A towering slab of rock broke from a cliff and toppled onto pleasure boaters drifting near a waterfall on a Brazilian lake Saturday and officials said at least six people died.

Edgard Estevo, commander of the Minas Gerais State Fire Department, said at a news conference that in addition to the dead as many as 20 people might be missing and officials were seeking to identify them.

Officials said at least 32 people were injured, though most had been released from hospitals by Saturday evening.

Video images showed a gathering of small boats moving slowly near the sheer rock cliff on Furnas Lake when a fissure appeared in the rock and a huge piece toppled onto at least two of the vessels.

Estevo said the accident occurred between the towns of Sao Jose da Barra and Capitolio, from which the boats had left.

The press office of Minas Gerais state told The Associated Press that the fire department had deployed divers and helicopters to help. Minas Gerais Gov. Romeu Zema sent messages of solidarity with the victims via social media.

Furnas Lake, which was created in 1958 for the installation of a hydroelectric plant, is a popular tourist draw in the area roughly 420 kilometers (260 miles) north of Sao Paulo. Officials in Capitolio, which has about 8,400 residents, say the town can see around 5,000 visitors on a weekend, and up to 30,000 on holidays.

Officials suggested the wall coming loose could have been related to heavy rains recently that caused flooding in the state ad forced almost 17,000 people out of their homes.

Earlier last year, the concern was a lack of rain as Brazil experienced the worst drought in 91 years, which forced officials to alert the water flow from the Furnas Lake dam.

The Brazilian navy, which also helped in the rescue, said it would investigate the causes of the accident.

Even in the dry season, in some parts of the lake the movement is so intense that the boats have to take turns to navigate on the lake, said the City Hall press office.

Women are the fastest-growing segment of the veteran population — and the homeless veteran population.

Despite over 200 years of service, women say they’re often not recognized as veterans.

“My husband is in the Marine Corps," said Cynthia Taylor, an Army veteran. "His service always, always overshadows mine. No one ever assumes I’m the veteran.”

Taylor served nearly seven years as a combat swim instructor and logistics specialist in the Army.

“I was stationed in Germany and ran 38 different warehouses. We supported Africa and all throughout Europe with supplies, as far as helicopter supplies and food. We provided for humanitarian missions in Africa and things of that nature," said Taylor.

Skills she uses today in her work supporting women veterans. Taylor is a program support coordinator for the Foundation for Women Warriors, a 100-year-old nonprofit dedicated to honoring and empowering the women veteran community.

The nonprofit is campaigning to honor women veterans with a California license plate dedicated to their service. The effort began with a woman who served in the Air Force during Vietnam, who also designed the special decal.

Jodie Grenier, CEO of the foundation, shares a similar experience as Taylor after transitioning from the military.

“When I did tell people that I served in the Marine Corps or served in combat in Iraq, I was often met with, 'Well, you're so petite,' or 'Your hair is so long,'" Grenier.

Questions, she says, men often don’t receive.

"Even if we go to a veteran appointment together, veteran, VA appointment, they will ask for his ID. And he'll be like, she's the veteran, we're here for her," said Taylor. “I had a veteran license plate, they thought I was driving my husband’s car. It wasn’t me. I wasn’t the veteran.”

Despite her years of leadership in the Army, Taylor faced a new uphill battle entirely entering the civilian world.

“I had very little savings, I didn’t have a job, I ended up moving back with my parents because they don’t prepare you for any of that," said Taylor. "You don't know your benefits, what’s available to you because they don’t share it with you.”

And the sisterhood she once had all but disappeared.

"The men, you can only joke around so much, but they don't understand what you're going through," said Taylor. “You just feel so disconnected that you don't know how to make friends with regular people, and it was really isolating and lonely.”

Grenier believes a lack of recognition of women's service has contributed to issues seen today, including many women not accessing the benefits they've earned and a general misunderstanding in society about how many women serve in the military.

“Women have served this country long before they even had the right to vote. They served dating as far back as the Revolutionary War, where they disguised themselves as men to provide battle care. For years and years, women have participated in wars, and it wasn’t even until the 1970s that women that participated in WWI were recognized as veterans.”

Grenier says the isolation and barriers to health care are compounded for women, who have a higher rate of single parenting.

“You don’t serve with a ton of women, and when you transition, you certainly don't transition out into some sort of sisterhood," said Grenier.

According to the VA, 18 states or territories currently offer women veterans license plates.

To make the women veteran license plate available to all California women veterans through the DMV, the foundation must first collect a minimum of 50 paid applications for the license plate with a special decal.

“This is not an initiative to say women veterans need their own thing," said Grenier. "But until we get there until society realizes that women are veterans as well, this is just another way that we can honor the service of these women.”

“Having something that symbolizes the woman as the veteran really speaks volumes and honors her service, that she is the one that made the sacrifice," said Taylor. “I think as a community we owe it to that individual to make sure they don't become homeless, that they are offered the same chances as their male counterparts.”

More than symbolic, they hope it will connect women.

"I really look forward to the day when I can honk my horn and wave and say, 'Thank you for your service,' and know that it’s a woman in the vehicle.”

The foundation is also collecting new and unused children’s toys, clothes, and baby items for women veterans, hoping to support 100 veteran families this holiday season.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. official says the Navy has upheld the firing of the aircraft carrier captain who urged faster action to protect his crew from a coronavirus outbreak.

Captain Brett Crozier was fired back in April by Navy leaders who said he created a panic by sending his memo pleading for help to too many people.

That decision is a complete reversal for Adm. Mike Gilday, the top Navy officer.

Gilday also extended the blame for the ship's pandemic crisis and delayed the promotion of the one-star admiral who was also onboard.

He concludes that both men made serious errors in judgment.

The U.S. official spoke anonymously to describe a report not yet public.

The spread of the coronavirus aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt while on deployment in the Pacific in March exploded into one of the biggest military leadership crises of recent years.

Suspected Iranian hackers have targeted dozens of defense technology and maritime transportation firms, successfully breaching a small number, in a spying campaign launched since July that could leave some of the companies vulnerable to follow-on hacking attempts, Microsoft announced Monday.

Among the targets were companies that work with the U.S., European Union and Israeli governments to make satellite systems, drones technology and "military-grade radars," Microsoft said.

It's just the latest effort by an alleged Iranian hacking group to access sensitive data held in the maritime sector. Another Iranian group last year stole information on the military unit of U.S. Navy members, according to IBM.

"Gaining access to commercial satellite imagery and proprietary shipping plans and logs could help Iran compensate for its developing satellite program," Microsoft researchers wrote in a blog post on Monday.

Microsoft did not attribute the activity directly to an Iranian government organization but instead said the hacking "supports the national interests" of Iran based on a number of factors, including hacking techniques associated with another Iranian group.

John Lambert, head of Microsoft Threat Intelligence Center, told CNN that Microsoft discovered the hacking activity when responding to a breach of a U.S. financial services firm this summer.

The goal of releasing information on the intrusions now is to help organizations prepare for follow-on breach attempts, Lambert said. The hackers, he added, could look to use stolen login information to break into the internal networks of targeted organizations.

The suspected Iranian operatives tried guessing passwords at roughly 250 organizations, including unnamed U.S. and Israeli defense firms and organizations operating in Persian Gulf ports, according to Microsoft. The hackers managed to breach "less than 20" of those organizations, the tech firm said.

The maritime sector has long been of interest to Iran's intelligence services and the country sits on the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world's oil shipments pass.

"Given Iran's past cyber and military attacks against shipping and maritime targets, Microsoft believes this activity increases the risk to companies in these sectors," the Washington State-based technology provider said.

While this activity appears concentrated on Persian Gulf ports, U.S. maritime authorities have also had to raise their network defenses in response to threats.

Unidentified hackers in August breached a computer network at the Port of Houston, U.S. officials have said. Early detection of the incident meant the intruders weren't in a position to disrupt shipping operations, according to a Coast Guard analysis of the incident obtained by CNN.

"The shipping lanes are the highways of the sea," Lambert said. "And anything related to that is going to be in the crosshairs and subject to geopolitical dynamics."

A U.S. Navy helicopter crashed Tuesday in the ocean off Southern California during a routine flight from an aircraft carrier, military officials said.

A search and rescue operation was launched after the MH-60S helicopter crashed around 4:30 p.m. about 60 nautical miles off San Diego, the Navy's U.S. Pacific Fleet said on Twitter.

The crash happened while the aircraft was "conducting routine flight operations," according to the Navy. It had been aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln.

"Search and rescue operations are ongoing with multiple Coast Guard and Navy air and surface assets," the tweet said.

No other details were immediately available.

The MH-60S is a versatile aircraft that typically carries a crew of four and is used in missions including combat support, humanitarian disaster relief and search and rescue.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

WATCH: Military father surprises teen daughter with homecoming

Updated: 8:04 AM EDT Aug 26, 2021

An Oklahoma military father surprised his teenage daughter with a homecoming and the heartwarming moment was caught on camera.The city of Broken Arrow shared a video of the family reunion on Facebook. Karelis Olivares thought she was just receiving an award for the utilities department’s Drinking Water Week Art Contest. Little did she know, her father, Carlos, was going to surprise her during the award presentation.Carlos is in the Navy and has served for 20 years, most recently in San Diego, Tulsa’s FOX 23 reported. Karelis and her sister hadn’t seen him since May. Watch the heartwarming surprise in the video player above.

NORFOLK, Va. — Top officials in the U.S. Navy say the COVID-19 vaccine could soon become mandatory for all members of the force.

Chief of Naval Personnel Vice Admiral John Nowell told sailors during a recent virtual Town Hall that the COVID-19 vaccines could become mandatory if and when the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention grant full approval to the vaccine.

"It's very personal for everybody. It's a very personal decision. It's emergency use authorization, so unlike the flu vaccine, which we do make mandatory in the Navy, that's not something that we can do," Nowell said. "Although I believe that when it's formally approved, which we expect pretty soon, we probably will go to that and then that question will kind of be moot."

Nowell said that by getting a COVID-19 vaccine, Navy members would be keeping fellow sailors, their shipmates and their families safe. He added that he said his entire family has been vaccinated.

Nowell also added that whether someone gets vaccinated or not won't affect their VA benefits.

"Regardless of whether they take the vaccine or not, if you're in the military, then we're responsible for your healthcare, okay?" Nowell said. "Once you get out and through the VA, the VA is still responsible for that. And so sometimes we'll hear if something does come up, where there's an issue with the vaccine, will I be covered? Of course, sailors would be covered, we don't anticipate that."

According to the Department of Defense reports close to 845,000 service members are now fully vaccinated.

This story was originally published by Erin Miller on Scripps station WTKR in Norfolk, Virginia.

Watch the explosion in the video player above.

An "experimental explosion" triggered by the Navy about 100 miles off the Florida coast registered as a 3.9 magnitude earthquake on Friday.

The blast is known as a "shock trial," an explosion meant to test a ship's ability to withstand nearby detonations. The Navy was testing its new aircraft carrier — the USS Gerald R. Ford.

These types detonations have been purposely triggered for decades after the Navy discovered nearby explosions could knock out key systems on its vessels, even when they don't cause physical damage.

This marks the first time the Navy has conducted shock trials since it tested the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier in 1987.

Military officials say the tests are in compliance with environmental requirements that consider the migration patterns of marine life.

WASHINGTON — Memorial Day weekend marks the unofficial start of summer.

It also means June is almost here.

June is carrying extra significance this year for those interested in UFOs and life outside earth.

MAJOR REPORT DUE SOON

When former President Donald Trump signed his final stimulus package in December, it included a provision for a publicly available report on UFOs to be published within six months.

For years, however, the military and the federal government have been gradually sounding the alarm about possible UFOs.

Last August, the Department of Defense sent out this press release “Establishment of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force.”

WATCH: Video taken by US pilot appears to show UFO, Pentagon confirms video is real

In 2020, video from Naval Aviators encountering an unknown aircraft were released for the first time.

When John Brennan, the former director of the Central Intelligence Agency, appeared on Conversations with Tyler, a podcast with the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, he also hinted more may be out there.

"They are quite eyebrow-raising," Brennan told host Tyler Cowen about the Naval videos.

"Life is defined in many different ways and I think it’s a bit presumptuous, if not arrogant, to believe there is no other form of life anywhere in the entire universe," Brennan added.

WHAT WILL BE IN IT?

What is unclear is what will be in the report.

There is also no firm date for the results to be published.

Members of Congress however are expecting a briefing as are military leaders and President Joe Biden.

Whether it was people spending more time looking skyward during the pandemic, the effect of its decreased pollution and visibility, or a Pentagon investigation announced this summer, more people reported UFO sightings in 2020.

According to the National UFO Reporting Center, sightings increased by 1,000 over the year nationally, with 7,200 total calls about UFOs. Calls to their hotline in New York state alone doubled in 2020.

In Michigan, Bill Konkolesky, state director of the Mutual UFO Network, says their office got about 233 calls in 2020, up from about 200 the previous year. But before you get too excited, Konkolesky says he’s not really in the business of mystery.

“Even on a bad year, we can identify about 85% of what comes into us, most years closer to 95%,” he said. “Our credibility is on the line. We’re in it for the truth of what may be out there.”

Konkolesky says different types of aircraft, celestial objects like bright stars and planets, weather phenomena, drones and satellites are the typical culprits.

“I don’t think the increase in sightings has anything to do with that small percentage that fall into the anomalous category,” he said. “I think it’s all explainable.”

Konkolesky says about a third of calls to their branch of MUFO last year turned out to be Space-X Star Link satellites, launched into near orbit to improve internet connection worldwide. The satellites take on eerie formations when visible: Space-X Sky Link Video

“When you see these satellites, they travel in a chain,” said Konkolesky. “You’ll see several satellites flying in a row, and they look pretty spooky when you see them.”

The influx of calls may also have something to do with renewed interest and renewed legitimacy in the topic of UFOs in the form of a Pentagon investigation, announced last summer. The Department of Defense also recently commented on a series of declassified videos taken by Navy pilots, who were confused over an unidentified object they spotted mid-air.

“They’re seeing things they can’t identify either,” said Konkolesky. “It takes sort of the giggle factor away from discussing the topic.”

While he waits anxiously for the Pentagon report, reportedly due out sometime next month, Konkolesky says he doesn’t want to burst anyone’s bubble. He’s still excited at the prospect of one day discovering new life in the universe.

“It’s thrilling to be on that cutting edge,” he said, “to be living in an age where we discover that there is intelligent life in outer space.”

If you want to report any sightings to MUFON, click here.

To see national reports of UFOs, check UFO Stalker here.

The National UFO Reporting Center also catalogs sightings by month here.

This story was originally published by Doug Reardon at WXMI.