(NEW YORK) — The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating a near-collision between a Delta and American Airlines aircraft at John F. Kennedy International Airport, the government agency announced.
A Boeing 737 operated by Delta stopped its takeoff roll about 1,000 feet away from where American Airlines Flight 106, a Boeing 777, had crossed from an adjacent runway on Friday around 8:45 p.m., according to the FAA.
The Delta Flight 1943 came to a safe stop on Runway 4-Left after air traffic controllers noticed the other aircraft crossing the runway in front of the departing jetliner, the FAA said in a preliminary statement.
There were 145 passengers and six crew members on Flight 1943, which was flying to Santa Domingo Airport in the Dominican Republic, Delta said in a statement.
The airline described the incident as a “successful aborted takeoff procedure,” adding passengers deplaned after returning to the gate. The flight was then delayed overnight due to crew resources and were provided overnight accommodations, Delta said.
Flight 1943 eventually departed at 10:17 a.m. Saturday, Delta said.
Delta Airlines will work with and assist aviation authorities on the full review of the incident, according to the statement.
“The safety of our customers and crew is always Delta’s number one priority…” Delta said in the statement. “We apologize to our customers for the inconvenience and delay of their travels.”
When asked for comment by ABC News, American Airlines deferred to the FAA.
Additional information on the incident was not immediately available.
The National Transportation Safety Board is also investigating the incident, the agency announced Sunday afternoon.
(HOUSTON) — One person was killed and four others were wounded when a carload of armed assailants unleashed a barrage of more than 50 shots early Sunday morning on patrons outside a suburban Houston nightclub, police said.
Investigators are searching for witnesses and asking nearby businesses for surveillance video in what police described as a “scary” drive-by shooting involving multiple gunmen.
No arrests have been announced.
The shooting unfolded just outside a Lounge 33 nightclub in a shopping center in an unincorporated area northwest of Houston, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said during a news conference as investigators behind him collected shell casings and searched for evidence in a parking lot outside the nightclub.
Gonzalez said patrons of the nightclub were milling around the parking lot, some lined up at a food truck, when the shooting erupted.
He said a vehicle pulled up to the front of the nightclub just after 2 a.m., and multiple occupants got out and began firing at the crowd of patrons.
“It looks like over 50 shots were fired here, which is a very scary situation, considering there’s a mobile food truck and again the number of patrons that were outside,” Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez said sheriff’s deputies responded to the shooting and found two men and three women suffering from gunshot wounds. He said the victims were taken to area hospitals, where one of the wounded men was pronounced dead.
The names of those shot were not immediately released.
Gonzalez said deputies were canvassing the area for witnesses, adding that most fled the scene by the time deputies arrived.
(NEW YORK) — The winning numbers were drawn Friday night for the Mega Millions jackpot that has surged to $1.35 billion, the second-largest in the game’s history, and one ticket in Maine has matched all of the numbers to win.
The winning ticket was sold at the Hometown Gas & Grill in Lebanon, according to Maine Lottery. Lebanon is in southern Maine along the New Hampshire border.
“It’s fantastic,” Fred Cotreau, the owner of Hometown Gas & Grill, told ABC News.
“I am excited to find out who it is,” Cotreau said, adding that he hopes the winner is a local resident.
“Hopefully, he shows up in a Ferrari and continues to use my establishment for his convenience and gasoline needs,” Cotreau said with a laugh.
“We’re on somewhat of a busy road, so we really don’t know if it’s a local or out-of-stater. And regardless, I’m happy for them and hope money goes to good use,” he added.
The winning numbers were 30, 43, 45, 36, 61 and the megaball was 14.
The Mega Millions jackpot has now reset to $20 million for Tuesday’s drawing — which means there has been at least one ticket to match all numbers drawn, according to the Mega Millions website.
The Mega Millions jackpot was won by one person in Maine with 14 $2 million winners hailing from California, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, New York, Pennsylvania and Texas.
“Congratulations to the Maine State Lottery, which has just won its first-ever Mega Millions jackpot,” said Ohio Lottery Director Pat McDonald, Lead Director for the Mega Millions Consortium. “It’s the fourth billion-dollar jackpot in Mega Millions history. We thank all our retailers for their hard work during this spectacular run, and our customers for their enthusiasm and support. I hope the fun and excitement Mega Millions has generated inspires a winning attitude in our daily lives and towards everyone we meet. Here’s to a good year!”
The only Mega Millions jackpot larger than Friday’s prize is the $1.537 billion prize won in South Carolina on Oct. 23, 2018.
The prize is also now the fourth-largest jackpot in U.S. lottery history. Last November’s $2.04 billion prize, taken by a single winner in California, is the largest in U.S. history.The lump sum cash option payout for Friday’s drawing is $707.9 million — before taxes.
Tuesday night’s winning numbers were 7, 13, 14, 15 and 18 and the Mega Ball number was 9.
The most recent Mega Millions jackpot win was at $502 million, shared by winning tickets in California and Florida, on Oct.14.
While no one has claimed the top prize, there have been a total of almost 33.3 million winning tickets sold in the 25 drawings since the jackpot was last won.
Sixteen tickets matched the five white balls to win $1 million on Tuesday, while three people matched all five and played the multiplier to take home $3 million.
ABC News’ Peter Charalambous contributed to this report.
(RIVERSIDE COUNTY, Calif.) — A sheriff’s deputy in Riverside County, California, has been gunned down in the line of duty, leaving behind his pregnant wife, just weeks after another deputy in his department was killed.
Deputy Darnell Calhoun, 30, was shot Friday afternoon while responding to a domestic violence and child custody call in Lake Elsinore, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco said at a news conference.
“Dispatch received a call of an unknown trouble — there was voices heard in the background. Sounded like there could possibly be a struggle and deputies responded to the scene,” the sheriff said. “Deputy Calhoun was the first to arrive. At this point, we are not completely sure of the circumstances surrounding the initial contact. The second deputy arriving found our deputy wounded in the street, and a gunfight between the suspect and that deputy ensued.”
The suspect was shot and has been hospitalized in critical condition, Bianco said.
Calhoun joined the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in February 2022 after two years with the San Diego Police Department.
“He’s a husband, a son. He would’ve been a dad,” Bianco said.
Just two weeks ago, on Dec. 29, another Riverside County sheriff’s deputy, Isaiah Cordero, was shot and killed at a traffic stop, according to the department.
He was 32.
Before Cordero was killed, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department hadn’t had a deputy murdered in the line of duty since 2003, the sheriff said.
“Nationwide, we’re confronting these situations with armed individuals, that, over what seemingly seem to be minor disagreements, are willing to engage law enforcement in life and death gun battles,” the sheriff said.
As the department mourns, the sheriff said, “We will get through it. We will hold our heads high. And we will come right back to work to answer another call for service that could put our lives in jeopardy again.”
(NEW YORK) — A 5-year-old boy was killed when a tree crashed into his parent’s car during a tornado that struck Georgia this week, according to his family.
Egan Jeffcoat was with his mother Tabatha Anglin when the tree fell on the vehicle in Butts County, Georgia, Thursday evening, Lorrie Lloyd, the boy’s grandmother told ABC News.
Anglin was not injured but an unidentified male who was also in the vehicle was seriously injured, according to the authorities.
Several tornadoes formed in the South Thursday evening, killing nine people in Alabama and Georgia and causing a path of destruction in several locations.
(LOUISVILLE, Ky.) — Six men have been arrested in a connection with a massive New Year’s Day shootout in which nearly 600 rounds were fired near an apartment complex in Louisville, Kentucky, police announced this week.
Officers with the Louisville Metro Police Department responded to reports of two groups shooting at one another early on Jan. 1, the department said in an update on Friday. Nearly 600 rounds were fired in total by both groups, and multiple firearms were recovered at the scene, police said.
Nearby apartments and several vehicles were struck by gunfire, though no one was shot, police said.
“I’m actually grateful that no one was injured,” Louisville Interim Police Chief Jackie Gwinn-Villaroel told ABC Louisville affiliate WHAS. “But that does not negate the fact that that happened, and that cycle of gun violence is just actually taking root.”
With the assistance of the Louisville division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, detectives were able to identify several people allegedly involved in the shootout through video surveillance, witnesses and an anonymous tipline, police said.
Six men were arrested in connection with the shootout on varied charges including possession of a handgun by a convicted felon and receiving stolen property. Police identified the suspects as Shawn Martin, 25; Dorius Robinson, 19; Tevin Smyzer, 20; Justyn Walls, 19; Brandon Walton, 22; and Nathan Wolz, 42.
Two of the suspects — Walls and Smyzer — were recently arrested on murder charges for a fatal shooting that occurred last month, police said.
It is unclear if the suspects have attorneys who can speak on their behalf.
Detectives also seized eight guns, including three rifles, and two Glock switches, among other evidence, and five stolen vehicles were recovered amid the investigation into the shootout, police said.
The investigation remains open.
Nearly two weeks after the shootout, bulletholes remained on windows and walls of the Enclave apartment complex. The incident left residents shaken, scared and grateful nobody was hurt amid several reported near-misses.
Alena Rhodes, who lives on the second floor, said her boyfriend was almost struck by gunfire inside their apartment, and that a “second” in time made a difference.
“Whenever he hears a pop noise or anything, he literally has a panic attack,” Rhodes told WHAS.
Another tenant told WHAS his roommate was also nearly struck by gunfire inside their apartment.
“My coworkers, when I was telling them about this, they said, ‘Oh, yeah it happens every year,’ having no concern,” the tenant, who wished to remain anonymous, told WHAS. “They’re just too used to it, which is awful to know.”
(NEW YORK) — Larry Ray, alleged sex trafficker, extortionist and master manipulator of young women and men at Sarah Lawrence College, deserves life in prison when he is sentenced on Jan. 20 for unleashing a campaign of terror on his victims, some of whom were college classmates of his daughter, federal prosecutors said in a sentencing memorandum.
Ray was convicted in April of befriending the students and then, once they were caught in his snare, steadily grooming them, turning them into his slaves, forcing them to engage in labor for his own benefit and the benefit of his relatives, extorting them, and torturing them. He also sex-trafficked one of his victims.
“Lawrence Ray’s crimes were heinous. Over a period of years, he intentionally inflicted brutal and lifelong harm on innocent victims that he groomed and abused into submission,” prosecutors said.
What prosecutors called the Ray Enterprise was formed as early as 2010 when the victims were first targeted. It continued through at least 2020 when he sent messages as part of an effort to keep his victims silent, and — but for the investigation and prosecution — it would have had no logical endpoint, the judge said.
Five victims testified at trial: siblings Santos Rosario, Felicia Rosario, Yalitza Rosario; their mother, Maritza Rosario, and Claudia Drury.
Santos Rosario was a classmate of Larry Ray’s daughter, Talia Ray, at Sarah Lawrence College.
“While the defendant’s victims descended into self-hatred, self-harm, and suicidal attempts under his coercive control, the evidence showed that the defendant took sadistic pleasure in their pain and enjoyed the fruits of their suffering,” the prosecution sentencing submission said.
According to court records, Ray moved into a dorm and inserted himself into the lives of his daughter’s classmates. He read textbooks on psychological manipulation, false confessions, and brainwashing and turned a group of young students — his daughter’s college classmates and their siblings — into his slaves.
Prosecutors said that Ray steadily took over the minds and the bodies of his victims. He induced them to trust him and to believe he was all powerful and all knowing. Having gained their trust and convinced them to accept his lies as their truths, Ray made these impressionable young individuals doubt their own memories and knowledge, cut off relations with all other adults who might otherwise have offered support and guidance, and then — having induced them to manufacture false confessions with which he could threaten them with prison or worse — he forced them to do his bidding.
“He sought to convince his victims that they were worthless, undeserving of love, and irredeemable, and until his arrest in this case, he was succeeding,” prosecutors said. “He has shown no remorse, accepted no responsibility, and impeded the prosecution of this case, including by disrupting the trial and prolonging the trauma to his victims.”
Ray, 63, was convicted of more than a dozen counts including extortion, sex trafficking, forced labor, money laundering, and tax evasion.
The defense said he deserves the mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison.
“The physical, sexual, and psychological abuse Lawrence Ray suffered as a child and through his young adulthood bears a striking resemblance to the conduct underlying the offenses he now stands convicted of,” defense attorney Marne Lenox said in a sentencing submission. “Mr. Ray’s traumatic childhood experience of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse at the hands of his own family members undeniably shaped his adulthood.”
Though prosecutors expressed doubt about Ray’s remorse, the defense insisted he understood “the risks inherent to criminal conduct” because he has been incarcerated since his arrest three years ago.
“Mr. Ray not only knows the consequences of his actions, he has lived them. Never will he violate the law and risk the brutal detention that has stripped him of substantial time with his loved ones over the past nearly three years,” Lenox said.
(NEW YORK) — The NFL announced Wednesday the high school football coaches nominated by 32 NFL teams for the Don Shula NFL High School Coach of the Year Award, representing the best in coaching at the high school level.
In the eight months since the mass shooting that took 21 lives at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas, the community found resilience and hope at the Honey Bowl Stadium, home of the Uvalde Coyotes. Miller said sports, especially football, have been a catalyst for healing in Uvalde.
“To be recognized for doing things the right way, through a really tough time. I could not be more proud. This means the world to me, the program and our community,” Miller told ABC News.
Miller was hired as the head football coach and athletic director in 2021. While he said his main goal was to turn around the losing football program, he unexpectedly became a shepherd through grief for the 54 players on his team, noting that when practice began in summer, many of the teens didn’t want to go home at the end of each night.
In a symbolic first season opener, the team won on the road, 21 to 13. Players and coaches told ABC News after the game scoring 21 points was a reminder of the 21 victims of the Robb tragedy that would be with them this season. The team — with Miller’s guidance — also chose an exemplary student and player to don the “21” jersey and serve as captain during the season — Justyn Rendon — a tradition he intends to continue.
“Being able to witness Coach Miller getting nominated for this award means so much not just to me, but to the community of Uvalde. He really has changed our football program since he’s arrived, summer of 2021,” Coyotes captain Rendon said. “He’s not just the guy on the field, but off of the field, he’s nothing but humble and kind, there for anyone in the community whenever needed … but to our program, he’s more than just a coach. He’s a home away from home, he’s a true role model for all of us, and he’s done nothing but give love even throughout the tragedy. Win or lose, there was something to learn and be proud of after every game,” he added.
The players’ parents also felt impacted by Miller’s presence.
“Coach Miller’s efforts and leadership in the 2022 season will outlast his football record,” added Justyn’s father, Eluterio Rendon. “What he did with these boys was truly remarkable as we watched the team compete week after week in one of the toughest districts in Texas. But it wasn’t all about what he did on the field, what was most notable was what he did off the field. And that was connect with our boys in a way that will forever change their lives. His compassion, humbleness, leadership and sincerity is the foundation that this community needed in a time of uncertainty.”
The Coyotes ended the season 5-6 after qualifying for playoffs for the first time in several years. Miller said of the season, “Our goal before the tragedy or before anything happened, was to win as many games as we lost to make the playoffs. And we did that. I’m very, very proud of my kids for the way they battled through and played and stuck together throughout a very tough season.”
Each NFL team recognizes one coach in its area with the Houston Texans nominating Miller. The Texans have invested in the Uvalde Coyote football team this season, including attending a pregame dinner, donating new uniforms and equipment and hosting the entire team for their season home opener in September 2022.
The award is named after pro football Hall of Famer Don Shula, the winningest coach in NFL history. According to the NFL, the coaches were judged based on areas Shula excelled at most during his career — character, integrity, leadership, dedication to the community, commitment to player health and safety and on-field success.
“High school football coaches serve as leaders and role models dedicated to shaping the lives of young high school players both on and off the field and this group represents the very best from across the country every year,” said Roman Oben, vice president of football development.
For the first time, the NFL will recognize two winners, one from the AFC and NFC conferences. These two winners will be invited to the Pro Bowl Games in Las Vegas on Feb. 5 and will be recognized in special ways during the NFL’s week-long celebration of football.
The NFL Foundation and Nike collaborated to provide the two winners with a $15,000 award to their high school football programs to support their growth and needs and a $10,000 cash award. The other 30 club nominees will all receive a $1,000 cash award.
The coaches will attend Super Bowl LVII in Phoenix as special guests of the NFL. The Don Shula Award winners will be announced in the days prior to the Pro Bowl Game, the multi-day AFC vs. NFC competition that will culminate in an action-packed flag game, at Allegiant Stadium. The Pro Bowl Game will air on ESPN and ABC on Feb. 5. The winners will also be recognized and walk the red carpet at the 12th annual NFL Honors.
(NEW YORK) — In a town hall meeting with parents, a Virginia school district superintendent said that the backpack of a 6-year-old student who shot a teacher in a classroom was searched before the shooting, according to reporting from ABC News affiliate WVEC-TV.
Newport News Superintendent Dr. George Parker III said the boy accused in the shooting arrived at Richneck Elementary School late in the morning of Jan. 6, and that his backpack was searched after someone reported he may have had a weapon, according to WVEC-TV.
The person who searched the child’s bag didn’t find a weapon. A few hours later, 25-year-old teacher Abigail Zwerner was shot. The school district did not say who searched the boy’s bag, according to WVEC-TV.
The 6-year-old is accused of shooting Zwerner with a 9mm Taurus pistol in an “intentional” act, police said. She was initially hospitalized with life-threatening injuries.
The school district said it will install metal detectors in every school.
The Newport News School Board said the first walk-through metal detectors for all students, faculty, staff and visitors will be installed at Richneck Elementary, board chair Lisa Surles-Law said during a press conference.
The school board said it will purchase 90 walk-through metal detectors which will be put in every school across the district.
The district was able to obtain funds from the city and repurpose funds from the school budget to purchase the metal detectors.
Surles-Law said a decision has not been made on when Richneck Elementary will reopen.
In addition to “state-of-the-art detectors,” the district will bolster protocols on handling school violence, including implementing a safety stand down and reviewing student conduct and discipline records, Surles-Law said.
(DALLAS) — The Dallas Zoo has closed its doors Friday as it searches for a clouded leopard that appears to have escaped from its enclosure.
“One of our clouded leopards was not in its habitat when the team arrived this morning and is unaccounted for at this time,” the zoo said in a statement on Twitter.
Dallas Zoo said it issued a “code blue,” for a non-dangerous animal outside of its habitat.
The female leopard, named Nova, is believed to have escaped through a tear in the mesh around its enclosure, according to Harrison Edell, the executive vice president of animal care at the zoo. Luna, Nova’s sister, was still in the enclosure when zookeepers arrived Friday morning.
The leopards are about 4 years old, Edell said. Clouded leopards are a small species of leopard, only about 25 pounds, he added.
“She does not pose a threat to humans,” Edell said. “More likely than not, when she’s scared, she’s going to climb a tree, stay out of our way, hunt some squirrels and birds, and hope not to be noticed.”
Clouded leopards are found in southeast Asia and China and males grow to be about 50 pounds, according to the Smithsonian Institute. Females only reach about 25 to 35 pounds. In the wild they eat monkeys, small deer and wild boars.
The zoo said Dallas police are on the scene as they continue to search for the big cat.
“Given the nature of these animals, we believe the animal is still on grounds and hiding,” the zoo added.
The zoo occupies 106 acres just south of downtown Dallas and has more than 400 species and 2,000 animals.
This is a developing story. Please check back for details.
