(LAS VEGAS) — A Nevada woman was arrested after her dog was trapped outside in a crate and died due to the extreme heat, according to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
At approximately 2:02 p.m. on Saturday, police received a call for assistance from the Clark County Animal Protection Services in reference to “a dog who was deceased at a residence” in Las Vegas, police said in a statement on Sunday.
Once on the scene, animal cruelty detectives took over the investigation, determining that the dog had been locked in a crate and had been left outside in the extreme heat for hours by the owner, police said.
According to the National Weather Service, temperatures in Las Vegas reached a high of 105 degrees Fahrenheit on Saturday, with officials urging owners to keep their pets inside and out of the excessive heat.
The owner, who was identified as 30-year-old Olivia Underwood, was arrested for willful or malicious torture, maiming or killing of a dog and was booked into the Clark County Detention Center, police said.
It is unclear whether Underwood remains in custody.
(LOS ANGELES) — The Los Angeles Police Department is asking for the public’s help in identifying three suspects who are allegedly involved in a series of attacks against a transgender woman — with the most recent incident taking place on Sunday.
Police released photos of the three suspects and said that an initial attack and sexual assault allegedly took place on April 8, while the most recent attacks that police believe to be “perpetrated by the same individuals” allegedly took place at around 11:38 p.m. local time on Saturday.
No arrests had been made in this case as of Monday afternoon, an LAPD spokesperson told ABC News.
“[The suspects] returned to the victim’s location and physically assaulted her, inflicting serious injuries. The suspects fled the scene before officers arrived,” the LAPD said in a statement released on Sunday.
Police said the victim is a 61-year-old transgender woman but did not disclose her identity. However, the victim of the alleged attacks — Sabrina de la Peña — came forward in an April 28 interview with ABC Station in Los Angeles, KABC.
De la Peña, a small business owner in the Westlake neighborhood, recounted the alleged April 8 attack. She told KABC she believed that being transgender made her a target.
She said that the first suspect came into her store and attempted to flirt with her but became angry when she turned him away.
“He pushed me down… on the floor and we start fighting on the floor,” she said.
According to an April 28 police statement, “the suspect sexually assaulted the victim and discovered she was a transgender woman. The suspect pulled away and threatened to kill the victim.”
“Subsequently, the same suspect returned to the location multiple times with additional suspects and committed hate crimes against the victim,” police said.
According to police, during one incident the suspect allegedly struck the victim with a skateboard, and on another occasion, he pepper-sprayed her. During a third incident, the suspect allegedly “threw an unknown liquid at the victim while another suspect attempted to stun her with a Taser,” police said.
De la Peña said that after the initial incident on April 8, the suspect allegedly returned the next day with another man and beat her with a skateboard.
“He take me to the alley, out my door…and he beating me,” she told KABC. “I think he hate transgender women because he tell me many times… ‘I’m gonna kill you.'”
Police are asking for the public’s help in identifying the three alleged suspects and urging people to review the photos and share any tips with LAPD Rampart Division Detectives at (213) 484-3495.
(NEW YORK) — A former assistant to Sean “Diddy” Combs concluded three days on the witness stand, with attorneys for the music mogul grilling her so intensely that a prosecutor asked the judge to stop the cross-examination, calling it “humiliating” and “harassing.”
The witness, testifying under the pseudonym “Mia,” told jurors last week that Combs tormented and sexually assaulted her during her time working as his personal assistant.
Defense attorneys tried to assail her credibility over her last two days appearing on the stand, pressing her about dozens of text messages and social media posts she authored about Combs that were playful, respectful and even adoring.
Combs’ lawyers argued Mia misrepresented how Combs treated her and fabricated part of her story. Mia largely stood by her testimony, telling jurors that she was “brainwashed” by Combs and explained that she now wants to speak truthfully about the years of harassment and abuse she endured.
“It’s the worst thing I ever had to talk about in my life,” Mia told the jury about her reluctance to talk about how Combs sexually assaulted her.
Mia’s testimony marked the beginning of the fourth week of testimony in Combs’ sex-trafficking and racketeering conspiracy trial. Prosecutors charge that Combs used his wealth and influence to run a criminal enterprise that served to protect his reputation and coerce women into sex.
If convicted on all counts, the music mogul could spend the rest of his life behind bars. Combs has pleaded not guilty, and his lawyers argue that, while he might have been violent towards romantic partners and abused illicit drugs, he did not commit the crimes alleged by the Department of Justice.
Defense attorneys stress Mia’s loving messages to Combs
Continuing his cross-examination from last week, defense attorney Brian Steel returned to Mia’s social media posts and text messages to challenge the woman and the version of events she shared with the jury.
“Life is f—— insane and supposedly it all happens for a reason in order to elevate us in our human experience, but it’s rough,” Mia wrote Combs in 2020, more than three years after she stopped working for him. “I love you with all of my heart and I’m here for you forever.”
Steel also showed the jury other text messages from the 2019-2022 time frame in which Mia expressed love and admiration to Combs.
“Hey. Saw our doc on Netflix top 10. Congrats I miss you,” read one text from July 2022.
Combs responded, “Love, love, love, love.” Mia wrote back, “And I love, love, love you.”
“Everything is positive and loving from you to Mr. Combs, would you agree with that?” Steel asked.
“Yes, of course,” Mia answered. She quickly explained to the jury she was still “brainwashed” by Combs from her years working for him.
Once the lengthy and contentious cross-examination of Mia concluded, federal prosecutors tried to minimize any damage that might have been done to her credibility.
“Did you post on social media as part of your job?” prosecutor Madison Smyser asked on re-direct examination.
“Yes,” Mia answered, adding that posting about Ciroc, Diddy Door, the Bad Boy reunion, and Combs himself were part of her job. She described her Instagram posts “like the highlight reel” of Combs and not meant for posts about the downside of working for him.
“Is that why you didn’t post about Mr. Combs slamming Cassie’s head into a bed frame?” Smyser asked. “Yes,” Mia answered.
“Is that why you didn’t post about Mr. Combs throwing a computer at your head?” Smyser asked. “Yes,” Mia answered.
“Is that why you didn’t post about Mr. Combs sexually assaulting you?” Smyser asked. “Yes,” Mia answered.
Steel tries to cast doubt on Mia by asking why she didn’t document abuse Throughout his searing cross-examination, defense attorney Steel tried to poke holes in Mia’s testimony by highlighting how she did not document the abuse she said she suffered from Combs, even as she documented the upside.
“Do you have any recording of Mr. Combs berating you?” asked Steel, who highlighted that part of Mia’s job was to carry a small camera to document Combs’ life. “No, I would not have been allowed to record that,” Mia responded.
“Because it’s not true, is it, Mia?” Steel accused. “Your statements that you were the victim at the hands of Mr. Combs of brutality isn’t true?”
Mia fired back, testifying, “Everything I’ve said in this courtroom is true.”
Steel also questioned Mia’s account of escaping Combs with Ventura in Turks and Caicos by paddleboarding out to sea. Steel asked whether there were any text messages, emails or photographs documenting those allegations.
“Was that just made up by you?” Steel pointedly asked. “No,” Mia testified.
Steel’s next question — “How is it that all these events have no photograph or text message or email from you?” — was stopped by the judge after an objection.
At one point, prosecutors asked the judge overseeing the case to intervene, arguing the “humiliating” cross-examination borders on harassment and could deter other crime victims from coming forward in other cases.
“Eyes are on this trial. Victims in other cases are going to see how victims are treated,” Comey said in a clear nod to the global headlines being created by the Combs trial. “Our concern is that if this victim is not protected from further harassment, it will deter other victims in other cases.”
Judge Arun Subramanian said he heard no yelling and saw no improper treatment, but he did caution Steel about the form of his questions.
Steel suggests Mia fabricated her story after Ventura’s lawsuit
Steel suggested Mia timed her disclosure of alleged sexual assault by Combs with the filing of a civil lawsuit by the singer Cassie Ventura, Combs’ former longtime girlfriend. Ventura is the prosecution’s star witness, and she has alleged that Combs abused her for a decade. Her lawsuit, the starting point for the federal investigation that culminated with the current prosecution, was settled after a day for $20 million, Ventura testified. There was no admission of wrongdoing.
Steel questioned why Mia did not tell federal prosecutors about her claim that Combs sexually assaulted her until June 2024, six months after she began meeting with the authorities and seven months after Ventura’s civil lawsuit. The defense emphasized to the jury that Mia met with federal prosecutors a total of 28 times.
“Do you remember the first time you ever made a claim Mr. Combs ever sexually assaulted you was on June 18, 2024?” Steel asked.
“I don’t remember the dates, but I do remember that horrible conversation,” Mia answered.
On redirect examination, Smyser asked Mia to clarify why she met so often with federal prosecutors. “I met with the government so much in order to understand my story and because I was so terrified and I was learning at the same time,” she testified, and, using Combs’ earlier street name, said she was “terrified of Puff.” She said she has never been able to talk about her claim that Combs sexually assaulted her without looking down.
“It’s the worst thing I ever had to talk about in my life,” she explained.
Latest witness tells jury about damage to Combs’ hotel room
Prosecutors concluded the day by calling Susan Oken, manager of the Beverly Hills Hotel, to testify about the times when Combs was a guest of her establishment.
She said Combs checked into the Beverly Hills Hotel under aliases like “Frank Black” or “Phillip Pines” and Cassie Ventura was listed under Combs’ profile as a guest.
Oken testified that Combs once incurred an extra $300 charge to clean the drapes and another $500 charge to clean “oil damage.” Oken said the charge reflected something “beyond the scope of what we’d normally clean.” The prosecution’s questioning was a callback to earlier testimony about the so-called “freak-off” orgies that Combs would allegedly host and, according to testimony, featured gallons of baby oil.
Court is set to resume on Tuesday with Eddie Garcia, an employee of the InterContinental Hotel in Century City, CA., the scene of Combs’ caught-on-camera attack on Ventura that has created perhaps the most enduring images to come from the high-profile criminal trial.
(INDIAN RIVER COUNTY, FL) — Three people have been rescued from the Atlantic Ocean in the dark after their plane went down several miles offshore off the coast of Florida, officials said.
Officials from Air and Marine Operations, an operational component of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, were alerted to a single-engine Cessna Skyhawk crashing down into the ocean on Sunday evening several miles offshore, according to a statement from of U.S. Customs and Border Protection on Monday.
“During the evening of June 1, an AMO Fort Pierce Marine Unit was alerted by the Indian River Shores Police Department that a single-engine Cessna Skyhawk had crashed approximately 2 to 3 miles offshore,” officials said. “AMO crews immediately responded and arrived at the location, joining search and rescue efforts already underway by the U.S. Coast Guard, Indian River County Sheriff’s Office, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and Indian River Shores Police Department.”
An Indian River County Sheriff’s Office helicopter was able to locate three heat signatures in the water which led to a focused search of the area and, at approximately 9:50 p.m. on Sunday night, AMO Marine Interdiction Agents located two survivors before finding the third one shortly after and bringing him on board as well.
“The survivor identified himself as the pilot and confirmed that only three individuals had been aboard the aircraft at the time of the crash,” CBP officials said. “AMO agents assessed the pilot’s condition, monitoring his vitals and providing initial care as he reported severe rib pain. The pilot was transferred to the Coast Guard 45-foot vessel for Emergency Medical Technician evaluation.”
All three survivors were immediately taken to Coast Guard Station Fort Pierce for further medical treatment by local fire rescue personnel.
“AMO remains committed to protecting lives and supporting partner agencies in search and rescue efforts across the nation’s coastal regions,” officials said.
(NEW YORK) — The latest summer season outlook by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows hotter-than-average temperatures are predicted across much of the country this summer, with the greatest likelihood of extreme heat hitting swaths of the East Coast, southern Plains and West.
The outlook from NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center forecasts whether the seasonal average temperature for a particular area will end up above, below or near average during the three-month period of the meteorological summer.
However, the outlook focuses on a seasonal average temperature and does not detail temperature variations that occur over the course of days, weeks or even one out of the three months included in the forecast.
June in a particular region could feature rather typical summer conditions, however, July and August could end up well above average, tipping the 3-month average to above for the entire season.
What this means for a local area depends greatly on the typical climate of a certain location.
For example, average high temperatures in Phoenix, Arizona, this summer range from 104 to 106 degrees Fahrenheit. This is already hot, as it is typically expected to be.
Contrast this with Caribou, Maine, where average high temperatures during the summer months range from 72 to 77 degrees Fahrenheit. Some people may consider this warm, but not hot.
Both locations are shaded red on NOAA’s forecast map, indicating that temperatures are expected to average above the typical summer range. However, “above average” could mean just one degree higher — or several.
And for places like Caribou, above average doesn’t necessarily mean hot. These forecasts also consider overnight lows, so in some areas, warmer-than-average temperatures might come from milder nights rather than scorching afternoons.
While the seasonal outlook highlights where above-average warmth is likely, it doesn’t tell us how hot or long-lasting any extreme heat might be.
When do summer’s hottest temperatures typically occur?
The hottest temperatures of the summer typically occur much later in the season, with different regions of the country experiencing their warmest average temperatures at varying times.
For the contiguous United States, on average, July is the hottest month of the year.
However, some regions of the country typically don’t experience their warmest average temperatures until August or even September.
A majority of the country, including much of the Northeast, Midwest and West, experiences the hottest temperatures of the year on average, during the second half of July and first half of August.
Much of the South typically experiences its peak average temperatures during the second half of August. However, along much of the West Coast, the warmest temperatures of the year usually don’t occur until September.
What previous summers have taught us For the past two summers in a row, the seasons in the Northern Hemisphere ranked as the warmest on record with extreme heat bringing persistent, dangerously hot conditions across several continents, according to a 2024 report by Copernicus, the European Union’s Climate Change Service.
Summer 2024 (June through August) was the warmest summer on record for the Northern Hemisphere, beating the previous record set in 2023 by .66 degrees Celsius, or 1.19 degrees Fahrenheit, the report found. The Northern Hemisphere’s top 10 warmest summers on record have all occurred within the past 10 years, according to Copernicus.
“The temperature-related extreme events witnessed this summer will only become more intense, with more devastating consequences for people and the planet unless we take urgent action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” Samantha Burgess, deputy director of Copernicus, said in a statement at the time.
The last time Earth recorded a cooler-than-average year was in 1976, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
While it is unlikely that summer 2025 will surpass last year’s record, this forecast shows that scorching temperatures could be on the way for much of the U.S. this season.
(WASHINGTON) — Warning that a series of court decisions blocking President Donald Trump’s tariffs “disrupt sensitive, ongoing negotiations with virtually every trading partner,” the Trump administration on Monday asked a federal appeals court to block an order last week that found the sweeping tariffs were “unlawful.”
In a lawsuit brought by two children’s toy companies, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., last week ruled that Trump does not have power to unilaterally impose tariffs “to reorder the global economy.”
Issued less than 24 hours after a panel of judges on the Court of International Trade issued its own decision blocking Trump’s tariffs, U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras reached the same conclusion about the unlawfulness of the tariffs, but issued a less sweeping order, only blocking enforcement of the tariffs against the two companies that filed the lawsuit.
A federal appeals court subsequently temporarily delayed the Court of International Trade’s decision.
Trump in April announced far-reaching tariffs on dozens of countries in a Rose Garden ceremony that he dubbed “Liberation Day.”
In a filing Monday, the Trump administration argued that Judge Contreras’ ruling was flawed and that it undercuts the president while ” negotiations currently stand at a delicate juncture.”
“By holding the tariffs invalid, the district court’s ruling usurps the President’s authority and threatens to disrupt sensitive, ongoing negotiations with virtually every trading partner by undercutting the premise of those negotiations — that the tariffs are a credible threat,” the filing said.
Lawyers with the Department of Justice also argued that Judge Contreras lacks the jurisdiction to issue the decision because legal disputes over trade policy belong in the Court of International Trade.
(BOULDER, Colo.) — The man suspected of carrying out an “act of terrorism” during a pro-Israel demonstration in Boulder, Colorado, leaving eight people in the hospital, has been charged with a federal hate crime, according to court documents.
The suspect, 45-year-old Mohamed Soliman, told investigators “he researched on YouTube how to make Molotov Cocktails, purchased the ingredients to do so, and constructed them,” the court documents said.
Soliman allegedly told police “he wanted to kill all Zionist people and wished they were all dead,” the document said. “SOLIMAN stated he would do it (conduct an attack) again.”
He allegedly used a “makeshift flamethrower” and threw an incendiary device into a crowd of pro-Israel demonstrators at a pedestrian mall on Sunday afternoon, according to the FBI. He allegedly yelled “Free Palestine” during the attack, the FBI said.
The demonstration was a Run for Their Lives walk, which aims to raise awareness about the remaining hostages held by Hamas in Gaza and calls for their immediate release.
Eight victims, ranging in age from 52 to 88, were hospitalized with burns, police said.
Six of the eight have since been released from hospitals, a security source briefed on the situation told ABC News on Monday. Two victims remain in critical condition but are expected to survive.
Soliman was taken into custody and is being held on $10,000,000 bond, according to the Boulder County Jail, which listed a range of felony charges against him, including use of an incendiary device. The posted list of felony charges also appeared to include first-degree murder, although it was not immediately clear whether the charge was attempted murder. According to police, there have been no fatalities.
Soliman is due in court Monday afternoon.
Soliman is in the United States illegally, according to the Department of Homeland Security. entered the U.S. in August 2022 on a B2 visa and he filed for asylum in September 2022, according to Tricia McLaughlin, the assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security.
His B2 visa — which is typically a tourism visa — expired in February 2023, McLaughlin said.
Soliman was granted a work permit after his B2 visa expired, a senior official told ABC News. That work permit expired on March 28, so he has been in the country illegally since then, the official said.
President Donald Trump responded to the attack for the first time on Monday, writing on Truth Social that the crimes will be “prosecuted to the fullest extent of the Law.”
“This is yet another example of why we must keep our Borders SECURE, and deport Illegal, Anti-American Radicals from our Homeland. My heart goes out to the victims of this terrible tragedy, and the Great People of Boulder, Colorado!” the president added.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(WENATCHEE, Wash.) — Officials in Washington state are searching for three young sisters — ages 9, 8 and 5 — who were last seen leaving home for a scheduled visitation with their father, according to the Wenatchee Police Department.
The girls — 9-year-old Paityn Decker, 8-year-old Evelyn Decker and 5-year-old Olivia Decker — were last seen at approximately 5 p.m. on Friday when they left to be with their father, Travis Decker, on a “planned visitation,” police said.
Decker, 32, is homeless and has been living in his vehicle or at various motels or campgrounds in the area, officials said.
Police said visitation has been a part of the family’s parenting plan, but Decker has “since gone outside the parameters of it which is not normal and cause for the alarm.”
As of Monday, the girls have not returned home and contact cannot be made with Decker, officials confirmed to ABC News.
Police said the current investigation has “not met AMBER Alert criteria,” but they have issued an Endangered Missing Person Alert through the Washington State Patrol.
Decker, who is described as 5 feet, 8 inches tall with black hair and brown eyes, was last seen wearing a light shirt and dark shorts and driving a 2017 GMC Sierra with a Washington license plate number of DC0165C, according to the missing persons’ poster.
Paityn Decker, the oldest of the siblings, was last seen wearing a blue shirt, purple shorts and pink Nikes, and Olivia Decker, the youngest, was last seen wearing a coral and pink shirt. Evelyn Decker, the third sibling, has blond hair and brown eyes, officials said.
Authorities said anyone who recognizes Decker or his children should call 911.
(NEW YORK) — With more than a hundred wildfires burning in Canada, the smoke is bringing potentially dangerous air quality conditions to parts of the northern United States.
As of Monday, there are 181 active wildfires burning in Canada, with 92 of these considered to be “out of control,” meaning fires that are being observed and assessed, but not immediately suppressed, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre.
The smoke from these flames has been moving through the Upper Midwest over the weekend in rounds, with the next coming through on Monday and Tuesday.
The air quality index forecast on Monday shows conditions labeled as unhealthy for sensitive groups — the third level out of six — for a large portion of Minnesota and Wisconsin, as well as unhealthy — the fourth level out of six — in a small area of Wisconsin from Waukegan to Sheboygan, including Milwaukee.
The heavy smoke will begin to appear over northwestern Minnesota on Monday morning and will continue to move through the north and central parts of the state throughout the day. Air quality alerts are in place for the state on Monday, creating hazy conditions that could be unhealthy for sensitive groups.
On Tuesday, the smoke will travel to eastern Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin, also potentially appearing over Minneapolis and Omaha, Nebraska. But an incoming cold front bringing thunderstorms and strong winds could disperse the smoke and make it difficult to predict where it will appear.
As of Monday, the areas of Canada with the most fires include British Columbia with 69 and Alberta with 49.
Last week, the provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba declared state of emergencies due to the fires, with around 17,000 residents already evacuated, according to The Associated Press.
The combination of dry conditions and “little-to-no precipitation” will continue to feed the flames and make it difficult for officials to manage the fires, Saskatchewan Public Safety said on Sunday.
Aircraft and dozens of personnel from other Canadian provinces and the United States — including Arizona, Oregon and Alaska — are being sent to help fight the wildfires, according to Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe.
“We are truly grateful, and we stand stronger because of you,” Moe said Sunday on X.
Moe said last week there has been a “significant lack of moisture” in the northern parts of the province, causing “over 200 wildfires” in Saskatchewan this spring.
H. Richardson/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images)
(BOULDER, Colo.) — A Holocaust survivor was among the eight victims in an alleged “act of terrorism” carried out during a pro-Israel demonstration in Boulder, Colorado, according to a Department of Justice official.
The Holocaust survivor, who was not identified, “endured the worst evil in human history” and “came to America seeking safety,” Leo Terrell, the Justice Department official in charge of the antisemitism task force, wrote on social media. “Now, decades later, she’s victimized again.”
“The attack on this survivor reminds me of the horror of October 7, [2023], when Holocaust survivors were murdered and dragged away by Hamas terrorists in Israel,” Terrell said. “But this time, it happened here. In our country. This is all caused by the same type of hatred: antisemitism.”
“Holocaust survivors should not spend the final chapter of their lives experiencing or witnessing this hatred again,” Terrell wrote. “We must fight this terror together.”
The suspect, 45-year-old Mohammed Soliman, allegedly used a “makeshift flamethrower” and threw an incendiary device into a crowd of pro-Israel demonstrators on a pedestrian mall on Sunday afternoon, according to the FBI. He allegedly yelled “Free Palestine” during the attack, the FBI said.
The attack took place during a Run for Their Lives walk, which aims to raise awareness about the remaining hostages held by Hamas in Gaza and calls for their immediate release.
Eight victims were hospitalized with burns, including one person in critical condition, police said. The victims’ ages range from 52 to 88, police said.
Soliman has been taken into custody.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement Monday, “My wife and I and the entire State of Israel pray for the full recovery of the wounded in the vicious terror attack that took place in Boulder, Colorado.”
“This attack was aimed against peaceful people who wished to express their solidarity with the hostages held by Hamas, simply because they were Jews,” he said. “I trust the United States authorities to prosecute the cold blood perpetrator to the fullest extent of the law and do everything possible to prevent future attacks against innocent civilians.”
The attack comes at a time of heightened violence against the Jewish community.
In April, a suspected arsonist firebombed Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s official residence because of “what [the governor] wants to do to the Palestinian people,” according to a search warrant signed by Pennsylvania State Police. The suspect was arrested.
On May 21, two Israeli Embassy staff members were killed as they left an event at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C. When the suspect was arrested, he began to chant, “free, free Palestine,” according to police.
Two days after the D.C. attack, the Department of Homeland Security warned in a bulletin that the Israel-Hamas conflict “continues to inspire violence and could spur radicalization or mobilization to violence against targets perceived as supporting Israel.”
The Anti-Defamation League has documented a dramatic rise in acts of hate targeting Jewish people in the U.S. since the Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack in Israel. In 2024, the ADL said it recorded a record high of 9,354 antisemitic incidents in the U.S., marking a 344% increase over the past five years and a 893% increase over the past 10 years.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
