Mom describes moment man allegedly tried to kidnap her son in Walmart: ‘We’re tug-of-warring’
Cobb County Sheriff’s Office
(ACWORTH, Ga.) — A Georgia mother recounted the moment she was “tug-of-warring” with a man she said tried to snatch her 2-year-old son from her while in a Walmart.
Caroline Miller was shopping at a Walmart in Acworth with her two young children last week when the incident occurred. They were in a motorized wheelchair at the time because her 4-year-old daughter wanted to ride it, she told Atlanta ABC affiliate WSB.
The suspect first approached the family and asked for help finding Tylenol, she told the station.
“When I pointed my arm out this way to point to the direction of where it was, that is when he reached down, put both of his hands on Jude, and grabbed him out of my lap,” Miller told WSB this week.
“I’m like, ‘No, no, no, what are you doing? What are you doing?'” she told the station. “He pulled him. I pulled him back. We’re tug-of-warring.”
The mother was able to break away with her son and the suspect fled the store, according to police.
“I’m just glad that he’s still home with us,” Miller told WSB.
Officers responded to the Walmart on March 18 “after receiving a call of a male who attempted to snatch a juvenile away from their mother,” the Acworth Police Department said in a press release.
The child was not injured in the incident, police said.
Detectives spoke to witnesses and reviewed surveillance cameras and Flock safety surveillance cameras installed in the area, Acworth police said. They subsequently identified a suspect and secured a warrant, police said.
“We were able to see the car he got into, and followed the cameras, and used our Flock cameras in the city and was able to get a tag number and track him down,” Sgt. Eric Mistretta with the Acworth Police Department told WSB.
Mahendra Patel, 56, of Kennesaw, was arrested on Friday and has been charged with kidnapping, simple battery and simple assault, police said.
He remains in custody at the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office with no bond, online jail records show. Online records do not list any attorney information.
Miller said her children now know how to respond in dangerous situations.
“As much as we would think it would never happen, it will and does, and to be prepared for when it does,” she told WSB.
(IDYLLWILD, Calif.) — Two hikers who were stranded for three days after falling down a snowy cliff were rescued on Monday near Idyllwild, California, the Riverside Sheriff Aviation Unit said in a statement Tuesday.
The climbers — one man and one woman — were traveling along the Tahquitz Mountain trail on March 1 when they suddenly plummeted approximately 800 feet down a snowy cliff, located about 8,900 feet above Idyllwild, California, according to officials.
The hikers called 911, stating they were “injured badly and needed help,” officials said. A helicopter was sent to rescue the two individuals, but due to 45 mph winds, rescuers failed in their attempt.
Helicopters from Cal Fire and the Orange County Fire Authority also attempted to hoist the victims out, but “all were unsuccessful due to low clouds and high winds.”
Authorities said volunteers from Riverside Mountain Rescue Unit were able to locate the male and female hikers on the ground that first night.
Then, on the second day, “several attempts” were again made, but helicopters were “unsuccessful due to mountain obscuration and high turbulence surface winds.” The hikers had to endure temperatures as low as 15 degrees Fahrenheit that night, accompanied by persistent snow, officials said.
Finally, on the third day, the “weather and wind calmed just enough” and the hikers were successfully hoisted out via helicopter, officials said. The man, “who was the most severely injured,” was rescued first and flown to Desert Regional Medical Center for treatment, followed by the woman, officials said.
Body camera video capturing the rescue shows the snowy conditions officials had to deal with while saving the two stranded individuals.
“Many thanks to all those ground crews that were involved as well as all the helicopter crews who were involved in the rescue,” the aviation unit said in a statement.
Along with the helicopters, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco said on social media that over 20 mountain team rescuers hiked to save these injured victims, who “most definitely would have died from exposure to the elements.”
“This was a very long and coordinated effort with amazing partners and volunteers. Outstanding job by all,” Bianco said on social media.
(WASHINGTON) — As Democrats attempt to rebound from an underwhelming showing in the 2024 election, California Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna is not only taking stock of the stinging defeat last fall, but also taking shots at his own political party.
After watching Democrats swap nominees and struggle to deliver a cohesive message to voters in the last campaign cycle, Khanna told ABC News in an exclusive interview that he believes a political reform agenda focused on combating corruption “is what we should run on in 2026” and laments the political costs that came as Democrats campaigned on other priorities in 2024.
“It was a mistake,” Khanna said, adding he “didn’t hear any political reform agenda” from President Joe Biden or Vice President Kamala Harris during their respective presidential campaigns. “Trump became the outsider. It was a mistake we didn’t run on the theme of reform. Getting money and lobbyists out of politics — that should be our mantle.”
Now, Khanna is introducing the Drain The Swamp Act, which would permanently prohibit White House officials from accepting gifts from lobbyists — reinstating a Biden-era mandate that established ethics and lobbying rules for appointees in the administration.
“Anti-corruption has to be core to rebuilding the Democratic brand,” Khanna, serving in his fifth term, said. “Democrats need to be seen as owning the mantle of reform.”
Khanna said he finds it striking that one of President Donald Trump’s first acts of his second term was to sign an executive order to overturn Biden’s order — creating the impetus to craft an agenda that takes aim at Washington’s revolving door between lobbyists and lawmakers.
“It’s part of a broader sense that Democrats have to run on anti-corruption,” Khanna said, complaining that the Democratic Party enabled Trump to “co-opt” the “drain the swamp” theme of anti-corruption. Khanna said it has cost his party not only two presidential elections in 2016 and 2024, but also majority control of Congress.
“We need to be zealous,” Khanna said — explaining his vision for a five-point anti-corruption agenda.
Khanna wants to ban former members of Congress from ever lobbying Congress, and he wants to impose 12-year term limits for members and 18-year term limits on Supreme Court justices. Khanna says he believes timed-out justices should return to serve on lower courts after they leave a post on the high court. Khanna also advocates for a “binding code of ethics” for Supreme Court justices amid ethics pressure on the court.
“If Democrats want to rebuild, start with anti-political corruption,” Khanna stressed, adding he has received a positive reception from a range of people such as billionaire Mark Cuban and even Republican voters who are supportive of his pledge to “drain the swamp.”
Khanna also calls for a ban on members of Congress and their families from holding and trading individual stocks during the member’s tenure in office, as well as a ban on members of Congress and candidates running for House or Senate seats from accepting contributions from political action committees.
As for his own future political interest — whether reelection, the California governor’s mansion or even the White House in 2028 — Khanna is keeping his cards close, but his options open.
“Ro believes that anti-corruption and economic patriotism need to be the driving themes of the Democratic Party for 2026 and 2028, regardless of who gets into the fray or leads the party,” Sarah Drory, a Khanna spokeswoman, told ABC when asked about the congressman’s political prospects.
Nevertheless, Khanna’s profile continues to grow as he faces voters and weighs his future options — sometimes even before Republican audiences on Fox News or in GOP-held districts.
After Trump delivered a joint address to Congress last week, Khanna went on “Fox News Sunday” and admitted that it “was not a good look” as Democrats protested not only the president, but also rejected the invited guests in the First Lady’s box.
“We should have stood for the boy with cancer. You stand for the president of the United States, out of respect for the American people,” Khanna said on the program. “I mean, you stand for the widow of the firefighter.”
“The story should have been on President Trump,” Khanna continued. “We should have been talking about the Medicaid cuts. Instead, we’re talking about our own behavior. And that’s a distraction from us getting out our economic message.”
Khanna will also hold three in-person town hall meetings during a “Benefits Over Billionaires” tour on March 23 in GOP-held districts, where his anti-corruption agenda will take stage alongside his progressive bona fides.
“It’s smart to have a clear message,” Khanna told ABC News. “We’re the party that’s going to save Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.”
An online content creator has been arrested after “disturbing” videos of her contaminating store products by urinating on them has spawned an investigation and a product recall dating back four years ago. (Facebook / Keene, NH Police Department)
(KEENE, NH) — An online content creator has been charged with criminal mischief for allegedly making “disturbing” videos of her contaminating store products by urinating on them, spawning an investigation and a product recall dating back four years ago.
The investigation began on Feb. 14 when the Keene Police Department in New Hampshire received an anonymous tipoff regarding a woman – later identified as 23-year-old Kelli Tedford – who had “posted disturbing videos to an internet site” of her “contaminating items in a local business with her urine,” according to a statement from the Keene Police Department released on Friday.
Police immediately launched an investigation in cooperation with the local grocery store, the Monadnock Food Co-Op, and the affected items were removed in coordination with the health department, officials said.
Monadnock Food Co-Op subsequently issued a voluntary recall for red quinoa, white quinoa, tri-color quinoa, cornmeal, polenta, coconut shreds and raw walnuts and affirmed that “our community’s health and safety remain our top priorities.”
“While this was a highly unusual situation, we took swift action in accordance with our food safety and recall procedures,” Monadnock Food Co-Op said in their statement released on Friday. “We have also been in direct communication with the Keene Health Department, which has confirmed that no ongoing risks remain. We continue to cooperate fully with the Keene Police Department and the Keene Health Department regarding this matter. We have strict food safety protocols and recall procedures in place. We are reviewing our security measures and procedures to further safeguard our store and customers.”
However, during the police investigation into the incident, authorities found “numerous additional videos” of Tedford committing the same act over a four-year period, said the Keene Police Department.
“At this time, it appears likely that similar historic incidents occurred in Keene and surrounding communities where Tedford contaminated items and/or surfaces with urine, as several videos appear to be recorded as early as 2021,” police said.
As a result of this incident, the Monadnock Food Co-Op sustained an estimated financial loss of more than $1,500 in destroyed merchandise and cleaning costs.
“At this time, it appears likely that similar historic incidents occurred in Keene and surrounding communities where Tedford contaminated items and/or surfaces with urine, as several videos appear to be recorded as early as 2021,” police said.
As a result of this incident, the Monadnock Food Co-Op sustained an estimated financial loss of more than $1,500 in destroyed merchandise and cleaning costs.
Tedford was arrested on Friday by the Keene Police Department and charged with criminal mischief as a class B felony, authorities confirmed. She was subsequently released on personal recognizance bail and is scheduled for arraignment on April 7 at the 8th Circuit Court in Keene.
The investigation is ongoing, and police said that additional criminal charges are possible.
