A Hurricane Watch and Storm Surge Watch remains in effect from High Island down to the Texas/Mexico border. The center of the NHC forecast cone is focused in on Matagorda Bay, though the east side of the cone includes parts of Galveston Island, and there are some forecast models pulling the storm east of the Matagorda Bay center-line. The worst of the weather in Southeast Texas will be felt Monday as the storm makes landfall, and an ABC13 Weather Alert Day has been issued for Monday and Tuesday.
July 5 Update 10:00 p.m.
The Hurricane Watch has been extended to San Luis Pass and the Storm Surge Watch has been extended to High Island as the forecast cone for Beryl is now centered on Matagorda Bay. We are still anticipating a hurricane landfall Monday morning with high impacts to Southeast Texas. While Beryl is a struggling tropical storm now, it is expected to re-strengthen and become a hurricane again before landfall in Texas.
SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas — Shark attacks disrupted Fourth of July celebrations Thursday at South Padre Island as two people were taken to the hospital with bites, at least one of them severe, authorities said.
Police were called for the attack on the man who was severely bitten around 11 a.m., according to Nikki Soto, the South Padre Island city secretary. He was initially treated at the beach by firefighters and police.
The Texas Parks & Wildlife Department said later in a statement that two people were bitten and two more “encountered” the shark but were not seriously hurt. One of the bite victims was taken to a hospital in Brownsville, and the other was “flown out for further treatment.”
Game Warden Capt. Chris Dowdy said that based on witness reports and images on social media, authorities believe a single shark about 6 feet long was responsible.
Soto said beach patrol, firefighters, and police were patrolling the shore and flying drones after the attacks.
The last reported shark attack in the area was five years ago, according to Dowdy.
Texas Parks & Wildlife is assisting with the investigation.
Hurricane Beryl is a cat 2 storm as it makes landfall on Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula this morning. This will bring significant impacts to many highly populated and often-traveled locations such as Cancun and Cozumel. Beyond the Yucatan, a weakened Beryl emerge in the Gulf of Mexico Saturday, regaining strength with warm water and low wind shear. The latest track from the National Hurricane Center has an eventual landfall on Monday morning anywhere from northern Mexico to Corpus Christi. Forecast models continue to favor the northern edge of the track, making the most likely landfall location somewhere from Brownsville to Corpus Christi.
Our coastal impacts will begin as early as Sunday, will elevated tides and rip currents. Tropical rains will push into Southeast Texas early next week, with many locations picking up between 3-5 inches of rain between Monday and Thursday. Our risk of seeing hurricane force winds is low, and we will continue to monitor the latest forecast modeling as the storm approaches.
July 4 Update 8:30 p.m.
The Hurricane Hunters have confirmed that Beryl is now a category 3 hurricane with 115 mph winds as it makes its final approach to the Yucatan peninsula. We’ll have a new track forecast from the National Hurricane Center by 10 p.m.
July 4 Update 8 p.m.
The Hurricane Hunters have confirmed that Beryl is indeed strengthening again on its approach to the Yucatan peninsula. We’ll have a new track forecast from the National Hurricane Center by 10 p.m.
“I’m humbled, obviously, to be in this position,” Campbell said. You speak to the word first, to be the first. But that’s never really where my focus is, it’s always on the work, it’s on the impact, it’s on the job. There’s a lot to this game and to this job, and so, I’ve never taken it for granted.
“Though I am honored to be the first, I don’t want to be the only, and I honestly don’t feel like I’m the only in this organization. That’s also a very special feeling to be part of the Seattle Kraken organization and the staff and to stand by all the other remarkable women in this this League that are maybe not behind the benches. But there’s a long list of incredible women that are doing phenomenal jobs, here in management, scouting, player development. I’m just excited to do my part now behind the bench.”
Campbell, 32, joined the Kraken organization two seasons ago as an assistant in Coachella Valley, Seattle’s affiliate in the American Hockey League. She was the first woman to coach in AHL history.
Dan Bylsma was the coach of Coachella Valley for the past two seasons. He was named coach of the Kraken on May 28 after leading the Firebirds to back-to-back appearances in the Calder Cup, the AHL’s championship series. Coachella Valley lost to Hershey in each of those appearances.
He replaced Dave Hakstol, the first coach in the four-season history of the franchise. Hakstol was fired after the Kraken went 34-35-13 last season and finished 17 points removed from a Stanley Cup Playoff position
Bylsma, who won the Stanley Cup as coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009, said he is impressed with Campbell’s work ethic and her ability to help younger prospects to develop, He mentioned forwards Tye Kartye and Shane Wright and defenseman Ryker Evans as examples.
Kartye opened eyes after a call-up during the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2023. This season, the undrafted forward had 20 points (11 goals, nine assists) in 77 regular-season games. Shane Wright, the No. 4 pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, had four goals in eight NHL games this season. Evans, 22, played his first 36 NHL games last season and had nine points (one goal, eight assists).
“Over the last two years the work with Tye Kartye and Shane Wright and Ryker Evans has clearly been evident,” Bylsma said. “She’s been able to develop those players, develop them as people and, most importantly, as hockey players. Jess is going to be working with the forwards and I am super excited about that.”
Campbell will also work with the power play, helping veteran assistant Bob Woods, who was also hired Wednesday. The 56-year-old has been a NHL assistant for the Minnesota Wild, Washington Capitals, Anaheim Ducks and Buffalo Sabres.
“With Jess helping me here, she’s going to be awesome,” Woods said. “I’ve only known her for a few days, but she’s good, she’s really good. And she’s going to be very beneficial for me.”
Seattle general manager Ron Francis first became aware of Campbell when she was an assistant coach for the men’s national team in Germany. A former NHL teammate, Tom Rowe, was also involved in the German program and recommended Campbell as someone who could teach skills and help behind a bench.
Francis took the chance, hiring her for Coachella Valley and watching closely to see how she handled the added responsibility and pressure.
To say he has been impressed would be an understatement.
“I’ve had the opportunity to watch her work the last couple years,” Francis said. “Probably not something she liked, but I sat in some power-play meetings that she was presenting, just to kind of get a sense of how it was going. And, you know, she’s got a real good knowledge of the game, a real good skill set in the development part as well. So I think the staff complements each other. And I think Dan’s done a good job putting it all together. We’re excited to see what it holds for us going forward.”
Campbell played four seasons of NCAA hockey for Cornell and then played professionally in Canada and Sweden. Eventually she became a skating and skills coach, building up a client base that featured several NHL players.
It was then that she started thinking about coaching. She wasn’t sure how it would happen, but she also intrinsically believed it to be a possibility to reach this level.
Now she is here and she is ready to embrace the opportunity.
“Just to believe anything is possible,” Campbell said. “Maybe in a naive way, I’ve had the courage to believe that this could be possible. Even though I didn’t see it, I believed I could do it. And I think that with that inner belief, whatever it is, in sport, in life, you can create whatever you believe in.
“I think what’s special and I’m excited about here in Seattle, whether it’s a young girl or young boy’s first NHL game, they’re never going to see anything different than what they can possibly become. And I’m happy to be able to play that role and picture that for the young kids.”
Sources told ABC News on Wednesday that President Joe Biden has privately acknowledged that the next few days are critical to determining whether he can stay in the race for a second term.
“This is false,” White House senior deputy press secretary Andrew Bates said about the ABC News reporting and similar accounts from other news organizations.
Biden has privately told at least two people close to him in the last few days that he recognizes how difficult his political predicament is.
While he still views himself as the best candidate to defeat Donald Trump, he signaled to one ally that he is keeping an “open mind” about his path forward, sources familiar with conversations tell ABC News.
President Joe Biden will sit down with ABC News on Friday
He has campaign events scheduled in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania in the coming days, an interview scheduled with ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos on Friday, and a news conference next week at the NATO summit. All of those events represent big opportunities for Biden to change public perceptions, according to those around him.
Publicly and privately, the president is making calls and arranging meetings to communicate his view that he remains the strongest candidate to take on Trump.
Over the last few days, he has spoken to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Chris Coons, Rep. Jim Clyburn, among others.
Biden was scheduled to have a private lunch with Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday and a meeting with Democratic governors later in the day, important marking points. Both were added to his schedule in the aftermath of the debate.
A person close to the president says he understands the stakes of this election and the importance of defeating Trump and has continued to insist he is ready for this moment.
“I would not be running again if I didn’t believe with all my heart and soul I can do this job,” Biden said in North Carolina after the debate.
Biden to Meet with Dem Leaders, Hold Press Conference and Interview with ABC to push back against pressure to leave the President…Show more
Biden has been consistent that he doesn’t want to be pressured into making the decision; he has remained “calm” during this moment, according to people who have interacted with him. Close members and associates are giving him space to see if that continues.
Separately, The New York Times has reported that Biden is weighing whether to continue in the race, a claim that the campaign is angrily denying.
“That claim is absolutely false. If the New York Times had provided us with more than 7 minutes to comment we would have told them so,” Bates said.
Sources contacted by ABC News said he has not gone so far, to their knowledge, as to say he cannot salvage his campaign.
DETROIT — Tesla’s global sales fell for the second straight quarter despite price cuts and low-interest financing offers, another sign of weakening demand for the company’s products and electric vehicles overall.
The Austin, Texas, company said Tuesday that it sold 443,956 vehicles from April through June, down 4.8% from 466,140 sold the same period a year ago. But the sales were better than the 436,000 that analysts had expected.
The better-than-expected deliveries pushed Tesla’s stock up 10% Tuesday. The stock is down about 7% so far this year, but it has nearly erased larger losses from prior months. Tesla shares had been down more than 40% earlier in the year, but are up more than 60% since hitting a 52-week low in April.
Demand for EVs worldwide is slowing, but they’re still growing for most automakers. Tesla, with an aging model lineup and relatively high average selling prices, has struggled more than other manufacturers. Still it retained the title of the world’s top-selling electric vehicle maker.
For the first half of the year, Tesla sold 830,766 electric vehicles worldwide, handily beating China’s BYD, which sold 726,153 EVs.
Tesla also sold over 33,000 more vehicles during the second quarter than it produced, which should reduce the company’s inventory on hand at its stores.
Tesla’s sales decline comes as competition is increasing from legacy and startup automakers, which are trying to nibble away at the company’s market share. Most other automakers will report U.S. sales figures later Tuesday.
Tesla gave no explanation for the sales decline, which is a harbinger of what to expect when it posts second-quarter earnings on July 23.
Nearly all of Tesla’s sales came from the smaller and less-expensive Models 3 and Y, with the company selling only 21,551 of its more expensive models that include X and S, as well as the new Cybertruck.
The sales decline came despite Tesla knocking $2,000 off the prices of three of its five models in the United States in April. The company cut the prices of the Model Y, Tesla’s most popular model and the top-selling electric vehicle in the U.S., and also of the Models X and S.
The April cuts reduced the starting price for a Model Y to $42,990 and to $72,990 for a Model S and $77,990 for a Model X. Last week, Tesla lopped $2,340 off the $38,990 base price of some newly revamped Model 3s that were in the inventory shipped to its stores.
In addition, Tesla in May offered 0.99% financing for up to six years on the Model Y. In June, it offered interest as low as 1.99% for three years on the rear-wheel-drive Model 3. Typical new-vehicle interest rates average just over 7%, according to Edmunds.com.
Also during the quarter, Tesla knocked roughly a third off the price of its “Full Self Driving” system – which can’t drive itself and so drivers must remain alert and be ready to intervene – to $8,000 from $12,000, according to the company website.
Jessica Caldwell, head of insights for Edmunds.com, said Tesla is having trouble in a market where most early adopters already have EVs, and mainstream buyers are more skeptical that electric cars can meet their needs.
Tesla’s “haphazard” price cuts don’t work as well as they once did because consumers now expect them, she said. “We’ve seen the automaker exhaust its bag of tricks by lowering prices and increasing incentives to spur demand without much success in the U.S. market,” Caldwell said.
Also, Tesla’s aging model lineup doesn’t look much different than it did years ago she said. And with price cuts, used Tesla prices tumbled. Anyone wanting a Tesla can get a far better deal buying a used one, Caldwell said.
Caldwell doesn’t see any big catalyst this year that would boost Tesla sales unless gasoline prices spike, and she said Musk’s shift to the right since taking over Twitter has hurt the brand’s image.
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives wrote in a note to investors Tuesday that second-quarter sales were a “huge comeback performance” for Tesla. “In a nutshell, the worst is in the rearview mirror for Tesla,” he wrote. The company, he wrote, cut 10% to 15% of its workforce to reduce costs and preserve profitability. “It appears better days are now ahead as the growth story returns,” Ives wrote.
In its letter to investors in January, Tesla predicted “notably lower” sales growth this year. The letter said Tesla is between two big growth waves, one from global expansion of the Models 3 and Y, and a second coming from the Model 2, a new, smaller and less expensive vehicle with an unknown release date.
Tesla is scheduled to unveil a purpose built robotaxi at an event on Aug. 8.
A new search warrant filed by investigators on Monday claims Taral Patel, 30, impersonated a district judge using a fake Facebook profile, the same one who was coincidentally assigned to preside over his first case.
Patel was first arrested by the Texas Rangers on June 12 for online impersonation and a Class A misdemeanor charge for misrepresentation of identity, which is found under the Texas Election Code.
According to arrest warrant documents, Pct. 3 Commissioner Andy Meyers requested the Fort Bend County District Attorney’s Office (FBCDAO) launch an investigation in October regarding the source behind several social media posts directed at Patel, his opponent.
This came after Patel issued a statement on his social media accounts with a collage of racist posts that he claimed were directed at him. The FBCDAO linked one of those accounts under the fake name of “Antonio Scalywag” back to Patel, after issuing a subpoena to Facebook and Google.
Investigators noticed that the Scalywag account was Facebook friends with Judge Surendran Pattel, who oversees Fort Bend County’s 240th district court. The fake profile communicated with Pattel’s page, posting several “complimentary” comments and even had a conversation through private messages.
The conversation appeared friendly until Judge Pattel appeared upset with something Scalywag had posted publicly. According to the warrant, in November 2023, Scalywag’s messages to the judge went unanswered.
When authorities confiscated Patel’s cell phone during his arrest last month, they found that it contained an impersonated Facebook account for Judge Pattel. The fake profile has been up since at least December 2023 and is linked to one of Patel’s email addresses.
When investigators showed Judge Pattel the Facebook page, he stated that he did not create the profile nor authorize anyone else to create it on his behalf. He said that his name and photo were used without his consent.
Coincidentally, this is the same judge that was assigned to oversee Patel’s first case. Court records show Patel has since been reassigned to a different judge.
In a statement to ABC13, Judge Pattel wrote, “What is revealed in the public record is alarming and unsettling.”
However, he declined to answer questions about whether he knew Patel or had any interactions with him.
A spokesperson for the Fort Bend County District Attorney’s Office said Patel could potentially face a second third-degree felony charge for online impersonation, depending on what the FBDAO finds in contents requested from the search warrant.
Patel’s next court appearance is scheduled for July 22. He did not respond to requests for comment.
The Fort Bend County Democrats said that so far, nothing has changed with Patel’s candidacy filing.
NEW YORK CITY — Delta Airlines says a flight from Detroit to Amsterdam had to divert to JFK Airport early Wednesday morning after passengers were served spoiled food.
Delta Flight 136 was en route from Detroit to The Netherlands when some of the in-flight meal service was discovered to have been spoiled.
The flight with 277 customers onboard took off from Detroit around 11 p.m. landed safely at JFK around 4 a.m.
A spokesperson for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs the airport, said 14 of the plane’s 277 passengers as well as 10 crew members were treated by medical personnel when the flight landed. None of them required hospitalization.
It was not clear how many of the flight’s 277 passengers ate the spoiled food.
Delta is investigating how the food was spoiled.
They released a statement saying: “Delta flight 136 from Detroit to Amsterdam diverted to New York’s JFK early Wednesday morning after it was discovered that a portion of the in-flight meal service was spoiled. Medical crews were on-site to meet the aircraft and treat any affected passengers and crew members. Delta teams will immediately work to gather information into how this incident occurred. This is not the service Delta is known for and we sincerely apologize to our customers for the inconvenience and delay in their travels.”
Beryl weakened overnight after impacting Jamaica and entering an area of higher wind shear late Wednesday. Beryl is now a category 3 storm with winds of 120 mph and gusts of 150 mph. Still, Beryl is a major hurricane and has been for now 5 days in a row. The latest track has Beryl making landfall along the Yucatan early Friday morning south of Cozumel as a category 1 or 2 hurricane. Beryl will weaken more to a tropical storm as it tracks over the Yucatan Peninsula before making it’s way into the Gulf of Mexico over the weekend. From there, Beryl will be a tropical storm but could strengthen again to a category 1 hurricane before making landfall along the north Mexico or south Texas coast near Monday.
Currently landfall along the gulf coast is just south of Brownsville in northern Mexico. However, there are some signs that landfall could shift farther north into the Texas coast, which is something we’re closely watching.
Southeast Texas is not out of the woods just yet though. With the current track of the storm, Houston could be impacted by tropical downpours early next week. Coastal communities might even have higher tides too. Each of these impacts though are the bare minimum. If Bery’s track shifts farther north for a landfall along the Texas Coast, then our impacts grow too.
Elsewhere in the tropics, the tropical wave behind Beryl near the Lesser Antilles has a 20 percent chance of developing over the next 7 days as it makes it ways across the Caribbean behind Beryl.
Quintana Roo,MX .- El gobierno de Quintana Roo ha decretado la alerta naranja en los municipios del oeste, sur y centro del estado debido al inminente acercamiento del huracán Beryl.
Esta fase de alerta indica un peligro alto para la población de estas áreas. Por otro lado, los municipios del norte y este del estado se mantienen en alerta amarilla, lo que representa un peligro moderado.
La gobernadora del estado, Mara Lezama, utilizó su cuenta de X para recordar a la población las medidas preventivas que deben tomar.
Lezama subrayó la importancia de vigilar el nivel del agua en caso de vivir cerca de ríos o lagunas, cerrar puertas y ventanas, cortar el suministro de gas y electricidad, evacuar las zonas de riesgo y acudir a un refugio temporal si la vivienda no es segura.
⚠️🟠¡ACTUALIZACIÓN IMPORTANTE! Todos los municipios de #QuintanaRoo entran en #AlertaNaranja por el acercamiento del huracán Beryl! Fase de #PeligroAlto, el ciclón está cada vez más cerca de nuestras costas 🚨🟠.
Los municipios que han sido declarados en alerta naranja, lo que significa peligro alto, son:
Othón P. Blanco
Bacalar
José María Morelos
Tulum
Felipe Carrillo Puerto
Municipios en Alerta Amarilla
Mientras tanto, los siguientes municipios se encuentran en alerta amarilla, indicando un peligro moderado:
Cozumel
Isla Mujeres
Benito Juarez
Lazaro Cardenas
Solidaridad
Puerto Morelos
La gobernadora Lezama enfatizó que la prioridad es la seguridad de los habitantes y que se están tomando todas las medidas necesarias para enfrentar el impacto del huracán Beryl.
Las autoridades locales continúan monitoreando la situación y proporcionarán actualizaciones conforme avance el ciclo.
