Plane Crash on Tom Cruise Film Set Leaves 2 Dead

  David Fisher/REX 

by Anna Marie de la Fuente

A plane crash during the shoot of Tom Cruise’s movie “Mena” killed two and seriously injured a third person on Friday night in Medellin, Colombia.
 
Cruise, a trained pilot, was not on the plane. The two people killed were identified as American film pilot Alan David Purwin and Colombian Carlos Berl. Another American pilot, Jimmy Lee Garland, was severely injured and hospitalized in Medellin.
 
Purwin was founder and president of Los Angeles-based Helinet Technologies, which provides aerial surveillance technology to law enforcement and government agencies. He’s worked on such films as 
 
“Transformers,” “Pearl Harbor” and “Pirates of the Caribbean.”
 
Purwin was recently featured in Variety‘s Artisans video series in a segment about aerial photography. Purwin spoke of his efforts to “de-risk” as much as possible when working in dangerous conditions.
 
Local authorities believe that bad weather caused the twin-engine Aerostar to crash against the Alto de la Clarita mountain.
 
The Universal Pictures drama directed by Doug Liman has been shooting in Colombia since late August. Cruise plays Barry Seal, the American pilot who worked for Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar before he became a spy for the Drug Enforcement Agency. The film also stars Jesse Plemons, Domhnall Gleeson, Sarah Wright and Caleb Landry Jones.
 
“An aircraft carrying crew members crashed while returning to Enrique Olaya Herrera Airport in Medellin following production wrap on the film ‘Mena’ resulting in two fatalities,” a Universal spokesperson said in a statement. “Further details are not available at this time. On behalf of the production, our hearts and prayers go out to the crew members and their families at this difficult time.”
 
“Mena” was the first international production to tap the film incentives offered by Medellin, which offers cash rebates of up to 15%.

Filed Under:

• Alan Purwin
• Mena
• Tom Cruise

Active shooter reported at Tennessee movie theater

DEVELOPING STORY

UPDATE: Suspect dead! Multiple shots fired, tear gas used. Two back packs found.

by Paul Choate
ANTIOCH, Tenn. — Police are responding to a call of an active shooter at a Tennessee movie theater, according to WSMV.

The incident was reported at about 1:15 p.m. at the Carmike 8 Cinemas in Antioch, southeast of Nashville.

Dispatch confirmed to WSMV three EMS units were sent to the scene.

Witnesses at a nearby business said they saw one person covered in blood.


Filed in: Breaking News
Topics: theater shooting

NFL upholds 4-game suspension for Tom Brady in Deflategate case

by Everett Rosenfeld

Getty Images

Tom Brady during the Super Bowl last February.

 
This story is developing. Please check back for further updates.

The NFL said Tuesday that it has upheld its four-game suspension of New England Patriots Quarterback Tom Brady.

The decision, made by Commissioner Roger Goodell, was made in part because of "important new information" disclosed by Brady and his representatives during the appeal hearing, the NFL said.

This includes the June 18 disclosure that Brady had "directed that the cell phone he had used for the prior four months be destroyed" despite investigators' request to access information stored on that device.
 

Bobbi Kristina Brown, Daughter of Whitney Houston, Has Died

A representative for the Houston family has said Bobbi Kristina Brown, daughter of the late entertainer Whitney Houston and R&B singer Bobby Brown, has died, about 7 months after she was found face-down and unresponsive in a bathtub. She was 22 years old.
 
Kristen Foster said Sunday, "Bobbi Kristina Brown passed away July, 26 2015, surrounded by her family. She is finally at peace in the arms of God. We want to again thank everyone for their tremendous amount of love and support during these last few months."

Police said she was found Jan. 31 in the suburban Atlanta townhome she shared with Nick Gordon, the man she called her husband. A police report described it as a "drowning."
 
Bobbi Kristina was the only child between Houston and Brown.

Several people shot at movie theater in Lafayette, Louisiana

BREAKING NEWS! UPDATE: Third person has died. 7 injured. Shooter was 58 year old white male.

by David Mitchell
Lafayette , La. — A shooting was reported at a movie theater in Lafayette, Louisiana Thursday night.
 
KATC reported on its website several people were shot and the suspect may have been injured as well. It reported that state police confirmed the shooting at The Grand 16 Theater.

Several sources said the shooting happened during the movie “Trainwreck.” There were reports that at least seven people were hurt.

State police said there was no longer an active shooter situation.

This story is developing: Six shot, two dead including the gunman.

Country singer Daron Norwood found dead in Hereford apartment

Provided by the Ft. Worth Star Telegram/Associated Press
Police say country singer Daron Norwood has been found dead in his Texas apartment.

Hereford police spokesman Capt. Kirsten Williams said Thursday that investigators do not suspect foul play in Norwood's death. He was 49.

Williams says a cause of death was pending. Norwood's landlord found his body Wednesday afternoon.

Norwood was last seen Tuesday night with friends. The landlord stopped to check on Norwood, let himself in and found the singer's body in a bedroom. Williams says the body had no signs of trauma.

The singer had a 1994 self-titled album, "Daron Norwood." His 1995 album was, "Ready, Willing and Able." Norwood's songs included "If It Wasn't For Her I Wouldn't Have You," and "Cowboys Don't Cry." Norwood was born on September 30, 1965 in Tahoka.

Hereford is 40 miles southwest of Amarillo.

Link to his music page: https://daronnorwoodmusic.wordpress.com/.

Harrison Ford Plane Crashes ... Actor Seriously Injured!

BY TMZ STAFF  EXCLUSIVE:
A small plane piloted by Harrison Ford has crash-landed at an L.A. golf course ... but we're told the actor has survived. 

TMZ has learned ... Ford was piloting what appears to be a vintage 2-seater fighter plane Thursday ... when something went wrong and he crashed into Penmar golf course in Venice, CA.  

We're told Ford suffered multiple gashes to his head and was bleeding. Two doctors who happened to be at the golf course rushed over to treat the actor. 

Emergency personnel arrived to the scene a short time later. Ford was transported to a nearby hospital. 

72-year-old Ford is a longtime aviator -- piloting planes and helicopters -- and has crashed multiple times in the past. 

Story developing ...

Team Xtreme Racing trailer, Sprint Cup car stolen

by Jay Pennel / Hampton, GA

Team Xtreme Racing confirmed early Friday morning a trailer belonging to the team and containing the No. 44 Chevrolet that was supposed to be raced in this weekend's Sprint Cup event at Atlanta 

Motor Speedway was stolen from a Georgia hotel overnight.

A silver or gray Jeep Cherokee was seen leaving the hotel at the time of the theft, according to the police report. 

The incident forced the team to withdraw from the race.

"While this is obviously a setback for this weekend, our plans remain to compete in the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup season," said team owner John Cohen. "We are working closely with the police in hopes that our truck, trailer and race car are safely returned."

The team's main hauler was at Atlanta Motor Speedway Friday morning, but the car and trailer were still missing. Due to Wednesday's winter weather, the team sent its main hauler to Atlanta, but the team was not finished preparing the car at the shop, according to the team's hauler driver. Once work on the primary car was completed, it was sent to Atlanta in a trailer pulled by a dually truck. 

At 5:32 a.m. ET, the truck and trailer, with the car, were taken from the hotel parking lot. The team's hauler driver told FOXSports.com the theft was caught on camera. The team did not have a backup car as of Friday morning, and eventually informed NASCAR that it would be forced to withdraw from the race.

While Reed Sorenson piloted the Team Xtreme Racing Chevrolet to a 32nd-place finish in the season-opening Daytona 500, Travis Kvapil was slated to drive the car this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

"It's really bizarre," Kvapil said. "You can handle maybe getting a flat tire, or getting caught up in a wreck, or a blown engine, something that actually happens on the race track. Or you don't qualify, because you don't have enough speed. But to not even get a chance ... that's pretty disheartening."

A trailer with the red race car inside was hitched to a black 2004 Ford F-350 pickup truck parked outside a hotel in Morrow, Georgia, about 15 miles south of Atlanta and a short drive from the speedway, police said. Surveillance video showed the truck and trailer being driven out of the parking lot around 5:30 a.m., Morrow police Detective Sgt. Larry Oglesby said.

NASCAR Suspends Driver Kurt Busch Indefinitely

by Alex Nunez | Photography by Getty Images
In a story that is breaking now, NASCAR has suspended Stewart-Haas racing driver Kurt Busch indefinitely, “for actions detrimental to stock car racing.”

This comes in the wake of a restraining order granted to Busch’s ex-girlfriend, Patty Driscoll, on Monday. The other shoe dropped this afternoon when Kent County, Delaware, court commissioner David Jones released a written opinion on the matter in which he stated:
 
“It is more likely than not that on Sept. 26, 2014, (Busch) committed an act of abuse against (Driscoll) by manually strangling (Driscoll) with his left hand on her throat while placing his right hand against her chin and face, causing her head to forcefully strike the interior wall of (Busch’s) motor home, thereby recklessly causing physical injury to (Driscoll).”
 
The September incident allegedly took place in Busch’s motorhome at Dover International Speedway.
At this time, there’s no statement from Busch or Stewart-Haas Racing, though the team is said to have a contingency plan in place for Sunday’s Daytona 500. 

 In the court proceedings leading up to Driscoll being granted the order of protection, Busch famously made news when he claimed, under oath, that Driscoll was a trained assassin.

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Bobbi Kristina Brown's Family Meets to Discuss Taking Her Off Life Support

by Raphael Chestang
As Bobbi Kristina Brown remains in a medically induced coma, sources tell ET that her family is reportedly meeting today to decide whether or not she should remain on life support.

Bobbi Kristina's grandmother Cissy Houston and her father Bobby Brown have been maintaining a constant vigil by her bedside, and according to sources, the family strongly believes in the power of prayer and none of them wants to take Bobbi Kristina off of a ventilator.

Last week, Bobby Brown's nephew Shayne told ET that Bobbi Kristina is "progressing."

"She's getting better," Shayne said. "We just ask for people to continue to pray."

Bobbi Kristina, 21, was discovered unresponsive in her bath tub on Jan. 31, and was rushed to a hospital in Rosewell, Ga. The hospitalization came just days ahead of the third anniversary of her mother Whitney Houston's death.

While the family continues to hold out hope for Bobbi Kristina's recovery, Dr. Julian Bragg, a neurologist at Midtown Neurology in Atlanta, who is not one of Bobbi Kristina's doctors, tells ET about what the Houston-Brown families could be facing based on similar cases.

"The options presented to the family at this point are very difficult," Dr. Julian Bragg told ET. "People aren't able to predict what's going to happen. The big decision is often between what kind of life the person's going to have and how long they're going to have it. While very heroic measures can be taken to keep a body alive, often it's difficult to decide if that life is going to be the type that that person would want to live."

If Bobbi Kristina were to regain consciousness, Dr. Bragg tells ET it could be a long road to recovery.

"After spending more than two weeks in a medically induced coma, or for any cause, the body goes through a number of changes," Dr. Bragg says. "There is a significant decrease in muscle strength both in terms of moving the limbs and in terms of breathing. Often people require extensive strengthening not only in being able to sit, stand and move around, but even simpler things like swallowing and breathing."

In the unfortunate event of her passing, sources tell ET that any service for Bobbi Kristina would be held in Atlanta, where she grew up, but that her body would be laid to rest in New Jersey next to her beloved mother Whitney Houston.

Bruce Jenner involved in fatal car crash

Lead photo by Ray Tharaldson all rights reserved 2015

by Elizabeth Weise
Former Olympian Bruce Jenner was in one of the cars involved in a three-car crash that killed one person in Malibu, Calif, Saturday afternoon, 

Los Angeles Police say.
Jenner's publicist, Alan Nierob, says Jenner was unhurt, but offered no additional details.

Police deputies added that Jenner was not being chased by paparazzi at the time, contrary to earlier reports.

The crash occurred at approximately 12:12 pm Pacific time in the town of Malibu, at the corner of Pacific Coast Highway and Corral Canyon Road, said Sgt. Matthew Dunn of the Los Angeles Police Department."

There was one fatality," Dunn said. The crash is currently under investigation, he said.
City News Service reports that as many as seven people may have been injured.

A rescue helicopter landed at Pepperdine University, 2 miles east of the crash, to pick up one victim. It isn't clear if that was the person who has been declared dead.

Veronica Bermudez works at the Malibu Roadhouse restaurant, very close to the site of the accident."

There are still one, two, three, four cars out on the road, they've got it all blocked off," she said, looking out the window of the restaurant just after 2 pm."

It happened so fast, it was pretty bad," she said.

She didn't know what might have caused the crash as the roadway is generally not very busy, "there's not a lot of traffic here," she said.

She did wonder whether paparazzi following Jenner might have been involved.

"They were here right away, how could they have gotten here that fast otherwise?" she said.

After the accident they "just stayed on Pacific Coast Highway, taking pictures," she said. "I don't know why they have to follow him and not just leave him alone," she said.

"There were three or four cars involved, it was a big accident," said Shakeen Rahamal, who works at the 76 gas station close to the site of the crash.

Jenner has been much in the news in the past months because of speculation that he is transitioning from male to female.

#Bruce Jenner #Breaking News #Fatal Car Crash

Whitney Houston's Daughter, Bobbi Kristina Brown, Found Unresponsive in Bathtub

NBC News

Bobbi Kristina Brown, the daughter of the late singer Whitney Houston, was found unresponsive in a bathtub in her Georgia home Saturday, police said. Brown's husband, Nick Gordon, and a friend found her in the tub in the morning and started CPR, the Roswell Police Department said in a statement. Police and rescue personnel arrived at the home, north of Atlanta, at 10:25 a.m. and performed "life-saving measures" before Brown, 21, was brought breathing to the nearby North Fulton Hospital.

The incident remains under investigation, police said. It comes less than two weeks before the third anniversary of Houston's death. The Grammy-winning singer was found submerged in a bathtub in a Beverly Hills, California, hotel on Feb. 11, 2012. She was later pronounced dead. Brown is also the daughter of R&B singer Bobby Brown.

Houston, 48, had struggled for years with cocaine, marijuana and pills, and her behavior had become erratic. Authorities examining Houston's death found a dozen prescription drug bottles in the hotel suite. They concluded that she accidentally drowned. Heart disease and cocaine use were also listed as contributing factors in her death.

Earlier this month, Lifetime released the biopic, "Whitney," which focused on the "I Will Always Love You" singer's drug use. Houston's sister-in-law, Pat Houston, released a statement blasting the film and said neither her mother, Cissy Houston, or Bobbi Kristina Brown, were consulted.

Paris Attack: Manhunt As Armed Killers Flee

Sky NEWS
Three masked men kill 12 people after storming the offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, then flee after a gun battle.

The bodies of victims are being removed from a Paris building as police conduct a major manhunt for gunmen who killed 12 at the headquarters of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.

Three masked gunmen stormed the offices of the controversial publication, which has previously been attacked for its portrayal of the Prophet Mohammed.

The attackers were armed with Kalashnikov rifles and a rocket-propelled grenade during the attack on Wednesday morning.

Police sources have said two brothers from the Paris region and another man from Rheims have been linked to the attack.

Cartoonists Charb, left, and Cabu were among the victims

French President Francois Hollande has declared a national day of mourning tomorrow.
The attackers are said to have called out their victims by name before shooting them. In one video clip, one of them is heard to shout: "We have avenged the prophet."

Paris Shooting: Wounded Helped

They were let into the building by a female employee who was threatened along with her daughter and forced to punch a security code into a keypad to allow them inside.

The editor and a cartoonist for the newspaper, who went by the pen names Charb and Cabu, were among those killed.

Radio France chief executive Mathieu Gilet announced on Twitter that a contributor, Bernard Maris, was another of the victims.

Two police officers were also among the dead, including one assigned as Charb's bodyguard after death threats were made against him.

Twelve Dead in Paris Attack

Another 11 people have also been injured, at least four seriously.

After the attack, the gunmen returned to their black Citroen getaway car and shouted: "We have avenged the Prophet Mohammed, we have killed Charlie Hebdo."

The vehicle was later abandoned and is being examined by forensics teams.

A police official said the gunmen headed towards the north-eastern Paris suburbs, before hijacking a white Renault Clio and driving in the direction of the Porte de Pantin - one of the main routes out of the French capital.

  
Paris Attack: Who, What, Where

Emmanuel Quemener, a police union representative, said officers were using video technology to try to track the gunmen.

He said: "Those men are our most wanted, so that stays a priority, they're armed and extremely dangerous - and things will certainly evolve behind the scenes."

Shocking footage has emerged of a wounded police officer being shot in the head in cold blood as he lies on the ground, holding his hands up.

Another video taken from the top of a building near the magazine's offices shows a firefight in the street below.

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President Hollande condemned the attack as "an act of barbarism".

In a televised address, he said: "We have to respond according to the crime, first of all by finding the authors of this infamy and we have to ensure that they are arrested, judged and... punished very severely.

"Everything will be done in order to apprehend them.

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   Gallery: The Pencil Is Mightier Than The Gun
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"We must also protect all public buildings... security forces will be deployed everywhere where there could be a threat.

"Our best weapon is our unity, the unity of all our citizens, nothing can divide us, nothing must separate us. Freedom will always be stronger than barbarism."

Hassen Chalghoumi, imam of Drancy mosque in the Paris suburb of Seine-Saint-Denis, said: "These are criminals, barbarians. They have sold their soul to hell. This is not freedom.

"This is not Islam and I hope the French will come out united at the end of this."

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   Gallery: Magazine Cartoonists Identified
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   Gallery: Magazine Cartoonists Identified

An extra 3,000 police officers have been deployed on the streets in a massive security operation, according to reports, as the security threat level in France was raised to the highest level.

Parisiens turned out at 7pm on the Place de la Republique in a show of support for the victims and of the right of free speech.

Social media users have used the hashtag #jesuischarlie to show solidarity for the victims of the shooting, with the Charlie Hebdo website also using the image as its masthead.

Charlie Hebdo's editor-in-chief Gerard Biard told France Inter: "I don't understand how people can attack a newspaper with heavy weapons. A newspaper is not a weapon of war."

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   Gallery: Vigils Held For Charlie Hebdo Victims
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   Gallery: Vigils Held For Charlie Hebdo Victims

US President Barack Obama and the Russian leader Vladimir Putin both condemned the shootings.
David Cameron tweeted: "The murders in Paris are sickening. We stand with the French people in the fight against terror and defending the freedom of the press."

The British PM will have a "full intelligence briefing" on the attack from security agencies, said Downing Street, and the Home Secretary will chair a meeting of the emergency response committee COBRA on Thursday.

The Queen expressed her condolences for the victims of the shooting. In a tweet she said: "Prince Philip and I send our condolences to the families of those who have been killed and to those who have been injured in the attack in Paris this morning."

  
Shoulder To Shoulder Over Terrorism

Pope Francis condemned the attack and called "on everyone to oppose every method of spreading hate" because it "radically undermines the fundamental good of peaceful coexistence of people despite national, religious and cultural differences".

Spain has raised its security threat level in response to the attack.

Tens of thousands of people have attended public shows of solidarity in France and around the world in the wake of the attack.

The shooting is one of the worst terror attacks in France in decades.

Prosecutor Gives Update On Manhunt

In 1995, a bomb on a commuter train blamed on Algerian extremists killed eight people at the Saint Michel metro station in Paris.

Mohamed Merah, an al Qaeda-inspired gunman, killed seven people in Toulouse in 2012, including three French soldiers and three children.

Attack Will Only Strengthen Freedom
 

Hollande Vows To Catch Terrorists

'Bachelorette' Contestant Eric Hill Dies

By ANTOINETTE BUENO

Eric Hill, a Bachelorette contestant in the upcoming season featuring Andi Dorfman, has died after a paragliding accident Sunday, his sister Karen Tracy confirmed on her Facebook.

"Eric shared his final journey with us this morning as all his immediate family were able to be at his side when he passed away," she wrote Wednesday. "Thank you to all of your love and support and prayers and fasting. It was amazing to be with so many of his friends and family yesterday in the hospital who came to express their love for Eric." 

Hill, 30, was in a medically induced coma and in critical condition after part of his parachute collapsed when he was paragliding in Utah Sunday, April 20.

"We are deeply saddened to hear about the tragic passing of our friend, Eric Hill. Eric inspired us every day with his passion, his courage and his adventurous spirit, and for that we are very thankful," Bachelorette producers said in a statement. "On behalf of our cast, crew and producers, we send our love, our thoughts and our prayers to Eric’s family during this difficult time.”

According to Reality Steve, Hill was no longer part of the hit ABC show at the time of the accident -- he had reportedly already been eliminated. Though UsWeekly reports that Hill was actually chosen for the coveted first one-on-one date with Dorfman.

"He gave us such a gift of a life fully lived and fully shared, and allowed us all to be a part of his last adventure here on earth. It is hard to think of life without his bright spark, but we know he is on to new adventures," Tracy added. "We look forward to carrying on his legacy here and greeting him joyfully again someday. I love you so much, little brother!"

Family cat saves young boy from dog attack (VIDEO)

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (WJLA)  - The hero of the day for one Bakersfield, California family is the cat.

The cat came to their young son's rescue Tuesday when he was attacked by a neighbor's dog in the driveway of their home.

Video from the home's security camera shows the young boy on his bicycle when the dog grabs his leg from behind - and then shows Tara the cat attacking the dog, scaring it off.

The boy's mother, Erika Triantafilo, told ABC affiliate KERO in Bakersfield that her son needed a few stitches, but is doing fine.

She also said the dog belonged to a neighbor and is now under observation.

Warning: The video, provided by the family, contains material that may be sensitive to some viewers.

Note: Though originally reported as a pitbull, ABC7 News cannot confirm the breed of the dog in the video.