(OGDEN, UTAH) — Authorities have rescued a total of 152 dogs living in “extremely poor” conditions from a house in Utah, officials said.
Police in Ogden, Utah, along with Ogden Animal Services officers responded to a residence in the 3000 block of Jefferson Avenue after receiving a report of possible animal neglect, according to an Ogden City Police Department press release.
“Upon arrival and further investigation, officers discovered 152 dogs living in extremely poor and overcrowded conditions,” authorities said. “Due to the scale and severity of the situation, additional support was requested from Weber County Animal Services, Roy Animal Services, and Draper Animal Services.”
All 152 dogs were safely removed from the property and are currently receiving veterinary care, evaluations and shelter support, officials said.
“Weber County Animal Services is working with Ogden City Animal Control to provide safe accommodations for the animals in the hording investigation,” Weber County Animal Services said in a statement. “The animals are currently at the Weber County Animal Shelter in kennels in spare rooms, separate from the other animals in our care to prevent the spread of possible diseases.”
Animal services are now working with rescue groups and partners at other animal shelters to provide medical care and possible relocation for these animals.
“We will inform our community when these animals will be available for adoption and/or fostering. Please note that this is an ongoing investigation,” officials said. “The Ogden Police Department and Ogden Animal Services thank all responding agencies and partners who helped ensure the safety and well-being of these animals.”
(CULLMAN COUNTY, AL) — Three people were killed after two boats collided on an Alabama lake on Wednesday, authorities said.
The incident occurred during a Major League Fishing tournament and involved one of the event’s anglers, the organization said.
The two-vessel crash occurred shortly after 7 a.m. local time on Smith Lake in Cullman County, according to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA).
A Nitro bass boat struck a Center Console vessel, according to ALEA. The three people killed in the crash were all on board the Center Console boat, ALEA said.
Among them, Joey Broom, 58, of Altoona, Alabama, was “fatally injured” in the crash, ALEA said in a press release.
Additionally, John Clark, 44, of Cullman, Alabama, and Jeffrey Little, 62, of Brandon, Mississippi, were both thrown overboard during the incident and drowned, ALEA said. Their bodies were recovered from the lake, ALEA said Wednesday evening.
The incident remains under investigation.
Major League Fishing said the “serious boating accident” occurred during the second day of the Tackle Warehouse Invitational.
“This is a heartbreaking moment for our entire organization,” Kathy Fennel, the executive vice president and general manager of Major League Fishing, said in a statement. “Our deepest condolences go out to the families and friends of those affected by this tragedy.”
The final day of the competition, which had been scheduled for Thursday, has been canceled, the organization said.
Astrid Riecken For The Washington Post via Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — The wife of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Salvadoran migrant whose wrongful deportation to El Salvador is at the center of a legal battle with the Trump administration, had a temporary order of protection against him in 2021 in which she cited being slapped, hit with an object, and being detained against her will, according to court documents obtained by ABC News.
In a lengthy statement within a petition for protection “from domestic violence,” Jennifer Vasquez Sura mentioned an incident on May 4, 2021, in which she alleges that Abrego Garcia “punched and scratched her eye,” causing her to bleed.
That same day, Vasquez Sura said that when she told Abrego Garcia that she needed to go to a store, he “got angry, started yelling again to the point that he ripped [her] shorts and shirt off.”
“And I ran to the bathroom, he [ran] behind me and grabbed me by my arm,” Vasquez Sura said. “I have marks on my left arm as well.”
“At this point I am afraid to be close to him,” Vasquez Sura added. “I have multiple photos/videos of how [violent] he can be.”
Vasquez Sura obtained a temporary protective order against Abrego Garcia in May of 2021, according to state court records in Maryland. The order required that Abrego Garcia have no contact with Vasquez Sura, and that he stay away from their shared residence, the records show.
In a statement released to ABC News Wednesday through her attorney, Vasquez Sura — who has been vocal in her support of Abrego Garcia during his incarceration in El Salvador — said, “After surviving domestic violence in a previous relationship, I acted out of caution after a disagreement with Kilmar by seeking a protective order in case things escalated.”
“We were able to work through this situation privately as a family, including by going to counseling,” Vasquez Sura said. “Kilmar has always been a loving partner and father, and I will continue to stand by him and demand justice for him.”
Abrego Garcia, who the Trump administration alleges is a member of the criminal gang MS-13, is entering his second month in an El Salvador mega-prison after he was deported there on March 15 despite being issued a 2019 court order barring his deportation to his home country due to the fear of persecution.
He had been living in Maryland with Vasquez Sura , their 5-year-old child, and two step-children. Vasquez Sura has denied that he is affiliated with MS-13.
In the 2021 documents obtained by ABC News, Vasquez Sura noted two past incidents, alleging that in 2020, Abrego Garcia hit her with his work boot and that in August 2020, he hit her in the eye.
The protective order was dismissed a month after it was issued, on June 17, 2021, after Vasquez Sura failed to appear in court, according to a signed order of dismissal by a judge.
ABC News also obtained documents submitted to a Maryland court in August 2018 by a man who claimed to be the father of two of Vasquez Sura’s children. In a five-page motion for an emergency hearing, he said he feared for the children’s lives, in part, “because she is dating a gang member and attempted self-harm,” the records state.
The man did not include the name of the individual he alleged is a gang member. It is not known if he was referring to Abrego Garcia.
The initials of his children’s names, listed in a custody complaint, match the ones that Vasquez Sura listed for her kids in a declaration submitted in Abrego Garcia’s case.
He appears to have left some sections of the complaint unfinished, including what custody terms he was requesting. However, in the filing he said he would allow Vasquez Sura to visit the children on the condition that “we both agree on the time and date.”
According to court documents dated January 18, 2019, the case was dismissed because Vasquez Sura wasn’t served.
Vasquez Sura’s attorneys did not respond to a request for comment on documents involving her ex.
On Tuesday, a federal judge ordered government officials to testify under oath because, she said, they had “done nothing to aid in Abrego Garcia’s release from custody and return to the United States,” despite the Supreme Court directing the Trump administration to “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s release from custody in El Salvador.
The Department of Homeland Security, in a social media post Wednesday, shared a 2021 court record from Abrego Garcia’s protective order case and said in the post that he “was not the upstanding ‘Maryland Man’ the media has portrayed him as.”
(Clallam County, WA) — Authorities said a missing 10-year-old boy who recently underwent a kidney transplant and needed medication has been found safe following an “urgent” search.
Mason Combs was last seen leaving a friend’s house in Clallam County and running into a wooded area at approximately 4 p.m. local time on Tuesday, according to the local sheriff’s office.
He was found safe on Wednesday, the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office said.
“Thank you to all the wonderful volunteers and First Responders who searched diligently for Mason!! He’s been located safe and sound,” the sheriff’s office said in an update on social media while sharing a photo of the child holding a bottle of water.
No additional details were provided.
Mason had been reported missing by his family on Tuesday, according to Clallam County Sheriff’s Office Undersheriff Lorraine Shore.
“Mason needs medication for a recent kidney transplant and was only wearing a t-shirt and pants with no jacket,” the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office said in a social media post on Wednesday.
Without his medication, which he did not have Tuesday night, Mason could pass out, Shore told Seattle ABC affiliate KOMO.
“We are extremely concerned. We consider this to be an urgent search,” Shore told KOMO amid the search. “We are deploying all assets. Our entire focus is on finding this child.”
More than 30 people from multiple agencies aided in the search, which included an aerial search by helicopter and drones, Shore said. K9 teams were also searching buildings and ponds, the sheriff’s office said.
Residents were urged to check their outbuildings, ponds and property for Mason, the sheriff’s office said.
“This is a very rural area, people have a lot of outbuildings, they have a lot of places that a child could hide,” Shore told KOMO. “He might be passed out.”
Mason and his family are from North Carolina and have been in Clallam County for the past two weeks, according to Shore.
Mason’s desperate wait for a life-changing kidney transplant was featured in a November 2023 report by Raleigh station WRAL.
His mother told the station at the time that he was having dialysis multiple times a week after having both kidneys removed.
(NEW YORK) — Fyre Festival 2 has been “postponed,” according to the organizers.
Billy McFarland, who was behind the initial Fyre Festival in the Bahamas, was convicted of wire fraud in connection with the failed 2017 festival.
McFarland’s new event, which was scheduled to take place in Mexico from May 30 to June 2, was being advertised under the slogan “FYRE Festival 2 is real,” with tickets starting at $1,400.
A message sent to a ticket holder said, “The event has been postponed and a new date will be announced. We have issued you a refund. Once the new date is announced, at that time, you can repurchase if it works for your schedule.”
Fyre Festival 2 tickets went on sale in February.
At the time, McFarland said a statement, “I’m sure many people think I’m crazy for doing this again. But I feel I’d be crazy not to do it again.”
“After years of reflection and now thoughtful planning, the new team and I have amazing plans for FYRE 2,” he added.
Like the initial Fyre Festival event, McFarland’s Fyre Fest 2 promised “an electrifying celebration of music, arts, cuisine, comedy, fashion, gaming, sports, and treasure hunting — all set in the stunning location of Isla Mujeres, Mexico,” according to the event’s website.
“Experience unforgettable performances, immersive experiences, and an atmosphere that redefines creativity and culture,” the festival’s website continued.
Leading up to the festival, Mexico officials with the Quintana Roo Tourism Department and the Playa Del Carmen government said “no event of that name” was to be held there.
Bernardo Cueto, tourism secretary of the State of Quintana Roo, where Isla Mujeres is located, told ABC News over a phone call that his agency would be the one giving permission for that kind of festival, but Fyre Fest 2 was not something he was informed about, nor was an event by that name happening in Playa del Carmen or Isla Mujeres.
At the time, the official government X account for Playa del Carmen also posted a statement and confirmed that the event wasn’t happening.
“The municipal government of Playa del Carmen, informs that no event with that name will be held in our city,” the statement said. “After a responsible review of the situation, it was confirmed that there is no registration, planning or conditions that indicate the realization of such an event in the municipality.”
The statement continued, “This municipal government is acting with responsibility and commitment, always with the priority placed on public order, security and family coexistence. We reiterate that any official information will be communicated directly and in a timely manner through the corresponding channels.”
McFarland, however, countered on April 4, sharing on the festival’s Instagram account a timeline of conversations with the government of Playa Del Carmen and shared what appeared to be screenshots of conversations and permits for the event.
“All media reports suggesting our team has not been working with the government of PDC are simply inaccurate and based on misinformation,” he wrote on the account. “FYRE has operated as a good partner with PDC government and has followed the proper processes and procedures to lawfully host an event.”
ABC News’ Tonya Simpson, Anne Laurent, Aaron Katersky and Josh Margolin contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — The Federal Housing Finance Agency has referred information about New York Attorney General Letitia James to the Justice Department regarding a loan on James’ Virginia property, according to a letter obtained by ABC News.
William Pulte, the director of the FHFA, alleges in his letter to the Justice Department, dated April 14, that James listed her Norfolk, Virginia property as her “principal residence” in August of 2023, “despite being a statewide public office holder in the state of New York at that same time and primarily residing in the state of New York.”
The FHFA alleges in the letter that a July 2024 building permit “lists her New York property as the ‘JAMES RESIDENCE’ and states ‘Remain Occupied’.”
“At the time of the 2023 Norfolk, VA property purchase and mortgage, Ms. James was the siting [sic] Attorney General of New York and is required by law to have her primary residence in the state of New York – even though her mortgage applications list her intent to have the Norfolk, VA property as her primary home,” according to the letter. “It appears Ms. James’ property and mortgage-related misrepresentations may have continued to her recent 2023 Norfolk, VA property purchase in order to secure a lower interest rate and more favorable loan terms.”
Pulte, whom Trump appointed in March to lead the FHFA, further alleges in the letter that James “appears to have falsified records in order to meet certain lending requirements and receive favorable loan terms,” which he says “could be violations of the criminal code,” including wire, mail and bank fraud “and/or other relevant state and federal laws.”
The letter concludes by stating that the FHFA “look[s] forward to cooperating with the Department of Justice to support any actions that the Department of Justice finds appropriate.”
“Attorney General James is focused every single day on protecting New Yorkers, especially as this Administration weaponizes the federal government against the rule of law and the Constitution,” a spokesperson for James’ office said in a statement provided in response to an ABC News request for comment. “She will not be intimidated by bullies – no matter who they are.”
James’ office filed a business fraud suit against Trump and his organization in 2022, which resulted in a February 2024 ruling against Trump and fines in excess of $350 million. Former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg pleaded guilty to lying under oath in the civil trial and served five months in prison.
(NEW YORK) — A United Airlines flight experienced an engine fire shortly after takeoff that was apparently caused by a rare rabbit strike.
United Flight 2325 had departed Denver International Airport en route to Edmonton, Alberta, on Sunday when the incident occurred.
LiveATC audio documents the flight crew asking that the plane be inspected for an engine fire and being told that it was a rabbit that apparently got sucked into an engine.
“Rabbit through the number 2, that’ll do it,” the pilot responded.
The Boeing 737-800 was carrying 153 passengers and six crew members.
“There was a loud bang, and a significant vibration in the plane,” passenger Scott Wolff told “Good Morning America.”
The plane proceeded to climb, Wolff said.
“Every few moments there was a backfire coming from the engine, a giant fireball behind it,” he said. “Everyone in the plane then started to panic.”
Wyatt McCurry saw the flames from the ground at the Denver airport.
“My stomach dropped and I just thought, ‘I’m going to see a plane go down,'” he told “Good Morning America.”
The flight safely headed back to Denver.
“Our flight from Denver to Edmonton (UA2325) returned safely to Denver to address a possible wildlife strike,” United said in a statement.
The Federal Aviation Administration said the plane returned around 8:05 p.m. local time on Sunday “after the crew reported striking an animal while departing.”
The passengers continued to Edmonton on a new aircraft, the airline said.
The FAA is investigating.
In general, wildlife strikes are fairly common, with the FAA reporting more than 20,000 in the United States last year.
Among those, there were only four rabbit strikes reported, including one at the Denver International Airport, according to the FAA. The vast majority are bird strikes.
(SELIGMAN, Ariz.) — An Arizona toddler who had been missing for 16 hours was found safe by a rancher’s dog on Tuesday, according to the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office.
Boden Allen, 2, was first reported missing just before 5 p.m. on Monday, after he wandered off from his family’s home in Seligman, a rural area approximately 8100 miles north of Phoenix, officials said.
The incident began after Boden was playing with his mother outside their home and followed her back inside when she went to change his sibling’s diaper, according to Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Jeff Newnum. Boden returned outside to play and “just disappeared,” Newnum told ABC News.
“Within 10 minutes of her changing the diaper, having him right next to her, she looks down, he’s nowhere to be found inside,” he said.
Deputies, accompanied by over 40 search and rescue members, arrived on the property and scanned the area for Boden for about 16 hours, officials said. During their search, officials noted that they spotted two mountain lions “among the terrain the boy traveled.”
On Tuesday morning, rancher Scotty Dunton reported that “a young child had walked onto his property,” according to the sheriff’s office.
The rancher said his dog, Buford, spotted the boy while he was patrolling the property — which is approximately seven miles away from the Allen family home — for coyotes.
“He loves kids so I can imagine he wouldn’t leave him when he found him,” the rancher said in a video shared by the sheriff’s office.
Buford, an Anatolian Pyrenees, remained at Boden’s side, garnering Dunton’s attention. The boy told the rancher he had slept under a tree, officials said.
“This dog did not obviously view Boden as a threat, but realized that there was something wrong, and instinctively went to this child,” Newnum said.
Dunton, who was aware of the search and rescue efforts going on in the area, quickly notified officials that he found Boden, according to Newnum.
“I can’t believe that kid made it that far, it’s seven miles and that’s if he walked in a straight line,” Dunton said. “There’s three big mountain ranges between here and his house and big valleys. For a 2-year-old to do that, that’s insane.”
Newnum said the sheriff’s office plans on visiting Buford in about a week with a big steak wrapped in a bow.
(DALLAS) — A 17-year-old boy has been charged with aggravated assault mass shooting after he allegedly opened fire at his Dallas high school, shooting classmates “indiscriminately,” according to court documents.
Surveillance cameras showed a student letting the suspect, Tracy Haynes, into Wilmer-Hutchins High School through an unsecured door on Tuesday, according to the arrest warrant affidavit.
Haynes walked the hallway “until he spotted multiple male students” and then allegedly shot at them “indiscriminately,” hitting five people, the document said.
Haynes then allegedly “approached one student who was not able to run” and “appeared to take a point-blank shot,” the document said.
Five students were taken to hospitals, the document said.
The conditions of those injured was not clear.
A senior student told Dallas ABC affiliate WFAA that he was in the foyer when, around lunch time, he heard a few gunshots. He said he then saw students running and heard screaming, and he took cover in the band room.
Video shows students evacuating the school as police cars and fire trucks gathered at the scene.
All high school students were reunited with their parents and guardians, according to Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde.
There will be no school the rest of the week and mental health professionals will be made available, she said.
“Today, as we all know, the unthinkable has happened,” Elizalde said at a briefing. “And quite frankly, this is just becoming way too familiar, and it should not be familiar.”
The gun used in the shooting “did not come through during regular intake time,” Dallas Independent School District Assistant Chief of Police Christina Smith said at the briefing.
“It was not a failure of our staff, of our protocols, of the machinery that we have,” Smith stressed.
ABC News’ Luke Barr, Josh Margolin, Aaron Katersky and Alex Stone contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK CITY) — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Tuesday that a grand jury handed down a number of criminal indictments against multiple state correctional officers in connection to the March 1 beating death of an inmate, Messiah Nantwi.
“The tragic death of Mr. Nantwi at the hands of correction officers, who are responsible for protecting the incarcerated population is deeply, deeply disturbing,” Hochul said in a video released by her office on Tuesday. “The loss of any life in our correctional facilities is one too many.”
Nantwi, 22, was serving a five-year sentence for second-degree criminal possession of a weapon at Mid-State Correctional Facility, a medium-security state prison in the town of Marcy in Oneida County, New York.
Hochul said that she “immediately terminated” the corrections officers who were indicted in connection to Nantwi’s death. The officer’s names have not been released so far and it is unclear how many officers were indicted. ABC News reached out to Hochul’s office but a request for comment was not returned.
“I express my condolences — my deepest condolences to the family of Mr. Nantwi and our hearts go out to all of them in the aftermath of this horrific crime,” Hochul said.
The termination of the correctional officers comes after a spokesperson for the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision confirmed to ABC News on March 26 that 15 persons of interest were identified in connection to Nantwi’s death.
Three of those people were suspended without pay and 12 were placed on administrative leave with pay, “pending the results of an ongoing internal disciplinary review process,” the spokesperson said.
The New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision released the names of the persons of interest, including guards from the adjacent Mid-State and Marcy facilities, but it is unclear who was indicted.
A special prosecutor — Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick — was assigned to investigate this case after State Attorney General Letitia James’s Office of Special Investigation (OSI) announced last month that her office is recusing itself from the investigation into Nantwi’s death, citing “internal conflicts.”
In a March 6 statement, James explained that her office’s Division of State Counsel represents state agencies, including the Department of Corrections and correction officers.
“OSI checks for any internal conflicts that could challenge the integrity of a future investigation,” she said. “When the corrections officers involved in the events preceding Mr. Nantwi’s death were identified, OSI confirmed that four of those corrections officers are defendants in other matters where they are or were represented by attorneys in OAG’s State Counsel Division.”
Nantwi’s in-custody death came amid a massive correction officer strike over working conditions in New York prisons that lasted for 22 days and led to the firing of more than 2,000 prison guards.
His death was also the second in Oneida County prisons since December 2024 when Robert Brooks, an inmate incarcerated at the Marcy Correctional Facility — which is across the street from Mid-State — was fatally beaten at the prison.
In February, 10 former prison guards were charged in Brooks’ death.
