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(BALTIMORE) — Authorities are investigating potential arsons in Baltimore where, in the same area, four homes and an LGBTQ Pride flag were all on fire Wednesday morning.

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott’s office said in a news release that the pre-dawn incidents were separate, clarifying early reports that they were linked. A Baltimore Police spokesperson initially told ABC News that “officers were informed that the Pride flag was set on fire at the location.”

The mayor’s office said later Wednesday that firefighters found the house fires and the Pride flag fire separately — across the street from each other.

Three people were injured: a 74-year-old man, a 57-year-old man and 30-year-old woman. As of Wednesday afternoon, according to the mayor’s statement, the woman had been released from the hospital while the two men remained hospitalized in critical condition.

Officials have not commented on any potential suspects or potential motive.

“At this point, we cannot confirm that this was a hate crime,” Scott said in his statement Wednesday afternoon. “However, my agencies will bring every appropriate resource to bear to get to the bottom of this tragic event. Regardless, I continue to stand in solidarity with our LGBTQ+ community.”

Scott also announced a joint investigation by the fire and police departments along with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the FBI.

Residents of the area told ABC News affiliate WMAR that they believed one of the homes may have been targeted because of a Pride banner on its porch.

The fires come during the middle of Pride Month.

ABC News’ Davone Morales, Leonardo Mayorga, and Lauren Minore contributed to this report.

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(GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.) — A Michigan police officer charged with second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of Patrick Lyoya during a traffic stop in April has been fired, city officials said.

Christopher Schurr was terminated after waiving his right to a discharge hearing, Grand Rapids city manager Mark Washington said in a statement Wednesday. The termination was effective June 10.

The Grand Rapids Police Department chief and the city’s Labor Relations Office had recommended Schurr’s termination, Washington said.

“Due to the on-going criminal matter and the potential for civil litigation, I will not be providing any additional comment concerning Mr. Schurr at this time,” Washington said.

The termination comes about two months after Schurr fatally shot Lyoya, 26, a native of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in the back of the head after pulling him over on April 4 for an unregistered license plate.

Body-worn camera footage of the traffic stop released by the police department showed Schurr struggling with Lyoya, eventually forcing him to the ground and shouting “Stop resisting,” “Let go” and “Drop the Taser,” before shooting him.

Lyoya was shot in the back of the head, according to both an independent autopsy report backed by Lyoya’s family and the Kent County medical examiner.

The shooting prompted protests throughout Grand Rapids, and the Kent County prosecutor charged Schurr with second-degree murder in connection with Lyoya’s death last week.

Schurr, a seven-year veteran of the Grand Rapids Police Department, pleaded not guilty during his arraignment on Friday. If found guilty, he could face up to life in prison.

Schurr’s lawyers, Mark Dodge and Matthew Borgula, said in a statement to Grand Rapids ABC affiliate WZZM that Lyoya’s death “was not murder but an unfortunate tragedy, resulting from a highly volatile situation.”

The Grand Rapids Police Officer’s Association has defended Schurr in the wake of the shooting.

“As tragic as this case is all the way around, we feel a thorough review of this entire situation will show that a police officer has the legal right to protect themselves and community in a volatile dangerous situation such as this, in order to return to his/her family at the end of their shift,” the association said in a statement in April.

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing the Lyoya family, had called for the officer’s prosecution and termination.

“Officer Schurr must be held accountable for his decision to pursue an unarmed Patrick, ultimately shooting him in the back of the head and killing him — for nothing more than a traffic stop,” Crump said in a statement to ABC News following the charging decision.

ABC News’ Nadine El-bawab contributed to this report.

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(CHESTERFIELD, Va.) — Fifteen kids and one adult were taken to the hospital on Wednesday after a hazmat incident at a neighborhood pool in Chesterfield, Virginia.

Emergency crews initially responded to reports that children were experiencing nausea and respiratory issues, a Chesterfield Fire and EMS official told ABC affiliate WRIC.

Four kids and one adult were reportedly transported by ambulance, while the remaining kids were driven to the hospital by their parents.

First responders sprayed down 25 people at the scene, took their blood pressure and monitored their breathing.

The Chesterfield Fire Department did not immediately respond to an ABC News request for comment on what may have caused the hazmat incident.

An emergency vehicle responding to the hazmat incident at the pool also crashed into a pickup truck. No injuries were reported in the crash.

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(WASHINGTON) — The United States is facing the most “complex” threat landscape in quite some time, a top Justice Department official told a conference in Washington, D.C., Wednesday.

Lone-wolf actors, and their access to high-capacity firearms — like what allegedly occurred in Buffalo, New York — are very difficult for law enforcement to combat, Assistant Attorney General for the National Security Division Matthew Olsen told attendees at the George Washington University Program on Extremism symposium.

Attorney General Merrick Garland announced hate crime charges Wednesday morning against the alleged shooter accused of storming a Tops grocery store on May 14 and gunning down 10 people, all of whom were Black.

“Once these individuals decide to carry out an act of violence, once they’ve moved on that path from being radicalized to being mobilized to violence, they pose significant challenges to law enforcement,” Olsen said.

Encrypted planning communications and access to high-capacity firearms are two of the most pertinent issues that work against law enforcement, he said.

“There are fewer opportunities for us to detect and disrupt their plots before they happen,” Olsen explained. “The ability to gain access to military-grade weapons makes the job of law enforcement very hard when it comes to violent extremists.”

The threat of domestic violent extremists is not new: the Biden administration has focused on combatting DVEs by establishing a unit at the DOJ and providing grant money through the Department of Homeland Security.

The assistant attorney general said it is “beyond dispute” that the ability to get military-grade weapons gives DVEs the ability to “carry out attacks on a scale that they couldn’t otherwise carry out and that we don’t see in other countries.”

Olsen said his newly established domestic violent extremist unit at the Justice Department, which he announced in January and was stood up a month ago, will not only be prosecuting domestic violent extremist cases, but also training others in identifying DVEs.

“This unit can be a critical safeguard because domestic terrorism cases raise issues about First Amendment and some difficult legal judgements and policy judgements,” Olsen said.

Olsen said attorneys have come in from around the country to work on the unit.

He said the DOJ is well-versed in prosecuting extremist cases given their experience in fighting the war on terror.

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(EL MONTE, Calif.) — Two police officers have died after being shot in El Monte, California, Tuesday while responding to a possible stabbing at a motel, authorities said.

The El Monte Police Department said two officers “immediately took gunfire upon arrival” at the Siesta Inn.

The officers were taken to LAC-USC Medical Center, where they died of their injuries, ABC News Los Angeles station KABC reported.

The suspect was also shot and died at the scene, according to KABC.

Investigators believe the suspect, whom authorities have identified, was on probation for gun possession and had been arrested last year for possessing a gun and drugs, multiple law enforcement sources with knowledge of the investigation told ABC News.

Dozens of evidence markers at the scene showed numerous shots were fired during the shootout, sources said. The suspect’s girlfriend was not stabbed, as the initial 911 domestic violence call indicated, and was uninjured during the incident, sources said.

The El Monte Police Department on Wednesday identified the officers who were killed as Cpl. Michael Paredes and officer Joseph Santana.

“Corporal Paredes and Officer Santana were raised in the city of El Monte and had a strong connection to the community they served,” the police department said in a statement.

Paredes had served more than 20 years on the force and is survived by his wife, daughter and son. Santana previously was a deputy with the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department for three years before joining the El Monte Police Department. He is survived by his wife, daughter and twin boys.

“There are no words to describe our grief and devastation by this senseless act as we learned about the passing of two of our police officers,” the city, police department and El Monte Police Officers Association said in a statement. “It weighs heavy on our hearts and we are sending our support to their families. We would also like to thank the El Monte community and our surrounding government agencies for the outpouring [of] support we have received in the last few hours.”

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has taken over the investigation, the El Monte Police Department said.

El Monte is east of Los Angeles.

ABC News’ Alex Stone and Josh Margolin contributed to this report.

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(MINNEAPOLIS, Minn.) — A renowned American Indigenous restaurant took home one of the top honors at the prestigious James Beard Awards this week.

The Minneapolis, Minnesota-based Owamni was named best new restaurant of 2022 at the awards ceremony, which was held in Chicago on Monday night.

The event is sometimes referred to as the Oscars of the food world.

“Our ancestors are proud tonight because we’re doing something different. We’re putting health on the table, we’re putting culture on the table, and we’re putting our stories on the table,” chef and restaurant owner Sean Sherman said during his acceptance speech. “And we hope that one day we can find Native American restaurants in every single city.”

The chef, who previously won a James Beard award for best American cookbook with “The Sioux Chef’s Indigenous Kitchen,” first opened the Minnesota hotspot in summer 2021 with co-owner Dana Thompson, to mass acclaim.

“People of color everywhere have been affected by colonialism,” Sherman said Monday, adding that they had endured “centuries” of racism. “This is showing that we can get through that, that we’re still here. Our people are here.”

Owamni’s menu celebrates “the true flavors of North America” using decolonized ingredients such as bison and wild rice purchased from Indigenous food producers locally and nationally.

“We have removed colonial ingredients such as wheat flour, cane sugar and dairy. We are proud to present a decolonized dining experience,” the restaurant states on its website.

The awards ceremony, which recognizes talent around the culinary and food media industries, resumed in person this year following a two year hiatus amid the pandemic, during which the organization said it “underwent a full audit of its policies and procedures” to address and remove bias.

Clare Reichenbach, CEO of the James Beard Foundation, which runs the event, said this year was “a momentous turning point” after “major changes were made to better align the Awards with the Foundation’s mission and values to ensure we are a force for good in our country’s food culture, and more representative of the communities we serve.”

“In the spirit of Gather for Good, this weekend was a true celebration of our industry, as we recognize outstanding leaders making our country’s food culture more delicious, diverse, and sustainable for all,” she added, referencing the theme of the night.

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(NEW YORK) — More than 20 states are seeing dangerously hot temperatures this week, impacting nearly 100 million Americans, according to the National Weather Service.

The heat index will be over 100 degrees from the Plains to the Southeast with little relief at night.

An excessive heat warning has been issued from southern inland California to Arizona. Temperatures in this region could reach 110 degrees over the next few days.

Record temperatures also continue in the Midwest, South and the Carolinas.

In Nashville, the recorded high was 97 degrees on Tuesday. In Fayetteville, North Carolina, the mercury hit 100 degrees.

Chicago on Tuesday experienced its warmest weather since 2012, with temps reaching 98 degrees.

The temperature stayed at and above 80 degrees for 48 hours in Kansas City.

If the temperature in Detroit reaches 97 degrees on Wednesday, it will be the hottest recorded June temperature in the city since 2012.

Other cities seeing high temps are Charleston, Columbus and Pittsburgh as the heat wave continues to creep east.

A red flag warning continues in Nevada, where dry conditions and extreme heat perpetuates the opportunity for wildfires.

The National Weather Service said much of the Midwest will continue to remain above normal temperatures into the end of the week.

Such heat is dangerous and abnormal for even the hottest regions in the country.

As the heat wave continues, schools are shutting down to protect students and staff.

Five school districts in southeast Michigan are canceling classes or adjusting dismissal times as the Detroit area braces for Wednesday’s heat.

David Mustonen, director of communications and marketing for Dearborn Public Schools in Michigan, told ABC News the district will be closed for Wednesday. He said the decision to close was necessary.

“It really had to do with the heat index being so high,” Mustonen said. “It’s just not the best condition for learning.”

Mustonen said the district’s protocol is to close if the heat index reaches 105, which will likely happen on Wednesday.

“For the students and our staff, this was just the right decision,” Mustonen added.

Schools in other metropolitan areas are adjusting their schedules amid the heat.

Pittsburgh Public Schools will only be open for half days on Wednesday and Thursday, according to the district’s website. School lunches will still be provided at Pittsburgh Public Schools during the half days.

The American Heart Association has warned that temperatures over 100 degrees can be dangerous; high temperatures cause dehydration and increase stress on the heart.

The association recommends that individuals stay hydrated, avoid caffeinated or alcoholic beverages and avoid the outdoors during the peak sun hours of about 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.

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(NEWBURGH, N.Y.) — A man was arrested Tuesday following an alleged racist road rage incident against a father and son in Newburgh, New York.

Robert Mclymore, who is Black, told New York ABC station that he slowed to let a car pass in front of him on June 11. William Ryan, 60, a white man, was driving behind him and began shouting racist slurs at Mclymore, who was driving with his son.

Ryan began waving a box cutter at the two of them and tried to rear-end the car, according to Mclymore.

The driver allegedly followed Mclymore into a restaurant parking lot and claimed to be an off-duty trooper while giving Mclymore the middle finger, he said. Mclymore caught the incident on his cellphone.

Mclymore told WABC that he is actually a police lieutenant and pastor in the neighboring town of Wallkill.

“I just couldn’t believe it,” Mclymore told WABC about the incident. “I couldn’t believe the racial epithets, him saying that he was a cop or a trooper, most of all him doing what he did and he’s an older gentleman.”

Ryan has been charged with second-degree menacing as a hate crime, a Class E felony, according to the Newburgh Police Department. He is being held in police custody until his arraignment on Wednesday evening.

“There is no place for hate in our community,” Newburgh Police Chief Anthony Geraci wrote in a statement. “Mr. Ryan will be held accountable for his criminal actions and deplorable speech. His racists (sic) threats were not only harmful to the victim in this case but echoes deep within our City.”

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(BUFFALO, N.Y.) — Federal hate crime charges were announced against the Buffalo mass shooting suspect as Attorney General Merrick Garland arrived in the city Wednesday to meet with survivors and the families of the 10 victims.

Payton Gendron, 18, is accused of storming aTops grocery store on May 14 and gunning down 10 people, all of whom were Black, in an alleged hate crime.

At one point Gendron aimed his Bushmaster XM rifle at a white Tops employee, who was shot in the leg and injured. Gendron allegedly apologized to him before continuing the attack, Garland said at a news conference.

Gendron allegedly planned the massacre for months, including driving to the store to sketch the layout and count the number of Black people present, Garland said.

Federal prosecutors charged Gendron with a total of 26 counts of committing a hate crime resulting in death and a hate crime involving bodily injury. He’s also charged with using a firearm to commit murder during a crime of violence.

Gendron was allegedly motivated by the racist, far-right conspiracy theory known as the replacement theory and he wanted to “inspire others to commit similar attacks,” the complaint said. Markings on the rifle used in the shooting including the phrases “here’s your reparations” and “the great replacement,” the complaint said.

Garland said the Justice Department agrees with President Joe Biden that “18-year-olds should not be able to purchase a gun like this,” referring to the semi-automatic rifle used in the massacre.

Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Kristen Clarke, who appeared at the news conference with Garland, added, “The Civil Rights division and the entire Justice Department will not stand by idly in the fight against white suprematist violence.” She promised, “We will pursue the perpetrators of hate crimes and hold them accountable.”

The Justice Department is also “hard at work addressing non-criminal acts of bias that rear their ugly head inside our schools, workplaces and our neighborhoods,” Clarke said, as well as addressing how to prevent hate crimes through education and awareness.

The Buffalo massacre could inspire more racially motivated attacks in the coming months, the Department of Homeland Security warned in a new report released this week.

Other charges against Gendron include 10 counts of first-degree murder and 10 counts of second-degree murder as a hate crime. The teen is the first person in state history to be charged with domestic terrorism motivated by hate. Gendron’s lawyers entered a plea of not guilty to the state charges on his behalf.

ABC News’ Alex Mallin and Aaron Katersky contributed to this report.

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(KANSAS CITY, Mo.) — Multiple school districts in the Kansas City, Missouri, area closed their doors on Wednesday in the wake of a mass shooting threat.

The Blue Springs Police Department said someone called Tuesday morning to report a suspicious Snapchat post made by an individual “threatening ‘killing people — mass murdering.'”

No specific location was mentioned, police said, but the Blue Springs School District, the nearby Fort Osage School District and others decided to close as a precaution.

Blue Springs police said Wednesday morning that a suspect — a male former student — is in custody and charges are pending.

There’s no threat to the public, police said.

The FBI in Kansas City said it was notified of the threat but deferred further comment to Blue Springs police.

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