(ROCHESTER, N.Y.) — Two police officers have been shot in Rochester, New York, and one is in life-threatening condition Thursday night.
The two officers were conducting a detail around 9:15 p.m. when “at least one male approached them and opened fire on them,” Lt. Greg Bello said at the scene Thursday night, Rochester ABC affiliate WHAM-TV reported.
The condition of the other officer was not immediately known. Both were rushed to the hospital.
The incident took place on Bauman Street in northeast Rochester, WHAM reported.
(NEW YORK) — The southern entrance of Yosemite National Park is scheduled to reopen now that firefighters have made headway with containing the wildfire that was threatening the park’s iconic sequoia trees.
The Washburn Fire, a wildfire that has burned through nearly 5,000 acres along the southern border of Yosemite since July 7, had reached 58% containment as of Thursday, according to the Yosemite Fire and Aviation Management.
The containment of the fire, which at one point was inching dangerously close to the Mariposa Grove, will allow the southern entrance of Yosemite National Park to open on Saturday at 6 a.m., a spokesperson for the National Park Service told ABC News.
The Mariposa Grove is one of the most popular destinations at Yosemite and is home to more than 500 mature giant sequoia trees. This summer was the second time in less than a year that an approaching wildfire neared an iconic plot of sequoia trees, some of which have been there for thousands of years.
No reports of damage to any of the named trees in the grove have been released, and some tree trunks have been wrapped in fire-resistant foil as protection.
Sprinklers have also been set up around several trees, including the Grizzly Giant, the most famous giant sequoia at Yosemite, which stands at 209 feet tall. Fire officials hope the steady stream of water, combined with prescribed burns, will be enough to protect the trees from a fatal encounter with the wildfire.
Since 2020, three fires are estimated to have killed up to 19% of the large giant sequoias in the entire Sierra Nevada population, and 85% of sequoia groves have been affected by wildfire in the past six years, according to the National Park Service.
A portion of Highway 41, which leads into the southern entrance of Yosemite, was shut down earlier this month as a result of the Washburn Fire.
The wildfire also sparked air quality alerts hundreds of miles away in California’s Bay Area, specifically the North Bay and East Bay regions.
(BATON ROUGE, La.) — Louisiana’s attorney general said he wants cities that don’t enforce the state’s abortion laws to have their funding withheld.
Louisiana was one of several states that had a trigger law banning abortion that would immediately go into effect upon the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, which occurred June 24.
A temporary order blocking enforcement of the ban was issued June 27 and has since been extended several times, with a state judge expected to hear arguments Tuesday.
However, several state officials have said if the order is lifted and the ban goes into effect, they will not enforce or prosecute offenders.
Earlier this month, the New Orleans City Council — with the support of Mayor LaToya Cantrell — passed a resolution that prohibits public funds or resources from being used by local law enforcement to enforce the trigger ban.
Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams said his office will not prosecute abortion providers. Additionally, the New Orleans Police Department and the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office said they will not arrest or investigate providers.
In response, Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry called upon the state treasurer and his fellow members of the Bond Commission to delay any applications and funding for New Orleans and Orleans Parish until officials agree to enforce the ban.
“As Attorney General and member of the Bond Commission, it is my belief that a parish or municipality should not benefit from the hard-working taxpayers of this State while ignoring laws validly enacted by the people through their representatives,” he said in a statement. “I urge the Bond Commission to defer any applications for the City of New Orleans, Orleans Parish, and any local governmental entity or political subdivision under its purview.”
The statement continued, “In addition, any other funding that will directly benefit the City of New Orleans should also be paused until such time as the Council, Mayor, Chief of Police, Sheriff, and District Attorney have met with and affirmed that they will comply with and enforce the laws of this State and cooperate with any State officials who may be called upon to enforce them.”
“The Attorney General’s hostility towards reproductive freedom comes as no surprise. However, what is surprising and troubling, is that the Attorney General would place critical infrastructure and state assets in harm’s way just to score political points for his run for Governor,” said Cantrell in response to the statement.
This is not the first time Landry has made headlines for his desire to strictly enforce the state’s abortion ban despite the order blocking it.
Last month, Landry threatened the licenses of medical providers who continue to provide abortions while the ban is blocked in a letter to the Louisiana State Medical Society.
“The temporary restraining order does not — and cannot — immunize medical providers from liability from criminal conduct,” he wrote. “It is incumbent on this office to advise you that any medial provider who would perform or has performed an elective abortion after the Supreme Court’s decision … is jeopardizing his or her liberty and medical license.”
The decision by officials to not enforce abortion laws reflects moves seen in other cities in states with restrictive laws. The Austin City Council passed a measure Thursday that decriminalizes abortion within city limits even though it is effectively banned in Texas.
(SPARTA, Ga.) — A woman in Georgia has died after she was taken into custody but somehow managed to fall out of a police patrol car while authorities were taking her to the Sheriff’s Office, police say.
The incident occurred on July 15 when 28-year-old Brianna Marie Grier of Sparta, Georgia, was taken into custody by Hancock County Sheriff’s office deputies after they were called to her home on Hickory Grove Church Road, according to a statement released by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
“Grier was arrested at the home,” the statement from the GBI said. “While deputies were taking Grier to the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office, Grier fell out of a patrol car and sustained significant injuries.”
It is unclear if Grier was handcuffed while she was in the vehicle, how fast the car was going at the time or how exactly she was able to fall out of the car while en route to the Sheriff’s Office. The GBI statement did not say why Grier had been taken into custody in the first place.
Grier died on Thursday at Grady memorial Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, at approximately 1:00 p.m. from injuries she sustained in the fall.
“Hancock County Sheriff Terrell Primus asked the GBI’s regional investigate office in Milledgeville to investigate on July 15 following the initial incident,” said the GBI.
Authorities said that Grier’s body will be taken to the GBI Crime Lab for an autopsy and that the GBI investigation remains active and ongoing.
The Beatles‘ Ringo Starr, The Police‘s Stewart Copeland, and The Grateful Dead‘s Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann are among the famous musicians featured in an upcoming documentary titled Let There Be Drums!, according to Deadline.
The film, which aims to “examine the essential role drumming plays in great bands and how music passes from generation to generation,” will also feature interviews with Red Hot Chili Peppers‘ Chad Smith, ex-Guns N’ Roses drummer Matt Sorum, Jane’s Addiction‘s Stephen Perkins and late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins.
Hawkins’ appearance in the film marks, as Deadline puts it, “what may have been the final filmed interview” he gave prior to his unexpected death earlier this year.
Let There Be Drums! was directed by Kreutzmann’s son, Justin, who told Deadline the project gave him the opportunity “to talk to the world’s most influential drummers in hopes of better understanding his father and the instrument that defined his life.”
Let There Be Drums! is set to premiere in theaters October 28. Hart and Bill Kreutzmann are serving as executive producers on the movie.
(BUFFALO, N.Y.) — This past May, Aaron Salter Jr., a retired police officer, was killed in the Buffalo, New York, supermarket shooting while attempting to save others.
Nearly two months after the tragedy, his wife Kimberly and his son Aaron Salter III say they received a life-changing gift. Kimberly Salter is now mortgage-free, the son says, thanks to hip-hop and rap music producer Metro Boomin who paid off the mortgage on the home she shared with her late husband.
Salter III said his family received the gift in an Instagram post Wednesday.
After his father’s death, Salter III said he started a GoFundMe campaign to help his mother out with finances, wanting to ensure she would be “taken care of and be okay.” He said that Metro Boomin reached out to him after coming across the campaign, which has raised nearly $65,000.
“He’s got an album, ‘Not All Heroes Wear Capes,’ and he said that my story really resonated with him because he called my dad a hero and he said that he did everything he could to protect those people,” Salter III told ABC News. “He saw the story and he just wanted to help us out in any way that he could,” he added.
Salter III, who says he is a longtime fan of the producer, said his mother Kimberly was stunned when he told her about Metro Boomin’s gift.
“She was like, ‘he’s doing what?'” Salter III said. “She didn’t believe it until she logged into her account and saw that it was paid off. And when she saw it was paid off, she was very emotional. She was very happy.”
Metro Boomin, born Leland Tyler Wayne, is a popular American hip-hop music producer, DJ, and songwriter from St. Louis. He has amassed over a dozen top 20 hits, working with hip-hop and rap stars including Kanye West, Drake, Nicki Minaj, Migos, Future and Gucci Mane.
An Instagram account that appears to belong to the producer, responded to Salter III’s post, commenting, “Love always, bro, my line is always open, and I meant every single thing I said back when we spoke.”
A representative for Metro Boomin has not responded to a request for comment from ABC News.
Salter III’s father, Aaron Salter Jr., was among those killed last May after a white teenager allegedly killed 10 Black people in what authorities described as a racially motivated mass shooting.
At the time, Salter Jr. was working as a security guard for the grocery store, which is located in a predominantly Black neighborhood. When the shooter proceeded inside the store on May 14, Salter confronted him, shooting and striking the teen before he himself was fatally wounded.
While it’s unclear how many victims were saved due to Salter’s actions, Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph A. Gramaglia told ABC News, “We’re sure he saved lives.”
“He went down fighting,” Gramaglia added. “He came in, he went towards the gunfire. He went towards the fight.”
Shortly after the shooting, Canisius College posthumously honored Salter Jr., who was just three credit hours (one course) away from graduating, with a Bachelor of Arts degree. Salter III accepted the diploma on his father’s behalf during the school’s graduation ceremony.
Two months ago, Metro Boomin suffered his own loss, when his mother, Leslie Joanne Wayne, was reportedly murdered by her husband (not Metro Boomin’s biological father), who then committed suicide, TMZ reported in June.
(WASHINGTON) — The focus of the House Jan. 6 committee’s second prime-time hearing will be what it says was then-President Donald Trump’s “187 minutes” of inaction — from the time he left the rally at the Ellipse, then watching the attack on the U.S. Capitol from the White House until he finally called on his violent supporters to go home.
Please check back for updates. All times Eastern. Jul 21, 5:53 PM EDT
Former White House staffers to testify about resigning in protest
Two former White House aides are expected to testify before the committee on Thursday, sources previously confirmed to ABC News.
Those ex-staffers are Sarah Matthews, who served as deputy press secretary, and Matthew Pottinger, who was deputy national security adviser. Both resigned from their positions after the pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
At the committee’s June 16 hearing, a clip from Matthews’ prior testimony was played in which she described what it was like on the White House press team as the insurrection unfolded. She said that Trump’s tweet attacking then-Vice President Mike Pence during the attack “felt like he was pouring gasoline on the fire.”
Pink declares in her fiery protest anthem “Irrelevant” that “Girls just wanna have rights” — a play on Cyndi Lauper’s 1983 hit “Girls Just Want to Have Fun.” Well, the song got a seal of approval from Cyndi, who tweeted out, “Yessss! Loving @Pink’s new song. #GirlsJustWantToHaveRights!”
JoeJonas cheekily responded to the New York Yankees signing slugger Shane Gray. For those out of the loop, that’s the name of Joe’s Camp Rock character. He posted a video of himself wearing a similar shaggy hairstyle from the 2008 movie and edited a Yankee’s cap on his head. “The yankees just signed a big hitter,” he joked in the caption.
Fans want to know what shade LadyGaga has on her lips during her Chromatica Ball tour and she happily told them it’s her Atomic Shake Lip Lacquer from her Haus Labs beauty line. She suggested that you shake the bottle and let it dry on your lips for 15 seconds to get the same effect. “You do not smack them,” she sternly warned.
Billy Joel kept the audience laughing at his sold-out show at Madison Square Garden, saying he does not have a glass eye but he does have “a wooden leg.” Page Six adds he also covered The Beatles‘ “A Day in the Life” and said he wished he wrote it. He also admitted he can’t hit the same high notes he did when he was younger, adding, “You’ll know which one I’m talking about … This could be a cringefest,” when singing “An Innocent Man.”
Sara Bareilles had to bow out of a performance of Into The Woods because she’s under the weather. She explained on her Instagram Story, “I am definitely fighting something. I woke up this morning not feeling great.” She tried powering through the matinee but “it knocked me out.” She doesn’t know what she’s come down with. Feel better, Sara!
Remember that weird Balenciaga caution tape outfit Kim Kardashian wore? Well, Lizzo sported the same look and comically revealed you cannot move in it. She jokingly filmed herself trying to do the “About Damn Time” TikTok dance and struggled to lift or bend her arms. Another video showed how hard it was for her to walk in it.
Pink declares in her fiery protest anthem “Irrelevant” that “Girls just wanna have rights” — a play on Cyndi Lauper‘s 1983 hit “Girls Just Want to Have Fun.” Well, the song got a seal of approval from Cyndi, who tweeted out, “Yessss! Loving@Pink’s new song.#GirlsJustWantToHaveRights!”
Dua Lipa reportedly paid DaBaby $350,000 to feature on “Levitating,” reports TMZ. The rapper isn’t earning more royalties from the knockout track following his controversial remarks about HIV last year, which saw Dua remove his artist credit.
Joe Jonas cheekily responded to the New York Yankees signing slugger Shane Gray. For those out of the loop, that’s the name of Joe’s Camp Rock character. He posted a video of himself wearing a similar shaggy hairstyle from the 2008 movie and edited a Yankee’s cap on his head. “The yankees just signed a big hitter,” he joked in the caption.
Halsey shared some bikini photos on Instagram that have fans going wild. “Lightning fast post tour re-charge before the rocket that is @af94_takes off!” they captioned the thirst trap photos.
Fans want to know what shade Lady Gaga has on her lips during her Chromatica Ball tour and she happily told them — it’s her Atomic Shake Lip Lacquer from her Haus Labs beauty line. She suggested that you shake the bottle and let it dry on your lips for 15 seconds to get the same effect. “You do not smack them,” she sternly warned.
