Ty O’Neil/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images, FILE
(NEW YORK) — Fire danger is back down to critical after reaching extreme levels on Monday, but red flag warnings continue across six states in the Southwest, from Nevada to Oklahoma.
More than a dozen wildfires continued to burn on Tuesday across the region. The San Rafael fire in Arizona is 12% contained over 11,000 acres. The Hermit Creek and Calf Canyon fires are 39% contained over 200,000 acres.
Low humidity, gusty winds and dry brush continue to pose a high risk for fire to spread.
Above-normal heat has also spread into the Midwest, with temperatures soaring 20 degrees or more above average on Tuesday.
Even as far north as Des Moines, Iowa, could see temperatures of 90 degrees, and Chicago could see temperatures in the mid-80s.
Numerous record highs were reported across parts of the Plains and Midwest on Monday. Abilene, Texas, reached 103 degrees, a record high for the third day in a row.
Temperatures were in the 90s from San Antonio to Kansas City on Monday. More record heat was expected Tuesday from Texas to Memphis, St. Louis and Kansas City.
The heat will spread into parts of the eastern Great Lakes and parts of the inland Northeast by Thursday, as western New York and Pennsylvania could see possible record high temperatures.
Temperatures in Syracuse, New York, could be in the 80s by Thursday, while temperatures from New York City to Philadelphia are expected to be in the 70s.
(RED WING, Minn.) — Years after two infants were discovered dead along a stretch of the Mississippi River in Minnesota, police have identified and arrested their mother in connection with one of their deaths.
Jennifer Lynn Matter, 50, is charged with two counts of second degree murder in connection with the December 2003 death of her newborn son.
Four years before the body of her son was discovered, police had found a female infant’s body in the river. Investigators had suspected the two infants were siblings and their DNA profiles were run against criminal databases over the years to find their parents, but no match had been found, Drew Evans, the superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, told reporters during a press conference.
Genetic genealogy ultimately provided the lead that led to Matter’s arrest by connecting officers to two persons of interest, Evans said. Investigators learned of a relative of the children in Goodhue County, Minnesota, and then worked to narrow their search, identifying Matter as the most “logical and likely” mother, he said.
Matter of Red Wing, Minnesota, had declined to voluntarily provide police with a DNA sample, according to the complaint. After obtaining a search warrant for the sample, police were able to identify Matter as the mother of the two children, the complaint says.
Charges have not been filed against Matter in connection with the 1999 death of Matter’s infant daughter, Stephen O’Keefe, the Goodhue County attorney, said at a press conference Monday. He declined to give a reason, but said the investigation is ongoing. Charges could be added or amended at a later time as more evidence comes to light, he said.
Information on an attorney for Matter was not immediately available.
During a bail hearing on Tuesday, a judge denied Matter’s application for a public defender, according to ABC affiliate KSTP in St. Paul, Minnesota. Her bail was set at $1.5 million without conditions, according to court records.
Investigators interviewed Matter on May 5, which is when she admitted the child born in November 1999 was hers, according to the criminal complaint. Matter told investigators she was in a bad mental state that year saying she was “in and out of jail, drinking too much, doing a lot of stupid things and had experienced chaotic life circumstances for a long time,” the complaint says.
Matter said that she was not aware she was pregnant when she started bleeding after dropping off her two other children. When she returned home, she said she began giving birth in the bathroom, according to the complaint.
She said the baby was born blue, was not breathing and was not crying so she “freaked out,” according to the complaint. Matter said she wrapped the child in a towel while she tried to figure out what to do. She said she was drinking heavily, according to the complaint.
Matter told investigators that a day later she drove the baby to Bay Point Park in Red Wing in the middle of the night and put her in the water, the complaint says.
A boater found the baby wrapped in a towel in the water, according to the complaint.
An autopsy of the newborn concluded that the manner of death was homicide, but the cause of death was undetermined, the complaint shows.
Matter said she gave birth to the second baby on a beach in nearby Florence Township in December 2003 while she was “laying low” because there was a warrant out for her arrest and she believed cops were looking for her, the complaint revealed.
Matter told investigators she did not remember whether she wrapped the second baby in a towel or a blanket and said she did not look to see the gender of the child. Matter said she remembered leaving the baby on the beach before driving away.
Matter later told investigators the child was breathing and may have been crying, but she did not remember it. Matter said she did not call 911 and hoped someone in the houses nearby would find the baby, according to the complaint.
A group of teenagers found the infant’s body along the shoreline of the river, the complaint shows.
An autopsy found that the male infant had force head injuries, “possibly due to the birth process,” according to the complaint. The infant’s manner of death was determined to be homicide, but the cause of death was undetermined, according to the complaint.
(NEW YORK) — A growing proportion of COVID-19 deaths are occurring among the vaccinated, a new ABC News analysis of federal data shows.
In August of 2021, about 18.9% of COVID-19 deaths occurred among the vaccinated. Six months later, in February 2022, that proportional percent of deaths had increased to more than 40%.
Comparatively, in September 2021, just 1.1% of COVID-19 deaths occurred among Americans who had been fully vaccinated and boosted with their first dose. By February 2022, that percentage had increased to about 25%.
Experts said the increase in breakthrough deaths is expected with more Americans reaching full vaccination status.
“These data should not be interpreted as vaccines not working. In fact, these real-world analyses continue to reaffirm the incredible protection these vaccines afford especially when up to date with boosters,” said Dr. John Brownstein, an epidemiologist at Boston Children’s Hospital and an ABC News contributor.
In addition, many vulnerable Americans are more than one year out from their primary vaccinations and have yet to receive booster doses.
To date, more than 220 million Americans have been fully vaccinated, 100 million of whom have received their first COVID-19 booster. However, about 91.5 million eligible Americans — about half of those currently eligible — have yet to receive their first booster shot.
The increase in breakthrough deaths comes as a growing proportion of older Americans enter the hospital for COVID-19 related care.
Last summer, after more vulnerable, older populations had been vaccinated, the share of Americans ages 65 years and older in the hospital had dipped to a pandemic low — with younger populations representing the largest age groups of people in need of care. However, throughout the omicron surge, the average age of those in the hospital with COVID-19 has steadily gotten older again.
More than 90% of seniors have been fully vaccinated, but a third of them have yet to receive their first booster shot. Even with overall high vaccination rates in older populations, in recent months, during the omicron surge, 73% of deaths have been among those 65 and older.
Health experts said vaccines and boosters continue to provide significant protection against severe disease. However, waning immunity re-emphasizes the urgency of boosting older Americans and high-risk Americans with additional doses.
“This trend in increased risk among the elderly further supports the need for community wide immunization. Older populations, especially those with underlying conditions, continue to be at great risk of severe complications, especially as immunity wanes. The best way to protect them is to make sure everyone around them is fully immunized,” Brownstein said.
All Americans over the age of 50, immunocompromised people over the age of 12, and people who received two doses of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine, are currently eligible for a second booster.
Approximately 10.5 million people in the U.S. have received their second booster dose.
“Given the fact that immunity is waning, we’ve got to get people boosted,” Dr. Anthony Fauci told GBH News’s Boston Public Radio on Monday.
In February, unvaccinated adults were 10 times more likely to die of COVID-19 compared to vaccinated individuals and five times more likely to require hospitalization, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Compared to fully vaccinated and boosted adults, unvaccinated people were about 20 times more likely to die of COVID-19 and seven times more likely to require hospitalization.
(PHILADELPHIA) — Philadelphia police are seeking a suspect in a recent string of sexual assaults that they believe may be the work of a serial rapist.
Authorities have identified a “pattern of sexual assaults” that occurred in the Kensington neighborhood and involved a man who sexually assaulted women in his car, according to Captain James Kearney, commanding officer of the Philadelphia Police Special Victims Unit.
“We’ve got three cases,” Kearney told reporters during a briefing Tuesday. “We have a pattern going on here.”
The incidents occurred in the early morning hours of March 15, April 5 and April 21, police said. Two victims were approached by the suspect and got in his car, one after being offered a ride, police said. A third victim was forced into the car, police said.
Philadelphia Police Department
In all three cases, the suspect drove to a location, pulled out a handgun and demanded oral sex from the women, police said. In the most recently reported assault, the suspect also punched and raped the victim and stole her cellphone, Kearney said. A rape kit was conducted, where DNA evidence was collected and is in the process of being compared to other cases, he said. The iPhone was recovered as well, he said.
Police described the suspect’s car as a 2016 to 2020 charcoal gray Dodge Charger four-door sedan, with tinted windows and “distinct rims.” Detectives were able to locate surveillance video of the car but were unable to pick up a license plate, Kearny said.
The victims ranged in age from 28 to 35 and were all Black women, police said. Kearney described them as “the most vulnerable people out there,” and noted that the area is known for sex work.
“He’s preying on these women who we believe he feels that’s not going to report it,” he said.
Authorities believe that additional assaults involving other women may have occurred and are asking potential survivors to step forward.
“For one reason or another, these survivors, these women are not coming in to talk to us,” said Kearney. “We need to talk to people and stop it from happening again.”
ABC News’ Victoria Arancio contributed to this report.
(BOSTON) — Celebrity chef Mario Batali has been found not guilty of indecent assault and battery for a 2017 incident in Boston.
“It’s an understatement to say that Mr. Batali did not cover himself in glory on the night in question. His conduct and his appearance and his demeanor are not befitting of a public person of his stature at that time,” Boston Municipal Court Justice Judge James Stanton said Tuesday.
But the judge added, “This case is about credibility. And it’s the court’s job to adapt to assess the credibility of the witnesses. … The complaining witness has significant credibility issues.”
Natalie Tene, 32, said Batali forcibly kissed her and grabbed her breasts, buttocks and groin after meeting him in a Boston bar while having a drink with a friend in March 2017.
Under cross-examination, Tene repeatedly said she did not remember text messages she sent to friends that described her meeting Batali as “exciting.” In one message, she suggested to a friend she could “hopefully” get $10,000 for photos of the encounter.
After two days of testimony and two hours of deliberation Stanton ruled that the defendant had a financial motive for making the accusations. Stanton rendered the verdict directly as the sole decider of the case since Batali waived his right to a jury trial.
On Monday, at the start of the trial, Tene said she was speaking out “to be able to take control of what happened,” while a defense attorney for Batali called her a liar who is twisting the truth “for money and for fun.”
Tene claimed Batali was “grabbing me in ways I had never been touched before, squeezing between my legs … pulling me closer to him.”
Batali maintained that he was not guilty of the allegations.
Mario Batali takes leave of absence, apologizes to those ‘I have mistreated and hurt’
The alleged assault took place after the accuser asked the chef for a selfie. He smelled of alcohol and appeared intoxicated, she alleged. Tene has also filed a civil complaint for unspecified damages based on the same allegations that will be tried separately from this case.
Though this case was the only one to go to criminal trial, four women accused Batali of inappropriate touching in December 2017, which prompted him to leave the ABC daytime cooking show “The Chew” and remove himself from his restaurant business. In a statement at the time, Batali said he was “so very sorry” for disappointing his friends, family, co-workers and fans.
ABC News’ Mark Guarino contributed to this report.
(SAN FRANCISCO) — Former world heavyweight boxing champ Mike Tyson will not face charges in an incident last month in which he was recorded getting into a physical altercation with a fellow passenger on a flight at San Francisco International Airport, a California prosecutor announced Tuesday.
San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said he decided not to charge the 55-year-old Tyson after reviewing police reports and videos of the confrontation.
“Our decision is that we will not file any charges against Mr. Tyson based on the circumstances surrounding the confrontation,” Wagstaffe said in a statement. “These include the conduct of the victim leading up to the incident, the interaction between Mr. Tyson and the victim, as well as the requests of both the victim and Mr. Tyson that no charges be filed in this case. We now deem this case closed.”
The incident unfolded on April 20 while Tyson was seated in first-class on a JetBlue flight at San Francisco International Airport waiting to take off for Florida.
A video obtained by the website TMZ Sports appeared to show a passenger seated behind Tyson repeatedly attempting to speak to the boxer, who became annoyed and told the man to “chill.”
“Unfortunately, Mr. Tyson had an incident on a flight with an aggressive passenger who began harassing him and threw a water bottle at him while he was in his seat,” representatives for Tyson said in a statement to The Associated Press.
The video showed Tyson standing up, leaning over the back of his seat and repeatedly punching the passenger, who was later video recorded with blood on his forehead.
San Francisco police officers detained Tyson and the passenger, and opened an investigation.
Wagstaffe said he reviewed the case and determined that allegations Tyson committed misdemeanor battery were not founded.
Tyson’s attorneys David Z. Chesnoff, Richard A. Schonfeld and Martin A. Sabelli issued a joint statement thanking Wagstaffe for conducting a thorough investigation and praising all law enforcement agencies involved in the probe for their “careful, diligent and professional work.”
(NEW YORK) — The parents of a 6-year-old marathoner are speaking out after they say child protective services paid their family an unannounced visit and questioned their children at home.
Ben and Kami Crawford shared a photo on Instagram Sunday purportedly of one of their children being interviewed by a CPS staffer. In the accompanying caption, they wrote in part, “Yesterday Child Protective Services (CPS) arrived at our home unannounced and interviewed our children, parents & grandmother. This is a scary process because usually children are interrogated away from parents, against their will, and their answers determine the agency’s legal right to take away the kids.”
The Crawfords made headlines last week after they let their children, including their son Rainier, 6, run the Flying Pig Marathon in Cincinnati on May 1 and shared it online. Their May 3 Instagram post in particular sparked outcry from social media users, with some critics going so far as to accuse the Crawfords of child abuse.
Campbell County, Kentucky, District Attorney Steve Franzen confirmed to “Good Morning America” that child services had visited the Crawfords, but said no determination had been made yet in the investigation.
Ben and Kami Crawford addressed critics’ accusations in a lengthy Instagram video Saturday.
“The real stuff that we got accused of was dragging Rainier, like physically dragging him on the marathon course after mile 13 and across the finish line,” Ben Crawford said.
“If you guys have seen our finish line picture, we all held hands for like the last probably, like, .2, .3 miles,” he added. “We talked about it ahead of time, like that’s what we’re going to do.”
The Crawfords maintain their 6-year-old wanted to run all along and stand by their decision to let the young boy run 26.2 miles.
“I don’t know if I should be angry. I like to believe that people are doing the best that they can. They’re not trying to ruin our life or, you know, they probably are legit afraid for our kids. But also, it’s like, where’s the line?” Ben Crawford asked.
“I feel like we’re doing what we feel passionate about,” Kami Crawford said. “It would be kind of tragic to stop all that.”
Experts say a marathon is a serious physical feat for anyone and it can take a toll on a child.
“If a young child were to run a marathon, I’m worried about electrolyte abnormalities, nausea, vomiting, heatstroke, all these signs and symptoms that may not be that clear in a young child,” Dr. Alok Patel previously told “GMA.”
Children may have a harder time recognizing warning signs of dehydration, exhaustion or other red flags. Parents and caregivers should consult with a child’s pediatrician before a child is permitted to engage in any strenuous exercise.
(NEW YORK) — Even if you’re not from Manhattan, chances are you’ve heard of, dreamt of or perhaps planned a visit to taste a scoop of Magnolia Bakery’s luscious, creamy, sweet banana pudding.
The New York City confectioner, known for its classic American desserts, has created a cookie with all the taste of the cult-favorite banana pudding.
Magnolia Bakery dropped its banana pudding cookie, which is available on MagnoliaBakery.com and at its 10 bakeries nationwide.
“It took six months to whip up, resulting in a soft, chewy cookie that’s full of flavor great to enjoy on its own or paired with a banana pudding,” a representative for the bakery told “GMA.”
The cookie is made with crushed vanilla wafers and mashed bananas in the dough to bring the classic flavor of the pudding to the baked treat. The treat is also packed with white chocolate chips and their world-famous Banana Pudding mix.
An order of six cookies is available online for $25 plus shipping and in-store cookies cost $3.70 apiece.
(MONTGOMERY, Ala.) — Alabama’s gender-affirming care ban went into effect on May 8, and physicians in the state say they’re scrambling to figure out how provide care for their young transgender patients.
S.B. 184, the Vulnerable Child Protection Act, states that anyone who provides gender-affirming care to anyone under 19 could be convicted of a felony and face up to 10 years in prison and a $15,000 fine.
This type of care includes providing puberty blockers, hormone therapy or physical gender-affirming surgeries.
Pediatric endocrinologist Hussein Abdul-Latif, who provides gender-affirming care for trans youth, told ABC News that before the ban went into effect, he was rushing to see his patients and refill the necessary prescriptions to continue their treatment in the meantime.
He has already seen the fear this legislation has caused as patients prepare for an end to healthcare.
“It was a scramble, trying to gather as many names as possible of the kids that we see in our clinic and make sure that they do have refills called in before the law took effect,” Abdul-Latif said.
Abdul-Latif says patients have attempted suicide due to discrimination, bullying and anti-trans sentiment. With this new law in place, he fears the worst.
“Physicians and the patient and the family [typically] walk through the different options that they have and come to the best solution that works for that particular context,” Abdul-Latif said. “By having a law, it took all that dialogue and that discussion that’s deep and that’s heartfelt … now, there’s no discussion. You just abide by the law or I will put you guys in jail. That is not how medicine is effective, but this is also not how civil society reacts.”
He’s had to cancel in-person appointments with trans patients who live too far away and would waste their time and money just to leave empty-handed, without the gender-affirming treatments they were traveling to him for.
He also said that some patients fell through the cracks and did not receive their prescription refills in time.
Now, Abdul-Latif says he and his fellow physicians that provide such care are left hoping that a federal judge will block the ban following a lawsuit filed by GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) and other civil rights organizations against Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey and other state officials seeking an injunction against the law. The judge is expected to issue a decision by the end of the week.
“We’re trying to prepare for the worst-case scenario while we’re hoping for the best-case scenario,” he said.
The governor’s office did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment Tuesday.
The bill’s sponsor, Republican state Sen. Shay Shelnutt, has called gender-affirming health care, “child abuse.”
“We don’t want parents to be abusing their children. We don’t want to make that an option because that’s what it is, it’s child abuse. This is just to protect children,” Shelnutt said on the state Senate floor in February.
After signing the bill into law last month, Ivey said, “I believe very strongly that if the Good Lord made you a boy, you are a boy, and if he made you a girl, you are a girl.”
She continued, “We should especially protect our children from these radical, life-altering drugs and surgeries when they are at such a vulnerable stage in life. Instead, let us all focus on helping them to properly develop into the adults God intended them to be.”
The law was panned by physicians, including Abdullatif, who say it is riddled with misinformation about gender-affirming care.
The legislation makes the claim that puberty blockers can cause infertility or other health risks.
According to physicians, these potential side effects only present real risks after puberty and are not a risk to youth taking puberty blockers.
The bill also cites the higher rate of mental health conditions among transgender people as a reason to ban care — though many medical organizations say poor mental health conditions is due to anti-trans discrimination and lack of gender-affirming care.
“I know that I am a girl and I always have been,” said a 15-year-old transgender girl in a statement from LGBTQ legal advocacy group Lambda Legal. “The possibility of losing access to my medical care because of this law causes me deep anxiety. I would not feel like myself anymore if this lifesaving medication was criminalized.”
Several medical organizations, including American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and American Academy of Pediatrics, have spoken out against the bill.
“The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that youth who identify as transgender have access to comprehensive, gender-affirming, and developmentally appropriate health care that is provided in a safe and inclusive clinical space,” the American Academy of Pediatrics said in a statement.
It continued, “These bills not only ignore these recommendations, they undermine them.”
(NEW YORK) — ABC News correspondent Bob Woodruff and his cameraman Doug Vogt were covering the Iraq War in 2006 and embedded with U.S. and Iraqi forces when an explosion nearly killed them.
Woodruff and Vogt were severely injured and rushed to the hospital in Baghdad, the place where Woodruff met the medic who he says helped save their lives, Sgt. Dave Williamson, including by giving them pharmaceutical-grade fentanyl to manage their pain.
Once in the trauma bay, Williamson and his surgical team were able to treat Vogt and Woodruff.
“We knew that [Woodruff and Vogt] were in, in serious, serious, serious dire straits … we just needed to get a tube in your throat and have you breathing off machines,” Williamson said.
Due to the severity of Woodruff’s injuries, Williamson injected him with multiple drugs, including fentanyl. Williamson said he had complete control over the drug, and he knew that it was the kind of opioid that would manage Woodruff’s pain.
“Our go-to drug was fentanyl. So at the time the fentanyl that we had was given in micrograms and it was glass vials,” Williamson said. “We had a very solid understanding of what it is, what it’s capable of doing and also how dangerous it was.”
Fentanyl was developed in 1959 to be used for chronic pain, anesthesia as well as sedation, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration. The drug, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine.
Although fentanyl and other opioids are intended for patients suffering from extreme pain, they are also powerfully addictive and carry strong warnings about the potential for harm.
Today, medical experts say illicit versions of the drug are driving the opioid crisis and contributing to one of the leading causes of drug overdoses in America.
Originally made for sedation during surgery, fentanyl rapidly began infiltrating the illicit drug market. Considered to be one of the most powerful opioids ever created — Mexican cartels are pouring tons of fentanyl over the U.S. border every year, according to the DEA.
Woodruff and Vogt safely returned to the U.S. and, as the war began to wind down, Williamson left the military. The effects of the war, however, stayed with him for years after his return and he was soon diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
“You’re looking for anything to numb the pain. Even though it may not be physical pain, it’s something that just doesn’t go away,” Williamson said. “It just stays with you and it just gnaws and you’re trying to emotionally cope with everything that happened over the course of 18 months for 12 to 14 hours a day, seven days a week, and you don’t have time to deal with it then, and now you’re home or you’re out of the Army and now you’ve got time to process it.”
Now at home and away from the conflict, the medic who administered opioids to numb his patients’ pain, developed an addiction to them.
“They prescribed me Percocet,” Williamson said about a surgery he had shortly after returning home. “And I rifled through those Percocet like it was nobody’s business and then I just wanted to do it more and more and more and more and more,” he said.
Williamson was then introduced to OxyContin by a close friend, making his addiction even worse. He would often buy the drug on the street and, before realizing it, the spiral descended from painkillers to meth and even heroin.
“So it’s just this sense of loneliness, of solitude and, before you know it, it’s spiraling out of control,” Williamson said.
His wife, Jessica Williamson, also suffered from opioid addiction. Jessica said she had her first contact with the drug after a car wreck when she was 17. She was prescribed painkillers to help her recovery.
“OxyContin came around and that was a huge problem for me, that was really when things got pretty bad for me,” Jessica said.
The couple began struggling to access OxyContin due to its high price, so they found themselves turning to the streets and using cheaper drugs, such as heroin.
One night, the couple says they believe the pills they got from a dealer were laced with fentanyl — the same extremely powerful opioid Williamson had used to treat Woodruff’s nearly fatal injury.
“We’re sitting in this parking lot and David did his and immediately was, you know, nodding out and was in and out. And I thought, ‘Wow, he did too much.’ Then I started throwing up, I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, I did too much.’ But I knew that I hadn’t done more than what I normally do. And I was sick. I mean, it was scary. It was very scary,” Jessica said.
The couple said they would not knowingly take fentanyl. They both believe that without their years of building a tolerance to opioids, those pills would have easily killed them.
The couple’s turning point, however, was when their 3-year-old son witnessed what they had been hiding for years.
“One of the things that was a turning point was when my 3-year-old walked into my room when I was shooting up and I screamed at him to shut the door,” Dave Williamson said.
“And I mean… “Is this what I’m going to do when he’s 30?”
Williamson then decided to join a program to seek treatment for his opioid dependency.
With the help of therapy and support groups, the Williamsons said they have stopped using opioids, and their hope is to keep drugs out of their lives forever.
“Once you’re an addict, you’re always an addict. It’s just that we don’t have the want or the need or the desire to chase it anymore,” Williamson said.
“We both see how our lives were then and we see where our lives are now and we like where we’re at now and we know how slippery of a slope it is.”
