Category: National

(SAN ANTONIO) — Six people, including a teenager, were found dead inside a shipping container at a Texas rail yard near the U.S.-Mexico border, officials said.

A seventh person who was found dead along train tracks in an area outside San Antonio is also believed to have been part of the same group in what is a suspected smuggling incident, authorities said.

The six bodies were discovered Sunday at the Union Pacific rail yard in Laredo, police said. An employee at the rail yard called police after discovering the bodies during a routine rail car inspection, police said.

The victims include a 14-year-old boy and a 24-year-old man from Honduras, as well as a 29-year-old woman and two men — aged 45 and 56 — from Mexico, according to the Webb County Medical Examiner’s Office.

So far, the woman has been confirmed to have died from hyperthermia, according to the Webb County Medical Examiner’s Office, which said it is “highly probable that hyperthermia was the cause of death for the entire group.”

The body of the seventh person was found Monday afternoon near tracks in Bexar County, some 150 miles north of Laredo, according to authorities. The man, whose identity has not yet been confirmed, was carrying a Mexican voter registration card, according to Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar.

“At this point, the prevailing theory is that he’s a resident of Mexico that was among that group that was being smuggled into the country in one of these shipping containers,” Salazar said during a press briefing on Monday.

It is unclear if the man had died while in the shipping container and his body was dumped, or if he died in a fall from the train, he said, noting that the medical examiner will be determining the cause and manner of death.

Salazar said the shipping containers can only be opened from the outside, and that sensors go off when they are opened.  

He said the train is believed to have originated in Del Rio, Texas, where the sensor did go off, presumably to load people on. The sensor went off again near where the body of the seventh person was found in Bexar County, he said.

“The fact that a sensor hit from here indicates someone opened that from outside,” Salazar said. “Our belief at this point is that it was most likely smugglers, coyotes that opened it from the outside.”

It is unclear if there were more people on the train who were successfully let out at that point, he said.

Salazar said the train continued on and was split up at a station, with half of it going to Houston and the other half to Laredo, where the six other people were found dead.

One of the people found dead in Laredo is believed to have contacted a relative on Saturday from inside the shipping container, saying in a message that “it was getting very, very hot, and that they were having some physical trouble as a result of it,” Salazar said.

The relative, who lives in a different state, contacted police, and San Antonio officers were dispatched to a location several miles from where the body was found in Macdona and did not find anything, he said.

The Webb County Medical Examiner’s Office said in a statement Tuesday it is “working in close coordination with the Mexican Consulate to facilitate communication with the families of the deceased, ensure positive identification, and assist in the repatriation process as efficiently as possible.”

Homeland Security Investigations and Texas Rangers are also investigating the incident, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Union Pacific said it is “saddened by this incident and is working closely with law enforcement to investigate.”

ABC News’ Laura Romero contributed to this report.

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(CAMBRIDGE, Mass.) — Two people were shot and left with life-threatening injuries after a gunman began shooting into traffic in Cambridge on Monday afternoon near Harvard University, according to officials.

Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan said during a press briefing after the incident that a gunman with an assault-style rifle was “actively firing in an erratic fashion at various vehicles.”

The shooting occurred in the vicinity of Memorial Drive and River Street before 1:30 p.m.

A trooper and a civilian, a former Marine, fired their weapons and struck the gunman, who was later identified as Tyler Brown, multiple times, according to the DA. Brown is under arrest and is hospitalized, Ryan said.

Brown is now facing six new felony charges, including two for assault with intent to murder.

He was under probation supervision for a previous crime, according to the DA.

Brown was sentenced to five to six years in state prison and three years of probation in August 2021 after he fired at Boston Police. Brown pleaded guilty to eight charges, including armed assault with intent to murder and attempted assault and battery by means of discharging a firearm, according to a 2021 statement from the Suffolk District Attorney’s Office.

Brown was also previously required to undergo a mental health evaluation and treatment, according to the DA’s office.

Brown was also on probation at the time of the 2021 incident for a 2014 assault and battery with a dangerous weapon (knife) and witness intimidation conviction, according to the DA’s office. He was sentenced to four to five years in state prison for violating his probation to be served concurrently.

The DA’s office had recommended Brown be sentenced 10 to 12 years, criticizing the lower sentence.

“My office recommended a significant sentence for Mr. Brown given the nature of his offenses and the ​trauma and harm he inflicted. I am disappointed in the sentence that was imposed,” then-District Attorney Rachael Rollins said in a 2021 statement.

The two people who were struck by gunfire were in their vehicles at the time.

Aerial footage from ABC News’ Boston affiliate WCVB showed the gunman being apprehended by police at the scene.

WCVB footage also showed a black Dodge sedan off the side of the road after an apparent crash.

A rifle was seen on the grass in the area, according to WCVB.

Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey said in a statement that there is no ongoing threat to the public, but asked that residents “avoid the area to allow public safety personnel to do their work.”

Lisa Schill, a witness to the shooting, told WCVB she was in a school van on the way to pick up kids at school. She said she left the van and began running from the incident on foot.

“I was running for my life,” Schill told the publication.

ABC News’ Chris Barry contributed to this report.

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(DENVER) — The fatal collision in which a Frontier Airlines jet struck a person on the runway at Denver International Airport was a suicide, according to the medical examiner.

The man, who died of multiple injuries, has been identified as 41-year-old Michael Mott.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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(MARTIN COUNTY, Fla.) — A judge overseeing Tiger Woods’ driving under the influence case is permitting prosecutors to get access to the golfer’s medication records.

No one was injured in Woods’ rollover car crash in Jupiter Island, Florida, in March, Martin County officials said. Woods has pleaded not guilty to driving under the influence with property damage and refusal to submit to a lawful test.

Woods did not appear at Tuesday’s hearing, but his lawyers argued for a protective order, saying the golf legend’s medication records should not be open to the public and should only be given to limited people involved in the case, like the prosecution and law enforcement, according to ABC West Palm Beach affiliate WPBF.

The prosecution conceded that Woods has a right to privacy from the general public, WPBF reported.

The judge approved the state’s request for the subpoenas and also approved the defense’s request for the protective order, permitting the medication records to be released, but restricting who gets access to them, WPBF reported.

The March 27 accident unfolded when Woods tried to pass a truck in front of him, authorities said. Woods clipped the back of the truck’s trailer, causing the golfer’s SUV to tip on its side, authorities said.

Two hydrocodone pills were found in Woods’ pants pocket, the probable cause affidavit said. A breathalyzer showed no alcohol in his system, but Woods refused to take a urine test, which is used to detect drugs or medication, authorities said.

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(NEW YORK) — U.S. household debt, including mortgages, credit cards, auto loans and student loans, reached an all-time high of $18.8 trillion in the first three months of the year, according to new data Tuesday from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

The increase in overall debt was driven by higher balances on mortgages and auto loans.

Student loan debt slightly decreased to $1.66 trillion. However, many borrowers are falling behind on their payments, with more than 10% of student loan balances now past due, nearing pre-pandemic levels, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said.

Credit card debt dipped by $25 billion during the first quarter of the year, with outstanding card balances at $1.25 trillion. Credit card debt is up by $70 billion over the past year.

On a call with reporters Tuesday morning, researchers at the New York Fed described Americans’ overall credit as “stable,” but noted there are weaknesses among younger consumers and lower-income households.

According to officials, mortgage balances are $13.2 trillion and auto debt stands at $1.69 trillion.

The record-high household debt comes amid rising inflation, which rose for a second consecutive month, government data on Tuesday showed. 

Prices rose 3.8% in April compared to a year earlier, marking an increase from a year-over-year inflation rate of 3.3% in the prior month. Annual inflation jumped to its highest level in three years, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data showed.

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(NEW YORK) — Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said Tuesday that members of the media “should not be surprised” if they receive subpoenas for information related to their sources on stories pertaining to national security-sensitive matters, following a Wall Street Journal report that the outlet received subpoenas stemming from its coverage of the war in Iran.

“Prosecuting leakers who share our nation’s secrets with reporters, in turn risking our national security and the lives of our soldiers, is a priority for this administration,” Blanche said. “Any witness, whether a reporter or otherwise, who has information about these criminals should not be surprised if they receive a subpoena about the illegal leaking of classified material.”

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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(BALTIMORE) —  The federal government indicted two foreign companies Tuesday in connection with the cargo ship crash that collapsed Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge in 2024.

A shoreside superintendent of the M/V Dali, the vessel involved in the crash, was also charged by federal prosecutors.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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(DENVER, Colo.) — Passengers on a Frontier Airlines flight were forced to deplane at the gate Sunday evening in Denver after an ammunition magazine was found on the aircraft as it was preparing for departure, according to the airline. 

Frontier says preliminary investigation indicates the magazine belongs to a law enforcement officer who may have left it behind on a previous flight.

There were no injuries, officials said. All passengers were deplaned and rescreened out of precaution, and the plane also went through a security sweep, and nothing additional was recovered from the flight, according to the airline.

Flight 4765 was scheduled to travel from Denver to Phoenix. Due to the delay, the flight crew exceeded their duty time, and passengers were booked on another flight, which departed Monday morning, according to Frontier Airlines.  

TSA says it is aware of the incident, and the FBI is leading the investigation.

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(WASHINGTON) — A nonprofit organization is attempting to stop the Trump administration’s repainting of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, alleging that the plan “willfully disregards legal limits established by Congress.”

The Cultural Landscape Foundation filed a lawsuit on Monday in D.C. federal court asking a judge to halt the renovations until the Trump administration gets approval from Congress.

“Every day that the resurfacing continues, the historic character of the Reflecting Pool is being further and fundamentally altered,” the lawsuit alleged about the project, part of President Donald Trump’s D.C. “beautification” efforts that include renovations to the White House East Wing and a planned triumphal arch near Arlington National Cemetery.

Because the reflecting pool and its surrounding landscape are on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the National Mall Historic District, the lawsuit alleged that Trump administration should have gotten approval for the changes under the Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act.

“This latest desecration of the reflecting pool is part of a pattern — epitomized most notably by the rush to destroy the East Wing of the White House — in which this Administration willfully disregards legal limits established by Congress,” the lawsuit alleged.

The Cultural Landscape Foundation is a D.C.-based nonprofit that maintains a database of cultural landscapes and advocates for the preservation of threatened landscape architecture.

In a statement to ABC News, a spokesperson for the Department of the Interior defended the renovations, which includes repainting the pool “American Flag Blue” and installing a new filtration system.

“President Trump has done more to make our nation’s capital a shining beacon than any other president in the history of this country. The National Park Service chose the best company to expedite the repair of the iconic Reflecting Pool ahead of our 250 celebrations,” the statement said.

The statement did not address whether the Trump administration sought any kind of approval for the project or if they plan to do so. 

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(NEW YORK) — Beachgoers planning out their summer swims on the East Coast may take a moment to consider the yearly arrival of a famed ocean predator.

A juvenile white shark named Nori has been coasting its way north along the eastern seaboard and pinged a shark-tracking system off the coasts of New Jersey and New York last week.

According to OCEARCH, a nonprofit tracking shark movements, Nori is “the first tagged white shark on the Global Shark Tracker to begin this year’s seasonal northward jump.”

Nori, an eight-foot ten-inch female pinged the tracking system off the coast of south New Jersey on Tuesday night, again further north off the coast on Wednesday night, and by Friday night, the shark had pinged off the coast of Long Island around Southampton, New York, according to an OCEARCH map.

“Juvenile white sharks are not typically among the first sharks to begin this northward movement, making Nori’s early migration particularly interesting to follow,” OCEARCH senior data scientist John Tyminski said in a statement.

“The first sharks to move north are often the larger adults and subadults, possibly because their size allows them to tolerate colder waters more effectively,” Tyminski added.

Nori was first tagged in Nova Scotia in October of last year, and had since traveled south to the coast of the Carolinas for the winter before making its move north this spring.

The post from the nonprofit shared, “Nori’s movement north from the staging areas off the Carolinas may signal that the larger seasonal migration of western North Atlantic white sharks is not too far off.”

How to stay safe from sharks in the ocean this summer

As temperatures begin to rise and beachgoers flock to sandy shores this summer, swimmers can follow a few simple guidelines to take caution and reduce the risk of a shark attack.

In a website message, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation says, “Humans assume risk whenever they enter any wild environment, whether on land or in the water. When in the ocean, part of this risk includes interacting with apex predators such as sharks.”

The message continues explaining that although eliminating all risk is not possible, “people can modify their behavior to minimize potential interactions with sharks and reduce overall risk.”

The department recommends “avoiding areas with seals,” staying clear of areas with “schools of fish, splashing fish, or diving seabirds,” keep swimming times during daytime hours and “avoid swimming at dusk, night, and dawn.”

The department also recommends avoiding murky waters and listening to lifeguard and park staff instructions at all times.

“The vast majority of unprovoked incidents are the result of test bites, which occur when a shark misidentifies a human as their preferred prey,” the site reads.

“There is no evidence which suggests that sharks in New York are intentionally pursuing or ‘attacking’ humans,” the message finished.

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