Mississippi bridge collapses in deadly accident at demolition site: Officials
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(SIMPSON COUNTY, Miss.) — A Mississippi bridge set to be demolished collapsed in a deadly accident on Wednesday, officials said.
The Mississippi Department of Transportation confirmed there were fatalities, though it did not specify how many people died.
“[We] extend our deepest condolences to the families who have lost loved ones,” the Mississippi Department of Transportation said in a statement.
An inspector with the Mississippi Department of Transportation who was at the worksite when the bridge collapsed was unharmed, the department said.
The bridge, which spanned the Strong River in Simpson County on State Route 149, collapsed Wednesday afternoon, according to the Mississippi Department of Transportation.
The bridge had been closed to traffic since Sept. 18 and was in the process of being demolished as part of a bridge replacement project, the department said.
The replacement project had been given an estimate of 12 to 18 months to complete, according to previous statements from the department.
(NEW YORK) — New York City Mayor Eric Adams met with incoming border czar Thomas Homan to discuss their plans to remove what he says were violent undocumented immigrants.
Thursday’s closed-door meeting was the latest correspondence between the incoming Trump administration and Adams, who is facing federal bribery and fraud charges.
The mayor spoke about his meeting at a news conference, where he began by admonishing reporters for having “preconceived notions” and “distorted views” about his immigration policies.”
While Adams said the city is going to “protect the rights, of immigrants who are hard-working and giving back to the city in a positive way,” the mayor repeatedly said that he and Homan agreed that they do not share the same courtesy for immigrants who he says commits violent crimes.
“We will not be a safe haven for those who commit violent acts. We don’t do it for those who are citizens and we are not going to do it for undocumented citizens,” Adams said.
Homan, who served as the acting head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement during the first Trump administration, has vowed a “shock and awe” action against undocumented immigrants on day one. President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to deport millions of undocumented immigrants once he takes office and has threatened local leaders who have opposed his proposal.
States and municipalities can’t outright act as immigration enforcement for the federal government without an agreement, according to federal law.
Sixty counties and police districts, many of them in Florida, have entered into 287(g) agreements with Immigration Customs and Enforcement, in which local law enforcement can conduct immigration policies on behalf of the federal government such as executing warrants and detaining undocumented immigrants, Elora Mukherjee, the director of Columbia Law School’s immigration clinic, told ABC News last month.
The mayor said his legal team is speaking with the ICE’s legal team about ways to work together. Adams said he is considering using executive orders but didn’t give any specifics.
He also mentioned South American gang activity in the city and Long Island when asked about more specifics on violent crime involving undocumented immigrants, but didn’t go into further detail.
Adams was mum when asked by a reporter if he and Homan discussed proposals to deport undocumented immigrants who didn’t commit any crime in the city.
“From what I heard from the incoming head of ICE is that we have the same desire to go after those who are committing violent acts, repeated violent acts against innocent New Yorkers, migrants and asylum seekers,” the mayor said.
Adams has had several conversations with the Trump team since the election, which has raised questions from critics about the discussions and the mayor’s ongoing criminal case.
He became the first sitting New York City mayor to be indicted when federal prosecutors charged him in September with bribery, fraud and accepting unsolicited donations from a foreign donor.
An investigation dating back to Adams’ time as Brooklyn borough president alleged the mayor had traded political favors with Turkish businessmen and officials in exchange for lavish gifts, hotel stays and flights.
The five-count indictment also alleges that Adams was involved with a foreign straw donor scheme that helped him get matching funds for his 2021 mayoral campaign.
Adams pleaded not guilty, brushed aside calls for his resignation and denied any wrongdoing. He has also dodged questions about whether he has sought a pardon by Trump.
The trial is slated for April and prosecutors said the investigation is ongoing.
Many of the mayor’s critics, including City Comptroller Brad Lander who will run against Adams in the Democratic primary, chastised the mayor for meeting with Homan.
“Eric Adams is so focused on cozying up to Trump that he is willing to deny people due process and put the safety of families at risk. This open-armed embrace of Trump’s xenophobic policies is a betrayal of everyone who calls New York City home,” he said in a statement.
(ORLANDO, Fla.) — The parents of a newborn who died months after birth are suing a Florida hospital, alleging a worker broke the baby’s neck, ultimately killing her, according to the lawsuit.
The infant, Jahxy Peets, was born prematurely at 24 weeks in June 2022 at the Orlando Health Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies, according to the family’s lawsuit. Immediately following her birth, she was admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit and intubated.
About two weeks later, the baby was found to have a broken neck, according to the lawsuit. The spinal cord injury led to her being paralyzed and unable to breathe on her own, the lawsuit alleges. She died of her injuries in November 2022.
The lawsuit alleges a hospital worker broke Jahxy’s neck, injuring her spinal cord, “and then put her back in the incubator without notifying anyone.”
“This type of spinal cord injury could not occur without the use of excessive force when handling a newborn,” the lawsuit states. “There is no note in the medical record documenting the excessive-force event which caused this traumatic injury, and no indication in the medical record that an investigation was performed to identify and bring to justice the individual who caused this devastating injury.”
The injury “was either not recognized or was not reported,” making it appear “that an attempt to cover up the cause of Jahxy’s injury was made,” the lawsuit alleges. Her parents, Gianna Lopera and Jamiah Peets, said they were not informed of the event.
Lopera said at a press conference Monday they “deserve answers” about what happened to Jahxy.
“Every parent whose baby is born at Winnie Palmer deserves to know what happened to Jahxy,” Lopera said. “By covering it up, they are leaving room for it to happen again.”
Lopera spoke through tears about what the loss of her daughter has meant to her and her family.
“I never got a chance to hear my daughter cry. She never got a chance to meet her siblings or her family. We never celebrated a single milestone. We only held her four times in her entire life,” she said.
In a statement to ABC News, a spokesperson for the hospital said they “will not address specific medical cases publicly but will share that the delivery of care to extremely premature babies is complex and emotional work for parents, doctors, and nurses.”
“We offer our deepest sympathies to this family, and to any family who suffers the loss of a child, but also believe those who provide care in this environment should be judged on facts, not speculation. We look forward to discussing the facts of this case in the appropriate forum,” the spokesperson said.
(HOUSTON) — A military veteran died after allegedly being physically attacked during an argument over a parking space outside of a Houston, Texas grocery store, according to a statement from the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.
Earl Hollins, 80, was allegedly assaulted by Anthony Ray Boyce, 57, on Friday during the disagreement in a Food Town parking lot, the HCSO said. Boyce allegedly drove away in Hollins’ car after the attack, according to the HCSO.
Hollins suffered severe head trauma, fell into a coma and was not expected to recover, his family told ABC affiliate KTRK in Houston. He was pronounced dead on Dec. 7 at a local hospital, the HCSO confirmed to ABC News.
“What he [did], it wasn’t right,” Hollins’ niece, Elma Hollins-Washington, told KTRK. “It wasn’t human.”
The HCSO said it’s investigating the altercation between Hollins and Boyce, including how the two men may have been acquainted before the incident.
“Someone was saying that he knew the guy because they always used to be around Food Town,” Hollins-Washington said, adding that the family is still in disbelief over what happened.
“I said, ‘My god, over a parking spot. You’re going to injure my uncle, and now, finally, he’s dead, and it was over a parking spot,'” Hollins-Washington said. “You took something great from us, something that we will never get over.”
According to HCSO records, Boyce is being held in the Harris County Jail on $100,000 bond, charged with aggravated assault with serious bodily injury.
Detectives will meet with the Harris County District Attorney’s Office to determine if that charge will be upgraded following Hollins’ death, the HCSO told ABC News.
