One dead, three still missing after boat capsizes on Florida river
Douglas Sacha/Getty Images/STOCK
(JACKSONVILLE, Fla.) — One person is dead and three others are still missing after a boat capsized on St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida.
The Jacksonville Fire Rescue Department responded to a reported capsized vessel with multiple people in the water at 8 p.m. on Friday.
Four people were pulled from the water upon arrival of first responders and four more were unaccounted for.
Multiple agencies’ boats, search teams, helicopters and a drone unit continued search efforts for the missing people. One of the four missing people was found dead.
The search for the remaining three missing people continued through the night and into the morning.
The boat, which had flipped over, has been recovered and towed, officials said.
(LOS ANGELES) — Even with flames still burning in parts of Los Angeles County, total insured losses from the wildfires this month are already estimated at more than $30 billion, according to Goldman Sachs.
The massive amount of damage dwarfs the previous record of $12 billion in insured losses caused by Northern California’s Camp Fire in 2018.
With over 15,000 structures already destroyed in the Palisades, Eaton and spate of smaller fires, according to state officials, some public insurance claim adjusters are warning that it may take years for claims to be resolved, and in some instances, homeowners may not have the coverage they thought they had.
A recent study from the University of Colorado Boulder of a 2021 wildfire in the state found that three-quarters of those who lost their homes were not fully covered for total losses.
As thousands of homeowners in Southern California file insurance claims to start the recovery process, they are meeting the one person who will determine how much the insurance company should pay for their loss — the insurance adjuster.
Each claimant is assigned an adjuster by the insurance company. It is the adjuster’s job to assess the damage, and in the case of the LA wildfires, prioritize the destroyed and severely damaged homes over those with minor damage.
California law requires that insurers immediately pay policyholders one-third of the estimated value of their belongings and a minimum of four months’ rent in the event they are completely displaced.
Gov. Gavin Newsom recently issued a one-year moratorium preventing insurance companies from canceling or issuing nonrenewals for homeowners in the neighborhoods or adjoining ZIP codes affected by the Palisades and Eaton fires.
After the adjuster assesses the damage, they will determine how much the insurance company pays out for the claim.
Those who file may be given a settlement offer on the spot, but Amy Bach, executive director of the non-profit consumer advocacy group United Policyholders, tells ABC News that homeowners should resist the temptation to sign on the dotted line right away.
She recommends asking insurers for a copy of the policy and studying it for details about what level of coverage can apply.
“Give your insurance company a chance to do the right thing, but don’t be a pushover,” Bach said. “Understand reality — your insurer is a for-profit business, and you need to be pro-active to recover what you’re owed in full. Get informed on your rights and your insurer’s obligations and be politely assertive.”
Experts say if an insurer tells a homeowner that something is not covered, they should get a second opinion, including getting independent valuations of the replacement cost of the home and possessions.
“Chances are the insurer’s adjuster will use a software program to calculate what they owe you,” Bach said. “Computers don’t repair and rebuild homes — contractors and subcontractors do. So, it’s what they will charge that matters.”
If the homeowner disagrees with the insurance company’s assessment, they can appeal the decision and hire a public adjuster for a fee, according to Bach.
The public adjuster’s second opinion may help when negotiating with the insurance company, Bach added.
Public adjusters can be found through the California Department of Insurance website, and if homeowners are not being treated fairly — they can file a complaint for free with the same department.
Bach suggests keeping detailed notes of all conversations with the insurance company and adjuster including the dates and times of speaking, the names of those representatives, and a summary of what was said.
She also recommends sending a follow-up email after every conversation to document the progress.
Even if affected homeowners are insured, experts also recommend applying for disaster assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
(NEW YORK) — Luxury real estate brokers Tal and Oren Alexander, along with their brother Alon, on Friday pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiring to drug and sexually assault dozens of women nearly two months after their arrest.
The three Alexander brothers arrived in Manhattan federal court together in handcuffs, shackles and drab beige jail clothing.
They pleaded not guilty to federal sex trafficking charges in their first court appearance in New York after being arrested in Miami in December. Their transfer was delayed for weeks as they tried unsuccessfully to secure bail.
Prosecutors announced plans to file additional charges, stating that more than 60 women alleged they were raped by at least one of the brothers. The three siblings have been accused of luring women to nightclubs and parties, then drugging and sexually assaulting them.
“We do intend to bring a superseding indictment in this case,” prosecutor Elizabeth Espinosa said. “I think we will need another month or two.”
Espinosa said that investigators gathered a “substantial” amount of evidence, including accounts from alleged victims, as well as data from iCloud, Instagram, Facebook, dating apps, cell phones, laptop computers and electronic storage devices.
In a January court hearing, when the brothers were still in Florida, prosecutor Andrew Jones said FBI agents found multiple hard drives in a closet of Tal’s apartment during a search.
They allegedly contained “a large quantity of sexually explicit videos and photos” showing the brothers with drunk, naked women who were unaware they were being recorded. According to prosecutors, some of the women tried to hide or flee from the camera when they realized they were being filmed.
Defense attorney Deanna Paul, who is representing Tal, called the allegations “speculative” and questioned what the videos depict, prompting U.S. District Judge Valerie Caproni to interject.
“In my view, having a sex with a woman who is incapacitated is likely rape,” Caproni said.
On Friday, Caproni scheduled the trial for Jan. 5, 2026, anticipating it will last at least a month. Defense attorneys have until early May to file a motion to dismiss. The next in-person court hearing is scheduled for mid-July.
All three brothers face 15 years to life in prison if convicted of the federal charges. Oren and Tal were prominent New York and Miami real estate agents, working with wealthy and celebrity clients.
(NEW YORK) — The National Park Service eliminated references to transgender people from its Stonewall National Monument website on Thursday, which now only refers to those who are lesbian, gay and bisexual.
What used to be listed as LGBTQ+, has been changed to LGB.
“Before the 1960s, almost everything about living openly as a lesbian, gay, bisexual (LGB) person was illegal. The Stonewall Uprising on June 28, 1969, is a milestone in the quest for LGB civil rights and provided momentum for a movement,” the website now says.
The Stonewall Inn in New York City’s Greenwich Village became a national monument in 2016 under former President Barack Obama, creating the country’s first national park site dedicated to LGBTQ+ history.
The Stonewall Uprising on June 28, 1969, began in response to a routine police raid on a gay bar, according to the Library of Congress. The conflict spanned multiple nights and drew national attention as bargoers resisted the police.
The Stonewall Inn and the Stonewall Inn Gives Back Initiative told ABC News that it was thanks to the leadership of transgender women who “stood up and stood out and refused to be put into a corner” that the modern LGBTQ equality movement exists.
“In this fight, in this movement, it was also trans people, especially trans women of color, like Marsha P Johnson, Sylvia, Rivera, Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, black and brown trans women that stood at the forefront of this movement,” said Angelica Christina, the Board Director of the Stonewall Inn Gives Back Initiative, in an interview with ABC News. “We would not have pride as we know it today without trans people, without trans women.”
Though LGBTQ+ rights activism existed in various pockets prior to 1969, the incident at Stonewall galvanized and mobilized the community toward increased organizing, experts said. NYPD officials have since apologized for past anti-LGBTQ+ practices and the raid of Stonewall.
“… to come and do this at the Stonewall National Monument and try to erase LGBTQ history, which is American history, is just deplorable and something that we cannot see happen,” co-owner of the Stonewall Inn, Stacy Lentz, told ABC News.
For transgender residents, like Christina, the Stonewall Inn has long been a safe haven.
“The Stonewall bar, which for me, as a native New Yorker, that was one of the first queer, LGBT safe spaces that I turned to in my early 20s,” Christina told ABC News. “It was a space that was welcoming for especially a trans woman like myself, a space that I could exist comfortably and safely and that I knew that I could turn to. And there are so many spaces in especially in New York City, unfortunately, are not safe for trans people.”
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul took to X on Thursday to condemn the change, calling it “cruel and petty.”
“Transgender people play a critical role in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights — and New York will never allow their contributions to be erased,” Hochul said.
The monument’s organizers promised to fight for transgender representation to be restored on the website, saying, that the group “Stands unwaveringly in solidarity with the transgender community and all who fight for full equality, and we will not rest until this grave injustice is corrected.”
The Park Service’s public affairs department, according to the New York Times, said “the agency had taken the actions to carry out an executive order signed by President Trump on his first day in office that was described as ‘restoring biological truth to the federal government’ and a second order signed by the acting secretary of the interior last month.”
Several other references to the transgender community remain on the website, including the founding document for the Stonewall National Monument, historical pages on Rivera and Johnson, and other references to LGBTQ history.
During his first day in the White House, President Donald Trump signed an executive order declaring that there are only “two sexes, male and female,” with the effects of that order being seen from passports to the U.S. military.
“The decision to change ‘LGBTQ’ to ‘LGB’ on the Stonewall National Monument’s National Parks page is yet another example of the Trump administration’s blatant attempts to discriminate against and erase the legacies of transgender and queer Americans,” the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) said in a statement on Thursday.
“You can try to erase our history, but we will never forget those who came before us and we will continue to fight for all those who will come after us,” the GLAAD statement added.
The National Parks Conservation Association — an independent, nonpartisan membership organization dedicated to national park advocacy — released a statement on the decision Thursday.
“Erasing letters or webpages does not change the history or the contributions of our transgender community members at Stonewall or anywhere else,” program manager Timothy Leonard said. “Stonewall inspires and our parks must continue to include diverse stories that welcome and represent the people that shaped our nation.”
