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(ST LOUIS) — The $2 million Brianna Coppage says she made on OnlyFans in the last year proved a lot more lucrative than her day job as a high school teacher.

“You know what I need right now?” she says in an Instagram promo video. “Someone to take me to dinner, and then bring me home and have me for dessert.”

Before beginning to produce saucy videos in 2023, Coppage was a high school English teacher in suburban St. Louis, Missouri, and struggling to make ends meet after her husband was laid off.

“I made $42,000 per year,” she told Ashan Singh in an interview with “Nightline.” “Missouri is one of the lowest paying states in the country for teacher pay.”

She spotted a friend’s page on OnlyFans, the subscription-based video hosting service primarily associated with adult sexual content, and decided to give it a try.

“So at first, it was just like me and my husband. Just like boy-girl stuff, girl stuff, just me. But didn’t show my face at all,” she said of her early videos on the platform.

This added $5,000 a month to her income, she told “Nightline.” OnlyFans has more than 3 million creators, pulling in more than $1 billion a year, according to parent company Fenix International Limited’s 2022 earnings report

“We could pay our rent, but I also didn’t know how much of a risk there was going to be. So at the time it was me thinking, ‘Well, can they actually fire me for this?’ ”

Despite this concern, Coppage didn’t see her OnlyFans career as being at odds with her work as a teacher.

“I wasn’t doing anything illegal,” she said. “I’m there to teach reading and writing. Like I’m not there to instill their morals.”

She found out exactly what her employer thought after a school employee suspected that she was the woman hiding her face in one of her videos.

“And I was like, ‘I guess I need to tell the school,’ ” she said. “And then I just started, like, kind of panicking. And then someone called and reported it to the school.”

This resulted in Coppage going on leave from her teaching job, with global media picking up on the story.

“Seeing my name and my face in every news article around the world was like a huge shock to me,” she said of that moment.

Coppage quit shortly after her OnlyFans career became public knowledge. Despite this, she says she wouldn’t have a problem with someone teaching her children who had a similar side-hustle.

“​​As long as they were not, like, bringing it to school, talking to my kid about it,” she said.

Even though her career as a teacher was cut short, Coppage has embraced her life as an OnlyFans creator.

“I don’t have any regrets,” she said.

Coppage fits the traditional mold of an OnlyFans creator — young and female – but the site caters to a wide range of desires. Joe Gow is a 63-year-old whose porn work bumped up against his 16-year career as chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.

“We felt a little more liberated, if you will, and just thought ‘Let’s experiment and just see. Would anybody be interested in these videos?’ ” he told “Nightline.”

Gow has been making sexy videos with his wife Carmen Wilson for 10 years.

“So Joe was like, ‘Well, I don’t know how to ask you this, but how do you feel about porn?’ I’m like ‘Yeah, I’m OK with porn,’ ” Wilson said of the moment that kicked off this escapade.

They recorded about 20 videos over a decade, but didn’t make them public. That changed in late 2023, when they started uploading the videos to their “Sexy Happy Couple” OnlyFans account. When that failed to attract many subscribers, they tried using a free porn video hosting site.

“I didn’t expect it to get out in … kind of the explosive way that it did,” Wilson said. “And there are so many millions of videos to watch on the free sites, how would we even get noticed? Well we did, quickly.”

This prompted the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse’s legal team to send Gow an email asking about the video. He acknowledged that it was indeed he and Wilson, and he was terminated as chancellor.

“In recent days, we learned of specific conduct by Dr. Gow that has subjected the university to significant reputational harm. His actions were abhorrent,” it said in a statement at the time.

The incident was widely reported, with Gow telling outlets he believes he was punished for making porn videos with his wife.

“The media reaction was just stunning,” Gow said. “We’ve been in several British papers. We were in The Economic Times.”

Despite losing his job as chancellor, Gow believed his tenured teaching position in media studies would be safe.

“I wasn’t surprised when they said, ‘You can’t be chancellor,’ ” he said. “But ‘We’re going to go after you as a tenured faculty member.’ Wow. That’s new.”

At a hearing in June, Gow acknowledged making the videos.

“​​We did so on our own time, using our own money,” he said at the gathering.

Colleagues aired their beliefs that Gow had damaged the university’s reputation.

“We don’t want to be known as Porn U,” Interim Chancellor Betsy Morgan said at the hearing. “We want to be known for the quality of our academic programs.”

Ultimately, the university released a unanimous decision to dismiss him for unethical conduct.

Gow continues to fight, despite his health insurance benefit potentially hanging in the balance. He says if he walked away willingly he could keep the benefit — estimated to be worth $313,000. But by choosing to fight, he risks losing it.

His appeal could be heard sometime in August.

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(NEW YORK) — Former President Trump is seeking to push back sentencing in his criminal hush money case until after the 2024 presidential election, arguing that the current sentencing date of Sept. 18 advances what his attorneys call prosecutors’ “naked election-interference objectives.”

Judge Juan Merchan has already delayed sentencing once, at Trump’s request, following the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision on presidential immunity.

Trump was originally scheduled to be sentenced on July 11. Judge Merchan ruled last month that he would rule on Trump’s immunity claim on Sept. 16 and impose sentencing two days later.

“That timing illustrates just how unreasonable it is to have the potential for only a single day between a decision on first-impression Presidential immunity issues and an unprecedented and unwarranted sentencing,” defense lawyers wrote in a letter to judge on Thursday.

Trump’s lawyers questioned whether sentencing should take place after the start of early voting, arguing that the timing harms the integrity of the proceedings.

“Finally, setting aside naked election-interference objectives, there is no valid countervailing reason for the Court to keep the current sentencing date on the calendar. There is no basis for continuing to rush,” defense lawyers wrote.

Trump’s request for a delay comes one day after Merchan sharply criticized defense lawyers for raising “inaccurate and unsubstantiated claims” in their motion to have Merchan recused from the case based on an alleged conflict of interest involving his daughter and Vice President Kamala Harris. Merchan denied the motion.

Despite Merchan denying their recusal motion, Trump’s lawyers again raised their arguments about “conflicts and appearances of impropriety” in their letter urging a delayed sentencing.

Trump was convicted in May on all 34 counts of falsifying business records connected to a hush payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in order to boost his electoral prospects in the 2016 presidential election.

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(LOS ANGELES) — Five people are now facing federal charges in connection with the ketamine death of “Friends” star Matthew Perry, ABC News has learned.

The arrests were made in an early morning operation Thursday, according to law enforcement sources.

Five people — including two doctors — have been charged with conspiracy to distribute ketamine, according to a federal source. The indictment alleges that the two doctors were the initial sources of supply, but at one point federal officials believe the drugs became too expensive and Perry switched to a new source, including a woman known as the “Ketamine Queen of Los Angeles,” according to the federal source.

The charges will also include the death of another person who is referred to in the indictment by the initials C.M., according to the federal source.

The charges will be announced at a news briefing later on Thursday with the U.S. attorney for Los Angeles and the head of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

Perry died on Oct. 28, 2023, at the age of 54. He was discovered unresponsive in a jacuzzi at his Los Angeles home, police said. An autopsy report revealed he died from the acute effects of ketamine.

Perry had high levels of ketamine in his blood, likely lapsed into unconsciousness and then went underwater, according to the autopsy report.

He was reported to have been receiving ketamine infusions for depression and anxiety, with the most recent therapy coming 1 1/2 weeks before his death, according to the autopsy report. However, the medical examiner wrote the ketamine in his system at death could not have been from that infusion therapy, as ketamine’s half-life is three to four hours or less.

His method of intake was listed in the report as unknown.

The autopsy report also listed drowning, coronary artery disease and buprenorphine effects as contributing factors not related to the immediate cause of death. The manner of death was ruled an accident.

Prescription drugs and loose pills were found at his home, but nothing near where he was found dead, according to the autopsy report.

Multiple agencies have been investigating in the months since his death, including the DEA, Los Angeles Police Department, United States Postal Service and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Perry was known for playing Chandler Bing on the hit sitcom “Friends,” which ran from 1994 to 2004.

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

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(NEW YORK) — Hurricane Ernesto is expected to strengthen into a major hurricane over the coming days as it travels northwards toward Bermuda, having already left half of Puerto Rico residents without power on Wednesday.

Ernesto had moved out of Puerto Rico as of Thursday morning, with wind gusts of 85 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center. It had brought almost 10 inches of rain to the island. It is expected to gather strength through the coming weekend, possibly growing from a Category 1 to Category 3 hurricane.

By Friday night, the storm is expected to approach Bermuda as a Category 2 hurricane with winds of up to 110 mph. Saturday will see conditions worsen, when the eye wall — and the strongest winds — may brush the island.

The approaching storm may also bring huge waves, storm surge and up to 12 inches of rain. A hurricane warning has been issued for the island.

After churning past Bermuda, Ernesto is projected to continue north and brush the Canadian coast near Newfoundland. Damaging winds, high surf and heavy rain are expected early next week.

The gathering storm currently poses no direct threat to the U.S. East Coast, but its northwards movement is expected to produce high surf and rip currents into the weekend. Florida will begin to see large waves roll in from Thursday night and into Friday, while the Carolinas and Northeast will see similar conditions this weekend.

Puerto Rico suffered flash flooding, storm damage, and widespread power outages on Wednesday as Ernesto moved past the island. Half of all residents were without power, with flooding and damage especially pronounced in the eastern part of the island.

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(NEW YORK) — Columbia University President Minouche Shafik announced her immediate resignation Wednesday, months after college protests over the Israel-Hamas war gripped the campus.

“I write with sadness to tell you that I am stepping down as president of Columbia University,” Shafik wrote in a letter to members of the university.

The announcement comes after protests broke out on the university’s campus in April, leading to arrests, property damage and backlash over the institution’s handling of the protests.

“It has been difficult to overcome divergent views across our community,” Shafik said in her letter, adding, “This period has taken a considerable toll on my family, as it has for others in our community.”

“Over the summer, I have been able to reflect and have decided that my moving on at this point would best enable Columbia to traverse the challenges ahead. I am making this announcement now so that new leadership can be in place before the new term begins,” Shafik said.

Shafik, who became the first woman and person of color to lead the university in 2023, is the third Ivy League president to step down in recent months.

Harvard President Claudine Gay and University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill previously announced their resignations following Congressional testimonies on the handling of anti-Semitism on campus.

During her congressional testimony in April, Shafik told the committee that Columbia “strives to be a community free of discrimination and hate in all forms, and we condemn the antisemitism that is so pervasive today.”

Shafik said she took the job to foster a diverse community at Columbia.

“But on Oct. 7, the world changed and so did my focus,” she said.

The day after Shafik’s testimony, more than 100 pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested, and an on-campus tent encampment was removed after Shafik gave the New York Police Department the green light to clear the protesters. What followed was weeks of protests and widespread tent encampments that culminated in the occupation of the university’s Hamilton Hall.

In May, Columbia University’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences passed a vote of no confidence in Shafik.

“I have tried to navigate a path that upholds academic principles and treats everyone with fairness and compassion,” Shafik wrote in her letter. “It has been distressing — for the community, for me as president and on a personal level — to find myself, colleagues, and students the subject of threats and abuse.”

Shafik, who previously led the London School of Economics and worked for the World Bank, announced she will return to the U.K. following her resignation.

“I am honored to have been asked by the U.K.’s Foreign Secretary to chair a review of the government’s approach to international development and how to improve capability,” Shafik said.

Katrina Armstrong, MD, who leads the university’s medical school and medical center, was announced as the interim president following Shafik’s departure.

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(NEW YORK) — An Arizona man pleaded guilty to making threats against federal officials on Tuesday, having repeatedly urged fellow social media users to shoot FBI agents and attack politicians, authorities said.

Michael Lee Tomasi, 37, of Rio Verde, Arizona, leveled a series of threats against FBI agents, elected officials and the judge overseeing right-wing conspiracist Alex Jones’ defamation case, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Tomasi posted the graphic threats over a more than two-year period between May 2021 and November of 2023, primarily on the social media platform ‘www.patriots.win‘, which describes itself as the “community of choice for President Donald J. Trump.”

Tomasi — who was living in Colorado and Arizona at the time of the offenses — pleaded guilty to making threats against federal officials, per a Department of Justice press release. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 23, and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

Among the offenses detailed in the original indictment were a November 2021 threat to sexually assault a congresswoman.

Tomasi also called for the execution of another member of Congress in March 2022, declaring: “He’s one of them. Kill every corrupt politician.”

The defendant repeatedly threatened FBI agents, writing in November 2021: “FBI has no legal ability to enforce anything. Shoot on site.” In an August 2023 post, Tomasi called for “instant death” for FBI agents. “Shoot the FBI first ask questions later,” he wrote. “They are terrorists that deserve nothing but to be shot on site.”

Tomasi also posted a video of him dancing with two guns in a post titled, “My Let’s Go Brandon dance,” a reference to a derogatory meme about President Joe Biden.

In a Department of Justice press release, U.S. Attorney Gary Restaino for the District of Arizona said the “disgruntled defendant” was “prepared to carry out his threats: when arrested he had a loaded handgun in his vehicle, as well as other firearms and body armor in his home.”

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(NEW YORK) — A 37-year-old backpacker has died after suffering “sudden onset medical complications” while hiking at a national park in Michigan, authorities said.

The currently unnamed 37-year-old female hiker from Battle Creek, Michigan, was with a hiking partner late Monday afternoon near Lake LeSage at Isle Royale National Park in Michigan when authorities say she began to experience “sudden onset medical complications,” according to a statement from the National Park Service detailing the incident.

“As her condition deteriorated, she was eventually unable to walk, lost consciousness, and stopped breathing,” park officials said. “CPR was provided but attempts to resuscitate her were unsuccessful.”

Other backpackers in the area were able contact Michigan State Police who subsequently relayed the message to a National Park Service dispatch center, NPS said.

“Park ranger/EMTs located and stayed with the party Monday evening. Early Tuesday morning a crew of Isle Royale staff responded to transport the party from a remote location,” authorities said.

“The Isle Royale community extends their sincere condolences to the family and friends of the deceased,” NPS continued.

An investigation into the woman’s death is currently ongoing.

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(NEW YORK) — A 28-year-old mother has been missing for two weeks under what police in Virginia said are believed to be “involuntary” circumstances.

Mamta Kafle was last seen on July 31 in Manassas Park, Virginia, about 30 miles outside of Washington, D.C, the Manassas Park Police Department said. She hasn’t had any contact with family or friends since then, police said.

Her husband reported her missing on Aug. 5, Manassas Park Police Chief Mario Lugo said.

Authorities said they believe Kafle is “involuntarily” missing, citing the length of time she’s been missing.

“Investigators have conducted several follow-ups with neighbors, friends, co-workers and the husband,” police said in a statement. “The investigators are also utilizing several investigative tools to help in an attempt to locate Mamta Kafle.”

Kafle works as a registered nurse, according to her friend and former colleague, Sunita Basnet Thapa.

Basnet Thapa told ABC Arlington, Virginia, affiliate WJLA-TV the two bonded over both being from Nepal, and that she was a mentor to Kafle. She attended an event Tuesday in Manassas Park to raise awareness about Kafle’s disappearance and press for updates.

Basnet Thapa told WJLA they have “no clue what is going on,” adding that she has been waiting for news for 14 days.

The case remains active, police said. Lugo said in a statement to WJLA that Kafle was entered as missing in a law database “immediately,” and detectives “immediately started investigating this case.”

Kafle’s friend, Nadia Navarro, who organized Tuesday’s gathering, told WJLA that it is unlike the mother to leave her 11-month-old daughter.

“Even if she was desperate, even if she might have been facing something, she wouldn’t have left her daughter,” Navarro told WJLA. “She was very self-sacrificial that way, no matter what would have been happening.”

ABC News was unable to reach Kafle’s family.

Her husband spoke to a crowd gathered in support of Kafle on Monday by phone, saying that he couldn’t attend because he was caring for their daughter, according to WRC-TV.

“I need to find her as soon as possible, and then using all the tools — community, society, police,” he told the crowd.

Friends are planning to hold a search for Kafle on Thursday afternoon.

Kafle is 5 feet tall, weighs 132 pounds and has black hair and dark brown eyes, police said. She was last seen wearing blue scrubs, police said.

Police urge anyone with information to call the Manassas Park Police Department at 703-361-1136 or submit an anonymous tip to Manassas/Manassas Park Crime Solvers at 703-330-0330.

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(NEW YORK) — The murder trial against Robert Telles — the former Clark County public administrator accused of killing journalist Jeff German in September 2022 — began with opening statements on Wednesday.

Telles, 47, has been accused of stabbing the Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter to death outside his home after an investigation into corruption in his office destroyed his political career and marriage. German’s story detailed the alleged hostile work environment in Telles’ office, which included accusations of bullying, retaliation, and an “inappropriate relationship” between Telles and a staffer. Telles denied the allegations.

In her opening statement Wednesday, Chief Deputy District Attorney Pamela Weckerly walked through the timeline of the murder and how Telles came to be pinpointed as the suspect.

“In the end, this case isn’t about politics,” Weckerly said. “It’s not about alleged inappropriate relationships. It’s not about who’s a good boss or who’s a good supervisor or favoritism at work — it’s just about murder.”

Telles was arrested days after German was found dead outside his Las Vegas home. DNA evidence found in Telles’ home tied him to the crime scene, according to police, and a straw hat and sneakers — which the suspect was seen wearing in surveillance video — were found cut up in his home.

His DNA was also found on German’s hands and fingernails, police said.

Police took Telles into custody with what they said were non-life-threatening, self-inflicted stab wounds.

Telles’ attorney, Robert Draskovich, defended his client in his opening statement, suggesting he was framed for German’s death.

Draskovich said the “old guard” in the public administrator’s office was upset by Telles’ efforts to root out and eliminate internal corruption.

He also claimed that, due to German’s track record of reporting on corrupt figures, other people may have wanted him dead.

“There were others that had far more motive to make it look like [Telles] was the killer, and to conduct this killing because Jeff German was a good reporter — he would ultimately get to what the truth was,” Draskovich said.

Draskovich suggested Telles should be presumed innocent due to a lack of DNA evidence found in his car and on his clothing, and said police “never positively identified” a car present at the crime scene — which matched a description of Telles’ car — as his.

He also emphasized that Telles’ cellphone was not detected in the area at the time of the murder. Police have said they believe Telles left his phone at home during the alleged murder.

His suicide attempt, Draskovich contended, was not out of guilt, but because his “life was coming apart.”

Draskovich praised Telles, detailing his career and describing him as a “loving father and husband.”

“He’s a family man,” the defense attorney said.

Testimony in the case against Telles is now underway, and Draskovich has said Telles will testify during the trial.

Telles has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder and could face life in prison if convicted.

German was the only journalist killed in the United States in 2022, with a total of at least 67 journalists killed worldwide that year, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Las Vegas Sheriff Joseph Lombardo previously described the case against Telles as “unusual,” and said that “the killing of a journalist is particularly troublesome.”

“It is troublesome because it is a journalist. And we expect journalism to be open and transparent and the watchdog for government,” Lombardo said. “And when people take it upon themselves to create harm associated with that profession, I think it’s very important we put all eyes on and address the case appropriately such as we did in this case.”

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(NEW YORK) — The state rested its case on Wednesday afternoon after the second day of testimony in the trial of Susan Lorincz — the Florida woman who is charged in the fatal shooting of her neighbor Ajike “AJ” Owens through a closed door.

The defense began presenting their witnesses on Wednesday afternoon, which could include two of Owens’ sons, Isaac, 13, and Israel, 10, who witnessed his mother’s shooting.

Owens family attorney Anthony Thomas told ABC News on Wednesday that while prosecutors decided not to call the boys to testify, it is unclear if the defense will ask them to take the stand.

Owens’ mother, Pamela Dias, spoke out in a press conference on Wednesday morning and said that she wishes her grandkids “did not have to testify, but if this is what it takes to get justice, and this is what we have to do.”

“[Lorincz] did kill my daughter; that in itself, is hurtful. But also the fact that one of [my grandchildren] could have been injured or killed as well is beyond any emotion or feeling that can truly be expressed,” Dias added. “She has no regards for any form of human life, certainly not my family.”

According to a June 6, 2023, statement from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO), Lorincz shot Owens, a Black mother of four, through a closed door in the presence of her now 10-year-old son after she went to speak with Lorincz about a dispute over Owens’ children playing near her home. Lorincz called 911 after fatally shooting Owens and admitted to the shooting.

Lorincz, who is white, was arrested on June 6, 2023, and charged with first-degree felony manslaughter for fatally shooting Owens on June 2, 2023, in Ocala, Florida. She pleaded not guilty on July 10, 2023, and was held on a $150,000 bond. If convicted, Lorincz faces up to 30 years in prison, according to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office.

A host of neighbors, including two children, sheriff’s deputies, a 911 dispatcher, crime scene investigators and forensics experts were among those who were called to testify by the prosecution.

A focus of the state’s argument over the past two days was on the first 911 call that Lorincz made to report “trespassing” on June 2, 2023 — minutes before she ended up shooting Owens. According to witnesses, including the sheriff’s deputies who responded to the shooting, law enforcement was already on their way to Lorincz’s home when the shooting occurred because she had called 911 to report three children — one Latino and two Black — were “trespassing” on her property.

Troy Gann, a 911 operator, said on Tuesday that he received a call from Lorincz, who reported children “badgering her” and “trespassing” on her property. Sheriff’s deputies were then dispatched to her home.

Michael Stringer, a patrol deputy with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, testified on Tuesday that after receiving a call about trespassing at Lorincz’s home, he and a deputy trainee were dispatched “immediately” to her home, which was 10-15 minutes away, but said that while he was headed to Lorincz’s home, the call was upgraded to a shooting.

He described seeing the victim (Owens) lying on the ground and described detaining Lorincz, who was inside her home at the time of their arrival. Asked if he observed any weapons on Owens or near Owens, he said, “no.”

During opening arguments on Tuesday, the defense argued that Lorincz was acting in self-defense because she feared for her life, while prosecutors stressed that Owens was “unarmed” and fatally shot through a “locked” door.

“The death of AJ Owens is a tragedy. There is no doubt about that, but what the evidence will show is that in her mind, in her soul, in her core, Susan Lorincz felt she had no choice,” public defender Morris Carranza said. “It was either Susan or AJ. Susan chose to defend herself.”

The defense claimed that Owens told Lorincz that she was going to “kill” her, while prosecutors told jurors in opening remarks that they would hear from witnesses who were present during the confrontation who will deny this claim.

Amid the defense’s claim that Owens was trying to “break” down Lorincz’s front door, the state called Lorincz’s former landlord Charles Gabbard to the stand on Tuesday.

Gabbard testified that prior to the shooting he had repaired a jam on Lorincz’s front door. He said that her door was “structurally sound” after he repaired it, despite some cosmetic damage. He said that the door was sturdy and had a chain, a deadbolt and a lock.

During cross-examination, Gabbard said that Lorincz did not tell him how the door was damaged but that “it was clear that someone slammed” the door. He said that after repairing it, he was planning to replace Lorincz’s door at some point. Asked by Lorincz’s attorney Carranza if the crack in the door was “substantial,” Gabbard said, “Yes.”

On Wednesday the jury was shown the previously released interrogation video of Lorincz’s detention, where she made the claim that Owens was trying to “break” into her home, and much of the testimony and cross examination focused on Lorincz shooting Owens through a locked door, with questions about the sturdiness of the door.

Judge Robert W. Hodges of Florida’s 5th Judicial Circuit, who is presiding over the case, said on Monday that the trial is expected to be over by Friday.

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