Severe storms may lead to flooding from Plains to Midwest
ABC News
(NEW YORK) — Thunderstorms are in the forecast Saturday across parts of the central United States as a summer-like pattern continues to deliver hot temperatures and scattered severe weather.
The highest risk for severe weather on Saturday is along the New Mexico-Texas border, with damaging winds, large hail and a few tornadoes possible between Albuquerque and Amarillo. A Flood Watch has been issued for parts of New Mexico and the Texas panhandle.
There is another area extending from Kansas to Wisconsin that may be producing strong to severe thunderstorms later, with damaging winds being the main threat. Flash flooding could be an issue as well, with 1″-3″ of rain across parts of the Midwest over the next 2 days.
Offshore storm affecting Northeast
A pesky storm system has parked itself off the coast of eastern Massachusetts, drenching Cape Cod and Nantucket with up to 4 inches of rain during the last few days.
Coastal Flood Alerts are in effect for several locations along the east coast, due to the combination of astronomical high tide and the rough surf from this offshore storm.
Minor coastal flooding of 1 to 2 feet is possible this weekend during high tide from the Mid-Atlantic into the Northeast. The storm will slowly pull away by early next week.
In the tropics
The chances for our next tropical system in the Gulf of Mexico are increasing, with a 60% likelihood for development as we head through next week.
The potential storm hasn’t even formed yet, but a storm is expected to take shape around the middle or end of next week, bringing a heavy rain threat to the Gulf Coast.
It is still far too early to determine potential impacts, but residents along the Gulf Coast should be monitoring this over the next several days.
Two suspects have been arrested in a mass shooting that left one person dead and nine injured near a Tennessee State University homecoming football game event over the weekend, including one alleged shooter who was carrying a high-powered assault-type rifle when he was caught, authorities said.
Both men were arrested on charges of murder, according to the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department.
The suspects in the shooting near the Nashville, Tennessee, college were identified as Marquez Davis and DeAnthony Brown, both 24 years old, according to police, which released photos of the pair following their arrests.
Davis and Brown were taken into custody Monday night at a short-term rental property close to where Saturday’s shooting erupted, according to police. Davis was allegedly carrying an assault-style rifle with a loaded extended magazine at the time of his arrest, authorities said.
In April, Davis was convicted of robbery, felony gun possession and felony drug possession charges, according to police. He received a 10-year probated sentence to the Community Corrections Program, according to the Nashville police.
“The shooters had no regard for human life and put a crowd of innocent persons, including children, in extreme danger. The entire criminal justice system must treat violent gun crime with the seriousness it demands with resulting incarceration for those convicted,” Police Chief John Drake said in a statement following the arrests.
The shooting unfolded around 5 p.m. local time at an off-campus homecoming celebration event, several blocks east of the Tennessee State campus.
The shooting left a 24-year-old man dead, police said. Of the nine people injured, three were juveniles ranging in age from 12-14 years old, police said.
An exchange of gunfire erupted between two groups of people, according to police.
Five victims were taken to local hospitals via ambulance. Five others were transported by private vehicle, according to police.
Officials believe that some of those injured and hospitalized are suspected of being involved in the gunfire, but most were innocent bystanders, police said.
Injuries range from minor to critical, with some victims sustaining graze wounds, according to police.
A handgun was recovered at the scene, officials said.
The investigation is ongoing and police said more arrests are expected.
The shooting broke out about an hour before the kickoff of the homecoming game between Tennessee State and Eastern Illinois University at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium, several miles from the university.
(NEW YORK) — One person is dead and nearly two dozen others were rescued Thursday after being stuck underground due to an equipment failure in a Colorado gold mine, officials said.
The individuals were part of a tour group and became stuck near the bottom of Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine in Cripple Creek around noon MDT on Thursday, according to officials.
Teller Counter Sheriff Jason Mikesell said one person had died in the incident, and that 23 people had been stuck in the mine shaft.
“I am relieved that 12 of the people trapped in the Mollie Kathleen Mine have been safely rescued,” Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said in a statement Thursday night.
“Our deepest condolences to the family and friends of the individual lost in this incident,” he added.
Eleven others were rescued earlier in the day Thursday, including two children, officials said.
They were able to bring up the trapped adults four at a time to get the remaining 12 rescued, County Sheriff Jason Mikesell said during a presser after the rescue.
The death was related to the elevator malfunction but no further details were available, Mikesell said.
To begin the rescue, engineers had to repair at the elevator stuck at 500 feet, check the cables and then run a test round by sending it down to the 1000-foot level and back up.
After that was successful, the rescue began, according to Mikesell.
Local hospital UCHealth said they had received seven patients, all of whom were treated and released after the incident.
Elevator and mine safety experts went to the site to inspect the elevator’s safety before it was used to bring those trapped up to ground level, according to Mikesell.
There were three plans in total, Mikesell said, but being able to repair the elevator was plan A.
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and Mine Safety will investigate the incident.
As the individuals were stuck, Mikesell said there was no concern about oxygen running out, adding that they had water, chairs and blankets and were able to communicate with rescuers.
The mine, which is about 1,000 feet deep, is a popular tourist destination.
They haven’t had an incident like this since 1986, Mikesell said.
Multiple agencies, including search and rescue teams, responded to the incident with heavy equipment.
In a statement Thurasday afternoon, Gov. Polis said he was monitoring the situation and sending state resources to assist in rescue efforts.
“I have spoken to the Teller County Sheriff and County Commissioners and will stay in touch through the course of this rescue effort,” Polis said at the time. “The state is assisting Teller County and sending resources to rescue those inside the mine.”
“We will do everything possible and assist the county to ensure a speedy and safe resolution of the situation,” Polis added.
(LOS ANGELES) — NThe attorney for Lyle and Erik Menendez said he thinks the brothers are “cautiously optimistic that they can see some real relief” after the Los Angeles County district attorney announced he’s recommending resentencing.
Mark Geragos told ABC News’ “Good Morning America” that his goal is to have the brothers home for Thanksgiving.
While district attorney George Gascón said he hopes to get a hearing on the docket within the next 30 to 45 days, Geragos said he thinks there will be a hearing “well before that.”
Gascón said he’s recommending in a court filing on Friday that the brothers’ sentence of life without the possibility of parole be removed, and they should instead be sentenced for murder, which would be a sentence of 50 years to life. Because of the brothers’ ages — they both were under 26 at the time of the crimes — they would be eligible for parole immediately, Gascón said at a Thursday news conference.
The final resentencing decision will be made by a judge and the parole board must also approve, Gascón said.
“We are continuing to be optimistic that Erik and Lyle will be released soon, and best-case scenario would be for us to have Erik and Lyle home for the busy week of Thanksgiving,” she said, which also includes three family birthdays.
“There is no excuse for murder,” Gascón stressed at the news conference, and he added that he doesn’t “believe that manslaughter would have been the appropriate charge [to request in the resentencing filing] given the premeditation that was involved.”
Lyle and Erik Menendez were each sentenced to two consecutive terms of life without parole after they were convicted in 1996 of fatally shooting their parents.
Lyle Menendez was 21 and Erik Menendez was 18 when they killed Jose and Kitty Menendez at the family’s Beverly Hills home in 1989. The brothers argued they acted in self-defense after enduring years of sexual abuse by their father; prosecutors alleged they killed their wealthy parents for financial gain.
Gascón said this month that his office was evaluating new evidence: allegations from a member of the boy band Menudo who said he was molested by Jose Menendez, and a letter Erik Menendez wrote to a cousin eight months before the murders detailing his alleged abuse.
Erik Menendez’s cousin testified about the alleged abuse at trial, but Erik Menendez’s letter — which would have corroborated the cousin’s testimony — wasn’t unearthed until several years ago, according to Geragos.
“I’ve never once doubted Erik and Lyle. I believe them,” the brothers’ cousin, Natascha Leonardo, told “GMA.” “The new evidence that has come out just continues to support our belief.”
Another cousin, Tamara Goodell, added that a new swell of support from the public is due to a younger generation’s understanding that boys and men are also victims of sexual abuse, which wasn’t as well recognized in the 1990s.
“This new generation is really putting up a fight to say, ‘This is not what should’ve been handed to them,'” she said. “At this point, after almost 35 years, they’ve served their time. … Now, it’s time for them to come home.”
One relative — the brothers’ uncle, Milton Andersen — is adamant about keeping them behind bars, though. He said he firmly believes his nephews were not sexually assaulted and were motivated by greed.
“The jury’s verdict was just, and the punishment fits the heinous crime,” he said in a statement.
Gascón told ABC News this month that any recommendation for resentencing would take into account the decades the brothers already served and their behavior in prison.
The brothers made a positive impact while incarcerated, despite “no hopes of ever getting out of prison,” Gascón said. They focused on “creating groups to deal with how to address untreated trauma, creating groups to deal with other inmates that have physical disabilities and may be treated differently. Even in one case, Lyle negotiating for other inmates as to the conditions that they live under,” he said.
Geragos said Lyle Menendez received a college degree behind bars while Erik Menendez provides hospice care to inmates.
“They’ve done great things while in prison. I don’t see anything that’s going to stop them from continuing that work once they’re out,” Geragos said.
