Veronica Butler, 27, and Jilian Kelley, 39, are seen in undated photos released on March 31, 2024, by the Texas County Sheriff’s Department. (Texas County Sheriff’s Department)
(NEW YORK) — Two missing mothers in Oklahoma appear to be victims of “foul play,” according to authorities, who are investigating why the women never appeared to pick up children as planned.
The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation said earlier in the week it is looking into the “suspicious disappearance” of Veronica Butler, 27, and Jilian Kelley, 39, after their vehicle was found abandoned over the weekend in a remote part of the state near the Kansas border.
“Based on the information obtained from the victim’s vehicle, our investigators believe there was evidence to indicate foul play,” the bureau said in an update on Wednesday.
The women were traveling together to pick up children when they went missing, the bureau said in a statement.
“They never made it to the pickup location,” an earlier law enforcement advisory said. “Their car was located abandoned on the side of the road.”
Their vehicle was found on Saturday in Texas County in Oklahoma — south of Elkhart, Kansas, near Highway 95 and Road L — the bureau’s statement said. The local sheriff’s office located the vehicle, OSBI spokesperson Hunter McKee told ABC News.
“There’s every reason to believe that they could be in danger,” McKee said. “It was a very rural area. They’re nowhere to be found. … The fact that we’ve had no contact with them for this long.”
Both women are involved in church communities in Hugoton, Kansas, according to Butler’s pastor, Tim Singer.
Kelley is the wife of a pastor at Hugoton First Christian Church, according to Singer.
Singer described the two mothers as “acquaintances” and said that they were picking up Butler’s children to attend a birthday party when they went missing.
(LOS ANGELES) — Los Angeles, like other major cities, has seen a surge in crime committed on buses, trains and stations’ transit hubs, according to statistics compiled by ABC News, and now transit officials are working to find a solution.
Crimes reported on Los Angeles MTA properties increased by 65% since 2020 and, between March 2023 and February 2024, average monthly violent crimes on MTA properties rose more than 15%, according to LAPD data compiled by ABC News.
“We’ve had drivers where machetes have been pulled. Urine has been thrown on them. Feces, you name it, whatever they can get their hands on,” Christine Ivey, a Los Angeles bus operator for 30 years, told ABC News.
Ivey currently works for the Santa Monica Municipal Bus Lines and said the same concerns of assaults on drivers in the southern California have been ongoing for years.
As the city has struggled to find solutions and deal with staffing issues concerning security officials who handle transit, riders and operators have been pleading for help.
City and transit officials said they have been working to combat crime while also addressing concerns about homelessness in the mass transit hubs, mental health issues and repeat violent offenders.
LA Metro said in a statement that it has instituted a “multi-layered safety plan, which includes a combination of unarmed care-based personnel, transit security officers and law enforcement, to best serve a diverse customer base with differing views on safety.”
In addition, the agency’s metro ambassador program — a three- to five-year pilot — is one part of their multi-layered plan. According to L.A. Metro, ambassadors are present to support riders from providing directions to resources available for people experiencing homelessness.
But Andrew Black, the former deputy chief of security for the LA Metro, told ABC News that other security measures need be implemented to curb crime in LA’s mass transit system.
Black said he felt tackling fare evasion is key to keeping commuters safe.
“Lacking control of who gets onto the system was the root of the majority of the problems. It wouldn’t solve all the problems, but by controlling access, non-paying individuals, non-paying members of the public, you could dramatically decrease crime on the metro,” he said.
Black had proposed hiring more officers to patrol the city’s mass transit, but five months into his job at the end of 2022 he was terminated. Black sued the LA Metro claiming in court documents that a top metro executive told him “not to speak to bus operators, further, about the need for increased staffing.”
LA Metro denied all of Black’s allegations in a response to his suit. The agency has come under fire following its recent dismissal of another security official.
Last week Gina Osborn, the MTA’s chief security officer, was fired two days after she filed a report with the agency inspector general’s office, according to her attorney. Her attorney said the report dealt with a “safety issue.”
Osborn was named in Black’s lawsuit, which alleges she told him “she had gotten in trouble herself … for having spoken honestly in the past.”
LA Metro told ABC News in a statement, “Any claims of retaliation are categorically untrue. Metro will not comment further on this personnel matter, litigation, or speculative litigation.”
While LA Metro addresses security leadership concerns, some mass transit employees in southern California have been pushing for their own solutions.
As chair and legislative representative with the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transporation Workers, Ivey said her assault prevention and safety committee is “looking at ways of making sure that the company is doing their due diligence, to make sure that the customers know that they are not tolerating the assaults on their personnel.”
“We have various ideas that we’re trying to entertain. One is extending jail time for assailants who assaulted drivers in the commission of their duty, either inside that bus or outside that bus,” she said.
ABC News’ Alex Stone and Talisa Treviño contributed to this report.
A partial solar eclipse is seen in San Salvador, El Salvador, Oct. 14, 2023. (SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Excitement is mounting for one of nature’s most unique spectacles, the total solar eclipse, set to cast a historic shadow across a path through the United States on April 8, 2024.
The track of the moon’s shadow across Earth’s surface is called the path of totality, and to witness the April 8 total solar eclipse in totality, viewers must be within the 115-mile-wide path.
But for anyone outside the path of totality, eclipse day will still offer a celestial spectacle worth getting eclipse glasses for.
“The entire contiguous United States, Hawaii and Alaska will see at least a partial eclipse,” Michael Zeiler, expert solar eclipse cartographer and founder of Greatamericaneclipse.com, told ABC News. “The closer you are to the path of totality, of course, the deeper the eclipse will be.”
To discover when to see the solar eclipse in totality or the partial eclipse in locations across the U.S. outside of the path, check out NASA’s Eclipse Explorer tool.
What is the difference between a total and partial solar eclipse?
A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the sun and the Earth and, for a short time, completely blocks the face of the sun, according to NASA.
A partial solar eclipse happens when the moon passes between the sun and Earth, but the celestial bodies are not completely aligned, according to the agency.
During a partial solar eclipse, the sun appears to be a crescent shape, according to NASA.
“The difference between a total and a partial solar eclipse is literally night and day,” Zeiler said, adding that unless you are within the path of totality, the chance to see the sun’s corona disappears.
“Even if you stand just a little bit outside the path of totality, even if you are in the zone of 99%, the sunlight is still 10,000 times brighter than the Sun’s corona,” Zeiler said. “So it’s impossible to see the corona unless you are truly inside the path of totality.”
Despite missing the total solar eclipse, Zeiler encourages all Americans to “step outside” on eclipse day.
“Enjoy the spectacle of the partial eclipse,” Zeiler said. “Because that’s still very interesting and brings you closer to the movements of the sun and moon — seeing the solar system in motion.”
Using Los Angeles, California, as an example, during the maximum of the partial solar eclipse, at 11:12 a.m., local time, 58% of the sun will be occulted by the moon.
“So it’ll be noticeably dimmer than normal, but not exceptionally,” Zeiler said, adding, “In fact, you might not even realize that an eclipse is happening unless you are paying attention to it.”
Partial solar eclipse path, magnitude and time in the US
Below is a list of some American cities where the April 8 partial solar eclipse will be most visible — pending weather forecasts — the magnitude of the eclipse in those locations and what time, locally, the partial eclipse view will be at maximum, according to Space.com.
The magnitude is the fraction of the sun’s diameter covered by the moon during the partial eclipse.
Atlanta, Georgia: 3:04 p.m., 0.846 magnitude
Boston, Massachusetts: 3:29 p.m., 0.931 magnitude
Chicago, Illinois: 2:07 p.m., 0.942 magnitude
Cincinnati, Ohio: 3:09 p.m., 0.993 magnitude
Denver, Colorado: 12:40 p.m., 0.715 magnitude
Helena, Montana: 12:40 p.m., 0.474 magnitude
Honolulu, Hawaii: 7:12 a.m., 0.286 magnitude
Houston, Texas: 1:40 p.m., 0.943 magnitude
Juneau, Alaska: 10:33 a.m., 0.064 magnitude
Los Angeles, California: 11:12 a.m., 0.58 magnitude
Miami, Florida: 3:01 p.m., 0.556 magnitude
New Orleans, Lousiana: 1:49 p.m., 0.844 magnitude
New York City, New York: 3:25 p.m., 0.91 magnitude
Seattle, Washington: 11:29 a.m., 0.311 magnitude
St. Louis, Missouri: 2:00 p.m., 0.988 magnitude
Tucson, Arizona: 11:19 a.m., 0.749 magnitude
Washington, D.C.: 3:20 p.m., 0.89 magnitude
Total solar eclipse live stream
For those outside of the path of totality, NASA will be streaming the view of the total solar eclipse live on April 8, 2024.
“Tune in for live views from across the path, expert commentary, live demos, and more,” according to the agency’s official broadcast.
(NEW YORK) — Your chance at winning a billion dollars isn’t over. No ticket matched Wednesday night’s winning Powerball numbers, and the prize has now ballooned to $1.23 billion for the next drawing.
The winning numbers on Wednesday night — one of Powerball’s largest jackpots in the game’s history — were: 11, 38, 41, 62, 65 and red Powerball 15. The power play was 3.
The next drawing is on Saturday night. The cash value is $595.1 million
Wednesday’s drawing comes after a Mega Millions player won the eighth-largest jackpot ever last week. A ticket in New Jersey claimed the $1.128 billion Mega Millions prize.
If a player wins, they can choose between a lump-sum, pre-tax payment of $527.3 million or annual payouts of $1.09 billion, also pre-tax — starting with one immediate payment followed by 29 annual payments that increase by 5% each year.
The Powerball jackpot crossed the billion-dollar threshold last week. There have been 39 consecutive drawings without a jackpot winner. The last winner was on Jan. 1, when a ticket in Michigan won $842.4 million, according to the lottery.
The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million, according to Powerball.
Powerball tickets are $2 per play. Tickets are sold in 45 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
(LOS ANGELES) — The Los Angeles Police Department and the FBI are investigating a multi-million dollar theft on Easter Sunday, sources told ABC News.
The money went missing Sunday from a money storage facility in Sylmar, in Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley, law enforcement sources said. The company that owns the building noticed the money had been stolen on Monday morning.
The thieves managed to break into the facility undetected, sources said.
They went through the roof and into the area where the money is kept, which may have been a vault, according to officials briefed on the investigation. Sources said the sophistication level of the operation indicates a crew of some kind is responsible.
There are no suspects at this point.
The LAPD and FBI are working together on the case.
Sources said the exact amount that was stolen is not known, but it is believed to be in the tens of millions.
The LA Times was first to report news of the heist.
(NEW YORK) — The calendar says it’s spring, but winter storm warnings are in effect in the Midwest and the Northeast as snowstorms slam both regions.
In the Northeast, heavy snow will blanket the mountains and ski resorts of upstate New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Maine.
Some of the higher elevations in New England could see more than 2 feet of snow.
The snow will pick up in intensity late Wednesday night and continue through Thursday.
In Maine, low visibility is expected and travel is discouraged, Gov. Janet Mills said.
“Folks need to be prepared at home for the possibility of an extended power outage with emergency supplies, alternate power sources, and should charge their mobile devices in advance,” Pete Rogers, director of the Maine Emergency Management Agency, said in a statement.
In the Midwest, Wisconsin is buried under more than 1 foot of snow and facing winds up to 35 mph.
A blizzard warning was issued for the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, where gusty winds combined with snow could cause very low visibility.
(NEW YORK) — Former President Donald Trump is not immune from prosecution in his New York hush money case, in part because he failed to invoke the defense in a timely fashion, the judge in the case ruled Wednesday.
Trump was “well aware” he could try to claim presidential immunity after he was indicted one year ago on charges of falsifying business records related to a hush payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, Judge Juan Merchan ruled. “Nonetheless, defendant chose not to raise the defense of presidential immunity until well past the 45-day period provided by statute,” Merchan said.
Merchan avoided ruling on the merits of Trump’s immunity claim, instead choosing to focus on the timing, which he said tested “this court’s credulity.”
“This Court finds that Defendant had myriad opportunities to raise the claim of presidential immunity well before March 7, 2024,” Merchan wrote.
The judge did draw a distinction between Trump’s claim of presidential immunity in the New York case and in the federal election interference case, where Trump has argued he cannot be prosecuted for conduct that occurred while he was in office.
The U.S. Supreme Court takes up that argument at the end of the month.
In the hush money case, Merchan noted that Trump did not try to claim the alleged falsification of business records constituted an official act.
Trump last April pleaded not guilty to a 34-count indictment charging him with falsifying business records in connection with a hush money payment his then-attorney Michael Cohen made to Daniels just days before the 2016 presidential election.
Jury selection for the trial is scheduled to get underway April 15 in New York City. The former president has denied all wrongdoing.
(WASHINGTON) — A Washington state man who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 was sentenced Wednesday to seven years and three months in prison.
Taylor James Johnatakis was convicted in November on seven charges, including obstruction of an official proceeding and assaulting police officers.
Johnatakis led rioters in attacking the police line outside the Capitol, according to federal prosecutors.
“Specifically, using his megaphone, Johnatakis directed rioters to move up to the police line and yelled at the rioters to ‘pack it in! pack it in!'” a press release states. “Johnatakis then instructed the crowd through the megaphone that they were going to push the bike racks ‘one foot’ at a time and counted, ‘one, two, three, GO!!'”
At least one officer was injured in the fray, prosecutors said.
During his trial, Johnatakis represented himself, frustrating Judge Royce Lamberth with his erratic behavior. He argued his case by claiming to be a “sovereign citizen,” The Associated Press reported, which the judge called “gobbledygook.”
Johnatakis also asked the judge questions during his sentencing, including “Does the record reflect that I repent in my sins?” — to which Lamberth replied he was not taking questions, the AP reported.
In a letter after Wednesday’s hearing, Lamberth said every decision on how to sentence Jan. 6 rioters “aims to discourage these defendants from future violence, dissuade others from taking inspiration from the Capitol riot, and express the community’s moral disapproval of this conduct.”
He hit back at the idea that Johnatakis was simply exercising his freedom of speech, saying his actions were “neither First Amendment-protected activity nor civil disobedience.”
“A society in which everyone does what is right by his own lights, where adherence to the law is optional, would be a society of vigilantism, lawlessness, and anarchy,” he wrote.
Lamberth said Johnatakis’ remarks throughout the course of the trial made clear he “does not accept responsibility for his actions and does not show true remorse.”
“In any angry mob, there are leaders and there are followers,” he wrote. “Mr. Johnatakis was a leader. He knew what he was doing that day.”
Omar Marques/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — Two brothers who helped fund former President Donald Trump’s now-public social media company pleaded guilty Wednesday to insider trading.
Michael Shvartsman and Gerald Shvartsman made millions by trading in shares of Digital World Acquisition Corporation before it merged with Trump Media, according to federal prosecutors in New York.
Michael Shvartsman, 52, of Sunny Isles Beach, Florida, and Gerald Shvartsman, 45, of Aventura, Florida, were arrested on securities fraud charges last July.
They each pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of securities fraud.
Each of them faces up to 20 years in prison when they’re sentenced in July, but prosecutors agreed to recommend a sentence of about three years.
“Michael and Gerald Shvartsman admitted in court that they received confidential, inside information about an upcoming merger between DWAC and Trump Media, and used that information to make profitable, but illegal, open-market trades,” said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams. “Insider trading is cheating, plain and simple.”
Prosecutors said the brothers placed an associate on DWAC’s board of directors, who funneled them valuable information about the merger plan with Trump Media that the brothers then used to trade. Together, they made $22 million in illegal profits, prosecutors said.
There was no evidence that former President Trump was aware of the brothers’ conduct, and he was not part of the case.
Trump Media went public last month and is now trading on the Nasdaq exchange.
(CINCINNATI) — Dangerous tornadoes tore through the central U.S. Tuesday night, including Kentucky, where one person was killed, according to the governor.
Over the last two days, more than 20 tornadoes were reported across states including Georgia, Tennessee, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio and Missouri.
In Kentucky, where wind gusts topped 100 mph, the reported twisters flattened buildings, ripped off roofs and littered streets with debris.
In Campbell County, Kentucky, just outside of Cincinnati, a young man died in a car accident during the strong storms, Gov. Andy Beshear said at a news conference Wednesday.
No major injuries have been reported, Beshear said.
Jordan Yuodis, spokesperson for Anchorage Middletown Fire and EMS in Kentucky, told ABC News, “Within a matter of what seemed like minutes, [the weather] went from about 70-75 degrees and sunny to suddenly pitch black and debris flying.”
Shortly after 5:15 p.m., officials activated the outdoor warning sirens, Yuodis said. “Within minutes, we started receiving 911 calls of homes damaged, people trapped in their homes, roads being shut down,” he said.
“We responded to multiple homes where the roofs had been completely taken off,” Yuodis said. “The roof from one house went across the street and ended up into another home.”
“Thanks to the timely forecasts and warnings provided by the National Weather Service, people were able to seek shelter, which, to our knowledge, has been effective,” Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said Tuesday night. “I’m pleased to report that as of now, there are no reported injuries or fatalities. … There is definitely roof damage, significant damage to homes.”
A state of emergency is in effect in Kentucky.
On Wednesday afternoon and evening, scattered, severe thunderstorms are possible all along the East Coast.
Two separate tornado watches are in effect: one in North Florida and Central Florida and another in the Mid-Atlantic.
