Warning issued to North Carolina beach visitors after suspected shark attack

Warning issued to North Carolina beach visitors after suspected shark attack

Authorities in North Carolina are investigating a suspected shark attack after a person suffered major injuries swimming along a southern beach in the state,local first responders said. The incident took place May 28 atSunset Beach in Brunswick County, just south of Ocean Isle Beach near the South Carolina state line. Just after 11 a.m., The Sunset Beach Fire Department reported, firefighters and paramedics responded to the beach for a report of a person who suffered a leg injury while swimming near the 31st Street access point. "Upon arrival, Beach Rescue personnel provided medical care to the injured swimmer, who was conscious and alert," Sunset Beach fire Chief Richard Childres said in a press release. The swimmer was taken to a medical facility to be treated for his injuries, Childres wrote in the release. At the time of the release, Childres said, the full extent of the victim's injuries remained "unknown," and medical professionals were "working to assess what caused the injury." On June 3, Sunset Beach fire Captain Paul Brown confirmed to USA TODAY the adult male was a tourist and, according to investigators, the swimmer suffered a leg injury, but could not say one way or another whether a shark was officially responsible for it. Additional information about the incident was not immediately provided by officials. But firefighters were encouraging beach visitors to be cautious. "Marine life, including sharks, are natural inhabitants of these waters, and its crucial to take precaution to minimize potential risk," the release continued. USA TODAY has reached out to Childres for more information. Shark attacks: US led the world in 2024:Where else does danger lurk in the water? If confirmed, the attack could be the state's first reported shark encounter with a human in 2025. According to theInternational Shark Attack File(ISAF), 47 people were bit in an unprovoked attack last year and of them, four fatalities took place, including one in the United States. Each year, according to ISAF,the world averages 70 documentedshark attacks. On average,10 fatal attacksare reported each year. Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Swimmer suffers leg injury in possible North Carolina shark attack

byAlex Perish

in

June 03, 2025

Warning issued to North Carolina beach visitors after suspected shark attack

Warning issued to North Carolina beach visitors after suspected shark attack Authorities in North Carolina are investigating a suspected sha...

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Federal prisons must keep providing hormone therapy to transgender inmates, a judge says

Federal prisons must keep providing hormone therapy to transgender inmates, a judge says

WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal Bureau of Prisons must continue providing hormone therapy and social accommodations to hundreds of transgender inmates followingan executive ordersigned byPresident Donald Trumpthat led to a disruption in medical treatment, a federal judge ruled Tuesday. U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth said inhis rulinga federal law prohibits prison officials from arbitrarily depriving inmates of medications and other lifestyle accommodations that the bureau's own medical staff has deemed appropriate. The judge said the transgender inmates who sued to block Trump's executive order are trying to lessen the personal anguish caused by their gender dysphoria, the distress that a person feels because their assigned gender and gender identity don't match. "In light of the plaintiffs' largely personal motives for undergoing gender-affirming care, neither the BOP nor the Executive Order provides any serious explanation as to why the treatment modalities covered by the Executive Order or implementing memoranda should be handled differently than any other mental health intervention," the judge wrote. The Bureau of Prisons is providing hormone therapy to more than 600 inmates diagnosed with gender dysphoria. The bureau doesn't dispute that gender dysphoria can cause severe side effects, including depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts, the judge said. The Republican president's executive order required the bureau to revise its medical care policies so that federal funds aren't spent "for the purpose of conforming an inmate's appearance to that of the opposite sex." Lamberth's ruling isn't limited to the plaintiffs named in the lawsuit. He agreed to certify a class of plaintiffs consisting of anyone who is or will be incarcerated in federal prisons. The lawsuit's named plaintiffs include Alishea Kingdom, a transgender woman who was prescribed hormone therapy injections and approved to receive social accommodations, including women's undergarments and cosmetics. Kingdom was denied her hormone shot three times after Trump signed his order, but she had it restored roughly a week after she sued. Her access to feminine undergarments hasn't been restored, according to the judge's ruling. "In Ms. Kingdom's case, there is no indication at all that the BOP means to leave her hormone therapy in place long-term; indeed, as noted above, she was informed by BOP personnel that the decision to resume her treatment was a consequence of this litigation itself, raising the specter that her treatments might be discontinued as soon as the litigation has concluded," Lamberth wrote. Trump's order also directed the Bureau of Prisons to ensure that "males are not detained in women's prisons." In February, however, Lamberth agreed to temporarily block prison officials from transferring three incarcerated transgender women to men's facilities and terminating their access to hormone therapy. The judge said there's no evidence Trump or prison officials considered the harm the new polices could do to transgender inmates. "The defendants argue that the plaintiffs have not alleged irreparable harm because they are all currently receiving hormone medications. But it suffices to say that all three plaintiffs' access to hormone therapy is, as best the Court can tell, tenuous," Lamberth wrote. The plaintiffs are represented by attorneys from the Transgender Law Center and the American Civil Liberties Union. Lamberth, a senior judge, was nominated to the bench by President Ronald Reagan, a Republican, in 1987.

byAlex Perish

in

June 03, 2025

Federal prisons must keep providing hormone therapy to transgender inmates, a judge says

Federal prisons must keep providing hormone therapy to transgender inmates, a judge says WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal Bureau of Prisons mus...

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FBI says it broke up effort to bring toxic fungus to Michigan lab from China

FBI says it broke up effort to bring toxic fungus to Michigan lab from China

DETROIT (AP) — A Chinese scientist entered the U.S. last year with a toxic fungus stashed in his backpack, federal authorities said Tuesday as they filed charges against him and a girlfriend who worked in a lab at the University of Michigan. The pathogen is known as Fusarium graminearum, which can attack wheat, barley, maize and rice and sicken livestock and people, the FBI said in a court filing in Detroit. The FBI said a scientific journal describes it as a "potential agroterrorism weapon." Yunqing Jian, 33, and Zunyong Liu, 34, were charged with conspiracy, smuggling, making false statements and visa fraud. "The alleged actions of these Chinese nationals, including a loyal member of the Chinese Communist Party, are of the gravest national security concerns," U.S. Attorney Jerome Gorgon Jr. said. Jian appeared in court and was returned to jail to await a bond hearing Thursday. An attorney who was assigned only for her initial appearance declined to comment. In July 2024, Liu was turned away at the Detroit airport and sent back to China after changing his story during an interrogation about red plant material discovered in his backpack, the FBI said. He initially claimed ignorance about the samples but later said he was planning to use the material for research at a University of Michigan lab where Jian worked and where Liu previously worked, the FBI said. The FBI said authorities found a scientific article on Liu's phone that was titled, "Plant-Pathogen Warfare under Changing Climate Conditions." A week before arriving in the U.S., according to investigators, Liu exchanged messages with Jian, who said, "It's a pity that I still have to work for you." The FBI said Liu replied: "Once this is done, everything else will be easy." Months later, in February, FBI agents visited Jian at the campus lab. She said, "100% no," when asked if she had been assisting Liu with the pathogen at the lab. The FBI said it found a signed statement on her phone expressing her support for the Communist Party of China. Messages between the two in 2024 suggest that Jian was already tending to Fusarium graminearum at the campus lab before Liu was caught at the Detroit airport, the FBI said. The university does not have federal permits to handle it. The U.S. does not have an extradition treaty with China, which makes Liu's arrest unlikely unless he returns.

byAlex Perish

in

June 03, 2025

FBI says it broke up effort to bring toxic fungus to Michigan lab from China

FBI says it broke up effort to bring toxic fungus to Michigan lab from China DETROIT (AP) — A Chinese scientist entered the U.S. last year w...

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'Love Island USA' host Ariana Madix reveals she eavesdrops on contestants: 'I love gossip'

'Love Island USA' host Ariana Madix reveals she eavesdrops on contestants: 'I love gossip'

NEW YORK – As a reality TV star in her own right,Ariana Madixis uniquely qualified to host a show like"Love Island USA." In the reality competition returning Tuesday, June 3, for Season 7 (streaming daily this week on Peacock), singles attempt to couple up andcompete for a $100,000 prize. "It's not easy to put yourself out there in a dating sense, but let alone a dating world that the entire world is watching," Madix tells USA TODAY of the contestants on "Love Island USA." Madix, the 39-year-old, perhaps best known for her run on Bravo's"Vanderpump Rules,"knows about fearlessness in love. "They're so brave. I always hope that they have fun, too. Because that was something I loved about last season," she said. "There was drama, but there was such beautiful friendship as well." Drama melding with friendship is also an apt description of the precursor to her very public halt from "Vanderpump" when Madix's boyfriend of nine years,Tom Sandoval, cheated on her with another one of their co-stars,Rachel "Raquel" Leviss. Dubbed the"Scandoval,"it played out while Bravo cameras were rolling for the TV show in 2023. Madix has a front row seat to all of it. The actress and Broadway performer returns to "Love Island USA" after hosting Season 6. Madix reveals that on a typical day in Fiji, she'll work out at the hotel gym for three hours. Then she heads to the makeup chair: Madix says her hair and makeup typically take about two hours. The glam team saves the last 15 minutes until they know for sure that Madix will be heading in to film. "We watch the live feeds of what's going on in the villa, which is really fun," Madix dishes of how she and the team spend their time before the host is needed. "You can change the channels between the groups of people and what they're talking about. I love gossip and I love to eavesdrop, so it's perfect for me." Madix is very happy with her career at the moment. She reflects that before her role on "Vanderpump Rules," the actress would hold down "four or five different jobs at once" to pay rent. "Now that I'm able to have jobs that I really enjoy doing, I get to live my dream out," she says, noting she still gets to try different things, from authoring a cocktail book to running a restaurant (she co-owns the West Hollywood spot Something About Her with fellow "Vanderpump" alum Katie Maloney). "I really appreciate when people just let it happen and don't try to box (other) people in, because I find that really stifling in a lot of ways." Amid her various projects, Madix won't rule out a return to Bravo. But there's a catch. "It's hard to say what that would be," she says of a show that could get her back on the network. "I think for me to be in that type of position where I am putting myself out there, I would want to be in charge. I would definitely want to be executive producer. So I would probably fight for that in any capacity to be back in that space." This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:'Love Island USA' host Ariana Madix won't rule out a return to Bravo

byAlex Perish

in

June 03, 2025

'Love Island USA' host Ariana Madix reveals she eavesdrops on contestants: 'I love gossip'

'Love Island USA' host Ariana Madix reveals she eavesdrops on contestants: 'I love gossip' NEW YORK – As a reality TV star i...

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Jimmy Kimmel slams Trump's robotic Joe Biden conspiracy theory: 'This is so deeply nuts'

Jimmy Kimmel slams Trump's robotic Joe Biden conspiracy theory: 'This is so deeply nuts'

Scott Olson/Getty; Disney/Randy Holmes; Andrew Harnik/Getty Jimmy Kimmelis calling outDonald Trumpafter the presidentre-posted a conspiracy theoryover the weekend that claimedJoe Bidenwas executed in 2020 and replaced with robot clones. The late-night host addressed the 78-year-old Republican politician's sharing of the "deranged" theory — which also claimed that Democrats were unaware of the former president's secret robot identity — during his opening monologue on Monday's episode ofJimmy Kimmel Live. "This is a theory that claims President Biden was cloned and replaced by a robot which, first of all, aren't robots and clones two entirely different things?" Kimmel asked. "Not in Trump's head they aren't. And secondly, I know Trump puts out this stuff as a smokescreen to hide the fact thathe's about to cut $600 billion dollars from Medicaid, but this is so deeply nuts," he continued. "How is this not on the front page of everything? The president of the United States is spreading deranged stories about his predecessor being a robot." ABC The comedian then shifted gears and redirected his criticism toward Trump's own party. "Hey, Republicans! Remember when you were very concerned about Joe might not have the mental acuity to be president?," he asked. "Come get your guy, because he thinks Biden was executed and replaced by a robotic clone." Kimmel continued, "I mean, if your dad was saying stuff like this, you'd start looking for an assisted living facility." He also noted that, if Biden truly is a robot, then whoever built him must be "very bad at building robots," adding, "I mean, if anyone was replaced by a robotic clone, it's Melania, right?" Although, he admitted, "A robot Joe Biden would make a pretty solid movie." Sign up forEntertainment Weekly's free daily newsletterto get breaking news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more. Kimmel was one of several late-night hosts who roasted Trump for sharing the theory last night. "In 2020, a secret cabal took out an old, slow Joe Biden and replaced him with... an older and slower Joe Biden,"Late ShowhostStephen Colbertjoked duringhis own opening monologue. "It's natural! It's just like when you trade in your rusted out '93 Honda Civic for an old man who loves trains." Seth Meyerspointed out duringLate Night's "Closer Look" segment that the theory was actually "great news for Democrats," adding, "It turns out that wasn'tJoe Biden who got stuck in a closet. It was a robot. And that happens to my Roomba all the time!" AndDaily ShowhostJon Stewartquestioned whether or not Trump was sober when he re-posted the claim. "You're saying that the Joe Biden, who doesn't even know where he is, is actually an incredibly advanced cloned robot?" He askedduring his monologue. "How much ketamine are you on?" Watch Kimmel talk about Trump's theories in the clip above. Read the original article onEntertainment Weekly

byAlex Perish

in

June 03, 2025

Jimmy Kimmel slams Trump's robotic Joe Biden conspiracy theory: 'This is so deeply nuts'

Jimmy Kimmel slams Trump's robotic Joe Biden conspiracy theory: 'This is so deeply nuts' Scott Olson/Getty; Disney/Randy Holmes;...

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