80 million under air quality alerts
Smoke from wildfires raging across Canada has left communities as far as the Carolinas shrouded in a thick haze. ABC News’ Andrea Fujii reports on the health risks.
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ABC NewsKelly Rizzo shares sweet photo with boyfriend Breckin Meyer
Kelly Rizzo celebrated her boyfriend, actor Breckin Meyer, in the sweetest way for his birthday. The actress and podcast host shared a photo with Meyer on Instagram Tuesday and praised him for all that he is to her. Rizzo married Bob Saget in October 2018.
- ABC News
Sperm whales communicate through a 'complex phonetic alphabet,' study finds
The ways sperm whales communicate with each other may be more "complex" than scientists previously believed, with new research drawing similarities between the whale species' language and human phonetics. In a study published Tuesday in Nature Communications, researchers examined a group of sperm whales in the waters surrounding the Caribbean island of Dominica, analyzing their whale calls. Sperm whales -- which have the largest brains of any animal species on Earth -- can combine and modulate different clicks and rhythms to create complex calls, similar to human language, according to the study, which notes the sequences of clicks sperm whales project are called codas.
- ABC News
House quickly kills Marjorie Taylor Greene's effort to oust Speaker Johnson
Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene on Wednesday officially triggered a vote on her motion to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson, but within minutes Democrats joined almost all Republicans to overwhelmingly reject her move. There were audible boos from lawmakers in the chamber as Greene spoke at length about her grievances with Johnson as she called for a vote. The Georgia congresswoman, flanked by co-sponsor GOP Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, asserted Johnson had "not lived up to a single one" of the promises he made the Republican conference after he was elected to the top post in October.
- ABC News
RFK Jr. claims doctor said parasite 'ate' part of his brain
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s campaign on Wednesday responded to a New York Times report that described an incident where the independent candidate claimed a doctor told him that a parasitic worm was found in his brain more than a decade ago. In a 2012 deposition during a divorce from his second wife, Kennedy revealed that a doctor found a dead parasite in his brain -- one of multiple health conditions Kennedy said may have caused what he described in the deposition as "cognitive problems" he had experienced at the time, according to according to The New York Times. In a statement, Kennedy spokeswoman Stefanie Spear said the candidate contracted a parasite during his travel as an environmental advocate -- likely when he visited either Africa, South America or Asia.
- Good Morning America
Lady Gaga's 'Chromatica Ball' concert film trailer unveiled: Watch
Ever since Lady Gaga's Chromatica Ball tour wrapped up in 2022, fans have been waiting for the concert film. One of the final shows on the tour, the September 10 date in Los Angeles at Dodger Stadium, was recorded in June 2023. Gaga confirmed on Instagram that she was working on editing "The Chromatica Ball" film.
- Good Morning America
WNBA legend Candace Parker appointed president of Adidas women's basketball
Two-time WNBA MVP and three-time WNBA champion Candace Parker is taking on a new role. On Wednesday, a little over a week after she announced her retirement from basketball, Parker was named the president of Adidas women's basketball. The new role for Parker marks the culmination of a 16-year partnership with Adidas, according to a press release.
- ABC News
GOP leaders take credit after DC police remove GWU encampment. Protesters decry removal tactics
Congressional Republicans on Wednesday claimed their demands led to Washington's Metropolitan Police Department clashing with and removing pro-Palestinian protesters encamped at George Washington University. Supporters of the protesters, meanwhile, said the city went too far. Officers used pepper spray on pro-Palestinian protesters after they allegedly refused several orders to end the encampment when police moved in about 3 a.m., D.C. police chief Pam Smith told reporters.
- Good Morning America
Miss Teen USA 2023 resigns 2 days after Miss USA gives up title
Miss Teen USA 2023 UmaSofia Srivastava announced Wednesday that she is giving up her title, two days after Miss USA 2023 Noelia Voigt's resignation. In an Instagram post, Srivastava shared her decision to step away from the role.
- ABC News
Grand jury indicts Laken Riley murder suspect on 10 counts
The suspect accused of killing 22-year-old nursing student Laken Riley has been formally indicted on murder and other offenses in connection with the brutal slaying on the University of Georgia campus. A grand jury indicted Jose Ibarra, 26, with malice murder and felony murder in connection with the death of Riley, who was found dead in a wooded area on the Athens campus on Feb. 22 after she didn't return from a run. The indictment, which the Athens Clarke County grand jury returned on Tuesday, alleges that Ibarra killed the Augusta University student by "inflicting blunt force trauma to her head and by asphyxiating her" and seriously disfigured her head by striking her "multiple times" with a rock.
- ABC News
Timeline: Marjorie Taylor Greene's feud with Speaker Mike Johnson
For more than a month, GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has threatened to demand a vote to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson, and has been leading a public charge to try to make that a reality. Green makes it official and files a motion to vacate the speaker saying he "betrayed our conference and broke our rules" by working with Democrats to pass a $1.2 trillion package to fund the government but does not make it "privileged" -- requiring a House vote. "I think that all of my other Republican colleagues recognize this is a distraction from our mission," he said.
- Good Morning America
50 million Americans under severe weather threats amid multiday tornado outbreak
More than 50 million Americans, from Texas to Missouri to the Carolinas, are under severe weather and tornado threats Wednesday night. Wednesday marks the fourth multiday tornado outbreak in four weeks. There have been more than 60 reported or confirmed tornadoes in multiple states since Monday, as the tornado threat continues.
- ABC News
Ippei Mizuhara, Shohei Ohtani's interpreter, to plead guilty to stealing millions from star player
Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter for MLB star Shohei Ohtani, has agreed to plead guilty to bank fraud in relation to stealing nearly $17 million from the star player in order to cover gambling debts, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Mizuhara, 39, has agreed to plead guilty to one count of bank fraud, which carries a maximum of 30 years in prison, and one count of subscribing to a false tax return, which carries up to three years in prison, according to the U.S Attorney's Office for the Central District of California. "The extent of this defendant's deception and theft is massive," U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said in a statement.
- Good Morning America
School bus driver on a mission to spread positivity to students
A school bus driver in Florida is on a mission to spread positivity to elementary, middle and high school students on his route. Anthony Burgess has been shuttling students for Pinellas County Schools since September 2023. "I wanted to make it brighter and make it a fun space, so I was like, 'Hey, let's make some quotes,'" Burgess said.
- ABC News
Getting illicit pills as easy as ordering food delivery via app, DEA administrator tells Congress
Getting illicit pills is as easy as ordering food delivery through an app, the Drug Enforcement Administration warned Congress on Tuesday. "We say all the time that the most dangerous place in the world right now is our homes because everyone has a smartphone, and within two or three … clicks on a smartphone, people are having pills delivered to their front doorstep like Uber Eats, like they get pizza delivered," DEA Administrator Anne Milgram told a House Appropriations subcommittee on Tuesday. "We're losing 22 Americans, teenagers between the ages of 14 and 18, every single week right now" to illegal drug use, Milgram said.
- Good Morning America
Wife throws husband a surprise birthday party at Costco, his favorite store
For a person who loves shopping at Costco, there's no reason to have their birthday party anywhere else. Emma Blevins coordinated ahead so that many of the couple's friends and family members would be at Costco the day of the party, pretending to be shopping.
- ABC News
Attempted break-in takes place at Drake's Toronto mansion day after shooting of security guard: Police
A person was detained after allegedly attempting to break into Drake's mansion in Toronto a day after a security guard was shot while outside the residence, police said. A person allegedly tried to break into the residence on Wednesday and was apprehended and detained by police under mental health issues, Toronto police confirmed to ABC News. The latest incident comes after a male security guard working at the home was shot while standing outside the gate of the residence at approximately 2 a.m. Tuesday, according to Inspector Paul Krawczyk with the Toronto Police Service's Integrated Gun and Gang Task Force.
- ABC News
Biden trolls Trump while touting new Microsoft project in 2024 battleground Wisconsin
President Joe Biden took shots at former President Donald Trump on Wednesday as he traveled to Wisconsin to tout a new multi-billion dollar Microsoft investment at the same site where a Trump administration project failed. The event in the 2024 election battleground state, billed by the White House as an official stop in his capacity as president, came as Biden ramps up both campaign and official visits across the country while his political rival is largely stuck in a Manhattan courtroom.
- ABC News
Cruise ship employee charged after allegedly stabbing 3 people with medical scissors
A man accused of going on a stabbing spree with a pair of medical scissors while aboard a Norwegian Cruise Line ship was arrested on Tuesday and charged with assault with a dangerous weapon, according to prosecutors. Ntando Sogoni, 35, from South Africa, who was working on the Norwegian Encore ship at the time of the incident, was arrested by FBI agents in Juneau, Alaska, on Tuesday after allegedly stabbing three individuals with medical scissors on Monday. In a press release from Alaska's U.S. Attorney's Office, prosecutors say Sogoni was sent to the ship's medical center for an assessment after fellow employees noticed him "attempting to deploy a lifeboat," but he became "irrational" and tried to leave, attacking a security guard and nurse.
- ABC News
Trump praises Kristi Noem amid book controversy: 'I like her a lot'
Former President Donald Trump has praised South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, saying he likes her "a lot" and that she's gone through "rough" days amid controversy of her newly released book. Noem is among Trump's close allies whose name has come up as Trump's potential vice presidential hopefuls. Noem has been harshly criticized for describing how she shot and killed her 14-month-old dog "Cricket" and was forced to admit what she called "errors" in her book including claiming she once met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
- ABC News
Trump seeking to fast-track challenge to gag order in his hush money trial
Former President Donald Trump is seeking to fast-track a challenge to the constitutionality of the limited gag order imposed on him by the judge overseeing his criminal hush money trial in New York. Trump's defense team on Wednesday asked an intermediate appeals court to issue a ruling on an expedited basis, or, alternatively, to grant them permission to appeal directly to the state's highest court, the Court of Appeals. The Appellate Division previously rejected Trump's attempt to pause the trial while he fights the limited gag order, which prohibits Trump from making statements about witnesses, jurors, attorneys, and others associated with the hush money case.