(MARTIN COUNTY, Fla) — A man said he was attacked by an alligator after falling off his bike in Florida on Monday, according to authorities.
The unidentified victim suffered serious injuries from the bite, the Martin County Sheriff’s Office said.
Man seriously injured after being bit by an alligator at Halpatiokee Park in Stuart. Victim fell off of his bike and said he was attacked. First responders on are the scene now. pic.twitter.com/41d07hpZIT
— MartinCountySheriff (@MartinFLSheriff) July 19, 2021
First responders went to the scene at Halpatiokee Regional Park in Stuart and loaded the victim into a helicopter.
Stuart is about 34 miles north of West Palm Beach.
(WASHINGTON) — The Justice Department will no longer apply the “compulsory legal process” to journalists acting in their capacity of news gathering, Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a memo released on Monday, but he did not rule out using the legal process completely on reporters, only in “limited circumstances.”
That legal process consists of subpoenas, warrants and court orders, the memo explains.
Garland said that the prohibition will not apply to reporters who are under criminal investigation for activities outside of newsgathering, such as insider trading and breaking and entering to obtain
Garland said that in the “limited circumstance” in which DOJ has to use the legal process for records on a member of the news media, it will be approved by the deputy attorney general, and that he or she will be consulted before the process is initiated.
“The prohibition does apply when a member of the media, has in the course of news gathering, only possessed or published government information, including classified information,” Garland writes. “This does not however affect the Department’s traditional ability to use the compulsory legal process to obtain information from or records of, for example, a government employee who has unlawfully disclosed government information.”
The prohibition on using the legal process also does not apply when an entity or individual comes in contact with a foreign terrorist group or agent of a foreign power, or when there is “serious bodily harm” or an imminent risk of death.
The attorney general is also tasking the deputy attorney general with reviewing, developing and codifying the policy and will examine what is already on the books.
The memo came about because major media outlets reporters had records subpoenaed by the Trump Justice Department on stories relating to the Russia investigation.
Those three media outlets met with the attorney general earlier this summer.
(WASHINGTON) — The Justice Department on Monday announced the unsealing of an indictment charging four Chinese nationals with a years-long effort to hack into computer systems of dozens of companies, universities and governments in the U.S. and at least 11 other countries.
The two-count indictment, returned by a grand jury in May but unsealed just last Friday, names four residents of China in connection to the scheme — three of whom are identified as officers with the Hainan State Security Department, an arm of China’s intelligence service.
Ding Xaioyang, Cheng Qingmin, Zhu Yunmin, and Wu Shurong had one goal, according to court documents: install malware on protected computers and steal the data on the computers.
The indictment alleges that the HSSD created a front company to “identify and recruit talented computer hackers to penetrate foreign entities (including foreign universities) and steal trade secrets, proprietary data and to recruit talented linguists to interpret the stolen material.”
Prosecutors allege that the scheme went on from July 2009 to September 2018, targeting various research universities in the United States, including the National Institutes of Health, and primarily used a phishing technique to gain access to companies and institutions data.
The Justice Department alleges that the hackers targeted infectious-disease research related to Ebola, MERS, HIV/AIDS, Marburg and tularemia.
“These criminal charges once again highlight that China continues to use cyber-enabled attacks to steal what other countries make, in flagrant disregard of its bilateral and multilateral commitments,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. “The breadth and duration of China’s hacking campaigns, including these efforts targeting a dozen countries across sectors ranging from healthcare and biomedical research to aviation and defense, remind us that no country or industry is safe. Today’s international condemnation shows that the world wants fair rules, where countries invest in innovation, not theft.”
The indictment comes on the heels of the Biden administration, several allies and partners and NATO are joining forces to “expose and criticize” China for a “pattern of malicious cyber activities,” announcing on Monday that the PRC is profiting off some of the cyberattacks they’ve supported, and officially saying they were behind the Microsoft Exchange server breach in March, according to senior administration officials.
(HOUSTON) — A 2-year-old child has been killed and their entire family has been left hanging on to life in critical condition after their car was struck by a driver going the wrong way on a freeway.
The incident occurred at approximately 3 a.m. on Sunday morning on the Eastex Freeway at North Loop 610 in Houston, Texas, when police say that a woman was driving south in the northbound lanes of the freeway when she collided with another vehicle containing a family of five, according to ABC News’ Houston station KTRK.
A 2-year-old child was killed in the accident and the mother, father and two other young children, whose ages and identities are not currently known, were immediately transported to a local area hospital where all of them remain in critical condition.
The wrong-way driver was also killed in the crash and police say it is unclear how long the woman had been driving in the wrong lane for or if there were any signs that she had been under the influence.
“A very tragic, a very dangerous scene,” a spokesperson from the Houston Police Department told KTRK in an interview following the accident. “We don’t know how long the person was traveling on the wrong side of the freeway. We will try to figure that out if we find any cameras or anything.”
Authorities also told KTRK that a police officer who just happened to be on the other side of the freeway at that time actually saw the driver headed the wrong way just before the crash happened but were unable to get to them in time to prevent the accident.
Sunday’s early morning crash was the second fatal wrong-way accident in just nine days, according to KTRK, after three people, including a 2-year-old boy as well as both drivers, were killed on the Westpark Tollway in an eerily similar collision involving a wrong-way driver in the early hours of the morning on July 9.
The investigation into the circumstances surrounding Sunday’s tragic accident is ongoing.
(TULSA, Oklahoma) — A woman who was on the run for allegedly being an accessory to a murder in March has been arrested after commenting on the police department’s Facebook post asking about her reward money.
The strange ordeal began last Wednesday when the Tulsa Police Department in Oklahoma posted a couple of images of Lorraine Graves on Facebook as part of their “Weekly Most Wanted” campaign.
“The Tulsa Police Department is looking for information about the whereabouts of Lorraine Graves,” the post read. “Lorraine Graves is charged with Accessory to Murder. Detectives say she was involved in the city’s 10th homicide of 2021 where Eric Graves was shot and killed at the St. Thomas Square Apartments.”
Not long after the post went up, authorities saw a familiar name in the comments section: Lorraine Graves.
“Where’s the reward money at,” Lorraine Graves can be seen posting after she saw that she was on the “Weekly Most Wanted” list, on a screen shot shared by the Tulsa Police Department.
Her comment, perhaps unsurprisingly, sparked a lot of reaction on social media.
“Giiiiirl you better stay off social media they can track you !!” one person commented.
“Aint gonna be as funny when you get processed,” said another in an image shared by the Tulsa Police Department.
Graves was subsequently arrested the next day at approximately 4:30 p.m. after detectives with the Tulsa Police Department’s Fugitive Warrant’s unit were able to track her down in a home in north Tulsa.
The two other suspects allegedly involved in the murder of Eric Graves — Jayden and Gabriel Hopson — have been charged with murder and are already being held in police custody.
Authorities did not disclose the relationship between Eric and Lorraine Graves but did confirm that she has now been charged with Accessory to Murder and her bond has been set at $500,000.
(NEW YORK) — More than 609,000 Americans and counting have died from COVID-19.
Each week ABC News is spotlighting several Americans who have died from the virus.
Adel Hamdan
Adel Hamdan, a New Jersey veterinarian who was called the “animal whisperer” by his wife, died on Dec. 30, 2020, at the age of 73, NorthJersey.com reported.
Hamdan owned Totowa Animal Hospital, where he performed surgeries on animals and offered free care to those who needed it, the newspaper said.
“He would never let an animal go if it wasn’t taken care of,” his brother, Dean Hamden, told NorthJersey.com. “He gave of his time and he talked to kids about the profession. He was generous with his time, energies and his finance.”
Hamdan is survived by his wife, two children and grandson.
Frederick “Fritz” Holloway died on Jan. 28, 2021, at the age of 92, his obituary said.
The New Jersey resident spent 34 years as a bus operator, retiring in 2007, said New Jersey Transit.
“A proud U.S. Army veteran who served during the Korean conflict,” Holloway “enjoyed a good game of cards, a day at the racetrack, and a family cookout,” New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy told reporters in June.
Holloway was predeceased by his wife who died in 2006.
We remember Frederick “Fritz” Holloway.
Fritz was a proud U.S. Army veteran who served during the Korean Conflict. He was a bus driver for @NJTRANSIT. Away from work, he enjoyed a good game of cards, a day at the racetrack, and a family cookout.
Juan Llanes, a correctional officer in Miami-Dade, Florida, died on Feb. 1, 2021.
The 57-year-old leaves behind a wife and son.
Llanes had been a member of the Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation Department since 1988.
“He was always there for anybody who needed help,” former officer George Hubbard told ABC Miami affiliate WPLG.
“His family came first, and then his friends,” correctional officer Lynette Smith said in a statement. “We helped one another during difficult times . … After working with Juan for the last couple of years, I gained a brother.”
RIP OFFICER LLANES: The Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation Department announced Friday that Correctional Officer Juan Llanes died this week after being diagnosed with COVID-19. He was 57 years old. https://t.co/QRWPum38CJ
(LAS VEGAS) — Kataluna Enriquez made history on June 27 by winning the title of Miss Nevada USA and becoming the first openly transgender contestant who will compete in the upcoming Miss USA competition.
Enriquez, who is Filipina American, beat out 21 other contestants to win the crown at the South Point Hotel Casino in Las Vegas. In March, she also became the first transgender woman to represent Miss Silver State USA, an official preliminary for Miss Nevada USA.
“I am so happy and grateful to be Miss Nevada USA 2021 and represent our state Nevada in this year’s Miss USA,” Enriquez told “Good Morning America.” “This has been one of my longest dreams and I am happy to share it with my community, especially the LGBTQ+ youth.”
“When I was young, I always said, ‘I wish I could see someone like me on that stage,’” Enriquez continued. “That’s something that I always didn’t have growing up and to be able to give that to other people, that’s one of my hopes in life to just be able to represent and create a positive change for those who haven’t always had those moments in life.”
Her historic win was met with an outpouring of support on social media, including a congratulatory post from the Miss Nevada USA organization.
“Good Morning WORLD! The Universe rather,” read the Instagram post. “Congratulations to @mskataluna for her historical win!!!”
Winning the crown was not always an easy feat for Enriquez. She got her start competing in transgender pageants in 2015 and later began competing in cisgender pageants where she had to overcome several challenges.
“When I started competing with cisgender women or the Miss USA organization, there was one competition where I was asked to provide documents that I think were invasive and were singling me out,” Enriquez revealed. “Also, I was not provided roommates, regardless of my identity.”
She said that despite providing all required documentation for a pageant in another state, she still had to undergo a stricter vetting process. Enriquez said she had to provide pageant organizers with legal orders, doctor’s notes and her identification card verifying that she is a female.
“It was basically just refusing me to be there, so that’s one of the experiences I’ve experienced,” she said.
“There’s a lot of backlash that I’m receiving and I think I want to use this time to really educate people on what it means to be trans, on what it means to be part of the LGBTQ+ community,” Enriquez continued. “And I think there’s still lack of representation in being a trans woman of color and being a Southeast Asian American.”
Now, she plans to use her life experiences “as a trans woman of color, and as a woman who is a survivor of physical and sexual abuse” to shape her platform called #BEVISIBLE, which aims to combat hate through vulnerability.
“I’ve learned that people just take advantage of our vulnerable moments and use it to kind of belittle us and dehumanize us but in reality it’s what makes us connect as humans,” said Enriquez. “My goal this time is to expand my platform for other people and have them share their stories so we can create a world where everyone is aware of things and we can have positive conversations and not let anyone who is experiencing difficultness or different situations in life to feel like they are less than.”
In addition to being a titleholder, Enriquez also works as a healthcare admin specializing in LGBTQ+ care, a model and is the owner of her own clothing line called Kataluna Kouture.
“I started my design company because I didn’t have money growing up,” Enriquez said. “I didn’t have money to be able to afford clothes and gowns and I couldn’t find anything that fit my body type and so that was very important for me,”
She attended school for fashion design, and says that when she first started competing in her own designs, parts of the evening gown would fall off. Her skills improved over time and she even designed the rainbow sequined evening gown she wore during the state competition in honor of pride month.
“My win is hope for a lot of people, hope that they can have a better chance in life, better opportunities, different outcomes,” she said. “I hope that my win gives them hope and a chance that lets them know they can also have a successful path in life regardless of what they’ve experienced and what they’re going through.”
Enriquez will compete for the national title of Miss USA in November. If she wins, she will advance to the Miss Universe competition and would become only the second transgender woman to compete in the pageant. In 2018, Spain’s Angela Ponce made history and became the first transgender woman to compete at Miss Universe.
“I’d love to be the first Asian woman to win a title of Miss USA and the first trans woman,” said Enriquez. “I think that will be a great example for moving forward to create a better future in our country.”
“My win is visibility and representation of hope and an example to love and celebrate diversity and your differences,” she added. “We cannot wait to spread our colors on the Miss USA stage.”
At least two people are dead and several others are wounded after a driver of an SUV allegedly shot at several people Sunday in Tucson, Arizona, including multiple first responders.
The shootings unfolded at three locations where emergency personnel were responding to separate incidents.
Tucson Police Chief Chris Magnus said the incident began as the Tucson Fire Department was dispatched to a fire at 3:45 p.m. local time in the 2100 block of Irene Vista. At “pretty much” the same time, EMTs were responding to an unrelated medical emergency in a nearby park. That’s when, according to Magnus, a suspect got out of his silver SUV, approached the ambulance and opened fire, striking the driver in the head and the passenger in the arm and chest.
The 20-year-old EMT driver is in “extremely critical condition,” while the EMT in the passenger seat, a 21-year-old woman, is listed in stable condition.
Then, as firetrucks arrived to the call at the residence, neighbors were also at the scene trying to help.
That’s when the suspect “arrives on the scene and starts firing at both the fire department personnel and the neighbors,” Magnus said during a press briefing Sunday night.
At this point, firefighters called police to say they are being shot at. One fire captain was shot in the arm at the residence and is in good condition, while a neighbor died after being shot in the head, police said. A second neighbor was grazed by a bullet and is in good condition.
Then as a responding police officer arrives at the scene, he sees the suspect’s vehicle in the area. The SUV then rams the officer’s car, disabling it, Magnus said. The officer then exited the car and exchanged gunfire with the alleged suspect, striking him. The 35-year-old alleged suspect is in critical condition at a local hospital.
Magnus said making the incident more complex is the fact a dead body was found inside the burning residence. At this time, that victim’s identity is not known and police said they are unsure if that person’s death is directly related to the suspect.
Adding to the suspicions around these incidents, authorities said the whereabouts of “two or three” children “associated” with the burning residence are unknown. Anyone with information about these children, of which a description was not immediately available, was asked to call 911.
This is a “highly tragic, really horrific incident with many unknowns,” Magnus said Sunday night. The investigation, he said, will be “lengthy and complex.”
“I ask our entire Tucson community to join me in thinking about and praying for the victims of this afternoon’s fire and shooting by Silverlake Park, including first responders from AMR and the Tucson Fire Department. This was a horrific and senseless act of violence,” Tucson Mayor Regina Romero said in a statement Monday.
(SPRING, TX.) — A chemical spill at a water park in Texas sent dozens of people to the hospital, according to officials.
The incident began around 2:30 p.m. in a children’s pool at Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Splashtown in Spring, Texas, when a lifeguard and several guests started to get sick, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo told reporters.
Children and their parents were experiencing “respiratory issues,” and 28 of them were transported to hospitals, the Harris County Fire Marshal’s office said.
After evacuating the park and conducting preliminary tests of the air and water, investigators found the water had a chemical combination of 35% sulfuric acid and 10-13% bleach, Scott Seifert, the chief of Spring Texas Fire, told reporters. The chemicals are commonly used to clean and treat swimming pools.
Over 65 people were contaminated by the substance, however, no one suffered any chemical burns, according to the fire marshall’s office. The affected persons were decontaminated.
The most serious case involved a 3-year-old child, and as of Sunday, that child was stable at Texas Children’s Hospital, according to Hidalgo.
“Everybody else was in the less urgent position,” she said. “Most people were feeling better afterward.”
A representative from the park said in a statement that it was closing Hurricane Harbor Splashtown indefinitely as they work with health officials to determine what caused the spill.
“The safety of our guests and team members is always our highest priority,” Rosie Shepard, a spokeswoman for the park, said in a statement.
The fire marshal said the last time the park had its fire and safety inspection was June 29 and the Harris County health department conducted health and safety inspections for commercial pools in April.
Hidalgo said that the park is supposed to have systems in place that track the pH level in the water and alert crews quickly, however, she reiterated that the city will make sure this doesn’t happen again.
“If you can have 60-plus people get sick, and your system doesn’t catch it … then clearly something is wrong with the system,” she said.
ABC News’ Timmy Truong contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — Four people have died and two people have been injured in a terrible single-vehicle accident that ended up splitting their car in half.
The incident occurred at approximately 2:24 p.m. on Saturday, July 17, in Hickory Hills, Illinois, when police say a car with six people inside ended up losing control and striking a tree, according to a report from ABC News’ Chicago station WLS-TV.
None of the victims involved in the accident have currently been identified but authorities told WLS that two people died on the scene and two people died after being taken to the hospital following the accident. The condition of the other two people have not yet been disclosed.
Police are still investigating the circumstances surrounding the accident but an eyewitness told WLS that the aftermath of the accident was shocking.
“I have never seen anything like it,” Joanna Proszek told WLS. “It was bad, tragic. I think they just, like, started flying because there is a hill. So I am thinking they just revved up the engine and they just flew into the tree.”
It is unclear if speed was a factor in the accident but authorities say that the investigation into what caused the crash is ongoing.
