United Nations World Food Programme Executive Director Cindy McCain stressed the “immediate” need for aid and a ceasefire in Gaza.
“It’s a tragedy. And what we need right now is an immediate ceasefire, complete, unfettered access, along with the safe fence roads, every gate open, to feed people and stop this catastrophe from happening. If we don’t do that, it’s going to be a humanitarian catastrophe, as I’ve said, like none other,” McCain said Sunday on “This Week with George Stephanopoulos.”
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) began delivering aid this week after an 11-week embargo. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on May 19 that Israel, “with our American friends,” was creating a “system with distribution centers” that would be “secured by the IDF, preventing Hamas from reaching the area.”
GHF has been criticized by the United Nations and other aid groups for its distribution methods. Photos and videos out of Gaza show long lines of Palestinians waiting for aid. The United Nations warns that Gaza is approaching a famine.
According to the Gaza health ministry, 31 people were killed and 200 injured when Israel opened fire on a GHF aid distribution center located in Rafah. In a statement posted to X, the Israel Defense Forces said, “At this stage, there are no known casualties from IDF gunfire” within the site. “The matter is still under investigation.”
“They don’t have nearly enough access points. They don’t have nearly enough food going in. And — and so the — the feel of desperation, you can see it in the video, is very — it’s very disheartening,” McCain said. “I mean, for all of us that do this, you know, this is what we do. We — we — we understand what it takes and we understand the complexity of it. But we also understand the grave humanitarian need that — that is existing now.”
Here are more highlights from McCain’s interview:
On the UN’s interaction with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation
Stephanopoulos: Have you had any coordination at all this week with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation?
McCain: No, I have not personally. I know that there’s been some — some meetings that have taken place around the — around the — Europe, particularly on some of the things. But we have — we’ve not seen a plan. We’ve been a part of some of those meetings. Some of them we have not been. But again, we’ve seen no plan. And, look, we will work with anybody to feed. This is — this is the kind of thing that, at this level of desperation, we’ve got to work together on trying to feed people. So — so it’s not about not willing to work with people. We need the access. We need the Israelis to let us in so we can do our job. And we do it — we are the best at what we do, I might add. And we’re the ones — we — we can — we can not only get in, but we can get in at scale, which is what is most important right now.
On Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying ‘that’s a lie that people are dying from USAID cuts
Stephanopoulos: Is it a lie that people have died because of the aid cuts?
McCain: Well, you know, I’m not going to — going to even pretend to understand what’s going on with inside the — the U.S. government at this particular point. I know what I see on the ground, not just in Gaza but around the world. There’s places like Sudan, the DRC Congo, other places, South Sudan, et cetera, they’re — they’re in just as much trouble as this. We need to get aid in, in Gaza, and we need to get it in now to avoid this catastrophe.
(KYIV and LONDON) — The Ukrainian Air Force said Saturday morning that Russia had carried out 114 aerial attacks on Ukraine overnight with drones and missiles.
At least 10 people were killed and 33 others were injured across Ukraine as a result of Russia’s aerial attacks as well as from laser-guided bombs, artillery and smaller drone strikes, according to regional and local authorities.
In the Zaporizhzhia region, one person — a 9-year-old girl — was killed and two people — a 16-year-old boy and an elderly man — were injured, according to a statement from the Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration.
In the Kharkiv region, five people were injured, according to statements from the Kharkiv city mayor, the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration and the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office.
In the Kherson region, three people were killed and 12 others were injured, according to statements from the Kherson Regional Military Administration.
In the Donetsk region, five people were killed and nine others were injured, according to a statement from the Donetsk Regional Military Administration, and ,in the Sumy region, one person was killed and five were injured, according to statements from the Sumy Regional Military Administration.
Earlier this week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy again appealed to the U.S. to apply more pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin in pursuit of peace talks to end Moscow’s 3-year-old invasion of its neighbor.
“Russian strikes are becoming increasingly brazen and large-scale every night,” Zelenskyy wrote in an evening message to Telegram, after consecutive days of intense Russian strikes involving more than 900 attack drones and missiles. “There is no military logic in this, but it is a clear political choice — the choice of Putin, the choice of Russia — the choice to keep waging war and destroying lives.”
“New and strong sanctions against Russia — from the United States, from Europe, and from all those around the world who seek peace — will serve as a guaranteed means of forcing Russia not only to cease fire, but also to show respect,” Zelenskyy said.
The Ukrainian president is seeking to frame Putin as the key impediment to a peace deal, as Kyiv navigates a fractious bilateral relationship with President Donald Trump’s administration.
Months of U.S.-brokered peace talks have failed to produce a lasting ceasefire or a clear framework for a peace deal.
Trump’s building frustration has been evident, with Trump saying last weekend that Putin had gone “absolutely crazy,” while also rebuking Zelenskyy for causing “problems” with his public statements.
ABC News’ David Brennan contributed to this report.
Imma is the creation of a company called Aww, Inc. (ABC News)
(NEW YORK) — Snapchat influencer Caryn Marjorie arrives at the ABC News headquarters in New York City carrying a shopping bag from Apple. She pulls out a brand-new iPhone and turns it on, confirming there are no messages, no missed calls, no notifications. “Do you want to see a magic trick?” she asks.
Marjorie’s team leaks the iPhone’s number to her most loyal fans on social media, and suddenly the room fills with the sound of “dings.” In 10 minutes, she has over 2,000 text messages from her mostly male followers, expressing their adoration. She tries her best to respond, but the messages keep coming.
It’s this level of fandom that led the 25-year-old – who uses the handle @CutieCaryn – to enlist the help of AI to form a more intimate bond with her followers. In 2023, the content creator, inspired by ChatGPT, hired a company to clone her likeness using artificial intelligence, developing a paid audio-driven chatbot service.
“I call Caryn AI a social experiment. It was the very first digital clone of a real human being sent out to millions and millions of people,” Marjorie tells ABC News.
With a chatbot that sounded like her, acted like her, and knew her backstory, she reasoned she could essentially talk to everyone at once, and her fans would be able to get to know her even while she was sleeping. But it “ended up becoming so much more than that,” she says.
Marjorie charged $1 a minute to talk to Caryn AI, marketing it as “your virtual girlfriend.” She says in the first week she made $70,000 with some users talking to the bot for 10 hours a day. Did people fall in love with it? “I think some people felt feelings of love,” she says.
The love for Caryn AI didn’t last.
“There were many times where I, on the back end, would be testing Caryn AI and I would be simulating certain conversations with her just to see what she would spit out,” Marjorie says. “She said something that would have left a person who might have been in a very depressed state to do something very dangerous to themselves.”
Marjorie shared with ABC News two recordings of her chatbot making up stories about her and her family. In one instance, the bot claimed Marjorie had to go to a mental health facility. In another, it claimed her parents were drug addicts. She says both of those stories were lies.
She looked at some of the chat logs from users. “They were confessing their deepest, darkest thoughts, their deepest, darkest fantasies,” she says. “Sometimes they were fantasies with me. That made me uncomfortable.
Would users say those same things to her in real life? She claims the AI would play into those dark fantasies.
Marjorie says, “The way that AI works is it almost becomes a mirror reflection of you. The AI will say the same things back to you that you just said to it and it will validate your feelings.”
Through the uninhibited nature of speaking to a bot online, Marjorie says, “There’s a side to people that not a lot of people know about. There’s a side to people that they keep hidden.”
In less than a year, Caryn shut down her AI, returning to more traditional influencing. She now has bodyguards with her at all times out of fear for her safety.
But AI is successfully gobbling up corners of the social media influencer market, and making very real money.
In Tokyo, there’s pink-haired social media influencer Imma. Her Instagram contains pictures of her with celebrities, attending fashion shows, eating bowls of ramen, and posing with her brother. But as the bio at the top of her profile reveals, she’s a “virtual girl.” Imma is the creation of a company called Aww, Inc.
The company manages her and many other “virtual humans,” creating storylines for them. Imma looks very lifelike, but she’s actually a CGI creation. As part of Imma’s partnership with luxury fashion house Coach, the team turned on her experimental AI chat feature at a pop-up in Japan so she could give style advice to shoppers.
Sara Giusto, a “talent manager” for Imma at Aww, says being a virtual influencer allows Imma to do things real-life influencers can’t.
“We had Imma have a room in IKEA, which is an LED screen, but it looked like a space because we put real furniture in front of it,” Giusto says. “So you can literally walk by the store and she’d be vacuuming, doing a face mask, doing yoga, or just sitting around.”
Despite a CGI creation never needing tangible things, Porsche, BMW, SK-II, and even Amazon Fashion have partnered with Imma as well.
At first glance it may seem counterintuitive to the nature of social media for human look-alikes to find success, a place intended to share very human experiences. But Giusto says, that’s just not the case. “[Imma] had a big fight with her brother a couple of years ago where they blocked each other. And she posted a picture of her crying, and she was like, ‘how do I get back my brother?'”
She says people were commenting their real experiences in response to the exchange.
Even manufactured storylines like these appear to resonate, the proof is in Imma’s nearly 400,000 followers and numerous brand deals. “Gen Z’s don’t really care that she’s virtual. I mean, if a virtual human is interesting and inspiring and you can be friends with them and feel a connection, then I think there’s nothing wrong with it,” Giusto says.
In Barcelona, marketing company The Clueless has a fully AI-driven social media influencer named Aitana.
The young woman looks shockingly life-like, so life-like, Clueless Co-founder Diana Núñez says that despite Aitana’s profile stating she’s AI, “there were real people, even internationally famous people, who DM’d privately, either inviting her to an event or wanting to meet her.”
Aitana serves largely as the face for what the agency offers, creating and renting out AI avatars for brands to use for their marketing campaigns. That’s a lot cheaper than having to plan out expensive photoshoots, buy plane tickets, and handle egos.
“With artificial intelligence models, we don’t depend on enormous logistics, not even on whether it rains or doesn’t rain or if that person is not available that day,” Núñez tells ABC News.
Fashion retailer H&M made headlines when it announced plans to use AI to clone 30 real-life models with their permission. The Clueless actually offers these cloning services, giving influencers the chance to keep posting while off the clock.
Co-founder Rubén Cruz puts it bluntly, “If I was a real influencer, I would be the best friend of Aitana. But the problem is that the real influencers don’t want this, because they don’t think that this will change the world, but it will change the world. Aitana has changed our lives and she doesn’t exist.”
Back in New York, as the interview wraps with Marjorie, she recognizes that the steady march of AI upending every aspect of work and play isn’t slowing down, despite her finding it “dangerous.” She adheres to the mantra “adapt or die,” ready to harness new technology to gain an influencing edge.
She concludes, “I need to continue to be more human-like and almost over prove myself that I’m a real human being in order to compete with these influencers. So, it’s going to get really interesting from here.”
-ABC News’ Maria Olloqui contributed to this report.
(LONDON) — Hamas said it has submitted a response to the latest ceasefire proposal by U.S. Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff to mediators on Saturday, reiterating its key demands.
Hamas’ key demands are “to achieve a permanent ceasefire, a complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and ensure the continuous flow of humanitarian aid,” according to the group.
The group’s demands remain the same as in previous ceasefire negotiations.
Hamas said its hostage exchange proposal would involve the release of 10 living hostages and the bodies of 18 dead hostages, in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(WASHINGTON) — Senate Republicans have announced plans to launch their own probe into former President Joe Biden over his cognitive abilities while in office, claiming they want to investigate who was running the country during what they call Biden’s decline.
Republican Sens. Eric Schmitt and John Cornyn will co-chair a first-of-its-kind Senate Judiciary Committee hearing next month on the subject, which they say was covered up by members of the media. The focus echoes President Donald Trump’s oft-repeated claims about Biden’s mental fitness while president and criticism of Biden’s use of autopen, a mechanical device to automatically add a signature to a document that’s been utilized by several past presidents, including Trump in his first term.
“We need to get past the failures of the media, which were legend as you pointed out, or the political issue of ‘were you for Biden or against Biden?’ This is about a constitutional crisis, where we basically have a mentally incompetent president who’s not in charge,” Cornyn said Thursday on Fox News’ “The Will Cain Show.”
“The question is: Who is in charge? Whose finger is on the nuclear button or has the nuclear codes? Who can declare war? How do we defend the nation when we have basically an absent president? And those are constitutional issues we need to address and correct,” Cornyn said.
Biden denied any accusations of mental decline, saying that he’s proud of his record as president.
News of the upcoming hearing comes after Cornyn penned a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi last week, urging the Justice Department to investigate whether the Biden administration was being lawful in how they presented his cognitive condition to the country.
He asked that the Justice Department open a probe into “any potential violations of federal law surrounding the representations made to the American people about the health and wellbeing” of Biden.
“Congress’ responsibility is actually bigger than just that. It is to provide oversight and to make sure that there’s more transparency for future presidents so we understand how this happened and how can we prevent it from happening again,” Cornyn said on Fox News.
Other Republicans have also been calling for answers about Biden’s health during the course of his presidency.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Thursday that former first lady Jill Biden should testify in front of Congress over the alleged “cover-up” of Biden’s health.
“I think, frankly, the former first lady should certainly speak up about what she saw in regards to her husband and when she saw it and what she knew,” Leavitt said.
“I think anybody looking at the videos and photo evidence of Joe Biden with your own eyes and a little bit of common sense can see, this was a clear coverup, and Jill Biden was certainly complicit in that cover-up. There’s documentation and video evidence of her clearly trying to shield her husband away from the cameras,” she claimed.
House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, a Republican, recently called for a number of high-ranking Biden White House staffers to do transcribed interviews surrounding the topic of Biden’s alleged decline.
Comer, speaking to Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Wednesday, also suggested he might subpoena both Joe and Jill Biden, as well as former White House chief of staff Ron Klain, during the House’s investigation of the former president’s health and examination of his use of an autopen to sign legislation and executive orders.
Comer also recently requested that Biden’s White House physician, Kevin O’Connor, appear for a transcribed interview as part of the investigation.
The calls for the probes into Biden come after the release of “Original Sin” by CNN host Jake Tapper and Axios reporter Alex Thompson, which made claims about “the Bidens’ capacity for denial and the lengths they would go to avoid transparency about health issues.”
In response to the book’s release, a Biden spokesman said “there is nothing in this book that shows Joe Biden failed to do his job, as the authors have alleged, nor did they prove their allegation that there was a cover up or conspiracy.”
“Nowhere do they show that our national security was threatened or where the President wasn’t otherwise engaged in the important matters of the Presidency,” the spokesperson said in a statement to ABC News. “In fact, Joe Biden was an effective President who led our country with empathy and skill.”
Top Democrats have largely avoided defending Biden as new details surrounding the former president’s health and alleged cover-up have emerged in recent weeks.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, when asked by CNN host Wolf Blitzer on Wednesday whether Democrats can be trusted as new details are emerging, circumvented commenting directly on the former president’s condition.
“What I can say is that we’re not looking back, we’re gonna continue to look forward because at this moment, we’ve got real problems that need to be addressed on behalf of the American people, including the Republican effort to snatch away health care, to snatch away food assistance and hurt veterans,” Jeffries said.
During a recent press conference, Jeffries also accused Republicans of “peddling conspiracy theories” intended to make the country look “backward at a time when they are actually taking health care away from the American people.”
“No, as House Democrats, we are going to look forward,” Jeffries added.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has also dodged any questions about Biden’s health, responding to CNN’s Kasie Hunt earlier this month by saying, “Kasie, we’re looking forward.”
But other Democrats, such as Rep. Ro Khanna — who defended Biden’s mental and physical fitness during the 2024 campaign — admitted he was wrong, but said there wasn’t a cover-up of ahead of the election.
“I don’t think it was a cover-up … but I do think that the advisers and people close to Joe Biden owe an explanation … What I don’t think the Democratic Party can do is just say, ‘Let’s talk about the future. Let’s move past this,'” Khanna told ABC News’ “This Week” co-anchor Jonathan Karl last Sunday.
(WASHINGTON) — Republican Sen. Joni Ernst faced a number of agitated constituents at a town hall on Friday who expressed concerns that the Republicans’ cuts to Medicaid under their major legislative effort to advance President Donald Trump’s agenda would cause people to die.
Her response: “Well, we all are going to die.”
Audience members at the Butler County, Iowa, event raised concerns that proposed cuts to Medicaid under the Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” being mulled in the Senate could threaten the lives of individuals who lose access to health care of food benefits, like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). As Ernst explained her position on removing those who should not qualify for Medicaid under the current law from eligibility, an audience member could be heard shouting back at her, “People are going to die.”
Ernst quipped back, “Well we all are going to die,” she said.
Ernst pushed back as the audience reacted, explaining her position.
“Well, what you don’t want to do is listen to me when I say that we are going to focus on those who are most vulnerable. Those who meet the eligibility requirements for Medicaid we will protect. We will protect them,” Ernst continued. “Medicaid is extremely important here in the state of Iowa. If you don’t want to listen, that is fine, but what I am doing is going through and telling you that those that are not eligible, those that are working and have the opportunity for benefits elsewhere, then they should receive those benefits elsewhere and leave those dollars for those that are eligible for Medicaid.”
Medicaid benefits have become a key focus of negotiations on a massive spending package that Republicans, under the direction of Trump, are working to move through Congress.
House Republicans passed the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” last week. The House version of the bill implements Medicaid reforms and changes to other programs while extending the Trump 2017 tax cuts and plussing up spending in areas such as border security and defense spending.
The Senate has promised modifications to the bill, a fact that Ernst pointed to repeatedly during her town hall. Still, in her home state, concerns about Medicaid ruled the discussion. Concerns over the bill have led to raucous town halls recently, with crowds booing Republican Reps. Mike Flood and Ashley Hinson at town hall events earlier this week.
On Friday, Ernst addressed a constituent who identified as a health care worker about her concerns that the bill would affect health care in Iowa.
“We know the House has their provisions for Medicaid, and I actually agree with most of their provisions. Everyone says that Medicaid is being cut, people are going to see their benefits cut, that is not true,” Ernst said — eliciting boos from the crowd.
As she continued to explain that she believes the bill will strengthen Medicaid by removing those who have options for other forms of health care off of the program, audience members could be heard shouting “Tax the 1 percenters; they don’t pay for it.”
Ernst’s assertion that the bill would not cut Medicaid was met by blowback from a constituent.
One such constituent said that while many people on Medicaid have jobs, they do not earn a living wage. The audience cheered as she spoke.
“That is why they are on Medicaid and that is why they deserve Medicaid and the fact that you want to take that money and route it to people that make billions of dollars who have more money than anybody in this room together,” the constituent named Jen said.
Ernst said children will continue to get the coverage they need.
“Well I would say, Jen, we are not going to cut those benefits for those children,” Ernst said as the audience audibly grumbled. “What we are doing is making sure that those that are not Medicaid eligible are not receiving benefits.”
Ernst, who is a member of the Senate DOGE caucus, also gave a defense of the work that the Department of Government Efficiency has done and continues to do.
“What we are seeing in federal government is the right sizing of the federal governments and allowing the states to take up the role that our forefathers intended,” she said.
In response to this, a member of the audience shouted “chaos” at Ernst.
“It may be chaos to you, but we do have to get back to a semblance of what our country was founded for,” Ernst said. “We are $36 trillion in debt. Both sides have contributed to this. But when does it end. When does it end?”
(NEW ORLEANS) — A third person has been arrested in connection with the death of Adan Manzano, a Telemundo reporter who was found dead in his hotel room while in Louisiana to cover the Super Bowl, authorities announced Friday.
Christian Anderson, of New Orleans, was arrested “for his alleged involvement in the scheme that ultimately led to Manzano’s death,” the Kenner Police Department said in a press release.
Manzano, a reporter for KGKC Telemundo Kansas City and Tico Sports, was found dead face-down on a pillow in his hotel room in Kenner on Feb. 5, police said. He died from the combined effects of Xanax — an anti-anxiety medication — and alcohol along with positional asphyxia, according to the Jefferson Parish coroner.
A woman who police said was seen going into Manzano’s hotel room hours before he was found dead — Danette Colbert — and an alleged accomplice were previously arrested in connection with his death. Manzano’s cellphone and credit card were found in her home, Kenner police said.
Police said a review of text messages and digital communications shows that Anderson, 33, and the two suspects “played an active role in a coordinated pattern of targeting victims, drugging them, and stealing personal property.”
Anderson rented a car that was used by Colbert on the day of Manzano’s death, according to police.
“Further evidence showed that Anderson provided logistical support, engaged in post-crime communication, and assisted in attempts to financially benefit from the victim’s stolen assets,” Kenner police said. “Additionally, records show Anderson and Colbert communicated extensively following the incident, and that he played a role in the group’s recurring criminal behavior.”
Anderson faces charges of principal to simple robbery, purse snatching, access device fraud, illegal transmission of monetary funds, bank fraud and computer fraud.
He is in custody at the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center.
Colbert was arrested in the days following Manzano’s death and initially charged with property crimes, including theft and fraud-related offenses. She was subsequently charged with second-degree murder in his death following the autopsy.
The other suspect in the case, Rickey White, faces the same property crime charges as Colbert.
Earlier this month, Colbert was sentenced to 25 years in prison for a previous fraud conviction, according to the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office. She was given a suspended 10-year sentence after being found guilty last year of theft, computer fraud and illegal transmission of monetary funds. The attorney general’s office said it argued for a harsher sentence due to her prior fraud felony convictions, and a judge subsequently sentenced her to 25 years.
“The evidence was overwhelming that this woman was a serial fraudster and took advantage of multiple tourists and innocent people over many years in the French Quarter,” Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said in a statement following the sentencing. “I wish we could have saved the life of Adam Manzano.”
“I’m hopeful and confident justice will be served in Jefferson Parish as well, where Colbert is also facing charges of second-degree murder for Manzano’s death,” she added.
(WASHINGTON) — Former President Joe Biden, after delivering his first public remarks since his office announced last month that he had been diagnosed with ‘aggressive” prostate cancer, told reporters on Friday that he was feeling “optimistic” about his prognosis.
“Well, the prognosis is good. You know, we’re working on everything. It’s moving along. So, I feel good,” Biden said.
He said he had decided on a treatment option, mentioning that he would be taking various medications.
“The expectation is, we’re going to be able to beat this … it’s not in any organ. My bones are strong. It hasn’t penetrated so I’m feeling good,” he added, later saying his family is also optimistic about the diagnosis and said “one of the leading surgeons in the world” is working with him.
Asked about the recent controversy over his mental and physical capabilities while in office, Biden joked, with a smile, “You can see that — I’m mentally incompetent and I can’t walk.”
And asked about Democrats who say he shouldn’t have run again, Biden said, “Why didn’t they run against me then? Because I’d have beaten them.” He added he has no regrets.
“There’s a lot going on. And I think we’re in a really difficult moment, not only in American history, in world history. I think we’re one of those inflection points in history where the decisions we make in the next little bit are going to determine what things look like for the next 20 years,” he added, saying he is proud of his record as president.
On Thursday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that former first lady Jill Biden should “speak up about what she saw in regards to her husband and when she saw it and what she knew,” accusing her of lying.
Asked about Leavitt’s comments, Biden smiled and said, “I don’t know who the press secretary is,” but afterward said he was joking and that the media would play that straightforwardly.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(MARICOPA COUNTY, Ariz.) — Officials are investigating a possible homicide after two teenagers were found dead in an isolated area of Arizona, according to the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office.
On Tuesday morning, deputies responded to a call for service in the area of Mount Ord, a remote hiking and camping area between the cities of Mesa and Payson.
Once on the scene, officials located “two deceased individuals,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
Officials said they are thoroughly looking at the circumstances surrounding this incident as part of a homicide investigation.
“At this time, our focus is conducting a comprehensive and meticulous investigation to ensure justice for the victims and their loved ones. We are coordinating closely with our law enforcement partners and ask for patience and respect for the investigative process as we work through the facts,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
The victims were identified as 18-year-old Pandora Kjolsrud and an unnamed 17-year-old, the sheriff’s office said. At a memorial for the two teenagers, friends and family identified the 17-year-old as Evan Clark, according to ABC Phoenix affiliate KNXV.
In a statement, a representative for Kjolsrud told KNXV the family is “heartbroken to confirm the tragic loss of our beloved Pandora, whose life was taken from us far too soon.”
Kjolsrud’s mother said her daughter was a “bright light in this world who loved every single person she met and had an unusual ability to make every person she met feel special and loved.”
“She was a friend to many and a beloved daughter. She lived life in a big way and was always up for an adventure,” her mother told KNXV on Thursday.
The two teens were students at Arcadia High School in Phoenix, according to a letter the principal wrote to parents on Thursday. The school said it is providing a team of psychologists and counselors on campus to offer support and resources for students.
Authorities said anyone with any additional information regarding this incident should contact the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office at 602-876-TIPS.
(WASHINGTON) — President Trump announced Thursday night that he was tapping Paul Ingrassia, a former far-right podcast host, to lead the Office of Special Counsel — an independent watchdog agency empowered to investigate federal employees and oversee complaints from whistleblowers.
The Trump administration has previously taken aim at the Office of Special Counsel, firing the head of the agency, Hampton Dellinger (a Biden appointee) in February. Dellinger expressed opposition to the Trump administration’s firing of federal employees under DOGE-led cuts, noting that many had been fired or laid off without notice or justification.
Dellinger challenged his firing in court and was briefly reinstated to the post until a federal appeals court allowed for his dismissal. Dellinger decided to drop the challenge.
ABC News exclusively reported in February about how Ingrassia, in his role as White House liaison to the Department of Justice, was pushing to hire candidates at the DOJ who exhibited what he called “exceptional loyalty” to Trump. His efforts at DOJ sparked clashes with Attorney General Pam Bondi’s top aide, Chad Mizelle, leading Ingrassia to complain directly to President Trump, sources told ABC News.
Ingrassia was pushed out of DOJ and reassigned as the White House liaison to the Department of Homeland Security, where he was serving prior to Trump announcing his new role, according to a White House official familiar with the matter.
In a post on X, Ingrassia wrote in response to his nomination: “It’s the highest honor to have been nominated to lead the Office of Special Counsel under President Trump! As Special Counsel, my team and I will make every effort to restore competence and integrity to the Executive Branch — with priority on eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal workforce and revitalize the Rule of Law and Fairness in Hatch Act enforcement.”
For the Senate-confirmed five-year term, Ingrassia will likely face tough questions over his lengthy history of media appearances and posts on social media promoting Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election as well as his ties to far-right media figures.
He was previously spotted at a 2024 rally hosted by white nationalist Nick Fuentes and has publicly praised figures like Andrew Tate — who has faced criminal charges for alleged sexual assault (Tate denies all wrongdoing).
Ingrassia, in a comment to NPR, maintained he did not intend to go to the Fuentes rally and instead was there for another event. “I had no knowledge of who organized the event, observed for 5-10 minutes, then left,” he wrote to NPR. He added that the notion that he is an extremist is “lacking in all credibility.”
Before joining the Trump administration, Ingrassia led communications efforts for a nonprofit legal organization that promotes itself as “the answer to the useless and radically leftist American Civil Liberties Union,” and he was a writer for the right-wing website Gateway Pundit.
Trump has also been known to post some of Ingrassia’s pro-Trump stories on social media.
