Vandals destroy viewfinder for colorblind visitors allowing them to see fall foliage at national park
NPS
(NEW YORK) — Vandals have destroyed a specialized viewfinder that allowed colorblind visitors to see the vibrant fall foliage in Tennessee, officials said.
The incident took place sometime during the night on Sept. 21 when officials from the National Park Service said that vandals not only destroyed the specialized viewfinder located in the Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area in Oneida, Tennessee, but also managed to rip “a large hole in the floor of the overlook balcony that has been temporarily repaired but will have to be completely replaced later this autumn,” according a statement from the National Park Service released on Monday regarding the incident.
“Individuals with protanopia and protanomaly — more commonly known as red-green color blindness — are not able to fully observe the effect of nature’s transition from deep green to brilliant shades of red, orange and gold,” officials said. “The viewfinder featured lenses for alleviating red-green color deficiencies, enabling visitors with color blindness to see the foliage just as it appears to people with typical vision.”
The National Park Service had partnered with the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development to install the specially-equipped viewfinder at Big South Fork’s East Rim Overlook, a popular overlook that offers impressive views of the Big South Fork River gorge.
“The National Park Service strives to provide opportunities for people to enjoy their park to the greatest extent possible,” said Superintendent Niki Stephanie Nicholas. “But thanks to an act of sheer, wanton vandalism, visitors with color blindness will no longer be able to experience the joy of seeing the majestic fall colors of this beautiful landscape.”
Anyone with information concerning this incident is encouraged to contact the NPS at 423-215-9740 or leave a confidential message on the Resource Protection Tip Line at 423-569-7301.
(NEW YORK) — The second suspect who was arrested earlier this week in connection to the deadly Michigan home invasion on Oct. 11 that left 72-year-old Rochester Hills businessman Hussein Murray dead has been formally charged with multiple counts, including felony murder, police said.
“Joshua Zuazo, 39, of Dearborn, is charged in a three-count warrant issued today by prosecutors with felony murder – a life offense if convicted – and two counts of unlawful imprisonment – 15-year felonies,” said the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office in a statement announcing the charges. “The warrant was signed late [Thursday] afternoon by 52-3 District Judge Laura Polizzi.”
Zuazo is now being held in the Oakland County Jail and is expected to be arraigned on the charges on Friday at 1:15 p.m. ET.
Murray was found dead Friday last Friday in the basement of his Rochester Hills home, according to the sheriff’s office. His wife, who called 911, had been tied up with her hands duct-taped.
The woman told law enforcement officials that the night before the attack, the two suspects had also shown up to the home claiming to be responding to a gas leak, but they were not allowed inside.
When they showed up again on Friday, they were let into the home, and her husband went with them into the basement, “ostensibly to look for the leak,” according to the sheriff’s department.
When they came back upstairs without her husband, they tied her up and taped her hands, the woman said. She did not see him come out afterward and “assumed he had been kidnapped.”
In home security camera footage released by the sheriff’s department, the since-arrested suspect can be seen wearing a utility worker’s uniform and a mask while holding a clipboard.
“We’re DTE. We’re checking for gas leaks,” the man can be heard saying in the video, naming the Michigan-based energy company.
The other suspect, Carlos Jose Hernandez, 37, was arrested last Saturday, according to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office. He has been charged with murder, and law enforcement officials are seeking his extradition from Louisiana.
“I want to reiterate how proud I am of our whole team and what they did to quickly move this case forward, not only taking our suspects off the street, but bringing evidence to the prosecutor to move this into her court for the next phase,” Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said in a statement Thursday.
ABC News’ Julia Reinstein contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — Firefighters battling an outbreak of wildfires across the Northeast amid a historic autumn drought could get some relief from Mother Nature by the middle of this week.
A rainstorm on the way is forecast to reach the Northeast by Wednesday evening. The heaviest rain is expected Wednesday night through Friday from Northern New Jersey to upstate New York and New England, possibly bringing 1 to 2 inches of rain.
The forecast also calls for a chance for snow in western Pennsylvania and upstate New York and into New England on Thursday and Friday.
But until wet weather arrives, critical fire danger conditions will persist throughout the drought-stricken Northeast, officials said. Winds of up to 30 mph are expected to kick up across the Northeast Monday afternoon, and relative humidity is forecast to fall 35%.
Monday marked the second straight day that no new red flag warnings have been issued in the Northeast after nearly a full week of the region being under red flag warnings.
The pending precipitation will be a welcome sight to the hundreds of firefighters still fighting the Jennings Creek Fire burning on the border of New York’s Orange County and New Jersey’s Passaic County.
Joe Pollina, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Upton, New York, told ABC on Monday that 1 to 1 1/2 inches of rain is forecast for the area where the Jennings Creek Fire is located.
“It definitely will help when it comes to the fire,” Pollina said of the rainy forecast.
Over the weekend, the fire, which has burned about 5,000 acres, prompted hundreds of voluntary evacuations when flames jumped a containment line near Greenwood Lake and threatened homes in the private beach community of Wah-ta-Wah Park, according to New York State Parks Department spokesperson Jeff Wernick. On Sunday, Orange County fire officials said efforts to protect structures were successful and no structures were damaged.
The cause of the Jennings Creek Fire remains under investigation.
A New York State Parks and Recreation employee was killed earlier this month while helping the battle the Jennings Creek Fire, officials said. The deceased parks employee was identified by the New York State Police as 18-year-old Dariel Vasquez.
On Sunday, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul ordered that flags at state facilities be lowered to half-staff to honor Vasquez.
“Dariel was only 18 years old and had a truly bright future ahead of him that has now been unfairly taken away,” Hochul said. “I commend his dedication to serving and protecting his fellow New Yorkers and his bravery on the front lines.”
The majority of the Northeast has seen less than 25% of normal precipitation over the last month.
Many locations are also having their driest autumn on record, including New York City, Philadelphia, Atlantic City and Bangor, Maine. Boston is in the throes of its second driest fall season on record.
Northeast temperatures are also running 5 to 10 degrees above average for this time of year. The added warmth increases the drying of soils and other fuels such as leaves.
Since Oct. 1, New Jersey firefighters have responded to at least 537 wildfires that have consumed 4,500 acres, according to the New Jersey Forest Fire Service, while officials at the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation said New York fire crews have battled 60 wildfires since Oct. 1 that have burned 2,100 acres.
At one point last week, the National Weather Service had issued numerous red flag fire danger warnings throughout New Jersey and New York. At least 15 New York counties were under red flag warnings last week, including New York City and all of Long Island.
Multiple wildfires broke out across the Northeast, including some in New York City, where one ignited in the Inwood neighborhood of upper Manhattan and another scorched wooded land in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park.
The rash of fires in New York City prompted the New York Fire Department to create the first “brush fire task force” in the department’s 100-year history, FDNY Fire Commissioner Robert S. Tucker said.
In the first 14 days of November, the FDNY responded to 271 brush fires citywide — the highest amount in two weeks in New York City history, according to Tucker.
(EL SEGUNDO, Calif.) — Mattel has apologized after boxes for some of its new dolls from the movie “Wicked” included a link to a pornographic website.
The packages for the dolls were printed with a web address to an adult film site with the same name as the upcoming movie musical starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo.
Customers who noticed the mistake shared images of the toy boxes on social media.
Mattel has apologized for the boxes, describing the link as a “misprint.”
“Mattel was made aware of a misprint on the packaging of the Mattel Wicked collection dolls, primarily sold in the U.S., which intended to direct consumers to the official WickedMovie.com landing page. We deeply regret this unfortunate error and are taking immediate action to remedy this,” the toy company said in a statement.
“Parents are advised that the misprinted, incorrect website is not appropriate for children. Consumers who already have the product are advised to discard the product packaging or obscure the link and may contact Mattel Customer Service for further information,” the company added.
