Tag: domestic-us news

Convicted felon suspected of killing Baltimore tech CEO has been arrested, police say | CNN

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A convicted felon suspected of killing tech executive Pava LaPere in Baltimore this week has been arrested, Baltimore police said early Thursday.

Jason Dean Billingsley was wanted on first-degree murder and other charges in connection with the death of LaPere, the 26-year-old CEO of Baltimore-based startup EcoMap Technologies, according to police.

Police did not immediately provide details about the arrest.

LaPere was found dead in a downtown Baltimore apartment building on Monday with apparent blunt force trauma to her head, police said. The killing prompted a dayslong manhunt for Billingsley, who officials warned should be considered armed and dangerous.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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September 27, 2023
More than a dozen people were arrested after multiple stores were looted around Philadelphia, police say | CNN

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More than a dozen people were arrested after stores were looted when a large crowd gathered in Philadelphia’s Center City district Tuesday night, police said.

The looting began shortly after the conclusion of peaceful protests against a judge’s decision to dismiss all charges against a former Philadelphia police officer, Mark Dial, in the fatal shooting of 27-year-old Eddie Irizarry on August 14, authorities said. The city’s police commissioner said he believes the looters were “opportunists” that were not directly connected to the protests.

“This had nothing to do with the protests. What we had tonight was a bunch of criminal opportunists take advantage of a situation,” Commissioner John Stanford in a late-night news conference.

Police started getting calls around 8 p.m. from businesses reporting they were being broken into or getting ransacked, Stanford said.

The protest over the Irizarry case ended around 7:30 p.m., and though the police department had begun moving officers out of the area, enough were around to respond quickly when 911 calls about break-ins began, Stanford said.

Officers responded to the stores, arresting around “15 to 20 people” and working to disperse growing crowds of “juveniles and young adults,” Stanford said.

“We were told at one point that crowd got as large as maybe 100 or so that were just making their way through Center City area,” the commissioner said.

Reports of looting began in the Center City area, then continued in other neighborhoods, according to Stanford.

“We’re investigating that there was possibly a caravan of a number of different vehicles that were going from location to location,” the commissioner told reporters.

It appears looters came from different parts of the city, Stanford said, adding that officers still were determining where they came from and how the different vehicles may be connected.

Stanford said it was unclear how many businesses were hit Tuesday, but that targeted stores included clothing and sneaker shops, high-end stores, wine and spirit stores and pharmacies.

Cell phone video obtained by CNN shows several people in hooded sweatshirts running in and ransacking an Apple store Tuesday night. Different video captured officers detaining several people outside a Lululemon store, where items of clothing could be seen littering the ground.

Elsewhere, officers were seen outside a Foot Locker store, where the window was smashed and merchandise was strewn around the floor, video from CNN affiliate KYW showed.

Police still were responding to 911 calls related to the looting as Stanford briefed the media Tuesday night, but the commissioner said he believes officers “have it contained.”

Investigators will be looking through video from the area to make additional arrests, Stanford said.

“We made arrests and we will continue to make arrests until we have all of the individuals, or a number of the individuals, that have been responsible for what we’ve seen tonight in custody,” he said.

The reports lootings in Philadelphia come as a wave of retailers – both large and small – say they’re struggling to contain store crimes that have hurt their bottom lines.

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September 27, 2023
3M agrees to pay almost $10 million to settle apparent Iran sanctions violations | CNN Business

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3M has agreed to pay almost $10 million to settle apparent violations of Iranian sanctions, the US Office of Foreign Assets Control said last week.

The agency said 3M had 54 apparent violations of OFAC sanctions on Iran. It said between 2016 and 2018, a 3M subsidiary in Switzerland allegedly knowingly sold reflective license plate sheeting through a German reseller to Bonyad Taavon Naja, an entity which is under Iranian law enforcement control.

It’s the latest of a stream of high-publicity and high-dollar settlements that 3M — which makes Post-It notes, Scotch Tape, N95 masks and other industrial products — has made this year.

3M has not replied to a request for comment regarding last week’s settlement announcement.

One US person employed by 3M Gulf, a subsidiary in Dubai, was “closely involved” in the sale, OFAC said.

The alleged sales occurred after an outside due diligence report, which flagged connections to Iran’s Law Enforcement Forces.

OFAC notes Iranian law enforcement stands accused of human rights violations both in Iran and Syria.

The Switzerland subsidiary, known as 3M East, sent 43 shipments to the German reseller even though it knew the products would be resold to the Iranian entity, according to the OFAC.

OFAC said senior managers at 3M Gulf “willfully violated” sanctions laws and that other employees were “reckless in their handling” of the sales.

“These employees had reason to know that these sales would violate U.S. sanctions, but ignored ample evidence that would have alerted them to this fact,” OFAC wrote.

3M voluntarily self-disclosed the apparent violations after discovering the sale hadn’t been authorized, according to OFAC. It said it fired or reprimanded “culpable” employees involved, hired new trade compliance counsel, revamped sanctions trainings and stopped doing business with the German reseller.

In June, 3M agreed to pay up to $10.3 billion over 13 years to fund public water suppliers in the United States that have detected toxic “forever chemicals” in drinking water.

3M has faced thousands of lawsuits through the last two decades over its manufacturing of products containing polyfluoroalkyl and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which have been found in hundreds of household products.

3M said that the multi-billion-dollar settlement over PFAS is not an admission of liability.

A few months later, in August, the company agreed to pay $6 billion to resolve roughly 300,000 lawsuits alleging that the manufacturing company supplied faulty combat earplugs to the military that resulted in significant injuries, such as hearing loss.

3M also said its earplug agreement was not an admission of liability.

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September 25, 2023
Missing toddler found sleeping in woods using her dog as a pillow after walking 3 miles barefoot | CNN

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A 2-year-old girl who walked barefoot more than three miles with her family’s two dogs was found sleeping off a wooded Michigan trail using the smaller dog as a pillow, authorities said.

Troopers were called to a house in rural Faithorn, Michigan, around 8 p.m. on Wednesday after the toddler, Thea Chase, had wandered away from the home, Michigan State Police Lt. Mark Giannunzio told CNN on Friday.

Faithorn is a small town about a mile east of Wisconsin’s border in northern Michigan.

Brooke Chase, Thea’s mother, said she had an instinct to check on her daughter who had been playing in the yard, and learned the toddler’s uncle told Thea to go inside because she had no shoes on.

When Chase and her brother-in-law realized Thea wasn’t in the house, she said she began to yell. They searched for about 20 minutes before calling Chase’s husband and police.

“When we get a call like that, everything else stops,” Giannunzio said.

Michigan State Police put out requests for drones, search-and-rescue and canine teams, while members of the close-knit community formed their own search party to help locate the child, who was assumed to be somewhere in the heavily wooded area near the home, Giannunzio said.

Around midnight, four hours after police were first notified, a family friend searching for Thea on an all-terrain vehicle came across the Chase family’s rottweiler, Buddy, who started barking as he approached, according to Chase.

The 2-year-old was discovered a short way off the trail, sleeping on the ground with her head atop Hartley, the family’s English Springer. When the ATV driver tried to get near the toddler to wake her up, the smaller dog growled, Chase said.

“She has those dogs wrapped around her finger,” the mother said.

Chase added she was “in a fog” for the roughly four hours that search teams looked for her daughter. While she stayed in the home with Thea’s younger brother, troopers searched the house multiple times and tried to comfort the mother.

When Thea was returned home on the back of the ATV, the child was giggling and saying, “Hi, Mommy,” Chase said.

The outdoor temperature was about 60 degrees when the toddler was found. Thea was determined to be fine after a medical evaluation, according to Giannunzio.

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September 23, 2023
Tropical Storm Ophelia makes landfall in North Carolina and will now trek up the East Coast | CNN
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Tropical Storm Ophelia is heading up the East Coast after making landfall near Emerald Isle, North Carolina, early Saturday, delivering heavy rain, strong winds and coastal flooding well beyond its center.

Here are the storm’s latest impacts:
70,000-plus homes and businesses lost power across North Carolina and the mid-Atlantic Saturday morning, according to utility tracking site PowerOutage.us.

Storm surge flooding of more than 3 feet hit coastal North Carolina where water was seen covering roadways

States of emergency were declared in Virginia, North Carolina and Maryland

Two MLB games have been postponed: Braves-Nationals in Washington, D.C., and Diamondbacks-Yankees in New York
The tropical storm roared ashore around 6:15 a.m. with 70 mph sustained winds – just shy of hurricane strength. Tropical-storm force winds extend up to 320 miles from Ophelia’s core, the National Hurricane Center said.

The storm had 50 mph winds as of 11 a.m. and will continue to weaken as it moves farther inland, but power outages could grow as it affects more areas.

TRACK THE STORM

Ophelia is on track to move across eastern North Carolina and then travel through southeastern Virginia, before heading farther north across the Delmarva Peninsula on Saturday and Sunday, the hurricane center said.

The threat of rain postponed two Major League Baseball games scheduled for Saturday. The Atlanta Braves and the Washington Nationals will replay their game on Sunday, while the Arizona Diamondbacks and New York Yankees have yet to announce when they will take to the diamond.

The storm’s shield of rain extends hundreds of miles from its center and is already dumping heavy rain across a large swath of the mid-Atlantic, including Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey and New York.

But coastal areas in North Carolina are bearing the brunt of impacts as the center of the expansive storm barges into the state.

Storm surge flooded coastal areas and inlets in North Carolina overnight and winds gusting to 73 mph hit Cape Lookout, along the state’s Outer Banks.

The flooding began on Friday, when roads were submerged in communities along North Carolina’s coast. In coastal Cedar Island, water collected on Highway 12, though it was open and passable, the state transportation department said.

“But please don’t go out tonight unless you absolutely have to. There is sand and water on the roadway, and it’s dark and stormy,” the department said in a social media post.

In New Bern, which sits along two rivers in North Carolina about 120 miles east of Raleigh, roads were flooded and water creeped inland as the levels rose in the downtown area, city officials said on Facebook. Photos posted on the city’s page show a flooded children’s park and ducks floating down the street on floodwaters.

Water levels also rose overnight in the Chesapeake Bay, along the coasts of Virginia and Maryland.

“If you can avoid driving or being out during the storm please do so. We are expecting an extended period of strong winds, heavy rainfall, and elevated tides,” Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said.

Ophelia will deliver several key threats through the weekend:

Heavy Rainfall: Some places in eastern North Carolina and southeast Virginia could see between 3 and 5 inches of rain, with locally higher amounts. Other states in the Mid-Atlantic could pick up 2 to 4 inches on rain Saturday night through Sunday. Meanwhile, 1 to 3 inches of rain are forecast across southern New York through southern New England beginning Saturday into Monday.

Coastal Threats: One to 5 feet of storm surge is possible in some coastal areas, particularly in inlets and rivers from around Surf City, North Carolina, to the Virginia Tidewater. Storm surge flooding could peak Saturday afternoon with another high tide, particularly in the lower Chesapeake Bay.

The storm will also bring dangerous surf and rip currents along East Coast through the weekend, the hurricane center warned.

Strong and Gusty winds: Tropical-storm-force wind gusts – between 39 and 73 mph – will impact a wide area of the East Coast throughout the day Saturday. Winds will lessen with time, but stronger gusts could down trees and power lines.

Severe weather: A few tornadoes also are possible in parts of the coastal mid-Atlantic and North Carolina.
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September 23, 2023
Want to live in London or New York? Good luck if you’re renting | CNN Business

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In May, Viveca Chow hurriedly transferred $3,700 over her phone while standing in the lobby of a building in Queens, New York. She made the upfront payment to secure an apartment minutes after seeing it.

It was a moment the 28-year-old lifestyle influencer — forced to leave her previous accommodation after the landlord increased her monthly rent by $1,000 — described to CNN as “dystopian.”

Yet it is something that Chow, along with millions of renters in big cities, has come to expect as part of the fight for affordable housing. Her realtor urged her to pay the holding deposit on the spot to secure the one-bedroom unit.

In many urban centers, an influx of workers and students after the pandemic has collided with a lack of accommodation for rent, high levels of inflation, and rising interest rates that are trapping some people in the rental market when they would otherwise be buying a home.

Average rents in New York and Sydney grew by an inflation-busting 4.7% and 6.9% respectively in the year to August, according to real estate firm Knight Frank. While growth in rental costs in both cities has slowed compared with its pandemic peaks, average rents are still at all-time highs.

In other places, rents are rising even faster. In London, the average annual rise in the cost of a rental property exceeded 17% in April and again last month, the biggest jumps since real estate agency Hamptons started collecting the data in 2014.

That runaway growth far exceeds both inflation and pay raises in the United Kingdom.

Many are struggling to meet the costs.

According to property website Realtor.com, affordability in the New York metropolitan area deteriorated the most out of the 50 largest US metro areas in the year to July. The share of median household income in the New York area eaten up by the median rent rose from 35% to 37% in that time.

Based on one approach, housing costs are judged affordable if they account for no more than 30% of the typical household income, Realtor.com said. This is also the benchmark used by the UK Office for National Statistics when assessing private rents.

In London, the destination for many UK college students looking for work after graduating, renting has become “entirely unaffordable” for that cohort, said SpareRoom, the UK’s biggest room search site, in a recent analysis.

The platform used the ONS’s measure of affordability in its study and the average graduate starting salary of £29,000 ($36,000) a year. According to SpareRoom’s latest Quarterly Rental Index, average monthly room rent reached £971 ($1,190) in the second quarter, up by almost a fifth compared with the same period in 2022.

Barnaby Scudds is feeling the pain. The public relations executive moved to London in March after graduating last year and now pays £975 ($1,195) a month to rent a room, which gobbles up more than half of his monthly paycheck.

“I’m paid well for the work that I do, and yet it’s still difficult,” he told CNN.

Even at those prices, rooms get snapped up fast.

“It is very difficult because properties come on at about six o’clock in the morning generally, and they are normally gone by six o’clock in the evening,” he said.

Matt Hutchinson, communications director at SpareRoom, told CNN that the UK’s chronic lack of supply of rental properties was to blame.

Beyond problems afflicting most global cities, such as a proliferation of short-term rentals offered through platforms like Airbnb, the shortage of places for long-term rent in London is exacerbated by local factors.

Since 2016, the UK government has increased taxes on purchases of second homes and cut the amount of tax landlords can claim back. Put simply, being a landlord in the UK isn’t as lucrative as it used to be.

“[It] is a much more tight-margin experience than it was six, seven years ago. And a lot of people are just selling up and leaving the market,” Hutchinson said, adding that rising interest rates, as well as higher costs for labor and materials, had discouraged many from investing in rental properties.

In a recent note about rental markets in 10 cities worldwide, Liam Bailey, global head of research at Knight Frank, concluded: “Affordability of housing is set to become the leading political issue within the next 12 months.”

London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, last month reiterated his call for rent control, urging the UK government to impose a two-year rent freeze for the capital’s 2.7 million private tenants. It is a version of a policy proposed by politicians and campaigners over the years as a way out of the affordability crisis.

But rental caps, while instinctively appealing, are generally “a bad idea,” Nikodem Szumilo, director of the Bartlett Real Estate Institute at University College London, told CNN.

“It benefits people who live in the rent control unit and maybe the politicians who impose the policy, but nobody else,” Szumilo said, noting that rental caps discouraged home builders from investing in new units, which in turn limited supply growth in places where demand might be rising.

A better way, Szumilo argues, is to simply make it easier to build more homes. Tokyo, the world’s most populous city, housing more than 37 million people, has a “very deregulated market” where rents are “relatively stable,” he said.

Policies that help people become homeowners — for example, offering subsidies on down payments or on mortgages for first-time buyers, as the UK government has done — are also effective, Szumilo said, because they help ease demand in the rental market.

Still, Chow in New York is grateful for rent control.

She and her partner live in one of the city’s coveted rent-stabilized units, which means the $3,700 they pay each month can’t increase by more than 3.75% if they renew the lease for another year. That’s below the 4.7% annual increase in rental costs in the city recorded by Knight Frank at the start of August.

That “doesn’t necessarily mean it’s cheap,” Chow said, but the cap provides a welcome safety net after the instabilities — and indignities — of her last place.

“We didn’t even have a kitchen, a proper kitchen. It was like a kitchen nailed to the wall. So I was like, you’re not raising $1,000 on me!”

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September 22, 2023
Alex Murdaugh pleads guilty to federal fraud and money laundering charges | CNN

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For the first time, Alex Murdaugh has pleaded guilty to crimes.

The disgraced former South Carolina attorney, who was convicted in March of murdering his wife and son, pleaded guilty to nearly two dozen fraud and money laundering charges Thursday morning in a federal courtroom in Charleston.

The plea is related to a scheme in which Murdaugh and a bank employee allegedly defrauded his personal injury clients and laundered more than $7 million of funds, according to an indictment. Murdaugh was accused of using the settlement funds for his “personal benefit, including using the proceeds to pay off personal loans and for personal expenses and cash withdrawals.”

Murdaugh cried as he told the judge he was pleading guilty of his own free will. He said he was doing so because he was guilty of the crimes, but also so his son, Buster, could see him taking responsibility for his actions, as well as to help his victims heal, according to three attorneys present during the proceedings.

Murdaugh agreed to plead guilty to 22 charges in all: one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud; one count of bank fraud; five counts of wire fraud; one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud; and 14 counts of money laundering.

The majority of the charges carry a maximum federal sentence of 20 years, though four of the charges carry a maximum sentence of 30 years.

US District Court Judge Richard Gergel accepted and signed the plea agreement between Murdaugh and federal prosecutors. Gergel will determine federal sentencing for Murdaugh at a later date.

“Alex Murdaugh’s financial crimes were extensive, brazen, and callous,” US Attorney Adair F. Boroughs said in a statement. “He stole indiscriminately from his clients, from his law firm, and from others who trusted him. The US Attorney’s Office, the FBI, and SLED committed to investigating and prosecuting Murdaugh’s financial crimes when they first came to light. Today marks our fulfillment of that promise.”

The agreement says that if Murdaugh cooperates and complies with the conditions of the plea agreement, the government attorneys agree to recommend to the court that any federal sentence he receives for these charges “be served concurrent to any state sentence served for the same conduct.” The agreement does not have a sentence recommendation included in it, as written.

Notably, the agreement requires Murdaugh – who admitted under oath that he had previously lied to the police – to tell the truth.

“The Defendant agrees to be fully truthful and forthright with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies by providing full, complete and truthful information about all criminal activities about which he/she has knowledge,” the agreement reads.

If he is found in any way to break this portion of the agreement, the agreement would be voided.

Much of the agreement is focused on Murdaugh working with the government to repay victims and locate missing assets. The agreement says Murdaugh must pay restitution to his victims and requests he forfeit a total of $9 million in assets. Further, he must submit to a polygraph test, if requested by the government, and could be called to testify before other grand juries or in future trials.

Attorney Justin Bamberg, who represents several of Murdaugh’s victims in the financial crimes, criticized the plea agreement in a statement.

“Given the severity and callousness of his crimes, Alex Murdaugh should never receive any incentive-based deal from the government, be it federal or state, and we respectfully disagree with the federal government’s voluntary decision to concede to a concurrent sentence in exchange for his guilty plea and agreement to ‘cooperate,’” he said.

“We trust that the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office will remain steadfast in its commitment to hold Murdaugh accountable and will give him no breaks and offer no incentives; that ship sailed years ago,” he added. “Murdaugh’s victims are looking forward to seeing him receive the individual sentences he earned via his own individual criminal conduct towards each of them under South Carolina law.”

The fraud charges are just the latest legal problems for Murdaugh, the scion of a prominent and powerful family of local lawyers and solicitors in South Carolina’s Lowcountry.

Murdaugh was convicted in March of murdering his wife Maggie and son Paul in 2021 at their sprawling estate, and he was sentenced to two consecutive terms of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Days after his conviction, Murdaugh’s lawyers began the appeals process. However, earlier this month, his defense team filed a court motion to suspend the appeal, so they could request a new trial. The motion included bombshell allegations that the Colleton County Clerk of Court tampered with the jury.

The South Carolina attorney general has asked the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division to investigate the claims.

Last week, South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson asked the court to order Murdaugh’s defense team to correct their motion due to several “procedural defects.” The prosecutor’s office didn’t directly dispute the motion but noted the ongoing investigation has already “revealed significant factual disputes” that undermine the credibility of Murdaugh’s claims.

Murdaugh’s attorney’s responded to the state’s request on Thursday, accusing prosecutors of attempting to delay the appeal suspension and prevent the defense from requesting a new trial. The defense attorneys argued the “procedural defects” raised by prosecutors are not relevant to the filing and asked the court to “expeditiously grant” a new trial.

The South Carolina Court of Appeals has not yet issued a decision.

In addition, the disbarred attorney remains entangled in several other state and federal cases in which he faces more than 100 other charges.

Murdaugh is set to stand trial in November on charges related to stolen settlement funds from the family of the Murdaughs’ late housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield.

They are the first of dozens of state charges he faces in alleged schemes to defraud victims of millions. The financial crimes he is accused of in the case include embezzlement, computer crime, money laundering and tax evasion.

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September 21, 2023
1 person killed and dozens injured after bus carrying students crashes on I-84 in Orange County, New York | CNN

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At least one person has died and dozens more were injured when a bus carrying students rolled over on Interstate 84 in Orange County, New York, about 75 miles north of New York City, authorities said.

Roughly 45 people were injured, according to the Wawayanda Fire Company. An individual who answered the phone at the fire company did not provide further details about the severity of the injuries.

There were “multiple serious injuries,” New York State Police said in a news release.

The bus was carrying students from Farmingdale High School in Long Island and was headed to a music event for band camp, a spokesperson from the high school confirmed to CNN.

The bus was on its way to Greeley, Pennsylvania, the school said in a statement.

“We were informed that there had been an accident with Bus 1 en route to Greeley, PA for band camp,” Farmingdale High School spokesperson Jake Mendlinger told CNN. “Police and emergency responders are on the scene, as well as district administration. We will provide another update when more information becomes available.”

Aerial pictures from CNN affiliates show a passenger bus in the woods, in the median, between the eastbound and westbound roads.

Emergency officials can be seen at the site of the crash and a medical helicopter was also parked on the highway nearby.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims of the bus crash and their families,” Orange County Executive Steven Neuhaus said in a statement to CNN. “I would also like to thank all of the first responders for their immediate response, service and dedication.”

I-84 is shut down at exit 15A with detours in place, state police said, adding, “Interstate 84 westbound is expected to be closed for several hours.”

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September 21, 2023
Suspect in Illinois killings and passenger dead after fiery crash following police chase in Oklahoma, authorities say | CNN

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A woman and a suspect in the killings of four members of the same family in Romeoville, Illinois, died after a police chase and vehicle crash, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation said.

The vehicle – believed to be driven by suspect Nathaniel Huey, Jr. – crashed on Interstate 44 in Catoosa, Oklahoma, at the end of a police pursuit.

“(An officer) approached the vehicle and removed a female passenger, who was transported to a local hospital. She later succumbed to her injuries,” the bureau said in a statement.

Officers heard what were believed to be gunshots as they approached the wrecked vehicle. Both the woman and driver, believed to be Huey who died at the scene, had a gunshot wound, police said.

Authorities have not released the name of the woman or explained her connection to Huey. “The Oklahoma Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will determine positive identification and cause of death for both individuals,” the statement said.

Huey was named as a suspect in the murders of a family of four found shot to death in their home in Romeoville, about 30 miles southwest of Chicago, on Sunday.

The slain family members – Alberto Rolon, 38; Zoraida Bartolomei, 32; and their two boys, ages 7 and 9 – were found with gunshot wounds in the home Sunday night after a relative reported one of them didn’t show for work, authorities said.

Hours after discovering their bodies, police identified Huey as a suspect in the case and an unnamed female as a “person of interest,” Romeoville Deputy Police Chief Chris Burne said at a news conference Wednesday.

Evidence revealed a connection between the suspect and the victims, as well as a “possible motive,” Burne said, without elaborating.

The female person of interest was reported missing and endangered by family members on Tuesday evening. She was then entered into the Law Enforcement Agencies Data System, a police communications and information network, Romeoville police said.

Later that night, Romeoville police released a statewide bulletin to law enforcement agencies that said Huey was a “credible suspect in the investigation,” Burne said.

On Wednesday morning, police in Catoosa – roughly a 650-mile drive southwest of Romeoville – received a license plate reader alert notifying them that Huey’s vehicle was in their jurisdiction, according to Romeoville police.

Catoosa police spotted the vehicle and “attempted to conduct a traffic stop,” but the driver tried to flee, and the vehicle crashed and caught fire, Burne said.

Officers on the scene then heard “two noises believed to be gunshots,” Burne said.

The investigation is active and evolving, Burne said.

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September 21, 2023
Suspect arrested in the ambush killing of Los Angeles deputy pleads not guilty to murder charge | CNN

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The 29-year-old man accused of killing a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy in an ambush-style shooting last week entered dual pleas Wednesday of not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity.

Kevin Cataneo Salazar is charged with murder with special allegations in the shooting of Deputy Ryan Clinkunbroomer, 30, who was waiting at a red light in his patrol car on Saturday when he was attacked.

The deputy, who got engaged just four days before he was killed, was found fatally wounded by a civilian around 6 p.m. near his sheriff’s station in Palmdale, about 60 miles north of Los Angeles, police have said.

Cataneo Salazar denied all special allegations in the complaint, which accuses him of intentionally killing the deputy with a .22 caliber revolver “by means of lying-in-wait,” referring to an ambush-style killing.

Cataneo Salazar’s attorney, George Rosenstock, declined to comment on the case when contacted by CNN.

“Deputy Clinkunbroomer was a peace officer who was intentionally killed while engaged in the performance of his duties,” says the complaint against Cataneo Salazar. It also states the defendant “knew and reasonably should have known” Clinkunbroomer was on duty as a law enforcement officer.

If convicted, the suspect will face a sentence of “life imprisonment without the possibility of parole,” according to Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón.

Judge Scott Yang ordered Cataneo Salazar to remain held without bail and issued a protective order on discovery, preventing details of the case from being made public.

Cataneo Salazar’s mother and two sisters were in the observation room with reporters. One sister appeared to be crying. It appeared his mother was not able to see her son from the vantage point where she was sitting and spent most of the hearing staring at the floor.

Nearly a dozen uniformed sheriff’s deputies sat in the jury box during the proceeding.

During a news conference later on Wednesday, Clinkunbroomer’s fiancée, Brittany Lindsey, called the deputy “the best guy I ever met.”

“He was so thoughtful and caring and everyone who met him or knew him loved him. I’m so happy I was able to love him. It was not long enough. I couldn’t wait to start our lives together. We were just engaged, planning to get married and start a family,” Lindsey said through tears. “Ryan, I miss you and I love you so much. I don’t know how to live without you and I didn’t ever want to imagine it.”

A preliminary hearing in the case was scheduled for November 7 at 11:30 a.m.

Deputy District Attorney Michael Blake said during Wednesday’s news conference police believe the suspect “did purchase a firearm in the weeks before the crime,” but did not elaborate further.

The suspect’s sister, Jessica Salazar, publicly apologized for her brother’s actions and said he was not in the right state of mind.

“It wasn’t him. It was the sickness. It was the sickness controlling him,” Salazar told CNN affiliate KABC.

Salazar said her brother was diagnosed with schizophrenia. “He would feel persecuted, voices talking to him. He tried committing suicide once or twice,” she told KABC.

But the status of the suspect’s mental health might not bring comfort to the deputy’s grieving family, Los Angeles Sheriff Robert Luna said.

“Whether mental health is a factor or not, think about this: If I had to go to your family and tell them you were not coming home and you were just murdered, does it matter what the person was thinking or their condition?” Luna said.

Investigators will be working to obtain medical records as they look into “unconfirmed reports” the suspect may have a mental health history, Deputy District Attorney David Ayvazian said Wednesday.

Clinkunbroomer was a beloved member of the sheriff’s department and “was just starting his life,” Luna said. The deputy’s father and grandfather both served in the sheriff’s department, Luna said.

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September 20, 2023
Coastal storm to deliver nasty weather from Florida to New England into this weekend | CNN

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A storm set to form off the Southeast coast late this week will bring gusty winds, heavy rain and hazardous seas from Florida to New England as it tracks northward into the weekend.

An area of low pressure is likely to develop off the east coast of Florida by early Friday. If conditions are just right, this low pressure could even develop enough to be named by the National Hurricane Center.

The next two Atlantic storm names are Ophelia and Philippe.

There is a 40 percent chance this area of low pressure organizes into a subtropical storm into the weekend, according to the hurricane center. A subtropical storm is a cyclone that is not fully tropical, but still has some characteristics found in a tropical storm.

But the difference in overall impacts between the two are minimal, as subtropical storms still produce strong winds and can spread heavy rain well away from the storm’s center. The storm’s impacts to a wide swath of the Eastern Seaboard will also be the same, regardless of whether it is named.

Rain and thunderstorms are likely to soak parts of Florida’s northeast coast late Wednesday night and Thursday as the storm slowly comes together. Breezy conditions will also develop on Thursday and churn up surf along the Florida and Georgia coast.

As the coastal storm becomes more organized on Friday, rainfall will shift north and eastward into parts of the Carolinas and Virginia.

The greatest risk for heavy rain is expected in eastern North Carolina, where the National Weather Service in Morehead City warned that rainfall from Friday through weekend could be substantial, with widespread totals of 4 to 6 inches likely in the far eastern portion of the state. Prolonged, heavy rain could cause flooding, especially in low-lying or poor drainage areas.

Wind speeds will also increase on Friday, gusting 30 to 40 mph in coastal areas from the Carolinas north to Delaware. These wind gusts, coupled with soaked ground, may bring down trees, which could cause property damage and power outages.

Rain from the coastal storm will stretch hundreds of miles from its center and drench portions of the mid-Atlantic during the day Saturday and even parts of New England by Saturday night. The heaviest rainfall will continue to remain largely confined to areas close to the coast, but inland areas will still have to deal with stormy weather which could disrupt outdoor plans.

As the storm treks north, the risk for dangerous rip currents will be elevated along much of the East Coast as it churns up hazardous seas.

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September 20, 2023
Two pilots were killed in a collision at a Reno air show | CNN

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Two pilots were killed when their planes collided Sunday during the National Championship Air Races and Air Show in Reno, Nevada, organizers of the event said.

“Around 2:15 p.m. this afternoon, at the conclusion of the T-6 Gold race, upon landing, two planes collided and it has been confirmed that both pilots are deceased,” the Reno Air Racing Association said in a statement posted on Facebook.

In a later statement, organizers identified the two pilots as Nick Macy and Chris Rushing.

“Both expertly skilled pilots and Gold winners in the T-6 Class, Macy piloted Six-Cat and Rushing flew Baron’s Revenge,” the updated statement said. “Families of both pilots have been notified and support services are onsite as they deal with this tragedy.”

No other injuries were reported, it added.

The remainder of the races were canceled, organizers said.

The National Transportation Safety Board said in a statement sent to CNN it is investigating the cause of the crash. The agency, which is leading the probe, identified the two aircraft as a North American T-6G and North American AT-6B, and said they had just completed the race.

“The wreckage of each plane came to rest one-half mile from each other,” NTSB said, adding the wreckage will be taken to an off-site facility for analysis.

Event organizers said they are cooperating with the NTSB, the Federal Aviation Administration and “all local authorities to identify the cause of the accident and ensure that all of our pilots, spectators and volunteers have the necessary support during this time.”

The event, which has been running for more than five decades, prides itself in being an “institution for northern Nevada and aviation enthusiasts from around the world,” according to its website. Over the past decade, the event has brought more than a million spectators and “generated more than $750 million” for the regional economy, according to the site.

This is not the event’s first fatal crash. A pilot was killed last year in a plane crash during a race and In 2011, 11 people were killed and more than 60 others injured when a plane veered out of control and slammed into spectators.

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September 17, 2023
Trump, who paved way for Roe v. Wade reversal, says Republicans ‘speak very inarticulately’ about abortion | CNN Politics

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Former President Donald Trump, who paved the way for the undoing of federal abortion rights protections, said that some Republicans “speak very inarticulately” about the issue and have pursued “terrible” state-level restrictions that could alienate much of the country.

While avoiding taking specific positions himself, Trump said in an NBC interview that if he is reelected he will try to broker compromises on how long into pregnancies abortion should be legal and whether those restrictions should be imposed on the federal or the state level.

“I would sit down with both sides and I’d negotiate something and we’ll end up with peace on that issue for the first time in 52 years,” he said.

The former president targeted GOP primary rival Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in his criticism of how the Republican party has handled the issue, calling Florida’s six-week ban “a terrible thing and a terrible mistake.”

DeSantis’ camp hit back on Sunday, taking aim at the former president for saying he’d be willing to work with both parties on abortion.

“We’ve already seen the disastrous results of Donald Trump compromising with Democrats: over $7 trillion in new debt, an unfinished border wall, and the jailbreak First Step Act letting violent criminals back on to the streets. Republicans across the country know that Ron DeSantis will never back down,” tweeted spokesperson Andrew Romeo.

Trump also warned Republicans that the party would lose voters by advancing abortion restrictions without exceptions for cases of rape, incest or risks to the mother’s life.

“Other than certain parts of the country, you can’t – you’re not going to win on this issue,” he said.

Trump’s comments made plain the challenge for 2024 Republican presidential primary contenders: trying to balance the priorities of their conservative base, for whom the Supreme Court’s June 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade was a victory decades in the making, and those of the general electorate, which has consistently supported abortion rights – most recently in the 2022 midterms and the Wisconsin Supreme Court race this spring.

Abortion could also be a pivotal issue this fall in Virginia’s state legislative elections, which are widely viewed as a barometer of the electorate’s mood in the lead-up to next year’s presidential election.

Trump’s appointment of three conservative Supreme Court justices paved the way to the reversal of the 1973 decision that guaranteed abortion rights across the United States through the first 24 weeks of pregnancy.

That reversal left abortion rights up to the states, which has led to a patchwork of laws – including bans on abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy in Florida and Iowa, the first state to vote in the GOP presidential nominating process.

Abortion rights have been a major fault line in the 2024 Republican primary. Trump’s former vice president, Mike Pence, has advocated a federal abortion ban after 15 weeks. DeSantis, Trump’s top-polling rival, has touted the six-week ban he signed into law. However, other contenders, including Nikki Haley, have taken more moderate approaches, warning of the political backlash Republicans could face among the broader electorate by pursuing strict abortion restrictions.

Trump would not commit to a specific policy preference in the interview. He deflected questions about whether he would support a federal ban – and if so, after how many weeks – or would rather the issue be left to statehouses.

“What’s going to happen is you’re going to come up with a number of weeks or months, you’re going to come up with a number that’s going to make people happy,” Trump said.

Trump said he believed it was “probably better” to leave abortion restrictions up to the states instead of trying to pass federal legislation on the issue.

“From a pure standpoint, from a legal standpoint, I think it’s probably better. But I can live with it either way,” Trump said. “It could be state or could it federal, I don’t frankly care.”

The intra-GOP debate over abortion took center stage at the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition gathering, attended by many of the state’s leading conservative evangelical activists.

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, one of the most vocal Trump critics among the GOP contenders, told reporters Saturday in Iowa that Trump has “taken evangelical voters for granted” and is “waffling on important issues.”

“I think he is looking at the abortion question as not whether it’s going to win evangelical support, but what that’s going to look like down the road, and as he said he wants everybody to like him,” Hutchinson said.

Asked about federal legislation on abortion, DeSantis continued not to engage on the topic of a national ban, instead pointing to new restrictions in states such as Iowa and Florida.

“I’ve been a pro-life governor. I’ll be a pro-life president,” DeSantis said. “Clearly, a state like Iowa has been able to move the ball with pro-life protections. Florida has been able to move the ball.”

Pence reiterated his support for a federal ban on abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy as a minimum, saying, “It’s an idea whose time has come.” He said Trump and other GOP candidates want to relegate the abortion issue to the states, “but I won’t have it.”

‘Personal for every woman and every man’

However, other contenders more focused on the general electorate, including Haley – the former South Carolina governor and US ambassador to the United Nations – have sought to thread the same needle as Trump.

Haley on Saturday told attendees at the Faith and Freedom Coalition in Iowa that her beliefs are the “hard truth.” She said pursuing a federal 15-week abortion ban would have “everybody running from us.”

While Haley opposes abortion, she has emphasized she believes Republicans and Democrats need find a consensus on abortion issues, such as banning later abortions and agreeing not to jail women who get them.

“This issue is personal for every woman and every man. And we need to treat it that way. I don’t judge anyone for being pro-choice any more than I want them to judge me for being pro-life,” she said.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said on CNN last week that he would be open to signing a federal abortion ban “if it represented consensus,” while admitting the current setbacks to reaching that consensus within the US Senate and across states.

“I want all of the 50 states to be able to weigh in if they want to, and what their state laws should be, and then let’s see if it’s a consensus,” he said.

Democrats, meanwhile, are eyeing abortion as one of the most important issues in the 2024 presidential election.

CNN previously reported that President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign earlier this month made a digital advertising buy highlighting the positions of Trump and other GOP 2024 contenders on the issue.

“As Donald Trump visits states where women are suffering the consequences of his extreme, anti-abortion agenda, this ad reminds voters in states that have passed some of the most extreme abortion bans of Trump’s key role in appointing conservative justices who voted to overturn Roe v. Wade,” Biden’s campaign manager, Julie Chavez Rodriguez, said in a statement to CNN.

This story has been updated with additional information Sunday.

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September 17, 2023
A Los Angeles sheriff’s deputy was fatally shot inside his patrol car, officials say | CNN

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A Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy died after he was shot inside his patrol car Saturday evening, authorities said.

Deputy Ryan Clinkunbroomer, 30, was found unconscious by a civilian in his patrol car around 6 p.m. near the sheriff’s station in Palmdale, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Palmdale is about 60 miles north of Los Angeles.

The deputy, who was in uniform and on duty when he was shot, was pronounced dead at a local hospital, Los Angeles Sheriff Robert Luna said at a news conference.

No suspect description was provided and it’s unclear who opened fire on the deputy. The department is asking the public to come forward if they have video that may have captured the shooting.

“We really need your help. We need to get this guy off the street – guy or guys. He’s a public safety threat. He ambushed and killed – murdered – one of our deputies. We need your help to get him off the street,” Luna said.

Luna said it appears to have been a targeted shooting.

“I think it was a targeted act based on what we know now, but we’re still in the extremely early stages of this investigation,” Luna said.

“He was just driving down the street and for no apparent reason – and we’re still looking into the specific reasons – somebody decided to shoot and murder him. … That to me is sickening. “

Clinkunbroomer, who transferred to the Palmdale sheriff’s station in 2018, was a field training officer. His father and grandfather both served in the sheriff’s department, Luna said. He had just gotten engaged four days ago.

“He was just starting his life,” the sheriff said.

Saturday’s shooting comes three years after two Los Angeles deputies were shot ambush-style at a train station while sitting in their patrol vehicle. Surveillance video from the incident showed a gunman walking up to the passenger door of their squad car, opening fire and running away.

There have been 83 ambush-style attacks on law enforcement in 2023, resulting in 101 officers shot – 15 of them fatally, according to a September 5 report from the Fraternal Order of Police.

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September 17, 2023
Lee knocks out power to tens of thousands as it brings fierce winds and coastal flooding to Maine and Canada | CNN

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Post-tropical cyclone Lee is bringing heavy rain, destructive winds and coastal flooding to Canada and Maine, knocking out power to tens of thousands, lashing the coasts with big waves and spurring calls to stay indoors.

Lee, once a powerful hurricane, is churning maximum sustained winds of 60 mph as it spreads north after making landfall Saturday on Long Island in Nova Scotia, one of Canada’s Atlantic provinces, according to the National Hurricane Center.

It’s expected to steadily weaken over Sunday and Monday, with conditions improving across rain and wind-battered areas of the northeast US and Canada.

The cyclone is forecast to turn eastward and move quickly to the northeast, across the Canadian Maritimes on Sunday, and into the North Atlantic by early Monday, National Hurricane Center Director Michael Brennan said in a video update Saturday.

For now, tropical storm force winds are extending out about 290 miles from what’s left of Lee’s core on Saturday, downing trees and power lines and leaving many in the dark.

In Nova Scotia, 130,250 customers are without power Saturday while 38,000 in New Brunswick were in the dark, according to an outage map by Nova Scotia Power.

In Maine, nearly 60,000 homes and businesses were without power, according to poweroutage.us. Photos from across the state showed toppled trees near homes and on roadways as powerful winds battered the area.

Winds of 83 mph were recorded in Perry, Maine, and 63 mph in Roque Bluffs, Maine.

Utility power crews were out assessing damages and actively responding to downed utility lines and other damage caused by the storm Saturday.

On top of the fierce winds, Lee is also stirring up dangerous surf and life-threatening rip currents along the US East Coast, Atlantic Canada and other areas.

“We’ll see very high waves and coastal erosion and minor coastal flooding,” Brennan said.

Another inch of rain was expected over parts of eastern Maine and New Brunswick, and Lee continues to threaten flooding in urban areas of eastern Maine in the United States and New Brunswick in Canada, according to the hurricane center.

In Canada’s New Brunswick province, north of Maine, officials cautioned residents to prepare for power outages and stock up on food and medication for at least 72 hours as they encouraged people to stay indoors during what they forecast would likely turn into a storm surge for coastal communities.

“Once the storm starts, remember please stay at home if at all possible,” said Kyle Leavitt, director of New Brunswick Emergency Measures Organization. “Nothing good can come from checking out the big waves and how strong the wind truly is.”

In the US, states of emergency have been declared in Maine and Massachusetts. President Joe Biden has authorized the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to step in to coordinate disaster relief and assistance for required emergency measures.

Boston’s Logan International Airport saw a spike in flight cancellations Saturday with 23% of all flights into Boston and 24% of flights originating out of the city canceled, according to the flight tracking website FlightAware.

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September 16, 2023
South Carolina attorney general cites ‘factual disputes’ with Murdaugh jury tampering claims, asks defense to refile motion requesting a new trial | CNN

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The South Carolina attorney general has asked an appeals court to order convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh’s defense team to correct and refile their motion requesting a new trial, while also noting an ongoing investigation has raised significant doubts about the disgraced attorney’s claims of jury tampering.

Murdaugh, a disbarred personal injury attorney, is appealing his conviction for murdering his wife and grown son. However, last week his attorneys requested that appeal be suspended as they seek a new trial for Murdaugh based on jury tampering allegations.

In a five-page response filed Friday afternoon, State Attorney General Alan Wilson’s office is asking the state court to give Murdaugh’s team 10 days to refile a corrected motion. It lists several “procedural defects” in Murdaugh’s original court motion submitted on September 5, arguing it did not meet the requirements necessary to suspend his appeal and allow his motion for a new trial to proceed in the circuit court.

Last week, the attorney general asked the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division to investigate the claims in Murdaugh’s motion for a new murder trial, according to a joint statement from Wilson and the investigative agency.

“The state’s only vested interest is seeking the truth,” the September 7 joint statement reads. “As with all investigations, SLED and the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office are committed to a fair and impartial investigation and will continue to follow the facts wherever they lead.”

The state’s response Friday doesn’t directly dispute the allegations of jury tampering by Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca “Becky” Hill included in the original motion from the defense. But it does note the investigation is ongoing and has already “revealed significant factual disputes” that undermine the credibility of Murdaugh’s claims.

Murdaugh’s attorneys claimed Hill “tampered with the jury by advising them not to believe Murdaugh’s testimony and other evidence presented by the defense, pressuring them to reach a quick guilty verdict, and even misrepresenting critical and material information to the trial judge in her campaign to remove a juror she believed to be favorable to the defense.”

CNN has reached out to Murdaugh’s defense team for comment.

In their motion for a new trial, the state said Murdaugh’s defense team failed to show the evidence in question was discovered since the trial or demonstrate the evidence could not have been discovered before the trial, which lasted for six weeks between January and March this year. The response also said the original motion is missing a required affidavit from Murdaugh himself.

The state also argues conflicting remarks were made during press conferences and media interviews by Murdaugh’s attorneys about when evidence of the alleged jury tampering was first discovered, stating they must be explained and clarified. In the new motion, Murdaugh must establish exactly when and how he first learned about the allegations he raised, the state said.

If the defense files a new motion that meets the legal standard, the credibility of Murdaugh’s claims will be under the discretion of Judge Clifton Newman, who, in March, handed down the two life sentences the disbarred attorney is currently serving in a South Carolina state prison, according to the state’s response.

In a separate case, Murdaugh is scheduled to appear before a federal court judge next week, where he is expected to plead guilty to nearly two dozen charges related to fraud and financial crimes, pending a cooperation agreement, according to Murdaugh’s defense team.

Murdaugh is also set to stand trial in November on charges related to stolen settlement funds from the family of the Murdaughs’ late housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield. It is the first of 101 state charges related mostly to accusations of stealing from his clients’ legal settlements, with victims’ alleged total losses amounting to almost $8.8 million, according to prosecutors.

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September 15, 2023
Escaped Pennsylvania killer Danilo Cavalcante has been captured. Here’s what happens next | CNN

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The convicted murderer who escaped a Pennsylvania prison late last month is once again behind bars, now facing additional charges, after a nearly two-week manhunt that captured national attention and put the surrounding community on edge.

Danilo Cavalcante, 34, was sleeping when police found him in the woods of South Coventry Township on Wednesday morning, lying on top of a rifle he had stolen from a nearby resident days earlier, a law enforcement source told CNN.

A helicopter flying above the search area had picked up on a heat signal on the ground, and a tactical team swooped in after a storm cleared out. Cavalcante tried to flee by crawling through thick underbrush with the rifle in hand, Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens said.

A police dog was released on him, biting him and preventing him from using the rifle before police took him into custody, capping a dramatic dayslong manhunt, according to Bivens.

Cavalcante is now being held in a Pennsylvania maximum security prison, State Correctional Institution – Phoenix, in Montgomery County, where he’s to serve a life sentence for his previous murder conviction.

He now also has been charged with felony escape, and is due to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on September 27, court records show.

An attorney has not been listed on court documents for Cavalcante and the public defender’s office declined to comment at this time. Pennsylvania authorities updated the spelling of Cavalcante’s first name to Danilo in court documents Wednesday.

The inmate, who was convicted last month of first-degree murder for the killing of his former girlfriend and sentenced to life in prison, escaped from Chester County Prison in a rural area some 30 miles west of Philadelphia on August 31.

He managed to evade authorities for 13 days, hunkering down in wooded areas, moving at night, and in the early days, surviving off stream water and a watermelon he found at a farm, authorities said.

During his time on the run, Cavalcante slipped through search perimeters, was spotted inside homes, stole a dairy van, changed his appearance, showed up at the doorsteps of people he knew years ago, stole a firearm and got shot at by a homeowner.

When he was captured in South Coventry Township – roughly 20 miles from the facility he escaped from – Cavalcante had the appearance of someone who was in the woods for an extended period of time, and looked to have been stressed, Bivens said Wednesday.

“Which is exactly what we were trying to do all along,” Bivens said. “The whole point was to keep him stressed, keep him moving, and keep him off his game.”

More than 20 officers in tactical gear and camouflage uniforms took Cavalcante into custody Wednesday, escorting him to an armored vehicle. He was handcuffed with blood on his face and wearing a Philadelphia Eagles hoodie, video showed.

His capture came as he planned to leave the country, according to Robert Clark, supervisory deputy US marshal for Pennsylvania’s eastern district.

“His endgame was to carjack somebody and to head north up to Canada and he intended to do that in the next 24 hours,” Clark told CNN’s Erin Burnett on Wednesday.

Clark, who did not speak with Cavalcante, cited what deputy marshals told him about an interview that the prisoner had with law enforcement officials after his capture.

“He said the law enforcement presence where he was, was immense and he felt that he needed to leave,” Clark said.

About 500 law enforcement officers – including members of the Pennsylvania State Police, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the FBI and US marshals – had set up a perimeter in South Coventry Township this week to search for Cavalcante from the ground and the air.

Clark told CNN Cavalcante was forthcoming with investigators after his capture, and “answered everything that was given to him” and “had no hesitation.”

“Everything we thought about Cavalcante in his flight, was true,” Clark said. “He was a desperate man, he was actively avoiding apprehension.”

Cavalcante left the prison by “crab-walking” between two walls, scaling a fence and traversing across razor wire and then disappeared into the forest.

Police faced challenges finding him within the initial search perimeter in the densely wooded area, even after he was sighted several times in the area of a botanical garden and elsewhere in Chester County.

“Shortly after he escaped from the prison, he had hunkered down in an area that was very, very secluded, very, very wooded and he didn’t move for the first couple days,” Clark said, citing Cavalcante’s post-capture interview with investigators. “He survived on a watermelon that he found at a farm, he drank stream water, he was hiding his fecal matter under leaves and foliage so that law enforcement couldn’t track him.”

But officers came close to him several times.

Cavalcante told investigators that officers searching for him nearly stepped on him three times – or came within yards of him – as he hid in the woods, Clark said without indicating when these near-encounters happened.

“Three times, he described that law enforcement officials almost stepped on him within 7 or 8 yards,” Clark said. “That just proves to you how thick the vegetation and the foliage was.”

Cavalcante decided to leave that area when he saw the increasing law enforcement activity there, Clark said.

He had been surveilling the locations where he stole a truck from a dairy farm on Saturday, as well as a property where he stole the rifle this week, Clark said.

The rifle Cavalcante took from an open garage Monday night added a heightened sense of danger to the search, and prompted authorities to urge residents to stay inside and lock their doors.

“Our nightmare is finally over,” Chester County District Attorney Deb Ryan said Wednesday morning.

Ryan said one of the first calls she made after Cavalcante’s capture was to the family of the woman he killed, 33-year-old Deborah Brandão. Prosecutors say Cavalcante stabbed Brandão 38 times in front of her two young children in Pennsylvania in April 2021.

Her family had been “barricaded inside their homes not feeling safe anywhere” since his escape, Ryan said.

“They were shrieking with joy and happiness that he’s incarcerated,” Ryan said. “They have lived their own personal nightmare.”

Brandão’s sister, Sarah Brandão, said in a typed statement after Cavalcante’s capture that her family is “profoundly grateful for the support and hard work performed” by law enforcement.

The escape and days that followed evoked the feeling of losing her sister again, Sarah said.

“The past two weeks were extremely painful and terrifying, as they brought back all the feelings of losing my sister and the idea that this criminal could hurt us again,” the statement, which was translated into English, reads.

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September 13, 2023
Husband of Alaska Rep. Mary Peltola dies in plane crash | CNN Politics

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Eugene “Buzzy” Peltola Jr., the husband of Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola, has died in a plane crash in Alaska, according to a statement from the congresswoman’s office.

“He was one of those people that was obnoxiously good at everything. He had a delightful sense of humor that lightened the darkest moments. He was definitely the cook in the family. And family was most important to him. He was completely devoted to his parents, kids, siblings, extended family, and friends – and he simply adored Mary. We are heartbroken for the family’s loss,” the statement, which was shared to Peltola’s X account Wednesday morning, said.

The statement asked for privacy for the Peltola family and said the congresswoman will be heading home to Alaska.

This story is breaking and will be updated.

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September 13, 2023
No identifiable relationship between deaths of 12 horses at Kentucky racetrack, investigation says | CNN

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An investigation into 12 horse fatalities at the famed horse racing track Churchill Downs found no causal relationship between the horse deaths and the track, but the report cited concerns about increased risk for some horses due to the frequency and cadence of their exercise schedules.

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) launched the investigation in the spring of 2023 to find the causes of the breakdowns, prevent further injury, and determine whether conditions at the famed track in Louisville, Kentucky, contributed to the death of the 12 horses, the report said.

HISA describes the deaths at Churchill Downs, famous as the site of the Kentucky Derby, as “a sober reminder of the complexity and difficulty of the mission, and ultimately a moment of reckoning for the sport and HISA’s role within it.”

After the 12 deaths in the spring, HISA advised moving the remaining spring races to Ellis Park in Evansville, Indiana, so additional investigation could be conducted at Churchill Downs before competition resumed. At the time, the authority said it was “deeply concerned by the unusually high number” of horse deaths and called for an “emergency veterinary summit.”

HISA hired racetrack expert Dennis Moore to determine the conditions of the track. He examined the main dirt racetrack for several days and analyzed factors including the cushion depth, moisture content, surface grades, and material composition.

Moore found the relevant metrics remained consistent with prior years.

“The metrics did not indicate a correlation between the track surface and the equine catastrophic injuries sustained during the race meet,” according to Moore’s findings.

The report also reviewed the location of the injuries on the racetrack to discover any patterns, but the study did not yield “any insightful information,” and no discernible pattern.

Dr. Alina Vale also examined the results of the necropsies, a term often used for autopsies of animals, and determined there was no identifiable pattern in the reports that pointed toward a single causal factor of the fatalities. No prohibited substances were found in any of the 12 horses, Vale said in the report.

Another veterinary expert, Susan Stover of the University of California at Davis, found that all 12 horses had run more races in their career than the average racehorse.

Although the investigation found no causal relationship between the racetrack surface and the fatalities, “analysis of training histories did indicate an increased risk profile for some of the horses due to the frequency and cadence of their exercise and racing schedules.”

The investigation listed the causes of the death for the 12 horses. Four horses suffered fractures sustained in racing on the dirt track, two fractures sustained in racing on the turf track, two soft tissue injuries sustained in racing on the dirt track, two cases of exercise-associated sudden death, one traumatic paddock injury, and one fracture sustained in training on the dirt track.

The findings of this report were shared with Churchill Downs before the resumption of the racetrack this month, according to the investigation.

“HISA has shared recommendations on track surface testing and maintenance with Churchill Downs and offers additional procedural improvements for the tracking and reporting of injuries to better inform the development of additional rules.”

In a statement provided to CNN, Churchill Downs said they’ve implemented several of the recommendations from the HISA report.

“We appreciate the diligent investigation and analysis from the team at HISA,” Darren Rogers, senior director of communications at Churchill Downs, said. “We have already implemented several of the recommendations listed in the report as well as additional internal key safety enhancements in time for the opening of our September Meet. Churchill Downs will continue to explore and invest in initiatives that support equine safety as our highest priority,”

The track plans to resume racing on September 14.

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September 12, 2023
The MGM Resorts back online after cybersecurity issue | CNN Business

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MGM Resorts has shut down some of its systems as a result of a “cybersecurity issue,” according to a company social media post on Monday.

Late Tuesday, the company posted an update, saying that its resorts’ dining, entertainment, and gaming “are currently operational.” The statement also thanked guests for their patience, saying “our guests remain able to access their hotel rooms.”

However, the statement did not specify the status of its systems, whether these operations were being handled manually, or whether some properties are still accepting cash only.

As of Tuesday morning, the MGM Resorts website was still offline, with an apology message and a list of phone numbers for guests to reach their specific hotel concierge desk.

Justin Heath, a guest at MGM Grand in Las Vegas, told CNN on Monday that visitors were unable to charge purchases to their rooms, that digital hotel room keys were not working and that restaurants were taking only cash.

In MGM’s initial Sunday statement, the company explained that after detecting the cybersecurity issue, “we quickly began an investigation with assistance from leading external cybersecurity experts,” the company said on X, formerly known as Twitter.

MGM Resorts (MGM) says it’s working with law enforcement and “took prompt action to protect our systems and data, including shutting down certain systems.”

An FBI spokesperson told CNN they are aware of the incident but declined further comment on the matter.

CNN has reached out to MGM Resorts for more information. MGM Resorts International manages several properties across the U.S., including Aria, Bellagio, Cosmopolitan, Excalibur, Luxor, Mandalay Bay, MGM Grand Las Vegas, and New York-New York in Las Vegas. Other domestic properties are located in Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Maryland, Ohio, New Jersey, and New York. The company also has resort locations in China.

It is unclear whether the cybersecurity incident was conducted by threat actors seeking to exfiltrate sensitive information or to cause damage and disruption to MGM systems. For investigators, the nature of the attack is often key to helping identify whether it originated from criminals seeking to steal information for financial gain, or nation-state actors gathering information for intelligence purposes.

Casinos have been prime targets for both traditional cybercriminal enterprises as well as foreign governments.

In 2017, researchers announced a North American casino had been the target of data exfiltration by cybercriminals who compromised a fish tank connected to company’s internet connection.

In 2014, the Sands Las Vegas Corporation fell victim to a damaging cyberattack by the Iranian government, according to the US Director of National Intelligence.

CNN’s Danielle Sills contributed to this report

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September 12, 2023