(NEW YORK) — New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio treated his New York Police Department-provided security detail like a “concierge service” that drove around his son, staff members and guests even when he was not in the car and helped his daughter move out of her apartment, the city’s Department of Investigation alleged in a report released Thursday.
The investigative report by the city’s anti-corruption watchdog also accused the mayor of failing to reimburse the more than $300,000 his security detail spent on travel outside New York City during de Blasio’s unsuccessful 2020 run for president.
“Protecting the mayor and his family is a serious and significant job that should be guided by best practices, formalized procedures, and an understanding that security details are not personal assistants in a dignitary’s daily life but provide essential protection,” DOI Commissioner Margaret Garnett said.
The NYPD inspector in charge of the Executive Protection Unit, Howard Redmond, “sought to obstruct” the investigation by refusing to turn over a City Hall-issued phone, trying to destroy his NYPD-issued phone and demonstrating a “lack of candor” during an interview, the report claims.
Redmond was referred to the Manhattan District Attorney’s office for possible prosecution. While de Blasio is not facing prosecution, he could face potential ethics violations.
“We are reviewing the referral,” a spokesperson for Manhattan DA Cy Vance said.
In her response, de Blasio’s press secretary Danielle Filson called the report “unprofessional” and “inaccurate,” claiming that it was based on “illegitimate assumptions and a naive view of the complex security challenges facing elected officials today.”
(NORTH PORT, Fla.) — A massive search is continuing in Florida for Brian Laundrie, the boyfriend of Gabby Petito, the 22-year-old woman who went missing on a cross-country trip and who authorities confirmed as the body discovered in the Bridger-Teton National Forest in Wyoming.
The search for the 23-year-old Laundrie is centered around North Port, Florida, where investigators said Laundrie returned to his home on Sept. 1 without Petito but driving her 2012 Ford Transit.
Laundrie has been named by police as a “person of interest” in Petito’s disappearance. Laundrie has refused to speak to the police and has not been seen since Tuesday, Sept. 14, according to law enforcement officials.
The search for Laundrie is the latest twist in the case that has grabbed national attention as he and Petito had been traveling across the country since June, documenting the trip on social media.
Petito’s parents, who live in Long Island, New York, reported her missing on Sept. 11 after not hearing from her for two weeks.
Latest headlines:
-Second Moab Police body camera footage shows Gabby Petito claim Brian Laundrie grabbed her face
-FBI returned to Laundrie’s house for additional items
-Florida search ends for the night, police say they don’t know cost of effort
-Nothing found so far in Friday search
-Search for Brian Laundrie continues at Carlton Reserve
-Here are the latest developments. All times Eastern.
Oct 07, 11:41 am
Brian Laundrie’s father joins police in search for son: Attorney
The father of wanted fugitive Brian Laundrie joined law enforcement officers in the search for his son on Thursday, the family’s attorney told ABC News.
Chris Laundrie began assisting police Thursday morning in the ongoing search of the 25,000-acre Carlton Reserve, near his home in North Port, said attorney Steven Bertolino.
He said the father has been asked to point out any favorite trails or spots in the nature preserve that his son favored. Chris Laundrie and his wife, Roberta, verbally told investigators roughly three weeks ago where their son may have gone in the preserve, but now searchers believe the father’s on-site assistance may be more beneficial, Bertolino said.
The preserve has been closed to the public and the Laundries as well. The parents, according to Bertolino, have been cooperating since the search began.
Oct 06, 6:42 pm
Authorities to allow Laundrie’s father to assist with search, attorney says
Steven Bertolino, the Laundrie family attorney, told ABC News Wednesday that authorities are going to allow Chris Laundrie, Brian Laundrie’s father, to assist with the search at the Carlton Reserve.
Investigators don’t currently have more details on when he will join the search.
The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office told ABC News they provided aerial support Wednesday for a search of the area.
ABC News’ Whitney Lloyd and Alondra Valle
Oct 05, 11:11 pm
Brian Laundrie left parents’ home to hike day earlier than parents originally told investigators
Laundrie family attorney Steven Bertolino confirmed to ABC News Tuesday night that the family now believes Brian Laundrie left to hike the Carlton Reserve on Monday, Sept. 13. Previously, they had told investigators he left on Tuesday, Sept. 14.
“The Laundries were basing the date Brian left on their recollection of certain events. Upon further communication with the FBI and confirmation of the Mustang being at the Laundrie residence on Wednesday September 15, we now believe the day Brian left to hike in the preserve was Monday September 13,” Bertolino said.
ABC News’ Kristin Thorne and Alondra Valle
Oct 05, 4:50 pm
Brian Laundrie flew home to Florida in early August: Family attorney
An attorney for the family of Brian Laundrie confirmed to ABC News on Tuesday that the wanted fugitive flew home to Florida from Salt Lake City on Aug. 17 and flew back to Utah six days later to rejoin his girlfriend, Gabby Petito, on their cross-country road trip.
Steven Bertolino said Laundrie flew home to “obtain some items and empty and close the (couple’s) storage unit to save money as they contemplated extending the road trip.” Bertolino said the couple paid for the flights together as they were sharing expenses.
Laundrie’s trip back to the Tampa area came five days after he and Petito were stopped by police in Moab, Utah, when witnesses reported the couple was engaged in a domestic violence incident in Moab.
(NEW YORK) — The United States has been facing a COVID-19 surge as the more contagious delta variant continues to spread.
More than 708,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 while over 4.8 million people have died from the disease worldwide, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.
Just 65.7% of Americans ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the CDC.
Latest headlines:
-Hospitalizations drop but deaths remain high
-Pfizer submits kids vaccine emergency use authorization request to FDA
-LA passes vaccine mandate for indoor restaurants, bars, gyms, malls and more
-More Americans died of COVID this year than all of 2020
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Oct 07, 1:37 pm
78% of adults have had 1 dose: White House
Seventy-eight percent of adults have now had at least one vaccine dose, White House COVID-19 data director Cyrus Shahpar tweeted.
Oct 07, 12:35 pm
Hospitalizations drop but deaths remain high
Hospitalizations in the U.S. have dropped from 104,000 to about 69,000 over the last five weeks, according to federal data.
More than a third of the drop was in Florida, where there are about 13,000 fewer patients compared to just over one month ago.
Daily COVID-19-related hospital admissions are also down nationally by 13.6% in the last week, according to federal data.
But states like Alaska and West Virginia, are still experiencing record-breaking surges, while Alabama, Kentucky, Georgia, Idaho and Texas still have ICU capacities near 10%.
Overnight, the U.S. reported nearly 2,000 COVID-19 related fatalities.
Around 1,400 virus-related deaths are being reported each day, which is nearly 7.5 times higher than in mid-July, according to federal data.
Texas is reporting thousands of deaths each week.
ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos
Oct 07, 9:00 am
United expects travel surge in December
United Airlines expects a travel surge and plans to fly 3,500 daily domestic flights in December, making it the largest schedule since the start of the pandemic.
Flight searches for the holidays are up 16% on the airline’s website and app compared to 2019.
Florida and ski resorts are expected to be the hottest destinations.
ABC News’ Sam Sweeney
Oct 07, 8:20 am
Pfizer submits kids vaccine emergency use authorization request to FDA
Pfizer has submitted an emergency use authorization to the FDA for use of its vaccine in children ages 5 to 11.
The FDA will have a public hearing on Oct. 26.
Shots for children 5 to 11 may be available by early November.
(ORLANDO, Fla.) — Officials shared new horrifying details in the case of 19-year-old Miya Marcano, revealing she was found bound at her hands and feet with duct tape.
A body found Oct. 2 in a wooded area near the Tymber Skan apartment complex in Orlando, Florida, was positively identified as Marcano on Tuesday, the chief medical examiner for Orange and Osceola Counties told ABC News.
Marcano, a student at Valencia College, had been missing for over a week when her body was found. She was last seen at the Arden Villas apartments’ complex in Orlando where she lived on Sept. 24.
Orange County Sheriff John Mina shared an update on the case Wednesday, saying: “Miya was found bound with black duct tape on her feet and hands, and her mouth was also covered with black duct tape.”
Marcano was found wearing jeans, bra and a robe. Mina said her purse was found nearby containing the shirt she was last seen wearing.
Mina reiterated that Armando Caballero, 27, “is the person responsible for her death” and officials are not looking for other suspects.
Caballero was a maintenance worker at Arden Villas who was found dead Sept. 27, three days after Marcano disappeared, from an apparent suicide, authorities said.
Authorities previously said Caballero had expressed a romantic interest in Marcano but she rebuffed his advances. Caballero possessed a key fob to access apartments and his was used at Marcano’s unit just before her disappearance, authorities said.
“There is no indication that there was sexual assault of any kind” and the cause and manner of death are yet to be determined by the medical examiner’s office, Mina said.
He said officials believe that Caballero was waiting for her inside her apartment on Sept. 24. He later killed her and hid her body at the area of the other Orlando apartment complex, based off information police have so far.
Officials are still trying to determine if she left her apartment alive and whether this was a planned attack.
Police announced the discovery of the body Saturday. Mina said police were led to the Tymber Skan apartment area based on Caballero’s cellphone records that showed he was there the day Marcano went missing around 8:20 p.m. to 8:40 p.m. Mina said that Caballero had once lived at the Tymber Skan apartments.
(ARAB, Ala.) — More than 10 inches of rain pounded northern Alabama over the last 24 hours, leaving some neighborhoods underwater.
A 4-year-old girl and an 18-year-old woman died as a result of the flooding in Marshall County, located in northern Alabama, the county coroner’s office said.
In Hoover, near Birmingham, crews have been searching through the night for two people who were in a car that was swept away in the floodwaters. The vehicle is believed to be submerged, officials said, adding that divers are at the scene.
In Pelham, fire officials said they responded to 282 calls for service. Officials conducted 82 rescues from homes and over a dozen rescues from cars.
Schools in Pelham are closed Thursday due to the excessive flooding. A flash flood watch remains in effect through Thursday night.
The flash flooding threat will expand east Thursday into Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina, where more than 3 inches of rain is expected.
Flash flooding is also possible in Tennessee and Florida.
(ARAB, Ala.) — More than 10 inches of rain pounded northern Alabama over the last 24 hours, leaving some neighborhoods underwater.
A child died as a result of the flooding in Arab, located in northern Alabama, the Marshall County Coroner’s Office said.
In Hoover, near Birmingham, crews have been searching through the night for two people who were in a car that was swept away in the floodwaters. The vehicle is believed to be submerged, officials said, adding that divers are at the scene.
In Pelham, fire officials said they responded to 282 calls for service. Officials conducted 82 rescues from homes and over a dozen rescues from cars.
Schools in Pelham are closed Thursday due to the excessive flooding. A flash flood watch remains in effect through Thursday night.
The flash flooding threat will expand east Thursday into Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina, where more than 3 inches of rain is expected.
Flash flooding is also possible in Tennessee and Florida.
(NEW YORK) — With the vaccination rate for staffers in New York state’s long-term care facilities jumping from 70% to 92% following a state mandate last week, nursing home advocates are urging the Biden administration to launch a similar mandate for long-term care facilities nationwide — but the federal agency that oversees nursing home standards has yet to provide guidance on the matter.
Biden administration officials announced in August that long-term care staffers would soon have to get vaccinated, but the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has yet to implement the policy. In the meantime, the vaccination rate among long-term care employees nationwide is languishing at just over 65%.
“The federal mandate was welcomed, but the lack of guidance is concerning,” said Michael Wasserman, the past president of the California Association for Long Term Care Medicine and a member of California’s Vaccine Advisory Committee. “Having unvaccinated staff caring for residents will result in the transmission of the virus and therefore deaths.”
“We cannot implement this soon enough,” Wasserman said. “Every day that goes by without guidance will inevitably lead to more deaths.”
CMS officials said in a press release last month that they intend to release emergency vaccine regulations in mid to late October. In the meantime, CMS officials told ABC News, the agency is encouraging staff across all health care settings to get vaccinated, and are encouraging all facilities to “take advantage of the resources available from CMS” to promote the benefits of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Back in August, John Knox Village in Missouri was among the providers that were waiting to get additional guidance from CMS before taking further action, so they could fully understand exactly what the mandate entails. Two months later, they’re still waiting for further guidance.
John Knox Village spokesperson Emily Banyas told ABC News that in the meantime, the facility is continuing with its voluntary biweekly vaccination clinics. The staff vaccination rate at the facility is up 5% over last month — but is still only around 65%.
Overall, only about half the staff in Missouri’s long-term care facilities had been fully vaccinated as of Sept. 19, according to the latest data available from CMS, making Missouri one of the lowest-vaccinated states in the country.
In Oklahoma, where the staff vaccination rate is 51.7%, a long-term care executive told ABC News she’s hopeful the federal mandate will increase staff vaccination rates — especially in rural areas. Mary Brinkley, executive director of the Oklahoma chapter of the elder advocacy group LeadingAge, said that in the meantime, providers in rural areas are making a concerted effort to increase their voluntary vaccination rates, with some nursing home operators achieving rates of 80% to 95%.
But in Montana, where the staff vaccination rate is 59.8%, the federal mandate could be the only way the state will see a big increase in employee vaccinations. Due to a state law that bans employers from requiring vaccinations, Montana Health Care Association Executive Director Rose Hughes said that unless a federal mandate is implemented to create an exception for long-term care providers, there’s “nothing else they can do” other than to “continuously try to convince staff to get vaccinated through education and information.”
However Hughes also told ABC News that she expects a “significant number” of staff to resign when the federal mandate takes effect. Some facilities have already reported losing staff amid the looming order, Hughes said.
In Kentucky, where the vaccination rate among long-term care staff is just 56.2%, a spokesperson for the Kentucky Association of Health Care Facilities said that despite concerns about possible staff resignations, the organization supports employer vaccine mandates and is hopeful that Biden’s mandate will result in a significant increase in COVID-19 vaccinations among staff.
As of Sept. 19, about a month after the Biden administration announced plans to require long-term care facilities to vaccinate their staffs or lose Medicare and Medicaid benefits, the national staff vaccination rate had only risen 4.3%, from 61.1% to 65.4%, according to CMS data. The previous month, it had risen by 2.5%.
Eric Carlson, a long-term care expert with the advocacy group Justice in Aging, says that the mandate is needed “in order to prevent deaths and to keep nursing facilities open to visitors.”
“The COVID vaccines have been game-changers in nursing facilities,” Carlson told ABC News. “We know that COVID is particularly deadly for nursing facility residents, and that broad vaccination can reduce COVID rates to close to zero. No one should be waiting for someone else in order to do the right thing.”
Lisa Sanders, a national spokesperson for LeadingAge, says it is “highly likely” that an increase in workplace vaccine mandates will lead to an overall increase in the vaccination rate.
“What’s needed now — urgently — is both the actual rule and guidance for implementation,” she said.
In Tennessee, where the staff vaccination rate is just under 54%, Tennessee Health Care Association spokesperson Jay Moore told ABC News that while a few long-term care facilities have voluntarily imposed their own mandate, many providers are waiting for the national guidance because “the landscape is changing so rapidly, and there will always be unexpected nuances when the CMS rules are finally promulgated.”
Moore said it’s a “fair assessment” to say that the lack of additional CMS guidance has put providers in limbo, but that the federal agency is just being careful because it knows that the mandate will have a “tremendous impact on individuals working in health care, the facilities, and the patients in need of services.”
“CMS hopefully is just trying to get it right,” Moore said.
(ARLINGTON, Texas) — Four people were hurt in a shooting at Timberview High School in Arlington, Texas, Wednesday morning, authorities said.
The suspect, an 18-year-old student, fled the scene and was taken into custody hours later, authorities said.
Two of the victims suffered gunshot wounds, police said. Three victims were students and one was an older person who may have been a teacher, police said.
Three of the four victims were hospitalized: a 15-year-old boy in critical condition, a 25-year-old man in good condition and a teenage girl in good condition, police said.
Police identified the suspect as 18-year-old Timothy George Simpkins. After announcing a search for him, police said he was taken into custody and charged with multiple counts of aggravated assault with a gun. The teen suspect communicated with his attorney before turning himself in, police said.
Police said this was not a random act of violence and that the suspect allegedly got into a fight before drawing a weapon.
A teacher told ABC News he heard the shooting and barricaded in a classroom with his students.
The “all clear” was given at the school following a lockdown. Students are being escorted to another building to be reunited with their families, the Mansfield Independent School District said.
ATF officials are at the scene in Arlington, located between Fort Worth and Dallas.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement, “our hearts go out to the victims of this senseless act of violence.”
“Thank you to the law enforcement officers and first responders who arrived on the scene to help the victims and prevent further violence,” he said. “I have spoken with the Mayor of Arlington and offered any assistance the state can provide, and I have directed the Texas Department of Public Safety to make state resources available to help bring the criminal to justice.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(NEWARK, N.J.) — Five years after high levels of lead were detected in the water of 30 public schools in Newark, New Jersey, the city faces a new challenge of convincing residents affected by the crisis that the water is now safe to drink.
Newark resident Marcellis Counts said he grew up feeling neglected by the city and that’s caused public distrust to run deeply.
“The water is just a clear example of how things are able to be neglected,” Counts said. “Many people already knew that a lot of our water was bad anyway. So I always grew up not even drinking from water fountains when I went to school and stuff like that. So it was like that distrust.”
After major signs of contaminated water appeared in 2016, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection required Newark to monitor lead levels. The city reported lead levels above the federal action level, which they said were due to corrosion of old lead water pipes throughout the city, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council.
Two years later, Newark reported one of the highest amounts of lead in any major U.S. city by 2018.
“We are now in panic mode in this city because the feds had to come in to tell us to stop drinking the water,” said Newark resident Donna Jackson in 2019.
Newark city leaders responded by providing water filters and water bottles to more than 40,000 households.
Shakima Thomas’ 7-year-old son, Bryce, tested positive for lead in 2018, even though she said the pipes in her home were made of copper.
“We haven’t got another test since that first test because it was such a traumatizing experience for him … So I have no idea what his level is at this point,” Thomas told ABC News.
In 2019, New Jersey officials announced a $120 million loan from the Essex County Improvement Agency, and a city ordinance, to expedite the city’s efforts to replace the lead pipes – at no cost to any resident.
Since then, Newark has replaced more than 22,000 lead service lines.
Yet, in March of 2021, Thomas paid a private lab to test the lead in her water. According to the results, the lead from her kitchen sink far exceeded what the Environmental Protection Agency says is an acceptable level.
“I felt bad, I felt terrible. I think any parent will feel that way. Here we’re supposed to protect our kids, and that’s the situation that was completely out of my control,” Thomas said.
The EPA also states there is no safe limit for lead in drinking water and that low levels of lead exposure in children have been linked to various conditions, including learning disabilities and impaired hearing.
Thomas said she also got a water test from the city of Newark in April, but the city said it had lost her results, according to emails shared with ABC News.
The city of Newark told ABC News that there are resources available to help children who have been affected by lead, but Thomas said those services were denied to her son.
“I took that as, ‘Yeah, [your child] has lead in his system, but he’s not poisoned enough for us to help.’ So that’s how I took it,” Thomas said.
According to a 2018 report by the National Institute of Health, low-income populations are disproportionately affected by lead exposure.
As of 2021, a little more than 27% of Newark’s population lives in poverty, which is more than double the national average, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Just a few weeks ago, 4-year-old Anailah tested positive for lead. Her mother, Crystal McMillian, said that she noticed her daughter was having trouble focusing.
“I received a phone call from the doctor’s office stating that my daughter had lead levels [that are] high,” McMillian said. “It’s hard for her at times to sit down. She acts out at times and it’s just her attention span.”
McMillian said she had an inspector come to her home to test paint, which is another potential source of lead, but she says no one has come to test the water.
“They didn’t even offer to test my water to see if the water is causing the issue … They’re not concerned if the lead is coming from the water or the paint or something else that’s causing this problem,” McMillian said. “I want to know what’s causing my baby to have and her levels to be really high.”
For now, McMillian said she goes to the Newark Water Coalition Distribution site twice a week and fills jugs of water so that she can have drinking water at her home.
The Newark Water Coalition told ABC News there has not been a drop in demand for people coming to get water, despite the city replacing nearly all lead service lines.
Kareem Adeem is the Director of the Newark Department of Water and Utilities. He said that he understands that trust doesn’t come easily, but residents need to work with the city.
“Yes, we’ll be able to get someone to our house to test the water. We’re testing thousands, thousands of water samples… and one may get lost or mixed up, but we’re here to help you,” Adeem told ABC News. “Don’t get frustrated. Work with us. We’ll get it done.”
Thomas said that she’s all but done working with the city after several unsuccessful attempts to have city officials test her water.
“I don’t think I can trust my elected officials because they’ve shown that they’re unreliable consistently,” Thomas said. “The only thing I can do is buy bottled water and bank on the fact that that’s safe, but I’d rather drink that than knowing I’m drinking lead.”
(LOS ANGELES) — Officials are continuing their investigation into what caused a pipeline in the Pacific Ocean to leak hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil, with cleanup efforts continuing along California’s southern coast.
Up to 350 people were participating in cleanups on a 30-mile stretch of beaches and marsh from from Huntington Beach to Dana Point, officials from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife told reporters at a news conference Wednesday.
Crews in the air were identifying affected locations and alerting cleanup teams, said Captain Rebecca Ore of the Coast Guard’s Long Beach branch. “Everybody here is absolutely committed to cleaning up our much-loved California beaches.”
Michael Ziccardi, director of California’s Oiled Wildlife Care Network, said the organization has collected 13 live birds and two dead birds affected by the oil. Four live snowy Plovers, an endangered species, also were found in Huntington Beach.
An estimated 5,000 gallons of oil has been recovered from the water and beaches, Ziccardi added.
Up to 144,00 gallons of crude oil leaked into the ocean after the pipeline, about 4.5 miles off the California coast, known as Elly, was damaged on Saturday morning.
The pipeline was no longer pumping oil as of approximately 8 a.m. Saturday, and the Coast Guard was notified of the leak at that time, said Amplify Energy Corporation CEO Martyn Willsher.
But officials have alleged that the leak actually was discovered more than eight hours earlier. Orange County supervisor Katrina Foley said over the weekend that the pipeline was likely leaking before the damage was discovered Saturday morning, and officials from a division of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife stated in a report that they were notified of an “observed sheen” off the Huntington Beach coast at 10:22 p.m. Friday, according to documents obtained by ABC News.
The U.S. Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration demanded the failed pipeline be repaired in a letter to Amplify Energy Corp. on Tuesday. The letter, addressed by the associate administrator for pipeline safety, said the oil platform’s control room received low-pressure alarms on the San Pedro Bay Pipeline around 2:30 a.m. PDT Saturday, indicating a possible failure. But the line was not shut down until 6:01 a.m. — 3 1/2 hours later.
Robert Bea, co-director of the Center for Catastrophic Risk Management at the University of California, Berkeley cast doubt on Amplify Energy’s claim that the pipeline was shut down at 2:30 a.m. Saturday.
Bea hypothesized that if the first sightings of the sheen came Friday night, and a large plume of oil was visible from satellite imagery shortly thereafter, the low-pressure alarms would have sounded in the control rooms soon after the leak began, unless the alarms were faulty.
No abnormalities were found when the pipeline was cleaned last week or during an annual spill drill in 2020, Willsher said, adding that he expected the total loss of oil to be lower, given that the damage to the pipeline was just a 13-inch crack.
“We want to do everything we can to ensure that this situation and this release gets resolved as quickly as possible so that these beautiful areas can be restored, and all of the residents and businesses can get back to normal as quickly as possible,” Willsher said.
It’s unclear why the company didn’t stop pumping sooner, Bea told ABC News.
A class-action lawsuit was filed against the companies that run the oil line on Monday.
ABC News’ Matt Gutman and Jenna Harrison contributed to this report.
