(NEW YORK) — The body of a kindergarten teacher who had been missing since Monday has been found buried in a shallow grave only a few miles away from where she lived and worked, police said.
Luz Hernandez, a 33-year-old kindergarten teacher from Jersey City, New Jersey, was first reported missing on Monday which led the Jersey City Police Department to conduct a welfare check the following day in regards to the missing person’s report, according to Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez.
“During the course of the investigation, the Homicide Unit located what appeared to be a shallow grave in the area of Central Avenue and Third Street in Kearny,” Suarez said. “The body of a female was recovered a short time later and she was pronounced dead at the scene at 4:53 p.m.”
Authorities did not disclose the manner in which Hernandez died but said that the death is considered suspicious and the cause is currently pending upon the findings of the Regional Medical Examiner’s Office, Suarez said.
Hernandez worked as a kindergarten at BelovED Charter School in Jersey City — just a two-minute walk away from where she lived, according to ABC News’ New York City station WABC-TV.
The school’s founder, Bret Schundler, called Hernandez an amazing person and a wonderful kindergarten teacher who developed close relationships with staff and students, according to WABC.
“This will be a shock to the entire community,” he told WABC.
“[She was a] very pleasant woman, beautiful children. It is sad that she passed away. I feel terrible,” a neighbor identified as Monique told WABC in an interview. “She always seemed so pleasant so I really didn’t think something so severe [could happen].”
Hernandez leaves behind three young children, two of which were students at the school she taught at, according to WABC. All classes at the school were cancelled on Wednesday.
“The Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Homicide Unit is actively investigating this case with assistance from the Jersey City Police Department and the Kearny Police Department,” said Suarez. “No arrests have been made at this time.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Office of the Hudson County Prosecutor at 201-915-1345 or to leave an anonymous tip. All information will be kept confidential.
(BALTIMORE) — At least one person is dead and five others have been injured after a driver in a stolen vehicle slammed into a building and caused it to collapse in an attempt to flee from police.
The incident occurred at approximately 8:54 p.m. on Wednesday in Baltimore, Maryland, when Eastern District officers spotted a stolen vehicle in the E. North Avenue corridor of the city and attempted to investigate when the vehicle took off, according to Baltimore Police spokesperson Lindsey Eldridge.
“The stolen vehicle struck another vehicle, and both vehicles collided with a building at the intersection of E. North Avenue and Wolfe Street, causing the building to collapse,” Eldridge said.
Baltimore firefighters and medics immediately responded to the scene and began their emergency rescue operations.
Authorities were able to pull a 54-year-old male pedestrian from among the rubble and building debris but he was pronounced dead at the scene. Five others — all occupants from the involved vehicles — were rescued and taken to local area hospitals, according to Eldridge.
Their conditions are currently unknown.
Baltimore Police Department’s Special Investigations Response Team along with the Crash Team responded and are investigating this incident, police said.
The investigation into the accident is open and ongoing.
(NEW YORK) — A tornado was spotted just outside of Tangipahoa, Louisiana, Wednesday evening, according to the National Weather Service New Orleans, which has urged residents to take shelter as the tornado moves north.
Three people were injured after a possible tornado touched down near the village of Tangipahoa, according to Tangipahoa Parish Police Chief Jimmy Travis.
On Wednesday, tornado watches were issued for several states in the South, as storms move across the region.
Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana and one county in Texas are also on alert for tornadoes until 10 p.m. ET, according to meteorologists.
More tornado watches may be issued when the line of storms moves eastward into Mississippi and Tennessee.
More than eight million people are at risk for severe weather in the deep South, as storms with damaging winds, flash flooding and scattered tornadoes are expected.
Jackson, Mississippi, is in the center of this severe weather threat, with storms in the area likely coming through during the evening into the overnight hours.
Nocturnal tornadoes are 2.5 times more likely to be deadly than tornadoes during the daytime.
A large storm that’s moving across the country is bringing a range of weather hazards, from severe weather and gusty winds to heavy snow.
More than 40 million Americans in 20 states are under wind alerts, which stretch from the Gulf Coast to the Great Lakes, with wind gusts topping 50 mph on Wednesday and Thursday.
Winter alerts are in effect from Iowa through Wisconsin, with 8 inches of snow accumulation possible from Wednesday through Thursday afternoon.
(NEW YORK) — Residents near the Ohio-Pennsylvania state line who were told to evacuate after tanker cars derailed in a fiery crash can return home after an evacuation order was lifted on Wednesday, officials said.
Air and water samples that were collected Tuesday have been deemed safe, according to officials.
Officials have urged East Palestine residents to follow a “Safe Return Traffic Plan” to ensure a seamless return to the northeastern Ohio village where the derailment occurred on Friday.
“We came together as a community and put safety first, avoiding what very well could have been a tragedy of epic proportions,” Chief Keith Drabick of the East Palestine Fire Department said at a press conference on Wednesday.
The Ohio EPA will remain involved to oversee the long-term cleanup, working with Norfolk Southern and other contractors over the next several years — aiming to ensure the air and water remain within safety thresholds.
Crews conducted a controlled release and burn of toxic chemicals from five of the derailed cars that were in danger of exploding on Monday afternoon, officials said. A large ball of fire and plume of black smoke could be seen billowing high into the sky from the smoldering derailment site in East Palestine as the controlled burn took place.
As of Monday night, a 1-mile mandatory evacuation zone had been in place around the site, according to East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway.
East Palestine is home to roughly 4,700 residents, about half of whom had been warned to leave over the weekend before officials decided on Monday to conduct the controlled release.
About 50 cars of a Norfolk Southern Railroad train, traveling from Illinois to Pennsylvania, derailed in the village on Friday night at around 9 p.m. local time. Ten of the derailed cars were transporting hazardous materials, five of which contained vinyl chloride. No injuries were reported, officials said.
According to the National Transportation Safety Board, two videos show preliminary indications of mechanical issues on one of the car’s axles. The train’s emergency brake was activated after crews said an alarm went off, the NTSB said.
Efforts to contain a fire at the derailment site stalled on Saturday night, as firefighters withdrew from the blaze due to concerns about air quality and explosions.
Forced evacuations began in East Palestine on Sunday night and by Monday residents in a 1-mile by 2-mile area surrounding the site, which includes parts of Ohio and Pennsylvania, were ordered to evacuate immediately.
“The vinyl chloride contents of five rail cars are currently unstable and could potentially explode, causing deadly disbursement of shrapnel and toxic fumes,” the office of Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said in a statement Monday.
The controlled release and burn went “as planned,” according to Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.
“Thus far, no concerning readings have been detected,” Shapiro said during a press conference on Monday evening, about three hours after the procedure began. “For now, out of an abundance of caution, Pennsylvanians who live within two miles of East Palestine, where this derailment occurred, should just continue to shelter in place this evening and keep your windows and your doors closed.”
Crews monitoring air quality “have not seen anything” unexpected, according to James Justice of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
“So far, so good,” Justice said at the press conference. “And we’re going to continue to monitor until the fire’s out.”
In a statement to ABC News, Norfolk Southern Railroad also called Monday’s controlled release a success and said materials were burning off according to plan.
“We have been, and will continue, monitoring air quality with the Ohio EPA,” the rail operator added. “Remediation work at the site can now safely continue.|
ABC News’ Jianna Cousin, Alexandra Faul, Matt Foster, Melissa Gaffney, Teddy Grant, Darren Reynolds and Alondra Valle contributed to this report.
(MEMPHIS, Tenn.) — The Memphis Police and Fire Departments are under heavy scrutiny following the death of Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man who was brutally beaten by police and died three days later.
In a Tuesday hearing from the city council’s Public Safety committee, Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn “CJ” Davis and Memphis Fire Chief Gina Sweat were grilled about what went wrong on Jan. 7 when Nichols was pulled over for alleged reckless driving and died three days later, and what needs to be fixed in the department to prevent abuses in the future.
Six officers have been fired from the police department, five of which have been criminally charged in connection with Nichols’ death. Attorneys for two of them have said they will plead not guilty and the others have declined to comment or did not respond to past requests for comment.
Seven additional Memphis police officers could face discipline in connection with the incident, the city’s chief legal officer, Jennifer Sink, told ABC News.
Individuals “who did not make the scene but also had some level of responsibility,” are also under review, according to Davis.
“A lot went wrong on January 7,” Davis said at the hearing.
She said officers “were given exceptional training, more training than they had in the past” and instead cited a lack of supervision and a troublesome “wolfpack” culture that caused the incident.
“There’s a saying in law enforcement that culture eats policy for lunch,” Davis said.
“We don’t want to just have good policies because policy can be navigated around. We want to make sure we have the right people in place and make sure our culture is evolving and changing to the philosophies we’re talking about,” she continued.
Three Fire Department employees – two EMTs and a lieutenant – have also been fired for failing to properly assess Nichols as he lay beaten on the ground.
Sweat said the call to the fire department came in as a “report of pepper spray,” which she described as a fairly routine call. When they arrived on the scene, she said personnel were reacting to “what they saw, what they were told.”
An ABC News analysis of body camera and surveillance footage shows that Nichols waited 16 minutes for EMTs to help after being beaten by police.
“They did not perform at the level that we expect or that the citizens deserve,” Sweat said. She said the department is reviewing policies on training and accountability in the wake of Nichols’ death.
The department implemented reform efforts following the racial reckoning of 2020 and the murder of George Floyd by police, which activists and critics say wasn’t enough.
2022 saw the most amount of alleged violations against Memphis police officers since at least 2016, according to the department’s Inspectional Services Bureau dashboard.
The city council reviewed and moved forward several measures Tuesday in an effort to address some concerns following Nichols’ death.
The policies include: an expansion of the data collection on traffic stops, arrests, use of force, and complaints; requiring an independent review process for incidents involving the use of force; requiring police to only use appropriately marked law enforcement vehicles for traffic stops; and clarifying “appropriate methods of enforcement of traffic violations.”
It would also establish the misuse of body worn cameras and excessive force complaint “as disqualifying factors in the Memphis Police Department promotional process” for two years.
(SAYREVILLE, N.J.) — New Jersey community members and local elected leaders will gather Wednesday night at Epic Church International in Sayreville for a memorial service to honor Eunice Dwumfour, a New Jersey councilwoman who was shot and killed in an SUV near her home last week.
Members of her family are expected to attend the service.
Dwumfour — the mother of a 12-year-old daughter and leader of her church — sustained multiple gunshot wounds in her white SUV and was pronounced dead at the scene, according to police.
No arrests have been made and there have been very few updates since her killing nearly one week ago.
Police have not disclosed a motive or revealed if they have identified a suspect.
Police have no clear motive for Dwumfour’s killing, according to law enforcement sources briefed on the investigation. However, detectives have her phone and they are looking at every aspect of her life — personal, professional, religious — to figure out why this happened, sources told ABC News last week.
Dwumfour had just dropped someone off at her townhome and was heading somewhere else when the assailant approached on foot, according to sources.
No words appear to have been exchanged, sources told ABC News.
Dwumfour was elected into office in 2021 and worked as a business analyst and part-time emergency medical technician.
(UNALASKA, Alaska) — Active volcanoes are proving to be a hot commodity in the global race to transform to renewable energy as regions all over the world that reside near these natural wonders work to harness their heat.
Geothermal energy, the process of using the heat from the inner cores of the earth to create power, is one of the most sustainable forms of energy, experts told ABC News. The technology works by pushing hot water from the reservoirs of volcanoes and geysers toward the surface, which then turns to steam due to the reduced pressure.
The steam then gets pushed toward a turbine, which then generates electricity.
There are virtually no carbon emissions from this process once the infrastructure is in place, other than the diesel-powered pump required to bring the water and steam to the surface, Pete Stelling, a retired geology professor formerly at Western Washington University, told ABC News.
“It is considered the most sustainable energy source,” Amanda Kolker, program manager for geothermal energy at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, told ABC News. “It’s also a relatively invisible renewable source, both figuratively and, you know, metaphorically, because it’s literally underground.”
If there are any leaks in the pipes, the substance leaking out is simply water or steam, and there is no hazardous waste, Jackie Caplan-Auerbach, a professor of geology at Western Washington University, told ABC News.
Other than the land use and the environmental damage done by the initial construction, there are no other hazards, Caplan-Auerbach.
“There are no refineries that need to be built or shipped to,” she said. “There’s no gas station on the corner that you need to develop to sell the product.”
The caveats to geothermal energy, however, are cumbersome, Stelling said.
The technology is only available in select places around the world. What makes a region ideal for harnessing geothermal energy is the availability of something “really hot” near the surface.
The vast majority are near active volcanoes, where an underground magma chamber heats the water around it, simply because they are the easiest locations to find, Stelling said. Geysers and inactive volcanoes can also be options, he added.
The residents and businesses who can benefit from geothermal energy need to reside near the plant, as it is not possible to transport the energy, Stelling said. Instead, the energy is placed directly into the power grid.
In addition to determining whether the fractures in the ground are big enough to allow water to flow through them, geologists also have to consider the inherent risk of constructing an energy plant near an active volcano and whether a possible eruption can damage the plant, Caplan-Auerbach said.
The biggest roadblock to installing geothermal production plants is the cost, Stelling said. Construction crews must drill several kilometers into the earth and pull the hot water out of open fractures in the ground. The turbine will then run off of the steam and produce electricity.
A construction project aimed at bringing geothermal energy to Unalaska, a city in the Aleutian Islands in Alaska, is expected to cost about $235 million to build a plant powered by the Makushin Volcano.
“The initial upfront investment is pretty high,” Stelling said. “But once you get the equipment in place, and you establish that geothermal field, it works really well. And it’s really cheap.”
The introduction of geothermal energy into a community has the ability to decrease energy costs for residents and businesses, especially in Alaska, which is so dependent on importing oil for heat and electricity, Stelling said. The wind in the Aleutian Islands is so heavy that it “just blows the turbines apart,” making wind production impossible, he added.
Geothermal energy currently generates about 3.7 gigawatts of electricity in the United States, according to the Department of Energy. A new analysis showed that geothermal energy could provide 90 gigawatts of “firm, flexible power” to the U.S. grid by 2050.
Many who live near geothermal energy plants may not know that their cities are powered by the heat of the earth, Kolker said. For example, San Francisco at one point obtained a third of its power from the Geysers, which is the world’s largest geothermal complex. The Geysers, located in the Mayacamas Mountains 72 miles north of the city, contain 18 geothermal power plants that draw steam from more than 350 wells.
The U.S. Department of Energy is currently researching the extent of geographical constraints that geothermal energy presents, Kolker said.
“There are efforts to try to expand the geographic possibilities for geothermal using more unconventional approaches,” she said.
The Department of Energy announced funding of up to $74 million on Wednesday for up to seven pilot projects that will test the efficacy and scalability of enhanced geothermal systems.
“Advances in enhanced geothermal systems will help introduce geothermal energy in regions where, until recently, the use of this renewable power source was thought to be impossible,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm in a statement. “These pilot demonstrations will help us realize the enormous potential of the heat beneath our feet to deliver clean, renewable energy to millions of Americans.”
(ALBUQUERQUE, N.M) — A New Mexico murder suspect is on the run after allegedly cutting off his ankle monitor, officials said.
Joe Anderson was released from jail in January pending trial for first-degree murder, according to the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office.
The New Mexico Supreme Court on Monday overruled the district court’s decision to release him and he was ordered detained until his trial. After requesting a bench warrant for his arrest on Tuesday, prosecutors learned that Anderson was missing, the district attorney’s office said.
“This is exactly why we filed pretrial detention in this matter,” Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman said in a statement. “Unfortunately this individual has cut off his ankle monitor and is in the wind.”
Law enforcement from the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office, as well as other agencies, are currently looking for Anderson, prosecutors said Wednesday. A warrant has been issued for Anderson’s arrest for failure to comply with conditions of release, court records show.
Anderson was arrested in December and charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, tampering with evidence and conspiracy to commit tampering with evidence.
He entered a not guilty plea to the charges during an arraignment in December.
Anderson is accused of fatally shooting Raymond Aviles in Albuquerque in August, following a dispute over a motorcycle, police said. Aviles was shot while attempting to drive away on a motorcycle Anderson had lent him, according to Albuquerque police.
Anderson was previously convicted of voluntary manslaughter in 2016 and has an “extensive criminal history,” prosecutors said.
He is identifiable by several tattoos, including a Zia symbol on his face, authorities previously noted.
Crime Stoppers is offering up to a $2,500 reward for information in the case. Anyone with information is asked to call (505) 843-STOP.
Wiktor Szymanowicz/Future Publishing via Getty Images
(BROUSSARD, La.) — Police have arrested a man in connection with the theft of 12 squirrel monkeys from a Louisiana zoo last month. However, the monkeys still remain at large.
Joseph Randall, 61, was arrested and booked into the Lafayette Parish Correctional Center. He is charged with burglary and 12 counts of cruelty to animals.
Officials are still investigating the whereabouts of the monkeys. Police identified the suspect through a combination of surveillance video and investigative work, the Broussard Police Department told ABC News.
It has not yet been determined if the suspect visited the zoo in advance of the late-night theft on Jan. 28.
Police are trying to determine what Randall allegedly did with the monkeys.
George Matthew Oldenburg, the owner of Zoosiana, which is located in Broussard, told ABC News that he does not know the suspect and there does not appear to be a connection between him or anyone at the zoo.
The thief had first targeted the facilities of smaller primates before gaining access to the squirrel monkey exhibit and successfully stealing 12 of the 38 monkeys in that enclosure, according to zoo officials.
The thief tried to capture a marmoset monkey, but the monkey escaped its enclosure. Zoo officials were later able to catch the monkey and return it to its habitat, zoo officials said.
Oldenburg said he found it strange that no one has come forward with any information about the monkeys’ whereabouts.
He told ABC News he believes police are currently questioning the suspect, but said he is being “left in the dark with any particulars right now.”
The thief evidently brought tools to cut the wire, break locks and destroy the enclosure. It appears the monkeys were taken in a burlap sack as one was left behind at the scene, Oldenburg told ABC News last week.
To protect the integrity of the ongoing investigation, police have not released any further information and have not shared much information with the zoo.
Police said they are still unaware if there is any connection between this theft and suspicious activity at the Dallas Zoo. They have been in contact with the Dallas Zoo, but believe there will not be any connection.
Two emperor tamarin monkeys were stolen from their habitat at the Dallas Zoo last month. They have since been recovered and a suspect has been arrested in connection with the theft.
He was charged with six counts of animal cruelty in connection with the tamarin monkeys and has since been charged with two counts of burglary to a building.
(NEW YORK) — Donald Trump’s one-time lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen arrived Wednesday at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office to meet with prosecutors investigating the former president’s role in alleged hush payments to a porn actress before the 2016 election.
This is Cohen’s 15th interview with the district attorney’s office but the first since a recently convened grand jury began hearing evidence about the $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels to keep her quiet about a long-denied affair with Trump.
Cohen helped arrange the payment with David Pecker, then-publisher of the National Enquirer. Pecker appeared before the grand jury on Jan. 30.
The hush-money case was rejected by former District Attorney Cy Vance, but revived under current District Attorney Alvin Bragg, whose office has been fending off criticism of a decision not to charge Trump earlier.
“I thought it’s important not only to shed light on the evidence but also the back and forth that took place,” said Mark Pomerantz, a former special assistant district attorney who co-led the investigation until his resignation last year and the author of a new book, People vs. Donald Trump: An Inside Account.
“The underlying question of guilt was not one that divided people,” Pomerantz told GMA3 in an interview airing Wednesday. “I think there was a fear that if you go forward with the case and don’t win, you shake public confidence in the legal system.”
Bragg has said the case Pomerantz wanted to bring, that centered on Trump’s allegedly fraudulent statements of financial condition, was “not ready” and he expressed concern the book’s publication could hurt the ongoing investigation.
“I didn’t write the book to try and help Donald Trump avoid prosecution. The message of the book is the evidence was there,” Pomerantz said.
Trump has always denied having an affair with Daniels and has called Bragg’s investigation a “witch hunt.”
