(WASHINGTON) — At least one Marine is dead and eight others are missing after a “mishap” involving an amphibious assault vehicle off the California coast, officials said.
Eight other Marines, including the one who died, were recovered off San Clemente Island after the amphibious assault vehicle (AAV) they were on sank Thursday night.
Multiple ships and helicopters from the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard are combing the waters off of San Clemente Island for the missing Marines.
Fifteen Marines and a sailor were aboard the AAV after it launched from a Navy amphibious ship.
“Two Marines were transported to local hospitals, where one was listed in critical condition and the other in stable condition,” the Marine Expeditionary Force said in a statement.
Amphibious assault vehicles are used to carry out beach landings.
The accident occurred as the 5th MEU and Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group conducted routine training exercise in the vicinity of San Clemente Island.
“We are deeply saddened by this tragic incident. I ask that you keep our Marines, sailors, and their families in your prayers as we continue our search,” Col. Christopher Bronzi said in a statement.
(NEW YORK) — Six historically Black colleges and universities received eight-figure donations all thanks to philanthropist Mackenzie Scott.
Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, granted millions of dollars to several HBCUs. Howard University, Xavier University of Louisiana, Hampton University, Morehouse College, Spelman College and Tuskegee University are all recipients of the generous donation.
Last year, Scott pledged to give the majority of her wealth back to society and on Tuesday, she kept that promise by publishing a list of 116 organizations that she selected for transformative work. To date, she has collectively donated a massive $1.7 billion.
“Like many, I watched the first half of 2020 with a mixture of heartbreak and horror,” wrote Scott in a Medium post on Tuesday. “Life will never stop finding fresh ways to expose inequities in our systems; or waking us up to the fact that a civilization this imbalanced is not only unjust, but also unstable. What fills me with hope is the thought of what will come if each of us reflects on what we can offer.”
On Tuesday, four HBCUs announced that the generous donations they received were given by Scott. According to each respective university’s released statement, Howard University received $40 million, Hampton University, $30 million, Tuskegee University, $20 million and Spelman College, an undisclosed amount.
Morehouse College also revealed in a statement on Wednesday that they received an “eight-figure gift” from Scott.
Xavier University released a statement on Tuesday revealing that they received a massive $20 million gift from a donor who wished to remain anonymous. However, the university is listed as one of the 116 organizations in a published list on medium.com that received a donation from Scott.
The executive board members from each university shared their excitement and gratitude for the record-breaking donations.
Howard’s statement revealed that Scott, a former pupil of alumna Toni Morrison, gave “the largest gift from a single donor in school history.”
“I would like to thank Ms. Mackenzie Scott for her investment into Howard University and our 153-year mission of serving a diverse community of dynamic scholars who come here for an education and leave here with purpose to serve the world,” said President Wayne A. I. Frederick, M.D., MBA in a statement on Tuesday. “We plan to immediately put this eight-figure gift to good use to support components of our 5-year strategic plan to help students graduate on time, retain our talented faculty, enhance our campus infrastructure and support academic innovation and entrepreneurship.”
“This pure act of benevolence is clearly a game changer and it could not have come at a better time,” said Hampton University President Dr. William R. Harvey in a statement Tuesday. “I speak for the entire Hampton University community when I say we are grateful to Ms. MacKenzie Scott, who has chosen to support us during this unprecedented period of uncertainty.”
Lily D. McNair, president of Tuskegee University, said in a statement Tuesday that Scott’s donation is “the largest single gift in the university’s history,” and it will be allocated to “focus on student scholarships, faculty and curriculum development, interdisciplinary programs and campus infrastructure improvements.”
“The gift will allow us to become the Tuskegee of the 21st century: a university that integrates knowledge, leadership and service to solve the problems of a global, modern society,” said McNair.
Spelman College officials described Scott’s donation as a “magnanimous gift” that will bolster their educational plans for students.
“These significant new resources will enable Spelman to continue to graduate Black women with a competitive edge to become successful global leaders and social justice change agents in whatever they choose as their life’s work. We are so very grateful,” said Mary Schmidt Campbell, Ph.D., president of Spelman.
“MacKenzie Scott’s beneficent gift to Morehouse and several of our companion institutions in the HBCU network is an investment into the future of Black excellence,” said David A. Thomas, the president of Morehouse College, in a statement on Wednesday.
“This gift will help Morehouse to lay the foundation for the campus of the 21st century and continue the important work we do to produce graduates who effect positive change in their communities, the nation, and the world,” Thomas stated.
Xavier University released a statement on Tuesday saying that the gift is “the largest donation in its 95 years of excellence.”
“This gift is a pivotal development, ensuring that students have access to the exceptional education offered at Xavier,” university officials said.
In addition to the six HBCUs, Scott also donated to various organizations including the Jackie Robinson Foundation, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Black Girls CODE and the Obama Foundation.
According to Scott’s blog post on Medium, she pledges to continue her philanthropic efforts and says doing so offers “an opportunity to invest our good fortune in change, no matter what form our good fortune has taken.”
(NEW YORK) — In the immediate aftermath of George Floyd’s death in May, Portland Police Chief Jami Resch issued a statement she had hoped would help keep a lid on rising tensions in her city by condemning the fatal police encounter in Minneapolis as running “contrary to our fundamental duty to protect and serve.”
Two months after making the statement, Resch is no longer the top cop, having resigned in June and replaced by a Black police lieutenant, and Oregon’s largest city has become the nation’s major flashpoint for protests and violent clashes with law enforcement officers.
In addition to being a rallying point for a continued protest movement, Portland has also become a symbol, as Seattle’s Capitol Hill Organized Protest zone (or CHOP, for short) was before it, of liberal cities out of control, besieged by crime and lawlessness.
The images of people in the streets, fires burning and clashes with law enforcement have become wallpaper in some circles and were seized on by the Trump administration as a reason to step in, as the president has threatened to do in Chicago and elsewhere.
Some demonstrators say Trump’s deployment of federal agents in camouflage and their aggressive tactics, including the use of tear gas and scooping up protesters in unmarked vans, has fueled the unrest and bolstered the resolve of some protesters to take a more militant stance.
In any event, a divide has emerged in Portland between those who are looking to peacefully protest police brutality and call for police reform and those looking to foment chaos and violence. And whereas other cities, such as New York, which saw large protests, attacks on police officers, looting and vandalism in the wake of Floyd’s death, have managed to stabilize the situation, Portland has not.
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown said the federal officers have “acted as an occupying force [and] brought violence.”
In a response on Thursday, Trump tweeted that Brown “isn’t doing her job.”
“She must clear out, and in some cases arrest, the Anarchists & Agitators in Portland,” Trump said in his tweet. “If she can’t do it, the Federal Government will do it for her. We will not be leaving until there is safety!”
Here’s what we know about the situation in Portland:
Standoff with federal agents
On Wednesday night, the 62nd consecutive day of demonstrations in Portland, protesters clashed once again with federal agents guarding the Mark O. Hatfield U.S. Courthouse, which has become a focal point of the civil unrest. Around 11 p.m., federal agents in riot gear fired tear gas and stun grenades at protesters attempting to breach a fence around the courthouse after agents warned them to disperse. Several arrests were made as the standoff continued into Thursday morning.
The clashes came hours after Brown, a Democrat, announced on Twitter that she had spoken with Vice President Mike Pence and an agreement to withdraw federal agents from the city was struck provided that local officials could assure that federal buildings would be protected — the primary reason agents from Customs and Border Protection and the Federal Protective Service were dispatched.
But in a warning to Brown and other local officials, Chad Wolf, acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, said federal agents would remain in the city until it is clear that state troopers and Portland police have gotten a handle on the violence.
Federal officials, including Attorney General William Barr, have defended the presence and tactics of the agents saying they were needed to prevent the spread of “violent attacks on federal courts.”
Brown agreed to deploy state troopers to Portland if federal agents would move out, and troopers were set to take over those duties Thursday afternoon, according to Oregon Live.
“We are not removing any law enforcement while our facilities and law enforcement remain under attack,” Wolf said.
Whether the move to withdraw federal agents will help de-escalate violence in Portland still remains uncertain.
Split in approach to protest
In recent days as vandalism, attacks on police and fires ignited in the streets have increased, protesters have become split between those bent on destruction and those who believe the peaceful actions of the Black Lives Matter movement are being drowned out by demonstrators and agitators pushing violence as a means to achieving their goals.
On Tuesday night, the difference in philosophy played out in the streets of Portland when a white protester dressed in riot gear set a sizable fire in the middle of a street. A Black Lives Matter protester, who identified himself to ABC News as Najee, ran over and put the blaze out in an incident caught on video.
The white protester in full riot gear responded by yelling, “light the fire again!” A frustrated Najee yelled back, trying to explain that inciting violence and destruction was taking away from the BLM message.
The white protester responded, “they burned down one police building in Minneapolis and they defunded the police department.”
E.D. Mondaine, president of the Portland NAACP branch, wrote in an opinion piece in the Washington Post last week that as the demonstrations have continued daily in Portland since Floyd’s death on May 25, “many people with their own agendas are co-opting, and distracting attention from, what should be our central concern: the Black Lives Matter movement.”
“Unfortunately, ‘spectacle’ is now the best way to describe Portland’s protests,” Mondaine wrote. “Vandalizing government buildings and hurling projectiles at law enforcement draw attention — but how do these actions stop police from killing black people?”
Mondaine said even the so-called Wall of Moms, a group of mostly white women who have turned out in large numbers in Portland to protest police brutality and form an arm-to-arm barrier between the protesters and the federal agents, could be hurting the overall goal of the BLM movement.
“This might ease the consciences of white, affluent women who have previously been silent in the face of Black oppression, but it’s fair to ask: Are they really furthering the cause of justice, or is this another example of white co-optation?” Mondaine wrote.
But Bev Barnum, a mother of two teenagers, said she was motivated to organize the “Wall of Moms” on Facebook out of motherly instinct, not a political agenda.
“As soon as you become a mom, something is triggered in you. It’s primal,” Barnum said in an interview with ABC’s Good Morning America. “It doesn’t matter if it’s your kid or not, you’re going to help them. If you see a kid drowning, you’re going to jump into the water.”
“I’m proud of us,” she said. “We’re not throwing bricks. We’re not throwing water bottles. We’re not being violent.”
Governor rejects call for national guard
Portland, where Blacks comprise just 6% of the population, erupted in violent protests just three days after video surfaced of a white police officer digging his knee into the back of Floyd’s neck as he repeatedly yelled “I can’t breathe” and called out for his dead mother before falling unconscious and later dying in a hospital.
A May 28 vigil for Floyd in Portland took a destructive turn when a small group splintered off from a protest march, broke into a juvenile detention center and set it on fire. Several businesses, including an Apple Store, were looted, prompting police to declare a riot.
The following day, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler declared a state of emergency and announced a citywide 8 p.m. curfew. But as the first night of the curfew approached, more businesses were looted and fires were set. Police deployed tear gas and ended up arresting 51 people for disorderly conduct.
Wheeler and Oregon’s top federal prosecutor, U.S. Attorney Billy Williams, asked Gov. Brown on June 1 to deploy the Oregon National Guard to Portland. At the time, Wheeler, also a Democrat, said, “We need help, we need more bodies to stop this senseless violence.”
But Brown refused to send the National Guard despite Williams informing her that there were “organized efforts” intent on creating chaos.
Amidst the turmoil, Resch, the police chief at the time, resigned just days after local activists criticized her for having an all-white command staff. She was replaced in June by Chuck Lovell, a Black veteran lieutenant of the police department whom Resch endorsed as “the exact right person at the exact right moment.”
A day after Lovell became chief, a U.S. District judge issued a temporary restraining order in a lawsuit filed on behalf of two protesters, barring police from using tear gas unless lives were in danger. A little over a week later, the Portland City Council voted to slash $27 million from the police department’s budget.
Despite promises of reform from the police department and city officials, protests continue to grow violent and destructive.
A June 30 protest march on the headquarters of the Portland Police Association devolved into violence when demonstrators allegedly threw rocks and other objects at police, who declared a riot and used tear gas to turn back the crowd despite the federal judge’s order, which banned the use of tear gas unless lives were at stake.
Over the July 4 weekend, Trump and the Department of Homeland Security launched rapid deployment teams to protect federal monuments in cities around the country. The president later expanded the role of federal agents, saying he had “no choice” but to “surge” federal law enforcement into American cities to fight violent crime.
Navy vet beaten
During one of the confrontations in Portland, Navy veteran Christopher David, 53, was beaten with a baton by a federal agent in a July 18 incident that was caught on cellphone video that went viral. David told ABC News that he went to the Mark O. Hatfield U.S. Courthouse in hopes of speaking to the federal agents after viewing a video of men in combat fatigues with no insignia “abducting citizens off the streets of Portland and stuffing them into unmarked vans.”
“This is shocking to me. It’s completely shocking. I can’t believe it’s happening actually,” David said. “I wanted to ask them why they were no longer honoring their oath of office, why they were no longer honoring the constitution because what they were doing is blatantly unconstitutional.”
Instead of seeing David, who at the time of the beating was dressed in a Naval Academy sweatshirt and a Navy ball cap, as a concerned veteran, he said they saw him as “a target.”
“If they’re going to gas pregnant moms, they’re going to beat up an old vet. It doesn’t matter to them,” said David, who suffered a broken hand in the incident. “I wasn’t a human being to them. I was just a protester. I wasn’t like them. I wasn’t a real person.”
In a statement to ABC News, the U.S. Marshals Service said David “presented a threat to deputy U.S. Marshals” by failing to obey commands to back up and trying to enter the courthouse grounds.
“Based upon the circumstances at the time incident, the deputies believed that the force used was necessary to protect themselves and others from physical harm,” reads the statement from U.S. Marshals.
Even Wheeler, the mayor of Portland, has not been immune to the aggressive tactics of federal agents. During a July 23 protest outside the courthouse, Wheeler was among a crowd of protesters who were tear-gassed by federal officers.
“I want to thank the thousands of you who have come out to oppose the Trump administration’s occupation of this city,” Wheeler told the crowd moments before tear gas was deployed. “The reason this is important is it is not just happening in Portland … we’re on the front line here in Portland.”
The violence between protesters and federal agents escalated last weekend, prompting Portland police to once again declare a riot early Sunday when protesters breached the reinforced fence around the federal courthouse. Federal agents guarding the building deployed tear gas on the demonstrators, who officials alleged hurled projectiles and fireworks at the agents.
Andre Miller, a Black Lives Matter protester who was hit in the head by a tear gas canister during July 21 demonstration, addressed protesters at a rally in Portland on Wednesday night before federal agents deployed tear gas again to disperse the crowd. Miller, with his head bandaged, made a point of putting the focus back on the Black Lives Matter movement.
“I want y’all to make sure that Black Lives Matter is your number one priority,” said Miller. “This is just the beginning.”
Gabriel Olsen/Getty Images(LOS ANGELES) — The late Naya Rivera will be featured in an upcoming episode of Netflix’s Sugar Rush, Deadline reports.
The episode, which is believed to have been her final on-screen appearance before her tragic death, premieres on the platform today as part of the show’s third season.
According to the outlet, the Glee alum filmed as a guest judge on the baking competition show back in February before the COVID-19-related shutdowns. She’s featured in the episode alongside the show’s host Hunter March and professional chef judges Candace Nelson and Adriano Zumbo.
Rivera was found dead on July 13, five days after she went missing while on Lake Piru with her 4-year-old son, Josey Dorsey.
According to People, who obtained Rivera’s death certificate, the cause of death was cited as “drowning” and she was laid to rest on July 24 in Los Angeles at Forest Lawn Memorial Park. She was 33.
Warner Music NashvilleFans have been waiting for new music from Dan + Shay ever since they topped the country chart with Justin Bieber back in January with “10,000 Hours.” Today, the anticipation comes to an end, as Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney arrive back on the scene with their new tune, “I Should Probably Go to Bed.”
The duo’s latest single owes its origins to a trip west where Dan + Shay picked up a trophy for Best Country Duo/Group Performance at music’s most prestigious night.
“We wrote part of this song in Los Angeles during Grammy week,” Dan explains, “but finished it at my house, on my piano, kind of by accident.”
“Shay had come over to record vocals on another song that we had written,” he continues. “We took a break, went downstairs, started singing this song, and realized this song needs a big ending.”
Dan’s never been shy about bragging on his musical partner’s vocal prowess, but he believes this time, Shay really hit it out of the park.
“We really went for it,” Dan says. “Shay delivered one of my favorite vocal performances of all time.”
“We’re so proud that this is our new single,” he adds.
If Dan + Shay are going the traditional route, this is likely the second single from their upcoming fourth album.
Nick J./iStockBy LUIS MARTINEZ, ABC News
