National

(CHICAGO) — Chicago authorities have released new information in the unsolved disappearance of postal worker Kierra Coles, including footage of a “person of interest” in Coles’ car, who police say gave “varying accounts of the last time he saw her.”

Coles vanished without a trace on Oct. 2, 2018. The 26-year-old was about three months pregnant and was eager to meet her first child, according to her mother, Karen Phillips.

Her case remains a “high-risk missing person investigation with potential foul play suspected,” Chicago police told ABC News on Thursday.

A video produced by police and published by the department on Tuesday sheds new light on the mystery.

The video revealed surveillance footage of Coles entering her home on Oct. 2, 2018.

“A man, who detectives identified as a person of interest, also arrived and entered the residence,” Lt. William Svilar said in the video. “Kierra and the man later got into her car and drove off — with Kierra in the driver’s seat.”

At about 10:43 p.m. that night, Coles was spotted on surveillance video making ATM withdrawals — the last known images of her, according to Svilar.

“Less than an hour later, [Coles’] vehicle was seen arriving and parking in another area of the city,” Svilar said. “The person of interest exits the passenger side of the vehicle, but nobody exits the driver’s side.”

The next day, on Oct. 3, “The person of interest is seen parking Kierra’s vehicle near her residence before entering the building and exiting with unknown items,” Svilar said.

The person of interest “then drives away in his personal vehicle that was parked on the block overnight,” Svilar said.

Svilar said in the video, “When officers questioned the person of interest after Kierra was reported missing, he gave varying accounts of the last time he saw her.”

Police won’t identify their person of interest. But Phillips told ABC News that Coles’ boyfriend lied to her about when he last texted the 26-year-old. The boyfriend could not be reached by ABC News for comment.

Phillips said she always knew the ATM and car surveillance footage existed, but hadn’t seen it until now.

“Just seeing her walking, in person, was heartbreaking,” Phillips said Thursday.

Police said this video showing newly made public footage from Coles’ case is part of a “series launched last month to tell the stories of homicide victims in hopes of solving their cases.” The department said “each episode focuses on a different case, with the goal of generating tips that could possibly lead to a break in the case, and in turn, an arrest.”

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service said it’s also still investigating Coles’ disappearance.

“We continue to urge the public to contact the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s hotline at (877) 876-2455, if they have any information related to her disappearance,” a spokesperson said.

For Phillips, the daily pain of not knowing what happened to her daughter is unbearable.

“Not even my worst enemy would I wish this type of pain on,” she said.

Phillips urges anyone with information to come forward.

“I just hope somebody just has a heart and calls in, or gives a tip. Anything they may know, even if they don’t think it’s important enough — any small thing could lead to breaking this whole case,” she said.

Phillips vowed, “I’m not gonna let up until my daughter is found.”

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(UVALDE, Texas) — The principal of the Texas elementary school that was the site of one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history was among the witnesses who appeared before state lawmakers Thursday when they held the first hearing in a special investigation into the massacre.

The state committee is investigating the circumstances surrounding last month’s shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde.

Police officers, lawyers and a few community members joined state lawmakers at the Uvalde City Hall building on Thursday for the first day of hearings.

In her first public comments following the shooting, Robb Elementary principal Mandy Gutierrez told San Antonio ABC affiliate KSAT she didn’t have much to say at this time.

“It was just an information session. They’re going to compile a report. And when that comes out, I may have more comment at that time,” she told the station outside city hall Thursday evening.

Gutierrez met with President Joe Biden when he traveled to Uvalde in the days after the shooting.

When asked how she was personally doing following Thursday’s hearing, she said, “I’m just concerned for [the] families and my kids.”

Nineteen children and two teachers were killed after a gunman entered the building through an unlocked door and opened fire in a classroom, the deadliest shooting at a public school in Texas history and the second-deadliest nationwide.

After 77 minutes, a tactical unit breached the classroom door and killed the gunman. Law enforcement has come under intense scrutiny for failing to act faster.

The probe will be an “objective and nonpartisan examination” of what happened, Texas state Rep. Dustin Burrows, chairman of the committee investigating the shooting, has said.

“I would say that the most respectful thing I think we can do is to try to get some of those lingering questions answered, for the people in this city,” Burrows said Thursday.

Former Texas Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman emphasized the committee’s commitment to their task “to gather the facts…to know the truth about the story.” These facts, she said, “cannot be ignored, enhanced, or diminished.”

Guzman continued that it is her “hope and prayer” that the committee “will produce the information the legislature needs to protect our children.”

Following public remarks, the executive session began, where witnesses were interviewed in private.

Witnesses testifying Thursday included Gutierrez and Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District superintendent Hal Harrell, among other school staff. The hearings are scheduled to continue on Friday, Monday and Tuesday.

Law enforcement officials are also expected to testify, Burrows said last week.

The committee might produce a preliminary report for the public ahead of completing its full investigation, he said.

ABC News’ Laura Romero, Gina Sunseri and Emily Shapiro contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) — Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia testified on Capitol Hill this month that the recent domestic terror attack at the Tops supermarket in his city was even more deadly because the shooter was wearing military-style body armor and a ballistic helmet.

Gramaglia described how retired police officer Aaron Salter, Jr. confronted the shooter, got off multiple shots — even struck the shooter — but was unable to stop him. Salter was one of the 10 people killed in the mass shooting on May 14.

“[Salter’s] service weapon was no match for the military-style weapons and armor the perpetrator was equipped with,” he wrote to lawmakers.

Those details have renewed a debate among local elected officials and law enforcement about whether tactical body armor, which is largely unregulated across the country, has an appropriate place in civilian society.

Right after the shooting, New York signed into a law a new policy aiming to ban such gear. Gramaglia said he supports it and thinks it could be a model.

“Why do you need tactical body armor?” he told ABC News in an interview on Capitol Hill after testifying. “Unless you’re in a profession that requires the use of it. And I think the law still leaves it open that if you have a job that requires it, then you can still obtain it. But why does the average citizen need to have body armor?”

Some experts worry the new law in New York could have caused a spike in the sale of such gear and also may have been written too narrowly to actually include the type of armor the Buffalo shooter used.

At the federal level, it is against the law for felons convicted of violent crimes to tactical gear like military-style, bullet proof vest. The City of Chicago has a ban on the books too, and in Connecticut it is illegal to purchase tactical gear online. Sales in that state have to be done in person.

In reality, there are few checks and a huge range available online, that can be purchased and delivered to almost anyone in days.

The Violence Project, a non-partisan research center that studies gun violence in America, found that at least 21 times in the last 40 years a mass shooter has worn body armor during their attacks, including in Sutherland Springs, Texas; San Bernardino, California; and Aurora, Colorado.

And there is evidence the trend is growing more frequent.

“Shooters understand if they go into a public place and open fire, that this [gear] could, in a sense, help them continue to shoot and to make more of a deadly impact. But it is also a point of emulation behavior — shooters looking to previous attackers for inspiration and wanting to be like them. So there’s some imitation going on here, too,” author Mark Follman, who has covered mass shootings for more than a decade, told ABC News in a zoom interview.

“The purchase of tactical gear in and of itself tells you nothing. But if a person of concern is going out and doing this, that could be significant. In other words, a person who is already on the radar for disturbing behaviors, as we see in virtually all of these cases, they’re preceded by a long pattern, often of disturbing behavior. So in that context, if a person is then going out to purchase tactical gear or large quantities of ammunition or new weapons, that could be a warning sign,” Follman added, saying that armor in theory, could also be easier to regulate than some guns as there is no mention in the constitution about any right to anything around tactical gear.

Former counterterrorism coordinator at the Department of Homeland Security, John Cohen, agreed some state and even federal lawmakers might look to the new New York law as an example for writing new bills.

“We need to think very hard about whether we should be regulating the sales of body armor unless one is in a profession that requires its use. I see very little reason why a member of the public should be allowed to go out and buy a bulletproof vest or a ballistic shield,” Cohen, who is also an ABC News contributor, said in an interview.

Experts worry about an increase in hyper-militarized advertising both online and at gun shows focused on a need to be “combat” or “warrior” ready.

Keith Barrett runs one of the largest body armor retailer companies on the East Coast. Online and at gun shows his company sells a range of gear from ballistic helmets to concealable armor to military-style vests that are able to take several hits from riffle rounds. They sell bulletproof, removable plates designed to sit inside a vest and are made from various metals or ceramics, ranging in cost and efficacy.

At a gun show outside Philadelphia last weekend, he had one pink camouflage vest on display as well as smaller plates designed for kids’ vests.

“It’s a piece of defensive equipment that somebody can buy just in case. And that’s just a regular layperson. Now, if you’re talking about people who are active sports shooters, go to range handle weapons on a regular basis – that would be no different than ear protection or eye protection. It’s extremely common and prudent to have that piece of safety equipment,” he told ABC News during an interview outside the gun show.

Barrett, a retired Maryland State Police officer, bristled when asked about whether body armor could make it harder for law enforcement to respond to active shooter situations and said he has seen a wider range in ages and demographics of people at shows looking for armor in the last few years.

“Tell the average lawmaker who lives in his $500,000 house to go down to the inner city and live in the environment where they’re shooting at each other every day and tell them they don’t need body armor,” he added.

He concedes that as there are no federal regulations requiring background checks for the sale of body armor; at gun shows, he is taking customers at their word in terms of their criminal record.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(VESTAVIA HILLS, Ala.) — Two people were shot and killed and one injured Thursday evening at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Vestavia Hills, Alabama, The Vestavia Hills Police Department said.

Police were alerted to the incident at 3775 Crosshaven Drive around 6:22 p.m.

Capt. Shane Ware said during a briefing that a lone suspect entered the church meeting and began shooting. Three people were shot and two died. Another person is receiving treatment at a hospital, Ware added.

The next briefing will be Friday morning.

The suspected shooter is in police custody.

Darren J. Reynolds contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — For more than a century, the Boy Scouts of America was a powerful institution aimed at empowering young people to make “ethical and moral choices.” But repeated lawsuits over sex abuse claims scouts say they suffered in scouting and the court-ordered release of decades of internal Boy Scouts of America records cataloguing abuse allegations led to institutional disgrace and bankruptcy.

The century-long-cover-up by The Boy Scouts of America to conceal pedophiles that were in their ranks and how their secret “perversion files” would eventually lead to the financial downfall and bankruptcy of the organization.

ABC News Studios partners with Imagine Documentaries and Vermilion Films to present “Leave No Trace: A Hidden History of The Boy Scouts.” The film examines financial records, court documents and firsthand survivor accounts to dissect a coverup of sexual abuse within the Boy Scouts of America.

After premiering at the Tribeca Festival on June 9, “Leave No Trace” is set to stream on Hulu and in select theaters on Thursday, June 16.

Stream the full story June 16 on Hulu

The Boy Scouts of America responded to ABC News about the film’s release and said they are “deeply sorry for the pain endured by survivors of abuse,” but the organization challenges aspects of the film.

“While there are aspects of the film “Leave No Trace” that mischaracterize the BSA’s policies and actions, rather than challenge these inaccuracies, our focus is on supporting survivors,” the organization told ABC News. It continued, “The BSA welcomes any opportunity for survivors to share their stories as part of the healing process, and we applaud the bravery and resilience of all survivors of past abuse in Scouting.”

The Boy Scouts of America still remains one of the largest youth organizations in the United States and reported approximately 2.1 million youth members and nearly 800,000 adult volunteers in 2019. At its height, the organization served over 5 million youths in 1979.

In 2012, the Boy Scouts of America was forced by a court order in a sexual abuse lawsuit brought by a former scout in Oregon to release over 20,000 pages of documentation of alleged child sexual abuse cases within the organization from 1965 to 1985.

The film investigates how the organization allegedly helped cover up the abuse cases and failed to report the allegations externally to police or other local officials.

In February 2020, the Boy Scouts of America filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in order to offer “equitable compensation” to victims and their families, according to a press release.

Three months later, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware set a November 2020 deadline for all survivors of sexual abuse to file claims, according to a press release.

More than 82,000 sexual abuse claims were reportedly filed.

Earlier this year, survivors of sex abuse in scouting voted to accept a proposed 2.7 billion dollar settlement from the Boy Scouts of America as part of its reorganization plan. If approved by the bankruptcy court, it would be the largest sex-abuse payout in American history.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(EL PASO, Texas) — The U.S. saw the largest number of migrants arrested or encountered along the southern border since Customs and Border Protection began counting numbers of migrants encountered since the year 2000, statistics released by CBP, on Wednesday show.

CBP encountered 239,416 migrants along the southwest land border in May, a 2% increase compared to April, and 25% of those those encountered were previously arrested and deported by CBP.

The past four months, according to CBP statistics, migrant numbers along the southern border have increased steadily over 200,000 each month.

The amount of unaccompanied minors also saw a 20% increase from this month to last.

Drug seizures along the southern border were down in May in double digits, according to CBP.

“Our message to those who would try and gain illegal entry to the United States remains the same – don’t make the dangerous journey only to be sent back,” said CBP Commissioner Chris Magnus in a statement. “As temperatures start to rise in the summer, human smugglers will continue to exploit vulnerable populations and recklessly endanger the lives of migrants for financial gain.”

The numbers come as Title 42 — the Trump administration policy, continued by the Biden administration that expelled migrants along the southern border under the auspices of the pandemic, was ordered to be kept in place by a federal judge in May.

The Justice Department, which handles litigation for the federal government, has appealed the ruling.

“Current restrictions at the U.S. border have not changed: single adults and families encountered at the Southwest Border will continue to be expelled, where appropriate, under Title 42,” Magnus said.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WORCESTER, Mass.) — A bishop has declared that a Massachusetts school “may no longer identify itself as Catholic.”
A bishop has declared that a central Massachusetts school “may no longer identify itself as Catholic” because it refuses to remove Black Lives Matter and Pride flags it began flying on campus last year.

Arguing that the flags “embody specific agendas and ideologies (that) contradict Catholic social and moral teaching,” Bishop Robert McManus of the Diocese of Worcester issued a decree on Thursday punishing the Nativity School of Worcester, a tuition-free private middle school that serves about 60 boys from under-resourced communities.

The decree prohibits the school from calling itself Catholic and prevents Mass and sacraments from taking place on school grounds.

In a statement, the school said it began displaying the flags in Jan. 2021 at the request of its students, the majority of whom, it noted, are people of color.

“As a multicultural school, the flags represent the inclusion and respect of all people. These flags simply state that all are welcome at Nativity and this value of inclusion is rooted in Catholic teaching,” said the school.

According to the school, when McManus became aware of the flags in March of this year, he asked the school to take them down. Later that month, an unknown person removed them, the school said, “[causing] harm to our entire community. The flags were later raised again.

In May, McManus threatened to punish the school in an open letter, where he claimed the Church is “100% behind the phrase ‘black lives matter’” but accused “a specific movement with a wider agenda” of “co-opt[ing] the phrase.”

The school said it would seek to appeal the bishop’s decision while continuing to fly the flags.

A spokesperson for the diocese did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) — On Jan. 6, 2021, pro-Trump rioters broke into the U.S. Capitol. The attack resulted in deaths, injuries, more than 700 arrests and former President Donald Trump’s second impeachment.
Dr. Simone Gold, a leading figure in the anti-vaccine moment, was sentenced to prison Thursday for storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

The founder of America’s Frontline Doctors, Gold and her coalition of physicians have pushed conspiracy theories about the COVID-19 vaccine and promoted disproven treatments like ivermectin. She pleaded guilty in March to a misdemeanor charge of unlawfully entering and remaining in a restricted area of the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 attack.

Christopher Cooper, U.S. district judge for the District of Columbia, sentenced Gold on Thursday to a 60-day prison term followed by 12 months of supervised release, and ordered her to pay a $9,500 fine.

In an interview with The Washington Post in January about her involvement in the riot, Gold said that she “regrets being there.”

Gold did not respond to ABC News’ request for comment.

In March, ABC News reported that despite the warnings from health agencies about unproven COVID-19 treatments, several physician groups like America’s Frontline Doctors had partnered with telemedicine platforms and pharmacies to offer easy access to drugs like ivermectin.

A House probe launched in October is investigating America’s Frontline Doctors and other organizations for allegedly “spreading misinformation and facilitating access to disproven and potentially hazardous coronavirus treatments, such as hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin.”

“Attempts to monetize coronavirus misinformation have eroded public confidence in proven treatments and prevention measures and hindered efforts to control the pandemic,” Rep. James E. Clyburn (D-S.C.), chairman of the House Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, wrote in a letter to Gold when the investigation was launched in the fall.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — Thousands of cattle in Kansas have died as a national heat wave scorches the U.S., leaving one of the country’s leading cattle farming states with a loss amid rising production costs.

At least 2,000 cattle have died as of Tuesday, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment told ABC News.

The cattle deaths happened throughout the weekend, as extreme heat and humidity persisted through Saturday and Sunday.

AJ Tarpoff, associate professor and beef extension veterinarian at Kansas State University, told ABC News that multiple factors led to the heat stress that caused the cattle to die.

“The temperature spiked, the humidity spiked, but the wind speed dropped,” Tarpoff said. “This is quite rare for this region of western Kansas, and it lasted for over one day.”

Tarpoff added that since nighttime temperatures were higher than usual, the cattle did not receive the normal cooling time they need to counter heat stress.

Scarlett Hagins, a spokesperson for the Kansas Livestock Association, said there was a 10 to 15-degree spike over Saturday night, which was a drastic jump in temperatures for the area.

“There was little wind, and the temperature didn’t really cool down overnight,” Hagins told ABC News. “The cattle just didn’t have time to acclimate because it happened so fast.”

Tarpoff said cattle are generally adaptable animals, but this weather event was particularly stressful because of the fast temperature change.

“Cattle are a robust animal; they can adapt to all kinds of weather all over the world,” Tarpoff said. “Some animals just did not have time to adapt [from the spring season] and some were still shedding their winter coats.” “Going forward, cattle can adapt quickly, as long as the wind keeps. It all depends on nighttime cooling hours and wind speed.”

Hagins said Kansas markets 5.5 million cattle each year, so while the loss of these 2,000 was unfortunate, this event should not affect market prices or the supply chain for beef.

“People shouldn’t worry about seeing beef on the shelves or seeing the price of beef go up,” Hagins said.

Hagins said ranchers in Kansas have mitigation protocols to deal with summer heat, which usually does not spike as it did over the weekend.

“Heat stress is always a concern, but there are mitigation protocols in place and we usually can protect against these kinds of deaths,” Hagins said.

Hagins said many ranchers make sure to increase water availability for cattle as temperatures rise, and also adjust feeding schedules for the animals.

“They will change what time they are feeding or what kind of food they are feeding the cattle so that they are not digesting during the hot hours because when cattle digest, their bodies get warmer,” Hagins said.

The cattle deaths come amidst a national heat wave that has nearly 100 million Americans under heat advisories.

U.S. residents from California to Pennsylvania face heat indexes nearing or surpassing triple digits.

For even the country’s hottest regions, such temperatures are abnormal for early summer, and extreme weather events persist among the increasing effects of climate change.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(BUFFALO, N.Y.) — A federal magistrate on Thursday urged federal prosecutors to quickly decide whether to seek the death penalty for alleged Buffalo supermarket shooter Payton Gendron, citing the expense to taxpayers of defending a death-eligible defendant.

Gendron, 18, said at the U.S. District Court hearing that he has all of $16 to his name, prompting U.S. Magistrate Judge Kenneth Schroeder to assign him “learned counsel” — attorneys with experience in death penalty cases — from the Federal Public Defenders Office.

“This case has now been around for a month. I would hope the Department of Justice would undertake steps that would reasonably bring about” a decision whether to seek the death penalty, Schroeder said.

Prosecutors told the judge they will inform their superiors of his request, but noted no decision could be made before an indictment is returned.

Gendron made his first appearance in federal court, a day after U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the 26 federal counts against him and met with loved ones of the victims in Buffalo.

Schroeder read the charges and the potential penalties before declaring, “Those are the charges you are now facing as a result of this criminal complaint.”

Gendron gave mostly one-word answers to a series of questions involving his finances in order to establish that he’s eligible for court-appointed counsel.

“When was the last time you had gainful employment approximately?” Schroeder asked.

“A year,” Gendron replied.

Gendron allegedly “wrote about his acquisition of firearms, ammunition, firearm magazines, body armor, a GoPro camera, and other supplies for the attack,” according to the criminal complaint, but the document did not say how Gendron paid for the items.

The suspect is charged with 10 federal counts of committing a hate crime resulting in death; three counts of committing a hate crime involving an attempt to kill; 10 counts of using a firearm to commit murder during and in relation to a crime of violence; and three counts of using and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.

Gendron did not enter a plea to the charges.

“The Complaint further alleges that Gendron’s motive for the mass shooting was to prevent Black people from replacing white people and eliminating the white race, and to inspire others to commit similar attacks,” the Department of Justice said in a statement released Wednesday.

Gendron of Conklin, New York, which is more than 200 miles southeast of Buffalo, is accused of storming a Tops grocery store on May 14 and gunning down people outside and inside the market with an AR-15-style weapon that he legally purchased near his home, authorities said.

Garland said Wednesday that Gendron allegedly planned the massacre for months, including driving to the store to sketch the layout and count the number of Black people present.

Garland also revealed that at one point during the attack, Gendron allegedly aimed his Bushmaster XM rifle at a white Tops employee, who was shot in the leg and injured. He alleged that Gendron apologized to the victim before continuing the attack.

Gendron allegedly livestreamed part of the attack on the Internet before his feed was cut, according to the federal complaint.

Gendron was also indicted this month on25 state charges, including 10 counts of first-degree murder. He is also the first person in New York state history to be charged with domestic terrorism motivated by hate, a crime enacted in the state in November 2020.

He is charged in state court with 10 counts of second-degree murder as a hate crime, three counts of attempted murder as a hate crime and one count of criminal possession of a weapon. During his June 2 arraignment on the state charges, Gendron’s court-appointed lawyers entered a plea of not guilty to all of the charges on his behalf.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.