News

(NEW YORK) — A powerful typhoon taking aim at Guam could be the strongest tropical cyclone to impact the U.S. island territory in decades.

As of Wednesday 7:50 p.m. local time (5:50 a.m. ET), the eye of Typhoon Mawar was passing over or very near northern Guam with 140 mile per hour winds — equivalent to a Category 4 hurricane. Mawar could make a rare landfall on Guam, which would mark the first time since 1976 that the island was directly hit by a Category 4 typhoon.

An earlier forecast projected Mawar to hit the island as a super typhoon packing winds as strong as 160 mph — equivalent to a Category 5 hurricane.

Most of Guam was without power by Wednesday afternoon, with the island’s energy grid providing electricity to only 1,000 of its approximately 52,000 customers due to Mawar’s “severe adverse conditions,” according to the Guam Power Authority.

“We were able to avoid a complete island-wide blackout when the system severed into two grids,” the agency said in a statement. “We are working hard to maintain the last remaining customers through the storm which contributes to quicker recovery after the winds die down later tonight or in the early morning hours.”

The National Weather Service has issued a typhoon warning for Guam, which is the westernmost territory of the United States, located in Micronesia in the western Pacific Ocean.

Rainfall on the island could accumulate to as much as 20 inches, while storm surge is forecast to reach as high as 25 feet. Mawar was already producing waves up to 45 feet in the ocean near Guam on Tuesday.

Guam’s Office of Civil Defense advised residents on Tuesday to seek shelter immediately, as Mawar is “expected to make a direct hit or very near passage for Guam.”

“There is a potential of a catastrophic and devastating event for Guam,” the office said in a bulletin.

Guam Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero also urged residents on Tuesday to take cover, as “damaging winds” were expected to start soon.

“Please take all the necessary precautions in an abundance of safety before we feel the full strength of the super typhoon,” Guerrero said in a social media post.

One emergency shelter in northern Guam had already reached capacity, according to the governor.

President Joe Biden has declared an emergency in Guam due to Mawar and ordered federal assistance to support the response to the typhoon.

Mawar could be one of the strongest typhoons to impact Guam since the 1960s — the start of the satellite era.

The most destructive typhoon to hit Guam was Karen in 1962, with 155 mph winds and wind gusts of at least 170 mph, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Most homes on the island were destroyed.

More recently, in 2002, Super Typhoon Pongsona moved near the island with 144 mph winds and gusts up to 173 mph, causing $700 million in damage at the time, according to NOAA.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — A powerful typhoon is headed toward Guam, which could be the strongest tropical cyclone to impact the island in decades.

Typhoon Mawar could directly hit Guam with winds as strong as 140 mph — equivalent to a Category 4 hurricane. The strong tropical cyclone is expected to strike around noon local time Wednesday, which would be around 10 p.m. ET Tuesday.

This is exceptionally rare to have a direct hit from Category 4 typhoon as the last time the island got hit by such a strong typhoon was in 1976.

Earlier in the day, Super Typhoon Mawar was projected to hit Guam with winds as strong as 160 mph — equivalent to a Category 5 hurricane.

A typhoon warning has been issued for the U.S. island territory, located in the western Pacific.

Rainfall could reach as high as 20 inches, and storm surge is forecast to reach as high as 25 feet. The super typhoon is already producing waves up to 45 feet in the ocean near Guam.

Guam’s Office of Civil Defense advised residents on Tuesday to seek shelter immediately, as Mawar is “expected to make a direct hit or very near passage for Guam.”

“There is a potential of a catastrophic and devastating event for Guam,” the office said in a bulletin.

Guam Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero also urged residents on Tuesday to seek shelter immediately as “damaging winds” were expected to start soon.

“Please take all the necessary precautions in an abundance of safety before we feel the full strength of the super typhoon,” she said on social media.

One emergency shelter in northern Guam had already reached capacity, the governor said.

President Joe Biden declared an emergency in Guam due to Mawar and ordered federal assistance to support the response to the typhoon.

A super typhoon is used to connote a tropical cyclone with sustained winds of at least 150 mph.

Mawar could be one of the strongest typhoons to impact Guam since the 1960s — the start of the satellite era.

The most destructive typhoon to hit Guam was Karen in 1962, with 155 mph winds and wind gusts of at least 170 mph, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Most homes on the island were destroyed.

More recently, in 2002, Super Typhoon Pongsona moved near the island with 144 mph winds and gusts up to 173 mph, causing $700 million in damage at the time, according to NOAA.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(UVALDE, Texas) — Former Robb Elementary School teacher Mercedes Salas can still recall the hours leading up to the mass shooting at the Uvalde, Texas school on May 24, 2022, that claimed 21 lives.

That morning, Salas was trying to figure out what to wear for the annual awards ceremony at Robb Elementary School. She was about to wear a layered chain set when she suddenly paused to look at her Catholic Virgen de Guadalupe necklace.

“My hand was going for the other necklace, but something in my head said, ‘No, no, no, no, don’t do that, grab your Virgen de Guadalupe necklace,'” she told ABC News.

Later that day, when Salas, a fourth grade teacher, heard shots from the 18-year-old gunman who went on to kill 19 students and two teachers, she immediately locked down her classroom, guarded her students and told them to pray. For 44 minutes, she remained on her knees and tightly held on to her Virgen de Guadalupe necklace.

“I just prayed over and over, ‘protect my door, shield my wall,'” she said. “My Virgen de Guadalupe—she’s part of my culture, part of me, part of my Catholic upbringing, so why not pray to her?”

As Mercedes prayed, she says she immediately became aware of how close the danger was to her.

“I could smell gun powder coming into my classroom, it was super, super strong,” she said.

Mercedes was in room 106, directly across rooms 111 and 112, where the gunman entered and started firing rounds from an AR-15.

“We heard screaming, and it was the worst screams I have ever heard,” she said, becoming emotional. “Then I didn’t hear any screaming, and my brain is like, ‘Oh my god, he just killed them,’ so I heard them die. And ever since then, I still hear them at night.”

After 44 minutes of waiting for help, Mercedes and her students were finally evacuated from their classroom. Police officers smashed the windows of the room and pulled the kids out one by one. Mercedes was the last person to exit. She sustained injuries to her knees as well as numerous cuts all over her body from the broken glass.

“I didn’t feel the glass cutting me, I guess it was my adrenaline going,” she said. “The officer yelled at me and he said, ‘Ma’am, you have to get out now,’ And I understand now his sense of urgency because there are gunshots going off, but at that moment I wasn’t worrying about a gunshot hitting me, I was worried about making sure all my kids were out.”

Mercedes says she was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and received physical therapy for the injuries to her knees. Recently, she says worker’s compensation has denied her additional treatment for her knees, which she is fighting.

Despite these challenges, the decision to return to teaching was not difficult for Mercedes. She now teaches fourth grade at Uvalde Elementary School.

“I felt that if I am not there, who will be there to protect the children,” she said.

On the first day of class after the tragedy, Mercedes said students and parents were on edge. She tried her best to help them feel safe.

“One of the kiddos was very nervous and it was because mom had shared in ‘Meet the Teacher’ that she didn’t want to send her child to school because she was afraid it was going happen again,” she said.

There were also moments during the school year when she would break down after class ended at 3:15 p.m. and she was alone.

“Sometimes it’s hard—it’s 3:30 p.m. and I cry just for no reason, or it’s 3:30 p.m. and I start smelling gunpowder at school, so I have to remind myself, ‘You’re not at Robb, you’re at a new school,’ so it has not been the easiest times, but I am there for my kids,” Mercedes said.

When Mercedes finally received some items back from her former Robb classroom, she was surprised by one object in particular: a plant previously gifted to her by fellow teacher Arnie Reyes, the sole survivor of room 111. Mercedes used to keep the plant by the window in her class, and she remembered that the plant had fallen and crashed on the ground during the breach.

“I thought, ‘Oh, my plant’s gonna die,'” she said.

But her plant wasn’t dead when she got it back, as it still had a single leaf on it. The plant became more significant to her than ever before.

“That plant was clinging on to life, and it did, so I made that connection to the plant, I have to cling on. If the plant can do it, I most certainly can do it,” she said. “It signifies me somehow, we’re clinging on.”

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(PHOENIX) — A man accused of fatally stabbing a woman hiking on a desert trail in Phoenix last month in an apparently random attack has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder.

Zion William Teasley, 22, appeared in court for an arraignment hearing Tuesday following his indictment by a Maricopa County grand jury on one count of first-degree murder for the death of Lauren Heike.

The judge entered a plea of not guilty on his behalf for the murder charge.

Teasley’s next court appearance is scheduled for July 10, with the trial expected to begin in mid-January 2024. He is currently being held in the Maricopa County Jail on $1 million bond.

Heike, 29, was found dead in a desert area the morning of April 29 — about 24 hours after the attack is believed to have occurred, according to Phoenix police.

Phoenix police were on their way to a person-down call on the hiking trail that day when they also got a call from Heike’s friend saying she did not show up for work that day and that it was unusual, according to the probable cause document.

A medical examiner determined Heike had 15 stab wounds on her upper body, and there were defensive wounds on her hands and forearms, according to the probable cause document.

Phoenix police Lt. James Hester told reporters earlier this month following Teasley’s arrest that he believes the attack was random, but added that police “have not concluded our investigation into that.”

Teasley was allegedly captured in surveillance footage running away from the scene, police said.

DNA from Heike’s shoe at the crime scene was preliminarily matched to Teasley, according to the probable cause document. A search warrant for cell carrier data showed him in the area at the time of the murder, and the suspect captured in the surveillance footage was wearing clothing Teasley had stolen from his previous employer, according to the document.

Teasley is already on probation; he had been convicted of robbery, armed robbery and disorderly conduct in another case and was released from prison in November, prosecutors said.

A case involving Teasley’s probation is also ongoing. The court entered a denial of violation of probation on his behalf in that case on Tuesday.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — Verified accounts on Twitter may have contributed to the viral spread of a false claim that an explosion was unfolding at the Pentagon.

Around 8:42 AM on Monday, a verified account on Twitter, labeling itself as a media and news organization, shared a fake image of smoke billowing near a white building they said was the Pentagon. The tweet’s caption also misrepresented the Pentagon’s located.

No such incident took place, the Arlington County Fire Department later said on Twitter. The Pentagon, the headquarters building of the U.S. Department of Defense, is located in Arlington County, Virginia.

A Pentagon spokesperson also told ABC News that no explosion had occurred.

But throughout the morning, the fake image and misleading caption picked up steam on Twitter. Cyabra, a social analysis firm, analyzed the online conversation and found that roughly 3,785 accounts had mentioned the falsehoods, dozens of these were verified.

“The checkmark may well have contributed to giving the account the appearance of authenticity, which would have helped it with achieved virality,” Jules Gross, a solutions engineer at Cyabra, told ABC News.

Some of these accounts were verified, but they didn’t appear to be coordinated, according to Cyabra.

“The bad news is that it appears that just a single account was able to achieve virality and cause maximum chaos,” Gross added.

While ABC News has not been able to determine the source of the content, nor confirm that the original tweet was the 8:42 tweet, the image contains many hallmarks of being generated using a text-to-image AI tool.

There are many visual inconsistencies in the image, including a streetlamp that appears to be both in front and behind the metal barrier. Not to mention that the building itself doesn’t look like the Pentagon.

Text-to-image tools powered by artificial intelligence allow users to input a natural language description, called a prompt, to get an image in return.

In the last few months, these tools have become increasingly sophisticated and accessible, leading to an explosion of hyperrealistic content fooling users online.

The original false tweet was eventually deleted, but not before it was amplified by a number of accounts on Twitter bearing the blue check that was once reserved for verified accounts, but which can now be purchased by any user.

ABC News could not immediately reach a spokesperson for Twitter to request comment.

What are the solutions?
“Today’s AI hoax of the Pentagon is a harbinger of what is to come,” explained Truepic CEO Jeff McGregor, who says his company’s technology can add a layer of transparency to content posted online.

Truepic, a founding member of the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity, has developed a camera technology that captures, signs, and seals critical details in every photo and video, such as time, date, and location.

The company also created tools that would allow users to hover over a piece of AI-generated content to find out how it was fabricated. In April, they published the first “transparent deepfake” to showcase how the technology works.

While some companies have adopted the C2PA technology, it’s now up to social media platforms to make that information available to their users.

“This is an open-source technology that lets everyone attach metadata to their images to show that they created an image, when and where it was created, and what changes were made to it along the way,” Dana Roa, general counsel and chief trust officer at Adobe, told ABC News. “This allows people to prove what’s real.”

Alterations like if an image was cropped or filtered would be displayed, but the user would also be able to select how much data they make available to the public.

The user would be able to select how much data they make available to the public.

ABC News could not immediately reach a spokesperson for Twitter to request comment.

Both state and local law enforcement were provided a written briefing Monday by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, an organization dedicated to countering extremism, hate and disinformation, with details on the incident.

“Security and law enforcement officials are increasingly concerned there’s an increased concern in AI-generated information operations intended to undermine credibility in government, stoke fear or even incite violence,” said John Cohen, an ABC News contributor and former acting undersecretary for intelligence.

“Digital content provenance will help mitigate these events by scaling transparency and authenticity in visual content by empowering users and creators,” added McGregor.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(FLORIDA) — Police in Florida are looking for a missing man who friends say was last seen likely going out for a run three days ago.

Makuach Yak, 31, a youth basketball coach from Delray Beach, was supposed to coach on Saturday but was nowhere to be found, his friend and business partner told ABC West Palm Beach affiliate WPBF.

“He’s very responsible,” his friend, Tate VanRoekel, told the station. “If he says he’s gonna do something, he’s gonna do it.”

Home security footage shared with WPBF recorded Yak in his front yard around 6:30 a.m. Saturday in a purple shirt and black shorts, the station reported.

VanRoekel told WPBF that Yak’s wallet, keys, cellphone and Apple Watch were “all on the counter, just sitting there.”

The Delray Beach Police Department said in a missing person post on social media that Yak had walked away from his home in Delray Beach on Saturday and “most likely was wearing workout clothes.”

In the days since he was reported missing, friends have been knocking on doors and organizing searches for Yak throughout Delray Beach, a city on Florida’s east coast located between West Palm Beach and Boca Raton.

“I’ve been looking through alleyways,” VanRoekel told WPBF. “I’ve been looking underneath bridges, in wooded areas, abandoned houses, anything, anywhere.”

Yak’s cousin, Diew Malou, has also been involved in the search efforts, WPBF reported.

“We’re just trying to make sure that he’s safe,” Malou told WPBF.

“We just miss him,” Malou added. “If we can find where he’s at, if anybody could help us, that would be great.”

A police spokesperson told ABC News Tuesday evening there were no updates in the case and that Yak, a native of South Sudan, remains missing.

“We are urging the public to call us if they see someone matching his description,” Delray Beach Police spokesperson Ted White said.

Police said Yak is around 6 foot 4 and weighs 165 pounds. Anyone with information is asked to call the Delray Beach Police Department at 561-243-7800.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.