Month: July 2024

New York State police confirmed on Monday that five members from the same metro-Atlanta family died in a plane crash on their way home from a baseball tournament in upstate New York. The family members were returning from a baseball tournament in Cooperstown, N.Y., home of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

New York State Police responded to a plane crash in Masonville, New York (90 miles south of Syracuse, N.Y.) on Sunday afternoon at approximately 2 p.m., and found the bodies of five occupants in the wreckage of a Piper Malibu Mirage.  The plane had departed from Albert S. Nader Regional Airport in Oneonta and was headed to Charleston, W.Va., for refueling and was schedule to continue from there to Cobb County International Airport in Georgia.

New York State police said in a statement: “A multi-agency effort search of the area, with the utilization of drones, ATVs and helicopters, led to the discovery of debris and ultimately to the downed aircraft.” Search teams found the bodies of five passengers in the wreckage.

Police later identified the victims as family members who hailed from Georgia: 76-year-old Roger Beggs (assumed to be the pilot), 43-year-old Laura Van Epps, 42-year-old Ryan Van Epps, 12-year-old James R. Van Epps and 10-year-old Harrison Van Epps. According to records obtained by the Atlanta Journal Constitution, the family lived in Alpharetta, GA.

NYSP has not said what caused the plane to crash; Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp wrote in a statement: “As we learn of this tragic news, please join Marty, the girls, and me in praying for the loved ones of the Beggs and VanEpps families. We offer our deepest condolences to all who knew and loved them,”

The New York State Police Bureau of Criminal of Investigation, Collision Reconstruction Unit, and Forensic Identification Unit are working with the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Board to determine the cause of the crash.

Editorial credit: Robert Buchel / Shutterstock.com

On Monday, July 1, the Supreme Court deemed that Donald Trump is partially immune from his 2020 election subversion charges. The Court said “official” acts taken by a president are protected, but not steps he took as a candidate.

In a 6-3 ruling along ideological lines, the court ruled that Trump can be tried for any of his efforts to overturn his 2020 loss that were not taken in his official capacity. They ruled against Trump’s claim that he enjoys immunity from prosecution as a whole, but said that he is absolutely immune from being charged for “official” presidential acts.

Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the 6-3 majority: “The parties before us do not dispute that a former President can be subject to criminal prosecution for unofficial acts committed while in office. They also agree that some of the conduct described in the indictment includes actions taken by Trump in his unofficial capacity.”.

The majority asserted that there should be a clearer distinction between official presidential acts and private acts that happen to be done by a president, with the court’s syllabus reading: “The President enjoys no immunity for his unofficial acts, and not everything the President does is official. The President is not above the law. But under our system of separated powers, the President may not be prosecuted for exercising his core constitutional powers, and he is entitled to at least presumptive immunity from prosecution for his official acts.”. The decision brings the case back down to a lower court, which must now figure out whether any of the allegations in the Jan. 6 case fall under the category of “unofficial” acts, and whether a fair Jan. 6 trial could move forward with the Supreme Court’s ideology in mind.

On Truth Social, Trump called the decision a “BIG WIN FOR OUR CONSTITUTION AND DEMOCRACY.”

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The National Hurricane Center said over the weekend that Hurricane Beryl has become an “extremely dangerous” Category 4 storm as it heads towards the Windward Islands, bringing life-threatening winds and storm surge to the Caribbean.

Per CBS News, Beryl was located about 310 miles east-southeast of Barbados with maximum sustained winds of 130 mph and was moving west at 21 mph. Beryl strengthened into a category 4 Sunday afternoon and is expected to continue to strengthening as it travels west across the Atlantic.  As its center moves across the Windward Islands early Monday, it will bring hurricane conditions including heavy rainfall, before traveling through the southeastern Caribbean on Monday night and Tuesday.

Hurricane warnings are already in effect in Barbados, St. Lucia, Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Tobago. Tropical storm warnings are in effect for Martinique, while a tropical storm watch is in effect in Dominica and Trinidad. The National Hurricane Center said that ‘this is a very serious situation developing for the Windward Islands,’ adding that Beryl was “forecast to bring life-threatening winds and storm surge … as an extremely dangerous hurricane.”

It took Beryl only 42 hours to strengthen from a tropical depression to a major hurricane — a feat accomplished only six other times in Atlantic hurricane history. According to the National Hurricane Center, two hurricane hunters were en route to the storm to gather more details about its intensity.  Beryl is now only the third Category 3 hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic in June, and is the second named storm in what is predicted to be a busy hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30 in the Atlantic.

Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley said in a public address: “We need to be ready. You and I know when these things happen, it is better to plan for the worst and pray for the best .. do not let your guard down.”  St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves said in a public address that shelters will open Sunday evening as he urged people to prepare: “please take this very seriously and prepare yourselves. This is a terrible hurricane.”

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Police have charged the man behind the wheel of an SUV that killed four people with DWI, after the man crashed into a Long Island nail salon at high speed. An NYPD officer was among the four killed, while ten others were injured during the incident.

Suffolk County Police said that Steven Schwally, 64, was driving a Chevy Traverse southbound at a high rate of speed through a parking lot in Deer Park at around 4:30 p.m. when he crossed a roadway and continued into another parking lot. Schwally then crashed through the front window of Hawaii Nail & Spa, traveling nearly all the way through to the back of the salon.

Three women and a man were pronounced dead at the scene; they were identified by police as: Jiancai Chen, 37, of Bayside, Queens; Yan Xu, 41, of Flushing, Queens; Meizi Zhang, 50, of Flushing, Queens; and Emilia Rennhack, 30, an off-duty NYPD officer who lived in Deer Park. Nine other people, including a 12-year-old girl, were injured and rushed to local hospitals. One person had to be airlifted.

Suffolk County Police arrested Schwally, of Dix Hills, and charged him with DWI after the crash. Police say Schwally was among those hospitalized, suffering non-life-threatening injuries. Police say he will be arraigned at a later date.

Witnesses reported seeing the vehicle swerving as it left the Kohl’s parking lot across the street from the salon. Fire officials say the vehicle traveled all the way through the building, remaining stuck in the back of the salon for hours after the crash.

NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban wrote, “Our hearts are heavy as we mourn the loss of Police Officer Emilia Rennhack, whose life was taken far too soon. We offer our support to Emilia’s family, friends, and co-workers during this incredibly difficult time. Please keep our officer and her loved ones in your thoughts and prayers.”

Mayor Eric Adams wrote in part, “It is never easy to get word that we have lost one of our own dedicated public servants — no matter the circumstances.”

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