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(SURFSIDE, Fla.) — The search and rescue efforts at the collapsed Surfside, Florida, apartment complex have shifted to a recovery effort as 86 people remain unaccounted for, officials said Wednesday.

Rescue crews found eight additional victims in the rubble Wednesday, raising the death toll to 54, officials said Wednesday afternoon.

The disaster occurred on June 24 around 1:15 a.m. local time at the Champlain Towers South condominium in the small, beachside town of Surfside, about 6 miles north of Miami Beach. Approximately 55 of the oceanfront complex’s 136 units were destroyed, according to officials. Since then, hundreds of first responders have been carefully combing through the pancaked piles of debris in hopes of finding survivors.

On Wednesday, a grand jury agreed to investigate the Surfside collapse, Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle announced, saying in a statement that she requested that the grand jury “look into how we can prevent such a disaster from occurring again, not just in Surfside, and not just in condominiums, but in all buildings and structures in the coastal, intercoastal and surrounding areas of our county, state and nation.”

No further details were available, as grand jury work is confidential in Florida.

The announcement came after three more victims — husband-and-wife Gino Cattarossi, 89, and Graciela Cattarossi, 86, as well as Simon Segal, 80 — were identified Wednesday, according to investigators. In total 32 victims have been identified as of midday Wednesday.

Crews have hauled away nearly 5 million pounds of concrete from the vast scene of wreckage, but large piles of rubble still remain. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Chief Alan Cominsky said the rescue workers have been “aggressively” searching for any voids or “liveable spaces” within the debris where there could be trapped survivors but that they are “not coming across that.” No survivors have been discovered in the wreckage of the building since the morning it partially collapsed.

“We’re not seeing anything positive,” Cominsky told reporters on Tuesday morning.

Teams are now able to operate at full capacity and search in areas that were previously inaccessible following the demolition of the remaining part of the building.

The part of the building that remained standing was cleared of any people or pets before it was demolished on Sunday night, due to concerns about its structural integrity. However, it was too dangerous for surviving residents to enter the building to retrieve their belongings, officials said.

Video released by the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue on Monday night showed crews working atop the piles, braving the elements as Tropical Storm Elsa approached the Sunshine State.

The incoming storm, which has weakened from a hurricane, initiated the discussion about demolishing the rest of the building and fast-tracked the process, according to Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett. Elsa made landfall in Cuba on Monday and by Tuesday morning the storm’s center was moving through Key West with maximum sustained winds of 60 miles per hour, according to the National Weather Service.

Prior to the demolition, the search and rescue operation was halted for almost an entire day last week due to safety concerns for the crews regarding the remaining structure. Poor weather conditions have also forced them to temporarily pause working.

The cause of the partial collapse to a building that has withstood decades of hurricanes remains unknown and is under investigation. Built in the 1980s, the Champlain Towers South was up for its 40-year recertification and had been undergoing roof work — with more renovations planned — when it partially collapsed, according to officials.

“The whole world wants to know what happened here,” Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava told reporters on Tuesday morning. “I look forward to learning the truth, as do we all, but I think it’ll be a while before it is understood.”

Burkett told reporters that he has drafted a letter that will be sent to condo boards and building owners outlining “minimum stopgap” measures to ensure their properties are secure.

“The town of Surfside is committed to doing everything it can to ensure the safety and peace of mind of its residents and we are grateful to our county, state and federal partners for all their amazing support,” he said.

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(WASHINGTON) — A federal judge found the United States Air Force 60% responsible for the mass shooting at a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, in November 2017.

Devin Kelley opened fire inside the First Baptist Church, 40 miles outside of San Antonio, during a Sunday service and killed 26 people from ages 5 to 72, making it the worst mass shooting at a house of worship ever.

In a civil lawsuit brought by families and victims of the shooting against the government, Judge Xavier Rodriguez found that because Kelley was investigated and court-martialed for assaulting his then-wife and her stepson on an Air Force base, the service should have alerted the FBI that Kelley could not legally purchase a gun through its alert system.

“The Court concludes that the Government failed to exercise reasonable care in its undertaking to submit criminal history to the FBI. The Government’s failure to exercise reasonable care increased the risk of physical harm to the general public, including Plaintiffs. And its failure proximately caused the deaths and injuries of Plaintiffs at the Sutherland Springs First Baptist Church on November 5, 2017,” Rodriguez wrote.

The government argued that they were shielded from liability by the Brady Act, which mandates that federal agencies, including the Department of Defense and Air Force, report disqualifying information “not less frequently than quarterly,” according to the filing. “Disqualifying information includes “any record of any person demonstrating that the person falls within one of the categories” of persons prohibited from purchasing firearms.”

During the investigation into domestic assault allegations, Kelley “threatened to kill both (his wife) and Air Force Security Forces” if she reported the abuse to authorities, according to the court filing. Additionally, his wife told investigators that Kelley threatened to commit a mass shooting at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico.

“My work is lucky. I’d take a shotgun and blow everyone’s head off,” Kelley said at the time, according to the court filing.

When Air Force Investigators looked into Kelley they discovered a “long history of violence and abuse,” according to the court filing.

Kelley was ultimately jailed for for a year on the domestic assault charges.

He later remarried and abused his second wife, according to the court filing.

The judge concluded that the Air Force did not properly report about Kelley to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) that gun dealers are required to use in order to complete a background check.

“The trial conclusively established that no other individual — not even Kelley’s own parents or partners — knew as much as the United States about the violence that Devin Kelley had threatened to commit and was capable of committing. Moreover, the evidence shows that — had the Government done its job and properly reported Kelley’s information into the background check system — it is more likely than not that Kelley would have been deterred from carrying out the Church shooting. For these reasons, the Government bears significant responsibility for the Plaintiffs’ harm.”

First Baptist Church Pastor Frank Pomeroy told ABC News Chief Justice Correspondent Pierre Thomas in 2019 that he was still hurting from the shooting.

“The aftermath hurt almost as much as the actual, what the shooter did in our church,” Pomeroy said.

The judge gave the government 15 days to come up with a settlement plan.

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(PORTLAND, Ore.) — Oregon’s record-breaking heat wave reached a death toll of 107 on Tuesday, according to officials.

The victims range in age from 37 to 97, according to the Oregon State Medical Examiner, as the state has been reeling from scorching triple-digit temperatures from June 25 to June 30.

So far, 67 deaths — more than half the state’s heat wave-related deaths — were reported in Multnomah County, prompting the county to call it a “mass casualty event.”

Multnomah County health officials said in a news release the suspected cause of all the deaths is hyperthermia — the condition of having a body temperature well above normal. So far, 40 have been formally ruled hyperthermia deaths, and the rest are yet to be officially ruled.

The county’s victims ranged in age from 44 to 97.

Some of the dead were found inside their homes without air conditioning or fans, according to local ABC affiliate KATU. Portland recorded a high of 116 on Monday, June 28.

One of the victims was Guatemalan immigrant Sebastian Francisco Perez, 38, who came to the U.S. on May 5 to work on a farm in rural St. Paul, according to Oregon Live. He died June 26 while working at a tree farm in the extreme heat. Three vigils were held for him in St. Paul on Saturday, the outlet reported.

In response to natural disaster, Multnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury said the county opened three 24-hour cooling centers, nine cooling spaces, directly contacted tens of thousands of seniors, people with disabilities and pregnant women and deployed more than 60 outreach teams to focus on people without housing or shelter in the heat wave.

Washington County reported nine deaths, Clackamas County 11, Marion 13, Deschutes two, Linn two, and Columbia, Pole and Umatilla counties all reported one death from the heat.

An excessive heat warning was in effect the weekend of the wave from the National Weather Service, and the weekend set records for hottest days in history in multiple cities.

Gov. Kate Brown called the heat wave’s death toll “absolutely unacceptable” and said that despite preparation efforts across the state, “we still lost too many lives,” during an appearance on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

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(CHICAGO) — Three law enforcement officers in Chicago were shot on the city’s South Side on the heels of a violent holiday weekend that racked up shootings in the triple digits.

The officers, two ATF Chicago agents and one Chicago Police Department officer, were driving in the Morgan Park neighborhood, near an on-ramp to Interstate 57, just before 6 a.m. when they were fired upon by another vehicle, Chicago Police Superintendent David O’Neal Brown told reporters Wednesday morning. The officers were undercover and in an unmarked car, Brown said.

The officers’ injuries are not life-threatening. One of the ATF agents was struck in the hand, the other was hit on the side of the torso and the police officer was grazed in the back of the head, Brown said. They were taken to Christ Medical Center and last reported in stable condition, said Tom Ahern, deputy director of the police department’s news affairs and communications,

One of the ATF agents is female, while the other two officers are male, and all three are senior officers, he added.

The suspect’s vehicle has been located, but investigators are still searching for the suspect, Brown said.

Brown declined to provide details on the case the officers were working to avoid compromising the investigation.

The attack marks brings the tally of officers shot in Chicago this year to 36, Brown said. The shooting comes after a deadly Fourth of July weekend in the city, when 100 people were shot, 18 of whom died, including a 15-year-old boy, ABC Chicago station WLS-TV reported. Two Chicago Police officers and five children 13 and younger were among the injured.

Brown said Tuesday that Chicago officers were “performing at the highest level” and are “risking everything to protect the people of Chicago.”

“They are doing their part, and no one would do what these officers are doing right now,” Brown said. “This is a very challenging time to be in law enforcement right now. They are rising to the challenge, doing all they can. The work they do is extremely dangerous.”

Speaking from outside the hospital, Chicago Alderman Matt O’Shea urged President Joe Biden to come to Chicago and offer additional assistance to the city, saying that 100,000 armed gang members who “have absolutely no fear, no respect for life” are wreaking havoc on the city. Residents are scared to let their children play outside, he said.

“Our communities are under siege,” he said. “Our police officers are under siege. They’re outmanned and they’re outgunned.”

Biden was met by Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot upon landing in Chicago Wednesday afternoon. During the greeting, Biden expressed his personal support for the law enforcement officers that were injured and reiterated his commitment to working with the city in the fight against gun violence, said White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki.

Biden was scheduled to visit Crystal Lake, a city about 45 miles northwest of Chicago, in the afternoon.

ABC News’ Cheryl Gendron, Rachel Katz and Alex Perez contributed to this report.

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(NEW YORK) — Tropical Storm Elsa has made landfall along Florida’s Gulf Coast and is now charging up the entire East Coast through Friday.

Elsa made landfall at about 11 a.m. Wednesday in Taylor County, in Florida’s Big Bend region.

Elsa, which is slamming Florida with gusty winds and heavy rain, strengthened to a Category 1 hurricane Tuesday night before weakening back to a tropical storm.

A boat capsized near Key West as Elsa blew through on Tuesday, according to the Coast Guard. Nine people remain missing.

As of Wednesday morning, Florida had no reports of fatalities or significant structural damage, Gov. Ron DeSantis said.

About 26,000 customers in Florida were without power, he added.

Elsa is now barreling up the East Coast, set to bring heavy rain and flash flooding from Georgia to Maine through Friday.

The latest path shows Elsa moving over Georgia Wednesday night, South Carolina Thursday morning and North Carolina Thursday night.

Elsa is forecast to weaken to a tropical depression by Thursday morning as it brings rain and wind to Charleston, Myrtle Beach and Wilmington.

By Thursday night Elsa will be blowing through Virginia, Maryland and Delaware with heavy rain, gusty winds and flooding. Elsa will hit New Jersey overnight Thursday into Friday.

On Friday morning, Elsa will head up the Interstate 95 corridor with heavy rain and gusty winds from New York City to Boston.

ABC News’ Rachel Katz contributed to this report.

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(MINNEAPOLIS) — The teen who filmed the murder of George Floyd by former police officer Derek Chauvin said that her uncle was killed Tuesday in a fatal car crash involving Minneapolis police.

In a Facebook post, 18-year-old Darnella Frazier said her uncle Leneal Lamont Frazier died after police collided with his car while they were chasing a carjacked vehicle. Officials from the Minneapolis Office of Police Information said the driver of the stolen car was involved in several robberies and refused to stop for police.

“Minneapolis police killed my uncle,” Darnella Frazier said in the post. “Another black man lost his life in the hands of the police … I couldn’t accept what I was hearing and still can’t. Some things just take time to process.”

The fatal collision took place at the intersection of 41st Avenue North and Lyndale Avenue North in Minneapolis, according to police. A third car was also caught up in the collision.

Minneapolis Office of Police Information officials said that both the driver of the uninvolved car and the officer were taken to the hospital, where the driver died shortly after. The officer was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

In a statement, the Minnesota State Patrol said it will lead the investigation into the crash. It is an open and active investigation, and once completed, the state patrol said it will turn its findings over to the county attorney for review.

In her social media post, Darnella Frazier described her final moments with her uncle, saying Minneapolis police is responsible for the family’s “big loss.”

“I was just with you at the beach,” she wrote. “If I would’ve known that would be my last time seeing you, I would’ve hugged you so much longer, told you ‘I love you’ way harder.”

During the Chauvin murder trial, the teen took to the witness stand to recount the pain she said she has experienced since witnessing Floyd’s murder.

Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer, was convicted of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter and was sentenced to 22 1/2 years in prison for Floyd’s death.

Frazier, who was 17 at the time of the incident, told prosecutors in March that she continues to harbor a lot of guilt and trauma.

“When I look at George Floyd, I look at my dad, I look at my brothers, I look at my cousins, my uncles because they are all Black,” she told prosecutors. “And I look at that and I look at how that could have been one of them. I stayed up [at night] apologizing and apologizing to George Floyd for not doing more and not physically interacting, not saving his life.”

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(NEW YORK) — Tropical Storm Elsa made landfall at about 11 a.m. Wednesday in Taylor County, Florida, along the Sunshine State’s Gulf Coast.

Taylor County, in Florida’s Big Bend region, is about 50 miles southeast of Tallahassee.

Elsa, which is slamming Florida with gusty winds and heavy rain, strengthened to a Category 1 hurricane Tuesday night before weakening back to a tropical storm.

A boat capsized near Key West as Elsa blew through on Tuesday, according to the Coast Guard. Nine people remain missing.

As of Wednesday morning, Florida had no reports of fatalities or significant structural damage, Gov. Ron DeSantis said.

About 26,000 customers in Florida are without power, he added.

A hurricane warning is in effect for Florida’s west coast from the Chassahowitzka River to the Steinhatchee River.

Wet grounds and rough winds have already caused some downed trees in Hillsborough County, which encompasses Tampa.

Tampa Bay is among the areas under a storm surge warning.

Tropical storm warnings have been issued in Savannah and Charleston.

After blowing through the South, the storm is expected to move up the East Coast, bringing heavy rain and gusty winds to the mid-Atlantic, New Jersey shore, New York City, Long Island and New England.

By Thursday night Elsa will reach mid-Atlantic, dropping flooding rain and gusty winds near Washington, D.C., and into Philadelphia.

By Friday morning, Elsa will be dropping heavy rain and rough winds along the Jersey shore, New York City and Long Island.

Elsa will move into New England late Friday morning into Friday afternoon. Boston and Portland, Maine, could face strong winds, power outages and flooding.

Flooding is possible in Philadelphia, New York City, Connecticut, Massachusetts and northern New England. Some areas could see up to 5 inches of rain.

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(NEW YORK) — Confetti filled the streets of lower Manhattan on Wednesday as New Yorkers gathered for a ticker tape parade honoring the heroes of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Called the Hometown Heroes Parade, the event was held along the Canyon of Heroes, nearly 16 months after New York City became the nation’s first COVID-19 epicenter.

Here is how the news is developing. All times Eastern. Check back for updates.

Jul 07, 12:47 pm
Subway car from 1904 resurrected as parade float

Among the 14 floats is an old subway car from 1904 that was resurrected for MTA workers to ride in along the parade route.

Sarah Feinberg, interim president of New York City Transit, was overcome with emotion seeing how many people came to show their support.

“It’s just wonderful to see the city come out and thank our workforce,” she told ABC New York station WABC.

Jul 07, 11:50 am
Eric Adams joins parade festivities

Eric Adams, who was announced Tuesday as the winner of New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary, was among those joining parade festivities.

The former police captain declined to comment on the race to ABC New York station WABC, insisting the day was about essential workers.

“We need to honor them [essential workers] with pay equity … we need to show them the respect they deserve,” Adams said.

Mayor Bill de Blasio is also at the party.

Jul 07, 11:35 am
Sounds of marching band, cheers echo through the streets

As the confetti falls, the sounds of marching bands and revelers are echoing through the streets. New Yorkers are standing on the sides of the parade route, cheering, ringing bells and holding “Thank you” signs while the floats and bands move through.

While the COVID-19 pandemic is not over, New York City’s seven-day average positivity rate is now 0.96%. More than 605,000 people in the U.S. have died from COVID-19.

Jul 07, 11:00 am
Ticker tape parade underway

The ticker tape parade along lower Manhattan’s Canyon of Heroes is underway.

The 14 parade floats represent 260 groups of essential workers, including first responders, small business employees, delivery workers and childcare employees.

MTA workers have resurrected an old subway car from 1904 as their float.

Queens nurse Sandra Lindsay, who was the first person in the U.S. to get the COVID-19 vaccine, is the parade’s Grand Marshal.

Jul 07, 8:49 am
Pittsburgh nurse who came to NYC for COVID returns to ride on float

Justin Davis, a traveling nurse with AMN Healthcare, left his wife and three children behind in Pittsburgh to care for COVID-19 patients in an overwhelmed Manhattan hospital when the pandemic began.

“Never seen anything like it,” said Davis, who trained as an Army field medic and has been a nurse for 17 years. “I had more bodies, not enough people to take care. There were unqualified people there because there was nobody else.”

When New York’s crisis subsided, he moved to COVID hot spots in Orlando and Buffalo.

He will ride atop one of 14 floats that will make its way through the shower of confetti on Wednesday.

Davis told ABC News the parade is also a way to put his pandemic work behind him.

“I’ll accept the thanks,” he said.

Jul 07, 7:53 am
Ceremony scaled back due to heat

The City Hall ceremony at the end of the parade will be “a much smaller, stripped down version” than originally planned due to the heat, Mayor de Blasio said Tuesday.

“We will be greeting the marchers at the end of the parade and thanking them,” de Blasio said. “Not a big ceremony, but the parade itself of course will be the central salute to our heroes.”

“We will be adding additional cooling centers and water stations along the route,” the mayor added.

Jul 07, 7:24 am
New York to hold first ticker tape parade in two years

Ticker tape parades along the Canyon of Heroes are a historical part of New York City. These parades have honored people from Amelia Earhart in 1932 to Winston Churchill in 1946. The most recent ticker tape parade was in 2019 for the U.S. women’s national soccer team after they won the World Cup.

“Ticker tape parades up the Canyon of Heroes, they’ve happened for generations,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said last month. “But this one will have a special spirit to it, a special heart and soul, because it’s about celebrating everyday New Yorkers who did something heroic and need our thanks.”

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(NEW YORK) — Tropical Storm Elsa made landfall at about 11 a.m. Wednesday in Taylor County, Florida, along the Sunshine State’s Gulf Coast.

Taylor County, in Florida’s Big Bend region, is about 50 miles southeast of Tallahassee.

Elsa, which is slamming Florida with gusty winds and heavy rain, strengthened to a Category 1 hurricane Tuesday night before weakening back to a tropical storm.

A boat capsized near Key West as Elsa blew through on Tuesday, according to the Coast Guard. Nine people remain missing.

As of Wednesday morning, Florida had no reports of fatalities or significant structural damage, Gov. Ron DeSantis said.

About 26,000 customers in Florida are without power, he added.

A hurricane warning was issued for Florida’s west coast from the Chassahowitzka River to the Steinhatchee River.

Tampa Bay is among the areas under a storm surge warning.

Tropical storm warnings have been issued in Savannah and Charleston, and a tropical storm watch extends up to Sandy Hook, New Jersey.

After blowing through the South, the storm is expected to move up the East Coast, bringing heavy rain and gusty winds to the mid-Atlantic, New Jersey shore, New York City, Long Island and New England.

Elsa is forecast to weaken to a tropical depression as it moves up the East Coast, but it could regain tropical storm status as it passes over the waters of the mid-Atlantic.

By Thursday night Elsa will reach mid-Atlantic, dropping flooding rain and gusty winds near Washington, D.C., and into Philadelphia.

The latest path shows Elsa’s center passing right over the Interstate 95 corridor, heading just east of D.C. to near Philadelphia and then north over New York City.

Northerners should be prepared for gusty winds up to 50 mph, heavy rain and potential flash flooding.

By Friday morning, Elsa will be dropping heavy rain along the Jersey shore, New York City and Long Island.

Elsa will move into New England late Friday morning into Friday afternoon. Boston and Portland, Maine, could face strong winds, power outages and flooding.

Flooding is possible in Philadelphia, New York City, Connecticut, Massachusetts and northern New England. Some areas could see up to 5 inches of rain.

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(NEW YORK) — Tropical storm Elsa is slamming the Sunshine State with gusty winds and heavy rain as it barrels north near Florida’s west coast.

Elsa is expected to make landfall later Wednesday morning by Florida’s Big Bend.

A hurricane warning is in effect for Florida’s west coast from the Chassahowitzka River to the Steinhatchee River.

Wet grounds and rough winds have already caused some downed trees in Hillsborough County, which encompasses Tampa.

Tampa Bay is among areas under a storm surge warning.

Tropical storm warnings have been issued in Savannah, Georgia and Charleston, South Carolina.

After blowing through the South, the storm is expected to move up the East Coast, bringing heavy rain and gusty winds to the mid-Atlantic, New Jersey shore, New York City, Long Island and New England.

By Thursday night, Elsa will reach the mid-Atlantic dropping flooding rain and gusty winds near Washington, D.C., and into Philadelphia.

By Friday morning, Elsa will be dropping heavy rain and rough winds along the Jersey shore, New York City and Long Island.

Elsa will move into New England late Friday morning into Friday afternoon. Boston and Portland, Maine, could face strong winds, power outages and flooding.

Flooding is possible in Philadelphia, New York City, Connecticut, Massachusetts and northern New England. Some areas could see up to 5 inches of rain.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.