Tropical Storm Ernesto to bring rain, flooding to Puerto Rico: Path
(NEW YORK) — The next tropical system is forming in the Atlantic and is forecast to strengthen into Tropical Storm Ernesto before it reaches the eastern and northern Caribbean.
A tropical storm watch has been issued for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, where up to 10 inches of rain and flash flooding are possible Tuesday night through Wednesday.
After hitting Puerto Rico, most computer models show Ernesto strengthening into a hurricane.
Ernesto is forecast to move east of the U.S. mainland and approach Bermuda by Friday night into Saturday morning.
Ernesto is expected to bring rough surf and rip currents to the East Coast next weekend, but it isn’t forecast to make landfall on the U.S. mainland.
(NEW YORK) — A 70-year-old man is in “good spirits” after being found nearly a week after going missing while on an off-road trail in California, authorities said Wednesday.
Warren Elliott got lost after walking away from his group while on the Rubicon Trail in Placer County Friday afternoon, according to the Placer County Sheriff’s Office.
Following a dayslong search in tough terrain, Elliott was found “safe and uninjured” Wednesday morning at Hell Hole Reservoir, the sheriff’s office said. A person texted 911 at approximately 8 a.m. PT that they were with a missing person who was determined to be Elliott, the sheriff’s office said.
Elliott was camping in Rubicon Springs with a group doing trail rehab ahead of an upcoming event dubbed the Jeepers Jamboree when he got lost after going out for a walk, the sheriff’s office said. He was familiar with the area but upon returning from his walk he went in the wrong direction, according to the sheriff’s office.
Elliott managed to drink water from a river and ate a “handful of berries” while lost, the sheriff’s office said.
He was found roughly nine miles from the point where he was last seen though had walked much farther than that over the past five days, the sheriff’s office said.
Elise Soviar, a spokesperson for the Placer County Sheriff’s Office, said Elliott was airlifted out of the area by helicopter. The remote region, located west of Lake Tahoe, is accessible by road, though a helicopter was the quickest way to evacuate him, she said.
A California Highway Patrol helicopter transported him to the command post at Homewood Mountain Resort, where he was “greeted by cheers and clapping” and reunited with his family, the sheriff’s office said.
The sheriff’s office released a video of Elliott’s emotional return, in which he could be seen in the now-tattered shirt he was wearing when he went missing.
“This is a tremendous relief for Mr. Elliott’s family and friends,” the sheriff’s office said in a social media post. “A heartfelt thank you to all the search and rescue teams who tirelessly assisted from across the state.”
The sheriff’s office said they were also “immensely grateful to Jeepers Jamboree,” which provided food, drinks and a place to camp overnight amid the search.
Dozens of searchers from 10 agencies across the state were involved in the search, which also used drones and dog teams, according to the sheriff’s office.
The Rubicon Trail is an approximately 22-mile-long route near Lake Tahoe that features a popular off-highway vehicle trail.
“Tears of joy are flowing this morning,” the Jeepers Jamboree said on social media after Elliott was found. “All of us at Jeepers Jamboree are so incredibly relieved to have Warren found! We can’t express the appreciation we have for everyone who has been a part of finding Warren!”
(NEW YORK) — Nearly one million spectators are expected to attend the US Open, which begins Monday in Queens, New York. Although a new assessment warns that large events “remain attractive targets for attacks by violent extremists and malicious actors,” the NYPD said there are currently no known causes for concern.
“There are no specific or credible threats to the US Open. However, we’re in a different threat environment than we were last year at this time. And so when we are collectively thinking through all of the measures that we’re putting in place around this US Open, we are mindful of what’s happening around the world,” said NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Counterterrorism Rebecca Weiner at a Monday press conference.
“We recognize that this is an environment where there’s a lot of protest activity,” Weiner added.
The focal point is Arthur Ashe Stadium, where the US Open will be played, but suspects could use “a broad range of tactics – including elevated position gunfire, vehicle ramming, edged weapons, and improvised explosive/incendiary devices (IED/IID), etc. – at a congested chokepoint areas, such as the Flushing Meadows pedestrian bridge between the Mets-Willets Point train station and the East Gate entrance of the USTA Tennis Center, requiring elevated situational awareness,” according to the threat assessment document obtained by ABC News.
Drones will hover over elevated subway lines to monitor for threats, according to officials. Police will also deploy dogs, explosive detection equipment and the bomb squad during the event.
“We cannot overstate how important it is for the people to be engaged, invested and aware. So if you are here at the US Open and you see anything that does not look right or does not feel right, call 911. Tell a police officer right away,” Police Commissioner Edward Caban said at the press conference.
Two protesters were arrested at last year’s US Open when they began shouting and one glued his feet to the ground during a match between Coco Gauff and Karolina Muchova. Another spectator was ejected from a game a few days earlier after German player Alexander Zverev accused the man of quoting a phrase from Adolf Hitler’s Nazi regime.
(SPRINGFIELD, Ill.) — The Illinois deputy who fatally shot Sonya Massey in her home while responding to her 911 call was discharged from the U.S. Army for “misconduct (serious offense),” according to documents obtained by ABC News.
Sean Grayson, the former Sangamon County sheriff’s deputy, was discharged on February 24, 2016, after beginning service in the U.S. Army on May 5, 2014. He served for a total of one year, nine months and 19 days, Grayson’s certificate of discharge from active duty shows.
The U.S. Army, citing the Privacy Act and Department of Defense policy, said it is prevented from releasing information relating to the misconduct of low-level employees or characterization of service at discharge.
Grayson was a 91B (Wheeled Vehicle Mechanic) in the Regular Army from May 2014 to February 2016. He had no deployments and left the Army in the rank of private first class, according to an Army spokesman.
ABC News has also learned that Grayson, 30, was charged with two DUI offenses in Macoupin County, Illinois, in August 2015 and July 2016, according to court documents.
Grayson pleaded guilty to both charges. He paid over $1,320 in fines and had his vehicle impounded as a result of the 2015 incident. In 2016, Grayson paid over $2,400 in fines, according to court records.
Grayson’s attorney, Dan Fultz, declined to comment.
According to employment records, Grayson was hired for his first known police job at the Pawnee Police Department in August 2020 and was fired from his most recent job as a sheriff’s deputy at the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Department after the July 6 deadly shooting of Massey, a 36-year-old unarmed Black woman and mother of two.
Grayson and a second, unnamed deputy responded to Massey’s 911 call reporting a possible intruder at her Springfield home.
Body camera footage released Monday shows Grayson yelling at Massey to put down a pot of boiling water.
The footage, reviewed by ABC News, shows Massey telling the two responding deputies “please don’t hurt me,” once she answered their knocks on her door.
Grayson responded, “I don’t want to hurt you, you called us.”
Later in the video, while inside Massey’s home as she searched for her ID, Grayson pointed out a pot of boiling water on her stove and said, “we don’t need a fire while we’re in here.”
Massey then poured the water into the sink and told the deputy, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.”
Grayson threatened to shoot her, and Massey apologized and ducked down behind a counter, covering her face with what appears to be a red oven mitt. She briefly rose, and Grayson shot her three times in the face.
The footage is from the point of view of Grayson’s partner. Grayson did not turn on his own body camera until after the shooting, according to court documents.
A review by Illinois State Police found that Grayson was not justified in his use of deadly force.
Grayson, who is white, has pleaded not guilty to three counts of first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct in Massey’s death.
The news of his discharge and DUI offenses comes days after it was revealed through Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board (ILETSB) records obtained by ABC News that Grayson worked for six law enforcement agencies over the last four years.
Grayson worked three full-time and three part-time jobs in four police departments and two sheriff’s offices over the past four years, all within the state of Illinois, according to ILETSB records.
Grayson held part-time jobs at the Pawnee Police Department from August 2020 to July 2021, the Kincaid Police Department from February 2021 to May 2021, and the Virden Police Department from May 2021 to December 2021.
He also held full-time jobs at the Auburn Police Department from July 2021 to May 2022, the Logan County Sheriff’s Office from May 2022 to April 2023, and the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office from May 2023 to July 2024, according to IILETSB records. He moved around all six of these agencies between 2020 and 2024.
“It is clear that the deputy did not act as trained or in accordance with our standards. Therefore, Sean Grayson’s employment with the Sheriff’s Office has been terminated,” Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell wrote in a statement last week announcing Grayson’s termination.
The Kincaid Police Department told ABC News that Grayson was let go due to his refusal to live within 10 miles of Kincaid Village. They also said there were no allegations of wrongdoing against Grayson during his time with the department.
According to documents obtained by ABC News, Grayson left his part-time employment at the Pawnee Police Department to pursue a full-time position at the Auburn Police Department. His application to Pawnee Police Department also states that he had previously worked as security guard at Hospital Sisters Health System St. John’s Hospital in Springfield, Illinois.
ABC News has reached out to the other police departments to learn why Grayson left, but has not yet received a response.