Vermont college student missing for nearly a week: Police
Police in Middlebury, Vermont, released this photo of Lia Smith. Middlebury Police Department
(MIDDLEBURY, Vt.) — Police in Vermont said they are searching for a missing college student who hasn’t been seen for nearly a week.
Lia Smith, 21, a senior at Middlebury College, was reported missing on Sunday, according to police.
The California native was last seen in a building on campus on Friday at approximately 9 p.m., according to the Middlebury Police Department.
The search has involved the use of a drone, with investigators “working to identify additional potential search areas,” the police department said on Monday.
Middlebury College said its Department of Public Safety is also assisting the Middlebury Police Department in the search.
“We will do everything we can to find Lia,” Middlebury officials said in a statement to the school community on Monday. “She is a beloved member of our Middlebury family and there is nothing more important than the health, safety, and wellbeing of our students and of our entire community.”
The school said it has been in touch with the student’s family and friends “to offer support and learn all we can about the student’s recent activities and whereabouts.” Counseling services are also being offered, it said.
When contacted on Wednesday for the latest on the missing student, a school spokesperson referred ABC News to its Monday update.
ABC News reached out to the Middlebury Police Department on Wednesday for updates on the search but has not yet received a response.
Smith is described by police as being 5 feet, 11 inches tall and approximately 160 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes. Anyone with information on her or her whereabouts is asked to contact the Middlebury Police Department at 802-388-3191.
Members of the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Protective Service police provide security as Ryan Wesley Routh, the suspect in the apparent assassination attempt on Donald Trump, is brought before a judge at the federal courthouse for an initial appearance on September 16, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
(WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.) — Ryan Routh, the man accused of trying to kill Donald Trump on his West Palm Beach golf course last year, is defending himself before a Florida jury.
Routh, who is representing himself despite lacking any legal education or experience, plans to call three witnesses on Monday — a gun expert and two character witnesses — as he tries to make a case why a jury should spare him from the possibility of spending the rest of his life in prison.
His defense case is expected to take about half the day, with closing arguments currently scheduled for Tuesday.
Routh has broadly described his defense strategy as emphasizing his “gentleness, peacefulness, and nonviolent caring for humanity,” according to court filings.
Among the exhibits Routh plans to use are a design for a DIY skatepark, videos and photos showing him recruiting and fundraising for the Ukrainian military, a photo of a flash mob he organized, and a church bulletin from 1980 when he was awarded an Eagle Scout award.
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon — who has repeatedly clashed with Routh over his unusual courtroom tactics — has curtailed much of Routh’s defense. She blocked many of his proposed witnesses, including an ex-girlfriend and several Palestinian scholars, and prohibited him from arguing that his actions were justified or that he would not have followed through with the assassination attempt.
Routh’s unorthodox defense case follows seven days of testimony from 38 witnesses called by federal prosecutors seeking to prove Routh came within a few hundred yards of killing then-candidate Trump on Sept. 15. Jurors heard from the Secret Service agent who said he spotted Routh hiding in the bushes of Trump’s golf course with an assault rifle, the man who illegally sold the gun to Routh, and a series of law enforcement witnesses who tied Routh’s fingerprints and DNA to the gun abandoned at the crime scene.
FBI agents also testified that Trump would have been less than 130 feet from Routh had Routh not been spotted by a Secret Service agent. Routh’s rifle, they argued, can hit a target ten times that, and the shot could have been made without a scope.
Two brothers who worked with Routh also testified about receiving a box from him in April 2024 — five months before the alleged assassination attempt — that contained wires, pipes, and bullets. After Routh’s arrest, the brothers said they opened the box to find a 12-page letter that prosecutors argue amounts to a confession from Routh.
“This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump, but I failed you. I tried my best and gave it all the gumption I could muster. It is up to you now to finish the job; and I will offer $150,000 to whomever can complete the job,” the handwritten letter said.
Routh has argued that the letter does not describe the alleged assassination attempt.
At the conclusion of the government’s case on Friday, Routh argued that prosecutors had failed to prove their case and that Judge Cannon, who previously oversaw and dismissed one of Trump’s criminal cases, should toss the case. Routh claimed that the area in the bushes where he was allegedly found was a public area where anyone could carry a gun.
“They maybe proved that someone was outside the fence with a gun, but the gun was never fired,” Routh argued.
Judge Cannon denied Routh’s motion, concluding that prosecutors have provided enough evidence to let the jury decide the case.
(SAN FRANSCISCO) — Four people, including two children, have been found dead in a “suspicious” incident inside a San Francisco home, authorities said.
San Francisco police officers responded to a home on the 900 block of Monterey Boulevard at approximately 1:23 p.m. on Thursday to perform a well-being check on a family residing in the home. But when the officers arrived, they discovered four “unresponsive individuals” who were declared dead on scene, according to a statement from the Sam Francisco Police Department.
Police said the deaths appeared to be an isolated incident, reiterating that there is no general threat to the public, but also calling the deaths “suspicious” in nature.
Officers say two of the four people found dead are kids, according to ABC News’ San Francisco station KGO.
Neighbors who live next to the family say that they are heartbroken.
“I was just coming back from school, and I heard it from my mom and I just, you know, my heart dropped,” Teo Brouwers, who lives next door to the home, told KGO.
“I don’t have the words right now. I’m in bit of shock. We are in shock, it’s a tragedy and we’re thinking about the family. We are processing the information right now,” Belinda Hanart, who also lives next door, said to KGO.
“Our bedroom is on their side, and we have two dogs so. There was no noise, nothing, and I think it was the most disturbing part we didn’t hear anything. Nothing,” Hanart continued. “We knew it was a family of four with two girls. The older one was probably 12- to 13-years-old and a dog, and it was a very normal family with normal family routine,” said Hanart.
The names of the dead have not yet been released and police are not saying what they believe happened, but did confirm that crimes were committed inside the home.
Investigators were asked if an attacker or assailant could have been one of the four found dead in the home, according KGO.
“That is a possibility. We’re not confirming any of that at this time but that is a possibility of this incident,” said Officer Robert Rueca of the San Francisco Police Department.
“We heard them more than we saw them and it was just normal family life, like kids in the garden trying to get the dog inside, and having barbecue for summer nights, that’s it. Just like us,” said Hanart.
The San Francisco Office of the Chief Medical Examiner is conducting a parallel investigation and will determine the cause and manner of death.
The San Francisco Police Department Homicide Detail was notified of the suspicious deaths and is leading the ongoing investigation.
(NEW YORK) — More than 2,000 flights have been canceled across the U.S. on Monday as airlines catch up from a rough weekend, winter weather conditions slam parts of the country and the Federal Aviation Administration continues to limit capacity at 40 major U.S. airports, with President Donald Trump threatening air traffic controllers to “get back to work, NOW!!!”
“All Air Traffic Controllers must get back to work, NOW!!! Anyone who doesn’t will be substantially ‘docked,'” Trump said in a social media post on Monday.
In addition to the 2,100 flights canceled on Monday, there were also 6,432 delays for flights within, into or out of the United States, according to airline traffic tracker FlightAware.
The airports seeing the most cancellations on Monday include Chicago O’Hare International Airport with 454, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport with 227 and LaGuardia International Airport with 144.
Trump also claimed he was recommending a $10,000 bonus to air traffic controllers who did not take any time off during the government shutdown, though he did not explain specifics on how that would be done.
“For those that did nothing but complain, and took time off, even though everyone knew they would be paid, IN FULL, shortly into the future, I am NOT HAPPY WITH YOU,” Trump said.
ATC Union President Nick Daniels responded to Trump’s post during a press conference, saying controllers deserve to be paid and the union will work through the issues with the administration.
“I’ll take anything that recognizes these hard-working men and women, but we’ll work with the administration on any issues that are out there,” Daniels said. “Air traffic controllers have continued to show up during this shutdown. They’ve endured a longest shutdown in American history, and every single day, they absolutely, not only deserve their pay, they deserve to be recognized for what’s going on.”
He added, “Again, air traffic controllers should not be the political pawn during a government shutdown.”
The travel chaos, which comes amid a record-long shutdown of the federal government, was expected to continue into Tuesday, according to the tracker. At least 1,029 flights planned for Tuesday have already been canceled, FlightAware said.
The FAA’s limiting capacity does not impact international flights as it would be a violation of international agreements with the countries, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in an interview on ABC News Live on Friday.
There were 2,953 flight cancellations on Sunday, one of the worst days in recent U.S. history. Through 4 p.m. Sunday, it had the 11th-most cancellations of any day since Jan. 1, 2024, according to Cirium, an aviation analytics company.
There are air traffic controller shortages across much of the country, necessitating the cutbacks on flights, according to Duffy. Air traffic controllers, who are not being paid during the shutdown, are faced with tough decisions.
“We took an oath to protect the flying public … and without any money, it’s almost impossible,” Chris Brown, executive vice president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 10-40, which represents 1,600 Transportation Safety Administration employees in North Texas, told ABC News Live on Sunday. “If they can’t pay for day care and they don’t have any extra resources, then there’s no way for them to come to work. They can’t leave their kids at home alone.”
While the ATC Union does not know the exact amount of controllers who have resigned since the shutdown, Daniels said over four to five have resigned in the last week, with that number continuing to grow each day.
Even if the government reopens, it will not bring immediate relief for controllers, as they will continue to grapple with the lingering effects and the stress caused by the shutdown, Daniels said.
“This is one of the worlds where this shutdown isn’t a light switch. It’s not just on and it’s not just off,” Daniels said. “Whatever it takes to open this government and pay our members is what’s needed right now, and we’ll have to continue dealing with the fallouts and what this added stress and pressure to this has caused.”
