(NEW YORK) — California is getting hammered with rain and flooding, causing dangerous travel conditions as the holiday rush begins.
Rainfall totals could reach 10 inches in some areas.
Significant travel delays and road closures are likely due to flooded roads. Mudslides are also possible.
The storm, which will last from Wednesday to Friday, brought flooding to the Bay Area on Wednesday and is now dumping rain and gusty winds on Southern California.
Santa Barbara and Ventura counties are in the bull’s-eye for the heaviest rain and flooding on Thursday, with the National Weather Service issuing its second-highest flood threat forecast for the counties.
Oxnard in Ventura County recorded about one month’s worth of rain in just 40 minutes on Thursday morning. Some people were rescued from their cars after they became trapped on flooded roads.
By Friday morning, the heavy rain and potential flooding will move into Los Angeles and cities to the south.
The rain will also move into the Phoenix area on Friday. Flash flooding, hail and thunderstorms are possible.
U.S. citizens imprisoned in Venezuela pose for pictures upon arrival at Joint Base San Antonio Kelly Annex in San Antonio, Texas, on Dec. 20, 2023, after being freed amid a prisoner swap deal between the United States and Venezuela. (Suzanne Cordeiro/AFP via Getty Images)
(SAN ANTONIO) — Six of the 10 Americans who were released in the United States prisoner swap with Venezuela landed at an Airforce base in San Antonio, Texas, Wednesday night.
When asked by a pool reporter how it felt to be back on American soil, Savoi Wright quoted Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech.
“Free at last, free at last … Thank God Almighty, free at last,” Wright said to the reporter.
Wright told the pool reporter it “was very emotional,” and that he was extremely grateful to be coming home so soon.
“So much gratitude for the moment, for the United States of America and for the opportunity to come home,” he said.
“To come home so soon, so many people abroad are being held captive … to be able to come back home in a very fast manner, but to come back, to see such warm faces, so much love, I’m just very grateful,” Wright said.
Wright’s family said in a statement that they are “relieved that this ordeal has ended” and “forever grateful” for the efforts to secure his release from his Oct. 24 arrest.
Eyvin Hernandez, who the State Dept. said was “wrongfully detained,” said prison was the “most difficult thing” he had ever been through,
“I am incredibly grateful; I can’t even speak; I am incredibly grateful to be home. To my family, to my friends, to President Biden,” he said.
“Honestly, all you think about in prison is how you didn’t appreciate being free while you were free, there’s no way to understand what it’s like to be in prison unjustly and not have any way out … so it’s been a long time coming,” Hernandez continued.
Hernandez’s family called his release “an early Christmas present” in a statement Wednesday morning.
Hernandez, Jerrel Kenemore and Joseph Cristella were charged with illegally crossing the border into Venezuela from Colombia in 2022. The details surrounding their arrests remain unclear. Even less is known about the circumstances surrounding Wright’s arrest, which occurred in late October. Venezuelan officials have not spoken publicly about the allegations against him.
All six Americans were being transported for medical evaluations.
As part of the deal, the White House said that Venezuela has also allowed notorious fugitive Francis or “Fat Leonard,” the mastermind behind the worst corruption scheme in the history of the U.S. Navy, to be taken into U.S. custody, and that Venezuela will release a high-profile member of the country’s opposition party charged with treason, free another 20 political prisoners as well as suspend arrest warrants for other opponents to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
Maduro’s ally, Alex Saab, is the only Venezuelan released by the U.S. in the exchange. Saab was arrested for money laundering in 2020 and had been awaiting trial.
(NEW YORK) — Federal agents are investigating allegations of racial discrimination after a South Carolina couple was accused of harassing and stalking their Black neighbors.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation said it executed “court-authorized law enforcement activity” at a residence in Conway on Wednesday.
“This action is related to an ongoing criminal civil rights investigation involving allegations of racial discrimination,” Steve Jensen, FBI special agent in charge with the Columbia division, said in a statement.
“We are working jointly with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, as well as our local and state partners, to thoroughly examine this matter, and we’re dedicated to ensuring equality and fairness within our communities,” he said.
No additional details on the ongoing investigation are being released at this time.
The FBI presence was seen at the home of a couple arrested last month for allegedly harassing their next-door neighbors.
The couple — Worden Butler, 28, and Alexis Hartnett, 27, who are both white — allegedly “harassed and stalked the victims with racially motivated words and actions,” according to a police report filed late last month.
Butler allegedly yelled racial slurs at one of the victims “in reference to her being Black,” the police report stated.
Over Thanksgiving weekend, Butler and Hartnett allegedly erected a cross facing the victims’ home and set it on fire, according to the police report. While the victims were being interviewed by responding officers, Hartnett allegedly used a racial slur directed toward the victims and “continued this behavior even after being advised [by] officers to go back inside her home,” according to the report.
“The victims feel that the suspects are a danger to their safety and the incidents are getting more frequent and threatening,” the report stated.
Butler also allegedly shared on Facebook a picture of the victims’ mailbox, which has their address on it, and posted, “summoning the devil’s army and I don’t care if they and I both go down in the same boat,” according to the police report.
Butler and Hartnett were arrested on Nov. 30 and charged with harassment in the second degree, a misdemeanor. Hartnett was also charged with assault in the third degree, a misdemeanor. They both were released the following day.
ABC News could not reach Butler and Hartnett and did not immediately receive a response from their attorney to a message seeking comment.
Horry County Police Department Chief Joseph Hil called the reported incidents “appalling and unacceptable.”
“Such hate and harassment will not be tolerated in Horry County,” Hill said in a statement last week. “The individuals responsible will be held accountable for their actions and the hurt they have caused the victims and the greater Horry County community. In concert with our local and regional partners, we will pursue justice to the fullest extent of the law.”
South Carolina does not have a law allowing extra punishment for hate crimes.
In the wake of the couple’s arrest, organizations including the NAACP and the Council on American-Islamic Relations have called for a hate crime bill in South Carolina.
(NEW YORK) — A Kenosha County Circuit Court dismissed charges against a couple who were forcefully arrested while eating dinner at an Applebee’s in Wisconsin with their 1-year-old child earlier this year.
The couple, Jermelle English, Jr. and Shanya Boyd, were dining with their son on July 20, when the police wrongfully suspected them of fleeing a nearby hit-and-run. The incident was caught on cellphone video.
In the video, obtained by ABC News, Kenosha police can be seen attempting to restrain English, while he still has his baby in his arms. In the viral video, an Applebee’s employee can be heard yelling, “Get the baby,” and “Careful, the baby’s head.”
After an employee successfully grabbed the baby from English, the officers tackled him to the ground and began to hit him several times, pinning him down, according to the video.
According to the original complaint obtained by ABC News, the officer was looking for “an African American male and African American female” with a baby who had “run toward Kohl’s or Menards,” the complaint says. The woman was described as wearing a red shirt with a bun on top of her head.
The officers later found the actual suspects hiding in the bathroom of the Applebee’s.
Despite not being the suspects officers were searching for, English and Boyd were both charged with resisting arrest and disorderly conduct, according to the charging docs. Boyd was also charged with possession of THC.
All charges against the couple were dismissed on Wednesday, court records show.
English was represented by Team Roc attorney Alex Spiro. Team Roc is a social justice organization and division of Roc Nation which is owned by Jay-Z.
In a statement to ABC News, Team Roc managing director Dania Diaz said English was the victim of racial profiling and should have never been charged in the first place.
“The officers’ treatment of Jermelle and his family was unacceptable, unethical and traumatic,” the statement said. “Our hope is that today’s development will allow Jermelle and his family to enjoy the holidays with some peace of mind and begin the process of healing after enduring such an incredibly painful experience.”
After the incident, Kenosha Police launched an internal investigation to determine whether the use of force was excessive.
Kenosha police announced in November both officers were found to have violated protocol. One officer received a four-day suspension and the other officer received a 10-day suspension, the statement said.
“The Kenosha Police Department is committed to providing the highest quality service to its citizens and guests. We strive to train our officers to the highest standard and will hold them accountable if they fall short of those standards,” Kenosha police wrote in a statement.
“In addition to the suspension time, both officers are receiving supplemental training to correct the deficiencies that were identified in their response to this situation,” the statement continued.
(WASHINGTON) — The Lincoln Memorial has been temporarily closed as cleanup crews have begun removing graffiti at the national monument that said “Free Gaza” in red paint, U.S. Park Police confirmed to ABC News.
Police are investigating the vandalism of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., which was first discovered on Wednesday on the west side of the Reflecting Pool and Lincoln Memorial Circle. The memorial has since been temporarily closed to visitors.
The U.S. Park Service told ABC News Wednesday, “National Park Service conservators have begun the process of removing the paint this morning,” adding that the cleanup may require multiple treatments over several days to remove.
The incident is not the first display of vandalism on a landmark in the nation’s capital. In November, demonstrators spray-painted “Free Palestine” on several statutes in Lafayette Square, across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House. That cleanup required specialized processes to remove the paint.
U.S. Park Police are still investigating the latest incident and are asking anyone with information to contact the United States Park Police tip line at (202) 379-4877, or email USPP_tipline@nps.gov.
(NEW YORK) — Two New York lawmakers are pushing to expand a law that prohibits convicts from profiting from their crime to also prevent spouses from profiting after the estranged wife of the Gilgo Beach murder suspect signed a deal with a production company.
New York’s Son of Sam law — named after the 1970s New York City serial killer David Berkowitz, who was known as Son of Sam — seeks to keep convicts from making money off of book and movie deals connected to their crimes.
New York has had the law on its books since 1977, but the U.S. Supreme Court deemed it and similar laws unconstitutional in 1991. The state amended the law in 2001.
Now, New York state Sen. Kevin Thomas and New York state Assemblymember Fred Thiele want to expand the law to cover spouses and other relatives of convicted criminals.
“With the alarming reality of media companies exploiting tragedy for profit, my hope is that victims are given the opportunity to receive the justice and compensation they deserve,” Thomas said. “New York has a long history of blocking people convicted of a crime from benefiting from their illegal activity. My legislation aims to take it a step further to ensure that media deals surrounding a crime are subject to the same transparency and accountability as the perpetrator themselves. No one should be profiting off a crime.”
The proposed legislation is expected to come up for debate in early 2024.
The lawmakers’ proposal comes as Asa Ellerup, the estranged wife of Gilgo Beach murder suspect Rex Heuermann, is under contract with a production company, according to her attorney.
She attended Heuermann’s most recent court appearance with a camera crew following her.
Ellerup filed for divorce six days after Heuermann was arrested in July for the murders of three sex workers.
Heuermann is accused of killing Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Costello, whose bodies were found on Long Island in 2010. He has pleaded not guilty.
Heuermann is also the prime suspect in the death of a fourth woman, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, who vanished in 2007, though he has not been charged in that case. Prosecutors said the investigation into Brainard-Barnes’ murder is ongoing.
(NEW YORK) — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed legislation Tuesday to create a new commission to study reparations and racial justice.
The state commission will be tasked with examining the legacy of slavery, “subsequent discrimination against people of African descent, and the impact these forces continue to have in the present day,” according to Hochul’s office.
The commission will be composed of nine members: three appointed by the governor, three appointed by the speaker of the state Assembly and three appointed by the president of the state Senate.
New York is at least the third state to create a commission to examine the impact of past and ongoing impacts of slavery. California established a task force in 2020 and Illinois established a similar commission.
Several cities have created reparations initiatives of their own, as well, including San Francisco; Evanston, Illinois, and Palm Springs, California.
The New York task force will analyze the history and lasting impacts of slavery in both the state and New York City, including the capture and transport of Africans to the region, the sale and acquisition of slaves, the benefits New York received from such transactions, the treatment of slaves and more, the legislation creating the commission stated.
The commission will also examine the lingering negative effects of slavery and discrimination on the living descendants of slaves and other people of African descent, according to the legislation.
The legislation states that the commission will then submit a written report with findings and recommendations to state leaders one year after the first meeting of the commission, which must take place before mid-June.
According to the New York Historical Society, as many as 20% of colonial New Yorkers were enslaved Africans — one-fifth of the population at the time, Hochul said Tuesday during a press conference in New York City announcing the commission.
“It’s not talked about a lot. That’s a problem,” Hochul said. “Here in New York, there was a slave market where people bought and sold other human beings with callous disregard. It happened right on Wall Street for more than a century. And even though it officially closed when slavery was abolished in New York in 1827, our state still remained a dominant player in the illegal slave trade.”
Three in 10 U.S. adults say descendants of people who were enslaved in the United States should be repaid in some way, while seven in 10 people say these descendants should not be repaid, according to a Pew Research Center survey published in November 2022.
A Pew Research Center survey from 2019 found that 63% of adults surveyed believe slavery still affects the position of Black people in American society today either a great deal or a fair amount.
“Former slaves and their children, and their children, and their children across our nation have been haunted for generations by racism and disenfranchisement,” Hochul said Tuesday. “Millions of people, even though free on a piece of paper, were still trapped by Jim Crow [laws], stripped of their rights, even including the right to participate in our democracy, the right to vote. And others were stalked by death, by men in white robes, the [Ku Klux] Klan and the lynch mob. It didn’t stop in the early days. Redlining, housing discrimination, segregation, economic oppression.”
Studies on the impact of slavery and systemic racism, including one 2020 study in the Delaware Journal of Public Health and a 2022 study in the Sociology of Race and Ethnicity journal, have found the legacy of slavery is evident in the ongoing economic and social inequities faced by Black Americans today.
California’s reparations took into account disparities and discrimination in housing, health care, education and more in its 2023 recommendations for remedies, including investments toward these inequities.
Reparations are often a controversial topic, often accompanied by million- or billion-dollar price tags. However, critics speculate whether the financial option will be feasible, as well as sufficient enough to address racial inequities.
“The truth is, we are all held back when millions of our neighbors struggle to lift their families up generation after generation, struggle to give their kids a good education, quality health care that they deserve, struggle while fighting the indignities of racism,” Hochul said.
(ARLINGTON, Va.) — A federal judge ruled Tuesday to allow a Confederate memorial to be removed from Arlington National Cemetery in northern Virginia after it was halted amid a temporary restraining order submitted by protesting groups.
The removal of the Confederate memorial is congressionally mandated to be removed by Jan. 1, 2024, according to the Army National Military Cemeteries, which is heading the removal procedures at Arlington.
“Plaintiffs have not alleged facts that support the premise that Defendants intend to “destroy” rather than “remove” the Memorial,” said District Judge Rossie D. Alston, Jr. in his opinion. “The parties discussed at oral argument that the Memorial will likely end up reconstituted at another site. Moreover, Plaintiffs had no answer regarding how the deconstruction and removal of the Memorial in the manner planned would result in irreparable harm, given that it appears that the Memorial can be reconstructed at a later time if Plaintiffs ultimately succeed in the claims.”
A congressional commission in 2021 required the removal “of all names, symbols, displays, monuments, and paraphernalia that honor or commemorate the Confederate States of America … or any person who served voluntarily with the Confederate States of America” from all assets of the Department of Defense.
This does not include headstones, markers and burial receptacles buried at the cemeteries, according to the commission’s final report to Congress.
The Reconciliation Monument at the heart of this legal battle is said to offer “a nostalgic, mythologized vision of the Confederacy, including highly sanitized depictions of slavery,” the Arlington National Cemetery states on its website.
Two of the 32 life-sized figures are depictions of African Americans — one is an enslaved woman depicted as the stereotype of a “Mammy” holding an infant of a white officer, while the other is an enslaved man following “his owner to war,” the cemetery states.
The cemetery said the inscription on the monument — “The victorious cause was pleasing to the gods, but the lost cause to Cato” — portrays the South’s succession as a noble “Lost Cause.” This narrative is said to have “denied the horrors of slavery” and “fueled white backlash against Reconstruction” and the rights later granted to African Americans, according to the cemetery.
Protesters against the removal argue that “while racism is real and white supremacist violence is real, the demolition of monuments is not an effective gesture in combating these issues,” one petition against the removal stated.
Groups such as Defend Arlington and Save Southern Heritage Florida have sued to stop the removal of the monument.
U.S. District Judge Beryl A. Howell in D.C. dismissed an initial lawsuit from the groups on Dec. 12, who later also denied the group’s request for an emergency stay against the monument’s removal.
Howell argued that because the Army has made its plans for removal known for three years and that “the ’emergency’ nature of plaintiffs’ request … is one of plaintiffs’ own creation.”
The groups then filed a complaint on Dec. 17 for temporary injunctive relief to halt the removal in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District Of Virginia.
“The removal will desecrate, damage, and likely destroy the Memorial longstanding at ANC as a grave marker and impede the Memorial’s eligibility for listing on the National Register of Historic Places,” read the complaint.
The complaint argued that the government’s “insistence on pressing forward with their removal has and will cause severe damage to the Memorial and the families of its creator and those buried there.”
The cemetery said the surrounding landscape, graves and headstones will be protected amid the removal process.
Alston initially ruled on Monday that the Defense Department and its contractors are temporarily prevented “from taking any acts to deconstruct, tear down, remove, or alter the object of this case — the Confederate Reconciliation Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery and the surrounding gravesites — pending further action of this Court.”
The court later ruled to vacate the temporary restraining order against the monument’s removal and allow the process to move forward.
The Department of Defense declined to comment on the litigation. The monument was initially anticipated to be removed completely by Dec. 22.
(DETROIT) — A Detroit police officer was charged with manslaughter for allegedly punching a 71-year-old man who prosecutors say then fell and hit his head and died from his injuries several weeks later.
Juwan Marquise-Alexander Brown, 29, pleaded not guilty during his arraignment Wednesday morning. Brown said only his name during the hearing, which was conducted over Zoom. The magistrate entered a not guilty plea on his behalf.
The charge stems from an incident that occurred the evening of Sept. 1 while Brown was on duty. He had been dispatched to a Detroit bowling alley following a call that the victim — Daryl Vance, of Detroit — was being “disorderly,” the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office said.
A “verbal confrontation” between Brown and Vance “escalated,” and the officer allegedly punched the victim in the face, causing him to fall and hit his head on the pavement, the prosecutor’s office said.
Emergency responders arrived and transported the victim to a local hospital for treatment, where he died on Sept. 21, the prosecutor’s office said. The Wayne County Medical Examiner determined his death was caused by blunt force trauma to his head from the punch, according to the prosecutor’s office.
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy charged Brown with manslaughter. He faces a 15-year sentence if convicted.
“Police officers frequently deal with citizens who are disorderly and verbally unpleasant. But the evidence in this case shows that the officer allegedly was the aggressor, and his actions went criminally beyond what was necessary in this situation,” Worthy said in a statement. “This behavior cannot be tolerated from our law enforcement.”
The Detroit Police Department said Brown was terminated “as a result of his actions” in the incident though is exercising his contractual right to appeal the decision.
“During the pendency of an appeal, if sought, Mr. Brown will remain off DPD payroll and will not possess any law enforcement authority,” the department said in a statement.
“The DPD will cooperate fully with Prosecutor Worthy’s efforts toward obtaining a conviction for the charged offenses,” the statement continued.
During his arraignment on Wednesday, Brown’s attorney, Matthew Forrest, had asked for a personal bond, arguing that the defendant has no criminal history and has been employed as a Detroit police officer for approximately seven years. He has extensive ties to the Detroit area and a 7-year-old son, Forrest said.
“When we were made aware that charges were filed, we arranged to have Mr. Brown turn himself in to be arraigned today,” Forrest told the court. “He is certainly not a flight risk. He is not a danger to the community. We would ask for a personal bond so that Mr. Brown can go back with his son.”
The state asked for a “reasonable” bond left to the court’s discretion.
Magistrate William Burton ultimately set a $100,000 personal bond and said Brown is not to possess any weapons or have contact with any witnesses or the victim’s family.
A probable cause conference in the case has been scheduled for Jan. 3.
(NEW YORK) — A local news helicopter operated by Philadelphia ABC station WPVI crashed Tuesday night in a wooded area in New Jersey, killing two people on board, the station said.
A pilot and photographer were on board Chopper 6 when it crashed in Washington Township, WPVI reported.
The pilot, 67-year-old Monroe Smith, and the photographer, 45-year-old Christopher Dougherty, were both killed in the crash, WPVI said.
The two were returning from an assignment at the Jersey Shore, WPVI said. The station said they had been members of the news team for years.
The New Jersey State Park Service received reports that the helicopter was missing at 10:50 p.m., said George Fedorczyk, chief of the New Jersey State Park Police. At 12:02 a.m., an officer found a debris field, he said.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy offered his condolences on social media on Wednesday.
