(HOUSTON) — The Houston Police Department is investigating an apparent murder-suicide that took place at the Downtown Aquarium Thursday night.
In a press conference, police said a man and a woman, who appeared to be a couple, were having dinner at a bar inside a restaurant at the Houston Downtown Aquarium around 8:10 p.m. Thursday when a suspect walked around from the other end of the bar and opened fire.
The man immediately went down when shot, and the woman was injured but not killed.
The gunman then shot himself. He and the male victim were dead when police arrived, they said.
The woman was taken to the hospital and is in stable condition.
As of now, investigators don’t know if the victims and the shooter knew each other. Police said there was little, if any, interaction between them prior to the shooting.
The investigation is ongoing, and the police department is looking for any leads on the case.
(ATLANTA) — After a statewide manhunt, a suspect has been captured and charged with murder in a triple homicide that unfolded at a country club near Atlanta last week, authorities said.
Bryan Rhoden was apprehended in Chamblee, Georgia, about a half hour from the crime scene, Thursday evening in connection with the shootings with help from the U.S. Marshals Service, the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office said.
He was charged with three counts of murder, three counts of aggravated assault and two counts of kidnapping, Cobb County Chief Tim Fox said during a press briefing Thursday night.
Rhoden was identified as a suspect in the days after the incident at the Pinetree Country Club in Kennesaw, and has ties to the metro Atlanta area, Fox said.
On July 3, a golf pro was gunned down in broad daylight at the country club’s golf course and two other men were found shot dead in the bed of pickup truck that was parked on the green, according to police.
Fox did not share details on any possible motive in the murders or how Rhoden was allegedly tied to the shootings due to the active investigation.
Eugene Siller, 46, a golf pro who worked at the course, was shot in the head on the green of the 10th hole after apparently stumbling upon a crime in progress, according to police. He was killed “because he witnessed an active crime taking place,” police said. There is no connection between Siller and the suspect, Fox said.
The two other victims — 76-year-old Paul Pierson of Kansas and 46-year-old Henry Valdez of California — were found in the bed of a white Ram 3500 pickup truck nearby. They were believed to have been killed on the golf course not long before they were found, Fox said. The chief did not share any further details on the kidnapping charge.
Police allege that Rhoden was the lone shooter in the incident.
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Thursday’s sports events:
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Oakland 2, Houston 1
Seattle 4, N.Y. Yankees 0
Cleveland 7, Kansas City 4
Minnesota 5, Detroit 3
Toronto at Baltimore 7:35 p.m. (Postponed)
NATIONAL LEAGUE
L.A. Dodgers 6, Miami 1
Colorado 9, Arizona 3
Philadelphia 8, Chicago Cubs 0
Milwaukee 5, Cincinnati 3
San Diego 9, Washington 8
Pittsburgh at NY Mets 7:10 p.m. (Postponed)
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PLAYOFFS
Phoenix 118, Milwaukee 108
MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER
Philadelphia 1, New York 1 (tie)
Atlanta 2, Nashville 2 (tie)
The trailer for Chance the Rapper’s concert film, Mad Coloring World, arrives later today. It features footage from the Chicago-native’s 2016 Magnificent Coloring World Tour, including new footage, which was filmed at his House of Kicks production house.
“It’s a house that I use for my office space. It’s a lot of things, kind of like a literal…film house or production house where we produce events and produce commercials out of an office space,” Chance tells ABC Audio. “And that’s also kind of like a movie set because we shoot a lot of our promos, performances, commercials and things like that out of there.”
Chance says Mad Coloring World is “aesthetically connected” to his popular Coloring World mixtape, though some footage was filmed in 2017.
“I just didn’t release it because I didn’t really know…a lot about film or editing or just the back-end of distributing a movie,” he explains. “In this time during the pandemic, when I started to learn more stuff about how to put together a movie and how to release a piece and direction and mainly editing.”
“I was like, let’s try and track down all the files from that day and the set up of the concert and some new interviews and kind of make this movie out of this house,” Chance adds.
House of Kicks is also where Chance filmed the launch video for Starbucks’ Made-Ready campaign, inspired by the coffee company’s bottled and canned drinks. To celebrate, Chance kicked off a viral #MadeReadyDuet challenge, in partnership with Starbucks, inviting fans to duet with him to share their Made-Ready moment until July 11th. Three selected winners will receive a bottomless mini-fridge with one year supply of Starbucks drinks and a personalized shout-out from Chance.
Creedence Clearwater Revival‘s classic 1971 hit “Have You Ever Seen the Rain” is spending its second week at #1 on Billboard‘s Rock Digital Song Sales chart.
Amazingly, CCR had never had a song reach #1 on any Billboard chart before.
Founding Creedence frontman and main songwriter John Fogerty tells ABC Audio that he’s very pleased, and a bit baffled, by his old tune’s sudden chart resurgence.
“[I’m] not really sure how to react,” Fogerty admits. “I mean, a 50-year-old song becoming #1 is kind of astounding. You know, there’s no movie release or…no cataclysmic event to pin this to.”
He adds, “I guess people all at the same time started liking this song, and I’m really happy about it…I’m very happy that there is attention being given to the song. I’ve always thought it was certainly one of my best songs.”
“Have You Ever Seen the Rain” was featured on CCR’s next-to-last studio album, 1970’s Pendulum, and was released as a two-sided single with “Hey Tonight,” which peaked at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Fogerty recalls that when he wrote the song, tension between him and his band mates was leading CCR toward breaking up, even though the group was at the height of its success.
“The picture that I got in my head was…there can be a sunny day and yet rain is falling,” he explains to ABC Audio. “It’s a weird atmospheric event…caused by a cloud far away from your view, but yet the wind is carrying the rain from that cloud…over to where you’re standing…And that seemed to be kind of what was happening [figuratively with CCR].”
While the world seemingly slowed to a halt during the COVID-19 pandemic, Irish comedian Aisling Bea spent lockdown hard at work writing the next season of This Way Up.
Bea, 37, spoke with ABC Audio about her critically acclaimed comedy series that she wrote and stars in, which airs its second season tonight on Hulu. The stand-up comedian said writing the next installmentduring the early days of lockdown allowed her to explore more than just her emotions, but understand what the world was experiencing.
“If the theme of the first series is loneliness, the second one is words and communication, and how we miss each other,” said Bea. “And what we don’t know that one person might say and how you read it and how that affects relationships.”
Beyond writing the second season during a global pandemic, the actress confessed it wasn’t easy to shoot, either. She said a good chunk of their budget and time was eaten up by necessary COVID protocols, which meant the crew had less to spend on filming.
“Sometimes in a day I would do scenes where there might be a suicide scene, Aine being the funniest in the world, and a sex scene… All in one day,” she recalled. “There’s no processing time… And from a creative point of view, I got through it. But it wasn’t pleasant.”
While unable to tease too much about This Way Up‘s second season, Bea revealed what she focused on when writing the series.
“Don’t make it a TED talk. I love TED talks, but there’s moments I realize ‘Ooh… I’ve accidentally made this a TED talk,'” she remarked, adding that, despite the upcoming serious moments, season two will be “entertaining.”
(SURFSIDE, Fla.) — Surfside building survivor Zulia Taub had called Apartment 506 in the Champlain Towers South home for more than two decades. On June 24, she watched her life crumble to the ground.
The 82-year-old said she was at her apartment when she thought she’d heard thunder.
“I heard a terrible noise and the building shook. … I grabbed a flashlight and I grabbed my purse,” said Taub. “I went to the staircase and to my surprise that part of the building was not there anymore and I saw rubble and I saw people crying.”
Taub said a group of neighbors crowded onto another person’s apartment balcony where they were eventually rescued by the fire department.
She said the surrounding disaster reminded her of another American tragedy.
“The only thing I could think of was 9/11,” said Taub. “All I could think of was my neighbors, my friends, the families, the children and the kids that we have [in the building].”
Almost three weeks after the collapse, the official death toll on Thursday had jumped to at least 64. The search effort has since turned into a recovery mission as teams continue to comb through the rubble for the more than 80 people who are still unaccounted for.
Taub said she’s not only grappling with the loss of her friends and neighbors but also all of her belongings. She said the only thing she saved from the collapse were the pajamas on her back, her housecoat and a purse.
“This is my home. I volunteer and I love Florida and I would love to stay,” she said,
Still, she said that she’s been grateful for the support of the Jewish community in Surfside.
“The Jewish community is extremely giving with love,” said Taub. “It’s not what you give, it’s the way you give.”
For now, Taub is staying at a friend’s apartment nearby and working with the nonprofit Global Empowerment Mission to help her get back on her feet. Michael Capponi, the president of Global Empowerment Mission, went out of his way to comfort Taub.
“He gave me a hug, gave me a box [with] a charger, toothbrush, little things and a gift card,” said Taub. “It’s not only what they gave me, it’s the way they gave [those things to] me.”
Despite it all, she said she’s determined to rebuild her life in Surfside.
“Sometimes I feel at peace and sometimes I feel sadness very deep, and I have to get strength to start again,” she said. “[But] I will do it because I’m here.”
Eva Marie Uzcategui Trinkl/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
(SURFSIDE, Fla.) — At least 64 people have now been confirmed dead and 76 others remain potentially unaccounted for since a 12-story residential building partially collapsed in South Florida’s Miami-Dade County last month.
The disaster occurred on June 24 around 1:15 a.m. local time at the Champlain Towers South condominium in the small, beachside town of Surfside, about 6 miles north of Miami Beach. Approximately 55 of the oceanfront complex’s 136 units were destroyed, according to officials. The rest of the building was demolished on Sunday night, due to concerns about its structural integrity and an incoming tropical storm.
For two weeks, hundreds of first responders carefully combed through the pancaked piles of debris in hopes of finding survivors. But no one has been found alive in the wreckage of the building since the morning it partially collapsed, and officials announced Wednesday evening that the search and rescue operation, in its 14th day, would shift to a recovery mission.
Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett told reporters that the decision was “a result of a consensus by those closest to the rescue efforts that the possibility of someone still alive is near zero.”
“And while there seems to be no chance of finding life in the rubble, a miracle is still possible,” Burkett said during a press conference Wednesday evening.
To mark the somber move, a moment of silence was held in honor of all the victims, of whom 40 have been identified thus far. A candlelight vigil was held later that night at the memorial site for the victims.
Reflecting on the transition the next day, U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., told reporters: “When that happened, it took a little piece of the hearts of this community.”
Crews paused their work atop the piles early Thursday “for a brief moment of silence to honor the two-week mark since the collapse,” according to Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. Several families who lost loved ones were also brought to the site to pay their respects Thursday, she said.
“We have now officially transitioned from search and rescue to search and recovery,” Levine Cava said during a press conference Thursday morning. “The work continues with all speed and urgency. We are working around the clock to recover victims and bring closure to the families as fast as we possibly can.”
“We are taking as much care as ever to proceed to find victims in the rubble,” she added.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told reporters that crews “will identify every single person” who is found. Officials will also continue to help the survivors and the families of the victims get back “on their feet as best as we possibly can,” even after the media attention wanes, DeSantis said.
Meanwhile, 200 people who were living or staying in the condominium at the time of the disaster have been accounted for and are safe, according to Levine Cava, who has repeatedly stressed that the figures are “very fluid” and “continue to change.”
Crews have hauled away more than 7 million pounds of debris from the vast scene, but large piles of rubble still remain. Officials said it could take several weeks to get to the bottom of the wreckage. Crews have been working virtually nonstop, with help from teams who came from across Florida and elsewhere in the United States as well as from abroad. However, their efforts were halted for almost an entire day last week due to safety concerns regarding the still-standing structure, prior to the demolition. Poor weather conditions have also forced them to temporarily pause working.
The cause of the partial collapse to a building that has withstood decades of hurricanes remains unknown and is under investigation. Built in the 1980s, the Champlain Towers South was up for its 40-year recertification and had been undergoing roof work — with more renovations planned — when it partially collapsed, according to officials.
Levine Cava asked members of the public to submit any photos or videos they have related to the collapse to the National Institute of Standards and Technology here.
“This tragedy shook our community and the world,” Levine Cava told reporters Thursday.
(TOKYO) — In the latest blow to a delayed and beleaguered Tokyo Olympics, officials on Thursday said a state of emergency had been declared due to COVID-19 and spectators would not be allowed in venues to watch the games in the city’s new stadiums.
While international spectators had already been barred, the latest announcement bans locals hosting the games from attending the events in their city. The decision also means that organizers will likely lose much of the $800 million collected through ticket sales. Local opposition to holding the games was already high.
Many of Japan’s peers across the globe are easing coronavirus restrictions at a time when it is reinstating them. While data on cases and deaths indicate the world’s third-largest economy by gross domestic product has managed comparatively well over the course of the pandemic, Japan’s present vaccination rates lag far behind other developed nations as increased threats lurk from new variants.
With the opening ceremony now just two weeks away, here is how Japan and its capital city are faring with the coronavirus.
Tokyo
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government on Thursday reported 896 new cases, and on Wednesday reported 920 new cases — a major jump from Tuesday’s tally of 593 new cases and Monday’s 342 new cases.
The cumulative number of COVID-19 cases in Tokyo — which has a population of 13.96 million — since the start of the pandemic is 179,252 and the number of deaths from the virus is 2,246. The data indicates Tokyo has fared relatively well so far compared to the devastation the virus wrought on major cities elsewhere. New York City, with a population of 8.33 million, has reported 957,148 cumulative cases and 33,444 deaths. London, with a population just shy of 9 million, has suffered 783,437 cumulative cases and 14,966 deaths.
Meanwhile, London on Wednesday reported 3,314 new positive cases, according to its most-recent data. New York City on Wednesday had 452 new cases.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga attributed the recent uptick in infections in Tokyo in part to the highly transmissible delta variant.
Japan
National data similarly shows Japan’s case count has comparatively remained low, but its lagging vaccination rates are hampering its pandemic recovery.
Japan has reported a total of 2,180 new cases over the past day, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University. Its record high was 7,914 new cases in a single day on April 29. Some 15.16% of the population of Japan has been fully vaccinated.
The U.S., which has three times the population of Japan, reported 22,931 new cases over the past day, Johns Hopkins data indicates. The U.S. saw a record high of 300,462 new cases in a single day on Jan. 2. Meanwhile, 48.11% of the population has been fully vaccinated.
The U.K., which has a little over half the population of Japan, had 32,061 new cases over the past day. Its record high was 68,192 new cases in a single day on Jan. 8. Some 50.91% of the population is fully vaccinated, according to Johns Hopkins.
Meanwhile, data compiled by The New York Times indicates that the U.S. had an average of five cases per 100,000 residents in the last seven days. The U.K.’s average is 41 per 100,000 people. Japan’s average is one case per 100,000 residents, according to the same data set.
Today is Beck‘s 51st birthday, and to celebrate the occasion, the “Loser” artist has premiered a new video.
The clip accompanies Beck’s song “Chemical,” specifically the remix by DJ and producer Chloé Caillet. It stars model Stella Maxwell as we’re led through a hazy, neon-lit nighttime journey.
