Police investigating vehicle explosion at Trump hotel in Las Vegas
KTNV
(LAS VEGAS) — Authorities are investigating a vehicle explosion and fire on Wednesday outside the Trump Las Vegas hotel in Nevada.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said it was investigating a fire at the entrance to the tower. The public was told to avoid the area.
The driver pulled into the valet area of the hotel and the vehicle exploded, according to an official. The driver is apparently dead and, so far, the only casualty from the incident.
Investigators do not know what caused the blast, such as whether something was wrong with the vehicle or whether something external prompted it. Determining what was behind the explosion is the key focus of the probe.
The property is the subject of frequent threats and heightened security given its connection to President-elect Donald Trump.
Eric Trump, his son, posted on social media about the incident.
“Earlier today, a reported electric vehicle fire occurred in the porte cochère of Trump Las Vegas,” he wrote. “The safety and well-being of our guests and staff remain our top priority. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the Las Vegas Fire Department and local law enforcement for their swift response and professionalism.”
The hotel also issued a statement on X suggesting the car involved was electric.
“Earlier today a reported electric vehicle fire occurred in the porte cochère of Trump Las Vegas,” the hotel wrote. “The safety & well-being of our guests and staff remain our top priority. We extend our gratitude to the Las Vegas Fire Department and local law enforcement for their swift response.”
(NEW YORK) — Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani has seven days to turn over luxury items and shares of his New York City co-op apartment to cover much of what he owes to two Georgia poll workers he defamed in 2020, a federal judge in New York ruled Tuesday.
Giuliani must transfer all personal property “including cash accounts, jewelry and valuables, a legal claim for unpaid attorneys’ fees, and his interest in his Madison Avenue co-op apartment” to former election workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss.
The one exception may be World Series rings that Giuliani’s son, Andrew, claims he rightfully owns after his father gave them to him as a gift.
Freeman and Moss last year won a $148 million judgment after a judge found Giuliani guilty of defaming them when he falsely accused the mother and daughter of committing election fraud while they were counting ballots in Georgia’s Fulton County on Election Day in 2020.
In his ruling Tuesday, Judge Lewis Liman wrote, “The Court finds no good cause to impose additional limits on the time or manner of the liquidation or prosecution of any other item or interest on the list. The only asset that Defendant seeks to protect from sale that comes close to being exempt under Article 52 is Defendant’s grandfather’s watch. The watch may be distinctive to Defendant as an item of sentimental value, but it is not distinctive to the law.”
An attorney for Freeman and Moss said the judge’s ruling will allow their clients to “finally begin to receive some of the compensation to which they are entitled for Giuliani’s actions.”
“This outcome should send a powerful message that there is a price to pay for those who choose to intentionally spread disinformation,” said Aaron Nathan, an attorney for the two women.
Giuliani must turn over watches marketed or manufactured by Bulova, Shinola, Tiffany & Co, Seiko, Frank Muller, Graham, Corium, Rolex, IWC, Invicta, Breitling, Raymond Weil, and Baume & Mercer; a Reggie Jackson picture; a signed Yankee Stadium picture; a signed Joe DiMaggio shirt and other sports memorabilia; a diamond ring and costume jewelry; and a television and other items of furniture.
He must also turn over all rights and interests in fees owed for services rendered in 2020 and 2021 to former President Trump’s presidential campaign.
Everything is to go into a receivership controlled by Freeman and Moss to satisfy the $148 million defamation judgment.
(NEW SWEDEN, Maine) — Authorities are pleading with the public to help them find a Maine teenager who has been missing for months.
The FBI is offering a reward up to $15,000 for information leading to Stefanie Damron’s safe return, or the arrest and prosecution of anyone involved in her disappearance, FBI Boston’s Assistant Special Agent in Charge Kimberly Milka said at a news conference Monday.
“Any detail, no matter how small, could be helpful,” she said.
Stefanie was last seen walking out of her house and into the woods behind her home on Sept. 23, 2024, according to Maine State Police. She was reported missing the next day.
Stefanie was 13 at the time she disappeared; she’s now 14.
Her family is desperately looking for answers, Milka said. They live in New Sweden in northern Maine, about 20 miles from the Canadian border.
Stefanie had a history of running away, police noted.
“This behavior has not been uncommon for Stefanie, which is why I think the family waited a little bit of time” before calling police, Maine State Police Maj. Scott Gosselin said at the news conference.
But “since she hasn’t turned up, we slowly ratcheted up all the investigative resources,” he said.
Police have spent hundreds of hours investigating, including a neighborhood canvas and video search, but there have been no credible sightings, Gosselin said.
Stefanie, who was homeschooled, didn’t take any electronic devices with her and she has no apparent history of mental health concerns, police said.
Anyone with information is urged to call the Maine State Police at 1-800-824-2261 or 207-532-5400, or the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI.
(UNITY TOWNSHIP, Pa.) — The dangerous search for a missing grandmother who officials believe fell into a deep sinkhole in Pennsylvania is now considered a recovery effort, police said Wednesday.
A challenging excavation has been underway at an abandoned coal mine in Unity Township since Tuesday when police said Elizabeth Pollard was reported missing after she was not heard from after searching for her cat.
The sinkhole is believed to be tied to the mine and formed while Pollard was walking in the area, officials said.
Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Steve Limani said authorities are “virtually positive” that she is in the mine, though do not believe she could still be alive at this stage based on the conditions underground, including the level of oxygen.
“I know we had a lot of hopes,” Limani said during a press briefing Wednesday evening, calling the development “difficult.”
“Unless it’s a miracle, most likely it’s recovery,” Limani said, later noting that it’s “definitely recovery” at this stage.
Rescue crews have been pumping oxygen into the mine, though it’s “lower than what you’d want for someone to try and sustain their life,” he said.
Cameras and sound devices have not found any signs of life that would warrant them to try to push ahead with urgency at the risk posed to search crews, he said.
He said authorities have had an “emotional” conversation with Pollard’s family to update them on the shift to a recovery effort.
“It feels like we failed,” an emotional Limani said. “But if somebody else gets hurt, I think it would be worse.”
Limani said crews will continue to work to recover Pollard and are preparing for inclement weather to resume the search on Thursday.
“We’re not quitting,” he said. “We are going to continue to work through this. It’s just taken longer than we thought. And the mine is just not in good condition.”
Pollard was last seen Monday evening, police said. Her vehicle was located shortly before 3 a.m. Tuesday with her 5-year-old granddaughter safe inside, though Pollard was nowhere to be seen, police said.
While searching for Pollard in the area, troopers found an apparent sinkhole with an opening about the “size of a manhole” 15 to 20 feet away from the vehicle, according to Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Steve Limani.
Local firefighters, a technical rescue team and the state’s Bureau of Mine Safety worked alongside an excavation team to remove dirt to access the sinkhole, Limani said.
Search crews were able to make entry into the mine area, though the integrity of the mine has been compromised by the water they are using to break up the ground, Limani said. Parts of the mine have started to buckle and collapse, he said.
“We’re afraid we’re going to make it worse if try to continue to plow forward with the techniques that we were using,” he said.
The area where the sinkhole formed has a “very thin layer of earth” and appears to have been deteriorating “for a long time,” Limani said. Other areas near the sinkhole have been deemed unsafe and will be quarantined off with round-the-clock police surveillance, Limani said.
The mine last operated in 1952, according to the state’s Department of Environmental Protection. The depth to the coal seam in this area is approximately 20 feet, a department spokesperson said.
Once the scene is clear, the department will investigate the site “to determine if this issue is the result of historic mine subsidence,” the spokesperson said.
