Mary Carole McDonnell, the former head of a California company that produced true crime TV shows has been added to the FBI’s Most Wanted list, years after being charged with portraying herself as an heiress to get millions of dollars from lenders. FBI.
(WASHINGTON) — A former TV producer whose company made true crime programs was added to the FBI’s most wanted list last week for allegedly defrauding banks for nearly $30 million by posing as an heiress.
Mary Carole McDonnell, the former CEO of Bellum Entertainment Group, which produced syndicated shows such as “Corrupt Crimes” and “Murderous Affairs,” has been on the lam for nearly seven years after the FBI charged her with bank fraud and aggravated identity theft.
Between July 2017 and May 2018, McDonnell, 73, allegedly went to the Banc of California and additional financial institutions and claimed to be an heir to the McDonnell Aircraft Family, with an $80 million secret trust to which she will have access, the FBI alleged.
She allegedly obtained $29.7 million dollars in cash that she was not entitled to and did not return the money, according to the FBI.
When the bureau issued its arrest warrant on Dec. 12, 2018, McDonnell could not be found.
She is believed to be currently in Dubai, according to the FBI.
Anyone with information related to her whereabouts is urged to contact the FBI at tips.fbi.gov.
Heavy rain fall (Photography by Keith Getter (all rights reserved)/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — An atmospheric river event that’s been slamming the Pacific Northwest with rain is now focused on western Washington, where dangerous flooding is forcing people to evacuate.
Four to 8 inches of rain is possible Wednesday and Thursday in the higher elevations of western Washington state.
Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson issued a state of emergency on Wednesday and he pleaded with residents to follow evacuation orders.
“The situation is extremely serious,” he said at a news conference.
Most rivers in the region are forecast to reach moderate and major flood stages. Record flooding is forecast for some rivers, especially the Skagit River at Mount Vernon and Concrete, Washington, which could swell 3 to 5 feet above record levels beginning Thursday afternoon and continuing through Friday.
The Snoqualmie River, between Snoqualmie and Carnation, will continue to rise through Thursday morning, reaching major flood stage and bringing flooding to farmlands, roads and residential areas from Snoqualmie to Fall City to Carnation.
Amtrak said trains are suspended between Seattle and Vancouver on Thursday and Friday due to the level of the Skagit River.
While the heavy rain will be over by Thursday afternoon, some rivers will take several days to fully recede.
The heavy rain will also impact northern Idaho and Montana over the next 24 hours, with localized flash flooding possible.
A sign featuring the Department of Justice building is seen on Thursday, December 4, 2025. Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — The federal judge who presided over the 2019 criminal case against convicted sex-offender Jeffrey Epstein has become the third judge to grant a Justice Department motion to unseal grand jury materials and other undisclosed evidence from the government’s investigative files.
U.S. District Judge Richard Berman of the Southern District of New York issued a four-page order Wednesday that determined that Congress — in passing the Epstein Files Transparency Act last month — clearly indicated that the materials from his criminal case should be publicly disclosed and that traditional rules of grand jury secrecy were overridden by the act.
“The ‘plain language’ of the Epstein Files Transparency Act unequivocally intends to make public Epstein grand jury materials and discovery materials covered by the Epstein Protective Order,” Berman wrote.
This is the third — and final — ruling on the Justice Department’s motions to lift restrictions on materials related to criminal investigations and prosecutions of Epstein and his convicted co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell.
It comes one day after Judge Paul Engelmayer granted the DOJ’s motion to release grand jury materials and other nonpublic evidence from Maxwell’s criminal case.
Judge Rodney Smith granted a similar request from the Justice Department for records associated with the first federal investigation of Epstein in Florida in the mid-2000s.
Berman, who presided over Epstein’s 2019 arraignment in New York and ordered him detained pending trial, stressed the need to protect the privacy and safety of alleged victims if and when the records from the case are publicly disclosed by the DOJ.
“The Court hereby grants the Government’s motion in accordance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act and with the unequivocal right of Epstein victims to have their identify and privacy protected,” Berman wrote.
Epstein died by suicide in a New York jail in August 2019 while awaiting trial.
Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., who sponsored the Epstein Files Transparency Act, said in a statement that the trio of court rulings is “promising,” but said he would “be watching closely for any attempts to delay or prevent the release of the files by the Department of Justice.”
“This bill was a bipartisan effort signed by President Trump. I hope Attorney General Pam Bondi will put the survivors above politics and the interests of the Epstein class. The public deserves full transparency, and the survivors deserve justice,” Khanna said.
Signage outside Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport is caked in snow after a blizzard struck overnight on November 27, 2019 in Bloomington, Minnesota. Stephen Maturen/Getty Images
(MINNEAPOLIS) — A 47-year-old man was struck and killed by a snowplow at the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport, according to local officials.
The incident was reported shortly after 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at a parking lot near Terminal 2, according to Jeff Lea, a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Airports Commission, which operates the airport.
That parking lot serves the in-flight catering services company LSG Sky Chefs.
Temperatures were in the upper 20s with light snow falling in the area at the time of the incident. Over 200 flights out of the Minneapolis-Saint Paul airport were delayed on Tuesday.
The victim’s identity was not immediately released.
The Minnesota State Patrol is helping with the investigation, Lea said.
The city of Minneapolis on Wednesday declared a snow emergency starting at 9 p.m., which bans certain street parking.
“These rules help plows in clearing the streets so emergency vehicles and other traffic can get around,” city officials said.
Heavy rain fall (Photography by Keith Getter (all rights reserved)/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — An atmospheric river event has been slamming the Pacific Northwest with rain, and the flood threat is far from over.
In the last two days, 2 to 4 inches of rain fell at lower elevations and 4 to 10 inches was recorded at higher elevations across western Washington and Oregon.
On Wednesday, the rain will focus on hard-hit Washington, inundating the state with nearly constant rainfall. Four to 8 inches is forecast in higher elevations and 2 to 4 inches is expected in lower elevations.
Record flooding is forecast for some rivers, especially the Skagit River at Mount Vernon and Concrete, Washington, which could swell 3 to 5 feet above record levels.
The rain will continue in Washington on Thursday, but it will be much lighter. However, levees will be challenged starting Thursday afternoon.
Central and northern Idaho will also get heavy rain Wednesday and Thursday, which may lead to flooding.
Meanwhile, more winter storms are ahead for the Midwest and Northeast.
A storm that dumped snow in Minneapolis and Green Bay, Wisconsin, on Tuesday will move through the Great Lakes and the Northeast on Wednesday, bringing snow to higher elevations and rain to lower elevations. Three to 6 inches of snow is forecast for some areas in upstate New York and northwestern Pennsylvania.
The next winter storm will move into the Midwest on Wednesday night, bringing 3 to 6 inches of snow from Iowa to Kentucky on Thursday.
Jacob Lee Bard, 48, is accused of shooting and killing a person on the Kentucky State University campus on Dec. 9, 2025. (Franklin County Jail)
(FRANKFORT, Ky.) —One student is dead and another critically injured in a shooting Tuesday at Kentucky State University in Frankfort, according to police.
A suspect in the shooting, who is not a student at the university, is in custody, police said in a press release, identifying him as Jacob Lee Bard, 48, of Evansville, Indiana.
He has been booked into jail on charges of murder and first-degree assault.
Preliminary information indicates the shooting was caused by a personal dispute and was not a random active shooter situation, an official briefed on the situation told ABC News.
“This was not a mass shooting or a random incident based on what I’ve been told, and the suspected shooter is already in custody,” Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said in a video message. “That means that while this was scary, there is no ongoing threat and I believe our families are safe.”
The Frankfort Police Department said it responded to an incident on the school’s campus Tuesday afternoon “regarding an active aggressor.”
The shooting occurred near Whitney M. Young Jr. Hall, a residence hall on the south side of the campus, according to the school.
Two Kentucky State University students were shot in the incident, authorities said. One has since died while the other was transported to a hospital in stable but critical condition, Frankfort police said.
“At this time, there is no ongoing threat to the campus community,” the school said in a statement to students.
The investigation is ongoing. The university said it is working closely with local and state law enforcement.
All classes and activities at the campus, which is located approximately 25 miles northwest of Lexington, have been canceled for the rest of the week, school officials said.
“Today, indeed, was a senseless tragedy,” Kentucky State University President Koffi Akakpo said at a press briefing on Tuesday. “We’re mourning the loss of one of our students.”
Beshear urged people to pray for those affected and “for a world where these things don’t happen.”
“I’ll keep trying to build a Kentucky that we don’t see arguments ended in violence,” he said.
Badwater Basin, the site of Lake Manly, is viewed from Dante’s View showing the lake receding due to evaporation on April 21, 2024, near Furnace Creek, California. (George Rose/Getty)
(DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK, Calif.) — An ancient lake that once existed at Death Valley National Park has reemerged after record rainfall in the region.
Several inches of water have formed in Badwater Basin, which lies at 282 feet below sea level, the lowest point in North America, according to a press release from the National Park Service.
During the Ice Ages, the basin — colloquially known as Lake Manly — was once a lake with depths of up to 700 feet.
Ice covered the Sierra Nevada between 128,000 and 186,000 years ago, allowing rivers to flow into a long valley that fed into Lake Manly, according to NASA. At the time, the lake measured nearly 100 miles long.
In modern times, the basin typically lies bare, without any significant moisture.
Death Valley just experienced its wettest fall on record, according to the National Weather Service. Between September and November, 2.41 inches of rain fell — more than what typically falls in the desert landscape in one year. November alone recorded 1.76 inches — breaking the record set in 1923 at 1.7 inches.
The lake is much more shallow than the one that formed in 2024 in the aftermath of Hurricane Hilary — an event that prompted the first tropical storm watch in California’s history.
On Aug. 20, 2024, alone, more than 2 inches of rain fell in Death Valley, according to the NPS.
This year’s rainfall will allow those who missed the last emergence of Lake Manly to see the rare phenomenon once again.
The water can’t drain out, since the basin is contained and at such a low elevation, said Andrew Heltzel, chief commercial officer of the Xanterra Travel Collection, an operator of lodges, restaurants and excursions at several of the most iconic national parks in the U.S., including Death Valley, Yellowstone and Grand Canyon.
“It’s almost impenetrable,” Heltzel told ABC News, describing the outskirts of the basin as “like a seal.”
The only way for the water to escape is through evaporation, which could take months.
When the water is present, it creates a stunning reflection of the surrounding mountain peaks.
“My advice would be to, if you are interested in seeing this, not to delay to get there,” Heltzel said. “It is getting smaller through evaporation every day.”
The “most exciting” aspect of the way the rain fell this time is that it could spark a superbloom of wildflowers in the spring, Heltzel said.
The pace and amount of rain that fell made for the “perfect ingredients” for a significant display of wildflowers to emerge, Heltzel said.
In 2024, too much rain fell too fast, and the soil was unable to absorb the moisture, Heltzel said.
“With the November rains, they came in gently enough that it was able to get into the ground and potentially give us those flowers as well as a second chance to see Lake Manly,” he said.
The last time a superbloom occurred was in 2016, according to the NPS.
The recent storms caused numerous road closures across the parks, with several paved roads covered in flood debris, according to the NPS. However, many of the park’s most popular sites remain open, including Zabriskie Point, Dantes View, Badwater Basin, and Mesquite Sand Dunes.
The National Park Service advised visitors to be aware that unpaved roads may be impassable due to storm damage and to be prepared for self-rescue when traveling on backcountry roads.
In February, Death Valley National Park will host the Dark Sky Festival, which can give visitors opportunities to sky gaze while also seeing Lake Manly, Heltzel said.
Death Valley has been designated as a Gold Tier Dark Sky Park, which signifies the highest rating of darkness, according to the NPS.
“The stargazing opportunities in Death Valley are second to none,” Heltzel said.
Keith Eli in police photo. St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office
(LOUISIANA) — Officials are raising concerns about the conditions in a Louisiana jail as investigators continue to search for a man who authorities said escaped the facility with two others last week by scaling down a wall.
St. Landry Parish Sheriff Bobby Guidroz released new photos and a video Monday of the Dec. 2 escape, when authorities said three detainees, Johnathan Jevon Joseph, Keith Eli and Joseph Allen Harrington, allegedly used sheets to scale the St. Landry Parish Jail’s outer wall, before dropping onto a first-floor roof and fleeing.
At a news conference, Guidroz criticized the conditions of the jail, located 130 miles northwest of New Orleans, and noted that there was ongoing construction he alleged that may have given the detainees a way to escape.
“[The] Parish government had a contracting crew out there fixing some of the water leaks of the roof, and they left extension cords, they left rope and they left any inmate an opportunity to just slide on out,” Guidroz said during the news conference Monday.
Two of the three escapees were found last week. One of the inmates, Harrington, took his own life Thursday after officers tracked him to a home and ordered him to surrender, police said.
Joseph surrendered to police the next day after authorities said they followed a tip and found him in another home.
Eli remains on the loose as of Tuesday and there is a reward for his capture.
Guidroz, meanwhile, has criticized St. Landry Parish President Jessie Bellard over the incident, claiming Guidroz has been asking for funding to repair the 43-year-old jail’s deficiencies.
Bellard said in a Facebook post that the claims of “crumbling walls and rusted out cell door locks were inaccurate.”
“The security incidents that have occurred are primarily due to a shortage of deputies and a lack of training for current staff,” he said.
“The Sheriff must take responsibility for improving deputy pay to ensure we are competitive with surrounding parishes, properly compensating those who risk their lives daily,” Bellard added.
Guidroz dismissed Bellard’s claim, contending that the pay was “competitive.”
“The pay for a non-post-certified corrections officer is $18 and some change [an hour]. If you get post-certified, it’s $19.15, and we’re fixing it to go up to $20,” the sheriff said.
Bellard told ABC affiliate KATC Monday that he disagreed with the sheriff’s characterization of the jail.
“The bricks and mortar are fine, and I have everything to back it up,” he told KATC.
“I have an architect coming from Baton Rouge tomorrow — a corrections specialist — to help design ways to fix the cinder block issues and prevent escapes. If I have to spend the money myself to protect the public, I will. But this only applies to the third floor — that’s where the mortar is weakening. The other floors have brick and mortar on the outside protecting them,” Bellard added.
(FRANKFORT, Ky.) — Multiple people were injured in a shooting Tuesday at Kentucky State University in Frankfort, according to the university and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear.
A suspect is in custody, according to Beshear and local police.
The Frankfort Police Department said it responded to an incident on the school’s campus Tuesday afternoon “regarding an active aggressor.”
“At this time, we are aware of some injuries,” Beshear said on X. “Let’s pray for all those affected.”
The campus is on lockdown until further notice, police said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Jubilant Sykes sings with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in Leonard Bernstein’s “Mass” at Carnegie Hall, October 24, 2008. Hiroyuki Ito/Getty Images
(SANTA MONICA, Calif.) — A Grammy-nominated opera singer was stabbed to death inside a California residence, and the 71-year-old’s son has been arrested in connection with the killing, police said.
Jubilant Sykes was killed in a home in Santa Monica on Monday, police said. Officers responded to the residence after a 911 caller reported an assault in progress and found Sykes with “critical injuries consistent with a stabbing,” the Santa Monica Police Department said in a statement on Tuesday.
Sykes’ son, 31-year-old Micah Sykes, was found in the home and taken into custody without incident, police said. He will be booked for homicide, police said.
“The circumstances surrounding the incident remain under investigation,” police said.
Officers responded to the home around 9:20 p.m. on Monday and the 911 caller directed them inside, police said.
First responders with the Santa Monica Fire Department pronounced Sykes dead at the scene, police said.
Police said the weapon was recovered at the scene, though did not provide additional details.
The case will be presented to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
“This appears to be an isolated incident occurring within a private residence, and there is no ongoing threat to the community,” police said.
Sykes performed on the Grammy-nominated 2009 recording of Leonard Bernstein’s “Mass,” with the Morgan State University Choir and Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.
