2 more suspects arrested after Southern University student dies in alleged hazing incident

2 more suspects arrested after Southern University student dies in alleged hazing incident
2 more suspects arrested after Southern University student dies in alleged hazing incident
The booking photos for Isaiah Smith, left, and Kyle Thurman (Baton Rouge Police Department)

(BATON ROUGE, LA) — Two more suspects have been arrested in connection with the death of a Southern University and A&M College student during an alleged hazing incident, police said Tuesday.

Caleb Wilson, a 20-year-old junior at the college in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, died following an off-campus incident last month, school officials said.

Wilson collapsed after being punched in the chest multiple times while pledging to a fraternity, according to Baton Rouge Police Chief TJ Morse.

A group of males dropped him off unresponsive at a local hospital and reported he collapsed after being struck in the chest while playing basketball at a city park, according to court filings. But upon investigation, officers learned that the incident actually occurred at a warehouse in Baton Rouge while he was pledging to the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, according to Morse.

One suspect, 23-year-old Caleb McCray, turned himself in to the East Baton Rouge Parish prison last week with his attorney and has been charged with criminal hazing and manslaughter, Morse said.

Two additional suspects were arrested this week for criminal hazing, a felony, the Baton Rouge Police Department said Tuesday.

Kyle Thurman, 25, was arrested in Port Allen, Louisiana, on Monday by the U.S Marshals Fugitive Task Force and Baton Rouge Police Department’s Violent Crimes Apprehension Team, police said. He was extradited to Baton Rouge and booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison, police said. It is unclear if he has an attorney.

Isaiah Smith, 28, turned himself in early Tuesday and was booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison, police said.

“A fair bond was set and his family are going through the process of bonding him,” his attorney, Franz Borghardt, said in a statement Tuesday evening to ABC News. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Wilson family in this time of mourning.”

The three suspects allegedly punched some of the pledges with boxing gloves while the students stood in a line during a meeting at a flooring company warehouse on Feb. 26, according to their arrest warrants. McCray is the only suspect specifically accused in the documents of punching Wilson.

Smith held the title of dean of pledges and was in charge of the nine pledges at the time of the alleged hazing, according to the affidavit in his arrest warrant. He is accused of punching “at least one pledge” during the alleged hazing, according to the affidavit.

Thurman allegedly punched pledges in one group, while McCray is accused of punching pledges in another group that included Wilson, according to the affidavits in their arrest warrants. Both suspects are current members of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, the affidavits said.

McCray allegedly punched Wilson four times in the chest, at which point Wilson fell to the floor, becoming unresponsive and appearing to have a seizure, according to the affidavits.

Wilson was brought to a local hospital in a vehicle registered to Smith, according to the affidavits. Officers also identified Smith as the person seen on surveillance video removing an unresponsive Wilson from the car, according to the affidavits.

Following McCray’s arrest, his attorney said they are reviewing the facts of the case and are committed to ensuring that “due process is followed.”

“At this time, I have not been presented with any evidence to support such serious accusations,” his attorney, Phillip Robinson, said in a statement Friday. “I maintain my client’s innocence and urge the public to withhold rushing to judgment until all the evidence is heard.”

Wilson was pronounced dead shortly after midnight on Feb. 27, according to the East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner’s Office.

The cause of Wilson’s death has not yet been determined while awaiting the results of the additional forensic testing that was ordered by the pathologist, the East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner’s Office confirmed to ABC News on Friday.Additional suspects and arrests are possible, Morse said.

Southern University, a historically Black college and university, said it is cooperating with the criminal investigation. The school is also conducting an internal investigation into what led to Wilson’s death following reports of “unsanctioned off-campus activities” and will “take appropriate action” once completed.

“Hazing is a violation of the University’s rules and regulations as well as Louisiana law, and it will not be tolerated in any form at Southern University,” the school said.

Last week, the university said it had begun its student judiciary process for any alleged breaches of school policy amid its hazing investigation. It has also indefinitely banned membership intake for all student organizations in the wake of Wilson’s death.

Ricky Lewis, the highest-ranking national official in the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, previously said in a statement that they are “actively working to gather accurate information” amid the investigation by local authorities and “we fully support their efforts to seek the truth.”

A public memorial is scheduled to be held for Wilson at Southern University on Friday to “mourn this tremendous loss,” school officials said.

“He was a bright light in Jaguar Nation, a dedicated scholar, and a proud member of the world-renowned Human Jukebox,” Southern University Chancellor John Pierre said in a statement. “Caleb Wilson’s kindness, passion, and unwavering spirit left a lasting impact on all who had the privilege of knowing him.”

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Perkins Coie files suit to block Trump executive order aimed at punishing firm

Perkins Coie files suit to block Trump executive order aimed at punishing firm
Perkins Coie files suit to block Trump executive order aimed at punishing firm
Alex Wong/Getty Images

(WASHINGTON) — The law firm Perkins Coie has filed suit against the Trump administration over an executive order signed by President Donald Trump last week that targeted the firm for its work representing Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign.

Attorneys representing Perkins Coie filed the lawsuit on Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, along with a request for a temporary restraining order to bar enforcement of the executive order.

“The Order is an affront to the Constitution and our adversarial system of justice,” the lawsuit said. “Its plain purpose is to bully those who advocate points of view that the President perceives as adverse to the views of his Administration, whether those views are presented on behalf of paying or pro bono clients.”

It’s the first legal challenge in what Trump has previewed will be a wave of executive actions seeking to punish law firms that have represented his perceived political enemies.

The order, signed by Trump on March 6, mandates that lawyers working for Perkins Coie have their security clearances stripped and aims to terminate any government contracts that might exist with the firm or other entities that it represents. It further bars agencies from hiring employees of Perkins Coie and prohibits employees from the firm from accessing government buildings.

“Perkins Coie brings this case reluctantly,” the lawsuit said. “The firm is comprised of lawyers who advocate for clients; its attorneys and employees are not activists or partisans. But Perkins Coie’s ability to represent the interests of its clients — and its ability to operate as a legal-services business at all — are under direct and imminent threat. Perkins Coie cannot allow its clients to be bullied.”

In his signing of the order, Trump pointed to Perkins Coie’s work in the 2016 campaign and ties to the “Steele Dossier,” which detailed a series of highly salacious allegations about Trump that were later investigated by the FBI and determined to be unsubstantiated.

Marc Elias, who left Perkins Coie to start his own firm in 2021, brokered an agreement with the research and intelligence firm Fusion GPS to conduct opposition research on Trump leading up to the 2016 election. Fusion then hired a former British spy, Christopher Steele, who compiled the dossier.

As Perkins Coie’s lawsuit noted, however, the two attorneys singled out in the executive order’s actual text “have not been with the firm for years.”

“The retaliatory aim of the Order is intentionally obvious to the general public and the press because the very goal is to chill future lawyers from representing particular clients,” the lawsuit said.

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Trump checks out Teslas at White House as Musk’s auto company stock sinks

Trump checks out Teslas at White House as Musk’s auto company stock sinks
Trump checks out Teslas at White House as Musk’s auto company stock sinks
Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

(WASHINGTON) — As Tesla’s bottom line continues to slide downward, Elon Musk on Tuesday received maybe an unsurprising endorsement from a potential new owner of one of his EVs: President Donald Trump.

Musk, joined by his 4-year-old son X, delivered five Tesla models, including a Cybertruck, to the White House Tuesday afternoon, just hours after Trump, who does not currently drive, vowed to buy one to support Musk.

“I just want people to know that you can’t be penalized for being a patriot,” Trump told reporters during a photo op with the cars and Musk. “People should be going wild, and they love the product.”

The president got into the seat of one the cars and claimed that he was going to buy one of the cars and leave it at the White House for his staff to use.

“I’m going to let people at the place use it, and they are all excited about that I’m not allowed to use it,” he said.

Trump’s announcement came as Tesla has been taking a massive hit over the last two months, including recent protests and slumping sales overseas.

Stock in the company has dropped every week since Musk went to Washington, wiping out more than $700 billion in market value. And Musk’s personal net worth has dropped $148 billion since Inauguration Day, according to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index.

“This means a lot, and also thank everyone out there who is supporting Tesla,” Musk said.

Trump previously criticized EVs, claiming that they are too costly, inefficient and not in demand.

However, he admitted in August on the campaign trail that he had to change his tune after Musk endorsed his candidacy.

“I’m for electric cars. I have to be because Elon endorsed me very strongly,” he told a crowd at a rally.

However, since taking office Trump has vowed to end federal incentives for EV purchases and signed an executive order that undid President Joe Biden’s goal to have half of all cars sold in 2030 be an EV.

It is an unspoken rule that current and former presidents aren’t allowed to drive on open roads.

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RFK Jr. tells food leaders he wants artificial dyes removed from food products before he leaves office

RFK Jr. tells food leaders he wants artificial dyes removed from food products before he leaves office
RFK Jr. tells food leaders he wants artificial dyes removed from food products before he leaves office
Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images

(WASHINGTON) — Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told food industry leaders in a closed-door meeting on Monday that he wants them to remove artificial color additives from their products by the end of his time in office, according to a memo describing the meeting, which was obtained by ABC News.

At the Washington gathering, which included the CEOs of Kellogg’s, Smucker’s and General Mills, Kennedy said it is a top priority of the Trump administration to rid America’s food of the artificial dyes, wrote Melissa Hockstad, president and CEO of the Consumer Brands Association, a trade group, who penned the memo.

Hockstad addressed the memo to “Consumer Brands Member CEOs.”

“The Secretary made clear his intention to take action unless the industry is willing to be proactive with solutions,” Hockstad wrote.

Kennedy has long championed removing artificial coloring from America’s food, and the effort has become a pillar of the “Make America Healthy Again” movement.

In January, the Food and Drug Administration revoked its authorization of one type of red food dye — Red No. 3. The dye is known to cause cancer in laboratory animals but was allowed to be used by manufacturers for years because scientists didn’t believe it raised cancer risk in humans at the level typically consumed.

The FDA, under then-President Joe Biden, acted after longtime pressure by consumer advocates.

But a different type, Red No. 40, remains on the market and hasn’t been studied by the FDA in more than 20 years. FDA and health officials said there is no evidence though that it is harmful, and food manufacturers said they need to be able to rely on ingredients generally recognized as safe.

In the memo, Hockstad said her association will work with HHS leaders about removing “roadblocks” so food companies can help meet Kennedy’s goal.

“We will be working with your teams to gain as much alignment as possible about how we move forward and ensure the industry is positioned in the best possible way as we navigate next steps forward,” she wrote. “But to underscore, decision time is imminent.”

A spokeswoman for the Consumer Brands Association confirmed the authenticity of the letter, which was first reported by Bloomberg, but did not provide further comment.

The spokeswoman provided ABC News with a copy of a thank-you letter Hockstad sent Kennedy after the meeting.

“The industry is committed to delivering safe, affordable and convenient product choices to consumers,” she wrote. “We will engage with you and the administration on solutions to improve transparency, ensure ingredient evaluations are grounded in a science and risk-based process and increase healthier options for consumers.”

Vani Hari, an activist and founder of Food Babe and Truvani who delivered 400,000 petition signatures to the Michigan headquarters for Kellogg’s last year asking the company to remove artificial food dyes, applauded Kennedy.

“I have been working on this issue for over a decade and I am thrilled Secretary Kennedy laid out an ultimatum,” Hari told ABC News in a statement.

“These food companies have already reformulated their products without dyes in so many countries, now it’s time for them to do the same in America. Americans deserve the same safer foods other countries get,” she continued.

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Trump vowed to make the economy better on Day 1. Now, he says the US is in ‘transition’

Trump vowed to make the economy better on Day 1. Now, he says the US is in ‘transition’
Trump vowed to make the economy better on Day 1. Now, he says the US is in ‘transition’
Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images

(WASHINGTON) — Then-candidate Donald Trump, at a campaign rally last August as the 2024 race for the White House was heating up, made a promise to voters to quickly bring economic relief if elected.

“Starting on Day 1, we will end inflation and make America affordable again,” he said at a rally in Montana, where he told supporters: “This election is about saving our economy.”

A week later, he made a show of displaying cartons of eggs, bacon, milk and other grocery products outside his New Jersey golf course as he railed against the Biden administration’s policies.

“When I win, I will immediately bring prices down,” Trump said at the time.

Trump started to change his tune not long after his victory, however, saying in an interview with Time magazine, published in December, that bringing down food costs will be “very hard.”

Now, seven weeks into his administration, Trump is declining to rule out the possibility of a recession and is warning of short-term “disturbance” for American families from his tariff policies.

During his first major speech to Congress and the nation since his inauguration, Trump last week defended his imposition of steep levies on key U.S. trading partners like Canada, China and Mexico.

“Tariffs are about making America rich again and making America great again. And it’s happening, and it will happen rather quickly. There will be a little disturbance, but we’re okay with that. It won’t be much,” he said.

Since then, his back-and-forth on tariffs for Canada and Mexico roiled the stock market, with the S&P 500 recording its worst week since last September.

During an interview on Fox News “Sunday Morning Futures,” Trump was asked if he is expecting a recession this year after the Atlanta Federal Reserve projected negative GDP growth for the first quarter of 2025.

“I hate to predict things like that,” Trump responded. “There is a period of transition, because what we’re doing is very big. We’re bringing wealth back to America. That’s a big thing, and there are always periods of, it takes a little time. It takes a little time, but I think it should be great for us.”

He was pressed on his hesitation to strike down the possibility later Sunday as he spoke with reporters on Air Force One.

“I’ll tell you what, of course you hesitate. Who knows? All I know is this: We’re going to take in hundreds of billions of dollars in tariffs, and we’re going to become so rich, you’re not going to know where to spend all that money,” he said. “I’m telling you, you just watch. We’re going to have jobs. We’re going to have open factories. It’s going to be great.”

Stock losses continued Monday and Tuesday after Trump’s comments. More tariffs are being implemented against steel and aluminum products on Wednesday, and Trump’s pledging to move forward with “reciprocal” tariffs starting on April 2.

The White House on Tuesday also declined to rule out a recession, as officials sought to cast the market turmoil as a “snapshot of a moment in time” before Trump’s policies bear their intended impact.

“We are in a period of economic transition,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters when asked directly if she could reassure Americans there wouldn’t be a downturn.

Leavitt blamed the Biden administration for what she said was an “economic disaster” left to Trump — despite Biden overseeing a soft economic landing — and pointed to other indicators she said were positive signs for Americans, including a boost in manufacturing jobs last month and reports of companies looking to expand operations in America.

“The American people, CEOs, and people on Wall Street and on Main Street should bet on this president,” Leavitt told reporters. “He is a dealmaker. He is a businessman and he’s doing what’s right for our country.”

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Tariffs could impact longstanding electricity trade between US and Canada

Tariffs could impact longstanding electricity trade between US and Canada
Tariffs could impact longstanding electricity trade between US and Canada
Bill Pugliano/Getty Images

(WASHINGTON) — The tariffs the Trump administration is imposing on Canada could disrupt the longstanding trade of electricity between the United States and its northern neighbor, effectively raising energy bills in multiple U.S. states.

President Donald Trump ignited a trade war on Canada and Mexico immediately upon taking office, announcing on Inauguration Day that he expected to place 25% tariffs on both countries. After weeks of back and forth, the trade war escalated further after Ontario slapped a 25% surcharge on electricity sent to the U.S. in response to Trumps’ tariffs.

The tariffs will likely have reverberations for Americans who use electricity imported by Canada, as the U.S. and Canada are each other’s largest energy trade partners, according to Washington, D.C.-based research institute Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

The history of electricity trade between the U.S. and Canada

The U.S. and Canada have been trading electricity for more than a century — long enough to have established an integrated grid, which offers a sense of security for both countries’ energy needs, according to Ontario-based utilities association Electricity Canada.

The electricity interdependence between the two countries was borne out of complementary needs — Canadians tend to use more electricity in the winter for heating, while demand is higher in the U.S. during the summer for cooling, according to Electricity Canada. An integrated grid offers strategic balance and reliability for both countries. according to the Canada Energy Regulator (CER).

The cumulative volume of energy trade between the U.S. and Canada has consistently risen year over year, according to the CSIS.

For the better part of the last two decades, the U.S. has imported “significantly more” electricity from Canada than it has exported, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The balance shifted in the fall of 2023, however, because severe drought significantly reduced the amount of hydropower generated in Canada.

In 2023, electricity exports from the U.S. to Canada were valued at about $1.1 billion and electricity imports from Canada to the U.S. were valued at $2.9 billion, according to the CER.

Tariffs could cause Americans’ electricity bills to increase

Since the integrated electricity system between the U.S. and Canada was built on the idea of tariff-free trade, introducing tariffs is “hugely disruptive” and will be felt by citizens of both countries, according to Electricity Canada.

Both American and Canadian consumers and businesses can expect to pay more for electricity, the association said.

On Monday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced a 25% surcharge on electricity from Ontario to the U.S. Customers in states that import the most electricity from Ontario — like Minnesota, Michigan and New York — could see higher prices as a result.

Ford said during a press conference on Monday that he would “not back down” until the tariffs are abolished “once and for all.”

“Believe me when I say I do not want to do this,” Ford said. “I feel terrible for the American people who didn’t start this trade war.”

Ford suspended the surcharge on Tuesday after a “productive conservation about the economic relationship between the United States and Canada,” he wrote on a statement posted to X.

Other states that are top importers of Canadian electricity include California, Nevada, Arizona, North Dakota, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, according to the CSIS.

The amount of electricity imported from Canada is a small portion of the overall power supply in the U.S., but the transmission connections are an important component of markets in northern states, according to the EIA.

On Tuesday, Trump imposed another round of tariffs on Canadian steal and aluminum products in response to Ontario’s surcharge on electricity.

Trump also announced that he planned to declare a national emergency in the regions of the U.S. impacted by the surcharge but did not provide any specifics on actions the government might take.

ABC News’ Michelle Stoddart and Max Zahn contributed to this report.

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14 House members demand release of Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil after arrest at Columbia

14 House members demand release of Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil after arrest at Columbia
14 House members demand release of Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil after arrest at Columbia
David Dee Delgado/Getty Images

(WASHINGTON) — Fourteen members of Congress have signed a letter demanding the release of Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil, who was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement last week, despite being a legal permanent resident.

Khalil was detained on Saturday after two plainclothes Department of Homeland Security agents entered Columbia student housing and detained Khalil without presenting a warrant or any filed charges, according to the letter.

Khalil is a legal permanent resident and is married to a U.S. citizen who is eight months pregnant, according to the letter.

The 14 members of Congress — including “Squad” members Reps. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich.; Ilhan Omar, D-Minn.; and Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass. — called Khalil’s detention an “attempt to criminalize political protest” and a “direct assault on freedom of speech.”

“Khalil has not been charged or convicted of any crime. As the Trump Administration proudly admits, he was targeted solely for his activism and organizing as a student leader and negotiator for the Gaza Solidarity Encampment on Columbia University’s campus,” the members of Congress wrote in a letter addressed to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

The members of Congress, all Democrats, also called Khalil’s detention an act of “anti-Palestinian racism intended to silence the Palestine solidarity movement in this country.”

The ICE agents who arrested Khalil at his home first said that the State Department had revoked his student visa. After being informed by Khalil’s attorney that he was a permanent resident with a green card, the ICE agents said that his green card was being revoked instead, according to the letter.

The agents also threatened to arrest Khalil’s pregnant wife, according to the letter.

“DHS initially informed them he was being held in Elizabeth New Jersey, but his wife attempted to visit the facility on Sunday only to learn that he was not there. DHS refused to provide additional information on his location to his attorney or spouse,” the letter said.

Shortly after his arrest, Khalil was transferred to an ICE facility in central Louisiana.

“Khalil’s constitutional rights have been violated. He has been denied meaningful access to counsel and any visitation from his family. This is absolutely unacceptable — and illegal,” the letter said.

A federal judge has blocked Khalil’s removal while weighing a petition challenging his arrest.

The Trump administration said it has the authority to remove Khalil under the Immigration and Nationality Act.

“Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, the secretary of state has the right to revoke a green card or a visa for individuals who serve, or are adversarial to the foreign policy and the national security interests of the United States of America,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday. “Mahmoud Khalil was an individual who was given the privilege of coming to this country to study at one of our nation’s finest universities and colleges and he took advantage of that opportunity, of that privilege, by siding with terrorists, Hamas terrorists.”

Baher Azmy, one of Khalil’s lawyers, called his client’s alleged alignment with Hamas “false and preposterous.”

“Setting aside the false and preposterous premise that advocating on behalf of Palestinian human rights and to plead with public officials to stop an ongoing genocide constitutes alignment with Hamas, his speech is absolutely protected by the Constitution, and it should be chilling to everyone that the United States government could punish or try to deport someone because they disapprove of the speech they’re engaged in,” Azmy told ABC News on Monday.

Khalil completed his program at the university in December and expects to graduate in May, according to the habeas corpus petition filed by his lawyer.

Leavitt also said Tuesday that more arrests will come and added Columbia University is “refusing to help” DHS in identifying other individuals.

“I also know that Columbia University has been given the names of other individuals who have engaged in pro-Hamas activity and they are refusing to help DHS identify those individuals on campus,” Leavitt said.

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DC plane crash: NTSB calls for immediate changes at Reagan airport

DC plane crash: NTSB calls for immediate changes at Reagan airport
DC plane crash: NTSB calls for immediate changes at Reagan airport
Petty Officer 1st Class Brandon Giles/ U.S. Coast Guard via Getty Images

(WASHINGTON) —  The National Transportation Safety Board chairman called for immediate changes at Washington, D.C.’s Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, saying the current helicopter routes around the airport “pose an intolerable risk to aviation safety.”

Chairman Jennifer Homendy said the NTSB is recommending that the Federal Aviation Administration permanently ban helicopter operations near Reagan when runways 15 and 33 are in use.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has “restricted helicopter traffic from operating over the Potomac River at DCA until March 31,” Homendy said at a news conference Tuesday. “And I want to commend him for that and commend the work of the FAA to also take swift action.”

However, “as that deadline nears, we remain concerned about the significant potential for future midair collision at DCA,” she said.

Homendy outlined a history of close calls at Reagan and offered a solution as the NTSB continues to the investigate the devastating crash between an American Airlines plane and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter that killed all 67 people on board both aircraft.

The crash happened on the night of Jan. 29 when the PSA Airlines Bombardier CRJ700 regional jet, which had departed from Wichita, Kansas, with 64 people on board, was about to land at Reagan (DCA). The three soldiers on the helicopter were conducting an annual training flight and night vision goggle check ride for one of the pilots at the time when the two aircraft collided. Both aircraft plunged into the Potomac River.

Between October 2021 and December 2024, there were 944,179 commercial operations at Reagan, Homendy said. During that time, there were 15,214 close proximity events between commercial airplanes and helicopters, she said.

Encounters between helicopters and commercial aircraft near Reagan show that, from 2011 through 2024, a vast majority of reported events occurred on approach to landing, she said.

Homendy said last month that there was no indication the helicopter crew involved in the January crash could tell there was an impending collision.

The soldiers may have had “bad data” on the altitude from their altimeter, as the pilots had differing altitudes in the seconds before the crash, Homendy said. One helicopter pilot thought they were at 400 feet and the other thought they were at 300 feet.

The transmission from the tower that instructed the helicopter to go behind the plane may not have been heard by the crew because the pilot may have keyed her radio at the same second and stepped on the transmission from ATC, the NTSB added.

The Black Hawk crew was likely wearing night vision goggles throughout the flight, Homendy said.

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

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SpaceX mission set to launch on Wednesday will bring home Starliner astronauts

SpaceX mission set to launch on Wednesday will bring home Starliner astronauts
SpaceX mission set to launch on Wednesday will bring home Starliner astronauts
NASA

(NEW YORK) — An upcoming SpaceX mission on Wednesday will bring the next crew set to work on the International Space Station (ISS), but also return a pair of astronauts back to Earth.

Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams have been in space since June 2024 after they performed the first crewed test flight of Boeing’s Starliner. When they launched, they were only supposed to be on the ISS for about a week.

However, NASA and Boeing officials decided to send the uncrewed Starliner back to Earth in September after several issues and keep Wilmore and Williams onboard until early 2025 when Crew-10 was ready to launch on the Dragon spacecraft.

The pair integrated with the ongoing Crew-9 mission aboard the ISS and could not return to Earth until Crew-9 completed its six-month mission and were replaced by Crew-10.

Wilmore and Williams assisted the crew with research and other responsibilities. However, NASA officials said the pair were using up more supplies meant for the ISS crew.

Steve Stich, program manager for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, said that NASA teams spent all summer looking over the data on Starliner and felt there was too much risk with regard to the vehicle’s thrusters.

During a press conference in September, Wilmore said he and Williams did not feel let down by anything during the mission.

“Let down? Absolutely not,” Wilmore said. “It’s never entered my mind. It’s a fair question. I can tell you, I thought a lot about this press conference … and what I wanted to say and convey.”

“NASA does a great job of making a lot of things look easy,” he said, adding, “That’s just the way it goes. sometimes because we are pushing the edges of the envelope in everything that we do.”

SpaceX and NASA are currently targeting Crew-10 to launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island in Florida around 7:26 p.m. ET with a backup window of Thursday, March 13, at 7:26 p.m. ET. If the mission is successful, it’s unclear when exactly Wilmore and Williams will return to Earth.

The crew consists of two NASA astronauts, an astronaut from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and an astronaut from Russia’s Roscosmos.

SpaceX will share a live webcast of the mission beginning one hour and 20 minutes prior to liftoff on its website and on its X account. NASA will also air coverage on its X account.

“During their time on the orbiting laboratory, the crew will conduct new research to prepare for human exploration beyond low-Earth orbit and to benefit humanity on Earth,” SpaceX said on its website.

SpaceX’s contracted missions are part of the larger Commercial Crew Program at NASA, which are certified to perform routine missions to and from the ISS.

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InfoWars reporter shot dead outside his apartment after possibly interrupting burglars: Police

InfoWars reporter shot dead outside his apartment after possibly interrupting burglars: Police
InfoWars reporter shot dead outside his apartment after possibly interrupting burglars: Police
Alex Wong/Getty Images, FILE

(AUSTIN, Texas) — A homicide investigation is underway after a reporter for InfoWars, the website run by conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, was shot dead outside his apartment complex in Austin, Texas, according to police.

The victim, Jamie White, 36, was found lying on the ground in the parking lot around 11:56 p.m. Sunday, Austin police said. Infowars is based in Austin.

The suspects may have been burglarizing White’s car when White interrupted them, police said.

The suspects fled the scene after the shooting, police said.

Jones wrote on X, “We pledge that Jamie’s tragic death will not be in vain, and those responsible for this senseless violence will be brought to justice.”

Anyone with information about this shooting should call police at 512-974-TIPS, or submit a tip to Crime Stoppers at 512-472-8477.

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