(CHARLOTTE, N.C.) — Law enforcement officials investigating the disappearance of Madelina Cojocari, an 11-year-old girl who was reported missing on Dec. 15, searched a lake in her North Carolina town on Monday, the FBI and local police said.
“As part of the normal investigative process, we are expanding our search to include Lake Cornelius as a precautionary measure,” the FBI’s Charlotte bureau said on Twitter. “There’s nothing we won’t do to #FindMadalina.”
Cojocari has been missing since Nov. 23, but her disappearance wasn’t reported to her school’s resource officer until Dec. 15, according to the Cornelius Police Department.
The girl’s mother, Diana Cojocari, 37, and stepfather, Christopher Palmiter, 60, were arrested on Saturday on the charge of failure to report the disappearance of a child to law enforcement, police said in two statements.
Police said in a statement on Monday that the expansion of their search to the lake was “part of the normal investigative process,” which includes adding search locations outside Cojocari’s home.
“While the public will not see the majority of our investigative work, today you may see our lake patrol units and partners at the Cornelius Fire Department,” the department said on Facebook.
The department also said it was working with the FBI and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation to speak with “every person” who may have info about Cojocari’s disappearance.
Police said they’re seeking to make an “exact timeline of when she was last seen.”
(UVALDE, Texas) — An undercover inspector posing as an intruder was able to access a school cafeteria during a December security audit in Uvalde, Texas, the school district’s superintendent revealed Monday evening.
Student safety wasn’t jeopardized, interim superintendent Gary Patterson told a surprised school board during its meeting. But the news served as a shocking reminder of what occurred at Robb Elementary School on May 24, when a shooter entered through a door that was supposed to be locked and killed 19 students and two teachers.
The auditors tested three schools in Uvalde, one of which was accessed through an exterior door with a faulty latch near the school’s loading dock, Patterson said. The specific school was not identified.
The inspector noticed that the door did not latch closed unless the door was slammed, according to the audit. A delivery was in progress during the audit, and they were able to slip in the faulty door as it was left ajar. The fake intruder made it to the cafeteria, which was empty, before being stopped and questioned by school staff members.
“That is 100% my responsibility to see that that doesn’t happen,” Patterson said. “The delivery of goods and to loading docks was quite frankly something I overlooked, but I won’t overlook it next time.”
The other two schools that were part of the audit passed, with 100% of their exterior doors locked, according to Patterson. The interim superintendent said they plan to have an additional security training day for teachers and staff the day before school restarts in January.
The audit was part of a program started in October by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to randomly test Texas schools’ fortitude against outside threats, something prompted by the Robb shooting. The tests are being conducted statewide by the Texas School Safety Center at Texas State University, with hundreds already completed.
In the more than six months since the Uvalde massacre, the school district has spent millions of dollars adding additional security measures. They have spent or plan to spend almost $5 million combined on stronger fencing, auto-locking doors, security cameras and additional patrols.
Patterson also detailed his plans to increase security at Uvalde schools, including rebuilding the school police department. All of the department’s officers were put on suspension in October. Josh Gutierrez was hired in late November as the new school police chief, replacing Pete Arredondo, the chief on the day of the shooting who was fired in August amid criticism of his response during the shooting.
Gutierrez spoke Monday for the first time about his plans to rebuild the force. He told San Antonio ABC affiliate KSAT-TV that he’s in the process of vetting officer applicants, conducting interviews and doing deep background checks.
“I have the ability to come out here and help the community heal, help our community heal, and the ability to reestablish a good foundation for our police department,” Gutierrez told KSAT.
Going into this school year, parents expressed concerns over the safety of the Uvalde schools during summer school board meetings. Some families elected to switch to private school, home school or remote learning as an alternative.
At Monday’s meeting, Patterson said that efforts to install new, upgraded doors and security gates have been hampered by supply chain issues and a lack of materials. The high school and junior high school are still waiting to get auto-locking doors. They have already been installed at the elementary schools.
“All the supply chain, equipment shortages, personnel shortages are working against us,” Patterson said. “But we are making good progress.”
(ROANOKE, Va.) — A bronze statue honoring Henrietta Lacks, the woman whose “immortal” cells have resulted in countless medical breakthroughs, will be built in her birthplace of Roanoke, Virginia.
Artist Bryce Cobbs unveiled a life-sized preliminary drawing of Lacks in a ceremony announcing the statue on Monday.
“The fact that I’m involved in this project means the world,” Cobbs said at a press conference. “I’m humbled to be a part of history in this way and just to be trusted with the task of making sure that I just captured Mrs. Henrietta Lacks the best way I could.”
Sculptor Larry Bechtel said he will reference the drawing in his design, which is set to be unveiled in October 2023.
Roanoke Hidden Histories, an initiative of the Harrison Museum of African American Culture, and Roanoke Vice-Mayor Trish White-Boyd are working to “surface the hidden histories of the African American experience in Roanoke.” They commissioned the project, which recently surpassed its $160,000 goal.
The statue will stand in downtown Roanoke’s Henrietta Lacks Plaza, previously named Lee Plaza after Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.
A statue of Lee was removed from the site after being toppled over in 2020 in the wake of the Black Live Matter movement following George Floyd’s murder.
Lacks’ grandson, Ron Lacks, said he was excited about the project.
“This is an honor and a privilege to be here in Roanoke with my father, Lawrence Lacks, Henrietta’s oldest and only living child,” he said at the ceremony on Monday. “This historical moment, occasion, has been a long time coming.”
The family was joined by attorney Ben Crump, who said the statue will serve as a reminder that Henrietta Lacks lives on through her legacy and great, though unwitting, contribution to science and medicine.
“I just think it’s so fitting in the state of Virginia … where in the past we commemorated a lot of men with statues that divided us. Now here in Roanoke, Virginia, we will have a statue of a Black woman who brings us all together,” he said.
In 1951, Lacks received treatment for cervical cancer at Johns Hopkins Hospital, one of the only medical centers accepting Black patients at the time. There, a gynecologist took a sample of her cells, sending it to a lab for research without her knowledge or consent, her family says.
Though Lacks died just months later, her cells, later named “HeLa” cells, were discovered to be remarkably “immortal,” lasting longer than any other samples scientists had seen, even multiplying every 24 hours, according to Johns Hopkins.
Scientists say HeLa cells are estimated to have saved millions of lives through medical advancements, including the polio vaccine, coronavirus vaccines, cancer treatments, AIDS treatments, Parkinson’s treatments, and human survival in zero gravity.
Crump is also heading a lawsuit against biotech company Thermo Fisher Scientific filed by Lacks’ family last year that his firm says will “lay the foundation for genetic justice.” Lacks’ family claims the corporation has unjustly made money off Lacks’ cells without permission from the family.
“When you consider issues of genetic justice, reproductive rights, and stem cell research, there are a lot of historical figures who we like to suggest that their contributions changed the world,” Crump said on Monday. “Well, in the case of Henrietta Lacks, we have objective evidence. If I was in the court of law, I would say we have empirical evidence that Henrietta Lacks’ immortal cells literally changed the world.”
Thermo Fisher told ABC News it does not comment on pending litigation.
“Although these were the first cells that could be easily shared and multiplied in a lab setting, Johns Hopkins has never sold or profited from the discovery or distribution of HeLa cells and does not own the rights to the HeLa cell line,” Johns Hopkins said in a statement. “Rather, Johns Hopkins offered HeLa cells freely and widely for scientific research.”
“Having reviewed our interactions with Henrietta Lacks and with the Lacks family over more than 50 years, we found that Johns Hopkins could have – and should have – done more to inform and work with members of Henrietta Lacks’ family out of respect for them, their privacy and their personal interests. Though the collection and use of Henrietta Lacks’ cells in research was an acceptable and legal practice in the 1950s, such a practice would not happen today without the patient’s consent,” the statement said.
(NOTE LANGUAGE) Matt Damon missed out on a cool $250 million dollar payday when he turned down the starring role in Avatar and director James Cameron can’t help but to laugh.
Cameron originally pitched Damon to star in the 2009 film and even offered him a 10% cut of box office profits, Damon revealed in 2021 while at Cannes Film Festival. Given that the film went on to gross over $2.9 billion, that would have equaled a payday of over $250 million.
“I will go down in history… you will never meet an actor who turned down more money,” Damon said at the time, according to Deadline.
In a recent BBC interview, Cameron was asked about the actor, and he immediately erupted in laughter.
“He’s beating himself up over this and I really think you know, ‘Matt you’re kind of like one of the biggest movie stars in the world, get over it,'” Cameron said before explaining why Damon had to turn the film down. “He had to do another ‘Bourne’ film which was on his runway and there was nothing we could do about that. So he had to regretfully decline.”
Although Damon missed out on a chance to be in the first movie, Cameron is open to him appearing in a future Avatar sequel but he doesn’t plan on giving him the same deal.
“Must do it. We have to do it so the world is in equilibrium again. But he doesn’t get 10%, f*** that,” Cameron said.
Members of 98 Degrees, O-Town and All-4-One,as well as Ryan Cabrera, are about to wrap A Boy Band Christmas tour, but they gave fans an everlasting gift: a song they recorded together.
The group released “O Holy Night” ahead of launching their new tour. 98’s Jeff Timmons, who was credited with pitching the idea of making a holiday song,told ABC Audio the group loved his idea but struggled to pick a favorite.
“There’s so many great holiday classics … so it’s hard to choose one,” he said. As for how they eventually settled on the famous Christmas carol, Timmons revealed a friend of theirs who works in radio suggested a couple of contenders and one of them was “O Holy Night.”
“If a radio guy that programs radio stations is suggesting something he would like to hear, perhaps he would play it,” the singer recalled of his thought process.
As for whether fans will see more songs or even a tour-themed album from the group, said 98’s Drew Lachey, “We’ll see!”
He teased, “It won’t be hard to start laying out vocals out on the road while we’re out together. We enjoy performing together. We enjoy making music. So that wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility.”
A Boy Band Christmas Tour, also featuring 98’s Justin Jeffre, O-Town’s Erik-Michael Estrada and All-4-One’s Jamie Jones, ends December 23 at Vancouver’s PNE Winter Fair at Pacific Coliseum.
Mariah Carey‘s holiday special, Merry Christmas to All!, airs Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET. But People has a special preview of the show, which was recorded December 13 at New York City’s Madison Square Garden, so you’ll know what to expect.
During the special, Mariah descended from the rafters on a snowflake throne and sang many traditional holiday hits, such as “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” “Joy to the World” and “Silent Night.” Of course, she also performed her number-one hit “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” and none other than Billy Porter presented her with a plaque marking the song’s 12-times Platinum certification from the RIAA.
Porter isn’t the only guest you’ll see on Tuesday night, though: Mariah also welcomed Drew Barrymore, Jermaine Dupri, rap legend Slick Rick and the Radio City Rockettes to the stage.
Mariah’s 11-year-old twins, Monroe and Moroccan, were also part of the show, and Monroe even joined her mom for a duet on the song “Away In a Manger.”
And because this is Mariah we’re talking about, throughout the show she had assistants come out onstage to bring her bedazzled glasses of water and tea, and called her glam squad to come out and touch up her makeup.
But one surprising thing you’ll see Tuesday night is that Mariah doesn’t stick to the holiday hits: You’ll also see her perform classics like “Fantasy,” “Hero,” “Emotions,” “Heartbreaker,” “Make It Happen” and “Honey.”
In other Mariah news, “All I Want for Christmas Is You” has now been number one for 10 weeks overall, making her the first female artist with three songs that have spent 10 weeks or more on top. The others were “One Sweet Day,” her collab with Boyz II Men that topped the chart for 16 weeks, and “We Belong Together,” which ruled for 14 weeks.
The only other artists to achieve this? Boyz II Men and Drake.
Greta Van Fleet is gearing up for Battle once more.
Speaking with Consquence, drummer Danny Wagner reveals that the “Highway Tune” rockers are “wrapping [a new album] up as we speak.”
“It’s nearing completion, and we’re very excited about it,” Wagner adds of the upcoming record.
In regards to the effort’s direction, bassist Sam Kiszka reveals, “It’s conceptually going back to almost the days in the garage, with the raw energy of the sound.”
“But expanding on that because we’re the best musicians we’ve ever been,” he explains.
The next Greta Van Fleet album will mark the band’s third full-length studio release, following 2018’s Anthem of the Peaceful Army and 2021’s The Battle at Garden’s Gate. The group’s spent much of 2022 touring behind Battle, though they had to postpone a number of shows due to a variety of health problems, including frontman Josh Kiszka‘s ruptured eardrum.
Meanwhile, Greta Van Fleet just opened for Metallica‘s acoustic Helping Hands benefit concert last Friday, and they’ll be opening select 2024 dates on the metal legends’ world stadium tour.
Looking for the perfect gift for the country boy in your life? Look no further: Thomas Rhettrecently shared a roundup of gift suggestions to make the holiday a special one for all the guys out there.
In a video post, TR explains that he got the idea after some of the ladies in his own life admitted they were stumped on what to buy their husbands, brothers, pals or dads for Christmas.
“This is kinda random, but over the last couple weeks I’ve had a bunch of [my wife] Lauren’s girlfriends reach out to me asking what they should get their husbands for Christmas, and what should we get the dads, the brothers, all the dudes in the family,” he explains.
In the spirit of the holidays, Thomas decided to share his suggestions with his fans, too, coming up with a list he calls his “gift guide for dudes.”
Outdoor wear features prominently on the singer’s gifting guide, with his favorite travel pack, gloves and socks all included on the list. A pocket knife and hooded rain jacket are also among TR’s picks, plus a canvas log carrier perfect for bringing in firewood during those cozy winter evenings.
Of course, it wouldn’t be the holidays without a festive beverage, and Thomas’ choice is his very own Dos Primos tequila line, which is available to purchase online complete with free gift messaging.
The singer even compiled his gifting guide into a quick and easy shopping list. If you’re mystified by what to get the “dude” in your life for Christmas, you can shop Thomas’ guide now.
With Christmas music playing everywhere these days, there’s a good chance you’ve heard Paul McCartney’s Christmas classic “Wonderful Christmastime” at least once. While some hear a sweet holiday tune, others have some wild theories about the track, and McCartney is finally setting the record straight.
In a Q&A posted to his website, Sir Paul shoots down a theory the song is about people practicing witchcraft because of the supposed line, “The moon is right, the spirit’s up,” which some think is a chant.
“Oh yeah. Well, thank goodness they found me out. This is completely true and in actual fact I am the head wizard of a Liverpool coven,” Paul says with a laugh. “Either that … or it’s complete nonsense. And you know it’s the latter!”
One of the main problems with the theory is the lyric is actually “the mood is right,” not the “moon is right.” Paul notes, “The thing is about this stuff, it’s so easy to convince half the people in the world. You do have to be a little bit careful!”
When it comes to Christmas, Paul says one of his traditions is to pull out a recording of instrumental holiday tunes he made for his family in the studio. And while fans have heard rumblings about this album, it doesn’t sound like they’ll ever actually get to hear it.
“I’ve often thought it’s good enough if people would like it released, and I’ve thought I could do it for charity or something, but never really felt strongly enough to make a decision,” he says. “It’s just a family record, and I’ll pull it out again this Christmas.”
(NOTE LANGUAGE) SZA‘s new album, SOS, is a chart topper, securing the singer’s first #1 spot on the Billboard 200. The album earned 318,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending December 15, according to Luminate, becoming her biggest week to date.
SOS also had the biggest streaming week ever for an R&B album and the third-biggest this year among all genres.
SOS dropped December 9, roughly five years after SZA released her debut album, Ctrl. In an interview with Rolling Stone, she reveals she held on to the project for so long, she found herself trying “completely different things” to spice it up. Since she was unsatisfied with her work during the album-making process, she wasn’t sure fans would enjoy the album. She even had a plan to “never do music again” and move to India if it didn’t perform well.
“I never thought in a million years that people would like it,” SZA told RollingStone. “My dad’s visiting right now, with my mom. Everybody came down to make sure I didn’t lose my mind if the album went bad once it came out. And now we’re just hanging out, ’cause it didn’t go badly!”
SZA’s now preparing for her upcoming tour, which kicks off in February. She said she plans to satisfy fans with performances of “unreleased songs that they thought they heard on the internet, or their favorite album cuts or f***ing deep cuts from 2012.”
