Month: October 2021

Authorities confirmed on Thursday that a cinematographer working on the film “Rust” has died, and the director has been hospitalized, after an accident during filming involving actor Alec Baldwin misfiring a prop gun. The Western, starring Baldwin and Jensen Ackles of “Supernatural,” began filming this month at Bonanza Creek Movie Ranch, a film location in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that deputies with the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office responded to the film set around 2 p.m. local time after a 911 caller “reported a shooting on the set.” Two people were shot after a prop firearm was discharged during filming, authorities said. Baldwin fired the prop gun, striking the film’s director, Joel Souza, and director of photography, Halyna Hutchins, the sheriff’s office said in a follow-up statement Thursday night. Detectives are still determining “how and what type of projectile was discharged,” the sheriff’s office said earlier.

Hutchins, 42, was transported via helicopter to University of New Mexico Hospital, the state’s only Level 1 trauma center, “in critical condition,” according to sheriff’s deputies and the hospital. She later succumbed to her injuries, the sheriff’s office said. Souza, 48, was brought in an ambulance to Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center and is receiving emergency care, authorities said.

Editorial credit: Tinseltown / Shutterstock.com

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has confirmed that the human remains found at a North Port, Florida environmental park on Wednesday belong to 23-year-old Brian Laundrie. The FBI’s Denver Division wrote in a press release on Thursday that medical examiners used a comparison of dental records to positively identify the remains.

A North Port, FL police spokesperson earlier had confirmed that partial human remains recovered at the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park where Laundrie was last believed to have been a day ago were described as “skeletal.” Two senior law enforcement officials also revealed that the human remains discovered yesterday at the Carlton Reserve during the search for Laundrie include a portion of a human skull.

The latest development Thursday comes after Steven Bertolino, attorney for the Laundrie family, said the remains found at Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park by parents Chris and Roberta the morning prior were likely those of the missing 23-year-old. The FBI field office in Tampa confirmed the basic findings at a news conference Wednesday. In addition to the human remains, the FBI said investigators found a backpack and a notebook believed to belong to Laundrie near a path at the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park. The agency revealed that the items were underwater up until recently, and were only found now that the water had receded.

Officials said that the FBI teams will likely be on scene processing potential evidence for several days and the park will remain closed to the public until further notice.

On Thursday the House voted to hold Steve Bannon, top advisor to former-President Trump, in criminal contempt for defying a subpoena to testify. The chamber voted 229-202 in favor of the resolution, which will refer a criminal contempt charge to the Justice Department. Nine Republicans voted with Democrats — Reps. Liz Cheney, Adam Kinzinger, Nancy Mace, Fred Upton, Peter Meijer, John Katko, Brian Fitzpatrick, Anthony Gonzalez and Jaime Herrera Beutler. The Justice Department has full, independent authority to decide whether to enforce the prosecution.

The vote comes two days after the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol also decided to hold Bannon in contempt. Bannon ignored deadlines to produce documents related to his discussions with Trump in the days before the violent insurrection in which radical Trump supporters stormed the Capitol as lawmakers were voting to certify Joe Biden’s election victory. According to subpoena documents, Bannon said on his radio show on Jan. 5 that “all hell is going to break loose tomorrow.” He also allegedly spoke with Trump on Dec. 30 and urged him to focus on Jan. 6.

Trump previously instructed Bannon and other fellow aides — former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, former White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications Daniel Scavino and former Defense Department official Kashyap Patel — to defy subpoenas from the select committee, citing executive privilege.

Editorial credit: mark reinstein / Shutterstock.com

The FBI announced on Wednesday that investigators found what appears to be human remains along with personal items Wednesday in a North Port, Fla., park in their search for Brian Laundrie. FBI Special Agent in Charge Michael McPherson said that in addition to possible human remains, searchers found a backpack and notebook that belonged to the 23-year-old Laundrie, adding that at least some of the items had “until recently been underwater.” McPherson made the announcement in a press conference but declined to take questions.

The announcement came after representatives from the Sarasota County Medical Examiner’s Office were called to Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park, the last place Brian Laundrie’s family said they remember seeing him. Laundrie’s parents, Chris Laundrie and Roberta Laundrie, informed law enforcement officials on Tuesday that they planned to search the park. North Port police officers and FBI agents met them at the park Wednesday morning to assist in the search of trails Brian Laundrie was known to frequent. Steven Berolino, an attorney for the Laundrie family, confirmed that “some articles belonging to Brian were found” at the park.

Brian Laundrie’s parents reported him missing Sept. 13, less than two weeks after he returned home from a road trip out West without his fiancée, Gabrielle “Gabby” Petito, 22. Searchers found Petito’s body Sept. 19 at Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming and determined she died of strangulation.Investigators have sought Brian Laundrie as a person of interest in Petito’s death and on federal charges of using someone else’s credit card. They focused their search efforts on a wildlife preserve in Florida as well as the Myakkahatchee park, which is where Brian Laundrie’s parents said they last remembered seeing him.

On Wednesday, the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) authorized boosters of the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines, giving its approval for people to “mix and match” booster shots. The agency granted emergency use authorization for the booster doses; however, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) must also give its approval before additional shots get in arms. The CDC is scheduled to meet Thursday to examine data and requests related to the available coronavirus vaccines.

The FDA approval comes after an advisory committee recommended their authorization last week. Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock said: “Today’s actions demonstrate our commitment to public health in proactively fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic. As the pandemic continues to impact the country, science has shown that vaccination continues to be the safest and most effective way to prevent COVID-19, including the most serious consequences of the disease, such as hospitalization and death. The available data suggest waning immunity in some populations who are fully vaccinated. The availability of these authorized boosters is important for continued protection against COVID-19 disease.”

The FDA authorized a single booster dose of the Moderna vaccine at least six months after completion of the two-dose regimen for individuals 65 years and older, or 18 to 64 years old who also have a high risk of severe COVID-19 or have frequent institutional or occupational exposure to the virus. Individuals over the age of 18 may also receive a single booster dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine at least two months after their initial one-dose vaccine. The FDA and CDC have already signed off on booster doses of the Pfizer vaccine for Americans over 65 and those with compromised immune systems or underlying health risks that make them more vulnerable to infection.

Republican Rep. Jeff Fortenberry of Nebraska has been indicted, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California. Prosecutors said in a tweet that a federal grand jury indicted Fortenberry on charges of lying to federal investigators, and another crime in connection with a probe about illegal campaign donations provided by a foreigner.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles said in a press release: ““The indictment alleges that Fortenberry repeatedly lied to and misled authorities during a federal investigation into illegal contributions to Fortenberry’s re-election campaign made by a foreign billionaire in early 2016.” The announcement of the indictment in Los Angeles federal court came hours after a YouTube video was posted, featuring Fortenberry, his wife, dog and 1963 Ford 100 pickup truck, revealing he expected to be indicted for allegedly lying to FBI agents.

Fortenberry is due to be arraigned in that court Wednesday. He is charged with one count of scheming to falsify and conceal material facts and two counts of making false statements to federal investigators looking into illegal contributions to his 2016 campaign.

Editorial credit: RobertAlvarez201 / Shutterstock.com