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“Love Island USA” star Taylor Williams says he is “all good” after being thrown from his horse during the Arizona Invitational Black Rodeo in Scottsdale.

In a TikTok video, Williams’ horse seemingly trips over another horse before falling to the ground. Williams and his horse appear to be trampled by other participants before the horse rolls over Williams and rises to its feet. Williams, 24, was still lying on the ground when officials rushed over to help him.

Williams gave an update on his condition later that day on social media, saying that his injuries would not get in the way of him attending an event that he was scheduled to appear at Saturday night, according to Entertainment Weekly.

“Was in a horse accident last night but I’m still pulling up tonight injured and all,” he wrote on Instagram Stories. “It’s my brothers’ bday [you know] we still turnt!”

He followed up the post with a photo of himself lying on a hospital stretcher, wearing a neck brace and holding two thumbs up. “Preciate all the love!” he wrote over the image. “I’m good.”

Williams’ girlfriend and fellow “Love Island” alum Clarke Carraway later posted a video via Instagram Stories, which showed Williams being wheeled out of a hospital, while Maverick City Music’s “The Story I’ll Tell” plays in the background.

In a second video, Carraway poses next to Williams, who has one arm in a sling, while they rock matching cowboy hats.

The Oklahoma native, who said he “was on a horse before I could walk,” appeared on the seventh season of Peacock’s “Love Island,” which aired earlier this summer. The veterinary student became known for wearing cowboy hats and talking about his love for the rodeo.

Williams first coupled up with fan-favorite Olandria Carthen on the reality dating show, but ultimately ended the series with Carraway, from Charlotte, N.C. The couple made it to the second-to-last episode, but were booted off the island shortly after making their relationship “exclusive.”

During the reunion, which was hosted by Ariana Madix and Andy Cohen last week, Williams and Carraway said that they were still going strong and making their long-distance relationship work.

Aug. 28 (UPI) — The chairman of the Surry County Board of Elections in North Carolina resigned Thursday after police arrested him on suspicion of putting drugs in his granddaughters’ ice cream.

In a news release issued Wednesday, the Wilmington Police Department said officers arrested James Yokeley after an investigation into an incident Aug. 8.

The release said earlier this month, Yokeley flagged down patrol officers outside a gas station to alert them that his two minor granddaughters found two hard objects in ice cream they had just purchased at a nearby Dairy Queen. Field tests determined the objects were illegal narcotics.

Medical professionals evaluated the two girls and determined neither had ingested any substances.

Detectives reviewed security video from the Dairy Queen, which allegedly showed Yokeley putting the pills in the ice cream. Police arrested him Tuesday, charging him with felony child abuse, contaminating food with a controlled substance and possession of a Schedule I narcotic.

He was jailed at the New Hanover County Detention Center and released on $100,000 bond.

County Auditor Dave Boliek called for Yokeley’s resignation from the board of elections Thursday, according to WITN-TV in Greenville, N.C. Yokeley sent his resignation letter to Boliek, who appointed him to the position earlier this summer.

“Based on the truth and facts, I remain prayerfully confident that I will be exonerated of all accusations levied against me,” Yokeley said in the letter.

Aug. 21 (UPI) — Hurricane Erin’s effects have triggered state-of-emergency declarations in New Jersey and North Carolina as the storm system moves along the East Coast.

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy declared a state of emergency Thursday afternoon, while North Caroline Governor Josh Stein declared one on Tuesday that remains in effect.

“Over the past couple of days, we have seen the effects of Hurricane Erin along the Jersey Shore in the form of dangerous rip tides,” Murphy said in a news release.

“As the storm moves past New Jersey over the next 23 hours, we are expecting high surf and rip currents, coastal and flash flooding, and a high erosion risk in parts of the state,” Murphy added.

North Carolina officials expect similar conditions to continue there after Hurricane Erin already has impacted Hatteras Island.

“Dangerous conditions, including rip currents and coastal flooding, are expected through the weekend,” Stein said in an online announcement on Thursday.

“With flooding peaking tonight, please avoid driving on roads with standing water,” he added.

An evacuation order was issued on Tuesday for residents and others along the Outer Banks.

Stein said state officials are monitoring the situation, and an emergency response team is working to keep roads clear and people safe.

Among emergency preparations, the North Carolina National Guard is on standby, and the state’s emergency response team has search-and-rescue teams ready to deploy if needed.

State Highway 12 on Hatteras Island is closed due to extensive ocean overwash and dune breaches in multiple locations, according to Dare County, N.C., officials.

The northern ends of Hatteras Village and Buxton, and along Pea Island, are especially impacted by the hurricane.

North Carolina Department of Transportation crews are working to clear sand and water from the state highway and repairing damaged dunes.

The highway will stay closed until NCDOT officials say it’s safe to travel on the roadway.

The Category 2 Hurricane Erin had maximum sustained winds of 100 mph while positioned 370 miles east-northeast of Cape Hatteras, N.C., late Thursday afternoon, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Erin is moving northeasterly at 20 mph and away from the East Coast, but its effects include storm surges of between 2 feet and 4 feet and related flooding along coastal areas from North Carolina to Sandy Hook, N.J.

The storm system also is creating dangerous rip tides alongmuch of the East Coast, which makes swimming very dangerous.

Aug. 18 (UPI) — Air travelers going through Wilmington International Airport in North Carolina now can sign up for U.S. customs’ Global Entry program, which allows for quicker processing for pre-approved, low-risk travelers.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials said in a statement an enrollment event for its Global Entry program will be held September 8 to the 12th at North Carolina’s Wilmington International Airport.

The scheduled process in September for conditionally approved U.S. and non-American citizens as they seek to travel in and out of the country will be from 8 a.m. EDT to 4 p.m. on the reported days Monday to Friday.

Required documents for U.S. citizens include a valid government-issued passport and a secondary form of photo ID, such as a state-issued driver’s license.

For non-U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents, a passport is required, along with a secondary photo ID, a valid U.S. visa printed in the passport or a machine-readable lawful permanent resident card.

CBP’s trusted traveler program allows for quicker processing for pre-approved, low-risk travelers.

Officials added that applicants may complete required interviews upon their return from a foreign location “at participating airports without a scheduled appointment.”

The global entry program established in 2008 allows a client to enter the United States using a kiosk, which identifies fingerprints electronically and saves hours waiting in line at customs.

The program was initially deployed to a small number of large U.S. airports — such as New York’s JFK International and Washington-Dulles in the nation’s capital — and by 2014 expanded largely due to its own success.

Monday’s announcement followed Friday’s similar announcement by CBP in the Great Lakes region that a separate no-appointment-needed Global Entry enrollment event will be in Detroit on Wednesday.

Wilmington International has never seen international flights until last week’s revelation that Avelo Airlines will begin flights in December to the popular vacation destination in Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic on the island of Hispaniola.

The interviews at CBP’s office at ILM will be at: 1921 Hall Dr in Wilmington.

A turtle on the runway caused a small private plane crash that killed 2 and seriously injured another person at North Carolina’s Sugar Valley Airport, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. The NTSB said the pilot lifted one the plane’s wheels to avoid a turtle when he was advised it was on the runway. File Photo by Chris Bjuland/NTSB/UPI | License Photo

June 20 (UPI) — A turtle on the runway caused a small private plane crash that killed two and seriously injured another person at Sugar Valley Airport in North Carolina, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.

An NTSB statement said the crash occurred June 3 near Farmington, N,C.. As the plane was landing, the pilot was advised there was a turtle on the runway.

“The pilot landed about 1,400 feet down the 2,424-foot runway and then lifted the right main wheel to avoid the turtle,” the NTSB statement said.

The communications system operator heard the pilot advance the throttle after raising the plane’s right wheel. The operator then lost sight of the plane, according to the report.

The NTSB said a man cutting grass at the end of the runway saw the pilot raise the right wheel to avoid the turtle. The man said the wings of the plane began to rock back and forth.

“Then the airplane took off again, but he lost site of the airplane when it passed behind a hangar,” the NTSB said. “The airplane disappeared just over the trees on the northeast side of the runway and then he heard a loud crash and saw smoke.”

According to investigators, the airplane crashed in a heavily forested area roughly 225 feet northeast of the departure end of the runway.

“The airplane was wedged between several trees and remained in one piece except for a few pieces of fabric that were found in an adjacent stream next to the accident site,” the NTSB statement said.

“The fabric on the fuselage, cowling and wings was completely burned off and the airplane frame was visible.”

April 27 (UPI) — One person was killed and six others were wounded in an overnight shooting at a small university in North Carolina, officials said Sunday.

The shooting occurred in the early hours of Sunday at the center of the Elizabeth City State University campus, which is located in Elizabeth City near the North Carolina-Virginia border.

The school said in a statement that a 24-year-old man, who was not a student at the university, was pronounced dead at the scene. The man’s name was being withheld pending next-of-kin notification, it said.

Of the six people wounded, four sustained gunshot wounds, including three students. Two other students were injured during what the school called “the subsequent commotion.”

“Fortunately, none of the injuries are considered life-threatening, and all the injured were transported to a local hospital for treatment,” it said.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2uMO0DpjfI

The incident occurred following an event held as part of Viking Fest, a week-long school celebration. The shooting prompted the university to go into lockdown, which was lifted later Sunday after law enforcement officials said the campus was safe.

“The university is deeply saddened by this senseless act,” Elizabeth City State University said in a second statement on Sunday. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their families and all members of the Viking community affected by this tragedy.”

Elizabeth City State University has about 2,260 students.

According to The Gun Violence Archive, there have been at least 85 mass shootings involving four or more victims so far this year in the United States.