(BELIZE) — Police in Belize are investigating after three young American women were found dead in their hotel room at a luxury beachfront resort last weekend.
The women — identified as 23-year-old Koutar Naqqad, 24-year-old Imane Mallah and 26-year-old Wafae El-Arar — were found dead at the Royal Kahal Beach Resort in San Pedro on Saturday morning.
The investigation into the cause of their deaths is underway, but Belize’s police commissioner said on Tuesday that carbon monoxide poisoning and possible overdoses are being considered.
Officials noted that alcohol and gummies were found in the hotel room. “We’ve had issues with gummies in the past being resold and sending people to the hospital,” the commissioner said in a statement.
An autopsy is being conducted Tuesday, according to police.
The commissioner said authorities reviewed surveillance footage from the resort that showed the women entering the hotel Thursday evening and they were not seen leaving the room again.
Additionally, nobody was seen entering the women’s room in the footage, according to the police.
The hotel told authorities that nobody answered the door when housekeeping arrived on Friday, so they left.
Police said the women could have been dead in the hotel for approximately 20 hours before they were found.
The women, originally from Morrocco, lived in Revere, Massachusetts.
“The City of Revere extends our heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of the three local women who tragically and unexpectedly passed away in Belize,” the city wrote on Facebook on Monday.
(CALIFORNIA) — An arrest warrant has been issued in the murder of a fire captain in California, who was stabbed multiple times in her own home on Feb. 17, according to officials.
Investigators concluded that 54-year-old Yolanda Marodi, also known as Yolanda Olejniczak, is suspected of fatally stabbing her wife, 49-year-old Cal Fire Capt. Rebecca Marodi, according to a warrant filed in San Diego County Superior Court last week and released Monday.
Lorena Marodi, the victim’s mother, told officials that approximately one week prior to her death, “Rebecca told Yolanda that she was leaving her and ending their marriage,” according to the warrant.
Lorena Marodi also provided officials with Ring camera footage of the night of her daughter’s death.
In the footage, Rebecca Marodi is seen being chased across the patio by Olejniczak, screaming “Yolanda! Please..I don’t want to die,” the warrant said. Olejniczak responded, “You should have thought about that before,” and appeared to stand in front of Marodi with a knife in her right hand, according to the warrant. There appeared to be blood on both Marodi’s back and Olejniczak’s arms.
Olejniczak can be heard telling Marodi to go inside in the video. Marodi repeatedly asks for Olejniczak to call 911, and then the two enter the residence, the warrant says.
Several minutes later, the front-door camera captures Olejniczak wearing different clothes, loading “pets, random items and some luggage” into a silver Chevrolet Equinox, according to the warrant.
Approximately an hour after Olejniczak left her house, her vehicle entered Mexico, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Police said in a statement on Friday that the sheriff’s office has “alerted authorities on both sides of the border about this suspect.”
An associate of Olejniczak shared with investigators a text from the suspect the day after the murder, reading, “Becky came home and told me she was leaving me, she met someone else, all the messages were lies. We had a big fight and I hurt her…I’m sorry,” according to the arrest warrant.
“Based on video surveillance from the residence depicting Yolanda with a knife standing in front and pushing Rebecca who was covered in apparent blood, Yolanda fleeing to Mexico and the text message Yolanda sent to a close friend stating she ‘hurt’ Rebecca, I believe Yolanda stabbed Rebecca Marodi multiple times ultimately causing Rebecca’s death,” the warrant said.
This is not the first crime Olejniczak has been accused of killing their partner. In 2003, she pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter for stabbing her then-husband to death and was sentenced to 11 years in prison, according to officials. She served the time and was released, after which she met Marodi.
Olejniczak is believed to be driving a silver 2013 silver Chevrolet Equinox with a California license plate 8BQJ420, according to officials. Police also said the suspect is traveling with a small white dog.
Last week, Cal Fire confirmed Marodi’s death in a statement posted on social media.
“It is with great sadness that CAL FIRE reports the off-duty death of Fire Captain Rebecca ‘Becky’ Marodi,” officials said. “Captain Marodi served over 30 years with CAL FIRE, primarily in Riverside County, but also serving time in San Bernardino and San Diego Counties. The tragic loss of Captain Marodi is mourned by her family, friends and her CAL FIRE family.”
Police said anyone with information about the location of Olejniczak is urged to call 911 or the Sheriff’s Homicide Unit at (858) 285-6330.
(WASHINGTON) — A federal judge is ordering the Trump administration to dole out millions of dollars to multiple nonprofits groups, determining the Trump administration violated the terms of a temporary restraining order issued two weeks ago regarding freezing foreign aid.
This is a breaking story. Please check back in for updates.
(WASHINGTON) — House Republicans remain divided over the budget blueprint to jumpstart the process to advance Trump’s agenda, putting a vote planned for Tuesday evening in jeopardy as Speaker Mike Johnson attempts to rally his rank and file.
Following a closed-door conference meeting, GOP leaders say that while the hope is still to move forward with a floor vote Tuesday night, it could slip further into the week. There are several lawmakers who have splintered off to publicly oppose the measure, while even more hold back their support with the hope of extracting changes.
“We’re planning to take up our budget resolution as early as today,” Johnson told reporters on Tuesday, suggesting the vote may get pushed. “There may be a vote tonight. There may not be. Stay tuned. That’s why you get paid. Hang around here,” he added.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise is actively defending the budget — contending that Democrats are “lying” when they assert that Republicans are primed to make deep cuts to Medicaid.
“This bill doesn’t even mention the word ‘Medicaid’ a single time, and yet, all Democrats are doing is lying about what’s in the budget because they don’t want to talk about the truth,” Scalise said. “Instead of just sitting back and licking their wounds that they’re completely out of touch with the American people, their only choice is to resort to lying about what’s in this vote today. There is no Medicaid in this bill. There are no Medicaid cuts in this bill. Yet that’s all they’re saying.”
While the blueprint itself does not mention Medicaid directly, it sets a goal of at least $2 trillion in cuts to mandatory federal spending, which includes funding for entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare.
Johnson and his leadership team have worked for weeks to mollify concerns — an effort the speaker says will continue with holdouts Tuesday afternoon. Currently there are four public no votes including Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie, Tennessee Rep. Tim Burchett, Ohio Rep. Warren Davidson and Indiana Rep. Victoria Spartz. The speaker can only afford to lose one defection before a second betrayal kills the effort.
Following the meeting, Massie quipped that GOP leaders have “convinced him” to vote no — predicting the measure would actually increase the deficit by billions of dollars.
Nevertheless, Johnson defended the blueprint.
“The objective and our commitment has always been deficit neutrality. That’s the goal here. If we can reduce the deficit, even better,” Johnson said responding to accusations that the plan would increase the deficit.
Some additional Republicans are undecided including New York Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, stressing she is acting on behalf of her aging constituency.
“I’m still undecided, but I’m leaning more towards yes because I’ve gotten some clarity and assurances that make me feel comfortable allowing this process to move forward,” she said. “We have to make sure that leadership includes those of us who have large Medicaid populations in that process.”
Self-proclaimed “budget hawk” Georgia Rep. Rich McCormick said he’s still “in discussions” on whether or not to back the resolution.
“I’d like us to be more aggressive on spending cuts so we can save on things like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid,” he said.
“I am trying to figure out exactly what this entails… how this bill is going to affect the actual hard numbers, and that’s what I’m interested in,” he said.
House Democrats gathered on the Capitol steps Tuesday afternoon to protest an “assault” on democracy and the “reckless Republican budget.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries led the group of lawmakers, declaring that Democrats have unified their opposition against the measure.
“So let me be clear, House Democrats will not provide a single vote to this reckless Republican budget, not one, not one, not one. They will not get a single Democratic vote. Why? Because we’re voting with the American people,” he said.
Jeffries said the GOP budget plan “represents the largest Medicaid cut in American history,” adding that “children will be devastated. Families will be devastated. People with disabilities will be devastated. Seniors will be devastated. Hospitals will be devastated; nursing homes will be devastated.”
“Everything we care about is under assault. The economy is under assault. The safety net is under assault. Our very way of life as a country is under assault. Democracy itself is under assault. Donald Trump, the administration and House Republicans are hurting the American people,” he said.
(ROME and LONDON) — Pope Francis’s condition remains “critical but stable,” Vatican officials said in a brief update on Tuesday.
“There have been no acute respiratory episodes and hemodynamic parameters continue to be stable. In the evening, he underwent a scheduled CT scan for radiological monitoring of the bilateral pneumonia. The prognosis remains uncertain,” the Vatican said Tuesday.
The pope resumed his work activities after receiving the Eucharist.
The pope “rested well, all night long,” sleeping without interruption, Vatican sources told ABC News. He woke up on Tuesday and continued his usual therapies, the sources said.
Francis, 88, has been hospitalized at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital since Feb. 14 following a bout with bronchitis.
Vatican officials said Sunday he remained in critical condition. Officials said on Monday that he had shown a “slight improvement.”
The pontiff, who has led the Catholic Church since 2013, was diagnosed with pneumonia last Tuesday, according to the Vatican.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(WASHINGTON) — America’s national parks and other federal lands are in danger of falling into disrepair following the firings of thousands of federal employees by the current administration, experts said.
Federal agencies that were already strapped for resources, such as the National Parks Service and U.S. Forestry Service, will now be struggling to find workers to perform critical functions for visitors and maintenance, said Kristen Brengel, senior vice president of government affairs at the National Parks Conservation Association.
More than 1,000 NPS employees were terminated by the Trump administration, Brengel said, while more than 2,000 U.S. Forest Service employees have been fired, according to Fire & Safety Journal Americas.
Some of the eliminated positions include search-and-rescue staff and campsite supervisors, Brengel told ABC News.
With park visitation expected to increase in the next year, fewer employees could translate to longer lines to get into parks, changes in park hours and more trash pileups at some locations.
The National Parks Service did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
‘Most beloved federal employees’
When tourists arrive at national parks, the expectation is that a ranger will be there to greet and educate them, Brengel said.
Surveys from the Pew Research Center find that National Parks employees have a 76% approval rating — the highest among federal employees. NPS workers are dedicated to their jobs and care deeply about the parks they service, Brengel said.
“National park rangers are among the most beloved federal employees,” Brengel said. “These are folks that everyone loves to see when they go to our national parks.”
The NPS has been “stretched thin” since 2010, with a 20% reduction in park service staff in the last 15 years, Brengel said.
“This means that people have to do collateral duties,” Brengel said. For example, a person sitting at the front desk of a visitor center may also be responsible for maintaining restrooms.
The lack of staffing is not new; it was also a problem in the 1980s and 1990s, according to Andrea Lankford, a former law enforcement and search and rescue park ranger for Cape Hatteras, Zion National Park, Yosemite National Park and the Grand Canyon.
Visitation to the parks continues to increase
More than 325 million people visited national parks in 2023, and visitation in 2025 will likely exceed that number, Brengel said. The NPS also contributed a record $55.6 billion to the U.S. economy in 2023 and supported 415,000 jobs that year, according to the NPS.
“We fully expect visitors to flood into national parks this spring and summer, and for parks to just generally be understaffed and not be able to handle that influx,” she said.
Last week, the Trump administration reversed a hiring freeze for seasonal National Parks Service employees, allowing the system to fill crucial roles to help maintain and operate popular parks ahead of the summer season, according to a memo obtained by ABC News.
NPS will now be permitted to hire a total of 7,700 workers, according to the memo. But the one-month delay in hiring seasonal workers, on top of the firing of probationary park rangers, could impact tourists this summer at some of the country’s most popular national parks, said Bill Wade, executive director of the Association of National Park Rangers.
“It’s pretty safe to say that in many parks, at least for the start of the season, visitors are going to probably see some sort of impact and a decline in their experience,” he said.
Tourists could experience long lines to get into the parks, changes in hours at visitor centers, trash pileups and restrooms that are not cleaned as frequently, Wade said.
In addition, there could be delays for road, trail and building maintenance, Brengel said, noting that people who fill potholes and repair leaky roofs were among those terminated.
Impact of firings on Forest Service
Understaffing has also been a concern for the U.S. Forest Service, said Owen Wickenheiser, a former wilderness and climbing ranger at the Okanagan Wenatchee National Forest in Washington state.
“We were already short-staffed as a land management agency, with the number of trails expected to maintain,” Wickenheiser, who was recently fired, told ABC News. “We have one of the busiest districts in all of Washington state.”
Wickenheiser said the lack of rangers means “people will just trash the place.”
“No one is going to be actively searching out all the trash that we pick up — that’s going to make it into the lake,” Wickenheiser said. “Trees that fall down every year across the trail will likely go uncut and people will be hiking over trees all the time.”
Jaelle Downs, who was fired recently from the Forest Service as a wilderness ranger at the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, said she doesn’t know “what the summer is going to look like.”
“Even with volunteers, I don’t see how things aren’t going to be very covered in trash, very covered in human waste, it’s concerning,” she told ABC News.
Downs said she worries how the mass firings will affect future rangers.
“The excited, on-the-ground workers who were preparing to carry on the work of the agency have just been demoralized and pushed out. I just wonder where the next generation is going to come from,” she said.
Hiring freeze exemptions exist for critical health and safety positions, and more than 1,000 U.S. Forest Service firefighter positions were recently approved with more currently under review, according to a USDA spokesperson.
“Protecting the people and communities we serve, as well as the infrastructure, businesses, and resources they depend on to grow and thrive, remains a top priority for the USDA and the Forest Service,” the spokesperson said. “We have a solemn responsibility to be good stewards of the American people’s hard-earned taxpayer dollars and to ensure that every dollar spent goes to serve the people, not the bureaucracy.”
Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images, FILE
(GAINES COUNTY, Texas) — A measles outbreak in Texas is continuing to grow, reaching 124 cases, new data released Tuesday shows.
Almost all of the cases are in unvaccinated individuals or individuals whose vaccination status is unknown, and 18 people have been hospitalized so far, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS). Five cases included those who have been vaccinated.
Children and teenagers between ages 5 and 17 make up the majority of cases with 62, followed by 39 cases among children ages 4 and under.
Gaines County is the epicenter of the outbreak, with 80 cases confirmed among residents, according to DSHS. State health data shows the number of vaccine exemptions in the county have grown dramatically.
Roughly 7.5% of kindergarteners in the county had parents or guardians who filed for an exemption for at least one vaccine in 2013. Ten years later, that number rose to more than 17.5% — one of the highest in all of Texas, according to state health data.
Individual schools saw similar jumps. At Loop ISD, located in Gaines County, 13.08% of students between kindergarten and 12th grade received a conscientious exemption from at least one vaccine during the 2018-19 school year, During the 2023-24 school year, that figure rose to more than 47.95%, according to DSHS data.
On Monday, DSHS warned that people may have been exposed to measles in central or south-central Texas associated with the outbreak in the western part of the state.
“A person from the outbreak area who was later diagnosed with measles visited locations in the San Marcos and San Antonio areas the weekend of Feb. 14-16 while they were contagious,” DSHS wrote in an update on its website, sharing exposure times and locations.
Meanwhile, in neighboring New Mexico, at least nine cases have been confirmed in Lea County, which borders Texas, a spokesperson for the state’s department of health told ABC News on Friday.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has separately confirmed 93 cases in eight states so far this year in Alaska, California, Georgia, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island and Texas.
Similarly to the local outbreaks, most of the nationally confirmed cases are in people who are unvaccinated or whose vaccination status is unknown. Of the cases, 4% are among those who received one dose of the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) shot.
Measles is one of the most contagious diseases known to humans. Just one infected patient can spread measles up to nine out of 10 susceptible close contacts, according to the CDC.
Health officials have been urging anyone who isn’t vaccinated to receive the MMR vaccine.
The CDC currently recommends people receive two vaccine doses, the first at ages 12 to 15 months and the second between 4 and 6 years old. One dose is 93% effective, and two doses are 97% effective. Most vaccinated adults don’t need a booster.
In the decade before the measles vaccine became available, an estimated 3 to 4 million people were infected every year, according to the federal health agency.
(LOS ANGELES) — An Instagram influencer accused of a drunk driving crash that killed a man in Southern California last summer has now been arrested, officials said.
Summer Wheaton, 33, surrendered Monday at the Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station when a warrant was issued for her arrest following a monthslong investigation, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
She faces several charges, including gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and driving under the influence, the sheriff’s department said.
Wheaton was released after posting bond, according to records viewed by ABC News.
On the night of July 4, 2024, Wheaton allegedly crossed the median on the Pacific Coast Highway and crashed head-on into another vehicle, according to Los Angeles ABC station KABC.
The other car’s driver — 44-year-old rideshare driver Martin Okeke — was killed in the crash.
Beforehand, Wheaton had been at a large party at the restaurant Nobu in Malibu, KABC reported.
Wheaton has more than 100,000 followers on Instagram and describes herself online as a “wellness advocate” focused on “empowering individuals to become their highest selves.”
On Tuesday morning, a day after her arrest, Wheaton posted Bible verses to her Instagram story.
Wheaton went on a monthslong Instagram hiatus after the deadly crash, but returned in December with a promoted post for a “faith-based planner” she had created.
In the promotional video — which featured shots of Wheaton exercising, journaling and gazing out at the ocean — Wheaton spoke vaguely of a “hard” few months.
“You know that feeling when life feels like it’s all falling apart, but somehow it’s the start of something really beautiful? Well, that was me,” she said in the voiceover. “The last few months have been hard. I went through moments where I truly didn’t know I pulled through.”
“But in the chaos, something shifted. I was reminded of a deeper truth: that beautiful things can bloom out of despair,” she said. “Sometimes it’s in those broken places where faith takes root and grows stronger.”
Wheaton did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
Andrew Woodley/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
(MEMPHIS, Tenn.) — A Missouri woman has pleaded guilty in connection with what prosecutors called a “brazen” attempt to fraudulently put Elvis Presley’s Graceland estate up for auction.
Lisa Findley pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud in U.S. District Court in Memphis, Tennessee, on Tuesday. As part of a plea deal, prosecutors agreed to dismiss one count of aggravated identity theft that was previously filed against her.
When asked if she understood what she was pleading guilty to, Findley said, “yes.” She did not make a statement explaining her conduct.
Prosecutors are recommending Findley receive a 57-month federal prison sentence. She is due back in court for sentencing on June 19.
Findley, 53, initially pleaded not guilty to the charges in the wake of her arrest last year. The trial had been scheduled to start in mid-April before Tuesday’s change of plea hearing.
The mail fraud charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
Federal prosecutors said Findley formed a “brazen scheme” to try to “extort a settlement from the Presley family.”
As part of the scheme, prosecutors said Findley forged the signatures of Elvis Presley’s late daughter Lisa Marie and Florida notary Kimberly Philbrick in order to claim that Lisa Marie did not pay back a $3.8 million loan from a purported company called Naussany Investments that listed Graceland as collateral.
Philbrick spoke exclusively to ABC News, telling “Good Morning America” in August 2024 and “IMPACT x Nightline” in October 2024 that she never notarized anything for Lisa Marie Presley and has no idea how her name got involved in the scheme.
Naussany Investments, an unregistered entity that prosecutors said Findley was behind, filed public notices in May 2024 stating that it would auction off Graceland at the front of the Shelby County Courthouse.
A Shelby County chancellor issued a temporary injunction at the eleventh hour that prevented such an auction from taking place, citing an affidavit from Philbrick that stated her signature was forged and she never met Lisa Marie.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(NEW YORK) — Consumer confidence plummeted in February, indicating worry about the direction of the U.S. economy under President Donald Trump.
A gauge of consumer confidence registered its largest monthly drop since August 2021, the nonpartisan Conference Board said on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the share of consumers who expect a recession within the next year surged to a nine-month high, the data showed. A growing portion of consumers believe the job market will worsen, the stock market will fall and interest rates will rise, the report added.
Trump has issued a flurry of economy-related directives since he took office last month, including tariff proposals, spending cuts and an assault on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
Earlier this month, Trump announced 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada as well as 10% tariffs on products from China.
Trump paused the tariffs on Mexico and Canada for one month after striking a deal with each of the two countries on drug trafficking and border security. On Monday, Trump said he plans to go forward with the tariffs when that pause lifts next week.
Seven of every 10 American adults believe tariffs will raise prices, an Ipsos survey found last week.
Concern about rising prices coincides with a bout of resurgent inflation that stretches back to the final months of the Biden administration. Consumer prices rose 3% in January compared to a year ago, registering a percentage point higher than the Federal Reserve’s target of 2%.
Egg prices, a closely watched symbol of rising costs, soared 53% in January compared to a year ago. An avian flu has decimated the egg supply, lifting prices higher.
“Consumers who fear the impact of higher tariffs, spending cuts, and deportations are getting worried and are likely to be more cautious,” Bill Adams, chief economist at Comerica Bank in Dallas, told ABC News.
Meanwhile, U.S. hiring slowed at the outset of the year. The nation added 143,000 jobs in January, far fewer than the 265,000 jobs gained a month prior, government data showed.
Still, some measures of consumer sentiment improved this month. Consumers’ assessment of current business conditions moved higher, while an uptick in purchasing plans for a home extended a monthslong recovery.
The fresh data follows a report last month from the University of Michigan showing that its gauge of consumer sentiment had declined for the first time in six months.
The results showed a sharp disparity between Democrats and Republicans, however. Attitudes among Democrats worsened while sentiment among Republicans improved.
