Connect with us

News

Back-to-back shark attacks leave 4 people injured in Texas and Florida

Published

on

Back-to-back shark attacks leave 4 people injured in Texas and Florida

This image provided by the Texas Department of Public Safety shows a shark close to the shore in South Padre Island, Texas, on Thursday.

Texas Department of Public Safety/AP


hide caption

toggle caption

Advertisement

Texas Department of Public Safety/AP

Shark attacks in Texas and Florida left at least four people injured, including one person seriously hurt, as Fourth of July festivities lured crowds to coastal waters this week.

Two people were injured in a shark attack off the coast of southern Texas on Thursday, local officials said.

At South Padre Island, two people were bitten by a shark and two more “encountered” the predator but were not seriously hurt, the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department said in a statement.

Advertisement

The two bite victims were taken to a hospital in Brownsville for treatment, and one of them was flown out elsewhere for further treatment, according to the department.

Game Warden Capt. Chris Dowdy told The Associated Press that authorities believe a single shark about 6 feet long was involved in all four incidents based on information from witnesses and social media images.

The last shark attack reported in the area was five years ago, Dowdy said.

State officials said that shark attacks on humans are rare in Texas.

“When bites from sharks do occur, they are usually a case of mistaken identity by sharks looking for food,” Texas Parks & Wildlife said.

Advertisement

“If you see large schools of bait near the shore, this typically [is] an indicator a predator is nearby, or if you see a shark in the water, calmly exit the water and wait for the predatory wildlife to pass,” the department advised in the statement.

Also on Thursday, another beachgoer was injured in a shark attack off the Florida Coast — the first of two shark bite incidents in the area in the span of a day.

At New Smyrna Beach, a 21-year-old man was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries after a shark bit his right foot around 4 p.m. on Thursday, Volusia County Beach Safety interim director Tamra Malphurs said in an emailed statement. He’d been playing football in knee-deep water.

On Friday just after 4 p.m. at the same beach, a 26-year-old man was wading in an inner tube in water about 5 feet deep when a shark bit his left foot, Malphurs said. He was treated on the scene and hospitalized for further care, according to Volusia County; his injuries were also not life-threatening.

Last year saw a total of 69 unprovoked shark attacks globally, according to the University of Florida’s International Shark Attack File. Almost half of those attacks occurred in the U.S. That’s an increase from the 57 attacks in 2022, but is still on par with the five-year average of 63 attacks annually.

Advertisement

The increase in global shark attacks last year does not necessarily signal a rising trend, Gavin Naylor, director of the Florida Program for Shark Research at the Florida Museum of Natural History, told the Daytona Beach News-Journal.

“These are natural processes, random events, which happen to be when people are in the water, where there are sharks in the water — I would think that the variance would be much higher. But in fact, it is remarkably steady,” he said.

Sharks do tend to attack more commonly under certain conditions, he told the publication.

“You only get shark bites when there is a lot of people in the water, a lot of sharks in the water, the sharks are trying to feed on things, and they do not have good visibility,” Naylor said.

Advertisement

News

6 injured in stabbing at New York’s Penn Station | CNN

Published

on

6 injured in stabbing at New York’s Penn Station | CNN


New York — 

Six people were injured in a stabbing at New York’s Penn Station Sunday evening, raising security concerns a day before the city is set to host the NBA Finals – with President Donald Trump in attendance.

The attack comes amid heightened security around Madison Square Garden, which lies directly above the busy intercity railroad station, where the New York Knicks are hosting the San Antonio Spurs for Games 3 and 4 on Monday and Wednesday.

Advertisement

The New York City Fire Department said it received a call around 7 p.m. reporting multiple people stabbed at West 33rd Street and 7th Avenue, one entrance to Penn Station.

One person suffered serious injuries, four others have moderate or minor injuries, according to the fire department. Those five were taken to Bellevue Hospital, and none of the injuries are life-threatening, another law enforcement official said. A sixth victim was taken to another hospital, a spokesperson for the fire department told CNN, without disclosing the person’s condition.

A suspect is in custody, according to a law enforcement official, who noted the suspect may be unhoused.

This is the first time the NBA Finals are coming to Madison Square Garden since 1999. Extra deployments, additional monitoring of cameras, more intelligence sharing and even drone deployments are part of an aggressive, proactive approach in an elevated threat environment, officials say.

Federal authorities had also already been working to implement a detailed security plan in anticipation of Trump’s appearance Monday at Game 3.

Advertisement

Penn Station is a main connecting point for city subway trains, passenger rail to New Jersey and Long Island, and the city’s Amtrak station.

Amtrak police responded to the stabbing, the company’s communications director told CNN, and an investigation is underway.

There is no impact on Amtrak service, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani said in a statement.

“My heart is with everyone who was injured, their loved ones, and all those shaken by this unacceptable violence. I’m wishing each of the victims a full and speedy recovery,” Mamdani said.

“I’m grateful to the Amtrak Police Department and the first responders who acted quickly to apprehend the suspect and provide emergency care,” he added.

Advertisement

This story has been updated with additional information.

Continue Reading

News

Map: 3.6-Magnitude Earthquake Shakes the San Francisco Bay Area

Published

on

Map: 3.6-Magnitude Earthquake Shakes the San Francisco Bay Area

Advertisement

Note: Map shows the area with a shake intensity of 3 or greater, which U.S.G.S. defines as “weak,” though the earthquake may be felt outside the areas shown.  All times on the map are Pacific time. The New York Times

Advertisement

A minor, 3.6-magnitude earthquake struck in the San Francisco Bay Area on Sunday, according to the United States Geological Survey.

The temblor happened at 8:37 a.m. Pacific time about 1 mile southwest of Alamo, Calif., data from the agency shows.

Advertisement

As seismologists review available data, they may revise the earthquake’s reported magnitude. Additional information collected about the earthquake may also prompt U.S.G.S. scientists to update the shake-severity map.

Advertisement
Advertisement

Aftershocks detected

Subsequent quakes have been reported in the same area. Such temblors are typically aftershocks caused by minor adjustments along the portion of a fault that slipped at the time of the initial earthquake.

Quakes and aftershocks within 100 miles

Advertisement

Aftershocks can occur days, weeks or even years after the first earthquake. These events can be of equal or larger magnitude to the initial earthquake, and they can continue to affect already damaged locations.

Advertisement

When quakes and aftershocks occurred

 All times are Pacific time. The New York Times

Advertisement

Sources: United States Geological Survey (epicenter, aftershocks, shake intensity); LandScan via Oak Ridge National Laboratory (population density) | Notes: Shaking categories are based on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale. When aftershock data is available, the corresponding maps and charts include earthquakes within 100 miles and seven days of the initial quake. All times above are Pacific time. Shake data is as of Sunday, June 7 at 11:42 a.m. Eastern. Aftershocks data is as of Sunday, June 7 at 5:07 p.m. Eastern.

Advertisement

Continue Reading

News

Police search for suspects in Ohio shooting that wounded 12 near a street festival

Published

on

Police search for suspects in Ohio shooting that wounded 12 near a street festival

The Agnes Reynolds Jackson Arboretum is shown where multiple people were shot at a community festival Saturday, June 6, 2026, in Toledo, Ohio.

Paul Sancya/AP


hide caption

toggle caption

Advertisement

Paul Sancya/AP

Police still had no suspects in custody Sunday after a weekend shooting near an Ohio street festival wounded 12 people and sent attendees scrambling for cover in a busy Toledo neighborhood.

Toledo Deputy Police Chief Joe Heffernan said it appeared that at least two people fired weapons on Saturday near the Old West End Festival and were “probably shooting at each other.”

Authorities say a search for the the shooters was ongoing and had not identified any potential suspects. They urged festivalgoers to come forward with any photos or videos.

Advertisement

“As far as violence, this is over the top, right?” Toledo police Lt. Dan Gerken said. “Twelve people being shot, that’s the most I’ve been to a scene. I’ve been to a lot of scenes, but this is way over the top.”

Hundreds of people were at the festival, an annual two-day celebration in Toledo’s historic district that includes live music, food vendors, home tours and shopping.

The remainder of the festival was canceled Sunday. Organizers said “it would not be compassionate, responsible or possible to continue.”

“We are heartbroken about those that were injured at the Old West End Festival,” the festival said in a statement.

Two of the victims were in critical condition on Saturday, Heffernan said. The ages of the victims ranged from 14 to 61, with most of them in their early 20s.

Advertisement

Multiple videos posted to social media showed people running amid the sound of gunshots and emergency officials tending to others who appeared wounded.

Fire Chief Allison Armstrong said it was difficult to get to the hospital due to closed roads and traffic from people leaving the festival, but emergency responders were able to transport all patients from the scene within an hour.

Kevin Berry was sitting in the neighborhood arboretum listening to live music with friends when he heard a handful of gunshots ring out.

“Everybody hit the deck,” he said.

When Berry looked back up, he saw a gun being tossed to the ground less than 50 feet (15 meters) away from him. Officers who were already on site for the festival responded immediately.

Advertisement

Berry, who has medical training and served in the Navy, walked around looking for anyone who might need help and saw at least five people with gunshot wounds.

“The folks who were hit were spread out around the arboretum area,” he said.

George Kral, the city’s safety director, said the Old West End Festival is one of the most iconic festivals in Toledo.

“And it’s a shame that something like this had to ruin it,” Kral said.

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending