(NEW YORK) — Ways to lose weight have been trending with the rising popularity and success stories of certain drugs that help with weight loss, such as Ozempic and Mounjaro, and more people turning to supplements like berberine, deemed “nature’s Ozempic.”
Still, many people who have obesity report struggling to sustain weight loss.
Now, new research shows that it’s not just about willpower to lose weight and keep it off: Experts say how your brain responds to food may make a big difference.
A recent study published in Nature Metabolism found that the brain responds to nutrients differently in people who have obesity, even after meaningful weight loss.
Researchers studied 60 participants over 40 years old; half had a diagnosis of obesity and half did not.
To understand how the brain responds to food in these two groups, different solutions containing glucose, lipids or water alone were directly infused into participants’ stomachs on separate days. Brain responses were then measured with functional MRI scans for about 30 minutes post-infusion, and researchers also measured hormonal levels in the blood and participant-reported hunger scores.
The results showed that the group of participants without obesity had appropriate activation of reward centers in the brain in response to the nutrients.
Conversely, these same areas of the brain were not activated on the scan for participants with obesity.
This finding did not change after repeating the scan three months later in participants with obesity who experienced 10% diet-driven weight loss.
Experts say this lack of reward response could lead to overeating and make it difficult to change eating habits that can contribute to weight gain.
“This study really, really proves the biological and brain causes are contributions for overweight and obesity are really a real thing,” said Dr. Jennifer Ashton, ABC News chief medical correspondent and board-certified obesity medicine specialist.
While these findings further support what experts know to be true, that there’s more behind weight loss than willpower, researchers in the study caution there are important limitations.
It was only done in a relatively few number of adults over 40 years old, so it may not be generalizable to younger populations. And the study used a feeding tube to give the nutrients that doesn’t mimic how most people really eat or account for food choices, so these differences in the brain may not hold true in all circumstances.
Experts also emphasize that these findings do not guarantee someone with obesity can’t lose weight and keep that weight off even in the setting of these changes. Ashton adds that she hopes studies like this one fuel more targeted treatments for people who are overweight or have obesity, and add to evidence supporting why medications that are used for weight loss, like Wegovy, are proving to work so well for some people.
“I think it represents a possibility for target and intervention starting in the brain with those hormonal signals of hunger and satiety, and that’s what a lot of these FDA-approved weight loss drugs are doing,” Ashton said.
Dr. Jade A Cobern, M.D., M.P.H., board-eligible in pediatrics and resident in General Preventive Medicine at Johns Hopkins, is a member of the ABC News Medical Unit.
(DES MOINES, Iowa) — The Iowa Supreme Court prevented a six-week abortion ban that was signed into law several years ago from going into effect.
The court was split in a 3-3 decision Friday on the case, meaning abortion remains legal in Iowa.
The 2018 bill, which was signed into law by Gov. Kim Reynolds, prevents abortions from being performed once cardiac activity can be detected, which typically occurs around six weeks of pregnancy, before many women know they’re pregnant.
However, the law was struck down by a district court in January 2019, which ruled that the law violated the Iowa Constitution and that there was no state interest in banning abortions so early in pregnancy.
In that ruling, Polk County District Judge Michael Huppert referenced a 2018 Iowa Supreme Court decision in regard to a different bill that attempted to restrict abortion, in which the justices had written “a woman’s right to decide whether to terminate a pregnancy is a fundamental right under the Iowa Constitution.”
Currently, abortion is banned in the state after 22 weeks, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research group focusing on sexual and reproductive health.
Patients who want an abortion in Iowa must have one in-person counseling sessions and then return at least 24 hours later for the abortion.
After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last summer, Iowa’s highest court in June 2022 reversed the 2018 decision and concluded that abortion is not protected by the state constitution.
Since the 2018 decision, the composition of the state Supreme Court had shifted with Reynolds, a Republican, appointing four of the seven justices.
But the court disagreed that it could revive a law that had been struck down years prior.
“The State appealed [the January 2019 ruling], and now asks our court to do something that has never happened in Iowa history: to simultaneously bypass the legislature and change the law, to adopt rational basis review, and then to dissolve an injunction to put a statute into effect for the first time in the same case in which that very enactment was declared unconstitutional years earlier,” Justice Thomas Waterman wrote in the court’s decision Friday.
The justice added, “In our view, it is legislating from the bench to take a statute that was moribund when it was enacted and has been enjoined for four years and then to put it into effect.”
If the court had decided in favor of the ban, Iowa would have joined several others states that have passed so-called “heartbeat bills” in the past including Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, North Dakota and Texas.
Ohio and South Carolina have also passed six-week abortion bans, but both are currently facing legal challenges.
Abortion rights groups, including Planned Parenthood Advocates of Iowa, praised the decision. The group wrote on Twitter, “The Iowa Supreme Court just preserved abortion access in Iowa by blocking a near-total abortion ban from taking effect. This is a resounding victory for Iowans and reproductive freedom. #BansOffOurBodies”
Reynolds criticized the court, saying it failed to exercise its authority.
“To say that today’s lack of action by the Iowa Supreme Court is a disappointment is an understatement,” she wrote in a statement. “Not only does it disregard Iowa voters who elected representatives willing to stand up for the rights of unborn children, but it has sided with a single judge in a single county who struck down Iowa’s legislation based on principles that now have been flat-out rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court. There is no fundamental right to abortion and any law restricting it should be reviewed on a rational basis standard — a fact acknowledged today by three of the justices. Still, without an affirmative decision, there is no justice for the unborn.”
Since Roe was overturned, providers in states like Iowa are struggling with worker shortages and other barriers to keeping their doors open. In data provided exclusively to FiveThirtyEight by #WeCount — a national research project led by the Society of Family Planning, a nonprofit that supports research on abortion and contraception — of the eight remaining clinics in Iowa and Nebraska, four had no available appointments, three had wait times between four and five weeks and one had an appointment available in one to two weeks in April.
The data also indicated that there were 24,290 fewer legal abortions between July 2022 and March 2023, compared to a pre-Dobbs baseline.
(PITTSBURGH) — A verdict has been reached in the federal death penalty trial of Robert Bowers, who is accused of killing 11 worshippers in a mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue.
Bowers allegedly stormed the Tree of Life synagogue on Oct. 27, 2018, gunning down 11 people in the deadliest antisemitic attack in American history. Bowers allegedly told investigators after his arrest that he wanted to kill Jewish people, according to a criminal complaint.
Prosecutors said Bowers, armed with a semi-automatic assault-style rifle and three handguns, moved “methodically” through the synagogue and shot many of his victims at close range.
In opening statements in May, defense attorney Judy Clarke admitted that Bowers was the shooter and said he “shot every person he saw … and injured first responders who came to their rescue.”
“There will be no question that this was a planned act and that he killed 11 people,” Clarke said, but she asked the jurors to “scrutinize his intent.”
Bowers faces 63 charges, including 11 counts of hate crimes resulting in death. Bowers offered to plead guilty if the death penalty was taken off the table, but prosecutors turned him down.
The jury, comprised of 11 women and seven men, includes an intensive care nurse, a new father and a veteran.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(MINNEAPOLIS) — The Minneapolis Police Department for years engaged in a pattern of discriminatory law enforcement practices against Black and Native American people, using unnecessary excessive force and violating the rights of protesters expressing their First Amendment rights, a more than two-year investigation by the Justice Department released Friday found.
The results of the sweeping ‘pattern-or-practice’ investigation, prompted in part because of the police killing of George Floyd that sparked racial justice protests across the country in 2020, show that “the systemic problems in MPD made what happened to [Floyd] possible,” the department said in its final report.
The systemic problems continued despite reform efforts, the report said.
Attorney General Merrick Garland traveled to Minneapolis Friday to announce the findings.
“As I told George Floyd’s family this morning, his death has had an irrevocable impact on the Minneapolis Community, and our country and on the world. His loss is still felt deeply by those who loved and knew him and by many who did not. George Floyd should be alive today,” Garland said.
“We observed many MPD officers who did their difficult work with professionalism, courage, and respect. But the patterns and practices we observed made what happened to George Floyd possible,” he said. “As one city leader told us, ‘These systemic issues didn’t just occur on May 25, 2020. There were instances like that, that we’re being reported by the community long before that.'”
“We also found that MPD officers routinely disregard the safety of people in their custody. Our review found numerous incidents in which MPD officers responded to a person saying that they could not breathe with a version of, ‘You can breathe, you’re talking right now,'” Garland said.
In vivid detail during his remarks, Garland described some of the disturbing conduct investigators found.
In 2017 an MPD officer “shot and killed an unarmed woman who he said had “spooked him” when she approached his squad car,” Garland said.
“The woman had called 911 to report a possible sexual assault in a nearby alley,” he said.
The report also outlines how MPD officers stop, search and use force against people who are Black and Native American at disproportionate rates.
“The data showed, for example, that MPD stopped black and Native American people nearly six times more often than white people in situations that did not result in arrest or citation,” Garland said.
At times, officers reported for racist conduct or remarks were not held accountable until there was public outcry, he said.
In one stop of a car full of four Somali American teens, one officer told them, “Do you remember what happened in Black Hawk Down when we killed a bunch of your folk? I’m proud of that. We didn’t finish the job over there. If we had you guys wouldn’t be over here.”
“Such conduct is deeply disturbing, and it erodes the community’s trust in law enforcement,” Garland said.
Investigators found the MPD used unjustified deadly force in encounters with suspects, engaged in unreasonable use of force in encounters with young suspects and at times failed to give proper medical aid to people they had taken into custody.
After Floyd’s murder at the hands of Officer Derek Chauvin and as the MPD’s policing practices fell under increased scrutiny, officers suddenly stopped reporting the race and gender of suspects they encountered in law enforcement actions, the report showed, with the percentage of recorded race data dropping from around 71% of encounters to about 35% afterwards through the next two years.
In 2021, Chauvin was convicted of state murder and manslaughter charges and later pleaded guilty to federal civil rights charges both for Floyd’s murder and for holding a 14-year-old teen by the throat and beating him in 2017. A federal jury found three other officers involved in the encounter with Floyd guilty of federal civil rights offenses for failing to save him.
A separate state investigation into MPD resulted in a consent decree returned in March that required the department to implement widespread changes after disturbing findings of race discrimination and excessive force by police.
The DOJ report examines the MPD’s use of neck restraints, like the one used by Chauvin against Floyd, and found “numerous incidents” where officers used them even in situations that did not result in an arrest or where they were otherwise unjustified. Of nearly 200 encounters between 2016 and 2022 where neck restraints were used against suspects, officers did not make an arrest in 44 of them, the report shows.
And although in June 2020 the MPD banned the use of all neck restraints and chokeholds, the policy met “considerable resistance” from officers in the force and the DOJ investigation found MPD officers continued to use neck restraints since the ban was implemented, including against racial justice protesters.
The report also paints a concerning portrait of MPD’s abilities to repair its strained relationship with the broader public, pointing to instances where officers found to have committed misconduct were never disciplined and complaints from members of the public went disregarded.
One officer told DOJ investigators that morale in the department is “at an all time low,” which is reflected in the increasingly depleted ranks of MPD. As of May 2023, there were 585 sworn MPD officers, the report says, down from 892 in 2018.
The more than two-year investigation included interviews with more than 2000 community members and local organizations, the report says, including family members of people killed by MPD officers. Investigators also interviewed dozens of MPD officers, reviewed thousands of documents detailing police encounters and participated in more than 50 ride-alongs.
Friday’s report includes several disturbing details of racist comments by MPD officers that were described to investigators or captured on video.
In one protest in May 2020 following Floyd’s murder, a lieutenant was caught on camera saying, “I’d love to scatter ’em but it’s time to fu—-‘ put people in jail and just prove the mayor wrong about his white supremacists from out of state,” the officer is heard saying. “Although, this group probably is predominantly white, ‘cuz there’s not looting and fires.”
At times, officers would invoke racist stereotypes in their encounters with suspects, with one officer purportedly telling an arrestee, “we’ll get you Popeyes in a minute.”
One Black officer said he regularly heard his white colleagues making racist remarks, calling Black people “ghetto,” saying “Black people don’t work,” and “you don’t have to worry about Black people during the day ‘cuz they haven’t woken up — crime starts at night.”
Garland previously traveled to Louisville just last March to announce a disturbing series of findings out of the DOJ’s investigation into the Louisville Metro Police Department, that found police engaged in a pattern of violating citizens’ civil rights by conducting unlawful searches and discriminating against residents based on race.
(NEW YORK) — “Lottery lawyer” Jason Kurland promised his clients protection from swindlers but he ended up swindling them himself, a federal judge said Thursday as he sentenced Kurland to 13 years in federal prison for defrauding clients out of more than $107 million.
“They were lucky winners, but when they got Mr. Kurland, they were losers,” Judge Nicholas Garaufis said before handing down a sentence that was higher than what prosecutors sought.
“When they won the lottery, they were very vulnerable,” Assistant United States Attorney Olga Zverovitch said. “They needed guidance and they needed help. Instead, he exploited his clients’ trust.”
Kurland was convicted last July of fraud, conspiracy and unlawful monetary transactions. He steered his clients, winners of some of the biggest lottery jackpots ever in the U.S., into investments in companies that, unbeknownst to them, he owned or were owned by co-conspirators in the scheme, who siphoned money for themselves and paid Kurland secret kickbacks.
When risky investment strategies involving jewelry deals resulted in big losses, Kurland doubled down, convincing clients to invest in COVID-19 personal protective equipment deals, at least two of which were brokered by one of his co-defendants.
The victims were not identified by name, but prosecutors said they included the winners of a then-record $1.5 billion Mega Millions jackpot, a $245 million Powerball jackpot and a $150 million Powerball jackpot.
“I am so deeply sorry,” Kurland said through tears. “I stand here before the court deeply regretful.”
The 13-year prison sentence “far exceeds what’s necessary,” the defense said.
“The numbers are gargantuan,” defense attorney Tim Kasulis said. “We ask for whatever mercy we can.”
Kurland must report to prison no later than Oct. 18.
(WASHINGTON) — The White House is responding after several transgender guests exposed their chests at the administration’s Pride celebration this past weekend.
The incident drew backlash as inappropriate, including from conservative commentators like CJ Pearson who suggested online that it brought “shame” on the country.
On Tuesday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters, “The behavior was simply unacceptable. We’ve been very clear about that.”
“It was unfair to the hundreds of attendees who were there to celebrate their families,” she continued. “So, you know, we’re going to continue to be clear on that. … It’s not appropriate. It’s disrespectful. And let’s not — it really does not reflect the event that we hosted to celebrate the LGBTQ+ families.”
The individuals in the video won’t be invited to future events, Jean-Pierre said.
“This has not occurred before,” she said. “This was not a normal thing that has happened under this administration. But we’ve been very clear about how we saw this particular behavior.”
Rose Montoya, a transgender model and activist who posted the video to TikTok in which she and other guests posed topless, responded Friday in a 3-minute video posted to her social media platforms.
“Today I need to apologize,” Montoya said, describing how she was invited by the president to attend the Pride event and was proud to speak at the National Press Club during her trip to Washington.
“In a quick moment of fleeting and overwhelming trans joy, I decided to do something unbecoming of a guest of the president at the White House lawn celebration,” she said. “More so than ever before, I have learned how powerful and just how impactful my actions are and how impactful it is when we share our stories and experiences and how we do so with the world. I want to take this moment to apologize for the impact of my actions.”
“It was also never my intention to create a situation that would lead to harassment and harm of myself and others, nor for trans joy,” she continued, adding she feels “energized to educate and articulate to others the importance and power of trans joy in a more effective way.”
The Bidens welcomed hundreds of LGBTQ families from across the country on Saturday to mark Pride month. The administration described the event as the largest-ever Pride celebration at the White House.
Montoya posted a one-minute video to TikTok showing different aspects of the event. At one point, Montoya can be seen meeting President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden.
At another point, the video shows Montoya and other individuals bearing their chests while posing in front of the White House South Portico. Montoya is seen covering her bare chest with her hands.
“Are we topless at the White House?” someone can be heard saying in the video. It’s not clear who the other individuals are in the video.
Montoya first responded to criticism to the toplessness in a separate TikTok post before the White House’s statements.
“My trans masculine friends were showing off their top surgery scars and living in joy, and I wanted to join them,” she said in the video. “And because it is perfectly within the law in Washington D.C., I decided to join them and cover my nipples just to play it safe.”
At the Pride event, President Biden spoke out against anti-LGBTQ legislation being introduced and passed in various state legislatures around the country.
He also had a message for “the entire community,” but particularly for transgender youth.
“You are loved. You are heard. You are understood,” he said. “And you belong.”
(NEW YORK) — Tornadoes tore through parts of the United States on Thursday night, killing at least four people and injuring dozens of others, officials said.
Three of the deaths occurred in Perryton, Texas, where a tornado destroyed homes and communication towers. The victims were identified as Becky Randall, a woman in her 60s who was found in a print shop; Cindy Bransgrove, a woman also in her 60s who was found in a food bank; and Matthew Ramirez, an 11-year-old boy who was found in a trailer park, according to the Ochiltree County Sheriff Terry Bouchard.
Another 56 people in Perryton were injured and one person — identified as 64-year-old Ruben Villegas — is missing, Bouchard said.
Meanwhile, one person died in Pensacola, Florida, after a tree fell on their home during a tornado, according to the Escambia County Fire Rescue.
There were several reported tornadoes throughout the night across Texas, Oklahoma, Michigan and Florida.
Perrtyon, a small town near Texas’ state line with Oklahoma, was particularly hard hit, with the most significant damage on the north and east sides, according to Perryton Fire Chief Paul Dutcher.
Dutcher told ABC News on Thursday that the number of injured may be around 100 people. The injuries range from minor to severe and multiple patients have be transferred to trauma centers.
Multiple agencies have responded to the scene, Dutcher added.
There is currently no power to Perryton, according to Xcel Energy, an electric utility and natural gas delivery company.
“Our crews are arriving on site and are assisting in removing lines from cars and across the roads,” the company told ABC News in a statement. “We are patrolling the transmission feeds into the city and also assessing possible damage at the main substation in town. One of the three main transmission feeds into the city was apparently undamaged, but we deenergized it for safety reasons.”
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management to deploy state emergency response resources to meet urgent life-safety needs in Perryton.
“The State of Texas is swiftly deploying critical emergency response resources to provide all necessary support and assistance to protect Texans and help those impacted by tornadoes in Perryton,” Abbott said in a statement. “I encourage all Texans to heed the guidance of state and local officials and to take all necessary precautions to protect yourselves and your loved ones. We remain ready to quickly provide any additional resources needed over the course of this severe weather event.”
Ochiltree General Hospital, the area hospital for Perryton, is currently without power, an official said on Thursday.
Debbie Beck, chief financial officer of Ochiltree General Hospital, told ABC News 50 to 100 patients were treated for tornado-related injuries.
No victims died at the hospital and some patients were transferred to Northwest Texas Hospital, according to Beck.
Weather alerts, including tornado warnings and severe thunderstorm watches, were issued across the South for Thursday. Georgia and Alabama were both slammed with heavy rain and flooding.
Southeastern Colorado to southwestern Kansas are also bracing for rough weather, with a severe thunderstorm watch issued. Residents in the region are told to expect dangerous winds up to 80 mph, hail up to 4 inches in diameter and possible tornadoes.
More storms are expected Friday from Colorado to the Gulf Coast, with damaging winds and hail the main threat. Severe storms are also possible Friday afternoon and evening from Virginia to New Jersey.
Meanwhile, dangerous, triple-digit heat is baking the South. Record-high temperatures are possible over the next few days in Houston, San Antonio, Dallas and New Orleans.
(NEW YORK) — Former President Donald Trump tried again in a new court filing to get his criminal prosecution in New York moved to federal court, arguing the alleged crimes “took place while the president was in office.”
Trump’s attorneys accused the Manhattan district attorney’s office, known by the acronym DANY, of “deceptively mischaracterizing and ignoring the applicable facts and body of law” by seeking to keep the case in state court.
“According to DANY, the crux of its case was a purportedly ‘illegal scheme that was largely perpetrated before defendant became [P]resident.’ Such an alleged scheme, albeit nonexistent, could only violate federal, not state, campaign finance laws, as made clear by both the federal jurisprudence and the New York State election board,'” the defense filing said.
Trump and the prosecutors have filed dueling motions over the appropriate place to put the former president on trial for allegedly falsifying business records connected to the 2016 hush payment to porn actress Stormy Daniels. Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts.
Trump has argued he was an officer of the United States when he was president and his case is best handled by federal court. There may be a more practical reason: If Trump’s bid for the White House in 2024 is successful he could, in theory, take steps to make a federal prosecution go away.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has argued Trump’s alleged criminal conduct regarding his business records had nothing to do with his job as president. Instead, Bragg’s team has argued payments to Trump’s then-fixer Michael Cohen, who had written the $130,000 check to Daniels, were solely reimbursements for campaign contributions, and therefore not acts done under the color of federal law.
Trump plans to argue the business records were truthful because the money paid to Cohen was, in part, “retainer,” so Cohen could handle Trump’s personal affairs while he was president.
“The question answers itself—clearly these actions were ‘connected or associated’ with President Trump’s official duties of ensuring that there was no doubt that he was complying with the Constitution of the United States of America, including the Foreign Emoluments Clause and the Take Care Clause,” the filing said.
U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein has scheduled oral argument at the end of the month.
(NEW YORK) — With summer on the horizon, many are breaking out their flip-flops and summer shoes. But these popular options can lead to more injuries and foot pain in the warmer months, including plantar fasciitis, one of the most common foot injuries, according to The Washington Post.
What is plantar fasciitis?
Plantar fasciitis is a very common condition that affects approximately two million people each year, according to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.
When the plantar fascia, a ligament at the bottom of the foot, is overused, it can cause inflammation, pain, micro tears and tight muscles, impacting how one walks or runs. Plantar fasciitis can also cause, in some cases, a heel spur, a type of bony growth by the heel, according to the National Library of Medicine.
What do flip-flops and summer shoes have to do with plantar fasciitis?
Because flip-flops and summer shoes tend to have less cushion, they can be less supportive than other types of shoes, like sneakers. The lack of cushion and support can lead to more stress and tension on the feet and muscles in the area.
How do you prevent plantar fasciitis?
The best way to prevent plantar fasciitis, according to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, is to wear cushioned shoes with arch support. Tension-reducing inserts, such as soft silicone heel pads, may help too. Avoid shoes without arch support or those that are already worn out, like overused running shoes, which should be replaced on a regular basis.
When starting a new exercise routine, start slowly and do daily stretches at the beginning of the day or before or after a workout to keep muscles loose.
To stretch the plantar fascia, place feet flat on the ground and then raise the toes and then the arches of the feet. This can help lengthen the ligament and encourage any healing needed.
What can I do if I already have plantar fasciitis?
To address immediate pain, following the RICE method, which stands for “Rest, Ice, Compress, Elevate,” can help. Easy hacks include rolling a tennis ball or a frozen water bottle along the balls of the feet to relieve pain.
Over-the-counter pain relief medication may also be helpful as well as calf stretches and plantar fascia stretches. A night splint could also be used to stretch muscles while sleeping.
Most plantar fasciitis symptoms tend to resolve within a year but other long-term treatment options may include a surgical procedure that lengthens the calf muscle and/or a cut to the plantar fascia to reduce tension, according to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Anyone with foot pain that doesn’t go away should speak to a health care provider about their options.
(MEXICO CITY) — When responding to the scene where two American tourists were found dead in their luxury hotel room in Mexico this week, paramedics told ABC News that they began to feel “intoxication symptoms such as hypoxia and racing heartbeat.”
The paramedics said they decided to leave because they felt the scene was unsafe. They then took themselves to a local hospital for treatment, they told ABC News.
The victims had no vital signs when the paramedics entered the room at Hyatt’s Rancho Pescadero on Mexico’s Baja California peninsula on Tuesday at around 9:10 p.m. local time. The lifeless body of a woman was found on the bed, while the lifeless body of a man was found in the fetal position on the floor of the shower, which was still on when the paramedics arrived, they told ABC News.
The victims had been dead for about 10 or 11 hours when they were found and there were no signs of violence or an altercation. The cause of death was “intoxication by substance to be determined,” the State Attorney General’s Office of Baja California Sur said in a statement on Thursday.
The attorney general’s office identified the victims as 28-year-old Abby Lutz and 41-year-old John Heathco, both from Newport Beach, California.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State confirmed the death of two American citizens in northwestern Mexico’s Baja California Sur state this week.
Rancho Pescadero is a Hyatt property and boutique beachfront hotel in the scenic village of El Pescadero, nestled between the Pacific Ocean and the foothills of the Sierra de Laguna mountain range. The hotel’s general manager, Henar Gil, said in a statement on Thursday that his staff does “not believe that the cause of death was related to any issues with the hotel’s infrastructure or facilities, including carbon monoxide or a gas of any kind.”
“Beyond anything else, on behalf of the entire Rancho Pescadero team, we are deeply affected and sorry for the loss the families and loved ones of Abby and John are enduring. This is a shocking and unimaginable situation, and we are committed to supporting and treating them with understanding and compassion,” Gil added. “We will continue to cooperate with authorities as they look into the cause of this terrible tragedy.”
Lutz’s family said they “are shocked and saddened to hear about the passing of our beloved Abby.”
“Abby had an adventurous spirit and a wonderfully kind heart,” they said in a statement on Thursday. “She loved to travel, see new places, and share her zeal for life with those around her. We ask for your thoughts and prayers for our family during this very difficult time.”
