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(PHILADELPHIA) — Investigators have located the engines and cockpit voice recorder from the small medical transport jet that crashed in Philadelphia Friday evening, killing seven people.

The jet, which was carrying a child and her mother along with four other people, was in the air for less than a minute after taking off from Northeast Philadelphia Airport before coming down in a fiery “high-impact” crash.

The Learjet 55, operated by Jet Rescue Air Ambulance, took off at 6:06 p.m. Friday, climbed to about 1,500 feet and then rapidly descended, according to National Transportation Safety Board investigator Bill Hicks.

“The entire flight lasted less than a minute,” Hicks said.

All six people aboard the jet died in the crash, including the child, who had just received care from Shriner’s Hospital in Philadelphia and was returning home to Mexico with her mother. There were also four crew members on board. All were Mexican citizens, according to a statement from the Mexican government.

NTSB investigators announced on Sunday that the aircraft’s engines and cockpit voice recorder (CVR) had been recovered from the crash.

The CVR was located at the site of initial impact, at a depth of eight feet, according to investigators.

The airplane’s enhanced ground proximity warning system (EGPWS), which could also contain flight data was recovered Sunday as well, officials said. Both components will be sent to the NTSB Vehicle Recorders Laboratory in Washington, D.C., for evaluation.

During a Sunday morning news conference, Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker said all those aboard the jet were Mexican citizens.

Jet Rescue Air Ambulance identified those aboard the crashed jet as 11-year-old pediatric patient Valentina Guzman Murillo and her 31-year-old mother, Lizeth Murillo Ozuna; Dr. Raul Meza Arredondo, paramedic Lopez Padilla, flight Capt. Alan Alejandro Montoya Perales and co-pilot Josue De Jesus Juarez Juarez.

Jet Rescue Air Ambulance said Montoya Perales, 46, had worked for the company since 2016, and that 43-year-old Juarez Juarez had been with the company since December 2023. Arredondo, 41, has been flying with the air ambulance company since 2020 and 41-year-old Padilla has been with the company since November 2023.

The mayor of Ensenada, Mexico, a city in the state of Baja California, confirmed two of the victims as Valentina Guzman Murillo and her mother.

Ensenada government officials said the plane was bound for Tijuana, Mexico. The plane was scheduled to make a stopover in Springfield, Missouri, before continuing to Tijuana, officials said.

In addition to those aboard the aircraft, at least one person in a vehicle died in the crash. The identity of the person has not been disclosed.

Parker said Sunday that the number of people injured on the ground had risen from 19 to 22. She said five people remained hospitalized as of Sunday, including three in critical condition.

There was no indication of a problem radioed from the flight deck of the jet back to air traffic control before the crash, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy told reporters. “In fact, in the recording that we have, there is an attempt by air traffic controllers to get a response from the flight crew that they didn’t receive,” she said.

The NTSB has classified the crash as an accident.

The “high-impact” crash left debris scattered across four to five city blocks, Homendy said.

At least five homes caught fire in the aftermath of the crash, Philadelphia officials said.

The Federal Aviation Administration is assisting in the investigation.

The crash of the medical jet came just two days after an Army Black Hawk helicopter collided with a regional American Airlines jet near Reagan National Airport just outside Washington, D.C., killing 67 people.

Homendy said her agency is able to carry out both investigations simultaneously.

“We are a highly skilled agency,” she said, adding that it’s not unusual for the board to investigate two incidents.

In a message posted on X, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy called the back-to-back disasters a “heart-wrenching week.”

Regarding the Philadelphia crash, Duffy said, “We’re not going to have answers right away. It’s going to take time. But as I get those answers, I’m going to share it with all of you.”

ABC News’ Stephanie Ramos contributed to this report.

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(WASHINGTON) — A federal judge sentenced a tearful former U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez to 11 years in prison Wednesday on corruption charges after being convicted of abusing the power of his office in exchange for bribes in the form of gold bars, a luxury car and other items.

“You stood at the apex of our political system,” Judge Sidney Stein said in issuing the sentence. “Somewhere along the way, you lost your way.”

Menendez, 71, was found guilty on all 16 counts last year in his federal trial, becoming the first sitting member of Congress to be convicted of acting as a foreign agent. His children, Alicia and Rob, were in court to witness the sentencing.

“The fact that he was a public office holder who held a position of great public trust has to be taken into account,” Stein said as he explained how he calculated the sentence.

Stein said Menendez “became a corrupt politician” as he ticked off the spoils of the corruption: the gold bars, the cash, the convertible.

“When there’s wrongdoing of this magnitude there are serious consequences,” Stein said.

Ahead of the former senator’s sentencing Wednesday afternoon, two New Jersey businessmen convicted of paying bribes to Menendez received lengthy prison sentences. Wael Hana was sentenced to eight years in prison and Fred Daibes to seven years.

Menendez calls prosecution a ‘witch hunt’

Outside the court following his sentencing, a defiant Menendez called the prosecution a “political witch hunt.”

“Regardless of the judge’s comments, today, I am innocent, and I look forward to filing appeals on a whole host of issues,” Menendez said.

Menendez referred to the Southern District of New York, which prosecuted the case, as the “Wild West of political prosecutions” while outlining grievances with the evidence and witnesses in the trial.

“President Trump is right — this process is political and it’s corrupted to the core,” Menendez said. “I hope President Trump cleans up the cesspool and restores the integrity to the system.”

Danielle Sassoon, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a statement that Wednesday’s sentences were the result of “an egregious abuse of power” at the highest levels of the government’s legislative branch.

“Robert Menendez was trusted to represent the United States and the State of New Jersey, but instead he used his position to help his co-conspirators and a foreign government, in exchange for bribes like cash, gold, and a luxury car,” she said. “The sentences imposed today send a clear message that attempts at any level of government to corrupt the nation’s foreign policy and the rule of law will be met with just punishment.”

Menendez says he’s a ‘chastened man’

Menendez sat at the defense table in a suit and tie with hands folded across his stomach before he stood at his seat to address the judge ahead of his sentencing.

“Your honor you have before you a chastened man,” Menendez said as his voice began to break. “We sat in this court room for nine weeks, but you really don’t know me.”

The once-powerful Democrat introduced himself as the son of Cuban immigrants and explained his political biography, occasionally sniffling and choking up while reading from a prepared statement with hands stuffed in his pockets.

“This is who I truly am, judge. A man devoted to service,” Menendez said, becoming emotional as he spoke of family and of constituents he helped. “I have lost everything I have cared about. For someone who spent a life in public service, every day is a punishment.”

The judge said Menendez will not have to report to prison until June 6 so he can be available when his wife, Nadine, goes on trial on similar corruption and bribery charges on March 18.

Menendez’s lawyer adjusted the defense’s request for leniency following the imposition of lengthy prison sentences for his co-defendants.

Menendez previously sought a sentence of no more than two years in prison, citing his “extraordinary public service,” but earlier Wednesday the two New Jersey businessmen convicted of paying the bribes were sentenced perhaps more harshly than the defense anticipated.

“The good outweighs the bad in the arc of Bob’s life,” defense attorney Adam Fee told the judge. “We would ask the court to sentence Bob to no more than eight years in prison.”

Prosecutor Paul Monteleoni had asked for 15 years in prison, arguing Menendez “believed that the power he wielded belonged to him.”

“The offense conduct reflects a truly grave breach of the trust placed in Menendez by his fellow senators, by the people of New Jersey,” Monteleoni told the court. “There are not many people who had power on the scale of Menendez.”

‘Rare gravity’ of the crimes

Menendez had potentially faced decades in prison. Sentencing guidelines called for more than 24 to 30 years in prison, with the U.S. Probation Office recommending 12 years’ imprisonment for Menendez, according to court filings.

Federal prosecutors have said the Democrat deserves 15 years in prison for his “naked greed” and the “rare gravity” of the crimes.

“This case is the first ever in which a Senator has been convicted of a crime involving the abuse of a leadership position on a Senate committee,” federal prosecutors wrote in a memo to the judge earlier this month. “It is the first ever in which a Senator — or any other person — has been convicted of serving as a foreign agent while being a public official.”

Prosecutors asked the court to impose a substantial prison sentence “to provide just punishment for this extraordinary abuse of power and betrayal of the public trust, and to deter others from ever engaging in similar conduct.”

Menendez’s attorneys had sought leniency, urging the court to even consider whether a non-custodial sentence — such as “home detention and rigorous community service” — would suffice.

“Probation’s recommended sentence of 12 years’ imprisonment would be draconian — likely a life and death sentence for someone of Bob’s age and condition,” his attorneys wrote in a memorandum to the judge earlier this month. “Bob is deserving of mercy because of the penalties already imposed, his age, and the lack of a compelling need to impose a custodial sentence.”

The defense noted that Menendez is helping his wife battle cancer and argued he is no longer in a position to be a repeat offender, given that he was convicted of crimes that arose from his position as a U.S. senator.

“With this case, his political and professional careers have ended; his reputation is destroyed; and the latter years of his life are in shambles. He is certain never to commit future offenses,” his attorneys wrote. “And his current state — stripped of office and living under a permanent shadow of disgrace and mockery — are more than sufficient to reflect the seriousness of the offenses and to promote respect for the law.”

The former New Jersey senator, who resigned in the wake of his conviction, has maintained his innocence.

“I have never violated my oath,” Menendez said outside the courthouse following the verdict in the nine-week trial. “I have never been anything but a patriot of my country and for my country. I have never, ever been a foreign agent.”

Menendez twice unsuccessfully bid for a new trial ahead of his sentencing, most recently last week, with Stein finding the trial was fair while denying his request.

Menendez had also tried unsuccessfully to postpone his sentencing until after his wife stands trial.

Co-defendants get lengthy prison sentences

Two New Jersey businessmen who were found guilty in the case were also sentenced on Wednesday. Hana was sentenced to eight years in prison and Daibes to seven years — significantly more than what the defendants had sought and slightly less than what prosecutors recommended.

Prosecutors said Menendez promised to use his power as a senator to help Hana, who is originally from Egypt, by preserving a halal meat monopoly granted to Hana by Egypt.

Prosecutors said the former senator also promised Daibes that he would interfere with Daibes’ federal prosecution and help the government of Qatar by supporting a Senate resolution praising the country.

Daibes’ fingerprints were found on the envelopes of cash found at Menendez’s home and serial numbers on the gold bars traced them to Daibes and Hana, according to prosecutors.

In issuing the sentences, Judge Stein called the evidence against Hana “substantial” and had strong words for Daibes.

“You are an American success story. You grew up in a refugee camp in Lebanon. But there is a dark side to what you have done,” Stein said of Daibes. “You bribed Sen. Menendez multiple times.”

Another New Jersey businessman, Jose Uribe, pleaded guilty in the case ahead of trial. Prosecutors said Uribe paid for Menendez’s $60,000 Mercedes-Benz convertible in exchange for helping disrupt a criminal investigation by the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office related to Uribe.

He is scheduled to be sentenced in April.

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(WEST TEXAS, Texas) — Rancher Laura Briggs rises early to care for the livestock scattered across her homestead on the arid plains of West Texas. Briggs and her husband saved up for years to purchase the land and build their family’s dream home near the Pecos River.

“It was a lifestyle choice to raise our kids rurally in the hopes that they would appreciate nature and where their food comes from and hard work and the other side of life that’s not so easy,” Briggs, a mother of four, told ABC News. “It could have been so much better without the fight.”

The “fight” that Briggs says has come to dominate her life in recent years centers around the 30-plus abandoned oil and gas wells littered across her ranch and left to rot by their former operators. She knew the inactive wells were on the land when she bought it, but what she didn’t expect to find was that some were leaking and no one was taking responsibility for the cleanup.

“I thought the state regulated this stuff. I never thought that this would be allowed to go on,” Briggs said.

As a result, Briggs’ dream of a bucolic ranch life has instead been marred by animals found covered in oil, concerns for her groundwater and air quality, and even the looming threat of a random explosion.

“My biggest fear is that I have a catastrophe close to my house. We have some wells close to the house and we don’t know what’s going on underground,” she said.

More than 3.5 million abandoned oil and gas wells are littered across the United States and an estimated 14 million Americans live within a mile of one of the wells. Those that leak are known in West Texas as “zombie wells” and can contaminate groundwater and spew carcinogenic chemicals and potent greenhouse gases into the environment, according to the Department of the Interior. In some cases, the wells have been blamed for home explosions.

“These wells are a threat to people and livelihoods, and especially kids and older people and people with health problems,” said Adam Peltz, director and senior attorney of the energy program at the Environmental Defense Fund. “We need to go find them because they’re a problem, not just for the people who live nearby, but for everyone on the planet,” Peltz said.

Despite the potential risks, few abandoned wells are ever regularly checked for leaks. ABC News, after weeks of research and calls with multiple leading experts in the field, identified the datasets, technology and learned the recommended safety practices before fanning out across the nation with gas detectors to locate and test more than 70 abandoned wells for leaks.

ABC News partnered with six owned and affiliated stations as part of the reporting project: KABC, KAKE, KFSN, KMGH, KTRK, and WRTV.

The device used in the investigation can detect hundreds of combustible gases and whether a well is leaking while the test is being conducted, several leading experts confirmed. The device is unable to determine the exact gas type and full scope of any leak over time.

Studies have shown that leaking abandoned wells typically emit methane — a highly combustible and potent greenhouse gas. But they can also leak carcinogenic benzene, as well as hydrogen sulfide or H2S, an extremely deadly gas that can kill humans even during short exposures.

In all, 40 out of the 76 wells tested by ABC News across five states were leaking oil or combustible gas when they were tested. Leaking wells were discovered on Kansas farms, beside New York streams, near Colorado schools and along hiking trails just outside of Los Angeles. The team also looked for leaks in the Gulf of Mexico, where more than 14,000 offshore abandoned wells are located. During a boat ride into Trinity Bay, just outside of Houston, the team carefully tested 10 decaying offshore wells and found seven to be leaking combustible gas at the time.

Billions in Costs to Taxpayers

While abandoned wells have been documented in more than 26 states, no place has more decaying underground pipes than Texas. More than 600,000 of the pipes exist in the state and they are particularly common in the Permian Basin, a prolific oil producing region where Laura Briggs lives.

ABC News tested five of the abandoned wells closest to Briggs’ home and found two to be leaking oil and combustible gas at the time.

The wells’ latest operators declared bankruptcy years ago, making them what’s often called an “orphan well.” With no viable owner, it’s now left up to the state — and ultimately taxpayers — to pay to plug the abandoned wells, permanently sealing off the holes to stop potential contamination from leaks. Despite years of complaints, Briggs says only three of the 30-plus orphan wells on her land have been plugged by the Railroad Commission of Texas, the state agency responsible for regulating the oil and gas industry.

“They’ve been plugged because they leaked so bad, the Railroad Commission literally had to come out and do something,” Briggs said, arguing that the commission often waits until a well suffers a major blowout before committing to plugging the well. Briggs says one of the wells on her property has been leaking oil above ground for nearly 10 years, but the state has so far refused to plug it according to its priority level.

Texas has more than 8,500 documented “orphan” wells and more are added to the list every year. Texas Railroad Commissioner Jim Wright told KTRK in Houston that “we do not have the money” to plug all of Texas orphan wells but that the agency had “developed a very good system” to prioritize plugging operations for those that leak — adding the commission had plugged 730 wells in 2023.

Properly plugging a single abandoned orphan well can cost hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of taxpayer dollars in part because the bonds oil and gas companies are required to post before drilling a well are rarely enough to cover the actual cost of plugging it, leaving taxpayers to pick up the rest of the tab. There have been numerous attempts on both the state and federal level to pass laws raising the bonds required by companies to cover plugging costs, but few have passed as they repeatedly face strong opposition from industry trade groups.

“Industry associations will go to legislators and regulators and say you can’t raise these bond amounts. It’ll put us out of business. Don’t make any changes,” Peltz told ABC News.

“And the problem with that is, well, are we supposed to live with orphan wells? Then why is the public subsidizing this activity? The current arrangement isn’t working so we need to come up with something new,” Peltz said.

The American Petroleum Institute declined to be interviewed for this report and did not respond to written questions. The institute wrote in a statement to ABC News that “the proper sealing of oil and natural gas wells is paramount to ensure safety, sustainability, and environmental protection, and API and our member companies are committed to responsible development of our nation’s energy resources from start to finish.”

In 2021, Congress set aside an unprecedented $4.7 billion for plugging abandoned wells nationwide and the money has begun to flow to qualifying state agencies. However, an ABC News data analysis of multiple sources estimates that the cost of plugging most of the nation’s abandoned and unplugged wells could be more than $250 billion and current government funding will only cover plugging costs for about 6% of the nation’s wells.

‘This ground is dead forever’

Just a few miles from Briggs’ ranch lies one of the most notorious abandoned wells in the nation and a striking example of what can happen if a well is neglected for decades.

Formed by a leaking well that was drilled in the 1950s, the 60-acre Lake Boehmer can seem like a surreal mirage from a distance: its turquoise waters and salt crusted shores standing in stark contrast to the harsh desert plains it has been flooding with toxic water for decades. The well leaks up to 600 gallons a minute of water that contains arsenic, benzene, hydrogen sulfide and at times has even proven radioactive, according to studies by the local water district.

Even before coming within sight of the “lake,” a visitor is greeted by the potent stench of rotten eggs — a tell-tale sign of deadly hydrogen sulfide gas that ABC News detected during its visit.

According to state records, the leaking well that created Lake Boehmer was drilled looking for oil in 1951, but the operators later converted it into a water well before abandoning it. As a result, the Texas Railroad Commission has refused to plug it, claiming the responsibility — and hefty price tag — lies with the county water district. The water district argues only the Railroad Commission has the responsibility and the funds required. As the dispute plays out in court the well continues to leak and some worry it could eventually contaminate local aquifers – the underground rock or sediment that stores water.

“There’s bones all around here, because the birds come and there’s H2S in this water and eventually the gas kills ’em. And so this is where they come to die,” local rancher Schuyler Wight told ABC News.

Wight’s ranch borders Lake Boehmer and is home to more than 200 orphan wells — many of which are leaking. One abandoned well on his land that he showed ABC News had formed a toxic pool of produced water that stretched down nearby dirt roads. While there, ABC News also detected the presence of deadly H2S gas.

“This ground is dead forever,” Wight said while looking out over the site. “This ground will never grow anything on it.”

Shortly after ABC News visited the site, state authorities stopped the leak aboveground but Wight worries they haven’t done enough to protect his groundwater or to prevent another blowout from happening again.

The Wells Buried Beneath America’s Cities

Most abandoned wells are in rural areas like Wight’s, but a surprising number can be found buried beneath America’s cities. Perhaps nowhere is this more apparent than in Los Angeles. Built atop one of the nation’s oldest and most productive oil fields, thousands of abandoned wells lie buried beneath the city’s development, their presence often only revealed by historic photographs and by those who know where to look.

In the working-class neighborhood of Vista Hermosa, fence posts lining an athletic field are actually methane vents designed to mitigate the risks of more than a dozen abandoned wells buried beneath the field. Three of the wells beneath the field remain unplugged and the vents are designed to discharge potentially harmful gases they can emit away from nearby school buildings into open areas.

“They’re actually a part of the fence. So they’re camouflaged a little bit,” lifelong resident Danny Luna told ABC News on a tour of the area. For years, Luna and Rosalinda Morales, another lifelong resident, have been advocating for authorities to plug the more than 800 documented abandoned wells located beneath their community — which they believe pose a serious public health threat.

“We have a lot of medical conditions here. We have people with autoimmune conditions, cancers,” Morales told ABC News. It is difficult to prove exactly what is causing residents’ health issues in the area, but studies show those living near oil and gas wells are more prone to such illnesses.

Brenda Valdivia says she has been dealing with illnesses she believes are tied to the area’s wells since she was 10 years old. As a child, Valdivia spent time at the home of a baby-sitter that was directly beside an active oil well. By age 10, she was “getting really sick. I had high fevers, rash on my face.” Eventually, she says doctors diagnosed her with lupus and told her it was likely caused by environmental factors after testing failed to show she was genetically predisposed to the disease. She suffered two strokes in one night and has spent most of her life in and out of hospitals.

“I’m still recovering. And I take it day by day,” she said.

Rosalinda Morales, an asthma survivor, grew up beside an active well that was later abandoned and says she spent her “whole life smelling rotten eggs.” For years, Morales’ next-door neighbor complained to authorities of a similar odor emanating from under his front steps. After nothing was done, he ultimately took a jackhammer to the steps and made a startling discovery — an oil well that was emitting potentially deadly H2S gas.

“Pretty scary, because that’s what we’re breathing here,” Morales said. That well, along with another across the street, was eventually plugged by state authorities after it was discovered, but hundreds in the area remain unplugged and mostly buried out of sight.

On the outskirts of the city, however, some of Los Angeles’ abandoned wells can still be seen up close. ABC News located and tested three abandoned wells found alongside a popular hiking trail in El Escorpion Park and found two to be leaking oil and/or combustible gas at the time. One of the wells maxed out ABC News’ gas detector with a reading of 10,000 parts per million.

The device ABC News used does not distinguish which combustible gas it detects and more prolonged testing is required to determine the exact size of the leak. But the New Jersey Department of Health says that exposure to anything over 2,000 parts per million of methane is “immediately dangerous to life and health.” CalGem, the state agency responsible for regulating the oil and gas industry in California, wrote to ABC News that the department “does not permit leaks at any level” from abandoned wells.

Inspection records show state authorities know that these wells have been leaking for years and, while they are on the state’s latest list for plugging, they are behind dozens of other wells deemed a higher priority for plugging by the agency.

CalGem, the state agency responsible for regulating the oil and gas industry, wrote to ABC News that they are currently working through a list of 378 wells for plugging and that the wells we tested in El Escorpion Park are a “top priority” and “will be plugged and sealed soon to protect the environment and ensure public safety.”

Still, for residents living near the abandoned wells, plugging them cannot come soon enough.

“The solution is to make enough noise that maybe we’ll get some of this stuff fixed,” Wight told ABC News.

ABC News’ Timmy Truong, Kate Holland and Alex Myers contributed to this report.

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