(LOS ANGELES) — Twenty-five police recruits were injured while on a run in Los Angeles early Wednesday when they were struck by a man driving the wrong way, officials said.
About 75 recruits were on the run. The group was mostly Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department recruits, but also included others from nearby police departments, including Pasadena and Glendale.
“It looked like an airplane wreck, there were so many bodies scattered everywhere,” LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said at a news conference.
Five of the recruits were critically hurt, four suffered moderate injuries and 16 have minor injuries, officials said at a news conference.
Injuries include head trauma, loss of limb and broken bones, officials said. At least one victim is on a ventilator, the sheriff said.
The 22-year-old driver, who has been detained, has minor injuries, Los Angeles County Fire Capt. Sheila Kelliher said.
The cause of the crash is unknown. The California Highway Patrol said it’ll investigate whether the crash was intentional or the result of distracted driving or driving under the influence.
Villanueva said the driver blew a 0.0 on a Breathalyzer test.
“It looks like it’s an accident, a horrific accident,” Villanueva said.
The recruits were running on a routine route at the time of the crash, which took place around 6:29 a.m. Wednesday, while it was still dark out, officials said.
“Road guards” wearing reflective vests ran on the outside of the recruits, officials said.
The sheriff’s office also had two patrol cars escorting the runners.
The accident took place just outside of a fire station, so firefighters immediately raced to the scene, officials said.
Some recruits estimated the car was going about 30 mph, officials said.
“It is hard to see, because these young people are getting ready to go put themselves in the line of danger in their career. And who knows that while you’re training to do that you are actually in harm’s way,” Kelliher said at a news conference. “So my heart goes out to all of them as they pursue this career. I hope that they all have speedy recoveries.”
(NEW YORK) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday disputed a claim by Poland that a missile strike that hit a Polish village killing two people came from Ukrainian air defenses. Polish President Andrzej Duda earlier had called the incident a “tragic accident.”
“I have no doubt that it was not our rocket,” Zelenskyy told reporters. He said Ukraine should be a party to the investigation over the strike.
But U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in an on-camera briefing Wednesday said there’s “nothing that contradicts President Duda’s preliminary assessment that this explosion was most likely the result of a Ukrainian air defense missile that unfortunately landed in Poland.”
The missile caused an explosion Tuesday about 10 miles from the Polish-Ukrainian border, in the farming village of Przewodow, killing the owner of a granary that was struck and a tractor driver who was transferring maize and corn to the facility, according to Poland’s Law and Justice Ministry.
In response to the incident, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki on Tuesday called an urgent meeting with the Polish Committee of the Council of Ministers for National Security and Defense Affairs. Duda said the NATO ally also strengthened the readiness of the Polish armed forces, including air defenses.
The Polish foreign minister also summoned the Russian envoy to explain the explosion near the Ukrainian border.
The incident came on the same day Russian forces fired 90 missiles into Ukraine, affecting power systems, enterprises and residential buildings, according to Zelenskyy.
Russia denied responsibility for the missiles that landed in Poland. After Polish authorities released images from the site, Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed the wreckage was elements of an S-300 anti-aircraft guided missile, which it claimed is used by the Ukrainian Air Force.
Duda said that it was probably a Russian-made S-300 missile, but that there is no evidence that it was a missile launched by the Russians.
Russia claimed that its precision strikes were carried out on targets within Ukrainian territory and at a distance no closer than 35 km from the Ukrainian-Polish border.
After he was briefed on the incident, President Joe Biden spoke with Duda and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Tuesday.
Biden expressed “deep condolences for the loss of life in Eastern Poland” and offered “full U.S. support for and assistance with Poland’s investigation,” the White House said in a statement.
Hours after the explosion, the White House held an emergency roundtable meeting with G-7 and NATO world leaders in Bali, Indonesia regarding the explosion in Poland. Biden met with leaders of Germany, Canada, France, Italy, Japan, Spain, the Netherlands, the U.K. and the EU.
After the meeting, Biden told reporters it is “unlikely” that the missile that hit Poland was fired from Russia and said leaders would support the investigation into what happened.
“I’m going to make sure we find out exactly what happened,” Biden said.
Biden also said that recent Russian missile attacks on Ukraine have been “totally unconscionable” and were a point of discussion at the meeting. The White House also condemned the attacks on Ukrainian cities and civilian infrastructure, calling them “barbaric.”
Russia called Biden’s response “reserved and far more professional reaction” compared to other countries.
However, Austin blamed Russia on Wednesday for the ongoing conflict.
“Whatever the final conclusions may be, the world knows that Russia bears ultimate responsibility for this incident, which launched another barrage of missiles against Ukraine specifically intended to target Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure,” Austin said.
-ABC News’ Tom Soufi Burridge, Luis Martinez, Will Gretsky and Ben Gittleson contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — A rude awakening for the tech industry this year has triggered a slew of layoffs at major companies.
Sales at top tech firms have retreated from the blistering pace attained during the pandemic, when billions across the world were forced into isolation. Customers stuck at home came to rely on delivery services like e-commerce and virtual connections formed through social media and videoconferencing.
However, persistent recession fears, rising interest rates and a shift back toward a pre-pandemic lifestyle have bludgeoned the industry.
The downturn has sent stocks tumbling and companies reeling. A slew of industry stalwarts have cut a combined tens of thousands of workers in an effort to slash costs.
Here are some of the tech companies that have imposed layoffs this year:
Meta: Cut about 11,000 employees
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg last week announced that the company would be laying off about 11,000 employees — an estimated 13% of its workforce.
Meta reported a second consecutive quarter of declining sales last month, as the company contends with a widespread drop in online ad spending and rising competition from TikTok. Shares of the company’s stock have plummeted about 65% this year.
“We’ve cut costs across our business, including scaling back budgets, reducing perks, and shrinking our real estate footprint,” Zuckerberg said.
“We’re restructuring teams to increase our efficiency. But these measures alone won’t bring our expenses in line with our revenue growth, so I’ve also made the hard decision to let people go,” he added.
Twitter: Cut about 3,700 employees
Days after Elon Musk acquired Twitter, the company earlier this month began layoffs that will cut roughly half of its 7,500-person workforce.
“Today is your last working day at the company,” the company said in an email to employees, which ABC News has reviewed. The subject line read “Your Role at Twitter” and was sent to the personal email addresses of those laid off.
Those laid off will remain employed by Twitter and receive compensation and benefits until the first week of January 2023, though the date may vary for employees. Affected employees were already locked out of their Twitter systems, such as email and Slack.
Musk, who said he overpaid for the platform at the purchasing price of $44 billion, faces pressure to boost the company’s profits. Earlier this month, he said the company is losing $4 million each day.
Amazon: Cut about 10,000 employees
Amazon is set to lay off about 10,000 workers, marking the largest job cuts in the company’s history and the latest employee losses in a battered tech industry, the New York Times reported on Monday. The layoffs could begin as early as this week.
The cuts amount to less than 1% of the company’s 1.5 million workers worldwide, but the job losses arrive at a time when the company typically expands its workforce during the busy holiday season.
The cuts will be concentrated in the Amazon department that specializes in devices, such as the voice-assisted Alexa, the Times reported. Jobs will also be lost in retail and human resources.
Shares in Amazon are down 18% this year. Third-quarter earnings released by Amazon last month fell short of analyst expectations for revenue, sending the stock down 13% in extended trading on the day of the announcement.
Lyft: Cut about 700 employees
Rideshare company Lyft laid off about 700 workers or 13% of staff earlier this month, the company said in a memo to employees.
In the memo, co-founders Logan Green and John Zimmer attributed the job cuts to “a probable recession sometime in the next year” as well as inflation and an increase in rideshare insurance costs.
The company’s stock has fallen about 71% this year, more than double the decline in the tech-heavy Nasdaq index over that period.
Laid-off employees will receive 10 weeks of pay, health care coverage through next April and assistance landing elsewhere, among other benefits, the memo said.
Stripe: Cut about 1,100 employees
Earlier this month, fintech company Stripe announced it would lay off 14% of its workforce or about 1,100 employees.
“We are facing stubborn inflation, energy shocks, higher interest rates, reduced investment budgets, and sparser startup funding,” CEO Patrick Collison said in a memo to employees.
The company will pay departing employees 14 weeks of severance as well as their annual bonus for 2022, among other benefits, the memo added.
Redfin: Cut 862 employees
Online real estate broker Redfin laid off 862 workers or about 13% of its workforce last week, the company said in a financial filing.
The company has cut more than a quarter of its staff since April due to a housing downturn that the company expects to last through next year, the filing said.
An aggressive series of interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve has sent mortgage rates soaring to a 20-year high last month, as the U.S. endures an ongoing slowdown in home sales and housing construction.
Salesforce: Cut hundreds of employees
Enterprise software company Salesforce cut hundreds of workers last week, TechCrunch reported.
In an Investor Day presentation last month, CFO Amy Weaver said the company is seeking greater profitability, as it aims to reach a 25% operating margin by 2026.
The company’s stock has dropped about 38% this year.
Microsoft: Cut nearly 1,000 employees
Microsoft last month announced layoffs for nearly 1,000 employees worldwide, the company confirmed to ABC News.
While significant, the job losses affected less than one half of 1% of the company’s 221,000 employees worldwide.
The job cuts came across different positions, levels and geographic regions, Microsoft confirmed.
“Like all companies, we evaluate our business priorities on a regular basis, and make structural adjustments accordingly,” the company told ABC News in a statement. “We will continue to invest in our business and hire in key growth areas in the year ahead.”
Robinhood: Cut 23% of employees
Online financial trading platform Robinhood announced in August that the company would lay off 23% of its workforce, following cuts in April that affected 9% of employees.
“We have seen additional deterioration of the macro environment, with inflation at 40-year highs accompanied by a broad crypto market crash,” CEO Vlad Tenev said in a blog post. This has further reduced customer trading activity and assets under custody.
Retail stock trading online soared amid pandemic-related stimulus payments in 2020 and 2021, but has waned this year as consumers face rising costs.
Coinbase: Cut about 1,100 employees
Cryptocurrency trading platform Coinbase in June laid off 1,100 workers or about 18% of full-time positions.
In a memo to employees, CEO and co-founder Brian Armstrong cited an apparent economic downturn and an anticipated decline in trading revenue.
“We appear to be entering a recession after a 10+ year economic boom,” he wrote.
The company cut about 60 additional workers in its recruiting and institutional onboarding departments last week, The Information reported.
(WAUKESHA, Wis.) — Darrell Brooks is scheduled to be sentenced Wednesday for driving his SUV into a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin, last year, killing six people and injuring dozens more.
Wednesday’s sentencing comes after dozens of victims of the attack confronted Brooks in angry, emotional statements on Tuesday.
Prior to Judge Jennifer Dorow’s sentencing, several people spoke on Brooks’ behalf in Waukesha County court on Wednesday over Zoom, starting with his mother, Dawn Brooks.
“Jail is not the only answer,” she told the court. “Help, treatment, hospitalization and medication — it plays a big role in preventing this, where we are today, if it would have been offered sooner.”
She also read the Maya Angelou poem “Caged Bird.”
“Everyone who suffers from mental illness is caged. All they want is to be free of their illness and become mentally well,” she said, adding that she believes society has an obligation to help others through treatment and medication.
Brooks’ grandmother, Mary Edwards, told the court that he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at the age of 12.
“It was that disorder that caused him to drive through that crowd,” she said. “It is my prayer that he will be treated for this illness.”
A jury found Brooks, 40, guilty last month on all 76 counts, including six counts of first-degree intentional homicide, for barreling his SUV into a Christmas parade on Nov. 21, 2021.
Those killed were Tamara Durand, 52; Wilhelm Hospel, 81; Jane Kulich, 52; Leanna Owen, 71; Virginia Sorenson, 79; and Jackson Sparks, 8.
Addressing the court on Tuesday during the first day of the sentencing, survivors detailed how Brooks robbed them of their sense of personal safety, trust and peace and affected them physically and mentally. Parents recalled frantically searching for their children, and the injuries they endured in the attack. Family members honored the memory of those who were killed. Many who addressed the court asked for the maximum sentence possible.
Several of those who spoke in court were children who recounted the horror and long-lasting impact of that day.
“I know that I lost a piece of myself that day, and I’m still trying to find it,” one young victim who was dancing in the parade when the attack occurred told the court on Tuesday.
Another dancer who was injured in the parade spoke of being scared of cars at the bus stop.
“It is getting closer and closer to Nov. 21 and I don’t think I’m ready for this day to come,” the 12-year-old victim told the court on Tuesday. “On this day each year, I and many others will think of how a peaceful event that has been a tradition in Waukesha for over 50 years, and brought smiles and laughter to everyone, turned into tragedy.”
The sentencing hearing was briefly paused Tuesday morning after an unknown person threatened a mass shooting at the Waukesha County Courthouse, authorities said. The threat is under investigation and security at the courthouse was increased, the Waukesha County Sheriff’s Office said.
Brooks was also briefly removed from the courtroom on Tuesday for what Dorow described as his continued “defiant behavior,” which had included shouting at and interrupting the judge and prosecutors.
Brooks initially pleaded not guilty by reason of mental disease but withdrew the plea in September. He dismissed his public defenders during the trial and went on to represent himself.
Prior to the start of the trial, Brooks’ mother had written to the judge in September asking that he not be allowed to represent himself in court because “he is not stable mentally enough,” Milwaukee ABC affiliate WISN reported at the time.
(NEW YORK) — Twitter employees have till Thursday evening to commit to being “extremely hardcore” or accept three months of severance upon their exiting the company, Twitter’s new owner Elon Musk wrote in a company-wide email. The internal email sent out this morning was obtained by ABC News and first reported by Platformer.
With the subject line “A Fork in the Road,” Musk wrote: “Going forward, to build a breakthrough Twitter 2.0 and succeed in an increasingly competitive world, we will need to be extremely hardcore.”
“This will mean working long hours at high intensity,” he added. “Only exceptional performance will constitute a passing grade.”
For those who wish to be part of the “new Twitter,” Musk directs employees to “click yes” on a forms link embodied in the email.
“Anyone who has not done so by 5pm ET tomorrow (Thursday) will receive three months of severance,” Musk wrote. “Whatever decision you make, thank you for your efforts to make Twitter successful.”
Twitter will from now on be more “engineering-driven,” he wrote — with less focus on design and product management.
“Design and product management will still be very important and report to me, but those writing great code will constitute the majority of our team and have the greatest sway,” Musk wrote. “At its heart, Twitter is a software and servers company, so I think this makes sense.”
Twitter did not respond to a request for comment from ABC News.
On Tuesday, Twitter fired “dozens” of employees over comments they made on an internal Slack channel criticizing new owner Elon Musk, two former employees had told ABC News.
Controversy has surrounded Musk since he purchased the social media site at the end of October for roughly $44 billion.
In the days since he acquired Twitter, Musk fired top executives, laid off half of the company’s staff, formed a content moderation council that will review account reinstatements and revamped the platform’s subscription service, Twitter Blue.
ABC News’ Max Zahn and Teddy Grant contributed to this story.
(NEW YORK) — Western New York is bracing for a “significant” lake-effect snowstorm that could dump up to 4 feet of snow in the Buffalo region over the coming days.
A lake-effect snow warning is in effect starting 7 p.m. Wednesday through 1 a.m. Saturday for southern Erie County.
The long-duration event is also expected in the east and southeast Great Lakes region, according to the National Weather Service in Buffalo.
Up to 4 feet of snow is possible for the region by Saturday morning. Winds gusting as high as 35 mph are also forecast.
“Travel could be very difficult to impossible,” the National Weather Service in Buffalo warned. “The hazardous conditions will impact the commutes from Thursday morning through Friday evening.”
Snowfall rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour are forecast for the Thursday morning commute.
Lake-effect snow is common in the late fall and early winter along the downwind shores of the Great Lakes, which is caused by cold air flowing over the warmer waters of the Great Lakes.
In November 2014, more than 5 feet of lake-effect snow fell just east of Buffalo, in what was one of the most significant winter events in the city’s history, according to the National Weather Service.
Beyond Buffalo, snow is also expected over upper New England on Wednesday, with winter weather advisories issued for the area.
Upstate New York, northern Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine are expected to see more than 3 inches of fresh snow, with more than 6 inches expected in northern Maine. More than a foot is possible along the Canadian border in Maine.
ABC News’ Kenton Gewecke contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — Sen. Mitch McConnell on Wednesday was comfortably reelected as the GOP leader in the upper chamber despite a challenge — his first in 15 years — and despite intraparty finger-pointing over the GOP’s disappointing performance in the midterms last week.
McConnell had faced opposition from Florida Sen. Rick Scott, who mounted a historic challenge for the post atop the Republican conference.
The leadership vote, done by secret ballot behind closed doors in the ornate Old Senate Chamber, was 37-10, with one member voting present, per Sen Kevin Cramer, R-N.D.
The conference met for three and a half hours.
McConnell, the stolid Kentuckian currently on track to break a Senate record for longest serving leader in history in 2023, had not previously faced any such defiance. The Scott move, recently pushed by former President Donald Trump, surprised many.
Scott, a McConnell critic of late — who clashed with the leader over Republicans not putting forward a plan ahead of the midterms for how they would govern if they gained the majority — exhorted his conference both in a speech behind closed doors on Tuesday afternoon and in a letter to them to make a change from “the status quo.”
Scott, in charge of the GOP campaign arm this cycle in which the party performed far below expectations, explained why he was the better choice over McConnell.
“Like each of you, I am deeply disappointed by the results of the recent election. Despite what the armchair quarterbacks on TV will tell you, there is no one person responsible for our party’s performance across the country,” Scott wrote.
He added, “Unfortunately, we have continued to elect leadership who refuses to do that and elicits attacks on anyone that does. That is clearly not working and it’s time for bold change. The voters are demanding it.”
McConnell minced no words in talking to reporters after the meeting on Tuesday, saying it was a matter of when — not if — he would be elected leader.
“I think the outcome is pretty clear, I want to repeat again, I have the votes and I will be elected,” McConnell said during a news conference. “The issue is whether we do it sooner or later.”
Asked to respond to Scott’s challenge, McConnell said: “I don’t own this job. Anybody in the conference is certainly entitled to challenge me. I welcome the contest.”
Republicans sound off on McConnell, Scott
The GOP conference met for more than three hours Tuesday for what one senator called “a spirited discussion” and another said was “kind of a rhetorical slugfest.”
“It was a really, really, good discussion. People have a desire to be a team and win, but we realize that we’re 50 individuals. The new people (senators) were probably, like, ‘Woah! What’s going on?’ But it was a healthy discussion,” said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., a McConnell supporter in line to be elected conference secretary by her colleagues on Wednesday.
About 15 to 20 senators stood to speak at the marathon conference meeting. Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind., who spoke second, announced that he would be supporting Scott.
“When you measure how we’ve done in recent elections, especially the presidential ones, swing state Senate races, we got to do better,” Braun, who joined the Senate with Scott in 2018, said. “It’s very clear to me, I ran a business for 37 years, that if you don’t have a master plan, a mission statement, which I don’t think we have as a Republican Party, that it’s not going to work. And I think independents elect the swing state senators and the president and that was on view here in these [midterm] elections.”
“I think that when you keep having the same results, and presidential elections, we’ve won one popular vote since, what, 2004? It ought to cause you to have some deep thought about what you need to do differently,” continued Braun.
Republican senators said McConnell appeared surprised by the Scott move but offered a retort eventually, saying that being leader is not an easy thing.
“He counter-punched a time or two … in just the difficulty of the job, which is true. It’s not like any side has a mandate,” Braun told reporters.
According to Sen. Josh Hawley, who said he planned to support Scott, McConnell also took jabs at Scott’s performance in his current role.
“Sen. Scott disagrees with the approach that Mitch has taken in recent years, and he made that clear, and Senator McConnell criticized Senator Scott’s management at the NRSC and I imagine we’ll hear more about that tomorrow,” Hawley said.
As head of the National Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee, Scott controls the purse string of the GOP’s campaign arm. Under his leadership, the NRSC rounded the home stretch of campaign season with relatively little cash on hand, opening Scott to severe criticism, including from McConnell whose Super PAC had to pick up the slack.
“If you’re gonna assess blame for election losses, I don’t know how you trade in the leader for the gentleman at the NRSC,” Sen. Cramer told the Huffington Post.
Multiple GOP senators pointed to the sheer fundraising prowess of McConnell and his aligned super PAC, the Senate Leadership Fund, this cycle, as a top reason to keep him at the helm.
“I’m certainly supporting the current leadership team. Mitch raised an extraordinarily large amount of money, used it to help elect Republicans,” said Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah.
McConnell’s super PAC, according to AdImpact, raised “a total of $205M pooled across nine Senate races.”
Sen. Joni Ernst, currently a member of leadership and McConnell supporter, said she had no problem with the Scott challenge, but she said the Florida Republican failed to make a substantive case for why he should be chosen.
“I do think that elections are okay, and I think if people want to make challenges or throw their name in, I think that’s fine,” said Ernst, R-Iowa. “But what they have to do is present a real plan on what they want to see for the future of our conference, and I didn’t necessarily hear that coming from Rick Scott. He had a lot of things that he wanted to air out his grievances about, but we haven’t heard a conclusive plan yet.”
But Scott actually did offer a plan for the party in advance of the midterms. In February, he put forward his “12 Point Plan to Rescue America.” It made him no friends on either side of the aisle.
Congressional Democrats and the White House alike lambasted the Scott proposal, quickly turning it into a talking point. McConnell scorched Scott for suggesting that Republicans might raise income taxes.
“Let me tell you what would not be a part of our agenda,” McConnell said in March, shortly after Scott announced his plan. “We will not have as part of our agenda a bill that raises taxes on half the American people and sunsets Social Security and Medicare within five years.”
The public disagreement was the earliest sign that the relationship between McConnell and Scott was beginning to fracture. Trump, who has made his disdain for McConnell public, even nudged Scott to challenge McConnell for his seat, adding salt to the wound.
But while several Trump-aligned senators are expected to support Scott’s bid during the closed-door vote, it’s clear most Senate Republicans are prepared to keep McConnell a top the party.
Asked on Tuesday whether he thought Scott had any chance, Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., was blunt: “Not at all. Not at all.”
(NEW YORK) — Estée Lauder is acquiring Tom Ford for $2.8 billion, the venerable beauty brand announced Tuesday.
Through the new deal, the beauty conglomerate plans to add the designer label’s fragrances, cosmetics, skin care and apparel to its large portfolio of brands.
While the acquisition is subject to certain conditions, including regulatory approvals, it is expected to close during the first half of next year.
Estée Lauder said it has made arrangements to pay for the transaction through cash, debt and $300 million in deferred payments to the sellers by July 2025.
Acquiring Tom Ford’s line of fragrances was one of the main drivers of the acquisition, ABC News’s Rebecca Jarvis reported on Good Morning America.
Perfumes were a growth category during the pandemic, while Estée Lauder was hit hard by China’s COVID-19 restrictions — with once booming sales in Asia falling — and its shares down about 40% this year.
Estée Lauder hopes Ford’s flourishing business, whose net sales grew nearly 25% in its most recent fiscal year, according to the company, will fuel even more growth.
“We are incredibly proud of the success Tom Ford Beauty has achieved in luxury fragrance and makeup and its dedication to creating desirable, high-quality products for discerning consumers around the world,” Fabrizio Freda, president and chief executive officer for The Estée Lauder Companies, said in a statement. “As an owned brand, this strategic acquisition will unlock new opportunities and fortify our growth plans for Tom Ford Beauty. It will also further help to propel our momentum in the promising category of luxury beauty for the long-term while reaffirming our commitment to being the leading pure player in global prestige beauty.”
Tom Ford Beauty was initially launched as a partnership with Estée Lauder in 2006 with fragrance, makeup and skin care, and through the years, has grown to be a highly sought-after brand.
“I could not be happier with this acquisition as The Estée Lauder Companies is the ideal home for the brand. They have been an extraordinary partner from the first day of my creation of the company and I am thrilled to see them become the luxury stewards in this next chapter of the Tom Ford brand,” Ford said in a statement.
While Ford himself has not confirmed his future plans, he will continue to stay with the brand through the end of 2023.
(LOS ANGELES) — Twenty-two recruits with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office were injured while on a run when they were struck by a man driving the wrong way, the sheriff’s office said.
Five of the recruits were critically hurt and four suffered moderate injuries, Los Angeles County Fire Capt. Sheila Kelliher said at a news conference.
The 22-year-old driver, who has been detained, has minor injuries, Kelliher said.
About 40 recruits were running together at the time of the accident, which took place around 6:29 a.m. Wednesday, while it was still dark out, officials said. The recruits were wearing reflective vests at the time, a sheriff’s department official said.
“It is hard to see, because these young people are getting ready to go put themselves in the line of danger in their career. And who knows that while you’re training to do that you are actually in harm’s way,” Kelliher said at a news conference. “So my heart goes out to all of them as they pursue this career. I hope that they all have speedy recoveries.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(NEW YORK) — Amazon is warning customers about an increase in online and mobile scams ahead of the holiday season.
According to Amazon, they have already initiated takedowns of more than 20,000 phishing websites and 10,000 phone numbers associated with impersonation schemes this year.
The retail giant said more than 50% of the impersonation scams its customers report are fake order confirmations.
“A scammer will send a fake order confirmation looking like you bought something online or in a store and pretend that you need to urgently contact customer service,” Dharmesh Mehta, Amazon’s vice president of selling partner services, told Good Morning America, explaining how the scams often play out. “And they’ll give you a link or a phone number to try and contact them.”
Once a person reaches out, scammers may ask for anything from credit card or Social Security numbers or other personal information.
One example of a fraudulent text message someone may receive asks a potential Amazon customer to click a link to contact customer care if they didn’t place an order. Upon closer inspection, the “o” in the word “order” is the number zero.
Another example of a fraudulent text message is one that offers information about a fake order and then asks a customer to call a phone number to request a refund.
“As our technology has become more sophisticated, scammers have become more sophisticated,” Claire Rosenzweig, the CEO of Better Business Bureau of Metropolitan New York, told GMA. “Scammers are going to try to use your emotions against you so that you react and give them what they want, which is usually your money or your personal information.”
The Federal Trade Commission said it has received more than 3 million reports of impersonation scams since 2018, with consumers losing more than $6 billion.
To protect your personal information and your money, Amazon is advising customers:
Do not to click on any suspicious links.
Do not call or text any phone numbers you don’t recognize.
Be wary of any sense of urgency.
When in doubt, contact customer service directly and file a report.
When using email, look for the Amazon smile logo. That is an icon used to verify the message is directly from Amazon.
“If you want to check your real order history, if you want to really contact our customer service, you go to Amazon.com or use the Amazon app,” said Mehta. “Don’t fall prey to those scams.”
If you think you have been scammed, experts recommend taking the following steps:
Contact your bank immediately.
Ask your bank to have the transaction reversed.
Cancel your credit card.
If you used a gift card, contact the company that issued the gift card and ask for a refund.
For Amazon specifically, utilize the company’s scam reporting feature at Amazon.com/reportascam.
