Talk of the Town
(NEW YORK) — Voting machine company Dominion Voting Systems has settled its defamation lawsuit against conservative media outlet Newsmax for $67 million, according to an SEC filing from the outlet.
It’s the latest settlement paid by a media outlet over its 2020 election coverage.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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(JACKSON TOWNSHIP, NJ) — One person died and 13 others were injured, including eight children, after being struck by lightning on Wednesday in New Jersey, officials said.
The strike hit the ground near a group at the Black Knight Bowbenders archery range, a well-known community site that regularly hosts events, Jackson Township Mayor Michael Reina told ABC News’ New York station, WABC.
The Jackson Township Police Department said it received a call shortly after 7 p.m. reporting multiple people struck by lightning, resulting in a male being administered CPR, while multiple other victims were being triaged.
A 61-year-old male, who was identified by the mayor as an instructor, died from his injuries. Officials are continuing to gather information before releasing his identity, according to the mayor.
The injuries ranged from “burns to non-specific complaints of not feeling well,” the police department said in a statement to WABC.
All were transported to nearby hospitals, including Jersey Shore University Medical Center. One person with more serious injuries was taken to the Livingston Burn Center.
This was the twelfth lightning fatality this year.
“This is such a tragedy,” Reina said to WABC. “My thoughts and prayers are with the victim’s family and all those injured tonight. It’s difficult to understand what happened.”
A severe thunderstorm warning was issued for the area Wednesday evening.
Much of northwest and central New Jersey was also under flood watches through Wednesday night, with storms expected to produce heavy downpours following a deadly deluge earlier this week.
A common misunderstanding is that a thunderstorm needs to be severe to be life-threatening, but that is not true. A casual summer thunderstorm that has a few rumbles of even distant thunder can be deadly.
Whether it’s raining or if it’s completely cloudy overhead or partially sunny as a storm builds, if thunder can be heard, there is a danger being outside and you should seek shelter immediately.
ABC News’ Darren Reynolds, Jason Volack and Daniel Manzo contributed to this report.
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(NEW YORK) — The nondissemination order in the University of Idaho murder case was lifted by Judge Steven Hippler on Thursday, but all documents in the case that have been sealed will remain sealed for now.
The order, also known as a gag order, banned police and prosecutors from speaking about the high-profile case that gripped the nation.
Hippler’s decision to end the gag order comes six days before admitted killer Bryan Kohberger’s sentencing.
Kohberger, who pleaded guilty to all counts at a July 2 change of plea hearing, will return to court for his sentencing on July 23.
As a part of the plea deal, the former criminology Ph.D. student will be sentenced to four consecutive life sentences on the four first-degree murder counts and the maximum penalty of 10 years on the burglary count.
At the July 2 hearing, Hippler asked Kohberger how he pleaded for each count of murder and named the four students: roommates Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen and Xana Kernodle, and Kernodle’s boyfriend, Ethan Chapin. Kohberger quickly said “guilty” each time.
The college students were all stabbed to death at the girls’ off-campus house in the early hours of Nov. 13, 2022. Kohberger was arrested nearly seven weeks later.
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(NEW YORK) — A dangerous heat wave has set in, leaving nearly 150 million people from Texas to Maine under heat alerts on Monday.
In some regions of the country, including the Northeast, thermometers are expected to rise this week to the highest temperatures in more than decade.
Nearly 50 cities could see daily high temperature records broken, including New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.
“This level of HeatRisk is known for being rare and/or long duration with little to no overnight relief, and affects anyone without effective cooling and/or adequate hydration,” the National Weather Service (NWS) said in an advisory issued Monday morning.
A heat wave is a continuous period of abnormally hot weather, generally lasting over two days, according to the NWS.
However, the definition of a heat wave varies by region. In the Midwest and the Northeast, a heat wave is defined as three or more consecutive days of at least 90 degrees.
On Monday, the heat index, a measurement of what the sweltering weather feels like as opposed to the actual temperature reading, is forecast to soar above 100 degrees for much of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, as well as in the Midwest from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to Memphis, Tenn.
Philadelphia is forecast to reach a high of 100 degrees on Monday, a temperature the city hasn’t seen since July 2012.
In anticipation of the first heat wave of the season, Philadelphia city officials declared a heat health emergency that began at noon on Sunday and will stay in place until at least 8 p.m. on Wednesday.
Dr. Palak Raval-Nelson, Philadelphia’s health commissioner, said a heat health emergency is declared when the temperature gets high enough to increase “the risk of getting sick or dying from the heat” — especially for elderly people, individuals with chronic medical conditions and pregnant women.
“The best way to protect our loved ones is to make sure they can get into air conditioning during the hottest part of the day,” Raval-Nelson said in a statement.
Philadelphia is opening more than 40 cooling centers across the city to help people beat the heat.
In New York City, the temperature surpassed 90 degrees by 11 a.m. and expected to rise to the mid-90s to upper 90s on Monday afternoon and reach the upper 90s on Tuesday.
The last time New York City hit 100 degrees was in July 2012.
“Extreme heat will not just be uncomfortable and oppressive for New Yorkers this coming week, it will be brutal and it will be dangerous,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams said in a statement.
On Tuesday, temperatures across the Northeast and Midwest are expected to be slightly higher than on Monday, and the heat index will make cities like Syracuse, New York, and Burlington, Vermont, feel over 100 degrees.
Nighttime temperatures are expected to provide little relief and could be particularly dangerous for people without air conditioning. Overnight temperatures are forecast to be hovering near 80 degrees.
The heat wave is expected to subside on Wednesday, but it will take until Thursday for much of the eastern United States to see real relief from the extreme temperatures.
Elsewhere across the country, the cold front that will help break the heat wave will move through the upper Midwest, producing severe thunderstorms from Kansas to Michigan. The primary risks for the Midwest will be damaging winds, hail, flash flooding and the possibility of tornadoes.
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