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(COLUMBUS, Ohio) — As a desperate search for a baby taken in a car theft went into its third day Wednesday, Ohio police released new surveillance images of “person of interest” at a gas station with the stolen sedan.

The search for 5-month-old Kason Thomass was launched Monday night after he and his twin brother, Kyair, went missing when a homeless woman allegedly stole their mom’s running car in the Columbus, Ohio. The twins were inside the care as their mom stepped away to pick up a food order, police said.

Kyair Thomass was found early Tuesday morning abandoned at the Dayton International Airport, more than 70 miles from Columbus, which a deputy police chief called, “a troubling aspect of this case.”

Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant identified 24-year-old homeless woman Nalah Jackson as a person of interest in the case.

“We’re begging you to please return Kason,” Bryant said during a news conference Tuesday afternoon, directing her words to Jackson. “Right now our concern is to get the baby. We want to make sure Kason is safe.”

Surveillance images released by police captured Jackson at a gas station in the Dayton suburb of Huber Heights early Tuesday morning driving the stolen black 2010 Honda Accord. In a statement posted on Twitter, police said that while at the gas station, Jackson asked an employee for money.

Columbus Deputy Chief Smith Weir said Jackson was captured on the gas station’s surveillance cameras shortly before additional security video showed her dropping off Kyair at the Dayton airport around 4:30 a.m.

Weir said it was “troubling aspect” that Jackson would leave one of the babies but keep the other.

“It’s perplexing as to why that would be,” Weir said. “Obviously we could all let our imaginations run wild, but we have to deal with what the facts are, and the facts are we’re still looking for one child.”

Bryant said the incident unfolded about 9:45 p.m. Monday while Kyair and Kason were alone in the Honda Accord their mother left running after stopping a Donatos Pizza restaurant in the Short North Arts District of northeast Columbus to pick up a Door Dash order.

The mother’s car was stolen soon after she went into the restaurant, police said. When the mother turned to look at her car from inside the restaurant, she noticed it was gone along with her twin babies, police said.

Bryant said witnesses told police that Jackson was seated inside the restaurant when the mother walked in.

The car has not been located and Bryant said it remained unclear if the suspect dumped the vehicle somewhere or was still driving it.

An Amber Alert was issued by the state Highway Patrol around 1:37 a.m. Tuesday. Police said the delay in issuing the alert was due to the stolen vehicle, which the mother recently purchased, not having license plates.

Bryant said at least 60 Columbus police officers have been assigned to the case and other law enforcement agencies were assisting in the search for the child. The chief said officers checked multiple residences around Columbus where Jackson once lived and searched several homeless encampments in Columbus she has been known to frequent.

Weir said he is worried about Kason’s well-being, saying, “We consider this child to be in danger.”

“This is a cry for help,” Weir said. “We’re asking the community to come forward and help us find this child.”

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(NEW YORK) — The number of migrant crossings into the El Paso area has dropped to 1,500 per day on average, down from 2,500 at one point earlier this month, the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement Tuesday.

DHS was thrust into overdrive at the start of last week as it directed U.S. Customs and Border Protection personnel to El Paso to assist with processing the influx of migrants.

More than 3,400 migrants have been expelled from El Paso under Title 42 or deported by ICE over the past week.

Nearly 6,000 were moved out of the area to other, less impacted Border Patrol stations and processing centers, DHS said.

“We have deployed additional agents to the region and deployed improved processing systems, automated surveillance towers, rescue beacons, mobile processing units, medical screening personnel, and nearly 1,000 Border Patrol Processing Coordinators for processing migrants and ensuring border security,” DHS said in a statement.

U.S. Border Patrol Chief for the El Paso Sector Peter Jaquez said Tuesday his agents foiled 12 smuggling schemes rescuing nearly 60 migrants from smuggling exploitation and taking 15 human smugglers into custody over the past two days.

Agents in the Border Patrol’s El Paso sector area cover 264 miles of border from West Texas across the state of New Mexico. The City of El Paso saw much of the migrant influx and officials and aid workers remain under strain to care for those still there.

The Red Cross is providing support to shelters with cots and food. The El Paso Office of Emergency Management said Tuesday it had identified two vacant schools to use to house migrants released into the community.

“All eyes are on El Paso and for this reason, we must show the world the compassion our community is known for and illustrate the resilience and strength of our region,” City Manager Tommy Gonzalez said Tuesday.

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(NEW YORK) — As the holiday travel rush begins, a cross-country storm is bringing heavy snow, blizzard conditions and damaging winds.

Here’s the latest forecast:

Blizzard warnings have been issued in the Upper Midwest and the Plains on Wednesday as the storm moves in. Heavy snow will cause treacherous travel conditions in Des Moines and Minneapolis.

On Thursday, snow and gusty winds will slam Kansas City, St. Louis and Chicago.

The storm then brings snow and gusty winds to Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee Thursday afternoon into Friday.

Michigan will see more than 1 foot of snow.

Chicago will get a few inches of snow which will be coupled with powerful 40 to 50 mph wind gusts, producing blowing and drifting snow.

In the Northeast, heavy rain, coastal flooding and disruptive winds are expected Thursday night into Friday. Gusts could reach 70 mph in some areas.

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(CORNELIUS, N.C.) — Investigators searching for missing 11-year-old Madalina Cojocari released a video on Tuesday showing the girl getting off a school bus on Nov. 21, two days before her mother said she last saw her.

Cojocari was last seen at home in Cornelius, North Carolina, on Nov. 23, about three weeks before her school was notified on Dec. 15, according to law enforcement officials.

The surveillance video released on Tuesday shows the 11-year-old getting off the bus at 4:59 p.m. on Nov. 21, investigators said.

“This is the last time investigators have independent confirmation of when Madalina was last seen,” the FBI’s Charlotte bureau said on Twitter, adding, “We are seeking additional witnesses outside of the family to narrow down the exact timeline of when she disappeared.”

Cojocari wears a light-colored shirt and a dark backpack in the video, which is about 19 seconds long.

This is the last time investigators have independent confirmation of when Madalina was last seen. She got off the bus on 11-21-22, at 4:59 p.m. We are seeking additional witnesses outside of the family to narrow down the exact timeline of when she disappeared. #FindMadalina pic.twitter.com/dkStKHmjjB

— FBI Charlotte (@FBICharlotte) December 20, 2022

The girl’s mother, Diana Cojocari, 37, and stepfather, Christopher Palmiter, 60, were arrested on Saturday on the charge of failure to report the disappearance of a child to law enforcement, police said in two statements.

Diana Cojocari reported her daughter missing to her school on Dec. 15, police said.

“As previously released, Charlotte-Mecklenburg School employees contacted Diana Cojocari on several occasions to inquire about Madalina being absent from school,” the Cornelius Police Department said in a press release on Tuesday.

The school made “repeated contact” with Diana Cojocari before she “went to Bailey Middle School on December 15, 2022, and reported to the School Resource Officer” that Madalina was missing, police said on Tuesday.

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(NEW YORK) — When a runaway horse was found inside the icy waters of a Wisconsin lake this weekend, a group of good Samaritans banded together to make sure the Mustang would get a chance to ride on Christmas.

Residents and other neighbors told ABC News they were relieved that the horse, who they dubbed Jack after the Titanic character, was able to get up and stand after it spent three hours in the water in Wood Lake, Wisconsin on Sunday.

Mike Strub, the president of the Big Wood Lake Association, and resident of the lake who was on the scene during the rescue, told ABC News that despite the subzero temperatures and limited resources, his neighbors never gave up until they could get Jack to safety.

“This doesn’t surprise me. That is the kind of neighborhood and community that would do something like that,” he told ABC News.

The incident took place Saturday after a tree fell on a fence and created an opening for Jack to leave, according to Frontier Stables, which helped to reunite the horse with its family.

D.J. Ryan, 38, who was one of a dozen people who were on the ice to help the horse, told ABC News he saw a Facebook post Saturday night from a neighbor about a horse that was seen wandering the road, so he and another neighbor went out to investigate.

“We did find its trench and I thought it was on its way home,” he told ABC News.

The next morning, residents of the lake saw the horse walk on the frozen body and surveillance camera footage filmed it falling into the water around 8:30 a.m., according to Strub.

Ryan said he and his neighbors quickly went to the lake to see what they could do.

“We saw it out there struggling and bobbing out, about 150 yards off the shore,” he said adding that temperatures were negative 5 degrees Fahrenheit.

Ryan, who owns horses and whose mother is a veterinarian, said the horse was a Mustang, which is known to be pretty strong in cold weather conditions, but he and his neighbors knew that it would only be a matter of time before hypothermia took over. He and his neighbors spent a long time figuring out the best way to rescue Jack without harming him.

“On the scene, there was a veterinarian. As long as the horse was still moving and kicking it was savable. That’s why they never gave up,” Strub said.

After trial and error, the rescuers were able to get a nylon strap under the horse and were able to guide it onto the ice slowly but surely.

“We started to get that taut and with that pressure we got him on the edge of the ice and kind of thrusted himself out of the water,” Ryan said.

The rescuers had to push the horse and haul it to get it away from the lake. A short while later, the horse was able to get on its feet and was able to walk on its own.

“He had a look like what the heck was going on?” Ryan said. “We were amazed that he was able to get up and walk as fast as he did.”

The rescuers led Jack to a horse trailer where it was driven to a climate controlled stable.

“We had all people with binoculars watching it from the lake and cheering. It was a point of pride,” Strub said.

Representatives from Frontier Stables, which housed Jack, told ABC News that he was doing well during his time recuperating. After they posted a photo of Jack on their Facebook page, Frontier Stables said they were contacted by the horse’s owners.

Ryan said he spoke with the owners and said they were slated to reunite with the horse on Saturday.

“They’re super excited,” he said.

Ryan added that he and his neighbors felt relieved that they were able to save the horse and that now the family is going to have a happy Christmas.

“It’s part of living in the country here in rural Wisconsin,” he said. “You see everything and everyone is willing to help.”

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(GOLDSBORO, N.C.) — A North Carolina lawyer died after sacrificing himself trying to disarm a client who pulled out a revolver in the middle of a mediation session and began firing wildly, before turning the gun on himself, according to someone within the firm with knowledge of what happened.

The victim, who police identified Tuesday as Riddle & Brantley attorney Patrick White, was representing Francisco Sanchez and his wife, who had hired the firm to help them recover damages from a car accident, said the person, who spoke anonymously to ABC News so as not to violate attorney-client privilege.

The mediation, held Monday in an office at the firm’s Goldsboro location, had proceeded for roughly six hours and was going well, said the person, who was not in the meeting but understood that Sanchez “seemed very satisfied with the numbers” being discussed.

“There was nothing about this situation that led anyone to believe that anything would have happened here,” the person said, adding that the firm was close to finalizing a settlement that would have led Sanchez to pocket a seven-figure sum.

At one point, though, Sanchez stepped away with his wife, the person said. When he returned, “with no explanation whatsoever [he] pulled out a revolver and started firing at people,” the person within the firm said.

According to the person, Sanchez fired twice into the office wall before White “dove on him and took two bullets trying to save other people.”

Sanchez then shot himself, the person said, dying at the scene.

Sanchez was identified as a suspect in an incident report provided to ABC News by the Goldsboro Police Department. The report offered no details about what transpired.

In a statement, police said they responded Monday to a report of a shooting at the law firm.

“When officers arrived, they located two males in the business deceased from apparent gunshot wounds,” police said. “Officers secured the business and did not locate any additional victims. Deputies with the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office and troopers from the North Carolina State Highway Patrol also assisted at the scene. Officers were informed that one of the deceased subjects was the shooter.”

The person within Riddle & Brantley said the firm, which was the third to represent Sanchez in his pursuit of damages, “had some indications that the client had a temper” but did not believe he could do what he allegedly did during Monday’s meeting.

A clerk at the Pitt County Courthouse told ABC News that Sanchez had been represented until June by a law firm in Greenville.

Surveillance footage from a hallway captured the attack and has been provided to police, said the person at the firm.

White was married with two children.

The firm’s founder, Gene Riddle, said the incident “has been devastating. No warning, no hostility until the gun appeared out of nowhere.”

In a statement on its website, the firm announced the “sudden passing of Mr. Patrick White, attorney at law.”

“Patrick was a skilled lawyer and a devoted, loving husband and father. His strong work ethic and dedication to excellence were coupled with genuine warmth and kindness. Patrick’s commitment to the service of others and engaging personality endeared him to all,” the firm said. “In his passing, Patrick displayed selfless courage in the face of unprovoked senseless violence. His heroic, decisive intervention averted further tragedy.”

“The firm sincerely appreciates the overwhelming output of love and support we have received from friends and the community. Please keep Patrick’s family in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time,” it added.

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(COLUMBUS, Ohio) — A massive search was underway in Ohio for a 5-month-old missing baby after a car was stolen with him and his twin brother inside when their mother stepped away to pick up a food order, police said.

One of the children was found abandoned Monday at the Dayton International Airport, more than 70 miles from Columbus, where his mother’s car was stolen, police said. But a search continued Tuesday evening for the other child, police said.

The missing baby was identified as Kason Thomass, Columbus police Chief Elaine Bryant said at a news conference Tuesday afternoon. Kason’s twin brother, Kyair, was found early Tuesday morning at the airport in Dayton.

Bryant said a homeless woman she identified as 24-year-old Nalah Jackson is a person of interest in the case.

“We’re begging you to please return Kason,” said Bryant, directing her words to Jackson. “Right now our concern is to get the baby. We want to make sure Kason is safe.”

Bryant said the incident unfolded about 9:45 p.m. Monday while Kyair and Kason were in a 2010 Honda Accord alone as their mother stopped into a Donatos Pizza restaurant in the Italian Village section of northeast Columbus to pick up a Door Dash order.

The mother’s car was stolen soon after she went into the restaurant, police said. When the mother turned to look at her car from inside the restaurant, she noticed it was gone along with her twin babies, police said.

Bryant said witnesses told police that Jackson was seated inside the restaurant when the mother walked in.

The car has not been located and Bryant said it remained unclear if the suspect dumped the vehicle somewhere or was still driving it.

An Amber Alert was issued by the state Highway Patrol around 1:37 a.m. Tuesday. Police said the delay in issuing the alert was due to the stolen vehicle, which the mother recently purchased, not having license plates.

Bryant said at least 60 Columbus police officers have been assigned to the case and other law enforcement agencies were assisting in the search for the child. The chief said officers checked multiple residences around Columbus where Jackson once lived and searched several homeless encampments in Columbus she has been known to frequent.

Columbus Deputy Chief Smith Weir said he is worried about Kason’s well-being, saying, “We consider this child to be in danger.”

“This is a cry for help,” Weir said. “We’re asking the community to come forward and help us find this child.”

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(BUFFALO, N.Y.) — The city of Buffalo announced Tuesday it has filed a “first of its kind” lawsuit against the gun industry, seven months after a teenager killed 10 people and wounded three others at a Buffalo grocery store.

The lawsuit was announced by Mayor Byron Brown and names as defendants some of the nation’s biggest firearm manufacturers, including Beretta, Smith & Wesson, Bushmaster, Glock and Remington. The suit, filed in state Supreme Court in Buffalo, also names ghost gun retailers Polymer and Arm or Ally as defendants.

“Members of our community have suffered too much for too long from gun violence,” Brown said in a statement. “We must do everything we can to decrease gun violence. Enabling the possession of illegal guns destroys lives and deeply affects our neighborhood, especially in Black and Brown communities.”

City leaders concede that gun violence in Buffalo is getting worse despite efforts by the Buffalo Police Department to curb gun violence.

Gun violence has surged in the city since 2020, when 355 people were killed or injured in shootings.

“As of March, 2021, the number of people shot in Buffalo over the first two months of the year jumped 140% compared to the same period [in 2020],” the city’s statement reads.

The lawsuit comes after a racially motivated mass shooting on May 14 at a Tops market on the east side of Buffalo left 10 Black people dead. Police said the 18-year-old suspect, Payton Gendron, used a semi-automatic rifle in the massacre that he purchased legally but manipulated to fit a high capacity ammunition magazine that is illegal to possess in New York. It was bought at a gun shop in Pennsylvania.

In November, Gendron, now 19, pleaded guilty to 15 charges in all, including domestic terrorism motivated by hate, murder and attempted murder. He faces life in prison without the possibility of parole when he is sentenced in February.

City officials said the goal of the lawsuit “is not to prevent legal gun ownership.”

“The city of Buffalo is not going to let these gun industry members continue to flood our City with illegally possessed guns,” said Cavette A. Chambers of the city Corporation Counsel. “We must hold them accountable.”

Chambers said city officials have been following public nuisance laws in New York “and will be considering additional defendants and causes of action as we get into discovery.”

Brown added, “The conduct of certain gun manufacturers has unreasonably interfered with the public’s right to use open space free from fear.”

The lawsuit said the plaintiffs are looking for compensatory and punitive damages as well as an abatement fund “with sufficient capital to eliminate the public nuisance [gun manufacturers] are responsible for creating, exacerbating, and/or perpetuating.” The lawsuit requests a jury trial.

There was no immediate response to the lawsuit from the gun manufacturers and retailers named as defendants.

The lawsuit charges the gun manufacturers and retailers have “maintained the public nuisance of unlawful possessing, transportation and disposition of firearms and the utilization of guns in the commission of an offense” by marketing firearms to emphasize their “high capacity and ease of concealment.” The suit alleges that such marketing, including its use in movies and social media, appeals to prospective purchasers with criminal intent.

The lawsuit also faults manufactures for not training dealers “to avoid straw sales and other illegal transactions” and for refusing to terminate contracts with distributors who sell to dealers with disproportionately high volumes of guns traced to crime scenes.

“All of the Defendants manufactured or distributed thousands of firearms recovered in crimes committed in the City of Buffalo and New York State,” the lawsuit alleges.

The five top gun companies named in the suit “acknowledged that they have no system process in place to gather safety data related to their products, and they were unable to produce any internal analyses of the dangers caused by sellers of their military-style weapons to civilians.”

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(CHICAGO) — The body of a missing 25-year-old Northwestern University Ph.D. student has been recovered in Chicago’s Diversey Harbor, the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office said Tuesday night.

Peter Salvino was last seen when he left a party in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood on Saturday night, police said.

Chicago police said they “responded to a follow-up investigation” at the harbor Tuesday night, Chicago ABC station WLS reported.

Salvino’s last known contact was via FaceTime at 12:15 a.m. on Sunday, according to police.

He had FaceTimed a friend at 11:59 p.m. saying he was walking home and was about 30 minutes away, according to a family spokesperson. When the friend called Salvino back at about 12:15 a.m., Salvino said he was still walking, the spokesperson said.

At 12:31 a.m., Savlino’s phone pinged near Diversey Harbor, a marina by the Lincoln Park neighborhood, the spokesperson said.

Salvino, a Ph.D. candidate in Northwestern’s interdepartmental neuroscience program, was reported missing on Sunday by his family, according to the university.

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(RIO DELL, Calif.) — Two people are dead and a California town was left a “total mess” following a 6.4-magnitude earthquake that struck the coast, according to local officials.

There is no power or water in the city of Rio Dell after the earthquake caused a major water main break and shook homes off their foundations, a Humboldt County official said Tuesday morning.

The “notable” 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck the northern coast of California early Tuesday, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

Preliminary data placed the center of the quake along the Pacific Coast about 7.5 miles away from Ferndale, California, USGS said. The quake was recorded at about 2:34 a.m. local time.

Two people, a 72-year-old and an 83-year-old, were killed in Humboldt County as “a result of medical emergencies occurring during and/or just following the earthquake,” officials said.

At least 12 people were injured as a result of the earthquake, Humboldt County Sheriff William Honsal announced Tuesday morning, adding that the number is expected to rise.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency Tuesday evening in response to the quake.

“The emergency proclamation enables Humboldt County to access resources under the California Disaster Assistance Act, directs Caltrans to formally request immediate assistance through the Federal Highway Administration’s Emergency Relief Program and supports impacted residents by easing access to unemployment benefits and waiving fees to replace records such as marriage and birth certificates, among other provisions,” he said in a statement.

Multiple people were rescued Tuesday morning after they were trapped in a building that collapsed, Samantha Kargas, public information officer for the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office, told ABC News.

About 29,000 customers in Humboldt County were still without power Tuesday night, according to tracking website PowerOutage.us.

“Power is out across the county,” officials said on Twitter, adding in all-caps: “Do not call 911 unless you are experiencing an immediate emergency.”

The sheriff’s office also said there was “widespread” damage to roads and homes throughout Humboldt County, including the Fernbridge in Ferndale. There were at least two injuries in the county, both from falls, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office said.

A home caught on fire when a water heater severed a gas line, Humboldt County officials said.

Approximately 15 homes have been red-tagged, meaning they suffered damage and have been deemed unsafe to go inside, while 18 homes have been yellow-tagged and have suffered moderate damage, according to county officials.

State Route 211 was closed at Fernbridge after the roadways and a bridge suffered possible seismic damage, according to the California Department of Transportation.

Significant damage was also recorded in Fortuna, where stores were seen with broken windows due to the tremors.

The quake was large enough to trigger a “ShakeAlert” that was sent to cellphones by FEMA’s Wireless Emergency Alert System, officials said.

“We hope everyone is safe and if you felt shaking or got an alert you took a protective action like Drop, Cover, and Hold On,” USGS said.

A tsunami wasn’t expected, according to the U.S. National Tsunami Warning Center, which reported the quake at a preliminary magnitude of 6.1.

ABC News’ Izzy Alvarez, Teddy Grant, Keith Harden, Liz Kreutz, Bonnie McLean, Lissette Rodriguez and Jennifer Watts contributed to this report.

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