Northeast
Shark attacks 2023: 6 US scrapes with predators in the sea
As of Dec. 15, there have been 80 shark attack bites recorded worldwide in 2023, per TrackingSharks.com – 13 of them were fatal. Half of this year’s shark attacks took place in the United States, with 20 in Florida, five in Hawaii, two in California, six in New York and three in South Carolina.
Only one shark encounter in U.S. waters proved fatal this year, per the site.
Fox News Digital compiled six incredible stories from shark attack victims who lived to tell the tale.
Rockaway Beach in Queens, New York
New York’s Rockaway Beach was shut down after 65-year-old swimmer Tatyana Koltunyuk lost “approximately 20 pounds of flesh” to a roving shark, per the New York Post.
The outlet also obtained a grisly photo of the woman’s thigh with a large chunk of flesh missing after the Aug. 7 incident. She was transported to nearby Jamaica Hospital and survived the attack.
Koltunyuk underwent at least five surgeries after the attack and faces permanent disability, per a GoFundMe set up by her family.
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Tatyana Koltunyuk, 65, lost approximately 20 pounds of flesh from her upper left thigh when she was attacked by a shark on New York City’s Rockaway Beach on Aug. 7, according to officials. (GoFundMe)
Police respond to Rockaway Beach at Beach 59th Street in Queens, New York City after a swimmer was attacked by a shark on Monday, Aug. 7, 2023. (Photo by Gardiner Anderson for NY Daily News via Getty Images)
Ponce Inlet, Florida
Two swimmers were bitten at the same Florida beach over Labor Day weekend – both victims survived, and it is unclear whether they were attacked by the same shark.
One victim, a 37-year-old woman from Apopka, Florida, was bitten on her right foot while swimming in shallow waters on Ponce Inlet, the Volusia County Beach Safety unit confirmed to Fox 35 Orlando at the time. She reportedly never saw the shark that bit her.
The second victim, a man in his 30s, was bitten on his left hand near the Ponce Inlet Jetty. He refused medical attention at the scene and drove himself to an area hospital, the outlet reported.
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A shark runs into the lens of a photographer during an outing with scuba company Emerald Charters off Jupiter Inlet, Florida, May 18, 2022. (REUTERS/Sam Wolfe)
New Smyrna, Florida
Mark Sumersett of South Carolina, 38, detailed his unexpected meeting with the shark that bit his face on Sept. 12 during his Florida vacation.
“I got bit when I was a little kid by a dog, and it kind of felt like that, but like a bear trap closing in on me,” the surfer told Fox 35 Orlando of the interaction at the popular New Smyrna Beach. “It was definitely a fight or flight situation.”
Sumersett got 12 stitches along his cheek and chin after the face-to-face encounter.
“God has a reason for me to be here. And that’s to help other people on this earth,” he said. “I’m just so grateful.”
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Mark Summerset is “so grateful” to be alive after a shark bit him on his face at a popular Florida beach in September. (FOX 35 Orlando)
Mark Summerset got 12 stitches to his cheek and chin after the attack, which he compared to a dog bite he sustained as a child. (FOX 35 Orlando)
St. Petersburg, Florida
A Florida woman swimming off the Gulf Coast in St. Petersburg on Sept. 30 said she is lucky to be alive after a shark clamped down into her midsection.
Natalie Branda, 26, got 14 stitches across her backside and stomach after the near-death incident.
“We were jumping off the boat, swimming around, floating for a few hours. Just having a fun day,” Branda told FOX 13 Tampa Bay. “I just felt pressure, and it released, and I was like ‘I got bit.’ I swam the fastest I ever swam to the boat.”
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Palm Beach, Florida
A drone-flying Florida YouTuber captured a bull shark’s attack on his friend’s boat late this July. Josh Jorgensen, who produces videos for the BlacktipH Fishing channel, caught the animal’s eight attacks on the small vessel off the Palm Beach coast.
Jorgensen said he was following his boat with his drone because his friend was chasing down two Cobia, which he calls “the tastiest fish in the ocean.” But then, a bull shark appeared, turning its sights to the boat’s engine.
“I didn’t think a shark could actually shake a boat like that,” boat driver Carl Torresson said in a later interview. “The boat was shaking like a bag of popcorn. Like, literally, I was shaking like an earthquake… I’m like ‘Are you kidding me? This is like a ride from Universal Studios.’”
After the ordeal, the men said, the entire engine had been ripped out entirely.
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New Smyrna, Florida
A Florida surfer credited his survival to his friend’s quick thinking after seeing the water “turn red” with the 21-year-old’s blood.
Reece Redish was watching Chris Pospisil from the shore of a New Smyrna beach in July when a shark “came from under” the latter man and “tipped [him] backwards off [his] board.” “I saw my foot in his mouth, and it dragged me under,” Pospisil told FOX 35 Orlando.
Redish immediately jumped into the water, swam out to his friend and pulled the surfer back onto his board.
“I’m not going to leave my friend in the water,” Redish told the outlet. “I’m willing to put myself at risk to help out anyone.”
The surfer sustained extensive damage to his left foot – seven tendons and a couple small arteries needed to be surgically repaired. A skin graft was created to cover the injury, and several pieces of the shark’s tooth were shattered and stuck in Pospisil’s bone.
However, despite his ordeal, the 21-year-old intends to continue surfing, he told the outlet.
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Northeast
Conservative Gettysburg College group catches student on video tearing down promotional flyers
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A video captured by a member of a conservative campus group at a private Pennsylvania college shows a student tearing down its promotional flyers, according to the group.
The Young America’s Foundation (YAF) chapter at Gettysburg College hosted conservative author and speaker Vince Ellison on Nov. 20. Days before the event, the group posted advertisements for the event around campus.
But according to Gettysburg College YAF Chairman Tyler Seeman, students who oppose right-leaning ideals tore down the chapter’s flyers — something Seeman says happens every semester when the campus group hosts an event — and one of them was caught on camera.
“Every semester, Gettysburg YAF has a campus lecture. So, we invite one of the speakers from YAF’s speaker list to come to campus and discuss whatever their specialty is,” Seeman told Fox News Digital.
A student tears a Young America’s Foundation promotional flyer off a wall at Gettysburg College in mid-November 2025. (Courtesy: Nicholas Alverson)
YOUNG AMERICA’S FOUNDATION TABLE GETS TRASHED AT OSU BY PERSON WHO TELLS CONSERVATIVES TO ‘F— OFF’
In the video, a YAF member climbs a flight of stairs after seeing a student pulling the group’s flyers off the wall, and races to confront the alleged perpetrator.
“You having fun?” the YAF member asks.
“Yeah,” the student quickly replies.
“You know that’s against college policy, right?” the YAF member asks.
“OK,” the student says, before falling silent.
The YAF member then chastised the student for not making it out of the building before being caught red-handed.
“We’ve got more of those [flyers] in the stairwell, you wanna go get those too?” the YAF member asks.
“I don’t know,” the student replies.
The YAF member then escorts the alleged perpetrator out of the building.
Promotional flyers for an Young America’s Foundation event with conservative author Vince Ellison were torn to shreds at Gettysburg College in mid-November 2025. (Courtesy: Connor Felo)
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He said that every semester, the group posts flyers to advertise its event, like all campus groups do.
“Every semester, students on campus tear our flyers down because we’re the only conservative 501(c)(3) on campus that actually hosts campus lectures,” Seeman said. “So, some students feel, I would presume, that our views and our speakers’ statements are contrary or dangerous to their own perspectives and their own worldview.”
Seeman characterized the school as “apathetic” toward the chapter’s plight. He said that on one occasion, the school sent out an email to some students condemning the behavior of YAF’s opponents, but on another occasion, school administrators declined a request to admonish bad actors.
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“Removing flyers posted in accordance with our posting policy is a violation of our community standards,” Gettysburg College spokesperson Jamie White told Fox News Digital. “Students in violation of this policy are subject to sanctions by the College.”
A student at Gettysburg College was confronted by a YAF member after tearing the group’s promotional flyers off the wall in mid-November, the chapter said. (Courtesy: NIcholas Alverson)
“While federal law prohibits us from answering questions about specific student cases, I can say it would be highly unusual for such behavior not to be sanctioned,” White said.
Seeman shared a message to those on campus who oppose YAF’s views.
“Instead of tearing down flyers, show up to our events and ask questions, because we want to have that dialogue,” he said.
“At the end of the day, that’s just going to get everyone in the room thinking about these issues, and we’d rather have as many people thinking about these issues and talking about these issues as possible, rather than just tearing down flyers and trying to silence other people’s speech, because that’s not constructive.”
YAF is no stranger to left-wing targeting on campus.
Their chapter at the University of Iowa was subject to a table-flipping incident last month.
Gettysburg College campus on May 5, 2013. (John Greim/LightRocket via Getty Images)
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A criminal complaint against a student named Justin Calhoon says he flipped a YAF table on campus on Oct. 27. He was arrested on Oct. 31 and charged with disorderly conduct, fifth-degree criminal mischief and third-degree harassment, according to arrest records.
Calhoon was later accused of flipping a Turning Point USA table on campus, and was arrested again.
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Boston, MA
Boston city councilor pushes for state audit of federal grant funds after misuse by city program
Boston City Councilor Ed Flynn requested that the state auditor’s office conduct a formal audit of the nearly $560 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds the city received from the federal government, in light of misspending by a city program.
Flynn sent a letter to State Auditor Diana DiZoglio on Friday requesting an audit of the federal grant funds the city received through the ARPA legislation of 2021 that was issued as a COVID-19 pandemic-relief measure.
The councilor said Boston received nearly $560 million in federal funds for pandemic recovery. The money was committed by the end of 2024, and must be spent by the end of next year, he said.
“In May of this year, it was reported that the City of Boston’s Three Squares Main Streets program allegedly misspent ARPA funds in the amount of $32,000,” Flynn wrote in the letter. “Irresponsible funding and spending leads to inflated costs and missed opportunities to improve our communities.
“It is critical that the City of Boston spends taxpayer dollars responsibly to regain our credibility and show respect to the residents,” he added.
Flynn wrote that he chose to pursue a state audit due to the City Council’s failure to hold oversight hearings, and ensure that “Boston is in compliance with spending regulations.”
Auditor DiZoglio’s office said Friday that it had received Flynn’s letter and that the councilor’s request requires a majority vote from the City Council and approval from the mayor to permit the auditor’s office to conduct a municipal audit.
“Our General Counsel will be sending Councilor Flynn the legal process required, under the law, to engage the Office of State Auditor with respect to a municipal audit,” DiZoglio spokesperson Andrew Carden said in a statement.
“Unlike the Office of Inspector General, which has the full legal authority to audit and investigate municipal government entities without a request or permission from a city or town, the Office of State Auditor, while mandated to audit state government entities, is actually legally required to obtain permission from a municipality, via both a majority vote from the City Council and approval by the Mayor, to be permitted to conduct a municipal audit,” Carden added.
Flynn told the Herald he wouldn’t hold his breath for approval from his colleagues on the City Council, which is largely allied with Mayor Michelle Wu.
“Since the City Council failed to hold the necessary oversight hearings to determine how we spend federal funds, an outside audit is essential to ensure appropriate spending, demonstrate transparency and accountability,” Flynn said. “The Boston City Council will not support an independent audit of our financial records to ensure we are complying with federal spending laws.”
Mayor Wu’s office didn’t respond to a request for comment on whether the Wu administration would support Flynn’s request for a state audit.
Wu’s office launched an internal audit last May after the city main streets’ program’s alleged misuse of federal ARPA funds was flagged by the Boston Finance Commission, a City Hall watchdog.
“We’re grateful for city staff who have been working to ensure oversight of every dollar of federal funds spent on pandemic recovery, including grants to nonprofit organizations,” Wu spokesperson Emma Pettit said in a statement at the time. “Through their diligence, these financial irregularities were identified and reported to the appropriate agencies to take action.
“The city will continue to support any further investigation, and is undertaking a further audit to ensure full accountability.”
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