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Ammo supplier at “Rust” shooting trial says he provided dummy rounds to movie, but handled live rounds for TV show

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An ammunition supplier testified at the “Rust” shooting trial Monday that he only provided inert dummy rounds to the Western movie where actor Alec Baldwin fatally shot a cinematographer in 2021, though he also was handling live rounds from another production at that time.

Albuquerque-based movie firearms and ammunition supplier Seth Kenney took the stand at the trial of “Rust” movie armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who is charged with involuntary manslaughter and evidence tampering in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

Kenney told a jury he cleaned and repackaged ammunition to “Rust” that was previously supplied to a production in Texas, handing off a box of 50 inert dummy rounds containing no gunpower to the “Rust” props supervisor on Oct. 12, 2021.

Kenney also said he scrubbed the exterior of the rounds and cleaned out residue inside in each of them to ensure the telltale rattle of a metal pellet inside dummy rounds could be heard for safety purposes.

The outcome of the trial may hinge on testimony about the source of six live rounds discovered on the “Rust” set — including the one from Baldwin’s gun. Live ammunition is expressly prohibited on movie sets by the industry and union guidelines.

Prosecutors say Gutierrez-Reed is to blame for unwittingly bringing live ammunition on set and that she flouted basic safety protocols for weapons handling. She has pleaded not guilty.

"Rust" film set armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed listens while expert witness Bryan Carpenter testifies during Gutierrez-Reed's involuntary manslaughter trial at the First Judicial District Courthouse in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Feb. 29, 2024.
“Rust” film set armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed listens while expert witness Bryan Carpenter testifies during Gutierrez-Reed’s involuntary manslaughter trial at the First Judicial District Courthouse in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Feb. 29, 2024.

Gabriela Campos/The New Mexican/Pool via Reuters


Defense attorneys say their client is being smeared and unfairly scapegoated for problems beyond her control, including Baldwin’s handling of the weapons. On Monday, they highlighted images of Kenney’s “cluttered” business, a storage system without written inventories, and Kenney’s “hazy” recollection of his timeline for receiving live rounds for another production.

Baldwin, the lead actor and co-producer on “Rust,” was separately indicted by a grand jury last month on an involuntary manslaughter charge in connection with the fatal shooting of Hutchins. He has pleaded not guilty, and his trial is scheduled for July.

Baldwin was pointing the gun at Hutchins during a rehearsal on the set outside of Santa Fe when the gun went off, killing her and wounding director Joel Souza.

Souza testified last week about the pain and shock he felt moments after the bullet hit Hutchins and then became lodged in his shoulder.

“I remember initially thinking had she been startled by it … and then I saw the blood on her back,” Souza said.

Jurors have also heard from first assistant director David Halls, who has pleaded no contest to negligent use of a deadly weapon. Amid the chaos of the shooting, Halls said he asked Hutchins if she was all right.

“She said, ‘I can’t feel my legs,'” Halls said.

A still from a video clip displayed at the First Judicial District Courthouse shows actor Alec Baldwin during "Rust" film set armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed's involuntary manslaughter trial in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Feb. 29, 2024.
A still from a video clip displayed at the First Judicial District Courthouse shows actor Alec Baldwin during “Rust” film set armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed’s involuntary manslaughter trial in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Feb. 29, 2024.

Gabriela Campos/The New Mexican/Pool via Reuters


In Monday’s testimony, Kenney said he provided “Rust” props master Sarah Zachry, who also managed weapons and ammunition for the production, with dummy ammunition retrieved from a props storage truck on the Texas set of the television series “1883.”

“Did you ever give any live ammunition to Sarah Zachry?” prosecutor Kari Morrissey asked Kenney. He responded, “No.”

Responding to additional questions, Kenney said Monday that he didn’t have any ammunition that looked like the live rounds investigators found on the set of “Rust.”

At the same time, Kenney acknowledged he stored live rounds that were used in a live-ammunition shooting exercise for actors on “1883,” arranged at a private ranch of series creator Taylor Sheridan.

Kenney said the live rounds from that shooting exercise were brought back to his shop, stored in a bathroom within a gray plastic container marked “live rounds” on the outside.

The live rounds were initially provided to “1883” by Gutierrez-Reed’s stepfather, the Hollywood sharp shooter and weapons consultant Thell Reed.

Investigators from the Santa Fe sheriff’s office searched Kenney’s Albuquerque supply shop several weeks after the fatal shooting, seizing live rounds that were sent to the FBI for analysis and comparison with live rounds discovered on the set of “Rust.”

Defense attorney Jason Bowles has argued that Kenney wasn’t properly investigated for his role as a “Rust” supplier. Bowles on Monday highlighted the fact that the search of Kenney’s business took place about a month after the fatal shooting.

Kenney’s testimony also delved into his disagreements with Gutierrez-Reed about her job performance on the set of “Rust” in connection with a gun misfire — prior to the fatal shooting.

Testimony Monday also delved into evidence related to a tampering charge against Gutierrez-Reed. That charge stems from accusations that she handed a small bag of possible narcotics to another crew member after the shooting to avoid detection.

A crew member from food services testified that she went to Gutierrez-Reed’s hotel room the evening after the fatal shooting to keep the armorer company at the request of a union steward. She said Gutierrez-Reed handed her some white powder in a plastic baggie within another baggie, and that she felt insulted and threw it into a hallway garbage container after leaving the room.

“In fairness, you probably had five seconds to look at this bag, is that right?” said Bowles, the defense attorney. “You have a belief, but you don’t know for certain, what was in that bag.”



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North Carolina’s Asheville devastated after Helene’s damage cuts power, floods roads

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Floodwaters pushed by the remnants of Hurricane Helene left North Carolina’s largest mountain city largely cut off Saturday by damaged roads and a lack of power and cellphone service, part of a swath of destruction across southern Appalachia that left an unknown number dead and countless worried relatives unable to reach loved ones.

In North Carolina alone, more than 400 roads remained closed on Saturday as floodwaters began to recede and reveal the extent of damage. North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said that supplies were being airlifted to that part of the state. Cooper said two people died in his state, Helene killed at least 52 people across multiple states.

Among those rescued from rising waters was nurse Janetta Barfield, whose car was swamped on Friday morning as she left an overnight shift at Asheville’s Mission Hospital. She said she watched a car in front of her drive through standing water and thought it was safe to proceed. But her car stalled, and within minutes water had filled her front seat up to her chest. A nearby police officer who saw her car stall helped her to safety.

“It was unbelievable how fast that creek got just in like five minutes,” Barfield said.

Tropical Weather
Emergency personnel watch as floodwaters rise, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Asheville, N.C.

Erik Verduzco / AP


Early on Saturday morning, many gas stations were closed because they didn’t have electricity, and the few that were open had hourlong lines wrapped around the block. The hub of tourism and arts, home to about 94,000 people, was unusually still after floodwaters swamped neighborhoods known for drawing visitors including Biltmore Village and the River Arts District, which is home to numerous galleries, shops and breweries.

More than 700,000 power customers were without power across North Carolina, including 160,000 in Buncombe County. Interstate 40 and I-26 were impassible in multiple locations, and a state transportation department map showed that most routes into Asheville and across much of the mountains were snarled. North Carolina’s Department of Transportation posted on social media on Saturday afternoon that “all roads in Western North Carolina should be considered closed.”

In Asheville, there was no cellular service and no timeline for when it would be restored. 

“We have had some loss of life,” County Emergency Services Director Van Taylor Jones told reporters. However, he said they were not ready to report any specifics. Officials have been hindered in contacting next of kin by the communications outages. Asheville police instituted a curfew from 7:30 p.m. Friday to 7:30 a.m. Saturday. 

“The curfew is to ensure the public’s safety and will be in effect until further notice,” police said. 

Asheville transit services were also suspended, police said. The city advised residents to boil “all water used for human consumption,” as there was at least one significant water line break during the storm. Many residents might not be getting water or reduced or no pressure water. 

Jones said the area experienced a cascade of emergencies that included heavy rain, high winds and mudslides. Officials said they tried to prepare for the storm but its magnitude was beyond what they could have imagined.

“It’s not that we (were) not prepared, but this is going to another level,” Sheriff Quentin Miller said. “To say this caught us off-guard would be an understatement.”

Tropical Weather
The banks of the Swannanoa river overflow an effect of Hurricane Helene, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Asheville, N.C.

Erik Verduzco / AP


Atlanta resident Francine Cavanaugh said she has been unable to reach her sister, son, or friends in the Asheville area.

“My sister checked in with me yesterday morning to find out how I was in Atlanta,” she said on Saturday. “The storm was just hitting her in Asheville, and she said it sounded really scary outside.”

Cavanaugh said her sister had no idea how bad the storm would be there. She told Cavanaugh she was going to head out to check on guests at a vacation cabin “and that’s the last I heard of her. I’ve been texting everyone that I know with no response. All phone calls go directly to voicemail.”





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Embattled Steward Health Care CEO Ralph de la Torre to resign

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Steward Health Care CEO skips Senate hearing


Senators plan to hold Steward Health Care CEO in contempt for skipping hearing

02:51

The CEO of a hospital operator that filed for bankruptcy protection in May will step down after failing to testify before a U.S. Senate panel.

Steward Health Care CEO Ralph de la Torre has overseen a network of some 30 hospitals around the country. The Texas-based company’s troubled recent history has drawn scrutiny from elected officials in New England, where some of its hospitals are located.

A spokesperson for de la Torre told the Associated Press Saturday that he “has amicably separated from Steward on mutually agreeable terms” and “will continue to be a tireless advocate for the improvement of reimbursement rates for the underprivileged patient population.”

A CBS News investigation that spanned nearly two years documented how private equity investors and de la Torre extracted hundreds of millions of dollars while healthcare workers and patients struggled to get the life-saving supplies they needed.

In August, the company closed two Massachusetts hospitals, leaving about 1,200 workers jobless, according to the state.  

Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said earlier this month that Congress “will hold Dr. de la Torre accountable for his greed and for the damage he has caused to hospitals and patients throughout America.”

De la Torre’s resignation is effective Oct. 1. The Senate approved a resolution on Wednesday that was intended to hold him in criminal contempt for failing to testify before a committee.

The Senate panel has been looking into Steward’s bankruptcy. De la Torre did not appear before it despite being issued a subpoena. The resolution refers the matter to a federal prosecutor.

Steward CEO
The empty chair of Steward Health Care CEO, Dr. Ralph de la Torre, who did not show up during the U.S. Senate Committee hearing on September 12, 2024.

Kayla Bartkowski/The Boston Globe via Getty Images




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Climate Watch: Protecting the Planet | How climate change threatens plant and animal species

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Climate Watch: Protecting the Planet | How climate change threatens plant and animal species – CBS News


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In this episode of “Climate Watch: Protecting the Planet,” CBS News senior environmental correspondent Ben Tracy speaks to scientists and experts about the growing number of critically endangered plants and animals and how humans can help.

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