Bissell recalls multi reach hand and floor vacuum cleaners due to fire hazard. (Consumer Product Safety Commission)
(NEW YORK) — Bissell, a floor cleaning product company, recalled over 150,000 of its Multi Reach Hand and Floor Vacuum Cleaners due to a potential fire hazard, according to an announcement on the United States Product Safety Commission and a separate announcement on the company’s website.
According to the USPSC’s release posted on Thursday, the vacuum’s battery pack has the potential to “overheat and smoke, posing a fire hazard.”
The announcement said 142,000 units were recalled in the United States. Additionally, about 14,600 units were sold in Canada.
According to the announcement, Bissell had been notified of “17 reports of the recalled vacuum cleaners smoking and emitting a burning odor.”
“Six of the reports included the battery pack catching fire, three of which resulted in minor property damage and two resulting in minor burn injuries,” the release stated.
“Consumer safety is our top priority, and we are working in full cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to voluntarily recall our Multi Reach™ Hand and Floor Vacuum Cleaners,” a statement read from a Bissell spokesperson provided to “Good Morning America.”
“We are asking all consumers to stop using the vacuum immediately, and to visit www.BISSELL.com/recall in which they can learn more about impacted models and steps to receive a free replacement,” concluded the statement.
The products were sold in-store at major retailers including Lowe’s, Macy’s, Kohl’s, Target, Walmart and Best Buy and online at www.bissell.com, www.amazon.com and www.hsn.com.
The retailers did not immediately respond to requests for comment by the time of publication.
The release asks consumers to cease use of the vacuums and contact the company “for instructions on how to deplete the charge on the battery and receive a free replacement vacuum.”
Rather than disposing of the recalled lithium batteries in the trash, the release stated to dispose the batteries “in accordance with any local and state laws.”
“These potentially hazardous batteries must be handled differently than other batteries,” states the release, adding “Do not deposit this recalled battery in used battery recycling boxes found at various retail and home improvement stores.”
The specific model numbers impacted by the recall are 1985, 19851 (also called Multi Auto), 19859, 1985T, 2151, 21512, 21513, 21517, 21518, 21519, 2151A, 2151T, 2151W and 2151V.
The release notes consumers can locate their model number on the product rating label behind the dirt tank.
(GEORGIA) — A controversial Republican-backed bill that would criminalize state bail funds and expand the list of charges that require cash or property bail has passed the Georgia Senate.
The legislative move comes amid ongoing protests against the construction of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, dubbed “Cop City” by its critics, which will be used for specialized training for both law enforcement and fire department service workers.
The bill adds roughly 30 charges that would be ineligible for release without a property or cash bond. These charges include unlawful assembly and obstruction of a law enforcement officer, and racketeering and conspiracy — charges that have been made against several “Cop City” protesters.
The bill would also make it a misdemeanor for “any individual, corporation, organization, charity, nonprofit corporation, or group in any jurisdiction” to submit more than three cash bonds per year.
This would make it harder for local advocacy organizations like Southerners On New Ground to bail out Black mothers and caregivers on Mother’s Day or for groups like the Atlanta Solidarity Fund to bail out protesters who have been arrested during demonstrations.
Bail is the money a defendant must pay to get out of jail while they await a trial, according to legal research database Justia. It’s collateral for the court to ensure that the defendant will return for the remainder of their criminal trial.
When Sen. Kim Jackson asked if the bill would impact her church congregation’s ability to post bail as a charity, Sen. Josh McLaurin said that it would according to the language of the legislation.
McLaurin – who is opposed to the bill – argued that this would force judges to set bail even in cases in which defendants would have otherwise been released on their own recognizance, including those who are charged with low-level or non-violent offenses. He added that it could worsen conditions in Georgia jails.
“We have to remember somebody is innocent until proven guilty when they’re held pretrial,” said McLaurin. “So what that means is it is unconstitutional to use cash bail or pretrial procedure as punishment.”
He also cited the Supreme Court case – Citizens United v. FEC – which ruled that restrictions on “independent expenditures” is a ban on speech.
Republican Sen. Randy Robertson argued the legislation would make communities feel safer and address concerns about violence.
Malia Ashad filed a lawsuit against five Alameda County Sheriff deputies after they allegedly denied her medical treatment ordered by a physician. (Pointer & Buelna, Lawyers for the People)
(CALIFORNIA) — A California woman alleges she was assaulted by sheriff’s deputies while detained in a hospital in 2022 and awaiting medical treatment, according to a federal lawsuit filed against five officers from the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office.
Malia Ashad, 31, who was detained in a hospital, according to the lawsuit that was filed Thursday, can be seen crying and screaming on body camera footage obtained by ABC News, as deputies press her head against the hospital bed as they restrain her. The video, provided by her lawyer, is highly edited and the circumstances before and after it are unclear. The sheriff’s department has not released the body camera footage.
“From start to finish these deputies behaved in a manner consistent with a band of thugs,” Treva Stewart, one of Ashad’s attorneys, said in a statement to ABC News. “Who delighted in attacking the unarmed mother of two rather than disciplined law enforcement officers who are sworn to protect and serve.”
The Alameda County Sheriff’s Office told ABC News in a statement that Ashad was arrested for battery of a person and a peace officer. The district attorney did not pursue charges, according to the sheriff’s office.
“The released clips are a limited and skewed depiction of the incident and do not represent the totality of what occurred,” the sheriff’s office told ABC News. “Beyond stating that the complainant received appropriate medical treatment during that incident, the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office must reserve further comment on a lawsuit for which we have not received service.”
Ashad is demanding a jury trial for the five California deputies involved in the incident and to be paid an unspecified amount for damages, penalties, costs, interest and attorney fees, according to the complaint. Deputies allegedly denied Ashad a CT scan ordered by a physician after she was brought to the hospital by police for alleged initial attacks, according to the lawsuit.
“To this day no one has yet explained to me why I was refused this standard medical test after the supervising doctor told me I needed one,” Ashad told ABC News in a statement.
The hospital did not immediately respond to ABC News for comment.
Ashad attended a hearing regarding a civil matter on August 9, 2022, when a woman whom Ashad had a restraining order against began to attack the mother of two by repeatedly striking her in the head and face with a cell phone, according to the complaint. Body camera video shows a woman suddenly stand and hit Ashad in the head multiple times while she remains seated. The video did not show what instigated the scuffle.
Deputies then rush toward the two women, according to body camera footage. Officers handcuffed Ashad’s hands behind her back and forced her arms up before deputies led her out of the courtroom, according to the complaint.
“Instead of arresting the aggressor in the situation,” Ashad’s attorneys told ABC News in the statement, “sheriff’s deputies continued the courthouse attack by striking Ashad twice in her head, causing her to fall and strike her head on a table, seize and temporarily lose consciousness.”
Deputies transported Ashad to Kaiser Permanente San Leandro Campus’ Emergency Department where a physician determined she required a CT scan to rule out a brain injury, according to the complaint.
“We’re not taking her to CT [scan] for anything,” a deputy can be heard saying to hospital staff on body camera video. “All I need is her cleared for incarceration. She’s going to jail.”
“I understand, but that’s the physician’s order,” a hospital staff member responded.
Once at the hospital, Ashad was supposed to be under the care of the hospital staff and was ordered to change into a paper gown, which is standard protocol, the lawsuit states.
“As any woman would, I requested a female officer be present before changing into the paper gown for the CT scan,” Ashad told ABC News in a statement. “I didn’t know then that the same female officer would, and could, simply overrule a supervising physician and cancel medical treatment he determined was necessary.”
Ashad refused to be taken to jail before receiving a CT scan, resulting in deputies grabbing her and holding her down on the hospital bed, which caused her to lose consciousness twice, according to the complaint.
The deputies never allowed Ashad to get a CT scan while in detainment and she was taken to jail instead, according to the lawsuit.
“First, the male deputies viciously attacked Ms. Ashad in the courthouse, leaving her bloodied and concussed. Then they hauled her off to the hospital where they continued their unnecessary and unreasonable attack,” Angel Alexander, one of Ashad’s attorneys, told ABC News in a statement. “The level of callousness, brutality, and arrogance these deputies displayed is stunning even by their standards.”
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden on Friday attended the dignified transfer at Dover Air Force Base of the three U.S. Army reservists killed Sunday in a drone strike in Jordan.
Accompanying him were first lady Jill Biden, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. CQ Brown and other top military officials.
At the beginning of the solemn movement, Biden, the first lady and other military officials walked up to the plane and stood with their heads bowed down as a chaplain offered prayers.
With a dreary gray sky above, Biden stood as the transfer cases containing the remains of the three U.S. Army reservists were slowly taken out of a plane one at a time.
The first lady appeared teary-eyed and Biden emotional with his head bowed and at times with his eyes closed, looking up to place his hand on his heart as the cases were brought out.
Each transfer case was draped in the American flag and then placed inside a black vehicle as fellow service members saluted to pay final respects before the car was driven way.
The families of the fallen watched the solemn event from a small area out of view from the cameras, where seats were arranged for them.
The Bidens met with the families privately before receiving the remains, the White House said.
The Pentagon announced on Monday that Sgt. William Jerome Rivers, 46, of Carrollton, Georgia; Spc. Kennedy Ladon Sanders, 24, of Waycross, Georgia; and Spc. Breonna Alexsondria Moffett, 23, of Savannah, Georgia, were killed in a drone attack over the weekend on the U.S. base in Jordan near the border with Syria and Iraq.
In a press briefing on Tuesday, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby confirmed that Biden had spoken with families of the fallen.
“He expressed to them how proud we all are of their service, how we mourn and feel sorrow over their loss, made sure that those families knew that, not only was that service and sacrifice, going to be honored and respected, but that they would continue to get the support that they need as they work through what no family wants to have to go through,” he said.
Kirby said that during those phone calls Biden gauged the families’ feelings about his attending the dignified transfer at Dover.
In a phone call with the parents of Spc. Sanders, Biden informed them of Sanders being posthumously promoted to the rank of sergeant and sought their permission to attend the dignified transfer.
Hearing the news of the promotion left Shawn Sanders and Oneida Oliver-Sanders in tears.
“With your permission, I’d like to be there with you if that’s OK,” Biden is heard asking on the call. “We would love for you to be there. Sir we would be honored,” they told him.
“All of them supported his presence there and so the president will be going to the dignified transfer on Friday,” Kirby said.
In a press briefing on Tuesday, Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder announced that both Kennedy Sanders and Breonna Moffett had been posthumously promoted to the rank of sergeant.
Deputy press secretary Olivia Dalton said Thursday that it is protocol for the president to ask Gold Star families for their permission to attend a dignified transfer.
This was Biden’s second time attending the solemn occasion since taking office.
He last attended a dignified transfer in August 2021 to receive the remains of service members killed in the Kabul airport bombing in Afghanistan.
ABC News’ Justin Gomez contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — More than 100 days since Hamas terrorists invaded Israel on Oct. 7, the Israeli military continues its bombardment of the neighboring Gaza Strip.
The conflict, now the deadliest between the warring sides since Israel’s founding in 1948, shows no signs of letting up soon and the brief cease-fire that allowed for over 100 hostages to be freed from Gaza remains a distant memory.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Feb 02, 2:23 PM
Blinken to travel to the Middle East next week
Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to the Middle East next week, making stops in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, Israel and the West Bank, the State Department announced.
This will be Blinken’s fifth visit to the region since Oct. 7.
During this trip, Blinken will focus on reaching “an agreement that secures the release of all remaining hostages and includes a humanitarian pause that will allow for sustained, increased delivery of humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza,” State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said.
Blinken is also looking to prevent the conflict from spreading while “reaffirming that the United States will take appropriate steps to defend its personnel and the right to freedom of navigation in the Red Sea,” Miller said.
-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford
Feb 02, 4:41 AM
Framework of proposed hostage deal with Hamas not yet agreed upon, Israeli sources say
The framework of a new proposed hostage deal between Hamas and Israel has not yet been agreed upon by either side, two Israeli sources close to the negotiations told ABC News on Friday.
Talks remain ongoing, the sources said.
Israel is still waiting to hear Hamas’ response to the framework. Hamas will then likely request changes to the framework, requiring more negotiations to iron out the details.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller and Morgan Winsor
Feb 01, 2:27 PM
Hamas receives proposed hostage deal: Qatari official
Hamas has received a new proposed hostage deal but has not yet responded, a Qatari official told ABC News.
“There is no deal yet,” said a Qatari official with knowledge of the negotiations. “Hamas has received the proposal positively but we are waiting for their response.”
Feb 01, 1:26 PM
Some Gazans say they’re forced to use bird feed in place of flour
The possibility of a “full-fledged famine” looms large across the entire Gaza Strip, humanitarian groups have warned — especially in northern Gaza, where some people there say they’re using bird feed in place of flour to stave off starvation.
Northern Gaza has been largely cut off for months now, according to the United Nations, and aid trucks carrying flour arrive sporadically and are swarmed by hundreds of hungry people.
United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East officials also say Israel provides too few authorizations to make deliveries into some areas and that heavy fighting often makes it too dangerous for aid workers to operate. The aid arriving in northern Gaza has been particularly restricted, the U.N. says. Israel disputes the criticisms.
“For more than two months, we have not received flour due to the difficulty of aid entering and the scarcity of flour in the area,” Sami Abu Sweilem, a 55-year-old father who is sheltering in a UNRWA school in northern Gaza, told ABC News.
“Children almost died of hunger, so we thought of a way to save our children from death,” he said, explaining how he’s been using bird feed and animal fodder in place of precious flour.
Feb 01, 12:00 PM
Executive order targets four Israeli settlers involved in attacks on Palestinians in West Bank
President Joe Biden is expected to sign an executive order Thursday to sanction four Israeli settlers involved in attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank, according to the State Department. The sanctions will prohibit them from accessing the U.S. financial system and property in the U.S. and will block them from receiving financial transactions from U.S. citizens.
The move escalates U.S. posture against the hardline elements in Israeli society amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. In December, the U.S. imposed a visa ban on Israelis linked to violence and unrest in the West Bank that impacted “dozens” of settlers in the Israeli-occupied territory, according to the State Department.
Feb 01, 11:05 AM
Biden to sign executive order targeting Israeli settlers involved in attacks on Palestinians
President Joe Biden is expected to sign an executive order to sanction Israeli settlers involved in attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank, two sources familiar with the plans confirmed to ABC News. The news was first reported by Axios.
The move would escalate U.S. posture against the hardline elements in Israeli society amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
It was not immediately clear how many Israelis would be targeted by the administration’s actions. In December, the U.S. imposed a visa ban on Israelis linked to violence and unrest in the West Bank that impacted “dozens” of settlers in the Israeli-occupied territory, according to the State Department.
Feb 01, 7:40 AM
UNRWA warns operations will be shut down by end of February without funding
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East warned Thursday that it “will most likely be forced to shut down” its operations in the war-torn Gaza Strip and the wider region “by the end of February” if funding does not resume.
Sixteen donor countries, including the United States, have suspended financial support to the U.N. agency over Israel’s allegations that 13 UNRWA staff members were involved in the Hamas-led Oct. 7 terror attack. UNRWA said it is investigating the accusations and that “full accountability and transparency are expected out of this process, should the allegations be substantiated.”
“As the war in Gaza is being pursued unabated, and at the time the International Court of Justice calls for more humanitarian assistance, it is the time to reinforce and not to weaken UNRWA. The Agency remains the largest aid organization in one of the most severe and complex humanitarian crises in the world,” UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said in a statement Thursday. “I echo the call of the U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres to resume funding to UNRWA. If the funding remains suspended, we will most likely be forced to shut down our operations by end of February not only in Gaza but also across the region.”
Feb 01, 6:21 AM
What we know about the conflict
The latest outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that governs the Gaza Strip, has reached the three-month mark.
In the Gaza Strip, at least 27,019 people have been killed and 66,139 others have been wounded by Israeli forces since Oct. 7, according to Gaza’s Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health.
In Israel, at least 1,200 people have been killed and 6,900 others have been injured by Hamas and other Palestinian militants since Oct. 7, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
There has also been a surge in violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Israeli forces have killed at least 297 people in the territory since Oct. 7, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
The ongoing war began after Hamas-led militants launched an unprecedented incursion into southern Israel from neighboring Gaza via land, sea and air. Scores of people were killed while more than 200 others were taken hostage, according to Israeli authorities. The Israeli military subsequently launched retaliatory airstrikes followed by a ground invasion of Gaza, a 140-square-mile territory where more than two million Palestinians have lived under a blockade imposed by Israel and supported by Egypt since Hamas came to power in 2007. Gaza, unlike Israel, has no air raid sirens or bomb shelters.
(NEW YORK) — The House Judiciary Committee has issued a subpoena to Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis for documents related to her office’s use of federal funds intended to support at-risk youth, according to a copy of the subpoena obtained by ABC News.
The subpoena comes as Willis faces unrelated scrutiny over her relationship with one of her top prosecutors in the Georgia election interference case against former President Donald Trump and 18 others.
Friday’s subpoena requests documents and communications related to her office’s receipt of federal funds and any documents and communications relating to any allegations of the misuse of those funds by the office.
“According to a recent report, your office unlawfully ‘planned to use part of a $488,000 federal grant — earmarked for the creation of a Center of Youth Empowerment and Gang Prevention” — to cover frivolous, unrelated expenses,” the subpoena said.
In a statement responding to the subpoena, Willis defended her use of federal funds against allegations of wrongdoing.
“Our federal grant programs are focused on helping at-risk youth and seeking justice for sexual assault victims who were too long ignored,” Willis said. “Our federal grant-funded Sexual Assault Kit Initiative has been cited by the United States Attorney General as a model program.”
Willis said her grant programs are “highly effective” and that any examination would find that they were “conducted in cooperation with the Department of Justice and in compliance with all Department of Justice requirements.”
Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan sent Willis two previous requests for documents that he said she ignored.
The committee, in its subpoena, asked that documents be produced by Feb. 23.
The Judiciary Committee has been conducting a broader probe into Willis’ use of federal funds in her investigation of the former president. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges in the election probe.
(NEW YORK) — The head of the Bureau of Prisons union has written to President Joe Biden asking him to seriously consider the impact staffing shortages are having on the nation’s federal prisons.
“The current staffing shortage within our agency have reached a critical level, placing an unsustainable burden on our existing workforce, and compromising the safety and security of both staff and inmates,” president of the Council of Prison Locals 33, Brandy Moore-White wrote to Biden in a letter obtained by ABC News.
Moore-White represents nearly 30,000 federal corrections employees.
BOP has lost 9,000 staff members since 2016, which “has raised serious concerns about our ability to effectively carry out our responsibilities,” the letter said.
“These shortages have resulted in increased workloads, mandatory overtime, a practice called augmentation or reassignment (where non-correctional officers are assigned to perform the duties of a correctional officer and vacate their positions), and heightened stress levels for our staff, ultimately jeopardizing the well-being of all involved,” it said.
Moore-White says in addition to the staffing levels, pay “insufficiency” has become a “significant concern” for officers.
“The current pay structure within the Bureau is significantly lower than that of other Federal Law Enforcement Agencies, including the US Marshals, Immigration and Customs (ICE) and Border Patrol,” she said.
She said the pay scale doesn’t compare to state and local law enforcement jobs or jobs in the private sector.
This concern has been confirmed by the director of the Bureau of Prisons, who said one of the main competitors for BOP recruitment is often times the local big box store.
“I urge you to prioritize and address these pressing issues within the Federal Bureau of Prisons,” Moore-White wrote to Biden. “By investing in our personnel, you will not only improve the working conditions of thousands of public servants, but also enhance the integrity and effectiveness of our nation’s federal correctional system.”
In an interview done for the CBS News program “60 Minutes,” BOP Director Collette Peters said she is aware of the staffing issues in the federal prison system and is working to address it.
“We respect and acknowledge the significant contributions of the Council of Prison Locals 33,” the Bureau of Prisons said to ABC News in a statement. “While we will decline to comment on the letter, as a general matter, FBOP has been transparent that staffing across the agency remains a challenge, as the FBOP is faced with the same worker shortage experienced by employers throughout the country.”
“The work to address these challenges is ongoing and includes a robust national recruitment strategy with the assistance of an external contract consultant,” BOP said. “Prior year data and analytics show a significant increase in public engagement and an increase in applicant numbers in priority regions.”
The White House referred ABC News to the Justice Department.
(DETROIT) — Pro-Palestinian protesters had a tense standoff with riot police outside U.S. President Joe Biden’s campaign event near Detroit on Thursday afternoon.
The standoff lasted more than 30 minutes as dozens of demonstrators stood within inches of local law enforcement officers. Teams of riot police wearing helmets and wielding sticks were brought in for reinforcement.
Some organizers repeatedly told the crowd to lock arms and push toward the police line, forcing officers to take a few steps back.
The demonstration remained peaceful and the riot police walked away about 20 minutes after they had arrived on scene. The president’s motorcade did not pass by the protesters when he departed.
Biden, who is seeking a second four-year term in office, has faced fierce criticism in recent months from Arab and Muslim Americans over his response to the latest outbreak of war between Israel, a close U.S. ally, and Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that rules the Gaza Strip. Michigan could be critical to Biden’s chances of getting reelected this year as it is home to the largest number of Arab Americans of any battleground state.
On Thursday, the protesters were chanting “Genocide Joe” and “Hey Joe, hear our demand, you have blood on your hands” as the president held a campaign event at a United Auto Workers union facility near Michigan’s largest city. They were calling for people to vote “uncommitted” in the state’s Democratic presidential primary on Feb. 27 and to vote against Biden in the country’s presidential election on Nov. 5.
Amir Naddal, a 34-year-old Palestinian American who works in the tech industry, said he voted for Biden in the 2020 presidential election but “absolutely will not” in 2024.
“We need to send a clear message to Joe, and to this administration, that this is unacceptable,” Naddal told ABC News.
Salma Hamamy, a 22-year-old Palestinian American who studies at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, said the Biden administration’s policies on the ongoing Israel-Hamas war prompted her to take part in Thursday’s demonstration.
“Joe Biden brought me out here today. He thinks that he is welcomed in the one of the largest Arab American communities in the United States,” Hamamy told ABC News. “We are here to tell him that he is not going to be our primary choice at all for when we vote in November for the elections, so long as he has blood on his hands.”
Groundhog handler AJ Dereume holds Punxsutawney Phil after he did not see his shadow predicting an early Spring during the 138th annual Groundhog Day festivities on Friday February 2, 2024 in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)
(PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa.) — Punxsutawney Phil — perhaps the world’s most famous groundhog — has woken up on Friday and not seen his shadow meaning, according to legend, that we are destined for an early spring.
Legend has it that if he sees his shadow then winter will continue for another six weeks but if Punxsutawney Phil does not see his shadow spring will come early.
The weather in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania — located approximately 75 miles northeast of Pittsburgh — during the announcement was overcast with temperatures hovering slightly above freezing in the mid to upper 30s.
Still, no matter the weather, this hasn’t stopped an estimated 30,000 people annually from attending the festivities which originally stems from the Christian holiday Candlemas Day as well as Pennsylvania Dutch traditions going back several generations.
Phil’s actual prediction, however, takes place ahead of time in a place called Gobbler’s Knob, a small hill just outside of the town, and has done so each year since 1887. This year marks the 138th time the event has occurred, according to the Pennsylvania Tourism Office,
The men in top hats surrounding Phil during the ceremony are members of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club Inner Circle. According to their website, their role is to “protect and perpetuate the legend of the great weather-predicting groundhog Punxsutawney Phil.”
Phil’s predictions have been fairly even over the past decade or so. From 2015 to 2020, the groundhog predicted a longer winter three times and an early spring three times. But overall, dating back to 1887, according to the Associated Press, Phil has predicted six more weeks of winter more than 100 times.
In fact, Punxsutawney Phil has now predicted six more weeks of winter 107 times and an early spring only 21 times — with no record of 10 of those years since 1887, according to The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Ultimately, Punxsutawney Phil’s “predictions” should really be taken with a grain of salt.
In the 10 annual predictions from 2013 to 2022, Punxsutawney Phil has actually been even less accurate that flipping a coin with this weather predictions. He has been right just four times in that period — 2020, 2016, 2014 and 2013 — and was incorrect in the six other instances.
Doctors prepare for a leg lengthening surgery. — ABC News
(NEW YORK) — Being tall is a stature that many men have longed for and some are turning to leg lengthening surgery to enhance their looks, but the procedure has also come with controversy.
“Impact x Nightline” takes a look into the medical trend of cosmetic leg lengthening surgeries in an episode now streaming on Hulu, the people who pursue them, and the role that height plays in society, particularly for young men.
One of those men is Hugo Ramirez, who at first glance says he could be mistaken for Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
Ramirez says he carries many of the hallmarks of the billion-dollar box office star. His muscles protrude from his body, while simultaneously sporting a shaved head and a rich tan. The entire package comes draped in expensive designer clothing.
Ramirez claims to be about 6-foot-1 in sneakers. But that wasn’t always the case: up until early last year, Ramirez says he was just 5-foot-9; the average height for a man in the United States, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“I’m not average,” Ramirez told “Impact x Nightline.” “I don’t like to be average.”
Two years ago, Ramirez says a friend first brought up the idea of cosmetic leg lengthening. The surgery promises to add anywhere from two to six inches to your height. He was sold.
Ramirez, who’d gone under the knife for previous cosmetic surgeries, says he realized this operation would be different.
“It was breaking your legs. That was a big thing to me,” Oksana Ramirez, Hugo’s wife, told “Impact.” “I said, ‘Hugo, I don’t know. I’m actually very scared.’ Because…you never know what can happen, right?”
Las Vegas-based orthopedic surgeon Dr. Kevin Debiparshad, known casually to his patients as “Dr. D,” has performed hundreds of leg lengthening surgeries. His practice claims he performs more cosmetic leg lengthening procedures than any individual surgeon in the country. He operated on Ramirez’s upper legs in late January 2023.
Debiparshad explains that, for generations, limb lengthening surgery was limited in who it was applied to, which primarily included children, patients with deformities, and those who had suffered traumatic injuries He says as the technology advanced, patients began asking whether the surgery could be used for cosmetic purposes.
Doctors perform leg lengthening by surgically breaking the bones of either the upper or lower leg, and then inserting a telescopic rod or “nail”. That device expands inside the bone with the help of an external remote control.
“The bone constantly tries to heal itself,” Debiparshad said. “And then you just continue that process over the next two months [or] two and a half months” until the gap between the bones fills in.” The rods are surgically removed about a year later.
Jerry Agee, a traveling nurse from Mobile, Alabama, also flew to Las Vegas for leg lengthening surgery with Dr. Debiparshad, hoping to add three inches to his 5-foot-5 frame as he says his stature made him feel embarrassed.
“I think height is an extremely important thing when it comes to just life in general,” Agee told ABC News.
“I want to reach stuff in the aisles of a Walmart, and you just can’t ’cause you’re short,” he added.
Agee is nearly three months post-surgery and says despite the intense pain and long rehabilitation, he’s happy to be three inches taller.
Many experts believe that culture plays a critical role in why these procedures are being sought after.
“Those who are taller and more likely to be socially accepted, or more likely to make more money,” ABC News medical correspondent Dr. Darien Sutton said.
Psychotherapist Carli Blau, PhD. said she noticed the presence of height bias in her own practice.
“A lot of women that come to my practice actually set their dating app to only allowing men over a certain height,” she told “Impact.”
New York City matchmaker Anna Morgenstern agreed, saying, “We see men who are taller as the alpha. It’s something that we’ve done for thousands of years.”
Despite the desire to be taller, there are some big drawbacks to leg lengthening surgery– the cost starts at around $72,000 and is also potentially dangerous, with many risks of complications.
Sutton cautions that patients looking into cosmetic leg lengthening should consider the numerous risks including, which may include “damage to muscles…ligaments and tendons, and even permanent nerve damage.”
But Ramirez says his surgery and grueling recovery was still worth it and claimed to be 6-foot-1 with shoes.
Ramirez plans to get a second lengthening surgery on his lower legs this year and said he hopes to reach his “dream height” of 6-foot-3.
Ramirez says after he gets his lower legs lengthened, he’s “done” with elective surgery and he’s looking forward to expanding his family with his wife Oksana.
“Now it’s time to have a baby,” he said.
ABC News’ Tara Guaimano and Tien Bischoff contributed to this report.
