National

(LOS ANGELES) — Two people are dead and one person remains missing following deadly flash flooding at the Grand Canyon over the weekend, as rescuers brace for more treacherous weather, authorities said.

The current missing-person count is based on permits issued by the park, park officials said, while acknowledging that additional day hikers who did not have permits could also be missing.

Authorities said hundreds of tips have been received but, so far, there is no reason to believe anyone besides the one person already being sought is missing.

A Border Patrol technical search team will search for the remaining missing person. Authorities said they will also use Bluetooth technology and a drone to search the damaged area.

The National Park Service confirmed that two people have been killed in the deadly flash flooding.

On Sunday evening, officials said the body of a 46-year-old man, whose name has not been released, was recovered near Crystal Rapids along the Colorado River. The family of the other recovered victim identified him as Dr. John Giusti, a Texas chiropractor and married father of three daughters.

Flash flooding unfolded about 2:30 p.m. local time Saturday in the Bright Angel Canyon and Phantom Ranch area, both popular destinations for hikers. Authorities said 82 people were rescued from the canyon, most by helicopter. A couple of people were able to hike out, they said.

Flood survivors told ABC News that they ran for their lives when a flood swept through the floor of the Grand Canyon on Saturday afternoon, wiping out campgrounds, structures, hiking trails and vital infrastructure, according to officials.

“The National Park Service is asking anyone who knows of hikers or backpackers who were in the inner canyon along the Bright Angel Creek corridor on August 29, as well as anyone who had a campground reservation in the affected corridor, to provide information to the National Park Service Investigative Services Branch (ISB),” the National Park Service said in a statement.

On Sunday, NPS officials said more than 20 people had initially been reported missing and that 62 individuals were air evacuated from Grand Canyon’s Phantom Ranch and the lower North Kaibab Trail, “which was affected by a significant flash-flood event Saturday afternoon.”

“The flash flood resulted in significant impacts to infrastructure throughout Bright Angel Canyon. Nearly all footbridges spanning Bright Angel Creek were destroyed, eliminating hiker access across the creek,” the Grand Canyon NPS said.

Saturday’s flash-flood event occurred after four rounds of rain swept across parts of the Grand Canyon over a span of about six hours, according to the National Weather Service. The initial three rounds were not very heavy but saturated the soil and left the area much more prone to dangerous flash flooding once the fourth round of torrential rain moved through.

The steepness of the canyon and the burn scar from last year’s Dragon Bravo Fire on the North Rim were likely major contributors, the NWS said.

Videos of the flooding obtained by ABC News show a roaring Colorado River as mudflows and debris from metal structures are seen floating down the river.

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(NEW YORK) — New York City police fatally shot an apparently emotionally disturbed woman after she allegedly stabbed two people in Times Square in a “random and unprovoked” attack on Monday afternoon, authorities said.

One of the victims, 32-year-old Erin Piacenti of Chester, New Jersey, died at the hospital from her injuries, according to the New York Police Department.

The other victim, a 68-year-old man from Rhode Island, was taken to a hospital with life-threatening injuries and is in stable condition, officials said.

The victims were stabbed within 20 seconds of each near 41st Street and Seventh Avenue, according to NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch.

The 68-year-old had just exited the subway and was waiting to cross the street with his wife when the suspect pulled two knives from a bag, waved them and then allegedly stabbed him in the abdomen “in what appears to be a random and unprovoked attack,” Tisch said at a press briefing.

The suspect then went up Seventh Avenue toward 42nd Street, where she approached the second victim, who was similarly stabbed in the abdomen in an apparently random, unprovoked attack, Tisch said.

The suspect allegedly then fled north toward the NYPD substation, authorities said. Witnesses flagged down officers who confronted her for four minutes and “gave her numerous commands to drop the knife,” which she refused, Tisch said.

“During the encounter, she told the officers, ‘I’m not dropping anything. I would rather kill both of you.’ She repeated, ‘I will kill you,'” Tisch said.

Officers deployed Tasers before two officers discharged their service weapons, Tisch said.

The suspect, identified by police as 49-year-old Pamela Cisneros of Queens, was pronounced dead at a hospital. She had a “documented mental health history,” Tisch said.

Police officials stressed the woman appeared emotionally disturbed and the incident is not terror-related.

Two knives were recovered from the scene, Tisch. The NYPD also released a photo of the recovered weapons.

“I want to thank the NYPD officers who stepped in and prevented a horrific attack from becoming even worse,” NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani said during the press briefing. “This is what the men and women of this department do every single day to keep our city safe.”

The NYPD will conduct an internal investigation and body-worn camera footage will be released to the public, the mayor said.

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(NEW YORK) — Survivors of a deadly flash flood that swept through the floor of the Grand Canyon over the weekend described a horrific escape as they ran through rising muddy water in a desperate effort to reach higher ground.

Gabriel Bergemann and David Gregory told ABC News that they were backpacking together at the bottom of the national park on Saturday afternoon when disaster struck, and park rangers told them to run across a footbridge over a raging creek to higher ground.

Bergemann said that 10 minutes after crossing the bridge, a wall of water came through and washed it away.

“If they hadn’t told us to evacuate when they did, I think a lot of people wouldn’t have made it,” he told ABC News.

Gregory added that the water level in the creek they crossed seemed to be “getting bigger and bigger as more water was coming into the creek.”

“I was just thinking that if someone fell into the creek, I don’t know how they would be able to get out,” he said.

Grand Canyon National Park Service officials said on Monday that a second body had been recovered from the flooded area. A search continued for 14 people who remain missing or unaccounted for.

One of the individuals missing on Monday was identified in a Facebook post by his wife as Dr. John Guisti, a New York chiropractor, who was with a hiking group when the flash flood swept through the area where they were camping.

Guisti is a partner at Whipple City Family Chiropractic in New York, which posted his wife’s message on Facebook, describing Guisti as a “deeply loved husband, father and pillar of our family.”

More than 60 people, most of them hikers and campers, were air evacuated from Grand Canyon’s Phantom Ranch and the lower North Kaibab Trail on Saturday, according to park officials.

The flood hit around 2:30 p.m. local time in the Bright Angel Canyon and Phantom Ranch areas of the Grand Canyon amid a monsoonal downpour that produced “a significant flash-flood event,” officials said.

Erica Viola and her husband, Scott Svedin, told ABC News they were camping at Bright Angel Campground when they were told to evacuate immediately.

“This was something out of a movie,” said Svedin, who described struggling through knee-high water and mud to reach safety.

Viola added, “We just heard people yell, ‘Run, Run, Run.’ And there’s 40 of us running through this deep muddy water trying to make it to the bridge.”

Viola said that once she and Svedin got across the footbridge, it was destroyed by the torrent of floodwater that turned the creek they had crossed into a raging river.

“Once we got to the bridge, that’s when this 15-foot wall of water came through the campground at Phantom Ranch and just wiped out all the bridges in the creek,” Viola said.

Viola said that she lost most of her belongings in the flooding.

The Grand Canyon National Park Service (NPS) said in a statement on Sunday that the flooding caused extensive damage to infrastructure in the inner canyon, including the Transcanyon Waterline, which supplies water from the canyon for use in the park.

“The flash flood resulted in significant impacts to infrastructure throughout Bright Angel Canyon. Nearly all footbridges spanning Bright Angel Creek were destroyed, eliminating hiker access across the creek,” the Grand Canyon NPS said.

The Grand Canyon NPS said the Transcanyon Waterline is currently not operational, leaving the entire park with limited water reserves. As a result, all overnight guest lodging and concessions inside the park have been halted.

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(NEW YORK) — Rescuers are bracing for more treacherous weather at the Grand Canyon Monday as authorities confirmed another body had been recovered amid a search for 14 people who “may be missing or unaccounted” in a deadly flash flood that struck the national park over the weekend.

The National Park Service said the body was pulled from the flooded area, bringing the death toll to two.

On Sunday evening, officials said the body of a 46-year-old man was recovered near Crystal Rapids along the Colorado River.

The names of the deceased have not been released.

Flood survivors told ABC News that they ran for their lives when a flood swept through the floor of the Grand Canyon on Saturday afternoon, wiping out campgrounds, structures, hiking trails and vital infrastructure, according to officials.

The National Weather Service has issued a flood watch for the Grand Canyon through at least Monday evening, warning that “flash flooding caused by excessive rainfall continues to be possible” for all of northern and central Arizona.

Air evacuations continued on Sunday afternoon, a day after a “significant flash flood” swept through campgrounds and hiking trails at the bottom of the national park, authorities said.

The Grand Canyon National Park Service said in an update Sunday evening that one person was recovered from the Colorado River in the park. The identity of the deceased individual has not been released.

NPS said there are at least 14 other individuals “who may be missing or unaccounted” following the flash flood.

“The National Park Service is asking anyone who knows of hikers or backpackers who were in the inner canyon along the Bright Angel Creek corridor on August 29, as well as anyone who had a campground reservation in the affected corridor, to provide information to the National Park Service Investigative Services Branch (ISB),” the statement said.

Earlier Sunday, the National Park Service (NPS) officials said more than 20 were missing and 62 individuals were air evacuated from Grand Canyon’s Phantom Ranch and the lower North Kaibab Trail, “which was affected by a significant flash-flood event Saturday afternoon.”

Evacuees were being taken to the Maswik Lodge Cafeteria on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, where the American Red Cross is coordinating assistance.

No injuries were immediately reported.

The latest National Park Service said the flash flooding knocked out the park’s water pipeline, prompting “significant water conservation measures” to be implemented. Those measures include: no overnight hotel stays allowed starting Monday, and only campground bathroom faucets will still run.

“Multiple campgrounds and trails are closed until further notice, and there is no estimated reopening date for the affected areas,” the Grand Canyon NPS said.

Grand Canyon National Park staff, in coordination with the Arizona Department of Public Safety, were continuing air evacuations on Sunday afternoon, officials said.

“Grand Canyon will possibly face additional thunderstorms and heavy rainfall today and Monday, which could result in flash flooding, debris flow, and rockfall,” the Grand Canyon NPS statement said.

Flash flooding unfolded about 2:30 p.m. local time on Saturday in the Bright Angel Canyon and Phantom Ranch area, both popular destinations for hikers.

“The flash flood resulted in significant impacts to infrastructure throughout Bright Angel Canyon. Nearly all footbridges spanning Bright Angel Creek were destroyed, eliminating hiker access across the creek,” the Grand Canyon NPS said.

Saturday’s flash-flood event occurred after four rounds of rain swept across parts of the Grand Canyon over a span of about six hours, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). The initial three rounds were not very heavy, but saturated the soil and left the area much more prone to dangerous flash flooding once the fourth round of torrential rain moved through.

The steepness of the canyon and the burn scar from last year’s Dragon Bravo Fire on the North Rim were likely major contributors, the NWS said.

Videos of the flooding obtained by ABC News show a roaring Colorado River as mudflows and debris from metal structures are seen floating down the river.

Erica Viola, who recorded the videos, told ABC News she was camping at Bright Angel Campground when she and her husband, Scott Svedin, had to evacuate. Viola said that she lost most of her belongings in the flooding.

Viola said that she and other campers were told by park rangers to run as fast as they could to the nearest bridge for evacuation.

Svedin said that as they were headed for the bridge, people were scrambling to beat the rising water.

“We just heard people yell, ‘Run, run, run!’ And there’s 40 of us running through this deep, muddy water, trying to make it to the bridge,” Viola said. “Once we got to the bridge, that’s when this 15-foot wall of water came through the campground in Phantom Ranch and just wiped out all the bridges in the creek.”

Viola and Svedin said they witnessed bunkhouses, barbecue grills, ice chests, and even an excavator floating down the Colorado River.

ABC News’ Jennifer Watts, Lissette Rodriguez and Dan Peck contributed to this report.

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(NEW YORK) — Rescuers are bracing for more treacherous weather at the Grand Canyon Monday amid a search for 14 people who “may be missing or unaccounted” in a deadly flash flood that slammed the national park over the weekend.

One person, a 46-year-old man, died and others ran for their lives when a flood swept through the floor of the Grand Canyon on Saturday afternoon, wiping out campgrounds, structures, hiking trails and vital infrastructure, according to officials.

The National Weather Service has issued a flood watch for the Grand Canyon through at least Monday evening, warning that “flash flooding caused by excessive rainfall continues to be possible” for all of northern and central Arizona.

Air evacuations continued on Sunday afternoon, a day after a “significant flash flood” swept through campgrounds and hiking trails at the bottom of the national park, authorities said.

The Grand Canyon National Park Service said in an update Sunday evening that one person was recovered from the Colorado River in the park. The identity of the deceased individual has not been released.

NPS said there are at least 14 other individuals “who may be missing or unaccounted” following the flash flood.

“The National Park Service is asking anyone who knows of hikers or backpackers who were in the inner canyon along the Bright Angel Creek corridor on August 29, as well as anyone who had a campground reservation in the affected corridor, to provide information to the National Park Service Investigative Services Branch (ISB),” the statement said.

Earlier Sunday, the National Park Service (NPS) officials said more than 20 were missing and 62 individuals were air evacuated from Grand Canyon’s Phantom Ranch and the lower North Kaibab Trail, “which was affected by a significant flash-flood event Saturday afternoon.”

Evacuees were being taken to the Maswik Lodge Cafeteria on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, where the American Red Cross is coordinating assistance.

No injuries were immediately reported.

The latest National Park Service said the flash flooding knocked out the park’s water pipeline, prompting “significant water conservation measures” to be implemented. Those measures include: no overnight hotel stays allowed starting Monday, and only campground bathroom faucets will still run.

“Multiple campgrounds and trails are closed until further notice, and there is no estimated reopening date for the affected areas,” the Grand Canyon NPS said.

Grand Canyon National Park staff, in coordination with the Arizona Department of Public Safety, were continuing air evacuations on Sunday afternoon, officials said.

“Grand Canyon will possibly face additional thunderstorms and heavy rainfall today and Monday, which could result in flash flooding, debris flow, and rockfall,” the Grand Canyon NPS statement said.

Flash flooding unfolded about 2:30 p.m. local time on Saturday in the Bright Angel Canyon and Phantom Ranch area, both popular destinations for hikers.

“The flash flood resulted in significant impacts to infrastructure throughout Bright Angel Canyon. Nearly all footbridges spanning Bright Angel Creek were destroyed, eliminating hiker access across the creek,” the Grand Canyon NPS said.

Videos of the flooding obtained by ABC News show a roaring Colorado River as mudflows and debris from metal structures are seen floating down the river.

Erica Viola, who recorded the videos, told ABC News she was camping at Bright Angel Campground when she and her husband, Scott Svedin, had to evacuate. Viola said that she lost most of her belongings in the flooding.

Viola said that she and other campers were told by park rangers to run as fast as they could to the nearest bridge for evacuation.

Svedin said that as they were headed for the bridge, people were scrambling to beat the rising water.

“We just heard people yell, ‘Run, run, run!’ And there’s 40 of us running through this deep, muddy water, trying to make it to the bridge,” Viola said. “Once we got to the bridge, that’s when this 15-foot wall of water came through the campground in Phantom Ranch and just wiped out all the bridges in the creek.”

Viola and Svedin said they witnessed bunkhouses, barbecue grills, ice chests, and even an excavator floating down the Colorado River.

ABC News’ Jennifer Watts and Lissette Rodriguez contributed to this report.

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(NASHVILLE) — Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee wants to honor Dolly Parton in a big way.

Lee said he spoke with Parton’s team about renaming Nashville International Airport in honor of Dolly, which would create “a lasting tribute to her indelible legacy and the generations of people she inspired across Tennessee and around the world.”

Parton’s team “expressed their appreciation for the extraordinary outpouring of support to honor Dolly,” according to Lee, and they are “touched by the idea and open to continuing the conversation.”

“Dolly Parton’s extraordinary life is forever woven into the fabric of our state,” Gov. Lee said in a statement. “From her rural mountain home in East Tennessee to global stages, Dolly carried the Volunteer Spirit with her. At a place where Tennessee welcomes the world, it is fitting that Nashville International Airport would bear the name of our state’s favorite daughter and greet travelers with the enduring legacy of Dolly’s music, generosity, faith, and kindness.”

Lee’s proposal will be addressed at the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority’s meeting on Sept. 17.

MNAA President Doug Kreulen said in a statement, “Dolly’s remarkable legacy reminds us that what makes Nashville special is our ability to welcome people from every walk of life. She understood that dignity, kindness and opportunity should never be defined by where you come from or your socioeconomic status.”

Kreulen added, “At BNA, we share that commitment. Whether you are boarding a private aircraft or taking your first flight, you deserve to be welcomed, respected and served with the same level of care. That spirit is what defines BNA and it is a fitting reflection of the values Dolly shared with Tennessee and the world.”

A change.org petition created by Lydia Popovich and Dan Dion in January 2025 to rename the airport after Parton has received tens of thousands of additional supporters since her death on Aug. 25. Since it was created, it has received more than 155,000 signatures.

The petition calls on Lee and Tennessee lawmakers Todd Warner, Bob Freeman and Fred Atchley to make the change.

Warner shared a response to the petition on Wednesday, writing, “Yes I will definitely introduce legislation to rename the BNA airport Dolly Parton International Airport! Thanks, TW.”

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(NEW YORK) — A federal judge approved the $72.5 million settlement between Jeffrey Epstein’s victims and Bank of America, the third financial institution to publicly reach such a settlement. 

“The settlement class has been properly served,” Judge Jed Rakoff decided Thursday.

The women, suing collectively under the pseudonym Jane Doe, accused Bank of America of ignoring suspicious transactions by Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial. 

Bank America agreed to settle the lawsuit in March while still insisting it did not facilitate Epstein’s sex trafficking crimes.

Among the transactions the plaintiffs alleged were suspicious were payments to Epstein by Leon Black, who stepped down as chief executive of Apollo Global Management after an independent review commissioned by the company found he paid Epstein $158 million for estate planning.

Black previously said that his relationship with Epstein, which he said involved “professional services” for estate planning, tax and philanthropic advice, had been “a horrible mistake.” He has denied involvement or knowledge of Epstein’s crimes and said any suggestion of his involvement in “Epstein’s reprehensible conduct is categorically untrue.”

The same Jane Doe plaintiffs reached similar settlements with JPMorgan Chase and Deutsche Bank, but their claim against Bank of New York Mellon was dismissed. The court in the BNY Mellon case concluded that the plaintiffs’ complaint had failed to adequately allege that the bank had civil liability under the Trafficking Victims’ Protection Act or that the bank had obstructed investigations of Epstein.

Bank of America had previously sought dismissal of the case, contending that the lawsuit was an attempt to “radically expand liability for banks” for providing “routine services to customers who at the time had no known connection to Epstein’s sex trafficking.”

The bank denies “each and all of the claims and contentions” in the lawsuit, according to court documents.

“While we stand by our prior statements made in the filings in this case, including that Bank of America did not facilitate sex trafficking crimes, this resolution allows us to put this matter behind us and provides further closure for the plaintiffs,” a Bank of America spokesperson told ABC News.

An attorney for the accusers previously called the proposed settlement “one more step on the road to much-deserved justice.”

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(NEW YORK) — Jerry Sandusky is due to return to court next month as one of his accusers is expected to recant his testimony against the former Penn State assistant football coach who was convicted of sexually abusing boys for more than a decade.

A judge scheduled an evidentiary hearing for Sept. 8 in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania.

Sandusky, who is now 82, has been serving a decades-long prison sentence after he was convicted in 2012 of abusing boys. 

An accuser known as Victim 10, who testified for the prosecution at Sandusky’s trial, is now prepared to tell the court Sandusky did not abuse him. 

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(NEW YORK) — A federal judge in New York will consider granting final approval Thursday to Bank of America’s $72 million settlement with women who accused the bank of helping Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse them.

The women, suing collectively under the pseudonym Jane Doe, accused Bank of America of ignoring suspicious transactions by Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial. 

Bank America agreed to settle the lawsuit in March while still insisting it did not facilitate Epstein’s sex trafficking crimes.

Among the transactions the plaintiffs alleged were suspicious were payments to Epstein by Leon Black, who stepped down as chief executive of Apollo Global Management after an independent review commissioned by the company found he paid Epstein $158 million for estate planning.

Black previously said that his relationship with Epstein, which he said involved “professional services” for estate planning, tax and philanthropic advice, had been “a horrible mistake.” He has denied involvement or knowledge of Epstein’s crimes and said any suggestion of his involvement in “Epstein’s reprehensible conduct is categorically untrue.”

The same Jane Doe plaintiffs reached similar settlements with JPMorgan Chase and Deutsche Bank, but their claim against Bank of New York Mellon was dismissed. The court in the BNY Mellon case concluded that the plaintiffs’ complaint had failed to adequately allege that the bank had civil liability under the Trafficking Victims’ Protection Act or that the bank had obstructed investigations of Epstein.

Bank of America had previously sought dismissal of the case, contending that the lawsuit was an attempt to “radically expand liability for banks” for providing “routine services to customers who at the time had no known connection to Epstein’s sex trafficking.”

The bank denies “each and all of the claims and contentions” in the lawsuit, according to court documents.

“While we stand by our prior statements made in the filings in this case, including that Bank of America did not facilitate sex trafficking crimes, this resolution allows us to put this matter behind us and provides further closure for the plaintiffs,” a Bank of America spokesperson told ABC News.

An attorney for the accusers previously called the proposed settlement “one more step on the road to much-deserved justice.”

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(WASHINGTON) — A DHL cargo plane lit up the runway during a landing at Los Angeles International Airport Wednesday night as its tires caught on fire.

The Boeing 737, which was operated by DHL on behalf of Kalitta Charters II, made its landing around 11 p.m. PT when the brakes malfunctioned, causing them to overheat and blow four tires, DHL and the Federal Aviation Administration said in statements Thursday.

Surveillance video caught the flames flying from the bottom of the jet as it sped through the runway.

The runway was temporarily closed, and emergency crews rushed to put out the fire.

DHL said no one aboard the jet, which took off from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, was injured.

The FAA said it will be investigating the incident. The jet was still on the runway and being inspected Thursday morning.

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