Category: National

(ANCHORAGE, Alaska) — Ashley Keith used to always dream about joining the world of professional sled dog racing.

She got her first sled dog when she was 13 years old and fantasized about one day participating in the renowned 1,000-mile race in Alaska, the Iditarod.

In 2003, she thought her dream was coming true when she was asked to work as a handler for a prominent family that has competed in the Iditarod for decades.

But in reality, “that was what really killed my dream,” Keith told ABC News.

During her time as a handler, she said she was appalled by the conditions the dogs were living in — inspiring her to start Humane Mushing, a movement that fights to raise the standards for sled dog welfare.

The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, also known as the “Last Great Race,” is a 1,000-mile race held annually in Alaska since its start in 1973. The competition always occurs during the peak of Alaska’s winter, requiring dogs and mushers — the drivers of the sled — to travel through frozen rivers, mountains and blizzards, according to the race’s website.

The 53rd annual Iditarod will begin with a ceremonial start on Saturday, with the official start taking place Monday. The race will not conclude until the last musher crosses the finish line, which is projected to occur on March 11.

Due to a lack of snow, this year’s race has a different starting point in Fairbanks, Alaska, which extends the competition by an additional 150 miles, according to the race organizers.

The race is a core part of Alaska’s history, stemming back to the Iditarod Trail, a path that was used as a mail route in the 20th century and was critical for transportation in the winter months when roads were obstructed, according to the race’s website.

Despite its tight connection to the culture of Alaska, some argue the race is a form of animal abuse, with dogs working under high levels of stress in extreme weather conditions.

Iditarod officials did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment. ABC News also reached out to the World Sleddog Association, Humane World for Animals and the International Sled Dog Veterinary Medical Association for comment.

Race alerts concerns of animal abuse

More than 150 dogs have reportedly died from the race since its start, including three that occurred in the 2024 race, according to PETA. Those deaths do not include dogs that died during training or the off-season, PETA noted. While these recent deaths prompted calls for the race to end, organizations have been protesting the Iditarod for decades, according to Melanie Johnson, a senior manager at PETA.

“This cruelty needs to end now,” Johnson told ABC News. “The number of dogs who die is just going to keep going up as long as the race continues.”

According to a 2001 study by the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, more than 80% of dogs that finish the Iditarod sustain persistent lung damage. A 2003 study by the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine found that dogs forced to participate in endurance racing had a 61% higher rate of stomach erosions or ulcers.

Johnson said the leading cause of death for dogs who race in the Iditarod is aspiration pneumonia, which is when the dog inhales its own vomit.

“Whenever a dog is forced to run 100 miles a day, their bodies are going to be pushed past their limits,” Johnson said.

Campaigns and protests by PETA have led several Iditarod sponsors to drop out, including Alaska Airlines, ExxonMobil and the Anchorage Chrysler dealership. With very few sponsors left, Johnson said the race is “really in dire straits.”

Veterinarian treatment at the race

Others argue the race is safe for dogs to compete in, including Dr. Lee Morgan, a veterinarian who previously provided care to canines competing in the Iditarod. In his 14 years working at the race, Morgan told ABC News only seven of the 14,000 dogs he saw have died.

“I’m not diminishing their deaths, but I see that sort of thing with any event that involves people,” Morgan said. “I’ve seen dogs that have died running on the beach with their owner. I’ve seen dogs overheat. Almost any event that involves dogs and humans, there’s a chance for unforeseen circumstances.”

Morgan, who wrote the book “4,000 Paws: Caring for the Dogs of the Iditarod,” said all dogs are required to provide blood work, a urinalysis, an EKG and must undergo a physical exam prior to competing in the race. He also said the race places multiple medical personnel on site at different checkpoints, where each dog is examined and treated for any issues.

Legality of the Iditarod

Despite the accusations of abuse, the Iditarod is a legal competition in the state of Alaska, according to Matthew Liebman, associate professor at the University of San Francisco School of Law.

Similar to other parts of the U.S., Alaska’s anti-cruelty law states a person commits cruelty to animals if the person knowingly inflicts severe or prolonged physical pain on the animal or has a legal duty to care for an animal but fails to do so, causing prolonged suffering to the animal or its death.

Liebman pointed out that Alaska includes an exemption to this law, allowing “generally accepted dog mushing or pulling contests or practices or rodeos or stock contests” to continue to operate.

“This just represents Alaska’s legislature making the determination that even if mushing does cause animals to suffer, it’s something they’re willing to tolerate for the sake of sport or tradition,” Liebman told ABC News.

Liebman said many states prohibit the “overworking” or “overdriving” of animals, meaning the Iditarod might violate anti-cruelty laws in other states.

‘No way do I want any dog on my team to die’

Typically, around 50 mushers compete in the Iditarod each year, with the record being 96 mushers in 2008, according to the race’s website. But those numbers continue to decline, with only 33 mushers registered to compete in this year’s race, which “ties for the record of the smallest field of competitors in the race’s history,” according to Johnson.

Musher Erin Altemus, who competed in the race last year, said it’s impossible to force these racing dogs to run if they don’t want to, which is exactly why she wasn’t able to complete the race in 2024.

“Ultimately what happened to me in the Iditarod is that my dogs didn’t want to run anymore,” Altemus told ABC News. “I had to respect that. There’s nothing I can do to change their minds.”

Keith said the way the dogs are strapped in, with one strap around their neck and another around their back, causes the dogs to be dragged if they ever wish to stop running. Some dogs even have to go to the bathroom without stopping, also known as “pooping on the fly,” according to Keith.

Vets and mushers claim the dogs are able to stop when they need to and are allowed time to rest at different checkpoints throughout the race, where they are also examined by a veterinary team.

At last year’s race, Altemus said she witnessed nothing but kindness and love toward the dogs, both from mushers and staff. The four-legged athletes received treats, massages, copious amounts of hay to sleep on and Prilosec to prevent stomach ulcers, Altemus said.

“If you were at a checkpoint and seeing the dogs coming and going and seeing how much they love to run and how much the mushers do care for their dogs, I think that speaks for itself,” Altemus said.

Altemus said she and other mushers “live in fear” of making a wrong decision for her dogs.

“Going into that race, you think, ‘No way do I want any dog on my team to die,'” Altemus said.

PETA will hold demonstrations at the race throughout the weekend, with one protest at the Mushers Banquet on Saturday and another at the Official Restart on Monday.

As for the future of the Iditarod, Ketih thinks the race’s “days are numbered.”

“No one who cares about their dogs is going to drive them 1,000-plus miles in one week,” Keith said. “Nobody that loves their dogs is pushing them that hard.”

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(LOS ANGELES) — Police in California discovered the body of a 51-year-old woman in the trunk of a car being driven by her 24-year-old son following a pursuit where he tried to escape authorities, police said.

The incident began on Tuesday when officers from the El Cajon Police Department were called to a “suspicious circumstance” at Motel 6, located at 550 Montrose Court in El Cajon, California.

The caller reported that he went to check on his mother who had not returned home after visiting her other son, 24-year-old Richard Leyva, who was staying at the motel. However, upon arrival, the caller said that he discovered his mother’s body in the trunk of her black Hyundai Sonata.

“Investigators have determined that an altercation then happened between the two brothers,” police said in their statement released on Wednesday. “Leyva got into the Hyundai and drove off, striking his brother in the process. The brother was uninjured.”

Police say they quickly responded to the scene and located the Hyundai when a traffic stop was attempted, but Leyva fled from the officers in the process and began to lead them on a pursuit.

“The chase ended when Leyva crashed into two other vehicles,” police continued. “He was taken into custody after officers deployed a Taser to subdue him.”

Following Leyva’s arrest, police began and inspecting the vehicle and ended up discovering the body of a deceased woman in the trunk who was later identified as 51-year-old Jamison Webster.

Her death is being investigated as a homicide, police said.

Leyva has been booked into San Diego County Jail on charges of homicide, assault with a deadly weapon, and evading law enforcement.

Detectives are continuing to investigate the circumstances that led to the woman’s death and the investigation remains open.

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(LOS ANGELES) — Authorities are searching for answers into the death of actor Gene Hackman, 95, who along with his wife, Betsy Arakawa, 65, were mysteriously found dead alongside a dog in their Santa Fe, New Mexico, home on Wednesday.

The couple was found on Wednesday during a welfare check with no obvious signs of how they died, according to the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office.

However, their deaths were “suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation” due to all of the “circumstances surrounding” the scene, according to the search warrant affidavit.

There was no external trauma to either of them which led officials to conduct carbon monoxide and toxicology with the official results pending, the sheriff’s office said.

Hackman was discovered on the floor in the mud room, according to the search warrant. It appeared he fell suddenly, and he and his wife “showed obvious signs of death,” the document said.

Arakawa was found lying on her side on the floor in a bathroom, with a space heater near her body, according to the search warrant, and her body showed signs of decomposition due to some mummification to her hands and feet.

On the counter near Arakawa was an opened prescription bottle, with pills scattered, according to the search warrant.

A German shepherd was found dead about 10 to 15 feet from Arakawa, the document said. That dog was in a crate or a kennel, according to Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza.

The Santa Fe City Fire Department found no signs of a possible carbon monoxide leak or poisoning, the document said. But, if there was carbon monoxide at the scene, it could have vented out of the home through the open front door before responders arrived.

New Mexico Gas Company also responded, “As of now, there are no signs or evidence indicating there were any problems associated to the pipes in and around the residence,” the document said.

Two maintenance workers said they hadn’t heard from Hackman and Arakawa in about two weeks, the document said.

A maintenance worker who initially responded to the home found the front door open but there were no signs of forced entry or that anything had been stolen, the document said.

There was no indication of a crime and “there could be a multitude of reasons why the door was open,” the sheriff told reporters Thursday.

There was “no obvious sign or indication of foul play,” but authorities “haven’t ruled that out yet,” the sheriff said.

Investigators are “keeping everything on the table,” he added.

ABC News’ Kevin Shalvey, Erica Morris and Emily Shapiro contributed to this report.

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(NEW YORK) — When Jose, a Venezuelan migrant who was seeking asylum in the United States, was awoken by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement official at 2:30 a.m. on Feb. 8, he sensed he was being sent to Guantanamo Bay, home of the notorious U.S. prison camp that administration officials said would house the most violent “worst of the worst” migrants apprehended on American soil.

“When we got on the [military] plane, they put restraints on our hands, feet, and waist,” said Jose, who requested that his last name not be used out of fear of retribution. “They searched us and then sat us in a chair, tying us to it and binding our feet together. We hoped it wouldn’t be Guantanamo but in the end, that’s where we ended up.”

Jose is one of the more than 170 migrants who spent two weeks at the naval base before being sent to Venezuela. He told ABC News that while he had a suspicion he was being sent to Guantanamo, he claims U.S. officials never told him and the other migrants where they were being sent.

“Our minds were racing, thinking we were kidnapped, wondering who would get us out of there,” said Jose. “Because no one tells you anything.”

Jose told ABC News that he had traveled to Mexico’s northern border to wait for an asylum appointment that he requested through the U.S. Customs and Border Protection app, prior to it being shut down by the Trump administration. After three weeks of waiting and “no food or a place to stay,” he decided to surrender to authorities at the U.S. southern border. He was detained at a detention center until he was transferred to Guantanamo.

ABC News spoke with Jose and another Guantanamo detainee, Jhoan Bastidas Paz, in Spanish, and reviewed court testimonies from three other detainees about their experience on the naval base before they were released. They allege U.S. officials transferred them to Guantanamo despite their having no criminal records, and several claim they were denied phone calls with their attorneys and relatives despite repeated demands.

“From the moment we were there, we tried to kick the doors, we went on countless strikes,” Jose said. “We clogged the toilets and protested, we covered the cameras because the confinement is unbearable.”

Jose told ABC News the room in which he was placed had “cobwebs and a disgusting smell.” He said that he spent 10 days without a mattress.

“They give you food … but it’s like they don’t give you any, [it’s] very little food,” Jose said. “There came a point where I would lick the plate. The food had no salt, but I would still eat it as if it were very tasty, because I was hungry.”

Jose said he and the other detainees were only allowed outside twice in two weeks and were denied phone calls with their relatives and families.

“There are four cages outside,” Jose said. “That’s the yard. You leave one room to go into another cell.”

Representatives from the Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment from ABC News.

Bastidas Paz had surrendered to authorities after crossing the U.S. southern border from Mexico in 2023. He was charged with “improper entry” to which he pleaded guilty, and was in a detention center in El Paso, Texas, until he was transferred to Guantanamo Bay.

Both Jose and Bastidas Paz told ABC News they are not members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, despite the U.S. government saying they are.

“We’re not from Tren de Aragua or anything, we’re not criminals, we’re immigrants,” Bastidas Paz said. He said that officials never told him he was being sent to Guantanamo and then to Venezuela.

“I don’t think it’s fair that they’re taking us there, like that, with lies, because practically we’re being taken there, kidnapped, without telling us anything, and when we realize it, they leave us there, and I don’t think it’s fair,” Bastidas Paz said.

Bastidas Paz told ABC News that he went on a hunger strike with other detainees while they demanded information from officials. He also claims he was only allowed to shower three times during the time he was in Guantanamo.

“We are immigrants and we haven’t committed any crime to be taken to that very ugly prison,” Bastidas Paz said.

Jose said he has not been able to sleep since he arrived in Venezuela.

“I haven’t slept at all because of the fear that I might fall asleep and … I’d wake up back there,” he told ABC News. “That’s the terror I feel.”

 

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(WASHINGTON) — The Department of Justice released files related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein Thursday evening.

The material released contained previously published pilot logs from the prosecution of Ghislaine Maxwell. The records include redactions performed by prosecutors on the case to protect the identities of potential victims. Also published is Epstein’s so-called “black book” that has previously been made public.

One document never before seen is what the Justice Department is calling “Evidence List,” a three-page catalog of material apparently obtained through searches of Epstein’s properties in New York and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Among the items investigators obtained, according to the document, is “one CD labelled ‘girl pics nude book 4′” and a folder titled “LSJ logbook,” which appears to be a reference to Epstein’s private island, Little St. James.

Investigators also recovered a bag “containing one yellow envelope marked ‘SK’ dated 08/27/08 containing multiple smaller envelopes containing $17,115” in U.S. currency.

The date is notable because it coincides with the time Epstein was in jail in Palm Beach, Florida. SK could be a reference to one of Epstein’s former associates.

The evidence list also contained dozens of recording devices, computers, hard drives and memory sticks along with “1 brown bust sculpture of female breasts,” one folder containing “1 vibrator, 3 buttplugs, 1 set of cuffs, 1 dildo, 1 leash, 1 box of condoms, 1 nurse cap, 1 stethoscope.”

The list also included several massage tables – one of which was wheeled into court during Maxwell’s trial – numerous photo albums and pictures, including one that said “photo album of girl and Epstein” and a bag containing “1 set of copper handcuffs and whip.”

Attorney General Pam Bondi had instructed FBI Director Kash Patel to investigate what she describes as an apparent withholding of investigative files related to Epstein.

In her letter to Patel, Bondi said prior to his confirmation she had requested all files related to Epstein — but late Wednesday evening was informed by “a source” that the FBI field office in New York was in possession of “thousands of pages of documents” that had not been handed over.

In recent media appearances on Fox News, Bondi has teased out the pending release of documents in the Justice Department’s holdings related to its investigation of Epstein, who died by suicide in August 2019 while awaiting trial.

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(LOS ANGELES) — Former Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley is appealing her dismissal, nearly a week after Mayor Karen Bass removed her from the top post in the wake of the devastating Palisades and Eaton fires.

Crowley sent a letter to the Los Angeles City Council on Thursday, informing them she is proceeding with an appeal of Bass’ removal of her as fire chief.

According to the Los Angeles City Charter, the appeal would require the approval of two-thirds of the 15 city council members to overturn the firing.

In response, a spokesperson for Bass’ office said in a statement, “Former Chief Crowley has the right to appeal her dismissal.”

Bass removed Crowley from her position on Friday, saying firefighters were sent home instead of being used when the deadly fires broke out last month.

“We know that 1,000 firefighters that could have been on duty on the morning the fires broke out were instead sent home on Chief Crowley’s watch,” Bass said in a statement. “Furthermore, a necessary step to an investigation was the President of the Fire Commission telling Chief Crowley to do an after action report on the fires. The Chief refused. These require her removal.”

Ronnie Villanueva, a retired LA Fire chief deputy of emergency operations, was appointed interim chief.

Crowley exercised her civil service rights to stay with the department at a lower rank with duties to be assigned by the new interim chief, according to the mayor’s office.

The former chief said it was an “absolute honor to represent and lead the men and women of one of the greatest fire departments in the world.”

“I am extremely proud of the work, sacrifice and dedication of our LAFD members, both sworn and civilian,” she said in a statement on Saturday.

Crowley’s dismissal as chief was met with criticism by Freddy Escobar, the president of the United Firefighters of Los Angeles City.

“Chief Crowley is a strong leader who has the respect of our firefighters and wasn’t afraid to tell the truth,” he said in a statement on Saturday. “She’s being made a scapegoat from a devastating fire without the benefit of a full investigation into what actually happened.”

Bass has faced tremendous pressure and questions surrounding her decision to attend an event in Ghana when the fires broke out on Jan. 7, despite days of warnings about the unprecedented weather event that drove the fires.

Crowley openly criticized Bass in a local TV interview on Jan. 10, saying Bass had failed the city, citing funding and staffing of the fire department.

Bass said she has not cut the fire department budget while in office.

At least 29 people died as multiple wildfires — fueled by severe drought conditions and strong winds — raged across Southern California in January.

The largest of the fires in Los Angeles County — the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood — began on Jan. 7 and spread to 23,707 acres. The fire remained active for 44 days. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

The second largest of the fires — the Eaton Fire, north of Pasadena — also began on Jan. 7 and spread to 14,021 acres. It remained active for 44 days and the cause of the fire remains under investigation.

ABC News’ Mark Osborne, Nadine El-Bawab and Bonnie Mclean contributed to this report.

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(SAN DIEGO, CA) — A cousin of the Menendez brothers said she’s “thrilled” that California Gov. Gavin Newsom is addressing the brothers’ request for clemency and ordering the parole board to investigate further.

“I certainly gasped in relief,” cousin Anamaria Baralt, one of at least 20 relatives in support of the brothers’ release, told ABC News at a virtual news conference Thursday. “This is huge.”

Lyle and Erik Menendez — who are serving life in prison without the possibility of parole for the 1989 murders of their parents — have “cautious optimism” they’ll be released, Baralt said.

“They are the first life without parole prisoners on this path,” added another cousin, Tamara Goodell. “So when we look at any advancements … it’s definitely with hope, but also understanding that there are no promises.”

Newsom announced Wednesday that he’s ordering the parole board to conduct a 90-day “comprehensive risk assessment” investigation into whether the brothers pose “an unreasonable risk to the public” if they’re granted clemency and released.

“There’s no guarantee of outcome here,” Newsom said Wednesday on his new podcast, “This is Gavin Newsom.” “My office conducts dozens and dozens of these clemency reviews on a consistent basis. But this process simply provides more transparency, which I think is important in this case, as well as provides us more due diligence before I make any determination for clemency.”

Baralt called Newsom’s decision a “positive step forward” and said she’s confident the parole board will determine Lyle and Erik Menendez are not a risk to public safety.

“We have seen their rehabilitation over the last three decades,” Baralt said.

She said the parole board’s investigation will find: the brothers’ repeated and sincere remorse; their work to improve prison culture and run several programs to help inmates reenter society; and how they’ve spent most of their lives in prison but still built meaningful lives helping others. The board will also consider their age at the time of the crime and their lack of criminal history outside of “making a horrific decision” as a direct result of the abuse they endured, Baralt said.

“We understand that this is not without professional risk for him,” Baralt said of Newsom.

Though the cousins praised Newsom, they were disappointed and frustrated by Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman’s announcement last week that he’s asked the court to deny the brothers’ habeas corpus petition.

Lyle and Erik Menendez filed the petition in 2023 for a review of two new pieces of evidence not presented at trial: a letter Erik Menendez wrote to his cousin, Andy Cano, eight months before the murders detailing his alleged abuse from his father Jose Menendez; and allegations from a former boy band member, Roy Rossello, who revealed in 2023 that he was raped by Jose Menendez.

Hochman argued the letter failed the credibility test, saying if it existed, the defense would have used it at the brothers’ trials in the 1990s.

Hochman said Rossello’s allegation failed the admissibility test, because the brothers didn’t know about his claims until recent years, so it couldn’t have influenced their state of mind during the crime and “play a role in self-defense or premeditated murder.”

After Hochman’s announcement, Erik Menendez said to the family, “We need you strong,” Goodell recalled. “They both really mirrored our frustration, but they also said, ‘Let it go. We need to focus on moving forward.’ And so that is our focus.”

Baralt stands by the new evidence.

The letter to Cano, while received in December 1988, was not discovered until recent years, according to the brothers’ attorney.

Baralt stressed that Cano was 14 or 15 at the time Erik Menendez sent him that letter.

“It’s only natural for a teenage boy to not realize he is sitting on critical evidence. Andy wasn’t a lawyer. He wasn’t even an adult,” she said. “To pose the question now, decades later, after he passed, of why wasn’t the letter submitted back then? It’s like asking a teenager who got in a fender bender why didn’t you call the police to file a report — because a teenager doesn’t know any better. He didn’t realize how vital that letter would be to the case.”

And as for Rossello’s admission in 2023, Baralt stressed that it’s common for abuse victims to not disclose for years.

“Roy coming out to share his story in his own time is new evidence” that should be considered admissible, she said.

Baralt said Hochman’s decision “felt extra hurtful, because it was only a few weeks ago that dozens of [relatives] sat in his office and described the horror of being in this victim family, with 35 years of being retraumatized.”

“We have become victims in this process,” she said. “We have been laughed at, ridiculed and forced to relive the pain over and over again.”

Lyle and Erik Menendez were convicted in 1996 of the 1989 shotgun murders of their parents, Kitty and Jose Menendez. The defense claimed the brothers acted in self-defense after enduring years of sexual abuse by their father, while prosecutors alleged they killed for money.

Besides clemency and the habeas corpus petition, another possible path to freedom is resentencing.

In October, then-LA County District Attorney George Gascón announced he supported resentencing for the brothers. Gascón recommended their sentences of life without the possibility of parole be removed, and said they should instead be sentenced for murder, which would be a sentence of 50 years to life. Because both brothers were under 26 at the time of the crimes, they would be eligible for parole immediately with the new sentence.

The DA’s office said its resentencing recommendations take into account many factors, including rehabilitation in prison and abuse or trauma that contributed to the crime. Gascón praised the work Lyle and Erik Menendez did behind bars to rehabilitate themselves and help other inmates.

Weeks after Gascón’s announcement, he lost his race for reelection to Hochman.

Hochman, who came into office on Dec. 3, has yet to announce if he is in support of or against resentencing for the brothers. He’s expected to decide in the coming weeks.

A hearing regarding the resentencing case is set for March 20 and 21.

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New police footage shows the moment a sheriff’s deputy rescued a baby from a burning apartment in Winder, Georgia.

At approximately 1:13 p.m. on Tuesday, Winder police and fire units reached out to the Barrow County Sheriff’s Department for assistance in a residential fire, according to the sheriff’s department.

While on the way to the scene, police were informed that “an infant child was still in the apartment and was unable to be reached,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.

Deputies immediately attempted to rescue the infant, but several units were “not able to continue beyond a certain point in the building” due to the significant amount of smoke.

Despite the dangerous conditions, Deputy Jhancarlos Arango and a Winder police officer entered the building to save the child, police said.

The moment, which was captured on body worn camera video obtained by ABC affiliate WSB in Atlanta, shows the two officers racing into the apartment, with the deputy even covering his nose and mouth with a pair of pants to prevent inhaling the smoke.

Police said Arango and the other officer were “able to crawl to the infant, following the cries, and rescue the child.”

In the video, Arango can be heard saying, “I can’t breathe” while rescuing the child. Once everyone was back outside, the deputy said, “Thank you, God.”

This infant was not the only child saved from this fire, according to the Winder Fire Department. Two other small children were removed from the apartment complex, the fire department said.

The children — including the infant — and both law enforcement officers were transported to the hospital for smoke inhalation, but are all expected are to be OK, according to officials.

The fire was contained to the room of origin, according to Winder Fire Chief Matt Whiting.

“We are incredibly grateful for the swift and coordinated efforts of our local first responders,” Whiting said. “Their quick actions ensured that this situation was contained effectively, and lives were saved.”

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(CALIFORNIA) — A cousin of the Menendez brothers said she’s “thrilled” that California Gov. Gavin Newsom is addressing the brothers’ request for clemency and ordering the parole board to investigate further.

“I certainly gasped in relief,” cousin Anamaria Baralt, one of at least 20 relatives in support of the brothers’ release, told ABC News at a virtual news conference Thursday. “This is huge.”

Lyle and Erik Menendez — who are serving life in prison without the possibility of parole for the 1989 murders of their parents — have “cautious optimism” they’ll be released, Baralt said.

“They are the first life without parole prisoners on this path,” added another cousin, Tamara Goodell. “So when we look at any advancements … it’s definitely with hope, but also understanding that there are no promises.”

Newsom announced Wednesday that he’s ordering the parole board to conduct a 90-day “comprehensive risk assessment” investigation into whether the brothers pose “an unreasonable risk to the public” if they’re granted clemency and released.

“There’s no guarantee of outcome here,” Newsom said Wednesday on his new podcast, “This is Gavin Newsom.” “My office conducts dozens and dozens of these clemency reviews on a consistent basis. But this process simply provides more transparency, which I think is important in this case, as well as provides us more due diligence before I make any determination for clemency.”

Baralt called Newsom’s decision a “positive step forward” and said she’s confident the parole board will determine Lyle and Erik Menendez are not a risk to public safety.

“We have seen their rehabilitation over the last three decades,” Baralt said.

She said the parole board’s investigation will find: the brothers’ repeated and sincere remorse; their work to improve prison culture and run several programs to help inmates reenter society; and how they’ve spent most of their lives in prison but still built meaningful lives helping others. The board will also consider their age at the time of the crime and their lack of criminal history outside of “making a horrific decision” as a direct result of the abuse they endured, Baralt said.

“We understand that this is not without professional risk for him,” Baralt said of Newsom.

Though the cousins praised Newsom, they were disappointed and frustrated by Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman’s announcement last week that he’s asked the court to deny the brothers’ habeas corpus petition.

Lyle and Erik Menendez filed the petition in 2023 for a review of two new pieces of evidence not presented at trial: a letter Erik Menendez wrote to his cousin, Andy Cano, eight months before the murders detailing his alleged abuse from his father Jose Menendez; and allegations from a former boy band member, Roy Rossello, who revealed in 2023 that he was raped by Jose Menendez.

Hochman argued the letter failed the credibility test, saying if it existed, the defense would have used it at the brothers’ trials in the 1990s.

Hochman said Rossello’s allegation failed the admissibility test, because the brothers didn’t know about his claims until recent years, so it couldn’t have influenced their state of mind during the crime and “play a role in self-defense or premeditated murder.”

After Hochman’s announcement, Erik Menendez said to the family, “We need you strong,” Goodell recalled. “They both really mirrored our frustration, but they also said, ‘Let it go. We need to focus on moving forward.’ And so that is our focus.”

Baralt stands by the new evidence.

The letter to Cano, while received in December 1988, was not discovered until recent years, according to the brothers’ attorney.

Baralt stressed that Cano was 14 or 15 at the time Erik Menendez sent him that letter.

“It’s only natural for a teenage boy to not realize he is sitting on critical evidence. Andy wasn’t a lawyer. He wasn’t even an adult,” she said. “To pose the question now, decades later, after he passed, of why wasn’t the letter submitted back then? It’s like asking a teenager who got in a fender bender why didn’t you call the police to file a report — because a teenager doesn’t know any better. He didn’t realize how vital that letter would be to the case.”

And as for Rossello’s admission in 2023, Baralt stressed that it’s common for abuse victims to not disclose for years.

“Roy coming out to share his story in his own time is new evidence” that should be considered admissible, she said.

Baralt said Hochman’s decision “felt extra hurtful, because it was only a few weeks ago that dozens of [relatives] sat in his office and described the horror of being in this victim family, with 35 years of being retraumatized.”

“We have become victims in this process,” she said. “We have been laughed at, ridiculed and forced to relive the pain over and over again.”

Lyle and Erik Menendez were convicted in 1996 of the 1989 shotgun murders of their parents, Kitty and Jose Menendez. The defense claimed the brothers acted in self-defense after enduring years of sexual abuse by their father, while prosecutors alleged they killed for money.

Besides clemency and the habeas corpus petition, another possible path to freedom is resentencing.

In October, then-LA County District Attorney George Gascón announced he supported resentencing for the brothers. Gascón recommended their sentences of life without the possibility of parole be removed, and said they should instead be sentenced for murder, which would be a sentence of 50 years to life. Because both brothers were under 26 at the time of the crimes, they would be eligible for parole immediately with the new sentence.

The DA’s office said its resentencing recommendations take into account many factors, including rehabilitation in prison and abuse or trauma that contributed to the crime. Gascón praised the work Lyle and Erik Menendez did behind bars to rehabilitate themselves and help other inmates.

Weeks after Gascón’s announcement, he lost his race for reelection to Hochman.

Hochman, who came into office on Dec. 3, has yet to announce if he is in support of or against resentencing for the brothers. He’s expected to decide in the coming weeks.

A hearing regarding the resentencing case is set for March 20 and 21.

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(WASHINGTON) — Newly-installed FBI Director Kash Patel, whose proclaimed plans to overhaul the nation’s premier law enforcement agency have rattled many within the bureau, has proposed enhancing the FBI’s ranks with help from the United Fighting Championship, the martial-arts entertainment giant whose wealthy CEO, Dana White, helped boost President Donald Trump’s reelection, according to sources who were told of Patel’s proposal.

On a teleconference Wednesday with the heads of the FBI’s 55 field offices, Patel suggested that he wants the FBI to establish a formal relationship with the UFC, which could develop programs for agents to improve their physical fitness, said sources who had been briefed on Wednesday’s call.

The virtual meeting with each field office’s special-agent-in-charge has long been a weekly occurrence, but this week’s call was the first led by Patel, who was sworn in as director on Friday.

Within hours of Wednesday’s call, word of Patel’s UFC proposal spread to current and former FBI officials around the country.

“If they’re trying to up their physical fitness, the UFC is very specific in their fitness,” said ABC News contributor Rich Frankel, the former special agent in charge of the FBI’s Newark, New Jersey, office.

It’s not clear exactly what Patel would want UFC to do or provide to help improve fitness among FBI ranks.

Though Patel’s UFC proposal stood out to some who heard about the meeting, Patel addressed a range of issues on the call, according to sources.

The new director tried to calm some of the concerns among FBI agents after the Justice Department last month demanded a list of the thousands of agents who aided investigations stemming from the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol and suggested that even those just following orders could be fired, the sources said.

There were also concerns about Patel’s recent announcement that as many as 1,500 employees at FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C, would be reassigned to field offices and to an FBI office in Huntsville, Alabama. And last week’s controversial email from the Office of Personnel Management demanding that all federal employees list what they had accomplished over the previous week or face termination only added to concerns within the FBI, sources said.

During Wednesday’s call, Patel expressed his own concerns about that email and with confusing follow-up messages from the Trump administration’s new Department of Government Efficiency, which has been guided by billionaire businessman Elon Musk, sources said.

Patel, on the call, also touted the FBI’s work fighting crime and national security threats, and he asked the FBI officials to give him a chance to prove himself as their new leader, sources said. But he also warned them that he would not tolerate “leaks” or what he sees as other forms of insubordination.

Nevertheless, it was Patel’s proposal to ask the UFC for help that quickly created some buzz within the FBI community. UFC is based in Las Vegas, where Patel now lives.

White, who is estimated to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars, has long been friends with Trump and last year became a big donor to Trump’s presidential campaign. He joined Trump on stage in Florida during Trump’s victory speech in November just hours after polls closed on Election Day.

During the speech, Trump recalled how he “helped [White] out a little bit” years earlier when no one else was willing to host UFC fights, claiming that UFC is now “one of the most successful sports enterprises anywhere at any time.”

Trump also said that UFC “is the roughest sport I’ve ever seen,” featuring fighters who “really go at it.”

Just days after Trump won the election in November, Trump attended a heavily-promoted UFC fight at Madison Square Garden in New York City, where he sat in the front row between White and Musk.

Frankel, who spent more than two decades with the FBI, said the FBI may benefit from increasing its physical fitness standards — so the idea of the UFC helping with the FBI’s training regimen may not be as unusual as it sounds.

He said some FBI offices have previously brought in martial arts experts and others to offer tips to agents.

But, said Frankel, “I don’t want UFC to take over the gym.”

Asked about Patel’s proposal to collaborate with the UFC, an FBI representative declined to comment to ABC News.

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