2 found dead in JetBlue landing gear compartment after flight, airline says
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(FORT LAUDERDALE, FL) — Two people were found dead in the landing gear compartment of a JetBlue plane after it landed in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the airline said in a statement on Tuesday.
The bodies, which have not yet been publicly identified, were discovered Monday evening during a “routine post-flight maintenance inspection” at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, the airline said.
“At this time, the identities of the individuals and the circumstances surrounding how they accessed the aircraft remain under investigation,” JetBlue said. “This is a heartbreaking situation, and we are committed to working closely with authorities to support their efforts to understand how this occurred.”
The aircraft had flown in from New York City’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, operating as flight 1801, JetBlue said. The Airbus A320-232 landed at 11:03 p.m. on Monday, according to Flightradar24, an aircraft tracker.
Airport officials in Fort Lauderdale told ABC there were no impacts to operations due to the incident.
(BOULDER, CO) — As the new Netflix docuseries “Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenet Ramsey?” reinvigorates public interest in the 1996 case, JonBenet Ramsey’s father said he’s more encouraged now than he’s been in a long time that the person who killed his 6-year-old daughter will be found.
“I’ve been trying for years to break the roadblock in the [Boulder, Colorado] police department, which has been there almost from day one. And we’ve made some, I think, significant progress,” John Ramsey told “Nightline” on Tuesday.
“They’ve done some changes internally. New police chief, they got rid of some of their not-performing detectives. And we have an open, pretty open communication line with the chief of police.”
“The media attention and pressure, I think, has shaken them up,” he added.
On the morning of Dec. 26, 1996, John and Patsy Ramsey woke up to find their daughter, beauty queen JonBenet, missing from their Boulder home and a handwritten ransom note left on the stairs. Hours later, John Ramsey discovered her dead in their basement.
JonBenet’s autopsy determined she was sexually assaulted and strangled, and her skull was fractured. Unknown DNA was found under her fingernails and in her underwear.
John Ramsey, Patsy Ramsey and their son were cleared as suspects in 2008.
Ramsey hopes new DNA technology using genealogy research could help police solve the case — and he wants the Boulder Police Department to share with him what they’re doing.
“When I talked to the chief of police a couple of months ago — maybe it’s been a little longer — he said, ‘Well, we don’t think DNA technology is there yet to do additional testing, and we’re doing some things, but I can’t tell you about it,'” Ramsey said.
“I firmly disagree with the fact that technology is not there yet. It is there. I’ve met with the founders of one of the premier labs. … They told me what they can do. They’d like to participate, they’d like to help.”
Joe Berlinger, who directed the new Netflix docuseries, told “Nightline” that the Ramseys were “brutalized by an unfair process that [police] largely contributed to — the idea that [the family members] were actually the killers. And in response to that, just good karma dictates that [the police] need to treat this family with the care that they deserve, and they should accept all outside help.”
The Boulder Police Department released in a statement about the JonBenet Ramsey case last week.
“We are committed to following up on every lead and we are continuing to work with DNA experts and our law enforcement partners around the country until this tragic case is solved,” it said. “This investigation will always be a priority for the Boulder Police Department. The assertion that there is viable evidence and leads we are not pursuing — to include DNA testing — is completely false.”
The department suggested that anyone with any information to contact detectives at BouldersMostWanted@bouldercolorado.gov or by calling its tipline at 303-441-1974.
Sources told ABC News this week that progress is being made in the investigation.
In the last years, a multi-disciplinary team of experts has been assembled to go through the remaining evidence and apply the most modern scientific and cold case techniques to try to solve the crime, sources said. The team has consulted with top experts in their fields, according to the sources.
According to a law enforcement official briefed on the case, tips have come in as recently as the last month and are being followed up on. The renewed investigative efforts of the Boulder police and partner agencies also stand in contrast to years of limited detective work to get to the bottom of the case.
John Ramsey is following up on leads himself.
He noted that he received a letter this week from a woman who wrote, “I think my husband is a killer” and asked him to call her.
“I will call her,” Ramsey said. “That isn’t the first time we’ve gotten that kind of lead. We always follow up.”
“I’m always looking for that silver bullet — that somebody knows something that wasn’t in the media,” he said.
Since the Netflix docuseries premiered on Nov. 25, Berlinger said he’s been getting tips as well.
Ramsey was interviewed for the docuseries, but noted that he hasn’t watched it because of the emotion the case stirs up.
“I’d like to watch it someday. But for now, it’s just difficult to go back and relive the history,” he said.
He expressed confidence that the case was presented accurately.
“Years ago, I said, ‘Why doesn’t God reveal the killer?’ Somebody said, ‘Well, maybe you’re not ready for that yet. And I thought, well, that may be right. Because initially you put me in the room with this creature, we won’t need a trial. The rage was so intense and I would have had no remorse,” Ramsey told “Nightline.”
“But obviously, that’s not the right thing to do. But that’s how I felt. Now, I want this chapter closed for my family benefit. And I think we’re making good progress in terms of publicly questioning what’s going on. … With pressure, they’ll pay close attention to it, I’m hoping.”
(LOS ANGELES) — At least 37 giant live beetles measuring 4 to 5 inches have been found concealed inside of multiple packages of Japanese snacks, potato chips and chocolate at Los Angeles International Airport, authorities said.
The contraband was discovered by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agriculture specialists assigned to LAX during a physical examination of a shipment arriving from Japan via air cargo last month.
Upon inspection, authorities ended up discovering discovered 37 live giant beetles — worth an estimated $1,480 — hidden in packets of Japanese junk food.
“They may look harmless but in reality, smuggled beetles pose a significant threat to our vital agriculture resources,” said Cheryl M. Davies, CBP Director of Field Operations in Los Angeles. “Beetles can become a serious pest by eating plants, leaves, and roots and by laying eggs on tree bark which damages our forests.”
Sought after by collectors and enthusiasts, exotic insects are highly popular and often sold online and underground, authorities said.
“The illegal trade of exotic insects bring hefty profits for those willing to take the risk of circumventing U.S. laws and regulations,” CBP said in their release regarding the case on Wednesday.
Importing live insects into the U.S., require a U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Inspection Service Plant Protection and Quarantine permit, or a letter issued by PPQ Plants, Pathogens and Biocontrol unit, according to CBP.
The seized beetles were turned over to USDA officials, who will determine the final destination of the insects, meaning they will likely be donated to local zoos that have permits for live insects or be preserved in a local insect collection.
“CBP agriculture specialists combine their scientific knowledge of harmful pests and plant diseases with their expertise in detecting and intercepting these threats before their enter our country,” said Andrew H. Douglas, CBP LAX Port Director. “We are very proud of their contributions to our national security mission.”
On an average day in 2023, CBP agriculture specialists seize an estimated 3,287 prohibited plants, meat and animal byproducts and intercept over 231 agricultural pests that could potentially harm America’s agricultural resources.
(MINNEAPOLIS) — The Minneapolis City Council has approved a consent decree with the U.S. Department of Justice to implement major reforms within the Minneapolis Police Department under the watch of an appointed, independent court monitor.
The decree still needs to go through other levels of approval, including the mayor’s office, before it is filed in federal court, according to Council President Elliott Payne.
“On behalf of the council and the entire city, I’d like to thank our community for standing together united in this and for having patience with us as we have traveled a very, very long and challenging journey,” said Payne. “We are just beginning and we know we have a long way to go.”
The police reform negotiations follow a two-year investigation from the Department of Justice into the Minneapolis Police Department’s patterns and practices.
In 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice released a report following a two-year investigation that found MPD was engaged in a pattern of discriminatory law enforcement practices, used unjustified deadly force in encounters with suspects, engaged in unreasonable use of force in encounters with young suspects and at times failed to give proper medical aid to people they had taken into custody.
The investigation was prompted in part by the 2020 police killing of George Floyd, which sparked racial justice and anti-police brutality protests nationwide. The report found that “the systemic problems in MPD made what happened to [Floyd] possible,” and such problems had continued despite reform efforts.
“We also found that MPD officers routinely disregard the safety of people in their custody. Our review found numerous incidents in which MPD officers responded to a person saying that they could not breathe with a version of, ‘You can breathe, you’re talking right now,'” said Attorney General Merrick Garland.
In one 2017 case, Garland said an MPD officer shot and killed an unarmed woman who he said had “spooked him” when she approached his squad car.
“The woman had called 911 to report a possible sexual assault in a nearby alley,” he said.
MPD officers were also found to stop, search and use force against people who are Black and Native American at disproportionate rates, according to the report.
MPD is already under a consent decree from the state to “make transformational changes to address race-based policing,” following a 2023 agreement between the Minnesota Department of Human Rights and the City of Minneapolis.
The human rights agency described the consent decree as “a court-enforceable agreement that identifies specific changes to be made and timelines for those changes to occur.”
In 2022, the Minnesota Department of Human Rights similarly found that the Minneapolis Police Department engaged in a pattern or practice of race discrimination in violation of the Minnesota Human Rights Act. This led to a state consent decree agreement that is ongoing.
ABC News’ Alexander Mallin contributed to this report.