(LOUISVILLE, Ky.) — The driver of a semi truck that careened off the Clark Memorial Bridge in Louisiana is speaking out for the first time since her miraculous 40-minute rescue.
“It happened so fast,” Sydney Thomas told ABC News Louisville affiliate WHAS.
“I was like, I can’t believe this, that I’m really hanging over the river,” she said.
It all began when the driver of a pickup truck, 33-year-old Trevor Branham, swerved to avoid a stalled car on the bridge. Branham then slammed into the semi Thomas was driving.
As a result, the semi crashed through the railing, leaving Thomas dangling above the Ohio River.
“I’m going to have to jump. I can’t swim either,” she told herself. “I didn’t know how bad it was. I thought the trailer was still on the bridge, I didn’t know it was like this,” she added, using her hands to demonstrate the steep angle.
Thomas said she wondered what would happen to her 5-year-old son if she died.
“It was really hard for me to think about like leaving him behind on Earth,” Thomas told WHAS.
A crew of firefighters from the Louisville Fire Department rushed to the bridge to help rescue Thomas.
“It was terrifying to be that high up in the air and all you see is the Ohio River,” she said.
Firefighter Bryce Carden reached Thomas first.
“He was like, ‘Are you a praying woman?’ I was like ‘Yep,’ and we just started praying,” she recalled.
She added: “Sometimes you pray and I’m guilty of this, I pray and I don’t think God is listening, but he was that day.”
Branham was charged with endangerment and driving on a suspended license, according to authorities.
Thomas said she hopes to get back on the road in June.
(LITTLE ROCK, Ark.) — Seventy years after the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision ended racial segregation in public schools, members of the “Little Rock Nine” — the first group of African American students to attend Little Rock Central High School — sat down with ABC News to discuss the challenges they faced in education then and the challenges that remain today.
Minnijean Brown, Terrence Roberts, Elizabeth Eckford, Ernest Green, Thelma Mothershed, Melba Pattillo, Gloria Ray, Jefferson Thomas and Carlotta Walls LaNier, known as the Little Rock Nine, began attending Little Rock Central High School in 1957, three years after the historic decision, making them the first students to desegregate the school.
The Nine were all volunteers recruited by the NAACP, under the leadership of Daisy Bates, the president of the Arkansas chapter, to be part of the first official enactment of the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down the “separate but equal” doctrine. Their journey to the classroom was not simple.
“We are young black kids and literally having experienced legalized segregation for the better part of our lives,” Roberts told ABC News, “In truth, there was always separatism but never equality. I thought this was a short window or door of opportunity opening, probably wouldn’t last very long, based on my knowledge of the history of the country. So I was eager to volunteer to see what I could do to promote this whole notion of change.”
On Sept. 3, 1957, the Nine were set to begin their first day at the formerly all-white high school. They arrived to find the National Guard blocking their entrance to the school on Arkansas Gov. Orval Faubus’ orders, despite the Supreme Court’s then-recent decision that deemed segregation unconstitutional.
They returned the next day to again find the National Guard, this time joined by a mob protesting against integration.
“First day, it did not bother me. I saw the crowd. I heard the name-calling. I recognized that there would be people out there that did not want me there. That, I expected, okay … not for it to last as long as it did,” LaNier, who is the youngest of the Nine, recalled.
With testimony from the Nine, United States District Judge Ronald N. Davies ordered the removal of the National Guard on Sept. 20, 1957. Three days later, the Nine finally entered Little Rock Central High School – through a side door and escorted by Little Rock police. On their first day, the Nine were able to attend class for three hours before being sent home for their safety.
In response to the continued concerns and threats to the students’ safety, then-President Dwight Eisenhower sent troops from the U.S. Army to guard and escort the Nine. On Sept. 25, 1957, the Little Rock Nine finally began regularly attending classes at Little Rock Central High School.
At Central, the Nine hoped to get access to the resources that were absent in all-Black schools. They sought the educational opportunities that the 1954 Court decision said segregation was depriving minority children of.
“But we didn’t have time to think about those things because our focus was on staying alive,” Roberts said. “Believe it or not, this was a life-threatening situation. People threatened to kill us every hour, every day. But in spite of that, we were willing to stay there because it was important to be there.”
Derrick Johnson, the current president of the NAACP, highlighted the importance of acknowledging the hardship the Nine went through.
“What we need to do is celebrate those individuals, think about the Little Rock Nine, here are young people who was put in harm’s way with trauma. Those individuals had to carry that trauma from their childhood through adulthood, we just need to say thank you. We have the Brown litigants and their families and their descendants,” he said.
Johnson also pointed out that efforts to ban or censor teaching Black history in schools may exclude teaching about segregation, Brown v. Board, and the Little Rock Nine.
Friday, in honor of the 70th anniversary of Brown v. Board, the NAACP and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture are honoring the Little Rock Nine. Johnson says it’s important to acknowledge the Brown litigants, their families and their descendants too.
Cheryl Brown Henderson is the daughter of Oliver Brown, a main plaintiff in the case whom Brown vs. Board of Education was named after. Born, raised and buried in Topeka, Kansas, Brown partook in the lawsuit because his oldest daughter, Linda – Cheryl’s sister – had to travel 24 blocks to attend the nearest African American school.
Addressing the media following a closed meeting with President Biden and other Brown-involved parties, Brown Henderson said that the fight is not over, saying that public education should be funded well and can be improved.
“Anytime we can talk about failing underfunded public schools, there is a problem. There should be no such thing. Public institutions, where most of us got our education, should be world-class, educational institutions,” Brown Henderson said. “So I’m not understanding that and I want us to roll up our sleeves and get back to the hard work of educating our children.”
LaNier echoed this sentiment and called upon young people to “stand up,” as she and her eight classmates once did.
“I’m disappointed over these 60-plus years that all the achievements that we have made here in this country is now being taken away from us,” LaNier said. “If young people don’t stand up and stop some of this process and strategize as to how they’re gonna go about changing these things or at least put some rush to what is being changed by others, we’re in a mess the way I see it.”
ABC News’ Tesfaye Neguisse, Abby Cruz, Adisa Hargett-Robinson, Sabina Ghebremedhin, and Michelle Stoddart contributed to this report.
(MORGANTON, N.C.) — Police in North Carolina are searching for the person who threw a rock at a moving car, hitting and killing a 23-year-old woman, authorities said.
Brittany Elizabeth Ferguson was driving in Burke County around 8:40 p.m. Wednesday when a rock went through her windshield and fatally struck her in the head, North Carolina Highway Patrol said.
Ferguson’s 2006 Ford Taurus then drove off the road and hit a house, according to the highway patrol.
Ferguson, of Morganton, North Carolina, died at the scene, authorities said.
After the crash, witnesses saw a white Chevrolet S-10 single-cab truck — with a man riding in the truck bed — driving back and forth in the area, the highway patrol said.
Anyone with information on the white truck or the incident in general is asked to call the highway patrol at 828-466-5500.
(LOUISVILLE, Ky.) — Scottie Scheffler, the No. 1 golfer in the world, was arrested Friday morning for allegedly driving past a police roadblock at the Valhalla Golf Club, according to ESPN.
The arrest came about an hour after a deadly accident near the golf course. Around 5 a.m., a man was fatally struck by a shuttle bus as he tried to cross a road near the course holding the PGA Championship, according to a statement released by Louisville Metro Police Department.
The roadblocks and confusion over the accident allegedly led Scheffler to drive past police who were on site, according to reports from ESPN.
“This morning, I was proceeding as directed by police officers,” Scheffler said in a statement on social media. “It was a very chaotic situation, understandably so considering the tragic accident that had occurred earlier, and there was a big misunderstanding of what I thought I was being asked to do. I never intended to disregard any of the instructions. I’m hopeful to put this to the side and focus on golf today.”
Scheffler was released from jail after processing around 8:40 a.m. local time, and returned to the course about an hour before his 10:08 a.m. tee time.
A “police officer attempted to attach himself to Scheffler’s car, and Scheffler then stopped his vehicle at the entrance to Valhalla,” according to ESPN reporter Jeff Darlington who witnessed the altercation take place right in front of him. “The police officer then began to scream at Scheffler to get out of the car. When Scheffler exited the vehicle, the officer shoved Scheffler against the car and immediately placed him in handcuffs. He is now being detained in the back of a police car.”
Scheffler refused to comply with the police officer’s request to stop and “accelerated forward,” dragging the detective to the ground, according to the police report. The officer was taken to the hospital after suffering “pain, swelling, and abrasions to his left wrist and knee.” The detective’s uniform pants, “valued at approximately $80, were damaged beyond repair,” according to the report.
Breaking News: World No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler has been detained by police in handcuffs after a misunderstanding with traffic flow led to his attempt to drive past a police officer into Valhalla Golf Club. The police officer attempted to attach himself to Scheffler’s car,…
Scheffler now faces charges of second-degree assault of a police officer, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving and disregarding traffic signals from an officer directing traffic, according to the police report.
He is scheduled to be arraigned on Tuesday morning.
Louisville police said that the start of the second round of the PGA Championship was delayed as a result of the accident. Scheffler had originally been scheduled for an 8:50 a.m. tee time, but it was delayed until 10:08 a.m. after the fatal accident.
The LMPD Traffic Unit is investigating and there have been no other injuries reported from the earlier incident.
Scheffler, 27, has won four tournaments on the tour this year, including a dominant performance at The Masters in April — his second Masters win and second major victory as well. He also won back-to-back marquee events in March at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and The Players Championship.
He shot a 4-under 67 in the first round of this week’s PGA Championship — the second major of the year — and was five shots back of leader Xander Schauffele.
Scheffler has career earnings of $61 million on the PGA Tour alone, 10th all-time, according to the tour.
(HOUSTON) — At least four people died Thursday after an “exceptionally” strong storm hit Houston, according to Mayor John Whitmire.
Wind gusts reached 78 mph in the area.
Preliminary investigations indicate falling trees caused two deaths and a fallen crane caused one, according to officials.
Urging residents to stay home, Whitmire said the city was in “recovery mode” and schools will be closed in the Houston area on Friday.
More than 788,000 customers are without power in Texas on Friday morning.
The intense winds came after a rare “high risk” warning for flash flooding was issued in Texas and Louisiana, with the states bracing for up to 9 inches of rain in 24 hours.
“The high risk area has seen over 600% of their normal rainfall for the past two weeks alone,” the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration warned, and the flash flooding could be life-threatening.
“High risk” days account for just 4% of days, but they are responsible for more than one-third of flooding deaths, according to the Weather Prediction Center.
The severe weather threat in Houston is now over, allowing residents to begin to clean up on Friday.
The severe weather threat has now moved east, with damaging winds and large hail possible from Louisiana to Georgia.
In this screen grab from police body cam footage released by the San Francisco Police Department, Paul Pelosi, the husband of Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi, is shown with his assailant, David DePape, at the Pelosi home, in San Francisco, Oct 28, 2022. — San Francisco Police Dept
(SAN FRANCISCO) — The man convicted of breaking into former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s home and attacking her husband Paul Pelosi with a hammer will receive his federal prison sentence on Friday.
David DePape was convicted in November 2023 for the Oct. 28, 2022, break-in and attack at the Pelosis’ San Francisco home.
DePape admitted that he was looking for Nancy Pelosi to question her about Russian influence on the 2016 election and planned to hold her hostage, but only Paul Pelosi was home when he broke in.
Paul Pelosi said on the stand that DePape repeatedly asked him, “Where is Nancy?”
DePape hit Paul Pelosi, then 82 years old, with a hammer, causing major injuries, including a skull fracture.
“I’m sorry that he got hurt,” DePape said at trial. “I reacted because my plan was basically ruined.”
Federal prosecutors want DePape to serve 40 years for his conviction on charges of attempted kidnapping of a federal officer or employee and assault of an immediate family member of a federal official.
DePape is also facing state charges, including attempted murder, and has pleaded not guilty. His state trial is set to start on May 22.
ABC News’ Annie Pong, Ivan Pereira and Meredith Deliso contributed to this report.
(MANCHESTER, N.H.) — A daycare owner and three of her employees have been arrested after allegedly sprinkling melatonin on children’s food, police say.
The incident began in Nov. 2023 when police in Manchester, New Hampshire, received a report alleging “unsafe practices going on in an in-home daycare at 316 Amory Street,” which led to a lengthy investigation, according to a statement released by the Manchester Police Department on Thursday.
“Through the investigation, police determined that the children’s food was being sprinkled with melatonin without their parent’s knowledge or consent,” authorities said regarding the case.
“The hormone melatonin plays a role in the sleep-wake cycle. Natural levels of melatonin in the blood are highest at night. Some research suggests that melatonin supplements might be helpful in treating sleep disorders, such as delayed sleep phase. They also may provide some relief from insomnia and jet lag,” according to the Mayo Clinic. “Melatonin is generally safe for short-term use. Unlike with many sleep medications, with melatonin you are unlikely to become dependent on it, have less response to it after repeated use or experience a hangover effect.”
It is currently unclear how long the daycare workers were dosing the children’s food with the drug or how much they were giving them. Police also did not disclose how the practice was initially discovered.
Arrest warrants were issued for the owner, 52-year-old Sally Dreckmann, as well as 51-year-old Traci Innie, 23-year-old Kaitlin Filardo, and 23-year-old Jessica Foster, all of whom hail from Manchester, police said.
The suspects turned themselves into police and all four of them were charged with 10 counts of endangering the welfare of a child.
The investigation into this case is currently ongoing.
Authorities are looking for two people who they say committed “archeological theft” at a U.S national park in Moab, Utah. — National Park Service
(MOAB, Utah) — Law enforcement officers are still looking for two suspects they say committed “archeological theft” at a U.S national park in Utah two days after they asked for help from the public.
The incident occurred on March 23 at Canyonlands National Park in Moab, Utah, at the Cave Spring Cowboy Camp in the Needles district of the park at approximately 5:30 p.m. when security cameras captured two people enter “a signed-as-closed area, removed artifacts from a cabinet, and handled historic harnesses in a manner that had potential to damage them,” according to a statement from the National Park Service released on Wednesday.
However, after several weeks of searching and two days after making their plea public, authorities have not yet been able to identify the suspects.
“National parks are some of the most special, treasured, and protected areas of our country,” authorities said. “To protect their natural and cultural resources for this and future generations, all visitors to national parks are expected to follow park laws and regulations and practice Leave No Trace principles to minimize their impact on park lands.”
“If you have information that could help identify the suspects, please contact investigators. Tips can be anonymous,” the National Park Service said. “Call or text the National Park Service-wide Tip Line 888-653-0009 or online, go to https://www.nps.gov/SubmitATip.”
This incident remains under investigation and no additional information is available at this time.
(NEW YORK) — Former President Donald Trump is on trial in New York City, where he is facing felony charges related to a 2016 hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. It marks the first time in history that a former U.S. president has been tried on criminal charges.
Trump last April pleaded not guilty to a 34-count indictment charging him with falsifying business records in connection with a hush money payment his then-attorney Michael Cohen made to Daniels in order to boost his electoral prospects in the 2016 presidential election.
Here’s how the news is developing:
May 16, 7:30 AM Defense to resume cross-examination of Cohen
Michael Cohen returns to the witness stand this morning, where the former Trump attorney is expected to face a full day of cross-examination.
Cohen, under direct examination earlier this week, described in-person meetings and phone calls with Donald Trump, who he said joined into an agreement with tabloid publisher David Pecker to catch and kill negative stories ahead of the 2016 election; approved a $130,000 hush money payment from Cohen to Stormy Daniels; and signed off on an arrangement to reimburse Cohen in 2017 using what prosecutors say were falsified invoices. Trump has denied all wrongdoing.
Defense attorneys are expected to question Cohen’s credibility based on his past testimony and previous statements he has made in interviews, podcast and books.
May 15, 8:17 PM Trump takes fight over gag order to NY’s highest court
Former President Trump has asked New York’s highest court to rescind the limited gag order that prevents him from commenting publicly about witnesses, jurors and lawyers in his ongoing criminal trial, according to a new court filing.
The filing is sealed, but is the next step after an intermediate appeals court yesterday upheld the order imposed by trial Judge Juan Merchan.
Trump has frequently attacked the judge, which is permitted, and has called the limited gag order unconstitutional.
In its ruling yesterday, the intermediate appellate court said that Merchan had appropriately balanced Trump’s free speech rights with the court’s need to control the trial.
There was no immediate comment from the Manhattan DA’s office.
Former Donald Trump attorney Michael Cohen departs from his home to attend his second day of testimony at Manhattan Criminal Court on May 14, 2024 in New York City. (David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Michael Cohen is set to return to the witness stand Thursday to face a full day of cross-examination in which the defense is expected to question the former Trump attorney’s credibility as the prosecution’s star witness in Donald Trump’s criminal hush money trial.
Across his two days on the witness stand, Cohen has offered the most incriminating testimony so far that Trump was aware of, and directly involved in, the criminal conduct alleged by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who has accused the former president of falsifying business records to hide the reimbursement of a hush money payment that Cohen made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in order to boost Trump’s electoral prospects in the 2016 presidential election.
Cohen, under direct examination, described in-person meetings and phone calls with Trump, who he said joined into an agreement with tabloid publisher David Pecker to catch and kill negative stories ahead of the election, approved a $130,000 hush money payment from Cohen to Daniels, and signed off on a scheme to reimburse Cohen in 2017. Trump has denied all wrongdoing.
Defense attorneys in their cross-examination are expected to try to use Cohen’s own words against him, including previous statements he’s made in media interviews, on podcasts and in his books, including his 2020 memoir, Disloyal.
Cohen told jurors that he made approximately $3 million from that book, which he wrote while serving 13 months in federal prison — in part for campaign finance violations related to the Stormy Daniels payment.
On Tuesday, defense attorney Todd Blanche began confronting Cohen with portions of the memoir to suggest Cohen was “obsessed” with Trump.
“At that time, I was knee-deep into the cult of Donald Trump,” Cohen said about his decade working for Trump.
Cohen’s detailed descriptions in Disloyal about his meetings with Trump related to the catch-and-kill scheme could be a focus of the cross-examination, as defense attorneys attempt to draw out any differences between Cohen’s testimony and what he wrote in the book.
Cohen’s secret recording
On Monday, jurors heard a recording that Cohen secretly made of a conversation with Trump in September 2016, when the two discussed a plan to reimburse Pecker for his company’s $150,000 hush money payment to Karen McDougal, a former Playboy model who alleged a year-long affair with Trump that Trump denied took place.
“We’ll have to pay him something,” Cohen can be heard saying in the recording.
“Pay with cash,” Trump responded.
Asked on the stand to explain why he secretly recorded his boss, Cohen told jurors that he wanted to provide Pecker proof that Trump planned to repay him.
“It was so I could show it to David Pecker, and that way he would hear the conversation so that he would know that we are going to be paying him,” Cohen said. “I also wanted him to remain loyal to Mr. Trump.”
In his book, Cohen offered an additional explanation for the recording: that he made it in case Trump “threw me under the bus” one day.
“First, to show Pecker that I was asking Trump to repay the obligation, and second, to have a record of his participation if the conspiracy ever came out,” Cohen wrote. “I was certain that Trump would throw me under the bus in that event, claiming ignorance and laying all the blame on a rogue lawyer, namely me.”
Though Cohen wrote the book three years before Bragg would indict Trump, Cohen acknowledged in the book, “I had no idea how prescient I was.”
The Stormy Daniels payment
Cohen testified that Trump was angry when Cohen first shared the news that Daniels was shopping her story in the fall of 2016.
“He was really angry with me,” Cohen told jurors, saying Trump told him, “I thought you had this under control.”
In Cohen’s book, Trump sounded more subdued.
“He didn’t explode as I expected, perhaps slightly chastened by the Access Hollywood episode and his vulnerable position in the campaign,” Cohen wrote.
In the book, he said that after he recounted Daniels’ allegations to Trump, they called Pecker for his input regarding potential damage to the campaign.
“Let’s not forget about upstairs,” Cohen said Trump joked — referencing his wife Melania — to both him and Pecker.
The next morning, Cohen said he met with Trump, who confirmed the plan to make the payment, according to the book.
“It’s only $130,000,” Trump said, according to Cohen. “F— it, Michael. Go talk to Allen and figure it all out,” Trump allegedly said, referring to then-Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg.
Later that day, Cohen and Weisselberg met with Trump to confirm the plan to pay Daniels, according to Cohen’s 2020 account.
“A hundred and thirty thousand is a lot less than I would have to pay Melania,” Trump said, according to Cohen.
Cohen said in his book that he and Weisselberg met with Trump again to confirm that Cohen would make the payment out of his own pocket.
“Wow, Michael,” Trump said of the plan, according to Cohen’s book. “That’s great. Perfect.”
Testifying earlier this week, Cohen told jurors he initially had two in-person conversations with Trump after learning that Daniels was shopping her story in October 2016. While Cohen said Trump directed him to work with Pecker to control the story, Cohen did not testify about a phone call with both Trump and Pecker.
Cohen testified that during one of those two conversations with Trump, he asked Trump how Melania would respond to the story.
“I said to him, how’s things going to go with upstairs?” Cohen testified.
“He goes, ‘How long do you think I will be on the market for? Not long,'” Cohen testified.
Cohen told jurors that later in October, Trump approved the payment after Cohen attempted to delay paying Daniels the money.
“He expressed to me: ‘Just do it. Go meet up with Allen Weisselberg and figure this whole thing out,'” Cohen testified.
Cohen said that he and Weisselberg also spoke to Trump together to confirm that Cohen would make the payment out of his own pocket.
“We expressed to him that I was going to front the money for it, to which he was appreciative and [said] ‘Good, good,'” Cohen testified.
Prosecutors also outlined a series of calls between Trump and Cohen in October 2016 using phone records in evidence.
Cohen’s bonus
Cohen told jurors that he was “insulted” and “personally hurt” after Trump, in 2016, paid him a smaller holiday bonus than he expected — especially after he used $130,000 of his own money to pay Daniels.
“It was insulting that the gratitude shown back to me was to cut the bonus by two-thirds,” Cohen said.
In his book, Cohen offered a similar account of his frustration related to the bonus, but added that he also mulled using the rights to Daniels’ story against Trump to create a “biblical-level sex scandal.”
“I was the owner of her rights, after all, through my Delaware company Essential Consulting LLC, so the story of the newly elected President cheating on his wife with a porn star only weeks after she’d given birth to Barron was sure to fetch a pretty penny,” Cohen wrote. “Millions, I figured, maybe multiple millions, as I cursed inwardly and swore I wouldn’t allow myself to be treated in such a shabby way. Two can play this game, I thought, as I imagined the headlines that would turn the nightmare that constituted his transition to the White House into a biblical-level sex scandal.”
Cohen, however, ended up keeping those thoughts to himself. In his testimony, Cohen said that he brought up the bonus with Weisselberg, who told him that Trump would resolve the issue in the new year.
“You know that Mr. Trump loves you. We are going to do right by you,” Cohen testified that Weisselberg told him. “We are going to make sure that you are taken care of.”
