August 1, 2020 • No Comments • National News

icholakov/iStockBY: ELLA TORRES, ABC NEWS

(NEW YORK) — Seven people, including a member of the Alaska State Legislature, were killed after two planes crashed in the sky on the Kenai Peninsula on Friday, officials said.

Gary Knopp, 67, a Republican member of the Alaska House of Representatives, was operating one of the planes that crashed and was the sole occupant, according to a press release from the Alaska Department of Public Safety.

His colleagues confirmed his death, saying they were heartbroken at the news.

“I’m devastated and shocked to learn of the crash that claimed Gary Knopp’s life,” House Speaker Bryce Edgmon said in a statement. “Gary was a one-of-a-kind leader and a true Alaskan who worked tirelessly for his district in the Legislature. He will be missed by many.”

The other victims of the crash were Gregory Bell, 57; David Rogers, 40; Caleb Hulsey, 26; Heather Hulsey, 25; Mackay Hulsey, 24; and Kirstin Wright, 23, according to the state’s Department of Public Safety.

They were the six occupants of the other plane.

Alaska State Troopers received a report around 8:27 a.m. local time of a plane crash near Sterling Highway, on the Kenai Peninsula, a borough of Southcentral Alaska, authorities said.

Troopers found the majority of the wreckage about two hundred yards from the road.

Investigators determined that two planes had crashed midair, according to authorities.

All but one person was pronounced dead on scene, however that person died on the way to a local hospital. Authorities did not identify which person that was.

The National Transportation Safety Board had been notified and will conduct an investigation into the cause of the crash, which is unknown at this time.

“This is an unfathomable tragedy for multiple families today. The DPS sends a heartfelt condolence to all who lost a loved one in this mid-air collision,” Commissioner Amanda Price of the Department of Public Safety said in a statement. “Troopers and partner agencies have worked together diligently at the scene and have reached out to next of kin to notify them of this heartbreaking incident.”

Knopp’s colleagues offered their condolences to his family, including his wife, Helen.

Knopp, born in Montana, moved to Alaska in 1979, according to the Alaska House Majority. He was elected to represent House District 30 in 2016.

Rep. Steve Thompson called Knopp “one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met. … He will be truly missed.”

Little information was known about the other victims, though five were from out of state.

Rogers was from Kansas, while the Hulseys and Wright were from South Carolina, authorities said.

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July 31, 2020 • No Comments • National News

KOCO-TVBy ABC News

(OKLAHOMA COUNTY, Ok.) — An Oklahoma inmate has been taken into custody after breaking out of his 12th-floor jail cell window and shimmying down what appeared to be sheets tied together.

Pablo Robledo, 34, escaped from Oklahoma County Jail with his cellmate, Jose Hernandez, early Friday morning, according to authorities.

Just before 7 a.m., the Oklahoma City Police Department notified the Oklahoma County Detention Center that it had detained an injured Hernandez, according to authorities, who said the OCDC then determined that Hernandez and Robledo had gone missing.

Officials said they believe Hernandez, who was taken to a hospital, broke his leg after jumping from the fourth floor, ABC Oklahoma City affiliate KOCO reported.

Online records show Robledo was being held since June 2019 on charges including first-degree murder, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and misdemeanor domestic abuse.

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July 31, 2020 • No Comments • National News

kali9/iStockBy CATHERINE THORBECKE, ABC News

(TAMPA, Fla.) — A Florida teen has been arrested in connection with the massive Twitter hack earlier this month that impacted the accounts of Barack Obama, Elon Musk, Kanye West and other high-profile users.

The 17-year-old Tampa resident, who was arrested Friday, was hit with 30 felony charges in connection with the cyber attack, according to Hillsborough State Attorney Andrew Warren.

“These crimes were perpetrated using the names of famous people and celebrities, but they’re not the primary victims here,” Warren said in a statement. “This ‘Bit-Con’ was designed to steal money from regular Americans from all over the country, including here in Florida. This massive fraud was orchestrated right here in our backyard, and we will not stand for that.”

The Florida teen was the “mastermind” of the hack, according to a statement from Warren’s office.

In a news conference Friday, Warren described the alleged hacker as “not an ordinary 17-year-old.”

“This was a highly sophisticated attack on a magnitude not seen before, it could’ve been an extremely high amount of loss,” Warren said. “It could have destabilized financial markets both here and around the globe, because he had access to powerful politicians’ Twitter accounts, and could have undermined international diplomacy.”

Warren also revealed that the teen gained access to a Twitter account of an employee, and then gained access “to the internal controls of Twitter, through compromising a Twitter employee.”

“He compromised the security of a Twitter employee, which allowed him to gain access to that accounts and controls, and that gave him access to whatever Twitter account he wanted, he was then selling access to those accounts,” he said.

Warren noted that he was “surprised it was someone so young,” but added “at the same time, we see people all the time who are sophisticated and savvy on computers at a young age.”

During the July 15 hack, some of the compromised accounts tweeted for funds to be sent to a Bitcoin account.

Warren’s office said the scheme reaped more than $100,000 worth of Bitcoin in just one day.

The teen faces one count of organized fraud, 17 counts of communications fraud, 11 counts of fraudulent use of personal information and one count of accessing a computer or electronic device without authority.

“Working together, we will hold this defendant accountable,” Warren said in a statement. “Scamming people out of their hard-earned money is always wrong. Whether you’re taking advantage of someone in person or on the internet, trying to steal their cash or their cryptocurrency — it’s fraud, it’s illegal, and you won’t get away with it.”

Twitter previously said that 130 accounts were targeted in the attack, and that tweets were sent out from 45 of those accounts. The social media giant also said that their investigation revealed that the direct message inboxes of 36 accounts were accessed by the hackers, including one elected official in the Netherlands.

ABC News’ Luke Barr contributed to this report.

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