Laurie Skrivan/St. Louis Post-Dispatch/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
(ST. LOUIS, Mo.) — Missouri Gov. Mike Parson announced Tuesday that he had pardoned Mark and Patricia McCloskey, the St. Louis couple who were charged with waving guns at a group of Black Lives Matter protesters outside their home last year.
Mark McCloskey was seen holding a semi-automatic rifle while his wife was holding a handgun on their property on June 28, 2020, as a group of protesters passed by their house, prosecutors said. The couple were filmed shouting “Get out” to the crowd, but there was no physical confrontation between them and the protesters.
They contended they were protecting their property during the protests.
Several prominent conservative leaders, including President Donald Trump, defended the couple. The McCloskeys were guest speakers at the 2020 Republican National Convention.
A grand jury indicted the couple in October and Pearson told reporters he would consider pardoning them.
The couple pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault and harassment charges in June. They surrendered their weapons and Patricia McCloskey was fined $2,000 while her husband was fined $750.
When Judge David Mason asked Mark McCloskey if he acknowledged that his actions put people at risk of personal injury, McCloskey replied, “I sure did, your honor.”
Mark McCloskey, who announced in May he was running for U.S. Senate, told reporters outside the courthouse after the hearing that he’d do it again.
“Any time the mob approaches me, I’ll do what I can to put them in imminent threat of physical injury because that’s what kept them from destroying my house and my family,” he said.
The couple and the governor didn’t immediately provide statements about the pardons.
(NEW YORK) — Evacuation orders have been issued in several regions in the West due to spreading wildfires.
Thousands of residents in Northern California and Montana were ordered to flee their homes as both new and existing wildfires neared neighborhoods.
Currently, about 90 large wildfires are burning in 12 states in the West — much of which is suffering from severe drought conditions.
The Dixie Fire, which has been burning near the Feather River Canyon in Northern California for weeks, prompted new evacuation orders in Greenville.
The Dixie Fire — the largest in the state — has been through more than 253,000 acres and is just 35% contained. The extreme fire behavior is being exacerbated by hot and dry conditions with gusty winds are persisting in the area, making it difficult for firefighters to battle the blaze.
The McFarland Fire in Wildwood, California, prompted evacuations in the area after it grew to more than 15,000 acres and remains just 5% contained. Critical fire weather is in effect in the region through Wednesday.
Evacuation warnings are in effect for the Monument Fire in Big Bar, California, after scorching through more than 6,000 acres. It is 0% contained.
The Boulder 2700 Fire near Polson, Montana, burned through nearly 1,500 acres by Tuesday afternoon and prompted evacuations over the weekend. Multiple structures have been destroyed by the fire, but cool, wet and humid weather will help to contain it.
The spread of the wildfires had slowed last week but picked back up as the moisture from the monsoons in the Southwest disappeared, with lightning strikes sparking more.
At least 35 new wildfires ignited over the weekend due to lightning strikes. Dozens of wildfires have sparked in Oregon alone over the last 48 hours, while 13 new fires have started in the last 24 hours in Montana.
Six states in the West, from Arizona to Washington, are currently under fire and heat alerts, while red flag warnings have been issued in Oregon and Northern California.
Excessive heat warnings are also in effect this week for the Southwest, including Las Vegas, Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona.
ABC News’ Melissa Griffin and Max Golembo contributed to this report.
(CHEYENNE, Wyo.) — An Illinois woman is facing federal charges for allegedly disturbing wildlife in Yellowstone National Park after a video surfaced of her attempting to get an up-close cellphone photo of a momma grizzly bear and her three cubs.
Bob Murray, the U.S. attorney for the district of Wyoming, announced on Monday that charges have been filed against 25-year-old Samantha R. Dehring of Carol Stream, Illinois.
Dehring is ordered to appear before a magistrate judge in Mammoth Hot Spring, Wyoming, on Aug. 26 to answer to charges of willfully remaining, approaching and photographing wildlife within 100 yards. She is also charged with one count of feeding, touching, teasing, frightening or intentionally disturbing wildlife.
If convicted, she could be sentenced to up to a year in prison and ordered to pay a $10,000 fine, Murray said in a statement.
The allegations marked the latest in a series of incidents of Yellowstone visitors behaving badly, including a man authorities say was arrested for taunting a bison and two men charged with “thermal trespassing” for breaching barriers to take up-close photos of the park’s famed Old Faithful geyser.
Attempts by ABC News to reach Dehring for comment were not successful.
With the help of tourists who witnessed and video-recorded Dehring’s close encounter with a grizzly bear family, U.S. Park Police managed to identify her and track her down, Murray said.
The incident unfolded on May 10, in the Roaring Mountain area of Yellowstone, Murray said.
“While other visitors slowly backed off and got into their vehicles, Dehring remained,” Murray said.
A video shot by a tourist showed Dehring standing roughly 15 feet from a grizzly bear taking a photo of the animal with her cellphone. She backed away only after the bear briefly charged at her and then retreated. Other bears nearby appeared to be startled by the encounter and ran into the forest.
Murray said U.S. Park Rangers from Yellowstone provided the results of their investigation to U.S. Rangers in the area where Dehring lives and they served her in person with the violation notices.
(WASHINGTON) — A Pentagon police officer was attacked during a shooting and stabbing incident at the Pentagon Transit Center earlier Tuesday, Department of Defense officials have confirmed.
Chief Woodrow Kusse, who leads the Pentagon Force Protection Agency, joined Pentagon spokesman John Kirby at an afternoon press briefing to address the incident, but he would not provide details about casualties.
“This morning at about 10:37 a.m., a Pentagon police officer was attacked on the Metro Bus platform. Gunfire was exchanged. And there were — there were several casualties. The incident is over, the scene is secure and — most importantly — there’s no continuing threat to our community,” he said.
“The scene is safe and secure,” he added. “There were a number of people that fled and there were some erroneous reports.”
The FBI is leading the investigation into the attack.
Pressed on reports on whether an officer died, he said he couldn’t release those details as the investigation is ongoing.
“I don’t want to compromise the integrity of that process right now,” he said.
“I’m not confirming or denying those particular reports right now the investigation is ongoing. And I do promise to get back as soon as possible, with further details but I can’t release those right now,” he said, pressed also on details about the assailant.
“We are not actively looking for another suspect,” Kusse added.
The Pentagon was placed on lockdown Tuesday morning after the incident at the Pentagon Transit Center involving a stabbing and a shooting, according to a separate U.S. official.
The lockdown was later lifted and the Pentagon reopened, the Pentagon Force Protection Agency said shortly after noon.
The Pentagon had no details regarding the assailant’s motivation Tuesday afternoon, but Kusse said they will review the results of the investigation before making a determination on whether security measures should change.
“Every time an incident occurs, whether it’s here or anywhere else across the nation or in the world, we do after actions on those we examine them, we look for things that we can do to improve. But right now, again, it’s still pending, we will certainly, as this investigation concludes, take another look at any measures,” he said.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Gen. Mark Milley were not in the Pentagon at the time of the incident. They were both at the White House for their weekly meeting with President Joe Biden and they were all aware of the ongoing situation.
All of the circumstances of the shooting remain unclear while the investigation is ongoing. The Pentagon Force Protection Agency said the scene is secure but remains “an active crime scene.”
Kirby said Tuesday afternoon that Austin was back in the Pentagon and had a chance to visit the Pentagon police operations center to check in and express his gratitude for their work.
(New York) — Police in Idaho are continuing to search for a 5-year-old boy who they say may be in danger after he went missing near his home.
Michael Joseph Vaughan was last seen near his home in Fruitland, Idaho, about 50 miles northwest of Boise, on the evening of July 27, according to the Fruitland Police Department.
Authorities described Michael as “missing and endangered” but did not provide any additional descriptions of his possible whereabouts. The boy’s family has been “fully cooperative” in the investigation, police said.
Last week, police asked any potential witnesses who may have been in the area of Southwest 9th Street and Arizona Avenue in Fruitland to come forward, even if they do not believe they saw anything.
Investigators also asked that people who live in the immediate area where Michael was last seen to “thoroughly search” their property.
The Fruitland Police Department assured the public Tuesday that the search for Michael was still ongoing.
“Our search efforts are still ongoing and extensive,” a post on the department’s Facebook page read. “Our main focus is to locate Michael.”
Police reminded volunteers engaged in their own personal searches to respect citizens’ right to deny entry to their property and to not walk through cultivated fields without the property owner’s permission.
The FBI, Idaho State Police and multiple Treasure Valley law enforcement agencies are all involved in the investigation.
Michael is described by authorities as being 3 feet, 7 inches tall, about 50 pounds, with blonde hair and blue eyes. He was last seen wearing a light blue shirt with a Minecraft graphic, dark blue boxer briefs and size 11 blue flip flops. He also answers to the nickname “Monkey,” police said.
(NEW YORK) — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo was found to have sexually harassed multiple women, including current and former state employees, New York State Attorney General Letitia James announced Tuesday morning after a four-month probe into the allegations.
In at least one instance, the investigation determined that the governor sought to retaliate against a woman who leveled accusations against him, identified in a report released by the AG’s office as Lindsay Boylan.
According to James, the probe found that Cuomo and his staff fostered a toxic work environment. Cuomo, in a statement released after James’ announcement, denied any wrongdoing.
The attorney general’s 168-page report, released during her press conference, determined that “the governor engaged in conduct constituting sexual harassment under federal and New York State law.”
“Specifically, we find that the Governor sexually harassed a number of current and former New York State employees by, among other things, engaging in unwelcome and nonconsensual touching, as well as making numerous offensive comments of a suggestive and sexual nature that created a hostile work environment for women,” the report said.
At Tuesday’s press conference, employment discrimination attorney Anne Clark, one of the investigators assigned to lead the probe, presented a litany of findings from the report, including specific examples of the governor making suggestive comments and engaging in unwanted touching that eleven women — some named, others anonymous — found “deeply humiliating and offensive.”
In an instance involving one of Cuomo’s unnamed executive assistants, the governor was found to have “reached under her blouse and grabbed her breast,” according to the report.
The same woman also recounted a circumstance in which “the Governor moved his hand to grab her butt cheek and began to rub it. The rubbing lasted at least five seconds,” the report said.
In another instance, the report describes how Cuomo sexually harassed a state trooper assigned to his protective detail, including by “running his hand across her stomach, from her belly button to her right hip, while she held a door open for him at an event” and “running his finger down her back, from the top of her neck down her spine to the middle of her back, saying ‘Hey, you,’ while she was standing in front of him in an elevator.”
In his televised statement issued Tuesday afternoon in response to the report, Cuomo said that “the facts are much different than what has been portrayed” — and gave no indication that he would heed calls for his resignation.
“I want you to know directly from me that I never touched anyone inappropriately or made inappropriate sexual advances,” he said.
Without directly undermining the attorney general’s report, Cuomo claimed that “politics and bias are interwoven into every aspect of this situation.”
Cuomo met with investigators for 11 hours last month and offered “a combination” of denials and admissions, Clark said Tuesday.
“There are some incidents he admitted to but had a different interpretation of, and there were other things that he denied or said he didn’t recall,” Clark added.
Once considered a leading voice among national Democrats for his aggressive response to the coronavirus pandemic, Cuomo has suffered a meteoric fall from grace in recent months under a deluge of negative headlines.
When sexual harassment claims against Cuomo emerged in March, federal investigators were already reportedly probing his administration over concerns that it withheld damning data about nursing home deaths in New York. Cuomo has also faced scrutiny over reports that he prioritized testing for his family in the early days of the pandemic.
At least six women, including several who previously worked for the three-term governor, have accused Cuomo of inappropriate behavior and unwanted advances — claims that he has either dismissed as an exaggeration or outright denied.
“Wait for the facts,” Cuomo said in March. “An opinion without facts is irresponsible.”
Reports of the alleged misconduct prompted James to launch an independent investigation, tapping two seasoned investigators to lead the probe.
As part of the fallout from the sexual harassment claims, Cuomo faced calls from several high-profile Democrats — including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, D-N.Y., and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. — to resign. Cuomo has rebuffed those calls.
COVID-19 live updates: Arkansas sees highest hospitalization increase since start of pandemic
(NEW YORK) — The United States is facing a COVID-19 surge this summer as the more contagious delta variant spreads.
More than 613,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 and over 4.2 million people have died worldwide, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.
Just 58.1% of Americans ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC last week, citing new science on the transmissibility of the delta variant, changed its mask guidance to now recommend everyone in areas with substantial or high levels of transmission — vaccinated or not — wear a face covering in public, indoor settings.
Here’s how the news is developing Tuesday. All times Eastern:
Aug 03, 11:25 am
Data ‘tipping’ to show delta more serious for kids than past variants
National Institutes of Health director Francis Collins told CNN Tuesday the data is “tipping” toward showing how the delta variant is more serious for children than past variants.
Collins listed studies from Singapore, Scotland and Canada that “certainly tilts the balance in that direction” but made clear that more data is needed.
Collins also added that part of the reason the U.S. is seeing more children in hospitals is because they’re part of the unvaccinated population and he doesn’t want to “overstate the confidence.”
-ABC News’ Cheyenne Haslett
Aug 03, 10:23 am
NYC to require proof of vaccination to eat inside
New York City will soon require vaccinations for workers and customers for indoor dining, indoor fitness facilities and indoor entertainment facilities, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Tuesday.
This mandate will be enforced as of Sept. 13.
Aug 03, 8:55 am
US ships more than 100 million vaccine doses abroad
The Biden administration has hit a vaccine-sharing milestone, shipping more than 110 doses to over 60 countries around the world, mostly through COVAX, the World Health Organization’s vaccine-sharing initiative. The U.S. has shared more doses than every other country combined, according to United Nations data.
Starting at the end of August, the U.S. will begin shipping another batch of 500 million doses of Pfizer to 100 low-income countries across the globe. Two-hundred million of those 500 million doses are expected to be shipped in 2021.
Aug 03, 8:24 am
Arkansas sees highest increase in hospitalizations since start of pandemic
Another 81 COVID-19 patients were admitted to Arkansas hospitals on Monday, the highest increase in hospitalizations since the beginning of the pandemic, Gov. Asa Hutchinson tweeted.
The state now has 1,220 COVID-19 patients in hospitals, including 250 on ventilators.
“We continue to see nearly all hospitalizations among the unvaccinated,” the governor wrote. “Hospitals are full & the only remedy is for more Arkansans to be vaccinated.”
(NEW YORK) — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo was found to have sexually harassed multiple women, including current and former state employees, New York State Attorney General Letitia James announced Tuesday morning after a four-month probe into the allegations.
According to James, the probe found that Cuomo and his staff fostered a toxic work environment — though Cuomo has denied any wrongdoing and has sought in recent weeks to cast doubt on the integrity of the investigation.
Once considered a leading voice among national Democrats for his aggressive response to the coronavirus pandemic, Cuomo has suffered a meteoric fall from grace in recent months under a deluge of negative headlines.
When sexual harassment claims against Cuomo emerged in March, federal investigators were already reportedly probing his administration over concerns that it withheld damning data about nursing home deaths in New York. Cuomo has also faced scrutiny over reports that he prioritized testing for his family in the early days of the pandemic.
At least six women, including several who previously worked for the three-term governor, have accused Cuomo of inappropriate behavior and unwanted advances — claims that he has either dismissed as an exaggeration or outright denied.
“Wait for the facts,” Cuomo said in March. “An opinion without facts is irresponsible.”
Reports of the alleged misconduct prompted James to launch an independent investigation, tapping two seasoned investigators to lead the probe.
As part of the fallout from the sexual harassment claims, Cuomo faced calls from several high-profile Democrats — including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, D-N.Y., and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. — to resign. Cuomo has rebuffed those calls.
(NASHVILLE, Tenn.) — Three employees were shot and injured at a Smile Direct Club manufacturing facility in the Antioch neighborhood of Nashville, Tennessee, early Tuesday, officials said.
One employee was struck in the chest, one in the abdomen and one in the leg, Nashville police spokesman Don Aaron said at a news conference.
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One of the victims is in critical condition, he said.
The suspected gunman left the building as officers responded to the call, but officers spotted him at an intersection and demanded he drop the weapon, Aaron said. The suspect, armed with a semi-automatic pistol with an extended magazine, instead directed the gun toward officers, according to Aaron.
The suspect was shot by police and taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead, police said.
Smile Direct Club said in a statement, “The safety of our team members is a top priority for our Company and we maintain strict security protocols and a no weapons policy at all of our facilities. We are working with the local police as they investigate this matter.”
