oweh again when it mattered most.
Up next
Oklahoma heads home 1-1 in its SEC Tournament debut waiting for its NCAA Tournament destination. Kentucky gets a third chance at Alabama, which took both games during the regular season.
Daniel Radcliffe is joining the cast of the upcoming Tracy Morgan comedy pilot at NBC. The show, which is currently untitled, comes from Tina Fey and Robert Carlock, as well as writer Sam Means. In the new show, Morgan stars as a disgraced former football player who is looking to fix his image. Radcliffe will play Arthur Tobin in the show, an award-winning filmmaker who sets out to make a documentary about the former football star ...
Time for a tall of glass of milk. Babygirl will make its streaming debut on Max on April 25. The A24 film will premiere on HBO the following day, April 26, at 8 p.m. ET. Nicole Kidman stars alongside Harris Dickinson, Sophie Wilde and Antonio Banderas in the film, which was written and directed by Halina Reijn ...
Phoebe Dynevor is in talks to join Jake Gyllenhaal in M. Night Shyamalan's upcoming supernatural romantic thriller, which is based on an original idea he co-created with Nicholas Sparks, according to Deadline. Shyamalan and Sparks are both individually writing a screenplay and a novel based on said concept ...
DENVER (AP) — Twelve people were taken to hospitals after an American Airlines plane landed at Denver International Airport on Thursday and caught fire, prompting slides to be deployed so passengers could evacuate quickly. All of the people transported to hospitals had minor injuries, according to a post on the social platform X by Denver International Airport.
Flight 1006, which was headed from the Colorado Springs Airport to Dallas Fort Worth, diverted to Denver and landed safely around 5:15 p.m. after the crew reported engine vibrations, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement.
While taxiing to the gate, an engine on the Boeing 737-800 caught fire, the FAA added.
Photos and videos posted by news outlets showed passengers standing on a plane’s wing as smoke surrounded the aircraft. The FAA said passengers exited using the slides.
American said in a statement that the flight experienced an engine-related issue after taxiing to the gate. There was no immediate clarification on exactly when the plane caught fire.
The 172 passengers and six crew members were taken to the terminal, airline officials said.
“We thank our crew members, DEN team and first responders for their quick and decisive action with the safety of everyone on board and on the ground as the priority,” American said.
Firefighters put out the blaze by the evening, an airport spokesperson told media outlets.
Recent on-the-ground incidents have included a plane that crashed and flipped over upon landing in Toronto and a Japan Airlines plane that clipped a parked Delta plane while it was taxiing at the Seattle airport.
(WASHINGTON) -- A federal judge temporarily paused the Trump administration's "illegal" reductions in force and reinstated approximately 20,000 probationary government employees across 18 agencies who had been terminated.
U.S. District Judge James Bredar -- an Obama appointee -- concluded that the Trump administration failed to provide the legally required advanced notice before it tried to conduct "massive layoffs." The judge also prohibited the Trump administration from conducting future mass firings without giving notice.
"When the federal government terminates large numbers of its employees, including those still on probation because they were recently hired or promoted, it must follow certain rules," Bredar wrote.
The ruling applies to 18 of the federal agencies named as defendants in the case except for the Defense Department, the National Archives and the Office of Personnel Management.
The decision came in a case brought by 20 Democratic attorneys general who sued last week to block the firings and is separate from a California judge's decision also dealing with probationary employees that was issued earlier Thursday.
Similar to the reasoning of the judge in the California case, Bredar wrote that he believes the government lied when it listed "performance" or other individualized reasons as justification for the layoffs.
“On the record before the Court, this isn't true. There were no individualized assessments of employees. They were all just fired. Collectively,” he wrote. “It is simply not conceivable that the Government could have conducted individualized assessments of the relevant employees in the relevant timeframe.”
Bredar concluded that the states that sued are suffering irreparable harm by having to assist thousands of unemployed workers who were fired illegally.
“Lacking the notice to which they were entitled, the States weren't ready for the impact of so many unemployed people," he wrote. "They are still scrambling to catch up,” he wrote.
Bredar’s order will remain in place for two weeks, and he scheduled a hearing for March 26 to consider issuing a preliminary injunction, which is a longer-term measure.
Like the California case, Bredar did not rule that the Trump administration is not able to conduct mass firings; rather, the administration just needs to provide advanced notice when it conducts a reduction in force. While the order provides a reprieve for more than 20,000 government workers, the lifeline is temporary, even if the order is extended later this month.
The judge's order came after a hearing Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Maryland.
The Democratic attorneys general argued that the Trump administration violated federal law with the firings by failing to give a required 60-day notice for a reduction in force, opting to pursue the terminations "suddenly and without any advance notice."
Lawyers with the Department of Justice have argued that the states lack standing because they "cannot interject themselves into the employment relationship between the United States and government workers," and that to grant the temporary restraining order would "circumvent" the administrative process for challenging the firings.
In separate earlier lawsuits, two other federal judges had declined to immediately block firings of federal employees or to reinstate them to their positions.
(DENVER) -- An American Airlines plane caught fire at Denver International Airport in Colorado on Thursday, sending passengers down emergency slides and onto the wing of the aircraft. Twelve were people being taken to the hospital with minor injuries, airport officials said.
The Boeing 737-800 plane was diverted to Denver shortly after departing from Colorado Springs, Colorado. While the plane was taxiing to the gate, the engine caught fire, and its passengers evacuated.
The incident, which sent smoke billowing across the tarmac, took place at approximately 5:15 p.m., local time.
There were 172 passengers and six crew members aboard AA Flight 1006.
All passengers were able to exit the plane.
American Airlines told ABC News that passengers evacuated the plane through emergency slides, the overwing exit and some onto the jet bridge.
A statement from Denver International Airport said 12 people were taken to the hospital with minor injuries.
The plane was traveling from Colorado Springs, Colorado, to Dallas, Texas, when it was diverted to Denver after the "crew reported engine vibrations," according to the Federal Aviation Authority.
The plane diverted after about 20 minutes into the flight and was in the air for about an hour before it landed.
In an earlier statement to ABC News, American Airlines said, "We thank our crew members, DEN team and first responders for their quick and decisive action with the safety of everyone on board and on the ground as the priority."
The airline also said that it was arranging for a replacement aircraft to take passengers the rest of the way to the intended destination, Dallas Fort-Worth.
(NEW YORK) -- Alaska's Mount Spurr, an active volcano near the most populated region in the state, is getting even closer to an eruption, according to volcanologists.
Scientists at the Alaska Volcano Observatory measured "significantly elevated" emissions of volcanic gas coming from Mount Spurr, located in the Aleutian Arc in southern Alaska about 75 miles west of Anchorage, according to a statement released Wednesday.
In addition, elevated earthquake activity, ground deformations and newly activated fumaroles -- or gas vents -- at the volcano's Crater Peak have been recorded, indicating that the probability of eruption has increased, researchers at the observatory said.
Small earthquakes have been occurring above ground at Mount Spurr since April, Matthew Haney, scientist in charge of the Alaska Volcano Observatory in Anchorage, told ABC News last month.
An overflight on March 7 measured about 450 metric tons per day of sulfur dioxide from Mount Spurr's summit vent -- an increase from less than 50 metric tons in December, according to the observatory.
Over the last month, more than 100 earthquakes per week have been occurring at the site as well. Ground deformation and collapse of snow and ice into the summit crater lake that formed during the unrest also continues, scientists said.
An increase in gas emissions confirms that new magma has entered the Earth’s crust beneath the volcano, indicating that an eruption is likely in the next weeks or months, according to the observatory.
While an eruption is "not certain," it is the most likely outcome of the current unrest, according to the observatory. If the magma stalls and does not reach the surface, the unrest could instead decrease over the next weeks and months, similar to events from 2004 to 2006, researchers said.
Eruptions that occurred in 1953 and 1992 were explosive -- lasting a few hours and producing ash clouds that were carried downwind for hundreds of miles, according to the observatory. The August 1992 eruption caused the Anchorage airport to close for 20 hours due to the wind and ash event that accompanied the eruption.
There is little geological evidence to suggest other past eruptions in the last 5,000 years, according to the observatory.
The volcano alert level for Mount Spurr as of Thursday was at "yellow" or "advisory," indicating that the volcano is exhibiting signs of elevated unrest above known background level
Mount Spurr is monitored constantly due to its proximity to Anchorage, the most populated city in Alaska, Haney said. There are 11 remote seismic stations situated around Mount Spurr.
Primary hazards to south-central Alaska communities during eruptions at Mount Spurr include far-traveled airborne ash clouds and ashfall, according to the observatory.
Volcanologists will be monitoring for further increases in seismic activity, gas emissions and surface heating to indicate that an eruption is imminent, according to the observatory. The detection of volcanic tremor -- a continuous shaking that can last for several minutes rather than short, small earthquakes -- would like prompt the level to raise, Haney said.
Should monitoring data suggest that an eruption is likely within hours or days, the observatory will raise its alert level to orange or red.
(NEW YORK) -- Six Americans who were imprisoned in Kuwait have been released in an agreement with the United States, a representative for their families confirmed to ABC News.
The Americans, many of whom are veterans and former military contractors, were convicted on drug charges, Jonathan Franks, a crisis management consultant, said.
For years, however, the prisoners have "vigorously" maintained their innocence, Franks said.
Several more prisoners are expected to be freed in the coming weeks as part of the agreement, Franks added.
"This morning, the Kuwaiti government released six of my clients as part of an agreement that will ultimately free fifteen of my clients in short order. Each was convicted on drug charges, and each vigorously maintains their innocence," Franks said.
Convictions for possession of drugs in Kuwait may include long jail sentences or the death penalty, according to an advisory by the U.S. State Department.
According to the U.S. Embassy of Kuwait website, American citizens are subject to Kuwait's laws and regulations. Those laws can "differ significantly from those in the United States," and the U.S. government may only be able to offer limited assistance to those charged, the website says.
Kuwait is a small Middle Eastern country borders Iraq and Saudi Arabia.
The prisoners' release comes amid President Donald Trump's emphasis on freeing Americans held abroad.
"President Trump has made it a priority to bring home Americans detained overseas. We are pleased that Kuwait released Americans from prison," a State Department spokesperson said in a statement to ABC News.
"Kuwait is a vital ally in the region, and we look forward to continuing to work with Kuwait and other partners in these efforts across the world," the spokesperson added.
In February, three prisoners, including an unnamed American and a journalist dubbed a political prisoner, were released from Belarus.
NOAA (AP) – More than 100 million people in the U.S. will be in the path of an intense March storm starting Friday as the sprawling multi-day system threatens fires, blizzards, tornadoes, and flooding as it tracks eastward across the Great Plains.
Scientists said the storm’s strength and potential for far-reaching impacts is notable, but its timing isn’t particularly unusual. Extreme weather can pop up in spring because storms feed on big temperature differences between the warmth that’s starting to show up and the lingering chill of winter.
“If there’s a time of the year where a storm like this can deliver these coast-to-coast impacts, we are in it,” said Benjamin Reppert, meteorologist at Penn State University.
The National Weather Service forecast strong winds stretching Friday from the Canadian border to the Rio Grande, with gusts up to 80 mph (130 kph), which creates a significant fire risk in Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. Meanwhile, a winter blast was expected farther north in parts of the Rockies and Northern Plains, with possible blizzard conditions in the Dakotas and Minnesota.
The central region from the Gulf Coast to Wisconsin is at risk of severe thunderstorms that could spawn tornadoes and hail. On Saturday, severe storms are forecast to move toward Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee and then into Florida. Potential flooding was a concern from the Central Gulf Coast through the upper Ohio Valley.
The turbulent weather is expected to arrive on the East Coast Sunday with strong winds and a flash flooding risk in localized areas. Heavy rain was forecast along the Interstate 95 corridor south to Jacksonville, Florida.
Reppert noted that temperatures in the upper atmosphere in much of the central and eastern U.S. are close to record levels for this time of year, while a cool air mass behind the storm in the western states is one of the coolest on record for that region and this time of year. He said that combination could be behind part of this storm’s expected strength.
Russ Schumacher, a climatologist at Colorado State University, said the storm could become a bomb cyclone Friday afternoon or evening — a designation given when a storm intensifies so rapidly that atmospheric pressure drops a certain amount in a 24-hour period. That would mean higher winds and more intense rainfall.
In addition to fuel from big temperature swings, the storm will be shaped by the jet stream. In a fairly typical position for this time of year, it’s diving south across the U.S. and will help lift air and moisture into the atmosphere to fall back as rain.
The storm also will tap into heat and moisture from the Gulf of Mexico, also referred to as the Gulf of America as declared by President Donald Trump, which is 2 to 4 degrees Fahrenheit (1.1 to 2.2 degrees Celsius) warmer than historic averages.
“You kind of have this Goldilocks situation,” said Ryan Torn, professor of atmospheric and environmental sciences at the University at Albany, referring to the mix of ingredients in the atmosphere that will add to the storm’s strength.
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McALLEN, Texas (AP) — The Trump administration has launched a review of organizations that provide temporary housing and other aid to migrants, suggesting they may have violated a law used to prosecute smugglers.
The Department of Homeland Security has “significant concerns” that federal grants used to address a surge of migration under former President Joe Biden were used for illegal activities, wrote Cameron Hamilton, acting administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
His letter, dated Tuesday and obtained by The Associated Press, asks recipients of grants from FEMA’s Shelter and Services Program to provide names and contact information for migrants served and “a detailed and descriptive list of specific services provided” within 30 days. The letter says funding will be withheld during the review.
While it doesn’t explicitly threaten criminal prosecution, it raises concerns that recipients may have violated U.S. Criminal Code Section 1324, a felony offense against bringing people across the border illegally or transporting them within the United States. It also says executive officers must sign sworn statements that they have no knowledge or suspicions of anyone in their organizations violating the smuggling law.
Separately on Wednesday, federal prosecutors delivered subpoenas to shelters in New York City that have been used to house migrants, partially with funding from FEMA.
Subpoenas sent to the Roosevelt Hotel and Stewart Hotel in midtown Manhattan sought the names, birth dates and other personal information about migrants staying in the shelters, according to two people briefed on the matter who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the legal process.
A similar subpoena was delivered to a building that once housed the the Hotel Chandler, which was converted into a homeless shelter years ago but does not primarily house migrants. Local officials speculated the document may have been sent in error. The similarly named Candler building, an office tower near Times Square, currently serves as a migrant shelter.
A spokesperson for the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan and for the Justice Department in Washington declined to comment. FEMA did not immediately respond to a request for comment late Wednesday.
The demand appears to be a new salvo against organizations that provide food, housing and travel aid to people who cross the border. Migrants often arrive exhausted, low on money and unsure how to navigate on their own through bus stations and airports.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican who was at odds with the Biden administration over immigration and is closely aligned with the Trump White House, took a similar tack against migrant aid groups but was blocked in court. His administration paid to bus thousands of migrants from Texas to New York City, which is required by law to provide shelter to any person who needs it.
New York City leased the empty Roosevelt Hotel, which closed after the COVID-19 pandemic, to serve as the main arrival center for newcomers. Last month, FEMA abruptly clawed back more than $80 million in grants that had been awarded to New York City during Biden’s administration after Elon Musk questioned the legality of the payments. The city has gone to court seeking the return of the money.
Mayor Eric Adams said his administration hasn’t been apprised of the investigation Thursday.
“They don’t tell us anything. We don’t have the authority to go into their reviews on immigration,” he said at an unrelated event.
But the Democrat defended migrant shelter staffers.
“The workers should never get caught up in the politics of this,” Adams said. “That is who my heart goes out to.”
Adams last month announced the shelter at the Roosevelt would cease operations by June. The city is currently housing more than 42,700 migrants in 180 sites, down from nearly 70,000 last January. Spokespersons for the Adams’ administration declined to comment on the subpoenas Thursday, citing the ongoing investigation.
FEMA’s Shelter and Services Program awarded $641 million to dozens of state and local governments and organizations across the country in the 2024 fiscal year to help them deal with large numbers of migrants who crossed the border from Mexico. They include the cities of New York, Philadelphia, Chicago and Denver, as well as the United Way of Miami, the San Antonio Food Bank and several branches of Catholic Charities.
The Adams administration on Thursday confirmed it received the FEMA letter and was reviewing it.
The Trump administration has fiercely criticized states, counties and cities that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities. Last month, it sued Chicago over laws that it said thwarted federal law enforcement.
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Associated Press reporters Jake Offenhartz and Philip Marcelo in New York contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) -- As Republicans brand the impending lapse in government funding the "Schumer Shutdown," hundreds of thousands of federal workers are on edge as the Senate struggles to reach a deal ahead of Friday night's looming deadline.
If a deal is not reached by 11:59 p.m. on Friday, March 14, federal workers could get furloughed without pay, though many will still be required to show up to work. Federal contractors are not required to work but are also not guaranteed backpay for the duration of a shutdown.
While the House voted on Tuesday to avert a shutdown, the bill passed was a unilateral GOP-led bill, with no Democratic support. The bill would need 60 votes to pass in the Senate, but with no Democratic input in the bill, it is unclear if there are enough votes to surpass the filibuster threshold.
"Funding the government should be a bipartisan effort, but Republicans chose a partisan path drafting their continuing resolution without any input any input from congressional Democrats," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said on the floor on Wednesday.
Still, President Donald Trump placed blame on Democrats Thursday morning, saying, "If it closes, it's purely on the Democrats."
"If there's a shutdown, even the Democrats admit it will be their fault," Trump said in the Oval Office. "And I'm hearing a lot of Democrats are going to vote for it, and I hope they do."
Democrats were tight-lipped after leaving their weekly caucus lunch Thursday afternoon.
The shutdown would be the 21st federal government shutdown in U.S. history.
The federal workforce has experienced massive cuts since President Donald Trump took office in January and tapped billionaire Elon Musk to slash agencies and employees via the Department of Government Efficiency, which has caused thousands of workers to be laid off already.
With recent DOGE cuts causing layoffs across the federal workforce and among government contractors, it is unclear exactly how many people could be affected.
In the absence of guidance from the White House's Office of Management and Budget, it is unclear what parts of the government would close in the event of a shutdown.
While the OMB has typically notified federal workers ahead of the funding deadline, it removed previous, Biden-era guidance on shutdown plans from its website. The last time the United States faced a government shutdown threat was in December 2024, but members of Congress passed a stopgap bill to fund the government through March 14.
An OMB spokesperson has not responded to ABC News' request for comment.
The good news is that because the deadline falls on a weekend, Congress has a couple extra days to strike a deal before most federal workers would be expected back at their desks.
Given the shutdown would begin on a Saturday, many would not really feel the impacts of a shutdown until Monday -- or even later, when the next payroll is disbursed.
Some 'mandatory' programs will continue
Because payments from Social Security and Medicare are considered "mandatory" spending, they will continue to reach mailboxes, although agencies warn services could slow down.
The U.S. Postal Service, which uses its own revenue stream, won't be affected either.
How could the military be affected?
About 1.3 million active-duty service members would still be required to work -- but without pay until a funding agreement is passed. Typically, half of the 700,000 civilians in the Department of Defense workforce would also be required to work without pay, though by law, all civilians will be paid retroactively.
Generally, military contractors are not required to work and lose paychecks for the duration of the shutdown. However, those who already have had their contracts paid out by the Pentagon would continue to be paid.
Airport wait times could slow
The Transportation Security Administration has not formally weighed in on a shutdown, but if funding does run out for an extended period, wait times at airports could be longer.
The shutdown would come as 173 million people in the U.S. are expected to fly in March and April as spring break travel ramps up and could lead to longer than usual wait times.
There could also be an impact on hiring air traffic controllers.
Impact on Washington, D.C., national parks, and other services
By next week, trash could be piling up along the National Mall outside the White House as janitors working under contract are let go from the hourly jobs.
The Smithsonian Institution's museums could also be affected, though it has not released whether it will close its museums if the government shuts down. Ahead of a possible shutdown in December, the Smithsonian Institution said it would keep its 21 museums and the National Zoological Park open until funding ran out, which was days after a shutdown deadline.
Typically, the National Park Service will release guidance ahead of a government shutdown but has not as of Thursday. In the past, if there is a funding lapse, all national parks have closed, and visitors should expect some services to be unavailable starting Monday, March 17.
ABC News' Molly Nagle, Luis Martinez and Ayesha Ali contributed to this report.
Brian Tyree Henry stars in the just-released Apple TV+ series Dope Thief, in which his character, Ray, poses as a DEA agent to steal money and drugs from small-time drug dealers. It's different than the characters he's previously portrayed, which is exactly why he found it appealing.
"I think every actor worth their weight in salt wants to stretch themselves and really explore all these different parts of them. And for some actors, it's harder to find people who will write those things and want to see you in those different spaces," he tells ABC Audio. "So when I got the script for Dope Thief, [director Peter Craig's] writing immediately just drew me in because I was like, 'They really gonna put Ray on? They gon' put Ray on television? They ain't gonna do that.'"
Though interested, Brian says he wasn't "quite sure" if he was ready to be Ray, knowing it'd "be incredibly hard," and would require him to be vulnerable and transparent in his life.
"But I was like, if I have that feeling, then I know that it must be something I should lean into," he says. "And at the end of the day, it was the most cathartic thing I've ever done."
In Dope Thief, Ray is seen surviving various life-or-death situations while dealing with trauma from his past. Despite the difficulty that came with bringing that to life onscreen, Brian says his job was to usher Ray "through his generational trauma, trying to find all the different layers of how he can survive and live with the choices he's made and the relationships he's built."
"That was incredibly exciting to me. I was like, 'Oh, this will be cool,'" he says. "I don't think anyone has ever seen me like this, and I just wanted to push myself."
TYLER – Smith County Fire Marshal Chad Hogue is strongly advising residents to not burn anything while outdoors on Friday, citing high winds and low moisture as potential fire dangers.
“Due to multiple fire danger triggers predicted on Friday, March 14, 2025, Smith County Fire Marshal Chad Hogue is strongly advising residents of Smith County to help eliminate ignition sources by not conducting outdoor burning and ensuring that all previous controlled burns are out cold,” Hogue said. “Smith County will experience very low humidity, low surface fuel moisture, and winds of 15-20 mph with gust up to 35 mph which results in unusual and dangerous fire weather conditions throughout the day on Friday. The most effective way to extinguish a fire is to prevent it.”
Hogue’s statement comes after several recent fires have popped up all across East Texas including in Smith County, Cherokee County, Rusk County and Gregg County.
