Man drowns after pushing two kids to safety from strong river currents
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(NEW YORK) — A 39-year-old man has drowned after pushing two children to safety from a river before succumbing to the current himself, officials said.
The incident occurred on Monday afternoon in Bushkill, Pennsylvania, when authorities received a call at approximately 1:45 p.m. to reports of a possible drowning in the Delaware River, according to a statement from the National Park Service.
Rescue team members were on the scene within minutes but were unable to find the currently unnamed 39-year-old New Jersey man until 3:07 p.m. when crews recovered his body about 20 to 30 feet from shore in approximately 7 feet of water, officials said.
“According to witnesses, the man had been swimming in the Delaware River with his family when two children in the party began to struggle in the current,” NPS said in their statement following the accident on Monday. “He was able to get the children to safety before succumbing to the current himself.”
National Park Service rangers and dive team members from Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River and rescue teams from Bushkill, Dingmans and Westfall Fire Departments and Lehman Township EMS all responded to the call for help on Monday from Pike County Dispatch regarding the drowning, authorities said.
This is the second drowning in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area this summer. The first occurred on June 29 when a 24-year-old man drowned in the waters of the Delaware River near Milford Beach within Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, according to authorities.
The investigation into the latest drowning accident remains open.
(CHICAGO) — Joaquin Guzman Lopez, the son of infamous Mexican drug lord “El Chapo,” pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking charges during his first court appearance since his high-profile arrest last week.
Guzman Lopez, 38, appeared in federal court in Chicago on Tuesday in an orange jumpsuit before Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman for charges in an indictment brought by the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.
He could face the death penalty if convicted, his lawyer, Jeffrey Lichtman, confirmed to reporters following the court appearance.
His next court date has been set for Sept. 30. Lichtman said there is “massive amounts of discovery” to go through over the next few weeks.
Guzman Lopez was one of two top leaders of the Mexican Sinaloa drug cartel taken into custody by U.S. authorities last week to face charges for their roles in leading the group’s vast drug trafficking enterprise, the Department of Justice said. The operation had been planned for several months, a Homeland Security Investigations official told ABC News.
Guzman Lopez and Sinaloa cartel co-founder Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada were placed under arrest in El Paso, Texas, on Thursday, according to Attorney General Merrick Garland.
The two are accused of overseeing the trafficking of tens of thousands of pounds of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and fentanyl into the U.S.
Zambada’s attorney, Frank Perez, claimed that Guzman Lopez “forcibly kidnapped” his client.
“My client neither surrendered nor negotiated any terms with the U.S. government. Joaquin Guzman Lopez forcibly kidnapped my client,” Perez said in a statement on Sunday. “He was ambushed, thrown to the ground, and handcuffed by six men in military uniforms and Joaquin. His legs were tied, and a black bag was placed over his head. He was then thrown into the back of a pickup truck and taken to a landing strip. There, he was forced onto a plane, his legs tied to the seat by Joaquin, and brought to the U.S. against his will. The only people on the plane were the pilot, Joaquin and my client.”
Lichtman told reporters there is no agreement between the defendant and the U.S. government.
“I know that there’s been a massive amount of rumors and things printed in the press,” Lichtman said. “I don’t know what’s real. I don’t know what’s not real. But it shouldn’t really surprise anybody that there’s a story that seems to be changing every few minutes.”
Zambada made his initial appearance Friday morning in El Paso federal court before Judge Anne Berton, according to court records. He pleaded not guilty to the 12 charges in his 2012 indictment in the Western District of Texas and was ordered detained pending his next hearing, scheduled for Wednesday, according to court records.
Zambada faces multiple federal indictments in jurisdictions across the U.S. for his alleged role in the cartel and has been on the run from U.S. and Mexican law enforcement for years. His fellow co-founder of the Sinaloa cartel, Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzman, was extradited to the U.S. in 2017, convicted in 2019 and sentenced to life in prison.
Guzman Lopez’s brother, Ovidio Guzman Lopez, was charged last year with two dozen others as part of a crackdown targeting a global drug trafficking network run through the Sinaloa cartel. According to the charges, the cartel used precursor chemicals shipped from China to fuel the fentanyl crisis plaguing the U.S.
Lichtman currently represents Ovidio Guzman Lopez as well. The court discussed the conflict Tuesday, with Lichtman saying that both brothers are fine with him representing them. The government said they are OK with it as well.
Lichtman has also represented El Chapo and his wife, Emma Coronel Aispuro, in federal cases.
(NEW YORK) — A California man accused of deliberately starting what has become the largest active wildfire in the country has been formally charged with felony arson, court records show.
Ronnie Dean Stout II, 42, of Chico, was arraigned Monday in connection with the Park Fire, which has quickly become one of the largest recorded wildfires in California’s history. During his first court appearance, he was charged with felony arson with an enhancement of special circumstances due to prior convictions. His arraignment has been continued until Thursday.
He will be held with no bail as he awaits trial. He has not yet entered a plea. Attorney information was not immediately available.
Stout was allegedly spotted just before 3 p.m. PT on Wednesday pushing a burning car down a gully called “Alligator Hole” in Bidwell Park, near Chico in Butte County, prosecutors said.
“The car went down an embankment approximately 60 feet and burned completely, spreading flames that caused the Park Fire,” Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey said in a statement.
A man who was later identified as Stout was allegedly seen calmly leaving the area by blending in with other park visitors fleeing the rapidly evolving fire, Ramsey said.
Stout was arrested Thursday on suspicion of arson in the fire and jailed without bail.
The arson suspect has two previous “strike” felony convictions, according to the Butte County District Attorney’s office.
The “Three Strikes and You’re Out” law in California imposes a life sentence for almost any crime, no matter how minor, if the defendant had two prior convictions for crimes defined as serious or violent by the California Penal Code, according to Stanford Law School.
Stout’s prior felony convictions include lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14 years of age in 2001 and robbery with great bodily injury in 2002, according to the district attorney.
He was sentenced to 20 years in state prison following his 2002 conviction, according to the district attorney.
Since igniting on Wednesday, the Park Fire had spread to more than 373,000 acres by Monday afternoon, or approximately 583 square miles, through four counties — Butte, Plumas, Shasta and Tehama, according to Cal Fire. The blaze was 12% contained as of Monday afternoon, fire officials said.
More than 110 structures have been confirmed destroyed, and at least six others damaged, according to Cal Fire. There have been no reports of deaths or people unaccounted for, officials said.
The Park Fire is the largest fire burning in California as well as the nation right now, surpassing the Durkee Fire in eastern Oregon. It is now the sixth-largest fire recorded in California history, officials said.
The rapid spread of the fire is being fueled by an abundance of vegetation and one of the hottest and driest summers on record in the area, officials said.
(NEW YORK) — Hurricane Debby is roaring across Florida as a Category 1 hurricane after making landfall Monday morning.
Here’s what to expect:
Flash flood warnings have been issued from Cedar Key, Florida, to Venice, Florida.
More than 10 inches of rain already fell in the Tampa area and more than 1 foot of rain was recorded just south of Sarasota.
On Monday, Debby will bring very heavy rain from Gainesville and Jacksonville, Florida, up to Savannah, Georgia, where more than 20 inches of rain is possible.
The storm surge will be the highest — up to 10 feet — in Florida’s Big Bend area, from Keaton Beach to Cedar Key.
By Tuesday, Debby is expected to stall over the Southeast, bringing potentially historic rainfall to Georgia and South Carolina. Up to 30 inches of rain is possible through Thursday.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has issued a rare “high risk” warning for extreme flooding in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina over the next two days.
The rainfall from Debby may approach Georgia’s record of 27.85 inches from Tropical Storm Alberto in 1994.
Debby’s remnants could then move up to North Carolina and Virginia by Friday and this weekend.
