National – Page 683

Up to five feet of lake-effect snow forecast for Buffalo, New York

November 18, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Western New York state is bracing for an “extreme” lake-effect snowstorm that could dump up to 5 feet of snow in the Buffalo region over the coming days.

A state of emergency has been declared for Erie County, which includes Buffalo. A county-wide driving ban is also in effect as of Thursday night, with only those authorized for emergency travel allowed to drive. Officials will reevaluate the driving ban on Friday morning and determine whether it is necessary for the entire county, according to Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz.

A lake-effect snow warning is in effect through 1 a.m. Saturday for southern Erie County.

The long-duration event is expected to bring snow belts to the south of Buffalo and Watertown on Thursday, with “intense bands” of lake-effect snow across the two cities Thursday night, according to the National Weather Service in Buffalo.

Up to 5 feet of snow is possible for the region by Saturday morning. Winds gusting as high as 35 mph are also forecast. Snowfall rates of 2 to 3 inches per hour are possible for the south side of Buffalo Friday morning.

“Travel could be very difficult to impossible,” the National Weather Service in Buffalo warned. “The hazardous conditions will impact the commutes from Thursday morning through Friday evening.”

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul issued a state of emergency in 11 counties due to the storm, with hazardous travel conditions and lower power outages likely.

“This is considered an extreme event,” Hochul said during a press briefing Thursday morning. “That means it’s dangerous. That also means it’s life-threatening.”

Hochul said that conditions in Buffalo and other parts of western New York will be “very similar to 2014,” when the region saw upwards of 5 feet of snow during a deadly storm.

More than 350 plows, 5,700 utility crews and the National Guard have been deployed and are standing by, she said. Parts of the New York State Thruway will also be closed to commercial traffic starting at 4 p.m. Thursday.

“This can go on for a number of days,” Hochul said. “The cleanup is going to take some time.”

Schools in the region are preparing for closures on Friday due to the storm, including in Buffalo.

Erie County’s executive advised private businesses to close on Friday if the forecast holds.

“We are gonna have a doozy,” Poloncarz said during a press briefing on Wednesday.

The city of Buffalo has brought in private contractors to handle the snow in addition to state support, according to Mayor Byron Brown.

“This is not the normal snow event that we get, so the public has to be patient,” Brown told reporters. “This is a major snowstorm.”

Sunday’s game between the Buffalo Bills and Cleveland Browns has been moved to Detroit due to the weather forecast, the NFL announced Thursday. The game was initially scheduled to be played at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York.

Lake-effect snow is common in the late fall and early winter along the downwind shores of the Great Lakes, which is caused by cold air flowing over the warmer waters of the Great Lakes.

In November 2014, more than 5 feet of lake-effect snow fell just east of Buffalo, in what was one of the most significant winter events in the city’s history, according to the National Weather Service. There were 13 fatalities due to the storm. A second lake-effect event days later dropped another 1 to 4 feet of snow in the same area, bringing the total from the two storms to nearly 7 feet.

Outside of New York, lake-effect snow is forecast in Erie, Pennsylvania, and northeast of Cleveland, Ohio.

ABC News’ Kenton Gewecke, Max Golembo, Victoria Arancio and Brian Hartman contributed to this report.

Footage of Black man’s beating in custody draws outrage, state investigation

November 18, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(CAMDEN COUNTY, Ga.) — Security footage that shows a group of police officers in Georgia beating a 41-year-old Black man in custody has drawn community outrage. Civil rights attorney Harry Daniels said the incident is yet another case of wrongdoing by Georgia’s Camden County Sheriff’s Office.

The footage from the sheriff’s office of the Sept. 3 incident was released by Daniels. It shows Jarrett Hobbs standing in a holding cell when an officer enters, seemingly grabbing Hobbs by the neck. Four more officers come in, one of whom begins to punch Hobbs in the back of the neck before other officers join in the attack.

Hobbs, a resident of North Carolina, had been detained earlier that day for allegedly speeding, driving with a suspended driver’s license and possession of a controlled substance. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation announced Wednesday it would begin an independent investigation of the “use of force incident” at the request of Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney Keith Higgins.

Daniels and co-counsel Bakari Sellers announced in August a $25 million lawsuit against Camden County deputies and Sheriff Jim Proctor over the shooting death of 37-year-old Latoya James while executing a drug-related search warrant in her home in May 2021. The district attorney’s office decided not to charge the deputies involved in that shooting, according to ABC affiliate station WJXX in Jacksonville.

“While any loss of life is always tragic, the officers’ use of force in this instance was justified to protect their lives,” Higgins said in a statement in April on the James case.

“This is not a bad apple, this is a bad apple orchard,” Daniels said at a press conference Wednesday.

Hobbs’ two sisters and Camden County NAACP President Timothy Bessent, Sr. also attended the press conference. While the sisters declined to comment, Bessent, Sr. spoke on the local NAACP’s ongoing efforts to mend community-police relations over the past two years.

“We like to say the NAACP of Camden County believes in the rule of law. We want to support the law enforcement officers and treat everyone with dignity that humans deserve,” he said. “The beating of Jarrett Hobbs and other incidents that have come to light show how far the sheriff’s office still have to go.”

Daniels, Sellers, community members, and Hobbs’ family are now calling for the immediate arrest and termination of the officers involved.

“There was absolutely no reasoning, no justification, no cause, no debatable issue, no legal justification to go in that cell with a man sitting there and pummel him,” Sellers said at the conference. “[What] they did to him was a criminal act.”

According to a statement from Daniels, Hobbs had been “suffering a psychological episode” and had asked to be placed in protective confinement on the day of the incident.

According to Daniels, Hobbs suffered injuries including a chipped tooth and swelling and one of his dreadlocks was also pulled out of his head during the altercation. He says that though Hobbs complained immediately afterwards, he did not receive medical attention and was put in solitary confinement for about two weeks.

It is unclear whether any particular event prompted the incident, but Hobbs was later charged with assault and battery against a police officer.

Hobbs bonded out on all charges and was released from Camden County custody on Sept. 30, court records show. He is now in custody in North Carolina for violating his probation due to his Georgia arrest.

Camden County Sheriff Jim Proctor has ordered an internal investigation, according to a statement from the sheriff’s office Monday, more than two months after the incident occurred.

“These investigations limit what can be stated but, I can say that the five employees have been placed on administrative duties that are not in any way associated with law enforcement duties,” Camden County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Larry Bruce said in a statement to ABC News Thursday. “This was done so the investigators have immediate access to these individuals during the conducting of the inquiry.”

The sheriff’s office said it will not release the names of the deputies involved until the investigation concludes.

Other roommates home when four Idaho college students were stabbed to death

November 17, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Emily Shapiro, ABC News

(MOSCOW, Idaho) — No persons of interest or suspects have been identified in the fatal stabbings of four University of Idaho students who were found dead in a house near the Moscow, Idaho, campus, police said.

No one has been cleared in the case, either, Idaho State Police spokesman Aaron Snell told ABC News on Thursday.

The students, who were killed early Sunday morning and found hours later, were identified as Ethan Chapin, 20, of Conway, Washington; Madison Mogen, 21, of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho; Xana Kernodle, 20, of Avondale, Arizona; and Kaylee Goncalves, 21, of Rathdrum, Idaho.

Two other roommates were home at the time of the crime, and they were not hurt, Moscow Police Chief James Fry said during a news conference Wednesday. It was not a hostage situation, he added.

It’s believed the victims were killed between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. Sunday, Moscow Mayor Art Bettge told ABC News. The roommates were home when police responded to a call for an unconscious individual at the home about eight hours later, Fry said. The roommates were not the 911 callers, according to Snell.

Snell said the two surviving female roommates — who have not been ruled “in or out at suspects” — are “working and talking with detectives, and they have been cooperative — very cooperative.”

“Potentially they are witnesses, potentially they are victims,” Snell said, adding that the roommates could be “the key to this whole thing.”

Fry said the four victims were killed with a knife in “an isolated, targeted attack”.

Snell did not reveal what type of knife was used in the killings but said authorities are going to local businesses to see if anyone recently purchased a fixed-blade knife.

Snell described it as “a very complex and in-depth investigation.”

As for having no suspects or persons of interest nearly a week later, Snell said, “It’s very frustrating … we would have loved to have solved this [immediately.]”

Police said they are working to determine the victims’ timeline Saturday night.

Chapin and Kernodle were at a party on campus while Goncalves and Mogen were at a downtown bar that night, Fry said.

Chapin didn’t live in the house but was sleeping over with his girlfriend, Kernodle, according to his mother, Stacy Chapin.

Goncalves and Mogen had been best friends since childhood and “did everything together,” Goncalves’ sister, Alivia Goncalves, told ABC News.

She said she finds some solace that the friends were together in their final moments.

Autopsies from the Latah County Coroner found all of the victims were stabbed to death in a homicide.

Although Fry described the attack as “targeted,” he said, “We cannot say there is no threat to the community.”

He urged anyone with information about the victims’ whereabouts Saturday night to call the tip line at 208-883-7180.

As police canvass for information, a direct neighbor of the victims’ house told ABC News he has not been interviewed by police.

“If anybody does have information, we encourage them to contact us,” Snell said.

Former FBI agent and ABC News contributor Brad Garrett thinks the surviving roommates are the “key” in the investigation, but he doesn’t think they are suspects.

“It’s a small town. The likelihood that they know who that person was in the house, I think, is reasonable,” Garrett said Thursday morning.

In terms of the investigation, Garrett said, “police appear to be stymied based on their own comments.”

For police, Garrett said the next steps are: “You really are going to have to do a complete detail of the party that was prior to whatever was going on between 3 and 4 o’clock at the victim’s house. … Who followed them home? Who has been taking whom? Who have had issues with people? This killer didn’t all of a sudden show up at this house — he knew this house.”

ABC News’ Kayna Whitworth contributed to this report.

Former Trump Organization CFO testifies that decision to skirt taxes was his alone

November 17, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Former Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg testified Thursday that it was his decision alone to commit tax fraud by paying no taxes on the fringe benefits he received from the Trump Organization.

Weisselberg, who in August pleaded guilty to skirting nearly $2 million in income taxes, is testifying as part of a plea deal with the Manhattan District Attorney’s office in the trial of former President Donald Trump’s namesake real estate company on tax fraud charges.

The Trump Organization is accused of paying the rent on Weisselberg’s Manhattan apartment, the leases on cars for himself and his wife, garage expenses, tuition for his grandchildren, furniture for his house in Florida, and other personal expenses — all without the required taxes being paid.

“You were entrusted to account for these things properly,” the company’s defense attorney, Alan Futerfas, asked Weisselberg. “No one gave you permission to commit tax fraud?”

“Correct,” Weisselberg replied.

“And your decision not to pay taxes was solely to benefit Allen Weisselberg?” Futerfas asked.

“Correct,” Weisselberg answered.

“Were you aware, aside from you, of anyone else knowing you failed to report the value of these rental payments on your tax returns?” asked Futerfas.

“No,” replied Weisselberg.

“This decision not to report was yours and solely to benefit you?” Futerfas asked.

“That’s correct,” Weisselberg answered.

Prosecutors believe Weisselberg’s conduct implicates the company because his position as chief financial officer meant he was entrusted to act on the Trump Organization’s behalf.

One day in 2012, Weisselberg testified, Trump was in his office on the 26th floor of Trump Tower with Weisselberg when Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr. walked in with checks to sign for Weisselberg’s children’s school tuition.

Weisselberg said that Trump chuckled, turned to Weisselberg, and said, “I may as well pay for your grandkids too.”

Trump began signing three checks per year for each of Weisselberg’s two grandchildren to attend Columbia Grammar School at a total annual cost of about $100,000, Weisselberg said. The jury saw images of some of the checks.

“I said, ‘I’m going to pay you back for this,'” Weisselberg testified.

Weisselberg said he paid back Trump by instructing company controller Jeff McConney to reduce his salary and bonus by the same amount as the tuition payments and his rent, car leases and other personal expenses the Trump Organization was paying. In 2015, that amount was more than $195,395, according to a spreadsheet displayed for the jury.

“I paid back the entity that paid my salary,” said Weisselberg.

“You didn’t tell Mr. Trump you were reducing your compensation, did you?” Futerfas asked.

“I never did,” Weisselberg responded.

By reducing his salary, prosecutor Susan Hoffinger said the company benefited because it was able to save on payroll taxes.

“Did you know the Trump Payroll Corporation was falsifying your W2?” Hoffinger asked.

“I knew my payroll reporting was incorrect, yes,” replied Weisselberg, who conceded that the practice saved the company money.

Weisselberg testified that the company stopped paying personal expenses for him and other executives in 2017 as part of a “cleanup process” when Donald Trump was elected president.

Prosecutors have suggested that the company knew the practice was wrong but allowed it to continue until Trump’s campaign and presidency brought new scrutiny.

“We were going through an entire cleanup process of the company to make sure that since Mr. Trump is now president that everything was being done properly,” Weisselberg said.

Once the Trump Organization stopped paying his rent, his car leases, his grandchildren’s tuition and other personal expenses, Weisselberg said he asked for a $200,000 raise to cover the costs.

Weisselberg said he is still being paid $640,000 a year and is expecting a $500,000 bonus at the end of the year despite pleading guilty to 15 criminal charges and no longer working in the office as chief financial officer, according to his testimony.

“This was about saving you money?” Futerfas asked Weisselberg about the perks he received.

“It was my own personal greed that led to this, yes,” Weisselberg responded.

“Did you conspire with any member of the Trump family?” asked Futerfas.

“No,” replied Weisselberg.

“Do you believe the owners of the company relied on you to do the right thing?” Futerfas asked.

“Yes,” Weisselberg answered.

“Did you honor the trust that was placed in you?” Futerfas asked.

“I did not,” Weisselberg replied. He appeared to get emotional as the cross-examination pressed on.

“Are you embarrassed about what you did?” asked Futerfas.

“More than you can imagine,” Weisselberg replied.

ICE detainees at one facility appear to have undergone ‘excessive’ gynecological procedures: Senate report

November 17, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Salwan Georges/The Washington Post via Getty Images

(WASHINGTON) — Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees appear to have undergone “excessive, invasive, and often unnecessary gynecological procedures,” at one of their privately managed facilities according to a Senate report released this week.

Whistleblower and advocacy groups lodged complaints in 2021 into the Irwin County Detention Center in Georgia, which is managed by LaSalle Southeast, alleging that a doctor was giving unnecessary hysterectomies on ICDC detainees.

The Senate committee did not disprove the whistleblower allegation, but said the doctor in charge of the facility, Dr. Mahendra Amin who holds no board certifications, was a “clear outlier” with regard to the number of procedures performed and the type of procedures he performed.

“ICDC housed roughly 4% of female ICE detainees nationwide from 2017 to 2020. Dr. Amin accounted for roughly 6.5% of total OB-GYN visits among all ICE detainees in the same time period,” the report says. “However, he performed nearly one-third of certain OB-GYN procedures on ICE detainees across the country between 2017 and 2020 and more than 90% of some key procedures.”

Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., the chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations — the committee that produced the report — decried the findings.

“This is an extraordinarily disturbing finding, and in my view represents a catastrophic failure to respect basic human rights,” he said in a statement.

An independent doctor whom the committee had look at Dr. Amin’s procedures, found he had “poor performance” on basic OB-GYN treatments and did not “follow the current recommendations regarding pap smears mangement.”

The 108-page report says Dr. Amin is under criminal investigation and soon after ICE discovered these treatments they moved all detainees from the facility.

The committee also found that there were “failures” to secure informed consent of detainees at offsite medical procedures performed on them.

“Anyone held in the custody of the U.S. government should receive proper medical care,” the report says. “The Subcommittee’s investigation into ICDC found that was not always the case for the female ICE detainees at that facility. Additionally, for years, deficiencies in detainee medical care that were identified by multiple DHS oversight components went unaddressed.”

At a hearing on Wednesday, the head of ICE’s medical treatment said because ICE terminated the contract with the Irwin County Detention Center, the recommendations of the report couldn’t be fully implemented.

Wrong-way driver arrested after crashing into 25 police recruits out for a run

November 17, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(LOS ANGELES) — A man driving the wrong way who plowed into dozens of police recruits who were out for a run in Los Angeles early Wednesday has now been arrested, officials said.

The driver, 22-year-old Nicholas Gutierrez, has been arrested for suspicion of attempted murder on a peace officer, the sheriff’s department said on Thursday.

About 75 recruits were on the run with 25 of them suffering injuries in the crash. The group was mostly Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department recruits, but also included others from nearby police departments, including Pasadena and Glendale.

“It looked like an airplane wreck, there were so many bodies scattered everywhere,” LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said at a news conference Wednesday.

Five of the recruits were critically hurt, four suffered moderate injuries and 16 have minor injuries, officials said at a news conference.

Injuries included head trauma, loss of limb and broken bones, officials said. At least one victim was on a ventilator, the sheriff said.

Gutierrez suffered minor injuries, Los Angeles County Fire Capt. Sheila Kelliher said Wednesday.

The cause of the crash is unknown. The California Highway Patrol said it’ll investigate whether the crash was intentional or the result of distracted driving or driving under the influence.

Villanueva said Gutierrez blew a 0.0 on a Breathalyzer test.

“It looks like it’s an accident, a horrific accident,” Villanueva said.

The recruits were running on a routine route at the time of the crash, which took place around 6:29 a.m. Wednesday, while it was still dark out, officials said.

“Road guards” wearing reflective vests ran on the outside of the recruits, officials said.

The sheriff’s office also had two patrol cars escorting the runners.

The accident took place just outside of a fire station, so firefighters immediately raced to the scene, officials said.

Some recruits estimated the car was going about 30 mph, officials said.

“It is hard to see, because these young people are getting ready to go put themselves in the line of danger in their career. And who knows that while you’re training to do that you are actually in harm’s way,” Kelliher said at a news conference. “So my heart goes out to all of them as they pursue this career. I hope that they all have speedy recoveries.”

Up to 5 feet of lake-effect snow forecast for Buffalo, New York

November 17, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Western New York is bracing for an “extreme” lake-effect snowstorm that could dump up to 5 feet of snow in the Buffalo region over the coming days.

A lake-effect snow warning is in effect through 1 a.m. Saturday for southern Erie County.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul issued a state of emergency in 11 counties due to the storm, with hazardous travel conditions and lower power outages likely.

“This is considered an extreme event,” Hochul said during a press briefing Thursday morning. “That means it’s dangerous. That also means it’s life-threatening.”

Hochul said that conditions in Buffalo and other parts of western New York will be “very similar to 2014,” when the region saw upwards of 5 feet of snow during a deadly storm.

“This can go on for a number of days,” Hochul said. “The cleanup is going to take some time.”

Schools in the region are preparing for closures on Friday due to the storm, including in Buffalo.

Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz advised private businesses to close on Friday if the forecast holds.

“We are gonna have a doozy,” he said during a press briefing on Wednesday.

The city of Buffalo has brought in private contractors to handle the snow in addition to state support, according to Mayor Byron Brown.

“This is not the normal snow event that we get, so the public has to be patient,” Brown told reporters. “This is a major snowstorm.”

Lake-effect snow is common in the late fall and early winter along the downwind shores of the Great Lakes, which is caused by cold air flowing over the warmer waters of the Great Lakes.

Outside of New York, lake-effect snow is forecast in Erie, Pennsylvania, and northeast of Cleveland, Ohio.

ABC News’ Kenton Gewecke, Max Golembo, Victoria Arancio and Brian Hartman contributed to this report.

Hundreds of Pennsylvania homes evacuated after tanker crash spills thousands of gallons of fuel

November 17, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(BETHLEHEM, Pa.) — Hundreds of homes in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, are being evacuated after a gasoline tanker carrying about 6,000 gallons of gasoline and diesel fuel overturned early Thursday, according to police.

Police evacuated residences within a 1,000 foot radius of the overturned truck through reverse 911 calls and officers going door-to-door. The truck driver was transported to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries, according to police.

The Bethlehem Fire Department, Lehigh County Haz-Mat Team, Rapid Response, Department of Environmental Protection, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, City of Bethlehem Water and Sewer and other agencies are on the scene determining the extent of the spill, assisting with clean up and determining what residences are safe to return to, according to police.

Police said the events leading up to the accident are still under investigation. Clean up will continue throughout the day.

Police have closed off W. Union Boulevard between Pennsylvania Avenue and Beverly Avenue and told residents to avoid the area if possible.

The American Red Cross Greater Pennsylvania Region confirmed they are responding to a “significant fuel oil spill affecting hundreds of homes” in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

“At the request of Northampton EMA, we are responding to the area of Paul Ave & West Union Blvd in Bethlehem (PA) following a significant fuel oil spill affecting hundreds of homes,” the American Red Cross said in a tweet regarding the incident on social media. “Currently, we are providing canteen services to responders, mobilizing shelter teams to support the evacuation site, and coordinating with local officials to determine community needs and next steps. This response (& spill) is still active.”

A local middle school campus is being used as a shelter for displaced families and are operating on a two-hour delay to opening as a result.

“Due to a fuel spill on the west side of Bethlehem, our school is being used as a shelter for displaced families,” according to a statement posted on the Bethlehem Area School District’s website. “We will delay the opening of school for two hours to ensure that our building is ready to function normally for students and staff while also serving our community’s needs.”

ABC News’ Ahmad Hemingway and Alexandra Faul contributed to this report.

US Customs and Border Protection agents shot approaching suspected smuggling boat off Puerto Rico

November 17, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(CABO ROJO, Puerto Rico) — Three federal marine agents with U.S. Customs and Border Protection were shot at after they approached a suspected smuggling boat off the coast of Puerto Rico Thursday morning, officials said.

The agents returned fire at the suspected smuggling vessel, which was about 14 miles off the coast of Cabo Rojo, according to a statement from Customs and Border Protection.

The agents “suffered various gunshot injuries” and were airlifted to the Puerto Rico Trauma Center in unknown conditions, according to the statement.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said at a congressional hearing Thursday that one member of CBP’s Air and Marine operation was “gravely injured” and four others were shot at during the situation in Puerto Rico. He said he was briefed on the shooting early Thursday morning.

“The difficulty of this job cannot be compared to the difficulty that our front-line personnel face every day,” he said, alluding to his own role.

ABC News’ Luke Barr contributed to this report.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Hundreds of homes evacuated after gasoline tanker crash

November 17, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(BETHLEHEM, Pa.) — Hundreds of homes are being evacuated and the American Red Cross is responding after a gasoline tanker overturned early Thursday morning spilling thousands of gallons of fuel.

The American Red Cross Greater Pennsylvania Region confirms they are responding to a “significant fuel oil spill affecting hundreds of homes” in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

A local middle school campus is being used as a shelter for displaced families and are operating on a two-hour delay to opening as a result.

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