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North Carolina pilot dies after he mysteriously jumped or fell from plane in midair

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A North Carolina pilot died under mysterious circumstances Friday afternoon, officials said.

Charles Hew Crooks, 23, was one of two people onboard the small, 10-person plane Friday but it landed with just one person in Wake County, North Carolina, WRAL reported.

Authorities say Crooks either jumped or fell from the plane in midair without a parachute.

According to the report, the remaining co-pilot safely conducted an emergency landing at Raleigh-Durham International Airport after reporting to air traffic control that the plane had lost its right wheel and was taken to the hospital with minor injuries.

NORTH CAROLINA MAN CHARGED IN KILLING OF FORT BRAGG SOLDIER

Wake County Emergency Management chief of operations Darshan Patel speaks with a group of reporters on July 29, 2022.

Wake County Emergency Management chief of operations Darshan Patel speaks with a group of reporters on July 29, 2022.
(Wake County Government/Twitter)

Dozens of first responders were at the Raleigh-Durham International Airport and several other officers canvassed the local area and the plane’s flight path to search for Crooks’ body.

His body was found later that evening, around 7 pm, in the woods behind a Fuquay-Varina residential area, about 30 miles from the Raleigh-Durham International Airport, authorities said.

Police said later the body landed about 30 to 40 feet from a home and its residents alerted law enforcement officials who were canvassing the area.

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Wake County Emergency Management chief of operations Darshan Patel told a group of reporters that the residents reached out to the law enforcement officers after they “heard something in their backyard.”

During a press conference that evening, Fuquay-Varina Police Chief Brandon Medina said Crooks’ body fell at least 3,500 feet. He said it was not immediately clear if the pilot was dead before the fall but that authorities are continuing to investigate the incident.

Chief Medina did not say if the investigation is being treated as a criminal investigation only that the situation was “unique.”

“I believe this was a first for many of us who were working on this incident today,” Patel added.

A pilot made an emergency landing at Raleigh-Durham International Airport on July 29, 2022.

A pilot made an emergency landing at Raleigh-Durham International Airport on July 29, 2022.

Crooks recently obtained his pilot’s license and loved to fly, his family said, WRAL reported.

NORTH CAROLINA WOMAN FORCED TO LIE ABOUT BEING ASSAULTED

When asked about the death, Hew Crooks, the deceased pilot’s father, said: “We can’t process it right now, I don’t know.”

“He pursued his private pilot license while he was in college. I think he got that when he was a sophomore,” Crooks added. “He said a couple of weeks ago, he wouldn’t trade places with anybody in the world. He loved where he was.”

Regarding the mysterious details surrounding the death, the father said he “can’t imagine what happened.”

“We’ll figure it out, I suppose,” he concluded.

The remaining pilot was forced to emergency land the plane after reporting it had lost its right wheel.

The remaining pilot was forced to emergency land the plane after reporting it had lost its right wheel.
(iStock)

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The surviving co-pilot was released from the hospital after they were treated for minor injuries, WRAL reported.

The police chief said National Transportation Safety Board investigators are leading the investigation. Federal, state and local authorities are assisting in the investigation.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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How much will Illinois win owe in taxes?

The billion-dollar Mega Millions jackpot has finally been claimed in Illinois after being purchased at a Speedway gas station in Des Plaines.

But how much of that will end up in the winner’s pocket, and how much will be owed in taxes?

The tax bill depends on whether the Mega Millions winner chooses a cash payout of $780.5 million or annual payments totaling $1.3 billion over 29 years.

Illinois currently contains 24 percent in federal taxes, and 4.95 percent in state income taxes, though that may not be the total tax obligation, depending on the winner’s financial situation.

If the winner decides to take the $780.5 million lump sum, approximately $187.3 million in federal taxes would be withheld, in addition to $38.6 million in state taxes. That would mean an estimated take-home payout of $554.6 million.

If the winner takes the full $1.337 billion in annual installments and tax rates don’t change over the next 29 years, an estimated $320.9 million in federal taxes would be withheld, and an estimated $66.2 in state taxes would be withheld. That would mean an estimated take-home payout of $949.9 million over 29 years.

After taxes, the winning Mega Millions ticket holder will either take a cash payout or annual payments totaling over the next 29 years.
After taxes, the winning Mega Millions ticket holder will either take a cash payout or annual payments totaling over the next 29 years.
Corbis via Getty Images

Although the cash option is more popular, the annuity payments are each 5 percent bigger than the previous one.

“This helps protect winners’ lifestyle and purchasing power in periods of inflation,” the Mega Millions lottery states on its website.

This Mega Millions jackpot is one of the biggest ever after the 2018 South Carolina winner who claimed a $1.537 billion pot.

“Congratulations to the Illinois Lottery for selling the winning ticket for the $1.337 billion Mega Millions jackpot,” Ohio Lottery Director Pat McDonald said in a statement. “We are thrilled to have witnessed one of the biggest jackpot wins in Mega Millions history. We’re eager to find out who won and look forward to congratulating the winner soon! Better still, this exciting jackpot run has had a significant positive impact on the revenues for good causes raised by our member lotteries.”

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Categories
US

How much will Illinois win owe in taxes?

The billion-dollar Mega Millions jackpot has finally been claimed in Illinois after being purchased at a Speedway gas station in Des Plaines.

But how much of that will end up in the winner’s pocket, and how much will be owed in taxes?

The tax bill depends on whether the Mega Millions winner chooses a cash payout of $780.5 million or annual payments totaling $1.3 billion over 29 years.

Illinois currently contains 24 percent in federal taxes, and 4.95 percent in state income taxes, though that may not be the total tax obligation, depending on the winner’s financial situation.

If the winner decides to take the $780.5 million lump sum, approximately $187.3 million in federal taxes would be withheld, in addition to $38.6 million in state taxes. That would mean an estimated take-home payout of $554.6 million.

If the winner takes the full $1.337 billion in annual installments and tax rates don’t change over the next 29 years, an estimated $320.9 million in federal taxes would be withheld, and an estimated $66.2 in state taxes would be withheld. That would mean an estimated take-home payout of $949.9 million over 29 years.

After taxes, the winning Mega Millions ticket holder will either take a cash payout or annual payments totaling over the next 29 years.
After taxes, the winning Mega Millions ticket holder will either take a cash payout or annual payments totaling over the next 29 years.
Corbis via Getty Images

Although the cash option is more popular, the annuity payments are each 5 percent bigger than the previous one.

“This helps protect winners’ lifestyle and purchasing power in periods of inflation,” the Mega Millions lottery states on its website.

This Mega Millions jackpot is one of the biggest ever after the 2018 South Carolina winner who claimed a $1.537 billion pot.

“Congratulations to the Illinois Lottery for selling the winning ticket for the $1.337 billion Mega Millions jackpot,” Ohio Lottery Director Pat McDonald said in a statement. “We are thrilled to have witnessed one of the biggest jackpot wins in Mega Millions history. We’re eager to find out who won and look forward to congratulating the winner soon! Better still, this exciting jackpot run has had a significant positive impact on the revenues for good causes raised by our member lotteries.”

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US

Kansas Abortion Vote Tests Political Energy in Post-Roe America

OLATHE, Kan. — In the final days before Kansans decides whether to remove abortion rights protections from their State Constitution, the politically competitive Kansas City suburbs have become hotbeds of activism.

In neighborhoods where yard signs often tout high school sports teams, dueling abortion-related messages now also dot front lawns. A cafe known for its chocolates and cheese pie has become a haven for abortion rights advocates and a source of ire for opponents. Signs have been stolen, a Catholic church was vandalized earlier this month and tension is palpable on the cusp of the first major vote on the abortion issue since Roe v. Wade was overturned in June.

“I’m really sad that that happened,” said Leslie Schmitz, 54, of Olathe, speaking of the abortion access landscape. “And mad. Sad and mad.”

There may be no greater motivator in modern American politics than anger. And for months, Republican voters enraged by the Biden administration have been explosively energized about this year’s elections. Democrats, meanwhile, have confronted erosion with their base and significant challenges with independent voters.

But interviews with more than 40 voters in populous Johnson County, Kan., this week show that after the fall of Roe, Republicans no longer have a monopoly on fury — especially in states where abortion rights are clearly on the ballot and particularly in the battleground suburbs.

“I feel pretty strongly about this,” said Chris Price, 46, a political independent who said he voted for Mitt Romney for president in 2012 before backing Democrats when Donald J. Trump was on the ballot. “The candidates who would support an abortion ban, I would not be supporting at all. Period.”

Asked if threats to abortion rights had affected how motivated she felt about participating in the midterm elections this fall, Natalie Roberts-Wilner, a Democrat from Merriam, Kan., added, “Yes. And it is. And it is. Definitely.”

On Tuesday, Kansans will vote on a constitutional amendment that, if it passes, could give the Republican-dominated Legislature the ability to push new abortion restrictions or to outlaw the procedure entirely. Nearby states including Missouri — which is separated from some competitive Kansas suburbs by State Line Road, a thoroughfare dotted with abortion-related yard signs — have already enacted near-total bans.

The vote is open to unaffiliated Kansans as well as partisans. And whatever the outcome, activists on both sides caution against drawing sweeping national conclusions from an August ballot question, given complex crosscurrents at play.

The amendment language itself has been criticized as confusing, and in an overwhelmingly Republican state, Democrats and unaffiliated voters are less accustomed to voting on Primary Day. On the other hand, a few voters said they would vote no on the amendment but could back Republicans in November — a sign that some who support abortion rights still weigh other political issues more heavily in elections. And nationally, a Washington Post-Schar School poll released on Friday found that Republicans and abortion opponents were more likely to vote in November.

But there is no question that the abortion debate in the state’s most populous county—located in the Third District of Kansas, one of the nation’s most competitive congressional seats—offers the first significant national test of how the issue is resonating in suburban swing territory.

Like other highly educated, moderate areas — from suburban Philadelphia to Orange County, Calif. — the Third District is home to a substantial number of center-right voters who, like Mr. Price, were comfortable with Mr. Romney in 2012. But they embraced Democrats in the 2018 midterms, including Gov. Laura Kelly and Representative Sharice Davids, and many have collected from Mr. Trump.

Whether those voters remain in the Democratic fold this year, with Mr. Trump out of office, has been an open question in American politics. Democrats are betting that outrage over far-reaching abortion restrictions will help the party hang onto at least some of those moderates, despite the extraordinary political headwinds they face.

Republicans insist that anger around inflation — and fear of a recession — will crowd out other concerns for a broad swath of voters. (In polls, far more Americans cite inflation or the economy as the biggest problem facing the country than they do abortion.)

The Tuesday vote will offer an early snapshot of attitudes and energy around abortion, if not a definitive predictor of how those voters will behave in the fall.

“How much of a motivator is it really?” said Dan Sena, a Democratic strategist who guided the House takeover in 2018, of abortion rights, adding that there had recently been signs of improvement for Democrats in some suburban districts. “How does it actually, when it’s by itself, move women, move portions of the electorate? And this will really give us insight and the opportunity to get an answer to that.”

Limited public polling has shown a fairly close if unpredictable race.

“It appears that the ‘Yes’ vote still has the lead, but that has narrowed,” said Mike Kuckelman, the chairman of the Kansas Republican Party. Citing the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision that handed control over abortion rights to the states, he continued, “A lot of that is because, I think, the Dobbs decision has incited the pro-choice forces to come out.”

The Kansas City Star reported on Thursday that there had been an increase, so far, of about 246 percent in early in-person votes compared with during the 2018 midterm primary elections. Several voting stations in both moderate and more conservative parts of Johnson County this week were bustling all day, including in a rainstorm and in the baking heat. And on Friday, Scott Schwab, the Republican secretary of state, predicted that around 36 percent of Kansas voters would participate in the 2022 primary election, slightly up from the primary in 2020.

His office said that the constitutional amendment “has increased voter interest in the election.”

“I’ve talked to many people that said, ‘I’ve not previously been involved but going to vote,’” Mr. Kuckelman said.

Other Republicans said that the abortion amendment and overturning of Roe did not affect their commitment to voting in other races this year — that they have long been highly engaged.

“No more energized,” said John Morrill, 58, of Overland Park, who supports the amendment. “I was already very energized.”

At the Olathe site, which drew more conservative voters on Thursday, Melissa Moore said she was voting for the amendment because of her deeply held beliefs opposing abortion.

“I understand women saying, ‘I need to control my own body,’ but once you have another body in there, that’s their body,” Ms. Moore said. But asked how the intense national focus on abortion affected how she thought about voting, she replied, “I tend to always be energized.”

A few others at the early-voting site in Olathe indicated that they were voting against the amendment and were inclined to back Democrats this fall. But they spoke in hushed tones and declined to give full names, citing concerns about professional backlash, in an illustration of how fraught the environment has become.

Closer to the Missouri border, patrons at André’s, an upscale Swiss cafe, felt freer to openly express their opposition to the amendment. The restaurant and shop stoked controversy earlier this summer when employees wore “Vote No” stickers or buttons and encouraged patrons to vote, but several lunchtime visitors made clear that they shared those views.

“We just want to make sure people have rights to make choices,” said Silvana Botero, 45, who said that she and a group of about 20 friends were all voting no and that she felt more enthusiastic about voting in November, too.

At a voting site nearby, Shelly Schneider, a 66-year-old Republican, was more politically conflicted. Ms. Schneider opposed the amendment but planned to back some Republicans in November. Still, she was open to Ms. Kelly, the Democratic governor, especially if the amendment succeeded. Approval of the amendment, she acknowledged, could open the way for potentially far-reaching action from the Legislature.

“I think Laura Kelly is kind of a hedge against anything that might pass,” she said. “Ella She might provide some common sense there.”

Mitch Smith contributed reporting.

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US faces new era of political violence as threats against lawmakers rise | House of Representatives

Members of the US House of Representatives will now receive up to $10,000 to upgrade security at their homes in the face of rising threats against lawmakers, the House sergeant at arms announced last week, in yet another sign that American politics has entered a dangerous, violent new phase.

As support for political violence appears to be on the rise in the US, experts warn that such threats endanger the health of America’s democracy. But they say the country still has time to tamp down violent rhetoric if political leaders, particularly those in the Republican party, stand up and condemn this alarming behavior.

The announcement about increasing security for people in Congress came days after a man attacked Lee Zeldin, a New York congressman and Republican gubernatorial candidate, with a sharp object during a campaign event.

Two weeks before that, a man was arrested outside the home of Pramila Jayapal, chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, for allegedly shouting racist obscenities and threatening to kill her. Last month, authorities filed federal charges against a man who they say traveled from California to Maryland with the attempt to murder the supreme court justice Brett Kavanaugh.

Public service has clearly become an increasingly dangerous endeavor in America.

Recent polls show an increasing number of Americans are comfortable with political violence, although there is a wide range of opinions on the type of violence that is acceptable.

Lee Zeldin stands onstage after an attack on him during an event in Fairport, New York, on 21 July.
Lee Zeldin stands onstage after an attack on him during an event in Fairport, New York, on 21 July. Photograph: Ian Winner/Reuters

According to a mega-survey conducted by researchers at the University of California, Davis, and released this month, one in five US adults say political violence is justified at least in some circumstances. A much smaller portion of survey respondents, 3%, believe that political violence is usually or always justified.

Liliana Mason, a political science professor at Johns Hopkins University and co-author of Radical American Partisanship: Mapping Violent Hostility, Its Causes, and the Consequences for Democracy, said the phrasing of survey questions on political violence can drastically affect results. But having studied such polling since 2017, Mason said it is clear that support for political violence is indeed on the rise in the US.

“I think of it as pretty low numbers of people who actually approve of violence at all,” Mason said. “The problem is that, if you go from 7% to 20%, that means that there are certain social spaces where the norms around anti-violence are eroding.”

The impact of that trend can be seen at every level of American government, from the halls of Capitol Hill to local polling places.

The US Capitol police reported 9,625 threats and directions of interest (meaning concerning actions or statements) against members of Congress last year, compared to 3,939 such instances in 2017.

The members of the House select committee investigating the January 6 insurrection have frequently been the targets of violent threats, requiring them to obtain personal security details.

One member of the committee, Republican Adam Kinzinger, recently shared a threatening letter sent to his wife last month. The sender vowed to execute Kinzinger, his wife and their newborn son. He is not seeking re-election in 2022.

Even those who help administer elections in the US have reported an increase in threats against them. According to a poll conducted by the Brennan Center for Justice this year, one in six election officials have received threats because of their job, and 77% believe threats against them have increased in recent years.

Jennifer McCoy, a political science professor at Georgia State University whose research focuses on polarized democracies, said: “The kinds of threats and intimidation to … election administration officials and poll workers is very concerning and is also new.”

The apparent increase in threats against public servants has sparked broader concerns about the health of American democracy, particularly in the wake of the January 6 insurrection.

“There is simply no place for political violence in a healthy democracy. The increase in threats and harassment being leveled at people across our government is deeply concerning,” said Jennifer Dresden, policy advocate for the group Protect Democracy.

“To be clear, we’re not yet at a point where political violence has fundamentally undermined our democracy. But when violence is connected to other authoritarian tactics, like disinformation and efforts to corrupt elections, that sets a dangerous path for our democracy that we cannot ignore.”

While threats and harassment against lawmakers and political candidates appear to have increased across many government institutions, they are not evenly distributed.

One study of online messages sent to 2020 congressional candidates found that women, particularly women of color, were more likely to be the target of abusive content. Of all the candidates reviewed, the progressive congresswoman Ilhan Omar, who is Somali American, received the highest proportion of abusive messages on Twitter. Fellow progressive congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who is Puerto Rican American, saw the most abusive comments on Facebook.

Women of color serving in Congress have spoken publicly about the threats they face, which have become a regular part of their lives on Capitol Hill.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who saw the most abusive comments on Facebook.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who saw the most abusive comments on Facebook. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Congresswoman Jahana Hayes, who is Black, told PBS Newshour last year: “I remember, at the beginning of the 116th Congress [in 2019]when we were just spotlighting and highlighting the beautiful diversity of this incoming Congress, but then, on every caucus call, we had members who were getting death threats on a daily basis.”

The acts of political violence carried out in the US are also unevenly distributed across the ideological spectrum. According to a study conducted by the Anti-Defamation League, rightwing extremists have committed about 75% of the 450 political murders that occurred in the US over the past decade. In comparison, Islamic extremists were responsible for about 20% of the murders, while leftwing extremists were blamed for 4% of the killings.

Expert argue the frequency of rightwing violence compared with leftwing violence can be partly explained by Republican leaders’ failure to condemn threatening rhetoric.

“We see justifications for violence that are similar on the left and right,” said Rachel Kleinfeld, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace who studies political conflict. “But we see incidents of violence that are vastly higher on the right and that has to do with all of the normalization of violence from leaders on the right.”

That normalization has been on vivid display over the past couple of years in the US. Donald Trump infamously referred to his supporters of him who carried out the deadly January 6 insurrection as “very special”, telling them: “We love you.” Trump was impeached by the Democratic-controlled House for his role in the 6 January riot, but acquitted in the Senate.

Last year, House Democrats, over near-unanimous Republican opposition, voted to strip the far-right congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene of her committee assignments, after it was discovered that she had previously expressed support for assassinating Barack Obama and the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi .

In November, Congressman Paul Gosar received the same punishment, as well as a House censorship, after he shared an animated video depicting violence against Joe Biden and Ocasio-Cortez. Only two Republicans supported the censorship.

Most recently, the Senate candidate Eric Greitens was widely criticized for airing a campaign ad that appeared to encourage violence against more moderate Republicans. In the ad, Greitens, who resigned as Missouri governor over allegations of sexual harassment, is seen carrying a shotgun and bursting into homes as he urges the “hunting” of Rinos, meaning Republicans in Name Only.

Research indicates that the messages supporters receive from their political leaders have a large impact on whether they actually carry out violent acts, several experts said. In experiments conducted by Mason and her colleagues, some participants were asked to read a quote from Biden or Trump condemning violence while others read nothing. Those who had read the quote were significantly less approving of violence.

“Leaders are actually uniquely powerful in being able to tamp down violence,” Mason said. “Republicans in particular are not using that power. And they could, but they’re not.”

Although political leaders are particularly powerful when it comes to reducing violent rhetoric, Mason’s research indicates that average people may have some leverage of their own. Mason’s team saw some positive results when they asked participants to read messages from random Twitter users condemning political violence. For the overwhelming majority of Americans who oppose such violence, the findings could offer some hope.

“For Americans in general, I think it’s sort of empowering to know that every single one of us has the potential to reduce violence by simply rejecting it,” Mason said. “We can all do that. All the 80% of us who don’t think violence is acceptable to have a real voice, and it’s important to use it.”

Categories
US

US faces new era of political violence as threats against lawmakers rise | House of Representatives

Members of the US House of Representatives will now receive up to $10,000 to upgrade security at their homes in the face of rising threats against lawmakers, the House sergeant at arms announced last week, in yet another sign that American politics has entered a dangerous, violent new phase.

As support for political violence appears to be on the rise in the US, experts warn that such threats endanger the health of America’s democracy. But they say the country still has time to tamp down violent rhetoric if political leaders, particularly those in the Republican party, stand up and condemn this alarming behavior.

The announcement about increasing security for people in Congress came days after a man attacked Lee Zeldin, a New York congressman and Republican gubernatorial candidate, with a sharp object during a campaign event.

Two weeks before that, a man was arrested outside the home of Pramila Jayapal, chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, for allegedly shouting racist obscenities and threatening to kill her. Last month, authorities filed federal charges against a man who they say traveled from California to Maryland with the attempt to murder the supreme court justice Brett Kavanaugh.

Public service has clearly become an increasingly dangerous endeavor in America.

Recent polls show an increasing number of Americans are comfortable with political violence, although there is a wide range of opinions on the type of violence that is acceptable.

Lee Zeldin stands onstage after an attack on him during an event in Fairport, New York, on 21 July.
Lee Zeldin stands onstage after an attack on him during an event in Fairport, New York, on 21 July. Photograph: Ian Winner/Reuters

According to a mega-survey conducted by researchers at the University of California, Davis, and released this month, one in five US adults say political violence is justified at least in some circumstances. A much smaller portion of survey respondents, 3%, believe that political violence is usually or always justified.

Liliana Mason, a political science professor at Johns Hopkins University and co-author of Radical American Partisanship: Mapping Violent Hostility, Its Causes, and the Consequences for Democracy, said the phrasing of survey questions on political violence can drastically affect results. But having studied such polling since 2017, Mason said it is clear that support for political violence is indeed on the rise in the US.

“I think of it as pretty low numbers of people who actually approve of violence at all,” Mason said. “The problem is that, if you go from 7% to 20%, that means that there are certain social spaces where the norms around anti-violence are eroding.”

The impact of that trend can be seen at every level of American government, from the halls of Capitol Hill to local polling places.

The US Capitol police reported 9,625 threats and directions of interest (meaning concerning actions or statements) against members of Congress last year, compared to 3,939 such instances in 2017.

The members of the House select committee investigating the January 6 insurrection have frequently been the targets of violent threats, requiring them to obtain personal security details.

One member of the committee, Republican Adam Kinzinger, recently shared a threatening letter sent to his wife last month. The sender vowed to execute Kinzinger, his wife and their newborn son. He is not seeking re-election in 2022.

Even those who help administer elections in the US have reported an increase in threats against them. According to a poll conducted by the Brennan Center for Justice this year, one in six election officials have received threats because of their job, and 77% believe threats against them have increased in recent years.

Jennifer McCoy, a political science professor at Georgia State University whose research focuses on polarized democracies, said: “The kinds of threats and intimidation to … election administration officials and poll workers is very concerning and is also new.”

The apparent increase in threats against public servants has sparked broader concerns about the health of American democracy, particularly in the wake of the January 6 insurrection.

“There is simply no place for political violence in a healthy democracy. The increase in threats and harassment being leveled at people across our government is deeply concerning,” said Jennifer Dresden, policy advocate for the group Protect Democracy.

“To be clear, we’re not yet at a point where political violence has fundamentally undermined our democracy. But when violence is connected to other authoritarian tactics, like disinformation and efforts to corrupt elections, that sets a dangerous path for our democracy that we cannot ignore.”

While threats and harassment against lawmakers and political candidates appear to have increased across many government institutions, they are not evenly distributed.

One study of online messages sent to 2020 congressional candidates found that women, particularly women of color, were more likely to be the target of abusive content. Of all the candidates reviewed, the progressive congresswoman Ilhan Omar, who is Somali American, received the highest proportion of abusive messages on Twitter. Fellow progressive congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who is Puerto Rican American, saw the most abusive comments on Facebook.

Women of color serving in Congress have spoken publicly about the threats they face, which have become a regular part of their lives on Capitol Hill.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who saw the most abusive comments on Facebook.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who saw the most abusive comments on Facebook. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Congresswoman Jahana Hayes, who is Black, told PBS Newshour last year: “I remember, at the beginning of the 116th Congress [in 2019]when we were just spotlighting and highlighting the beautiful diversity of this incoming Congress, but then, on every caucus call, we had members who were getting death threats on a daily basis.”

The acts of political violence carried out in the US are also unevenly distributed across the ideological spectrum. According to a study conducted by the Anti-Defamation League, rightwing extremists have committed about 75% of the 450 political murders that occurred in the US over the past decade. In comparison, Islamic extremists were responsible for about 20% of the murders, while leftwing extremists were blamed for 4% of the killings.

Expert argue the frequency of rightwing violence compared with leftwing violence can be partly explained by Republican leaders’ failure to condemn threatening rhetoric.

“We see justifications for violence that are similar on the left and right,” said Rachel Kleinfeld, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace who studies political conflict. “But we see incidents of violence that are vastly higher on the right and that has to do with all of the normalization of violence from leaders on the right.”

That normalization has been on vivid display over the past couple of years in the US. Donald Trump infamously referred to his supporters of him who carried out the deadly January 6 insurrection as “very special”, telling them: “We love you.” Trump was impeached by the Democratic-controlled House for his role in the 6 January riot, but acquitted in the Senate.

Last year, House Democrats, over near-unanimous Republican opposition, voted to strip the far-right congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene of her committee assignments, after it was discovered that she had previously expressed support for assassinating Barack Obama and the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi .

In November, Congressman Paul Gosar received the same punishment, as well as a House censorship, after he shared an animated video depicting violence against Joe Biden and Ocasio-Cortez. Only two Republicans supported the censorship.

Most recently, the Senate candidate Eric Greitens was widely criticized for airing a campaign ad that appeared to encourage violence against more moderate Republicans. In the ad, Greitens, who resigned as Missouri governor over allegations of sexual harassment, is seen carrying a shotgun and bursting into homes as he urges the “hunting” of Rinos, meaning Republicans in Name Only.

Research indicates that the messages supporters receive from their political leaders have a large impact on whether they actually carry out violent acts, several experts said. In experiments conducted by Mason and her colleagues, some participants were asked to read a quote from Biden or Trump condemning violence while others read nothing. Those who had read the quote were significantly less approving of violence.

“Leaders are actually uniquely powerful in being able to tamp down violence,” Mason said. “Republicans in particular are not using that power. And they could, but they’re not.”

Although political leaders are particularly powerful when it comes to reducing violent rhetoric, Mason’s research indicates that average people may have some leverage of their own. Mason’s team saw some positive results when they asked participants to read messages from random Twitter users condemning political violence. For the overwhelming majority of Americans who oppose such violence, the findings could offer some hope.

“For Americans in general, I think it’s sort of empowering to know that every single one of us has the potential to reduce violence by simply rejecting it,” Mason said. “We can all do that. All the 80% of us who don’t think violence is acceptable to have a real voice, and it’s important to use it.”

Categories
US

North Carolina pilot Charles Hew Crooks dies after he mysteriously falling out of plane

A North Carolina pilot died under mysterious circumstances Friday afternoon, officials said.

Charles Hew Crooks, 23, was one of two people onboard the small, 10-person plane Friday but it landed with just one person in Wake County, North Carolina, WRAL reported.

Authorities say Crooks either jumped or fell from the plane in midair without a parachute.

According to the report, the remaining co-pilot safely conducted an emergency landing at Raleigh-Durham International Airport after reporting to air traffic control that the plane had lost its right wheel and was taken to the hospital with minor injuries.

Dozens of first responders were at the Raleigh-Durham International Airport and several other officers canvassed the local area and the plane’s flight path to search for Crooks’ body.

His body was found later that evening, around 7 pm, in the woods behind a Fuquay-Varina residential area, about 30 miles from the Raleigh-Durham International Airport, authorities said.

Police said later the body landed about 30 to 40 feet from a home and its residents alerted law enforcement officials who were canvassing the area.

It remains unclear if the 23-year-old Charles Hew Crooks fell from the plane or jumped.
It remains unclear if the 23-year-old Charles Hew Crooks fell from the plane or jumped.
YouTube / WRAL TV

Wake County Emergency Management chief of operations Darshan Patel told a group of reporters that the residents reached out to the law enforcement officers after they “heard something in their backyard.”

During a press conference that evening, Fuquay-Varina Police Chief Brandon Medina said Crooks’ body fell at least 3,500 feet. He said it was not immediately clear if the pilot was dead before the fall but that authorities are continuing to investigate the incident.

Chief Medina did not say if the investigation is being treated as a criminal investigation, only that the situation was “unique.”

Chief Brandon Medina.
Chief Brandon Medina address the media about the incident and investigation on July 29, 2022.
Wake County Government/Twitte

“I believe this was a first for many of us that were working on this incident today,” Patel added.

Crooks recently obtained his pilot’s license and loved to fly, his family said, WRAL reported.

When asked about the death, Hew Crooks, the deceased pilot’s father, said: “We can’t process it right now, I don’t know.”

“He pursued his private pilot license while he was in college. I think he got that when he was a sophomore,” Crooks added. “He said a couple of weeks ago, he wouldn’t trade places with anybody in the world. He loved where he was.”

Regarding the mysterious details surrounding the death, the father said he “can’t imagine what happened.”

“We’ll figure it out, I suppose,” he concluded.

The surviving co-pilot was released from the hospital after they were treated for minor injuries, WRAL reported.

The police chief said National Transportation Safety Board investigators are leading the investigation. Federal, state and local authorities are assisting in the investigation.

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US

Some Appalachia residents begin cleanup after deadly floods

PRESTONBURG, Ky. (AP) — Some residents of Appalachia returned to flood-ravaged homes and communities on Saturday to shovel mud and debris and to salvage what they could, while Kentucky’s governor said search and rescue operations were ongoing in the region swamped by torrential rains days earlier that led to deadly flash flooding.

Rescue crews were continuing the struggle to get into hard-hit areas, some of them among the poorest places in America. Dozens of deaths have been confirmed and the number is expected to grow.

In the tiny community of Wayland, Phillip Michael Caudill was working Saturday to clean up debris and recover what he could from the home he shares with his wife and three children. The waters had receded from the house but left a mess behind along with questions about what he and his family will do next.

“We’re just hoping we can get some help,” said Caudill, who is staying with his family at Jenny Wiley State Park in a free room, for now.

Caudill, a firefighter in the nearby Garrett community, went out on rescues around 1 am Thursday but had to ask to leave around 3 am so he could go home, where waters were rapidly rising.

“That’s what made it so tough for me,” he said. “Here I am, sitting there, watching my house become immersed in water and you got people begging for help. And I could n’t help, ”because he was tending to his own family from him.

The water was up to his knees when he arrived home and he had to wade across the yard and carry two of his kids out to the car. He could barely shut the door of his SUV as they were leaving.

In Garrett on Saturday, couches, tables and pillows soaked by flooding were stacked in yards along the foothills of the mountainous region as people worked to clear out debris and shovel mud from driveways and roads under now-blue skies.

Hubert Thomas, 60, and his nephew Harvey, 37, fled to Jenny Wiley State Resort Park in Prestonburg after floodwaters destroyed their home in Pine Top late Wednesday night. The two were able to rescue their dog, CJ, but fear the damages to the home are beyond repair. Hubert Thomas, a retired coal miner, said his entire life savings was invested in his home.

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“I’ve got nothing now,” he said.

Harvey Thomas, an EMT, said he fell asleep to the sound of light rain, and it wasn’t long until his uncle woke him up warning him that water was getting dangerously close to the house.

“It was coming inside and it just kept getting worse,” he said, “like there was, at one point, we looked at the front door and mine and his cars were playing bumper cars, like bumper boats in the middle of our front yard.”

As for what’s next, Harvey Thomas said he doesn’t know, but he’s thankful to be alive.

“Mountain people are strong,” he said. “And like I said it’s not going to be tomorrow, probably not next month, but I think everybody’s going to be okay. It’s just going to be a long process.”

At least 25 people have died — including four children — in the flooding, Kentucky’s governor said Saturday.

“We continue to pray for the families that have suffered an unfathomable loss,” Gov. Andy Beshear said. ”Some having lost almost everyone in their household.”

Beshear said the number would likely rise significantly and it could take weeks to find all the victims of the record flash flooding. Crews have made more than 1,200 rescues from helicopters and boats, the governor said.

“I’m worried that we’re going to be finding bodies for weeks to come,” Beshear said during a midday briefing.

The rain let up early Friday after parts of eastern Kentucky received between 8 and 10 1/2 inches (20-27 centimeters) over 48 hours. But some waterways were not expected to crest until Saturday. About 18,000 utility customers in Kentucky remained without power Saturday, poweroutage.us reported.

It’s the latest in a string of catastrophic deluges that have pounded parts of the US this summer, including St. Louis earlier this week and again on Friday. Scientists warn climate change is making weather disasters more common.

As rainfall hammered Appalachia this week, water tumbled down hillsides and into valleys and hollows where it swelled creeks and streams coursing through small towns. The torrent engulfed homes and businesses and trashed vehicles. Mudslides marooned some people on steep slopes.

President Joe Biden declared a federal disaster to direct relief money to more than a dozen Kentucky counties.

The flooding extended into western Virginia and southern West Virginia.

Gov. Jim Justice declared a state of emergency for six counties in West Virginia where the flooding downed trees, power outages and blocked roads. Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin also made an emergency declaration, enabling officials to mobilize resources across the flooded southwest of the state.

The deluge came two days after record rains around St. Louis dropped more than 12 inches (31 centimeters) and killed at least two people. Last month, heavy rain on mountain snow in Yellowstone National Park triggered historic flooding and the evacuation of more than 10,000 people. In both instances, the rain flooding far exceeded what forecasters predicted.

Extreme rain events have become more common as climate change bakes the planet and alters weather patterns, according to scientists. That’s a growing challenge for officials during disasters, because models used to predict storm impacts are in part based on past events and can’t keep up with increasingly devastating flash floods and heat waves like those that have recently hit the Pacific Northwest and southern Plains.

“It’s a battle of extremes going on right now in the United States,” said University of Oklahoma meteorologist Jason Furtado. “These are things we expect to happen because of climate change. … A warmer atmosphere holds more water vapor and that means you can produce increased heavy rainfall.”

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AP journalist Patrick Orsagos contributed to this report.

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