National Headlines
Manhunt underway after 2 sheriff’s deputies shot in Alabama
kali9/Getty Images(BIBB COUNTY, Ala.) -- A manhunt is underway in Alabama for a suspect who allegedly shot two Bibb County Sheriff's deputies, officials said. The shooting occurred Wednesday afternoon on Highway 25 in the Cahaba River Wildlife Management Area during the pursuit of a stolen vehicle, according to Bibb County District Attorney Michael Jackson. The condition of the deputies has not been released at this time. This is a developing story. Please check back for updates. Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. ... Read More
3.5 magnitude earthquake strikes South Carolina
Nine OK/Getty Images(ELGIN, S.C.) -- A 3.5 magnitude earthquake struck near Elgin, South Carolina, on Wednesday, the U.S. Geological Survey confirmed. The latest quake comes after a 3.4 earthquake hit the area, 6.4 miles from Elgin, on Sunday. More than 3,000 people reported feeling Wednesday’s quake, according to USGS. Due to the shallow nature of the earthquake, it could be felt in a wider area, the agency said. South Carolina has been the site of a few earthquakes already this year. In May, a 3.3 magnitude earthquake struck Columbia and was felt in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Augusta, Georgia, according to ABC News affiliate WPDE in Florence, South Carolina. Elgin is 25 miles from Columbia. While other states, such as ... Read More
Outrage after man accused of killing Chinese food delivery worker released on bail
WABC-TV(NEW YORK) -- The widow of a Chinese food delivery worker who was fatally shot is speaking out after her husband's alleged killer was released on bail. Glenn Hirsch, 51, was arrested in New York City on June 1 for the alleged murder of Zhiwen Yan, a Chinese food delivery worker, who was shot in the chest on April 30 while riding his scooter in the neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens. A judge ordered Hirsch to be released to home confinement on Monday after posting $500,000 in bail. "I am devastated and heartbroken that the person who targeted and killed my husband has been released on bail. He is a danger to our community and his presence in the community ... Read More
NTSB chair says unheeded recommendations might have prevented deadly Missouri Amtrak crash
Ashlin Wang/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images(MENDON, Mo.) -- Federal investigators are working to determine if an Amtrak train was traveling at a speed limit of 90 mph when it plowed into a dump truck at a Missouri railroad crossing, killing four people and injuring 150, officials said. Jennifer Homendy, chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, said she expects investigators to know by the end of Wednesday the exact speed of the train after analyzing information from its event recorder. "In this area, the speed limit is 90 miles per hour," Homendy said at a news conference on Tuesday afternoon. The crash unfolded at 12:43 p.m. Monday, when the Amtrak train -- comprised of two locomotives, six coach cars, cafe ... Read More
Museum director ousted amid FBI investigation into purported Basquiat paintings
Nes/Getty Images(ORLANDO, Fla.) -- The director of a Florida art museum has been ousted amid a federal investigation into the authenticity of more than two dozen paintings purportedly by the late artist Jean-Michel Basquiat that were on view in the institution's blockbuster show. The exhibition, "Heroes and Monsters," at the Orlando Museum of Art, has been under scrutiny since a New York Times report published upon its opening in February raised questions about the authenticity of the pieces, including one that featured a FedEx cardboard shipping box with a typeface that an expert said wasn't used until after the artist's death in 1988. On Friday, days before the exhibition was scheduled to end, the FBI Art Crime Team based out ... Read More
Endangered red wolf populations could be revived with ‘ghost’ genes from coyotes, scientists say
Karin Saucedo Photography(NEW YORK) -- Scientists are hopeful that the endangered red wolf population, absent from the wild for decades, could be revived now that a significant portion of its DNA has been found in wild coyote populations. Red wolves have not existed in the wild along the Gulf Coast -- southwestern Louisiana and eastern Texas -- since the last known members of the species were captured in 1980 to establish a captive breeding population, according to a study published in Science Advances on Wednesday. Researchers who studied coyotes in Louisiana that historically mated with the red wolves found that pockets of the coyote populations carry diverse red wolf "ghost alleles," a genetic variant that has disappeared from a population, ... Read More
After 18-month-old dies in hot car, dad dies by apparent suicide: Police
Oliver Helbig/Getty Images(CHESTERFIELD, Va.) -- A Virginia father died by an apparent suicide after finding his son dead inside his hot car, authorities said. It appears the father accidentally left the 18-month-old in the car for at least three hours on Tuesday, leading to the child's death, Lt. Col. Christopher Hensley of the Chesterfield Police Department said at a news conference. When the boy didn't arrive at daycare, the father apparently realized the toddler was in his car, Hensley said. Around noon, family members called police to report that the father was talking about dying by suicide in the woods behind his house. The father was the only person home at the time, Hensley said. Responding officers found the car ... Read More
Rices Fire leads to evacuations in Nevada, 700 firefighters responding
DiMaggio/Kalish, FILE(NEVADA COUNTY, Calif.) -- At least 700 firefighters are battling the Rices Fire in northern California on Wednesday, where hundreds of residents have been evacuated from their homes, officials said. The fire, which has burned 769 acres and is 0% contained as of Wednesday morning, has led to mandatory and warning evacuation orders, according to the Nevada County Sheriff's Office. It has impacted 355 homes and other buildings in the area, according to local officials. The fire is expected to be fully contained on July 1, according to a Cal Fire Nevada-Yuba-Placer Unit report on Wednesday. There are no reported civilian injuries, and one reported firefighter injury. Evacuation warnings and orders remained active for 12 zones on Tuesday night, ... Read More
Man gored by bison at Yellowstone National Park in 2nd attack this year
George Frey/Getty Images, FILE(COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.) -- A 34-year-old man is recovering from injuries sustained at Yellowstone National Park after he was charged at and brutally gored by a bison when he and his family got too close to the animal. The incident occurred near Giant Geyser at Old Faithful on Monday when the unidentified man from Colorado Springs, Colorado, was walking with his family on a boardwalk at Yellowstone National Park when a bull bison began charging at them, according to a press release issued by the park. “Family members did not leave the area, and the bull bison continued to charge and gored the male,” the statement from Yellowstone continued. “The male sustained an injury to his arm ... Read More
Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer to officially retire Thursday at noon
Saul Loeb - Pool/Getty Images, FILE(WASHINGTON) -- Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, the most senior member of the U.S. Supreme Court's liberal wing, said he will officially step down from the bench at noon on Thursday, relinquishing his duties as a justice and clearing the way for the swearing-in of the nation's first Black female justice, Ketanji Brown Jackson. "It has been my great honor to participate as a judge in the effort to maintain our Constitution and the Rule of Law," Breyer wrote in a letter to President Joe Biden dated Wednesday. Breyer's retirement fulfills the wish of Democrats who lobbied for his exit to make way for Biden's first nominee to the court. Progressive activists had imposed unprecedented ... Read More
LGBTQ+ community facing increased social media bias, author says
Aleksandr Zubkov/Getty Images, FILE(NEW YORK) -- LGBTQ+ social media content creators are increasingly complaining about their posts being taken down, a practice labeled as “the digital closet” by researcher Alexander Monea. Monea, who is a professor of English and cultural studies at George Mason University, spent two years digging through data sets and tracking down different anecdotes from users of major social media platforms who reported being censored, silenced or demonetized in different ways to write his book, “The Digital Closet,” which details the policing of online spaces focused on the LGBTQ+ community. “It has historically been the case that these companies never release damning information unless absolutely compelled to,” said Monea. Monea's work is an example of the growing ... Read More
Developing tropical storm targets Caribbean as Houston braces for possible tropical depression
ABC News(NEW YORK) -- Three tropical systems are churning in the Atlantic basin that could develop into a tropical storm or tropical depression over the next two days. The closest system to the U.S. is near the Texas coast. It has a 40% chance of strengthening into a tropical depression as it moves on shore just south of Houston in the next 24 hours. Up to six inches of rain is possible south of Houston and three to four inches is expected for Houston itself Wednesday night through Friday morning. Street flooding is possible. The second system is in the southern Caribbean and has a 90% chance of developing into Tropical Storm Bonnie. Gusty winds and heavy rain are expected ... Read More
Ben Crump joins legal team of Black man injured while transported by New Haven police
Brandon Bell/Getty Images(NEW HAVEN, Conn.) -- Civil rights attorney Ben Crump has joined the legal team of Richard "Randy" Cox, a 36-year-old Black man who was injured while being transported by New Haven police in the back of a van. Crump held a news conference with Cox's family members in Connecticut Tuesday, along with co-counsel Jack O'Donnell and Louis Rubano, as well as local government and civil rights leaders. New Haven police arrested Cox on June 18 for allegedly unlawfully possessing a firearm, without incident, after a person attending a block party reported that Cox was carrying a gun. Video of the arrest shows the officers then placed Cox in the back of a police van without seatbelts. During an ... Read More
Man gored by bison at Yellowstone National Park in second attack this year
National Park Service / Jim Peaco(IDAHO FALLS, Idaho) -- A 34-year-old man is recovering from injuries sustained at Yellowstone National Park after he was charged at and brutally gored by a bison when he and his family got too close to the animal. The incident occurred near Giant Geyser at Old Faithful on Monday when the unidentified man from Colorado Springs, Colorado, was walking with his family on a boardwalk at Yellowstone National Park when a bull bison began charging at them, according to a press release issued by the park. “Family members did not leave the area, and the bull bison continued to charge and gored the male,” the statement from Yellowstone continued. “The male sustained an injury to ... Read More
R. Kelly faces sentencing today, could spend rest of life in prison
Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- Singer and convicted sexual predator R. Kelly will appear before a judge today for sentencing in a Brooklyn federal court for racketeering that involved a dozen separate criminal acts, including sex with underage girls. The former R&B crooner, whose real name is Robert Kelly, could spend the rest of his life in prison. Federal prosecutors say he deserves to be sentenced in "excess of 25 years" due to the severe nature of his offenses. In September, during his sex-trafficking trial, a jury found Kelly, 55, guilty on nine counts, including leading a criminal enterprise that recruited women and children for sex, which prosecutors called "calculated" and "methodical." During his trial, ... Read More
Ghislaine Maxwell sentenced to 20 years
ByAaron Katersky, Ali Dukakis, and James Hill [caption id="attachment_1139453" align="alignnone" width="525"] In this courtroom sketch, Ghislaine Maxwell givers her statement in federal court, in New York, Tuesday. June 28, 2022. Maxwell has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for helping the wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse teenage girls. (AP Photo/Elizabeth Williams)[/caption] Ghislaine Maxwell, the associate of Jeffrey Epstein who lured underage girls into the disgraced financier's lurid world, was sentenced Tuesday to 20 years in federal prison and a $750,000 fine following her December conviction on five criminal counts, including sex trafficking. Maxwell addressed the court for five minutes and said she empathized with the victims, but she didn't take responsibility for causing their suffering. She said meeting ... Read More
Officials ‘horrified’ after finding 53 dead in suspected human smuggling incident in Texas
Jordan Vonderhaar/Getty Images(SAN ANTONIO) -- Four men have been charged in connection with the alleged migrant smuggling operation that took the lives of 53 people who were trapped in the sweltering heat of a tractor-trailer in Texas. Homero Zamorano Jr., 45, of Pasadena, Texas, was charged with one count of alien smuggling resulting in death on Wednesday. Zamorano was allegedly the driver of the truck that was found outside San Antonio. Mexican investigators said the driver allegedly tried to pass himself off to authorities as one of the surviving migrants. On Tuesday, police arrested Christian Martinez, 28, in Palestine, Texas, after they discovered he was in contact with Zamorano about the alleged smuggling operation. If convicted, Zamorano and Martinez face ... Read More
US forces kill senior terrorist leader in Syria
Glowimages/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- U.S. forces killed a senior terrorist leader in an airstrike in Syria on Monday, according to military officials. U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said the target of the strike, Abu Hamzah al Yemeni, was a senior leader of an al-Qaida-affiliated terrorist group known as Hurras al-Din. The leader was riding alone on a motorcycle in Idlib province at the time of the attack, CENTCOM said. Violent groups like Hurras al-Din pose an ongoing threat to the U.S. and its allies, according to the statement. "The removal of this senior leader will disrupt Al Qaeda's ability to carry out attacks against U.S. citizens our partners, and innocent civilians around the world," the statement said. An early review showed no ... Read More
Three dead, at least 50 injured after Amtrak train derails in Missouri: Officials
Chase Castor/Getty Images(MENDON, Mo.) -- Three people are dead and dozens are injured after an Amtrak train derailed after hitting a dump truck that was in an uncontrolled public crossing in Mendon, Missouri, according to Amtrak and officials. Eight passenger cars and two locomotives, which is where the engines are, derailed at about 12:42 p.m. local time, Amtrak said. Missouri State Highway Patrol Cpl. Justin Dunn said two of the train passengers were killed, along with someone who was in the dump truck. Eric McKenzie, the superintendent with Chariton County Ambulance Service, told ABC News at least 50 people were injured. The train was en route from Los Angeles to Chicago with 243 passengers and 12 crew members on board ... Read More
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