2-year-old girl dies after being left in hot car while in care of babysitter, Florida police say

(WASHINGTON) — The Army has canceled dozens of medical training courses as the service moves to manage a multibillion-dollar budget shortfall that is rippling across the force, according to multiple U.S. officials and internal documents reviewed by ABC News.

At least 34 medical-related courses have been canceled during the second half of the Pentagon’s fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30, according to the documents. 

The cuts come from the Army Medical Center of Excellence, the service’s hub for its medical training, headquartered at Fort Sam Houston, Texas.

Those cuts come as commanders are being told to closely scrutinize their spending as the service faces ballooning operational costs, including those related to the war in Iran and skyrocketing fuel costs. 

Many of the canceled medical training programs are tied to frontline combat casualty care. An internal memorandum describing the reductions cites “funding shortfalls and limited resources.”

Other cuts include leadership and certification courses for senior medical officers, including training for officers preparing to command helicopter medical evacuation units. The service also canceled courses related to animal care, behavioral science, food safety inspections and operating in radioactive environments, according to internal service plans.

“The Army has issued guidance to subordinate commands – for the remainder of this fiscal year, to make tough and sound resource decisions that optimize and prioritize resources toward their most critical requirements, to include major training and readiness events,” Col. Marty Meiners, a service spokesperson, said in a statement. 

The cuts are part of a broader financial squeeze that has forced Army planners to slash training across the force while commanders reshuffle money. ABC News previously reported that Army planners had begun canceling training events as the service confronted a projected $4 billion to $6 billion funding shortfall.

The medical course cuts are in addition to what was previously reported, and the cancellations offer the most detailed account of specific training events getting axed until at least October, when the new fiscal year starts. 

Last week, Gen. Chris LaNeve, who is serving as the Army’s top officer in an acting capacity, disputed ABC News’ earlier reporting during testimony before lawmakers.

“We haven’t canceled anything,” LaNeve said, while acknowledging the Army is in a funding pinch.

LaNeve seemingly conceded to lawmakers that some training cuts were planned, which he framed as typical toward the end of the fiscal year. Yet the service was only halfway through the fiscal year when those plans were being made, documents show. The Army did not make LaNeve available for comment.

Military spending does start to draw more scrutiny from commanders toward the end of the summer as money for the fiscal year dries up, but any belt-tightening is traditionally at the margins, multiple current and former U.S. officials explained. 

The service’s III Armored Corps, based out of Fort Hood, Texas, which includes some 70,000 soldiers and made up of much of the Army’s tank and other heavily armored units, recently had much of its training funds diverted, while an internal memorandum warned that its helicopter units expected to deploy to Europe next year will be at “a lower state of readiness,” as pilot training had to effectively be frozen outside of the bare minimum military requirements to fly. 

All of the Army’s major formations are being directed to make cuts, officials explained. The full scope of training and other events being canceled is likely much more significant.

Just to keep its helicopters flying at that minimum level required, $26.6 million was siphoned from the corps’ ground combat training units, an amount of money just slightly higher than cost estimations to keep flying time at a minimum, internal documents show, which directs commanders to scratch any training of scale. Flyovers for public events were also canceled. 

The shortfall stems from a combination of rising costs and increasingly demanding volume of operations, according to two U.S. officials, with one describing it as “a perfect storm.”

Those costs include the Army’s support to the Department of Homeland Security during its 76-day shutdown, which involved border construction projects and assistance missions along the southern border. The Army is expected to eventually recoup nearly $2 billion tied to those DHS missions. 

Additionally, rising fuel costs have forced commanders to heavily scrutinize travel, as soldiers mostly use commercial travel to fly to different courses and training events. 

The service is also absorbing expenses tied to the conflict with Iran, as well as the expanding National Guard mission in Washington, D.C., which is projected to cost about $1.1 billion this year, according to estimates from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. One U.S. official said the mission is set to roughly double in size, expected to grow to roughly 5,000 troops over the summer.

The financial strain comes as the Pentagon is seeking a $1.5 trillion budget next year, 50% above current funding levels. The sticker shock has drawn fierce blowback from Democrats on Capitol Hill. But the record-setting request does not account for the costs of the Iran war, which Defense Department officials estimate has already topped $29 billion as of last week. Those expenses are largely tied to munitions and do not include the potentially massive bill for rebuilding bases damaged in Iranian strikes.

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are now bracing for the Pentagon to send Congress a supplemental funding request to cover the mounting war-related costs.

On Thursday, Adm. Daryl Caudle, the Navy’s chief of naval operations, warned lawmakers that the service may soon face similar tradeoffs unless Congress approves supplemental funding on top of the Pentagon’s proposed $1.5 trillion budget request, which was finalized before the Iran conflict escalated.

“The [fiscal 2026] budget didn’t bake in [Operation] Epic Fury,” Caudle told the House Armed Services Committee. “You see a large Navy force in the Middle East. So we’re burning bright … but it does come at cost, and it comes at operational costs.”

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(NEW YORK) — A Mississippi community is mourning the death of 18-year-old Nolan Xavier Wells, whose body was believed to be recovered after going missing over the weekend.

Wells vanished after going on a boat trip with friends on the 4th of July, officials said. He was last seen on Horn Island, a barrier island about 10 miles from the Gulf Coast, officials said.

“[The friends] left [Horn Island] and went back without Nolan,” Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter said. “From what we understand, he chose to stay there.”

Wells’ mother reported him missing and took to social media, pleading for help.

The sheriff’s department said it launched a search on Horn Island with officials from the Coast Guard, Department of Marine Resources and Gulf Islands National Seashore.

A body was later recovered. On Monday, Ledbetter told ABC News the coroner is still waiting on a DNA test, but said the body matches the description and is likely Wells.

Authorities said they suspect Wells drowned, but are still investigating.

The sheriff said investigators do not suspect foul play.

“There’s no information that we have right now that would lead us to believe that a crime has occurred,” he said.

Wells’ mother, Christine Wonsley, wrote on social media on Monday that she was “absolutely devastated.”

“My heart is broken for our sweet son who was always willing to cheer and uplift others,” she said. “Nolan was a special soul.”

The Ocean Springs School District said in a statement that it’s “shocked and heartbroken.”

Wells graduated last year from Ocean Springs High School, where he was a multi-sport athlete, and he went on to play football at Southwest Mississippi Community College, the district said.

“We are devastated by Nolan’s passing. He was the kind of son, teammate, friend, and student that every coach hopes to have in a program,” the high school’s football coach Jake Bramlett said in a statement. “Nolan was so much more than an outstanding football player. He carried himself with humility, treated others with respect, worked hard, and led by example. His character spoke louder than his accomplishments, and he was loved deeply by his teammates and coaches.”

Principal Jacob Dykes added, “He will be remembered as an extremely kind and hardworking young man who left a lasting impression on his teachers, coaches, teammates, and community. Our thoughts are with his family and the many people he made a lasting impact on.”

ABC News’ Mark Guarino and Joy Piazza-Ruppert contributed to this report.

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(NEW YORK) — After Kouri Richins was charged with murder for fatally poisoning her husband with fentanyl, a friend of the Utah mother of three had a difficult time reconciling that.

In an exclusive interview with “20/20,” Ali Staking said she and her children were “devastated” about the sudden 2022 death of 39-year-old Eric Richins.

“I said, along the way, ‘Sometimes it looks like Kouri might have done it,'” Staking recalled saying to her children. “Then my kids would say, ‘Well, did she?’ And I’d say ‘I don’t think so. But, you know, it sometimes looks like it.'”

A Summit County jury ultimately found 35-year-old Kouri Richins guilty of aggravated murder on Monday, after prosecutors argued during the three-week trial that she killed her husband for financial gain by giving him a lethal dose of fentanyl in a cocktail.

Eric Richins was found dead in bed on March 4, 2022. An autopsy determined that he died from fentanyl intoxication, and the level of fentanyl in his blood was approximately five times the lethal dosage, according to the charging document. The medical examiner determined the fentanyl was “illicit fentanyl,” not medical grade, according to the charging document.

Kouri Richins, who self-published a children’s book on grief following her husband’s death, was arrested in May 2023 following a lengthy investigation.

The charges alleged that she spiked his drink with a lethal dose of fentanyl that she purchased illicitly, and that she also gave her husband a sandwich laced with fentanyl on Valentine’s Day two weeks before his death in an initial, failed attempt to kill him.

Prosecutors argued that Kouri Richins wanted a “fresh start” and to leave her husband, but didn’t want to leave his money. They said she was in “financial desperation” due to her house flipping business’ debts and needed a significant influx of cash immediately.

According to prosecutors, she believed she would have financially benefited from her husband’s death — without realizing that his assets were in a trust overseen by one of his sisters.

A jury found her guilty of all five counts, including aggravated murder and attempted aggravated murder, after about three hours of deliberations on Monday. She was also found guilty of insurance fraud for taking out a $100,000 insurance policy on her husband’s life with his forged signature and also for submitting a claim following his death.

Kouri Richins, who had pleaded not guilty and asserted her innocence from jail, did not testify during the trial and the defense called no witnesses. Her sentencing has been scheduled for May 13. She faces 25 years to life in prison.  

Staking, who testified during the trial, said she was “very surprised that there was no defense.”

ABC News contributor Brian Buckmire suggested this was a reflection of the defense’s confidence.

“They may believe the prosecution didn’t make out their case, that having any witness on the stand wouldn’t make sense because they’ve already won their case,” he told “20/20.”

Staking said it was “surreal” learning that Eric Richins had died, describing him as a “dedicated dad” and a “goofy cowboy dude who loved to dance.”

“He had so much more life to live and he wanted so much for his boys,” she said. “I’m gonna remember just how much he loved them.”

Kouri Richins also faces more than two dozen charges in a separate case filed last year, including allegations that she committed mortgage fraud in 2021. The charging document alleges she submitted falsified bank statements in support of mortgage loan applications for her realty business, committed money laundering and issued bad checks. 

The charges in the case also allege she murdered her husband for financial gain as she “stood on the precipice of total financial collapse.”

She has not yet entered a plea to those charges.

Staking said she wants Eric Richins to be remembered as a “loving dad.”

“I believe Eric is with his kids all the time every day,” she said. “I don’t think there’s anywhere else he’d wanna be.” 

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