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(MYRTLE BEACH, S.C.) — A South Carolina man has been arrested and charged with murder in the death of his former roommate who was missing for over two years before her body was found buried under a firepit earlier this summer, police said.

Penni Whiteside’s remains were discovered buried in the yard outside her home on June 12 in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, according to a statement from the Myrtle Beach Police Department. She had been missing since the spring of 2022 when she was 51-years-old.

Neighbors told police that they had reason to believe Whiteside was buried under the firepit in the backyard of her home, where 54-year-old Sheridan Dirk Fogle was also living at the time, police said.

“As stated in the original report, the identified victim had been living with the offender. Further investigation revealed that due to statements made by her neighbors, there was reason to believe that she may have been buried near the residence, in the backyard under a firepit,” said the Myrtle Beach Police Department. “On June 12, 2024, investigators obtained a search warrant for the property in question. During the search, the victim’s remains were recovered and identified.”

Whiteside’s death was being investigated by authorities as a homicide when, on Thursday morning at approximately 7:30 a.m., an arrest warrant was served to Fogle in Orangeburg, South Carolina, in connection with a “missing person and murder case.”

Fogle was arrested in connection with the death of Whiteside on Thursday and has since been charged with murder, authorities said.

“This is a tragic loss of life and a senseless crime of violence. Please continue to pray for the family and friends of the victim,” authorities said. “The Myrtle Beach Police Department is committed to seeking justice and holding those accountable for those who do harm. Thank you to the U.S. Marshals Service- Carolina’s Regional Fugitive Task Force and the Orangeburg Department of Public Safety for assisting with the arrest in this case.”

Fogle appeared in court on Friday and a judge did not set bond for the suspect, according to ABC News’ Florence, South Carolina, affiliate WPDE. The Myrtle Beach judge did confirm, however, that the case against Fogle would be referred to the general sessions court and that two future court dates on Oct. 25 and Dec. 13 have been scheduled.

The investigation is currently ongoing and authorities have said that no other information will be released at this time.

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(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) — A landmark bill to ban some dyes in food served at California public schools, aimed at protecting children’s health, is headed to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk to be signed into law after passing the state legislature on Thursday.

Assembly Bill 2316, also known as the California School Food Safety Act, would prohibit six potentially harmful food dye chemicals from being provided in the state’s public schools. It was approved by the California Assembly on Thursday after passing the state Senate earlier in the week.

“California has a responsibility to protect our students from chemicals that harm children and that can interfere with their ability to learn,” Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel, who introduced the legislation back in February, said in a statement Thursday, adding, “This bill will empower schools to better protect the health and well-being of our kids and encourage manufacturers to stop using these harmful additives.”

Gabriel was previously successful in his efforts to ban potentially harmful food and drink additives in products sold throughout the state through the passage of the California Food Safety Act last year. The legislation bans potassium bromate, propylparaben, brominated vegetable oil and Red 3 from food that is manufactured, delivered and sold in the Golden State.

Newsom signed the bill into law last October, making California the first state in the U.S. to ban the additives.

Under the newly passed California School Food Safety Act, Red Dye No. 40, Yellow Dye No. 5, Yellow Dye No. 6, Blue Dye No. 1, Blue Dye No. 2 and Green Dye No. 3 will be banned from food served to students in public schools during regular hours.

The bipartisan bill was supported by the Environmental Working Group and Consumer Reports.

Studies suggest that consumption of the six dyes and colorants banned under A.B. 2316 may be linked to hyperactivity and other neurobehavioral problems in some children, as the California Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment outlined in a 2021 report.

While there are still thousands of chemicals allowed for use in our country’s commercial food system, many of those that have been reviewed by the Food and Drug Administration have not been reevaluated for decades. Red 40, for example, was last evaluated for health risks in 1971.

Reports from the American Academy of Pediatrics align with this push to reassess the safety of artificial food coloring.

“Over the last several decades, studies have raised concerns regarding the effect of [artificial food colorings] on child behavior and their role in exacerbating attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms,” doctors write. “Further work is needed to better understand the implications of AFC exposure and resolve the uncertainties across the scientific evidence. The available literature should be interpreted with caution because of the absence of information about the ingredients for a number of reasons, including patent protection.”

Dr. Stephanie Widmer, an ABC News medical contributor, board-certified emergency medicine physician and toxicologist, told “Good Morning America” previously, while discussing California’s earlier harmful chemical ban, “These chemicals are all kind of in different foods and all exert different effects and different concerns.”

“Some of them are associated with neurological problems, some are reproductive problems, some have been linked to cancer,” Widmer said at the time. “It really depends on the substance.”

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(REDLANDS, Calif.) — Police have arrested a man in connection with a couple who went missing from a nudist community in California. Police are now confident the couple is dead.

The couple’s neighbor, 62-year-old Michael Sparks, was arrested for murder late Thursday, days after the couple were reported missing, according to the Redlands Police Department. Police had been trying to locate Sparks on Thursday, breaching a home and conducting a search using remote video equipment to find him.

Sparks was found underneath his home and he surrendered after lengthy negotiations, according to Redland Police. He has been booked at West Valley Detention Center.

Stephanie Menard, 73, and Daniel Menard, 79, were reported missing on Sunday, according to police. During a press briefing on Thursday, the Redlands Police Department said foul play was suspected after being tipped off by a source in the couple’s neighborhood.

Police are in the process of searching for the couple’s bodies, which they believe are on the suspect’s property. Search teams, including cadaver dogs, are on the property.

The couple’s dog, a white shih tzu named Cuddles, has also not been found.

A source told police on Thursday that a person involved in their disappearance was on the property as they were conducting interviews, leading police to lock down the property and eventually arrest Sparks.

Significant damage was dealt to the suspect’s home when police breached it, but they plan on searching the home as soon as it is safe to enter.

The couple was last seen at their residence on Olive Dell Ranch — a family nudist resort — at around 10 a.m. local time on Saturday. Their unlocked vehicle was found down the road from the residence that day, according to police.

Stephanie Menard’s purse was found inside their residence along with both of their cellphones, according to police.

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(REDLANDS, Calif.) — Police have arrested a man in connection with the search for a couple missing from a nudist community in California.

Michael Sparks, 62, was arrested for murder late Thursday, days after the couple were reported missing, according to the Redlands Police Department. Police had been trying to locate Sparks on Thursday, breaching a home and conducting a search using remote video equipment to find him.

Sparks was not found at the home, but he was the same person who was being sought in the search, police said.

He has been booked murder at West Valley Detention Center.

Stephanie Menard, 73, and Daniel Menard, 79, were reported missing on Sunday, according to police. During a press briefing on Thursday, the Redlands Police Department said foul play was suspected after being tipped off by a source in the couple’s neighborhood.

The location of the couple and their dog remains unknown, police said.

The couple was last seen at their residence on Olive Dell Ranch — a family nudist resort — at around 10 a.m. local time on Saturday. Their unlocked vehicle was found down the road from the residence that day, according to police.

Stephanie Menard’s purse was found inside their residence along with both of their cellphones, according to police.

The couple’s dog, a white Shih Tzu named Cuddles, was also missing.

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(KANSAS CITY, Mo.) — The Kansas City community is mourning the death of local chef Shaun Brady, whom police said was gunned down while taking out the trash in the parking lot of his restaurant.

The owner of the Brady & Fox restaurant was known for his contributions to the local Irish community and to the Kansas City Irish Festival, which is set to take place this weekend, according to a statement posted to the Kansas City Irish Festival’s Facebook page.

In the wake of the shooting Wednesday night, Mayor Quinton Lucas extended his condolences to Brady’s family and called for change in the city that he says has suffered an increase in violent crime in recent months.

“Like many, I was heartbroken to learn of the death of Shaun Brady. Having met him, I was inspired by the community he was building in Kansas City,” Lucas said in a statement Thursday. “More distress comes in knowing how he died — due to violence arising once more in our community,” Lucas added.

The shooting took place Wednesday around 5:15 p.m. at the Brady & Fox restaurant, also known as Brady’s KC, in the Brookside neighborhood of the Missouri city, the Kansas City Police Department confirmed to ABC News.

A preliminary investigation revealed that the victim was taking out trash when he “observed multiple subjects by a vehicle,” police said. An interaction between the victim and subjects occurred that led to the victim being shot, police added.

Two teenage male suspects were taken into custody within an hour of the deadly shooting and a vehicle was recovered in Midtown, according to police, who further said that the shooting is being investigated as a homicide and the suspects are being held pending further investigation.

In a separate statement posted to Facebook, Mayor Lucas said Brady’s death comes as business owners in the area have spoken out about crime in the area.

“For years now, but more acutely in recent months, business owners in Brookside and Waldo, but also along Prospect, in the Crossroads, and throughout too much of our city have expressed serious concerns about a rise in property and nuisance crimes plaguing their stores, their parking lots, and their customers,” Lucas said in the statement, in part.

Gun violence in Kansas City came into national focus in February when the city’s Super Bowl parade ended in tragedy when one person was killed and 20 injured when shots were fired during a victory gathering outside of Union Station.

Lucas, who was present at the Chiefs’ parade, then called that shooting “an incredible disappointment.”

Kansas City recorded its deadliest year on record in 2023, with the Kansas City Police Department’s daily homicide analysis showing 182 homicides. That’s 12 more than in 2022 and three more than the city’s previous all-time high, which was 179 homicides in 2020.

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(DALLAS) — One police officer has been shot and killed and two others wounded after a shooting in Dallas, Texas, authorities have confirmed.

Dallas police officers were called to a report of an officer in distress on the 900 block of E. Ledbetter Drive in southern Dallas, according to Kristin Lowman, Dallas Police Department’s communications director, who addressed the media early Friday morning.

When officers arrived, they found an officer shot in his marked patrol vehicle and the responding officers began to exchange gunfire with a suspect at the scene, Lowman said. Two police officers were shot in that exchange.

The suspect fled the scene and Dallas police officers pursued the individual to the 1000 block of Stemmons Freeway down I-35E in Lewisville, police said.

The suspect eventually stopped and exited their vehicle carrying a long gun when Dallas officers shot and killed the individual.

All three officers were immediately taken to local hospitals where one of them died from the injuries sustained in the shooting, officials said. The other two are currently in critical and stable conditions, respectively.

Officials did not give any possible motive for the shooting and the investigation into the incident is ongoing.

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(TEMPE, Ariz.) — Police in Tempe, Arizona, are investigating after a Wells Fargo employee was found dead in her cubicle four days after she last scanned into the building.

The Tempe Police Department responded to the office on Aug. 20 after being notified by building security.

Police identified the worker as Denise Prudhomme, 60.

Her cause of death has not yet been determined.

“The preliminary investigation did not show any obvious signs of foul play,” police said.

Prudhomme scanned into the building the morning of Friday, Aug. 16, police said. Her body was found on Aug. 20 in her third-floor cubicle, and she was pronounced dead at 4:55 p.m., according to the authorities.

A spokesperson for Wells Fargo said Prudhomme’s cubicle was in an underpopulated part of the building and that colleagues were informed of her death after her family was notified.

“We are deeply saddened by the loss of our colleague, Denise Prudhomme,” a spokesperson said. “Our thoughts are with her family and loved ones, and we are in contact to ensure they are well supported during this difficult time.”

The Wells Fargo spokesperson said counselors would be made available to support employees affected by the incident.

“We are committed to the safety and wellness of our workforce,” the spokesperson added.

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(KENT, Wash.) — DNA evidence from a discarded cigarette has helped investigators finally solve the murder of a 33-year-old woman in Washington state after 44 years.

Kenneth Kundert was arrested in Arkansas on a nationwide murder warrant out of Washington, police said. He is expected to be charged with first-degree murder, according to a spokesperson for the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.

His bail is set at $3 million and he is awaiting extradition, according to police.

On Feb. 23, 1980, after 10 p.m. Dorothy “Dottie” Maria Silzer left work at a pizza place to head home. That was the last time she was seen alive, according to police.

She was reported missing by her co-workers three days later after she failed to show up for work two days in a row, which was “hugely unusual” for her, Kent, Washington, Police Chief Rafael Padilla said at a press conference.

Police performed a welfare check at her condo, where she was found murdered, Padilla said.

Evidence, including DNA, was collected from the scene and preserved.

“It was their extensive and exhaustive work to collect and preserve that evidence that made the eventual identification of Dottie’s murderer possible,” Padilla said.

The Kent County medical examiner later determined the cause of death was asphyxia by means of cervical compression. There was also blunt-force trauma to her head, according to Padilla.

Crime lab investigators determined that DNA evidence collected at the scene of the crime belonged to an unknown man.

In 1996, additional DNA evidence from the case was examined, but investigators still came up empty.

Over the years, DNA from persons of interest were submitted to compare, but none were a match, Padilla said. The case dragged on unsolved for so long that many of the officers who worked on it had retired and a couple of them had even died, he added.

Finally, a breakthrough came in 2022, when the rapidly advancing field of genetic genealogy, in which DNA is submitted to public databases to find familial connections, identified 11 potential suspects.

Investigators said they then began to collect DNA samples to eliminate suspects from the group.

Two of the suspects identified were Kurt and Kenneth Kundert, brothers who lived in Arkansas, police said. Investigators discovered the brothers were both in custody on unrelated charges stemming from an assault.

Kurt Kundert agreed to provide police with a DNA sample voluntarily, but Kenneth Kundert did not, police said. Kurt Kundert’s DNA did not match the sample.

Investigators said they were able to determine Kenneth Kundert had ties to Washington and worked in the state in 1987. The brothers also lived in an apartment complex about 1,200 feet away from where the murder took place, authorities said.

In March, police were able to obtain a discarded cigarette belonging to Kenneth Kundert and it was compared to the DNA sample found at the crime scene and came back a match.

On Aug. 20, police found and arrested Kenneth Kundert in Arkansas. He is now at a Van Buren correctional facility awaiting extradition.

Silzer was originally from North Dakota where she graduated from high school before working at a school district in the state. She later moved to Washington and lived in the Seattle area for about 12 years, police said.

She had just purchased a condo in Kent, Washington, just before she was killed. Silzer was a training supervisor at Boeing and worked at a pizza place on weekends, according to police.

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(MOSCOW, Idaho) — The suspect in the murder of four University of Idaho students, Bryan Kohberger, returned to court Thursday as the judge weighs whether to change the venue for his trial.

Kohberger’s lawyers hope to move the trial to a different county, arguing the local jury pool in Latah County, which encompasses the college town of Moscow, was tainted by pretrial publicity.

Defense lawyers surveyed Latah County residents and said their results found that the “pressure to convict” Kohberger was shown to be “so severe” the venue couldn’t possibly be impartial.

The defense said one respondent answered they would “burn the courthouse down” if he were not convicted. The same survey, according to the defense, found “much less emotional” responses from people living closer to Boise, where Kohberger’s lawyers suggested the trial be moved.

“The traumatized town of Moscow is understandably filled with deeply held prejudgment opinions of guilt,” defense attorney Elisa Massoth said in a filing this month.

The prosecution has said the case has national and international interest, and that the case has been covered plenty in Boise, so a change of venue would not solve any problem.

Prosecutors argued in a filing this month that the defense “failed to establish that a fair and impartial trial cannot be held in Latah County.”

Victim Kaylee Goncalves’ family wants the trial to stay in Latah County.

To Kaylee Goncalves’ mom, Kristi Goncalves, all Latah County citizens are victims.

She recalled seeing a huge crowd of people, some crying, at the University of Idaho’s healing garden, which opened to the public last week.

The local residents “deserve to have a hand in part of the healing and part of the justice,” she told ABC News Thursday.

“Anybody can find 12 people that can go into that courtroom without their mind made up. It’s America,” added Kaylee Goncalves’ dad, Steve Goncalves.

Moscow Mayor Art Bettge said in a statement last week that, if the case stayed in Latah County, “I firmly believe people would be able to set aside any personal feelings they have … set aside any information they may have read or heard … and make a determination of guilty or not guilty based on the evidence presented in the courtroom and deliberate according to the instructions provided to them.”

The trial is scheduled to start on June 2, 2025, and run until Aug. 29, 2025. Judge John Judge said in June that if the venue changes, the trial date would still hold.

Kohberger is accused of stabbing four University of Idaho students to death in an off-campus house in the early hours of Nov. 13, 2022. Ethan Chapin, 20; Madison Mogen, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20, and Goncalves, 21, were all brutally murdered during the break-in.

Kohberger, who was a criminology Ph.D. student at nearby Washington State University at the time of the crime, is charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary.

A not guilty plea was entered on Kohberger’s behalf. If convicted, he could face the death penalty.

ABC News’ Sasha Pezenik and Julie Scott contributed to this report.

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(WASHINGTON) — In her first in-depth interview since becoming the Democratic nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris told CNN, when asked about her changing policy positions, that her “values have not changed.”

‘My values have not changed’

In a video clip that aired on CNN Thursday afternoon, anchor and chief political correspondent Dana Bash asked Harris about her shifting positions on climate change and other matters.

“How should voters look at some of the changes that you’ve made? Is it because you have more experience now and you’ve learned more about the information? Is it because you were running for president in a Democratic primary? And should they feel comfortable and confident that what you’re saying now is going to be your policy moving forward?” Bash asked.

“Dana, I think the most important and most significant aspect of my policy perspective and decisions is my values have not changed,” Harris answered. “You mentioned the Green New Deal. I have always believed – and I have worked on it – that the climate crisis is real, that it is an urgent matter to which we should apply metrics that include holding ourselves to deadlines around time.

“We did that with the Inflation Reduction Act. We have set goals for the United States of America, and by extension the globe, around when we should meet certain standards for reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, as an example,” Harris continued.

“That value has not changed. My value around what we need to do to secure our border: that value has not changed. I spent two terms as the attorney general of California prosecuting transnational criminal organizations violations of American laws regarding the passage, illegal passage, of guns, drugs, and human beings across our border. My values have not changed,” she said.

Harris says she is open to naming Republican to Cabinet

Harris told Bash she would name a Republican to her Cabinet, in another clip released later Thursday afternoon. However, she said she did not have a particular person in mind.

“I’ve got 68 days to go with this election, so I’m not putting the cart before the horse,” she said. “I have spent my career inviting diversity of opinion. I think it’s important to have people at the table when some of the most important decisions are being made that have different views, different experiences. And I think it would be to the benefit of the American public to have a member of my Cabinet who was a Republican.”

‘Next question, please,’ Harris brushes off Trump’s race comments

Harris was asked to respond to former President Donald Trump’s comments at the National Association of Black Journalists convention where he appeared to question Harris’ race.

“I didn’t know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black and now, she wants to be known as Black. So, I don’t know, is she Indian or is she Black?” Trump said at the time.

When asked about the comments by Bash, Harris responded, “Same old, tired playbook. Next question, please.”

The CNN interview will air Thursday night at 9 p.m. ET.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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