(NEW YORK) — OpenAI on Thursday released GPT-5, unveiling a new version of the artificial intelligence model that fuels popular chatbot ChatGPT. The product will be made immediately available to users, including customers who use the company’s cost-free options, OpenAI said.
The announcement comes days after the company said ChatGPT is set to reach 700 million weekly active users, up from 500 million just five months ago.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman described GPT-5 as a “legitimate PhD expert in any area,” saying previous versions of the AI model amounted to college or high school students by comparison.
GPT-5 enables users to write computer programs, prepare party invitations and better navigate the health care system, Altman said.
“It is useful, it’s smart, it’s fast, it’s intuitive,” Altman said. “It’s an incredible superpower on demand, unimaginable at any other time in history.”
The latest version of the company’s AI model is the most accurate and reliable option available on the market, added Mark Chen, chief research officer at OpenAI.
“Language models historically have been plagued by hallucinations [and] factual errors. We made factuality a priority,” Chen said.
OpenAI has sought to release fresh products and upgrades since the November 2022 release of ChatGPT, which reached 100 million app users within two months. That performance set a record for the fastest-growing app user base.
In March 2023, Open-AI released GPT-4, before unveiling an updated GPT-4o two months later. The latter version reduced lag time for responses and allowed users to interrupt the chatbot with follow-up queries.
ChatGPT boasts a user base four times greater than it did last year, Nick Turley, OpenAI’s head of ChatGPT, said in a post on X on Monday.
“Every day, people and teams are learning, creating, and solving harder problems,” Turley said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(CHARLOTTE COUNTY, N.C.) — A teenager from North Carolina has been missing for nearly a week after vacationing in Florida and trying to reconnect with relatives, the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office said.
Giovanni Pelletier, an 18-year-old who is described as “smart, kind and full of life,” disappeared early last Friday “under deeply troubling and suspicious circumstances,” according to the family’s GoFundMe page.
Pelletier was visiting Englewood, Florida, with his mother and her fiance and wanted to reconnect with relatives from his biological father’s family, his aunt, Desiree Pelletier, told ABC News. While he was unable to see his father, who is incarcerated, he made plans to see three of his cousins on that side of the family, his aunt said.
With only a few days left in his vacation, Pelletier’s cousins picked him up at approximately 1:30 a.m. on Aug. 1 to take him on the three-hour drive to their house in Mims, Florida, his aunt said. His mother was planning on picking him up the next day, according to Desiree Pelletier.
But within 25 minutes of leaving, he sent his mom a text: “Help me,” his aunt said.
That was the last time his mother heard from him, according to his aunt. He also sent messages pleading for help to his grandfather and another aunt, Desiree Pelletier noted.
“Somewhere along the ride, something happened,” his aunt said.
The next morning, the teen’s mother saw the messages and missed phone calls from her son, could not get ahold of him and immediately contacted authorities, Desiree Pelletier said. She also reached out to the cousins who were with Pelletier, who said the group had been smoking marijuana, which is when the teen began to panic and pull out a knife, Pelletier’s aunt noted.
But his aunt said that alleged behavior “is not Gio” and that it does “not align” with who he is.
The cousins also told police that Pelletier “began to act erratically before exiting the vehicle,” according to a statement from the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office.
His family said he was “abandoned on the side of the road in Bardenton, Florida,” with his backpack and phone discovered in the area by a truck driver the same day he disappeared. Bardenton is about an hour away from Englewood by car.
His aunt said the family does not believe this is a run-away and that “something is not told right.”
“It doesn’t make sense. Why would he say ‘Help me’ three different times to three people?” his aunt said.
Since then, the family has been continuing their search for Giovanni Pelletier, with officials saying they have received “many, many tips that unfortunately turn out to be inaccurate.”
“We love him and want him home and we just want him to be OK. As a family, we can’t function normally. We’re not doing well right now. We just want him home,” his aunt told ABC News as she held back tears.
As of Thursday, the sheriff’s office said in a statement to ABC News they “do not have any updates on this investigation and continue to ask anyone with information to come forward.”
The family is currently offering a reward of $10,000 for information leading to the teen’s whereabouts, his aunt said. ABC News
(WASHINGTON) — Above-normal activity is still expected for the remainder of hurricane season, according to the updated hurricane forecast from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The agency is continuing to predict an above-normal number of named storms for the year but with slightly less confidence than when the initial hurricane outlook was issued in May.
There is now a 50% chance of an above-normal season, a 35% chance of a near-normal season and a 15% chance of a below-normal season, according to the updated assessment, which was released on Thursday. In May, the agency forecast a 60% chance of above-normal activity.
For the 2025 Atlantic Hurricane Season, NOAA is forecasting 13 to 18 total named storms with winds of 39 mph or greater — with five to nine of those storms predicted to become hurricanes with winds of 74 mph or greater.
Two to five of those named storms are expected to become major hurricanes between Categories 3 and 5 and winds of 111 mph or higher, according to NOAA.
As of Thursday, the 2025 season has seen four named tropical storms and no hurricanes. The names Andrea, Barry, Chantal and Dexter have been used so far. Erin is the next name up.
Climatologically, the Atlantic season typically sees its first hurricane on Aug. 11.
“No two storms are alike,” NOAA’s National Weather Service Director Ken Graham said in a press release. “Every storm presents unique, life-threatening hazards that can impact people in both coastal and inland communities. Have a plan in place, and know the actions you should take before, during and after the wide range of hazards that the hurricane season can bring.”
On Wednesday, Colorado State University (CSU) updated its seasonal forecast for storm activity in the Atlantic Basin. While the university’s team have also maintained their previous forecast of a slightly above-average season, they said they have lower-than-normal confidence in their outlook due to a significant difference in wind speed and direction in the atmosphere over the Caribbean Sea in June and July.
Over the next two weeks, there is a 55% chance of above-average activity, a 35% chance of near-average activity and just a 10% chance of below-average activity, according to CSU.
CSU is predicting 16 named storms, eight hurricanes and three major hurricanes for the 2025 season. It will be issuing its two-week forecasts from Thursday through the peak of the season.
Several key weather and climate factors influenced the updated forecasts, according to NOAA and CSU. The sea surface temperatures in the eastern and central Atlantic are warming and are now a bit higher than normal, and cool, neutral conditions in the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) are expected during the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season. These conditions make it easier for hurricanes to form and strengthen.
“Many of the factors we identified ahead of the season are still at play, and conditions are largely tracking along with our May predictions,” Matt Rosencrans, the lead hurricane season forecaster at NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Prediction, said.
ABC News’ Matthew Glasser, Dan Manzo, Kyle Reiman, Dan Peck and Sam Wnek contributed to this report.
Tom Brenner For The Washington Post via Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — The alleged gunman who fatally shot two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington, D.C., has been indicted on hate crime and murder charges, court records show.
The indictment against Elias Rodriguez, filed Wednesday, alleges he had “expressed support for violence against Israelis” in the days and months leading up to the killing of Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim outside the Capitol Jewish Museum on May 21.
“Violence against anyone in this District will not be tolerated, especially violence which has hate at its core and is the genesis of violence,” D.C. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said at a press conference on Thursday formally announcing the indictment. “The president put me here to do a job, to clean up the District, to make sure that crime doesn’t overshadow this phenomenal city, our nation’s capital.”
Pirro noted the indictment includes a provision that could allow the Justice Department to seek the death penalty if Rodriguez is convicted by a jury.
Pirro also said she personally spoke to Lischinsky and Milgrim’s parents prior to her announcement, who she described as “broken” as a result of Rodriguez’s alleged actions. She said they will have an “opportunity and a right to put their inputs into what decision we ultimately make” regarding the death penalty.
Rodriguez has remained in custody since his arrest and has not yet entered a plea in his case. A public defender representing him did not respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
He was initially charged via criminal complaint a day after the shooting with first-degree murder, murder of a foreign official, causing death through the use of a firearm, and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence. Pirro emphasized at the time that the charges were only initial in nature.
The indictment adds two federal counts of hate crime resulting in death and two local counts of assault with intent to kill while armed.
Early last month, prosecutors in Rodriguez’s case sought an extension for time to return an indictment against him, noting the complex and unusual nature of the charges he was facing.
Federal prosecutors cite in the indictment a document allegedly authored by Rodriguez titled “Explication,” dated just one day before the shooting. In the writings, the author addresses the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and suggests the latest death toll has been underestimated.
Prosecutors also point to online posts and messages allegedly written by Rodriguez dating back to January 2024 that they say showed support for violence against Israelis. Among them, on Jan. 1, 2024, Rodriguez allegedly posted to social media, “Happy New Year, Death to Israel,” according to the indictment.
Rodriguez was seen in videos shouting “Free, Free Palestine!” inside the museum just minutes after he allegedly shot Lischinsky and Milgrim dozens of times, and later allegedly told police upon his arrest, “I did it for Palestine.”
The complaint alleges that Rodriguez shot the couple in the back and then fired again at Milgrim as she tried to crawl away.
Lischinsky, 30, was a researcher in the political department of the Israeli Embassy, while Milgrim, 26, organized U.S. missions to Israel.
Minnesota State Patrol members carry the casket of DFL Rep. Melissa Hortman before a funeral ceremony at the Basilica of Saint Mary on June 28, 2025 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Stephen Maturen/Getty Images
(MINNEAPOLIS) — Vance Boelter, who is accused of stalking and shooting two Minnesota lawmakers and their spouses in June, pleaded not guilty in federal court on Thursday.
Boelter’s attorney entered the plea on his behalf, according to The Associated Press. Boelter, who faces murder, stalking and firearms charges, spoke very briefly in court, thanking the judge and saying he understood the charges, the AP said.
Boelter allegedly showed up to their doors, impersonating a police officer and wearing a realistic-looking latex mask to carry out his “political assassinations,” prosecutors said.
Investigators recovered a list of about 45 elected officials in notebooks in his car, according to prosecutors. Two other lawmakers were spared the night of the shootings, officials said. One was not home, while a police officer checking the homes of other local politicians scared off Boelter from another location.
Boelter’s court appearance came as the Minnesota State Capitol on Wednesday implemented new safety measures, including fewer public entrances and an increased security presence.
Sen. John Hoffman, who suffered from multiple gunshot wounds, spoke out this week, telling the National Conference of State Legislatures that the shooting “was awful and tragic and will impact me and my family forever,” according to MPR News.
“But as a Minnesotan and as an American … we can’t let the evil of the night win and we must redouble our efforts and reclaim the reason we are all public servants,” Hoffman said.
ABC News’ Ahmad Hemingway contributed to this report.
Federal agents patrol the halls of immigration court at the Jacob K. Javitz Federal Building on August 04, 2025 in New York City. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
(PHILIPSBURG, Pa.) — An Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainee died by suicide while in custody after he was found hanging by his neck in the shower room at the Pennsylvania facility where he was being held, according to officials.
Chaofeng Ge, a 32-year-old citizen of China in ICE custody, was pronounced dead by the Clearfield County coroner at approximately 6 a.m. on Tuesday, according to ICE.
Ge was found hanging by the neck and unresponsive in the shower room of his detention pod, ICE said.
Ge’s death was determined to be a suicide after investigators discovered a handwritten note and no foul play was found, according to Pennsylvania State Police.
Staff who discovered Ge immediately lowered him to the ground, began CPR and contacted emergency medical services, state police and the coroner’s office, according to ICE.
Ge had been in ICE custody for only five days and was awaiting a hearing before the Department of Justice’s Executive Office for Immigration Review, ICE said.
Ge was detained at the Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Philipsburg, Pennsylvania.
He was arrested in January at a CVS after the store reported him for fraudulently using a credit card to buy gift cards, according to Lower Paxton Township police. “An investigation was initiated, where Ge was found to be in possession of numerous stolen credit card numbers located within his cell phone,” police said.
Ge was arrested for criminal use of a communication facility, unlawful use of a computer and access device fraud, according to ICE.
ICE Philadelphia’s Enforcement and Removal Operations York sub-office lodged an immigration detainer with the Dauphin County Prison one day after he was arrested.
Ge, who was from Flushing, Queens, pleaded guilty to accessing a device issued to another who did not authorize use and conspiracy to commit the same on July 31, according to ICE, and was sentenced to six to 12 months for each count and granted immediate release to the ICE detainer.
He was then taken into ICE custody and transported to the York ICE office for processing, ICE said.
“ICE remains committed to ensuring that all those in its custody reside in safe, secure, and humane environments,” ICE said in a statement. “Comprehensive medical care is provided from the moment individuals arrive and throughout the entirety of their stay.”
“All people in ICE custody receive medical, dental and mental health intake screening within 12 hours of arriving at each detention facility, a full health assessment within 14 days of entering ICE custody or arrival at a facility, access to medical appointments and 24-hour emergency care,” ICE said.
The Department of Homeland Security acknowledged in a statement there was an in-custody death at the processing center. “This morning, one detainee passed away at the Moshannon Valley Processing Center. All in-custody deaths are tragic, taken seriously, and are thoroughly investigated by law enforcement,” a senior DHS official told ABC News.
“ICE takes its commitment to promoting safe, secure, humane environments for those in our custody very seriously,” the official said.
The annual Tribute in Light is illuminated over the skyline of lower Manhattan, One World Trade Center, and the Statue of Liberty in New York City ahead of the 23rd anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center on September 9, 2024, as seen from Jersey City, New Jersey. Gary Hershorn/Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — Twenty-four years after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) on Thursday announced three new identifications of World Trade Center victims.
Ryan Fitzgerald of Floral Park, N.Y., Barbara Keating of Palm Springs, Calif., and an adult woman whose name is being withheld at the request of her family are the 1,651st, 1,652nd and 1,653rd victims positively identified through DNA analysis, OCME said in their announcement.
The tally represents little more than half of the 2,753 people killed at the World Trade Center on 9/11 and are the first new victims identified since January 2024, according to OCME.
The three new victim identifications were the result of “ongoing outreach to families for DNA reference samples,” the announcement said, which were then analyzed by OCME using advanced DNA technology and compared to the victims’ remains, which were recovered in 2001 and 2002.
“The pain of losing a loved one in the September 11th terror attacks echoes across the decades, but with these three new identifications, we take a step forward in comforting the family members still aching from that day,” said New York Mayor Eric Adams in a statement.
“Nearly 25 years after the disaster at the World Trade Center, our commitment to identify the missing and return them to their loved ones stands as strong as ever,” said Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Jason Graham. “Each new identification testifies to the promise of science and sustained outreach to families despite the passage of time. We continue this work as our way of honoring the lost.”
Some 1,100 victims of the 9/11 attacks, representing roughly 40% of those who died that day, remain unidentified, according to OCME.
General view of Perito Moreno Glacier at Parque Nacional Los Glaciares on December 16, 2023 near El Calafate, Argentina. Rodrigo Valle/Getty Images
(LONDON) — What was once considered the most stable glacier in the Patagonia region is experiencing ice loss at rates far greater than previously thought, according to new research.
The Perito Moreno Glacier in Argentina has retreated far more rapidly than expected in the past several years, according to a paper published Thursday in Communications Earth & Environment.
The glacier, measuring about 18.6 miles long, has retreated nearly half a mile in some areas over the past few years and could retreat by more than a mile in the near future, the study found. It is fed by the Southern Patagonian Ice Field in the Andes Mountains and terminates in Lago Argentino.
Previously painted as a glacier that “prevails in a changing climate,” researchers began closely studying Perito Moreno to compare it to other, less-stable glaciers, Moritz Koch, a researcher at the Friedrich Alexander University in Erlangen, Germany, and lead author of the study, told ABC News.
The scientists were left “baffled” over the unprecedented surface lowering rates seen at Perito Moreno, Koch said.
Perito Moreno remained relatively stable between 2000 and 2019, unlike most of the glaciers fed by the Patagonian Ice Fields. During that time frame, the glacier retreated about 328 feet, the researchers said.
But there has been a “substantial” increase in the rate of retreat since 2019, according to the paper.
“We do see that the stability of the glacier has come to an end, and it has, well, surpassed a tipping point,” Koch said. “That’s why we see this retreat happening.”
During two helicopter flights in 2022, researchers used radar to survey the thickness of the ice. They then combined that data with a survey of the lakebed beyond the glacier to investigate differences in the surface height and surface velocity of the glacier between 2000 and 2024.
In recent years, there has been more than a 16-fold increase in the thinning rate of the glacier at the terminus — where the glacier is currently grounded on in the water — from about 1 foot between 2000 and 2019 to an average of 18 feet between 2019 and 2024, the researchers found.
“This specific feature has stabilized the glacier over past decades, basically acting as a pinning point,” Koch said.
A large ridge beneath the terminus may have been responsible for the glacier’s stability before 2019.
Perito Moreno was like “climatically” out of balance on the surface, but kept physically in its position due to the bedrock ridge, Koch said.
But if the glacier continues to thin at the current rate, it will detach from the ridge and rapidly retreat, according to the paper. The increased water depth below the glacier would lead to an increased rate of calving.
As the frontal position changes in the glacial troughs to the north and east of Perito Moreno, the additional water surrounding the glacier is able to destabilize it and make it buoyant — causing a feedback loop of melting, Koch said.
“So, eventually, the water is able to lift up the glacier from its bed, and this facilitates this very strong calving activity that we are seeing right now,” he said.
As one of the most famous glaciers in the world, the Perito Moreno Glacier is a major tourist destination in Argentina and was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981.
“It’s a very important economic factor for the region,” Koch said.
Climate change is likely playing a significant role in the ice loss of glaciers in the Patagonia region, Koch said.
“We do see a gradual increase in temperatures in the past decade, so warming definitely plays a substantial role in why glaciers are melting on the surface,’ he said.
Glaciers all over the world are at risk of significant ice loss due to global warming, according to scientists.
Between 2000 and 2023, glaciers lost an estimated 7,211 billion tons of ice, equating to an average annual loss of 301 billion tons, according to study published in Nature in February.
In the past two decades, the rate of ice loss has increased by about 36% in the past two decades, the researchers found.
Even if temperatures were to stabilize at current levels, glaciers around the world will likely lose at least 39% of mass, according to the World Economic Forum.
Melting glaciers and ice sheets are significant contributors to sea level rise. If all of the glaciers on Earth were to melt, it would contribute to an additional 230 feet of ocean water, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Sen. John Cornyn leaves a senate luncheon in the U.S. Capitol, June 3, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, said on Thursday that FBI Director Kash Patel has granted his request for the federal government to assist with locating Texas House Democrats who fled the state in protest of GOP-led redistricting efforts.
Cornyn’s letter requesting federal help with locating and investigating the state legislators was sent on Tuesday.
“I thank President Trump and Director Patel for supporting and swiftly acting on my call for the federal government to hold these supposed lawmakers accountable for fleeing Texas. We cannot allow these rogue legislators to avoid their constitutional responsibilities,” Cornyn said in a news release.
The FBI declined to comment on the matter.
Cornyn also joined “The Mark Davis” radio show on Thursday morning and expressed his gratitude for Patel’s prompt response.
“Just to get to the bottom of it, I asked Kash to look into it and he responded promptly, I’m grateful to him,” the senator said.
Cornyn also called the Democrats “irresponsible” for breaking quorum — and rendering the legislature unable to take up any legislation, including some in responds to the floods that devastated the region recently.
“There are a number of things on the call that Gov. Abbott has listed, including redistricting, but they’re missing all of those. And I think that’s irresponsible, and I think we just need to get to the bottom of it,” said Cornyn. “They got to come back home sometime … it’s not going to be successful. They’re not going to be able to ultimately escape their responsibility. It’s a stunt.”
The Texas House of Representatives failed again on Tuesday to move forward on enacting the GOP’s new congressional map, which could net Republicans between three and five seats in next year’s midterm elections. Those added seats could be the difference maker over who has control of the U.S. House — a chamber where Republicans have a small majority.
House Speaker Rep. Dustin Burrows, a Republican, said the legislature would try again on Friday to establish a quorum.
In the meantime, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the Texas Department of Public Safety to find and arrest those Democrats, an order Abbott said will remain in effect until they are “accounted for and brought back” to Austin.
President Donald Trump earlier this week told ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Mary Bruce the FBI “may have to get involved.”
“You can’t just sit it out. You have to go back. You have to fight it out. That’s what elections are all about,” the president said at the time.
The alleged shooter in today’s shooting incident at Fort Stewart is identified as Sgt. Quornelius Radford, a 28-year-old automated logistical sergeant from Jacksonville, Florida. Photo Credit: U.S. Army
(NEW YORK) — When a gunman opened fire at Fort Stewart in Georgia, six soldiers immediately jumped into action to stop the shooter and tend to their fellow service members who were wounded, the secretary of the Army said.
Automated logistics Sgt. Quornelius Radford allegedly opened fire with his personal handgun at the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team area on Wednesday morning, shooting and wounding five other soldiers, according to Brig. Gen. John Lubas, the 3rd Infantry Division and Fort Stewart-Hunter Army Airfield commander.
When the shots rang out, one soldier — who was unarmed — ran at and tackled the gunman who “was actively shooting,” Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll said at a news conference on Thursday.
“Another solider jumped on top of the person to subdue them,” Driscoll said, adding “the other soldiers immediately … started to take care of mass casualties.”
Surgeons said the soldiers’ quick work to stop the bleeding “certainly saved their lives,” according to Lubas.
“We are just so incredibly proud of them. We are so grateful for them,” Driscoll said.
Three of the five wounded soldiers were released from the hospital on Wednesday, Lubas said. The fourth soldier, a woman, may be released from the hospital this weekend, and the fifth soldier, also a woman, has a “longer road,” but doctors are hopeful for a full recovery, Lubas said on Thursday.
A motive is not clear, Lubas said, but the shooting involved Radford’s co-workers and was at his “place of work.” Radford used a personal handgun, but it’s not clear how he brought it to his workplace, Lubas added. Having a personal gun on base is a violation, officials said Thursday.
Radford has been interviewed by Army investigators and is in custody, Lubas said.
Radford has not previously deployed to combat, Lubas said. He had been arrested locally for a DUI, Lubas said, noting the arrest was “unknown to his chain of command until the [shooting] occurred and we started looking into the law enforcement databases.”
President Donald Trump said on Wednesday, “The entire nation is praying for the victims and their families, and hopefully they’ll fully recover.”
“The perpetrator of this atrocity — which is exactly what it is — will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Trump added.
