Firefighter dies in the line of duty in while battling Kansas house fire
(WICHITA, Kan.) — A firefighter in Kansas has lost his life in the line of duty while battling a house fire in Wichita, according to the Wichita Fire Department.
The incident occurred on Thursday at approximately 3:22 p.m. when the currently unnamed firefighter was battling a house fire in Haysville, Kansas.
“The Wichita Fire Department and the City of Wichita are extremely saddened to announce that at approximately 3:22 PM while operating at a mutual aid fire in Haysville, one of Wichita’s bravest was injured in the line of duty, and later succumbed to their injury,” the statement said. “The Wichita Fire Department is working to ensure family members are all appropriately notified.”
Authorities say that they will not be releasing the name of the firefighter who died until next of kin has been informed and they are asking “the same of anyone that may know the firefighter.”
“This is a loss that deeply weighs heavily on all of us. All of the dedicated individuals who serve our fire department do so knowing the immense risk they are undertaking and do it with noble, selfless regard,” said the Wichita Fire Department. “It does not make their sacrifice any less immense. Nor the sacrifice of their loved ones and family any easier.”
“Please keep this firefighters family and crew in your prayers,” authorities continued. “We will update the community on any additional information as it becomes available.”
(NEW YORK) — Harvey Weinstein was rushed from Rikers Island, where he is being held, to Bellevue Hospital for emergency heart surgery after experiencing chest pains, his representatives told ABC News.
“Mr. Weinstein was rushed to Bellevue Hospital last night due to several medical conditions,” Weinstein representatives Craig Rothfeld and Juda Engelmayer said in a statement. “We can confirm that Mr. Weinstein had a procedure and surgery on his heart today however cannot comment any further than that.”
They continued, “As we have extensively stated before, Mr. Weinstein suffers a plethora of significant health issues that need ongoing treatment. We are grateful to the executive team at the New York City Department of Correction and Rikers Island for acting swiftly in taking him to Bellevue Hospital.”
The emergency comes as Weinstein, 72, is due in court this week in New York, where prosecutors had been presenting evidence to a grand jury as they work to secure a new indictment against Weinstein on sex crimes charges.
Weinstein has denied any wrongdoing and has said his sexual encounters with women were consensual.
Weinstein has appeared in court recently in a wheelchair and has asked to stay in custody at Rikers, where he has been undergoing medical care.
In a shocking move this April, the New York Court of Appeals, in a scathing 4-3 opinion, overturned Weinstein’s conviction on sex crimes against three women, finding the trial judge “erroneously admitted testimony of uncharged, alleged prior sexual acts against persons other than the complainants of the underlying crimes.”
The court said that testimony “served no material non-propensity purpose” and “portrayed defendant in a highly prejudicial light.”
However, the Manhattan district attorney’s office has since presented evidence to a grand jury that could return a new indictment against Weinstein over an alleged sexual assault that occurred sometime in a four-month time period between late 2005 and mid-2006 in a lower Manhattan residential building, according to a transcript of an unannounced court hearing last week.
Prosecutors also indicated during a hearing on Sept. 3 that they were aware of two other potential offenses: a sexual assault in May 2016 in a hotel in Tribeca and a potential sexual assault that occurred at the Tribeca Grand hotel.
This isn’t the first time Weinstein has been rushed to a hospital recently. In July, he was transferred to Bellevue after testing positive for COVID-19 and double pneumonia, according to his Rothfeld.
(RALEIGH, N.C.) — Abortions are now legal in North Dakota after the state Supreme Court ruled its near-total abortion ban was unconstitutionally vague.
The ruling came as part of a lawsuit filed by physicians that asked the court to strike down the ban in its entirety. A North Dakota South Central Judicial District Court judge granted that request Thursday.
At least 21 states currently have bans or restrictions in place on abortion care. Of those states, 13 states have ceased nearly all abortion services and four states prohibit abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, before most women know they are pregnant.
Abortion is currently illegal in South Dakota.
Plaintiffs argued the ban was unconstitutionally vague and made it impossible to interpret the language surrounding when abortions are allowed under medical exceptions, according to the Center for Reproductive Rights, which filed the lawsuit.
Physicians who violate the ban could be found guilty of a class C felony, punishable with up to five years of imprisonment, a $10,000 fine or both.
The court also found pregnant women have a fundamental right to choose an abortion before viability under the state constitution.
“The North Dakota Constitution guarantees each individual, including women, the fundamental right to make medical judgments affecting his or her bodily integrity, health, and autonomy, in consultation with a chosen health care provider free from government interference,” Judge Bruce Romanick wrote in the opinion.
(WINDER, Ga.) — Joshua Maloch thought his Georgia high school was holding an active shooter drill when an alarm went off Wednesday morning alerting a school lockdown.
“We all had to get into the corner of my class and duck down,” the 10th grader at Apalachee High School in Winder, told ABC News.
“I didn’t think it was real, because a lot of times I have drills,” he added.
It was when he heard multiple shots ring out that he said feared for his life and was scared his brother and sister might not make it out.
“Everybody was scared, and people were screaming, calling their moms, everything,” he said.
Two students and two teachers were killed and another nine victims were taken to hospitals with injuries in the shooting at Apalachee High School, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
The suspect — a 14-year-old male student at the high school — is in custody, authorities said.
Alexandra Romero, a sophomore at Apalachee High School, told ABC News that students in her classroom began hugging each other while covering during the shooting.
“I was scared. I had so much fear, like I’m still shaking, like I was so scared. I didn’t know my like feelings were so heightened. I cried too,” she said.
She said that after they were able to leave the classroom, she saw a teacher on the floor and “blood everywhere.”
“I’m definitely scared to go back. I talked with my parents and stuff. I don’t feel safe going back there for a while,” she said. “It’s hard to get out of my head, like seeing that body right there.”
Senior Sergio Caldera, 17, said he was in chemistry class when he heard gunshots.
“My teacher goes and opens the door to see what’s going on. Another teacher comes running in and tells her to close the door because there’s an active shooter,” Caldera told ABC News.
He said his teacher locked the door and the students ran to the back of the room. Caldera said they heard screams from outside as they “huddled up.”
At some point, Caldera said someone pounded on his classroom door and shouted “Open up!” multiple times. When the knocking stopped, Caldera said he heard more gunshots and screams.
He said his class later evacuated to the football field.
Kyson Stancion said he was in class when he heard gunshots and “heard police scream, telling somebody, ‘There’s a shooting going on, get down, get back in the classroom.'”
“I was scared because I’ve never been in a school shooting,” he told ABC News.
“Everybody was crying. My teacher tried to keep everybody safe,” he added.
Sherley Martinez, a 12th grader at the school, said she was in a classroom when she heard gunshots ring out.
“Kids started crying, everyone was freaking out,” she told ABC News.
She said she was scared but tried to comfort her classmates.
“I tried to keep everybody comfortable,” she said. “I was telling everybody, ‘It’s going to be OK.'”
“In our small town, we’d never really would expect anything like this to happen,” she added.
ABC News’ Faith Abubey and Miles Cohen contributed to this report.