(NEW YORK) — Two people climbed to the top of the Empire State Building Thursday afternoon and unfurled a flag on top of its spire.
The unidentified people appear to be wearing masks.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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(PHILADELPHIA) — The Philadelphia Police Department said it’s obtained arrest warrants for two 16-year-old boys in the fatal shooting of a Penn State University student.
Kaiseem Smith and Azzubair Outen-Fleming are wanted for murder and related offenses for the June 6 slaying of 22-year-old William “Billy” Schmidt, police announced on Tuesday.
Billy Schmidt had been watching the NBA Finals with his friends at a bar and was walking home when he was shot in the chest in an apparent robbery, according to police and his family.
Schmidt was studying digital journalism and media at Penn State World Campus, the university said.
He was set to graduate in December and hoped to work in sports broadcasting, his sister, Anna Schmidt, told ABC News.
She said her brother “was one of the nicest, most genuine and honestly, goofiest, people there is.”
Police ask anyone with information on the suspects’ whereabouts to call the department’s tip line at 215-686-TIPS (8477).
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(NEW YORK) — The brother of an NFL player was arrested Tuesday in Atlanta after he allegedly killed his mother in her home the day before, according to police
Ciarre Campbell was charged Tuesday with murder, aggravated assault and possession of a knife in connection with the killing of Nateal Campbell, 71, the Atlanta Police Department said in its arrest warrant.
The suspect is the younger brother of Baltimore Ravens defensive end Calais Campbell, who used to play for the Atlanta Falcons.
Lt. Christopher Butler of the Atlanta Police Department told reporters Tuesday that officers received a call for a welfare check Monday from a “concerned family member.” When officers arrived at the home they found the Nateal Campbell’s body, according to Butler.
“A brief look into the history does show some calls back in April dealing with this location a possible arson incident,” Butler said. “There have been some indications of possible some mental health issues with an individual.”
Ciarre Campbell’s arraignment is pending.
Jay Abt, an attorney representing the suspect, told ABC affiliate WSB that his client is innocent until proven guilty.
“We vigorously protest his innocence. We look forward to his day in court. I’m honored to defend him and, most importantly, the Campbell family, I’m asking on their behalf that the public respect their privacy at this time,” he told the station.
Calais Campbell’s family released a statement to ESPN Wednesday asking for privacy.
“We are devastated to share that the Campbell Family has lost its matriarch, Mrs. Nateal Campbell. While the details of her passing are still being investigated, we take comfort in knowing she is reunited with our father, her beloved Chuck, and in the arms of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,” the family said.
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(NEW YORK) –A dangerous heat wave is bringing prolonged extreme heat to the Midwest, the South and the East Coast this week.
The heat started in the Midwest, where extreme humidity levels are rivaling the Amazon rainforest, creating life-threatening conditions for tens of millions of people.
Chicago activated cooling centers throughout the city, including at community service centers, senior centers, libraries, city colleges and police districts. Chicago Public Schools said all summer programming will be inside through Wednesday.
On Wednesday, the dangerous heat expands from the Midwest and the South into the Northeast.
The heat index — what temperature it feels like with humidity — is forecast to soar to 104 degrees in Chicago, 109 in Detroit, 104 in New York City, 107 in Philadelphia, 108 in Washington, D.C., and 111 in Nashville, Tennessee.
By Thursday, the heat index could reach 106 degrees in Boston, a scorching 111 degrees in New York, 110 in Washington, D.C., and 109 in St. Louis, Missouri.
There will be minimal relief overnight, which makes the heat even more dangerous.
The unrelenting heat will continue on Friday. The heat index is forecast to hit 107 degrees in New York, 110 in D.C., 105 in Raleigh, North Carolina, and 109 in Memphis, Tennessee.
It’ll stay hot and humid on the 4th of July on Saturday, with triple digit heat indices across the Midwest, South and Northeast.
Extreme heat is considered the deadliest weather-related hazard in the U.S.
At least 13,000 Americans have died from heat since 2018, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Click here for tips on how to stay safe.
ABC News’ Dan Peck and Michelle Simmons contributed to this report.
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(WILKES COUNTY, N.C.) — A United States Postal Service letter carrier was murdered while delivering mail on her rural North Carolina route, authorities said.
Brandi Reynolds, a 35-year-old mother of two, was shot and found dead by responding authorities in Wilkes County, according to the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation. The incident occurred Friday afternoon, while she was on her route, according to the United States Postal Inspection Service.
William Craig Durham, 56, was subsequently arrested in connection with the deadly shooting and has been charged with first-degree murder and first-degree kidnapping, court records show.
The charges allege that Durham restrained and kidnapped Reynolds “for the purpose of terrorizing” her and “did of malice aforethought kill and murder” her, according to a court filing. Authorities have not released any further information, including an alleged motive and any connection between the victim and suspect.
Durham is being held without bond following his initial court appearance on Monday, online records show.
The judge noted that Durham has a “significant criminal record,” a court filing shows. His prior convictions include second-degree kidnapping and possession of a firearm by a felon, according to court filings.
Durham’s attorney had no comment when contacted by ABC News.
The homicide investigation is being conducted jointly by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation and the Wilkes County Sheriff’s Office.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service said no additional information on the case is being released at this time amid the ongoing investigation.
“Our heartfelt sympathies go out to her family and co-workers,” the U.S. Postal Inspection Service said in a statement.
Reynolds was remembered as a friendly and dependable presence in the community.
“Outgoing, friendly, usually never missed a beat. We could count on her,” Julie Smith, who received mail from Reynolds along her route, told ABC Greensboro affiliate WXLV. “I think if you ask anybody in the community, they would probably tell you the same thing.”
“My heart broke for her family and for her children,” she said.
Reynolds is survived by two daughters, who were “her whole world,” her obituary noted.
Tragedy previously struck the family last year, when her husband, Brent Andrew Reynolds, died in a car crash in December 2025.
His obituary remembered him as a “loving and devoted husband, father, son, and brother,” and called Brandi his “soulmate” and their two girls the “light of his life.”
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(LANSING, Mich.) — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Monday ordered the state’s National Guard to limit its mission in Washington exclusively to events tied to the nation’s 250th anniversary celebration, drawing a line against the military’s prolonged presence in the capital and threatening to pull Michigan troops if they’re assigned to any other mission.
In a letter to Maj. Gen. Paul Rogers, the commander of the Michigan National Guard, Whitmer wrote she “has not deployed—and will not deploy—the Michigan National Guard to support the D.C. Safe and Beautiful Mission,” referring to the Guard’s ongoing presence and patrols across the city.
“If the National Guard is unable or unwilling to ensure the Michigan National Guard is only supporting the America 250 mission,” she added, “then I will end Michigan’s support for the America 250 mission.”
The Michigan National Guard has deployed 161 troops to Washington in recent weeks, while Minnesota has sent another 107, according to service figures, making them the first Democrat-led states to contribute sizable contingents to the capital since President Donald Trump surged National Guard forces there in August.
Puerto Rico has also deployed 155 National Guard troops to the capital ahead of the July Fourth weekend, while the U.S. Virgin Islands has sent 83.
There is precedent for National Guard units from across the country being activated for major events in Washington, including presidential inaugurations and the response to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. It is likely National Guard units would again be drawn from multiple states to support security operations tied to America’s 250th birthday celebrations.
It remains unclear how the two missions — ongoing security operations focused largely on high-traffic areas around the Capitol and downtown, and event-driven support for anniversary celebrations — would be separated in practice.
For most of the so-called “Safe and Beautiful” mission, the force has been drawn almost entirely from Republican-led states, aside from the District of Columbia National Guard. Troops have largely been assigned to high-visibility patrols around Washington’s tourist corridors and several downtown Metro stations, while also assisting with litter collection and graffiti removal.
The deployment has focused on some of the city’s safest and most heavily trafficked areas and is expected to continue through the remainder of President Donald Trump’s term.
An analysis from the think tank Niskanen Center found that the Guard’s presence hasn’t reduced violent crime but has reduced property crime. It also noted troops are far more expensive than police officers, estimating it costs $607 per Guardsman per day, compared with roughly $384 per day for a D.C. police officer, underscoring the higher cost of relying on military personnel with limited legal authority and civil training.
A Congressional Budget Office analysis estimated the Guard’s deployment to the capital would cost roughly $660 million this year, though that projection assumed an average force of about 3,000 troops, including pay, food and lodging for troops in hotels.
The estimate does not fully capture the federal government’s longer-term personnel costs, including the accrual of veterans’ benefits tied to active-duty service, such as retirement and education benefits.
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(SIMI VALLEY, Calif.) — A car crashed into the outdoor dining area of an Urbane Cafe in Simi Valley, California, on Monday afternoon, killing one person and injuring five others, authorities said.
The crash was reported at about 2:30 p.m. near Tierra Rejada and Madera roads in a busy shopping center, according to Simi Valley Police.
Aerial footage from ABC News Los Angeles station KABC showed a white Tesla lodged in the restaurant’s outdoor patio after the collision.
One person was pronounced dead at the scene, while five others suffered minor injuries, according to the Ventura County Fire Department.
Authorities have not released the identity of the person who died, and additional information about the victims was not immediately available.
Investigators said they are still working to determine the cause of the crash. The Tesla driver was a 64-year-old woman with four juvenile passengers in the car, police told KABC.
The driver and one passenger were taken to a hospital for minor injuries, according to KABC.
“We’re still trying to determine if speed was involved. We do know that the Tesla was going northbound through the parking lot. It was attempting to make a right-hand turn to go eastbound toward Madera and, unfortunately, did not make the turn and went over the sidewalk when it struck the female victim,” Simi Valley police Sgt. Rick Morton told KABC.
Earlier this month, a Tesla Model 3 crashed into a home in Katy, Texas, killing a woman. Her family has since filed a lawsuit against Tesla and the driver, alleging the vehicle’s driver-assistance technology contributed to the crash.
Tesla has disputed those claims, saying the driver manually overrode the system by pressing the accelerator. Federal safety officials are investigating the crash.
Authorities have not said whether any driver-assistance technology was engaged at the time of Monday’s crash.
“We don’t believe it was an intentional act, but until we can determine what the cause was, whether it was mechanical failure or there was impairment by the driver, it’s still to be determined,” Morton said.
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(WASHINGTON) — Doug Band, a former close adviser to President Bill Clinton, is due on Capitol Hill Tuesday morning for a closed-door interview with the congressional committee probing the government’s investigation of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Band, who began his tenure with Clinton as an intern in the mid-1990s, is expected to be questioned by the House Oversight Committee about the former president’s interactions and travels with Epstein in the years after Clinton left the Oval Office in 2001.
Often described as one of the architects of Clinton’s post-presidential endeavors, including the Clinton Foundation and the Clinton Global Initiative, Band can also expect to be pressed about his own communications with Epstein’s convicted co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell, which were made public earlier this year by the Justice Department as part of the release of files mandated by the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
Emails between Band and Maxwell included talk of meetings with Epstein and numerous exchanges containing suggestive innuendo and cheeky nicknames for each other like “babycakes” and “booboo,” according to the DOJ records.
The bulk of the messages were exchanged between 2001-2004, before Epstein first faced criminal charges in Florida in 2006.
Band, 54, has not been accused of any wrongdoing. An attorney expected to accompany Band to the interview did not reply to a message seeking comment in advance of Band’s appearance in Washington, D.C.
Earlier this year, Band told The New York Times that his messages with Maxwell occurred when he was in his 20s and unmarried — and he denied any romantic involvement with Maxwell, who is currently serving a 20-year sentence for sex-trafficking and other offenses.
“There was absolutely no physical relationship that occurred between us. Ever,” Band said in a statement to the Times, in which he referred to Maxwell as “a monster.”
The committee is also expected to query Band about his explosive claim — reported by Vanity Fair in 2020 — that the former president had visited Epstein’s private estate in the U.S. Virgin Islands in early 2003. The article, which centered on Band’s contentious split with the Clintons, did not detail how Band knew about the purported island trip or if he had any evidence to bolster his claim.
Records created by Epstein’s pilots made public through civil litigation show Clinton — and an entourage that typically included Band — aboard Epstein’s plane on more than two dozen flight legs in 2002-03, but none of those flights went to the island, according to the pilot’s logs. Clinton, Epstein and Maxwell have all denied that the former president had ever been to Little St. James, as Epstein’s island was known.
“He never, absolutely never went. And I can be sure of that because there’s no way he would have gone,” Maxwell told then then-Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche in a recorded interview last summer.
“I’ve never been to that island,” Clinton said in his own interview with the Oversight Committee in February.
The former president has not been accused of any wrongdoing in connection to his association with Epstein. He has said he stopped interacting with Epstein before any criminal allegations surfaced and has denied knowledge of any of Epstein’s crimes.
Clinton told the committee that he and Band were once “close,” and that Band had been one of the people he tasked to “operationalize” plans to develop the Clinton Global Initiative in his early post-presidency years.
“He worked for me for years,” Clinton said. “[H]e arranged airplane flights and things like that and was doing work on the first Clinton Global Initiative in 2005. And I know that he knew both Epstein and Maxwell. I do not know to what extent he was in contact with them.”
In her interview with Blanche, Maxwell said she began spending time with Clinton after he left the White House in 2001, as he was forging his post-presidential path through the establishment of the Clinton Foundation and, later, the Clinton Global Initiative.
“I was part of the beginning process of the Clinton Global Initiative. And that was something that I helped with and that was me, and Epstein may have helped me help them,” she said, according to a transcript of the July 2025 interview.
“I started spending time with the former president and with Doug and his team,” Maxwell said. “I had no purpose, really, other than I had — obviously offered something. I don’t know, ideas.”
Band’s appearance before the Oversight Committee is voluntary and will not be recorded. The committee has typically released transcripts of interviews after they are reviewed for accuracy and redacted to remove any potential references to alleged victims.
In recent weeks the committee has heard from Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and two of Epstein’s former assistants, Sarah Kellen and Lesley Groff.
Later this summer, interviews are scheduled with former Obama White House counsel Kathryn Ruemmler, former Epstein attorney Alan Dershowitz, and Epstein’s former private banker at JPMorgan Chase, Jes Staley.
The committee’s chairman, Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., has indicated that a report on the investigation’s findings will be issued by the end of the year.
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(TAMPA, Fla.) — A judge in Florida set Detroit Lions NFL cornerback Terrion Arnold’s bond at $1 million on Monday, denying the prosecutors’ request that he remain held without bond on charges alleging he orchestrated a kidnapping in which three men were robbed and beaten at gunpoint.
The 23-year-old NFL player is one of seven people arrested in connection with the “targeted armed robbery” last February in Tampa, police said.
Arnold is accused of “coordinating and directing” the codefendants in an alleged conspiracy to “lure” the three men to an apartment, where prosecutors say they were beaten in retaliation for the alleged theft of more than $200,000 worth of Arnold’s personal property from an Airbnb in which he had stayed with friends days earlier in Largo, Florida, according to the Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office.
Arnold surrendered to authorities on Wednesday and was initially denied bond following his arrest on multiple armed robbery and kidnapping charges. He faces a potential sentence of up to life in prison if convicted on the charges, prosecutors said.
A county prosecutor alleged during a detention hearing in Tampa on Monday that Arnold was “the reason why this gets set in motion.”
“There’s three individuals that had guns pointed in their faces because of this defendant,” Kevin Riley, an attorney with the Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office, said.
Defense attorney Harvey Steinberg asked the judge not to find probable cause. He argued that the evidence presented so far only shows that Arnold was “suspicious” that his phone was taken and wanted to confront someone, but that there is “zero evidence” that he was aware that there was going to be a beating or guns involved.
“Did my client direct them? Nope,” Steinberg said.
Judge Christopher Sabella found there was probable cause, calling the case “serious,” but denied the state’s motion to detain Arnold ahead of trial. He set bond at $1 million, saying the amount was “consistent with the serious nature of the charges.”
Among the bond conditions, Arnold must surrender his passport and is only allowed to leave his residence for work or legal purposes.
The state had asked that Arnold be required to wear an ankle monitor, which the judge denied after Arnold’s defense argued that the monitor would make him unable to work due to strict NFL requirements regarding attire.
“I don’t want to interfere with his ability to make a living,” Sabella said, adding that he suspects Arnold will have a “paparazzi monitor” that will make his whereabouts known.
“If he shows up on a beach in Tahiti, he’ll be on social media,” Sabella said. “If he violates the conditions of his bond, he will be found.”
Arnold, who was in handcuffs during the court appearance, could be seen smiling with his attorneys following the hearing.
The incident occurred on Feb. 4, three days after multiple items belonging to Arnold and others were stolen from an Airbnb he had rented, according to police. On Feb. 3, Arnold and others reported a loss totaling more than $250,000 to the Largo Police Department, police said.
The men, all in their late teens, were allegedly beaten and pistol-whipped by two of the co-defendants, while a third streamed the assault to Arnold and other suspects who were traveling to the apartment, police said. Investigators uncovered a group chat in which Arnold and another suspect allegedly gave directions during the assault, police said.
After arriving at the apartment, Arnold allegedly directed the other suspects to go inside, at which point the victims were robbed during the ongoing assault, police said. Their wallets, phones, jackets, cash and jewelry totaling more than $6,200 were stolen, according to the criminal report.
Nearly two hours after arriving at the apartment, the victims were escorted out by armed suspects and left in their vehicle, police said. Arnold never entered the apartment or interacted with the victims, based on the police statement.
The victims reported the incident to Tampa police and “positively identified the suspects,” police said. The three victims had “visible injuries from being battered,” police said.
Arnold allegedly suspected that two of the three victims were responsible for the theft, though investigators ultimately determined that none of them were involved, Tampa police said.
Cell phone evidence and “corroborating testimony” from the co-defendants also “helped establish Arnold’s role in planning and directing the crimes,” the Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office said.
Among the six codefendants arrested in connection with the case, four men are being held without bond, while two women pleaded guilty on Wednesday to robbery and kidnapping charges, according to the state attorney’s office. As part of their plea agreements, they are required to testify truthfully in proceedings related to the case, the office said.
Arnold’s sports management team said he “categorically denies any involvement in the matters underlying the allegations made against him and maintains his innocence.”
“There is no credible evidence linking Mr. Arnold to these allegations,” Denise White, CEO of EAG Sports and Entertainment Agency, said in a statement to ABC News. “Instead, the government appears to be relying on testimony from multiple convicted felons who have admitted their own involvement and may have substantial incentives to shift blame in an effort to lessen their sentences.”
Following Monday’s hearing, White said the the judge’s ruling “confirms that there is very little evidence to even suggest any criminal involvement by Mr. Arnold.”
The Lions said in a statement to ABC Detroit affiliate WXYZ that they are “aware of the legal situation” involving Arnold and “will not comment at this time out of respect for the ongoing legal process.”
Arnold, a native of Tallahassee, Florida, played at the University of Alabama and was a first-round pick in the 2024 draft.
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(NEW YORK) — Accused killer Luigi Mangione will stand trial in Manhattan federal court beginning Jan. 5 with jury selection, followed by opening statements on Jan. 25, Judge Margaret Garnett said Monday.
Garnett said she hoped to hold the trial this fall but Mangione’s state trial, scheduled to begin Sept. 8, makes that “impossible.”
“In my view it’s simply impossible for us to be moving through the jury selection process in this case while the defendant and his counsel are fully engaged in the state trial,” Garnett said.
Mangione, wearing beige jail clothing, did not speak during Monday’s hearing. His appearance was delayed about 20 minutes after he got stuck in an elevator with U.S. marshals.
Defense attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo said New York State Supreme Court Justice Gregory Carro will hold firm to the Sept. 8 start.
Mangione has pleaded not guilty to federal charges that he stalked UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson before shooting and killing him in December 2024 in Midtown Manhattan. Mangione has also pleaded not guilty to state charges.
For the federal trial, hundreds of prospective jurors from Manhattan, the Bronx and New York City’s northern suburbs will fill out questionnaires in December. Garnett said she would not post the questionnaire on the public docket until all prospective jurors finish filling it out, saying that the need for a fair and impartial jury overrides the customary expectation of public access to the document.
The defense said it might ask the judge to include additional questions depending on the outcome of Mangione’s state trial.
The jury will be comprised of 12 jurors and six alternates.
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