Charlotte high schooler rescued from national park after sustaining rattlesnake bite
The Chapel Hill High student, who identified himself to the Charlotte Observer as Zain Shah, said he was bitten by a large rattlesnake, two miles from the nearest road.
'What started as a fun end-of-high-school fishing trip for my son and his buddy in the (western) NC mountains turned deadly when he was bitten by a timber rattlesnake deep in the woods,' the teen's father, Imran Shah, wrote on the N.C. Emergency Management Facebook page.
READ: Fosters needed after dozens of dogs were seized from a Charlotte property
The North Carolina Helo-Aquatic Rescue Team, or NCHART, responded to Avery County alongside the North Carolina National Guard and the Charlotte Fire Department.
The State Emergency Operations Center dispatched a Blackhawk from the NC National Guard.
Zain Shah said his friend was able to call 911, getting him the help he needed. And Zain Shah remembered to take a picture of the snake, to help doctors know which antivenom to use.
When he arrived at the hospital, he was administered 12 vials of antivenom over the course of two nights and three days, the Charlotte Observer reports.
Zain Shah said his graduation on Saturday wouldn't be happening if it weren't for the rescue teams.
'All of them saved my life. I wouldn't be here without the help of so many people,' Zain Shah says. 'I have ventured alone into the mountains before, but I'll never do that again. The buddy system only from now on, but this will not keep me from going back out there.'
WATCH: Fosters needed after dozens of dogs were seized from a Charlotte property
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Miami Herald
18-07-2025
- Miami Herald
79-year-old from FL wandered from mountaintop, NH rescuers say. Now body found
A 79-year-old man from Florida who got lost on a mountaintop in New Hampshire was found dead after a three-day search, rescuers said. William Davis of Jacksonville was found between two trails on Mount Washington and had apparently 'suffered a significant fall from a steep, rocky slope,' the N.H. Fish and Game Department Law Enforcement Division shared July 18. Davis took a cog train up to the summit of the mountain on July 16 and was last seen on the observation deck that afternoon, his wife told officials. Then he disappeared. A Mt. Washington State Park employee reached Davis over the phone, and the man communicated that he had wandered off-trail near the summit, according to rescuers. 'He did not know where he was, but his description of the area made it seem that he would be easily located,' law enforcement said. But after an hour, no one could find him, and he stopped answering his phone, officials said. More than two dozen rescuers and a drone team began searching for him, but fog rolled in and they had to pause from 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. on July 17, according to law enforcement. Volunteers, rescuers and conservation officers from around the state descended upon the area to help find Davis. 'Searchers scoured off trail locations in periods of thick clouds and increasing winds throughout the day,' rescuers said. But the weather dropped to 32 degrees with wind chill, and searchers said they had to suspend their operations until the morning of July 18. At around 11 a.m., volunteers reported finding his body after what appeared to be a fall. A Blackhawk helicopter managed to land despite the weather a couple of hours later to collect his body, according to rescuers. 'There is no indication how Davis ended up at that location and how far he had traveled over rocky terrain to get there,' officials said. 'He was not a hiker, had no map, and every indication is he wandered off the summit without telling anyone where he was going.' The medical examiner is conducting an autopsy to confirm his cause of death.
Los Angeles Times
16-07-2025
- Los Angeles Times
Stunts in L.A. show Democratic states and cities that Trump's forces can invade anytime
Early this month, the U.S. military and masked federal agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement and from Customs and Border Protection invaded a park near downtown Los Angeles — ironically, a park named after Gen. Douglas MacArthur. They came ready for battle, dressed in tactical gear and camouflage, with some arriving on horseback, while others rolled in on armored vehicles or patrolled above in Black Hawk helicopters. Although the invasion force failed to capture anyone, it did succeed in liberating the park from a group of children participating in a summer camp. The MacArthur Park operation sounds like a scene from 'South Park,' but it really did happen — and its implications are terrifying. As Gregory Bovino, the Border Patrol agent in charge, said to Fox News: 'Better get used to us now, 'cause this is going to be normal very soon. We will go anywhere, anytime we want in Los Angeles.' And President Trump is sending the same message to every Democratic governor and mayor in America who dares oppose him. He will send heavily armed federal forces wherever he wants, whenever he wants and for any reason. The United States stands at the threshold of an authoritarian breakthrough, and Congress and the courts have given Trump a lot of tools. He's learned from Jan. 6, 2021, that he needs tight control over the 'guys with the guns,' as retired Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley put it. And that's what he got when Congress dutifully confirmed Trump loyalists to lead all of the 'power ministries' — the military, the FBI and the Department of Justice, the rest of the intelligence community and the Department of Homeland Security. As commander in chief, the president can deploy troops and, under Title 10, he can also put National Guard troops under his command — even against the wishes of local officials. Gov. Gavin Newsom challenged the legality of Trump's exercise of this authority in Los Angeles last month, and we will see what the courts say — but based on its initial rulings, the Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit appears likely to defer to the president. Under the Posse Comitatus Act, the troops cannot currently enforce laws, but Trump could change that by invoking the Insurrection Act, and we have to assume that the current Supreme Court would defer to him on that as well, following long-standing precedents saying the president's power under the act is 'conclusive.' Trump could send the military into other cities, but the most dangerous weapon in his authoritarian arsenal might be the newly empowered Department of Homeland Security, which has been given $170 billion by Congress to triple the size of ICE and double its detention capacity. No doubt, this will put Trump's 'mass deportation' into overdrive, but this is not just about immigration. Remember Portland in 2020, when Trump sent Border Patrol agents into the city? Against the wishes of the Oregon governor and the Portland mayor, the president deployed agents to protect federal buildings and suppress unrest after the killing of George Floyd. Under the Homeland Security Act, the secretary can designate any employee of the department to assist the Federal Protective Service in safeguarding government property and carrying out 'such other activities for the promotion of homeland security as the Secretary may prescribe.' Under that law, DHS officers can also make arrests, on and off of federal property, for 'any offense against the United States.' This is why, in 2020, Border Patrol agents — dressed like soldiers and equipped with M-4 semi-automatic rifles — were able to rove around Portland in unmarked black SUVs and arrest people off the streets anywhere in the city. Trump could do this again anywhere in the country, and with the billions Congress has given to immigration and border agencies, DHS could assemble and deploy a formidable federal paramilitary force wherever and whenever Trump wishes. Of course, under the 4th Amendment, officers need to have at least reasonable suspicion based on specific, articulable facts before they can stop and question someone, and probable cause before they arrest. And on Friday, U.S. District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong issued a temporary restraining order blocking ICE and Customs and Border Protection from making such stops without reasonable suspicion, and further holding that this could not be based on apparent race or ethnicity; speaking Spanish or speaking English with an accent; presence at a particular location, such as a Home Depot parking lot; or the type of work a person does. This ruling could end up providing an important constitutional restraint on these agencies, but we shall see. The Trump administration has appealed the ruling. However, this litigation proceeds, it is important to note that the DHS agencies are not like the FBI, with its buttoned-down, by-the-book culture drilled into it historically and in response to the revelations of J. Edgar Hoover's abuses of power. DHS and its agencies have no such baggage, and they clearly have been pushing the envelope in Los Angeles — sometimes brutally — over the last month. And even if Frimpong's ruling stands up on appeal, ICE and Customs and Border Protection will no doubt adapt by training their officers to articulate other justifications for stopping people on the street or in workplaces. Ultimately, these agencies are used to operating near the border, where, in the late Chief Justice William Rehnquist's words, the federal government's power is 'at its zenith,' and where there are far fewer constitutional constraints on their actions. These are the tools at Trump's disposal — and as DHS rushes to hire thousands of agents and build the detention facilities Congress just paid for, these tools will only become more formidable. And one should anticipate that Trump will want to deploy the DHS paramilitary forces to 'protect' the 2026 or 2028 elections, alongside federal troops, in the same way they worked together to capture MacArthur Park. A fanciful, dystopian scenario? Maybe, but who or what would stop it from happening? Congress does not seem willing to stand up to the president — and while individual federal judges might, the Supreme Court seems more likely to defer to him, especially on issues concerning national security or immigration. So, in the words of Bruce Springsteen, 'the last check on power, after the checks and balances of government have failed, are the people, you and me.' Suit up. Seth Stodder served in the Obama administration as assistant secretary of Homeland Security for borders, immigration and trade and previously as assistant secretary for threat prevention and security. He teaches national security and counterterrorism law at USC Law School.
The Onion
15-07-2025
- The Onion
White House Evacuated After Trans Alarm Goes Off
WASHINGTON—In a stunning security breach that reportedly left many top-ranking administration officials vulnerable to attack, the White House was evacuated Tuesday after the building's trans alarm went off. Officials confirmed the transgender alert system was triggered during President Donald Trump's morning briefing, when infrared estrogen sensors in the West Wing detected a large spike in gender fluidity dangerously close to the Oval Office. With an alarm blaring the words 'Trans, trans, trans,' the Secret Service initiated a Code Rainbow, which prompted agents to rush the president to safety, place Cabinet members in a hormone-proof bunker, and secure the premises from radical gender ideology. 'At approximately 10:02 a.m., a transgender individual actively approached the perimeter of a highly restricted cisgender-only area,' said Secret Service chief Sean Curran, adding that the trans alarm operated as intended when it immediately cut the lights, initiated a siren, and lowered several trans-resistant blast doors. 'Thanks to our brave, quick-thinking officers on the White House security detail, President Trump and the penis he was born with are safe from any harmful hormone therapies or gential mutilation.' 'We train for this,' Curran added. 'We are thankful the president was unharmed and remains a straight white cisgender male.' Staff have yet to return to the White House, where the situation remains gender fluid. In security video taken from the scene, Secret Service agents could be seen shielding Trump as they quickly outfitted him with a hormone-proof vest and whisked him across the White House lawn, where he was loaded into a Blackhawk helicopter. Upon reaching Andrews Air Force Base, he was reportedly flown to an undisclosed location in an anti-trans jet equipped with technology that allowed it to scan the area for androgyny, gender nonconformity, and other LGBTQ-related threats. Following the administration's established trans evacuation protocol, several prominent male officials, including Vice President JD Vance, deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, and budget director Russell Vought, were ushered into the Traditional Values Bunker, a secure facility where they were given mandatory genital inspections, injected with a shot of testosterone, and ordered to pleasure themselves to completion while watching emergency hetero- normative pornography. Traumatized staffers told reporters they barricaded themselves in their offices, frantically called 911, and texted their loved ones goodbye as the trans person walked past the building along Pennsylvania Avenue, appearing unafraid to shirk traditional gender norms and be unashamedly and unabashedly themselves. 'When I heard the trans alarm, I thought to myself, this is the end,' said 29-year-old White House aide Chase Kettering, adding that he hid under his desk, cried, and sent his wife what he feared would be a final photo of his genitals. 'At that point, I kneeled down and prayed. I said, 'God, holy father in heaven, please do not let the trans person turn me into a girl.' Then I picked up a Bible, yelled as many slurs as I could think of, and started running.' 'At first I thought it was a drill,' Kettering continued. 'But sadly, a trans person can strike at any time. These days, no one, and nowhere, is safe.' Despite the severity of the security breach, President Trump is said to be in good spirits and to have spent the afternoon calling the victims' families, including the children of a White House security official who was trampled to death by cis men fleeing the scene, and the wife of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who suffered fatal injuries when an anti-trans quarantine screen descended from the ceiling and sliced him in half. According to sources, press secretary Karoline Leavitt became collateral damage when she died in a hail of estrogen-seeking bullets that had been intended for the trans threat. 'Today, we honor the many brave biological men and women who lost their lives protecting Donald Trump from pronouns, allyship, and tolerance,' said House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), adding that the fallen would always be remembered as true patriots who stood in the way of someone expressing their gender. 'These were more than just government workers. They were real, red-blooded alpha males with defined muscles, baritone voices, and strong, angular chins. They were quiet, docile trad wives who loved to cook, clean, and gratify every sexual desire of their husbands.' 'It takes a real hero to face the reality of being in the same vicinity as a trans person,' Johnson added. 'And for that, we will be forever grateful.' Several Cabinet members praised Trump's bravery and circulated triumphant footage of the president raising his fist, unzipping his pants, flashing his penis at the cameras, and saying, 'Fight! Fight! Fight!'
