Firefighters rescue Chihuahua from under Houston bridge
Houston Botanic Garden
(HOUSTON) — Teams of firefighters sprang into action in Texas on Friday when staff at the Houston Botanic Garden noticed a tiny Chihuahua was stuck underneath a pedestrian bridge.
Photos posted to Facebook show the small dog sitting on one of the footings of the bridge, which spans the Sims Bayou channel.
It took two Houston fire stations to help bring the Chihuahua safely back on land, with one crew member jumping in the water to bring the pup ashore.
“This Black Friday was one Chihuahua’s lucky day, thanks to our heroes at Houston Fire Department stations 29 and 42,” the Houston Botanic Garden wrote alongside several photos of the puppy rescue.
“We love knowing that everyone and everything in and around the Garden is in good hands with these trained community helpers on the job,” the institution added.
It’s unclear who the dog’s owner is and how it ended up below the bridge.
ABC News has reached out to the Houston Fire Department for a comment.
(NEW YORK) — Election workers across the country are being bombarded with threats, and law enforcement agencies nationwide are dedicating “substantial resources” to ensure public safety during the election, according to a new threat assessment obtained by ABC News.
The document, transmitted Monday by the NYPD Intelligence Bureau, encapsulates the full picture of Election Day threats, including the risk of physical violence and disinformation generated by foreign governments. Potential targets include “election personnel and government officials, campaign offices, as well as voting-related sites, infrastructure, and technology,” the assessment said.
“Individuals may employ a variety of tactics that could include physical attacks, threats of violence, delivery of suspicious packages, swatting, arson, and property destruction, harassment, as well as cyberattacks and mis/dis/mal-information campaigns,” the assessment also said.
The FBI has received more than 2,000 threats to election workers and “opened at least 100 investigations into these unlawful actions” as of April, the assessment said, citing a September report by the U.S. Department of Justice, with more than 20 people charged.
In the last week alone, multiple individuals in separate states have faced charges related to threats against election officials, according to the assessment:
Teak Brockbank, 45, of Colorado, pleaded guilty to transmitting interstate threats after he made a series of online threats against election officials in Colorado and Arizona, a judge in Colorado, and federal law enforcement agents.
Richard Glenn Kantwill, 61, of Tampa, allegedly made threats against an election official.
John Pollard, 62, of Philadelphia, allegedly threatened to kill a state party representative who was recruiting poll watchers online.
Threats and hostile rhetoric against election officials have proliferated online, according to the assessment:
Last month, the NYPD Intelligence Bureau found users on several platforms that accused Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger of attempting to influence the outcome of the 2024 presidential election, and called for his execution.
A user in an online extremist messaging channel called for a “national militia for the defense of the Republic” to ensure “election integrity.”
In September, suspicious packages containing powder were sent to secretaries of state and state election offices in at least 15 states.
“Each state runs elections a little bit differently but the commonalities across all the states are that election officials are professional, they follow the laws of their state, and the process is transparent,” Benjamin Hovland, chairman of the bipartisan U.S. Election Assistance Commission, told ABC News.
(KANSAS CITY, Mo.) — Andrew Lester, the Kansas City man charged in the April 2023 shooting of Ralph Yarl after the teenager mistakenly went to the wrong house, is fit to stand trial in February 2025, a judge said on Tuesday, according to Kansas City ABC affiliate KMBC.
The ruling came after the judge reviewed the findings of Lester’s mental exam, which he ordered last month after Lester’s attorney argued that the 86-year-old’s mental and physical capacity have diminished.
ABC News reached out to Lester’s attorney Steven Salmon for comment.
In October, a Clay County judge rescheduled Lester’s trial, which was initially set for Oct. 7, to begin on Feb. 18, 2025, pending the results of the mental evaluation. That exam was ordered by the judge after Salmon filed a motion requesting it, according to court documents obtained by ABC News.
In the motion, Salmon claimed that Lester, who is 86, is facing health conditions that could impair his ability to understand legal proceedings or assist in his defense at trial.
He said in the motion that Lester has lost more than 50 pounds, experienced issues with his memory and has exhibited confusion surrounding the details of the case. He also noted that Lester had also suffered a broken hip, heart issues and hospitalization since the case began.
Salmon also noted that Lester has faced “stress” due to “overwhelming media attention, as well as death threats and other unwanted attention, making it difficult for him to interact socially with anyone.”
Lester was charged with one count of felony assault in the first-degree and one count of armed criminal action, also a felony, in the shooting of Yarl, a Black teenager who mistakenly went to Lester’s Kansas City home after arriving at the wrong address to pick up his twin brothers from a play date on April 13, 2023.
Lester, who is white, pleaded not guilty later that month and was released on a $200,000 bond.
Yarl, who was 16 at the time, was shot in the head and in the right arm, by Lester, according to police. The now 18-year-old suffered a traumatic brain injury, his family previously told ABC News.
According to a probable cause statement obtained by ABC News, Lester told police that he “believed someone was attempting to break into the house” and grabbed a gun before going to the door because he was scared.
Yarl opened up about the shooting in an exclusive interview with Good Morning America co-anchor Robin Roberts in July 2023, where he reflected on his recovery and the harrowing experience.
“He points [the gun] at me … so I kinda, like, brace and I turn my head,” Yarl told Roberts. “Then it happened. And then I’m on the ground … and then I fall on the glass. The shattered glass. And then before I know it I’m running away shouting, ‘Help me, help me.'”
(NEW YORK) — A large storm over the central U.S. is bringing a range of weather issues, from flooding rain and severe weather to heavy snow in the Rockies.
This early season snowstorm has brought more than three feet of snow to portions of New Mexico.
Angel Fire, New Mexico, is home to a popular ski resort that has picked up 40 inches of snowfall in the last 36 hours. That’s still 8 inches below their record snowfall for one storm.
Las Vegas, New Mexico, has picked up 31.7 inches of snow from this storm, breaking their all-time record snowfall of 27 inches in 1958.
Rociada, New Mexico, had 36 inches of snow; 28 inches of snow fell in Genoa, Colorado; 24.5 inches fell in Colorado Springs, Colorado; 20 inches fell in Kenton, Oklahoma.
Denver, Colorado’s snow total of 19.2 inches makes this their third-largest November snowstorm on record.
Winter Storm Warnings have been allowed to expire across parts of Colorado Saturday morning, as the snow tapers off and quieter weather moves in.
Rafael feeds flood threat
Tropical Storm Rafael is meandering around the central Gulf of Mexico with winds of 50 mph.
After seeing so much activity in the Gulf of Mexico this hurricane season, it’s a relief to see a storm that will not be making landfall as a dangerous storm.
There will be indirect impacts from Rafael as some of the moisture from this storm is pulled into a front as it moves across the south Saturday.
There is a High Risk for Excessive Rainfall in parts of Louisiana today with up to 8 inches of rain in the forecast. That flash flood risk extends as far north as Kentucky today.
Rafael is also churning up the seas enough to bring a dangerous rip current risk to several beaches along the Gulf Coast this weekend.
Waves up to 7 feet have prompted High Surf Advisories through Sunday, with minor coastal flooding also possible in parts of Louisiana.
Wildfire risk
While there are several dangerous wildfires still burning in the west, the conditions have improved enough to limit fire growth this weekend across California.
In the Northeast, a Red Flag Warning remains in effect for portions of 6 states on Saturday due to elevated fire weather concerns.
Wind gusts up to 35 mph and humidity as low as 25% could help to rapidly spread any fires that flare up, so residents are urged to avoid open flames this weekend.
Rain will move into the northeast by Sunday night, offering a bit of relief to an area that hasn’t seen much measurable rainfall in more than a month.
While any rainfall is better than nothing, this is not looking to put a dent in the severe to extreme drought across much of the northeast.
