A novice climber, aged 31, defied the odds after experiencing a dramatic 1,500-foot fall down California’s Mount Shasta. Inclement weather conditions forced rescuers to reconsider their strategy, abandoning an immediate helicopter rescue. Instead, climbing rangers swiftly mobilized on foot to reach her before she could ultimately be airlifted to a hospital.

The incident unfolded on Sunday while the woman was ascending the Left of Heart variant of the well-known Avalanche Gulch route. Accompanied by two other novice climbers, she lost her footing near the 13,000-foot mark, finally coming to a stop about 1,500 vertical feet below, as confirmed by the U.S. Forest Service.

Efforts to directly extract the injured climber via a California Highway Patrol helicopter were thwarted by dense cloud cover, necessitating a multi-phase rescue mission instead.

“The weather added complexity to the rescue operation,” remarked an official from the California Highway Patrol’s Office of Air Operations, associated with the Redding Air Unit, in a statement to the media.

Unable to reach the woman, the helicopter instead dropped U.S. Forest Service climbing rangers lower on Mount Shasta, where they hiked to the patient while the air crew waited for weather conditions to improve.

Once rangers stabilized the climber, they carefully lowered her by rescue litter to Lake Helen, where a CHP helicopter was finally able to land and fly her to Mercy Medical Center Mount Shasta at approximately 5:37 p.m.

The rescue took roughly five and a half hours from the initial emergency call until the helicopter evacuation.

Although the distance sounds extraordinary, Shasta-Trinity National Forest officials said the incident was not a straight free fall.

Stokesbury said the climber’s descent was a long slide down the steep snow slope rather than a straight free fall, with the terrain gradually becoming less steep farther down the mountain.

“It starts steep and then kind of levels out a little bit,” Stokesbury told News Media. “It does enough for them to stop.”

Officials said climbers are taught to perform a self-arrest with an ice axe after slipping, but novice climbers often struggle to execute the maneuver before picking up speed.

The woman suffered a suspected fractured ankle along with additional injuries but remained alert and in good spirits when rescuers reached her, according to the Forest Service.

A CHP aviation official also described the terrain as particularly unforgiving.

“That particular portion of the mountain is extremely steep and it kind of funnels into a little bit of a chute,” the official told News Media. “People take a smaller slide on the upper end, there’s nothing to really arrest that descent for quite a while.”

Forest Service officials said the incident follows a familiar pattern seen during the latter part of Mount Shasta’s climbing season.

“Slips and falls happen all the time at that level,” Stokesbury said, adding that April, May and early June generally provide the safest climbing conditions.

As summer arrives, snow begins melting, ice hardens and rocks loosen, increasing the risk of falls and rockfall.

“This is not a normal hiking trail,” Stokesbury said. “You need to make sure you’re in shape, you have your proper gear.”

The Forest Service urges climbers to carry mountaineering equipment including an ice axe and crampons when conditions require, monitor changing weather and route conditions, climb with experienced partners and have an emergency plan before attempting the 14,179-foot volcano.

“Before attempting a summit, be honest about your experience and physical conditioning,” the U.S. Forest Service’s Facebook post reads.

The rescue was carried out by Mount Shasta’s specialized climbing ranger program, which spends each climbing season educating visitors, monitoring mountain conditions and responding to emergencies on one of the nation’s busiest high-altitude climbing routes.

Once bustling with teenagers, a favorite spot for families on weekends, and famously overrun by zombies on the silver screen, this place holds a special place in Hollywood history.

Today, one of the most iconic shopping malls in the United States is gearing up for what could be its final chapter.

The renowned Monroeville Mall, located in Pennsylvania and etched in film history by George A. Romero’s 1978 horror masterpiece “Dawn of the Dead,” faces potential demolition next year after acquisition by Walmart and its development ally, Cypress Equities.

For the numerous horror enthusiasts attending this month’s annual Living Dead Weekend convention at the mall, the event struck a more poignant chord, resembling a farewell rather than a festive celebration.

This three-day convention, drawing fans not only from across the United States but from as far as New Zealand, likely offered the last opportunity to visit this legendary filming spot before demolition crews arrive.

‘It’s very sad to see all the empty storefronts,’ Monroeville resident Jessica Monning told PublicSource.

‘We’re really trying to soak up as much of it as we can while it’s still here.’

The convention transformed the increasingly empty shopping center back into its zombie-filled glory days.

Fans dressed up like zombies wandered the corridors, recreated famous movie scenes, hunted down filming locations and lined up to meet the cast and crew behind one of horror’s most influential movies.

Others simply came to say goodbye.

‘When it comes to a location like the Monroeville Mall that means a lot to people, don’t wait until the opportunity is perfect,’ longtime visitor Matt Blaizi said. ‘You never know what’s going to happen.’

The emotional farewell comes after Walmart, which purchased the 1.2 million-square-foot property earlier this year through South Saturn Ridge LLC for $34 million, applied for a $7.5 million state redevelopment grant to demolish the aging mall.

According to redevelopment plans, the enclosed shopping center will be replaced with an open-air retail village featuring a Walmart Supercenter, Sam’s Club, restaurants, shops, entertainment venues and public gathering spaces.

Mall tenants have reportedly been told they must vacate by April 2027 ahead of demolition.

The redevelopment marks another chapter in the slow death of the American shopping mall, as once-thriving retail palaces struggle with declining foot traffic and the rise of online shopping.

Monroeville Mall was once among the country’s premier shopping destinations after opening in 1969. 

At its peak, it featured more than 100 stores, an indoor ice rink, a famous clock tower and attracted shoppers from across western Pennsylvania.

For many locals, it was where they got their first taste of independence.

‘It was one of the first places you drove to after getting your license,’ Monroeville Mayor Dennis Biondo told TribLive.

Others remember Christmas shopping trips, first dates and afternoons spent skating on the indoor rink.

‘There was just something cool about a mall,’ said longtime resident Betty Valdes. ‘I grew up coming here.’

But for horror fans, Monroeville occupies an entirely different place in American culture.

Director George A. Romero transformed the mall into the primary setting for Dawn of the Dead, using its brightly lit corridors and department stores as a satirical backdrop for consumer culture as survivors hid from flesh-eating zombies.

The film became one of the most influential horror movies ever made, helping cement the modern zombie genre and turning Monroeville into something of a pilgrimage site for movie lovers.

Every year since 2015, Living Dead Weekend has brought thousands of fans together to celebrate Romero’s legacy.

This year’s event featured more than 60 cast and crew members, autograph sessions, movie screenings, guided tours of filming locations and vendors selling horror memorabilia.

Some visitors had travelled more than 20 hours to attend.

Nicole and Paul Graham flew from Wellington, New Zealand, while others made the journey from Britain, Sweden and across the United States.

For many, seeing the mall’s current condition only added to the emotion.

Large sections now sit vacant, with empty storefronts, shuttered retailers and ‘Everything Must Go’ signs replacing the bustling shopping center that once attracted millions of visitors.

With so many vacant storefronts and shuttered retailers, parts of the mall already resemble a post-apocalyptic movie set. 

Ironically, the mall that Romero used as a symbol of America’s consumer obsession has itself become a casualty of changing shopping habits.

The Monroeville site follows other iconic malls into decline, including nearby Century III Mall, which is also being demolished after years of abandonment.

Developers insist the replacement project will create a modern mixed-use destination designed to serve the community for decades to come.

But many fans hope at least one piece of the mall survives.

The Living Dead Museum – which celebrates Romero’s films alongside other horror classics including Evil Dead 2, Thriller and Mindhunter – currently occupies space inside the mall, although its future remains uncertain.

Whether the museum relocates or not, fans are determined the legacy won’t die.

Organizers have already scheduled another Living Dead Weekend for October, giving devotees one more chance to walk the same corridors where cinema history was made before Monroeville Mall finally fades into horror movie history.

In a bold declaration made on Wednesday, President Donald Trump announced his plans to deliver an extensive speech on the National Mall for America’s 250th anniversary, even as meteorologists predict the temperature to soar to 107 degrees.

“By the way, on July 4, it’s going to be about 107 degrees,” he remarked at the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library’s inauguration event in Medora, North Dakota. “I’m going to be there, making a really long speech just to prove I can do anything,” he confidently stated.

The “Salute to America 250 Celebration and Fireworks” is set to kick off at 7 p.m. on the National Mall, with President Trump expected to take the stage at 9:45 p.m. EDT. The event is organized by the Trump administration’s Freedom 250 committee, which is orchestrating the Great American State Fair along the iconic Mall.

President Trump has previously described this National Mall gathering as “the most spectacular TRUMP RALLY of them all.”

He touted the upcoming affair on Truth Social last month, promising “incredible Flyovers and Airshows featuring our Top Military Pilots and Equipment.” Trump’s keynote remarks are anticipated to be memorable, as he assured attendees they “will not want to miss” his address. To cap off the festivities, he vowed to launch “the LARGEST FIREWORKS SHOW IN HISTORY” in the nation’s capital, urging people not to miss the historic evening.

The fireworks show is slated to kick off at 10:30 p.m., according to Freedom 250’s website. However, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser on Monday said the fireworks show will start at 11 p.m.

The National Weather Service (NWS) expects Washington, D.C., to reach a high of 107, as the president said. The temperature is likely to remain hot through the evening, but it should drop to 88 degrees by 9 p.m. when Trump gives his address. The city faces an elevated extreme heat risk all throughout Saturday.

Forecasters also anticipate a high heat index of 94 degrees and humidity levels reaching 54 percent. They warn this could leave temperatures feeling hotter outside, potentially challenging daily record high temperatures.

“It looks as though the heat and humidity will likely hold on through the weekend as well,” the NWS stated on Wednesday. “However, forecast confidence in the exact high temperatures starts to decrease a bit, as both remnant cloud cover from thunderstorms on previous days and thunderstorms from the day of could impact temperatures.”

Washington’s record for the hottest temperature on the Fourth of July was 1919, when the high reached 100 degrees, according to the NWS.

An individual identified as a transgender woman, who allegedly orchestrated a terror plot targeting a casino near Las Vegas, had previously threatened a mass shooting years earlier, as revealed by disturbing police audio recordings.

Allison Howlett, 36, born male but now living as a woman, was taken into custody on Saturday. Authorities apprehended her in the parking garage of a Henderson casino, located near Las Vegas, where they discovered a significant stockpile of firearms and ammunition.

Henderson Police Chief Reggie Rader disclosed that Howlett’s former spouse tipped off police, reporting that Howlett was contemplating “suicide by cop” or a potential mass shooting.

Following her arrest, officials unveiled that Howlett had made threats of a mass shooting as early as 2024. They supported their claims by playing a chilling audio clip of an expletive-filled rant by the suspect.

In the recording, Howlett is heard declaring, “I swear to God, if the FBI doesn’t come f—king arrest me, there’s gonna be a f—king mass shooting,” according to law enforcement reports.

Howlett then grows more agitated, adding: “There’s one day you’re gonna be pissing me the f—k off, and it’s gonna be the last f—king straw.

“You’re going to the be reason that hundreds of people lose their goddamn life.”

Officers did not identify the source of the recording or who Howlett had been speaking to.

Howlett was arrested Saturday charges of making terroristic threats, assault with a deadly weapon, auto theft, gun theft and other offenses.

Video of the arrest at the Sunset Station hotel shows officers surrounding Howlett’s vehicle and dragging the suspect from the car.

Officers were shocked to see Howlett had been sitting on a handgun and had an MP5 submachine gun in the back seat.

Police said they uncovered a total of 55 firearms, with 22 of them from the vehicle and the rest from Howlett’s residence. Multiple handguns, rifles, a fully automatic firearm, suppressors and hundreds of rounds of ammunition were discovered in the car.

Howlett remains in custody on $500,000 bail. A judge on Wednesday set a preliminary hearing for July 15.

DNA evidence from a soda bottle has reportedly connected a woman from Massachusetts to the tragic 1985 death of her newborn son. This revelation came as authorities shared details from a long-standing investigation begun when the infant’s body was discovered in the woods by a father and son out rabbit hunting.

Dianne Curry Peck, now 59, appeared in court on Tuesday and entered a not guilty plea to a murder charge related to the case. The infant, referred to for decades as “Baby Boy Doe” from Mansfield, Massachusetts, has remained a mystery until now.

“Cases involving newborns are among the most heartrending,” commented FBI Boston Special Agent-in-Charge Ted Docks outside the courthouse. “This child, allegedly abandoned to perish in the woods without care or love, was denied the basic right to life. For 41 years, he was simply Baby Boy Doe, a child who entered the world full of potential but tragically denied the chance to live.”

On January 26, 1985, a startling discovery was made by a father and son after they spotted footprints in the snow. Initially mistaking the found object for a doll, they were shocked to realize it was a naked newborn. This heart-wrenching find set off an investigation that was recently revitalized with new DNA evidence, as reported by WCVB. Read more here.

An autopsy determined the child was born alive before dying a short time later.

“It was naked, lying on its back; the umbilical cord was still attached to the baby,” Kenneth Martin, who at the time was working as a Massachusetts State Police trooper assigned to the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office, told the outlet.

The Mansfield Police Department, along with former New England Patriots quarterback Steve Grogan, paid for the baby’s funeral, Boston 25 News reported.

The case went cold until Bristol County investigators reopened it in 2022, partnering with the FBI and state authorities.

Using forensic genetic genealogy, investigators analyzed the baby’s DNA, which eventually led them to Peck.

DNA recovered from a soda bottle taken from her trash ultimately linked her to the child, authorities said.

At the time of the birth, Peck was a 17-year-old student at Mansfield High School. She allegedly admitted to investigators that she had given birth to a child in the back seat of her ex-boyfriend’s car, Boston 25 reported.

She claimed she gave the baby to him because he said he knew someone who would adopt the infant. Peck told investigators she believed she had given birth to a girl and never spoke to her ex-boyfriend again. He died in 2020, according to the FBI.

Prosecutors also noted there is no evidence that anyone — including Peck’s ex-boyfriend — knew she was pregnant, according to the news outlet.

Peck allegedly told police she gave birth on Jan. 20, 1985, but prosecutors argued in court that the timeline is inconsistent with the condition of the baby’s body and the freezing temperatures at the time.

According to a medical examiner, the infant had likely been in the woods for only about 12 hours before being discovered.

News Media has reached out to the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office and Peck’s attorney.

The Jaylen Brown trade saga has reached its conclusion in Boston. Reports indicate that the Celtics have decided to send the 2024 NBA Finals MVP to one of their fiercest rivals, the Philadelphia 76ers.

In return, the Celtics have acquired veteran forward Paul George, as well as two first-round and two second-round draft picks, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania and The Athletic’s Jay King. The Daily Mail has sought confirmation with both teams. 

In recent days, the Celtics have been assertively looking to move Brown, with competitive offers reportedly emerging from 8 to 10 teams, as noted by Charania.

Fans expressed astonishment at Celtics president Brad Stevens’ decision to part with Brown. Their surprise is understandable given that Brown, at 29, is in his prime, whereas the 36-year-old George has struggled with injuries. George has managed to surpass the 70-game mark in a season just once since the 2018-2019 period and is coming off lackluster seasons in Philadelphia, where his scoring slumped to an average of 16.7 points, dipping significantly below his career average of 20.5.

Last season, Brown delivered an impressive performance, averaging 28.7 points and securing 6.9 rebounds per game while his fellow All-Star, Jayson Tatum, was on the mend from a torn Achilles incurred during a playoff battle against the Knicks in 2025.

One fan humorously expressed their disbelief on social media platform X, writing, ‘Trading Jaylen Brown for Paul George at this stage of their careers would have Celtics fans checking if Shams got hacked.’

‘I need to understand what led to this,’ read a post from the @CelticsBlog X account. 

Brown’s name had come up in a number of trade scenarios in recent weeks, but the five-time NBA All-Star remained a candidate to return to Boston next season until Wednesday’s agreement.

Earlier in the day, Boston agreed to a three-year, $47.44 million deal with former New York Knicks center Mitchell Robinson and a one-year veteran’s minimum deal with long-time point guard Mike Conley. 

Interestingly, Brown recently criticized 76ers center Joel Embiid for allegedly flopping to draw foul calls from league officials.

‘I mean, this is my personal opinion on basketball,’ Brown said on his own livestream in May. ‘Some of y’all might disagree, you know what I mean? But argue with your grandma. Flopping has ruined our game.

‘Embiid is a great player, one of the best bigs in f***in basketball history, flops,’ Brown continued. ‘He knows it. This ain’t breaking news.’

Brown and the Celtics blew a 3-1 series lead to the Sixers in the first round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs. 

Although Philadelphia fell to the ultimate-champion Knicks, coach Nick Nurse now boasts a lineup that includes an impressive young backcourt in VJ Edgecombe and Tyrese Maxey, improving forward Justin Edwards, and Embiid, a former MVP who remains one of the league’s top threats at both ends of the floor when healthy. 

The trade does offer Boston some financial flexibility given that he’s signed through 2028-29, while George can opt out of his max deal before the 2027-28 season or wait to become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2028, when he will be 38. 

Boston will owe $54 million to George in 2026-27, while Philadelphia is on the hook for Brown’s $57 million salary.  

The Celtics originally acquired the draft pick they used on Brown in 2013 when they traded NBA legends Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett to the Brooklyn Nets for a bevy of future selections.

Three years later, Boston took Brown third overall out of Cal and later paired him with Tatum, who is now seen as the franchise cornerstone. 

Remarkably, Brown would go on to win 83 playoff games with the Celtics, while recording nine double doubles along the way.