13-year-old girl dead after 25-foot fall through attic floor at her after-school program
(COLORADO SPRINGS, CO) — A 13-year-old girl has died after falling approximately 25 feet through the attic floor of an after-school program, police said.
The Pueblo Police Department in Colorado say they received a call on Friday evening at approximately 7 p.m. from somebody at the Rocky Mountain SER after-school head start program, according to ABC News’ Colorado Springs affiliate KRDO.
When they arrived, officers said they found a 13-year-old — later identified as Joeylin Kenley McDonald by her family — dead at the scene, according to KRDO.
While it is currently unclear what led up to her fall, the Pueblo Police Department say they are investigating the incident and that they have not determined whether this is a criminal matter, though police did confirm that she was with a group of juveniles when it happened, according to KRDO.
“Joeylin was the brightest soul in the world,” said McDonald’s aunt, Caitlyn Valdez, in a statement obtained by KRDO. “She is smart, headstrong, beautiful, sassy, sweet, caring and one hell of a hard worker … Mourning the loss of such a beautiful soul will be a daily task for the rest of our lives. Joeylin is one of a kind and will never be forgotten.”
The administration also released a statement following McDonald’s death, saying her death is a “tragic loss within our community.”
“Joeylin was a bright and beloved light in our community, and her sudden passing is a devastating blow to all who knew and loved her,” Rocky Mountain SER said in a statement. “While the exact circumstances of this tragedy remain under investigation, we ask the Pueblo community and beyond to join us in lifting in loving support and deep prayer for Joeylin, her family, friends, and all who are grieving during this unimaginable time.”
McDonald is survived by her five siblings, two parents and extended family.
(NEW YORK) — A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s efforts to force New York City to end its congestion pricing program.
Judge Lewis Liman granted a temporary restraining order on Tuesday barring the Trump administration from withholding “federal funds, approvals, or authorizations from New York State or local agencies to enforce compliance” with its demands to terminate the tolling program. The order is in effect until June 9.
The development comes after the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which operates the toll program, sought a preliminary injunction to prevent the federal government from withholding approvals or funds for continuing to collect tolls after the U.S. Department of Transportation reversed course and pulled federal approval of the congestion pricing program earlier year.
In his order, Liman said the Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration are “temporarily restrained from taking any action” to implement or enforce compliance after rescinding federal approval of the toll program.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul lauded the judge’s order as a “win” for New York in the battle over congestion pricing, saying it blocks the Trump administration from “retaliating against New York” for continuing the program, which is the first of its kind in the nation.
“Judge Liman’s temporary restraining order is a massive victory for New York commuters, vindicating our right as a State to make decisions regarding what’s best for our streets,” Hochul said in a statement Tuesday. “New Yorkers deserve to control our own traffic patterns, keep gridlock off our streets and protect our clean air. We need to make the massive investments necessary to support our transit system and prevent it from falling into disarray and disrepair. Congestion pricing is the right solution to get us there.”
“Congestion pricing is legal, it’s working and we’re keeping the cameras on,” she added.
The Department of Transportation pulled federal approval of the congestion pricing program on Feb. 19, weeks after it went into effect, following a review requested by President Donald Trump. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said at the time that the “scope of this pilot project as approved exceeds the authority authorized by Congress” under the Federal Highway Administration’s Value Pricing Pilot Program while calling it “backwards and unfair.”
The MTA immediately challenged the Trump administration’s reversal in federal court, seeking a declaratory judgment that the DOT’s move is not proper. Hochul and MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber have said they will not turn off the tolls without a court order.
Duffy extended a deadline for New York to end the collection of the toll multiple times, most recently warning last month that the Federal Highway Administration would take actions to “remedy New York’s noncompliance,” such as withholding approvals or funds for other transportation projects,” starting on May 28 if it didn’t cease congestion pricing.
Duffy has not publicly commented on the judge’s order Tuesday.
In a response to the MTA’s motion seeking a preliminary injunction, Duffy’s counsel argued the request should be denied because New York cannot show irreparable harm “because of the premature nature of this entire dispute” over the proposed compliance measures. “Critically, FHWA has not decided to impose any of these ‘proposed’ or ‘potential’ compliance measures yet,” they wrote.
The congestion pricing plan, which launched on Jan. 5, charges passenger vehicles $9 to access Manhattan below 60th Street during peak hours as part of an effort to ease congestion and raise funds for the city’s public transit system. During peak hours, small trucks and charter buses are charged $14.40 and large trucks and tour buses pay $21.60.
The toll generated nearly $50 million in revenue in its first month and is on track to generate $500 million in net revenue by the end of this year, as initially projected, the MTA said.
(DALLAS, TEXAS) — A woman and a teenager drowned during an alleged smuggling attempt after the driver of their vehicle drove into a canal while fleeing authorities following major flooding in Texas, authorities said.
Now, two men face federal charges in connection with their deaths, the Department of Justice announced on Tuesday.
The DOJ said the incident occurred Friday morning in McAllen, which saw record rain bring severe flooding last week.
U.S. Border Patrol agents conducting surveillance spotted a white Ford F-150 that had “previously identified as being involved in alien smuggling,” according to the federal complaint. The agents surveilled the vehicle and saw a “body swap of suspected illegal aliens” with a black Ford Explorer, according to the complaint.
Agents followed the Ford Explorer and approached the vehicle after it stopped at a low spot in a flooded road, according to the complaint.
The driver of the Ford Explorer — identified by the DOJ as Jose Alexis Baeza-Combaluzier, a 26-year-old Mexican national — then fled and drove through the flooded area, according to the complaint.
The agents found the vehicle approximately half a mile away in a nearby canal, according to the complaint. The agents jumped into the canal and were able to rescue Baeza-Combaluzier and four migrants, including an undocumented Guatemalan and her 13-year-old son, according to the complaint.
Two other occupants of the vehicle drowned, the DOJ said. The rescued mother’s 14-year-old son was found in the recovered vehicle, and the body of another woman was recovered from the canal, according to the complaint.
Baeza-Combaluzier and the alleged driver of the white Ford F-150 — Vicente Garcia Jr., 18, of Roma, Texas — have been charged in the smuggling deaths, the Justice Department said.
Baeza-Combaluzier was denied bail during a court appearance on Monday and is scheduled to have a preliminary hearing on Wednesday, court records show. ABC News has reached out to his public defender for comment and has not gotten a response.
Garcia is expected to make his initial appearance on Wednesday. It is unclear if he has an attorney.
If convicted, they face up to life in prison or the possibility of a death sentence, prosecutors said.
(NEW YORK) — A United Airlines flight experienced an engine fire shortly after takeoff that was apparently caused by a rare rabbit strike.
United Flight 2325 had departed Denver International Airport en route to Edmonton, Alberta, on Sunday when the incident occurred.
LiveATC audio documents the flight crew asking that the plane be inspected for an engine fire and being told that it was a rabbit that apparently got sucked into an engine.
“Rabbit through the number 2, that’ll do it,” the pilot responded.
The Boeing 737-800 was carrying 153 passengers and six crew members.
“There was a loud bang, and a significant vibration in the plane,” passenger Scott Wolff told “Good Morning America.”
The plane proceeded to climb, Wolff said.
“Every few moments there was a backfire coming from the engine, a giant fireball behind it,” he said. “Everyone in the plane then started to panic.”
Wyatt McCurry saw the flames from the ground at the Denver airport.
“My stomach dropped and I just thought, ‘I’m going to see a plane go down,'” he told “Good Morning America.”
The flight safely headed back to Denver.
“Our flight from Denver to Edmonton (UA2325) returned safely to Denver to address a possible wildlife strike,” United said in a statement.
The Federal Aviation Administration said the plane returned around 8:05 p.m. local time on Sunday “after the crew reported striking an animal while departing.”
The passengers continued to Edmonton on a new aircraft, the airline said.
The FAA is investigating.
In general, wildlife strikes are fairly common, with the FAA reporting more than 20,000 in the United States last year.
Among those, there were only four rabbit strikes reported, including one at the Denver International Airport, according to the FAA. The vast majority are bird strikes.
