(NEW YORK) -- A sinkhole has shut down one of the runways at LaGuardia International Airport in New York City, prompting cancellations and delays, according to officials.

Crews found the sinkhole around 11 a.m. on Wednesday, while conducting a daily morning inspection of the airport's airfield, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

The sinkhole was located near Runway 4/22, one of the airport's two runways, according to the Port Authority.

Runway 4/22 was "immediately" shut down, and emergency construction and engineering crews are on site to make repairs, the Port Authority said.

The Federal Aviation Administration said it is slowing flights into LaGuardia "due to weather and a sinkhole on Runway 4/22."

"Travelers should expect delays and cancellations, particularly with forecast thunderstorms expected later today, and are strongly encouraged to check directly with their airlines for the latest flight status information," the Port Authority said.

The airport is currently under a ground delay, with flights departing to LaGuardia delayed an average of 98 minutes.

According to FlightAware, there are currently 197 cancellations into and out of LGA, and 168 delays.  

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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(WASHINGTON) -- The Department of Justice on Wednesday charged a longtime federal prosecutor with attempting to steal a sealed report prepared by then-special counsel Jack Smith on President Donald Trump's alleged retention of classified documents.

A grand jury indicted Carmen Mercedes Lineberger -- a managing assistant U.S. attorney in Fort Pierce, Florida -- with four felony counts for allegedly attempting to steal the report, which has been sealed from public view for more than a year.

Prosecutors allege that Lineberger downloaded a copy of the sealed report onto her work computer and sent it to her personal email account in January of 2025.

According to the indictment, Lineberger renamed the report "Bundt_Cake_Recipe.pdf" before attaching it to an email from her DOJ account to her personal Gmail account.

The report has remained secret since January 2025, when it was prepared by Smith in the final days before Trump's inauguration to summarize Trump's alleged crimes. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon ordered the report be kept secret after a push from Trump's lawyers to seal the records, and the Department of Justice under the Trump administration has since fought to ensure the report is never released.

Trump pleaded not guilty to 40 counts of retaining classified information, obstruction of justice, and false statements after Smith alleged he not only kept a trove of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate after leaving office in 2021, but also actively impeded law enforcement from retrieving them. After months of litigation, Judge Cannon dismissed the case on the grounds that Smith was not properly appointed special counsel.

Earlier this year, Cannon issued an additional order permanently restricting the department from releasing the report. Two legal groups are in the midst of appealing her orders arguing disclosure of the report remains in the public's interest.

It's not immediately clear based on court papers unsealed Wednesday if prosecutors will argue that Lineberger intended to leak the contents of the report.

She made her initial appearance in federal court in West Palm Beach Wednesday and entered a not guilty plea to the indictment. An attorney listed as representing Lineberger declined to comment when reached by ABC News. 

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(NEW YORK) -- The Colorado River basin and its two largest reservoirs -- Lake Mead and Lake Powell -- are facing potentially record-low water levels in the coming months due to a snow drought that impacted much of the West over the winter season, projections from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation show.

The 24-month study released by the Bureau of Reclamation, which oversees water resource management, on Friday indicates that Lake Mead could reach a record-low level of 1,036 feet of elevation in 2026.

Lake elevations indicate how much water is inside a reservoir. The Bureau's scenario analysis looks at the end of month elevations for both Lake Powell and Lake Mead, and they make a future projection based on the probable inflow.

The previous low at Lake Mead was recorded in 2022, when levels dropped to around 1,040 feet.

Lake Mead could again approach these critically low levels over the next several months and years, according to the Bureau. This would depend on both the climate conditions as well as the response to those conditions, Dave White, director of the Global Institute of Sustainability and Innovation at Arizona State University, told ABC News.

Lake Powell is also projected to drop to a new record-low level in the coming months, surpassing the previous record of around 3,520 feet set in 2023. The amount of water flowing into the lake between April and July is forecast to be around 800,000 acre-feet, the lowest flow on record and only 13% of the average for that period, Cody Moser, senior hydrologist at the Colorado River Basin Forecast Center, said during a webinar on May 7.

Lake Mead and Lake Powell are the largest reservoirs in the U.S. Together, they store about 80% of the water supplies in the Colorado River system, Mark Squillace, professor of natural resources at the University of Colorado, told ABC News.

More than 40 million people rely on the river system for water, according to the Bureau.

Apart from actual water supplies, one of the biggest concerns for hydrologists is whether enough water remains in the reservoirs to operate hydropower systems. Another 2.5 million people are supplied by hydropower conducted in the Colorado River's hydroelectric facilities, such as the Hoover and Glen Canyon dams.

The minimum surface elevation needed to generate power at the Hoover Dam is 1,050 feet, according to the Bureau. Anything below that is considered "inactive pool," and a "dead pool" exists at 895 feet in elevation.

A "dead pool" is when water won't flow to a dam and is too low to flow downstream.

Record low snowpack was followed by a heat wave in March that served as a "knockout punch" for lack of runoff leading to the reservoirs, Jon Meyer, assistant Utah state climatologist, told ABC News.

"We've been monitoring how the dismal thin snowpack melts travel down through the watersheds, and how much reservoir recharge and stream flow we can expect this year," Meyer said. "It is just exceedingly underperformed a normal situation."

But this isn't a situation caused by one bad snow year, Arizona State University's White said, adding that the Colorado River system is operating under an increasingly warmer, drier climate.

The West had been dealing with a decades-long megadrought before atmospheric rivers in the winters of 2023 and 2024 inundated the region with enough moisture to cause extreme flooding and alleviate drought conditions. This is further evidence of hydroclimate whiplash -- the rapid shift between wet and dry conditions -- that has resulted from anthropogenic climate change, the experts said.

"This is a multi-decade-old drought, and then on top of that multi-decade-old drought are the impacts of climate change, which predominantly translate into higher temperatures, more variable precipitation, and drier soils and higher [water] demand," White said.

The most recent low reservoir levels occurred in 2022, in which Lake Mead's water levels reached a record low of around 1,040 feet, according to the Bureau of Reclamation.

After that year, reservoir levels rebounded slightly due to aggressive conservation measures, especially from the lower basin states -- Arizona, California and Nevada, White said.

The Colorado River system is integral for supplying water, power and watering the agricultural feeds that sustain the rest of the country, Erica Fleishman, director of the Oregon Climate Change Research Institute said.

But the river system is over-allocated, according to Fleishman. The water rights were established during a period of the 20th century in which levels were "unusually high," she noted.

"The Colorado River is emblematic of what the entire West is seeing this year with limited water supply and ramifications for hydropower generation, for irrigation, for water quality," Fleishman said.

The Bureau is anticipated to issue a record of decision with the operational guidelines for 2027 and 2028, as well as a framework for 2029 through 2036.

The lower basin states have submitted an allocation plan for consideration, but there is not yet a consensus plan among all of the states, including the upper basin states, according to White.

"I think it's fair to say no one is happy with it," he said.

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(NEW YORK) --  Two police officers who defended the U.S. Capitol in 2021 during the Jan. 6 attack are suing to stop the creation of President Donald Trump's $1.7 billion "Anti-Weaponization Fund," calling it the "most brazen act of presidential corruption this century." 

Former Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn and Metropolitan Police Department Officer Daniel Hodges alleged that the compensation fund, which was announced by the Justice Department on Monday, would not only encourage those who committed violence in the name of President Trump but that it would directly finance their operations. 

"To prevent the public financing of paramilitary organizations in the United States, and to protect Plaintiffs from further violence, the fund must be dissolved," the lawsuit said. 

The fund, which was part of a settlement agreement in Trump's $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service, was established by the Trump administration to compensate those who allege they were wrongly targeted under the Biden administration.

The officers alleged that the creation of the fund is arbitrary and capricious -- and therefore a violation of the Administrative Procedures Act -- and runs afoul of a prohibition in the Fourteenth Amendment barring the government from funding insurrections. 

"No statute authorizes its creation, the settlement on which it is premised is a corrupt sham, and its design violates the Constitution and federal law," the lawsuit said. 

Filed in D.C. federal court, the lawsuit asked a judge to block the creation and funding of the compensation fund. The settlement agreement that initiated the fund gave the acting attorney general 30 days to create the entity and appoint five commissioners to run it. 

Dunn and Hodges are some of the most high-profile members of law enforcement who defended the Capitol that day. Hodges was pinned against a door frame, attacked, and crushed by rioters. Dunn was inside the Capitol and directly engaged the rioters. He ran for Congress unsuccessfully in 2024 and is currently running for Maryland's 5th Congressional District.

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(NEW YORK) -- Despite high prices for gas and airfare, a record-breaking 45 million Americans are expected to travel for Memorial Day weekend, according to AAA.

Whether you are hitting the road or taking to the skies, here's what you need to know:

By plane

About 3.66 million people are expected to fly over Memorial Day weekend, according to AAA.

The top U.S. destinations are Orlando, Florida; Seattle; New York City; Las Vegas; Miami; and San Francisco, according to AAA. The top international cities are Rome; Vancouver, Canada; Paris and London.

American Airlines said its busiest travel day of the holiday weekend is expected to be Friday, May 22. American also said it's predicting its busiest summer ever, with Friday, July 17, set to be the airline's most popular day to fly.

By car

The majority of people are expected to drive to their Memorial Day destination, with AAA predicting 39.1 million will travel by car.

If you are heading out the door on Friday, May 22, the best time to be on the road is before 11 a.m., because traffic will be heaviest from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., according to analytics company INRIX.

When you are ready to hit the road to go home on Monday, May 25, INRIX recommends leaving before 10 a.m., with the worst traffic forecast from noon to 5 p.m.

Although millions are driving to their Memorial Day vacation, filling up the tank will be costly as the war in Iran sends gas prices surging. As of May 10, the national average for gas was above $4.50 per gallon, according to data from AAA and Gas Buddy. Last year on Memorial Day, the national average for a gallon of gas was $3.17, according to AAA. This year marks the highest gas prices since the summer of 2022, AAA said.

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(SAN DIEGO) -- Investigators are continuing to build a picture of the two suspects in the deadly Monday shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego which killed three people, and which law enforcement officials say may have been driven by nihilistic and accelerationist extremism.

Three men, one of whom was a security guard, were killed in the shooting on Monday, authorities said, with investigators saying they are currently considering the incident as a hate crime.

Two suspects, aged 17 and 18, were found dead in a vehicle nearby, police said. Authorities are investigating two teenagers, Cain Clark and Caleb Vazquez, as the suspected attackers in the shooting, several sources told ABC News.

Authorities are reviewing a video apparently posted online by one of the suspects in Monday's shooting that appeared to capture a livestream of the attack and its aftermath, sources told ABC News.

Sources said a video posted to an online gore site allegedly shows the suspects approaching the center and then opening fire, with a person believed to be suspect Clark wearing camouflage fatigues and a plate carrier.

In a later portion of the video, sources said the person believed to be Clark can be seen reaching into the backseat of the vehicle and then shooting Vazquez, before chambering a second round and taking his own life.

The video and items found with the suspects' bodies appeared to indicate associations with extremist ideology, law enforcement officials said.

A Sonnenrad patch, depicting a neo-Nazi symbol, and what analysts assess is likely a patch for a militant accelerationist group, are both visible on the plate carrier being worn by the person believed to be Clark, according to sources. Additionally, writings are visible on a gun, including drawings of SS bolts and neo-Nazi insignias, sources said.

Further symbols associated with neo-Nazism and militant accelerationism were found at the scene of the shooting, including a flag with a Sonnenrad on it and a gas can with SS bolts drawn on it, according to sources.

Investigators are examining a lengthy document circulating online that is comprised of two hate-filled essays totaling 75 pages allegedly written by the suspected shooters, sources told ABC News.

Both essays promote white nationalism and express a hatred for immigrants, racial minorities and others, as well as anger toward women who prefer taller men, according to sources. Vazquez allegedly writes he is an "accelerationist" in his essay, echoing nihilistic rhetoric, sources said.

It's unclear when the essays were actually written -- a section intended to identify the "targets" is left blank, sources said.

Social media accounts believed to be tied to Clark reflect possible associations with nihilistic violent extremist ideology, sources also told ABC News.

Early last year, police in Chula Vista, California, spoke with Vazquez after someone who knew him expressed concerns that he was interested in extremist ideology and mass-casualty attacks, though the concerns at that point didn't meet the threshold for making an arrest, sources told ABC News.

A spokesperson for the Chula Vista Police Department told ABC News on Tuesday that the department "extends its deepest condolences to all those affected by this tragedy" but declined to answer questions about the prior contact.

The suspects met online and discovered they both lived in the San Diego area, according to Mark Remily, the special agent in charge of the FBI's San Diego Field Office. They appear to have been radicalized online and had a "broad hatred" toward a wide array of races and religions, Remily said during a press briefing Tuesday.

"They didn't discriminate on who they hated," Remily said.

Investigators have recovered writings that outline "religious and racial beliefs of how the world they envision should look," Remily said. Authorities are in the process of analyzing their writings to learn what led to the attack and how to prevent future ones, as well as looking into "how the radicalization occurred," he said.

It's too early in the investigation to tell if the mosque was the specific target, authorities said.

"We're still looking through electronics to give us the answers, but again, what I can say is they definitely had a broad hatred towards a lot of folks," Remily said.

San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said law enforcement is still working to determine the scope of the "threat picture," when asked if the Islamic center's schools were the intended target.

Police are investigating how the suspects obtained firearms in the shooting, Wahl said Tuesday. The guns belonged to the parents of one of the suspects, he said.

During searches of two residences associated with the suspects, authorities seized "numerous pistols, rifles, shotguns, ammunition, tactical gear, as well as electronics," Remily said.

"So far in this investigation, we've seized over 30 guns and a crossbow," he said.

The shooting was reported shortly before noon Monday, police said.

A video review shows that the suspects got into a "gun battle" with the security guard, who was killed outside the mosque, according to Wahl.

The security guard had managed to put out a "lockdown protocol," which along with the sound of gunfire, allowed those in the main common areas of the mosque to go into hiding, he said. There were some 140 children inside at the time, he said.

The suspects moved room by room once inside, but did not run into anyone, the police chief said. At one point, they are seen looking out a window, with one pointing to the window, before running out a nearby door, at which point they "immediately engage" the two other victims outside in the parking lot, he said.

Amin Abdullah, the security guard killed, has been hailed as a hero.

"His actions, without a doubt, delayed, distracted and ultimately deterred these two individuals from gaining access to the greater areas of the mosque where as many as 140 kids were within 15 feet of these suspects," Wahl said Tuesday.

The two other victims killed in the shooting -- identified by authorities as Mansour Kaziha and Nadir Awad -- "drew the attention" of the suspects into a parking lot "where they were unfortunately unable to flee," Wahl said. They were cornered by the suspects and killed, Wahl said.

Police are investigating a potential motive but said the shooting is currently being considered as a hate crime.

"There was definitely hate rhetoric that was involved," Wahl said during a Monday press briefing.

Anti-Islamic writings were found in the vehicle with the two teens, sources told ABC News.

About two hours before the shooting at the mosque, San Diego police received a call involving the 17-year-old suspect, about a runaway juvenile, according to Wahl. The teen's mother reported that "several of her weapons" and her vehicle were missing, he said. The mother also found a note, Wahl said, the contents of which the police chief did not share.

The mother told police that her son was with another individual and that they were both "dressed in camo," Wahl said.

Officers were attempting to track down the vehicle and dispatched police to a mall and to a school with which one of the teens was associated, when the shooting at the mosque was reported, he said.

The Islamic Center of San Diego says it is the largest mosque in San Diego County.

"We have never experienced a tragedy like this before," Taha Hassan, Imam and Director of Islamic Center of San Diego, said of the center at a news conference.

"It is extremely outrageous to target a place of worship. Our Islamic center is a place of worship. People come to the Islamic center to pray, to celebrate, to learn, not only Muslims, but we have people from all walks of life," Hassan added.

"The religious intolerance and the hate, unfortunately, that exists in our nation is unprecedented," Hassan said.

"We strongly condemn this horrifying act of violence," Tazheen Nizam, the executive director of the San Diego chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said in a statement. "Our thoughts are with everyone impacted by this attack. No one should ever fear for their safety while attending prayers or studying at an elementary school."

San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria told ABC News that "we immediately have increased patrols around religious sites, both our Muslim, Jewish and other faith communities across the city. And I imagine we'll maintain that posture for some time."

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(WASHINGTON) -- The Justice Department on Tuesday issued an addendum to its sweeping settlement to end President Donald Trump's lawsuit against the IRS that would bar the government from conducting audits of tax returns filed by Trump, his family and their companies. 

The filing, signed by acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and posted to the Justice Department's website Tuesday, states that the IRS is "forever barred and precluded" from "prosecuting or pursuing" examinations or reviews of Trump or "related or affiliated individuals" and businesses. 

The addendum expands the unprecedented settlement agreement announced by the DOJ Monday that establishes a $1.776 billion "Anti-Weaponization Fund" to compensate those who allege they were wrongly targeted under the Biden administration, in exchange for Trump dropping his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS as well as two civil claims for $230 million related to the Russia collusion investigation he faced during his first term in office and the 2022 search of his Mar-a-Lago estate.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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(VIRGINIA) -- A former assistant principal at a Virginia elementary school is standing trial on criminal charges more than three years after a then-6-year-old student shot his first grade teacher in their classroom.

Ebony Parker has been charged with eight counts of felony child abuse with disregard for life in connection with the January 2023 shooting at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News -- one count for each bullet that was unspent in the gun, according to the Newport News Commonwealth's Attorney's Office. She has pleaded not guilty.

The criminal trial comes months after a separate jury in a civil trial found that Parker acted with gross negligence in the shooting and awarded the injured teacher, Abby Zwerner, $10 million in damages.

Prosecutors in the ongoing criminal trial allege that Parker failed to respond after several staffers raised concerns that the student, identified in the trial as JT, had a gun.

"For over an hour, multiple people went to Dr. Parker and told her there was an armed child at an elementary school," Deputy Commonwealth Attorney Josh Jenkins said during opening statements on Tuesday. "Multiple warnings brought directly to her."

Jenkins said the evidence will show that Parker did not say to search the child, did not call police and did not remove the child from the classroom.

"She didn't even get up from her desk," he said. "Warning after warning after warning -- nothing."

Jenkins said there were 19 children in the classroom at the time of the shooting who are the alleged victims in this case.

"A slight movement of the gun could have hit a child instead of Miss Zwerner," he said. "All of them, you'll learn, watched as their teacher clutched her chest and bled before these children, screaming in horror, ran across the hallway to another classroom."

Jenkins claimed that Parker was the only person in the building at the time who had the authority and knowledge to respond to the crisis.

Defense attorney Curtis Rogers pushed back against that claim, arguing in his opening statement that other school staffers, including Zwerner, could have acted.

"The Commonwealth talks about, a lot, this ongoing crisis and that Dr. Parker was the only person that had knowledge of the crisis and the authority to act. I will submit that that's not accurate. It's not true," Rogers said.

"Think about it -- who was the one person that was there from the beginning to the end? And that was the teacher, Miss Zwerner," he said.

Zwerner, the first witness in the trial, testified that she had told Parker prior to the shooting that JT "seemed to be off" that day and "in a violent mood." She said another staffer, reading specialist Amy Kovac, alerted her that JT told other students he had brought a gun to school, and that Kovac reported that to the administration.

Zwerner said that in hindsight she could have separated JT from the other students and confirmed that she was responsible for the safety of her students. Though she said her understanding that a crisis or emergency needed to be brought to the attention of the administration, and that she trusted her colleagues.

Kovac testified that she told Parker that two students reported to her that JT had a gun in his bag, and that Parker nodded in acknowledgment when she said she would search the bag at recess. Kovac said she did not find a gun when she searched the bag and then told Parker that she believed the gun was in his jacket pocket.

Pressed by the defense on why she didn't do more, such as by separating students from JT, Kovac said, "I did not know what his next actions would have been at that moment."

"A weapon had been reported and no administrator did actions," she said.

The criminal trial is scheduled to run through at least Thursday.

Zwerner also testified about the shooting during the civil trial, saying she "thought I had died."

The bullet went through Zwerner's left hand, which she had lifted, and then into her chest. She was initially hospitalized with life-threatening injuries, police said.

Parker did not testify during the civil trial.

Zwerner and Parker both resigned following the shooting.  

The student brought the gun from home, police said. His mother, Deja Taylor, was sentenced to two years in state prison after pleading guilty to child neglect in connection with the shooting. She also pleaded guilty to using marijuana while in possession of a firearm and making a false statement about her drug use during the purchase of the firearm used in the shooting and was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison.

She was released from state custody on May 13 and transitioned to community supervision, according to online Virginia Department of Corrections records.

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(SAN DIEGO) -- Amin Abdullah, the security guard who was killed along with two others in a shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego on Monday, is being hailed as a hero as police say "his actions were heroic and undoubtedly saved lives."

The shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego, the largest mosque in San Diego County, was reported shortly before noon local time, police said.

While officers were responding to the mosque, the police department "began to receive calls from just a couple blocks away that we had more active gunfire," officials said at a news conference Monday.

The security guard appeared to play a "pivotal role" in keeping the shooting from "being much worse," police said, noting that the victims were all found in front of the Islamic Center.

After the gunmen ran past him, the security guard observed the threat at the mosque and began to "engage [suspects] with gunfire," with both suspects returning fire, San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said at a press conference Tuesday.

The guard then radioed in the lockdown protocol before continuing to "engage in a gun battle with these two suspects," Wahl said.

"His actions, without a doubt, delayed, distracted and ultimately deterred these two individuals from gaining access to the greater areas of the mosque where as many as 140 kids were within 15 feet of these suspects," Wahl said.

"Tragically, he died in that gun battle," Wahl said.

The two other victims killed in the shooting, "drew the attention" of the suspects into a parking lot, "where they were unfortunately unable to flee," Wahl said. They were cornered by the suspects and killed, Wahl said.

The massive response to the shooting forced the two suspects to flee to their vehicle.

"All three of our victims did not die in vain," Wahl said.

Abdullah "risked his own life to alert the school and other individuals inside regarding the active shooter. He is the definition of a hero who bravely made the ultimate sacrifice to save others over himself," the Council on American-Islamic Relations said in a statement Tuesday.

Islamic Center of San Diego Imam Taha Hassane called Abdallah "a lovely person,"

"He never, never stopped smiling for anyone, our community members as well as our visitors. If it was not for him, as chief mentioned, the carnage would be much worse," Hassane said.

"We are so proud of him," Hassane said.

Two other victims killed in the shooting have been identified by San Diego authorities as Mansour Kaziha and Nadir Awad.

Kaziha, known as Abu Ezz, was "a community leader who managed the mosque store for nearly 40 years and was a loving husband, father and grandfather," CAIR said.

Kaziha is the "pillar of the Islamic Center of San Diego" and has been since 1986, who provided daily assistance at the mosque with whatever needed to be done, Hassane said.

"I don't know what I am going to do at the Islamic Center without his daily assistance. We miss him," Hassane said.

Kaziha was the first person to call 911, Hassane said.

Awad "turned away community members from the bullets and saved lives," CAIR said.

Awad lived across the street from the Islamic Center and his wife is a teacher at the Islamic school.

"When he heard the shooting he rushed to do something, to protect and he joined Mansour Kaziha. They died together," Hassane said.

FBI Special Agent in Charge Mark Remily said that multiple search warrants have been executed in multiple locations. Numerous firearms were seized from two of those locations.

The FBI is also conducting interviews with the families of the suspects.

"These subjects did not discriminate on who they hated," Remily said.

Vice President JD Vance called the shooting "reprehensible"  and "totally unacceptable" during a press conference at the White House Tuesday.

"I encourage every single American to pray for everybody who was involved and affected by it," Vance said.

Sam Hamideh, whose son attends the school next to the Islamic Center, told ABC News' San Diego affiliate KGTV that Abdullah would have done anything to help the people inside.

"Even when the day was going wrong you could just smile ... he just had that kind of heart and he always really cared," Hamideh said.

Both suspects, ages 17 and 18, are dead from apparent self-inflicted gunshot wounds, police said.

Authorities are investigating a potential motive but said the shooting is currently being considered a hate crime.

"There was definitely hate rhetoric that was involved," Wahl said.

Anti-Islamic writings were found in the vehicle with the two teens, sources told ABC News.

"We have never experienced a tragedy like this before," Taha Hassan, director of the Islamic Center of San Diego, said at a news conference.

Hassan said he's sending "prayers and standing in solidarity with all the families in our community here, and also the other mosques, and all the places of worship in our beautiful city."

Tazheen Nizam, the executive director of the San Diego chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said in a statement, "We strongly condemn this horrifying act of violence. Our thoughts are with everyone impacted by this attack. No one should ever fear for their safety while attending prayers or studying at an elementary school."

-ABC News' Emily Shapiro and Meredith Deliso contributed to this report.

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(SAN DIEGO) -- Three men, one of whom was a security guard, were killed in a shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego on Monday, authorities said, with investigators saying they are currently considering the incident as a hate crime.

Two suspects, aged 17 and 18, were reported dead from apparent self-inflicted gunshot wounds, police said.

Authorities are investigating two teenagers, Cain Clark and Caleb Vazquez, as the suspected attackers in the shooting, a number of sources told ABC News.

The shooting was reported shortly before noon Monday, police said.

Police are investigating a potential motive but said the shooting is currently being considered as a hate crime.

"There was definitely hate rhetoric that was involved," San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said during a Monday press briefing.

Anti-Islamic writings were found in the vehicle with the two teens, sources told ABC News.

About two hours before the shooting at the mosque, San Diego police received a call involving one of the suspects, about a runaway juvenile, according to Wahl. The teen's mother reported that "several of her weapons" and her vehicle were missing, he said. The mother also found a note, Wahl said, the contents of which the police chief did not share.

The mother told police that her son was with another individual and that they were both "dressed in camo," Wahl said.

Officers were attempting to track down the vehicle and dispatched police to a mall and to a school with which one of the teens was associated, when the shooting at the mosque was reported, he said.

The Islamic Center of San Diego says it is the largest mosque in San Diego County.

"We have never experienced a tragedy like this before," Taha Hassan, Imam and Director of Islamic Center of San Diego, said of the center at a news conference.

Hassan said he's sending "prayers and standing in solidarity with all the families in our community here, and also the other mosques, and all the places of worship in our beautiful city."

"It is extremely outrageous to target a place of worship. Our Islamic center is a place of worship. People come to the Islamic center to pray, to celebrate, to learn, not only Muslims, but we have people from all walks of life," Hassan added.

"The religious intolerance and the hate, unfortunately, that exists in our nation is unprecedented," Hassan said.

"We strongly condemn this horrifying act of violence," Tazheen Nizam, the executive director of the San Diego chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said in a statement. "Our thoughts are with everyone impacted by this attack. No one should ever fear for their safety while attending prayers or studying at an elementary school."

San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria told ABC News that "we immediately have increased patrols around religious sites, both our Muslim, Jewish and other faith communities across the city. And I imagine we'll maintain that posture for some time."

"[I] believe that once the investigation is complete that that security guard will be credited with a tremendous saving of many, many lives, including many children, an absolute hero who sadly lost his life, but for whom we're all grateful," Gloria said.

"Hate has no home in San Diego. Islamophobia has no home in San Diego," the mayor said during a press conference.

ABC News' Meg Christie, Luke Barr, Mike Levine and Alex Stone contributed to this report.

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(NEW YORK) -- A 56-year-old Westchester County woman plunged to her death after stepping out of her car into an open manhole in Midtown Manhattan on Monday, sources told ABC News.

The woman, identified as Donike Gocaj of Briarcliff Manor, New York, parked her car at West 52 Street and Fifth Avenue just before 11:20 p.m. Monday, the sources said. 

She stepped out of her Mercedes-Benz SUV and into an uncovered manhole, falling about 10 feet, sources said. 

The woman was rushed to New York Presbyterian Hospital, where she was pronounced dead, sources said. 

No construction was ongoing, and the manhole cover was discovered about 15 feet away from the opening, according to sources.

Con Edison said it is "actively investigating" the incident.

"We are deeply saddened to confirm that a member of the public has died after falling into an open manhole. We are actively investigating how this occurred. Our thoughts are with the individual's family, and safety remains our top priority," Con Edison said in a statement Tuesday. 

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(SAN DIEGO) -- Three adult men, one of whom was a security guard, were killed in a shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego on Monday, authorities said.

The security guard appeared to play a "pivotal role" in keeping the shooting from being worse, police said at a news conference.

Both suspects, who are teenagers, are dead from apparent self-inflicted gunshot wounds, police said.

All children are safe, police said.

Photos show children being evacuated from the area.

Police said the shooting is currently being considered a hate crime since it took place at a mosque.

The Islamic Center of San Diego says it is the largest mosque in San Diego County.

"We strongly condemn this horrifying act of violence," Tazheen Nizam, the executive director of the San Diego chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said in a statement. "Our thoughts are with everyone impacted by this attack. No one should ever fear for their safety while attending prayers or studying at an elementary school."

In New York City, the NYPD said there's "no known nexus to NYC or specific threats to NYC houses of worship," but the department said it is increasing officer deployments to mosques "out of an abundance of caution."

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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(HARTFORD, Conn.) -- Former Hartford police officer Joseph Magnano was charged with first-degree manslaughter in connection to the February 27, 2026 fatal shooting of Steven “Stevie” Jones.

The charge and evidence supporting it was laid out in the Connecticut state inspector general's report, which was released on Monday, and comes after Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam announced in March that he had terminated Magnano amid a probe into the incident after viewing the police body camera footage. The body camera footage has not been released publicly.

ABC News has reached out to the Hartford Police Department and Magnano's attorney for comment.

This is a developing story, please check back for updates.

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(NEW YORK) -- Alex Murdaugh is suing the former court clerk who served during his double murder trial in South Carolina, alleging she denied him a fair trial before an impartial jury, his attorneys announced days after the state's top court overturned his murder convictions.

Murdaugh's wife, Margaret "Maggie" Murdaugh, 52, and younger son, Paul Murdaugh, 22, were found dead from multiple gunshot wounds near the dog kennels at the family's hunting estate in 2021.

Murdaugh was convicted in 2023 of murdering them following a six-week trial, with jurors deliberating for nearly three hours before reaching a guilty verdict.

Last week, the five-member South Carolina Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Murdaugh must have a new trial, citing the "breathtaking and disgraceful effort" of former Colleton County clerk Mary Rebecca "Becky" Hill to "undermine the jury process."

"With the South Carolina Supreme Court's ruling, it has been adjudged as a matter of state law that she deprived Alex of his constitutional rights, deprived him of a right to a fair trial, and as a result we've got to do it all over again, which nobody wants to do," Murdaugh's attorney, Jim Griffin, said during a press briefing on Monday announcing the lawsuit.

The lawsuit is seeking at least $600,000, Griffin said. The civil complaint notes that Murdaugh spent $600,000 on his trial defense, according to the filing.

"The South Carolina Supreme Court has ruled that Ms. Hill’s actions -- motivated by her own desire to profit from the trial -- caused these funds to be lost," the filing stated.

Griffin said they are seeking "accountability" with the lawsuit.

"Now, let me be clear. Alex Murdaugh owes a lot of people a lot of money. None of this money that is recovered will go to him personally," he said. "The purpose of this lawsuit is to hold Becky Hill accountable for what she did."

ABC News has reached out to Hill's attorney for comment.

In its opinion filed last Wednesday, the state supreme court stated that Hill "egregiously attacked Murdaugh's credibility and his defense, thus triggering the presumption of prejudice, which the State was unable to rebut."

"As noted at the outset, Hill's shocking jury interference was accomplished outside the presence and knowledge of the outstanding trial judge and superbly competent and professional counsel for the State and the defense," it continued.

In the murder trial, prosecutors made the case that Murdaugh, who comes from a legacy of prominent attorneys in the Lowcountry region, killed his wife and son to gain sympathy and distract from his financial wrongdoings, while the defense argued that police ignored the possibility that anyone else could have killed them.

Murdaugh's defense claimed that Hill influenced the verdict through remarks heard by some jurors during the trial, including in one instance to watch Murdaugh's body language during his testimony, according to court filings.

Murdaugh has continued to deny having anything to do with the deaths of his wife and son.

Following the decision, South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson said his office will "aggressively" seek to retry Murdaugh for the murders "as soon as possible" -- possibly by the end of this year.

Hill resigned as the Colleton County clerk of court in March 2024, amid the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division's investigation into allegations she may have abused her government position for financial gain.

Her book, "Behind the Doors of Justice: The Murdaugh Murders," was ultimately pulled from publication over accusations of plagiarism.

She pleaded guilty in December 2025 to obstruction of justice, perjury and misconduct in office for showing photographs that were sealed court evidence to a reporter during the trial and then later lying about doing so on the stand during a hearing related to Murdaugh's bid for a new trial. She was sentenced to three years of probation and 100 hours of community service.

The charges did not allege any jury tampering, and she denied any tampering with the jury during her testimony.

Murdaugh was also convicted on several financial crimes following the murder trial and is serving a 27-year sentence on state charges and a 40-year sentence on federal charges related to those crimes.

In its opinion, the state supreme court found that the trial court acted within its discretion in admitting some evidence of the financial crimes, which supported the state's theory of motive, though it noted that the evidence could have been presented in a "fraction" of the time. If admitted on retrial, the evidence must be presented "efficiently," the opinion stated.

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(MINNEAPOLIS) -- Minnesota prosecutors on Monday announced charges against a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in the nonfatal shooting of a Venezuelan man in Minneapolis earlier this year.

The federal agent, Christian Castro, was charged with four counts of second-degree assault and one count of falsely reporting a crime in the Jan. 14 shooting of Julio Sosa-Celis, according to the Hennepin County attorney.

"Mr. Castro fired his service weapon at the front door of the home, knowing there were people who had just run inside that presented absolutely no threat to him or anyone else," Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said during a news conference Monday.

According to Moriarty, the bullet struck Sosa-Celis in the leg, passed through a closet and lodged in the wall of a child's bedroom. She added that Castro was not under any physical threat when he opened fire and that claims from government officials that he had been struck with a shovel or broom were false.

"There is no such thing as absolute immunity for federal officers who commit crimes in this state or any other," Moriarty said. "A violent crime did occur that night, but it was Mr. Castro who committed it."

A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ABC News.

According to the criminal complaint, the confrontation began when Castro and other ICE agents chased a man who was delivering food for DoorDash back to his house.

The complaint states that security footage shows that Castro tackled the driver after he jumped out of his car and was running toward his home, which he shared with Sosa-Celis. Another resident then separated the two men and was able to get inside the house with the driver.

According to the complaint, video evidence shows Castro then fired a single gunshot through the closed front door and hit Sosa-Celis in the right leg.

Four adults and two children were inside the home at the time of the gunfire, the complaint states. Following the shooting, ICE agents deployed tear gas, breached the residence, and took the occupants into custody.

Bail for Castro was set at $200,000.

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(NEW YORK) -- About 50 million people in America's Heartland were in the storm zone on Monday, bracing for another day of destructive thunderstorms and tornadoes.

A level 4 out of 5 moderate risk for severe storms was in place across eastern Kansas, including the cities of Wichita, Topeka, Salina and Manhattan.

The new threat of twisters tearing through the Heartland comes a day after 20 tornadoes were reported in Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota and Kansas.

The rural Nebraska community of St. Libory, just north of Grand Island, appeared to be the hardest hit in the region on Sunday.

At least two homes in St. Libory were destroyed by a suspected tornado that swept through the community on Sunday evening, according to Howard County Emergency Management.

There were no immediate reports of deaths or injuries.

Full-time storm chaser Sierra Lindsey posted video on social media of a massive twister cutting across farmland and Highway 281 north of St. Libory on Sunday afternoon.

Severe weather spreading across the Heartland is expected to trigger a new round of tornadoes on Monday afternoon.

Residents from Oklahoma to Iowa, including the cities of Kansas City, Omaha, Lincoln and Des Moines, are being advised to stay alert for twisters.

Flash flooding is also possible due to heavy thunderstorms. A flash flood watch is in place from southeast Nebraska through eastern Kansas and through western and central Missouri.

Storms are expected to start popping up sometime after 2 p.m. CT and will likely grow exponentially once underway.

Flash flooding is also possible in parts of the Heartland due to training thunderstorms, or storms that continue to develop and dump rain over the same area in a relatively short amount of time. A flash flood watch is in place from southeast Nebraska to eastern Kansas and through western and central Missouri.

On Tuesday, a level 2 of 5 risk for severe storms will be in place from Texas to Vermont.

Tuesday's storms are expected to follow a cold front snaking its way across the country. The main threats will be large hail and damaging wind, although isolated tornadoes are possible in the Great Lakes region.

Stormy weather will reach the mid-Atlantic and Northeast coast on Wednesday, from Richmond to Boston, with a level 1 out of 5 risk for strong winds and hail.

Summer-like temperatures expected in the East

Meanwhile, a big warm-up is expected to continue through Wednesday for most of the East, where afternoon temperatures on Monday are forecast to reach the 80s and 90s in many places.

The temperature in New York City is expected to reach near 90 degrees on Monday and could hit the mid-90s in Washington, D.C.

It will be even hotter on Tuesday for a large swath of the I-95 corridor, with highs in the 90s from D.C. to Philadelphia and New York City to Boston.

Extreme fire weather danger

Extreme fire weather danger is forecast for Monday from northeast New Mexico, across the Texas Panhandle and into southwest Kansas and Oklahoma.

Some of the largest wildfires are burning in Meade County, Kansas, where three large wildfires have consumed more than 82,000 acres combined, officials said.

Wildfires in New Mexico and Minnesota also forced evacuations over the weekend.

Several wildfires broke out in parts of Minnesota on Saturday and grew rapidly. The largest Minnesota wildfire, the Flanders Fire in Crow Wing County, has burned more than 1,600 acres and was 20% contained on Sunday night, according to the Minnesota Incident Command System.

The Minnesota wildfires prompted Gov. Tim Walz to declare a state of emergency on Sunday morning, including mobilizing the state's National Guard to help battle the fires.

"Unpredictable and fast-moving wildfires are putting Minnesota communities at risk,” Walz said in a statement. “This emergency declaration ensures we can fully mobilize the resources needed to protect lives, support evacuations, and help communities respond and recover."

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(WASHINGTON) -- The Justice Department announced Monday that as part of the settlement agreement in President Donald Trump's $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service, the attorney general is establishing an $1.776 billion "Anti-Weaponization Fund" to compensate those who allege they were wrongly targeted under the Biden administration.

The announcement came after attorneys representing Trump informed a federal judge in a court filing earlier Monday that the president was dropping his suit against the IRS.

President Trump would not be eligible to receive money from the compensation fund, according to the settlement terms, and he agreed to drop his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS as well as two civil claims for $230 million related to the Russia collusion investigation he faced during his first term in office and the 2022 search of his Mar-a-Lago estate.

Trump sued the IRS after a government contractor pleaded guilty in 2023 to stealing the tax information of Trump and other wealthy Americans and leaking it to media outlets in 2019 and 2020.

As ABC News previously reported, the fund will be led by a five-person commission appointed by the attorney general, though Trump would have the right to remove any member. The DOJ plans to pull money for the fund from the federal compensation fund, which is a perpetual appropriation normally used to pay court judgments and settlements.

The attorney general is set to receive quarterly updates about how much money has been awarded, and the fund itself can be audited, according to the DOJ.

According to the DOJ's announcement, the fund itself is modeled after a $760 million settlement reached by the Obama administration to compensate Native American farmers who were discriminated through the USDA's farm loan programs.

The fund itself will cease operations on December 15, 2028, according to the DOJ, and any leftover funds will be turned over to the federal government.

A group of 93 House Democrats filed an amicus brief Monday in Trump's lawsuit case to criticize the settlement, calling it "collusive litigation to force the American people to put ... money into his pockets, and the pockets of his family and friends."

In the brief, House Democrats argued the lawsuit and settlement is blatantly unlawful and "raises the specter of corruption unparalleled in American history."

"Filing a collusive lawsuit only to immediately dismiss it in order to produce a collusive settlement that is illegal multiple times over would not only be legally barred; it would also raise serious questions about whether the parties have manipulated the court system to achieve illicit ends," the lawmakers wrote in their filing.

Rather than a legitimate lawsuit, the lawmakers argued the litigation and settlement are a scheme to "siphon billions of taxpayer dollars into the pockets of the President, his family, and his allies." They said the settlement would violate the separation of powers, Domestic Emoluments Clause, and the two-year statute of limitations for the civil claims.

News of the settlement fund prompted backlash from Democrats and some Republicans who described it as an illegal "political slush fund" for Trump and his allies.

"Only Congress has the power to appropriate money, and Congress never voted on creating this $1.7 billion political slush fund at the Department of Justice, and Congress would never pass that," said Rep. Jamie Raskin, the House Judiciary Committee's ranking member, in an interview with ABC News' "This Week" anchor George Stephanopoulos on Sunday.

The judge overseeing the case had also raised concerns about the legality of the lawsuit, which effectively pits President Trump in his private capacity against the very government he controls. Last month she ordered the lawyers for both sides to file papers justifying that the parties were adversarial enough -- a basic legal principle for a lawsuit to proceed.

"Although President Trump avers that he is bringing this lawsuit in his personal capacity, he is the sitting president and his named adversaries are entities whose decisions are subject to his direction," U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams wrote.

She also appointed a group of seasoned attorneys to weigh in on the ethics and legality of the lawsuit. In a filing last week, those independent attorneys raised concerns about the amount of control that the president has over the defendants in the case and noted that the "circumstances raise the specter that Defendants and their attorneys may instead be operating at the President's direction."

"Since taking office, President Trump has significantly expanded the President's oversight and control over the Attorney General and DOJ, including in ways that blur the line between fidelity to the President's policy priorities and fidelity to the President himself," the filing said.

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(NEW YORK) -- The judge overseeing Luigi Mangione's state murder case ruled Monday that certain evidence seized from his backpack during a search at the Pennsylvania McDonald's where he was arrested must be suppressed, while evidence seized at the stationhouse in Altoona, Pennsylvania -- including the alleged murder weapon -- will be allowed.

New York Judge Gregory Carro determined Mangione's backpack was not in a "grabbable area" while he was detained by Altoona police in the McDonald’s.

"The search of the backpack at the McDonald’s was an improper warrantless search," Carro said.

"Therefore, the evidence found during the search of the backpack at the McDonald’s must be suppressed, including the magazine, cellphone, passport, wallet and computer chip," he said.

Carro decided the subsequent search of the backpack at the stationhouse "as a valid inventory search," so the items discovered there, including the alleged 3D-printed gun used, a notebook and handwritten slips of paper with purported escape routes, will be allowed at trial.

Prosecutors have said Mangione's notebook entries speak to motive.

"The target is insurance," one entry said. "It checks every box."

Certain statements Mangione made to Altoona officers will be suppressed, including his response when he was asked why he had initially given a false name.

Statements Mangione made to two Pennsylvania corrections officers are allowed, including a wide-ranging conversation about healthcare, overseas travel and literature. Mangione asked one of the officers how he was being perceived in the media for his alleged crime and expressed a desire to make a public statement.

Mangione attended Monday’s hearing wearing a dark suit. He sat at the defense table as two court officers stood behind him. A small group of Mangione’s supporters, some in "Free Luigi" shirts, watched from the back rows.

Mangione's state trial is scheduled to begin on Sept. 8 for the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, and Carro's decision will help define the contours of the high-profile criminal trial.

Defense lawyers have argued that the search of the backpack without a warrant violated Mangione's rights, and have repeatedly urged Carro to block prosecutors from using the evidence.

"At the hearing, Altoona law enforcement officers repeatedly attempted to justify their warrantless search of Mr. Mangione's backpack ... instead, all these officers demonstrated was an utter disregard for a defendant's constitutional rights and a shocking ignorance of basic search and seizure caselaw," Mangione's attorneys wrote in a state court filing.

Lawyers from the Manhattan district attorney's office pushed back on those claims, arguing the officers acted "in deliberate and painstaking fashion" when they searched the backpack.

"At every step, the Altoona officers responded to this unexpected and alarming situation reasonably," Assistant District Attorney Joel Seidemann wrote in a court filing, adding that officers later obtained a warrant for the bag "establishing an independent source for recovering the backpack's contents."

Mangione pleaded not guilty to state and federal charges after he was arrested for allegedly gunning down Thompson, a husband and father of two, on a Midtown Manhattan street in December 2024.

As Mangione prepares for his upcoming state trial in September, his supporters continue to fund part of his legal defense. Earlier this month, on Mangione's 28th birthday, his legal defense fund surpassed $1.5 million.

His federal trial is scheduled for January 2027.

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(NEW YORK) -- Members of the House Oversight Committee on Monday are set to interview a former prison guard who was on duty at the Metropolitan Corrections Center in New York when convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein died in 2019.

The interview of Tova Noel -- believed to be the last person to have seen Epstein before his death -- comes amid renewed scrutiny of Epstein's death.

Epstein died by suicide according to an autopsy conducted by the New York medical examiner, though a series of missteps by prison officials have long fueled conspiracy theories about his death.

Noel is alleged to have spent the hours ahead of Epstein's death scrolling the internet, rather than performing the required headcounts of the prisoners in the unit where the disgraced sex offender was housed. Prosecutors in 2019 charged Noel and another prison guard with falsifying records to make it seem as if they did the required checks, and both ended up reaching a deal with prosecutors to have the charges dropped.

The recent release of the Epstein files by the Department of Justice has brought renewed attention to Noel's actions, and Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer said she was called to testify because some lawmakers "aren't confident 100% that Epstein's death was by suicide."

"No one's accusing her of any wrongdoing, but we have a lot of questions about Epstein," Comer told Fox News in March.

Lawmakers have highlighted that Noel received a series of cash deposits between April 2018 and July 2019 totaling $12,000 -- with most taking place before Epstein was arrested -- and that the last deposit was made prior to Epstein's death. Documents released by the DOJ also show that Noel made a series of internet searches about Epstein the night he died, including "latest on Epstein in jail."

While those documents have attracted public attention, investigators appear to have already probed those matters. Grand jury transcripts released from the case against Noel released by the DOJ earlier this year showed that the FBI examined her bank records and found no evidence of a bribe.

She also told the DOJ inspector general that she did not remember searching the internet for Epstein, but may have read an article about Epstein.

Surveillance video from the jail also showed a flash of orange appearing near Epstein's cell the night he died, and a report by the Justice Department's inspector general concluded the video showed a corrections officer "believed to be Noel" carrying linen to the area near Epstein's cell.

In a sworn interview in 2021, Noel claimed she "never gave out linen," and denied providing Epstein with excess linen that may have been used to form a noose. 

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(NEW YORK) -- For the first time in 32 years, tens of thousands of New Yorkers are bracing to begin the workweek without the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR)after workers at the busiest commuter railroad in North America went on strike over the weekend.

More than 300,000 daily commuters rely on the LIRR to get from Long Island to New York City. State and local officials were scrambling over the weekend to get contingency plans in place, but warned commuters to expect New York City buses and subways to be crowded on Monday.

Queens Borough President Donovan Richards told WABC in New York that he is expecting his borough to be a bottleneck on Monday as the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is planning to use shuttle buses to transport essential workers from Long Island to subway stations in Queens.

"That's not enough when our buses are overcrowded," Richards said of the shuttle bus plan.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said on Sunday that commuters will also be allowed to park in the Citi Field parking lot, which is within walking distance to the 7 train on the New York City subway system.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani asked subway riders to be patient, but cautioned them to "prepare for heavier-than-usual traffic, crowded transit options and additional travel time."

LIRR trains came to a halt at midnight on Saturday after the union representing thousands of rail workers and the MTA failed to reach an agreement on a new contract.

Kevin Sexton, the national vice president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET), one of the five unions representing LIRR workers, told reporters that he and other leaders could not come to an agreement over salary increases and health care costs before the negotiation deadline ended.

"We are far apart at this point and we feel it's unnecessary because we went through the process," Sexton said of the strike.

MTA CEO Janno Leiber said during a Sunday press conference with New York Gov. Kathy Hochul that what the unions have asked for would force riders to "pay the cost of a labor settlement that blew up the MTA budget." 

"We said right up to the deadline that the unions had imposed, 'Let's talk, let's keep talking,' and we sat there in the hallway, so they couldn't even avoid seeing us, that we were available to talk to them right up to and through the deadline," Leiber said.

Leiber said the unions chose to "walk out" on the negotiations.

The LIRR unions called the job action an "open-ended strike," telling ABC News that, despite claims from Leiber and Hochul, MTA officials had not reached out to them about negotiations.

It was unclear on Sunday afternoon whether any new negotiations are scheduled.

According to the union statement, talks broke down when the MTA added "healthcare takeaways and other concessionary issues to the table literally in the 11th hour before a midnight strike deadline. These regressive management demands had never been raised previously."

But in an interview on Sunday with ABC New York City station WABC, Leiber denied the unions' assertion that a disagreement over health insurance prompted the strike, calling it "complete nonsense."

Lieber said the rail workers' unions "rejected every single idea that we put on the table, and there were many."

The unions are demanding wage increases of 14.5% over four years, WABC reports, while MTA officials have offered slightly smaller increases and a lump-sum payment in the contract's fourth year to make up the difference. The proposed pay bumps are largely in line with contracts accepted by the LIRR's conductors and New York City Transit workers, WABC reports.

In a statement released on Saturday, Gov. Hochul said the unions "represent the highest-paid workers of any railroad in the nation, yet they are demanding contracts that could raise fares as much as 8%, pit workers against one another, and risk tax hikes for Long Islanders."

During her news conference on Sunday, Hochul struck a more conciliatory tone.

"The work you do is absolutely vital. I value your labor and I believe that you deserve fair wages and benefits. But this strike has put all of that at risk," Hochul said.

The governor added, “Just three days of a strike would erase every dollar of additional salary that workers would receive under a new contract."

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