(NEW YORK) — Two people were flown to George Regional Hospital in Utah on Monday after being struck by lightning while visiting the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, according to the National Park Service.
In a statement released on Tuesday, authorities said that two women — aged 22 and 23 years old, one from the Netherlands and one from Australia — “sustained injuries” in the lightning strike while standing near the rim of the famed Horseshoe Bend, along the Colorado River in Arizona.
“Classic Air Medical and City of Page Fire Department quickly responded to assist National Park Service Rangers with on scene patient care,” the statement said. “Both victims were flown to St. George Regional Hospital in Utah by Classic Air Medical helicopters.”
The Glen Canyon National Recreation Area straddles the Utah-Arizona state border. The National Park Service warned that thunderstorms “are most frequent and severe” during the monsoon season for both states, typically mid-June through September in Arizona and July through September in Utah.
“If you hear thunder, you are at risk of getting struck by lightning and should immediately seek shelter in a vehicle or building,” the National Park Service said. “Visitors are advised to use caution while visiting exposed outdoor areas and be aware of changing weather conditions.”
(NEW YORK) — A 47-year-old man has been arrested in connection with several improvised explosive devices found on the Hawaiian island of Maui, police said.
Robert Francis Dumaran made his initial appearance in court in Hawaii on Tuesday, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Hawaii. Dumaran is charged with possessing an unregistered destructive device and attempting to damage property by means of an explosive, according to an unsealed criminal complaint.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Dumaran’s preliminary hearing is set for Aug. 27. He is being held without bail, the office said.
Authorities said they have been grappling with a series of homemade bombs — described by the FBI as IEDs — found on Maui, hidden in trash cans and elsewhere disguised in baskets. There have been multiple explosions on the island over the past week attributed to the devices, authorities said.
The first IED was discovered on July 23 by Maui Police Department officers responding to a call about a suspicious item close to the Kahului Elementary School. The bomb was made up of explosive powder, a battery and shrapnel. Investigators said they found Dumaran’s fingerprints on “clear packing tape” used to build it.
The unsealed complaint noted that “multiple IEDs” of similar design were detonated along Kaamana Street in Kula, Hawaii, on Aug. 7. Another device exploded on Aug. 8, damaging a passing car, while another was attached to a guardrail before detonating and “caused considerable damage to the guardrail and vicinity,” per the complaint.
The criminal complaint notes that the investigation is still ongoing, and Dumaran may yet face further charges.
Dumaran has been investigated previously, investigators said. The complaint said police searched his home in January 2022 and found custom fireworks, ammunition and other components that could be used to create IEDs. This is when authorities obtained his fingerprints, the complaint said.
Fingerprints and cell-tower data aided the police in their investigation, they said. Dumaran’s cellphone was found to be in the area of the Kahului Elementary School the day the IED there was discovered, as well as close to Kaamana Street days before devices were found there, the complaint said.
The unsealed complaint details Dumaran’s text conversations with an unidentified third party. In them, the defendant allegedly says that he wanted to set off explosions to “make me feel better.”
(NEW YORK) — Former Marion, Kansas Police Chief Gideon Cody has been charged over his handling of an investigation that involved raiding the offices of a local newspaper and the home of its publishers, court records showed.
Cody was charged with one count of interfering with a judicial process, a felony.
Special Prosecutor Barry Wilkerson, who was assigned to look into the case, charged Cody, saying in the court filing that Cody “induced a witness to withhold information.”
Earlier this month, Wilkerson, the Riley County, Kansas, District Attorney and the DA of Sedgewick County, Marc Bennett, concluded in a 124-page report that the paper’s staff committed no crimes before local police raided the Marion County Record offices in August of 2023.
The police raid last year was prompted by a complaint from a prominent local business owner and critic of the newspaper, who accused two city council members at a public meeting of illegally disseminating confidential information about her driving record.
This kicked off an investigation from then-Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody about whether the reporter stole the records and also led to a search of the publisher Eric Meyer and his 98-year-old mother Joan Meyer’s house.
Eric Meyer, the publisher of the Marion County Record, said at the time that his newspaper was tipped off about the business owner’s driving record but never published a story about it.
Joan Meyer died days after the raid on her home.
Seth Stern, the director of Advocacy at the Freedom of the Press Foundation, called the raid “criminal” and said he “welcomes” the news of charges against Cody.
The two prosecutors found the reporter did not commit any crimes in doing her due diligence in accessing driving records.
The special prosecutors took issue with the application of search warrants.
“The specter of ulterior motives, personal animus and conclusions based not on investigation but rather on assumptions permeates much of this case,” the prosecutors wrote in the report. “These factors arguably colored the perceptions of Marion law enforcement and civilian actors alike.”
In a statement to ABC News last August, Cody said there were exceptions to the federal law limiting federal, state and local law enforcement’s ability to conduct newsroom searches, specifically noting, “When there is reason to believe the journalist is taking part in the underlying wrongdoing.”
Eric Meyer denied his staff was involved in any wrongdoing and that his reporters even notified the Marion Police Department of the tip the newspaper got on the local business owner, but the agency never responded.
Prosecutors Wilkerson and Bennett concluded in their 2024 report that once a Marion officer spoke with a Kansas Dept. of Revenue representative and found no crime, the case should have been closed.
“Journalists, attorneys, mental health professional and members of the clergy each have long-recognized privileges in our law rooted in the freedom of religion, freedom of the press and right to legal representation. When a member of one of these professions becomes a suspect in a crime, law enforcement has the ability to investigate. However, in these situations, it is incumbent on law enforcement to take precautions to limit the scope of their investigation. Before a search warrant is sought for a press room, a law office church or the office of a mental health professional, inquisition subpoenas or other available forms of investigation should be utilized. Search warrants for law offices, press rooms and churches should be sought only in extraordinary circumstances and with extreme caution,” they wrote in the report.
A legal representative for Cody was not listed on the court filing. The former police chief hasn’t spoken out about the case and resigned in October, not long after the August 2023 raid.
(NEW YORK) — A black bear attacked and injured a child Sunday night in Montana, officials said.
The child — who had been inside a tent on a private campground near Red Lodge — was taken to a medical facility in Billings, according to a news release from the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks.
Officials did not identify the child or disclose their current condition.
The campground was evacuated following the attack, and the bear was shot and killed the next day, officials said.
Officials said “unsecured attractants,” including food and garbage, were found in the vicinity of the tent where the attack occurred.
The black bear that attacked the child “had no history of conflicts” and “had likely become food-conditioned and human-habituated after accessing unsecured attractants in the area,” officials said.
Officials warned the public that Montana is “bear country,” and visitors should take precautions to avoid bear encounters while camping.
Campers were urged to keep food outside of tents, get rid of garbage in “bear resistant bins,” and safely secure food or anything with a scent.
“People should be prepared to encounter grizzly or black bears in Montana,” the news release stated. “Avoiding conflicts with bears is easier than dealing with conflicts.”
(NEW YORK) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom is urging schools across the state to restrict students’ cellphone usage in classrooms, he said in a letter to schools.
Los Angeles Unified School District — the second largest district in the U.S. — and Santa Barbara Unified have already implemented restrictions on the use of cellphones in schools.
In 2019, Newsom signed a bill into law granting districts the authority to regulate the use of the devices during school hours.
“Excessive smartphone use among youth is linked to increased anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues. A recent Pew Research Center survey found that 72% of high school and 33% of middle school teachers report cell phone distractions as a major problem,” Newsom wrote in the letter.
“Combined with the U.S. Surgeon General’s warning about the risks of social media, it is urgent to provide reasonable guardrails for smartphone use in schools,” the letter said.
Newsom also argued that reducing the use of phones in class leads to improved concentration, better academic outcomes and enhanced social interactions.
The push for limited cellphone usage in schools comes amid concerns from public health leaders that social media platforms are contributing to a mental health crisis among young people. In June, Surgeon General Dr. Vivek H. Murthy called for a warning label to be added to social media platforms stating that social media usage can be associated with significant mental health harms for adolescents.
Virginia also announced it will restrict cellphone use in public K-12 schools. Restrictions in that state are set to go into effect starting 2025.
(NEW YORK) — The prosecutor and defense attorney delivered opening remarks Tuesday in the trial of Susan Lorincz — the Florida woman charged in the fatal shooting of her neighbor Ajike “AJ” Owens through a closed door — after a six-person jury was seated on Monday afternoon.
According to a June 6, 2023, statement from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO), Lorincz shot Owens, a Black mother of four, through a closed door in the presence of her now 10-year-old son after Owens went to speak with Lorincz about a dispute over Owens’ children playing near her home. Lorincz called 911 after fatally shooting Owens and admitted to the shooting.
Lorincz, who is white, was arrested on June 6, 2023, and charged with first-degree felony manslaughter for fatally shooting Owens on June 2, 2023, in Ocala, Florida. She pleaded not guilty on July 10, 2023, and was held on a $150,000 bond. If convicted, Lorincz faces up to 30 years in prison, according to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office.
Anthony Thomas, attorney for the family of Ajike Owens, told ABC News in a statement Tuesday that the family is “disappointed in the all-white jury that was selected to determine the outcome” of this case.
“We would have wanted the jury to be more diverse. But we believe in equal justice, so we are going to see what happens,” added family attorney Ben Crump in a statement to ABC News.
“I am keeping faith that justice will be served for my daughter, Ajike, that the jurors will not let Susan Lorincz get away with this,” Owens’ mother, Pamela Dias, told ABC News.
During opening arguments, public defender Morris Carranza argued that Lorincz was acting in self-defense because she feared for her life, while Assistant State Attorney Adam Smith stressed that Owens was “unarmed” and fatally shot through a “locked” door. Carranza claimed that Owens told Lorincz that she was going to “kill” her, while Smith told jurors that they will be hearing from witnesses who were present during the confrontation who will deny this claim.
“The death of AJ Owens is a tragedy. There is no doubt about that, but what the evidence will show is that in her mind, in her soul, in her core, Susan Lorincz felt she had no choice,” Lorincz’s defense attorney said. “It was either Susan or AJ. Susan chose to defend herself.”
Lorincz’s attorney focused on the age difference between the 59-year-old Lorincz and the 35-year-old Owens, highlighted Lorincz’s health issues and also played for jurors Lorincz’s distressed 911 call on June 2, 2023, where she claimed that Owens tried to “break down” her door and admitted to shooting at the door.
“You can hear the absolute terror that she had,” Lorincz’s attorney said, referring to the 911 call.
Meanwhile, Smith disputed the claim that Owens was trying to “break” into Lorincz’s home and stressed that Owens, who approached Lorincz’s home to talk to her about the dispute with her children, was “unarmed” and was fatally shot through a “locked” front door after Lorincz called police to come to her home.
Smith argued that Owens “doesn’t try to break into” Lorincz’s home and was shot while she was “unarmed.”
“At the end of this case, you’re going to hear that the defendant Susan Lorincz, knowing the police would come, was in her apartment with her door locked and shot through that locked front door and killed Ajike Owens, who was unarmed,” Smith said.
“After the evidence is presented, we’re going to come back to you and ask that you find the defendant guilty,” he added.
Lorincz claimed in her June 6, 2023, interrogation interview with detectives — video of which was released by MCSO — that she was acting in self-defense when she shot Owens.
“She was saying, ‘I’m going to kill you,'” Lorincz claimed in the video.
“No one that we’ve interviewed so far has made any statements about her saying that she wanted to kill you,” one of the detectives told Lorincz.
Anthony Thomas, an attorney representing the family of Ajike Owens, told ABC News in a statement on Monday that two of Owens’ four children will be called to testify during the trial and are “determined to testify” on their mother’s behalf “despite their grief.”
“Unfortunately, yes, we have confirmed that they will be called to testify. This is an unimaginably painful experience for them, as they continue to grapple with the deep emotional wounds caused by losing their mother in such a violent way,” Thomas said.
According to Thomas, Isaac, 13, and Izzy (Israel), 10, who witnessed the shooting, could be called by prosecutors and the defense to testify this week.
“They do this out of profound love and respect for her, knowing that their voices are crucial in the pursuit of justice,” Thomas said. “They understand the gravity of this moment and want to ensure that their mother’s death is not in vain.”
Judge Robert W. Hodges of Florida 5th Judicial Circuit, who is presiding over the case, said that the trial is expected to conclude by Friday.
(NEW YORK) — The United Auto Workers Union has filed federal labor charges against former President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, the union said Tuesday.
In a thread on X, the union said Trump and Musk had illegally attempted to “threaten and intimidate workers who stand up for themselves by engaging in protected concerted activity, such as strikes.”
Musk — who has endorsed Trump for president — interviewed him for two hours Monday night on X Spaces in a conversation that reached over 1 million users.
During the interview, Trump praised Musk as the “greatest cutter,” seemingly referring to the mass layoffs he conducted when he took over X, then known as Twitter.
“I mean, I look at what you do. You walk in, you say, ‘You want to quit?” Trump said. “I won’t mention the name of the company, but they go on strike, and you go, ‘You’re all gone.'”
Going on strike is considered protected activity under the National Labor Relations Act, and workers cannot legally be fired for doing so.
“When we say Donald Trump is a scab, this is what we mean,” UAW President Shawn Fain said in a statement. “When we say Trump stands against everything our union stands for, this is what we mean.”
“Donald Trump will always side against workers standing up for themselves, and he will always side with billionaires like Elon Musk, who is contributing $45 million a month to a Super PAC to get him elected,” Fain continued. “Both Trump and Musk want working-class people to sit down and shut up, and they laugh about it openly. It’s disgusting, illegal, and totally predictable from these two clowns.”
Musk has denied reports he is contributing $45 million a month to get Trump elected. He has long been outspoken against workers forming unions, however.
On Tuesday, Musk replied to a post on X about the labor charges, criticizing Fain, responding, “The last two UAW presidents went to prison for bribery & corruption and, based on recent news, it looks like this guy will join them!”
ABC News has contacted the Trump campaign and X for comment.
Musk told BBC’s James Clayton in April 2023 during a Spaces interview that the cuts at Twitter were “one of the hardest things he’s had to do.”
Gabe Ginsberg/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
(LOS ANGELES) — A second man has died of heat exposure in California’s Death Valley National Park this summer, according to the National Park Service.
Peter Hayes Robino, 57, a Los Angeles resident, died of hyperthermia on Aug. 1, the park announced Monday.
Bystanders saw Robino stumble as he returned from the National Bridge Trail — a 1-mile round-trip journey — and offered to help him but he declined, the NPS said, adding bystanders said his responses were not making sense.
Robino then got in his car and drove off a steep, 20-foot embankment at the edge of the parking lot and his car rolled over, deploying its airbags. A bystander left to call 911 and other bystanders helped him walk back to the parking lot and sit in the shade, the NPS said.
Bystanders said Robino was still breathing until just before park rangers arrived to provide help, according to officials. NPS emergency responders said they provided Robino with CPR and moved him to an air-conditioned ambulance.
He was declared dead shortly afterward, according to the park service.
The temperature reached 119 degrees in Death Valley that afternoon.
Symptoms of overheating can include confusion, irritability and lack of coordination.
Park rangers in Death Valley National Park advise summer visitors to avoid the heat by staying in or near air conditioning, not hiking at low elevations after 10 a.m., drinking plenty of water and eating salty snacks.
“My condolences go out to Mr. Robino’s family and friends,” said Mike Reynolds, a superintendent at the park and emergency medical technician who responded to the incident. “His death serves as a reminder not to underestimate the dangers of extreme heat.”
(HILLSBOROUGH, N.C.) — A convicted murderer is on the loose after escaping from a North Carolina hospital Tuesday morning, officials said.
Ramone Alston, 30, escaped from North Carolina Department of Corrections custody while receiving medical care at UNC Hospital in Hillsborough, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
Alston was convicted of shooting and killing a 1-year-old girl in 2015.
He was last seen wearing a gray T-shirt, brown pants and white New Balance sneakers, as well as handcuffs connected to a belly chain, officials said.
Officials are asking the public to immediately call 911 if they see Alston and warning them not to approach him.
(LOS ANGELES) — Two former Los Angeles sheriff’s deputies and two former foreign military members – one from the U.K. and one from Australia – have been accused of staging a “sham raid” on a man’s home as part of a business dispute, federal prosecutors said.
According to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, the four men were hired by a “wealthy Chinese national” — who is being identified as an unindicted co-conspirator — to pressure the victim into handing over his shares of a Chinese rubber chemical manufacturer and nearly $37 million.
The alleged co-conspirator and victim, neither of whom are identified, had been in a yearslong feud over ownership interests in the company, prosecutors said.
The four men charged were identified as Steven Arthur Lankford, 68, a since-retired Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputy; Glen Louis Cozart, 63, a former Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputy who runs a private investigation and security services company; Max Samuel Bennett Turbett, 39, a former member of the British military who owns a private investigation and asset recovery business; and Matthew Phillip Hart, 41, a former member of the Australian military who owns a risk management services business.
They were arraigned Monday, each on one count of conspiracy to commit extortion, one count of attempted extortion, one count of conspiracy against rights and one count of deprivation of rights under color of law. If convicted, they could face up to 20 years in federal prison for each extortion-related count and up to 10 years in federal prison for each deprivation of rights-related count, prosecutors said.
It was not immediately clear if they had retained attorneys. ABC News reached out to all of the defendants except Hart, whose contact information could not be found, but did not immediately hear back.
The alleged co-conspirator contacted Turbett in December 2018 to ask for help in solving the two business partners’ feud, prosecutors said. The co-conspirator allegedly said prior litigation had not been “the smart way” to handle the dispute and asked Turbett to find another “solution to finish the problem,” promising that if he did, “we can both retire.”
Turbett and the alleged co-conspirator then allegedly “drafted purported settlement agreements” that called for the victim to transfer shares of the company and nearly $37 million cash to the co-conspirator.
Prosecutors said Turbett hired Cozart in order to locate the victim and assemble a team to get the victim to sign the settlement agreements.
Prosecutors said Turbett hired Lankford — who was still working for the sheriff’s office — who, in violation of department policy, allegedly used a law enforcement database to search the victim’s name and date of birth.
In June 2019, the four men allegedly drove an unmarked vehicle belonging to the sheriff’s office to the victim’s home in Irvine. There, prosecutors said they entered his home and “forced [him], his wife, and their two children into one room, took their phones, and prevented them from leaving for hours.” The victim was also allegedly “slammed against a wall and choked.”
“Defendants allegedly also threatened to deport Victim 1 and his wife and permanently separate them from their 4-year-old son unless Victim 1 complied with their demands,” the news release states.
The man, fearing for his family’s safety, signed the documents, handing over shares in the company that were worth millions, prosecutors said.
Despite Lankford allegedly threatening the victim against calling police, saying he would be deported if he did so, prosecutors said the victim contacted police immediately afterward.
“Lankford thereafter spoke with an [Irvine Police Department] officer and falsely claimed that he had been at Victim 1’s home for a legitimate law enforcement purpose, that Victim 1 consented to all parties being in his home, and that no force was used,” prosecutors said in the release.
Within several months, the alleged co-conspirator paid Turbett’s company $419,813 and emailed to thank him for a “very good job,” prosecutors said.
“It is critical that we hold public officials, including law enforcement officers, to the same standards as the rest of us,” said United States Attorney Martin Estrada. “It is unacceptable and a serious civil rights violation for a sworn police officer to take the law into his own hands and abuse the authority of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.”
