(CAIRO) — Two women were killed in shark attacks in Egypt’s Red Sea over the weekend, prompting officials to close off a stretch of the coastline.
The Egyptian Ministry of Environment said in a statement Sunday that the women were attacked by a shark while swimming in the Red Sea near the resort town of Hurghada. The governor of the wider Red Sea Governorate, Maj. Gen. Amr Hanafi, has issued an order to suspend all water activities in the vicinity of the deadly attacks, according to the ministry.
The ministry said a committee of specialists has been formed to investigate the circumstances of the incidents and any scientific reasons behind them. The group “is still completing its work to find out precisely the reasons for the behavior of the shark that attacked the two victims,” according to the ministry.
It was unclear whether the same shark was involved in both attacks.
“The Ministry of Environment regrets the accident and extends its deepest condolences to the families of the two victims and extends its sincere thanks and appreciation to all concerned parties for their support,” the ministry added.
The ministry did not release the identities of the two women.
A spokesperson for the Austrian Foreign Ministry confirmed to ABC News that an Austrian citizen from the western state of Tyrol had died in Egypt. The Austrian embassy in Cairo is in contact with the victim’s relatives as well as Egyptian authorities, according to the spokesperson, who would not provide further information due to “reasons of data protection and confidentiality.”
Shark attacks in Egypt’s Red Sea coastal region have been relatively rare in recent years. In 2020, a 12-year-old Ukrainian boy lost an arm and an Egyptian tour guide lost a leg in a shark attack while snorkelling off the coast of Sharm El-Sheikh, another Red Sea resort town.
OLAFUR STEINAR GESTSSON/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images
(LONDON) — At least three people were killed and four others were critically wounded in a shooting at a Copenhagen shopping mall on Sunday, authorities said.
Police responded to reports of a shooting at the Field’s shopping center in Denmark’s capital just before 5:30 p.m.local time on Sunday. A boy and girl, both 17-year-old Danish citizens, and a 47-year-old Russian man were killed when a gunman opened fire there, according to Copenhagen chief police inspector Søren Thomassen.
As of Monday, four people — two Danish and two Swedish citizens — remain hospitalized in critical but stable condition. Several others suffered minor injuries while fleeing the mall, Thomassen said.
The suspect — a 22-year-old man with a history of mental health issues — was arrested at the scene, according to Thomassen. The man was expected to be arraigned in a Danish court on Monday on preliminary charges of murder.
The deadly shooting remains under investigation. While a motive was unknown, Thomassen said the victims appeared to have been randomly targeted and the gunman was believed to have acted alone. There was also nothing to suggest terrorism, he said.
“There is nothing in our investigation, or the documents we have reviewed, or the things we have found, or the witnesses’ statements we have gotten, that can substantiate that this is an act of terrorism,” the police inspector told reporters during a press conference Monday.
(BATTLECREEK, Mich.) — One person is dead after an accident during the “pyrotechnic portion” of an air show in Michigan, police said.
The incident occurred Saturday shortly after 1 p.m. at the Battle Creek Field of Flight Air Show and Balloon Festival, held at Battle Creek Executive Airport.
Chris Darnell, 40, died while driving a race truck dubbed the Shockwave Jet Truck during the air show, police said in an update Saturday evening. The accident is under investigation.
Dramatic video by attendees of the air show captured the truck racing two aircraft on the runway before the accident occurred. A small fire behind the truck can be seen as the vehicle slides past a large fireball and crashes.
“Oh boy, we’ve got an incident here with our Shockwave out here at Air Show Center,” the announcer can be heard saying following the accident.
The Battle Creek Fire Department, Battle Creek Police Department and Federal Aviation Administration responded to the scene, police said.
Police have not released any further information amid the investigation.
The remainder of Saturday’s air show was canceled “out of respect for the incident that has occurred,” Battle Creek Field of Flight said in a statement. Saturday evening’s activities were scheduled to resume at the festival, which runs through Monday.
Shockwave, a custom-built race truck, is owned by Darnell Racing Enterprises, based in Springfield, Missouri. ABC News has reached out to the company for comment.
The truck, which was equipped with three flame-shooting jet engines, was capable of racing at over 350 mph, according to its owners. It frequently appeared at air show and drag racing exhibitions across the country.
Darnell was involved in motorsports “his entire life,” according to a bio on Darnell Racing’s website, and worked with his father in the business.
In a Facebook post Sunday, Neal Darnell described his son as a “family man” who leaves behind a wife and two daughters.
“We have lost our youngest son Chris in an accident doing what he loved; performing with Shockwave,” Neal Darnell wrote. “Chris so loved life and his huge air show and drag racing family.”
(HALTOM CITY, Texas) — Two people were shot and killed and four others injured, including three police officers, Saturday night in Haltom City, Texas, police said.
Sgt. Rick Alexander of Haltom City police said during a briefing that the three officers did not suffer any life-threatening injuries, as one officer was hit in the right arm, finger and leg, a second male officer was hit in both legs and a third officer was hit in the upper thigh.
At a press conference on Sunday, Alexander identified the three injured cops as Cpl. Zach Tabler, and officers Tim Barton and Jose Avila.
An elderly female had called 911 and police arrived at the residence, where officers returned fire during the incident, Alexander said. The elderly female sustained non-life-threatening injuries. A woman was found dead in the home and a man was found dead outside, Alexander said.
Officers said the elderly female’s call was crucial because they entered a situation where the gunman ambushed them.
“If they wouldn’t have been prepared, this situation could have turned out a lot worse,” Haltom City Police Chief Cody Phillips said. “There could have been several officers deceased over not being able to respond correctly.”
Alexander identified the suspected gunman as 28-year-old Edward Freyman. Police said they returned fire, forcing the suspect to flee. He was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said.
Freyman had a military style rifle and a handgun near him, according to the Haltom City Police Department.
The relationship between the victims and the shooter is not yet known, but officers confirmed that the three people — the two deceased and the suspected shooter — knew each another.
“The main concern is getting the scene secure, trying to get to our officers, be able to get them out of harm’s way while also trying to keep containment on the suspect,” Alexander said, WFAA reported.
The Texas Rangers are taking over the investigation.
ABC News’ Izzy Alvarez and Teddy Grant contributed to this report.
(HOUSTON) — A 5-year-old child was killed in a drive-by shooting on Sunday that also injured an 8-year-old in a Houston neighborhood, Houston Police said.
Police received several phone calls around 1 a.m., saying there was a shooting in the city’s Greenspoint area, but when they arrived, they didn’t find anything, Asst. Chief Chandra Hatcher told reporters early Sunday.
About 15 minutes later, officers got word that two children arrived at an area hospital with gunshot wounds. The 8-year-old child is expected to fully recover from their injuries, Hatcher said.
Both children were reportedly in a car at a stop sign when a person in another vehicle began shooting, witnesses told authorities. Their mother reportedly drove them to the hospital.
Police are investigating the incident and looking at footage from surveillance cameras to aid in the investigation. A suspect is not in custody, police said.
Authorities are unsure if the two children were the intended targets.
“We do not know a motive,” Hatcher said.
Police described the suspect’s vehicle as dark-colored and added that there may have been two people in it.
“If anyone knows information, please come forward and please continue to pray for the family of the deceased child and the injured 8-year-old,” Hatcher said.
The backlash that Adele experienced after she abruptly called off her Las Vegas residency back in January turned her into a “shell of a person,” the singer told told BBC Radio.
Appearing on an episode of BBC Radio 4’s program Desert Island Discs, which aired on Sunday night, Adele revealed, “I definitely felt everyone’s disappointment and I was devastated and I was frightened about letting them down. I thought I could pull it together and make it work and I couldn’t, and I stand by that decision.”
However, Adele admitted, “I was a shell of a person for a couple of months,” she continued. “I just had to wait it out and just grieve it, I guess, just grieve the shows and get over the guilt, but it was brutal.”
Adele insisted that the show as it was simply wasn’t “good enough,” adding, “I’m not going to just do a show because I have to or because people are going to be let down or because we’re going to lose loads of money.”
Addressing why she hasn’t given fans any updates as to when the residency might be rescheduled, Adele told the program, “Of course I could be someone on TikTok or Instagram Live every day being like, ‘I’m working on it.’ Of course I’m working on it! I’m not gonna update you if I ain’t got nothing to update you with because that just leads to more disappointment.”
In February, Adele told talk show host Graham Norton that the residency would “absolutely 100%” happen this year. On Friday, the BBC reports, she told the audience at her concert in London’s Hyde Park that she’d been announcing the dates “very, very soon,” and she was waiting for one more piece of equipment to be ready.
Night two of the much-anticipated Essence Fest concert series at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans saw soulful performances by leading ladies of R&B: Jazmine Sullivan, Summer Walker, Patti LaBelle and more.
Janet Jackson headlined the night’s entertainment with epic song-and-dance showings of some of her most iconic hits, including “If” and “I Get So Lonely.”
Straight out of the gate, the multi-talented singer, 56, proved to be just as energetic and flexible as early ’90s Jackson, sporting a fierce sparkly Black jumpsuit and leading the pack of backup dancers through just about every hit.
Thousands of excited attendees packed the house, returning the love Jackson dished throughout her hour-and-fifteen-minute-long performance and sang along to fan favorites like “What Have You Done for Me Lately,” “State of the World” and “Let’s Wait Awhile.”
Before Jackson came the “Godmother of Soul” Patti LaBelle, who in all of her iconic glory, hit the C-Walk dance, belted out notes high and low and commanded the stage as she’s known to do. With songs like “Love, Need and Want You” and “If Only You Knew,” LaBelle seemed to have left the crowd more than pleased.
When Grammy-winning singer Jazmine Sullivan graced the stage, the room went wild with applause. With great ease, Sullivan delivered memorable performances of “Bodies (Intro)” and “On It” from her smash album Heaux Tales.
Adorning her newly announced growing baby bump, Summer Walker kicked off Ladies Night using her calm but appreciated energy to perform hits such as “Girls Need Love” and “No Love.”
The 2022 Essence Fest concert series continues Sunday with City Girls, Lil Kim, Wizkid, New Edition and more, streaming live on Hulu starting at 7 p.m. CT.
After canceling several recent concerts because of health issues affecting multiple band members, Whitesnake has now pulled the plug on the rest of the current European leg of its Farewell Tour.
“It is with the deepest sadness that I must announce that due to continuing health challenges, doctor’s orders, and our concern for everyone’s health and safety, Whitesnake is unable to continue its European Farewell Tour,” frontman David Coverdale writes in a message posted on the group’s official website.
He continues, “I extend my sincere apologies to All of Whitesnake’s Amazing Fans who have been looking forward to the remaining scheduled shows of this tour, All of our Amazing, Fabulous Snakes & tour personnel who have been working so hard to put on these shows, and All of the promoters and other professionals who have helped set up the tour…I Appreciate & Love You All!!!”
Before the latest announcement, Whitesnake had canceled their June 25 appearance at the Rock Imperium Festival in Cartagena, Spain, because drummer Tommy Aldridge was “under the weather,” and then canceled the next three concerts — June 28 in Milan, Italy; June 30 in Vienna, Austria; and July 2 in Zagreb, Croatia — due to Coverdale suffering from “an infection of the sinus and trachea.”
The remainder of the European trek was to have featured seven more shows, running from a July 4 performance in Budapest, Hungary, through a July 19 gig in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Whitesnake is now scheduled to return to the stage for the North American leg of its Farewell Tour, which kicks off August 17 in Hampton Beach, New Hampshire, and is plotted out through an October 21 performance in Las Vegas. The band will be supporting The Scorpions at most of the shows.
Vice President Kamala Harris participated in a “fireside chat” with actress Keke Palmer at the Essence Festival of Culture Saturday, where she spoke on important issues pertaining to women and the Black community.
Speaking on the “outrageous” decision to overturn Roe v. Wade — the law protecting the right for women to have an abortion — Harris shared her thoughts on the ruling’s implications and its effect on other personal topics like contraception and same-sex marriage.
“What else might be vulnerable that we otherwise thought was settled law?” she questioned.
She called the decision a “serious matter” — a phrase applauded by those in the audience a part of the Black sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha, of which Harris is a member. “It requires all of us to speak up, speak out and to be active,” Harris said. She added, “We have to recognize we’re a nation that was founded on certain principles that are grounded in the concept of freedom and liberty.”
Remembering the words of Coretta Scott King Harris said, “The fight for civil rights — which is the fight for freedom, the fight for liberty, the fight for justice — the fight for civil rights must be fought and won with each generation.”
In relation to the continued fight for freedom in America, Harris suggested two key points from King’s words: “The very nature of these fights is that whatever we gain, they will not necessarily be permanent.” And that, “you have to be vigilant.”
“Don’t be overwhelmed to the point that we are disheartened and we think that we can’t do anything about it,” she said. “It’s the nature of it that these gains will not be made. And so we must be vigilant and we must remember we are always going to have to fight to maintain these rights.”
(WASHINGTON) — The Justice Department should not avoid prosecuting Donald Trump in relation to the Jan. 6 Capitol attack if a prosecution is warranted, Rep. Liz Cheney said in an interview with ABC News’ “This Week” co-anchor Jonathan Karl.
While bringing charges against the former president — who may challenge President Joe Biden in 2024 — would be unprecedented and “difficult” for the country, not doing so would support a “much graver constitutional threat,” Cheney said Wednesday in an interview at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library that aired Sunday on “This Week.”
“Are you worried about what that means for the country, to [see] a former president prosecuted? A former president who was a likely candidate; who may in fact be running for president against Biden?” Karl asked Cheney.
“I think it’s a much graver constitutional threat if a president can engage in these kinds of activities, and the majority of the president’s party looks away; or we as a country decide we’re not actually going to take our constitutional obligations seriously,” Cheney said. “I think that’s a much, a much more serious threat.”
“I really believe we have to make these decisions, as difficult as it is, apart from politics. We really have to think about these from the perspective of: What does it mean for the country?” she said.
‘Absolutely confident’ in Hutchinson’s testimony
The Wyoming Republican told Karl she was “absolutely confident” in Cassidy Hutchinson’s startling testimony last week during a surprise hearing by the House’s Jan. 6 committee, which Cheney vice-chairs.
“She’s an incredibly brave young woman,” Cheney said of Hutchinson.
On Tuesday, the former aide to Trump’s White House chief of staff Mark Meadows testified that she was told Trump was verbally aggressive with Secret Service agents and lunged for the steering wheel of his vehicle after learning he was not going to the Capitol after his rally on Jan. 6, 2021.
Hutchinson said Tony Ornato, a Secret Service agent and Trump deputy chief of staff, told her as much not long after the incident that same day. Hutchinson’s account has drawn significant attention and push-back from Trump.
“What Ms. Hutchinson testified to was a conversation that she was part of with Mr. Ornato and which Mr. Engel [a Secret Service agent] was present, where they detailed what happened in the limousine,” Cheney said.
“Do you have any evidence other than Cassidy Hutchinson’s testimony to corroborate what she said happened in that presidential motorcade?” Karl asked Cheney.
“The committee has significant evidence about a whole range of issues, including the president’s intense anger,” Cheney responded.
“I think you will continue to see in the coming days and weeks additional detail about the president’s activities and behavior on that day,” Cheney added.
In a statement to ABC News, the Secret Service said agents were prepared to give sworn testimony to the panel. A source close to the Secret Service did not dispute to ABC News that Trump was angry with agents in the car but said he did not reach for the wheel or lunge at Robert Engel, the lead agent on his detail.
Hutchinson also claimed that Trump knew his supporters were armed on Jan. 6 ahead of a march on the Capitol.
Trump on Tuesday worked to dismiss and downplay Hutchinson’s testimony, posting on social media that “I hardly know who this person … is, other than I heard very negative things about her (a total phony and ‘leaker’).”
“She is bad news!” he added.
Speaking with Karl, Cheney said the House committee “is not going to stand by and watch her [Hutchinson’s] character be assassinated by anonymous sources and by men who are claiming executive privilege. And so we look forward very much to additional testimony under oath on a whole range of issues.”
Criminal referral over witness tampering?
Cheney said during last week’s hearing that some witnesses had told investigators Trump aides attempted to influence their testimony before the panel. Hutchinson was among those to receive messages about protecting the former president, sources later told ABC News.
“Witness tampering is a crime. Are you making a criminal referral to DOJ on this?” Karl asked.
“We’ll make a decision as a committee about that,” Cheney replied.
“Do you have any doubt that [Trump] broke the law and that he is guilty of criminal violations?” Karl asked Cheney. (Trump insists he did nothing wrong.)”It’s a decision that we’ll make together as a committee,” Cheney said of referring any potential criminal conduct to the Justice Department.
“There’s no question that he engaged in high crimes and misdemeanors. I think there’s no question that it’s the most serious betrayal of his oath of office of any president in the history of the nation. It’s the most dangerous behavior of any president in the history of the nation,” she said.
“It’s possible there will be a criminal referral?” Karl asked.
“Yes,” Cheney said, adding that the Justice Department “doesn’t have to wait” for the panel to make a referral and that the committee could issue “more than one criminal referral.”
Damaging Trump ‘not the goal’ of hearings
Cheney has emerged as perhaps her party’s most vocal and most famous anti-Trump voice, drawing praise from Democrats and derision from many conservatives. Last year, she told ABC News that she would “do everything that I can to make sure” Trump “never gets anywhere close to the Oval Office again.”
“Have these hearings gotten you closer to that goal — making him toxic and not a viable candidate?” Karl asked in the new interview.
“That’s not the goal of the hearings,” she said.
“It’s crucial for the country to make sure that he’s never anywhere near the Oval Office again,” Cheney continued.
“The goal of the hearings is to make sure that the American people understand what happened; to help inform legislation, legislative changes that we might need to make,” she said. “I think it’s also the case that there’s not a single thing that I have learned, as we have been involved in this investigation, that has made me less concerned.”
“There’s no question: A man as dangerous as Donald Trump can absolutely never be anywhere near the Oval Office ever again,” Cheney said.
With looming primary, Cheney doesn’t ‘intend to lose’
Cheney was one of 10 House Republicans to vote to impeach Trump in 2021 for inciting the Capitol riot. Of that group, four are not running for reelection and Rep. Tom Rice of South Carolina was defeated in his May primary by a Trump-endorsed opponent.
Cheney will face Trump-backed candidate Harriet Hageman in early August. The former president won a greater share of the vote in Wyoming in 2020 than in any other state.
“You said recently the country is now in a battle: We must win against the former president trying to unravel our constitutional republic. What will it mean for that battle if you lose the Republican primary in Wyoming?” Karl asked Cheney.
“Well, I don’t intend to lose the Republican primary in Wyoming,” Cheney said.
“How important is it that you win, for that larger battle?” Karl asked.
“I think it’s important, because I will be the best representative that people of Wyoming can have,” Cheney said.
“The single most important thing is protecting the nation from Donald Trump. And I think that that matters to us as Americans more than anything else, and that’s why my work on the committee is so important,” she said.
“It’s so important to not just brush this past and say, ‘Okay, well, that’s in the past,’ but it informs whether this sort of toxin of Trump’s belief that he can put himself above the Constitution and put himself above the law — whether or not we successfully defeat that. And I think it’s very important that people know the truth. And that there are consequences,” Cheney said.
Cheney thinks GOP ‘can’t survive’ a Trump 2024 bid
Cheney said the Republican Party “can’t survive” if the former president runs for the White House again and wins the GOP nomination for 2024.
“I think that he can’t be the party nominee. And I don’t think the party would survive that,” Cheney said. “I believe in the party, and I believe in what the party can be and what the party can stand for. And I’m not ready to give that up.”
“Those of us who believe in Republican principles and ideals have a responsibility to try to lead the party back to what it can be, and to reject, and to reject so much of the toxin and the vitriol,” she added.
“I think it’s important also to remember that millions of people, millions of Republicans have been betrayed by Donald Trump. And that is a really painful thing for people to recognize and to admit,” she said.
“But it’s absolutely the case and they’ve been betrayed by him, by the ‘big lie” — referring to Trump’s continued baseless claims of election fraud — “and by what he continues to do and say to tear apart our country and tear apart our party, and I think we have to reject that,” Cheney said.
She said she has not “made a decision” about running for president in 2024.
“I’m obviously very focused on my reelection. I’m very focused on the Jan. 6 committee,” she said, with public hearings expected to resume later this month. “I’m very focused on my obligations to do the job that I have now. And I’ll make a decision about ’24 down the road.”
“But I think about it less in terms of a decision about running for office and more in terms of as an American — and as somebody who’s in a position of public trust now — how do I make sure that I’m doing everything I can to do the right thing, to do what I know is right for the country, and to protect our Constitution?”
