(NEW YORK) — Giant hail has fallen in parts of Texas on Thursday as severe weather — including at least one confirmed tornado — hits the state.
The National Weather Service Fort Worth warned residents to watch out for tennis ball-sized and golf ball-sized hail amid a severe thunderstorm warning Thursday afternoon.
“Damaging wind gusts, large hail, and a few tornadoes cannot be ruled out through the evening,” National Weather Service Fort Worth tweeted.
A confirmed tornado was located over Fort Worth at 4:23 p.m. CDT, moving east at 30 mph.
Following the confirmed sighting, a tornado warning was issued for northwestern Dallas County Thursday evening, as a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado moved toward the area.
A tornado watch is also in effect for parts of Texas and Oklahoma through 8 p.m. CDT Thursday.
As images of mandarin-sized hail stones cropped up on social media, the National Weather Service Fort Worth advised those looking to report them to wait until the hail stops falling before going out to find and measure the largest ones.
(NEW YORK) — During a thorough investigation into her husband’s murder, police repeatedly heard Nikki Entzel’s ever-changing story about what happened to her husband, often contradicting the evidence they had collected.
“20/20” was granted exclusive access to a one-on-one conversation with the woman recently convicted of conspiring to kill her husband, Chad Entzel, to ask her about details from the case. During the interview, Entzel maintained her innocence.
A new 20/20 episode titled, “The Last Strike,” set to premiere Friday, March 17, at 9 p.m. ET and streaming on Hulu the next day, will explore the case.
“Do I eventually want to figure out what happened? Yes. I wish I had every resource in the world to figure out what really happened? Yes, I do,” Nikki Entzel told ABC News’ John Quiñones. “Do I have every resource in the world to figure out what happened? No. Nobody does.”
On the evening of January 2, 2020, authorities were alerted to a report of a fire at the home of Chad and Nikki Sue Entzel.
When the fire department reached the Entzel household that fateful day, they were met by more than just a smoky home – they found Chad Entzel himself, dead in the bedroom.
Friends and family remembered Chad Entzel as an avid bowler, darts player, and stock car racer, and they said Nikki Entzel enjoyed owning a baking business. They lived with Nikki Entzel’s two sons from previous relationships on the quiet outskirts of Bismarck, North Dakota.
For a time, authorities couldn’t quite put their finger on how Chad Entzel had died. After finding two gunshot wounds and traces of fire accelerant, they concluded foul play was involved.
An in-depth investigation led to the trial and conviction of his wife – and another person, Earl Howard, a married man from Canada with whom she had recently started an affair, police said. Authorities theorized they hoped to abscond with the insurance money and move to Texas together.
Howard ended up pleading guilty to various charges, including conspiracy to commit murder and arson. In making the plea deal, prosecutors agreed to drop a murder charge. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison in February 2022.
Nikki Entzel, however, faced a trial. She was convicted in October 2022 of conspiracy to commit arson, conspiracy to commit murder, and conspiracy to tamper with physical evidence, and in February 2023, she was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole.
Authorities were unable to determine which of the two defendants shot Chad Entzel.
When asked if Howard pulled the trigger, Nikki Entzel told Quiñones she “wasn’t there” and “can’t say that for one hundred percent.” Howard denied to authorities that he pulled the trigger.
Nikki Entzel claimed to Quiñones that she was out on a walk when the trigger was pulled – in the middle of the night – at a hotel across town, in freezing temperatures. Nikki Entzel said she left for a walk from the hotel room around 1 a.m., and “did not stop continuously stepping until 2:42 AM.”
However, when police questioned Nikki Entzel in the days after Chad Entzel’s murder, she offered an entirely different scenario. Nikki Entzel told police in early 2020 that she was at the house and heard gunshots on the night of the murder.
Nikki Entzel acknowledged in her interview with ABC News that her various alibis over the last two years don’t always align.
“My story changes so many different times,” she said, “that none of them are really consistent.”
Julie Lawyer, the Burleigh County State’s Attorney who prosecuted the Entzel case, described to ABC News Nikki Entzel’s various stories throughout the investigation.
“There was no telling [the investigators] what they wanted to hear,” Lawyer said. “It was telling them what she thought she could get away with.”
Aaron Silbernagel, former Sergeant with the Burleigh County Sheriff’s Department, described his method of breaking down Nikki Entzel’s many stories.
“I didn’t correct her on them always,” Silbernagel told ABC News. “I would just keep pointing out that I know more, and then have her explain it.”
Among her denials was Nikki Entzel’s characterization of her relationship with Howard. Authorities said they had clear evidence that Entzel lied in her interrogations about their relationship. Investigators discovered surveillance video that showed Nikki Entzel and Howard kissing publicly before leaving a local Walmart, days before the murder was committed.
When ABC News asked about this romantic entanglement, Entzel denied it and claimed Howard was “not my type.”
“I didn’t see no kiss given at all,” she initially told ABC News, though she later seemed to concede in the same interview that a kiss could have happened. “I don’t know, he leaned down, I leaned up,” Nikki Entzel said. “Have I kissed many friends on the cheek? Have I kissed my kids on the cheek? Have I kissed exes on the cheek? Yeah.”
“20/20” also acquired never-before-seen footage of Howard speaking with investigators, where he told authorities his version of events.
Howard is seen in the video claiming that he did have a romantic relationship with Nikki Entzel.
“I took a trip to Minnesota,” Howard said, “and she met me in Minneapolis. We went to the Mall of America. And that’s where the affair started.”
Howard claimed to authorities that Nikki Entzel went into the house and shot her husband, but that he later offered to “take care of it” for her by burning evidence.
Nikki Entzel’s attorney, Thomas Glass, has filed the initial paperwork to start the appeals process.
(DICKSON, N.D.) — A pet monkey was shot in Oklahoma this week after it escaped its owners and attacked a woman, ripping off part of her ear, police said.
Brittany Parker told local reporters she was sitting on her couch on March 12 when she saw the primate on her front porch. At first, the monkey was pacing up and down but then started jumping off the railing into her screen door, she said.
The money tried to get in and tried to rip off the door handle, so Parker said she called 911.
When officers and animal control officials arrived at the scene the monkey jumped on the control vehicle and then back on the porch where Parker and her son were standing, the Dickson Police Department said.
The monkey then crawled up Parker’s back, police said.
“[The monkey] yanked out multiple wads of hair and then ripped my ear in half,” Parker told local affiliate KTEN.
The primate fled into nearby woods while Parker was transported to the hospital, police said.
Officers were able to locate and speak with the monkey’s owners who went out to search for the primate, however, they were unsuccessful in finding it, according to police.
One of Parker’s family members found the monkey later in the day around her home and shot it, police said.
The animal’s remains were sent for testing, according to investigators.
It is legal for Oklahoma residents to own primates without a special permit or license, with the exception of chimpanzees and great apes, according to state law.
Parker, who was still recovering from the attack, said she is concerned about the safety of the neighborhood.
“I think there needs to be some law that is passed where you have training as well as a certificate to even hold these types of animals,” she said.
(LOS ANGELES) — Thousands of Los Angeles public school employees are poised to go on a three-day strike next week amid stalled union negotiations.
SEIU Local 99 — which represents approximately 30,000 cafeteria workers, bus drivers, custodians, special education assistants and other employees in the Los Angeles Unified School District — announced on Wednesday it will lead a three-day strike from March 21 through March 23 to “protest the school district’s unfair practices.”
United Teachers Los Angeles, which represents more than 30,000 teachers at LAUSD, has also announced it will honor the strike and not cross the picket lines — which could mean no classroom instruction, school officials said.
Workers have been in contract negotiations with LAUSD for nearly a year, according to SEIU Local 99, which has been seeking wage increases, increased staffing for student services and more full-time work. Last month, 96% of its members voted to authorize a strike over the district’s alleged harassment and threats against those engaging in union activities, it said.
“As LAUSD parents and workers, SEIU Local 99 members know a strike will be a sacrifice but the school district has pushed workers to take this action,” Max Arias, SEIU Local 99’s executive director, said in a statement. “Families have been sacrificing for far too long on poverty wages. Students have been sacrificing for too long in school environments that are not clean, safe or supportive for all. Too many workers have been subjected to harassment simply for demanding change.”
The average yearly salary of LAUSD school workers is $25,000, with most working part-time hours, “making it difficult to retain and recruit sufficient staff for student services,” according to the union.
The district — the second-largest in the country — said it has offered the union a 5% wage increase and 4% one-time bonus for the current school year, as well as a 5% wage increase and a 5% one-time bonus for 2023-2024, for all bargaining unit members, as well as pay increases for some workers. The district said it has also “proposed class size reductions in all schools with further reductions and increased staffing in our highest needs schools.”
LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvalho charged in a statement Wednesday that the union is “simply refusing to negotiate.”
“With a historic offer on the table that was created in direct response to SEIU’s demands, and with additional resources still to be negotiated, it is deeply surprising and disappointing that there is an unwillingness to do so,” Carvalho said in a statement.
Carvalho also apologized to families and students and said they are “doing everything possible to avoid a strike.”
The next negotiation session is Friday, the district said.
(NEW YORK) — Meteorologists are predicting flood threats for a large portion of the U.S. this spring.
About 44% of the U.S. is at risk for flooding, Ed Clark, director of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Water Center, told reporters on Thursday.
There is a risk of flooding in most of the eastern half of the U.S. including most of the Mississippi River Basin, NOAA said. In the West, the historic snowpack along the Sierra Nevada mountain range, combined with elevated soil moisture, is heightening the potential for spring floods across much of California’s coast.
The snow melt will bring much-needed water to California and the Great Basin. The reservoirs that depend on the Colorado River, such as Lake Powell and Lake Mead, are currently at record low water levels following years of drought.
Climate change is driving both wet and dry extremes, NOAA administrator Rick Spinrad said.
Moderate to exceptional drought coverage across the U.S. is at its lowest since August 2020 and is likely to continue improving, or end entirely, across much of California and the Great Basin due to the heavy influx of moisture in recent months.
Extreme to exceptional drought across parts of the southern High Plains will likely to persist through the spring season, with droughts also expected to develop into parts of New Mexico. Across parts of the Northwest U.S. and northern Rockies, drought conditions are also expected to continue. Droughts may develop in Washington state.
The spring wet season is expected to improve drought conditions across parts of the northern and central Plains, while current drought conditions in Florida are expected to improve or be alleviated during the next three months.
Above-average temperatures are likely for much of the southern and eastern half of the U.S. this spring, forecasts show.
For April through June, the greatest chance for above-average temperatures exists from the southern High Plains and northward along the East Coast.
Above-average temperatures are also likely for Hawaii and northern parts of Alaska.
Below-average temperatures are predicted for the central Great Basin and the northern Plains.
NOAA forecasters predict above-average precipitation this spring across the Great Lakes, Ohio Valley and into parts of the mid-Atlantic and Northeast. Below-average precipitation is most likely for the Southwest and parts of the Pacific Northwest.
(JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla.) — A second person has been arrested and charged in the murder of Jared Bridegan, a former Microsoft executive who was shot and killed in the middle of a Jacksonville Beach street last year in what authorities described as a targeted ambush.
Mario Fernandez Saldana, the husband of Bridegan’s ex-wife, was arrested Wednesday in central Florida without incident, authorities announced at a press conference. He has since been indicted by a grand jury on multiple charges, including first-degree murder, a capital felony.
State Attorney Melissa Nelson declined to reveal the motive behind Fernandez Saldana’s alleged involvement, saying she was limited in what she could share due to the ongoing investigation. She did confirm that he was the former landlord of Henry Tenon, the man arrested in January for allegedly pulling the trigger.
Nelson said that relationship was the “single link” tying Tenon to Bridegan.
Fernandez Saldana was also charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, solicitation to commit a capital felony and child abuse. He will be extradited to Duval County.
Authorities pledged to continue investigating the murder but did not say if there are additional suspects.
Bridegan, 33, was driving with his then-2-year-old daughter in Jacksonville Beach on Feb. 16, 2022, when he came upon a tire blocking his path, police said. When he stepped out of the car he was “gunned down in cold blood,” Jacksonville Beach Police Chief Gene Paul Smith said.
Seven Henrico County Sheriff’s deputies have been arrested and charged with second-degree murder in connection to the death of Irvo Otieno, who died in Central State Hospital in Dinwiddie, Va., while in police custody. From top left, Bradley Disse, Dwayne Bramble, Jermaine Branch, Randy Boyer; bottom from left, Tabitha Levere, Brandon Rodgers, Kaiyell Sanders. — Meherrin River Regional Jail
(DINWIDDIE COUNTY, Va.) — Irvo Otieno, a 28-year-old man who died in police custody earlier this month, was held down by seven Virginia sheriff’s deputies for 12 minutes, according to Ann Cabell Baskervill, the Commonwealth Attorney for Dinwiddie County, who described the “cruel” incident Thursday during a court hearing.
Cabell Baskervill described the incident as “a demonstration of power that is unlawful” and “it killed him.”
“There was no legitimate purpose for putting him down on the ground other than revenge, frustration or demonstration of power,” Cabell Baskervill said. “What it seems is [it’s] this demonstration of power that killed him.”
Cabell Baskervill said the preliminary cause of death was asphyxiation by smothering, his death was not reported for 3 1/2 hours and at no point during that incident was 911 alerted. Between Otieno’s death and the call made to state police about the incident, Otieno’s body was moved, handcuffs were removed and washed and a funeral home had been called instead of the medical examiner’s office, the commonwealth’s attorney said in court.
All seven sheriff’s deputies, from Henrico County, Virginia, have been arrested and charged with second-degree murder in the death of Otieno.
Cabell Baskervill said that the brutal incident began in the Henrico County Jail, where Otieno, during his four-day stay, was punched by officers in his side and torso. She alleged at one point he was pepper-sprayed while he sat in his cell alone.
Otieno was then handcuffed and his legs were restrained with leg irons, which was the case until his death, according to Cabell Baskervill. From Henrico County Jail, he was transported to Central State Hospital, a state-run inpatient psychiatric facility located in Dinwiddie County, Virginia, on March 6. The officers allegedly used lights and sirens to transport him even though there was no apparent emergency relating to his transport.
Otieno arrived at the Central State Hospital at 3:58 p.m. to be admitted as a patient. During the admission, “State Police investigators were told he had become combative during the admission process,” according to a statement released by Cabell Baskervill.
Cabell Baskervill alleged that none of the seven deputies “made truthful statements to the State Police either that night or yesterday upon arrest.”
The incorrect timeline given to police by the deputies can be disproven based on timestamps and video evidence that has yet to be released or shown in court, Cabell Baskervill said.
Cabell Baskervill pushed back against officers’ claims that Otieno was combative, saying video footage shows that Otieno “was not agitated and combative,” saying he was fidgety, stressed and anxious, which is justified due to the treatment he had been receiving.
Otieno was thrown to the ground and held down for 12 minutes, at least eight of which he was held face down, she said.
All seven deputies were in the room at the time of his death, according to Cabell Baskervill.
There is no body-worn camera or car camera footage of the incident, however, several videos do exist from Central State Hospital and Henrico County Jail.
The seven arrested deputies were identified as Randy Joseph Boyer, 57; Dwayne Alan Bramble, 37; Jermaine Lavar Branch, 45; Bradley Thomas Disse, 43; Tabitha Renee Levere, 50; Brandon Edwards Rodgers, 48; and Kaiyell Dajour Sanders, 30.
Two deputies, Branch and Disse, were released on bond while the five others are being held without bond.
Lawyers for Disse said that the officer was asked by a supervisor to drive to Central State Hospital because of issues they were having with the inmate and because they were told he could not be controlled with just three officers.
In court, a lawyer for Branch alleged the officer “did not administer any blows to the deceased, or violence towards him, other than simply trying to restrain him.”
Branch’s lawyer, Cary Bowen, told ABC News by phone that Cabell Baskervill was trying to fashion the case as something that is “malicious.”
“There was no weapon used. There was no pummeling or anything like that. I think everybody agrees,” Bowen said. “And the way she was casting it was that they ended up suffocating. He couldn’t breathe. And she’s acting like the guy didn’t resist and he wasn’t manic or bipolar or whatever. Just a nice guy who they’re picking on.”
The seven deputies have been placed on administrative leave, pending the outcome of the cases filed against them.
The Henrico County Sheriff’s Office is also conducting an independent review of the incident and said it is fully cooperating another investigation by Virginia State Police.
“Public safety is what we stand for as a Sheriff’s Office. We will continue to maintain the highest professional standards in how we serve and protect those in our custody, the community at-large and our staff,” Henrico County Sheriff Alisa Gregory said in a statement.
(FORT HOOD, Texas) — The Army is investigating the death of 21-year-old Pvt. Ana Basalduaruiz, a combat engineer at Fort Hood, Texas, who had served with the division for the last 15 months.
Basalduaruiz, who was found dead last month, told her mother she was being sexually harassed by a superior and her family offered to pick her up from the base, her family told ABC News.
The Army Criminal Investigation Division and the chain of command are actively investigating the facts and circumstances surrounding Basalduaruiz’s death, Fort Hood told ABC News.
Army Spc. Vanessa Guillén was murdered at the same base after reportedly being sexually harassed by another soldier. The soldier killed himself while being pursued by police. A report released nearly a year after her death confirmed that Guillén had been sexually harassed by a superior.
An autopsy will be conducted on Basalduaruiz’s body Thursday, according to her aunt, Itzi Ortega.
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of Pvt. Ana Basalduaruiz, and we extend our sympathies to her father, mother, and her sister,” said Lt. Col. Patrick Sullivan, commander, 91st Engineer Battalion. “Our thoughts and prayers are with them during this difficult time. She was an exceptional teammate that will truly be missed.”
Basalduaruiz’s family was told they will not hear anything else until the investigation into her death is completed.
According to the Department of Defense’s fiscal year 2021 report on sexual assault and harassment in the military, 29% of women and 7% of men experienced sexual harassment. The 29% for women is an increase from the last report on fiscal year 2018 — when 24% of women stated they suffered sexual harassment. The increase was driven by the experiences of enlisted women and those under the age of 25, according to the report.
Basalduaruiz joined the military in 2020 but did not start training until August 2022 because of the pandemic, her aunt said.
Guillén’s sister, Mayra Guillén, reacted to Basalduaruiz’s death on Twitter.
“I’m aware of the death of Ana Basaldua in Ft Hood, TX. May she Rest In Peace. She was only 21 years old … I will be speaking to the family soon, I find it very sensitive to speak on something I’m not fully aware off yet and this is also very triggering for me … I need to gather my thoughts and then I’ll be able to share them,” she said in a Tweet.
(TOPOCK, Ariz.) — Eight freight rail tankers derailed near Topock, Arizona, on Wednesday evening, according to BNSF Railway.
Despite initial reports from the Mojave County Sheriff’s Office that the train was carrying hazardous materials, BNSF confirmed that the train was actually carrying corn syrup. According to BNSF, “there were no injuries as a result of the derailment and preliminarily reports indicate there are no hazardous materials involved.”
The initial alarm about the derailment prompted concern on social media and in some local areas, with train derailments in the national spotlight following a hazardous derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, in early February.
Chris Higa, 25, drove roughly 30 minutes from his home in Bullhead City, Arizona, to visit the site of the derailed train after hearing about the derailment on a police scanner.
“Being in my own town, it was definitely one of those like ‘Wow, is this actually happening?’” he said.
However, his reaction, once he arrived at the site of derailment, changed from concern to shock and awe.
“Kicking on that light bar, my vehicle, I could see the part of the train, and it was like, wow, there’s an actual train in the middle of the desert,” he said.
Higa said he could not smell or see anything that indicated a release of hazardous materials; rather, he just saw a portion of the sprawling train in the desert, the rumbling from its diesel engine and an increasing law enforcement response.
“I didn’t notice anything out of the blue, there was no smell. It was just that humid air,” he said. “There was no discoloration in the air, anything of any chemicals, no glowing of anything.”
Earlier that evening, the area was under a tornado warning, with flooding impacting the area as well. Higa said he witnessed some storm runoff potentially impacting the train tracks and BNSF confirmed that the track is blocked, with no estimated time for when it might be reopened.
Amtrak announced that at least one scheduled trip in the nearby area was canceled due to a “disabled freight train blocking the route ahead.”
The Mohave County Sheriff’s Office said that the National Transportation Safety Board has been notified of the incident and will investigate the derailment.
(BOSTON) — Two young skiers were rescued Tuesday night after getting lost while skiing outside the Wachusett Mountain ski area boundaries, according to the Princeton Fire Department.
Princeton Fire Chief John Bennett told ABC News’ Boston affiliate station WCVB-TV that the two skiers — both 15-year-old boys — waited three hours in chest-deep snow before calling authorities.
With their phone’s battery level at 9%, the skiers were able to call 911, and dispatchers were able to identify the location of the cellphone signal, which identified that they were two miles “from any civilization,” according to the Princeton Fire Department in a statement released Wednesday.
Sharing their body heat to survive, the two skiers were able to wait while crews “battled the elements, darkness and dangerous snow pack,” the Princeton Fire Department said.
“I was worried. I was worried,” Princeton fire chief John Bennett told WCVB. “I was looking at it on my way here responding, and that’s in the middle of nowhere. It’s on old fire roads on the back side of the mountain. So they had gotten a long way from the ski area.”
The Princeton area reported nearly 30 inches of snow from the March nor’easter, according to WCVB, although higher elevations likely received additional snowfall from the storm.
The mountain the boys were rescued on is part of the Wachusett Mountain State Reservation in Massachusetts about 50 miles west of Boston. It features approximately 3,000 acres of hiking amid a 2,000-foot mountain summit that can experience sudden and severe weather conditions, especially in the winter, according to WCVB.
An ambulance was standing by for when the boys returned but it was deemed that neither needed medical treatment following the incident and both teenagers were released back into the care of their families, WCVB said.
“This could have ended tragically,” the fire department said. “But these boys are very lucky.”
