Investigators searching for suspect in killing, robbery of bar owner
The Kankakee County Sheriff’s Office released this image of a man in connection with a homicide, Feb. 2, 2026, in rural Momence near the Illinois/Indiana border. (Kankakee County Sheriff’s Office)
(MOMENCE, Ill.) — Investigators are searching for a man believed to be behind the fatal shooting of a rural bar owner in Momence, Illinois.
Courtney Drysdale, 30, was pronounced dead at a bar near the Illinois-Indiana state line on Monday shortly before noon, according to the Kankakee County Sheriff’s Office.
Investigators have released photos of the suspect and his vehicle that were captured by security footage at the bar.
Deputies responded to a report of a possible dead individual and classified the incident as a homicide based on evidence gathered during a preliminary examination on Monday, according to the sheriff’s office.
Drysdale was preparing to open the bar just before 11 a.m. when a suspect entered the bar and brandished a firearm, demanding money from the cash register, Kankakee County Sheriff Mike Downey said at a press conference Tuesday.
Despite Drysdale’s cooperation, the suspect allegedly shot her twice “execution style,” Downey said.
Before fleeing the scene, the suspect attempted to remove what he believed was a digital recording device from a wall, but investigators were able to recover video evidence, Downey said.
No one else was in the bar at the time of the killing, Downey said.
The suspect was seen leaving the scene with a firearm and is believed to be armed and dangerous, according to Downey. The suspect was last seen traveling east toward Indiana in a white Ford or BMW sedan, with a sunroof and “distinctive dark rims,” Downey said.
Investigators are reviewing footage from the bar to determine if the suspect had previously been to the bar, according to Downey.
A $5,000 reward is being offered to anyone who can help positively identify the person or vehicle, according to the sheriff’s office. Anyone who sees the suspect is asked to keep their distance and contact authorities.
Anyone who has information related to the murder is asked to contact CrimeStoppers at (815) 932-7463.
“Courtney was deeply loved not only by her family and her young daughter, but also by the many patrons and friends whose lives she touched,” Downey said.
“We are fully committed to bringing the person responsible to justice,” Downey said.
Minnesota State Troopers hold back a crowd after Federal law enforcement officers confronted residents following a shooting incident in Minneapolis, Minnesota, US, early on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (Photographer: Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images
(MINNEAPOLIS) — The Department of Homeland Security said a federal law enforcement officer shot a person in Minneapolis on Wednesday evening, saying the latter fled a traffic stop and then — along with two other people — began attacking the officer.
“Fearing for his life and safety as he was being ambushed by three individuals, the officer fired defensive shots to defend his life,” DHS said in a statement on social media. “The initial subject was hit in the leg.”
Both the officer and the person who was shot were taken to the hospital, DHS said.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said the person shot was an “adult male,” and that his injuries were not believed to be life-threatening.
DHS said federal law enforcement officers were conducting a “targeted traffic stop” Wednesday evening at 6:50 p.m. local time. The DHS statement identified the person being stopped as “an illegal alien from Venezuela.”
DHS said the person drove away in his car, crashed into a parked vehicle and then fled on foot.
When a pursuing officer caught up to the person, “the subject began to resist and violently assault the officer,” DHS said in the statement.
“While the subject and law enforcement were in a struggle on the ground, two subjects came out of a nearby apartment and also attacked the law enforcement officer with a snow shovel and broom handle,” the statement said.
The statement added, “As the officer was being ambushed and attacked by the two individuals, the original subject got loose and began striking the officer with a shovel or broom stick.”
After the officer fired, the three people ran back into the apartment and barricaded themselves inside, DHS claimed in the statement.
It’s unclear from the statement when and how an arrest was made, but DHS said both of the two people, who were not shot, it alleges attacked the officer were taken into custody.
A crowd later gathered at the scene of the second shooting. O’Hara said the crowd amounted to an “unlawful assembly” and accused some people of throwing fireworks and rocks at officers.
“People need to leave. This is already a very tense situation and we do not need this to escalate any further,” O’Hara told reporters at a news conference Wednesday night.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said the situation was “not sustainable” and urged residents to protest peacefully.
“There’s still a lot that we don’t know at this time,” Frey said. “But what I can tell you for certain is that this is not sustainable. This is an impossible situation that our city is being put in.”
ICE and Border Patrol officers are “creating chaos,” in the city, Frey said, adding, “I’ve seen conduct from ICE that is disgusting and is intolerable. If it were your city, it would be unacceptable there too.”
ICE officials have disputed those claims, saying federal officers are seeking only those who’ve broken the law. “If Frey truly cared about safety in his community, he would work with ICE to get the worst of the WORST out of Minnesota,” the agency said on Wednesday.
Customs and Border Patrol said on Monday that additional officers were “are on their way to restore order and we welcome cooperation from state and local law enforcement” in Minneapolis. The agency, which sits under the DHS, described Frey’s leadership as “weak,” accusing his administration of encouraging “lawlessness.”
“We are not going to let our officers be attacked in an aggressive manner and sit idly by,” Gregory K. Bovino, a senior Border Patrol official, said on Wednesday. “In addition to the most important mission of enforcing Title 8 Immigration laws, we will also arrest those who attack and assault our agents. You will go to jail.”
Frey said protesters should avoid confrontations with federal officers. “And for anyone that is taking the bait tonight — stop,” he said. “That is not helpful. Go home. We cannot counter Donald Trump’s chaos with our own brand of chaos.”
Frey said there were 600 Minneapolis Police Department officers working to “keep our streets safe” as the protests continued. About 3,000 federal officers had been dispatched to Minnesota, he said.
In a rare primetime address, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz Wednesday called on President Trump and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to “end this occupation” in Minnesota,
“Donald Trump wants this chaos. He wants confusion, and yes, he wants more violence on our streets. We cannot give him what he wants,” Walz said. “We can, we must protest loudly, urgently, but also peacefully. Indeed, as hard as we will fight in the courts and at the ballot box, we cannot and will not let violence prevail.”
Noem had said on Tuesday that the ICE officers were on the scene for an operation that was “rapidly removing the criminal illegal aliens who have found sanctuary in Tim Walz’s Minnesota.”
“The men and women of DHS law enforcement are working day and night to arrest and deport sickos, dirtbags, and fraudsters from across the state,” she added.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, meanwhile, accused both Frey and Walz of inciting unrest.
“Minnesota insurrection is a direct result of a FAILED governor and a TERRIBLE mayor encouraging violence against law enforcement,” Blanche said on Wednesday on social media. “It’s disgusting.”
He added, “Walz and Frey — I’m focused on stopping YOU from your terrorism by whatever means necessary. This is not a threat. It’s a promise.”
Record March heat continues in the West. (ABC News)
(PHOENIX) — Record-shattering temperatures are expected to continue on Sunday as a rare and strong early-season heat dome has resulted in triple-digit highs in some parts of the Western U.S.
As the temperatures soared to 105 degrees on Saturday in Phoenix, Ariz., the third-straight day the weather has topped the 100-degree mark, more than 400 people attending an airshow in nearby Glendale were treated for heat-related illnesses, authorities said.
At least 25 people attending the Luke Days Airshow at Luke Air Force Base were overcome by the sweltering weather and had to be hospitalized for various heat-related illnesses, U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. David Berkland said at a news conference on Saturday, according to ABC affiliate station KNXV in Phoenix.
Berkland said the majority of the people treated were under the age of 12 or over the age of 60, and many also had “pre-existing medical conditions like heart disease, diabetes or pregnancy.”
Dozens of locations across the West have broken high-temperature records since Thursday, and some areas in the Plains have also seen records fall.
The temperature in Phoenix reached 105 degrees for the third straight day on Saturday, tying a record for March. In Tucson, temperatures soared to 102 on Saturday. Las Vegas, Nev., hit 96 on Saturday, the second-highest temperature there for March behind the 97-degree record set on Friday.
Elsewhere in the West, Salt Lake City, Utah, and Denver, Colo., set new highs for March when they hit 84 and 86 degrees, respectively, on Saturday,
Hot weather also stretched across the Midwest and Great Plains. Omaha, Neb., recorded 96 degrees on Saturday, while Wichita, Kan., and Kansas City, Mo., each reached 93.
Extreme heat warnings remain in effect for parts of southern California, Nevada and Arizona on Sunday, including Las Vegas, Phoenix, Tucson and Lake Havasu, Ariz.
Phoenix is likely to surpass the 100-degree mark again on Sunday, the fourth-straight day the city is expected to surpass that temperature. Las Vegas and Salt Lake City could also see additional daily records heading into Monday.
Hot weather is forecast to continue to move into the South and the Ohio Valley, where dozens of daily records could be broken from interior California to Texas and the Carolinas, including the cities of Sacramento, Las Vegas, Albuquerque, Dallas, Oklahoma City, Memphis, New Orleans, Cincinnati and Raleigh.
Severe weather in store for southern Indiana and Pennsylvania Some severe storms are possible for southern Indiana and most of Pennsylvania later Sunday and into Sunday night and could include damaging winds and large hail. Isolated tornadoes are also possible for a sliver of Ohio, the northern panhandle of West Virginia and southwest Pennsylvania.
By late Sunday night, a line of scattered storms will likely stretch from Evansville, Ind., to Columbus, Ohio, and into State College, Pa.
New York City could also see a couple of thunderstorms, some strong enough to produce gusty winds and possibly small hail.
Critical fire weather threat in the Plains
Millions of people across the Plains are under red flag fire warnings on Sunday due to low humidity, warm temperatures, gusty winds and dry vegetation. The fire danger is expected to continue Sunday before improving a bit into Monday.
Meanwhile, several wildfires are still burning further north in Nebraska and South Dakota.
Fire crews in Nebraska have made significant progress in battling the Morrill Fire, largest wildfire in state history. The blaze, which has burned more than 640,000 acres across multiple counties in western Nebraska, was 98% contained as of Saturday night, according to the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency.
Another large Nebraska wildfire, the Cottonwood Fire in the south-central part of the state, has burned nearly 130,000 acres and was 94% contained on Saturday night, according to the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency.
More damaging floods in Hawaii
After a damaging flood event more than one week ago during which parts of Hawaii recorded rainfall by feet, more rain has brought damaging and impactful flooding across parts of the island.
A flash-flood warning was in effect Saturday for potentially life-threatening flooding on Oahu and the potential for the Wahiawa Dam to fail. There were several reports of damage, water rescues and road closures due to flooding.
The threat of the Wahiawa Dam failing has subsided as water levels gradually subside, but any heavy pockets of rain could cause rapid water rises and reinvigorate the threat.
The heaviest rain has shifted eastward, with the island of Molokai under a flash-flood warning on Sunday.
All Hawaiian islands except Kauai remain under a flood watch through Sunday for more heavy rain. The heaviest rain is expected mostly on the Big Island and the island of Maui, but the other islands will see some rain showers and perhaps some isolated heavy pockets of rain.
Thunderstorms will be possible at times, which may include damaging winds.
Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell attend The 2005 Wall Street Concert Series on March 15, 2005 in New York City. (Joe Schildhorn/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Ian Maxwell, the brother of convicted Jeffrey Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, is speaking out on his sister’s ongoing effort to overturn her conviction, her recent Congressional deposition, her transfer to a federal prison camp in Texas, and more in a broad interview Tuesday with ABC News.
Ian Maxwell’s comments come a week after his sister invoked the Fifth Amendment during a closed-door virtual deposition before the House Oversight Committee last Monday, where she was asked questions about her relationship with Epstein and her involvement in the late sex offender’s criminal activity.
“The legal advice was absolutely clear. And you need to think about this quite carefully,” Ian Maxwell said of his sister’s decision to not answer the questions, reiterating that she did speak with United States Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche in July.
“He asked her over two days of questioning several hundred questions. She didn’t fail to answer a single one of those,” he said.
During her interview with Blanche, a former personal attorney for President Donald Trump, Maxwell continued to deny any involvement in Epstein’s sexual exploitation and said she had not witnessed any wrongdoing by any other man — including Trump or former President Bill Clinton. Maxwell was granted limited immunity for the interview as long as she answered questions truthfully.
Ian Maxwell also touched on the possibility of President Trump pardoning his sister, though he noted she had not asked Trump for a pardon. He said the idea that she could exonerate Trump and Clinton of any wrongdoing with her testimony was attributable to a former lawyer of Maxwell’s.
“Ghislaine has not asked President Trump for a pardon. The fact of the matter is that the Epstein scandal is being used by both sides of the aisle to beat the present president and the former president,” he said.
Ian Maxwell also discussed a petition pending in federal court in New York that seeks to overturn her conviction or reduce her sentence.
The petition alleges nine separate grounds — including juror misconduct and government suppression of evidence — for Ghislaine Maxwell’s contention that constitutional violations undermined the integrity of her 2021 trial.
“I am hopeful that the petition will reach the judge presiding over the petition based on the evidence, the evidentiary record,” he said.
In the interview, the British businessman addressed Ghislaine Maxwell’s transfer from a federal prison in Florida to a federal prison camp in Texas over the summer.
“Ghislaine is possibly the most notorious prisoner in the U.S. federal system today,” he said. “We know that prison is a very violent place. Jeffrey Epstein died. Ghislaine did have many threats in Tallahassee where she was. It was a notoriously violent and dangerous place for her own safety. She had to be moved.”
At the time of the move, the reason for the transfer was not made clear. FCI Tallahassee in Florida, where Maxwell had been held, is a “low security” prison for men and women, while FPC Bryan is a “minimum security” camp just for women.
Ian Maxwell disputed the idea that his sister was transferred as any sort of reward for protecting Trump.
“President Trump has not done anything wrong. You tell me, have you found anything wrong in the papers yet? I haven’t seen anything there,” he said regarding the recent release of Epstein files by the Justice Department.
Ian Maxwell also discussed the authenticity of a photograph of his sister with the former Prince Andrew and his late accuser Virginia Giuffre.
“I would maintain that Ghislaine continues to have tremendous doubt about the picture that was published and believes that it is not the original and may have been doctored in some way. We don’t know,” said Ian Maxwell, who backs his sister’s stance that she was not responsible for introducing the former prince to Epstein.
Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted in December 2021 on five of six counts related to the abuse and trafficking of underage girls. In his interview, Ian Maxwell maintained that his sister “did not receive a fair trial” and said that “the verdict is deeply unsafe.”
Ian Maxwell was asked to elaborate on claims made in Ghislaine Maxwell’s pending petition that as many as 25 other men settled claims privately with Epstein accusers.
“The only person who is in jail, the only person whose been tried and found guilty is a woman, my sister,” Ian Maxwell said. “All of these men have disappeared into the ether.”
