(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.”
(ORLANDO, Fla.) — The mother of a Missouri teenager who fell to his death last year while on the world’s tallest tower drop ride has reached a settlement in a wrongful death lawsuit with the Florida amusement park and ride’s operator, her attorney announced Wednesday.
Fourteen-year-old Tyre Sampson died after slipping out of his seat while on the Orlando FreeFall ride at ICON Park on March 24, 2022, falling more than 100 feet to his death, according to the lawsuit. The eighth grader was a star football player who was visiting the theme park with his team during spring break.
Last year, Orlando Eagle Drop Slingshot, the ride’s operator, decided to take down the 430-foot-tall attraction in the wake of Sampson’s death.
“It’s a bittersweet moment,” Nekia Dodd, the mother of Sampson, said during a press conference on Wednesday near ICON Park as the Orlando FreeFall ride continues to be dismantled.
“The ride is coming down, and I’m thankful for that. But my son’s not coming back,” Dodd said.
Wednesday marked the first time Dodd saw the ride where her son died.
“My son took his last breath on this ride. So it’s hard. It’s heartbreaking,” she said.
Her attorney, Michael Haggard, announced during the press briefing that a settlement has been reached between Dodd, ICON Park and Orlando Eagle Drop Slingshot. They declined to discuss the terms of the settlement, though Dodd said she would like to use it to “keep my son’s legacy alive” by giving back to community sports and schools.
Additional steps to hold other companies accountable continue, according to Haggard, who claimed that the ride’s manufacturer — Funtime Handels of Austria — has tried to “evade responsibility.”
In a statement to ABC News on Wednesday, ICON Park deferred questions about the lawsuit to Sampson’s family.
“While the FreeFall ride is not owned and was not controlled or operated by ICON Park, because it is a tenant on the property, we agree with the owner’s decision to dismantle the ride and our hearts are with the family as they witness this important milestone,” the statement said.
Operator error is suspected as the primary cause in Sampson’s death, according to a forensic engineer’s field investigation report released in April. The report showed that the individual operator of the FreeFall ride, who was not identified, “made manual adjustments to the ride resulting in it being unsafe.”
According to the report, manual manipulations were made to the seat Sampson was sitting in to allow the harness restraint opening to be loosened, apparently to accommodate the more than 300-pound teenager. The investigation found Sampson’s harness restraint opening was “almost double that of a normal restraint opening range.”
The Tyre Sampson Act, a Florida bill that aims to protect future amusement park riders with increased safety regulations, advanced after its first hearing on Monday.
(ATLANTA) — Two years after the death of eight people at three Atlanta-based Asian-owned or operated spas, Asian Americans are uniting in cities across the nation to demand action against racist hate, violence and to pay tribute to the lives lost.
Co-organized by Stand with Asian Americans in partnership with various other Asian American equity organizations, the rallies don’t plan to only mourn the losses of the 2021 Atlanta shootings, but will mourn the lives lost in other killings, such as the Half Moon Bay and Monterey Park shootings that happened earlier this year.
“This violence is only kind of the latest manifestation of violence against our community,” said Charles Jung, the executive director of APAs vs. Hate and a civil rights attorney. “This event is important to remember because this is about fighting the prejudice in our community while we also heal and build for the future.”
Jung is the coordinator for the March 16 commemoration across the five cities.
On March 16, the “Always With Us: Asian Americans Rise Against Hate” synchronized events will occur in Atlanta, Denver, Detroit, New York and San Francisco.
There will be special appearances at the events ranging from 2022 TIME Woman of the Year Amanda Nguyen to Brandon Tsay, the man who stopped the gunman in Monterey Park. Other appearances will include Asian American leaders, activists, community members and elected officials.
Robert Peterson, son of Atlanta Spa shooting victim Yong Ae Yue, told ABC News that Thursday’s rallies serve as a way for the public to not only support Asian Americans, but hear the stories of those whose lives have been lost due to hate crimes.
“I know the feeling of hearing these events and saying that it’s sad. But it’s important for me to put a face to those stories,” Peterson said emotionally. “This is my mother. This is not just a regular event. This is not another mass shooting, but this was my mother.”
While the events all strive to promote unity across the nation, each city plans to emphasize issues that are going on locally, such as San Francisco’s focus on low-wage workers and New York City’s emphasis on Asian women.
“The idea of it being national, but at the same time, reflective of the constituents and the population and the community and the issues that they’re facing vocally was important to highlight for each one of the cities,” said Wendy Nguyen, co-founder of Stand with Asian Americans.
This will be the second year that the organizations have created synchronized rallies nationwide that are open to the public in person and through livestream, regardless of race.
“I want and hope that we as a community can galvanize the next generation of Asian American activism… so that we can build this cross coalition, so that we can elevate all communities, not just the Asian community.”
(SAN ANTONIO) — Seven people were sent to the hospital after a tree branch fell on them at a zoo in Texas, according to the San Antonio Fire Department.
The tree branch “unexpectedly” broke and fell on guests Monday afternoon at the San Antonio Zoo, the zoo confirmed.
According to the fire department, one of the injured guests was seen as “level 1 priority care,” while the other injured guests were sent to the hospital out of precaution.
The zoo’s security and emergency services staff responded quickly and began treating the injured guests, according to the zoo.
San Antonio Police and fire officials responded to the scene within minutes, zoo officials said.
The conditions of the injured guests are unknown at this time.
Earlier this year, several incidents including a damaged animal enclosure, missing monkeys and an “unusual” death occurred at the Dallas Zoo.
Additionally, Dallas Zoo officials said a clouded leopard named Nova escaped from its enclosure after its fence was “intentionally cut” on Jan. 13.
Zoo officials also discovered an endangered vulture dead inside its habitat on Jan. 21, saying that its death did not occur naturally and was “unusual.”
Two of the Dallas Zoo’s emperor tamarin monkeys were discovered missing from their habitat, which had been “intentionally compromised,” according to the zoo.
Last month, the Dallas Police Department arrested Davion Irvin — a man they were looking to speak with regarding the missing tamarin monkeys — in connection with the theft of the two animals and charged him with six counts of animal cruelty.
ABC News’ Meredith Deliso contributed to this report.
(PROVIDENCE, R.I.) — A Rhode Island woman who pleaded guilty to carrying out what prosecutors said was a massive fraud — pretending to be a Purple Heart recipient and Bronze Star-decorated U.S Marine — was sentenced to nearly six years in federal prison Tuesday.
Sarah Cavanaugh told people she defrauded she was injured in Iraq, despite never serving in the military, prosecutors said.
Cavanaugh claimed she was a “cancer-stricken” Purple Heart recipient to obtain hundreds of thousands of dollars in fraudulent charitable donations and veterans’ benefits, they said. Cavanaugh used the stolen identities of actual veterans to get the money, according to the Justice Department.
A search of Defense Department records, officials said, indicates Cavanaugh never served in any branch of the U.S. military.
In reality, according to the DOJ, Cavanaugh was a social worker at a Department of Veterans Affairs medical center and used her position “to gain access to documents, personal information, and medical records belonging to a Marine and a Navy veteran who was battling cancer.”
Prosecutors called her conduct “near-daily criminal conduct over a period of five years,” saying she defrauded “veterans, veterans’ organizations, veterans’ charities, friends, and co-workers in a “methodical and calculated manner.”
She allegedly stole more than $250,000 from those organizations in what prosecutors called a “brazen scheme.”
“Sarah Cavanagh feigned having cancer, and falsely claimed valor where there was none, to gain hundreds of thousands of dollars in benefits and charitable donations. Her actions are an insult to every veteran who has served our country, and today she learned her fate for her criminal conduct,” Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division, said. “Make no mistake, the FBI and our law enforcement partners are committed to seeking justice for anyone who lies about serving our country and illegally takes money from federal programs that help veterans who rightfully deserve it.”
Cavanagh, according to prosecutors, rose to a leadership position at a VFW lodge, gave public speeches while dressed in full U.S. Marine uniform, complete with a Purple Heart and Bronze Star that she purchased on the internet; and secured a spot in an arts program at the University of Southern California, a program she described to a U.S. Army veteran she met through the Wounded Warrior Program who was later accepted into the program.
(OLYMPIA, Wash.) — Washington state legislators are looking to get ahead of some technological tools used for political misinformation before they say they further disrupt the public trust in government.
The state Senate passed a bill last month that would provide political candidates with legal safeguards in civil court against “deepfake” videos, audio and images that are used in political ads.
“Deepfakes” are typically any form of media that has been altered and manipulated to misrepresent someone, typically in a way that shows the person saying something that was never said.
Washington Sec. of State Steve Hobbs, who requested the bill, told ABC News that such altered videos haven’t been officially used in campaigns, but several groups around the world are using them with malicious intent.
“We’re trying to get ahead of it,” Hobbs told ABC News.
Hobbs cited a “deepfake” video released last year at the start of the Russian-Ukraine conflict that falsely showed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy call on soldiers to surrender to the Russians. Although viewers and world leaders were able to see through the deception and the video was taken down from social media sites, Hobbs said that the public is vulnerable to similar types of manipulation.
“The last thing you want is political campaigns or political action committees to put ads out of the ‘deepfakes’ of the person they are trying to vote out,” he said. “Even if that ad was up a day or two before people realize it’s a ‘deepfake’ it can cause damage.”
The bill defines synthetic media in campaigns for elective office as ” an image, an audio recording, or a video recording of an individual’s appearance, speech, or conduct that has been intentionally manipulated with the use of generative adversarial network techniques or other digital technology in a manner to create a realistic but false image, audio, or video that produces a depiction that to a reasonable individual is of a real individual in appearance, action, or speech that did not actually occur in reality.”
Under the bill, candidates who are the victim of a “deepfake” video could “seek injunctive or other equitable relief prohibiting the publication of such synthetic media.”
The bill passed the state Senate on Feb. 15 with a 35-15 vote.
The state House of Representatives held a public hearing in the State Government & Tribal Relations committee on March 10 and some constituents expressed concern about the language of the bill.
Joshua Hardwick, who works in video, told the committee he opposed the bill because the current language didn’t clarify what constitutes a “deepfake” or an image or video edited for clarity or artistic purposes.
“If I apply a filter, make a color image black and white or sepia, or I want to shorten a part of the content and some things that may not be considered synthetic would be included,” he testified.
Hobbs contended that the bill’s language clearly does not include photo or video edits in its definition. He added that it does not intend to infringe on people’s First Amendment rights.
“If you want through the First Amendment, go after someone with ads and you have a political stance, that’s your right. But to take someone’s image or video and change it to make it look like they’re making a speech that they didn’t say, that’s just wrong,” Hobbs said.
The timetable for the bill to be voted in the House committee and the full chamber haven’t been set. Hobbs said there will likely be tweaks to the language and amendments following the discourse but stressed that “deepfake” campaigns are topics that need legislative action fast.
“We have to do something, we just can’t do nothing. We need other states to put up [safeguards] and the federal government to take action,” he said.
(NEW YORK) — Donald Trump’s former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, on Wednesday completed his testimony before a Manhattan grand jury investigating a 2016 hush money payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.
Cohen answered questions from each of the grand jurors over the course of about two hours, before emerging from the courthouse and declaring himself “relieved.”
“I’m relieved that my role, for the time being, is now over,” Cohen said. “I’ve complied with every request that was asked of me by the district attorney’s office so they can review this case as best as they can.”
Cohen paid $130,000 to Daniels in the closing days of the 2016 presidential campaign to allegedly keep her quiet about an affair she claimed to have had with Trump. The former president has denied the affair and his attorneys have framed the funds as an extortion payment.
Cohen served prison time after he pleaded guilty to federal charges that included campaign finance violations related to the hush payment. Cohen’s attorney, Lanny Davis, noted Wednesday that when federal prosecutors charged Cohen they said that Trump — identified in court records as Individual 1 — directed Cohen to make the $130,000 hush payment, after which his reimbursement to Cohen was falsely logged in the Trump Organization’s records, according to prosecutors.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is mulling whether to charge Trump with falsifying business records, sources have told ABC News.
Davis said, however, that he was uncertain whether the DA would move forward with an indictment of Trump.
“I am certain that they’ve been very thorough and factual,” Davis said.
No current or former U.S. president has even been indicted for criminal conduct.
Appearing on Fox News on Monday, Trump’s defense attorney, Joe Tacopina, questioned whether Cohen even had a law license when he served as Trump’s personal attorney.
On Wednesday Cohen was prepared with a retort: “I think Joe Tacopina needs to take a refresher course.”
9th grader sues school district after staffer allegedly ‘physically assaulted’ her when she didn’t recite the Pledge of Allegiance
(LEXINGTON, S.C.) — The family of a 15-year-old Black honor student is suing her South Carolina school district, alleging she was assaulted by a school staffer who she said was upset she hadn’t stopped to acknowledge the Pledge of Allegiance.
Lawyers for the family of Marissa Barnwell, a student at River Bluff High School in Lexington, said in a federal lawsuit that on Nov. 29, 2022, Barnwell “decided to exercise her First Amendment Right to refrain from acknowledging the Pledging Allegiance in a non-disruptive manner” when an instructional assistant “physically assaulted” Marissa before taking her to the principal’s office for punishment.
The staffer, along with the school’s principal, the superintendent and the South Carolina Department of Education are also listed as defendants in the lawsuit.
Barnwell’s family attorney, Tyler Bailey, has called for South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson to open a criminal investigation into the incident, saying that the Lexington Police Department has refused to file charges against the staff member who allegedly assaulted Marissa.
“I am respectfully requesting that you use the authority of your office to help restore what little bit of faith the Barnwell family may have left that the word all referenced in the phrase ‘Liberty and Justice for All’ may actually include a 15-year-old Black girl in Lexington, South Carolina, who decided to use her voice to push America to the ideals she hopes to stand for,” Bailey wrote in his letter to the state’s attorney general.
ABC News has reached out to the attorney general’s office.
Marissa and her parents Fynale and Shavell Barnwell, held a press conference on Thursday to discuss the lawsuit.
Fynale Barnwell, Marissa’s mother, said at Thursday’s press conference that her daughter called her in tears claiming that the staffer attacked her.
According to the federal lawsuit, Marissa silently walked to her class while the Pledge of Allegiance was playing on the school’s intercom when she said the staffer pushed her to the wall and “forcefully” touched her to make her comply with saying the pledge.
ABC News obtained school surveillance video that appears to show an interaction between Marissa and the staffer in a school hallway. According to the lawsuit, Marissa alleges that the principal sent Marissa back to class telling her that he would review the surveillance video footage of the alleged incident.
The lawsuit alleges that the staffer deprived Marissa of her constitutional rights and caused physical pain and emotional distress, resulting in medical bills and an inability to enjoy her life.
According to South Carolina law, the Pledge of Allegiance must be said every day at school, but those who choose not to recite it cannot be punished for not participating.
“A person who does not wish to participate may leave the classroom, may remain in his seat, or may express his non-participation in any form which does not materially infringe upon the rights of other persons or disrupt school activities,” the law states.
At Thursday’s press conference, Marissa said that she hadn’t recited the Pledge of Allegiance since the third grade after she questioned if the U.S. was living up to its promise of ensuring “liberty and justice” for all its citizens.
“The fact that this [person] attacked me and disrespected me completely just because of that. No one should ever go through that,” Marissa said. “No one should have to be in school every day and have to face this [person] and have to face the same administration that let this happen.”
“What Marissa wants is for the powers that be to do everything in their power to try to make this right and really get some accountability and justice that she deserves, not just for herself, but for others as well,” Bailey told ABC News.
In a statement to ABC News, Lexington School District One’s chief communication officer Elizabeth “Libby” D. Roof said that the attorney representing the district is in the process of responding to the Barnwells’ lawsuit and that it will be filed in the coming weeks.
According to the family’s attorney, Lexington Police Department said they reviewed the surveillance video and decided not to pursue a case. The department did not respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
ABC News’ Will McDuffie contributed to this report.
(SACRAMENTO) — Authorities are looking for a suspect who crashed a helicopter after trying to steal it from Sacramento Executive Airport in California early Wednesday.
No one was injured in the crash and no one is in custody, Sacramento police said.
The attempted theft of the chopper took place around 5 a.m. local time, according to officials. Sacramento police told ABC News officers responded to reports of multiple helicopters being broken into, including one that appeared to have been operated resulting in a crash.
The stolen helicopter was a Bell 429, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
The FAA said it was unclear how many people were on board or their conditions.
The incident is under investigation.
This is a developing story. Please check for updates.
Former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon, right greets fugitive Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui before introducing him at a news conference, Nov. 20, 2018, in New York. — Don Emmert/AFP via Getty Images, FILE
(NEW YORK) — Guo Wengui, an exiled Chinese billionaire with business ties to Steve Bannon, has been arrested on federal charges out of New York.
Guo owned the 152-foot-long yacht Lady May on which Bannon was arrested in August 2020.
Guo and Bannon have been under investigation in connection with GTV Media Group, which the Securities and Exchange Commission previously accused of violating securities laws.
The FBI arrested Guo, also known as Ho Wan Kwok, Wednesday morning in New York on charges he orchestrated a $1 billion fraud.
“Kwok is charged with lining his pockets with the money he stole, including buying himself, and his close relatives, a 50,000 square foot mansion, a $3.5 million Ferrari and even two $36,000 mattresses, and financing a $37 million luxury yacht,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said.
The SEC filed civil charges Wednesday that accused Guo and his financial adviser, Kin Ming Je, of “multiple offering frauds” that targeted retail investors through online and social media posts and videos.
“Since in or about April 2020, Guo has conducted fraudulent securities offerings that have collectively raised at least hundreds of millions of dollars from investors in the United States and around the world. Unbeknownst to those investors, Guo and his financial adviser, Je, misappropriated a large portion of the funds raised from certain of the Subject Offerings in order to enrich themselves and their family members,” the SEC complaint said.
Guo, 54, pitched three unregistered securities offerings to investors as a means of obtaining shares in GTV and a fourth offering as a means to obtain a crypto asset security called “H-Coin” that he falsely claimed was backed by gold reserves, the SEC said.
The FBI’s New York field office is also working to determine whether a two-alarm fire at the Sherry-Netherland Hotel is linked to the arrest of Guo, multiple law enforcement sources told ABC News. FBI agents were still inside Guo’s apartment at the time the fire broke out at 12:02 p.m., sources told ABC News.
Guo was arrested at 6 a.m. at his $32 million apartment in the building. Agents were forced to evacuate when the fire broke out six hours later.
Firefighters were called just after noon for a fire on the 18th floor, according to the FDNY. There was significant damage to Guo’s 15-room penthouse, sources said.
No one was injured in the fire.
Guo, a critic of the Chinese government, fled China in 2014 and is viewed as a fugitive by the PRC. He appeared on Forbes’ Billionaires List in 2015, worth an estimated $1.1 billion, but declared bankruptcy in February 2022.
Bannon helped Guo found GTV, but has not been charged.
Bannon is currently being prosecuted by the Manhattan district attorney for defrauding donors to the We Build the Wall online fundraising campaign.
