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(PHILADELPHIA) — One person is dead and another two remain unaccounted for after a seven-story parking garage under construction in Philadelphia partially collapsed, officials said.

A search and rescue operation is ongoing for the two individuals following Wednesday’s partial collapse, in what Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker called a “complex process” due to the instability of the structure.

“We will not rest until everyone is accounted for from this tragedy,” Parker said at a press briefing late Wednesday.

Three people were rescued from the scene, according to Philadelphia Fire Commissioner Jeffrey Thompson. One was critically injured and died at a hospital, he said. The two others were treated and have since been released, he said.

The incident occurred around 2:17 p.m. Wednesday, according to Parker. A subcontractor was in the process of installing precast concrete floor decking and roof segments at the time, she said.

“After placement, a precast roof segment failed and fell to the level below, literally triggering a progressive collapse of connected sections across all seven levels,” Parker said.

Thompson said engineers and others are evaluating the building so that a safe search and rescue operation can occur.

“We will not stop until we have looked through every part of this affected structure to ensure that everyone is accounted for,” he said, noting that this process will “take time.”

“This building that has been impacted is unstable. It has to be secured,” he said. “We have to very carefully and methodically deconstruct this building for the safety of the people working on it, and ultimately, for the safety of the first responders who will continue the search.” 

The owner of the parking garage is the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and the contractor for the project is based in Exton, Pennsylvania, according to Parker.

“We are prioritizing the safety of the construction workers at this time and working closely with the City of Philadelphia and our construction partners,” the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia said in a statement.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said his administration offers those on the ground “our full support as they continue rescue efforts at the scene and support the families impacted.”

Eight permits required for the construction were properly issued, and all inspections were up to date, according to Parker.

“The city will investigate this garage collapse thoroughly and efficiently to learn all of the relevant facts of this terrible tragedy,” she said.

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(NEW YORK) — Admitted Gilgo Beach, New York, serial killer Rex Heuermann was linked to one of his victims, Megan Waterman, by the distinct pattern on a Bounty paper towel, according to the district attorney.

In court on Wednesday, Heuermann changed his plea to guilty and admitted to the murders of eight women: Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy, Amber Costello, Sandra Costilla, Valerie Mack, Jessica Taylor, Maureen Brainard-Barnes and Karen Vergata.

Prosecutors said the New York City architect targeted sex workers, strangled them and dumped their bodies near Long Island’s Gilgo Beach from 1993 to 2010.

“This was his obsession,” Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney told ABC News. “With his internet searches and his thought process, this was what was driving him.”

A piece of evidence that would’ve been presented had the case gone to trial is a rolled up Bounty paper towel recovered from Waterman’s mouth, Tierney said.

Waterman, 22, went missing in June 2010 and her remains were found in December 2010 in Gilgo Beach, according to Suffolk County police.

The paper towel had a particular pattern that Bounty created specifically for the box store BJ’s Wholesale Club, and that pattern was only in circulation in 2010, Tierney said.

When searching Heuermann’s home, investigators found a BJ’s receipt for Bounty paper towels, and “the SKU [stock-keeping unit] number was for a Bounty paper towel with that same pattern,” Tierney said.

“And so we were able to show that this Bounty paper towel was purchased by the defendant,” Tierney said. “And inside his desk drawer was a square of that same paper towel that matched perfectly and that he had kept in his office since 2010.”

That paper towel square was a “memento” for Heuermann, Tierney said, adding that prosecutors “would have utilized [that] at trial to link him to the commission of that particular murder.”

Heuermann was arrested in 2023 and initially pleaded not guilty to killing seven women. He was set to go to trial in September.

On Wednesday, Heuermann agreed to serve three consecutive life sentences followed by four consecutive sentences of 25 years-to-life, prosecutors said. His sentencing is set for June 17.

Tierney said, from his “outside observation” as a prosecutor, Heuermann, 62, wanted to change his plea because “I think he was done.”

“He wanted this to come to a conclusion — that’s just my impression,” he said.

Waterman’s daughter, Liliana Waterman, told reporters on Wednesday that she accepts the guilty plea and is “very, very thankful.”

Part of the plea arrangement requires Heuermann to cooperate with the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit.

“I think it’s very important,” Tierney said.

“This is clinical,” he said. “So I think they’re going to, hopefully, gain insight into him, his motivations, you know, what created this need or desire in him. And hopefully we’ll gain insight, you know, for cases going forward.”

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(NEW YORK) — Nine months after a New York jury convicted Sean “Diddy” Combs of transporting prostitutes across state lines for drug-fueled sex parties, the hip-hop mogul is set to appear in a federal appeals court on Thursday to challenge his lengthy prison sentence.

Acquitted last year of the more serious charges of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking, Combs argues that the judge imposed an overly harsh sentence by considering the crimes for which the jury found him not guilty.

“He sits in prison today, serving a 50-month sentence, because the district judge acted as a thirteenth juror,” Combs’ lawyers wrote in their appeal.

A panel of judges on the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals is set to hear the sentence challenge as well as Combs’ broader argument that he should not have been convicted because his sexual exploits are protected under the First Amendment.

His lawyers claim that Combs was merely “creating typical amateur pornography” by transporting escorts across state lines to engage in lengthy drug-fueled sex parties known as “freak offs.”

Lawyers with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan, who initially asked for a 11-year sentence, argue the judge was correct in taking into account the violent way Combs treated his victims when handing down his sentence.

“According to Combs, the District Court should have closed its eyes to how he carried out his … offenses and abused his victims–violently beating them, threatening them, lying to them, and plying them with drugs,” prosecutors said in their appellate brief.

What was Combs found guilty of?
After a two-month trial last summer, a jury reached a split verdict against Combs, acquitting him on the more serious charges of sex trafficking and racketeering while finding him guilty of two lesser counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. Though the jury determined that Combs did not coerce or exploit his victims — necessary elements to prove sex trafficking — they did conclude that he transported people across state lines for his “freak offs.”

Claiming legal victory, Combs’ lawyers unsuccessfully pushed for his release from prison, arguing he had already served enough time in prison while awaiting trial.

U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian rejected those arguments and handed down a 50-month sentence, saying Combs was able to get away with violent and abusive conduct for years.

“The court is not assured that if released these crimes would not be committed again,” said Subramanian, who added that a lengthy sentence was needed “to send a message to abusers and victims alike that exploitation and violence against women is met with real accountability.”

How much time does Combs have left in his sentence?
After spending about 14 months in the federal jail in Brooklyn ahead of his trial and sentencing, Combs has been serving his sentence at the federal prison in Fort Dix, New Jersey. In addition to having those 14 months taken off his overall sentence, Combs is also likely eligible for a reduction in his sentence under the First Step Act and by participating in a drug rehabilitation program.

According to the federal Bureau of Prisons, Combs’ tentative release date is April 15, 2028.

What is Combs’ argument to reduce his sentence?
Combs’ lawyers have argued his sentence is “unlawful, unconstitutional, and a perversion of justice” because it factored in conduct for which the jury acquitted Combs.

“The jury refused to authorize any punishment for coercive sex or conspiracy–because the evidence showed there was none,” his lawyers wrote in a reply brief. “The jury only authorized punishment for ‘prostitution.’ It never authorized a sentence four times the typical sentence for that crime.”

Prosecutors pushed back on those arguments, arguing that the federal sentencing guidelines allow the judge to consider relevant conduct, even if he was acquitted of those crimes.

“That is because ‘acquittal on criminal charges does not prove that the defendant is innocent; it merely proves the existence of a reasonable doubt as to his guilt,'” they argued.

How does the First Amendment apply to Combs’ conviction?
Combs’ lawyers also asked the court to throw out the conviction altogether, arguing the prostitution at the center of his case was part of an effort to make “typical amateur pornography.”

“The encounters were highly choreographed performances involving costumes, lighting, and other staged effects. Later, Combs and his girlfriends often watched the films together. Such conduct is protected by the First Amendment,” his lawyers argued.

Prosecutors have told the court the transportation of sex across state lines “is not inherently expressive” conduct protected under the First Amendment.

“Combs’s intent to watch the sex sessions live cannot bring his interstate transportation of others to have sex for money within the First Amendment’s protection. Were it otherwise, any defendant who transported others to engage in prostitution could escape liability simply by watching or filming the sex,” prosecutors wrote in their brief.

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