Three hikers were rescued early Monday, Sept. 28, in Big Sur, Calif. after requesting emergency assistance. (Monterey County Sheriff’s Office)
(NEW YORK) — Three hikers were airlifted to safety by rescue crews early Monday morning after becoming lost and disoriented in a Big Sur state park, according to officials.
The hikers called 911 at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday to request emergency assistance, prompting a joint search-and-rescue operation by the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue, Big Sur Fire, and a naval air station in the area, according to the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office.
One of the hikers was experiencing a medical emergency when they called 911, the sheriff’s office said.
The group was located at about 12:30 a.m. The sheriff’s office team located them Monday and hoisted them to safety with “Lasso 3,” a Navy search-and-rescue helicopter, according to the release.
Rescue teams undertook a 2.5-mile hike at about 2,000 feet of elevation along trails that needed to be cleared with machetes and chainsaws because of overgrowth to reach the hikers, authorities said.
The three were hiking in Limekiln State Park along the Big Sur coastline, officials said.
The three were turned over to Big Sur Fire and Ambulance personnel upon their safe return and the mission was concluded at about 4 a.m. on Monday, according to the sheriff’s office.
The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office reminds those venturing into the backcountry to know their limitations and prepare before departing. Hikers are encouraged to use established trails, carry a GPS-enabled device for navigation, and tell a family member or friend when they leave and their expected return time.
The entrance to Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., Oct. 18, 2020. (Getty Images)
Prosecutors in upstate New York are defending their decision not to bring charges in 2024 after an alleged “gang rape” at a Cornell University fraternity.
Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten described the allegations as “morally disturbing” but argued that the facts he knew at the time did not support a prosecution.
“If what was said on social media about this case was true, those fraternity members would be in prison right now,” Van Houten told ABC News.
Van Houten argued that Jane Doe’s account of the incident from 2024 suggested that she consented to the sexual activity. He said that she did not withdraw her consent, and that when she raised concerns, the fraternity members “stopped and did not pursue what they were doing.”
“She clearly consented in the beginning, and there was never any indication that she changed that to the things that she participated in,” he said. “There is a disconnect in the sense of how the community and how social media has understood this to have happened. If at any point Jane Doe had said, ‘I don’t consent to this anymore,’ or in those words, or in any form of communication. If there had been continued sexual activity, contact by these individuals, that would be a crime. But that’s not what was alleged in her statement.”
Van Houten acknowledged that his office did not examine a photo of the fraternity’s Snapchat group, but he argued that the messages do not change his view of the case.
He called the messages, “disgusting and vulgar and immoral.”
“But the question that we analyzed was: Did Jane Doe consent to what happened, and was she unable to consent?” he said. “I’m not clear on exactly how that was given to us, or if anyone here looked at it. That was not critical to our analysis, as I mentioned earlier. The issue was her consent, and if you take that Snapchat being vile and crude and vulgar, that did not have any relevance to the issue of whether Jane Doe consented to what was happening,” Van Houten said.
The DA’s comments come a day after his office announced it would be reopening the 2024 case in light of Jane Doe’s civil lawsuit alleging that she was drugged, assaulted and gang raped by seven former and current members of the Chi Phi fraternity at Cornell.
Cornell’s Chi Phi chapter was barred from campus after the alleged Oct. 19, 2024, incident, though none of the individuals allegedly involved faced criminal charges, according to the DA.
An attorney for Jane Doe responded to Van Houten’s written statement on Monday, alleging his client’s claims were not investigated thoroughly.
“It is challenging for me to understand how a thorough criminal investigation could have been conducted when she was never spoke with anyone other than the officer who took her original complaint,” Thomas P. Giuffra said.
Giuffra also raised concerns that prosecutors might have lost critical evidence because of the two-year delay in investigating the case.
“I believe that opportunities to fully investigate these crimes were lost. We will never fully know what occurred or the identities of everyone who was involved that night,” he said.
Van Houten said his office plans to meet with Jane Doe to “establish a rapport” before having her testify before the grand jury this fall. He added that he requested some of the documents from Cornell’s Title IX investigation (through Jane Doe) and suggested that some of the fraternity members might testify.
Van Houten argued his office is constrained by New York’s laws on sexual assault and consent, which present a high bar to a potential prosecution.
“The law in New York State is clear that if you are voluntarily intoxicated or under the influence of drugs – such that your judgment is impaired — that does not legally, under the penal law, constitute your inability to consent,” Van Houten said. “That’s a very difficult concept, but it’s a concept that I am constrained by when I apply the law to the case.”
The university said in a new statement on Monday that it “supports the decision of the Tompkins County District Attorney (DA) to provide an opportunity for the victim’s story, in the 2024 Chi Phi fraternity Sexual Assault case, to be heard by a criminal grand jury.”
“Cornell also conducted a thorough Title IX investigation, which is separate from a criminal proceeding, over the course of several months,” Monday’s statement said. “During that investigation temporary suspensions and other restrictive measures were used. After investigation, and pursuant to federal law, the matter was sent to a hearing where a panel of trained faculty and staff heard evidence over multiple days. The complainant and respondents had the opportunity to testify and present evidence. At its conclusion, the hearing panel issued a range of sanctions, which included expulsions and suspensions from Cornell. None of the individuals charged were offered the opportunity to write essays as a sole consequence of their involvement.”
Jane Doe’s lawyers allege that the fraternity members “were afforded the opportunity to mitigate their conduct by submitting essays to Cornell.”
The fraternity was closed in 2024, the school said.
“Any suggestion that the University did not impose consequential punishments for those involved is false,” Cornell said on Monday. “A continuation of the false narrative that there were minimal consequences in this case is irresponsible, will make survivors feel less safe and supported, and will perpetuate the underreporting of sexual assault.”
ABC News has reached out to Chi Phi for a comment.
An attorney for one of the defendants denied the allegations and said the incident detailed in the complaint “did not happen.”
“We look forward to confronting the plaintiff in a court of law for her selfishly false claims with both the evidence and her own words.” Attorney Jeremy Saland said.
Another defendant also denied engaging in sexual activity or drug use, though he acknowledged that he sent a message that was included in the complaint.
Caleb Flynn, right, is seen being interviewed by Tipp City police on Feb. 19, 2026, in a still from video shown during his murder trial in Miami County, Ohio, on Sept. 28, 2026. (Pool/ABC News)
An Ohio man accused of murdering his wife in their bedroom and allegedly staging the crime scene to make it seem like an intruder broke into their home denied killing his spouse in an interview with police days after the deadly shooting, according to video shown during his trial on Monday.
Caleb Flynn, 40, a former pastor who once appeared as a contestant on “American Idol” in 2013, is on trial in Miami County, Ohio, for the murder of his 37-year-old wife, Ashley Flynn.
He was arrested on Feb. 19, three days after calling 911 to report a burglary and shooting at their home in Tipp City, north of Dayton in February. He has pleaded not guilty to aggravated murder, murder, felonious assault and tampering with evidence.
Prosecutors alleged that Caleb Flynn shot his wife twice in the back of the head in bed so that he could be with his mistress and manipulated the scene to make it seem as if an intruder did it so he “too would be a victim.” According to prosecutors, Ashley Flynn was shot with two 9mm bullets, and Caleb Flynn kept a 9mm handgun in his truck console that was missing from the console when officers arrived at the scene.
While being questioned by a Tipp City police detective and Miami County deputy on the day of his arrest, Flynn was asked point-blank if he had anything to do with his wife’s death, according to video of the interview shown in court on Monday.
“Did you do this? Because I have to ask you,” Chief Deputy Steve Lord of the Miami County Sheriff’s Office asks while questioning Caleb Flynn about what could have led to the deadly shooting.
“No,” Caleb Flynn responds.
While discussing the gun that was missing from Caleb Flynn’s truck console, Lord says he believes the husband is “involved” in the shooting, and that when a grand jury hears the evidence of the case, “they’re going to conclude something.”
“I didn’t touch my wife,” Caleb Flynn says.
Asked if he had any explanation for his gun, Caleb Flynn continues to reiterate, “I didn’t touch my wife.”
“The evidence is a little bit contrary to that,” Lord replies.
The state rested its case on Monday, after calling more than three dozen witnesses over seven days of testimony.
The defense also rested on Monday without calling any witnesses. Caleb Flynn did not testify in his own defense.
Closing arguments are expected Tuesday.
During interviews with investigators played during the trial, Caleb Flynn said that the night of the shooting, he left his bedroom because his coughing was bothering his wife. He said that while sleeping on the couch his dogs woke him up and he went to check on their two daughters and fell asleep in their room. He said he was woken up by the sound of gunshots and found his wife shot in bed in the early hours of Feb. 16.
He called 911 to report the shooting and intruder.
“Somebody broke into my home. Somebody broke in my home and shot my wife,” a frantic-sounding Caleb Flynn can be heard in the 911 call.
“My wife, she’s got two shots to her head, there’s blood everywhere, oh my God, oh my God, oh my God,” he says, adding that the door to the garage was “wide open” and urging first responders to “please hurry.”
Hours before calling 911 on Feb. 16, Caleb Flynn texted his mistress, “Actions will come tomorrow,” prosecutors said.
The former mistress, Alleigha Botner, testified for the state during the trial, reading from some of the more than 100,000 messages they exchanged over her two days of testimony.
“If I could literally kill her and not go to hell, I would do it in a heartbeat,” Caleb Flynn said in one message from May 2025, she testified.
Defense attorneys have conceded that Caleb Flynn said “ugly, hurtful” things in the messages with his mistress, though said he did so to appease her and lied to her to make her happy. The defense has also argued that there is no direct evidence, such as a firearm, tying Caleb Flynn to the murder, “only a theory following an affair.”
The mother of Tasia Fortune, a 29-year-old Black woman whose body was found hanging from a tree on Aug. 3 in Jackson, Mississippi, told ABC News that her daughter’s death has “just devastated” her family. (Photo courtesy of Christy Spivey)
(NEW YORK) — A third suspect was arrested on murder charges in the death of Tasia Fortune, a 29-year-old Black mother of four whose body was found hanging from a tree behind an apparently vacant Jackson, Mississippi, home on Aug. 3.
Police arrested Eric Clark, a 45-year-old Black man, on murder charges in Fortune’s death on Friday, the Jackson Police Department announced. Clark is scheduled to appear in court on Monday, police said. It is unclear if he has retained an attorney.
Clark’s arrest came after two other Black men were arrested earlier this month and charged with murder in this case.
During a hearing on Sept. 23, bond was denied for Earnest Lloyd Jr., 25, one of the suspects, according to ABC affiliate station WAPT in Jackson. It is unclear if he has retained an attorney in his case.
Jarques Ratliff, 51, was arrested on Sept. 11 and charged with murder. According to an affidavit, Ratliff is accused of using a black cable cord to hang Fortune from a tree, WAPT reported. Ratliff pleaded not guilty during a hearing on Sept. 14, where he was also denied bond.
According to The Associated Press, police disclosed during a pre-trial hearing for Ratliff on Friday that Fortune was killed in a drug dispute before her body was hung in a tree in a “staged” scene.
Asked by ABC News to confirm this detail, a spokesperson for the Jackson Police Department did not respond to requests for comment.
Ratliff’s attorney, Toney Baldwin, confirmed his client’s not guilty plea to ABC News, but did not comment on the charges.
Following Ratliff’s arrest, Fortune’s family told ABC News in a statement that they are “grateful” for the arrest, and called for “patience” from the public as the investigation takes its course.
“We would like to thank everyone for their prayers and support and are grateful for the silence to be broken but we also want to say that we wish for people to have patience and wait for the rest of the facts to come out before jumping to conclusions,” Fortune’s family said in a statement Monday following Ratliffe’s arrest. “We are hoping soon we will have more answers.”
Christy Spivey, Fortune’s mother, told ABC News in an interview on Aug. 8 that her daughter’s death has “devastated” the family.
“This has just devastated us,” she said. “Tasia was strong-minded, she was full of laughs and love, she had faith in God … she had so little and gave so much.”
(NEW YORK) — Millions across the Southwest are on alert for life-threatening flash flooding this week, with the worst of the flooding forecast for Arizona, New Mexico, southern Utah and southern Colorado.
It’s already been one of the wettest Septembers on record for parts of the Southwest. Albuquerque, New Mexico, has recorded 3.31 inches of rain this month, marking the second wettest September ever.
On Monday, a level 3 of 4 flood threat is in place for parts of Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado. Areas bracing for dangerous conditions include Santa Fe, New Mexico; Flagstaff, Arizona; Grand Canyon National Park; Zion National Park; and Bryce Canyon National Park.
One to 3 inches of rain is possible, which is more than a month’s worth of rain in one day for some areas.
The level 3 flood threats will continue on Tuesday, with 4 to 6 inches of rain possible in some areas Monday through Wednesday. The significant threat will span from Tucson, Arizona, to Albuquerque to Lamar, Colorado, Amarillo, Texas and El Paso, Texas.
On Wednesday and Thursday, a level 3 of 4 flood threat is in place for Dallas, where significant flooding is possible.
An ABC News graphic shows the forecast for Monday, Sept. 28, 2026. (ABC News)
(NEW YORK) — The worst of the deadly nor’easter that’s lashed the Northeast is behind us, and Monday will feature minor impacts as the storm winds down.
The storm claimed at least one life. The New York Police Department confirmed to ABC News that a 56-year old man died after being struck by a falling tree on Saturday afternoon in Brooklyn while walking through a parking lot.
In a statement on social media, Mayor Zohran Mamdani identified the man as Leighton Brown, an employee of the New York City Housing Authority.
The nor’easter is weakening and drifting on Monday slowly northeast from Long Island, New York, to Massachusetts, into the Gulf of Maine by Tuesday.
Mainly light rain continues to spin around the storm throughout New England.
New York City, Long Island and New Jersey should see dry skies in the mid-to-late afternoon on Monday.
By about 6 a.m. on Tuesday, Boston is also forecast to be dry. A few lingering light showers are forecast for Maine on Tuesday.
Coastal flood alerts are in place from the Delmarva Peninsula, an area that includes parts of Delaware, Virginia and Maryland, through coastal Massachusetts on Monday.
High tides on Monday morning and Tuesday morning may bring minor to moderate coastal flooding, which is forecast to be less than over the weekend.
A flood watch is in effect for eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island where an additional 1.5 inches of rain is possible today. Widespread issues are not expected but due to saturated soils some urban flooding is possible today.
High surf could reach up to 12 feet today from coastal Massachusetts through coastal Maine.
All wind advisories have been cancelled. Gusts around 20 to 30 mph are possible on Monday from New Jersey to Maine.
Bridget Maeve Zeigler, 2, went missing in Cumberland County, Va. on Thursday, Sept. 24. (Virginia State Police)
(NEW YORK) — A 2-year-old girl who went missing Thursday evening in Virginia was found safe early Friday afternoon in the woods by a search team, according to the sheriff’s office.
The Cumberland Sheriff’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Virginia State Police and other law enforcement agencies launched a search for Bridget Maeve Zeigle, who was believed to have walked away from her home at around 6 p.m. Thursday, according to the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office.
Authorities were notified within an hour of Bridget’s disappearance, the sheriff’s office said.
Bridget was found relatively close to her house, the sheriff’s office said.
The search team used aviation and K9 resources to help in their search for the child, according to authorities.
Bridget was described as a white female with short brown hair and blue eyes, and is about 2 feet tall and 30 pounds, according to a Virginia State Police alert.
Bridget was seen wearing an orange dress, blue coat and white tennis shoes, according to the alert.
Police said the child was believed to be on foot.
Virginia State Police issued a CODI alert at approximately 11:30 p.m. Thursday on behalf of the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office.
Cumberland County Public Schools also issued an alert, encouraging community members to contact authorities with any information regarding Bridget’s whereabouts.
(NEW YORK) — Millions in the Northeast are bracing for a powerful nor’easter set to bring pounding rain and strong winds to the region through the weekend.
The nor’easter could also cause power outages and could spark flight disruptions along the Northeast coast.
Here’s the latest forecast:
Waves:
The storm is bringing massive waves for days, which will cause significant beach erosion.
Waves up to 19 feet have been recorded already along North Carolina’s Outer Banks.
Waves up to 12 feet are possible from the Outer Banks to the New Jersey shore through Saturday, and along the New England coast through Sunday.
Coastal flood alerts are in effect from the Outer Banks to Maine, as some areas will see flood inundation up to 3 feet above normal levels.
Winds:
Strong winds are also a major threat as the nor’easter moves north.
The Jersey Shore, Rhode Island and Massachusetts coasts are under a high wind warning from Friday night to Sunday, with dangerous gusts up to 60 mph possible.
The Jersey Shore is under a high wind warning from Friday night to Sunday, with dangerous gusts up to 60 mph possible.
New York City could see wind gusts of 40-to-50 mph Friday night through Sunday.
Rain:
The rain will move in Saturday morning, falling from New Jersey to Massachusetts throughout the day.
The storm will reach peak strength on Saturday and then weaken slightly on Sunday as it stalls over New Jersey.
On Sunday, the rain will become more scattered, but still much of the day will be wet from Washington, D.C., to Maine.
The nor’easter will weaken on Monday as it slowly moves into New England, and then will die out on Tuesday.
The storm could bring 4-to-6 inches of rain to Boston, Rhode Island, coastal New Jersey and Long Island, New York, with a widespread 2-to-4 inches of rain from Delaware to Maine.
Isolated flash flooding is possible, but because this rain is falling over multiple days, widespread and significant flash flooding is unlikely.
Nor’easters get their name because winds over the coastal area are typically from the northeast. These storms may occur at any time of year but are most frequent and most violent between September and April.
Nor’easters nearly always bring precipitation in the form of heavy rain or snow, as well as gale-force winds, rough seas, and coastal flooding.
An undated photo of 18-year-old Nolan Xavier Wells. (Courtesy of the Wells family)
(NEW YORK) — The family of Nolan Wells on Wednesday released the Mississippi State Medical Examiner’s autopsy report on the 18-year-old’s death. It found that the cause and manner of death are “undetermined.”
This conclusion matches the findings of the private autopsy commissioned by Wells’ family, which preliminarily ruled his cause and manner of death as “undetermined pending investigation,” with the independent pathologist acknowledging multiple limitations in the report.
“Losing a child, it truly breaks your heart … especially someone like Nolan, who brought so much joy and light and life to everyone,” Wells’ mother, Christine Wonsley, told reporters in July.
“The only question we have is, what happened to our son?” she said.
The circumstances surrounding Wells’ death garnered national interest after the college football player went missing on the 4th of July after going on a boat trip with friends to Horn Island. Officials said it appeared Wells stayed behind on the island after his friends left.
The teen’s body was recovered on July 6, and authorities said they suspect he drowned.
Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter said there was no initial indication of a crime, but he stressed that investigators were “working diligently to determine exactly what occurred.”
Ledbetter also said the sheriff’s office welcomed the family’s independent investigation.
New York State Attorney General Letitia James speaks during a press conference on Sept. 21, 2026, in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — New York Attorney General Letitia James on Thursday filed suit against the prediction market Polymarket, accusing it of being an illegal gambling operation that is operating in New York without a license.
The lawsuit mirrors the one James’ office filed against the prediction market Kalshi and, if successful, could affect Polymarket’s ability to operate. The suit asks a court to order Polymarket to forfeit money, distribute restitution, and pay fines.
Polymarket launched in the United States in December 2025 as a service that allowed users to bet money on the outcome of sporting events, and has expanded to allow wagers on everything from current events to weather patterns.
As the world’s largest prediction market platform, the service, according to one estimate, is on pace to facilitate more than $70 billion in trading in 2026 — more than triple the volume it handled in 2025.
Polymarket’s global website, registered in Panama, is supposed to be off limits in the U.S., and the U.S.-approved version of the site offers fewer trades than its international platform. But there is evidence that many Americans have managed to access the international site — which offers trading on subjects like war, which is banned in the U.S. — using digital workarounds, like virtual private networks known as VPNs.
James suit claims that Polymarket’s prediction market is an illegal, unlicensed gambling operation that exposes New Yorkers — including those under the legal gambling age of 21 — to serious personal and financial risk. State law prohibits wagering on games involving New York college teams and all sports betting for those under 21.
“Our gambling laws exist to protect New Yorkers, prevent the potential harms of problem gambling, and ensure funding for educational and public benefit programs,” James said in a statement announcing the lawsuit.
Polymarket’s chief legal officer said in a statement that the platform would fight the suit.
“Polymarket was founded in a tiny NYC apartment and now has more than 350 employees here, embodying why people and businesses come here to make it. We believe in New York and we’re staying here,” said chief legal officer Neal Kumar. “While the AG’s decision to copy/paste a recycled lawsuit is disappointing, we’ll fight for our users.”
“Any time the AG’s office wants to swing by, our door is open for a conversation about how we protect consumers and offer fair, transparent and legal markets,” the statement said.
The platform has insisted its event contracts are federally regulated derivatives outside the scope of state gaming laws.
James’ lawsuit, however, said Polymarket’s prediction markets meet the legal definition of gambling because the outcomes of the events on which its users are betting are uncertain and outside the control of the bettor, or hinge on a game of chance.
Despite this, the lawsuit said, Polymarket has failed to obtain a license from the New York State Gaming Commission, allegedly sidestepping its obligation to pay taxes like licensed casinos and mobile sports gambling platforms do.
Multiple lawsuits across the country claim prediction markets like Polymarket and Kalshi fall under state jurisdiction — but if James’ suit is successful, Polymarket could be forced to pay billions of dollars and change the way it operates nationwide.
“By running an unlicensed gambling operation, Polymarket has done more than just knowingly violate state law, they have put New Yorkers at risk, especially those underage who are most vulnerable to problem gaming,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement at the time of the filing of the suit.
