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(NEW YORK) — The NASA astronauts who were aboard the first crewed flight into space on Boeing’s Starliner will participate in a press conference on Wednesday morning.

Flight commander Barry “Butch” Wilmore, 61, a former U.S. Navy captain, and Sunita Williams, 58, a former Navy service member, the flight’s pilot, both of whom are currently aboard the International Space Station (ISS), are set to answer questions about the test flight and the mission.

Wilmore and Williams lifted off on June 5 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida and docked with the ISS on June 6.

The pair were initially expected to spend one week aboard the ISS evaluating the spacecraft and its systems and return June 14. However, Starliner has experienced several mechanical issues, including helium leaks and a thruster issue, leaving the astronauts stuck onboard the ISS with no set return date.

NASA has insisted Wilmore and Williams are safe while they remain onboard the ISS with the Expedition 71 crew. The agency has said the ISS has plenty of supplies in orbit, and the station’s schedule is relatively open through mid-August.

“I want to make it clear that Butch and Suni aren’t stranded in space,” Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew program, said during a June 28 teleconference. “Our plan is to continue to return them on Starliner and return them home at the right time.”

NASA and Boeing say Wilmore and Williams are “integrated” with the Expedition 71 crew aboard the ISS and are helping the crew with station operations as needed, as well as completing “objectives” needed for NASA’s possible certification of Starliner.

“Since their arrival on June 6, Wilmore and Williams have completed half of all hands-on research time conducted aboard the space station, allowing their crewmates to prepare for the departure of Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft,” NASA wrote in a recent update.

This week, teams at NASA’s White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico are performing ground tests of Starliner’s thruster, putting it through similar conditions the spacecraft experienced on its way to the ISS, according to an update on Boeing’s website.

The tests will replicate Starliner’s docking, when some of the thrusters failed, and what the thrusters will experience from undocking to landing back on Earth.

“We really want to understand the thruster and how we use it in flight,” said Dan Niedermaier, the lead Boeing engineer for the thruster testing, in a statement. “We will learn a lot from these thruster firings that will be valuable for the remainder of the Crew Flight Test and future missions.”

Starliner has been plagued by issues even before launch. The flight test was originally tentatively scheduled for May 6, but was scrubbed after a problem with an oxygen valve on a rocket from United Launch Alliance, which manufactures and operates the rockets that launch Starliner spacecraft into orbit.

A new launch date was subsequently set for May 25, but then a small helium leak was discovered in the Starliner service module, which contains support systems and instruments for operating the spacecraft.

Those helium leaks and a thruster issue threatened to delay Starliner’s docking, but it docked successfully. Five days after docking at the ISS, NASA and Boeing announced that the spacecraft was experiencing five “small” helium leaks, but added at the time that enough helium remained for the return mission.

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(NEW YORK) — A 28-year-old man who worked for a business in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming allegedly threatened to carry out a mass shooting before being killed in a shootout with rangers on the Fourth of July, officials said Tuesday.

Samson Lucas Bariah Fussner, of Milton, Florida, was confronted by Yellowstone law enforcement rangers early on the morning of July 4 while allegedly shooting a semi-automatic rifle toward a dining facility at Canyon Village, according to the National Park Service. Approximately 200 people were in the facility at the time, NPS said in an update on the incident Tuesday.

During an exchange of gunfire, Fussner was shot by law enforcement rangers and died at the scene, NPS said. A ranger was also shot in a lower extremity, NPS said. The injured ranger was transported to an area hospital in stable condition and has since been released, NPS said. No other injuries were reported.

Fussner was an employee of Xanterra Parks and Resorts, a private business authorized to operate in Yellowstone, according to NPS. ABC News has reached out to the business for comment.

Law enforcement rangers initially began searching for the suspect after Yellowstone’s 911 dispatch center received a report just after midnight on July 4 “that a woman had been held against her will by a man with a gun in a residence at Canyon Village,” NPS said in a press release.

“She also reported to law enforcement rangers that Fussner threatened to kill her and others, including plans to allegedly carry out a mass shooting(s) at July 4th events outside the park,” NPS said.

Rangers were “strategically deployed” in the park amid the search for Fussner, NPS said. Those posted near Canyon Lodge — which houses employee and public dining rooms in the center of the park — encountered him around 8 a.m. local time as he “reportedly walked toward the service entrance of the facility while firing a semi-automatic rifle,” NPS said.

The investigation into this incident is being led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and will be reviewed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Wyoming, the NPS said. The probe will include the shooting involving the rangers, who have been placed on paid administrative leave amid the investigation per NPS policy.

“Thanks to the heroic actions of our law enforcement rangers, many lives were saved here last Thursday,” Yellowstone Superintendent Cam Sholly said in a statement. “These rangers immediately confronted this shooter and took decisive action to ensure he was no longer a threat to public safety. We are working now to provide maximum support to those involved and their families.”

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(NEW YORK) — A Delaware woman who was allegedly assaulted by New Castle County police during a traffic stop on June 29 gave her first public comments Tuesday about the stop and her arrest.

Bystander and police body camera video show N’Finitee Coleman being detained by four officers in a parking lot where she was stopped by police.

“My hair was pulled up and down,” Coleman said during Tuesday’s press conference. “My head was punched by a male and by a female. I have constant migraines.”

In police body camera footage, released by the New Castle County Police Department, an officer can be seen stepping out of his vehicle after he pulls Coleman over. He approaches Coleman’s car and asks her to step out of the vehicle.

The officer tells Coleman she was being arrested for multiple unsafe lane changes, not using a turn signal, and because her registration was suspended for no insurance.

“An officer with the New Castle County Division of Police was traveling in the area of Walther Road and Pulaski Highway when he observed a car commit several traffic violations,” New Castle County Police said in a statement obtained by ABC News. “The officer was also able to confirm that the car’s registration was suspended without insurance and observed an old bullet hole in the driver’s side door that had police evidence markings on it. The officer activated his emergency lights behind the car at Pulaski Highway and Wellington Drive to initiate a traffic stop. However, the car continued down Pulaski Highway, making the right turn onto Brookmont Drive. The car then continued to the Royal Farms parking lot before backing into a parking space.”

The body cam video shows Coleman refusing the officer’s instructions to exit the car and asking for his supervisor. The officer then pulls her car door open. The two of them argue for a few minutes, with Coleman continuing to refuse to comply with instructions to exit her vehicle, until other officers arrive on the scene.

Three male officers can then be seen on body cam video pulling Coleman out of her car and forcing her to the ground. A female officer is then seen arriving on the scene as the other three policemen struggle with Coleman on the ground. The female officer proceeds to punch Coleman in the head area multiple times. One of the male officers is also seen throwing punches in body camera video as he claims that Coleman is holding his foot.

Coleman was eventually handcuffed and placed in a police vehicle. In addition to traffic violations, she was charged with two counts of offensive touching of law enforcement, one count of resisting arrest, and one count of disorderly conduct, according to New Castle County police.

Emeka Igwe, Coleman’s lawyer, said at Tuesday’s press conference that his client had legitimate registration for her car at the time of the incident.

“I do think there is a perception out there that when an officer approaches someone who may have an attitude or may be mouthy that they can then do whatever, whether retaliate with force or assault,” Igwe said. “That’s not OK. As an officer, you’re trained to be a professional. You’re going to encounter people with mental health challenges.”

Coleman claimed at the press conference that she has post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and her anxiety and PTSD were contributing reasons for her “verbally aggressive” behavior during the traffic stop.

“The New Castle County Division of Police Professional Standards Unit is conducting an administrative investigation to determine whether the officer’s actions were within policy,” the New Castle County Police Department said in a statement. “Additionally, the Division’s Use of Force Review Unit is conducting a use-of-force analysis, including a detailed video examination. Finally, the incident was referred to the Delaware Department of Justice, Office of Civil Rights and Public Trust. These investigations and reviews are still ongoing.”

The Delaware Department of Justice, Office of Civil Rights and Public Trust or the New Castle County attorney’s office did not immediately respond to ABC News requests for comment. The New Castle County Police Department declined to comment when ABC News asked if any of the officers involved with Coleman’s arrest have been disciplined.

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(NEW YORK) — A pastor is facing federal charges after he allegedly hit his wife in the head during a flight when she got upgraded and he didn’t.

The incident allegedly occurred on July 2 on board an Alaska Airlines flight from Seattle to Anchorage, Alaska.

According to the complaint, Roger Allan Holmberg, Sr. and his wife were traveling for an event related to their ministry.

According to witnesses interviewed by Anchorage Airport Police detailed in the complaint, Holmberg asked his wife, “How the hell did you get the upgrade?”

She responded, “I’m a Gold Point member. Don’t speak to me like that.”

Holmberg allegedly handed his phone to his wife from the aisle while telling her to read it and gestured with his middle finger, according to the complaint.

Some time after handing her his phone, Holmberg allegedly attempted to swing toward his wife and struck the top of her head.

Another witness told airport police, according to the complaint, that Holmberg went to the first-class lavatory after the incident. When he came out, the witness confronted him and said, “If there were any further incidents, we would put him in handcuffs.”

In her interview with airport police, Holmberg’s wife said he struck her in the head with the back of his knuckles. She said Holmberg knew she had epilepsy and contact with her head could cause a seizure. She claimed he had a history of abusing her and had previously broken her finger.

According to the complaint, Holmberg told authorities he was upset that his wife “had been upgraded to first class because he wanted his wife to travel with him and sit next to him. Although he was upset, he stated he was not a violent person and did not intend to hurt his wife.”

He told authorities he “tapped his wife on the head in passing to get her attention,” and added he and his wife had been going to marriage counseling and that his wife was “disrespectful to him often and had anger issues.”

He told authorities of a previous incident where she allegedly grabbed his leg while he was driving and broke her finger.

The complaint said once the flight crew became aware that the incident occurred, they notified law enforcement. Holmberg was arrested upon landing for simple assault and transported to the Anchorage Correctional Center. According to court documents, he has since been released and cannot come within 100 yards of his wife.

In a statement to ABC News, a spokesperson for Alaska Airlines said, “Mr. Holmberg has been banned from our flights and a simple assault charge was filed against him by the U.S. Gov’t. (FBI) on July 3rd.”

Holmberg didn’t respond to a request for comment.

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(NEW YORK) — No criminal charges will be filed in connection with a deadly National Guard helicopter crash that occurred near the U.S.-Mexico border in March.

The Starr County Sheriff’s Office in Texas has closed its investigation into the March 8 incident, which involved a UH-72 Lakota chopper assigned to Washington, D.C.’s Army National Guard.

“No criminality was found,” Major Carlos Delgado of the Starr County Sheriff’s Office told ABC News by email.

The crash killed U.S. Border Patrol agent Chris Luna along with Casey Frankoski and John Grassia, both of whom held the rank of Chief Warrant Officer 2 with the New York Army National Guard.

National Guardsman Jacob Pratt survived the collision and was transferred less than a month later to Brooke Army Medical Center to recover from his injuries, according to a report by ABC affiliate KRGV-TV.

The Pentagon could not immediately be reached for comment.

The existence of the sheriff’s office’s investigation, which is separate from the Army’s safety probe, was disclosed in the spring after ABC News filed a request under the Texas Public Information Act seeking public records associated with the incident.

The county initially denied the request, citing a Texas law that says that the “release of the information would interfere with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime.”

With the criminal investigation having concluded without charges, the sheriff’s office released body-worn camera videos of the response to the crash to ABC News on Friday.

The videos show the crumbled remains of the helicopter in a remote field alongside a dirt road, but do not shed additional insight into the cause of the incident.

“What a tragedy,” a sheriff’s deputy can be heard saying.

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(NEW YORK) — A man hiking in the Grand Canyon has died after being found unresponsive over the weekend, marking the third death in the national park within the last three weeks.

A 50-year-old unresponsive male hiker was found on the Bright Angel Trail in the Grand Canyon about 100 feet from the trail head on Sunday, according to the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center.

Bystanders began CPR while emergency personnel responded to the scene, but efforts to resuscitate the hiker were unsuccessful.

The hiker was a San Angelo, Texas, native and had been attempting to reach the rim from an overnight stay at Havasupai Gardens. He has not been identified by authorities.

The National Park Service is conducting an investigation into the incident.

Two other hikers have died in the Grand Canyon in recent weeks.

A 41-year-old man was found unresponsive on the Bright Angel Trail on June 16 and attempts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful. The hiker was also hiking from an overnight stay.

A semi-responsive 69-year-old hiker was found on the River Trail in the Grand Canyon on July 1, and later became unresponsive. Attempts from bystanders and National Park Service personnel to resuscitate him were unsuccessful.

The hiker was identified as Scott Sims of Austin, Texas, and he had been attempting to reach Phantom Ranch.

Last week, the NPS said temperatures on exposed parts of the trail can reach over 120 degrees in the shade. The NPS does not advise hiking in the inner canyon during the heat of the day between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.

The NPS also said efforts to assist hikers may be delayed during the summer months because of limited staff, the number of rescue calls, employee safety requirements and limited helicopter flying capability during periods of extreme heat or inclement weather.

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(NEW YORK) — One of nature’s most awe-inspiring creatures, the rare and giant blue whale, was seen off the coast of Massachusetts in a rare back-to-back sighting.

Cape Ann Whale Watch, a touring group based in Gloucester, Massachusetts, took to Facebook on Monday to share footage of one of two blue whale sightings that day.

“We got to see this ‘largest animal on our planet’ on both of our trips today,” the group wrote alongside footage of the blue whale spouting water and breaching to the surface.

Blue whales are indeed the largest animals on Earth, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which reports in the North Atlantic and North Pacific, blue whales can grow up to about 90 feet and are over 100,000 pounds.

The agency notes that blue whales are found in all oceans except the Arctic, generally migrating based on the season between feeding in the summer and breeding in the winter.

Cape Ann Whale Watch noted that blue whale sightings are incredibly rare in the region, believing there hasn’t been a known occurrence in two decades.

“This whale is not common to our waters at all,” the group wrote, adding, “I believe the last time we heard of a blue whale sighting in our waters was over 20 years ago.”

The reaction to seeing the blue whale was very emotional, according to the group, “Our naturalist shed tears and could barely speak,” they wrote, adding, “Interns too had tears and were in total awe.”

Blue whales are listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act and protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, according to NOAA, which they note has led to population increases worldwide.

Commercial whaling was a major threat to the species throughout the 1900s before these protections were instated. According to NOAA, the primary threats blue whale populations currently face are vessel strikes and getting entangled in fishing gear.

During the back-to-back whale watching trips Monday, Cape Ann Whale Watch reported seeing several wildlife species in addition to the blue whale, including a small pod of harbor porpoise, humpback whales, fin whales, lots of huge basking sharks and a pod of common dolphins.

“My main goal on the boat is to get people curious about nature,” Christina McMahon Foley, senior naturalist with Cape Ann Whale Watch, told ABC News. “And this was like a little gift from mother nature,” she said of the blue whale sighting.

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