School bus attendant seen hitting autistic student in surveillance footage
Albuquerque Public Schools
(ALBUQUERGUE, N.M.) — A school bus attendant for Albuquerque, New Mexico, Public Schools has been arrested after she was seen in surveillance video repeatedly hitting an autistic student.
Debbie Chavira, 64, is accused of striking the child dozens of times over the course of 10 days, according to an incident report.
Police said Chavira struck the student in his face, torso and arms a total of 59 times between Aug. 26 and Sept. 4. On Sept. 4, school officials reported her after the child showed up “with fresh scratch marks on the back of his neck,” the incident report states.
While investigating the alleged abuse, officials viewed additional surveillance footage, where they say Chavira was seen repeatedly hitting the child over the span of 10 days.
Chavira struck the child “open-handed, closed fisted, and with a plastic (yellow) ‘child check’ sign,” and did so “intentionally and without justifiable cause,” according to the incident report.
Investigators were unable to interview the child due to him “being autistic and non-verbal” and unable to “communicate through writing either,” the report states.
Chavira resigned from her job Sept. 5, according to Albuquerque ABC affiliate KOAT, and was arrested on Oct. 4. She has been released from jail and is now under pretrial supervision.
She has been charged with five counts of abandonment or abuse of a child. A representative could not immediately be found for Chavira.
In a statement to ABC News, Martin Salazar, a spokesperson for Albuquerque Public Schools, said the school district does “not tolerate this kind of behavior.”
“Upon discovering what was happening, we immediately placed bus attendant Debbie Chavira on leave and notified the APS Police Department. APS Police launched an investigation and filed criminal charges. Ms. Chavira resigned shortly after being placed on leave,” Salazar said.
(NEW JERSEY) — Bear hunting season has begun in New Jersey – a controversial decision that state officials say is intended to curb the population of black bears interacting with humans.
Segment A of bear hunting season began on Monday and will last through Oct. 19, with the first three days open for bowhunters only. The final three days, from Oct. 17-19, will be open for bowhunters and muzzleloader rifles, according to the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife (NJFW).
For Segment B of black bear season, lasting Dec. 9-14, bear hunting will be permitted in New Jersey for shotgun and muzzleloader rifles only, according to the NJFW. Hunting hours during both segments begin 30 minutes before sunrise and end 30 minutes after sunset.
Hunters are limited to one bear over 75 pounds – or 50 pounds dressed – per segment, regardless of the number of permits the hunter holds, according to the Division of Fish and Wildlife. Hunters are not permitted to harvest black bears weighing less than 75 pounds live or 50 pounds dressed, nor can they hunt any adult bears in the presence of cubs.
The NJFW also said they may close the season early or extend it, depending on the number of bears harvested.
If the cumulative harvest rate reaches 30% of bears tagged in 2024, the season will be closed, according to the division. If the harvest rate doesn’t reach 20% for the period, the hunt will be extended to Dec. 18-Dec. 21.
This year marks the third opening of bear hunting season in New Jersey since 2022, when the NJFW’s Fish and Game Council voted unanimously to reinstate the state’s annual bear hunt, citing a significant increase in bear sightings around the state.
Animal conservationists criticized the decision at the time, telling ABC News that the measure wouldn’t lead to a decrease in human and bear interactions.
“New Jersey’s reactive bear management approach is ineffective, as it focuses on managing the bears, not managing the source of the problem,” Anjuli Ramos-Busot, New Jersey director of the Sierra Club, said in a statement in December 2023, after the bear hunting season was extended.
The black bear population in New Jersey has been increasing and expanding its range since the 1980s, with sightings in all 21 counties in the state, according to the NJFW.
In 2020, there were more than 3,150 black bears in the region north of Interstate 78 and west of Interstate 287 alone, a roughly 30% increase from the 2019 estimated population of 2,208 for the same region, according to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), which further notes that the population is expected to grow to 4,000 bears by 2027.
Dense populations of black bears can also lead to inadequate natural sources of food for the animals and territory for young males, causing wider dispersion of bears into areas where they are even more likely to come into conflict with people as they seek to feed from human trash, pet food left outside, seed from bird feeders, and agricultural crops, poultry and livestock, according to the NJFW.
Bear-involved incidents reported to the NJDEP from January 2022 through October 2022 increased by 237% compared to the same period in 2021, according to state data. The incidents included 62 aggressive encounters with humans, one attack on a human, 12 attacks on dogs, 12 home entries, 15 attempted home entries, 84 instances of property damage exceeding $1,000, and 52 attacks on protected livestock, according to the data.
The number of incidents decreased by more than 37% between 2022 and 2023, after bear hunting was reinstated, according to state data.
“Analysis of data from New Jersey reveals no correlation between the number of bears killed and human safety,” Wendy Keefover, senior strategist for native carnivore protection for the Humane Society of the United States, told ABC News via email. “Instead, researchers know that the most effective way for reducing conflicts with bears is to reduce access to human-food attractants.”
It is especially important during this time of year for residents to remove unsecured garbage cans and bird feeders, as bears preparing to go into hibernation typically eat about 20,000 calories per day, Keefover said.
“Hunting bears will never stop negative interactions with bears, but taking commonsense precautions like using bear-resistant trash cans and taking down bird feeders will,” Keefover said.
A total of 11,000 black bear hunting permits are available to properly licensed hunters and farmer hunters every year, according to the state. Firearm black bear hunters are required to wear a hat of solid fluorescent hunter orange or an outer garment containing at least 200 square inches of fluorescent orange material visible from all sides at all times while bear hunting, regulations state.
The 2022 reinstatement of bear hunting in New Jersey came four years Gov. Phil Murphy enforced a ban on the sport months after taking office in 2018. Murphy had run on a campaign promise that the bear hunts would not exist while he was in office.
“While I committed to ending the bear hunt, the data demands that we act now to prevent tragic bear and human interactions,” Murphy told reporters in a news conference in November 2022.
(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.
(NEW YORK) — Two now-retired chiefs from the New York City Fire Department were arrested early Monday morning following a yearlong corruption investigation, law enforcement sources told ABC News.
Retired Chief Brian Cordasco was arrested at home on Staten Island. Retired Chief Anthony Saccavino was arrested at home in Manhattan, the sources said.
Saccavino and Cordasco “repeatedly abused their positions of trust as high-ranking officials in the New York City Fire Department” by soliciting and accepting tens of thousands of dollars in bribe payments in exchange for providing preferential treatment to certain individuals and companies, according to an indictment unsealed Monday in Manhattan federal court.
The two men were chiefs with the FDNY Bureau of Fire Prevention, which regulates the installation of fire safety and suppression systems in commercial and residential buildings. For nearly two years, the indictment said, Saccavino and Cordasco misused this authority for their own financial gain.
The two allegedly accepted $190,000 in bribes in exchange for expediting inspections, according to the indictment.
The FBI had searched their homes and offices earlier this year. he FDNY placed the chiefs on modified duty at the time. The New York City Department of Investigation searched FDNY headquarters as well.
The alleged scheme appears to have been discovered as an offshoot of the investigation into whether Mayor Eric Adams’ campaign took illegal money from Turkey in exchange for expediting the inspection of the new Turkish consulate.
Cordasco publicly complained about a so-called “City Hall List” of building projects that should be prioritized by FDNY inspectors, according to the indictment.
