(NEW YORK) — Heat alerts have been issued for 21 states from Washington to Florida on Wednesday, with more than 90 million on alert for extreme weather.
The dangerous heat is just beginning in the West, but it has already claimed the life of a 10-year-old boy who was hiking in Phoenix on Tuesday.
This prolonged heat could be for the record books, and could be one of the worst heat waves in 18 years for parts of California.
Several wildfires also exploded in the West on Tuesday due to dry conditions and ongoing heat.
Among the worst of those fires is the Thompson Fire in Butte County, California, which grew to over 3,500 acres on Wednesday with 0% containment. Eight firefighters were injured and 28,000 people have been evacuated.
The Butte County Sheriff just downgraded a part of the fire zone from an Order to a Warning, Wednesday evening. A heat advisory was issued for coastal cities, such as Los Angeles and San Francisco, where temperatures could get close to 90 degrees on Wednesday. Inland temperatures could rise into the 110s.
Dozens of record highs are expected over the next week in the West, even all the way to Seattle and Portland, Oregon.
In the South and Mississippi River Valley, the combination of heat and humidity could push the heat index over 110 degrees.
Samuel Woodward testifies in Orange County Superior Court, on June 13, 2024, in Santa Ana, Calif. (Orange County Register via MediaNews Group via Getty Images, FILE)
(NEW YORK) – -Samuel Woodward, a California man accused of murdering his former classmate in 2018, has been found guilty in the hate crime case.
Blaze Bernstein — a 19-year-old gay, Jewish student at the University of Pennsylvania — went missing while visiting his family in Newport Beach during winter break in January 2018. His body was found following a dayslong search buried in a park in Lake Forest he went to with Woodward the night he went missing, authorities said. He had been stabbed 28 times, prosecutors said.
Woodward, now 26, was charged with first-degree murder with a hate crime enhancement. Prosecutors had alleged that Woodward murdered his high school classmate because Bernstein was gay.
Woodward had pleaded not guilty.
The jury reached its verdict Wednesday afternoon following a nearly three-month-long trial in Orange County.
Some applause broke out from the gallery upon hearing that Woodward was convicted on the hate crime enhancement, prompting Judge Kimberly Menninger to ask people to “settle down.”
“I understand that it’s emotional, but I just can’t have that,” she said.
Sentencing has been scheduled for Oct. 25. He faces life without the possibility of parole.
Bernstein’s family said in a statement that the verdict “brings a measure of closure” six-and-a-half years after the teen’s murder, but that it “cannot erase the pain of losing our son and the agony of waiting all of these years without resolution.”
“No verdict can bring back Blaze. He was an amazing human and humanitarian and a person we were greatly looking forward to having in our lives, seeing wondrous things from him as his young life unfolded,” the family said in a statement read by a representative at a press briefing following the verdict. “From this funny, articulate, kind, intelligent, caring and brilliant scientist, artist, writer, chef and son, there will never be anyone quite like him. His gifts will never be realized or shared now.”
Orange County Senior Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Walker, who prosecuted the case, said she was grateful for the verdict.
“I’m just so happy for the Bernsteins because it has been a very painful process,” she said at the press briefing.
Defense attorney Ken Morrison told jurors during closing arguments that Woodward is guilty of homicide, though said the act was not a hate crime but a spontaneous, irrational one.
“You heard me right out of the gate tell you that my client was guilty,” Morrison said. “Guilty of a serious, violent homicide. But as you also know, there are many different kinds of homicide.”
Woodward testified during the trial that on the night of the murder, he went into a state of terror after thinking Bernstein may have been recording him while touching him sexually at the park, then pulled out a knife, ABC Los Angeles station KABC-TV reported.
Walker told jurors during closing arguments that Woodward’s hatred of gay people and his affiliation with Atomwaffen Division — a far-right, neo-Nazi group — led him to plan the murder.
“He already had his bags, he was already talking to Atomwaffen people about going somewhere else, and he thought he was going to get away with it,” she said. “It’s only by the grace of God that rain happened, and they found his body.”
(LYNNWOOD, Wash.) — A 13-year-old girl died Wednesday after being hit by gunfire during a fight in a mall in Lynnwood, Washington, police said.
Jayda Woods-Johnson was “tragically murdered” at the Alderwood Mall, the Lynnwood Police Department said.
“The suspect has been identified as a 16-year old male from Edmonds,” the department said in a statement. “He was brought in by his mother and is in custody. He will be booked into jail for Murder.”
Two groups had been in an “altercation” near the mall’s food court, police said. Woods-Johnson had not been involved with either group and appeared to have been struck by a stray bullet, police said.
Police said they were still searching for the gun used during the shooting.
(NEW YORK) — A 2-year-old boy was found dead Tuesday evening inside a hot car in Cobb County, Georgia, officials said Wednesday, marking the sixth hot car-related death in 2024.
According to the Cobb County Police Department, the child was found unresponsive in a parked vehicle at approximately 5:36 pm.
He was transported to Kennestone Hospital where he was pronounced dead, police said.
“This is one example of some things that can go wrong, but there are others,” Chief Stuart VanHoozer said during a news conference Wednesday.
VanHoozer urged the public to “really really really be careful in this heat.”
According to a police news release, no charges have been filed at this time and there is no evidence that suggests the child was left inside the vehicle.
Police said they do not know how the child got into the car, or how long he remained inside.
On Monday, the San Antonio Police Department and Metro Health used dummies to demonstrate how truly hot the inside of a car can get, according to ABC affiliate KSAT. After just 15 minutes of the car being turned off, KSAT reported that temperatures inside the vehicle had already reached 110 degrees.
This police demonstration occurred in response to a Friday afternoon incident, in which three children were rescued by a Good Samaritan from a hot car in San Antonio, Texas.
The one-month-old, 2-year-old, and 4-year-old were trapped inside the car for about 50 minutes, police said.
“A few minutes in a hot car is a recipe for disaster,” Amber Rollins, Director of Kids and Car Safety, told ABC News. “Minutes can literally be the difference between life, death or severe brain damage for a child alone in a hot car.”
The National Weather Service confirmed that temperatures in San Antonio reached 99 degrees that day.
Police confirmed that the mother was present on the scene and “stated she went inside a store and did not realize how long she was gone.” She has been arrested on three counts of abandonment and endangering a child, according to law enforcement.
After the bystander called the police, the children were successfully extracted from the vehicle and transported to a local hospital with expectations for a full recovery.
More than 900 children have died in hot cars since 1998, the federal government reports.
There are 25 states with Good Samaritan laws that “protect citizens from liability if they break into a vehicle to rescue a person or pet,” according to Kids and Car Safety. Because the risk of death increases with every passing minute in a hot car, citizens can be encouraged to take action as soon as possible without fear of retribution.
Rollins acknowledged that these incidents are not always a result of neglect.
“Child hot car deaths and injuries are largely misunderstood by the general public and the majority of parents believe this would never happen to them,” Rollins said in a statement Wednesday.
Rollins spoke to ABC News about a dangerous situation that almost occurred with her son, despite her doing this work for 12 years and being a person frequently interviewed on how to avoid such incidents.
She explained how sleep deprivation combined with a change in routine created confusion and caused her to make a wrong turn.
“My son made a screeching sound in the backseat and then I realized he was with me, but I completely lost awareness of him,” she said. “These little changes that seem completely harmless and non-eventful can be a trigger if the right circumstances align.”
There have been six deaths from hot cars in 2024 so far, all reportedly children.
“Eighty-eight percent of [all hot car] victims are children aged three and under,” Rollins said. Children are especially at risk due to the fact that their “body temperature rises three to five times faster than an adult.”
This news comes amid the July Fourth holiday, when child fatalities tend to spike, with an increased risk for vehicle backovers and turnovers.
According to Kids and Car Safety data, “July 4th was the deadliest holiday weekend in 2023 for children in terms of non-traffic fatalities.”
Rollins emphasized the need for parents to take every precaution necessary to protect their children. Not only does the holiday weekend present a threat, but the persistent high temperatures continue to leave children at risk, she said.
(NEW YORK) — Two 19-year-old men have been arrested after being accused of illegally hunting on Oprah Winfrey’s ranch in Hawaii, officials say.
The incident occurred just before midnight on June 21 in the Kula area of Upcounty Maui, according to the Department of Land and Natural resources in Hawaii, when two men were stopped by officers from the DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE) after they were observed allegedly using a spotlight for hunting purposes.
“This happened near the intersection of Thompson Road and Kamaʻole Road, in the Kula area of Upcountry Maui. Thompson Road is a public road that runs through private property owned by the Oprah Winfrey Ranch,” officials said. “Luke Allen and Ty Munoz, both 19, of Upcountry Maui were arrested after being stopped.”
Allen and Munoz were subsequently taken to the Maui Police station in Wailuku for booking but further charges are expected following a police investigation.
“DOCARE officers found a loaded shotgun and a loaded rifle in the pair’s truck,” authorities said. “Further investigation revealed Allen and Munoz were hunting without valid licenses, had ammunition in the vehicle and were allegedly hunting on private land, at night, without permission. Officers say the rifle Allen had in his possession was unregistered.”
The two men were arrested and charged with several crimes, including hunting on private land at night without permission, for using unregistered guns and for not having a hunting license.
A trial date has not yet been set and the investigation into the case is currently ongoing.
(COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.) — Authorities have released a video of a dog starting a housefire when it turned on the stove in the middle of the night and ignited some boxes sitting on top of it, fire officials said.
The incident occurred early in the morning on June 26 in Colorado Springs, Colorado, when the Colorado Springs Fire Department was dispatched to a home on the 1600 block of Rushmore Drive at approximately 4:43 a.m. after receiving a call from a family saying they had experienced a fire on their stove but had been able to extinguish it relatively quickly, according to a statement released by fire officials.
“Engine 23 arrived on scene at 4:47 a.m. at a residential home with no visible fire or smoke. Upon investigation, crews did not find any active fire but did find evidence of a fire,” said the Colorado Springs Fire Department in a statement on social media.
The male homeowner was able to extinguish the fire before crews got there, authorities said, but he was later transported to a local hospital and treated for smoke inhalation. There were no other injuries reported in the home, either to people or their pets.
“After talking to the homeowners and looking through their home security footage, we determined their pup got a bit curious and accidentally switched on the oven which had some boxes on top of it,” said the Colorado Springs Fire Department.
The footage shows a dog jumping up and placing its paws on the stove to inspect the boxes placed on top and authorities believe that when it jumped down, it accidentally turned the stove on which ignited the boxes and started the house fire.
The homeowners were immediately alerted and woken up by their Apple HomePod sending them a “high heat” notification and were able to get to the fire before it had time to spread through the home.
Officials took this unique situation to remind people about fire safety inside their homes.
“This is a good reminder to always have working smoke alarms inside and outside every sleeping area and on every floor of the home, ensure all combustibles are away from your stovetop/oven, and know two ways out of every room in your home in the event of a fire,” said the Colorado Springs Fire Department.
(NEW YORK) — A man has been arrested in connection with the attempted rape of a woman sunbathing in Central Park last month, police said.
Jermaine Longmire has been charged with attempted rape and sex abuse by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, police said Wednesday.
NYPD Chief of Detectives Joe Kenny said Longmire’s DNA appeared on the woman’s bikini bottom, which had been recovered by police.
The suspect has priors in New York and a “substantial arrest history” in several other states, Kenny said.
Sources told ABC News on Tuesday that the suspect had been in custody on a separate forcible touching case and DNA linked him to the Central Park incident.
The 21-year-old woman was alone and sunbathing in the Great Hill section of the park when a man came toward her exposing himself around 1:30 p.m. on June 24, New York Police Department Chief of Patrol John Chell said last week.
“She screams and gets up to run,” but “he tackles her from behind” and “tried to get on top of her,” Chell said.
The victim fought the man off and he fled, he added.
The New York Police Department released a sketch of the suspect on June 27.
The attacker had been described as a Black man in his 30s with curly hair, police said. He has a medium build and is about 6 feet tall, police said.
Police said there were no known patterns for sexual assaults in Central Park, which Deputy Commissioner Tarik Sheppard described as “one of the most iconic locations in the world” for New Yorkers and visitors.
ABC News’ Emily Shapiro contributed to this report.
Michael Macor/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images
(SAN FRANCISCO) — The 74-year-old woman who was pushed into an approaching train at a Bay Area Rapid Transit station has died and a man has been arrested in connection with her death, according to BART police.
The woman hit her head on the train and fell onto the Powell Street Station platform at around 11 p.m. Monday night, according to BART police.
BART police arrested 49-year-old Trevor Belmont, a man experiencing homelessness, who also goes by Hoak Taing, authorities said.
The victim was transported to San Francisco General Hospital and later died.
BART police said this is the first murder on the train system this year.
Belmont was arrested shortly after the incident and will be booked into the San Francisco County Jail.
Belmont is being held on murder and elder abuse, according to jail records. A court date has not yet been set.
BART police have yet to identify a motive in the incident and the investigation remains ongoing.
(NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.) — A New Zealand tourist was killed during a robbery at a California mall after the suspects struck her with their vehicle as they fled the scene, police said.
The incident unfolded Tuesday afternoon at Fashion Island, an outdoor shopping mall in Newport Beach, police said.
The woman and her husband were walking in the area when two suspects, one armed with a handgun, approached and robbed them, according to the Newport Beach Police Department.
“There was a struggle, and at this point we believe the suspects dragged her into the street,” Newport Beach Police spokesperson Sgt. Steve Oberon said during a presser Tuesday.
The two suspects then attempted to get into a white Toyota Camry sedan driven by a third suspect to flee the scene, police said.
“One of the suspects ran, while the vehicle fled and actually struck the female victim,” Oberon said.
The woman — identified by police Wednesday as 68-year-old Patricia McKay — was pronounced dead at the scene. Her husband is believed to have been uninjured, Oberon said.
The suspect who fled on foot fired three rounds before also getting in the vehicle, police said. No one was struck by the gunfire, police said.
Officers responded to reports of a robbery and a pursuit of the suspect vehicle ensued. One of the suspects was arrested after fleeing on foot after the vehicle stopped in Cypress, police said.
The two other suspects were also arrested in Los Angeles County after abandoning the vehicle and fleeing on foot, police said.
The suspects were transported to the Newport Beach Police Department’s jail and booked for homicide, robbery with a firearm and conspiracy, police said.
They were identified by police Wednesday as Leroyernest Joseph McCrary, 26, of Compton; Jaden Cunningham, 18, of Lancaster; and Malachi Eddward Darnell, 18, of Los Angeles. It is unclear if they have an attorney who can speak on their behalf.
There are no outstanding suspects, police said. The incident remains under investigation.
Newport Beach Mayor Will O’Neill decried the “stunning, staggering act.”
“Newport Beach is a safe community and we’re mourning the loss of someone today, a loss that never should have happened,” he said during Tuesday’s press briefing. “Frankly, to hell with these guys. They came into our city, knowing that they were going to commit a crime, and a woman is dead today because of it. It’s heartbreaking, it’s a tragedy.”
George Bridges/MCT/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
(KOKOMO, Ind.) — A former Indianapolis Colts player has been arrested after his teenage son, who had been missing for two weeks, was found at the family’s home in Kokomo, Indiana.
Bryson Muir, 14, was found “safe and well” and is now in the care of the Cass County Department of Child Services, according to Indiana State Police.
Daniel Muir, 40, was taken into custody Wednesday morning and faces charges of domestic battery and obstruction of justice, police said.
Muir, a defensive tackle, played in the NFL for seven seasons, four with the Colts, from 2007 to 2013. He played in college at Kent State, but went undrafted in 2007 before signing as a free agent with the Green Bay Packers. He had just 99 tackles and 1.5 sacks in his career.
Muir’s wife and the boy’s mother, 38-year-old Kristin Muir, was also arrested and charged with obstruction of justice, according to police.
Bryson was last seen June 16 leaving a relative’s home in Ohio with his mother, Indiana State Police said last week.
The two left in a car belonging to Servant Leader’s Foundation, a religious organization that also owns the property where the Muir family resided, police said. Shortly after leaving the relative’s home, police pulled the car over, but Bryson was not inside.
Two days later, the Cass County Department of Child Services asked police to investigate allegations of domestic battery toward Bryson.
Police said they attempted to contact his parents, but were initially unsuccessful. They later agreed to bring Bryson to meet with police, but then “backed out of that arrangement, which signaled an unwillingness to cooperate.”
On Wednesday, police said they had found Bryson. A photo released by police showed the 14-year-old with a black eye.
An investigation remains ongoing, and police asked anyone with information about the incident to call 800-382-0689.
