A portrait stands at a memorial for Alex Pretti on January 25, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Pretti, an ICU nurse at a VA medical center, died on January 24 after being shot multiple times during an altercation with U.S. Border Patrol agents in the Eat Street district of Minneapolis. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
(MINNEAPOLIS) — A doctor who mentored and worked with Alex Pretti described him as “a good citizen” whose “life was just starting.”
Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care unit nurse for the Minneapolis VA Health Care System, was shot and killed by Border Patrol officers in Minneapolis on Saturday. Multiple videos of the confrontation showed federal agents spraying Pretti with a substance and pinning him to the ground before the shooting.
Dr. Aasma Shaukat, who first hired Pretti as a research assistant at the Minneapolis VA Health Care System over 10 years ago, called the loss “devastating.”
Shaukat told ABC News she hired Pretti, despite his lack of experience, because he was “eager to learn.”
“He didn’t have any experience, but he was very, very eager to get the position and learn on the job and then eventually launch a career in health care,” Shaukat said. “He worked hard, he was willing to learn on the job. Really had a good work ethic.”
While working as a research assistant, Pretti delivered pizza to make ends meet and often joked that his car was too old to qualify for Uber, Shaukat said.
Shaukat said she wrote Pretti’s recommendation for nursing school.
He later returned to the VA to work as a nurse in the ICU where he was “really good” at speaking with patients, Shaukat said.
“He was just somebody you could talk to because he would get it,” she said.
Tensions are continuing to escalate in Minneapolis in the wake of Pretti’s shooting.
The Department of Homeland Security alleged that Pretti approached Border Patrol agents with a 9mm semi-automatic handgun and “violently resisted” when agents tried to disarm him. However, a witness said in a federal court filing that after an agent shoved a woman to the ground, Pretti appeared to try to help the woman up, and then agents threw Pretti to the ground and shot him. Local officials are accusing federal officials of rushing to “spin” the story.
Shaukat called the shooting “senseless,” adding, “I do not see him as being a troublemaker, an instigator looking for trouble, or seeking to incite violence … I truly think he was doing it out of his duty of citizenship and his civic sense.”
Shaukat said she last spoke to Pretti during the summer.
“He said things were looking good,” she said. “He finally had enough money to do repairs on his house. And I feel like his life was just starting.”
(NEW YORK) — Long-term alcohol use has been linked to higher risks of colorectal cancer, according to a study published Monday in the journal Cancer.
Researchers found that those with heavy lifetime alcohol consumption have up to a 91% higher risk of developing colorectal cancer compared with those who drank very little. That risk significantly increased with consistent heavy consumption, whereas those who quit drinking may have demonstrated decreased risk of precancerous tissue.
“The longer someone drinks, the longer their colon and rectum are exposed damage and impaired repair, both major mechanisms of cancer,” Dr. Lynn M O’Connor, section chief of colon and rectal surgery at Mercy Medical Center and St. Joseph Hospital in New York, told ABC News.
The study followed more than 88,000 adults with no prior history of cancer. Participants reported their alcohol use beginning in early adulthood and were followed for nearly a decade to track cancer outcomes.
Compared with those who averaged one drink or less per week over their lifetime, those who consumed over 14 drinks a week had a 25% higher risk of developing colorectal cancer. The link was even stronger for rectal cancer, where one’s risk nearly doubled.
Rectal cancer is “often more difficult to treat and more involved clinically, which makes screening and early identification all the more important,” Dr. Jeffrey Farma, a colorectal cancer specialist, told ABC News.
The results come as colorectal cancers are on the rise, especially in younger people.
“We’re seeing an uptick in rectal cancers. If alcohol affects the lower part of the colon differently —we need to understand why,” Dr. Fola May, a GI specialist and associate director of the UCLA Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Equity, told ABC News.
In the study, researchers found the highest risks among people who drank heavily at every stage of life. Those who consistently exceeded recommended drinking limits across each stage of adulthood had a 91% higher risk of colorectal cancer compared with lifelong light drinkers or those with gaps in heavy drinking.
“These numbers are not guarantees, but signals to do something before it’s too late,” May said. “Colorectal cancer is one of the few cancers we can actually prevent or catch early, but fewer than 70% of eligible people get screened.”
The study also looked at adenomas —polyps that can develop into cancer. While heavy drinking was not strongly linked to adenoma risk, those who quit drinking had significantly lower odds of developing nonadvanced adenomas compared to light drinkers.
“These are modifiable risks. The choices people make over time matter, and the body can respond when those risks are reduced,” Farma said.
The results align with a growing body of evidence linking alcohol, a well-recognized carcinogen, to colorectal cancer.
Colorectal screening is recommended for all adults starting at age 45 according to the United States Preventative Services Task Force. Screening tools include annual stool tests, CT scans every five years, or colonoscopies every 10 years.
“Everyone should be screened. It saves lives, and people are dying unnecessarily when they put it off,” May said.
Those who may be at higher risk may need to be screened at an early age or more often than typically recommended.
“If you’ve had prolonged heavy drinking and you develop symptoms like bleeding or persistent changes in bowel habits, you need to be evaluated — even in your 30s,” Farma said. “That’s how we catch this early and save lives.”
Tyler Beauchamp, MD, is a pediatric resident at UNC Children’s Hospital and a member of the ABC News Medical Unit.
Alleged scammers charged with planting a malware in ATM’s around the country. (DOJ)
(WASHINGTON) — The Justice Department announced Monday it has charged 31 more individuals in a scheme that allegedly stole millions from ATMs in the United States.
Many of those charged are allegedly members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, according to the Justice Department. More than 50 people have been charged in the case so far.
Court documents filed in Nebraska allege that members of the group scammed ATMs by deploying a malware known as Ploutus. Members of the conspiracy allegedly recruited members of Tren de Arauga to deploy the malware in ATMs around the country.
Groups would first see if there was a law enforcement response when an ATM was tampered with and then deploy the malware through a thumb drive in a scheme that federal authorities call “jackpotting,” according to the Justice Department.
The malware would issue unauthorized commands to the system and force withdrawals of cash, according to the Justice Department.
“A large ring of criminal aliens allegedly engaged in a nationwide conspiracy to enrich themselves and the TdA terrorist organization by ripping off American citizens. After committing bank robbery, fraud, and other serious crimes, they will be vigorously prosecuted and held accountable for their crimes,” Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said. “The Justice Department’s Joint Task Force Vulcan will not stop until it completely dismantles and destroys TdA and other foreign terrorists that import chaos to America.”
The case was made by the Homeland Security Task Force in coordination with state and local authorities around the country.
Three minutes and two seconds before the first shot is fired, Alex Pretti holds a phone before a federal officer on Nicollet Ave in Minnesota. Obtained by (ABC News)
(MINNEAPOLIS) — The interaction that ended in the death of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on Saturday morning began at least three minutes earlier when Pretti appeared to be using his phone to record CBP officers, according to videos reviewed and verified by ABC News.
Minutes later, Pretti was pinned on the street by multiple federal agents — visibly being hit by one of them — when one of the officers can be seen leaving the struggle with what appears to be a gun.
Those videos appear to contradict, at least in part, claims by federal officials that Pretti “approached U.S. Border Patrol officers with a 9mm semi-automatic handgun” and “attacked” officers carrying out immigration duties.
During a news conference Saturday, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said Pretti “arrived at the scene to inflict maximum damage on individuals and to kill law enforcement.”
Videos verified by ABC News show that Pretti appeared to be using his phone to record the agents before he was shoved by a federal officer. Seconds later, a federal officer repeatedly pepper-sprayed Pretti and then appeared to pull him into the street.
While Pretti seems to have been pinned on the street by officers, one of the agents is seen in multiple verified videos emerging from the scrum with a handgun that appears to match the weapon federal officials say Pretti was carrying. Before the first shot is fired, another agent can be seen drawing his own handgun, while another repeatedly hits Pretti.
In total, 10 shots were fired in less than five seconds, according to a forensic audio analysis of the videos. Pretti was declared dead on the scene.
“What the videos depict is that this guy did not walk up to anybody from CBP in a threatening manner,” said former acting DHS undersecretary for intelligence John Cohen, a police trainer and ABC News contributor. “For [DHS] to construe that he arrived at that location with the intent to shoot those border patrol officers, there’s nothing in the video evidence that we’ve seen thus far that would support that.”
This is a timeline based on five different verified videos of the incident.
8:58:11 a.m. — Three minutes and two seconds before the first shot is fired, Alex Pretti holds a phone before a federal officer on Nicollet Ave. in Minnesota, in what appears to be an apparent attempt to record a nearby detention by immigration authorities.
8:58:22 a.m.— A second federal officer carrying a canister of pepper spray approaches Pretti, who continues to hold up his phone.
8:58:29 a.m. — One federal officer appears to push Pretti towards the sidewalk.
8:59:08 a.m. — Another eyewitness begins recording the incident, showing Pretti continuing to lift his phone towards officers, as they appear to detain someone in the street.
8:59:24 a.m.— Pretti is seen lifting a phone towards the officers as they move a detainee into a nearby vehicle.
9:00:12 a.m. — Pretti continues to lift his phone towards nearby federal officers as they interact with two unidentified individuals, one with an orange backpack and another in a parka.
9:00:21 a.m. — The two individuals, who were later pepper-sprayed alongside Pretti, speak with a federal agent. Several people honk and whistle. “Watch out for that car,” the officer says as a car passes the group.
9:00:41 a.m. — Three different cameras capture the next interaction. The officer shouts at one of the civilians, “Do not push them into traffic,” and pushes them towards Pretti. Pretti continues to raise his phone towards the officers.
9:00:44 a.m. — The individual who was pushed appears to hold onto Pretti as the federal officer approaches them.
9:00:45 a.m. — The federal officer appears to push Pretti.
9:00:47 a.m. — The officer is seen pushing the individual with the orange backpack.
9:00:50 a.m. — The officer uses pepper spray on Pretti, and Pretti appears to raise his hand towards the officer to get between the officer and the person with the backpack, but the officer immediately pepper-sprays him. According to ABC News contributor and former acting DHS undersecretary Cohen, it appears Pretti used his hand in an attempt to signal that he was not a threat to officers.
9:00:53 a.m. — The officer pepper-sprays the other two civilians again.
9:00:54 a.m.— After being sprayed, Pretti appears to fall into the person with the backpack and possibly grab that person to stabilize himself.
9:00:56 a.m. — The federal officer appears to pull Pretti into the street, appearing to tug him by the hood of his coat.
9:01:02 a.m.— Three officers hold down Pretti, while another group of officers surrounds Pretti. According to ABC News contributor and former acting DHS undersecretary Cohen, the officers do not appear to be following the tactical steps to control and arrest Pretti. “This just seemed to be a free-for-all, and they didn’t seem to have any understanding from a tactical perspective on how to gain control of that individual,” he said.
9:01:05 a.m. — A nearby woman can be heard screaming, “That is police brutality. They are hitting an observer. They’re kicking them in the face.” At one point, at least five officers are on top of Pretti, pinning him down.
9:04:11 a.m. — One of the agents appears to hit Pretti, swinging his hand to repeatedly punch Pretti.
9:01:12 a.m. — One of the officers appears to draw a handgun.
9:01:13 a.m.— One of the federal officers appears to remove a gun from Pretti’s waist that seems to match the handgun federal officials said he was carrying.
9:01:14 a.m. — Another video shows the officer in the grey jacket emerging from the scrum, holding a firearm that appears to match Pretti’s weapon. The video of the officer entering the scrum did not show the agent carrying a weapon. Three cameras capture the moment.
9:01:14 a.m. — First shot is fired. At least one officer immediately steps away from Pretti.
9:01:16 a.m. — One second after the first shot, three additional shots are fired. Pretti appears to go limp and fall to the ground.
9:01:19 a.m.— Within three seconds, six more shots are fired. The six agents have stepped back from Pretti’s body.
9:01:45 a.m. — Twenty-nine seconds after the first shot, an officer approaches Pretti. According to a sworn affidavit from a doctor who says they treated Pretti at the scene, Pretti had at least three bullet wounds in his back, an additional wound on his upper chest, and another possible wound on his neck.
09:02:28 a.m. — Seventy-four seconds after the first shot is fired, the officer in a grey jacket is heard saying, “I got the gun. I got the gun,” and walks towards the officers surrounding Pretti.
An analysis conducted by Robert Maher, a professor at Montana State University specializing in audio forensics, concluded that 10 shots were fired in less than 5 seconds.
Patricia Clarkson has joined Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence in Martin Scorsese‘s next movie. Deadline reports that Clarkson is now part of the cast of What Happens at Night. The movie follows a married American couple who travel to a small European town in order to adopt a child …
Colin Jost will return as the host of Pop Culture Jeopardy! as it makes its move to Netflix. The streamer picked up the show for its second season back in October 2025. The first season of Pop Culture Jeopardy! premiered on Prime Video in December 2024. The show posted a photo of Jost to its official Instagram to confirm he would stay on as host. “Did you miss us? A new season of Pop Culture Jeopardy! is coming to @netflix in 2026,” the post’s caption reads …
Ella McCay will make its streaming debut quite soon. The film, which is directed by James L. Brooks, will arrive on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+ on Feb. 5. Emma Mackey stars alongside Jamie Lee Curtis, Julie Kavner, Albert Brooks, Jack Lowden and Ayo Edebiri …
Rascal Flatts kicked off the latest leg of their Life Is a Highway Tour Jan. 15 in Raleigh, North Carolina, and the trio couldn’t wait to get back at it.
That’s especially true for Jay DeMarcus, but not for any reason you’d likely predict.
“I expect to get a whole lot of rest,” he said before restarting the tour. “Being back on the bus and with no noise and no kids, it’s gonna be an amazing thing to have the hum of the engine lulling you to sleep. I’ve always slept better on a bus than I’ve slept at home. So, I’m really looking forward to that.”
“And I’m also looking forward to just being onstage and playing a bunch of big old songs and throwing a big party for everybody,” he adds.
Rascal Flatts’ Life Is a Highway Tour moves through New York and New Jersey next, with dates that will keep them on the road with Lauren Alaina and Chris Lane through the end of February.
Meanwhile, the new song from their Life Is a Highway: Refueled Duets album, “I Dare You” with Jonas Brothers, is now in country’s top 15.
Phil Ehart, founding member of Kansas, performs at The Fox Theatre on June 21, 2025, in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by R. Diamond/Getty Images)
Kansas co-founder and drummer Phil Ehart is ready to tell his story. The rocker is set to release the memoir, I Am Phil, in April.
According to the book’s description, it “captures the humor, heart, and humanity of a man who has spent over five decades keeping time for one of America’s most beloved rock acts.” It will follow Ehart from his early life, through his career with the hit rock band, known for such songs as “Carry On My Wayward Son” and “Dust in the Wind.”
“It’s the story of resilience, faith, and family,” the description continues. “It’s about the grit it takes to hold a band together for fifty years — and the grace it takes to hold yourself together when the spotlight fades and your world comes crashing in around you.”
I Am Phil, available for preorder now, will be released in a variety of formats including a standard edition, a limited autographed edition and a limited personally autographed drum roll edition, which will be made out directly to the purchaser.
Chris Pratt stars as Chris Raven in ‘Mercy.’ (Justin Lubin)
After five weeks, Avatar: Fire and Ash‘s reign at the box office has finally been extinguished: Chris Pratt‘s new sci-fi filmMercy has replaced James Cameron‘s sci-fi threequel at #1.
The movie, about a political detective being tried by an AI judge for the murder of his wife, took in $11.1 million, according to Box Office Mojo. Avatar: Fire and Ash fell to #2 with a weekend take of $7 million, while Disney’s Zootopia 2, the highest-grossing animated Hollywood film of all time, remains at #3 with $5.7 million.
The only new movie to make the top 10 was Return to Silent Hill, in at #7 with a $3.3 million gross.
Variety notes that overall, it was the lowest-earning weekend of the year at the box office, due to the winter storms sweeping through the U.S. that forced multiple theaters to close.
Here are the top 10 films at the box office:
1. Mercy — $11,1 million 2. Avatar: Fire and Ash — $7 million 3. Zootopia 2 — $5.7 million 4. The Housemaid — $4.2 million 5. 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple — $3.6 million 6. Marty Supreme — $3.5 million 7. Return to Silent Hill — $3.3 million 8. Hamnet — $2 million 9. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring — $2 million 10. Primate — $1.6 million
President Donald Trump greets Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney during a world leaders’ summit on ending the Gaza war on October 13, 2025 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. (Evan Vucci – Pool / Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump threatened a 100% tariff on Canada if the country goes through and solidifies a trade deal with China.
“If Canada makes a deal with China, it will immediately be hit with a 100% Tariff against all Canadian goods and products coming into the U.S.A. Thank you for your attention to this matter!,” Trump wrote in a post on his social media platform.
Canadian officials did not immediately respond Saturday.
In his post, Trump does not make clear the deal he is referring to between China and Canada, but the two countries reached an agreement last Friday which would see Canada slash its 100% tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles in exchange for lower tariffs on Canadian agricultural products in China.
This is Trump’s latest attack against Canada and it comes after yesterday’s social media post where he claimed Canada was against his so-called “Golden Dome” missile defense project and blasted the country’s trade deal with China.
In remarks Thursday, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney pushed back on Trump’s criticism.
“Canada and the United States have built a remarkable partnership in the economy, in security, and in rich cultural exchange,” Carney said. “But Canada doesn’t live because of the United States. Canada thrives because we are Canadian.”
Last Friday, Trump was asked whether he was worried about the growing closeness between China and Canada as Carney was visiting the country. Trump indicated he had no problem with Carney signing a trade deal with China.
“That’s what he should be doing. It’s a good thing for him to sign a trade deal. If you can get a deal with China, you should do that,” Trump said at the time.
In his post Saturday, Trump referred to the Canadian leader as “governor” rather than prime minister, which he had taken to doing with former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in reference to Trump’s suggestion that Canada should become the 51st U.S. state.
The latest threat against Canada also comes after Trump walked back tariffs he threatened to impose on European allies who didn’t agree to his efforts to acquire Greenland. Trump said he and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte have “formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland.”
