(NEW YORK) -- About 6,600 people in New Jersey who said they were not U.S. citizens had been incorrectly registered to vote due to a technical error during the previous gubernatorial administration, Gov. Mikie Sherrill, who took office this year, said Tuesday. She added that fewer than 400 were found to have actually voted and that the state is taking action to remove them from its voter rolls.

The admission came less than a week after Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin sent letters to New Jersey and three other states alleging that those states might have tens of thousands of noncitizens registered to vote, although Mullin did not explain how precisely DHS got those numbers.

Mullin and DHS had alleged that New Jersey could have "as many as ... 35,152 non-citizens registered to vote in New Jersey."

Sherrill said in a statement on Tuesday, "Last week I learned that a serious software error in New Jersey's Motor Vehicle System led to the registration of roughly 6,600 people who indicated that they were not U.S. citizens between June 2023 and June 2024, almost three years prior to my taking office. These individuals answered 'no' when asked on a keypad whether they were a U.S. citizen when applying for drivers' licenses and identification cards, but through no fault of their own, the system registered them anyway."

The governor's statement said that the state's "preliminary analysis" found that less than 400 people who were erroneously registered to vote had voted in elections and were not tied to just one party; they were registered as Democrats, Republicans, or unaffiliated voters.

During a press conference on Tuesday, Sherrill said those voters could have potentially voted in any election since being registered, but the state has "no evidence at this time that any elections were swayed" because of those voters

Sherrill said that she has ordered an independent investigation about what happened, the removal of any New Jersey residents from the state's voter rolls who should not have been registered to vote, and that the new administrator of New Jersey's Motor Vehicle Commission is starting to replace the vendor tasked with running the faulty system.

The governor also said she will present the state's findings after it investigates, and that the state is taking care to protect the identities of noncitizens who were registered inadvertently so that their immigration status does not get imperiled.

In a statement, IDEMIA, the company that runs the system faulted by the governor, said: "IDEMIA works with the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, and has for more than 40 years, to support the process through which eligible individuals may indicate their interest in registering to vote when applying for or renewing a driver's license or state-issued identification card. IDEMIA's role is to transmit information through the motor vehicle system. The voter registration information is transmitted to the New Jersey Department of State, Division of Elections, which is ultimately responsible for verifying eligibility to vote. Information submitted by IDEMIA must still be validated and adjudicated by the Division of Elections."

At her press conference, Sherill pushed back against any insinuation that the finding validates claims the Trump administration has made about New Jersey's voter rolls.

"Let me be clear: Donald Trump has zero credibility on the issue of election integrity. For the past 10 years, he's cried wolf and peddled bizarre conspiracy theories about fraud with no evidence," she told reporters during the press conference.

Sherrill also briefly referenced the DHS letter, saying that the number of alleged noncitizen voters appears to be unrelated to the number of noncitizen voters New Jersey uncovered. She confirmed New Jersey received the DHS letter, but said the state asked the administration for any evidence of there being that many noncitizen voters and has not gotten anything back yet.

Meanwhile, the Department of Justice said Tuesday that is investigating the matter.

In a letter to Sherrill shared on social media, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, wrote: "Ensuring that U.S. citizens' votes are not illegally diluted by noncitizens votes is of paramount importance. We therefore write to formally request additional information to assess New Jersey's compliance with various federal statutes." Dhillon asked for the state to provide within five business days personal information on the registered noncitizens the state identified and details on the around 400 who voted.

The White House said Tuesday's announcement from Sherrill bolsters the need for Congress to pass the president's signature SAVE America Act, which would significantly retool the administration of American elections.

"Democrats and their media allies have repeatedly said it is impossible for noncitizens to register to vote, let alone cast a ballot," White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement.

"As President Trump has said, there is nothing more important than the integrity of our elections. And this latest incident underscores the absolute necessity of the SAVE America Act," she added. "American voters deserve to have confidence that our elections are safe and secure -- President Trump will never stop fighting to make that happen and all patriotic Americans should join in his effort."

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(ANCHORAGE, Alaska) -- A woman is recovering after she was attacked by a brown bear while hiking through an Alaskan trail over the weekend, Alaskan authorities said.

The unidentified victim was hiking on a trail above Bear Valley, a neighborhood in south Anchorage, with another person and three dogs Saturday around 5:30 p.m. when the bear came out of the trees and encountered the pair and their dogs, the Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game said.

"High winds and inclement weather conditions at the time of the encounter may have increased the chance that the bear was surprised by the hikers and their dogs, even if they were making noise," the agency said in a statement.

The bear ran off, and first responders found the woman with non-life-threatening injuries, the Anchorage Police Department said. She was carried out of the trail and transported to a local hospital, according to the police.

Police used a drone to track the bear and ensure it was not coming back as they got the hikers and dogs to safety.

Saturday's attack took place more than a week after another woman was attacked by a bear on the front porch of her Alaskan home just as she was leaving with her dogs.

The unidentified woman took out a shotgun to try to scare away the adult bear and its two cubs from her dog but was attacked and hospitalized on July 9, according to the authorities.

The bears ran away after being scared off by another person.

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(NEW YORK) -- A fourth person has died in New York City amid an ongoing cluster of Legionnaires' disease on the Upper East Side, according to health officials.

At least 76 cases have been identified and seven people remain hospitalized, the New York City Health Department announced.

Since the cluster began, 53 people have been discharged from the hospital, according to the department.

Health officials advised that anyone who has spent time in the affected ZIP codes 10028, 10075, 10128, including Carnegie Hill and Yorkville, should seek medical attention if they develop flu-like symptoms. Legionnaires’ disease symptoms can appear up to 14 days after exposure, according to the health department.

The department previously said it believes the source of the Legionella bacteria has likely been eliminated and that it will continue inspecting every cooling tower that tested positive for the bacteria.

Health officials added there is not an issue with any building's plumbing system and that residents in the affected ZIP codes can continue to drink tap water, bathe, shower, cook and use an air conditioner at home.

Legionnaires' disease is a severe form of pneumonia caused by inhaling the Legionella bacteria in small droplets of water mixed in the air or contaminated water accidentally going into the lungs.

The bacteria are found naturally in freshwater, but amounts generally don't lead to disease. The bacteria typically grow best in warm water and in warm to hot temperatures, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The disease does not generally spread from person to person, but infections can occur if the bacteria get into a building's water supply, including in shower heads, sink faucets, hot water tanks, heaters, cooling towers and other plumbing systems.

Legionnaires' disease has increased in prevalence over the last decade, reaching a peak of 2.71 cases per 100,000 in 2018, the CDC said. Cases dropped during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic and then rebounded in 2021.

Although most people recover from Legionnaires' disease with antibiotics, certain patients -- including those who are immunocompromised or who suffer from chronic lung diseases -- can develop complications that can be fatal.

ABC News' Youri Benadjaoud contributed to this report.

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(NEW YORK) -- Tropical Storm Bertha was churning early on Tuesday about 110 miles south-southwest of Panama City, Florida, moving northwest at about 5 mph, with maximum sustained winds at about 50 mph.

Tropical storm watches and warnings were in effect for parts of the Florida Panhandle to the coast of southeastern Louisiana, including Florida's Panama City and Pensacola, along with Mobile, Alabama, and Gulfport, Mississippi.

A tropical storm watch was in effect for New Orleans on Tuesday morning.

A tropical depression that formed over the weekend strengthened on Monday night into Tropical Storm Bertha, the National Hurricane Center, prompting a tropical storm watch on Monday for parts of the Gulf Coast.

A tropical storm is defined as a tropical cyclone with maximum sustained winds of 39 mph to 73 mph.

On the forecast track, the storm was expected to slowly move along the Gulf Coast through Tuesday before approaching southern Louisiana on Wednesday, still as a rather weak tropical storm.

New Orleans was likely see some showers and gusty winds, some of which could potentially be tropical storm force, starting Tuesday night and lasting through Wednesday into Thursday, but major impacts are not anticipated.

Beyond Wednesday, Bertha was expected to continue moving westward toward Texas while weakening. It was expected to dissipate or turn post-tropical on Thursday night or Friday.

Scattered showers and thunderstorms were expected to possible on Tuesday along the Gulf Coast and Florida panhandle. Storm surge could reach 1 to 4 feet. Life-threatening rip currents were also expected to be also possible.

The rain and thunderstorm activity was forecast to shift toward southern Alabama and Mississippi on Tuesday and Wednesday. Gusty winds would also be possible, along with a widespread 2 to 4 inches of rain, with locally higher amounts up to 8 inches through Friday along the Gulf Coast.

Major rain or flooding from Bertha were not expected.

As of 8 p.m. ET Monday, Bertha had a maximum sustained winds of 40 mph. It continued to move very slowly, at just 3 mph, and the center was located about 110 miles south of Panama City, Florida.

The system was forecast to weaken back to a tropical depression sometime on Thursday and possibly dissipate or become post-tropical by the end of the week, as it was expected to approach the Texas coast.

The National Hurricane Center said the system would likely have a very asymmetric structure, with the bulk of the rainfall and much of the wind expected to occur to the south of the center, meaning it would not be over land.

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(NEW YORK) -- The Northeast and Mid-Atlantic are bracing for a new round of severe storms and possible flash flooding on Tuesday after getting hammered by heavy rain on Saturday.

The greatest threat -- a level 3 out of 5 risk -- will span from northeastern Kentucky to New Jersey, including Pittsburgh, Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Philadelphia.

Numerous severe thunderstorms with potentially destructive winds and tornadoes are possible in this region.

Rounds of heavy rain and strong storms will move across the Ohio Valley through lunchtime and into the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic through the afternoon and evening.

Areas along the Interstate 95 corridor may possibly get two rounds of storms -- one midday, followed by a bigger round between about 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Flash flooding will be a concern for a large swath of the I-95 corridor, from D.C. to Philadelphia to New York City.

Flood watches have been issued from Delaware to southern New York, where rainfall rates could exceed 1 inch per hour, potentially triggering flash flooding, especially in urban areas. Philadelphia and New York City are expected to be included.

More than 1,000 flights have been canceled Tuesday ahead of the storms, with airports in New York City and Baltimore, Maryland, seeing the biggest impacts.

Tuesday's anticipated flooding comes just days after New York City was inundated with pounding rain that flooded streets on Saturday.

ABC News' Melissa Griffin contributed to this report.

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(LOS ANGELES) -- A highly anticipated dayslong preliminary hearing in the murder case against the singer D4vd is set to get underway in Los Angeles on Tuesday, with evidence and testimony to be presented in court for the first time.

D4vd -- whose legal name is David Burke -- was arrested and charged in April with the murder of Celeste Rivas Hernandez following a monthslong investigation. He has pleaded not guilty to charges that include first-degree murder, sexual abuse of a child and unlawful mutilation of human remains.

The preliminary hearing is expected to last three to seven days, with prosecutors seeking to establish probable cause to move forward with a trial.

Prosecutors allege that D4vd and Rivas Hernandez began a sexual relationship in 2023, when he was 18 and she was 13, and that she was threatening to expose their illegal relationship and ruin his career if he would not be exclusive to her.

Just as tickets for his world tour were set to go on sale, it is alleged that the "Romantic Homicide" singer ordered an Uber that brought Rivas Hernandez to his Hollywood Hills home on April 23, 2025, prosecutors said in a nine-page brief filed days after D4vd's arrest. That was the last time she was seen alive, according to prosecutors.  

Prosecutors allege that D4vd stabbed the teen multiple times, watching her bleed out, and then undertook a series of events to dismember her body, including ordering two chainsaws on Amazon.

"In order to distance himself from the victim, he amputated her left ring and pinky fingers because her ring finger contained a tattoo of his name," prosecutors wrote in their brief, noting that her fingers have not been found.

Her badly decomposed remains were found in two body bags in the front trunk of D4vd's Tesla four months later, in September 2025, according to prosecutors.

The brief was filed to "assist the court in understanding the scope and relevance of evidence the prosecution intends to present at the preliminary hearing," prosecutors wrote.

During his arraignment in April, D4vd's attorney, Blair Berk, asked for a preliminary hearing as soon as possible, saying she believes the evidence will show that he did not murder Rivas Hernandez and that they would "like to be able to have the evidence come into the light of day at the earliest opportunity."

D4vd has been held on no bail since his arrest.

His attorneys said they plan to "vigorously defend David's innocence."

"The actual evidence in this case will show that David Burke did not murder Celeste Rivas Hernandez and he was not the cause of her death," his attorneys -- Berk, as well as Marilyn Bednarski and Regina Peter -- said in a statement following his arrest.

An attorney for Rivas Hernandez's family said in April that the family has decided not to make any future statements "in light of the gruesome details emerging almost daily."

"There are no words to express the indescribable pain the family is experiencing right now," the attorney, Patrick Steinfeld, said in a statement. "They still have bills to pay and jobs they go to every day. All they want is time to grieve and heal."

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(NEW YORK) -- A man described as an "anti-government extremist" set off an "incendiary device" to set a fire outside a Manhattan federal building that houses an immigration court, the FBI said, leaving three with minor injuries.

Andrew Arrabaca, 43, allegedly poured gasoline onto the ground outside 26 Federal Plaza and ignited it with a lighter and a large firework in a canister on Monday morning, FBI Assistant Director in Charge James Barnacle said.

He also allegedly "pulled out an airsoft rifle and fired five to seven pellets" in the direction of 26 Federal Plaza, Barnacle said.

Arrabaca "is an anti-American, anti-government extremist," Barnacle said.

After Arrabaca's arrest "he did say he was targeting the building and he was OK if he hurt or killed people going in and out of the building, whether they were federal employees or civilians," Barnacle said.

Two government employees and one civilian suffered minor injuries, Barnacle said, noting that the civilian victim was an immigrant there for an immigration hearing.

Arrabaca -- described by the Department of Homeland Security as an anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement "rioter" -- was apprehended by officers, Barnacle said.

Arrabaca is a former soldier who served from 2001 to 2005 and worked as a mechanic on Patriot missile systems, Barnacle said, with police noting he wore a military-style helmet. He's been taken into custody and has been interviewed, Barnacle said.

Arrabaca "came armed with bad intentions," Barnacle said.

"He had two axes, a hammer, a machete and three knives," as well as several incendiary devices, Barnacle said.

Barnacle said "26 Federal Plaza has long been a target of extremists," and he said "Arrabaca was looking to injure people and harm people."

Barnacle said Arrabaca had a cart with him with "anti-ICE literature," he said when Arrabaca was being arrested, he "yelled derogatory terms toward ICE."

On the suspect's cart was a sign reading "ICE Off Our Streets," NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.

Charges are yet to be filed, Tisch said, noting that the incident took place on federal property.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani called it"deeply disturbing."

"I'm relieved no one was seriously injured and that a suspect is in custody," he wrote on social media. "... Our administration will continue to ensure that every New Yorker is safe in their city -- and hold accountable any who threaten that."

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(OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss.) -- Family and friends of Mississippi teenager Nolan Wells gathered Monday for his funeral in his hometown of Ocean Springs as authorities continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding his death.

Wells' mother, Christine Wonsley, said at the service at Center Pointe Church, "We thank you, Lord, for the beautiful 18 years that you blessed us with him."

"Thank you for the joy he brought, not only to our family, but also to his friends and everyone in the community whose lives he touched," Wonsley said with her husband, Rev. Al Sharpton and family civil rights attorney Ben Crump by her side.

"Nolan had such a gentle, calming spirit about him," she said.

She described her 18-year-old son as protective and nurturing, noting that he hoped to have three daughters one day.

"We will miss everything about him, from his quiet nature to the corny jokes. His gentle smile, the way he made everyone around him feel comfortable, loved and at ease," Wonsley said. "Your absence has left an emptiness that can never truly be filled -- a piece of our hearts will always be missing."

"We will continue to fight for you," she said through tears.

Wells' father, Elmore Wonsley, was overcome with emotion as he recalled his son's excellence in football, telling the mourners, "I nicknamed you Mr. Cool Hands, because it seemed like you were catching a touchdown every game."

"You wanted to be the best, so I poured all my knowledge into you that I could -- by taking you to the gym to work out, taking you to the beach to do drills in the sand, teaching you how to watch film, how to study your opponents' strengths and weaknesses. And you carried these teachings all the way through high school," he said.

Elmore Wonsley thanked everyone for attending the funeral.

"Nolan meant a lot to a lot of people, and today just shows us how much he meant to the community, to the country and to the world," he said.

Sharpton, who delivered a eulogy, said, "We want to celebrate Nolan, and at the same time, say we want a full and thorough investigation."

As Wells' parents joined Crump on stage, he led the mourners in a chant, saying, "Nolan's life matters."

"Until we get answers, until we get to truth, until we get to justice, we going to stand up and we going to keep ringing the justice bells for Nolan Wells," Crump said.

Although the investigation is ongoing, officials say there's no indication that Wells' death was the result of anything criminal.

Director Spike Lee was among those who attended the service, Sharpton said, and actor and director Tyler Perry paid for the funeral.

Wells went missing on the 4th of July after going on a boat trip with his high school friends to the popular, undeveloped Horn Island, just south of Ocean Springs, according to officials and Crump.

"[The friends] left [Horn Island] and went back without Nolan," Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter said. "From what we understand, he chose to stay there."

Wells' body was recovered two days later, according to officials.

Authorities said they believe the college football player drowned. The sheriff said he doesn't suspect foul play, but he stressed that investigators are "working diligently to determine exactly what occurred."

The autopsy from the coroner's office has not yet been completed. Wells' family is desperate for answers and sent his body to Washington, D.C., for an independent autopsy, Crump said previously.

Ledbetter told ABC News that the sheriff's office welcomes the family's independent investigation.

"Nolan Wells' family deserves a thorough and factual investigation, and that's exactly what they're going to get," Ledbetter told ABC News last week.

Wonsley told ABC News her son was a "bright light," recalling that "his smile, his energy was just, just so infectious."

"He was just a genuinely a good person," she said.

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(NEW YORK) -- Ismael Zambada Garcia, known as "El Mayo," was sentenced Monday to life in prison on drug trafficking charges that accused him of being one of the most prolific and powerful narcotraffickers in the world, according to federal prosecutors in New York City.

Together with Joaquín Guzmán Loera, known as "El Chapo," he founded the Sinaloa cartel and oversaw the shipment of millions of kilograms of lethal drugs, including cocaine, fentanyl, and methamphetamine. He employed armed sicarios who assaulted, tortured, and murdered and he paid millions in bribes at all levels of the Mexican government, officials said.

In federal court in Brooklyn, U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

"Ismael Zambada Garcia spent nearly four decades poisoning American communities to make billions of dollars in profit and ordering the murders of anyone who stood in his way. Today, that chapter closes for good," U. S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Joseph Nocella Jr. said in a statement.

The sentence was not in doubt. El Mayo pleaded guilty last August to a charge of committing a continuing criminal enterprise, a catch-all that included 85 violations of the law, and agreed to the mandatory life imprisonment along with a $15 billion forfeiture.

"It would be difficult to overstate the magnitude of the defendant's crimes and scale of the corruption, violence, and other harm he spread throughout Mexico, the United States, and the world," federal prosecutors in Brooklyn said in a sentencing memo that called for life in prison.

As part of his plea, El Mayo, 76, admitted he was responsible for at least 1.5 million kilograms of cocaine and vast quantities of heroin and fentanyl.

Federal prosecutors said El Mayo represents "serious security concerns" that must be considered when the judge recommends a prison where he will serve his sentence.

"The defendant is the co-founder of one of the world's most violent criminal organizations, and for decades directed its operations, including its violence. Moreover, many members of the Cartel remain loyal to the defendant, including one of the defendant's sons, who remains a key leader of the defendant's faction of the Cartel in the defendant's absence," federal prosecutors said.

The defense noted that El Mayo spared the judicial system a trial and "helped protect the safety of potential witnesses who will not need to be disclosed or called to testify."

In a statement ahead of his sentencing, El Mayo said he recognized the "grave harm that illegal drugs have done to the people of the United States, of Mexico and elsewhere." He also said he recognized the "human toll of the violence and lawlessness that my criminal organization engaged in."  

El Mayo said he took responsibility for his role in all of it and apologized to "everyone who has suffered or been affected by my actions."

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(NEW YORK) -- Gas prices in the United States topped $4 per gallon on average Monday as an escalation of the Iran war renewed fears of a global oil shortage.

Prices at the pump have jumped 13 cents per gallon, or 3%, over the past week, AAA data showed, with the average price per gallon now at $4.003.

The recent cost rise brings gasoline prices back to a level achieved soon after the Iran war began in late February. The Middle East conflict prompted Iranian closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the maritime trading route that facilitates transportation of about one-fifth of global oil supply. The historic oil disruption sent gasoline prices surging.

Gas prices temporarily fell below $4 a gallon last month after the U.S. and Iran struck a preliminary agreement aimed at ending the war. Before the Iran war, fuel costs had last exceeded $4 a gallon in August 2022 following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

An exchange of strikes between the U.S. and Iran in recent days has reignited large-scale fighting and dampened prospects of a resolution.

President Donald Trump on Sunday said the U.S. hit Iran "hard" in honor of the U.S. service members who were killed by Iran over the weekend.

U.S. Central Command said two service members were killed in an attack on Jordan on Friday, and that a third service member remained missing. Another service member was killed in Iraq on Saturday, CENTCOM said.

The U.S. resumed its naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz last week, reversing a key commitment made as part of the agreement. That move came after Iran fired upon oil tankers in the strait.

The Iran war triggered one of the largest oil shocks ever recorded, sending the national average price of gasoline as high as $4.56 a gallon on May 21, AAA data showed.

Oil and gasoline prices began to fall in late May, however, as Iran and the U.S. appeared willing to strike an agreement that would reopen the strait. By late June, those prices gad fallen fell to their lowest level since before the war began.

Relief at the pump helped bring down prices overall. Inflation dropped more than expected in June as gas prices eased, federal government data on Tuesday showed.

Gas prices rose 3.5% in June compared to a year earlier, marking a retreat from a year-over-year inflation rate of 4.2% in the prior month. The reading for June marked the lowest inflation since March, though the pace of price increases remains more than a percentage point higher than its pre-war level.

Even after easing last month, overall inflation stands markedly higher than the Federal Reserve's target rate of 2%.

ABC News' David Brennan contributed to this report.

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(NEW YORK) -- A dozen purported members of the Bad Boys 7, a set of the Trinitarios, were indicted Monday on racketeering conspiracy charges that accused them of five murders, including the carjacking death last August of Ariela La Langosta, a nightlife influencer with more than half a million followers on Instagram.

She was shot multiple times and found dead in her car on the Cross County Parkway in Mount Vernon.

La Langosta, 33, whose real name was Ariela Mejia-Polanco, was a mother of two.

Her family said she left her job at Ikon New York around 4:30 that Sunday morning. The Westchester County Police Department said she was found deceased a few hours later, about 8 a.m., behind the wheel of her car on the eastbound Cross County Parkway near the Broad Street exit in Mount Vernon.

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(NEW YORK) -- Drinking up to five cups of coffee a day is safe for most adults, and regular coffee consumption may be linked to a lower risk of stroke, diabetes and heart failure, according to a new scientific statement from the American Heart Association (AHA).

The official report, published Monday in the journal Circulation, addresses years of conflicting advice regarding caffeine and the heart.

“Coffee is potentially linked to lower risks of type 2 diabetes, stroke, and heart failure, though its relationship with blood pressure is complex and data isn't entirely consistent across the board," said Dr. Jennifer Miao, a board-certified cardiologist and ABC News Medical Unit Fellow.

For decades, doctors frequently advised people with heart issues to avoid stimulants. However, this comprehensive review marks a major shift by distinguishing between natural coffee beans and synthetic caffeine.

While older guidelines relied heavily on lower-quality studies, the AHA panel integrated recent clinical trials showing that even for patients who have had a procedure to address an irregular heart rhythm, daily coffee can cut the risk of the condition returning by 39%.

Habitual coffee consumption was also associated with a 20% to 30% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

The AHA warns that your daily brewing method drastically impacts these potential health benefits, however. These heart-healthy links apply strictly to paper-filtered or instant coffee. Unfiltered options, including a French press, espresso, or Turkish coffee, retain a natural compound called cafestol. Cafestol raises low-density lipoprotein, or LDL, the "bad" cholesterol that can clog arteries over time.

Crucially, these positive heart associations do not translate to highly concentrated synthetic caffeine products like energy drinks, shots, or pills. The AHA notes that high-caffeine energy drinks are consistently linked to cardiovascular harm. These products are associated with sudden spikes in blood pressure and acute episodes of irregular heart rhythms, even in healthy adults.

“The AHA distinguishes between coffee and energy drinks, which can pose significant cardiovascular harm,” said Miao. “In large amounts, energy drinks can trigger life-threatening heart rhythm issues and even cardiac arrest.”

Your ideal caffeine limit is heavily influenced by your genetics. Inherited variations in a liver enzyme gene called CYP1A2 dictate how fast your body metabolizes stimulants. While some people can easily clear 400 milligrams of caffeine, which is about three to five cups of coffee, others may experience sleep disruption and blood pressure spikes with far less caffeine.

Doctors still caution that anyone with an underlying heart problem or existing risks of developing heart disease or stroke should talk to their provider about what amount of coffee or caffeine may be safe for them to consume.

“Consume caffeine in moderation, not solely for potential health benefits,” Miao advised. Everyone's sensitivity is different, so if you have any underlying conditions or concerns, please talk to your doctor."

Yonathan Daniel, M.D., is an internal medicine resident physician at NYU Langone Health and a member of the ABC News Medical Unit

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(NEW YORK) -- Dangerous wildfire smoke is impacting more than a dozen states on Saturday morning as air quality alerts span from the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes to New England, south through the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic.

More than 900 wildfires are burning across Canada, sending smoke into the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, though a storm system moving through Saturday could help clear some of the haze.

The Midwest and Upper Great Lakes are expected to see poor air quality through the weekend as northwesterly winds push a plume of smoke into the region.

Meanwhile, the Storm Prediction Center has issued a Level 3 of 5 risk for severe storms across parts of the Ohio Valley, Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. Major cities along the Interstate 95 corridor, including New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, D.C., could be affected. Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Buffalo are also expected to see strong storms.

The rounds of showers and storms will bring the threat of damaging winds, hail, a few tornadoes and chances for flash flooding in certain areas.

Flood watches are in effect for parts of the Northeast, including New York City and Philadelphia, through Saturday evening as heavy rainfall could trigger flash flooding.

Elsewhere, monsoonal moisture is expected to extend from West Texas and southern New Mexico into central and northern Arizona and southern Utah, where daytime heating could trigger thunderstorms capable of producing heavy rainfall and flash flooding.

A severe storm threat also extends into parts of Virginia and the Carolinas, where scattered storms could produce damaging winds and heavy rainfall as Charlotte, Raleigh and Virginia Beach are among the cities that could be affected.

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(NEW YORK) -- Dangerous smoke from hundreds of Canadian wildfires has seeped down to the U.S., impacting over 100 million Americans across more than a dozen states.

Air quality alerts on Friday stretch from the Midwest to the Great Lakes to the Northeast to the Mid-Atlantic, impacting major cities including Chicago, Detroit, Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia.

Canada has nearly 900 wildfires burning, with over 100 categorized as out of control. Almost 200 of the fires are in Ontario.

Heavy rain by the Minnesota/Canada border on Friday may help with some fires, but the storms could also bring strong winds and lightning, which can spark new fires and create more erratic fire activity.

Passing showers and thunderstorms are also possible in Ontario Friday, but that rain won't be enough to put the wildfires out, and the winds may make conditions worse and lightning could spark new wildfires. There are more chances for rain over Ontario on Saturday and again on Tuesday. 

In the U.S., the smoke Friday spans from Duluth, Minnesota, to Richmond, Virginia, impacting states including Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland and Delaware.

Philadelphia issued a "Code Purple Air Quality Emergency Day" Friday.

"Everyone may experience negative health effects from particulate matter in the air," Philadelphia officials warned. "Members of sensitive groups may experience more serious health effects."

The worst air quality Friday afternoon is in northern Minnesota and Wisconsin.

In Milwaukee, where the air is in the hazardous category, the Milwaukee Brewers are allowing ticket holders to exchange tickets for Friday night's game for another regular season home game. 

The air is expected to improve on Saturday in the Ohio Valley, Northeast and the Mid-Atlantic, when rain moves in. But parts of the Midwest and Great Lakes will continue to see dangerous air quality.

Smoke is probable over New York City on Sunday when Spain plays Argentina in the FIFA World Cup Final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, though it is still too early to know exactly where the smoke will be. Sources familiar with the situation told ABC News that "all involved authorities are monitoring."

Smoke contains fine particles that can travel deep into the lungs. For those who need to work outdoors, are more sensitive to smoke or are in a high-risk group, Kai Chen, an associate professor of epidemiology at Yale School of Public Health, told ABC News that the best type of mask to wear is an N95, which is designed to filter at least 95% of airborne particles.

In New York City, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said free KN95 masks are available at hundreds of locations.

Click here to read more on how to stay safe.

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(WASHINGTON) -- Newly-declassified documents touted by President Donald Trump during his address on election security Thursday cast doubt on some of his claims about "shocking vulnerabilities" in the country's election infrastructure.

While Trump claimed during his address that the nation's election systems are vulnerable to "hacking, exploitation, and foreign interference," the intelligence reports released by the White House concluded overall that the main infrastructure used to conduct elections in the United States "would be difficult to manipulate on a wide enough scale to alter the election outcome."

"Great damage has been done to our country. Our elections were left vulnerable to being rigged and stolen, and the trust of the American people was lost," Trump said, without providing evidence.

'Difficult to manipulate at scale'

The documents noted that although some internet-connected election infrastructure -- like voter registration databases and pollbooks -- are vulnerable to cyberattacks, the systems used to tabulate, transmit, and display election results cannot be manipulated on a wide scale, and audits and paper trails "would uncover such efforts in the nearly all U.S. states."

"We assess that hostile actors could also manipulate systems that count or tabulate votes -- such as voting machines -- on a localized basis, but it probably would be difficult to coordinate a campaign to alter voting results on a wide scale," said an August 2020 report from the National Intelligence Council. "Similarly, foreign actors would have difficulty coordinating a large scale campaign to manipulate mail-in voting, and robust postal tracking probably would detect any large-scale effort."

The report concluded that cyber attacks could potentially delay voting but "probably would not affect the integrity of certified results."

While another report said that foreign adversaries such as Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea "have the capability to access and potentially manipulate data in U.S. election-related computer systems," the report did not identify "specific plans to interfere with the functioning of these systems" or past instances when results were changed due to the actions of foreign actors.

"We assess that vote tabulation systems would be difficult to manipulate on a wide enough scale to compromise election results," said a January 2020 report from the National Intelligence Council.

"Although an adversary could manipulate voting results across multiple jurisdictions and enough states to influence a presidential election, we judge that conducting such a campaign would be difficult and that postelection audits and paper trails very likely would uncover such an effort," that report said.

According to the August 2020 report from the National Intelligence Council, the only country that was observed attempting to target or manipulate election systems during the 2020 election was Russia, which used "a range of measures primarily to denigrate former Vice President Biden" and share largely favorable information about President Trump.

'Delays on Election Day'

According to the National Intelligence Council's January 2020 report, the systems vulnerable to disruption are official election websites or registration databases -- which are often publicly accessible -- or poll books, which are used by election officials to look up eligible voters.

The report said that bad actors could "alter data to potentially prevent individual voters or groups of voters from voting, causing delays on Election Day or forcing voters to use provisional ballots" -- but those actions wouldn't affect the votes themselves.

"We assess that cyber operations targeting the electronic tabulation of results could delay results reporting from affected jurisdictions, potentially creating public uncertainty but probably not affecting the integrity of certified results," the report noted.

According to a 2026 report from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, election-related software is "subject to the same security concerns as most other software systems." The report called for election officials to be transparent about issues to improve public trust.

"By openly acknowledging incidents and describing mitigation steps, vendors and localities can show that they are proactively defending critical infrastructure rather than obscuring vulnerabilities. This transparency encourages continuous improvement, drives investment in stronger defenses, and reinforces that protecting elections is a collective national priority," the report said.

'Russia, China, Iran'

A January 2020 memo from the National Intelligence Council warned that countries like Russia, China, Iran and North Korea "have the capability to access and potentially manipulate data in U.S. election-related computer systems" -- but a subsequent report said such manipulation would be hard to do on a widespread basis.

"We judge that Russia, China, Iran, as well as many nonstate actors, have the capability to conduct such activities, although it would be difficult for them to manipulate voting processes at scale and without detection," the report said.

Russia and China have pushed back against those claims.

The January 2020 report noted that Russia "almost certainly" surveyed election networks in 2016, accessed election infrastructure in two states, and exfiltrated voter data from one state.

According to the August 2020 report, Russia sought to amplify discord in the United States ahead of the 2020 election, spread false claims about then-candidate Joe Biden, and boost positive information about Trump.

The 2020 CIA memo noted that China probed presidential campaigns in every election since 2008 to get insights on U.S.-China issues.

According to the memo, the intelligence community detected Chinese state-sponsored cyber actors specifically targeting the Biden campaign "to gather intelligence that could enable future operations."

"The IC assesses that China does not currently intend to covertly interfere to try to sway the outcome of the election, although this activity could enable such operations," the report said.

An August 2020 report from the National Intelligence Council concluded that China "did not intend to try to affect the election" though it "prefers that President Trump be defeated."

"We assess that China prefers that the President whom Beijing sees as unpredictable and tough on China does not win reelection," the report said.

However, an October 2020 memo noted the overall intelligence community believed that China considered but did not deploy influence efforts for the upcoming 2020 election. The memo said that Chinese leadership believed Trump appeared likely to lose and that "there is little point to taking the risk of an influence effort because they believe their preferred outcome is probable."

"As early as [REDACTED] this year, Chinese [REDACTED] assessed that the pandemic and economic downturn had diminished the President's reelection prospects and since then Beijing has been planning for either electoral outcome and conducting outreach to both candidates and their campaigns, [REDACTED]," the memo said.

The August 2020 report noted that Iran "is conducting an influence campaign to undermine the current President and US democratic institutions, and to divide the country in advance of the 2020 elections."

However, the report noted that Iran is focusing on covert online influence -- such as sharing memes and recirculating news reports that are critical of Trump.

"Iran could attempt to manipulate or attack election infrastructure as it has in elections in the Middle East and South Asia -- but we do not have any information indicating that it intends to do so in the United States," the report said.

'An election outside of Venezuela'

The release of documents included a CIA assessment from June 2026 summarizing the last two decades of intelligence related to Venezuela's manipulation of voting systems, following longstanding claims by Trump's far-right supporters of Venezuela's involvement in 2020 election interference.

The memo said that Venezuelan government officials developed the capability to manipulate electronic voting systems in their own elections, including replicating and overwriting voting data to make fraudulent votes legitimate.

However, the report noted that the intelligence "did not definitively confirm that large-scale electronic fraud was successfully executed in specific Venezuelan elections."

Notably, the report noted that there was no evidence that the Venezuelan government was able to manipulate election results outside of their own country, because their ability to rig elections "rested in part on its ability to control every stage of the electronic voting process."

"Neither [the voting machine company] Smartmatic nor the Venezuelan Government had the capability -- that is the level of control or access required -- to manipulate the outcome of an election outside of Venezuela in a predictable fashion," the report said.

'False narratives'

In addition to assessing technological vulnerabilities in the election system, a newly-declassified memo from the National Intelligence Council explicitly raised concerns about adversaries exploiting most Americans' lack of knowledge about voting systems to "undermine confidence in U.S. democratic processes."

"Much of the voting public probably knows little about the process of administering U.S. elections, which could allow false narratives to gain traction," said the January 2020 memo.

The memo noted that efforts to "publicly invalidate such claims could take weeks or months" and that "disproving claims would also be impossible if adversaries evaded U.S. intelligence collection."

"A widely publicized compromise of election infrastructure probably would undercut public confidence in the election, even if the compromise was not used to manipulate election-related data or systems," the memo said.

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(RUSKIN, Fla.) -- Two deputies were airlifted to a Florida hospital Thursday after they were shot while approaching a suspect who was accused of holding a woman hostage overnight, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.

The suspect, identified as 34-year-old Chris Dmuchowski, was shot by a third responding deputy and died after being transported to the hospital, the sheriff's office said.

Both deputies are receiving care and are expected to make a full recovery, according to an update from the sheriff on Friday.

Deputies arrived on the scene on West Shell Point Road in Ruskin, Florida, after a report that the suspect had taken his ex-girlfriend hostage overnight, Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said in a press briefing Thursday.

The suspect allegedly restrained his ex-girlfriend at her residence and threatened to kill her, and then released her after she regained consciousness in the morning, Chronister said.

That morning, she went to a sheriff's office building to request an order of protection, after which authorities sent a drone to the scene upon identifying the suspect and learning of his criminal record, according to the sheriff.

An exchange of gunfire ensued in the parking lot outside of the residence after the suspect exited the building, the sheriff said.

"Our suspect ambushed our deputies from the moment they arrived on scene," Chronister said. "He was intent on taking the life of a deputy sheriff."

The suspect opened fire at two deputies, striking one in the face and another in the neck area, after which a third deputy approached and shot the suspect multiple times, Chronister said.

Chronister said on Friday that one of the deputies was preparing to go into surgery. He had multiple fractures on his hand and wrist and had gotten stitches on his face where the bullet struck, according to the sheriff.

The other deputy who was shot in the neck experienced no damage to vital arteries and hopes to be released Friday, Chronister said.

Dmuchowski was a one-time convicted felon on charges of tampering with physical evidence.

The sheriff's office said there is no threat to public safety at this time.

"Thank you to every single deputy who was on scene and responded to this scene today," Chronister said.

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(NEW YORK) -- The family of a Westchester grandmother who died after falling into an open manhole in Midtown Manhattan filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the utility responsible for the manhole, alleging its workers failed to properly seal the cover.

Donike Goncaj, 56, fell into the manhole at 52nd Street and Fifth Avenue on May 18 and died of scald burns and thermal inhalation from the steam. The lawsuit, filed in New York State Supreme Court on Thursday, says she suffered "severe, horrifying, and catastrophic injuries."

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled Goncaj's death an accident.

The utility, Con Edison, concluded a truck ran over the manhole and dislodged the cover and noted in a statement in May that "while this is a rare occurrence, manhole covers can get displaced by heavy vehicles."

The lawsuit, filed by Goncaj's son on behalf of her estate, and her domestic partner, alleged ConEdison "should have known that dislodged and displaced manhole covers presented a recurring and foreseeable danger to pedestrians" and accused the utility of negligence, carelessness and reckless disregard for their mother's safety.

Someone falling to their death in a manhole "ordinarily does not occur in the absence of negligence," the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit contended that ConEd and its contractors "had a duty to maintain" the manhole "in reasonably safe conditions," including warning pedestrians and providing a ladder or staircase to exit it.

ConEd did not immediately comment on the suit. In May, it said it was investigating the situation and working with the city in its probe.

"Our thoughts remain with her family, and safety remains our top priority," ConEd said in a statement a day after the incident.

According to the lawsuit, Goncaj's domestic partner, Jashar Kameraj, witnessed her falling into the scalding hot manhole and tried to rescue her, to no avail.

Kameraj and Goncaj's son are seeking unspecified damages.

-ABC News' Ivan Pereira contributed to this report.

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(NEW YORK) -- A man is facing charges, including menacing as a hate crime, after he allegedly snuck into an NBC building at New York City's Rockefeller Center looking for "Today" show weather anchor Al Roker, authorities said.

The suspect, Andrew Truelove, gained access to the "Today" studio on Thursday morning by entering the lobby and closely following an NBC employee who used an ID card to scan into the building, Rockefeller Center security personnel told authorities.

Truelove allegedly loitered at the bottom of a stairwell before calling out, "Where is Roker?" according to a criminal complaint.

He then allegedly took steps toward "Today" anchor Craig Melvin and repeatedly uttered a racial slur, the complaint said.

Truelove, 41, of Manhattan, was detained by an NYPD officer working a paid detail, police said.

He was charged with burglary as a hate crime, menacing as a hate crime, criminal trespass as a hate crime and harassment, according to police. He appeared in court on Friday, where a judge set bail at $10,000.

Police sources told ABC News Truelove is a Sandy Hook school shooting denier who has been arrested numerous times, including in his native Virginia, for allegedly stealing signs dedicated to Sandy Hook victims.

Melvin wrote on Instagram after Thursday's incident, "I'm doing just fine. Thanks for reaching out." He added on "Today" on Friday, "We are cooperating fully with the NYPD as they investigate the matter and we are just very happy that everyone is safe."

Roker wrote on Instagram Friday morning, "A really heartfelt thank you to all who reached out over the last 24 hours to check in on my brother, craigmelvinnbc. We are both okay. It's moments like these that serve to pull us together."

NBC News did not respond to ABC News' request for comment, but Melvin shared a statement from NBC News on Instagram, which said the person "entered an unauthorized area " and "approached anchor Craig Melvin, who alerted security."

"The individual was detained and taken into custody by law enforcement without further incident. There was no altercation, and no one was injured," NBC said.

NBC said it takes "the safety and security of our employees, talent, staff and guests extremely seriously. We are reviewing the incident and our security protocols and remain committed to providing a safe and secure environment for everyone who works at and visits our studios."

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(WASHINGTON) -- Private equity billionaire Leon Black walked out of his transcribed interview with the House Oversight Committee regarding his decades-long relationship with Jeffrey Epstein after refusing to answer questions about nondisclosure agreements allegedly related to the disgraced sex offender, according to a transcript of the June 26 interview released by the committee Friday.

While he said he would be willing to talk about three women involved in lawsuits against him, Black repeatedly declined to answer questions about how many nondisclosure agreements he was involved in, citing the advice of his attorneys. 

"I'm not here to talk about confidential NDAs," Black said, later adding. "I'm not here to talk about who has NDAs."

Black was issued two subpoenas after his refusals -- one compelling him to participate in a deposition and another to turn over any NDAs. A House Oversight Committee spokesperson said Black's attorney confirmed Black would appear for a deposition on Sept. 3, and he will turn over the NDAs sometime next week. 

Black, who maintained a social relationship with Epstein since the mid-1990s and eventually paid him more than $170 million for "tax and estate planning advice," according to the Senate Finance Committee, appeared before the Oversight panel as part of its ongoing probe into the government's investigation of the convicted sex offender.

Black acknowledged that he discussed at least one nondisclosure agreement with Epstein, though he denied he sought Epstein's advice on the matter. According to Black, he agreed to pay a woman with whom he had a six-year affair after she allegedly "blackmailed and extorted" him, ultimately agreeing to pay her more than $21 million over 15 years. Because Epstein was helping manage his finances, Black said he made Epstein aware of the agreement and payments. 

"I don't know whether he had any experience on NDAs. He was not my NDA adviser," Black said of Epstein, according to the transcript. 

Black was served the two subpoenas after he declined to answer broader questions about other alleged nondisclosure agreements. His lawyers argued that Black was not at liberty to discuss confidential agreements he was a party to, and called the subpoenas a stunt. 

"Mr. Black came here voluntarily to assist the committee. This was nothing more than a planned political stunt," said Black's attorney Aaron Cutler. "Mr. Epstein had no involvement with any NDAs, whether they exist or not."

Before the interview was cut short, Black faced questions about his decades-long relationship with Epstein, who he first began to see socially before hiring him to manage part of his estate. While Black acknowledged that he saw Epstein somewhat regularly -- about once a month -- he claimed they were not close friends. 

"Friendship is an amorphous term. This is somebody who knew intimately the goings on in my family tax and estate planning entities. It's also something where, as I mentioned, I'd go over and meet his friends. I know there are emails where he claims that we're best friends. We were never best friends," Black said, per the transcript. 

Lawmakers pushed back when Black sought to distance himself from Epstein, including by asking about a message Black wrote for a book that Maxwell, Epstein's longtime associate, created for Epstein's 50th birthday. According to the Wall Street Journal, Black wrote a two-line poem -- "Blonde, Red or Brunette, spread out geographically ... with this net of fish, Jeff's now 'The Old Man and The Sea'" -- which he signed "Love and kisses, Leon."

Asked to explain the note, Black said he was referencing how Epstein "seemed to know women all over the world," though he denied knowing any of the women were underage. 

"He enjoyed the company of good-looking women, and he was a bachelor," Black said, saying how Epstein's surrounding himself with "mostly good-looking women" was "a little bit out of like a James Bond movie." 

The interview was cut short after the topic transitioned to nondisclosure agreements, and Black was not asked about the more than $158 he paid Epstein for "tax and estate planning advice." During his opening remarks, Black claimed that he paid Epstein so much because he solved a "massive estate problem ... that would have destroyed enormous value." He denied that the money was related to any illegal activities. 

"I have never paid Epstein for access to women. I was never blackmailed by Epstein. I was not involved with, and had no knowledge of, any of Epstein's heinous conduct," Black said, according to the transcript. 

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(SAN FRANCISCO) -- The body of a 58-year-old woman has been recovered after a boat capsized and sank near Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay, marking the second person confirmed dead from the incident.

The San Francisco Medical Examiner's Office identified the second victim as Tondra Madruga. Two people remain missing.

Madruga's relatives said in a statement that they're "heartbroken by the loss of our beloved mother, daughter, sister, and aunt."

"Our hearts remain with every family impacted, and we sincerely appreciate your kindness and understanding," the family said. "We extend our heartfelt thanks to the U.S. Coast Guard, the San Francisco Fire Department, the San Francisco Police Department, all of the first responders, and the civilian boaters and community members who selflessly assisted in the search and rescue efforts. Your dedication and support mean more to our family than words can express."

Authorities said they believe 20 people were aboard the Volare, a 50-foot cabin cruiser based out of Stockton, California, when it was hit by a wave Tuesday evening, causing it to capsize.

One man who was aboard was taken to the shore severely injured and, despite CPR being administered, was pronounced dead, officials said. He was identified by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner as 79-year-old Clifford Joseph Boisa.

A dog also died, San Francisco Fire Chief Dean Crispen said.

Three people were taken to the hospital and later released, Crispen said.

Crispen told reporters that authorities believe there was a memorial service that the 20 passengers, all adults and mostly comprised of family members, were taking part in on the vessel when it capsized. One survivor said it was a memorial for her sister, ABC San Francisco station KGO reported.

The Coast Guard announced Wednesday that it suspended search operations

Jarod Toczko, commander for U.S. Coast Guard Sector San Francisco, said the decision to suspend the search was not easy, but his teams swept through 950 square nautical miles and hadn't found the missing people or the boat.

Toczko said there was a "high possibility that individuals could have been trapped in the vessel."

Rescuer Justin Marceline told KGO that some passengers were "banging on the windows, trying to get out" of the boat.

"It was pretty wild, seeing that, honestly," Marceline said, adding that conditions in the water were "really bad."

"The people that were bobbing in the water, we pulled them out first," Marceline said. "The people in the water were elderly folks, they were conscious, but people were too tired and worn out."

Toczko praised those who jumped to save the passengers.

"No question, no doubt...those people saved lives," he said.

ABC News' Emily Shapiro and Jennifer Watts contributed to this report.

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