(NEW YORK) — A 69-year-old woman has died following an alligator attack in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, authorities said Tuesday.
Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office deputies, Hilton Head Island Fire Rescue, the Beaufort County Coroner’s Office and Spanish Wells security personnel responded around 9:28 a.m. to a report of a possible alligator attack near a lagoon bordering the golf course in the Spanish Wells community.
They located the woman — a resident of the community who had been walking her dog — at the edge of the lagoon. She appeared unresponsive, the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.
While rescue efforts were being made, an alligator appeared and was guarding the woman, interrupting emergency efforts, according to the sheriff’s office.
The alligator was safely removed from the area, and the woman’s body was recovered. The Beaufort County Coroner’s Office will conduct an autopsy.
Authorities said it wasn’t clear when the woman was taken into the water.
This is the second fatal attack in the area in less than a year. An 88-year-old woman was attacked by an alligator at a lagoon near her home last August.
(NEW YORK) — A pair of belVita Breakfast Sandwich products have been voluntarily recalled because they have potential “undeclared peanut,” according to the company that makes the biscuits.
Mondelēz Global announced the recall on Monday, saying in a press release that the biscuits may contain the substance as a result of cross-contact on one manufacturing line.
“We became aware of this issue during an internal manufacturing inspection when we found the potential presence of peanut protein residue on the line used to make these products,” the company said in Monday’s release.
The voluntary recall only applies to two varieties in the U.S.: belVita Breakfast Sandwich Cinnamon Brown Sugar with Vanilla Creme and belVita Breakfast Sandwich Dark Chocolate Creme. Markets outside the U.S. are not impacted by the recall, the company said.
Mondelēz Global said Monday it was aware of three unconfirmed reports of possible allergic reactions connected to the biscuit varieties.
Peanuts are one of the eight foods that “account for the most severe allergic reactions in the United States,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A food allergy affects one in 13 children in the U.S., the CDC said.
There isn’t a cure for food allergies, according to the CDC.
People with peanut allergies often have to change the way they travel, where they eat and how they live. Exposure — even in very small amounts — can lead to skin rashes, trouble breathing or even death, medical experts have said.
Van’s International Foods issued a voluntary recall on Monday in conjunction with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration after the company found some of its gluten-free waffles may contain undeclared wheat.
“The recall was initiated after it was discovered that wheat-containing product was distributed in packaging that did not reveal the presence of wheat,” the recall notice said.
Van’s said the recall was “initiated in an abundance of caution due to potential presence of wheat in certain products labeled as gluten-free.”
Subsequent investigation indicated that the problem was caused by the inclusion of a limited number of cartons for Van’s Gluten Free Original Waffles with a pallet of cartons intended for wheat-containing products. Immediate steps were taken to prevent a recurrence, the recall notice said.
The company said no allergic reactions or illnesses associated with eating the product have been reported.
The affected Van’s products are lot code #UW40193L, with an expiration date of 1/19/2024. The company has asked consumers to dispose of the cartons immediately or return them to the store for a refund.
As for the belVita products, the recalled products have a “best when used” by date before and including Feb. 25, 2024, and the following retail UPCs:
BelVita Breakfast Sandwich, Cinnamon Brown Sugar with Vanilla Creme variety
8.8 oz carton. Retail UPC: 0 44000 06304 7
1.76 oz pouch. Retail UPC: 0 44000 06370 2
BelVita Breakfast Sandwich, Dark Chocolate Creme variety
8.8 oz carton. Retail UPC: 0 44000 04328 5
14.08 oz carton. Retail UPC: 0 44000 05723 7
14.08 oz carton. Retail UPC: 0 44000 06330 6
1 lb 5.12 oz carton. Retail UPC: 0 44000 05861 6
2 lb 12 oz carton. Retail UPC: 0 44000 04602 6
1.76 oz pouch. Retail UPC: 0 44000 04070 3
In its recall notice, Mondelēz Global told consumers they could contact the company at 1-855-535-5948, 24 hours a day, for additional information.
To report an issue with FDA-regulated products, consumers should call 1-888-463-6332, according to the FDA.
ABC News’ Kelly McCarthy, Dr. Johanna Kreafle and Dr. Sumir Shah contributed to this report.
(TEXAS) — Four bodies, including that of an infant, have been recovered from the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass, Texas, since Saturday, according to Lt. Chris Olivarez, a spokesperson with the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Olivarez tweeted Monday that the agency’s Tactical Marine Unit (TMU) and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission dispatched two airboats while assisting the U.S. Border Patrol during a possible infant drowning Saturday. The teams found “multiple bodies floating around the river,” including a female adult and a female infant, Olivarez said.
Responders performed chest compressions, but the victims were pronounced deceased when they were transported to Fort Duncan Regional Medical Center, Olivarez said. Two survivors were placed in Border Patrol custody, he added.
A male victim had been recovered on Sunday, and a female victim was recovered the next day, Olivarez said.
“The identities of the deceased remain unknown since none possessed identifying documents,” he added.
Texas DPS did not immediately respond to ABC News when asked if the victims drowned in separate incidents.
The area where the victims were recovered is a particularly dangerous part of the Rio Grande. Although the river seems shallow enough to cross on foot in some areas, there are several unexpected, steep drop-offs. The area is also known for strong undercurrents that migrants may also fail to see above the surface.
Bishop Evans, a sergeant with the Texas National Guard who was deployed to the border under Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star, drowned in April 2022 while attempting to rescue two migrants who appeared to be in distress in Eagle Pass.
A spokesperson for the Texas National Guard told ABC News in June 2022 that throw-ropes had been ordered but not delivered by the time Evans went beyond his duties and dove into the water.
This past June, Abbott and DPS Director Col. Steven McCraw announced authorities would be installing a removable floating water barrier made of large buoys to deter migrants from crossing from Mexico into Texas.
“We don’t want anybody getting hurt, in fact, we want to prevent people from getting hurt, prevent people from drowning,” McCraw said last month.
Rochelle Garza, president of the Texas Civil Rights Project, said in June the plan would only add to the risks immigrants face when crossing the river.
“Gov. Abbott continues to overreach and violate our U.S. Constitution by meddling in federal immigration and border issues. We need the Federal government to ensure that those seeking the safety of our country are welcomed with dignity. And we need our state government to focus on investing in our border communities. People already face the risk of drowning in the Rio Grande due to plants, debris and an unpredictable current — these barriers would only add to the danger they already face,” Garza said at the time.
(NEW YORK) — Joey Chestnut won the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest for the 16th time on Tuesday, adding to his record for the most career championships of any eater in the contest’s roughly 50-year history.
Chestnut, who goes by the nickname “Jaws,” ate 62 hot dogs in 10 minutes at the annual July 4th event on Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York.
Torrential rain and lightning delayed the start of the competition by two hours but did not alter the expected outcome for Chestnut, who entered the contest a heavy favorite.
The victory marked eight consecutive wins for Vallejo, California-native Chestnut. He first entered the contest in 2005 and has not suffered a defeat since 2015.
The runner up Geoffrey Esper, of Oxford, Massachusetts, ate 49 hot dogs.
While dominant, the performance by Chestnut fell 14 hot dogs short of his record set in 2021. He has eaten more than 70 hot dogs and buns in six contests, data collected by ESPN showed.
Due to the storm, contest officials told the participants earlier on Tuesday that the event had been canceled, Chestnut said in an interview with ESPN after the event.
“What a rollercoaster emotionally,” said Chestnut. “I wasn’t even sure if we were going to eat today.”
“I’m just happy,” he added. “It’s 4th of July and I got to eat some hot dogs.”
In the women’s division, Miki Sudo ate 39.5 hot dogs en route to her ninth consecutive championship. The second-place finisher, Mayoi Ebihara, ate 33.5 hot dogs.
Sudo, of Port Richey, Florida, said the stiff challenge from Ebihara distracted her.
“The first couple minutes, I found myself watching her, which I never want to do. I never want to be distracted by the other competitors,” Sudo said after the event, the Associated Press reported.
“Watching her, I fumbled my hands. I got stuck with a big burp early on but was able to correct,” Sudo added.
(ILLINOIS) — It was a somber Fourth of July for the residents of Highland Park, Illinois, as they gathered to mark one year since the mass shooting that took the lives of seven revelers and wounded dozens of others.
Hundreds of people joined dignitaries, including U.S. senators Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin and Gov. JB Pritzker, outside city hall on Tuesday to mark a moment of silence at 10:14 a.m., the time when the mass shooting occurred.
They then marched north on a memorial walk that organizers said was done not only to honor the victims but reclaim the day and the parade from the tragedy.
“I am so proud of how our community has supported one another during these 12 months and today,” Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering said during the service.
A gunman armed with a rifle opened fire during last year’s parade, striking dozens of paradegoers and marchers. Investigators said 83 shots were fired during the mass shooting.
Seven people were killed during the incident: Katherine Goldstein, 64, Stephen Straus, 88, Jacki Sundheim, 63, Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza, 78, Eduardo Uvaldo, 69, and Irina McCarthy, 35, and her husband Kevin McCarthy, 37. During the parade, the McCarthy’s were with their 2-year-old son, Aiden, and were separated during the incident.
The toddler survived.
Forty-eight other people were wounded from either gunshots or shrapnel.
One of those victims was honored Monday night during the Cubs-Brewers game in Milwaukee.
Cooper Roberts, 9, who was paralyzed from the waist down, threw out the first pitch of the game to his favorite player Christian Yelich.
“Having Cooper here, alongside his family, represents a milestone in this long path to recovery for the entire community,” Rick Schlesinger, the Brewers’ president of business operations, said in a statement.
After an hours-long manhunt, police caught and arrested the suspect, Robert Crimo III, 22. The alleged gunman was charged with 117 criminal counts including 21 counts of first-degree murder, three counts for each victim, as well as 48 counts of attempted murder.
The suspect has pleaded not guilty and awaiting trial.
He faces life in prison without parole if convicted on his charges.
Investigators said the suspect legally purchased the weapon used in the shooting and other firearms found in his car during his arrest.
In December, the suspect’s father, Robert Crimo Jr., was charged by investigators with seven counts of reckless conduct causing great bodily harm. The suspect’s father allegedly signed the Firearm Owner’s Identification card for his son to apply for gun ownership.
The alleged gunman was 19 at the time and too young to get a FOID card on his own.
The suspect’s father pleaded not guilty to his charges.
Rotering and other community leaders pushed for an end to gun violence.
“As we remember each of the victims of the shooting let us commit to making meaningful change,” she said.
(ILLINOIS) — It was a somber Fourth of July for the residents of Highland Park, Illinois, as they gathered to mark one year since the mass shooting that took the lives of seven revelers and wounded dozens of others.
Hundreds of people joined dignitaries, including U.S. senators Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin and Gov. JB Pritzker, outside city hall on Tuesday to mark a moment of silence at 10:14 a.m., the time when the mass shooting occurred.
They then marched north on a memorial walk that organizers said was done not only to honor the victims but reclaim the day and the parade from the tragedy.
“I am so proud of how our community has supported one another during these 12 months and today,” Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering said during the service.
A gunman armed with a rifle opened fire during last year’s parade, striking dozens of paradegoers and marchers. Investigators said 83 shots were fired during the mass shooting.
Seven people were killed during the incident: Katherine Goldstein, 64, Stephen Straus, 88, Jacki Sundheim, 63, Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza, 78, Eduardo Uvaldo, 69, and Irina McCarthy, 35, and her husband Kevin McCarthy, 37. During the parade, the McCarthy’s were with their 2-year-old son, Aiden, and were separated during the incident.
The toddler survived.
Forty-eight other people were wounded from either gunshots or shrapnel.
One of those victims was honored Monday night during the Cubs-Brewers game in Milwaukee.
Cooper Roberts, 9, who was paralyzed from the waist down, threw out the first pitch of the game to his favorite player Christian Yelich.
“Having Cooper here, alongside his family, represents a milestone in this long path to recovery for the entire community,” Rick Schlesinger, the Brewers’ president of business operations, said in a statement.
After an hours-long manhunt, police caught and arrested the suspect, Robert Crimo III, 22. The alleged gunman was charged with 117 criminal counts including 21 counts of first-degree murder, three counts for each victim, as well as 48 counts of attempted murder.
The suspect has pleaded not guilty and awaiting trial.
He faces life in prison without parole if convicted on his charges.
Investigators said the suspect legally purchased the weapon used in the shooting and other firearms found in his car during his arrest.
In December, the suspect’s father, Robert Crimo Jr., was charged by investigators with seven counts of reckless conduct causing great bodily harm. The suspect’s father allegedly signed the Firearm Owner’s Identification card for his son to apply for gun ownership.
The alleged gunman was 19 at the time and too young to get a FOID card on his own.
The suspect’s father pleaded not guilty to his charges.
Rotering and other community leaders pushed for an end to gun violence.
“As we remember each of the victims of the shooting let us commit to making meaningful change,” she said.
(NEW YORK) — Israeli forces fired tear gas inside of a hospital in the West Bank city of Jenin on Tuesday that injured 125 people as a two-day raid on the city continued, Doctors Without Borders said.
The tear gas fired inside of the hospital made the emergency room “unusable,” and the ER and the rest of the hospital were “completely filled with smoke,” after the attack, Doctors Without Borders said in a tweet.
The two-day raid on the West Bank city of Jenin has killed 11 Palestinians, including three children, and left at least 120 Palestinians injured, 20 of them in critical condition, the Palestinian Health Ministry said Tuesday. This is the largest raid in the West Bank since 2002.
3,000 refugees have been evacuated from Jenin since the Israeli operation began at 1:00 am local time on Monday, the Palestinian Red Crescent, an organization that works in the West Bank, said. The estimated population of the Jenin camp is about 18,000, according to the Red Crescent.
Doctors Without Borders is one of the humanitarian organizations providing support and medical aid to Palestinians in Jenin impacted by the raid, but the damage is making it difficult to reach people in need, the organization said.
“Military bulldozers have destroyed road leading to the refugee camp, which is impeding ambulances from reaching patients,” the organization said Monday. “All roads leading to the camp are blocked, including for ambulances.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited an outpost near the Jenin camp on Tuesday after an car rammed into a bus stop in Tel Aviv in protest of the raid, injuring six. Netanyahu doubled down on his justification for the raid, claiming Israeli forces destroyed important strongholds used by “terrorists.”
“Whoever thinks that such an attack will deter us from continuing our fight against terrorism is wrong,” Netanyahu said. “We will continue as long as necessary to stamp out terrorism.”
Most of the Jenin camp does not have access to drinking water because of damage from the raid. Initial estimates also show that most of the camp is without electricity, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs spokesperson Vanessa Huguenin said Tuesday.
Health facilities have “sustained damage” from the raid and are “reviewing a list of urgently needed supplies,” Huguenin added.
Huguenin said the UN OCHA is “alarmed at the scale of the air and ground operations” taking place in Jenin.
“We continue to monitor the situation on the ground and we – together with our humanitarian partners – are mobilizing to assist. We call for access to the injured and affected people within the Jenin refugee camp,” Huguenin said.
Jordana Miller, Nasser Atta, and Emma Ogao contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — Israeli forces fired tear gas inside of a hospital in the West Bank city of Jenin on Tuesday that injured 125 people as a two-day raid on the city continued, Doctors Without Borders said.
The tear gas fired inside of the hospital made the emergency room “unusable,” and the ER and the rest of the hospital were “completely filled with smoke,” after the attack, Doctors Without Borders said in a tweet.
The two-day raid on the West Bank city of Jenin has killed 11 Palestinians, including three children, and left at least 120 Palestinians injured, 20 of them in critical condition, the Palestinian Health Ministry said Tuesday. This is the largest raid in the West Bank since 2002.
3,000 refugees have been evacuated from Jenin since the Israeli operation began at 1:00 am local time on Monday, the Palestinian Red Crescent, an organization that works in the West Bank, said. The estimated population of the Jenin camp is about 18,000, according to the Red Crescent.
Doctors Without Borders is one of the humanitarian organizations providing support and medical aid to Palestinians in Jenin impacted by the raid, but the damage is making it difficult to reach people in need, the organization said.
“Military bulldozers have destroyed road leading to the refugee camp, which is impeding ambulances from reaching patients,” the organization said Monday. “All roads leading to the camp are blocked, including for ambulances.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited an outpost near the Jenin camp on Tuesday after an car rammed into a bus stop in Tel Aviv in protest of the raid, injuring six. Netanyahu doubled down on his justification for the raid, claiming Israeli forces destroyed important strongholds used by “terrorists.”
“Whoever thinks that such an attack will deter us from continuing our fight against terrorism is wrong,” Netanyahu said. “We will continue as long as necessary to stamp out terrorism.”
Most of the Jenin camp does not have access to drinking water because of damage from the raid. Initial estimates also show that most of the camp is without electricity, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs spokesperson Vanessa Huguenin said Tuesday.
Health facilities have “sustained damage” from the raid and are “reviewing a list of urgently needed supplies,” Huguenin added.
Huguenin said the UN OCHA is “alarmed at the scale of the air and ground operations” taking place in Jenin.
“We continue to monitor the situation on the ground and we – together with our humanitarian partners – are mobilizing to assist. We call for access to the injured and affected people within the Jenin refugee camp,” Huguenin said.
Jordana Miller, Nasser Atta, and Emma Ogao contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) — Secret Service investigating suspected cocaine found inside White House complex
The U.S. Secret Service on Tuesday said it was investigating an “unknown item” found inside the White House complex on Sunday that sources said was described in radio traffic as a cocaine-like substance.
“On Sunday evening, the White House complex went into a precautionary closure as officers from the Secret Service uniformed division investigated an unknown item found inside a work area,” Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement.
“The DC fire department was called to evaluate and quickly determined the item to be non-hazardous. The item was sent for further evaluation and an investigation into the cause and manner of how it entered the White House is pending,” he said.
Sources told ABC News radio traffic from D.C. Fire and EMS described a powdery, cocaine-like substance being found on the White House grounds and the preliminary results from an initial field test.
“We have a result on the [inaudible]” a voice on the traffic can be heard saying. “We have a yellow bar stating cocaine hydrochloride.”
The powder was found in the West Wing area of the White House, multiple law enforcement sources told ABC News.
Some visitors are able to tour parts of the West Wing, and tours typically take place on the weekends.
When asked if there were tours last weekend, the Secret Service would not confirm that, saying: “These are details that are pertinent to our investigation and not something we can get into.”
Cocaine hydrochloride can be used as an anesthetic or to control bleeding, but it is also considered to have effects similar to crack cocaine, according to the study National Library of Medicine National Center for Biotechnology Information.
“The physiological and psychoactive effects of cocaine are similar regardless of whether it is in the form of cocaine hydrochloride or crack cocaine (cocaine base),” the study says.
The “item” was sent to a Secret Service lab for further testing, the sources said.
President Joe Biden was at Camp David at the time.
The White House on Tuesday referred reporter questions about the matter to the Secret Service.
ABC News’ Justin Gomez and Quinn Owen contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) — The Secret Service on Tuesday said it was investigating an “unknown item” found inside the White House complex on Sunday and sources said it was described in radio traffic as a cocaine-like substance.
“On Sunday evening, the White House complex went into a precautionary closure as officers from the Secret Service uniformed division investigated an unknown item found inside a work area,” Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement.
“The DC fire department was called to evaluate and quickly determined the item to be non-hazardous. The item was sent for further evaluation and an investigation into the cause and manner of how it entered the White House is pending,” he said.
Sources told ABC News radio traffic from D.C. Fire and EMS described a powdery, cocaine-like substance found on the White House grounds.
“We have a result on the [inaudible]” a voice on the traffic can be heard saying. “We have a yellow bar stating cocaine hydrochloride.”
Cocaine hydrochloride can be used as an anesthetic or to control bleeding, but it is also considered to have effects similar to crack cocaine, according to the study National Library of Medicine National Center for Biotechnology Information.
“The physiological and psychoactive effects of cocaine are similar regardless of whether it is in the form of cocaine hydrochloride or crack cocaine (cocaine base),” the study says.
The “item” was sent to a Secret Service lab for further testing, the sources said.
The White House on Tuesday referred reporter questions about the matter to the Secret Service.
ABC News’ Justin Gomez and Quinn Owen contributed to this report.
