Officer killed, suspect identified in shooting near CDC headquarters, Emory University campus

Officer killed, suspect identified in shooting near CDC headquarters, Emory University campus
Officer killed, suspect identified in shooting near CDC headquarters, Emory University campus
Courtesy Dekalb County Police Department

(ATLANTA, GA) — A police officer was killed when a gunman opened fire near the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) headquarters and the Emory University campus in Atlanta on Friday afternoon, according to authorities.

Patrick Joseph White, 30, of Kennesaw, Georgia, has been identified as the suspected shooter in the incident, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. He died during the incident.

The Atlanta Police Department said the suspect was found dead from a gunshot wound, which may have been self-inflicted. No civilians were shot in the incident, police said.

“There is extensive evidence to collect due to the complex scene. Numerous interviews are being conducted. This investigation will take an extended period of time,” GBI said in a statement.

The officer who was killed, DeKalb County Police Officer David Rose, was fatally shot after responding to the reported gunfire.

He was taken to the hospital in critical condition where he was pronounced dead, officials said at a press conference Friday evening.

“Officer Rose served DeKalb County with courage, integrity, and unwavering dedication. Even in the face of danger was he diligent in his duty to protect our community,” the police department said in a statement posted online late Friday night.

At the earlier press conference, Lorraine Cochran-Johnson, DeKalb County CEO, said it was a “dark day” for the county. The officer leaves behind a wife, who is pregnant, and two children, she said.

The gunfire broke out at 4:50 p.m., prompting a shelter-in-place order at the university and a lockdown at the CDC headquarters.

Responding DeKalb County police officers located the suspect on the second floor of the Emory Point CVS Pharmacy across the street from the CDC building and attempted to engage the person when gunfire was exchanged, police said.

During the shooting, the suspect fired multiple rounds at the CDC building, breaking windows, Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said during an earlier press conference

There were 92 children at a day care center on the CDC campus at the time, who were unharmed, police added.

In the aftermath of the shooting, four other people were transported to an area hospital for stress and anxiety-related reasons, the police chief said.

Shortly after the shooting was reported, a shelter-in-place order was put in place on the Emory University campus and later lifted. “RUN. HIDE. FIGHT. Avoid the area,” the university said in an alert Friday afternoon.

CDC Director Dr. Susan Monarez shared a statement on X on Friday night, saying she and the agency as a whole are “heartbroken by today’s attack on our Roybal Campus, which remains on lockdown as authorities investigate the shooting.”

“Our top priority is the safety and well-being of everyone at CDC,” Monarez continued. “We are actively coordinating with federal, state, and local partners to fully investigate the shooter and this tragic crime.”

In an email to CDC staff, obtained by ABC News, Monarez encouraged employees to “prioritize your well-being, seek support, and reach out for assistance as needed.”

Monday will be a remote workday for all CDC employees, according to the email.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp released a statement on X thanking first responders for rushing “toward the danger to subdue the shooter and save lives.”

“We ask that you join us in holding them in our prayers, along with those harmed this evening near the CDC Center,” Kemp wrote.

FBI Atlanta and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation are investigating the incident.

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr released a statement Friday, saying, “We’re horrified by the news out of Emory University and praying for the safety of the entire campus community.”

The White House was monitoring the situation, an official told ABC News.

ABC News’ Pierre Thomas, Luke Barr and Kelsey Walsh contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Over 35 million Americans on alert for dangerous heat

Over 35 million Americans on alert for dangerous heat
Over 35 million Americans on alert for dangerous heat
ABC News

(PHOENIX) — Multiple areas across the country are expected to have dangerous heat and fire weather concerns this weekend with over 35 million Americans on alert for dangerous heat.

Extreme Heat Warnings remain in effect for Phoenix, Arizona, Palm Springs, California, and lower elevations of the Grand Canyon National Park. High temperatures there will once again be well into the 100s and go up to 115 in spots during the weekend.

Heat advisories are also in effect on Saturday for other scattered areas of the Southwest, with more widespread Heat Advisories stretching across the Plains as the heat begins to expand out.

Places under these heat advisories include: Albuquerque, New Mexico; El Paso and Dallas, Texas; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Little Rock, Arkansas; Wichita, Kansas; Springfield, Missouri; and Kansas City, Missouri.

High temperatures between 100 and 110 are possible for these areas on Saturday. Record high temperatures are possible for Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Flagstaff, Arizona, later Saturday.

The extreme heat peaked on Friday for parts of the Desert Southwest and is expected to ease this weekend.

There are also fire weather alerts in places across four states in the West — Oregon, Utah, Colorado and Wyoming — for critical fire weather conditions keeping a strong foothold into the weekend.

Single digit humidity and gusty winds are possible, which will be conducive for rapid fire spread with any new or existing wildfires in these areas.

While the extreme heat and the fire weather concerns are lingering for select parts of the Southwest this weekend, both will generally continue to wane into the beginning of next week.

Heat is also building up in the Northwest, where there’s an extreme heat warning in effect for Medford, Oregon, as well as from Eugene to Portland, Oregon.

High temperatures between 97 and 110 degrees are possible during the weekend into the beginning of next week. Very warm, low temperatures between 65 and 70 degrees are possible for these areas, providing little relief at night from the extreme heat.

Other areas of the Northwest are under heat advisories this weekend for high temperatures between 93 and 112, as well as low temperatures only getting into the 60s and 70s. These areas include Spokane, Washington; Lewiston, Idaho; Longview, Washington; and Mount Shasta, California.

Next week, widespread heat will return to the Northeast and much of the country.

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‘Betrayal’: Transgender service member speaks out after being denied early retirement by Air Force

‘Betrayal’: Transgender service member speaks out after being denied early retirement by Air Force
‘Betrayal’: Transgender service member speaks out after being denied early retirement by Air Force
Courtesy of Logan Ireland

(WASHINGTON) — After the Supreme Court cleared the way for the Trump administration to enforce its ban on transgender service members, Master Sgt. Logan Ireland, who has served in the Air Force for 15 years, was faced with the options of separating from the military voluntarily or being processed for involuntary separation – a prospect that comes with losing half of his separation pay.

When Logan was presented with the option of applying for early retirement at 15 years, he applied and was relieved when the Air Force approved his request and gave him an early retirement date of Dec. 1, 2025.

“It’s kind of like your golden ticket. So I felt solid,” Ireland told ABC News.

But on Monday, Ireland said he received a memo from Brian Scarlett, who is performing the duties of the assistant secretary of the Air Force for manpower and reserve affairs, indicating that early retirement at 15-18 years for transgender service members would be denied.

“After careful consideration of the individual applications, I am disapproving all Temporary Early Retirement Authority (TERA) exception to policy requests in Tabs 1 and 2 for members with 15-18 years of service,” the memo said, adding that those denied early retirement would need to be processed for separation instead.

Military service members are eligible for full retirement benefits after they complete 20 years of service. Anything less than that requires an approved exemption. Air Force personnel who had 18 but less than 20 years of service were approved for early retirement because they were close to the 20 years, while several dozen senior Airmen who had between 15 and 18 years of service also sought approval for this early retirement, the Air Force said. Early retirement would allow them to receive part of their pension.

The memo, which was reviewed by ABC News, includes a “script” for commanders to communicate with applicants regarding TERA denial and separation, and explains that the Department of the Air Force (DAF) “prematurely notified some DAF members that their TERA applications under the gender dysphoria provision had been approved.”

The Air Force said in a statement to ABC News, “Approximately a dozen service members between 15 and 18 years of service were prematurely notified that their TERA applications under the gender dysphoria provision had been approved, but higher level review was required under the DoD gender dysphoria policy for those members.”

Ireland, who has served multiple overseas tours to countries like Afghanistan, the United Arab Emirates and South Korea, said that the reversal was a “betrayal.”

“The first feeling I felt was betrayal. I’ve given my life to the service,” he said.

“I was promised this. I had my retirement orders in hand,” he added. “I’ve been starting to process what life looks like outside of uniform, and now we don’t know what that looks like.”

According to the Scarlett memo, transgender service members who choose to voluntarily separate will receive separation pay at twice the rate of those who choose involuntary separation.

The memo from Scarlett also says that while service members like Ireland would not be eligible for early retirement, they will still be “entitled to an honorable discharge characterization, separation benefits and transition assistance.”

Air Force Cmdr. Emily Shilling, who is the president of Sparta Pride — an organization advocating for about 2,400 transgender people in the military and those who hope to join — criticized the move in a phone interview with ABC News on Thursday, saying that the Air Force “reneged on their promise.”

Shilling said that some applications for early retirement had already been approved, but now the lives of those service members who have dedicated close to two decades of service to their country have been upended again.

Shilling, who will be eligible for retirement at 20 years in September, previously told ABC News that she chose to self-identify as transgender and begin the process of voluntarily separating from the military, but said that she made the decision “under duress.”

“I was coerced into it because we knew that the voluntary separation would give me an honorable discharge with some portion of my retirement, and I’d be able to keep all of my benefits,” Shilling said. ABC News reached out to the Air Force but a request for comment was not returned.

The Department of Defense offered transgender service members the opportunity to voluntarily separate before they were forced out through involuntary separations. Incentives were offered for voluntary separations that amounted to double the benefits that they might have received if they were involuntarily separated.

Shilling and Ireland both decided to fight the ban in federal court, each becoming lead plaintiffs in separate federal lawsuits – Shilling vs. Trump and Ireland vs. Hegseth. A third lawsuit, Talbott vs. Trump, also challenges the ban, which was announced in a Jan. 27 executive order by President Donald Trump, who directed the Defense Department to revise the policy allowing transgender troops to openly serve.

“Expressing a false ‘gender identity’ divergent from an individual’s sex cannot satisfy the rigorous standards necessary for military service,” the Trump order said, arguing that receiving gender-affirming medical care is one of the conditions that is physically and mentally “incompatible with active duty.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth echoed this sentiment in a Feb. 7 memo, saying that “efforts to split our troops along lines of identity weaken our Force and make us vulnerable.”

Professor Nathaniel Frank, a cultural historian and researcher at Cornell University who studies the history of LGBTQ+ people in the military, told ABC News that decades of research dispute the administration’s arguments that transgender individuals are not fit to serve.

“There’s never been any evidence found that gay or transgender service members present any problems to unit cohesion or readiness, and that the evidence finds the opposite, that the prohibitions against trans people are what harm readiness and cohesion because they undermine trust,” Frank said.

Despite the legal challenges, the Supreme Court ruled in May that the administration can enforce the ban as the lawsuits move forward.

In response to the letter denying his early retirement, Ireland signed a memo on Wednesday indicating that he understands that his TERA exception to policy application was denied.

The memo, which was reviewed by ABC News, included a box in which Ireland was asked to indicate whether he does or does not intend to submit a voluntary separation request.

Ireland checked the box that says, “I do not,” electing involuntary separation instead.

“One thing the military failed to teach me was how to retreat,” Ireland told ABC News. “I’m not going down without a fight.”

ABC News’ Luis Martinez contributed to this report.

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William H. Webster, former FBI and CIA director, dies at 101

William H. Webster, former FBI and CIA director, dies at 101
William H. Webster, former FBI and CIA director, dies at 101
Patrick McDermott/Getty Images

(WASHINGTON) — William H. Webster, a longtime U.S. public servant who served as the head of both the FBI and the CIA in a career spanning the late 1970s to the early 1990s, has died. He was 101.

The FBI confirmed his death in a statement Friday.

Webster, who was the only person to have led both agencies, “was a dedicated public servant who spent over 60 years in service to our country, including in the U.S. Navy, as a federal judge, director of the CIA, and his term as our Director from 1978-1987,” the FBI statement said.

A statement from Webster’s family said, “We are proud of the extraordinary man we had our lives who spent a lifetime fighting to protect his country and its precious rule of law.”

A memorial service for Webster will take place in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 18, the family said.

As FBI director, Webster served under presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan.

He then served as CIA director from 1987 to 1991 under Reagan and President George H.W. Bush.

“As the only individual to have led both the FBI and the CIA, Judge Webster’s unwavering integrity and dedication to public service set a standard for leadership in federal law enforcement,” the FBI Agents Association said in a statement.

Webster was born on March 6, 1924, in St. Louis, Missouri. He attended Amherst College in Massachusetts and earned his law degree at Washington University Law School in St. Louis.

He served as a U.S. Navy lieutenant in both World War II and the Korean War. A practicing attorney in St. Louis from the late 1940s to the late 1950s, Webster went on to serve as U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri.

In the 1970s, he was appointed as a U.S. District Court judge and then a U.S. Court of Appeals judge before taking the FBI director post.

He is survived by his second wife, Lynda Clugston Webster, three children, 7 grandchildren and spouses and 12 great grandchildren.

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Texas AG says he’s filed suit to remove 13 absent state Democrats from office in redistricting fight

Texas AG says he’s filed suit to remove 13 absent state Democrats from office in redistricting fight
Texas AG says he’s filed suit to remove 13 absent state Democrats from office in redistricting fight
U.S. Congressional District maps are displayed as the Senate Special Committee on Congressional Redistricting meets to hear invited testimony on Congressional plan C2308 at the Texas State Capitol on August 6, 2025 in Austin, Texas. Brandon Bell/Getty Images

(AUSTIN, Texas) — Texas Democrats on Friday again defied Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and the state GOP and did not show for a vote on a Republican-proposed redistricting plan

Shortly after, the state’s Republican attorney general went to court to try to remove some of them from office.

The GOP-proposed new congressional maps would give Republicans more seats in Congress — potentially allowing the GOP to keep control of the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington.

Despite threats of arrest, restriction on pay and calls from the governor that they be removed from office, the majority of the Democrats did not appear for the special session when the Texas House convened Friday afternoon and no quorum was reached.

Democratic state Rep. Gene Wu, the Texas House minority leader, earlier told ABC News Thursday that he believes his caucus would hold out on Friday and once again deny the legislature a quorum, though he said they would be willing to come back to Austin if state Republicans promise to focus solely on other issues before the special session, including flood mitigation and disaster preparedness.

Members who were present Friday do not have to return in person until Monday at 2 p.m. ET, when the Texas House Republicans will attempt to reach a quorum for the fourth time.

Democrats who have fled the state appear likely to stay away until Aug. 19, the end of the special session.

The defiance took place as Abbott has also requested the Texas Supreme Court to remove Wu from office.

Wu’s attorneys repsonded Friday afternoon asking the court to deny the governor’s request.

The attorneys argue, in part, that the court does not have jurisdiction over state legislators, that Rep. Wu would have a right to a jury trial, which the state supreme court cannot provide. That the governor does not have the standing to bring the case, according to Wu’s attorneys who added Abbott’s suit would “fail in any court.”

His lawyers also argued that the state constitution covers lawmakers for quorum breaking in certain circumstances.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton told Fox News on Friday that he is willing to take other Democrats to court if they don’t return.

“If they show up today, we’re all happy, we can get our business done, and everybody is good. If they do not show up, we will be in an Illinois courtroom … [trying] to get them back to the state of Texas, hold them in contempt, and if they refuse to come, hopefully put them in jail,” he said.

He shrugged off concerns that the optics of arresting Democrats would give them a public opinion win.

“I think in Texas — I don’t know what it’s like in other states, but I do know in Texas, people expect their representatives to go to work,” Paxton said.

Paxton said on Friday afternoon that he had filed a lawsuit with the Texas Supreme Court petitioning for 13 of the over 50 Texas House Democratic members who left the state to break quorum to be removed from their positions.

The filing argued that these members “have absented themselves from the State with the express purpose of denying the House a quorum so that the Legislature as a whole cannot carry out its constitutional lawmaking function.”

“These cowards deliberately sabotaged the constitutional process and violated the oath they swore to uphold. Their out-of-state rebellion cannot go unchecked, and the business of Texas must go on,” the AG said in a statement.

Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows targeted the wallets of the absent Democrats in an effort to draw them back.

On Thursday, he sent a memo to all members and their staffs requiring that any member who is absent from the special session to break quorum must collect their monthly paycheck in person. Direct deposits were suspended for those skipping out until the House reaches quorum, according to memo.

Burrows says that he expects more suits filed in other states to come after the one filed by Abbott Thursday to try to enforce the civil arrest warrants out of state, and that another legislator contacted the Sergeant at Arms of the Illinois House of Representatives asking for their assistance in bringing back members.

He added later that if the Department of Public Safety civilly arrests “our absent colleagues” during the weekend, legislators are on call and need to come back to Austin with a minimum of six hours’ notice.

Abbott has called for the Democrats’ arrest, and Republican Sen. John Cornyn has called on the FBI to track down those elected officials.

Congressional Democrats who sit on the House Judiciary and House Oversight Committee sent a letter Friday to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI director Kash Patel asking them to clarify and explain if and how their agencies are involved in locating Democratic Texas lawmakers who left the state to prevent a quorum in order to stop the new congressional maps.

“We write with great concern about the abuse of federal public safety resources for completely political purposes and without a law enforcement rationale that is reportedly taking place right now,” the members wrote.

The governor said in a podcast released Friday that he was willing to go further than creating more than five new seats the GOP could flip if the Democrats continued to block the GOP effort.

“We may make it six or seven or eight new seats we’re going to be adding on the Republican side,” he said during an interview on the podcast “Ruthless.”

In the meantime, Texas Democrats have fled to various blue states, including Illinois and California.

California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom is slated to hold a news conference with those Democrats Friday afternoon, along with Rep. Nancy Pelosi and California state Democrats to show their support.

“The governor and state leaders have floated a potential statewide ballot measure that would reaffirm California’s commitment to national independent redistricting and allow voters to temporarily adjust the state’s congressional map only if Texas or other GOP-led states manipulate theirs,” Newsom’s office said in a statement.

California Democrats are preparing to respond to Texas Republicans’ proposed new congressional districts by possibly targeting five GOP-held districts in the Golden State, sources recently confirmed to ABC station KGO-TV. But the office of the California Secretary of State told ABC News that if legislators don’t move fast, it becomes nearly impossible for the state to run a statewide election that meets federal standards.

ABC station KGO-TV’s Monica Madden contributed to this report.

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Jim Lovell, commander of Apollo 13 mission, dies at 97

Jim Lovell, commander of Apollo 13 mission, dies at 97
Jim Lovell, commander of Apollo 13 mission, dies at 97
Stefanie Keenan/WireImage/Getty Images

(LAKE FOREST, Ill) — Jim Lovell, the commander of the famed Apollo 13 mission, has died, according to NASA. He was 97.

“We are saddened by the passing of Jim Lovell, commander of Apollo 13 and a four-time spaceflight veteran,” the space agency said. “Lovell’s life and work inspired millions. His courage under pressure helped forge our path to the Moon and beyond—a journey that continues today.”

Lovell died Thursday in Lake Forest, Illinois, according to a statement from acting NASA administrator Sean Duffy.

In 1968, as Apollo 8’s command module pilot, he became, with Frank Borman and William Anders, one of the first three astronauts to fly to and orbit the Moon.

A veteran of several missions, Lovell became the commander for Apollo 13, which nearly avoided disaster after an oxygen tank in the service module exploded two days into the mission.

Lovell was portrayed by Tom Hanks in the Ron Howard-directed “Apollo 13,” which depicted the events surrounding the mission.

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, on March 25, 1928, Lovell attended the University of Wisconsin in Madison and the U.S. Naval Academy. He was selected as an astronaut by NASA in 1962.

He served as a backup pilot for the Gemini 4 flight and backup commander for the Gemini 9 flight, and was selected as the backup commander for Neil Armstrong on the Apollo 11 lunar landing mission.

In December 1965, he and Borman launched into space on the history-making Gemini 7 mission. The flight included the first rendezvous of two manned maneuverable spacecraft.

The Gemini 12 mission, commanded by Lovell with pilot Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, began on Nov. 11, 1966. This 4-day, 59-revolution flight brought the Gemini program to a successful close.

Lovell served as the command module pilot and navigator on the six-day journey of Apollo 8 in late December 1968. Lovell, Borman and Anders became the first humans to leave Earth’s gravitational influence and the first to reach the Moon, with the crew orbiting the Moon ten times without landing.

As commander of the Apollo 13, he became the first person to journey twice to the Moon. Launching on April 11, 1970, and scheduled to last 10 days, the mission was aborted due to a malfunction in the oxygen tank in the service module two days into the mission.

Lovell and fellow crewmen, John L. Swigert and Fred W. Haise, working with Houston ground controllers, then converted their lunar module into an effective lifeboat. Their emergency activation and operation of lunar module systems conserved both electrical power and water in sufficient supply to assure their survival while in space.

The Apollo 13 crewmembers returned safely to Earth on April 17, 1970.

Lovell retired from the Navy and the space program on March 1, 1973. He worked in the telecommunications industry and retired as executive vice president of Centel Corporation in 1991.

He was a recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

He was married to his wife Marilyn for over six decades until her death in 2023. He is survived by four children.

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Alaska airport employee arrested for allegedly stalking fellow staff members using GPS tracking devices: DOT

Alaska airport employee arrested for allegedly stalking fellow staff members using GPS tracking devices: DOT
Alaska airport employee arrested for allegedly stalking fellow staff members using GPS tracking devices: DOT
Lance King/Getty Images

(ANCHORAGE, Alaska) — An employee at an Alaska airport has been arrested for allegedly stalking fellow staff members by placing GPS tracking devices underneath their vehicles, according to the state department of transportation.

Dustin Madden, a 40-year-old airport operations specialist at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, was arraigned on Thursday afternoon “in connection with an investigation involving unauthorized GPS tracking devices placed on employees’ personal vehicles,” the Alaska DOT said in a press release on Thursday.

Officials said Madden’s arrest follows “multiple reports” from airport staff members who “discovered GPS trackers on their personal vehicles while parked in the airport’s employee parking lot.”

Madden was charged with four misdemeanor counts of stalking and one felony count of tampering with evidence, but officials said “further charges may be forthcoming.” Two of the stalking incidents known by officials occurred in July, with a third in 2024 and a fourth in 2022, according to court records.

The suspect had been an employee at the airport since Sept. 30, 2020, and is now on administrative leave, officials said.

He remains in custody at the Anchorage Correctional Complex, according to jail records.

DOT officials are asking for anyone impacted by this incident to contact authorities, as officials said they believe “there may be additional victims who have not yet come forward.”

If someone does discover a tracking device on their vehicle, officials said to not remove or tamper with it, to contact law enforcement immediately and allow officials to “respond, coordinate appropriate next steps and work to preserve the device as potential evidence.”

“The Anchorage International Airport is committed to ensuring a safe, respectful and secure workplace, and acts of surveillance, intimidation or harassment will not be tolerated. Security and privacy protocols are under review to ensure strong protection of staff and visitors, and Anchorage Police and Fire are increasing patrol of parking areas,” the department of transportation said.

It is unclear whether Madden has an attorney who can speak on his behalf. Court records indicate his next court appearance is scheduled for Aug. 26.

The Anchorage Department of Transportation and the Anchorage International Airport Police and Fire did not immediately respond to ABC News’ requests for comment.

Anyone who was affected by the incident or has relevant information is urged to contact airport police at 907-266-2411.

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Sheriff charged with extorting $50,000 from marijuana business in Boston

Sheriff charged with extorting ,000 from marijuana business in Boston
Sheriff charged with extorting $50,000 from marijuana business in Boston
Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department – Boston, MA

(BOSTON) — Suffolk County Sheriff Steven Tompkins was arrested Thursday on federal extortion charges, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.

Federal prosecutors allege the 67-year-old Massachusetts sheriff had pressured a cannabis company executive for a secret investment deal worth $50,000.

Tompkins, who had led the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department since 2013 and oversaw about 1,000 employees, was arrested in Florida and charged with two counts of extortion, the U.S. attorney’s office said.

According to federal court documents, Tompkins had used his position as sheriff to force his way into buying pre-IPO (initial public offering) stock in a Boston cannabis company at a discounted price. When the investment later lost value, prosecutors alleged he demanded and received a full refund of his money.

The scheme started in 2019 when the cannabis company, which wasn’t named in court documents, wanted to open a store in Boston, the indictment stated. The company needed Sheriff Tompkins’ help, according to the indictment, as his department would refer former inmates to work at the store, which was required by the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission for their state license.

Federal investigators said Tompkins allegedly took advantage of this partnership. According to the indictment, he pressured a company executive, reminding them that he had helped with their license application. The executive feared Tompkins would end their partnership if they didn’t give in to his demands for stock, prosecutors said.

After getting the shares in November 2020, court documents showed Tompkins initially saw his $50,000 investment grow to about $138,000 when the company went public.

However, when the stock price later fell, prosecutors alleged Tompkins demanded his money back. The executive paid him through five separate checks, with some labeled as “loan repayment” to hide what the payments were really for, according to the indictment.

The executive agreed to the demands for repayment, fearing Tompkins would use his position to harm their business operations, according to the indictment.

“What the Sheriff saw as an easy way to make a quick buck on the sly is clear cut corruption under federal law,” FBI Boston Division Special Agent in Charge Ted E. Docks said in a statement.

If found guilty, Tompkins could face up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.

U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley said in a statement that the case showed her office’s commitment to fighting public corruption.

“Elected officials, particularly those in law enforcement, are expected to be ethical, honest and law abiding – not self-serving,” Foley said in the press release.

According to federal officials, Tompkins will first appear in court in Florida before facing the charges in Boston at a later date.

ABC News reached out to Tompkins’ attorney who did not immediately respond for comment.

The Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department declined to comment when contacted.

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Trump directs Pentagon to prepare military options to be used against drug cartels designated as terrorist organizations

Trump directs Pentagon to prepare military options to be used against drug cartels designated as terrorist organizations
Trump directs Pentagon to prepare military options to be used against drug cartels designated as terrorist organizations
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump has directed the Pentagon to prepare options for the possible use of U.S. military force against drug cartels designated as terrorist organizations, two U.S. officials confirmed to ABC News on Friday.

One official said that any possible use of U.S. military assets is not imminent.

It remains unclear exactly what the authorization will allow and what military operations would be considered as potential options that the U.S. military has been authorized to prepare. There are sure to be questions about the legality of such operations.

The New York Times was first to report that Trump had signed a directive ordering the Pentagon to prepare military options against the cartels.

The Pentagon referred all questions to the White House.

Asked for comment, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told ABC News that “President Trump’s top priority is protecting the homeland, which is why he took the bold step to designate several cartels and gangs as foreign terrorist organizations.”

In February, the Trump administration designated Tren de Aragua, the Sinaloa Cartel, MS-13 and other drug cartels as global terrorist organizations following an executive order signed by Trump in January.

Appearing on EWTN on Thursday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that designation allows the administration to use various means against the cartels which he described as being armed like terrorist or armies that control territory.

“I don’t know if it’s changed their behavior yet, but their behavior is going to have to change one way or another,” Rubio said in an interview when asked if the terrorist designation had changed the cartels’ behavior. “But it allows us to now target what they’re operating and to use other elements of American power, intelligence agencies, the Department of Defense, whatever … to target these groups if we have an opportunity to do it.”

“We have to start treating them as armed terrorist organizations, not simply drug dealing organizations,” Rubio continued. “Drug dealing is the kind of terrorism they’re doing.”

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

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DOJ seeks to unseal exhibits from grand jury probes into Epstein, Maxwell

DOJ seeks to unseal exhibits from grand jury probes into Epstein, Maxwell
DOJ seeks to unseal exhibits from grand jury probes into Epstein, Maxwell
New York State Sex Offender Registry

(NEW YORK) — The Justice Department is seeking to unseal the exhibits shown to the federal grand juries in New York that indicted Jeffrey Epstein and his former companion Ghislaine Maxwell in addition to the transcripts of testimony, according to a court filing Friday.

Justice Department officials have conceded that much of what is in the transcripts is already publicly known, but the exhibits contain names that did not appear in the transcripts, the filing said.

The government is now trying to notify those individuals “to the extent their names appear in grand jury exhibits that were not publicly admitted at the Maxwell trial,” the filing said.

The Justice Department asked the court to give it until Aug. 14 to make the necessary notifications. The filing did not say how many individuals needed to be contacted.

The Trump administration has been seeking to release materials related to the investigation into Epstein, the wealthy financier and convicted sex offender who died by suicide in jail in 2019, following the blowback it received from MAGA supporters after it announced last month that no additional files would be released.

Attorneys for victims of Epstein and Maxwell have criticized the administration’s approach to transparency, saying in a letter to the court that it “reinforces the perception that the victims are, at best, an afterthought to the current administration.”

The victims say they are generally supportive of transparency, but that they want the chance to review the records and propose additional redactions.

Maxwell, a longtime associate of Epstein, is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking and other offenses in connection with Epstein.

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