(NEW YORK) -- Three adults were charged on Wednesday after a brawl broke out during a youth hockey tournament in New Jersey, according to the Egg Harbor Township Police Department.
The incident, which was captured on video, occurred on March 29, when the Philadelphia Frenzy Cadet A team competed against the Maple Shade Cadet A team in the Veterans Memorial Invitational Tournament, officials said.
Several youth hockey players started to get in an altercation, which escalated when parents and coaches ran onto the court, leading to "complete chaos," according to Egg Harbor Township Police Sgt. Ben Kollman.
The video shows one adult falling to the ground, with a woman jumping on top of that individual and repeatedly punching him.
"The three people that are being charged were involved in most of the fighting," Kollman told ABC News. "Others that were on the court, some people did go out there and assist to break up the fight, as well as assist to remove some kids and get them to a safer place."
Philadelphia residents Colleen Biddle, 41, and Justin Pacheco, 38, along with Robert Schafer, 38, of Maple Shade, New Jersey, have been charged with "simple assault at a youth sporting event and disorderly conduct," police said.
Kollman said it was "sad to watch some of the video and see some of the kids trying to pull their parents off of other people" and hopes that parents and coaches learn to "control themselves."
Both the Philadelphia Frenzy Hockey Board and the Maple Shade Hockey Board released statements saying they will be accepting any disciplinary action by the American Ball Hockey Alliance Board.
The ABHA said in a statement that violence is "NEVER condoned in our sport" and that both teams are now suspended from the Veterans Memorial Invitational Tournament. The board also said a Maple Shade Cadet A assistant coach has been suspended from the ABHA.
"The incident was instigated by out-of-town teams and, as such, does not reflect the values or behavior of the host facility, Egg Harbor Township Street Hockey, their teams, or their families," the board said.
A 2023 NASO National Officiating Survey found that parents are blamed for nearly 40% cases involving bad sportsmanship, with players causing less than 10% of those incidents.
Disney released the first trailer and premiere date for the revival of Phineas and Ferb on Thursday. This marks the return of the genius stepbrother duo to the small screen 10 years after the original show's run ended.
The new season of the beloved animated show debuts with a two-episode premiere June 5 on Disney Channel. The first 10 episodes of the season will then premiere June 6 on Disney+.
Phineas and Ferb follows brothers who set out to make the most of every day during the summer. Their older sister, Candace, tries to bust them for the extraordinary tasks they take on, while their pet platypus, Perry, lives a double life as a secret agent.
According to its official synopsis, in the new season "Phineas, Ferb and the crew tackle another 104 days of summer and are set for exciting new adventures featuring some unforgettable milestones. The boys will break several world records, Candace will take her driverâs license test, and Perry will finally make a trip to the vet!"
Phineas and Ferb won five Emmys over the course of its original run. It was created by Jeff "Swampy" Marsh and DanPovenmire, who also voice Major Monogram and Dr. Doofenshmirtz on the series, respectively.
The show is celebrated for its songs, including hits like "Gitchee Gitchee Goo" and "Busted." To celebrate the new season, Disney has announced a brand-new LOFI album and soundtrack. LOFI: Phineas and Ferb releases on May 9, featuring 10 songs from the original series reimagined into a lo-fi style, while this new season's original soundtrack will be available on June 6.
Disney is the parent company of Disney Branded Television and ABC News.
(WASHINGTON) -- For decades, Donald Trump has used a signature phrase to show his contempt for countries he says cheat and take advantage of the U.S.: "They're ripping us off."
He used those very words again Wednesday as he capped off his long-standing personal grievance by announcing sweeping tariffs in the Rose Garden.
From trade deals to NATO security procedures, Trump has claimed that the U.S. has been given less return value, resources and, ultimately, respect for the amount of money, political will power and other resources that America has given the world.
While Trump's rhetoric has gone well beyond the norms of traditional international diplomacy, his views have been shared by other U.S. leaders for a long time, according to Paul Poast, an associate professor in the department of political science at the University of Chicago.
"He's saying the quiet part out loud," Poast told ABC News. "You can go all the way back to [President Harry] Truman, where U.S. leaders have made that comment, that the U.S. has been doing more than its fair share. He's just using an extreme version of a complaint made."
While Trump's unprecedented approach has made headlines and seen pushback from world leaders from allies, including Canada and Mexico, the two nations he's previously targeted with tariffs, Poast said it was too early to tell if the continued tough talk will affect international relations but he noted the rest of the world is taking notice.
US being 'laughed at' Trump has long blasted other countries for what he claimed are unfair practices toward the U.S. and its businesses. In 1987, he took out full-page ads in the New York Times, Washington Post and other major newspapers arguing that the U.S. needed to scale back its support of Japan at a time when that country's economy was dominating Americas.
"Let's not let our great country be laughed at anymore," he wrote.
Two years later, Trump continued his criticism of Japan along with Saudi Arabia and West Germany in an interview with ABC News' Diane Sawyer where he argued for taxes and tariffs.
"America is being ripped off. And I'll tell you what. We're not going to have an America in 10 years if it keeps going like this. We're a debtor nation, and we have to tax, we have to tariff, we have to protect this country. And nobody's doing it," he said.
The phrase would be repeated for years and amplified on the 2016 campaign trail, during his first term, his first and second reelection campaigns and now in his current term.
["With] great consistency, actually, because I've been talking about it for 40 years, but because I saw what was happening 40 years ago," the president said Wednesday during his tariff announcement.
Poast said that Trump's grievance is derived from the perceived value of their exports versus imports, which he said can be oversimplified.
To the average American, seeing more foreign-based products versus U.S. made goods gives an appearance that there is an imbalance, but when it comes to foreign relations and the economy -- the impact is more nuanced, he said.
"The U.S. trade policies always included limited import, and we are getting a lot from other countries economically," Poast said.
Regarding the intangible benefits to support such as the economic aid, the military, assistance and political backing, the arguments about being "ripped off" get more obtuse, according to Poast.
"I think during the Cold War it was easier to convince people to spend it. You had a key figure you're trying to stop Russia from winning and spreading communism," Poast said. "Now it's much harder to have that argument because of how divided we are."
In many cases, trade deals and agreements also have come with benefits to the U.S. such as military bases, reduced rents for U.S.-based offices and other reimbursements, he added.
Nonetheless, Poast said that U.S. presidents of all political backgrounds have pushed allies to do more when it comes to trade and support, and many times come up short of their negotiations.
"The big difference is that Trump gets angry and starts name calling, whereas someone like [President Barack] Obama would be like 'I'm not mad, I'm disappointed,'" Poast said.
Trump's rhetoric during his first term did appear to make strides with one nation: Japan.
Then-Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was well-versed with Trump's war of words toward his country, curried favor with the president shortly after he won the 2016 election.
"He was like, 'I need to show Trump the value of cooperating with Japan and I need to convince him that we are important,'" Poast said of Abe. "And it worked to the point where Trump came around and invited him to the White House, and Trump visited him in Japan and they had a strong partnership."
Trump mentioned his dealings with Abe in his Rose Garden unveiling.
"They all understand they're ripping us off," he said.
"Shinzo Abe, he was a fantastic man ⊠I went to him and I said, 'Shinzo, we have to do something' -- trade is not fair.' He said, 'I know that. I know that,'" Trump said Abe responded.
Countries such as France, Germany and China have not been as flattering to Trump compared to Japan during his administrations in the public eye, but they have continued to negotiate trade and foreign policy plans, but rarely gave Trump everything he wanted.
"When it comes to his demands, this is the question always ask for Trump. What extent is he making demands and trying to be a deal maker?" Poast said. "It's the idea that you come out with the outrageous idea and then negotiate down."
Trump's second term, however, has seen the president push through with his proposals, including the worldwide tariffs and increased calls for the takeover of Greenland, Canada and Panama.
The talk has resulted in more verbal pushback from world leaders calling out Trump for his rhetoric.
"We have to accept that the U.S. is not the single global power anymore, and other countries are now adjusting," Poast said.
Poast said it doesn't know if Trump's tactics will set a new norm for international relations but did note that the political polarization of the international community and the magnified scope of the world stage has shifted the conversations and visible tensions.
"I think any adjustment that does happen will be less with Trump and his rhetoric but the changing power structure in the world system. We are living a world that is more multi-polar and we will see more shifts. Trump did not create that he may be more of a product of that and make light of that," he said.
(NEW YORK) -- Astronomers have gotten a glimpse of the "city-killer" asteroid before it disappears until 2028, according to NASA.
The space rock, called 2024 YR4, was previously given up to a 3.1% chance of striking Earth in December 2032, but astronomers have since eliminated the possibility of a strike at that time based on further observations.
Astronomers are watching 2024 YR4 closely, trying to learn everything they can before it disappears from view by mid-April, Kelly Fast, a planetary defense officer at NASA, told ABC News earlier this year. Its unique elongated orbit takes the asteroid around the sun and into Earth's vicinity before it ventures far out between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter and out of sight, Fast said.
NASA's Center for Near Earth Object Studies used the James Webb Space Telescope -- the largest, most powerful telescope ever launched into space -- to capture photos of the asteroid, the space agency announced on Wednesday.
New infrared observations indicate that the asteroid measures between 174 feet and 220 feet in diameter -- about the size of the 10-story building, according to NASA. While it is not forecast to strike Earth in 2032, the asteroid now has a 1.7% probability of hitting the moon at that time, the space agency said.
The space rock was first discovered on Dec. 27 by astronomers monitoring the ATLAS telescope at the University of Hawaii, Fast said.
In the past, even when the asteroid passed through the inner solar system, it didn't always come close to where Earth was at the time, which is why it was only recently discovered, Fast said.
The asteroid has been dubbed a "city-killer" due to its size and potential to cause major destruction. It is large enough to cause localized damage were it to strike a populated city, Fast said.
In 1908, the similarly sized Tunguska asteroid flattened trees over an area of about 1,250 miles after it exploded in the skies over Siberia.
NASA has been tasked by Congress with locating asteroids larger than 450 feet in length, which are large enough to do "regional" damage in the event of a strike, Fast said.
The asteroid currently has a 1.1% chance of striking Earth on Dec. 22, 2047, according to NASA.
More than a 2% chance of an asteroid strike is "uncommon," Davide Farnocchia, a navigation engineer with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, told ABC News in February.
But astronomers will continue to monitor the asteroid closely.
"We don't want to take any chances," Farnocchia said.
Robot animals are back in the brand-new Five Nights at Freddy's 2teaser trailer.
The new look, unveiled by Universal Pictures on Wednesday, reveals glimpses of horrifying animatronics similar to the ones featured in the first film in 2023, which starred Josh Hutcherson as a security guard on duty at a haunted pizzeria.
The trailer begins at what appears to be a creepy fair as an announcer leads a screaming chorus of children counting down from five.
Hutcherson is seen in a brief shot looking concerned before we see a glimpse of an animatronic figure attacking a bystander in what appears to be a school hallway.
The action-packed teaser shows several clips of the animatronics wreaking havoc, as they did in the first film.
Viewers also catch a glimpse of Hutcherson alongside cast members Piper Rubio and Elizabeth Lail, who both appeared in the first film.
"Anyone can survive five nights. This time, there will be no second chances," a description of the film, which is produced by Blumhouse Productions, reads.
The description continues, "Blumhouse's box-office horror phenomenon Five Nights at Freddy's, the highest-grossing horror film of 2023, begins a blood-chilling new chapter of animatronic terror. Based on Scott Cawthon's blockbuster game series, Five Nights at Freddy's 2 is directed by acclaimed returning filmmaker Emma Tammi."
Five Nights at Freddy's 2 is slated to hit theaters on Dec. 5.
Far-right activist Laura Loomer; Photo credit: Jacob M. Langston for The Washington Post via Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) -- The White House has fired a handful of National Security Council staffers following a Wednesday meeting with far-right political activist Laura Loomer, who made recommendations to President Donald Trump about who he should fire, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.
Loomer met with Trump Wednesday, shortly before his tariff announcement in the Rose Garden, the sources said. Trump's chief of staff Susie Wiles, Vice President JD Vance and the head of personnel Sergio Gor were involved in the meeting. Rep. Scott Perry was also present, but he was scheduled to meet with Trump about a variety of different topics, the sources added.
"NSC doesn't comment on personnel matters," NSC spokesman Brian Hughes said in a statement.
The New York Times was first to report on Trump's meeting with Loomer.
"Out of respect for President Trump and the privacy of the Oval Office, I'm going to decline on divulging any details about my Oval Office meeting with President Trump. It was an honor to meet with President Trump and present him with my research findings, I will continue working hard to support his agenda, and I will continue reiterating the importance of strong vetting, for the sake of protecting the President and our national security," Loomer told ABC News in a statement.
Loomer has frequently spread misinformation. In July, she falsely claimed in a social media post that President Joe Biden had a medical emergency after landing at Joint Base Andrews -- a claim for which there was no evidence.
She had also started unsubstantiated claims about family members of Judge Juan Merchan in Trump's New York hush money case, including that his daughter posted a fake photo of Trump in jail on social media, which the court has denied. It prompted Trump to share Loomer's posts and spread the rumors.
Loomer accompanied Trump to several campaign events last fall -- a move that prompted criticism from some Republicans at the time.
While it's not clear whether any of the recent firings are directly related to national security adviser Mike Waltz and his staff's use of the messaging app, Signal to communicate about sensitive topics, it comes as Waltz has had to privately defend himself and his staff to the president and other senior White House staffers.
The day after the inauguration, the Trump administration purged more than 150 NSC staffers because the new administration wanted to make sure the the goals of the NSC aligned with Trump's agenda. Firing the nonpolitical staffers, who typically serve two-year stints on the council, has left the NSC severely understaffed and lacking subject matter experts from across government.
Universal has shared new details about Christopher Nolan's upcoming film adaptation of The Odyssey.
The studio's distribution chief, Jim Orr, took to the stage at CinemaCon 2025 on Wednesday to talk about the film, which is based off of Homer's epic poem.
Orr called the film âa visionary, once-in-a-generation cinematic masterpiece that Homer himself would quite likely be proud of,â according to Variety.
He then talked about the film's actors, saying Nolan âassembled a staggering all-star cast.â Orr listed off some of the ensemble, including Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Lupita Nyongâo, Robert Pattinson and Charlize Theron.
While Damon is confirmed to be playing Odysseus, the king of Ithaca, the distribution chief did not confirm which characters the rest of the cast would portray.
Homer's The Odyssey, of course, tells the story of the Greek hero Odysseus' 10-year journey home to Ithaca after the Trojan War. He is filled with interruptions in his quest to return home to his wife, Penelope, and his grown son, Telemachus, who fights off suitors who are desperate to steal his father's throne.
According to its official description from Universal, Nolan's film adaptation is a âmythic action epic shot across the world using brand new Imax film technology. The film brings Homerâs foundational saga to Imax film screens for the first time."
It is Nolan's first film since his best picture Oscar-winning blockbuster Oppenheimer.
The Odyssey opens in movie theaters on July 17, 2026.
EDINBURG â At 2 a.m. Friday, Rick Saldaña was traveling back to Edinburg from Mercedes, a city about 26 miles away, in an area known as the Mid-Valley.
The roads were flooded. The frontage roads that feed into the expressway resembled lakes. Hundreds of cars were abandoned by people unable to drive further.
The rain kept coming. Winds reached about 60 miles per hour and Saldaña could barely see anything.
“It came with a vengeance,” he said.
Saldaña is the emergency management coordinator for Hidalgo County. In his office in Edinburg, county workers and staff from the Texas Division of Emergency Management were still just at the beginning of what is expected to be a long road to recovery.
The effects from the rainfall killed at least six people. Four died from drowning in the Valley and in Reynosa, Mexico, and two from a house fire suspected of starting from a lightning strike. Hundreds more required rescue from their flooded homes or vehicles. By Monday, three days after the storm, several neighborhoods still remained underwater.
Assessments of the total damage are still underway, but Gov. Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration for the four counties of the Valley. The Federal Emergency Management Agency was on the ground Wednesday to make their assessment.
Preliminary reports suggest the damage and recovery totals from the flood would likely exceed $100 million, according to the National Weather Service Brownsville.
“We were predicted to get no more than one to two inches of rain,” Saldaña said. “For whatever reason, it shifted. It shifted our way.”
Big storms have hit the Rio Grande Valley region in South Texas before. The most recent in Saldañaâs memory was 2018. March and April when the seasons change can be precarious, he said.
“To me, those are scarier because you have no time to plan, versus with a hurricane, they give you ample time to start monitoring,” he said. “These come in as surprises, and that’s what happened. It surprised all of us.”
Saldaña said the county has made significant strides in improving the drainage system since then by widening the drainage canals to expand the amount of water that can flow through them.
But what the area saw last week was a 100-year flood, he said.
“Our drainage system couldn’t support it,” he said. “It doesn’t make a difference if you have the world’s best drainage system.”
Between March 26 and 28, the Valley received nearly 20 inches of rain, crushing prior daily,
multi-day, and monthly March records in many areas. In a few locations, the amount of rainfall even rivaled the all-time two-day record set by the historic Hurricane Beulah in 1967, according to Barry Goldsmith, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service Brownsville.
Meteorologists knew rain was coming. The surprise was where it fell.
Forecasts had the storm over the Coastal Bend toward brush country, Goldsmith said.
“It wasn’t until, really, within 12 hours that we were like ‘Oh no, it’s going toward the Valley now!'” he said.
Even at that point, they didn’t know exactly which county or which portion of the Valley was going to get hit.
“It wasn’t until the game was underway that we were able to tell people this is going to be really bad in parts of the Valley,” he said.
A National Weather Service report on the storm acknowledged that their models were off, noting that even the areas predicted to be the strongest hit by the storm were only expected to receive 7-12 inches.
The report explained that the dynamics of the fast-flowing, high-altitude air currents â that are most typical in the Mid-Atlantic or Northeast regions of the U.S. â led to high-energy, recharging of the atmosphere that caused repeated rounds of rainfall and severe weather.
The heaviest rains fell in Cameron County which sustained the most damage where the Valley International Airport in Harlingen had to close for multiple days due to flooding on the runways. Other reports of severe weather included a tornado that briefly touched down in Hidalgo County.
The devastation extended to farmers as well.
Despite longing for rain to sustain their animals and crops during a prolonged period of drought, the huge volume of rain likely destroyed existing crops.
“Torrential storms produced devastating rainfall totals, causing widespread destruction and posing a severe threat to Valley residents, farmers, and ranchers,” Sid Miller, the Texas agriculture commissioner, said in a statement. “In addition to extensive damage to homes, vehicles, and infrastructure, the region is also facing significant agricultural and livestock losses.”
Sonny Hinojosa, water advocate with the Hidalgo County Irrigation District No. 2, said many crops were already up and the flooding likely killed those plants.
“Poor farmers, they’re taking a beating,” Hinojosa said. “First, they’re short on irrigation water and then you get a flood event like this and it drowns whatever crop you have.â
There is a silver lining.
One of the reservoirs that provides water to Valley farmers, the Falcon International Reservoir, received 45,663 acre-feet of water from the rain, growing from 11.2% to 12.8% of its capacity.
Itâs just a fraction, Hinojosa said. However, if the U.S. receives half of those gains, it could provide three to four weeks of irrigation water for farmers.
âThey rose a bit,â Goldsmith said of the water levels at the Falcon reservoir. âBut they’re still well below what’s needed to help improve the water resource situation thatâs facing the Valley.â
This article originally published by The Texas Tribune. To read the originally published article, click here.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch/Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
(NEW YORK) -- New York City saw fewer shootings in the first three months of the year than in any previous quarter since the NYPD began keeping statistics, the police commissioner announced Thursday.
"Crime and violence reductions are historic," NYPD Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said during a press briefing.
Shootings dropped 23% citywide in the first quarter, she said.
"This is lives saved," Tisch said.
The first quarter of the year also saw the second-fewest murders of any quarter in recorded history in the city, Tisch said.
All crimes except rape went down in the first quarter of 2025, the commissioner said. Rape increased by 21% in the first quarter, Tisch said, while noting the increase was due in part to changes to the law last year that "rightfully redefined and broadened what constitutes rape in New York state."
There was a slight uptick in grand larceny auto in March, due to a rash of car thefts specifically targeting Hondas, Tisch said. Nearly a third of all cars stolen in the city are Hondas because the thieves are able to easily clone Honda key fobs, police said.
"We continue to urge Honda, for their customers' sake, to fix this vulnerability now," Tisch said.
Subway crime dropped to levels not seen since before the pandemic, when transit crime spiked. Major crime in the subways decreased more than 18% in the first three months of the year, Tisch said.
The commissioner credited enforcement of rules like taking up more than one seat.
"They will correct the condition," Tisch said. "This is about restoring safety and order."
The latest statistics come as the Trump administration has claimed crime in the subway system is "rampant."
In response to the state's request for more federal funds for the transit system last month, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the administration would "hold NYC leaders accountable for not keeping commuters safe."
Duffy has also threatened to pull federal funding from the cityâs transit system if it doesnât address crime.
"The trend of violent crime, homelessness, and other threats to public safety on one of our nationâs most prominent metro systems is unacceptable. After years of soft-on-crime policies, our Department is stepping in to restore order," Duffy said in a statement on March 18 -- two months after Gov. Kathy Hochul had already announced a plan to increase of police officers in the transit system.
(WASHINGTON) -- President Donald Trump reacted for the first time on Thursday to the fallout from his tariff announcement, which included markets nosediving and foreign leaders threatening retaliation.
Trump had no public events on his schedule a day after his dramatic unveiling of severe tariffs against virtually all U.S. trading partners, but he did take a single question as he left the White House Thursday afternoon for a trip to a golf event in Miami.
"Markets today are way down ... How's it going?" a reporter asked the president.
"I think it's going very well," Trump responded. "It was an operation. I like when a patient gets operated on and it's a big thing. I said this would exactly be the way it is."
Trump continued to project confidence and said nations to be affected are now trying to see if they can "make a deal."
"The markets are going to boom, the stock is going to boom, the country is going to boom, and the rest of the world wants to see is there any way they can make a deal." Trump said. "They've taken advantage of us for many, many years. For many years we've been at the wrong side of the ball. And I'll tell you what, I think it's going to be unbelievable."
Earlier Thursday, other Trump administration officials were deployed to deal with the fallout on the morning news shows.
Many of them, though, had insisted the tariffs weren't up for bargaining.
"The president made it clear yesterday, this is not a negotiation. This is a national emergency," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on CNN.
He's always willing to pick up the phone to answer calls, but he laid out the case yesterday for why we are doing it this and these countries around the world have had 70 years to do the right thing by the American people, and they have chosen not to," Leavitt added.
"I don't think there's any chance that President Trump is gonna back off his tariffs," Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on the network.
World leaders are weighing their response to Trump's historic levies, some of which go into effect on April 5 and others on April 9.
China, which is going to be hit with a whopping 54% tariff rate, urged the U.S. to "immediately cancel its unilateral tariff measures and properly resolve differences with its trading partners through equal dialogue."
Domestically, stocks plunged in early trading on Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 3.75%, the tech-heavy Nasdaq declined 5.75% and the S&P 500 tumbled 4.4%.
Vice President JD Vance, before the market selloff, acknowledged that Trump's massive new tariffs will mean a "big change" for Americans. Trump, ahead of Wednesday's announcement, had admitted there could be some short-term pain.
"President Trump is taking this economy in a different direction. He ran on that. He promised it. And now he's delivering. And yes, this is a big change. I'm not going to shy away from it, but we needed a big change," Vance told "Fox & Friends."
Leavitt, too, defended the policy as Trump "delivering on his promise to implement reciprocal tariffs" during an appearance on CNN.
"To anyone on Wall Street this morning, I would say trust in President Trump. This is a president who is doubling down on his proven economic formula from his first term," she said.
Neither Vance nor Leavitt directly addressed the increased costs economists say U.S. consumers are all but certain to face or how they would help Americans.
"What I'd ask folks to appreciate here is that we're not going to fix things overnight," Vance said. "We're fighting as quickly as we can to fix what was left to us, but it's not going to happen immediately."
Asked about negative business reaction, Lutnick told CNN, "they're not counting the factories" that he claimed would be built in the U.S. as a result.
"Let Donald Trump run the global economy. He knows what he's doing," Lutnick said.
(MOSSY HEAD, Fla.) -- A Florida deputy has been killed in a shootout at a Dollar General store, according to Walton County Sheriff Mike Adkinson.
At approximately 2 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon, deputies received a call from a Dollar General store in Mossy Head, Florida, stating there was an individual "causing a disturbance and needed to be trespassed from the scene," Adkinson said during a press conference on Wednesday evening.
Deputy William May, 38, responded to that call. It was his last stop during his shift and he was planning on heading home afterward, Adkinson said. May was not even supposed to be working that day, but he "came in to volunteer to provide overtime and assistance," Adkinson said.
Upon arriving on the scene, May made contact with the suspect and proceeded to have a "brief conversation" with the individual, Adkinson said.
"Within 10 seconds of the suspect walking out of the store with Deputy May behind him, that suspect drew a firearm and fired multiple rounds, striking Deputy Will May," Adkinson said.
May, to his "great personal credit and courage," was able to draw his firearm and return fire, Adkinson said.
"This short, but violent gun fight resulted in at least 18 rounds being fired, with both individuals being killed," Adkinson said.
The suspect died on the scene and May was taken to the local hospital for his life-threatening injuries, according to Adkinson.
Paramedics attempted to airlift May from the scene, but "area conditions would not allow that to work," the sheriff said.
At 7:10 p.m. on Wednesday, May succumbed to his injuries, Adkinson said.
"Will fought the entire time, from returning fire on the scene to fighting for his own life," Adkinson said.
May was wearing a ballistic vest during the shootout, which stopped multiple rounds from injuring him, but one "went underneath the vest, which ultimately caused his death," Adkinson said.
The name of the suspect has not been released.
Adkinson said that this was an "interaction deputy sheriffs have every day in this county" and that there was "no indication whatsoever that this would have ended in that kind of violence."
"It is just unfathomable to me that Will is not here," Adkinson said. "It's unfathomable that this happened. But there's absolutely nothing that he could have done differently."
Officials are investigating whether the suspect's gun was legally purchased, but Adkinson said the individual did have a concealed weapons permit and additional weapons in his residence.
Police said the suspect had been living in the area for the past several years and authorities had dealings with him previously, but only for minor issues like welfare checks, Adkinson said.
May had been a member of the Walton County Sheriff's Office since 2014, starting as a communication officer, and was promoted to deputy sheriff in 2019, Adkinson said. Walton County is located on the Florida Peninsula, northeast of Pensacola.
May leaves behind a wife and two children.
According to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, there was a 25% increase in the amount of line-of-duty deaths in 2024 with 147 officers killed, the report said.
ABC Newsâ Thomas Pierre contributed to this report.
"I don't concede on something that I believe to be unconstitutional. I can't. I took an oath to uphold the Constitution. So, we're going to find a path through this. We're working on that," Johnson said Wednesday. "I talked to everybody who voted against the rule, and we'll work it out. So, we got time to do it, and those conversations continue."
Earlier this week, nine Republicans sided with Democrats to torpedo a procedural rule that included language to kill Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna's bipartisan discharge petition on proxy voting for new lawmaker parents.
The vote has thrown the House into disarray and paralyzed the chamber, leaving Johnson to find a way to break the impasse. The vote also called into question Johnson's ability to control Republicans' razor-thin majority.
House Republican leaders, including Johnson, had said they would take the unprecedented step to block Luna's petition on proxy voting, which gives both mothers and fathers the ability to vote remotely up to 12 weeks after the birth of a child.
After the vote, Johnson said because it failed, "we can't have any further action on the floor this week." The rule that lawmakers voted on included language to block proxy voting -- as well as other pieces of legislation.
"The reason that I said that the agenda was taken out for the week is because it was, it was all in one rule. We could have run the SAVE Act, but the rest of it would have to have been done in a different rule. And I had a big group of House Republicans who did not want to support a rule until we took care of the proxy voting situation," he claimed.
Johnson said he is "actively working" to accommodate young mothers serving in Congress.
"While I understand the pure motivations of the few Republican proxy vote advocates, I simply cannot support the change they seek," Johnson wrote in a post on X on Wednesday. "The procedural vote yesterday was our effort to advance President Trump's important legislative agenda while disabling a discharge petition that would force proxy voting and open a dangerous Pandora's box for the institution."
"To allow proxy voting for one category of Members would open the door for many others, and ultimately result in remote voting that would harm the operation of our deliberative body and diminish the critical role of the legislative branch," he added.
Johnson said that he wants a room for mothers to nurse right off the House floor even though there is currently one in the basement of the Capitol. He said leaders are also looking at allowing the use of government money for members to fly their infant babies to D.C. with their mothers and fathers.
"We want to accommodate mothers who want to serve in Congress, and we're the pro-family party, so we'll do that, but we can't do something that violates the Constitution or destroys the institution you serve," he said.
BERKLEY, CA (AP) – Real estate software company RealPage filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday against Berkeley, California â the latest city to try to block landlords from using algorithms when deciding rents. Officials in many cities claim the practice is anti-competitive and is driving up the price of housing.
Texas-based RealPage said Berkeley’s ordinance, which goes into effect this month violates the company’s free speech rights and is the result of an âintentional campaign of misinformation and often-repeated false claimsâ about its products.
âBerkeley is trying to enact an ordinance that prohibits speech â speech in the form of advice and recommendations from RealPage to its customers,â RealPage attorney Stephen Weissman told reporters on a conference call.
The Department of Justice sued Realpage in August under former President Joe Biden, saying its algorithm combines confidential information from each real estate management company in ways that enable landlords to align prices and avoid competition that would otherwise push down rents. That amounts to cartel-like illegal price collusion, prosecutors said. RealPage’s clients include huge landlords who collectively oversee millions of units across the U.S.
In the lawsuit, the DOJ pointed to RealPage executivesâ own words about how their product maximizes prices for landlords. One executive said, âThere is greater good in everybody succeeding versus essentially trying to compete against one another in a way that actually keeps the entire industry down.â
San Francisco, Philadelphia and Minneapolis have since passed ordinances restricting landlords from using rental algorithms. The DOJ case remains ongoing, as do lawsuits against RealPage brought by tenants and the attorneys general of Arizona and Washington, D.C.
Berkeley’s ordinance, which fines violators up to $1,000 per infraction, says algorithmic rental software has contributed to âdouble-digit rent increases … higher vacancy rates and higher rates of eviction.â
RealPage said all these claims are false, and that the real driver of high rents is a lack of housing supply.
The company also denies providing âprice fixing softwareâ or a âcoordinated pricing algorithm,â saying its pricing recommendations â higher, lower or no change â align with whatever property-specific objectives the housing providers want to achieve using the software.
And since landlords already are incentivized to maximize revenue, RealPage argues that real estate management software can show them how best to maintain high occupancy, and this in turn reduces constraints on the supply of homes.
The lawsuit accuses American Economic Liberties Project, an advocacy group that opposes monopolistic practices, of spreading falsehoods that have caused local officials to pursue misguided policies.
âAELPâs false narrative has taken root in certain municipalities that are particularly eager to find a scapegoat for their own hand in impeding the housing supply,â the lawsuit said.
Weissman said RealPage officials were never given an opportunity to present their arguments to the Berkeley City Council before the ordinance was passed and said the company is considering legal action against other cities that have passed similar policies, including San Francisco.
A spokesperson for Berkeley City Council did not comment on the lawsuit and said officials had not been formally served with the complaint. A spokesperson for the AELP did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) -- Nearly three weeks after President Donald Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act to remove more than 200 alleged migrant gang members to El Salvador with little-to-no due process, a federal judge will consider whether the Trump administration defied his court order by deporting the men.
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg said at a hearing Thursday that he is contemplating initiating "contempt proceedings" against the government in the event he finds probable cause they deliberately defied his March 15 order that barred removals under the Alien Enemies Act and directed two flights carrying alleged Venezuelan gang members be returned to the United States.
Boasberg questioned DOJ attorney Drew Ensign over the best way to proceed in the case in the event he determines the government violated his verbal order that the flights be returned to the U.S.
"If I don't agree, I don't find your legal arguments convincing, and I believe there is probable cause to find contempt, what I'm asking is how -- how should I determine who [is at fault]?" Boasberg asked.
Boasberg repeatedly pressed Ensign for more information on which parties might have been involved in potentially defying his order. Ensign cited various privileges that might apply to the specific information, but when pressed by Boasberg he said he was not prepared to give specific answers.
Judge Boasberg said he would look to issue a ruling sometime next week.
The judge began the hearing by dressing down Ensign after the DOJ lawyer insisted that the Trump administration complied with Boasberg's court order.
"It seems to me, there is a fair likelihood that that is not correct," Judge Boasberg said in response to the argument that the Trump administration complied with the order. "In fact, the government acted in bad faith throughout that day. You really believed everything you did that day was legal and could survive a court challenge. I can't believe you ever would have operated in the way you did."
When the judge pressed the government about whether his oral directive to turn around the planes was communicated to the officials managing the deportation flights, DOJ attorney Drew Ensign declined to answer, citing attorney-client privilege. Regardless, Judge Boasberg suggested the Trump administration acted irresponsibly and rushed the deportation flights while the lawsuit played out.
"Why wouldn't the prudent thing be to say, 'Let's slow down here. Let's see what the judge says. He's already enjoined the removal of five people, certainly in the realm of possibility that he would enjoin further removal. Let's see what he says, and if he doesn't enjoy it, we can go ahead. But surely better to be safe and risk violating the order,'" Judge Boasberg said.
Boasberg used his opening line of questioning to ensure Ensign corrected the record amid public attacks by President Trump and other senior members of the administration who have accused him of supporting terrorist gang members or singlehandedly obstructing the administration's immigration agenda.
Ensign said it was correct to say that Boasberg's initial temporary restraining order on March 15 never barred the administration from conducting deportations in the normal course of legal proceedings, and also said it would be incorrect to say that Boasberg ever ordered any TdA members in the administration's custody to be released.
Thursday's hearing could present the most consequential face-off yet between the executive and judicial branches of government since Trump took office in January, as Trump attempts to unilaterally implement parts of his agenda amid a flood of litigation.
"I'm just doing what the VOTERS wanted me to do," Trump said in a social media post last month after Judge Boasberg issued his order blocking the deportations.
Trump last month invoked the Alien Enemies Act -- a wartime authority used to deport noncitizens with little-to-no due process -- by arguing that the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua is a "hybrid criminal state" that is invading the United States.
An official with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has acknowledged that "many" of the men lack criminal records in the United States -- but said that "the lack of specific information about each individual actually highlights the risk they pose" and "demonstrates that they are terrorists with regard to whom we lack a complete profile."
Lawyers representing the class of migrants covered by the president's Alien Enemies Act proclamation have argued that the Trump administration violated the court's "unequivocal oral order" to return to the U.S. two flights carrying alleged Tren de Aragua gang members to El Salvador.
According to flight data reviewed by ABC News, both flights carrying the migrants had not yet landed when Judge Boasberg directed the flights be turned around, and Justice Department lawyers, when questioned by Judge Boasberg, confirmed that the directive was promptly communicated to federal officials overseeing the flights.
"Defendants admit they never attempted to return the individuals on the planes to the United States, despite having both notice and the ability to do so," the attorneys argued.
Lawyers with the Department of Justice have insisted that the Trump administration "complied with the law" while questioning the legitimacy of Judge Boasberg's order. According to the DOJ, Judge Boasberg's oral instructions directing the flight to be returned were defective, and his subsequent written order lacked the necessary explanation to be enforced.
Lawyers with the ACLU and Democracy Forward Foundation responded that "The government's arguments are also unsupportable on their own terms -- as a matter of basic textual analysis, of common sense, and in view of foundational separation-of-powers principles."
The Justice Department has also argued that the president acted within his authority when he removed the noncitizens -- which the Trump administration has alleged are dangerous gang members -- and that the government should not have to explain itself to the court because the matter concerns national security.
"Even without the challenged Proclamation, the President doubtlessly acts within his constitutional prerogative by declining to transport foreign terrorists into the country," the Justice Department argued.
The Justice Department recently invoked the rarely-used state secrets privilege to avoid disclosing further details about the flights on the grounds that it could harm national security, so it's unclear how DOJ attorneys will respond to Boasberg's lines of inquiry.
Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) -- President Donald Trump's sweeping new set of tariffs impact friend and foe alike, but also on the list are uninhabited islands while some glaring omissions include Russia and Iran.
Trump on Wednesday unveiled "kind reciprocal" tariff rates on certain nations that the administration's deemed the worst offenders in trade with the U.S., in addition to a minimum 10% baseline tariff on all U.S. trading partners.
"If they complain, if you want your tariff rate to be zero, then you build your product right here in America because there is no tariff if you build your plant, your product in America," Trump said as he announced the policy at the White House.
"Likewise, to all of the foreign presidents, prime ministers, kings, queens, ambassadors and everyone else who will soon be calling to ask for exemptions from these tariffs, I say terminate your own tariffs, drop your barriers, don't manipulate your currencies," Trump added.
At the top of the list is China, which will be hit with a whopping 54% tariff rate once the additional levies are put into effect. High levies are also being placed on the European Union, Vietnam, Taiwan, Japan, India and more.
Israel is also a target of "reciprocal" tariffs, despite moving ahead of Trump's announcement to cancel all remaining tariffs on American imports (which there were very few of thanks to the Israel-United Staes Free Trade agreement that has been in place since the 1980s).
Israel, though, still got hit with a 17% rate. The Israeli government is already pushing back on the Trump administration's calculation that Israel somehow charged a 33% tariff to the U.S., with one official calling it "puzzling."
What else is on Trump's list
British Indian Ocean Territory -- The only inhabitants of the United Kingdom territory located in the Indian Ocean are American and British military personnel and contractors stationed at a joint defense facility.
Heard and McDonald Islands -- Australian external territory of mostly barren Antarctic islands; uninhabited with no imports or exports.
Norfolk Island -- This is another Australian external territory, but for some reason the Trump administration has set the reciprocal tariff rate at 29%. That is far above the 10% for Australia and other external territories. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has already expressed confusion over the area's inclusion, as there is very little trade between the U.S. and the tiny island, which has a population around 2,000.
Svalbard and Jan Mayen -- These are remote territories of Norway in the Arctic Ocean. The new tariff rate is just 5% less than it is for greater Norway, though an Mayen also has no permanent population.
Russia -- Moscow was omitted from the list and the White House has been claiming this is because sanctions preclude any meaningful trade. This is false. Trade has fallen dramatically between the U.S. and Russia since the onset of the war in Ukraine but last year the U.S. imported around $3 billion in goods from Russia (many times the dollar amount between the U.S. and many of the small island territories that did make the list).
Belarus, Cuba and North Korea -- The White House made the same argument as it did for Russia for why they are not on the list, but in these countries' cases, there is much less trade with the U.S. Although it is still on par or surpasses trade with some of the island territories.
Iran -- There's not a whole lot of trade between the U.S. and Iran because of the many sanctions against the country, but amid the Trump administration's effort to impose "maximum pressure" against the regime, it's notable that Tehran is only getting hit with the baseline 10% tariff.
ABC News' Alexandra Hutzler contributed to this report.
