GRIF MAG

Tiffany Score and Steven Mills filed a lawsuit against the Fertility Center of Orlando last month, asking that the reproductive health clinic identify the biological parents of the baby Score gave birth to in December, according to the complaint filed last month. The couple is also asking for information on what happened to their own embryos and whether or not someone else gave birth to their biological child.

According to the January complaint, Score gave birth to a baby girl on Dec. 11, 2025, but it was immediately clear that the baby was unlikely to be related to the couple. Mills and Score are both "racially caucasian" while the baby had the appearance of a "racially non-caucasian child," the complaint said.

"Genetic testing also proved that the baby was not Mills and Score's biological child," according to the complaint.

The couple said that they developed a strong bond with the baby girl, but that they feel a moral and legal obligation to unite her with her biological parents.

Score and Mills also feel they deserve to be relieved of the "ever-increasing mental anguish of not knowing whether a child or children belonging to them are in someone else's care."

A motion filed last week requested an emergency hearing in the case, after the couple alleged that the fertility clinic failed to identify the baby's parents to them, and that a person contacted them to say they had an embryo transfer at the same time as Score did last year.

"This patient, acting on her own initiative in response to published media reports about this litigation, self-reported to Plaintiffs as someone who also had an embryo transfer on April 7, 2025, and who birthed a baby in December 2025," the motion said.

The woman, who was not identified, has a last name similar to the couple's, the motion said. Photos of her and her husband also allegedly show they have a similar physical appearance to the baby girl who Score birthed in December.

But the woman gave birth to a baby boy, and Score and Mills were under the belief their remaining embryos were girls, the motion said.

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The motion alleges that the clinic did provide the couple with a report, but that it only detailed the clinic's processes and did not include information on who else might have received their embryo or who the baby girl's parents might be.

Robert T. Terenzio, an attorney representing Fertility Center of Orlando, submitted a letter to the court outlining a proposed protocol for investigating the situation in order to protect the privacy of the patients.

Among the items on the list was having the clinic work on an internal investigation separate from updates to the court. It also suggested providing the court with operational facts and aggregate information that do not contain identifiable information openly, but only providing information that contains personal identifying information under appropriate safeguards, according to the letter filed with the court.

Terenzio did not immediately respond to NBC News' request for comment on the matter on Thursday.

The Fertility Center of Orlando told NBC News affiliate WESH that it was "actively cooperating with an investigation to support one of our patients."

"Multiple entities are involved in this process, and all parties are working diligently to help identify when and where the error may have occurred," the statement said. "Our priority remains transparency and the well-being of the patient and child involved."

Judge Margaret Schreiber ordered weekly status hearings in the case during an emergency relief hearing on Tuesday, according to the court minutes.

The clinic was ordered to provide a certification that the patients were contacted, as well as to advise the court on who has waived their confidentiality and who has not. A report on the confidentiality matter will be sent directly to the court 24 hours before the next hearing.

Attorneys representing Score and Mills did not immediately respond to an email from NBC News requesting comment on Thursday. The couple told WESH on Wednesday that, until this week's hearing, the clinic had not provided them with a timeline or any verifiable information in the case.

"Faced with the prospect of a court order at yesterday's hearing, the clinic has now promised cooperation, but that promise has not yet been fulfilled," they said. "We hope it will be."

The restoration comes after U.S. District Judge Cynthia Rufe ordered the Trump administration to do so by 5 p.m. on Friday. The outdoor exhibit is a memorial to the nine enslaved Africans who were held at the site by President George Washington.

NPS workersbegan restoring the panelsahead of the deadline, according to ABC station in Philadelphia, WPVI.

The deadline was set in an order filed on Wednesday by Rufe, who is overseeing Philadelphia's federal lawsuit against the Trump administration over the removal of the slavery exhibit, The exhibit wastaken down by the National Park Service (NPS) on Jan. 23.

Rufegranted a preliminary injunction requested by the city of Philadelphia in a Monday ruling, ordering the Department of Interior, which oversees NPS, to restore the exhibit as the lawsuit moves forward.

Trump admin removes memorial honoring people enslaved by George Washington in Philadelphia

In setting the deadline, Rufe cited the federal government's "failure to comply" with her order to restore the exhibit.

The Interior Department appealed Rufe's ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit on Wednesday.

On Wednesday evening, the department also filed an emergency motion for an immediate stay that would block the preliminary injunction granted to Philadelphia pending the federal government's appeal.

"The Court should stay its preliminary injunction pending appeal because the Government is likely to prevail on the merits, will face irreparable injury absent a stay, and the remaining factors also support a stay," the motion states.

Judge orders Trump administration to restore slavery exhibit at President's House Site

Rufe ordered the city of Philadelphia to respond to the Trump administration's motion for an emergency stay by 4 p.m. local time on Thursday.

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ABC News reached out to representatives of the city of Philadelphia, NPS and to the U.S. Interior Dept. for further comment.

Judge orders Trump admin to 'mitigate' further 'damage' to slavery exhibit panels as Philadelphia fights their removal

In granting the preliminary injunction and ordering the government to restore the exhibit,Rufe cited George Orwell's dystopian novel "1984,comparing their actions to those of Big Brother in the book.

"As if the Ministry of Truth in George Orwell's 1984 now existed, with its motto 'Ignorance is Strength,' this Court is now asked to determine whether the federal government has the power it claims -- to dissemble and disassemble historical truths when it has some domain over historical facts. It does not," she wrote.

"An agency, whether the Department of the Interior, NPS, or any other agency, cannot arbitrarily decide what is true, based on its own whims or the whims of the new leadership, regardless of the evidence before it," she added in the ruling.

She also concluded that NPS should have consulted with the city before amending the exhibit.

Philadelphia sues Trump admin over removal of memorial honoring people enslaved by George Washington

Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker called the judge's decision a "huge win for the people of this city and our country."

"We will not allow anyone to erase our history today," Parker said on Tuesday.

The boards and panels that were removed told the stories of Austin, Christopher Sheels, Giles, Hercules, Joe Richardson, Moll, Oney Judge, Paris and Richmond -- the nine enslaved Africans held by Washington as his home in Philadelphia.

They were removed to comply with President Donald Trump'sMarch 27, 2025, executive order, "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History," which directed the Interior Department to remove what they called "divisive, race-centered ideology" and narratives from federal cultural institutions, a department spokesperson told ABC News in a statement last month.

ABC News' Peter Charalambous and Sabina Ghebremedhin contributed to this report.

WASHINGTON, Feb 19 (Reuters) - The FBI plans to make it easier for existing employees to become agents, removing two long-standing steps in vetting applicants as the bureau faces a staffing crunch under President Donald Trump's ‌administration, according to two people familiar with the move.

FBI Director Kash Patel is expected to eliminate a requirement that support staff ‌already working in the FBI who apply to become special agents sit for an interview and complete a writing assessment.

Instead, existing employees who pass a written exam through ​an online portal will be able to go directly to the FBI academy in Quantico, Virginia for new agent training, according to Jeff Crocker, a retired FBI supervisory special agent and another person briefed on the changes, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter.

Crocker and the other person said the moves would lower the FBI's recruiting standards, given that they will eliminate vetting steps during which applicants are assessed on ‌their life experiences, public speaking abilities and critical ⁠thinking skills. The applicants are questioned by a panel of three agents who undergo training on how to screen candidates, according to Crocker, who vetted special agent applicants during his more than 20-year career in the ⁠FBI.

The previously unreported changes have not yet been announced widely within the FBI, said this person and Crocker.

An FBI spokesperson, Ben Williamson, did not dispute the process would be changed but denied that the bureau is "lowering standards or removing qualifications in any way." Williamson said existing personnel will still need a recommendation ​from ​an FBI division leader and pass the "rigorous training program at Quantico" to become ​special agents.

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"What we are doing is streamlining the process ‌to remove duplicative, bureaucratic steps to the application system for onboard employees," Williamson said in a statement.

The changes do not apply to all applicants seeking to become special agents, only those who have already been hired for administrative roles within the FBI. Recruiting existing staff is one common way the FBI hires new agents, though the bureau also seeks out U.S. military veterans, state and local law enforcement officers and others from high-pressure fields.

The FBI, considered the most elite law enforcement agency in the U.S., has traditionally set stringent standards for agents who conduct investigations ‌into a wide variety of federal crimes.

Patel has sought to reshape the FBI to ​focus on Trump's agenda, referring to agents as "cops" and placing a greater emphasis on ​countering violent crime and aiding the Trump administration's immigration enforcement ​operations. The comparison has rankled some former FBI officials and agents who view the FBI's traditional investigative focus ‌on national security threats and complex frauds as distinct from ​traditional police work.

Patel has internally set ​a goal of hiring 700 new special agents this year, out of a total agent work force that typically hovers around 10,000. The panel interview often screens out a significant number of applicants, according to one of the sources.

Crocker told Reuters that the new, ​scaled-down process allowing FBI staff to become special ‌agents would not be adequate.

"The consequences of allowing such individuals lacking the impressive and necessary resumes to become FBI agents ​simply by passing a web-based test will be both seismic and generationally harmful to the republic," Crocker said.

(Reporting by ​Jana Winter and Andrew Goudsward. Editing by Craig Timberg and David Gregorio)

Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known asPrince Andrew, was arrested Thursday, his 66th birthday, on suspicion of misconduct in public office, according to the Thames Valley Police

Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested at Sandringham estate, the king's estate, in eastern England. Buckingham Palace said Thursday that Charles was not informed ahead of his brother's arrest, which follows theemergence of documentsdetailing communication between Andrew and the late convicted sex offenderJeffrey Epstein.

WatchImpact x Nightline, "The Prince, The Predator and The Arrest," now streaming on Disney Plus and Hulu.

Mountbatten-Windsor, the first senior royal arrested in recent history, has previously denied wrongdoing with respect to Epstein.

"It's undoubtedly a threat to the monarchy," ABC News royal contributor Robert Jobson said Thursday of Mountbatten-Windsor's arrest, noting the historic and "seismic" nature of a police raid taking place at a royal estate.

British police arrest Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor on suspicion of misconduct

"I think some people, many people, younger people included, will argue, what is the point of an institution that's unelected when you've got criminality, or potential criminality, actually unfolding like this and members of the royal family being arrested and cautioned ... to give evidence under oath in an interview?" Jobson said on "Good Morning America." "It's shocking."

WatchImpact x Nightline, "The Prince, The Predator and The Arrest," now streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.

Charles, who ascended to the throne in 2022 following Elizabeth's death, called for the law to "take its course" in a statement issued Thursday by Buckingham Palace.

"I have learned with the deepest concern the news about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and suspicion of misconduct in public office," Charles said in the statement. "What now follows is the full, fair and proper process by which this issue is investigated in the appropriate manner and by the appropriate authorities. In this, as I have said before, they have our full and wholehearted support and co-operation."

Charles continued, "Let me state clearly: the law must take its course. As this process continues, it would not be right for me to comment further on this matter. Meanwhile, my family and I will continue in our duty and service to you all."

Charles' son Prince William, heir to the throne, and William's wife Kate, the Princess of Wales, did not issue a new statement following Mountbatten-Windsor's arrest, but ABC News understands they support the king's statement.

Just hours after news of Mountbatten-Windsor's arrest was made public, both Charles and his wife, Queen Camilla, attended public engagements -- Charles attending a fashion show and Camilla attending an orchestra performance -- though neither answered reporters' questions about Mountbatten-Windsor.

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Prince Andrew stripped of his 'prince' title, per Buckingham Palace

While the royal adage has long been to "keep calm and carry on," the royal family's commitment to continuing their duties has so far not moved the public discussion away from Mountbatten-Windsor, according to ABC News royal contributor Victoria Murphy.

"The focus on this over the past few years, and particularly the past few days, has been very damaging. What we've seen in the past few days is ... members of the royal family heckled on official engagements to an extent that we absolutely have not seen before," Murphy said Thursday, referring to recent incidents in which the queen and others have faced shouted comments about Mountbatten-Windsor.

"I think that really shows … that this is not just an issue, as they keep saying, for Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, but it is also sparking huge discussion and debate around the monarchy as a whole," Murphy added.

Murphy described Mountbatten-Windsor's arrest as "potentially hugely damaging" for Britain's royal family, noting that anti-monarchy groups are using the fallout from Mountbatten-Windsor's ties to Epstein to renew their calls for an end to the monarchy.

"We're seeing very mixed opinions [in the U.K.] on how they're handling this and what they should do now," she said. "But we're all seeing a kind of resurgence in debates and discussions around monarchy itself, around this system that we have. People are really questioning that now."

Though Mountbatten-Windsor faced scrutiny for his ties to Epstein during Elizabeth's reign, it was not until his brother took the throne that Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested.

As king, Charles has alreadystrippedMountbatten-Windsor of his "style, titles and honours," including his prince title, and, more recently,evictedMountbatten-Windsor from his longtime home, Royal Lodge, on the grounds of Windsor Castle.

Even with his titles stripped, Mountbatten-Windsor, as a child of the queen, remains in the line of succession, as do his daughters Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie and their combined four children. Mountbatten-Windsor is currently eighth in line to the throne behind William and his younger brother Prince Harry and their combined five children.

In addition to the fallout from Mountbatten-Windsor's arrest, Charles and his family may also face lingering questions from the public about what they knew and when, as it relates to Mountbatten-Windsor's ties to Epstein, according to Jobson.

Epstein-related documentsreleasedby the U.S. Department of Justice in January include correspondence between Mountbatten-Windsor and Epstein in 2010, after Epstein concluded a 13-month jail sentence and work release, the result of a 2008 plea bargain with federal prosecutors in Florida.

The documents also show the two men communicated beyond the time Mountbatten-Windsor said publicly that he had cut ties with Epstein.

"This cover-up, if it does turn out to be a cover-up, could be a real damage, serious damage to the royal family, because you've got to remember, this has been in the public domain for over 16 years," Jobson said, later adding, "This does not really look good for the institution, as well as the individual."

WatchImpact x Nightline, "The Prince, The Predator and The Arrest," now streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.

The Walt Disney Co. is the parent company of ABC News, Disney+ and Hulu.

NEED TO KNOW

• "She really understood everybody's role and was just a very kind-hearted person," Lennox told PEOPLE at the 28th Costume Designers Guild Awards on Thursday, Feb. 12

• O'Hara died on Friday, Jan. 30, at the age of 71

The Studio's costume designer, Kameron Lennox, is recalling a sweet momentCatherine O'Harashared with the show's crew when filming in Las Vegas.

Speaking exclusively with PEOPLE at the 28th Costume Designers Guild Awards in Los Angeles on Thursday, Feb. 12, Lennox shared her favorite memory of working withthe late actress.

"We had a lot of great memories, but the one that I've been telling a lot lately is when we were shooting in Vegas last year, we were shooting for two weeks, living inside a casino, filming inside of a casino," Lennox said. "Nobody left the casino. It was like 110 degrees outside. And so we would all kind of find each other at different restaurants."

"A group of us went to dinner one night, and she was at another table with other crew members having dinner. And then she saw us, spotted us, came over, said hello, and then they left. And then when we went to go get the bill, she had paid our bill," she continued.

Eric Charbonneau/Apple TV+ via Getty

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Lennox, who received the award for Excellence in Contemporary Television at the ceremony, noted that the simple gesture was "very sneaky, sweet."

She continued, "I'm like, 'You're so sneaky and sweet.' But just that gesture alone, it's like she really understood everybody's role and was just a very kind-hearted person."

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Emma McIntyre/GA/The Hollywood Reporter via Getty

O'Hara starred as Patty Leigh, a former studio head at the fictional Continental Pictures who was replaced by her protégé,Seth Rogen's Matt Remick, on the hit Apple TV comedyThe Studio.

The legendary comedian, known for roles inBeetlejuice,Home AloneandSchitt's Creek, died on Friday, Jan. 30, at the age of 71. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed thatO'Hara died after suffering from a pulmonary embolism, according to a death certificate obtained by PEOPLE. Rectal cancer was listed as the underlying cause of embolism.

Lennox said filming season two ofThe Studiohas been bittersweet after O'Hara's death. "Coming back for [the] second season, everything just felt like, 'Oh, we're home again.' But this, especially, it's been hard on everybody. Yeah. It's been a rough go at it."

Following her death, Rogenpenned an emotional tributeto O'Hara and posted a candid moment of O'Hara giggling behind his back on Instagram. In his caption, the creator and director of the show expressed his sadness over the news.

"I told O'Hara when I first met her I thought she was the funniest person I'd ever had the pleasure of watching on screen," Rogen wrote. "Home Alonewas the movie that made me want to make movies."

He added, "Getting to work with her was a true honour. She was hysterical, kind, intuitive, generous… she made me want to make our show good enough to be worthy of her presence in it. This is just devastating. We're all lucky we got to live in a world with her in it."

Read the original article onPeople

Shia LaBeouf Arrest

The New Orleans police report obtained by The Associated Press via a public records request states that LaBeouf, 39, "became irate and aggressive throughout the night" and struck multiple people with a closed fist at the Royal Street Inn & R Bar, near the historic French Quarter.

Jeffrey Damnit, a well-known local entertainer who police identified as Jeffrey Klein in the incident report, said he was one of the people attacked by LaBeouf.

"He hit me, he connected a few times with punches, he pushed me a few times," Damnit said.

LaBeouf "just got nuts" trying to start fights and telling the entertainer and others that he would beat them up, Damnit said. He added that LaBeouf had pushed him from behind at the bar earlier in the night, shouting homophobic slurs and threatening his life.

Damnit was wearing eye makeup and lipstick and said he believes his appearance motivated LaBeouf's attack.

"That's just somehow something that set him off, angered him and gave him a direction for his anger," Damnit said. "This guy wants me to be dead because I wear makeup. It's a screwed up thing."

A video shows a shirtless LaBeouf shoving one person to the ground and hitting another person in the face, "causing his nose to possibly dislocate," according to the police report.

Damnit and others subdued LaBeouf and tried to get him to leave the area, but he would not leave and became more aggressive, according to Damnit and the police report.

Police arrived at the bar around 12:45 a.m. on the morning of the city's famousFat Tuesdayrevelry.

Another video recorded by Damnit and shared with the AP shows LaBeouf looking at the camera and appearing to mouth a homophobic slur while police detained him. He continued to repeat the slur throughout the arrest, the police report stated.

"These f–––––s put me in jail," LaBeouf said, and then told police he's Catholic, according to the report.

"I didn't shove nobody, I never touched nobody," LaBeouf tells New Orleans police officers in the video recorded by Damnit.

Representatives from LaBeouf did not immediately respond to request for comment. In the early morning hours of Feb. 18, LaBeouf wrote "Free me" on his X account.

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A New Orleans magistrate judge ordered LaBeouf to be released from custody on Tuesday without a bond requirement, according to Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office spokesperson Gary Scheets. LaBeouf faces two counts of simple battery.

Videos later show LaBeouf dancing throughout the French Quarter and appears to show him waving his jail release papers.

Damnit, a member of the Screen Actors Guild–American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, says he is worried that he will face ramifications in his professional career for pressing charges against LaBeouf.

This isn't the first time LaBeouf has faced legal troubles. He was sent to court-ordered rehabilitation after being arrested in New York in 2017 for public drunkenness and disorderly conduct, which was captured on livestream video.

While on location in Georgia filming "The Peanut Butter Falcon," later that year, he wasarrestedfor public drunkenness and accused of disorderly conduct and obstruction andsentenced to probation.

In 2020, he was charged withmisdemeanor battery and petty theftin Los Angeles.

That year, the English singer and actorFKA Twigs, whose legal name is Tahliah Barnett, also fileda lawsuitalleging LaBeouf was physically and emotionally abusive to her during their relationship, which theysettled in July.

Barnett said LaBeouf put her in a constant state of fear and humiliation, once slammed her into a car, tried to strangle her and knowingly gave her a sexually transmitted disease.

LaBeouf apologized in a statement after the lawsuit was filed. He also denied the accusations in the lawsuit in a 2021 filing, saying any injuries done or damages incurred by Barnett were not his doing.

The 39-year-old first gained acclaim as a child for his role on the Disney Channel series "Even Stevens," and continued working steadily into adulthood. He is perhaps best known for his roles in 2007′s "Transformers" and in 2008′s "Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull."

LaBeouf shares a daughter, born in 2022, with actor Mia Goth.

AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr and AP Writer Juan A. Lozano contributed to this report.

Brook is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative.Report for Americais a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

The skiers were part of a group of 15 guides and clients of a mountain guide company in the Lake Tahoe area. They were backcountry skiing from remote huts in an avalanche-prone area on Feb. 17 when the incident happened. Six people survived and were rescued hours later, and eight people have been located deceased. One was still missing but is presumed dead as of the latest update from authorities on Feb. 18.

It is thedeadliest avalanche in the United Statesin almost 45 years, according to theColorado Avalanche Information Center.

The Nevada County Sheriff's Office said Feb. 19 that "hazardous weather conditions" were preventing the recovery of the victims, and the efforts are expected to stretch into the weekend. Forecasters on Feb. 19 warned ofanother winter stormexpected to bring heavy snow and a heightened avalanche risk. Officials previously said on Feb. 18 that none of the eight bodies were removed from the mountain because it has been too difficult for crews to access them.

"Due to the ongoing challenges of the weather, the avalanche conditions, the effort remains ongoing, as well as our search for the remaining skier," Sheriff Shannan Moon said on Feb. 18.

Visual story:See how six skiers survived the deadly Tahoe avalanche

The region is under a winter storm advisory and an avalanche warning. Another over a foot of snow could fall on Feb. 19, after2 to 4 feet have already fallenin the Lake Tahoe area, according to the National Weather Service office in nearby Reno, Nevada.

"The longer that we continue to have people out there and exposed, the higher chance we put our rescuers in danger," Capt. Rusty Greene of the Nevada County Sheriff's Department said.

Inside the search for missing skiers after California avalanche

Avalanche was the deadliest in decades

The group of 15 skiers included four guides from the Blackbird Mountain Guides company and 11 clients, officials said. They were at the end of a three-day trip to the remote Frog Lake huts, which require miles of skiing, snowboarding or snow shoeing to access. The company said the group was returning to the trailhead at the end of the trip.

The avalanche happened in the Castle Peak area northwest of Lake Tahoe at about 11:30 a.m. on Feb. 17. Six people who survived had to shelter for hours until search and rescue crews could reach them. Two had injuries that weren't life threatening and were taken to hospitals later that evening.

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The surviving group located three of the missing people deceased, and rescuers found another five people deceased. One was still missing, officials said Feb. 18.

It was thedeadliest avalanche since 11 people were killed in 1981while attempting to climb Mount Rainier in Washington state.

Harsh conditions, threat of avalanches as recovery continues

The Feb. 17 avalanche came amid the strongest winter storm in the region of the year, reported the Reno Gazette Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network. Officials said the weather conditions, which included heavy snow and gusty winds creating whiteout conditions, made it extremely difficult to reach the survivors and find the victims.

Moon described the weather conditions as "horrific." At times, it was "impossible" to see in the conditions, Moon said on Feb. 18. The eight bodies that were located were not yet removed from the mountain because of the conditions and the risks to the search crews, authorities said. Search teams used a snowcat vehicle but had to ski the remaining 2 miles to reach the people stranded to avoid triggering another avalanche, she said.

On Feb. 19, forecasters said another 12 to 18 inches of snow could fall at elevations over 7,000 feet and 6 to 12 inches in the Lake Tahoe Basin. Ridge-top wind gusts will reach 45 mph, the weather service said.

There is also a high risk for large avalanches in backcountry areas of the Tahoe region, according to the Sierra Avalanche Center. Greene said on Feb. 18 that there was a concern that additional avalanches could rebury the victims' bodies, but officials also have to weigh the safety of the search team, which consists of volunteers.

"We've done everything we can to make it so that given the opportunity, we can get in and do a fast recovery if the weather gives us that chance," Greene said.

The searchers placed avalanche poles, probes that can help them later find the bodies' exact locations, but recovery will depend on how the weather acts over the next few days, he said.

"We want to really make sure that our first responders are safe and have all of the confidence that they can get there," Moon said.

Contributing: The Reno Gazette Journal

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Latest on missing skier after avalanche at California's Lake Tahoe

Nevada Toucan

But after a closer look, she realized it was a toucan — a tropical bird native to rainforests in Central and South America known for their large, colorful bills.

"They're beautiful birds, so being able to see something like that so close to home was fascinating," said Eddington, who recognized the bird from social media and contacted animal rescue.

That toucan is named Sam, and he has been living in the area since November, when a resident posted online that he'd escaped from his cage. After surviving the Las Vegas desert for months, Sam has captivated community birding groups, with people posting occasional sightings around town.

A local rescue group has been trying to catch him for months — and the clock is ticking.

"I'm really worried about him," said Skye Marsh, president and co-founder of SouthWest Exotic Avian Rescue. The Las Vegas-based group has spent hours searching for him, only to find the bird 50 feet (about 15 meters) up in a palm tree, limiting rescue options. They have not been in touch with the owner, she said.

Las Vegas is not a good environment for a toucan to be in the wild with its too-hot summers and cold winters, said Donald Price, a professor and biologist at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas who studies how winged animal species adapt to different environments.

Marsh, who has two toucans of her own, said Sam is starting to show signs of struggle. His eyes are sunken in, and the skin around his beak is starting to get discolored, she said.

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Sam likely lived off figs and pomegranates from trees in the Los Prados neighborhood, located about 15 miles (24 kilometers) from the Las Vegas Strip, when he first escaped in November, Marsh said. Those fruits have since disappeared, and Sam has moved on to citrus, which are harmful to toucans, she said. Their livers cannot process the calcium, and the iron can be deadly.

"This bird is not in good shape," Marsh said.

Bird experts and enthusiasts alike are surprised the toucan has survived so long in Las Vegas. Exotic birds that escape often have difficulty finding food and avoiding predators, and the changing weather in Las Vegas has also likely taken a toll on the toucan.

Birds can thermal regulate, but only for so long. It takes a lot of energy, so the toucan would need more food, Price said.

"If it's still alive, it could be in trouble, I can imagine. So hopefully they catch it," he said.

The toucan has been spotted in one specific location, a sign he's running out of energy, she said. The rescue group set up a cage with food in it and urged neighbors to stop feeding it. The toucan has scoped out the cage but gets spooked when people are around, Marsh said.

The rescue group will rush him to the vet as soon as he's caught, Marsh said. He'll need fluids, and his system will need to be flushed to remove the iron he's eaten.

Marsh urged neighbors to not get close to the toucan or try to trap Sam themselves.

"The more people that are out there, the worse it's going to be because he doesn't like people," she said. "So just let us do our thing, and we'll get him."

"An East Coast storm could develop as soon as Sunday Feb. 22, but the track of this potential nor'easter isn't yet determined, leaving impacts such as snow, rain, wind and coastal flooding uncertain from New England to the mid-Atlantic states," saidWeather.com meteorologist Jonathan Erdman in an online forecast.

Another forecaster, AccuWeather meteorologist Jon Porter, told USA TODAY Feb. 19 that "there's going to be a big storm, but it could be just off the Atlantic coast." He said a slight shift to the west will result in higher snow totals, but a slight shift to the east means lower snow totals.

Uncertainty isn't unusual

Porter said this level of uncertainty just a few days before a storm isn't unusual. "This is a pretty typical snow threat for the eastern U.S."

One reason for the uncertainty, he said, is that part of the energy that will fuel the storm is still off the California coast. He said once that energy comes onshore in the next day or so, it will be better sampled by the National Weather Service's balloon network. This will give better data for the computer weather models to digest.

"Small details will matter in determining the final outcome of the storm," he said.

Jose Castillo of Tarrytown, NY. walks through snow along Route 9 in Tarrytown during the early hours of the winter storm Jan. 25, 2026. The storm was predicted to drop up to a foot of snow on the lower Hudson Valley. A huge winter storm dumped heavy amounts of snow and ice across wide swaths of the U.S.

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See fun faces of people making the best of winter weather

Jose Castillo of Tarrytown, NY. walks throughsnowalong Route 9 in Tarrytown during the early hours of the winter storm Jan. 25, 2026. The storm was predicted to drop up to a foot of snow on the lower Hudson Valley. A huge winter storm dumped heavy amounts of snow and ice across wide swaths of the U.S.

Subtle changes in track mean drastic changes to impacts

Theweather service confirmswhat the private forecasters say: "There remains a strong potential for a coastal low by Sunday [Feb. 22] and early Monday [Feb. 23] for the East Coast, but the track of the low remains uncertain. A track closer to the coast would result in heavy coastal rain and inland snow from the Mid-Atlantic to New England, and strong winds near the coast with the potential for coastal flooding."

However, the weather service said a more offshore track would mean less inland precipitation and wind, and the heaviest precipitation near the Delmarva Peninsula and extending to eastern North Carolina.

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"Both scenarios remain equally plausible at this point, but potential remains for some possible impactful snow somewhere near the Mid-Atlantic to the Northeast. This will continue to be monitored closely as even subtle changes in track could mean more drastic changes to impacts," the weather service said in anonline forecast discussion.

A National Weather Service forecast issued on Feb. 19 for Saturday, Feb. 21, through Sunday, Feb. 22, shows the potential for rain, mixed precipitation or snow from Texas to New England. Meanwhile, forecasts for Monday, Feb. 23, show a chance of snow throughout the Northeast.

Dueling models

Two of the main weather models that forecasters use to predict weather − colloquially known as the American and the European models − can't seem to agree on the forecast. The American "GFS" model still shows a big storm for the big cities of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, with 2 to 3 feet or more of snowfall, which is "unbelievable," said Weather Trader meteorologist Ryan Maue in an email to USA TODAY.

However, he said the European (ECMWF) weather model "is still NOT interested in the coastal storm having major impacts to the Mid-Atlantic or the Northeast. We're currently in the 2 inches to 4 inches category as the highest probability outcome," according to the European model, Maue said.

AccuWeather agrees with the Euro model, and as of Feb. 19 is calling for 1-3 inches of snow in Philadelphia and New York City, and 2-4 inches in Boston.

The weather service, pointing out the differences between the models, summed it up this way: "This continues to be a low-confidence forecast at this time as it pertains to extent of wintry weather and coastal winds."

AccuWeather's Porter said "we'll know more in the next 24 hours."

Doyle Rice is a national correspondent for USA TODAY, with a focus on weather and climate.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Weekend nor'easter, snow storm in forecast, but there's a catch