(NEW YORK) — Days after an avid long-distance runner mysteriously vanished in Northern California, police are “further scaling down operations” to find him, they announced Wednesday evening.
Philip Kreycik, 37, drove to the Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park at about 11 a.m. Saturday, parking at the Moller Trail staging area, to go for an 8-mile run, according to the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office.
The Berkeley resident told his wife he’d be gone for an hour, police said. He has been missing ever since.
“Philip is an endurance athlete and is in top physical condition. He is also well versed on rural terrain and outdoor environments,” Sheriff’s Sgt. Ray Kelly said in a statement Tuesday. “Temperatures that day on the ridge were about 106 degrees but were not a deterrent for Phillip who thrives in extreme environments.”
“This is a very bright man who went to Harvard and MIT, a man that’s analytical in his thinking, a guy that runs ultramarathons,” Kelly told ABC San Francisco station KGO-TV.
Wednesday marked “the last fully operational day” of the “exhaustive” five-day search, Pleasanton Police Department said, announcing that the department and aiding agencies are “further scaling down operations” to find him.
The search included more than a dozen agencies from across the state and nearly 300 volunteers, police said. Dogs, drones, helicopters and an airplane with advanced thermal imagery were also deployed, the sheriff’s office said.
Kreycik is the father of a 3-year-old and 10-month-old with his wife, Jen Yao.
“I know in my heart of hearts he’s out there,” Yao told KGO. “He’s out there and he’s alive and he’s waiting for us. And maybe he’s dehydrated, maybe injured, delirious.”
Police said Kreycik is described as white with a thin build, brown hair and brown eyes. He has no known health conditions.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Pleasanton Police Department at (925) 931-5107.
Pitbull is the latest celebrity to speak out about the ongoing crisis in Cuba. In an emotionally charged message to fans on Wednesday, he called upon Amazon founder Jeff Bezos to “step up” and help.
“This is a message for the world,” the Cuban-American singer addressed via Instagram. “We need to stand up, step up — but if you don’t understand what’s going on — you need to wake the f*** up.”
Cuba, which is going through its worst economic crisis in decades, is experiencing one of its largest anti-government demonstrations in recent history, with thousands protesting rising prices, food and medicine shortages amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and persistent blackouts.
Cuba’s government stoked tensions further by deploying armed forces into the streets.
“This isn’t about politics — this is about saving lives… bottom line, this is about taking action,” the Grammy winner said before revealing he is unable to send aid to his home country.
“It frustrates me… Being a Cuban American and having a platform to speak to the world and not being able to help my own people. Not being able to get them food, not being able to get them water, not being able to get them medicine,” he said, explaining that he is most frustrated that he can’t give Cubans what they deserve, which he says is “freedom.”
Pitbull then issued a call to action on global businesses to get involved and raise awareness before he singled out Bezos, who has Cuban ties.
“Jeff Bezos, Cuban-American, graduated from a high school in Miami, built one of the biggest companies in the world. The richest man in the world. He’s somebody that can get involved and really help us,” the rapper said.
He closed out his video telling his fellow Cubans to “keep the fight up.”
Foo Fighters announced on Wednesday that they’re postponing Saturday’s show at the Forum in Los Angeles due to a confirmed case of COVID-19 “within the Foo Fighters organization.”
The announcement, shared on the band’s official Twitter page, notes they came to the decision “out of an abundance of caution and concern for the safety of the band, crew and most of all the fans.”
Tickets for the show will be honored at a rescheduled date, which has yet to be announced.
Foo Fighters are set to head out on their 26th anniversary tour, which was rescheduled from their planned 25th anniversary tour for 2020.
Last month, the band headlined New York City’s Madison Square Garden, marking the famed arena’s first full-capacity in-person concert since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.
An Oklahoma judge has ordered resentencing for Tiger King star Joe Exotic.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit handed down the order Wednesday in the case of Joseph Maldonado-Passage, the man known as “Joe Exotic” from the popular Netflix series Tiger King,ABC News affiliate KOCO in Oklahoma City reports. However, his conviction was affirmed.
In 2019, Maldonado-Passage was convicted and sentenced to 22 years in prison for violating wildlife laws in addition to the failed murder-for-hire plots against his nemesis, Carole Baskin. At the time, he asked that the judge combine the sentence for the two murder-for-hire counts, but was instead given an individual sentence for each.
“For the foregoing reasons, we affirm Maldonado-Passage’s conviction but vacate the sentence and remand for resentencing,” the court documents state.
To sum it up, “Joe Exotic is not going free,” KOCO reporter Dillon Richards shared on Twitter.
“He was originally sentenced to 264 months (the lower end of the 262-327 month range) Now the judge will have to re-sentence, but this time his range will be 210-262 months instead,” Richards explained. “So essentially the likely effect is that this could knock a couple years off his 22-year sentence.”
The four-time Olympic Gold medalist left for the 2021 Olympics Wednesday with the rest of Team USA and before jetting off, Biles sat down with ABC News’ Kaylee Hartung for her last one-on-one interview before the competition at United Airlines’ send off event for the team.
“It means the world to me. I did it in 2016 at various time for World Championships, so to have another opportunity, it’s just amazing,” Biles told ABC’s Good Morning America about representing the U.S. for a second time at the Summer Games.
However, this year will be different for Biles and many athletes coming back to the Olympics to take home the gold or reclaim their titles.
With many COVID protocols in place, there will be no spectators in the stands to feed off energy from during the games and athletes will have to follow a set of rules to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
“We’ve had a lot of calls because COVID protocols will be different for an Olympic Games, as we’ve seen in previous seasons of all different sports so far this year,” Biles said. “As for the crowd, that’ll be super weird because it’ll kind of be like training. We’ve never done that as well either. So it’ll be a different experience, but we’re ready for whatever they throw at us.”
For Biles, participating in the 2021 Olympic Games means competing and traveling solo for the first time without her family cheering her on in the stands.
“I honestly have never done a competition without my parents there, so I’m a little bit nervous, but I know they’ll be there in spirit,” she said. “My mom is like, ‘Please FaceTime me before.’ So I’m sure she’ll be calling me as we get ready because they’ll be up already and ready to watch.”
Though her parents won’t be there with her in Tokyo, Biles is in good company of her teammates, Sunisa Lee, 18, Grace McCallum, 18, MyKayla Skinner, 24, Jade Carey, 21, and Jordan Chiles, 20, who Biles has become close with over the past year.
“She’s doing so amazing right now,” said Biles about Chiles. “She’s like my little sister, so I’m really proud. I’m excited for her and I think she deserves this. People are finally seeing what she’s capable of.”
At 24 years old, Biles is attempting to become the first woman to win consecutive Olympic titles in more than 50 years. It’s a challenge she almost didn’t take on due to the ups and downs of 2020 overall and the uncertainty about competing.
“At the end of the day, it was the uncertainty. We knew that the games were postponed — we didn’t know for how long,” said Biles.
When she was given the news about how long the games were going to be postponed for, she thought about taking time off.
“Mentally and physically — it’s just so draining and we had been prepared. We were already on the rise, to go to the Olympic Games or to try to compete, so it’s just like, it was a whirlwind,” she said.
Despite the challenges over the past year, Biles is confident that the team is ready to compete.
“We’ll still bring the joy and we’ll bring back the medal,” she said.
(NEW YORK) — A 23-year-old Wisconsin man is being held by authorities for allegedly shooting and dismembering his father, before hiding his remains.
Chandler Halderson reported his parents, Bart and Krista Halderson, missing last week, but was arrested a day later for providing false information to police, investigators said.
Human remains belonging to Bart Halderson, 50, have since been found.
Authorities confirmed the son is now being held on new tentative charges: mutilating and hiding a corpse and first-degree intentional homicide.
Krista Halderson, 53, is still missing.
The new accusations, listed on the Dane County Jail’s inmate roster, came as the Dane County Medical Examiner’s Office released a statement following an autopsy of the remains. It revealed that Bart died from “homicidal violence including firearm injury.”
The Dane County District Attorney’s office have not yet brought formal charges against Chandler Halderson in the death of his father. However, according to a probable cause statement released by the county, witnesses placed Chandler at an acquaintance’s address in Cottage Grove, Wisconsin, on July 5, when he was seen “reversing his vehicle with the rear hatch open in a field near a wooded area.” A human torso identified as Bart was found nearby.
The suspect told police his parents had spent July Fourth weekend at their cabin in White Lake, Langlade County, with an unknown couple, and they never returned. But when authorities searched the lake house, they found no evidence that anyone had been there.
“Halderson reported that his parents, Krista and Bart Halderson, were picked up by an unknown acquaintance in the early hours of July 1, 2021, to travel to the family’s cabin in White Lake, Wisconsin,” the probable cause statement said. “Halderson reported that his mother Krista had sent him a text message on July 4, 2021, stating that they had arrived and were in White Lake, and were planning on attending a parade that day. Investigation revealed that where was no parade and that Krista and Bart Halderson did not travel to their cabin in White Lake.”
Once investigators discovered Bart Halderson’s remains, Chandler Halderson was arrested.
“Chandler Halderson did know that his parents didn’t travel to the cabin, and intentionally made false statements to law enforcement regarding his parent’s whereabouts,” the statement concluded.
Britney Spears is so happy, she’s doing cartwheels — literally.
On Wednesday, the 39-year-old songstress took to Instagram to post a video of herself horseback riding and doing cartwheels in the grass. Alongside the post, which was fittingly set to KT Tunstall‘s “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree,” she wrote, “Coming along, folks … coming along [middle finger emoji]!!!!!”
“New with real representation today … I feel GRATITUDE and BLESSED,” Britney continued. “Thank you to my fans who are supporting me … You have no idea what it means to me be supported by such awesome fans !!!! God bless you all !!!!!”
She concluded, “Pssss this is me celebrating by horseback riding and doing cartwheels today,” adding #FreeBritney.
The post comes after the court approved Britney’s request to appoint high-powered attorney Mathew S. Rosengart as her new legal counsel on Wednesday for her conservatorship case.
Britney’s boyfriend, Sam Asghari, as well as celebrities Ariana Grande, Jersey Shore’s Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi and thousands of fans showered the “Stronger” singer with support in the comments section of the post.
“YOU ARE SO VERY LOVED AND SUPPORTED,” Ari commented.
Caroline Brehman/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — The surgeon general is warning Americans about the “urgent threat of health misinformation” amid the government’s current push to boost stalling vaccination rates.
Dr. Vivek Murthy’s advisory — the first under the Biden administration — addresses an epidemic of misinformation and disinformation, and its pernicious impact on public health — specifically threatening the U.S. response to COVID-19. It frames misinformation as having hindered vaccination efforts, sown mistrust, caused people to reject public health measures, use unproven treatments, prolonged the pandemic and put lives at risk.
The advisory says combatting misinformation is a “moral and civic responsibility” on an individual and institutional level.
The decision to elevate this issue in his first official advisory comes as some Republicans have used the government’s coronavirus response and vaccine messaging as a political wedge.
While Murthy doesn’t call out by name any of the Republican elected officials who have criticized a distorted interpretation of the Biden administration’s vaccine push, he does suggest accountable “stakeholders” in the fight against misinformation include public officeholders as important public messengers.
“Misinformation tends to flourish in environments of significant societal division, animosity, and distrust,” the advisory says. “Distrust of the health care system due to experiences with racism and other inequities may make it easier for misinformation to spread in some communities. Growing polarization, including in the political sphere, may also contribute to the spread of misinformation.”
The advisory also digs into social media platforms as having greatly contributed to the “unprecedented speed and scale” of misinformation’s spread and Murthy calls on technology and social media companies to “take more responsibility to stop online spread of health misinformation.”
“Health misinformation is an urgent threat to public health. It can cause confusion, sow mistrust, and undermine public health efforts, including our ongoing work to end the COVID-19 pandemic,” Murthy said in a statement. “As Surgeon General, my job is to help people stay safe and healthy, and without limiting the spread of health misinformation, American lives are at risk … tackling this challenge will require an all-of-society approach, but it is critical for the long-term health of our nation.”
The advisory lays out how to better identify and avoid sharing health misinformation, engage with the community on the issue and develop local strategies against misinformation:
Health professionals and health organizations can proactively engage with patients and the public by listening with empathy and correcting misinformation in personalized ways. The advisory suggests using social media and partnering with community groups to get out accurate information.
Governments can prevent and address misinformation by finding “common ground on difficult questions,” increasing investment in research, fact checking and engaging in rumor control. Murthy advised partnering with trusted messengers, using proactive messaging and community engagement strategies. Health teams should identify local misinformation patterns and train public health misinformation researchers.
Technology platforms can assess benefits and harms of how their products are built and “take responsibility for addressing the harms;” strengthen their monitoring of misinformation and improve transparency; and proactively address information deficits. The companies could also prioritize early detection of misinformation “super-spreaders” or repeat offenders, and amplify trusted messenger, prioritizing protecting health professionals, journalists and others from online harassment.
Journalists and media organizations can make sure their teams are trained in recognizing, debunking and avoiding amplification of misinformation by carefully reviewing materials that have not been peer reviewed.
Educators and schools can shore up evidence-based programs that build a “resilience” to misinformation by teaching people how to be more discerning about it and talk to friends and family who are sharing misinformation.
Foundations can provide training and resources for grantees working in communities that are disproportionately affected by misinformation, including areas with lower vaccine confidence, and monitoring health misinformation across multiple languages.
Researchers and research institutions can strengthen their monitoring of health questions and concerns, assess the impact that misinformation might be having and tailor interventions to the needs of specific populations, with an understanding of how people are exposed to and affected by misinformation.
(NEW YORK) — U.S. Olympic marathoner Aliphine Tuliamuk said she never expected to be a new mom competing in the Olympics, and she also never expected to have to worry about whether she would be allowed to bring her infant daughter to the Olympics.
The coronavirus pandemic changed both of those things for Tuliamuk, who won the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in February 2020.
When the Tokyo Olympics were postponed in 2020 due to the pandemic, Tuliamuk and her fiancé, Tim Gannon, decided to use the time off from competing to have a child.
Tuliamuk, 32, gave birth to their daughter, Zoe, in January.
“I’ve always wanted to be a mom and I’ve also wanted to become an Olympian and compete at the highest level of our sport,” Tuliamuk told ABC News’ Good Morning America. “I never thought I was going to be at the Olympics as a new mom.”
“That would not have happened until 2020 happened,” she said.
Tuliamuk began training again in March, two months after Zoe was born.
For the next several months she kept training with a focus of competing in Tokyo with Gannon and their daughter by her side.
Tuliamuk’s journey to the Olympics took a detour earlier this summer when she learned that, due to COVID-19-related restrictions, athletes’ family members would not be able to join them in Tokyo, including Zoe. The restriction put an impossible burden on Tuliamuk, who is still breastfeeding Zoe.
“When they put restrictions in and sent us an email that she wasn’t going to be able to come, I was really devastated,” she said. “What do they expect us to do? I can’t just leave my breastfeeding child behind.”
Tuliamuk spoke out publicly against the restriction and also sent a letter to the head of the International Olympic Committee.
Earlier this month, the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee reversed course and said nursing mothers should be allowed to bring their children with them to the games.
“After careful consideration of the unique situation facing athletes with nursing children, we are pleased to confirm that, when necessary, nursing children will be able to accompany athletes to Japan,” the committee said in a statement obtained by ABC News.
The wording of the policy still drew criticism from some, with Olympic moms such as U.S. soccer star Alex Morgan pointing out that it is always “necessary” for mothers to be with their nursing children.
Olympic officials last week said a state of emergency had been declared in Tokyo due to COVID-19 and spectators would not be allowed in venues to watch the games in the city’s new stadiums.
Less than two weeks before she is set to travel to Japan, Tuliamuk said she is still planning to bring Zoe with her to the Olympics. Also traveling with them will be Gannon, who is permitted to accompany Tuliamuk to the Olympics as her personal coach.
“I’m just full of gratitude,” she said. “I cannot wait to go to Sapporo and have an amazing race and race for myself, race for my teammates and my sponsors, my family and my daughter.”
The Tokyo Olympics will begin July 23. The women’s marathon is scheduled to be held in Sapporo on Aug. 7, the day before the closing ceremony.
Tuliamuk said she has been inspired to speak out because she said she knows that “mom athletes can compete at the highest level of sport.”
“If we want to support female athletes, part of being a female athlete is also having a family and if you want to support me as a complete athlete, you should be able to make room for my family. You should be able to make room for me if I decide to have a family,” said Tuliamuk. “You can’t just talk about supporting women and then not actually support them.”
She said she has also found inspiration from Allyson Felix, Kara Goucher and Alysia Montaño, three female track and field athletes who alleged in 2019 that they were penalized by Nike for being pregnant.
Shortly after they spoke out, Nike announced plans to do more to protect female athletes’ pay during and after pregnancy.
“We’ve seen over and over that when people use their voices, they deliver change,” said Tuliamuk, adding that her sponsor, Hoko, has supported her as a mom. “If Allyson Felix and Kara Goucher and Alysia Montaño hadn’t spoken out, I don’t know how I would have been treated.”
“I feel very lucky because of what women before me have done,” she said.
Tuliamuk said she also hopes that by speaking out she is helping to create more equal opportunities for future generations of girls, including Zoe.
“I want to make sure my daughter understands that this world is not easy but that does not mean that you give up. It means that you double down and you work very, very hard and you seize every opportunity that you get,” she said. “That’s how you achieve your goals.”
