Apparent tornado in California flips cars, sends several to hospital
Via Scotts Valley Police Department
(LOS ANGELES) — An apparent tornado touched down in a small Northern California city Saturday, flipping cars, causing significant damage and sending several people to the hospital.
The National Weather Service said the apparent tornado touched down at about 1:40 p.m. local time in Scotts Valley, about 30 miles south of San Jose.
Several people were taken to the hospital with injuries, but there are no reported deaths, according to a press release from the Scotts Valley Police Department.
“Emergency medical teams are prioritizing those most in need of care, and we continue to monitor the situation closely,” police said in the news release.
The tornado caused “significant damage” in several areas, police said.
Photos shared by police on social media showed multiple cars turned on their sides along the roadway and in a shopping center parking lot.
The weather service confirmed the tornado based on videos, photos, witness accounts and radar and said a survey team would further investigate damage on the ground to determine how strong it was.
California averages about 11 tornadoes a year, typically in the fall and spring, according to the weather service.
Earlier Saturday morning, the weather service issued the first tornado warning for San Francisco, amid a strong storm that knocked out power for thousands, according to ABC station KGO.
The tornado warning in San Francisco was lifted about 20 minutes later.
(NEW YORK) — The back-to-back retirements of two college quarterbacks seemingly at the start of their careers has put a spotlight again on concussions and youth sports, particularly football.
On Oct. 23, North Carolina State quarterback Grayson McCall announced on Instagramthat he would retire from the sport after being carted off the field in an Oct. 5 game that saw him lose his helmet in a hit.
“As you all know I have battled injuries my whole career, but this is one that I cannot come back from. I have done everything I can to continue, but this is where the good Lord has called me to serve in a different space,” McCall, 23, wrote alongside photos of him playing football as a young kid. “Brain specialists, my family, and I have come to the conclusion that it is in my best interest to hang the cleats up.”
Just five days later, on Oct. 28, University of Michigan quarterback Jack Tuttle announced that he too is retiring from football, also citing medical reasons.
Tuttle, a seventh-year senior, underwent surgery on his throwing arm in the offseason, according to ESPN, and then this season suffered the fifth concussion of his career.
“Unfortunately, the recent experience of enduring my fifth concussion has brought forth the painful truth: that I need to start prioritizing my health,” Tuttle, 25, wrote, in part, in an Instagram post announcing his retirement. “Throughout my college career, I’ve battled numerous injuries, culminating in this difficult choice to step away from playing the game that I love.
Both Tuttle and McCall noted that they planned to stay involved with football through coaching, with McCall writing, “I look forward to taking my passion and love for the game into the coaching space to serve and lead the next group of kids with a dream.”
Whether it’s safe for young kids to dream of playing football is a conversation starting again in the wake of the quarterbacks’ retirements, as well as the recent deaths of two youth football players.
Among youth sports, boys’ football has the highest rate of concussion, with10.4 concussions per 10,000 athlete exposures, according to a 2019 study published in the journal Pediatrics. Girls’ soccer and boys’ ice hockey followed behind with the second and third highest rates, respectively.
For kids who start playing tackle football at a young age, the concussions can start just as young. A 2018 study found that 5% of youth football players ages 5 to 14 suffer a football-related concussion each season.
And the science shows that each concussion — caused by a jolt to the head or a hit to the body — matters.
While not usually life-threatening, the effects of even a mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) or concussion, can be “serious,” according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, causing changes to the brain that can impact a kid’s sleep, learning, behavior and thoughts.
Over time, repeated concussions can cause long-term problems with concentration, memory, balance and headaches, according to the CDC.
Chris Nowinski, Ph.D., co-founder and CEO of the Concussion Legacy Foundation, a nonprofit organization focused on concussion and CTE research, told ABC News that while he doesn’t know the specifics of Tuttle’s and McCall’s, it’s notable that they retired from football now, during their college careers.
“It’s important remember, you only get one brain, and when you’re playing football, you’re risking your long-term brain health,” Nowinski said. “And so you want to make sure that when you get warning signs that your brain is losing its resilience to trauma, you shut it down before it gets too bad.”
He added of Tuttle and McCall, “They’re better off finding that new passion versus running their brain to the ground and dealing with those consequences for the rest of their lives.”
Takeaways for parents and young athletes
Nowinski said he recommends that if a child is interested in playing football, they play flag or touch football instead of tackle football for as long as possible.
It’s a recommendation echoed by the CDC, which cites data showing youth tackle football players had 15 times more head impacts during a practice or game than flag football athletes.
If a child is playing tackle football, safety recommendations from the CDC include reducing the number of contact practices for teams, teaching position-specific and age-appropriate tackling and blocking skills, and strictly enforcing penalties for head hits.
Noting the importance of kids getting as few concussions as possible, Nowinski said he also encourages parents, coaches and trainers to give young athletes more than enough time to recover from a concussion.
“That means staying out longer than a week after a concussion, and potentially staying out longer than is even recommended,” he said. “And that when there are two concussions in a shorter period of time, that you take longer off.”
For young athletes hesitant to miss a game or practice, Nowinski said the takeaway message is, “The more [concussions] you get, the more you risk having to step away from your sport.”
Dr. Munro Cullum, a concussion expert and neuropsychologist from UT Southwestern’s O’Donnell Brain Institute, told ABC News that he tells parents and athletes, “If in doubt, sit it out.”
“If you have questions about how you’re doing, the line I use for a lot of young adults that I see is, ‘If you’re impaired and not functioning at your best, you can’t be the best for your team,'” Cullum said. “‘You can’t be there for your team in full strength, and therefore, you need to let people know when there’s something wrong.'”
Cullum said that parents and guardians can often be the first line of defense when it comes to identifying a concussion in their child.
“I encourage parents to educate themselves about concussion signs also because some of the changes can be very subtle,” he said. “Their behaviors may change and maybe only a parent would notice that somebody’s more sullen or they’re more anxious than they used to be.”
In some cases, symptoms of concussions may appear right away, while in others it may take hours or days after the injury for symptoms to appear.
Concussion symptoms can range from dizziness, nausea, vision problems and headaches to concentration problems, fogginess, anxiety, sadness, nervousness or changes in sleep, according to the CDC.
When it comes to knowing whether the latest concussion is one too many for an athlete, Cullum said there is no “magic number.”
“We don’t yet know how many concussions are too many or for whom,” Cullum said, adding, “It’s what’s unique about one individual versus another. There can’t really be a blanket prescription that’s right for everybody. One size doesn’t fit all.”
(NEW YORK) — A New Mexico judge has declined to dismiss the case against “Rust” armorer Hannah Gutierrez, who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, after previously dismissing the case against Alec Baldwin for evidence suppression.
Her attorneys argued in court filings that she was entitled to a new trial or dismissal of the case for “egregious prosecutorial misconduct” and “severe and ongoing discovery violations by the State.”
Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer denied the motion Monday following arguments during a virtual hearing Thursday. She also denied a separate motion from the defense seeking immediate release from detention.
In her ruling, Marlowe Sommer stated the issues raised by the defense did not justify a new trial or dismissal, and that in Gutierrez’s case the state did not suppress the ammunition evidence that was at the heart of Baldwin’s dismissal.
Marlowe Sommer dismissed Baldwin’s case with prejudice on day three of the actor’s July trial after his attorneys claimed live ammunition that came into the hands of local law enforcement related to the investigation into the deadly on-set shooting was “concealed” from them.
The judge said in court on July 12 while issuing her ruling that the state’s discovery violation regarding the late disclosure of a supplemental report on the ammunition evidence “injected needless delay into the proceedings,” approached “bad faith” and was “highly prejudicial to the defendant.”
During Thursday’s hearing, defense attorney Jason Bowles said the “significance of the items that were suppressed were favorable and material” to Gutierrez.
Bowles told the judge that he became aware of the ammunition — which had been brought forward by his witness, Troy Teske, during Gutierrez’s trial — but directed Teske to bring it to the sheriff’s office because he “didn’t want to be in the chain of custody.”
“We weren’t told what happened” after that, Bowles said. “We weren’t able to utilize those rounds.”
He also argued the state suppressed additional evidence, including one of firearm expert Luke Haag’s reports on the revolver involved in the shooting, and an interview with Seth Kenney, the owner of the prop firearms supplier for “Rust.”
“This pattern of discovery abuse occurred in Miss [Gutierrez’s] case in the same manner that it occurred in Mr. Baldwin’s case,” Bowles said, saying they are “asking for dismissal on the same basis that this court dismissed Mr. Baldwin’s case.”
Special prosecutor Kari Morrissey argued Gutierrez and Bowles can’t rely on the dismissal of Baldwin’s case over the rounds because they were in the possession of his witness, Teske.
“She and her lawyer had them during trial and chose not to use them,” she said. “That is exactly what happened,”
“They don’t get to now come and say we made a strategic error, so give us a new trial,” she continued.
Morrissey argued the other evidence raised by Bowles was not material and said the state did not intentionally withhold evidence.
“Nothing was intentionally buried,” she said, adding that the case had a “terabyte of discovery” with new discovery “coming in constantly.”
In her order, Marlowe Sommer found that the state did suppress the Kenney interview and the Haag report, but that the defense failed to establish that either piece of evidence is material.
Regarding the Teske-supplied ammunition, the judge found that the state did not suppress or fail to provide her with evidence that could be favorable to her case because the live rounds were available to her and her defense in advance of and during her trial.
Marlowe Sommer also found that the state could not have suppressed other evidence related to the ammunition, including the sheriff’s office’s supplemental report and lapel footage of Teske at the sheriff’s office, before or during the trial because those items were not created until on or after the final day of Gutierrez’s trial.
Teske, a retired officer who lives in Arizona and is a friend of Gutierrez’s father, famed Hollywood armorer Thell Reed, brought the live ammunition to the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office at the end of Gutierrez’s trial. He said the ammunition, which was owned by Reed and from a different set, was suspected of being connected to the “Rust” set and that Gutierrez’s defense did not want the ammunition, according to lapel footage of his sheriff’s office interview played during Baldwin’s trial.
Morrissey said during Baldwin’s trial that the ammunition did not have any evidentiary value in either Gutierrez’s or Baldwin’s case. Baldwin defense attorney Luke Nikas charged that the ammunition evidence was ultimately “concealed” by being placed under a different case number and said it was “critical” evidence that was required to be disclosed.
A jury found Gutierrez guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Hutchins, who was fatally shot by Baldwin on the Santa Fe set of the Western in October 2021 when his revolver fired a live round.
Prosecutors argued during the March trial that the armorer was the source of the live bullet that killed Hutchins and had failed to follow safety protocols meant to protect the crew while handling the firearms.
Gutierrez was sentenced in April to 18 months in prison, the maximum for the offense.
Mayor Eric Adams exits the Thurgood Marshall Courthouse after making the first appearance in his corruption case on October 2, 2024 in New York City. (Alex Kent/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — It is “possible” New York City Mayor Eric Adams could face additional charges and additional defendants are “likely” to be added, prosecutors said during a court hearing Wednesday, a week after a sprawling, five-count indictment was unsealed against the embattled politician.
“We’re moving quickly,” the prosecutor, Hagan Scotten, said. “We think that is quite likely.”
Adams has pleaded not guilty to charges that accused him of engaging in a long-running conspiracy to solicit and accept illegal foreign contributions.
Alex Spiro, Adams’ lawyer, criticized prosecutors, saying in a statement following the hearing: “The prosecution is desperately now saying they ‘could’ bring a new case because they are suddenly facing dismissal of their actual, flawed case and sanctions for misconduct. This is the sort of nonsense that prosecutors say when they don’t have a real case. If they had a real case, they would have brought it.”
The investigation into Adams began in the summer of 2021, “before the defendant had even become mayor,” Scotten said, revealing a timeframe not previously known.
The investigation unearthed text messages, emails and records from Turkish Airlines that Scotten said show the mayor tried to “create the illusion” he properly paid for certain flights when, in fact, he had not.
“It’s a bribe and it’s against the law,” Scotten said.
“Multiple” witnesses who participated with Adams in the charged conduct and witnesses who made illegal donations are expected to testify, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors also said they have evidence Adams sought to tamper with witnesses.
According to Scotten, after a witness was approached by the FBI during the investigation, that person was given “a clear message from the defendant they should not tell the truth to the FBI.”
The witness was not named, but Scotten called it a “significant instance of witness interference in this case.”
Adams patted the shoulder of a woman he seemed to recognize as he made his way to the defense table for his first hearing before the judge presiding over his federal bribery prosecution.
The mayor’s defense lawyer has asked the court to dismiss the bribery count and, separately, to sanction the prosecution over purported leaks. The defense urged the court to move quickly.
“We do not want this case dragging out,” Spiro said.
Spiro said Adams’ trial should start and end in March to give him time to secure a spot on the ballot for reelection. Adams, who was elected in 2021, is up for reelection in 2025.
“We want to get this to trial,” Spiro said. “They indicted the sitting mayor of New York.”
Spiro expressed confidence the bribery count would be dismissed and Adams acquitted.
“We want this case to be done with in March,” Spiro said.
Judge Dale Ho agreed the public and the mayor have a “strong interest” in a speedy trial, but he declined to immediately set a trial date. Prosecutors suggested a May trial date.
Prosecutors said they expect the trial to last about four weeks, while the defense said it would be much shorter.
Ho gave prosecutors until Oct. 18 to reply to the defense motions with oral arguments on Oct. 31.
Adams, a Democrat and former police captain, has said he plans to fight the charges, which last week he called “entirely false,” and does not plan to resign as leader of the largest city in the country.
