(ZION NATIONAL PARK, Utah) — A 37-year-old man fell to his death while hiking at Zion National Park in Utah, authorities confirmed.
The hiker was found dead Sunday morning on the Canyon Overlook Trail, a mile-long trail that runs along the east side of the park, according to the National Park Service.
Authorities received a call at 7:06 a.m. reporting a “possible fall of a hiker in Zion National Park,” according to the Washington County Sheriff’s Department.
Hurricane Valley Fire and Rescue were first on the scene, where they found the deceased man “at approximately 7:40 a.m.” and determined “he was beyond help,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
Washington County sheriff’s deputies arrived shortly after the Hurricane Valley Fire and Rescue team and “confirmed their findings,” according to the statement.
The Zion National Park Technical Search and Rescue Team assisted in recovery efforts and the “hiker’s remains were transferred to the Washington County Medical Examiner for further examination,” according to the National Park Service.
The Canyon Overlook Trail was temporarily closed due to the incident but has since reopened, the National Park Service said.
Officials said the Washington County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the incident. The identity of the hiker has not been released.
This is not the first time someone has fallen to their death at Zion National Park. In October, a 40-year-old man fell approximately 200 feet to his death while canyoneering with three others, according to the National Park Service.
(GREENCASTLE, Pa.) — The CEO of Pete and Gerry’s Eggs is speaking out after 100,000 eggs mysteriously disappeared from one of its facilities in Greencastle, Pennsylvania, last weekend.
In an exclusive interview with “Good Morning America,” Tom Flocco said the egg firm, which contracts with over 300 farms across the country, is going to boost security measures after 8,000 cartons — worth $40,000 — were stolen from the back of a distribution trailer at approximately 8:40 p.m. on Feb. 2.
“I’ve worked in other industries before where things get stolen from factories,” Flocco told “GMA’s” Elizabeth Schulze. “It happens. It’s terrible. I’m not happy about it, but it does happen.”
To ensure this does not occur again, Flocco said the company will place additional security on the ground, install better lighting and include extra cameras throughout its facilities.
“It could happen once, it could happen again,” Flocco said. “We are putting additional measures in place.”
Police are still scrambling to find a suspect and closely examining video surveillance. If the public knows of any leads, officials urge people to contact Pennsylvania State Police Chambersburg.
“We are working with local authorities in Pennsylvania and we’re giving them our full cooperation,” Flocco said. “We’ll let you know when we learn more.”
Flocco said the thieves might face one obstacle after this unusual heist: The eggs need to stay refrigerated as they are transported, since they can spoil at room temperature.
“They’re transported in a refrigerated truck, they’re brought into a refrigerated warehouse, kept there until they’re ready to be processed, washed, cooled and kept cold until we eat them,” Flocco said.
This case comes amid a soaring amount of bird flu infections occurring across the United States, which is also causing an egg shortage. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, 142 flocks were confirmed to test positive for bird flu, also known as avian influenza, in the last 30 days.
When a bird becomes infected with the virus, the animal needs to be culled and the eggs need to be destroyed. With more farms experiencing bird flu outbreaks, the USDA predicted at the end of January that egg prices will rise up to 20%.
Restaurants like the Waffle House have implemented a surcharge of 50 cents for egg items on their menu due to the shortage, the company announced on Monday. Flocco said Pete and Gerry’s Eggs will continue to remain at the same price of about $7 a dozen, despite the recent heist.
“We’re finding the consumer interest for our product is greater than it’s ever been and we only expect it to continue,” Flocco said. “We are charging the same price to our retail partners today as we did a year ago.”
(NEW YORK) — AAT&T customers are being urged to stay cautious as thieves are using cellular data to track and steal deliveries, particularly iPhones.
Police report a nationwide surge in package thefts by organized criminal groups targeting FedEx shipments of new AT&T iPhones, sometimes resulting in violence.
“Criminal actors obtain cell phone tracking and delivery location information before the deliveries, providing competing organized theft groups the opportunity to intercept the delivery and steal cell phones from delivery personnel or consumers,” according to a law enforcement bulletin obtained by ABC News. “Violent encounters with criminal actors are escalating as subjects use various tactics, techniques, and procedures to obtain the devices.”
There has been a minimum of 77 reported incidents of theft in Northern Virginia alone, highlighting a troubling trend in the area, according to local authorities. In addition, the New York Police Department said it is investigating at least 55 similar theft cases, warranting close attention.
This surge is not isolated, as similar incidents have emerged across various states, indicating a broader, more widespread issue that may require a coordinated response from law enforcement agencies nationwide.
“We work with law enforcement agencies and parcel carriers to protect our deliveries from these sophisticated criminals,” AT&T said in a statement.
To elude law enforcement, the thieves have adopted the guise of delivery personnel, according to authorities. They cleverly utilize DoorDash bags and don Amazon or construction vests to blend seamlessly with legitimate couriers. Alarmingly, they often strike just moments after packages are left on doorsteps, snatching them away before anyone notices, police warn.
In Chicago, a man and woman duo were caught on video stealing packages along Damen Avenue in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood last week. Cameras have captured three different thefts and appear to involve the same people, according to ABC affiliate WLS in Chicago.
The video shows a woman walking to the front door and dancing on the walkway. She then grabs a package from the porch and runs to a waiting car parked across the street. The homeowner is alerted to the delivery and shouts at the thief, but it’s too late, according to WLS.
In another video obtained by WLS, a man grabs a package with one arm, then picks up another package on the front steps before returning to a similar gray vehicle used in a previous theft.
Both women said they filed reports with the Chicago Police Department and hope somebody recognizes the man and woman in the videos.
“They’ve got the same M.O. They come up, cigarette hanging out of their mouth, both of them. It looks like a husband-and-wife duo, like a Bonnie and Clyde,” a victim told WLS. “They’re just going over to these people’s houses. They don’t even know what’s in these packages; so, I’m not sure what they’re doing with them. Are they selling them or what?”
Investigators are trying to understand how criminals identify and target specific houses.
“We have rigorous safety and security programs in place and regularly remind our team members of the importance of both personal and package safety,” FedEx said in a statement.
(WASHINGTON) — The number of abortions performed in the U.S. fell slightly in 2022, the year the Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade, a new federal report found.
In 2022, a total of 613,383 legal abortions were reported by 48 areas. Among the 47 areas that consistently reported data from 2021 to 2022, there was a decrease of 2% from the 622,108 abortions performed in 2021 to 609,360, according to the annual abortion surveillance report, published Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The 48 areas included 46 states, the District of Columbia and New York City, excluding California, Maryland, New Hampshire and New Jersey.
The abortion rate was 11.2 abortions per 1,000 women between ages 15 and 44 in 2022, a decrease of 3% from 11.6 abortions per 1,000 women the prior year, according to data from 46 states and New York City.
Rates were lowest in Missouri and highest New Mexico, respectively, in 2022. After Roe v. Wade was overruled, Missouri passed a near-total abortion ban with limited exceptions while abortions remained unrestricted based on gestational duration in New Mexico. However, in 2024, Missouri voters approved an amendment enshrining the right to reproductive freedom in the state constitution, including abortion care.
Dr. Adam Jacobs, medical director of the division of complex family planning at the Mount Sinai Heath System in New York, said he does not believe Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health — the Supreme Court decision that led to Roe v. Wade’s overruling — is a major reason why abortion rates dropped between 2021 and 2022.
“Many of the bans did not go into place or a lot of the structural changes did not go into place in the calendar year of 2022, so I don’t think you would see that impact in this report,” he told ABC News.
Jacobs said abortion numbers and rates have been decreasing for years, and key reasons include the Affordable Care Act. The law gives women more access to preventive services, including long-lasting reversible contraception.
The report found that women in their 20s accounted for more than half of abortions in 2022 and had the highest abortion rates. Comparatively, adolescents under age 15 and women aged 40 or older accounted for the lowest percentages of abortions and had the lowest abortion rates.
Between 2013 and 2022, abortion rates decreased among all age groups except for women between ages 30 and 34, for whom rates increased.
When it came to breaking down the share of abortions based on gestational age, the report found that most abortions, or 78.6%, were performed at 9 weeks gestation and nearly all abortions were performed under 13 weeks gestation.
More than half of abortions were early medication ones performed at or under 9 weeks gestation followed by surgical abortions at or under 13 weeks gestation.
Surgical abortions performed past 13 weeks gestation accounted for just 6.9% of all abortions in 2022 and medication abortion past 9 weeks gestation accounted for 4.3%.
Black women accounted for the highest percentage of abortions at 39.5% followed by white women at 31.9% and Hispanic women at 21.2%, according to the report.
Black women had the highest rate at 24.4 abortions per 1,000 women between ages 15 and 44 and white women had the lowest rate at 5.7 abortions per 1,000 women.
Jacobs said that gains have been made in providing care to marginalized groups, but factors including unequal access to quality family planning services may be why abortion rates are higher for Black women compared to white women.
“If you have access to highly effective contraception, you end up having [fewer] unintended pregnancies,” he said.
For 2022, 87.7% of abortions were among unmarried women compared to 12.3% among married women, the report found.
Additionally, a plurality of abortions, or 40.6%, were among women who had never had a previous live birth, and a majority, or 56.1%, were among those who had never received an abortion before.
In 2021, the most recent year for which data from the CDC’s Pregnancy Mortality Surveillance System were reviewed, five women died because of complications from legally induced abortions.
As of Wednesday, 13 states have ceased nearly all abortion services and four states have enacted six-week bans, according to an ABC News tally. Meanwhile, nine states and the District of Columbia have no restrictions based on gestational duration.