Audrii Cunningham is seen in this undated photo released by Texas Police following her disappearance. — Polk County Sheriff’s Office via Facebook
(LIVINGSTON, Texas) — Authorities are searching for an 11-year-old Texas girl who vanished Thursday and police say a person of interest in the case has been taken into custody.
Audrii Cunningham was last seen on the morning of Feb. 15 near her father’s home in Livingston, Texas, at about 7 a.m., the time neighbors say they usually see the girl walking to her school bus stop, according to authorities. But Audrii didn’t board the school bus.
“She did not make it to school. That was the reason why the father, the family, became very concerned when she did not get off the bus,” Lt. Craig Cummings, a spokesperson for the Texas Department of Public Safety, said. “We are looking at this as a criminal investigation.”
A statewide Amber Alert was issued on Feb. 15 and is currently still active.
Officials say they are looking into a person of interest, Audrii’s father’s roommate, Don Steven McDougal of Livingston, Texas. McDougal was arrested on an unrelated aggravated assault charge Friday and is in custody, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. He has an extensive criminal history, including enticing a minor in 2008.
Investigators are also searching for a 2003 blue Chevy Suburban in connection to Audrii’s disappearance and are offering a $7,000 reward for any information that leads to an arrest in the case.
“That is McDougal’s vehicle. So anyone that saw that vehicle on Thursday or Friday, we’re asking that you call the Polk County Sheriff’s Office,” Cummings said.
Multiple law enforcement agencies and volunteers have teamed up to search for Audrii in the Livingston area and have since located her backpack near Lake Livingston Dam.
“There were other items that were found,” Cummings said. “But we’re not getting into what those items were. That’s all part of the investigative effort.”
Audrii is described as being 4-foot-1 with blond hair, blue eyes and weighing about 75 pounds. She was last seen wearing a black hoodie with white lettering, a camouflage backpack, black pants and black high-top tennis shoes.
Audrii’s mother, Cassie Matthews, is desperate to bring her daughter home and is searching for answers.
“There’s not words for it,” Matthews told Houston ABC station KTRK. “You’re broken, you’re mad, you’re lost, you’re empty. And right now, I’m empty.”
Officials have not said if Audrii was last seen with McDougal but they said there are multiple people of interest and additional information they are not yet releasing to the public.
Anyone with any information to report is being urged to call the Polk County Sheriff’s Office at 936-327-6810.
(PARIS) — The Eiffel Tower is expected to be closed to visitors on Monday as workers plan a one-day strike to demand that Paris City Hall officials immediately review the financial management of the 135-year-old monument, claiming maintenance costs are being underestimated ahead of the summer Olympic Games.
Monday’s protest will mark the second time in a month that workers have shut down the 1,083-foot tall wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars, Paris’ most popular tourist attraction.
Labor union officials claim that Paris City Hall, which owns 99% of the Eiffel Tower operator, SETE, is relying on an “unsustainable” business model that overestimates ticket sales to the monument and underestimates the cost of maintenance and repairs.
The union that represents 400 Eiffel Tower workers contends that the city’s current maintenance plan for the tower works to the detriment of visitors and puts a heavier workload on employees.
The labor action comes as Paris prepares to host the 2024 Summer Olympics, which are scheduled to begin on July 26 and feature pieces of the Eiffel Tower in the medals that will be handed out during the games.
SETE claims the tower’s maintenance budget is based on an estimate that the monument will draw 7.4 million visitors this year, a figure the union says has never been achieved. The tower, according to union leaders, usually welcomes about 6 million visitors a year, or about 20,000 per day.
A similar strike shut down the Eiffel Tower on Dec. 27, the day that marked the 100th anniversary of the death of Gustave Eiffel, the French engineer whose company designed and built the tower for the 1889 Universal Exposition in Paris. That strike occurred as union members were also negotiating a new labor contract with the city.
Union officials are urging the city to review the maintenance budget for the tower.
In a statement released in December, the union predicted that under the city’s current budget, the tower could be closed during the Olympic Games due to a financial shortfall in maintenance costs.
(PARIS) — Tourists looking to explore Paris’ most famous landmark were turned away from the Eiffel Tower on Monday as workers went on strike over what they contend is mismanagement that could jeopardize the 135-year-old monument as the city prepares to host the summer Olympic Games.
Visitors to the wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars were greeted Monday morning with “closed signs” at the base of the structure and tower’s website.
The strike could go on for several days, according to union officials.
Monday’s protest marks the second time in two months that workers have shut down the landmark that draws an estimated 20,000 visitors per day.
Labor union officials claim that Paris City Hall, which owns 99% of the Eiffel Tower operator, SETE, is relying on an “unsustainable” business model that overestimates ticket sales to the monument and underestimates the cost of maintenance and repairs.
The union that represents 400 Eiffel Tower workers contends that the city’s current maintenance plan for the tower works to the detriment of visitors and puts a heavier workload on employees.
The labor action comes as Paris prepares to host the 2024 Summer Olympics, which are scheduled to begin on July 26 and feature pieces of the Eiffel Tower in the medals that will be handed out during the games.
SETE claims the tower’s maintenance budget is based on an estimate that the monument will draw 7.4 million visitors this year, a figure the union says has never been achieved. The tower, according to union leaders, usually welcomes about 6 million visitors a year.
A similar strike shut down the Eiffel Tower on Dec. 27, the day that marked the 100th anniversary of the death of Gustave Eiffel, the French engineer whose company designed and built the tower for the 1889 Universal Exposition in Paris. That strike occurred as union members were also negotiating a new labor contract with the city.
Union officials are urging the city to review the maintenance budget for the tower.
In a statement released in December, the union predicted that under the city’s current budget, the tower could be closed during the Olympic Games due to a financial shortfall in maintenance costs.
(NEW YORK) — Some 37 million people remain on alert for flooding in California, spanning the coast from the cities of Eureka to San Diego.
An area just northwest of Santa Barbara is under a flash flood warning until at least 10:30 a.m. PT on Monday, due to back-to-back winter storms bringing up to 4 inches of rainfall with another 3 to 4 inches expected. Flash flooding, mud and debris flows, as well as landslides and rockslides will likely occur there.
More than 2.5 inches of rain had already fallen in Santa Barbara before dawn on Monday.
San Francisco has gotten less than 1 inch so far, but higher elevations north of the city have reported 2 to 4 inches of rain from the weekend.
Meanwhile, the Redding area has seen around 2 inches of rain.
Severe storms could hit the Sacramento region on Monday, with a risk of brief tornadoes, damaging winds, large amounts of small hail, lightning and heavy rainfall rates. The period between Noon and 8 p.m. PT will be the greatest threat for storm in this area.
There is a moderate risk for excessive rainfall over the Santa Barbara area on Monday. This area will continue to see heavy rainfall, especially in the morning, with flash flooding likely and mudslides and rockslides as the main risk.
There is also a slight risk for excessive rainfall from Los Angeles to the San Francisco Bay Area, as well as over Redding, Sacramento and Fresno on Monday.
Much of the areas under flood watches are also on alert for high winds. Gusts could reach 40 to 60 miles per hour on Monday, especially in the morning.
High surf advisories are in effect from San Francisco to San Diego. Large breaking waves from 18 to 28 feet are possible through Tuesday. Coastal flooding is also possible, especially during high tide.
Total rainfall amounts of 2 to 5 inches are expected over the lower elevations, with 4 to 8 inches over the foothills and mountains with local amounts to 10 inches.
Rainfall rates of 1 inch per hour are possible, however, thunderstorms that develop — possible in southern California in addition to northern California — will induce higher rainfall rates over localized areas.
Downtown Los Angeles only needs 3 inches of rain to have the rainiest February on record.
In the mountains, 2 to 5 feet of snow is generally expected in higher elevations of the Sierra Nevada, along with gusty winds making travel impossible at times.
In the San Bernardino mountains, up to 8 inches of snow is possible, accumulation beginning Monday night and ending Wednesday morning.
The storm system is forecast to continue impacting California through Tuesday before it moves out of the region on Wednesday.
(NEW YORK) — Some 37 million people are on alert for flooding from Sacramento in Northern California to San Diego in Southern California.
The Santa Barbara Airport closed Monday morning due to flooding. More than 2.5 inches of rain fell in Santa Barbara before dawn and more is expected.
Flash flooding, mud and debris flows, as well as landslides and rockslides, are likely.
Severe storms could hit the Sacramento region on Monday with a risk of brief tornadoes, damaging winds, large amounts of small hail, lightning and heavy rainfall rates. The greatest threat for storms in this area comes between noon and 8 p.m. PT.
Areas north of San Francisco reported 2 to 4 inches of rain from the weekend, and now there’s a slight risk for excessive rainfall from Los Angeles to the San Francisco Bay area to Sacramento on Monday.
Much of the areas under flood watches are also on alert for high winds. Gusts could reach 40 to 60 mph on Monday, especially in the morning.
High surf advisories are in effect from San Francisco to San Diego. Large breaking waves from 18 to 28 feet are possible through Tuesday. Coastal flooding is also possible, especially during high tide.
Total rainfall amounts of 2 to 5 inches are expected over the lower elevations, with 4 to 8 inches over the foothills and mountains with local amounts to 10 inches.
Rainfall rates of 1 inch per hour are possible.
Downtown Los Angeles only needs 3 inches of rain to have the rainiest February on record.
In the mountains, 2 to 5 feet of snow is generally expected in higher elevations of the Sierra Nevada, along with gusty winds making travel impossible at times.
In the San Bernardino Mountains, up to 8 inches of snow is possible, with accumulation beginning Monday night and ending Wednesday morning.
The storm system is forecast to continue impacting California through Tuesday before it moves out of the region on Wednesday.
Yulia Navalnaya, wife of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, attends the Munich Security Conference, on the day Alexei Navalny’s death was announced by the prison service of the Yamalo-Nenets region where he had been serving his sentence, in Munich, southern Germany on Feb. 16, 2024. — Thomas Kienzle/AFP via Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — Yulia Navalnaya, wife of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, vowed on Monday to continue the work of her late husband.
“No one will protect us except ourselves,” she said in a video message.
Navalny, a long-time Russian opposition politician and critic of the Kremlin and Russian President Vladimir Putin died in prison at age 47 on Friday, the state prison service said.
Navalnaya on Monday accused Putin of being involved in the death of her husband.
“Three days ago Vladimir Putin killed my husband, Alexei Navalny,” she said.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had earlier denied any involvement in the death, saying there were “no statement from doctors, no information from forensic experts, no final information from the Federal Penitentiary Service, no information about the causes of death.”
Officials at a morgue in the Arctic city where it’s believed Navalny’s body is likely being held refused on Monday morning to allow his elderly mother and lawyers in, according to Navalny’s team.
The officials also refused to say whether Navalny’s body was there, according to Navalny’s team.
Russia’s Investigative Committee which often handles political cases has also informed his relatives that the examination of his death has been “extended” meaning they will not hand the body over for now.
Navalnaya is expected to address a meeting of the European foreign ministers’ meeting in Brussels on Monday.
ABC News’ Jon Haworth and Nadine El-Bawab contributed to this story.
(INDIANAPOLIS) — At least one person was killed and five others were injured in a shooting at a Waffle House in Indianapolis, Indiana, early Monday, police said.
Authorities said they were dispatched to the scene at approximately 12:40 a.m. ET and, upon arrival, they found five people with gunshot wounds.
Those five victims — three men in stable condition, one woman in stable condition and one woman in critical condition — were transported via ambulances to area hospitals, according to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.
The woman in critical condition later died at the hospital, police said. The Marion County Coroner’s Office said it will release the woman’s name once her next of kin has been notified.
Officers were also notified of a sixth gunshot victim — a man in critical condition — who either took himself or was taken by someone else to a local hospital, according to police.
Preliminary information indicates the “incident started with a disturbance between two groups that escalated to gunfire,” police said.
“It is not clear at this point if any of the people injured were also individuals who fired shots. That will be part of what detectives will attempt to determine,” police said in a statement. “Detectives are also working to review any video surveillance footage that may be available as the business did have surveillance cameras.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(BURNSVILLE, Minn.)– Two police officers and one firefighter were shot and killed in Burnsville, Minnesota, on Sunday after responding to a “call of a family in danger,” according to Gov. Tim Walz.
“Horrific news from Burnsville,” Walz began his statement on X. “While responding to a call of a family in danger, two police officers and one firefighter lost their lives, and other officers were injured.”
“We must never take for granted the bravery and sacrifices our police officers and first responders make every day,” Walz continued. “My heart is with their families today and the entire State of Minnesota stands with Burnsville.”
Burnsville police officers Paul Elmstrand and Matthew Ruge along with firefighter Adam Finseth died Sunday, according to a press release from Burnsville PD.
The officers and Finseth, who was working as an EMT, responded to the 12600 block of 33rd Avenue South on Sunday around 1:50 a.m., local time, for a call of a domestic situation where a man reported to be armed was barricaded with family members, according to the release.
After arriving, the situation escalated into gunfire with responders and Elmstrand, Ruge and Finseth were killed by the gunman, according to the release.
The man who shot and killed the responding officers and EMT was reported dead at approximately 8:00 a.m., local time, and the other family members left the home and are safe, according to the release.
The Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association confirmed that a shooting took place Sunday morning after officers responded to a domestic abuse call, according to a statement posted to Facebook.
“We are heartbroken. Our law enforcement community is heartbroken. We’re just devastated at the horrific loss,” the statement said.
Burnsville is a Minnesota suburb located about 15 miles south of Minneapolis.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said in a post on X that agents had responded to the scene.
Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar shared a statement on X Sunday morning after being alerted to the fatal shooting by police.
“They were doing their jobs. They were protecting our community,” Klobuchar said, noting that she and her husband, John, are “praying for them and their families and the Burnsville P.D. this morning.”
Minnesota Rep. Angie Craig, who represents Burnsville, released a statement Sunday, saying, “My heart is broken for the brave officers and first responder lost in the line of duty. Craig noted she’s been in contact with the White House to “marshal any additional federal resources that may be available.”
“I’m horrified to see this kind of violence in our community,” Craig continued. “Today serves as another solemn reminder that those who protect our communities do so at great personal risk. We must do everything in our power to prevent tragedies like these before they happen and hold violent criminals accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”
(WASHINGTON)– Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley on Sunday wouldn’t definitively say if she’ll back primary rival Donald Trump in the general election but stressed that she’s staying in the race against him because of what she called his unfitness for office.
“I am running against him for a reason. … The last thing on my mind is who I’m going to support. The only thing on my mind is how we’re going to win this,” Haley told ABC News “This Week” co-anchor Jonathan Karl when he asked if she would stick with the pledge she previously signed to support whomever the party’s eventual nominee is even as she has become vocally critical of Trump.
“I’m not going anywhere,” Haley added. “We’re going to do this for the long haul and we’re going to finish it.”
Noting that she’d already signed the party’s pledge, Karl pressed Haley, “Does that mean you will not support him if he’s the Republican nominee?”
“Y’all can talk about support later. Right now you can ask him if he’s going to support me when I’m the nominee,” she said.
“Do you think he would [support you]?” Karl asked.
“Do you think he would?” Haley asked back, laughing. “I highly doubt it.”
Appearing on “This Week,” the former South Carolina governor repeated her criticism of Trump as too unstable to lead the U.S. at a time of crises elsewhere, like in the Middle East and Europe.
“This is not the time to talk about America hiding in a bubble and not doing anything with the rest of the world,” she said.
She called out Trump’s silence in the wake of the death of the imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny — suggesting that it shows how he really feels about Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Either he sides with Putin and thinks it’s cool that Putin killed one of his political opponents, or he just doesn’t think it’s that big of a deal,” Haley told Karl. “Either one of those is concerning. Either one of those is a problem.”
Haley and other leading American politicians, including President Joe Biden, have said Putin is to blame for Navalny’s death, which the Kremlin denies.
Rather than comment on Navalny, Trump on social media vowed to “bring Peace, Prosperity, and Stability” if he is elected again.
Haley, who served as Trump’s U.N. ambassador, also accused the former president of emboldening Putin after saying earlier this month that he would “encourage” Russia to “to do whatever the hell they want” to U.S. allies who don’t spend enough on their defense.
“That’s bone-chilling because all he did in that one moment was empower Putin,” Haley said on “This Week.”
“We need to remind the American people that Vladimir Putin is not our friend. Vladimir Putin is not cool,” Haley said. “This is not someone we want to associate with. This is not someone that we want to be friends with. This is not someone that we can trust.”
Standing against Putin also means standing with “the Russian people who believe Navalny was really talking for them,” Haley said — calling Navalny a “hero” — and standing with Ukraine in fighting against Russia’s invasion.
But pressed by Karl on Ukraine aid legislation that is stalled in Congress, with Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson refusing to bring it up for a vote over a dispute about border politics, Haley turned to President Joe Biden.
“Well, I think first you have to talk about what should Joe Biden be doing,” Haley said. “The reason you’re seeing America become more isolationist is at no point has Joe Biden had a conversation with the American people about why Ukraine is important.”
“It’s not Biden that is stopping that aid in Congress. It’s Republicans,” Karl said back, noting Biden’s earlier visit to the war-torn country and the multiple prime-time addresses to the nation he’s given on the issue.
“This is not the time to pick which side is right or wrong,” Haley replied, adding that Biden “needs to be speaking more to the American people about what this package means” while contending that Congress was also “failing” and “needs to do their job and make sure that they go and do everything they can for national security.”
“They’re making this sound like you have to choose between Ukraine and Israel and securing the border. They are lying to the American people. That’s a false premise. We can do both,” she said.
Karl cited Trump’s yearslong skepticism about NATO and asked if Haley was concerned that, if elected again, Trump “could actually threaten the NATO alliance?”
Haley said that she was “worried about a lot of things if Trump is reelected,” including that, calling the post-World War II alliance “a 75-year success story” in preventing widespread conflict.
“This is not the time to leave an alliance. This is not the time to side with a thug and not side with our friends who stood with us after 9/11,” Haley said. “We have to make sure that we stand firm because when we stand firm with our friends, our enemies stay on their heels.”
Amid the controversy over Trump’s latest NATO remarks, a campaign spokesperson defended him by saying he “got our allies to increase their NATO spending by demanding they pay up. … When you don’t pay your defense spending you can’t be surprised that you get more war.”
Haley on Sunday also criticized Trump’s push to install new leadership at the Republican National Committee, including one of his top aides and his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump.
While a party’s presidential nominees historically shape the party around them, Donald Trump is still in a primary race against Haley, though he’s won every state so far.
“The part I worry about is the RNC is now going to be the piggy bank for Trump’s legal fees,” Haley said on “This Week,” arguing that such a move would impact races across the country.
Lara Trump has said that under new leaders, “Every single penny will go to the No. 1 and the only job of the RNC, that is electing Donald J. Trump as president of the United States.”
“You can hang up winning the House and the Senate or having any resources for us to win any other races if all they’re doing is thinking about how they’re going to pay his court season,” Haley said on Sunday.
She repeated her pitch to voters: “We need a new generational leader that’s not distracted by court cases, that’s not filled with vengeance towards our enemies, that’s not in the drama.”
(WASHINGTON)– Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, one of Joe Biden’s top Democratic surrogates, on Sunday urged the president’s other supporters to start putting in the work to reelect him amid worries over his prospects at the ballot box.
“Well, the race is close. But understand, the campaign hasn’t really even joined yet,” Shapiro told ABC News “This Week” co-anchor Jonathan Karl when asked why the early polls are so tight between Biden and former President Donald Trump in Pennsylvania, which is likely to be a key swing state in the election.
“This is the reason why we run races,” Shapiro said. “And I would say to folks who are worried about the numbers: Stop worrying and start working.”
Shapiro’s comments come as some Democrats privately and publicly voice concerns over Biden’s political future — both because of the polls and his unpopularity as well as the public’s well-established unease about his age and fitness for office.
Biden has acknowledged those issues but said his record proves his qualifications.
“My memory — take a look at what I’ve done since I’ve become president. None of you thought I could pass any of the things I got passed. How’d that happen?” he told reporters earlier this month.
Still, he has notable skeptics in his party.
New York Times columnist Ezra Klein, a Biden supporter, said last week that the president should step aside out of fear he would lose to Trump — a call Shapiro shot down.
“I think Ezra is right: The stakes could not be higher, but Joe Biden is going to be our nominee, and I’m proud to support him,” Shapiro said. “The president, the vice president and those of us who are privileged to support him and have a front row seat to this, we’ve got to go out and do this important work now.”
Some other outside voices, like popular radio host Charlamagne tha God did in a “This Week” interview that also aired Sunday, have called on Biden to rely more on Shapiro and other big-name politicians to help boost his standing.
The governor is seen as a rising Democratic star and won his election in 2022 by some 15 points — a huge margin in a battleground state.
Shapiro told Karl that he appreciated Charlamagne’s perspective and said that he intends to help persuade Pennsylvanians to stick with Biden.
“I’m going to do everything in my political power over the course of the next several months to make the case, to prosecute the case, against Donald Trump — to make the case about how Joe Biden is the candidate standing up for our freedom,” Shapiro said.
He touted some of the work that Biden himself often cites, like infrastructure investments, and said that Trump is running on a platform to restrict abortion access and end the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare, which Shapiro said provides health care access to more than a million people in Pennsylvania.
Trump has publicly avoided taking a strict stance on abortion restrictions but has celebrated the end of Roe v. Wade and privately signaled support for a national, 16-week ban, with some exceptions, ABC News previously reported. He has also promised to implement other health care legislation over Obamacare.
On “This Week,” Shapiro invoked Trump’s first term in office.
“Remember what it was like when Donald Trump was president: He was in our faces and in our living room every day injecting chaos,” Shapiro said.
Despite Biden’s issues, he said that the president’s likely rematch against Trump was about something bigger.
“While Donald Trump and Joe Biden’s names may ultimately be on the ballot and be our choices in November, this election really is about all of us and whether or not we’re going to rise up and use our voices and ultimately our vote to protect our fundamental freedoms, to scream out for the kind of country that we want,” Shapiro said.
He pointed to the elections in Pennsylvania since 2016, when Trump narrowly won the state, to predict that voters there will again reject the former president’s brand of politics.
“Every other time Pennsylvanians have had the opportunity to go to the ballot [after 2016], they have voted for freedom and against extremism,” Shapiro said. “They rejected Donald Trump in 2020, they voted for me by an historic margin in 2022. Just last year in 2023, we had a Supreme Court race that was largely focused on freedom and the right to choose, and we elected the Democrat.”
“In many ways, this election is less about Joe Biden and Donald Trump and more about us and the kind of country that we want to build,” he went on to say. “And I’ve got confidence in the American people that just as they did in 2020, they will rise up. They will demand more. They will seek justice. And they will look to defend freedom in this nation, and they will reject Donald Trump.”
