Oregon’s heat wave death toll reaches 107 in ‘mass casualty’ event

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(PORTLAND, Ore.) — Oregon’s record-breaking heat wave reached a death toll of 107 on Tuesday, according to officials.

The victims range in age from 37 to 97, according to the Oregon State Medical Examiner, as the state has been reeling from scorching triple-digit temperatures from June 25 to June 30.

So far, 67 deaths — more than half the state’s heat wave-related deaths — were reported in Multnomah County, prompting the county to call it a “mass casualty event.”

Multnomah County health officials said in a news release the suspected cause of all the deaths is hyperthermia — the condition of having a body temperature well above normal. So far, 40 have been formally ruled hyperthermia deaths, and the rest are yet to be officially ruled.

The county’s victims ranged in age from 44 to 97.

Some of the dead were found inside their homes without air conditioning or fans, according to local ABC affiliate KATU. Portland recorded a high of 116 on Monday, June 28.

One of the victims was Guatemalan immigrant Sebastian Francisco Perez, 38, who came to the U.S. on May 5 to work on a farm in rural St. Paul, according to Oregon Live. He died June 26 while working at a tree farm in the extreme heat. Three vigils were held for him in St. Paul on Saturday, the outlet reported.

In response to natural disaster, Multnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury said the county opened three 24-hour cooling centers, nine cooling spaces, directly contacted tens of thousands of seniors, people with disabilities and pregnant women and deployed more than 60 outreach teams to focus on people without housing or shelter in the heat wave.

Washington County reported nine deaths, Clackamas County 11, Marion 13, Deschutes two, Linn two, and Columbia, Pole and Umatilla counties all reported one death from the heat.

An excessive heat warning was in effect the weekend of the wave from the National Weather Service, and the weekend set records for hottest days in history in multiple cities.

Gov. Kate Brown called the heat wave’s death toll “absolutely unacceptable” and said that despite preparation efforts across the state, “we still lost too many lives,” during an appearance on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

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Three law enforcement officers shot in Chicago on heels of violent holiday weekend

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(CHICAGO) — Three law enforcement officers in Chicago were shot on the city’s South Side on the heels of a violent holiday weekend that racked up shootings in the triple digits.

The officers, two ATF Chicago agents and one Chicago Police Department officer, were driving in the Morgan Park neighborhood, near an on-ramp to Interstate 57, just before 6 a.m. when they were fired upon by another vehicle, Chicago Police Superintendent David O’Neal Brown told reporters Wednesday morning. The officers were undercover and in an unmarked car, Brown said.

The officers’ injuries are not life-threatening. One of the ATF agents was struck in the hand, the other was hit on the side of the torso and the police officer was grazed in the back of the head, Brown said. They were taken to Christ Medical Center and last reported in stable condition, said Tom Ahern, deputy director of the police department’s news affairs and communications,

One of the ATF agents is female, while the other two officers are male, and all three are senior officers, he added.

The suspect’s vehicle has been located, but investigators are still searching for the suspect, Brown said.

Brown declined to provide details on the case the officers were working to avoid compromising the investigation.

The attack marks brings the tally of officers shot in Chicago this year to 36, Brown said. The shooting comes after a deadly Fourth of July weekend in the city, when 100 people were shot, 18 of whom died, including a 15-year-old boy, ABC Chicago station WLS-TV reported. Two Chicago Police officers and five children 13 and younger were among the injured.

Brown said Tuesday that Chicago officers were “performing at the highest level” and are “risking everything to protect the people of Chicago.”

“They are doing their part, and no one would do what these officers are doing right now,” Brown said. “This is a very challenging time to be in law enforcement right now. They are rising to the challenge, doing all they can. The work they do is extremely dangerous.”

Speaking from outside the hospital, Chicago Alderman Matt O’Shea urged President Joe Biden to come to Chicago and offer additional assistance to the city, saying that 100,000 armed gang members who “have absolutely no fear, no respect for life” are wreaking havoc on the city. Residents are scared to let their children play outside, he said.

“Our communities are under siege,” he said. “Our police officers are under siege. They’re outmanned and they’re outgunned.”

Biden was met by Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot upon landing in Chicago Wednesday afternoon. During the greeting, Biden expressed his personal support for the law enforcement officers that were injured and reiterated his commitment to working with the city in the fight against gun violence, said White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki.

Biden was scheduled to visit Crystal Lake, a city about 45 miles northwest of Chicago, in the afternoon.

ABC News’ Cheryl Gendron, Rachel Katz and Alex Perez contributed to this report.

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Tropical Storm Elsa to charge up East Coast after Florida landfall: Latest path

ABC News

(NEW YORK) — Tropical Storm Elsa has made landfall along Florida’s Gulf Coast and is now charging up the entire East Coast through Friday.

Elsa made landfall at about 11 a.m. Wednesday in Taylor County, in Florida’s Big Bend region.

Elsa, which is slamming Florida with gusty winds and heavy rain, strengthened to a Category 1 hurricane Tuesday night before weakening back to a tropical storm.

A boat capsized near Key West as Elsa blew through on Tuesday, according to the Coast Guard. Nine people remain missing.

As of Wednesday morning, Florida had no reports of fatalities or significant structural damage, Gov. Ron DeSantis said.

About 26,000 customers in Florida were without power, he added.

Elsa is now barreling up the East Coast, set to bring heavy rain and flash flooding from Georgia to Maine through Friday.

The latest path shows Elsa moving over Georgia Wednesday night, South Carolina Thursday morning and North Carolina Thursday night.

Elsa is forecast to weaken to a tropical depression by Thursday morning as it brings rain and wind to Charleston, Myrtle Beach and Wilmington.

By Thursday night Elsa will be blowing through Virginia, Maryland and Delaware with heavy rain, gusty winds and flooding. Elsa will hit New Jersey overnight Thursday into Friday.

On Friday morning, Elsa will head up the Interstate 95 corridor with heavy rain and gusty winds from New York City to Boston.

ABC News’ Rachel Katz contributed to this report.

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Teen who filmed George Floyd’s death says uncle killed in car crash with Minneapolis police

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(MINNEAPOLIS) — The teen who filmed the murder of George Floyd by former police officer Derek Chauvin said that her uncle was killed Tuesday in a fatal car crash involving Minneapolis police.

In a Facebook post, 18-year-old Darnella Frazier said her uncle Leneal Lamont Frazier died after police collided with his car while they were chasing a carjacked vehicle. Officials from the Minneapolis Office of Police Information said the driver of the stolen car was involved in several robberies and refused to stop for police.

“Minneapolis police killed my uncle,” Darnella Frazier said in the post. “Another black man lost his life in the hands of the police … I couldn’t accept what I was hearing and still can’t. Some things just take time to process.”

The fatal collision took place at the intersection of 41st Avenue North and Lyndale Avenue North in Minneapolis, according to police. A third car was also caught up in the collision.

Minneapolis Office of Police Information officials said that both the driver of the uninvolved car and the officer were taken to the hospital, where the driver died shortly after. The officer was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

In a statement, the Minnesota State Patrol said it will lead the investigation into the crash. It is an open and active investigation, and once completed, the state patrol said it will turn its findings over to the county attorney for review.

In her social media post, Darnella Frazier described her final moments with her uncle, saying Minneapolis police is responsible for the family’s “big loss.”

“I was just with you at the beach,” she wrote. “If I would’ve known that would be my last time seeing you, I would’ve hugged you so much longer, told you ‘I love you’ way harder.”

During the Chauvin murder trial, the teen took to the witness stand to recount the pain she said she has experienced since witnessing Floyd’s murder.

Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer, was convicted of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter and was sentenced to 22 1/2 years in prison for Floyd’s death.

Frazier, who was 17 at the time of the incident, told prosecutors in March that she continues to harbor a lot of guilt and trauma.

“When I look at George Floyd, I look at my dad, I look at my brothers, I look at my cousins, my uncles because they are all Black,” she told prosecutors. “And I look at that and I look at how that could have been one of them. I stayed up [at night] apologizing and apologizing to George Floyd for not doing more and not physically interacting, not saving his life.”

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Tropical Storm Elsa makes landfall in Florida: Latest path

ABC News

(NEW YORK) — Tropical Storm Elsa made landfall at about 11 a.m. Wednesday in Taylor County, Florida, along the Sunshine State’s Gulf Coast.

Taylor County, in Florida’s Big Bend region, is about 50 miles southeast of Tallahassee.

Elsa, which is slamming Florida with gusty winds and heavy rain, strengthened to a Category 1 hurricane Tuesday night before weakening back to a tropical storm.

A boat capsized near Key West as Elsa blew through on Tuesday, according to the Coast Guard. Nine people remain missing.

As of Wednesday morning, Florida had no reports of fatalities or significant structural damage, Gov. Ron DeSantis said.

About 26,000 customers in Florida are without power, he added.

A hurricane warning is in effect for Florida’s west coast from the Chassahowitzka River to the Steinhatchee River.

Wet grounds and rough winds have already caused some downed trees in Hillsborough County, which encompasses Tampa.

Tampa Bay is among the areas under a storm surge warning.

Tropical storm warnings have been issued in Savannah and Charleston.

After blowing through the South, the storm is expected to move up the East Coast, bringing heavy rain and gusty winds to the mid-Atlantic, New Jersey shore, New York City, Long Island and New England.

By Thursday night Elsa will reach mid-Atlantic, dropping flooding rain and gusty winds near Washington, D.C., and into Philadelphia.

By Friday morning, Elsa will be dropping heavy rain and rough winds along the Jersey shore, New York City and Long Island.

Elsa will move into New England late Friday morning into Friday afternoon. Boston and Portland, Maine, could face strong winds, power outages and flooding.

Flooding is possible in Philadelphia, New York City, Connecticut, Massachusetts and northern New England. Some areas could see up to 5 inches of rain.

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‘Hometown Heroes’ parade recap: New York celebrates COVID-19 essential workers

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(NEW YORK) — Confetti filled the streets of lower Manhattan on Wednesday as New Yorkers gathered for a ticker tape parade honoring the heroes of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Called the Hometown Heroes Parade, the event was held along the Canyon of Heroes, nearly 16 months after New York City became the nation’s first COVID-19 epicenter.

Here is how the news is developing. All times Eastern. Check back for updates.

Jul 07, 12:47 pm
Subway car from 1904 resurrected as parade float

Among the 14 floats is an old subway car from 1904 that was resurrected for MTA workers to ride in along the parade route.

Sarah Feinberg, interim president of New York City Transit, was overcome with emotion seeing how many people came to show their support.

“It’s just wonderful to see the city come out and thank our workforce,” she told ABC New York station WABC.

Jul 07, 11:50 am
Eric Adams joins parade festivities

Eric Adams, who was announced Tuesday as the winner of New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary, was among those joining parade festivities.

The former police captain declined to comment on the race to ABC New York station WABC, insisting the day was about essential workers.

“We need to honor them [essential workers] with pay equity … we need to show them the respect they deserve,” Adams said.

Mayor Bill de Blasio is also at the party.

Jul 07, 11:35 am
Sounds of marching band, cheers echo through the streets

As the confetti falls, the sounds of marching bands and revelers are echoing through the streets. New Yorkers are standing on the sides of the parade route, cheering, ringing bells and holding “Thank you” signs while the floats and bands move through.

While the COVID-19 pandemic is not over, New York City’s seven-day average positivity rate is now 0.96%. More than 605,000 people in the U.S. have died from COVID-19.

Jul 07, 11:00 am
Ticker tape parade underway

The ticker tape parade along lower Manhattan’s Canyon of Heroes is underway.

The 14 parade floats represent 260 groups of essential workers, including first responders, small business employees, delivery workers and childcare employees.

MTA workers have resurrected an old subway car from 1904 as their float.

Queens nurse Sandra Lindsay, who was the first person in the U.S. to get the COVID-19 vaccine, is the parade’s Grand Marshal.

Jul 07, 8:49 am
Pittsburgh nurse who came to NYC for COVID returns to ride on float

Justin Davis, a traveling nurse with AMN Healthcare, left his wife and three children behind in Pittsburgh to care for COVID-19 patients in an overwhelmed Manhattan hospital when the pandemic began.

“Never seen anything like it,” said Davis, who trained as an Army field medic and has been a nurse for 17 years. “I had more bodies, not enough people to take care. There were unqualified people there because there was nobody else.”

When New York’s crisis subsided, he moved to COVID hot spots in Orlando and Buffalo.

He will ride atop one of 14 floats that will make its way through the shower of confetti on Wednesday.

Davis told ABC News the parade is also a way to put his pandemic work behind him.

“I’ll accept the thanks,” he said.

Jul 07, 7:53 am
Ceremony scaled back due to heat

The City Hall ceremony at the end of the parade will be “a much smaller, stripped down version” than originally planned due to the heat, Mayor de Blasio said Tuesday.

“We will be greeting the marchers at the end of the parade and thanking them,” de Blasio said. “Not a big ceremony, but the parade itself of course will be the central salute to our heroes.”

“We will be adding additional cooling centers and water stations along the route,” the mayor added.

Jul 07, 7:24 am
New York to hold first ticker tape parade in two years

Ticker tape parades along the Canyon of Heroes are a historical part of New York City. These parades have honored people from Amelia Earhart in 1932 to Winston Churchill in 1946. The most recent ticker tape parade was in 2019 for the U.S. women’s national soccer team after they won the World Cup.

“Ticker tape parades up the Canyon of Heroes, they’ve happened for generations,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said last month. “But this one will have a special spirit to it, a special heart and soul, because it’s about celebrating everyday New Yorkers who did something heroic and need our thanks.”

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Trump says he’s filing class action lawsuits against Facebook, Twitter and Google

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(BEDMINSTER, N.J.) — Former President Donald Trump announced Wednesday he is filing class action lawsuits against three of the country’s largest tech companies — Facebook, Twitter, and Google — all of which have banned the former president from their social media platforms.

At a press conference at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club, Trump announced a “major class-action lawsuit” against the three companies, demanding “a stop to the blacklisting, banishing, and canceling that you know so well.”

The former president is currently banned from Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

“Today, in conjunction with the America First Policy Institute, I’m filing, as the lead class representative, a major class action lawsuit against the big tech giants, including Facebook, Google, and Twitter, as well as their CEOs, Mark Zuckerberg, Sundar Pichai, and Jack Dorsey, three real nice guys,” Trump said.

The former president said the lawsuits seek injunctive relief to “allow prompt restitution and, really, restoration.”

“In addition, we are asking the court to impose punitive damages on these social media giants,” he said.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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Haitian President Jovenel Moise killed in attack at his home, country now in state of emergency

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(LONDON) — Haitian President Jovenel Moise was killed in an attack at his home before dawn on Wednesday, the country’s interim premier said.

A group of unidentified individuals raided Moise’s private residence in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, at around 1 a.m. local time. They gunned down the 53-year-old head of state and wounded his wife, Martine Moise, who remains hospitalized, according to a statement from Haitian interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph.

Joseph, who condemned what he called a “hateful, inhumane and barbaric act,” said that the Caribbean country’s national police force and military had the situation under control and declared a state of emergency.

Reaction has been pouring in from around the world condemning the assassination, including from U.S. President Joe Biden, who called the situation “very worrisome.”

Reeling from the coronavirus pandemic, Haiti has also been in the midst of a constitutional crisis as Moise and opposition leaders disputed the end of his five-year presidential term and legislative elections remained interminably delayed.

Addressing the nation in a televised speech, Joseph called on the people of Haiti to “stay calm.” He chaired a meeting of the government’s ministers Wednesday morning, although the country’s line of succession is unclear, especially given its recent political turmoil.

“All the ministers and I have been working since the news broke and we want to assure you we will bring the killers of the president to justice,” he said. “Please stay calm and let the authorities do their work. We don’t want the country to plunge into chaos. This is a very sad day for our nation and for our people.”

Joseph’s initial paper statement said some attackers were speaking Spanish, but a second statement issued in English by the Haitian embassy in Washington made no mention of that. Instead, it said that the group was “highly trained and heavily armed” and called for an urgent United Nations Security Council meeting and an international investigation into the attack.

The streets of Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince were largely deserted Wednesday, and Toussaint Louverture International Airport has been closed in the wake of the assassination.

The U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince was also closed Wednesday, including for consular services, “due to an ongoing security situation,” it said in a security alert. The embassy also said it is restricting its American staff to its compounds “until further notice” and urged members of the public to avoid unnecessary travel to the area.

U.S. officials are “still gathering information” on the deadly attack, according to White House press secretary Jen Psaki, offering U.S. assistance “if there’s an investigation. We’re still assessing, still gathering information, and the president of course will be briefed by his national security team this morning.”

Hours later, the White House issued a statement from Biden condemning “this heinous act, and I am sending my sincere wishes for First Lady Moïse’s recovery. The United States offers condolences to the people of Haiti, and we stand ready to assist as we continue to work for a safe and secure Haiti.”

Haiti has been in a state of chaos for months now, with frequent gunfire and street skirmishes between armed groups, political demonstrations and strikes, and a coronavirus wave never brought under control. Cases of the virus were as high last month as they were one year ago, and the country has yet to distribute a single vaccine dose or receive any shipments from COVAX, the international program to provide vaccines to low- and middle-income countries.

That’s in part because of the governing crisis roiling Haiti. The country’s political opposition had argued that Moise’s five-year presidential term ended this February — five years after his election victory, but four years after he took office — while he said he had one more year left because the disputed 2016 election delayed his inauguration until 2017.

Moise had been governing by decree since January 2020, after the country failed to hold legislative elections and the legislature’s mandate expired. Opposition leaders accused him of wanting to return Haiti to a dictatorship.

Earlier this year, Moise ordered the retirement of three Supreme Court judges and the arrest of nearly two dozen people, including prominent officials, who he alleged were plotting a coup. Violent protests against Moise erupted, prompting the president to declare a state of emergency in parts of the country in March.

The political instability in addition to economic woes and escalating gang violence have undermined efforts to rebuild Haiti from a devastating earthquake in 2010 and Hurricane Matthew in 2016.

While the Biden administration backed Moise’s claim to have one more year in office, it had grown increasingly vocal in its opposition to his “one-man rule,” in the words of the top U.S. diplomat for the Western Hemisphere, including governing by decrees and refusing to hold those legislative elections.

While the White House has said it will provide Haiti some of the initial 80 million COVID-19 vaccines it has promised to share overseas, it has yet to announce when it will do so — with the worsening security situation now making it that much harder.

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Surfside building collapse latest: 10 more bodies recovered from rubble, bringing death toll to 46

Eva Marie Uzcategui Trinkl/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

(NEW YORK) — Tropical Storm Elsa made landfall at about 11 a.m. Wednesday in Taylor County, Florida, along the Sunshine State’s Gulf Coast.

Taylor County, in Florida’s Big Bend region, is about 50 miles southeast of Tallahassee.

Elsa, which is slamming Florida with gusty winds and heavy rain, strengthened to a Category 1 hurricane Tuesday night before weakening back to a tropical storm.

A boat capsized near Key West as Elsa blew through on Tuesday, according to the Coast Guard. Nine people remain missing.

As of Wednesday morning, Florida had no reports of fatalities or significant structural damage, Gov. Ron DeSantis said.

About 26,000 customers in Florida are without power, he added.

A hurricane warning was issued for Florida’s west coast from the Chassahowitzka River to the Steinhatchee River.

Tampa Bay is among the areas under a storm surge warning.

Tropical storm warnings have been issued in Savannah and Charleston, and a tropical storm watch extends up to Sandy Hook, New Jersey.

After blowing through the South, the storm is expected to move up the East Coast, bringing heavy rain and gusty winds to the mid-Atlantic, New Jersey shore, New York City, Long Island and New England.

Elsa is forecast to weaken to a tropical depression as it moves up the East Coast, but it could regain tropical storm status as it passes over the waters of the mid-Atlantic.

By Thursday night Elsa will reach mid-Atlantic, dropping flooding rain and gusty winds near Washington, D.C., and into Philadelphia.

The latest path shows Elsa’s center passing right over the Interstate 95 corridor, heading just east of D.C. to near Philadelphia and then north over New York City.

Northerners should be prepared for gusty winds up to 50 mph, heavy rain and potential flash flooding.

By Friday morning, Elsa will be dropping heavy rain along the Jersey shore, New York City and Long Island.

Elsa will move into New England late Friday morning into Friday afternoon. Boston and Portland, Maine, could face strong winds, power outages and flooding.

Flooding is possible in Philadelphia, New York City, Connecticut, Massachusetts and northern New England. Some areas could see up to 5 inches of rain.

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Chipotle hiding $1M worth of free burritos in ads during NBA Finals

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(NEW YORK) — As the Suns and the Bucks face off in the NBA Finals, Chipotle is giving away millions in free burritos.

Amid the on-court action of Tuesday’s Game 1 broadcast, Chipotle raised the stakes for the commercial breaks and hid a keyword that unlocked 10,000 free burritos at the end of its ad.

The fast-casual Mexican restaurant chain announced Wednesday that it has hidden up to $1 million — or possibly more, depending on if the teams go further than Game 4 — worth of free burritos in its TV ads.

As the series progresses, Chipotle will continue to offer a number of prizes that vary from game to game hidden in the end card of the commercial.

Now the word is officially out, the brand said it expects codes will go fast. To score a free entrée, fans will have to put a full court press on texting the keyword to 888-222.

“The final games of the basketball season are arguably some of the most entertaining moments of the year,” Chris Brandt, Chipotle’s Chief Marketing Officer said in a statement. “Along with the high-profile player matchups, off-court storylines, and fan interactions, our hidden code giveaway creates another ‘game within the game’ and elevates the viewing experience for our fans during breaks in the action.”

Check out the full NBA Finals schedule below to make sure you’re tuned in and ready to go.

Game 2 – Thursday, July 8: 10,000 free burritos
Game 3 – Sunday, July 11: 20,000 free burritos
Game 4 – Wednesday, July 14: 30,000 free burritos
Game 5 (If necessary) – Saturday, July 17: 40,000 free burritos
Game 6 (If necessary) – Tuesday, July 20: 10,000 free burritos
Game 7 (If necessary) – Thursday, July 22: 10,00 free burritos

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