43 primates on the loose in South Carolina town after escaping from research lab
Yemassee Police Department via Meta
(YEMASSEE, S.C.) — At least 43 primates were on the loose Thursday in a South Carolina town where authorities “strongly advised” residents to keep their doors and windows locked after the animals escaped from a research laboratory.
“At this point, none have been captured,” the Yemassee Police Department said in a statement posted on its Facebook page.
Traps were being set around the Alpha Genesis Primate Research Center in Yemassee, where the Rhesus Macaque monkeys escaped en masse around 9:45 p.m. ET on Wednesday, according to the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.
Yemassee police officers were searching for the furry fugitives, which can grow to up to 21 inches tall and weigh 17 pounds, using thermal imaging cameras, according to the sheriff’s office.
“Residents are strongly advised to keep doors and windows secured to prevent these animals from entering homes,” the sheriff’s office said. “If you spot any of the escaped animals, please contact 911 immediately and refrain from approaching them.”
Police said they are working with staff of Alpha Genesis Primate Research Center to find the escapees.
“We want to assure the community that there is no health risk associated with these animals,” police said.
Representatives of the Alpha Genesis Primate Research Center could not be immediately contacted for comment.
According to its website, Alpha Genesis “provides the highest quality nonhuman primate products and bio-research services world-wide,” including serum, plasma, whole blood and tissue samples.
(NEW YORK) — The satirical website The Onion purchased InfoWars on Thursday, a capstone on years of litigation and bankruptcy proceedings following InfoWars founder Alex Jones’ defamation of families associated with the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre.
Those families backed The Onion’s bid to purchase InfoWars’ intellectual property, including its website, customer lists and inventory, certain social media accounts and the production equipment used to put Jones on the air. The Connecticut families agreed to forgo a portion of their recovery to increase the overall value of The Onion’s bid, enabling its success.
The families said the purchase would put an end to Jones’ misinformation campaign.
“We were told this outcome would be nearly impossible, but we are no strangers to impossible fights. The world needs to see that having a platform does not mean you are above accountability — the dissolution of Alex Jones’ assets and the death of Infowars is the justice we have long awaited and fought for,” said Robbie Parker, whose daughter Emilie was killed in the Sandy Hook shooting.
In 2022, the families that brought the case against Jones in Connecticut secured a $1.4 billion verdict in their defamation lawsuit. A Texas bankruptcy court ruled on the liquidation of Jones’ assets in June of this year, handing over control to an independent trustee tasked with selling them off to generate the greatest possible value for the families.
“From day one, these families have fought against all odds to bring true accountability to Alex Jones and his corrupt business. Our clients knew that true accountability meant an end to Infowars and an end to Jones’ ability to spread lies, pain and fear at scale. After surviving unimaginable loss with courage and integrity, they rejected Jones’ hollow offers for allegedly more money if they would only let him stay on the air because doing so would have put other families in harm’s way,” said Chris Mattei, attorney for the Connecticut plaintiffs and partner at Koskoff Koskoff & Bieder.
Jones had filed for bankruptcy last year in a bid to avoid paying the billion-dollar judgment, but a judge ruled he still had to settle with the Sandy Hook families.
Bankruptcy often staves off legal judgments but not if they are the result of willful and malicious injury. U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Christopher Lopez in Houston decided that standard was satisfied in Jones’ case.
“[I]n Jones’s case, the language of the jury instruction confirms that the damages awarded flow from the allegation of intent to harm the Plaintiffs – not allegations of recklessness,” Lopez wrote in his ruling.
Jones had claimed on his InfoWars show that the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School — which killed 26 people, including 20 elementary students — was performed by actors following a script written by government officials to bolster the push for gun control.
(NEW YORK) — Nearly 43 million people are under red flag warnings across eight states as the fire danger remains elevated in the Northeast.
Relative humidity as low as 20% coupled with wind gusts up to 40 mph could help accelerate the spread of any fires.
While Sunday brings a slight improvement in fire weather conditions, the overall fire risk will continue into next week across much of the Northeast.
There is no measurable rain in the forecast for the next several days in this area, although there are some signs that much-needed rain may arrive in the region late Wednesday into Thursday. At this point, it doesn’t look like a complete soaker, but any bit of rain will help.
The lack of rainfall will only exacerbate the moderate to extreme drought conditions across the area.
Storm out west
In the Pacific Northwest, a strong storm system will be moving onshore this weekend, bringing periods of rain and significant mountain snow.
Winter alerts are in effect for much of the Cascades and northern Rockies, covering portions of six states from Washington to Utah. At least 1 to 2 feet of snow is possible in the mountains, especially above 2,000 feet in elevation.
Severe threat to Texas
A new storm will be forming in the Southern Plains on Sunday, bringing a severe weather potential to portions of Texas.
Both Sunday and Monday have a slight risk for severe storms with damaging winds, large hail, and isolated tornadoes.
Tropical Storm Sara
Tropical Storm Sara has been drenching much of Honduras over the last couple of days, with an increasing threat for mudslides and potentially catastrophic flash flooding. Rainfall amounts of 15 to 25 inches are expected, with localized amounts up to 35 inches due to this slow-moving storm.
Sara is forecast to drift across Belize and the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, dissipating into a remnant trough by early Monday.
The threat of this storm redeveloping into a tropical system in the Gulf of Mexico is slim due to unfavorable conditions, so a U.S. landfall from this tropical system is not likely at all.
There will be some impacts to the U.S. in the form of tropical moisture being fed into passing front, leading to a good chance for heavy rain along the Gulf Coast and into Florida on Tuesday and Wednesday.
(DENVER, Co.) — Law enforcement agencies in the Denver, Colorado, metropolitan area are investigating a rise in burglaries targeting Asian homes, businesses and places of worship across the community.
There have been around 100 reported burglaries of Asian homes across the state this year, according to Denver ABC affiliate KMGH-TV.
The sheriff’s office in Douglas County — which is south of Denver — told ABC News that there have been around 14 burglaries targeting homes of Asian business owners since the beginning of the year. Seven of these have happened since September, it noted.
In an interview that aired on Tuesday, Douglas County Sheriff Darren Weekly told ABC News Live’s Diane Macedo that there is a “multi-jurisdictional investigation” into a “sophisticated” operation, where the burglars are using “WiFi jammers to subvert alarm systems” and even conducting their own surveillance by setting up cameras near the homes of their victims to ensure that they are away when the burglars strike.
“Many times, these criminals will enter from the back, dressed as utility workers, are wearing vests,” Weekly said. “They’re very methodical. They plan these burglaries early, and they’ve made off with over $2.5 million that we’re aware of.”
The Douglas County Sheriff’s office first warned the community of these burglaries in an Oct. 31 statement and so far, no arrests have been made, a spokesperson confirmed to ABC News.
Asked why Asian business owners appear to be targeted, Weekly said that some are known to keep “large amounts” of cash in their homes, as opposed to depositing the money in a bank.
Lisa Nguyen, the owner of a plaza of Asian-owned businesses, told ABC News that one of the businesses in her plaza was burglarized.
“They are destroying small businesses,” Nguyen said in Tuesday’s interview. “The amount of money that they took is detrimental to, you know, them being able to operate.”
She’s also president-elect of the Denver Metro Association of Realtors, and said that the home of one of her real estate clients was burglarized twice since September.
According to Nguyen, who shared surveillance video of both burglaries with the ABC News, $17,000 worth of merchandise was stolen from a convenience store in her plaza.
She said a burglary of that scale puts families in a position where “multiple months of rent have been stolen” and “could cause businesses to completely shut down.”
Weekly urged the community to notify law enforcement if they see anything suspicious and advised residents to keep their homes locked, install lights on their property and to implement multiple security measures to safeguard their homes, as well as to communicate with their neighbors.
“It’s really critical if somebody sees something, call law enforcement so we can get out there,” Weekly said.
Weekly held a town hall on Monday night, along with Arapahoe County Sheriff Tyler Brown, the Organized Crime Unit and 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office, to address the issue and share safety information with the community.
The Douglas County Sheriff’s office also partnered with the Colorado Asian Chamber of Commerce to distribute safety tips and urge anyone who has experienced a burglary or seen anything suspicious to come forward.
Nguyen said that she hopes an arrest will be made soon.
“I think my message is just that somebody literally has to know something out there,” she said. “And you know, that’s all it’s going to take is for somebody to come forward.”
