3 dead after SUV crashes into pedestrians in Los Angeles
A still photo from aerial footage taken by KABC’s AIR7 showing the crash scene near a Metro station in North Hollywood. (KABC)
Three people are dead and at least three others were taken to the hospital in critical condition after an SUV crashed onto the sidewalk near a Metro station in Los Angeles on Tuesday evening, authorities said.
It happened at 5:55 p.m. local time at Lankershim Boulevard and Chandler Boulevard in North Hollywood, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.
The LA Police Department said the SUV struck a total of five people, killing three. The victims were identified as a 40-year-old Hispanic woman, a 69-year-old white woman and a 53-year-old white woman, according to LAPD Valley Traffic.
The driver, who was also hospitalized, remains alive and is expected to be taken into custody on suspicion of driving under the influence, LAPD Valley Traffic officials said.
There was no further update on the driver’s condition or the conditions of two other people who were transported to the hospital in critical condition.
In a social media post, LA Mayor Karen Bass said the SUV drove onto the sidewalk near the North Hollywood Metro Station, “striking a group of street vendors and pedestrians.”
She added, “I’m heartbroken for the families of everyone impacted.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Cup of coffee with beans (Ricky Herawan / 500px/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Drinking up to five cups of coffee a day is safe for most adults, and regular coffee consumption may be linked to a lower risk of stroke, diabetes and heart failure, according to a new scientific statement from the American Heart Association (AHA).
The official report, published Monday in the journal Circulation, addresses years of conflicting advice regarding caffeine and the heart.
“Coffee is potentially linked to lower risks of type 2 diabetes, stroke, and heart failure, though its relationship with blood pressure is complex and data isn’t entirely consistent across the board,” said Dr. Jennifer Miao, a board-certified cardiologist and ABC News Medical Unit Fellow.
For decades, doctors frequently advised people with heart issues to avoid stimulants. However, this comprehensive review marks a major shift by distinguishing between natural coffee beans and synthetic caffeine.
While older guidelines relied heavily on lower-quality studies, the AHA panel integrated recent clinical trials showing that even for patients who have had a procedure to address an irregular heart rhythm, daily coffee can cut the risk of the condition returning by 39%.
Habitual coffee consumption was also associated with a 20% to 30% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
The AHA warns that your daily brewing method drastically impacts these potential health benefits, however. These heart-healthy links apply strictly to paper-filtered or instant coffee. Unfiltered options, including a French press, espresso, or Turkish coffee, retain a natural compound called cafestol. Cafestol raises low-density lipoprotein, or LDL, the “bad” cholesterol that can clog arteries over time.
Crucially, these positive heart associations do not translate to highly concentrated synthetic caffeine products like energy drinks, shots, or pills. The AHA notes that high-caffeine energy drinks are consistently linked to cardiovascular harm. These products are associated with sudden spikes in blood pressure and acute episodes of irregular heart rhythms, even in healthy adults.
“The AHA distinguishes between coffee and energy drinks, which can pose significant cardiovascular harm,” said Miao. “In large amounts, energy drinks can trigger life-threatening heart rhythm issues and even cardiac arrest.”
Your ideal caffeine limit is heavily influenced by your genetics. Inherited variations in a liver enzyme gene called CYP1A2 dictate how fast your body metabolizes stimulants. While some people can easily clear 400 milligrams of caffeine, which is about three to five cups of coffee, others may experience sleep disruption and blood pressure spikes with far less caffeine.
Doctors still caution that anyone with an underlying heart problem or existing risks of developing heart disease or stroke should talk to their provider about what amount of coffee or caffeine may be safe for them to consume.
“Consume caffeine in moderation, not solely for potential health benefits,” Miao advised. Everyone’s sensitivity is different, so if you have any underlying conditions or concerns, please talk to your doctor.”
Yonathan Daniel, M.D., is an internal medicine resident physician at NYU Langone Health and a member of the ABC News Medical Unit
From left: Elizabeth Siders, Christina Siders, Gary Siders Jr. and Gary Siders Sr., are seen in booking photos on June 30, 2026. (Southeastern Ohio Regional Jail)
(VINTON COUNTY, Ohio) — Four people have been charged with child endangerment after 16 children were removed from a home in Ohio where officials say they were living in “deplorable conditions.”
Authorities executed a search warrant at the home in Hamden in Vinton County on Tuesday, where they say they found the children and four suspects inside.
Vinton County Prosecutor William Archer said during a press briefing Wednesday that this is not a case of human trafficking, but an “intra-family situation.”
The four suspects — Gary Siders Sr., 73; Christina Siders, 67; Gary Siders II, 36; and Elizabeth Siders, 33 — have each been charged with 16 counts of endangering children, a second-degree felony, according to officials. They pleaded not guilty during their arraignment Wednesday morning and their bond was set at $300,000 each.
Archer described the suspects as being the “grandma, grandpa, father, and mother.”
The charges allege the four suspects abused the children, resulting in “serious physical harm.”
Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson said the evidence in the case is “beyond comprehension.”
The children range in age from 1 ½ to 18, according to Wilson. He did not go into the nature of the injuries but said seven of the children were transported to the hospital on Tuesday, including two who were airlifted there. One of the children was in critical condition, Wilson said.
Archer said the children are safe and officials are working to have them placed in temporary custody.
“They are currently in a good situation and are being protected,” he said.
Wilson said the investigation has been ongoing for some time, leading to the search warrant being executed on Tuesday.
The family had lived in Vinton County for the past four years and were “clearly bouncing around,” according to Wilson.
“They were pretty adept at keeping these kids out of sight and out of investigative eyes,” he said.
The children were not enrolled in school, according to Wilson. The eldest child is included among the charges because the 18-year-old is believed to developmentally still be a minor, officials said.
“Some of these children couldn’t even speak,” Wilson said. “It was terrible.”
Vinton County Sheriff Ryan Cain described the condition of the house as “disgusting,” including the presence of human feces, and said the children were largely confined to a small area.
“Most of our livestock is kept in better condition than the children,” Cain said during Wednesday’s briefing.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine called the situation “tragic.”
“It is heartbreaking to learn the conditions that these children were living in, and to learn of their medical conditions,” DeWine said in a statement, which also thanked those helping them.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Jes Staley, former chief executive officer of Barclays Plc, leaves for lunch as he attends closing submissions at the High Court Rolls Building on April 2, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — The House Oversight Committee is set on Thursday to interview Jeffrey Epstein’s former private JPMorgan Chase investment banker, Jes Staley, whose career as a finance executive came crashing down after the convicted sex offender’s death in 2019.
Staley, 69, spent more than thirty years at JPMorgan Chase, including in senior roles in the private banking and investment divisions, where he managed relationships with ultra-wealthy clients, including Epstein.
After Staley left JPMorgan Chase, he became the CEO of the British multinational bank Barclays in 2015.
Staley agreed to a voluntary transcribed interview with the committee after its chairman, Kentucky Republican James Comer, requested his appearance as part of the panel’s wide-ranging inquiry into the federal government’s handling of the criminal investigations of Epstein.
Staley’s interview, like others that have occurred in recent months, will not be recorded.
Following Epstein’s arrest and death in 2019, Staley came under scrutiny in a lawsuit brought by Epstein’s victims, who contended in court filings that JPMorgan Chase and Staley had allegedly ignored red flags that helped enable Epstein to traffic women and girls. JPMorgan Chase settled the case in 2023 for $290 million, without any admission of wrongdoing.
Barclay executives told U.K. financial regulators after Epstein’s death that Staley and Epstein did not have a close relationship and that Staley had cut off contact long before he joined the bank as its CEO. But the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) subsequently determined — based partly on hundreds of emails and records that emerged from the victims’ lawsuit — that Staley had provided misleading information about the extent of the relationship and its timing.
Staley stepped down from Barclays in 2021 and was subsequently banned by the FCA from working in Britain’s financial sector.
Staley lost his appeal of the regulatory body’s findings. During the appeal proceedings last year, Staley acknowledged that he had what he described as a consensual sexual encounter with one of Epstein’s adult assistants at an apartment building in New York City, owned by Epstein’s brother, where Epstein housed some of his employees.
“We had one encounter,” Staley testified, according to an account in The Guardian. “Much to my embarrassment today.”
Staley has also acknowledged visiting Epstein’s private estate in the U.S. Virgin Islands, though not while Epstein was there. He also claimed to have no specific recollection of a series of emails in which Staley and Epstein refer to women using names of Disney characters.
“That was fun. Say hi to Snow White,” Staley emailed to Epstein in 2010, according to documents made public in the victims’ litigation.
“Which character would you like next,” Epstein asked.
“Beauty and the Beast,” Staley answered.
“Well, one side is available,” Epstein responded, according to the documents.
A lawyer believed to be representing Staley for his interview on Capitol Hill did not respond to a request for comment in advance of Staley’s appearance.
Staley, who has not been charged, has denied all wrongdoing and has said he had no knowledge of Epstein’s crimes.
An attorney representing Staley in the victims’ civil lawsuit said claims that Staley aided and abetted Epstein were “baseless.”
“The allegations against him are slanderous, and the potential damages are astronomical,” attorney Brendan Sullivan wrote in a 2023 court filing.
Records released by the Justice Department earlier this year in response to the Epstein Files Transparency Act include unproven allegations of wrongdoing by Staley. The allegations, raised by an alleged Epstein victim, were detailed in an 86-page internal prosecution memo from December 2019.
It’s unclear if federal prosecutors pursued those allegations. The Department of Justice has said repeatedly since the disclosure of the Epstein files that there are no credible allegations or evidence that would lead to new federal criminal investigations.
