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The Independent
6 days ago
- Climate
- The Independent
Weatherman warns experts can no longer predict hurricanes because of DOGE's ‘sledgehammer attack' on research
A Florida weatherman delivered a somber monologue during a live broadcast to warn Americans that accurate hurricane predictions may no longer be possible due to the Department of Government Efficiency. John Morales, a veteran meteorologist with NBC Miami, said that traditionally, he would be able to warn or reassure his viewers about the trajectory of a powerful storm. Now, he says this would no longer be the case. 'I am here to tell you that I am not sure I can do that this year,' he said before taking a long pause. Earlier in the segment, Morales showed an archival news clip of him covering Hurricane Dorian, a Category 5 storm that tore through the Bahamas in 2019. 'Remember that? Lots of people in Florida were concerned, the hurricane was heading here,' he said during his Tuesday broadcast, after showing the clip. The storm did not significantly impact the Sunshine State, as Morales predicted. He then explained that, due to 'the cuts, the gutting, the sledgehammer attack on science in general,' he could not guarantee accurate forecasting for viewers. Morales continued to explain how changes to leadership in science had had a 'multigenerational impact on science in this country.' 'But specifically, let's talk about the federal government cuts to the National Weather Service and to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,' he said, before explaining that central and south Florida NWS offices are currently '20 to 40 percent understaffed.' He added that there had been a 20 percent reduction in weather balloon monitoring in the U.S, leading to the quality of the forecasting to be 'degraded.' Morales reiterated his concerns in an opinion piece for NBC Miami's website. Staffing shortages 'long stretches of impending severe weather — like a hurricane — could lead to mistakes by tired skeleton crews that can only work so many back-to-back shifts,' he wrote. As head of the DOGE, Elon Musk, promised to cut $1 trillion from the federal budget by September 30 by ending "waste, fraud, and abuse" — a downgrade from his $2 trillion promise on the campaign trail. He claimed that 'most of the work' required to make this happen would be done within 130 days. 'NOAA leadership is taking steps to address those who took a voluntary early retirement option. NWS continues to conduct short-term Temporary Duty assignments (TDYs), and is in the process of conducting a series of Reassignment Opportunity Notices (RONs) to fill roles at NWS field locations with the greatest operational need.' 'Additionally, a targeted number of permanent, mission-critical field positions will soon be advertised under an exception to the Department-wide hiring freeze to further stabilize frontline operations,' the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration told The Independent in a statement.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Yahoo
Miami Man Went Out for a Night of Fun — Then Woke Up Drugged, Robbed, and Alone
A Miami man is claiming he was robbed of thousands of dollars by a woman he met while out for a night of fun in the city's Brickell neighborhood, according to reporting by NBC Miami. The 31-year-old man, who requested anonymity, told the outlet that he met the woman, who claimed to be a tourist, at a bar on May 2. The pair went to another bar in Wynwood before returning to the man's home to have drinks. But when he woke up the next afternoon alone, with no memory of what had happened after the drinks, he realized he had been robbed of $3,000 in cash and his Rolex watch. 'It's a scary feeling because it can really happen to anybody,' he told NBC Miami. 'To be made so vulnerable and have somebody touching your unconscious body and rummaging through your stuff — it's a very eerie feeling.' Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. 'You were planning that the whole night,' he added. 'Since you saw me. That's just evil.' Miami police did not directly address the allegations in the NBC article, but forwarded PEOPLE police reports of similar recent arrests — which a spokesperson described as 'bad date' crimes — involving women allegedly targeting men. Authorities told NBC Miami that the type of crime has become more prevalent in recent months. Read the original article on People
Daily Mail
01-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Abuse survivor's courtroom mic drop as she confronted evil mother who murdered adopted sister, 7
An abuse survivor fiercely confronted her evil adoptive mother who tortured and killed her seven-year-old sister. Gina Emmanuel, 56, of Florida will spend the rest of her life in prison for murdering one of her three adopted children, Samayah Emmanuel, in 2018. On April 15, the former Miami nurse was found guilty of Samayah's untimely death and inflicting excruciating harm on all of the children in her care - sisters aged six, seven and 12. When Emmanuel was finally sentenced on Wednesday, one of those victims, Ayanna Gordon, had a harsh send-off sentiment for the cold-hearted killer, who remained emotionless throughout the trial. 'Don't do the crime, if you can't do the time. I am letting God take this wheel,' the 18-year-old said, addressing Emmanuel during the hearing. 'And with that being said I wish you well in hell,' she asserted before walking away from the Miami-Dade courtroom podium - referencing a viral quote from American rapper Cardi B. The trial detailed the cruel abuse the kids were subjected to, including forcing them to eat human feces, scorching their hands on the stove, restraining them to chairs and starving them, NBC Miami reported. When Samayah died, she was battered and scarred from head to toe, 'from her face, down to her neck, down to her chest, abdomen, back, both arms, and both legs,' retired medical examiner Dr. Emma Lew told jurors. She was being cared for by a babysitter when she was found unresponsive in her bed. The young girl had been sick for several days with a cold, but authorities said it progressed into pneumonia. Investigators noted her body was severely malnourished and that she was covered in bruises, burns and open wounds. They also believed Emmanuel forced her to drink bleach and made her stand with her arms outstretched for long periods - which Gordon demonstrated while testifying in court. 'If I ever have children, I won't make the same mistake she did,' Gordon told NBC after the sentencing. Offering another dig at the disgraceful adoptive mother, the confident teen said: 'She said she was a tough cookie. I'm tougher.' On April 16, a day after Emmanuel was convicted, Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle, applauded Gordon, who was 12 when her sister died, for her bravery. On April 15, the former Miami nurse was found guilty of Samayah's untimely death and inflicting excruciating harm on all of the children in her care - sisters aged six, seven and 12 (pictured) 'No one could ever imagine that a trained nurse would beat, torture, and starve Samaya and her 2 adopted sisters,' Fernandez said. Robert Gordon, Gordon's grandfather, also took to the stand to air out his grievances with Emmanuel. 'I forgive you, for what you did. However, I can't forget. I wish I can inflict the pain that you did to my grandkids everyday,' he said. 'I wish I can beat you within an inch of your life everyday.' Emmanuel never apologized to Gordon during the trial, which did not come as a surprise to her. 'She knew what she did. She's guilty,' she told NBC Miami, expressing relief that this harrowing chapter of her life is now behind her as she plans on attending college in the fall. The Carbi B 'I wish you well' quote comes from a Facebook Watch episode titled 'Cardi Tried Holistic Healing.' While working on an exercise about forgiveness with spiritual guide Sah D'Simone, the famed was urged to let do of an animosity she feels towards people who have wronged her. Both flinging paint on a large canvas, D'Simone said: 'Regardless of how much pain these people have caused us, "I wish you well."'
Daily Mail
28-04-2025
- Daily Mail
Shock twist in disappearance of Florida woman who vanished in Spain
A South Florida businessman accused of murdering his estranged wife in Spain has been found dead behind bars. David Knezevich, 37, had been in federal lockup ever since he was arrested at Miami International Airport in May 2024 for the death of Ana Maria Henao Knezevich, 40, one month prior. He was due to face trial in June on charges of kidnapping resulting in death, foreign domestic violence resulting in death and foreign murder of a United States national for Henao Knezevich's February 2, 2024 disappearance. But his lawyer announced on Monday that Knezevich died in custody, NBC Miami reports. 'The defense team was devastated to learn about it this morning,' Jayne Weintraub said in a brief statement. 'We trust that an appropriate investigation will be conducted.' No further details about Knezevich's death have been released, but his sudden passing comes just months after Henao Knezevich's family filed a wrongful death suit against him and his brother, according to the Miami Herald. Her family has previously claimed that the couple had been going through a messy divorce and were frequently arguing about how to divvy up millions of dollars in assets they accumulated during the 13-year marriage, CBS News previously reported. Amid the infighting, Henao Knezevich, a Colombian-American, moved to Spain. She was last seen on February 2, 2024 walking into her Madrid apartment where prosecutors say her husband showed up - and she was officially declared missing three days later when she failed to meet a friend to travel from Madrid to Barcelona for a conference. Following a lengthy investigation, authorities with the FBI and Spain's national police declared last May that Henao Knezevich was dead and that they had substantial evidence linking Knezevich to his wife's disappearance. Security-camera footage, for example, showed the Serbian-American IT specialist at a hardware store buying duct tape and spray paint with cash on the day she went missing. Hours later, a man in a motor cycle helmet was caught spray-painting the surveillance camera outside Henao Knezevich's apartment and leaving with a suitcase an hour later. The suspect used the same brand of spray paint that Knezevich allegedly bought from the hardware store, prosecutors noted. They also claimed that license plates that had recently been stolen in Madrid were spotted on a Pugeot identical to the one Knezevich rented - both near a motorcycle shop where an identical helmet was purchased and on Ana's street the night she vanished. When Knezevich later returned the vehicle to the rental agency, it had been driven 4,800 miles and was returned with tinted windows as well as two missing identifiable stickers. There was also evidence that the license plate had been removed and then put back. 'All these facts in combination reflect highly unusual behavior for someone with the means to fly from Serbia to Spain if he wanted to visit a hardware store in Madrid,' Magistrate Judge Edwin Torres declared. 'At a time he was supposed to be visiting his family in Serbia, he was blocks away from the apartment where his wife was last seen.' In August, the FBI joined Spanish and Italian authorities in the woods north of the city of Vicenza to search for her body after a GPS alert on Knezevich's rental car suggested he took a detour to the area on his way back to Serbia. However, authorities found no evidence of blood traces or signs of a struggle in the Madrid apartment after she vanished and her body has never been recovered. Prosecutors have also claimed that the morning after Ana disappeared, Knezevich texted a Columbian woman he met on a dating app to translate two English messages into 'perfect Colombian' Spanish. Once the woman translated the messages, they were sent to two of Ana's friends. The messages allegedly claimed she was going off with a man she met on the street - something they said she would never do. 'He was engaging in a scheme to make it look like the wife was alive and well, communicating with her friends about a man she just met,' Torres added. 'When in fact she was never to be seen again.' But Knezevich has maintained his innocence, and claimed he was in his native Serbia on the day his wife vanished. Federal agents, though, disputed that claim - saying he flew from Miami to Turkey and then to Serbia in January, where he rented the Pugeot to drive himself to Spain. If Knezevich were found guilty of the charges, he could have faced a life sentence. Meanwhile, he was also facing a wrongful death suit filed by Ana's family, which accused him of making fraudulent transfers, interfering with the family's rights to her body and intentionally causing emotional distress. Family attorney Adam Ingber also claimed in the suit, filed in February, that Knezevich's family unlawfully received Henao Knezevhich's share of the money and helped destroy evidence of her murder. 'We charged aiding and abetting against the... defendants for their roles in continuing the conspiracy after they discovered that they were part of a murder plot,' he said at the time. The lawyer added that he was also 'initiating legal proceedings in Serbia against his mother and cousin for helping to destroy evidence and for receiving Ana's money.'
Daily Mail
25-04-2025
- Daily Mail
Shocking moment Florida woman dies in fireball explosion after helicopter crash-landed on her home
Shocking bodycam footage showed the moment a Florida woman died after a rescue helicopter crashed into her home in a fiery explosion. Deputy Mitchell Machado could be seen on bodycam footage striking at Lurean Wheaton's door in Pompano Beach with a baton as flames could be seen through the curtains around 9am. Gray smoke billowed from the top of the roof, where a gapping hole had been left from the helicopter that had taken off from the Pompano Beach Airpark just moments before. The 65-year-old was trapped inside her apartment and Machado could hear her cries for help, but was unable to reach her before the apartment exploded, pushing him backward, the bodycam showed. 'I tried cracking the windows, but I realized it was an impact window, so there was no way I was going to get in there with just a baton,' he said in a video released this week by police, who received a Medal of Honor for his heroic efforts from the Broward Sheriff's Office. Impact windows have force-resistance glass and are reinforced. They also referred to as hurricane windows. Wheaton died inside her apartment during the incident on August 26, 2023. The helicopter captain and flight paramedic, Terryson Jackson, 50, also died in the crash. He had been part of the Broward Sheriff's Office for 19 years, according to NBC Miami. The two other crewmembers, Daron Roche and Mikael Chaguaceda, were able to crawl to safety, the outlet said. Two others in the apartment building were injured. Friends remember Wheaton as being a kind and humble person, who had previously faced drug addiction. She had been sober for more than a decade and lived in South Florida for 20 years. 'Lurean was fabulous, she was humble and an underdog,' Michael Varin, a friend, told NBC Miami at the time. 'She was the life of the party, she lit up with her smile, she knew how to enjoy her family when she came home and made sure she saw everyone,' Angela Williams, her niece, said of the South Carolina native. Machado had been in the area when he saw the helicopter drop from the sky. The aircraft suffered from mechanical issues. 'I remember throwing my motorcycle down to the ground and running toward the building,' he said in the video. He ran into other units in the building to evacuate residents, before trying to break into Wheaton's unsuccessfully. He was honored with the Medal of Honor for preventing more lost lives and for helping without hesitation.
