A proposed class-action lawsuit filed by consumers against Starbucks on Oct. 2 in Seattle accuses the coffee giant of selling "sugar-free" beverages that, the suit says, "contain substantial amounts of sugar."

The lawsuit, filed by plaintiffs represented by Hagens Berman law firm, alleges Starbucks "sells eight beverages whose names begin with the words 'Sugar-Free,' even though they contain between 13 and 21 grams of sugar per venti-size serving."

The suit claims that the sugar-free products in question "all contain milk, which contains lactose, a naturally occurring sugar."

"Due to this lactose, the Sugar-Free Products contain approximately 13–21 grams of sugar per venti serving," the lawsuit continues.

Venti is one of Starbucks' larger size options.

While the drinks in question all contain milk, which has naturally occurring sugars, according to Starbucks' website, the added syrups in each drink are sugar free.

The suit claims the eight drinks-- the Sugar-Free Vanilla Protein Latte, the Sugar-Free Caramel Protein Latte, the Sugar-Free Vanilla Protein Matcha, the Sugar-Free Caramel Protein Matcha, the Iced Sugar-Free Vanilla Protein Latte, the Iced Sugar-Free Caramel Protein Latte, the Iced Sugar-Free Vanilla Protein Matcha, and the Iced Sugar-Free Caramel Protein Matcha-- contain well over the amount of permissible sugar allowed in the reference amount customarily consumed to be considered "sugar free"

"We believe these claims have no merit," a Starbucks spokesperson said in a statement to ABC News on Tuesday.

Federal code cites less than 0.5 grams of sugar per serving is the threshold to be labeled sugar-free, according to the suit, and reflected in a code of federal regulations found online.

The suit goes on to claim, "The 21 grams of sugar contained in a venti Sugar-Free Caramel Protein Matcha is roughly equal to five teaspoons of sugar. This is almost as much total sugar as is contained in a standard Kit Kat bar."

The statement continued, "Starbucks has consistently and clearly provided information about its protein beverages, sugar-free options, customization choices, and nutritional content across product announcements, menus, marketing materials,Starbucks.com and the Starbucks app, and we intend to vigorously defend ourselves in this matter."

The lawsuit called the names of the "sugar-free" drinks "false and misleading"

The eight drinks in question, which have "sugar-free" in the title, are listed under a menu tab titled "No Added Sugar Options."

Each of the eight options, as the lawsuit notes, has its sugar contents listed on the individual beverage page for each drink. The sugar contents, along with calories, fat and protein statistics, are visible once the viewer scrolls down on the page.

The lawsuit also accused Starbucks of not properly using a required calorie disclaimer with the "sugar-free" labeling.

ABC News has reached out to the plaintiffs' attorneys for additional comment.

ABC News' Taylor Dunn contributed to this report.

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Cornell University announced on Tuesday that former U.S. Deputy Attorney General Sally Q. Yates has been retained to lead a "comprehensive independent review" into how the school "prevents and responds to sexual harassment, sexual assault and related misconduct on campus" amid allegations of a fraternity house gang rape.

The announcement was made by the newly formed Special Committee of the Cornell University Board of Trustees.

Yates is a partner in the international law firm King & Spalding.

"Sally Yates brings extraordinary experience, independence and judgment to this work," Anne Meinig Smalling, chair of the Special Committee, said in the statement.

Yates’ appointment follows a lawsuit filed on Sept. 16 by a former undergraduate student known only as Jane Doe, in which she alleged she was drugged and gang-raped in 2024 at the Chi Phi fraternity house on the Cornell campus.

Yates will also "conduct a detailed review of the University’s response" to that incident, "including whether Cornell followed its policies and procedures in responding to the matter," the announcement said.

The case has rocked the university and started conversations about the treatment of alleged sexual assault on college campuses.

 "The questions raised by the Jane Doe matter warrant a rigorous examination of Cornell's response to that case, but our responsibility is broader," Smalling said. "We have asked Ms. Yates and her team to examine Cornell’s overall approach to preventing and responding to sexual misconduct, identify where we are doing things well and where we can do better, and recommend changes that will help make our community safer."

The review, according to the Special Committee's statement, will assess Cornell's practices against applicable requirements under Title IX, the Clery Act, the Violence Against Women Act's Campus SaVE Act and New York State law, as well as recognized best practices in higher education for preventing and responding to sexual misconduct.

The Special Committee said Yates and her team "will have full independence in conducting the review and will report their findings and recommendations directly to the Special Committee."

“It is imperative that Cornell be willing to examine itself with the same rigor we expect of others," Smalling said. "We want to understand not just what happened in 2024, but how Cornell can become a leader in preventing sexual violence, supporting those who come forward and responding to allegations rigorously, fairly and compassionately."

Jane Doe originally made a complaint to campus police in November 2024, three weeks after the alleged incident occurred.

Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten said he reviewed the six-page Cornell Police Department's summary of the woman's statement that same month and decided based on that information that although the conduct in the case was "morally disturbing," it did not constitute a crime.

Van Houten reopened the case on Sept. 27 after speaking with Jane Doe and her lawyer in the wake of a civil suit being filed alleging that she had been drugged and raped. The men named in the lawsuit have denied all wrongdoing and have not been criminally charged.

Van Houten defended his decision not to bring charges in an interview with ABC News in September, saying, "she clearly consented in the beginning, and there was never any indication that she changed that to the things that she participated in."

"If at any point Jane Doe had said, ‘I don't consent to this anymore,' or in those words, or in any form of communication. If there had been continued sexual activity, contact by these individuals, that would be a crime. But that's not what was alleged in her statement," Van Houten said.

Documents reviewed by ABC News show that campus police noted that "a female undergraduate student reported that she was recently raped by 8-10 men at the Chi Phi fraternity house" but that information was never passed on to the district attorney.

Last week, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Cornell board member, removed the Van Houten from the case and appointed the state's attorney general, Letitia James, as special prosecutor.

The New York Attorney General's Office said it had already reached out to Jane Doe as part of the re-opened criminal investigation.

Van Houten supported the decision and put the blame on Cornell.

In notes from 2024 reviewed by ABC News, a Cornell officer memorialized a call with the DA’s office that said Van Houten's office declined to review additional evidence gathered by campus police before deciding not to charge the alleged attackers. The investigator for the campus police said he reached out to the DA's office, but they "stated that they all agreed that, based on [her] statement, criminal charges would not be pursued in this case."

Van Houten has said Cornell police did not share all the materials they had. 

Cornell said in a statement on Sept. 21 that it takes allegations of sexual violence "extremely seriously" and that it "investigated and adjudicated the allegations consistent with university policies."

In a subsequent statement, the school said it conducted a "thorough" Title IX investigation and "issued a range of sanctions, which included expulsions and suspensions from Cornell.

Cornell's president, Michael Kotlikoff, released a video statement on Oct. 3, saying the incident is a "defining moment" and pledged reforms to campus culture and university policies and procedures.

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One day after a campuswide alert notified students about a reported rape at a Cornell University fraternity in 2024, the school's police department received a tip from an anonymous caller saying that the Chi Phi fraternity's leadership asked a potential witness to stay quiet because "the reputation of all involved and the frat would be ruined" if details of the incident spread across campus, according to the school records reviewed by ABC News.

Videos first obtained by ABC News showed that Cornell investigators in the following days began questioning witnesses about a potential coverup by the fraternity brothers.

"Chi Phi held a meeting essentially to get all of the men on the same page about what happened. I know for a fact there are [GroupMe] messages about the situation," one female student told investigators. 

That student told investigators that the fraternity brothers described the incident as a "consensual orgy" but expressed concern that it "would be bad for [their] image." 

The woman at the center of the case, an undergraduate student identified only as Jane Doe, originally made a complaint to campus police in November 2024, three weeks after the incident occurred, alleging that she had been raped by eight to 10 men at the Chi Phi fraternity house.

The case has now rocked the university and started conversations about treatment of alleged sexual assault on college campuses across the country.

On Tuesday, Cornell's board of trustees announced it had tapped the law firm King and Spaulding to conduct an investigation, led by former acting U.S. attorney general Sally Yates, into the school's handling of Jane Doe's allegations.

In 2024, Cornell police officers interviewed at least two fraternity members about the incident and what communication took place within the organization, according to materials reviewed by ABC News. One of the brothers said the incident only came up informally during a meeting when the fraternity discussed their "brother of the week and idiots of the week." 

"We didn't have a meeting about it specifically," he said. "It was our weekly chapter meeting. We got through a bunch of stuff." 

ABC News also reviewed text messages from some of the fraternity brothers that appear to show a scramble to contain the fallout after Cornell suspended the chapter. 

"When was the last time you spoke to [Jane Doe]?" the fraternity's president wrote in the messages to fraternity member Matthew Ingalls, who invited Jane Doe to the house before participating in the alleged assault. 

"Yesterday ... what's the plan of action?" Ingalls replied. "Should I call [her]? I don't think she would have reported this."

All seven of the accused fraternity members have denied all wrongdoing. Ingalls, who has not been charged with a crime, has not responded to requests for comment about the incident. According to records reviewed by ABC News, he later told investigators that he was too intoxicated to consent that night and portrayed himself as the victim in the incident. 

In an email to Cornell's Title IX investigator in February 2025, Ingalls accused the school of "entrapment" and suggested he might file his own complaint against Jane Doe. 

"After all, you received information that I was sodomized by her while I was incapacitated back in November, and you never once thought to alert me of my rights under these procedures as a survivor of this assault?" Ingalls wrote in an email reviewed by ABC News. "The very fact that I had to bring this to your attention now in February confirms my worst fears: that this process is rolled [sic] with gender discrimination."

Jane Doe has filed a civil suit in the case, and the New York attorney general, Letitia James, is conducting an investigation into the incident.

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A man was arrested over the weekend for allegedly posing as an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent and intimidating Brazilian nationals who were voting at a poll site in Miami, investigators said.

Danilo Alves Silva was allegedly dressed in a blue "ICE raid jacket," a blue ICE hat, sunglasses, blue jeans and tactical style boots and had his face covered in a mask when he was seen walking between polling locations set up for Brazilian presidential elections at the Miami Dade College's Kendall Campus Sunday afternoon, Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office said in its arrest report.

The 46-year-old allegedly interacted with people who appeared to be "in fear" of him, the arrest report said.

"The people were gathered and were clearly in fear that, as they portrayed it, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement ICE agent was interfering with their election, possibly deporting individuals," the arrest report said.

Detectives and sheriff's deputies who on the campus observed what was happening and stepped in when a person with a camera confronted Silva about his outfit and the two began arguing, the report said.

Silva was arrested after he allegedly told investigators that he was not a federal agent and could not produce identification when asked, the arrest report said.

Silva claimed he was a Brazilian voter and after he cast his ballot put on an ICE costume that he allegedly bought on Amazon, "so that I can come here to see people's reactions," the arrest report said.

"He further stated that there is no law against him walking around a voting site dressed as ICE," the arrest report said.

After he was arrested and placed in a Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office car, Silva allegedly told a detective, "He will regret making this decision."

He also allegedly told law enforcement during the drive, "I will get you paid if you let me go," the arrest report said.

Silva was charged Monday with prohibited intimidation or suppression of voters, conspiracy to commit bribery, threatening a public servant to influence their performance and unlawful use of a police badge or insignia.

He has not entered a plea and was held on bond.

Attorney information wasn't immediately available.

The incident comes less than a month before midterm elections and increased concern about voter intimidation at poll sites.

Alina Garcia, Miami-Dade County's supervisor of elections, told reporters Monday that ICE and other law enforcement agents will not be present inside any election polling site in the county.

She encouraged voters to continue to cast their ballots for this year's election, either during early voting, through a mail ballot or on election day.

"Do not let fear, rumors or misinformation keep you from participating in your democracy," Garcia said.

ABC News has reached out to ICE for comment.

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The Pentagon announced Monday that Nidal Hasan, who was sentenced to death for the 2009 mass shooting at Fort Hood, Texas, will be executed by firing squad, marking the first U.S. military execution in more than 60 years.

The shooting left 13 people dead and wounded 32 others.

Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recommended the execution, and it was approved by President Donald Trump.

The time and place of the execution have not yet been announced, but Army policy outlines that executions must happen within 150 days of the president approving it, but no sooner than 60 days.

On Nov. 5, 2009, Hasan, then an Army psychiatrist, opened fire at the Soldier Readiness Processing Center at the Fort Hood military base, killing 12 soldiers and one civilian before he was shot, severely wounded and arrested.

Hasan was convicted of 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted murder and sentenced to death in 2013. He was sent to a military detention center at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas.

He is one of four death row inmates in the Army justice system.

The announcement of his execution comes after ABC News reported in June that the Army had been planning military executions, according to internal documents and officials familiar with the matter.

The plan, dubbed "Operation Resolute Justice" and issued internally in February, directed Army officials to coordinate with the Federal Bureau of Prisons to transfer condemned prisoners from the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, to the federal execution facility in Terre Haute, Indiana, where the Justice Department carried out a series of non-military federal executions during Trump's first term.

Army regulation dictates that at least two media outlets should be selected to witness the execution. 

The military has not executed a service member since 1961, when Pvt. John Bennett was put to death after being convicted of the rape and attempted murder of an 11-year-old girl in Austria.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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A New York entrepreneur who advertised online that she could help save people's homes from foreclosure found herself facing charges in a Staten Island courtroom Monday.

Lauren Taliento, the president of JT Homesavers, is facing a 46-count indictment accusing her of grand larceny, petit larceny and criminal possession of stolen property. She has pleaded not guilty.

One of Taliento's accusers, who is not part of the criminal indictment, was featured in a recent ABC News investigation about self-proclaimed "home savers" around the country at a time when a growing number of Americans are facing foreclosure.

Prosecutors said in court that a homeowner named Miguel Mora reached out to Taliento seeking a loan modification to reduce his mortgage payments and that Taliento instructed Mora to pay her instead as an intermediary.

However, the payments "were not being forwarded to the mortgage lender and she was basically spending them herself," prosecutors alleged.

"People like her need to be stopped," Mora, a 60-year-old retired New York City subway conductor, told ABC News in an interview. "This is not like somebody asking you on the street, 'Give me $5.' Her business wants to take people's homes and take their money. And now that she's being stopped, I'm really happy and elated with this."

"My credit is ruined because the 20 months of not paying my mortgage is still all on my credit report," Mora said.

Taliento was released without bail following her arraignment. She attempted to hide her face from reporters as she left the courtroom, but called WABC-TV by phone shortly afterward to say that "this is far from a scam."

"I truly cared about these people. I was available to them 24/7," Taliento said. "I am in absolute shock about what has gone on."

Mora is the only alleged victim in the indictment, but three Staten Island residents who attended Monday's hearing said that they hope Taliento will be charged with additional crimes.

"Unfortunately we're still working so hard to pick up the pieces from the turmoil," Donna Manitta told ABC News.

Manitta, Fabiana Polizzi and Constance Pantazis say they each ended up losing their homes to foreclosure after paying JT Homesavers for loan modification services in an attempt to lower their mortgage payments.

"The investigation into this matter remains ongoing and additional charges may be forthcoming," the Richmond County District Attorney's Office told ABC News and WABC-TV in a statement.

Prosecutors asked the judge to restrict Taliento from continuing to conduct loan modification and mortgage assistance services as a condition of her release, but after the judge questioned whether he had the authority to impose such a restriction, the request was withdrawn, meaning Taliento's business can still operate while she awaits trial.

Polizzi was featured in ABC News' investigation into self-proclaimed "home savers" in July.

"It becomes reality to watch your whole life being loaded into trucks, and it's worse when it's not because you want to," Polizzi said over the spring as she left her Staten Island home for the last time.

When asked by WABC-TV how people like Polizzi lost their homes, Taliento blamed banks, investors and predatory lending.

"It wasn't because of me," she said.

Taliento could face up to seven years in prison if convicted on the most serious charge she currently faces. She is due back in court in November.

WABC-TV's Mark Crudele contributed to this report.

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The mother of a 7-year-old Chicago girl is demanding "justice" after her child was fatally stabbed over the weekend in what appears to have been an unprovoked street attack.

The mother of the young victim broke down in tears and collapsed to her knees during a community vigil on Sunday on a sidewalk in the South Side Chicago neighborhood where her daughter was attacked.

"My daughter's death should not be left like this," the mother, Estefany Hernandez, told ABC Chicago station WLS at Sunday's vigil. "There must be justice for my little girl. She wasn't bothering anyone."

The Cook County Medical Examiner's Office identified the victim as 7-year-old Edi Mari Hernandez Chacon. Members of her family told WLS she was also known as Eddimar Paola Hernandez.

Bystanders who witnessed the deadly incident on Saturday morning detained the suspect, identified as 48-year-old Shavon Gayden, and held her at the scene until officers arrived, according to the Chicago Police Department.

Gayden was charged with first-degree murder and is scheduled to make her first court appearance on Monday, WLS reports.

WLS obtained court records showing Gayden's criminal record includes prior convictions for assault, including a 2023 attack on a Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) bus driver for which she was sentenced to two years probation. According to the court records reviewed by WLS, she violated her probation in 2024 by assaulting two shelter workers and was sentence to court supervision.

Police have not commented on a possible motive for Saturday's stabbing, which remains under investigation.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said in a social media statement that he was "heartbroken" by the young girl's death.

"No family should ever have to experience the unimaginable pain of losing a child, and no child should ever have to fear for her life simply walking through her neighborhood," Johnson said. "We are praying for them and for everyone impacted by this horrifying tragedy."

The incident occurred just before noon local time on Saturday in the Chatham neighborhood on the city's South Side, according to a statement from the Chicago Police Department.

Chicago Alderman Michelle Harris said at Sunday's community vigil that the suspect had allegedly gotten into an altercation with staff at a wireless store in the Chatham neighborhood just before the fatal stabbing, WLS reported.

The victim was walking southbound on the sidewalk when the suspect approached her, police said, "displayed a sharp object and stabbed the victim multiple times in the back."

The girl was taken to Comer Children's Hospital, where she was pronounced dead, police said.

"Bystanders who saw the stabbing occur detained the offender," according to the police statement.

Security video from the area appeared to show the young girl walking hand-in-hand with a woman that her family identified as her sister before the suspect stabbed the girl, WLS reported.

Additional video appeared to show bystanders rushing toward the scene to detain the suspect, who was outside the camera's view.

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A school bus filled with children rolled over in a multi-vehicle crash Monday morning in central Florida, killing two and injuring dozens of others, according to authorities.

The bus was traveling to a high school and carrying 39 passengers, including 37 high schoolers, the bus driver and the driver's 9-year-old daughter, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said in a press conference Monday morning.

Two people died in the crash, including a tenth-grade girl on the bus and the driver of a Jeep involved in the crash, Judd said.

The student was identified at a press conference on Tuesday as Adinaluz Prieto Oyola, 16, and the Jeep driver as Deshawn Smith, 26.

Five to seven trauma alerts were issued and 35 people went to the hospital, including one who was in critical condition Monday, according to Judd.

Officials said three individuals were still in the hospital receiving medical treatment as of Tuesday and are expected to be released.

The crash occurred in Winter Haven, Florida, and was reported at about 6:15 a.m. on Monday, according to authorities.

Video footage played at the press conference on Tuesday shows the school bus was driving in its lane when a white Chevy Malibu traveling the opposite direction drifted over the center line for unknown reasons, hitting the bus, Judd said. This caused the bus to crash into a silver Jeep head-on, he said.

Another vehicle was involved, bringing the total to four vehicles impacted by the crash, officials said.

Maria Jimenez, a 23-year-old nursing student, was driving the Chevy Malibu that crashed while on her way to work, Judd said Tuesday. Jimenez fully cooperated with authorities and told them she does not remember the crash, Judd said.

"It was a horrible crash," Judd said. "It was a terrible, tragic morning."

Emergency helicopters flew some victims to the hospital, while others left in ambulances or private vehicles, according to the sheriff's office.

Video footage shows Jessica Dye, the bus driver, pinned against the seat inside the bus. Despite suffering injuries herself, Dye managed to release herself and immediately helped students to safety, officials said.

Judd said Dye had no realistic opportunity to regain control of the bus after being hit and was traveling in her lane under the speed limit at the time of the crash.

Smith, the driver of the Jeep, was also traveling under the speed limit on his way to work when his vehicle was hit, officials said.

Judd said no criminal charges are being filed at this time.

Three students from the bus were airlifted to the hospital, 22 students were driven by another bus to the hospital, four students were transported by their families to the hospital, and seven students plus the bus driver and his daughter were taken to the hospital by ambulance, according to Judd.

High schoolers called their families on their cell phones to notify them of the crash as officials worked after the incident to reunite students with their families, officials said.

Traffic homicide investigators responded at the scene on Monday.

The Polk County Sheriff's Office, Winter Haven Fire, Winter Haven Police, Haines City Police, Polk County Fire Rescue and Polk County Public Schools responded to the crash.

The investigation is ongoing as of Tuesday.

"It's an incredibly tragic event that took place this morning," Fred Heid, Polk County Public Schools superintendent, said on Monday. "We drill for this with our students intentionally so that they know how to evacuate a bus in the event of an accident, and we are very, very fortunate today that more students were not seriously injured, including the driver."

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Some of the fraternity brothers later accused of sexual assault at Cornell University attempted to contain the allegations in the weeks following the incident, apparently worried about what would happen to their own reputations and futures on campus, according to text messages, phone calls, and other records reviewed by ABC News. 

Students who later spoke to campus authorities described the efforts by some in Chi Phi as “damage control” to ensure the woman allegedly assaulted — now known as Jane Doe — was “not upset about the situation,” according to school records reviewed by ABC News. 

The fraternity brothers’ efforts came as Jane Doe’s perception of what occurred that evening in October 2024 appeared to change from believing the sexual encounters were largely consensual to describing them in a phone call as a “gang rape.” 

"The only way for me to heal is to know what happened," the woman, then a Cornell junior, told one of her alleged attackers, Matthew Ingalls, over the phone one day before she went to the Cornell University Police Department on Nov. 8, according to a recording of the call obtained by ABC News. “That's why I'm trying to just piece it together, you know, like I'm just like confused.”

Ingalls, according to police records of the incident, invited Jane Doe to the fraternity house. He has not responded to requests for comment but previously denied wrongdoing as have the other brothers named in a civil suit brought by Doe. Ingalls has not been charged with a crime.

During Cornell’s investigation, he said he was too intoxicated to consent and suggested that Jane Doe actually assaulted him, according to school records reviewed by ABC News. 

The Oct. 19, 2024 incident at the Chi Phi house has led to a national outcry and brought renewed urgency to the American debate over sexual violence and what constitutes consent between adults when alcohol, drugs and pressure intersect. 

ABC News has reviewed records from Cornell’s internal investigation — which began in November 2024 and lasted through May 2025 — as well as communications between the students at the center of the allegations that shed light on how Doe’s account of the incident evolved, as the men involved appeared to portray the story to seem more benign.

Jane Doe has described an evening that started casually when she went to visit her friend and his fraternity house. It soon would turn into a nightmare, she later told police, as a sexual encounter between Jane Doe and two men grew to include others all while she was plied with alcohol and drugs.   

“They tried to contact [Jane] almost every day after it happened to, I guess, keep them on her good side and keep her happy and not upset about the situation,” Jane Doe’s friend later told campus authorities the following May, according to records reviewed by ABC News. 

Those efforts apparently were unsuccessful. Jane Doe reported the incident to Cornell Police as a rape and the allegations triggered a response from the leadership of Cornell’s Chi Phi chapter, according to text messages obtained by ABC News. 

“F—-,” one brother wrote in a group chat on Nov. 8, 2024. “Should I call [Jane]?” 

“Wait a bit for me and [Executive Board] to figure out what we’re doing cuz there are a couple of other things going on,” the fraternity’s president wrote. “When was the last time you spoke to [Jane]?”

The same day that Jane Doe went to police, Cornell’s Chi Phi fraternity was suspended, and the allegations triggered a monthslong investigation by Cornell University, which resulted in two men being expelled while others were suspended.

Cornell Police began investigating the incident in November 2024, memorializing her first report: "A female undergraduate student reported that she was recently raped by 8-10 men at the Chi Phi fraternity house.”

Prosecutors did not seek additional records of the incident beyond Jane Doe’s six-page statement to campus police and did not review the voluminous record of the internal probe. 

Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten said in a statement last week that Doe’s original statement suggested the sex and drug use was consensual. 

Last week, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul removed the local DA from the case and named state Attorney General Letitia James to take over the criminal investigation of the incident. Separately, Cornell has announced an outside law firm would be tapped this week to review the university’s handling of the allegations and subsequent investigation.

'What y'all did would be classified as gang rape'

In the days immediately following the incident, Jane Doe stayed in touch with some of the men she later accused of assaulting her – at first sharing concerns about her reputation and physical health. 

“I will also say this is f—--g RUINING my life temporarily.  My reputation is destroyed and I’m utterly ashamed.  I’m f—--g pissed cause this many people shouldn’t know and I feel like I know who some of the rats in the room were,” she wrote to Ingalls, who had invited her to the fraternity that night.

Within two days of reporting the incident to police, Jane Doe contacted Ingalls and two other men allegedly involved in the incident to get their assessment of what happened that evening. She said she had been to the emergency room and going through therapy in order to deal with the physical and psychological fallout. She recorded the phone calls and later provided them to Cornell University. 

“If I just know what happened, then I can feel a little bit better and move on and maybe be able to stay at this school,” Doe told Ingalls, according to a recording of the call. 

She mentioned that she had sustained physical harm from the episode, was struggling to finish the semester and could not understand how the events of the evening transpired. 

Ingalls was insistent: “You did tell me you were sober, by the way,” he  said, according to the recording. “You did, you said you hadn’t been anywhere.” 

She pushed back, saying “That is not true. I never would have said that.” 

Jane Doe also asked about how so many people ended up in the bedroom where the sexual encounters took place over the course of hours. 

“Do you remember how any of these guys walked in?” she asked. 

“The door was just unlocked…the party was sort of like crowded…there was nowhere else to go,” he responded. 

Nowhere in that conversation did Ingalls mention the messages he sent into his fraternity’s Snapchat group in which he openly invited others to the room. 

“Like you can walk in and whip it out,” the Ingalls wrote in the group, which had nearly 60 members. “Boys come whip it out.” 

Those messages were provided to university investigators and have been obtained by ABC News. 

At one point in the call, Jane Doe described the incident bluntly:  “What y'all did would be classified as gang rape.” 

“It's possible that both of us like remember this and it's not true,” Ingalls said at another point during the call. 

“I don't think that that's true. No, no, because I remember looking up and being like that is too many people,” she responded. 

'F—k, should I call [Jane]?'

When Chi Phi was notified about the chapter’s temporary suspension the same day Jane Doe went to police, some of the brothers tried to figure out the source of the allegation, according to text messages reviewed by ABC News. 

“What’s the plan of action? Should I call [Jane Doe)? I don’t think she would have reported this,” Ingalls wrote in a small group chat.

Chi Phi’s then-president urged Ingalls to wait, pointing to how Cornell University initially listed the incorrect date for the alleged incident. 

Within the chat, the brothers tried to reconcile what date the incident took place by comparing the themed parties that took place that month.

“Wait that was the night with [Jane Doe],” one brother wrote. “What party did we have on the 19th?” 

“The 25th was the risky business party,” one brother wrote, while the incident took place the prior week during their Hawaii-themed party. 

When police later questioned witnesses to the incident, one brother told police the incident had been discussed casually during a fraternity meeting, rather than a coordinated response.  

“These guys were just being idiots and like we're very open about doing this kind of gross thing to most people and so that was it,” one brother said. “We didn't like have it aside – like this happened once. No it was like just a quick thing.” 

'If the evidence is convincing enough to let us go….'

Months later, when Jane Doe made a statement before one of Cornell's internal investigative hearings, she explicitly called out what she described as “the coverups these boys attempted.” 

Investigators looked into at least one instance when Ingalls appeared to ask one witness to “submit new evidence” that could exonerate him. 

“You could submit new evidence that could get me and [Name Omitted] dismissed immediately. Even if [Jane Doe] found out it doesn’t matter, if the evidence is convincing enough to let us go then it’s proof she lied.”

“I don’t have evidence,” the woman – a friend of Jane Doe – said over Snapchat. 

The friend shared the message with Jane Doe, who reported it to the university.  The witness later told campus investigators that Ingalls sent her other messages to convince her to believe his account. 

“From the beginning, after it happened and [Jane Doe] started telling me that it was not consensual from the beginning,” she said. “He wants to convince me that she is lying and he tried to convince me in other messages like this one that she was lying and he said that, ‘You know that she's lying And you know that we would never do this.’” 

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An Ohio man who was found guilty of murdering his wife and staging the crime scene to make it seem as if an intruder had broken into their home and fatally shot the mother of two is set to be sentenced on Monday.

Caleb Flynn, 40, a former pastor who once appeared as a contestant on "American Idol" in 2013, was found guilty of aggravated murder and multiple counts of murder, felonious assault and tampering with evidence in connection with the death of his wife, 37-year-old Ashley Flynn.

The jury deliberated for nearly 2 1/2 hours before reaching a verdict on Sept. 29, finding him guilty of all charges. His sentencing hearing is set to begin at 3 p.m. ET Monday. He faces up to life in prison without parole.

Caleb Flynn called 911 early on Feb. 16 to report that his wife had been shot by an intruder at their home in Tipp City, north of Dayton. He was arrested three days later.

Prosecutors alleged that Caleb Flynn "executed" his wife by shooting her twice in the back of the head in bed so that he could be with his mistress and manipulated the crime scene to make it seem as if an intruder had broken in through the garage.

During closing arguments, Miami County Assistant Prosecutor Matthew Joseph pointed to evidence including the physical scene and a side garage door he said was made to look as if an intruder had damaged it, Caleb Flynn's 911 call, text messages between the defendant and his mistress discussing the end of his marriage and digital records from the night of the shooting, which he argued "leads straight to the defendant."

"The evidence showed that being the victim would allow the defendant to keep his lucrative job working for Ashley's family business, he would benefit from Ashley's life insurance, and he could keep his position as a working worship leader with zero impact to his reputation within the church," Joseph said during closing arguments on Sept. 29 in the Miami County courtroom. "The evidence does not tell the story of an intruder."

Defense attorney Patrick Mulligan argued during his closing that the state's evidence is circumstantial, and that the only thing prosecutors proved was that Caleb Flynn was having an affair.

"Connecting a couple of meaningless dots doesn't solve the case," Mulligan told jurors.

Caleb Flynn did not testify during the trial and the defense called no witnesses.

He denied killing his spouse in an interview with police days after the deadly shooting, according to video shown during the more than weeklong trial.

His former mistress testified for the state during the trial, reading from some of the more than 100,000 messages they exchanged over her two days of testimony.

"If I could literally kill her and not go to hell, I would do it in a heartbeat," Caleb Flynn said in one message from May 2025, Botner testified.

Following the guilty verdict, Mulligan told reporters that he expected there to be a notice of appeal filed.

When asked what appellate issues they have, he said, "There's a lack of evidence on prior calculation and design."

Prosecuting Attorney Paul Watkins, whose office prosecuted the case, thanked the jury "for their dedication to justice in this case."

In a statement read by Watkins, Ashley Flynn's family said they "refuse to let the evil that ended Ashley's life have the final word in her story."

"Ashley loved Jesus with her whole heart. Her faith wasn't simply something she simply spoke about. It was how she lived," the statement said. "She loved people well, found joy beyond her circumstances, prayed boldly for her family, and wanted her life to point people to Jesus."

"Most of all, she loved being a mom," the statement continued. "She prayed over her girls, taught them to love God, and showed them what it looked like to live with faith, kindness, joy, and grace."

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A 7-year-old girl was fatally stabbed on a sidewalk in a shopping district of Chicago over the weekend by a woman who was detained at the scene of the crime by bystanders, according to police.

The incident occurred just before noon local time on Saturday in the Chatham neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, according to a statement from the Chicago Police Department.

The victim was walking southbound on the sidewalk when the unidentified suspect approached her, police said.

"The offender displayed a sharp object and stabbed the victim multiple times in the back," according to the police statement.

The girl was taken to Comer Children's Hospital, where she was pronounced dead, police said.

The Cook County Medical Examiner's Office has identified the young victim as Edimari Hernandez Chacon, according to ABC Chicago station WLS.

"Bystanders who saw the stabbing occur detained the offender," according to the police statement.

The adult female suspect was injured as she was being detained, police said, who added that she was treated at a hospital for non-life-threatening injuries and then taken into custody.

Detectives are investigating the attack, police said.

Security video from the area appeared to show the young victim walking hand-in-hand with a woman before the suspect stabbed her, WLS reported.

Additional video appeared to show bystanders rushing toward the scene to detain the suspect, who was outside the camera's view.

Police have not said if the suspect knew the girl or whether the stabbing was a random attack.

“I am deeply saddened by the senseless stabbing of a 7-year-old child in our neighborhood. My heart goes out to her family, friends, and everyone who is affected by this horrific incident. No child should ever have to experience violence or fear while simply walking down the sidewalk," Chicago Alderman Michelle Harris, who represents the Chatham neighborhood, said in a statement posted online.

Harris also praised the actions of the bystanders who detained the suspect: "Their quick actions may have prevented further harm."

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More than 35 million people are under heat alerts on Sunday afternoon as a dangerous multi-day October heat wave continues across nearly all of California.

Temperatures are expected to soar up to 20 degrees above normal for this time of year, into the 90s and 100s, from Northern California, including the San Francisco Bay Area, to the Mexico border.

In some areas of California, especially urban areas, warm nights will provide little to no relief.

Los Angeles and San Diego remain under an extreme heat warning, with heat advisories posted on Sunday for San Francisco and Sacramento.

Temperatures Sunday afternoon once again soared into the 90s across much of California, with some areas surpassing 100 degrees.

High temperatures on Sunday afternoon will be near 104 in downtown Los Angeles, 103 in Bakersfield, and will climb well into the 90s in San Diego and Sacramento.

The extreme heat warnings in Southern California will remain in effect until 8 p.m. local time on Thursday.

The heat will expand over much of the West over the next 24 hours, with temperatures running well above average for early October across a large part of the region.

Highs on Monday will reach the upper 80s as far north as southern Idaho and Montana, challenging daily record highs in Boise and Billings.

It will also be heating up in Denver on Monday, with afternoon temperatures in the upper 80s, potentially challenging a daily record high as well.

On Saturday, at least eight Southern California cities broke daily high-temperature marks, including Anaheim and San Diego, which both reached 105 degrees, and Santa Ana, which hit 107 degrees.

Meanwhile, Vista, Calif., north of San Diego, reached a high temperature of 108, breaking a daily temperature record and tying an all-time record high set on June 30, 1985.

Rounds of heavy rain across parts of the Gulf Coast and Southeast

Flood watches remain in effect from southeastern Louisiana to southern Georgia, including New Orleans; Mobile, Alabama; Tallahassee, Florida; and Brunswick, Georgia.

There is a level 2 of 4 risk on Sunday afternoon for excessive rainfall and flash flooding from southeastern Louisiana to the Florida panhandle and up into South Carolina.

Torrential rain could also trigger potentially significant flash flooding across portions of South Texas on Sunday afternoon and into the evening.

The biggest rainfall totals will occur along portions of the northern Gulf Coast, the Florida Panhandle, and from Mobile, Ala., and Biloxi, Miss., to Pensacola and Panama City, Fla., and Brownsville, Texas. In these areas, 2 to 6 inches of rain is forecast, with localized totals of 8-10 inches possible.

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Tennessee Department of Correction Commissioner Frank Strada said he will resign days after Christa Pike was hospitalized following a botched execution attempt, according to Gov. Bill Lee.

The Tennessee governor's statement on Saturday did not directly reference the situation with Pike, who is currently "critically ill," unconscious and on a ventilator in a hospital following the Sept. 30 failed execution. In the announcement, Strada said that stepping aside was "in the best interest of Tennesseans as the independent review moves forward."

"I believe this review is entirely appropriate and necessary, and I look forward to doing everything I can to help determine exactly what occurred," he said in a statement.

Lee said he accepted Strada's resignation and the commissioner would leave his post at the end of the month.

"Commissioner Strada has served with integrity, and I appreciate his willingness to put the interests of Tennesseans first during this difficult moment," the governor said in a statement.

An interim commissioner will be announced at a later date, the statement noted.

Pike's attorneys, Randy Spivey, Kelly Gleason, Stephen Ferrell and Luke Ihnen, responded to the Strada stepping down in their own statement.

"The resignation of Commissioner Strada is justified, but it does nothing to help Christa now. What happened to her Wednesday reflects a systemic failure that goes far beyond any one person," they wrote. "We hope the Governor’s call for a full, independent review will expose the profound problems within Tennessee’s entire death penalty system."

ABC News' Sabina Ghebremedhin contributed to this report.

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Gypsy Rose Blanchard's partner Kenan Urker was found dead on his 34th birthday in what officials describe as an apparent drug-related incident, authorities said.

Officers discovered Urker dead when they responded to a call from a home in Raceland, Louisiana, on Thursday evening, according to the Lafourche Parish Sheriff's Office.

Urker, who was lying on a bed, was cold and his face and arms were blue, according to the sheriff's office. A paper towel on his arm appeared to have "blotches of blood" on it, the sheriff's office said.

On the nightstand next to the bed was a holstered handgun, a syringe and two shot glasses, according to the sheriff's office.

In the bathroom, deputies discovered syringes, a spoon and a "brown powdery substance," the sheriff's office said.

The sheriff's office said there's "no evidence of foul play."

Blanchard wrote on Instagram on Friday, "You will always be my greatest love story. You will be remembered and loved forever."

She added in an Instagram story that he was an "amazing father" and "will forever be my soulmate."

In 2015, Blanchard and her then-boyfriend Nicholas Godejohn were arrested for the fatal stabbing of Blanchard's mother, Clauddinnea "Dee Dee" Blanchard.

Gypsy Rose Blanchard pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was released from prison in 2023.

"Dee Dee" Blanchard had allegedly abused her daughter for years by convincing Gypsy Rose and the public that she was extremely sick, when she wasn't. "Dee Dee" Blanchard allegedly portrayed her daughter as a frail, disabled child who suffered from multiple illnesses including leukemia and muscular dystrophy, subjecting her to a life in a wheelchair, a feeding tube and unnecessary surgeries.

After her release from prison, Gypsy Rose Blanchard told ABC News she wanted to share her story "to bring awareness to mental health issues, to Munchausen by proxy, to abuse victims."

She said she hoped her story would serve as a "cautionary tale" for others.

"So that the next person that might be in a situation like mine, they don't take the route that I did," she said.

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A 25-year-old man has been charged with murder in the stabbing death of a fellow rider on a J train in Queens, police said.

Jyrell Thomas was taken to a hospital for a psychiatric evaluation Thursday morning. He was described by police as emotionally disturbed.

He was later arrested on charges of murder and criminal possession of a weapon.

Police said Thomas was pacing back and forth inside the train car and appeared agitated before approaching Mesias Lojano, 59, just after 4 p.m. on Wednesday. Lojano tried to walk away before Thomas swung at him with a kitchen knife, according to police.

Bismarck Villareyna witnessed the attack and recorded video aboard the train.

"I heard, oh somebody is being attacked, somebody being attacked. So I pulled out my phone, started walking, as you see in the video," Villareyna said.

The violence eventually spilled onto a J train platform, where bystanders chased Thomas.

"There was an old man behind me - hold him! Hold him! Hold him! And that's when he started running. And then I started running after him," Villareyna said.

Villareyna said he considered trying to physically intervene but was concerned that he could also be stabbed.

"I wanted to kick him, but I say, you know, if I kick him and I miss or he stabbed me then. So I was getting my position. I tried to record to get, you know, evidence."

Villareyna continued following Thomas and directed officers to him. Thomas climbed onto a rooftop, where he had to be lifted and carried away.

"Then he stopped there and he sat down and he was saying, 'oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do it.' But in some of my videos, I was, I was upset," Villareyna said.

Thomas has one prior arrest, stemming from a robbery early last month in which he stole $23 of merchandise from a Bronx Target. He was charged with petit larceny, obstruction of governmental administration and criminal possession of stolen property.

This is the sixth homicide in the subway system this year. There were four murders in the system all of last year, and 10 in 2024.

There has been a 7% increase in assaults in the subway this year, with 441 vs 410 at this time last year.

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The co-pilot of the FlyDubai plane who allegedly attacked the plane's captain and attempted to crash a flight bound for Israel on Wednesday is an Omani national who was previously suspended from flying by Oman Air after being identified as a security risk, according to senior intelligence and law enforcement officials.

Multiple sources familiar with the investigation identified the suspected attacker as 29-year-old Hamam Al Hammami.

The officials told ABC News that Al Hammami, while working as a co-pilot trainee for Oman Air in 2024, was found to be in possession of extremist materials. The suspect was allowed to continue working for the airline in an administrative role, the sources said.

United Arab Emirates Attorney General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi on Saturday said the aircraft's co-pilot had attempted to carry out a terrorist act and that he began executing his plan during the flight by assaulting the pilot inside the cockpit using a crash axe and attempted to seize control of the aircraft's controls, according to WAM state news agency.

This is the first confirmation by UAE authorities that the co-pilot had attacked the captain and identified the weapon used as a crash axe. Previous UAE statements had described the incident as a security incident and said an investigation was underway to determine whether it involved terrorist activity or prior planning.

The attorney general stressed that investigations are still ongoing to establish all the circumstances and motives surrounding the incident, as well as any related links. He added that technical examinations and the analysis of physical and digital evidence are also being completed, with the final findings to be announced once the necessary procedures have been concluded.

Officials investigating the incident are still trying to determine how the suspected attacker was subsequently permitted to fly for FlyDubai and how he ended up as the first officer in the cockpit of a plane headed for Israel, the sources said.

Al Hammami -- who was transferred Thursday from Saudi Arabia to the United Arab Emirates -- is said to be "cooperating" with authorities investigating the incident and has indicated that his intent was to crash the aircraft in Israel, according to sources briefed on the investigation.

"We recognise that there are many questions at this stage; however, the circumstances surrounding the incident are still under investigation," FlyDubai said in a statement obtained by ABC News on Saturday. "We are therefore not in a position to comment further beyond our published statements. We remain fully committed to supporting the ongoing investigation and are in close coordination with the relevant government authorities and regulators."

Representatives for Oman Air and the Omani Embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ABC News.

FlyDubai issued a statement earlier Friday, attributed to its chief executive officer, saying that, at the request of the authorities, FlyDubai had "temporarily suspended operations to Tel Aviv until further notice," and saying "a full official investigation, led by the relevant authorities and fully supported by flydubai, is underway." 

A disaster was averted when the flight's captain, Smit Machchhar, fought back and a number of passengers subdued and restrained the attacker, who had sent the plane into a rapid dive.

One of the passengers, Israeli plumber Yaniv Hayoun, said he pulled back on the controls to steady the plane until a third pilot, who was traveling in the passenger cabin, took over. The flight eventually landed safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.

One of the passengers who ran to the front of the plane, Dr. Shota Musaev, told ABC News in an interview this week that the attacker -- who was bloodied and restrained on the floor outside the cockpit -- told him he was from Oman. Musaev said that at one point the suspect asked Musaev to kill him.

"He said, 'Kill me please, kill me please,'" Musaev said.

Israeli officials are expected to be on the ground and involved in the questioning of Al Hammami, sources said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday said that the suspected attacker, who he didn't name, had undergone "Islamist radicalization."

"He came to crash the plane with all passengers on board," Netanyahu said in a video released by his office. "We are investigating whether he was sent, and whoever sent him will pay a very heavy price."

Netanyahu also again heaped praise on Hayoun and the other heroic passengers for preventing a "tragedy like 9/11."

A threadbare internet biography page believed to belong to the suspect indicated that he had studied aviation management at a British university and engineering at an Australian university.

A source at the Buckinghamshire New University confirmed that Al Hammami completed a three-year distance-learning course and graduated with a degree in aviation management in 2023. The source stressed that Al Hammami did not take any pilot training at the school.

Royal Air Maroc -- Morocco's national carrier -- confirmed to ABC News that Al Hammami completed a three-month theoretical training period with the airline in 2025 as part of its pre-employment process. At the end of the training, he was not selected for employment, the airline confirmed, but it wouldn't say why.

A representative for the school in Australia declined to comment and referred an inquiry from ABC News to the Australian federal police.

- ABC News' Dragana Jovanovic contributed to this report.

This story has been updated.

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The U.S. Coast Guard was searching the waters off Massachusetts for a missing medical transfer plane with six people on board that went missing on Saturday morning, officials said.

The Federal Aviation Administration informed the Coast Guard they lost contact with the Gulfstream G-100 around 2 a.m., as the plane flew from Bermuda to Boston, according to the Coast Guard.

The Bermuda Skyport Corporation, which operates LF Wade International Airport, said in a statement that the Canadian-registered plane took off from the airport with four crew members and two passengers at around 12:41 a.m. on Saturday.

There were no Americans aboard the plane, a source with knowledge of the investigation told ABC News.

The Coast Guard is using air and sea vehicles to search around Nantucket, the agency said. As of Saturday 11:00 a.m., there had been no updates.

Officials believe the plane rapidly descended 7,500 feet before hitting the water, a source with knowledge of the investigation told ABC News. 

-ABC News' Luke Barr contributed to this report.

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At least two people were killed Friday in a shooting at a Los Angeles strip mall, according to police.

The Los Angeles Police Department responded to a 911 call about a large party at the mall near Cal State Northridge around 11 p.m. when officers heard gunshots, ABC local station KABC reported.

Two people were killed, and it was not immediately clear if there were other injuries, authorities said.

Officers were seen placing several people in handcuffs and taking them away after the shooting. Police hadn't announced any arrests or released a suspect description as of early Saturday.

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(NEW YORK) -- For the first time, the public can see the full body camera footage of Luigi Mangione’s arrest and his subsequent strip search at the Altoona Police Department in Pennsylvania.

The footage was released Friday after news outlets, including ABC News, petitioned the court.

Mangione was taken into custody in Altoona in December 2024, days after the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Midtown Manhattan. The video includes the search of Mangione's bag when he was apprehended at an Altoona McDonald's, the retrieval of the murder weapon and Mangione's transport in a squad car.

This is the first time most of the footage has been seen outside court, including a redacted version of Mangione's strip search.

The video included much of what was played during a three-week evidentiary hearing when defense attorneys argued the evidence should be suppressed. The judge decided much of it could be used but kept it under seal. 

In August, Mangione pleaded guilty to two federal stalking counts in connection with Thompson's killing, and now the Manhattan district attorney's office is facing a deadline later this month to respond to Mangione's motion to dismiss the state indictment against him.

Mangione admitted to the crime in federal court in August, saying, "I used a 3-D printer to make part of a gun, and I equipped the gun with the silencer and the magazine."

"I shot Mr. Thompson in Manhattan and he died," he said, adding, "I knew what I was doing was illegal."

Mangione's sentencing in the federal case is set for Dec. 18.

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(NEW YORK) -- A father and son who worked at a Mississippi smoke shop were charged by federal prosecutors in connection with one of the two Ole Miss student deaths that took place last week.

U.S. Attorney Scott F. Leary for the Northern District of Mississippi announced Friday that a criminal complaint was filed against Yahya Mohamed Mosleh, 51, and Islam Yahya Mosleh, 18, on charges with possession with the intent to distribute controlled substances in connection with the death of Aidan Hamilton.

The father and son, who were arrested last week, worked at the smoke shop that allegedly sold illegal substances to Hamilton, investigators allege.

Hamilton, a freshman from Englewood, Colorado, was found dead on campus on Sept. 21, and investigators found "packages, some with missing tablets, of suspected kratom derivatives," according to the U.S. attorney's office.

"The cause of death appeared to be consistent with a drug overdose," the U.S. attorney's office said.

An hour later, a second Ole Miss student, Robert Strang, a junior from Atlanta, was found dead in a different location, and investigators also found "packages of suspected kratom derivatives," according to the U.S. attorney's office.

Strang's death was also consistent with a drug overdose, the U.S. attorney's office said.

Kratom products contain chemicals that can increase alertness, physical energy, and talkativeness. At higher doses, users may experience sedating effects.

The FDA has warned that kratom and especially concentrated synthetic 7-OH products can carry risks, including addiction, mental health concerns and other serious adverse effects.

Some jurisdictions in the country have banned the sale of kratom. Oxford, Mississippi, has banned the sale, possession and consumption of Kratom since 2019.

Advocates have called on the Food and Drug Administration for stricter regulations on the products and bans.

Toxicology reports on both deaths are still ongoing, according to investigators.

The Lafayette County Metro Narcotics Unit was able to track Hamilton's bank records and found that he made several purchases from Puffs Vape, Tobacco and Beer Store in Oxford, Mississippi, the federal criminal complaint said.

After an undercover informant was able to purchase pills that were advertised as 7 O Kratom pills, Lafayette County Metro Narcotics Unit officers executed a search warrant on Sept. 24 of the store and seized over 500 units of kratom, the U.S. attorney's office said.

Mississippi investigators arrested the father and son that day and charged them with possession of Schedule I controlled substances with intent to distribute.

Attorney information for the defendants wasn't immediately available.

The Lafayette County Metro Narcotics Unit also tracked Strang's financial records and found he made purchases at Express Mart #7, a gas station convenience store in Yalobusha County, according to the criminal complaint.

Officers were able to go to the store and purchase similar pills to the ones found and have sent them off to crime labs for analysis, the criminal complaint said.

No one from that business has been charged as of Friday.

The investigation is ongoing.

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