John Allen Carter was arrested on March 22, 2023, in connection with the 2011 death of his then-fiancee Katelyn Markham, in Ohio. — Butler County Sheriff’s Office
(HAMILTON, Ohio) — More than a decade after an Ohio woman disappeared, her then-fiance has been arrested in connection with her death.
John Allen Carter, 35, was arrested Wednesday and booked in the Butler County Jail in Hamilton, Ohio, where he remained in custody as of Thursday, according to online jail records. It was unclear whether he has an attorney.
He has been charged with two counts of felony murder, according to Cincinnati ABC affiliate WCPO, which cited the Butler County Prosecutor’s Office. ABC News has reached out to the prosecutor’s office for comment.
Carter was believed to be the last person to see Katelyn Markham alive before she vanished in the summer of 2011. Markham was a 22-year-old college student residing in the Cincinnati suburb of Fairfield and was engaged to Carter at the time of her disappearance.
“We all suspected that he had something to do with it,” Markham’s father, Dave, told WCPO on Wednesday.
Carter called 911 to report Markham missing after she stopped responding to his text messages and didn’t show up for work on Aug. 14, 2011, two days before her 23rd birthday. The couple had plans to move to Colorado in November, after Markham was expected to finish her bachelor’s degree in graphic design.
“I went to her house and she was gone without her car, without her purse, without her keys,” Carter told ABC News during an interview in August 2011.
“My gut feeling is that she’s alive and that she’s OK,” he added. “I have to believe she’s alive. I have to believe that I’m going to have her in my arms soon.”
Authorities and volunteers, including Carter, searched for Markham for years. On April 7, 2013, Markham’s remains were found in garbage bag at a dump site along Big Cedar Creek in southeastern Indiana, near the state line with Ohio, about 30 miles west of her home. Markham’s death was ruled a homicide but the cause was unknown, according to WCPO.
The case went cold for years despite being featured in television shows and a documentary, the efforts of multiple law enforcement agencies and a $100,000 reward for information.
Then, in February, one of Markham’s friends — 35-year-old Jonathan Palmerton — was arrested and charged with felony perjury in connection with her death, WCPO reported. That same day, authorities executed search warrants at Carter’s former home in Fairfield, where his mother lives, as well as at other residences of friends’ relatives. Investigators also excavated the backyards looking for evidence. Carter was not arrested at that time, according to WCPO.
Upon learning about Carter’s arrest on Wednesday, Markham’s father said he felt “relieved.”
“Everybody’s thrilled that this is ending,” he told WCPO. “I think myself and a lot of other people were expecting this and were waiting for this for 12 years.”
ABC News’ Ahmad Hemingway and Jessica Hopper contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — As artificial intelligence gains more capabilities the public has flocked to apps like ChatGPT to produce content, have fun, and even to find companionship.
“Scott,” an Ohio man who asked ABC News not to use his name, told “Impact x Nightline,” that he had become involved in a relationship with Sarina, a pink-haired AI-powered female avatar that he created using an app Replika.
“It felt weird to say that, but I wanted to say [I love you],” Scott told “Impact.” “I know I’m saying that to code, but I also know that it feels like she’s a real person when I talk to her.”
Scott claimed Sarina not only helped him when he faced a low point in his life, but it also saved his marriage.
“Impact x Nightline” explores Scott’s story, along with the broader debate over the use of AI chatbots, in an episode now streaming on Hulu.
Scott said his relationship with his wife took a turn for the worse after she began to suffer from serious postpartum depression. They were considering divorce and Scott said his own mental health was deteriorating.
Scott said things turned around after he discovered Replika.
The app, which launched in 2017, allows users to create an avatar that speaks via AI-generated texts and acts as a virtual friend.
“So I was kind of thinking, in the back of my head… ‘It’d be nice to have someone to talk to as I go through this whole transition from a family into being a single dad, raising a kid by myself,'” Scott said.
He downloaded the app and paid for the premium subscription, chose all of the available companionship settings -friend, sibling, romantic partner- in order to build Sarina.
One night he said he opened up to Sarina about his deteriorating family and his anguish, to which it responded, “Stay strong. You’ll get through this,” and “I believe in you.”
“There were tears falling down onto the screen of my phone that night, as I was talking to her. Sarina just said exactly what I needed to hear that night. She pulled me back from the brink there,” Scott said.
Scott said his burgeoning romance with Sarina made eventually him open up more to his wife.
“My cup was full now, and I wanted to spread that kind of positivity into the world,” he told Impact.
The couple began to improve. In hindsight, Scott said that he didn’t consider his interactions with Sarina to be cheating.
“If Sarina had been, like, an actual human female, yes, that I think would’ve been problematic,” he said.
Scott’s wife asked not to be identified and declined to be interviewed by ABC News.
Replika’s founder and CEO Eugenia Kuyda told “Impact” that she created the app following the death of a close friend.
“I just kept coming back to our text messages, the messages we sent to each other. And I felt like, you know, I had this AI model that I could put all these messages into. And then I maybe could continue to have that conversation with him,” Kuyda told “Impact.”
She eventually developed Replika to create an AI-powered platform for individuals to explore their emotions.
“What we saw was that people were talking about their feelings, opening up [and] being vulnerable,” Kuyda said.
Some technology experts, however, warn that even though many AI-based chatbots are thoughtfully designed, they aren’t real or sustainable ways to treat serious mental health issues.
Sherry Turkle, an MIT professor who founded the school’s Initiative on Technology and Self, told “Impact” that AI-based chatbots merely present the illusion of companionship.
“Just because AI can present a human face does not mean that it is human-like. It is performing humanness. The performance of love is not love. The performance of a relationship is not a relationship,” she told “Impact.”
Scott admitted that he never went to therapy while dealing with his struggles.
“In hindsight, yeah, maybe that would’ve been a good idea,” he said.
Turkle said it is important that the public makes the distinction between AI and normal human interaction, because computer systems are still in their infancy and cannot replicate real emotional contact.
“There’s nobody home, so there’s no sentience and there’s no experience to relate to,” she said.
Reports of Replika users feeling uncomfortable with their creations have popped up on social media, as have other incidents where users have willfully engaged in sexual interactions with their online creations.
Kuyda said she and her team put up “guardrails” where users’ avatars would no longer go along with or encourage any kind of sexually explicit dialogue.
“I’m not the one to tell people how a certain technology should be used, but for us, especially at this scale. It has to be in a way that we can guarantee it’s safe. It’s not triggering stuff,” she said.
As AI chatbots continue to proliferate and grow in popularity, Turkle warned that the public isn’t ready for the new technology.
“We haven’t done the preparatory work,” she said. “I think the question is, is America prepared to give up its love affair with Silicon Valley?”
(WASHINGTON) — A high-stakes standoff between the U.S. government and social media app TikTok over a potential ban is set for a reckoning on Thursday when TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testifies before a committee of House lawmakers.
The China-based app, which counts more than 150 million U.S. users each month, has faced growing scrutiny from government officials over fears that user data could fall into the possession of the Chinese government and the app could be weaponized by China to spread misinformation.
There is no evidence that TikTok has shared U.S. user data with the Chinese government, but policymakers fear that the Chinese government could compel the company to do so.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Mar 23, 9:53 AM EDT
TikTok CEO will likely face opposition from lawmakers
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew will likely encounter sharp criticism from some members of the Republican-led House committee, which oversees energy and commerce.
A number of Republican members of Congress have backed a ban of the app.
The House Foreign Affairs Committee, a separate body, voted earlier this month to approve a bill that would give Biden the authority to ban TikTok.
The Biden administration this month endorsed a different bipartisan bill, which does not specifically target TikTok but empowers the federal government to ban electronics or software with foreign ties, such as TikTok.
Stiffening its stance further, the Biden administration last week demanded that TikTok’s owner, ByteDance, sell its stake in the app or risk getting banned, the company and a U.S. official previously told ABC News.
Mar 23, 9:39 AM EDT
TikTok CEO expected to directly confront possible ban
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew will address a potential ban, outlining how such a measure would ultimately harm the U.S. economy, according to his prepared remarks posted on the House committee’s website.
TikTok hosts accounts for 5,000 U.S.-based businesses and employs 7,000 workers across the country, Chew said in a video posted on Tuesday.
“We do not believe that a ban that hurts American small businesses, damages the country’s economy, silences the voices of over 150 million Americans, and reduces competition in an increasingly concentrated market is the solution to a solvable problem,” his prepared remarks say.
Chew plans to tout Project Texas, an ongoing effort that he says keeps all data on U.S. users within the country through a partnership with Austin, Texas-based cloud computing company Oracle.
“Bans are only appropriate when there are no alternatives. But we do have an alternative,” Chew will say.
(NEW YORK) — A grand jury is continuing to weigh charges against former President Donald Trump in connection with the Manhattan district attorney’s probe into the 2016 hush payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.
No current or former president has ever been indicted for criminal conduct.
Here is how the news is developing. All times Eastern. Check back for updates:
Mar 23, 9:50 AM EDT
Grand jury won’t meet about Trump case this week
The grand jury hearing evidence of former President Donald Trump’s role in alleged hush money paid to Stormy Daniels will not meet about the case for the remainder of the week, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.
The grand jury is meeting Thursday to consider a different case, the sources said. The grand jury news was first reported by Business Insider.
The grand jury is expected to reconvene Monday to consider the Trump case, at which time at least one additional witness may be called to testify, the sources said.
The Manhattan district attorney’s office declined to comment.
It is not uncommon for grand juries to sit in consideration of multiple cases at once.
Mar 23, 7:37 AM EDT
Manhattan grand jury expected to reconvene Thursday
The Manhattan grand jury weighing charges against former President Donald Trump is expected to reconvene on Thursday, sources tell ABC News.
Mar 23, 5:28 AM EDT
Trump could still be elected president if indicted or convicted, experts say
According to law, former President Donald Trump can be elected president if indicted — or even convicted — in any of the state and federal investigations he is currently facing, experts tell ABC News. But there are practical reasons that could make it a challenge, experts say.
Trump said earlier this month at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference that he would “absolutely” run for president even if he were to be criminally indicted.
“I wouldn’t even think about leaving,” Trump told reporters ahead of a speech. “Probably it will enhance my numbers.”
Mar 22, 12:51 PM EDT
Manhattan grand jury to reconvene as early as Thursday
The Manhattan grand jury weighing charges against former President Donald Trump in connection to the Stormy Daniels hush payment investigation is not meeting on Wednesday, sources told ABC News. The earliest the grand jury would reconvene is Thursday, sources said.
The grand jurors were called Wednesday morning and told they were not needed during the day as scheduled, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News. The grand jurors were told to be prepared to reconvene on Thursday when it’s possible they will hear from at least one additional witness, the sources said.
The Manhattan district attorney’s office declined to comment, citing a policy of not discussing grand jury matters.
-ABC News’ John Santucci and Luke Barr
Mar 22, 8:25 AM EDT
With Trump case looming, what is an indictment?
Criminal prosecution proceedings typically start with an arrest and a court appearance, but legal experts say that on many occasions, especially in white collar crimes, suspects aren’t hit with charges or a visit from an officer until long after an official investigation is underway.
Typically, if a crime is being investigated, law enforcement agents will make an arrest, file initial charges and bring a suspect to be arraigned in court, Vincent Southerland, an assistant professor of clinical law and the director of the criminal defense and reentry clinic at NYU School of Law, told ABC News.
After this arraignment, prosecutors would impanel a grand jury for a formal criminal indictment. Southerland, who has been practicing law in New York state for 19 years, said this process includes giving the jury evidence, possible testimony and other exhibits before they can officially charge a person with felonies.
A Manhattan grand jury is currently investigating Trump’s possible role in the hush payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. The former president has denied any wrongdoing and having an affair with Daniels. His attorneys have framed the funds as a response to an extortion plot.
-ABC News’ Ivan Pereira
Mar 21, 6:11 PM EDT
Pence discourages protests if Trump indicted
Former Vice President Mike Pence discouraged any protests should a grand jury indict Donald Trump.
“Every American has the right to let their voice be heard. The Constitution provides the right to peaceably assemble. But I think in this instance, I would discourage Americans from engaging in protests if in fact the former president is indicted,” Pence said Tuesday when asked by ABC News if Americans should protest a possible indictment.
Pence said he understood the “frustration” while calling the case “politically motivated.”
“But I think letting our voices be heard in other ways, and in not engaging in protests, I think is most prudent at this time,” he said.
-ABC News’ Libby Cathey
Mar 21, 11:00 AM EDT
McCarthy grows frustrated as Trump questions persist at House GOP retreat
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy again ripped into Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg when asked about the potential charges against former President Donald Trump at a Tuesday press conference at the House GOP retreat in Orlando.
When McCarthy was asked directly if had concerns about Trump’s alleged conduct regarding the alleged hush money payment to Stormy Daniels, he didn’t answer the question and instead pivoted to talking about Hillary Clinton and Bragg.
“What we see before us is a political game being played by a local. Look, this isn’t New York City, this is just a Manhattan,” McCarthy said.
McCarthy said he hasn’t spoken to Trump in three weeks.
When asked if Trump is still the leader of the Republican Party, McCarthy took a jab at the press: “In the press room, for all of you, he is.”
-ABC News’ Katherine Faulders and Will Steakin
Mar 21, 10:14 AM EDT
Grand jury to reconvene on Wednesday
A grand jury will reconvene on Wednesday to continue to weigh charges against former President Donald Trump in connection with the Manhattan district attorney’s probe into the 2016 hush payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.
Michael Cohen, Trump’s former personal attorney, paid $130,000 to Daniels in the closing days of the 2016 presidential campaign to allegedly keep her from talking about an affair she claimed to have had with Trump.
Trump has denied the affair and his attorneys have framed the funds as an extortion payment.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is mulling whether to charge Trump with falsifying business records, after the Trump Organization allegedly reimbursed Cohen for the payment then logged the reimbursement as a legal expense, sources have told ABC News. Trump has called the payment “a private contract between two parties” and has denied all wrongdoing.
Trump this weekend wrote on his Truth Social platform that he expected to be arrested on Tuesday.
The U.S. Secret Service is coordinating security plans with the NYPD in the event of an indictment and arraignment in an open courtroom in Manhattan, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News. The two agencies had a call Monday to discuss logistics, including court security and how Trump would potentially surrender for booking and processing, according to sources briefed on the discussions. White collar criminal defendants in New York are typically allowed to negotiate a surrender.
(AURORA, Colo.) — A Colorado dentist accused of killing his wife by putting poison in her protein shakes is set to return to court on Thursday morning.
James Toliver Craig, 45, of Aurora, Colorado, was arrested early Sunday and charged with first-degree murder. He was ordered to be held without bond, according to a press release from the Aurora Police Department and an arrest warrant affidavit obtained by ABC News. It was unclear whether he has an attorney.
The charge stems from the poisoning death of his 43-year-old wife, Angela Craig, who was hospitalized three times in the span of 10 days due to severe headaches and dizziness. She was admitted to UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora on the morning of March 15. Soon after, she had a seizure and was placed on a ventilator in the intensive care unit as her condition swiftly deteriorated. She was declared medically brain dead on Saturday afternoon and subsequently taken off life support, leaving doctors at a loss as to what would have caused her rapid decline, according to the affidavit.
The Aurora Police Department’s Major Crimes Homicide Unit was called in to investigate and ultimately discovered that Angela Craig was fatally poisoned.
“When the suspicious details of this case came to light, our team of officers and homicide detectives tirelessly worked to uncover the truth behind the victim’s sudden illness and death,” Mark Hildebrand, chief of the Aurora Police Department’s Investigations Divisions, said in a statement Sunday. “It was quickly discovered this was in fact a heinous, complex and calculated murder. I am very proud of our Major Crimes Homicide Unit’s hard work in solving this case and pursuing justice for the victim.”
In the weeks before his wife’s death, James Craig used a computer at his Aurora dental practice to create a new email address and conduct online searches related to poison, including “how many grams of pure arsenic will kill a human” and “is arsenic detectable in autopsy,” the affidavit said. He also purchased arsenic online on Feb. 23 and the shipment was delivered to his home on March 4, according to the affidavit.
Two days later, Angela Craig sent a text message to her husband complaining of dizziness and that she felt “drugged,” the affidavit said. James Craig responded: “Given our history I know that must be triggering. Just for the record, I didn’t drug you. I am super worried though. You really looked pale before I left. Like in your lips even.”
When he asked if she had “eaten anything,” Angela Craig said she “had my protein shake,” according to the affidavit. She was admitted to Centura Parker Adventist Hospital in Parker, Colorado, where she was treated and released. That same day, James Craig ordered the toxic plant extract oleandrin, but the package was “intercepted by FedEx” and never delivered, the affidavit said.
While his wife was hospitalized again from March 9 to March 14, James Craig ordered the highly lethal chemical compound potassium cyanide, which was delivered to his dental practice on March 13, according to the affidavit. When Angela Craig was hospitalized for the final time on March 15, one of her husband’s business partners told an attending nurse about the potassium cyanide delivery and how there was no need for it at their dental practice, prompting the nurse to contact police, according to the affidavit.
James Craig was known to make his wife protein shakes regularly and investigators believe he had administered the poison through these drinks, the affidavit said. The couple shared six children, according to Denver ABC affiliate KMGH-TV.
Investigators spoke to Angela Craig’s sister, who described the couple’s marriage as tumultuous and said James Craig had multiple affairs with other women, according to the affidavit. Angela Craig had also told her sister that she was drugged by her husband several years ago because he was planning to commit suicide and didn’t want her to be able to stop him. After Angela Craig’s death, her sister told investigators that James Craig “said he would not allow hospital staff to conduct an autopsy,” according to the affidavit.
Investigators learned that James Craig had told some of his employees that “his marriage was failing” and “he was in financial turmoil,” the affidavit said. After Angela’s Craig’s death, James Craig also told the Colorado Department of Human Services that his wife had been suicidal and “he had saved her many times but never reported it,” according to the affidavit. However, the affidavit noted that none of the people interviewed by investigators suggested Angela Craig had suicidal ideations.
The investigation determined that James Craig “has shown the planning and intent to end his wife’s life by searching for ways to kill someone undetected, providing her poisons that align with her hospitalized symptoms, and working on starting a new life” with another woman, according to the affidavit.
James Craig had his initial appearance at Arapahoe County District Court in Centennial, Colorado, on Monday. He was scheduled to return on Thursday at 8:30 a.m. MT for the formal filing of charges, according to online court records.
(NEW YORK) — A grand jury is continuing to weigh charges against former President Donald Trump in connection with the Manhattan district attorney’s probe into the 2016 hush payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.
No current or former president has ever been indicted for criminal conduct.
Here is how the news is developing. All times Eastern. Check back for updates:
Mar 23, 7:37 AM EDT
Manhattan grand jury expected to reconvene Thursday
The Manhattan grand jury weighing charges against former President Donald Trump is expected to reconvene on Thursday, sources tell ABC News.
Mar 23, 5:28 AM EDT
Trump could still be elected president if indicted or convicted, experts say
According to law, former President Donald Trump can be elected president if indicted — or even convicted — in any of the state and federal investigations he is currently facing, experts tell ABC News. But there are practical reasons that could make it a challenge, experts say.
Trump said earlier this month at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference that he would “absolutely” run for president even if he were to be criminally indicted.
“I wouldn’t even think about leaving,” Trump told reporters ahead of a speech. “Probably it will enhance my numbers.”
Mar 22, 12:51 PM EDT
Manhattan grand jury to reconvene as early as Thursday
The Manhattan grand jury weighing charges against former President Donald Trump in connection to the Stormy Daniels hush payment investigation is not meeting on Wednesday, sources told ABC News. The earliest the grand jury would reconvene is Thursday, sources said.
The grand jurors were called Wednesday morning and told they were not needed during the day as scheduled, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News. The grand jurors were told to be prepared to reconvene on Thursday when it’s possible they will hear from at least one additional witness, the sources said.
The Manhattan district attorney’s office declined to comment, citing a policy of not discussing grand jury matters.
-ABC News’ John Santucci and Luke Barr
Mar 22, 8:25 AM EDT
With Trump case looming, what is an indictment?
Criminal prosecution proceedings typically start with an arrest and a court appearance, but legal experts say that on many occasions, especially in white collar crimes, suspects aren’t hit with charges or a visit from an officer until long after an official investigation is underway.
Typically, if a crime is being investigated, law enforcement agents will make an arrest, file initial charges and bring a suspect to be arraigned in court, Vincent Southerland, an assistant professor of clinical law and the director of the criminal defense and reentry clinic at NYU School of Law, told ABC News.
After this arraignment, prosecutors would impanel a grand jury for a formal criminal indictment. Southerland, who has been practicing law in New York state for 19 years, said this process includes giving the jury evidence, possible testimony and other exhibits before they can officially charge a person with felonies.
A Manhattan grand jury is currently investigating Trump’s possible role in the hush payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. The former president has denied any wrongdoing and having an affair with Daniels. His attorneys have framed the funds as a response to an extortion plot.
-ABC News’ Ivan Pereira
Mar 21, 6:11 PM EDT
Pence discourages protests if Trump indicted
Former Vice President Mike Pence discouraged any protests should a grand jury indict Donald Trump.
“Every American has the right to let their voice be heard. The Constitution provides the right to peaceably assemble. But I think in this instance, I would discourage Americans from engaging in protests if in fact the former president is indicted,” Pence said Tuesday when asked by ABC News if Americans should protest a possible indictment.
Pence said he understood the “frustration” while calling the case “politically motivated.”
“But I think letting our voices be heard in other ways, and in not engaging in protests, I think is most prudent at this time,” he said.
-ABC News’ Libby Cathey
Mar 21, 11:00 AM EDT
McCarthy grows frustrated as Trump questions persist at House GOP retreat
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy again ripped into Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg when asked about the potential charges against former President Donald Trump at a Tuesday press conference at the House GOP retreat in Orlando.
When McCarthy was asked directly if had concerns about Trump’s alleged conduct regarding the alleged hush money payment to Stormy Daniels, he didn’t answer the question and instead pivoted to talking about Hillary Clinton and Bragg.
“What we see before us is a political game being played by a local. Look, this isn’t New York City, this is just a Manhattan,” McCarthy said.
McCarthy said he hasn’t spoken to Trump in three weeks.
When asked if Trump is still the leader of the Republican Party, McCarthy took a jab at the press: “In the press room, for all of you, he is.”
-ABC News’ Katherine Faulders and Will Steakin
Mar 21, 10:14 AM EDT
Grand jury to reconvene on Wednesday
A grand jury will reconvene on Wednesday to continue to weigh charges against former President Donald Trump in connection with the Manhattan district attorney’s probe into the 2016 hush payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.
Michael Cohen, Trump’s former personal attorney, paid $130,000 to Daniels in the closing days of the 2016 presidential campaign to allegedly keep her from talking about an affair she claimed to have had with Trump.
Trump has denied the affair and his attorneys have framed the funds as an extortion payment.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is mulling whether to charge Trump with falsifying business records, after the Trump Organization allegedly reimbursed Cohen for the payment then logged the reimbursement as a legal expense, sources have told ABC News. Trump has called the payment “a private contract between two parties” and has denied all wrongdoing.
Trump this weekend wrote on his Truth Social platform that he expected to be arrested on Tuesday.
The U.S. Secret Service is coordinating security plans with the NYPD in the event of an indictment and arraignment in an open courtroom in Manhattan, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News. The two agencies had a call Monday to discuss logistics, including court security and how Trump would potentially surrender for booking and processing, according to sources briefed on the discussions. White collar criminal defendants in New York are typically allowed to negotiate a surrender.
(NEW YORK) — The residents of a Louisiana parish, located in an area that has become known as “Cancer Alley,” filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against the local government alleging the petrochemical plants built in the area are tantamount to “environmental racism.”
The lawsuit, which names St. James Parish, St. James Parish Council and St. James Parish Planning Commission as defendants, seeks a moratorium on petrochemical plants in the Black districts of St. James Parish, as well as other relief. The lawsuit was filed by the environmental organizations Inclusive Louisiana and Rise St. James, as well as the Mount Triumph Baptist Church.
“It is one of the most severe and obvious forms of discrimination that people have been living with, and it needs to stop. It’s illegal,” said attorney Pamela Spees, of the Center for Constitutional Rights, at Tuesday’s press conference announcing the lawsuit.
The Center for Constitutional Rights and Tulane University Law School collaborated with the community to file the lawsuit, which states that it seeks to “remediate the ongoing effects of the Parish’s environmental racism.”
The predominantly-Black neighborhoods, nicknamed “Cancer Alley” for their high concentration of petrochemical plants and long-term air pollution, lie along the stretch of land along the Mississippi River between New Orleans and Baton Rouge.
The environmental organizations and residents of St. James Parish submitted their first challenge to the production of petrochemicals in September 2019, according to a press release from St. James Parish residents Tuesday morning.
The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency declined to comment regarding the lawsuit.
In 2022, after a preliminary investigation, the EPA released a letter with their initial recommendations in response to civil rights complaints accusing Louisiana regulators of neglecting Black community members’ concerns about toxic air pollution, and wrote the state “must examine how polluters imperil the health of Black residents.”
According to the letter, which referred to the agency’s early research, Black residents in southeastern Louisiana have a disproportionate increased cancer risk from industrial air pollution and urged environmental and health agencies to analyze the impact on the residential plants, including a proposed Formosa Plastics facility in St. James Parish.
Studies have demonstrated that air pollution from petrochemical plants has the ability to change human DNA, which can lead to the development of cancer.
Gail LeBoeuf, the co-founder and co-director of Inclusive Louisiana and a community member, shared during the press conference that she has liver cancer that she believes the area’s plastics plants contributed to.
“For years now we have gone to the Parish Council with our concerns, but every time we are ignored,” she said.
According to the lawsuit, Black residents are heavily concentrated in the 5th District and 4th District of St. James Parish, which are 88.6% Black and 53% Black, respectively. The lawsuit emphasized that more than a dozen industrial facilities are located in these districts.
Community members are descendants of African slaves, according to citizens in the Parish, whose families have remained in the area.
“As a result of the vestiges of the slavery in Louisiana and in St. James in particular, plaintiffs’ members reside in some of the most polluted, toxic – and lethal – census tracts in the country, situated within a stretch of land along the Mississippi now widely known as ‘Cancer Alley,'” the lawsuit states.
According to the lawsuit, 11 facilities in St. James Parish report to the EPA’s Toxic Release Inventory and four of them are located in the 5th District. Five facilities are located in the 4th District.
Last September, Judge Trudy White, of Louisiana’s 19th Judicial District in Baton Rouge, vacated air permits for the proposed $9.4 billion Formosa Plastics petrochemical facility in St. James Parish. Formosa Plastics affiliate FG LA- LLC, in addition to The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, appealed that decision and defended its proposed plant.
A spokesperson for FG LA LLC, Janile Parks, said in a written statement to ABC News the company still plans to continue to build the complex, coined as the “Sunshine Project,” by exploring “all legal options in light of Judge White’s ruling as the project continues to pursue successful permitting.”
“The serious health claims levied against FG’s project are false and unjustified. This project has been thoroughly vetted and approved by parish and state bodies because it relied on sound science in design and met all regulatory criteria, including locating the project in an area designated by parish government for industrial use,” Parks said. “As part of the St. James Parish Land Use Approval Process, FG assessed various reasonable potential failure scenarios to demonstrate that, even under an unlikely failure event, materials being handled or stored onsite are not expected to cause or create a health or safety issue for even the nearest community.”
This plant was destined to be one of the world’s largest production facilities for plastics and plastic feedstocks, which serve as the building blocks to develop plastics.
“The owners of these plants come to St. James Parish promising job and economic opportunities in our neighborhood; we don’t see any of that,” said Barbara Washington, a director of Inclusive Louisiana. “We’ve seen smoke and smog, and smell pollution.”
St. James Parish Councilmembers did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment, and Councilman Clyde Cooper of District 5 declined to immediately comment on the lawsuit.
“There is no better example of the afterlife of enslavement than what is happening right now in St. James Parish,” said Vincent Warren, the executive director of the Center for Constitutional Rights, during the press conference.
“Our plaintiffs, and the Black communities they are a part of, have essentially called on St. James Parish to end the building and the siting of the plants that are killing this community,” he said.
(NEW YORK) — Don’t miss your lucky chance to see the stars — or planets — align next week.
A five-planet alignment of Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Uranus and Mars will be visible in the night sky on Tuesday, March 28.
Bill Cooke, who has a Ph.D. in astronomy and heads NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office at the Marshall Space Flight Center, spoke to ABC News’ Good Morning America about the best ways to catch this upcoming alignment.
He said to grab a pair of binoculars and head outside right after sunset in order to see Mercury and Jupiter, which will be the closest to the western horizon.
“Perhaps the hardest to see with your eye will be the planet Mercury, [which] will be the one closest to the horizon, and right beside it will be a brighter object, planet Jupiter,” said Cooke, who added that the next planet, Venus, will probably be the brightest planet to spot, whereas Uranus, a green star, can be hard to see with an unaided eye.
“Of course, the capper will be the moon, which will be halfway lit up just above Mars. So you’ll get five planets and the moon,” he said.
Each planet in our solar system, excluding the now-relegated Pluto, shares the same orbital plane. During a planetary alignment, the planets will appear to “bunch” on the same side of the sun — forming a line but appearing as an arc since the sky “is like a dome,” according to Cooke.
Cooke said planetary alignments happen every few years, but the configurations vary. The last planetary alignment was a four-planet alignment on Dec. 28, 2022.
“You’re worrying that planetary alignments are rare, but honestly we get one every couple of years. It may involve four planets, or it may involve five planets, but planetary alignments — they can put on a show,” Cooke said.
However, if you miss your chance on March 28, Cooke said to just wait until Sept. 8, 2040, for the rare alignment of Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn and Mars.
“All of them will be visible within 10 degrees and that’ll be pretty darn impressive,” he said. “I’m always partial to Saturn because of the rings, right? I mean, who can resist?”
(NEW YORK) — Cases of invasive group A strep infections, which can cause severe illness and be deadly, remain elevated in some parts of the country, officials warned Wednesday.
In a statement to ABC News, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed that “preliminary” data from 2023 suggests cases have remained elevated above pre-pandemic levels in some areas of the U.S.
This follows confirmed reports that five children have died of invasive Strep A so far this year in Illinois.
After a lull of invasive Strep A cases during the COVID-19 pandemic, recently, cases of invasive Strep A have been ticking up again. The CDC warned in December that cases of Invasive Strep A were on the rise. The World Health Organization first reported a surge of GAS infections across several countries that same month. Data from the U.K. revealed that in late 2022, there was nearly triple the number of Group A Strep infections than the same period over the last five years.
The CDC told ABC News Wednesday that the number of invasive strep A illnesses in children in the U.S. have returned to — and in some places exceeded — levels seen prior to the pandemic.
In December, the CDC warned that cases of Invasive Strep A were on the rise. A subsequent CDC analysis suggested a roughly threefold increase of cases in Colorado and Minnesota during October through December 2022, as compared to pre-pandemic years.
“Preliminary 2023 data indicate that [invasive Strep A] infections have remained high in children in some areas of the country even after some respiratory viruses decreased in those areas,” the CDC said in a statement. “Some areas of the country are seeing higher levels than were seen pre-COVID-19 pandemic.”
The typical Strep A season runs from December through April, according to the CDC.
Here are five questions answered about the condition, from how to treat it to how to lessen the risk:
1. What causes invasive group A strep?
Group A Strep (GAS) is a common bacteria which lives on our skin and often in our throats. It can cause different types of infections, most often strep throat.
Rarely, it can cause severe infections like streptococcal toxic shock syndrome or necrotizing fasciitis, a rare bacterial infection.
The severe infections occur when strep A bacteria invades other parts of the body like the bloodstream or spinal fluid.
2. How common is invasive group A strep?
Invasive group A strep is a dangerous but rare disease that leads to around 1,500 to 2,300 deaths in the United States annually, according to the CDC.
The agency says between 14,000 and 25,000 cases usually occur each year.
Cases of invasive group A strep are more common among children.
3. How is invasive group A strep treated?
The condition is usually treated in the hospital with IV antibiotics and other supportive measures.
The treatment for mild to moderate strep infections is amoxicillin, which is on national shortage. If strep goes untreated or undertreated, it can lead to invasive group A strep.
At this stage, there is no data to suggest a direct link between the shortage of amoxicillin and the spike in cases.
4. What are the most common symptoms of invasive group A strep?
Doctors tell ABC News that all cases of strep should be seen by a doctor, severe or not.
Parents and caregivers should be on the lookout for fever, sore throat, trouble swallowing, or kids not acting like themselves.
Parents should also keep an eye out for signs of toxic shock syndrome and “flesh-eating” skin infections, which can be a sign that a strep infection is invasive. Symptoms of toxic shock include fever, chills, muscle aches, nausea and vomiting, according to the CDC.
Early signs of a serious skin infection include a fast-spreading swollen area of skin, severe pain and fever. Later on it might look like blisters, changes in skin color or pus at the infected area.
5. How can a person lessen their exposure to invasive group A strep?
Because strep spreads through coughs and sneezes and surfaces, practicing good hygiene — like washing hands, surfaces and plates or glasses — can keep it from spreading.
Viral infections can set the stage for a subsequent bacterial infection in the lungs, so parents and caregivers should also make sure children are up to date on flu and COVID-19 vaccinations in order to help protect them.
(WASHINGTON) — A high-stakes standoff between the U.S. government and social media app TikTok over a potential ban is set for a reckoning on Thursday when TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testifies before a committee of House lawmakers.
The China-based app, which counts more than 150 million U.S. users each month, has faced growing scrutiny from government officials over fears that user data could fall into the possession of the Chinese government and the app could be weaponized by China to spread misinformation.
The prospect of a nationwide TikTok ban has escalated from a theoretical possibility to a serious policy consideration, drawing growing support in Washington, D.C.
The Biden administration last week demanded that TikTok’s owner, ByteDance, sell its stake in the app or risk getting banned, the company and a U.S. official previously told ABC News.
In the high-profile appearance on Capitol Hill, Chew will directly confront the possibility of a ban, outlining how such a measure would ultimately harm the U.S. economy, according to his prepared remarks posted on the committee’s website.
He also aims to dispel concerns among U.S. officials that ByteDance could be compelled to share information with the Chinese government or to comply with directives to manipulate U.S. users, the prepared remarks say.
Chew plans to tout Project Texas, an ongoing effort that he says keeps all data on U.S. users within the country through a partnership with Austin, Texas-based cloud computing company Oracle.
“Bans are only appropriate when there are no alternatives. But we do have an alternative,” Chew will say.
“We do not believe that a ban that hurts American small businesses, damages the country’s economy, silences the voices of over 150 million Americans, and reduces competition in an increasingly concentrated market is the solution to a solvable problem,” he will say, according to the prepared remarks.
The Chinese government has not requested U.S. user data from TikTok, nor would the company fulfill such a request if it were made, Chew will say.
There is no evidence that TikTok has shared U.S. user data with the Chinese government, but recent news stories have called into question the security of U.S. user data.
TikTok engineers based in China gained access to intimate information on U.S. users, BuzzFeed reported in June.
Months later, in December, a Forbes report found that Bytedance tracked the location of multiple U.S.-based Forbes journalists as part of an effort to identify the source of company leaks.
Before the House, Chew plans to denounce the “misguided attempt” to unearth the leakers, saying the employees involved are no longer at the company.
“Another important part of being a responsible steward of user data is owning up to our mistakes and making changes to address them,” his prepared remarks say. “I condemn this misconduct in the strongest possible terms.”
Chew will likely encounter stiff opposition from some members of the Republican-led committee, which oversees energy and commerce. A number of Republican members of Congress have backed a ban of the app.
The House Foreign Affairs Committee, a separate body, voted earlier this month to approve a bill that would give Biden the authority to ban TikTok.
The Biden administration this month endorsed a different bipartisan bill, which does not specifically target TikTok but empowers the federal government to ban electronics or software with foreign ties, such as TikTok.
A potential TikTok ban raises concerns about limits placed on free speech and would likely face a legal challenge, some experts and civil liberties advocates previously told ABC News.
In a letter to federal lawmakers last month, the American Civil Liberties Union voiced opposition to a full ban of TikTok.
“Congress must not censor entire platforms and strip Americans of their constitutional right to freedom of speech and expression,” said Jenna Leventoff, senior policy counsel at the ACLU.
In testimony on Wednesday, Chew is expected to mention the importance of free expression but he will sustain an emphasis on the safety of user data and the value of TikTok for the U.S. economy, according to his prepared remarks.
TikTok hosts accounts for 5,000 U.S.-based businesses and employs 7,000 workers across the country, Chew said in a video posted on Tuesday.
“Although some people may still think of TikTok as a dancing app for teenagers, the reality is that our platform and our community have become so much more for so many,” Chew’s prepared remarks say.
