3 plane crash survivors plucked from Atlantic Ocean at night after plane goes down off Florida coast
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
(INDIAN RIVER COUNTY, FL) — Three people have been rescued from the Atlantic Ocean in the dark after their plane went down several miles offshore off the coast of Florida, officials said.
Officials from Air and Marine Operations, an operational component of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, were alerted to a single-engine Cessna Skyhawk crashing down into the ocean on Sunday evening several miles offshore, according to a statement from of U.S. Customs and Border Protection on Monday.
“During the evening of June 1, an AMO Fort Pierce Marine Unit was alerted by the Indian River Shores Police Department that a single-engine Cessna Skyhawk had crashed approximately 2 to 3 miles offshore,” officials said. “AMO crews immediately responded and arrived at the location, joining search and rescue efforts already underway by the U.S. Coast Guard, Indian River County Sheriff’s Office, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and Indian River Shores Police Department.”
An Indian River County Sheriff’s Office helicopter was able to locate three heat signatures in the water which led to a focused search of the area and, at approximately 9:50 p.m. on Sunday night, AMO Marine Interdiction Agents located two survivors before finding the third one shortly after and bringing him on board as well.
“The survivor identified himself as the pilot and confirmed that only three individuals had been aboard the aircraft at the time of the crash,” CBP officials said. “AMO agents assessed the pilot’s condition, monitoring his vitals and providing initial care as he reported severe rib pain. The pilot was transferred to the Coast Guard 45-foot vessel for Emergency Medical Technician evaluation.”
All three survivors were immediately taken to Coast Guard Station Fort Pierce for further medical treatment by local fire rescue personnel.
“AMO remains committed to protecting lives and supporting partner agencies in search and rescue efforts across the nation’s coastal regions,” officials said.
(CHICAGO) — Federal authorities seized nearly $34 million worth of illegal e-cigarettes in their latest effort to crack down on unauthorized vaping products entering the U.S.
The Food and Drug Administration and U.S. Customs and Border Protection discovered nearly two million illegal e-cigarette units during inspections in Chicago this February, officials announced Thursday.
Almost all the products came from China and included brands like Snoopy Smoke and Raz.
In a new move to combat illegal imports, the FDA also sent warning letters to 24 companies that bring tobacco products into the country.
“We can and will do more to stop illegal e-cigarettes from coming into the United States,” FDA Commissioner Marty Makary said in the press release. “These seizures keep unauthorized products away from our nation’s youth.”
More than 20 million e-cigarettes are sold each month in the U.S., according to CDC Foundation data. However, only 34 tobacco and menthol-flavored e-cigarette products are allowed to be sold in the U.S.
Officials said many companies tried to sneak illegal products past customs by using fake labels and incorrect values on shipping documents.
“We keep finding more shipments of vaping products that are packaged and mislabeled to avoid getting caught,” according to Bret Koplow, who leads the FDA’s tobacco regulation center. “But we’re getting better at stopping these products before they reach U.S. stores.”
The FDA said the seized products would be destroyed. This operation was part of an ongoing effort that had already stopped more than $77 million worth of illegal e-cigarettes in the past year through similar raids in Los Angeles, Miami, and Chicago.
The agency has also issued more than 750 warning letters to companies making or selling unauthorized vaping products and over 800 warnings to stores selling them. It also filed financial penalties against 87 manufacturers and more than 175 retailers.
Astrid Riecken For The Washington Post via Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been in touch with El Salvador President Nayib Bukele about Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the man wrongfully deported last month to El Salvador’s CECOT mega-prison, multiple sources familiar with their contact told ABC News.
The details of their contact were not immediately clear.
ABC News’ Karen Travers asked Secretary of State Rubio about Abrego Garcia at Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting in Washington, and he would not say whether there had been any form of contact.
“I’ll never tell you that,” Rubio said. “And you know who else? I’ll never tell a judge, because the conduct of our foreign policy belongs to the president of the United States and the executive branch, not some judge.”
A spokesperson for the State Department said, “We do not comment on reports of private diplomatic negotiations, regardless if they are real or not.”
The New York Times first reported the contact between the U.S. and El Salvador relating to Abrego Garcia.
Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran native who has been living with his wife and children in Maryland, was deported in March to El Salvador — despite a 2019 court order barring his deportation to that country due to fear of persecution — after the Trump administration claimed he was a member of the criminal gang MS-13.
The federal judge overseeing the case on Wednesday denied a motion from the Trump administration to further delay discovery in the case.
The order came a week after the judge, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis, paused expedited discovery for seven days after the Trump administration asked her for the stay.
An attorney for Abrego Garcia, Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, told ABC News they agreed to the seven-day pause “in good faith.”
“Today is the seventh day of the original seven-day period,” Sandoval-Moshenberg said Wednesday. “Kilmar Abrego Garcia is not back in the United States, and it seems to me that the government has not been using that week wisely.”
The attorney said his team is going to figure out “which humans from the U.S. government” are blocking the return of Abrego Garcia.
Judge Xinis earlier this month slammed the administration over its inaction over Abrego Garcia’s wrongful deportation and ordered government officials to testify under oath through expedited discovery.
Following her order Wednesday, Judge Xinis set new deadlines for the government to respond to requests.
By May 5, the government must answer and respond to all outstanding discovery requests and supplement their invocations of privilege consistent with the court’s previous orders, Xinis ruled.
The depositions of four government witnesses who plaintiffs say have knowledge of the circumstances in the case must be completed by May 9, she ordered.
Abrego Garcia’s lawyers may seek the court’s permission to conduct up to two additional depositions, Judge Xinis said.
The plaintiffs have a deadline of May 12 to renew their motions for relief, which previously asked the court to order the government to comply with the order to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return to the U.S., and to order the government to show cause why it should not be held in contempt for failing to comply with the court’s prior orders.
The government will have until May 14 to respond to that motion, Xinis said.
The Trump administration, while acknowledging that Abrego Garcia was deported to El Salvador in error, has said that his alleged MS-13 affiliation makes him ineligible to return to the United States. His wife and attorney have denied that he is an MS-13 member.
In 2019, an immigration judge determined that Abrego Garcia was removable from the U.S. based on allegations of his gang affiliation made by local police in Maryland. But Abrego Garcia was subsequently granted withholding of removal to his home country.
Judge Xinis early this month ruled that the Trump administration must “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s return, and the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously affirmed that ruling, “with due regard for the deference owed to the Executive Branch in the conduct of foreign affairs.”
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(TALLAHASSEE, Fla.) — At least four people are injured in a shooting at Florida State University in Tallahassee, multiple sources told ABC News.
This number is subject to change, sources said, as law enforcement is actively searching to determine how many might be injured.
Police are responding to the scene, which is near the Student Union, according to an FSU Alert, which had advised students to continue to shelter in place due to reports of an active shooter.
Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare said it’s received patients from FSU, but didn’t specify how many or their injuries.
“It’s too early to understand the extent of the violence, but early reports are very disturbing,” Rep. Neal Dunn, R-Fla., said in a statement. “Shelter in place. Stay Safe. Thank you to our brave first responders for responding to the situation.”
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement said it’s “actively engaged in the incident.” The FBI is also assisting authorities at the university, an agency spokesperson told ABC News.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
