National News

(BROOKLYN, N.Y.) -- When Yusuf Hawkins, a Black 16-year-old, was shot and killed in Brooklyn in 1989 as he went to purchase a car, the crime set off months of angry protests.Now, the man convicted in Hawkins' murder, who has been behind bars for nearly 35 years, will get a chance Thursday to prove his innocence with what his defense attorney says is new evidence.Joseph Fama, who was 18 at […]

(GREEN LAKE, Wis.) -- Ryan Borgwardt, the husband and father of three who authorities said faked his own death at a Wisconsin lake and fled the country, is speaking to police but isn't revealing where he is, the local sheriff said.When authorities reached Borgwardt on Nov. 11, they asked him questions only he would know and asked him to film a video of himself, Green Lake County Sheriff Mark Podoll said at […]

(NEW YORK) -- Important bodies of water that supply water to populated regions in the Northeast have dried up due to drought conditions in recent months, according to experts.Water levels at reservoirs in the region have decreased to the point of concern for water supply managers, hydrologists told ABC News.Over the past three months, there has been a significant lack of precipitation all over the Northeast, Elizabeth Carter, an assistant […]

Paras Griffin/Getty Images (SPRINGFIELD, Ill.) -- The Illinois Supreme Court has thrown out former "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett’s conviction for lying about a 2019 hate crime.Smollett was found guilty in 2021 for faking a racist and homophobic attack and lying to the police. His lawyers said this violated his Fifth Amendment rights because, in 2019, Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx had already agreed to drop the charges if Smollett paid […]

(NEW YORK) -- E-cigarettes in kid-friendly flavors are driving retail sales and contain more addictive nicotine than ever, according to a new report from the nonprofit CDC Foundation and advocacy group Truth Initiative.The report showed a 47% increase in e-cigarette sales at U.S. retail outlets between 2019 and 2023, with flavors like fruit, candy, mint, menthol and desserts accounting for more than 80% of those sales.Most flavored products are not authorized by […]

(NEW YORK) -- The woman who accused Pete Hegseth of sexual assault in 2017 told police at the time that he took her phone and blocked her from leaving his hotel room on the night of the incident, according to a 22-page police report obtained by ABC News.The report, compiled in Oct. 2017 by the Monterey Police Department, provides graphic new details of an alleged altercation that now threatens to […]

(SEATTLE) -- Two people were killed by falling trees in Washington state as a powerful storm hammered the Pacific Northwest.In Bellevue, a tree fell into a home, hitting and killing a woman while she was in the shower Tuesday night, Bellevue fire officials said.In Lynwood, a woman in her 50s was killed when a tree fell on a homeless encampment, officials said.Hundreds of thousands of people lost power in the […]

(LOS ANGELES) - The judge overseeing Bryan Kohberger's murder case has ruled the death penalty will remain on the table as the case moves forward, rejecting a request from Kohberger's defense attorneys.In June 2023, prosecutors announced they intended to seek the death penalty against the onetime Ph.D. student accused of fatally stabbing four University of Idaho students -- Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, […]

(MASSACHUSETTS) -- The Massachusetts Institute of Technology announced on Wednesday that students with family income below $200,000 can expect to attend the Cambridge institution tuition-free starting next fall.The bulk of American households meet this income threshold, according to the university, which says the new policy will cover 80% of its incoming classes.Additionally, students whose family income is below $100,000 will see their entire MIT experience paid for, including tuition, housing, […]