An Ohio dentist and his wife were fatally shot in their home. One week later, questions remain.

It's been more than a week since anOhio dentist and his wife were fatally shot in their Columbus home, and police have released few details as the search for the suspect continues.

Spencer Tepe, 37, and Monique Tepe, 39, were found dead Dec. 30 from apparent gunshot wounds, according to a police incident report.

Their two young children were in the home unharmed.

The deaths have been a "nightmare" for the family, Spencer's cousin, Audrey Mackie, said.

"I have never experienced anything close to this type of tragedy. It's heartbreaking," Mackie told NBC News. "The whole entire family is just really torn up. They were fantastic people, so it's really hard for everyone right now."

The couple had married in their home and were just one month shy of celebrating their fifth wedding anniversary.

Officers responded to the couple's home after several concerned friends and coworkers called police to report that Spencer had not shown up to work and Monique was not answering the phone.

"He's been reliable. We cannot get in touch with him, his wife, his family, anybody that lives in that house," one of Spencer's colleagues said in a recording of a 911 call.

The man said Spencer not showing up to work was out of character for him.

"And we can't get in touch with his wife, which is probably the more concerning thing," he told the dispatcher.

In a separate call, another man said he could hear children playing in the home but had no way of getting inside.

Around 10 a.m., a man called and said he could see a body and blood in the home.

"There's blood. He's laying next to his bed, off of his bed, and there's blood. I can't get closer to see more than that," the man said, getting emotional.

The Franklin County coroner's office said they died from an apparent homicide by gunshot wounds, but added that the case is not finalized. The police department previously said it does not believe the killings were a murder-suicide.

Three 9mm shell casings were found in the home, police said.

A motive in the killings remains unclear. As of Wednesday morning, police have not identified a suspect or made any arrests.

Earlier in the week,Columbus police released a video of a person of interest walking in an alley by the home. The video was recorded between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. Dec. 30, the timeframe investigators believe the couple was killed. The footage shows a person wearing a hooded jacket and pants.

Mackie said the person "could be anyone," and hopes that the footage leads to the family getting answers.

Spencer practiced at Athens Dental Depot and was fluent in Spanish. His wife had a background in childhood education, family said, and loved baking.

"They were extraordinary people whose lives were filled with love, joy, and deep connection to others," the Tepe family said in a statement last week.

"Together, Spencer and Monique shared a beautiful, strong, and deeply happy relationship. They loved to travel, to laugh, and to build a life rooted in love," the statement read. "They were proud parents of two beautiful children and their beloved Goldendoodle, and they created a home filled with warmth, happiness, and connection."

byCristiano Ronaldo

in

January 07, 2026

An Ohio dentist and his wife were fatally shot in their home. One week later, questions remain.

It's been more than a week since anOhio dentist and his wife were fatally shot in their Columbus home, and police have released few det...

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Hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans still face deportation from US after Maduro capture

The fate of hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan migrants in the United States remains in limbo afterthe captureof Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, as the country grapples with an uncertain future.

President Donald Trump's tough line on government abuses in Venezuela helped buoy him to a resounding victory in South Florida, where Venezuelans make up a large share of the population.

But the relationship between his administration and the Venezuelan community has been turbulent. Last year, a series of moves by the Trump administration stripping deportation protections for Venezuelans, many of whom fled their country amid deteriorating economic conditions and fear of political persecution,sparked a sense of betrayal.

Now, while many Venezuelans in the US celebrated the capture ofMaduroand his wife by US forces in Caracas, they also remain concerned about theregime that remains in chargethere — and what might await them if the Trump administration sends them back.

"There could be progress. We don't know when. We don't know if there will be progress. But what we know is what we're living in the present time and it looks ridiculously bad for anyone to go to Venezuela right now," said Adelys Ferro, executive director of the Venezuelan American Caucus. "The uncertainty is huge and bigger than ever — and the desperation is something that I can't even explain."

The Trump administration made clear its intent to continue to deport Venezuelans, including by using the Alien Enemies Act, ina Monday court filingthat cited the Justice Department's indictment against Maduro to justify the use of the wartime authority, which is ensnared in ongoing litigation.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem also said over the weekend that the administration's decisions over immigration programs benefiting Venezuelans haven't changed in the wake of Maduro's capture.

"Venezuela today is more free than it was yesterday, and it will continue to be that way as long as President Trump is in the White House and is making sure that he's protecting the interest of the American people, because that ripple effect will continue to bring that kind of liberty to Venezuela as well," Noem said on Fox News Sunday.

Senior Trump officials have echoed that sentiment, arguing that Venezuela is better off now than it was a few days ago, making way for nationals of the country to return. Internally, Homeland Security officials continued routine operations, including as it concerned Venezuelans.

But additional comments Noem made in the Fox interview caused confusion over the weekend, when the secretary stated that Venezuelans who'd had their temporary protections revoked could apply for refugee status. The department later clarified Noem's remarks on social media.

"Secretary Noem ended Temporary Protected Status for more than 500,000 Venezuelans," the department said in a post on X, "and now they can go home to a country that they love."

That sentiment has been reiterated by officials in multiple subsequent public statements.

"The posture has not changed: USCIS encourages all Venezuelans unlawfully in the U.S. to use the CBP Home app for help with a safe and orderly return to their country. As always, USCIS will continue to process asylum and refugee requests in accordance with existing law and official policy updates," US Citizenship and Immigration Services spokesman Matthew Tragesser said in a statement to CNN.

The instability in Venezuela over the last several years already fueled a massive refugee crisis amounting to nearly 7.9 million Venezuelan refugees and migrants globally,according to the United Nations refugee agency.

Hundreds of thousands of them arrived in the US over the span of two decades. From 2000 to 2021, the Venezuelan-origin population increased nearly 600%,the Pew Research Center found. As of mid-2024, there were an estimated 764,000 Venezuelan migrants living in the United States,according tothe Migration Policy Institute.

Last year, the Trump administration ended a form of humanitarian relief known as Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelans in the United States and ended a parole program allowing Venezuelans, as well as other select nationalities, to temporarily live and work in the country. Both decisions were legally challenged.More than 600,000 Venezuelansbenefited from TPS.

Many of the Venezuelans living in the United States were facing uncertainty even before Maduro's arrest, according to Julia Gelatt, associate director of the US immigration policy program at the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute. Some are applying for asylum, but backlogged immigration courts and a freeze on applications at US Citizenship and Immigration Services means getting answers is a lengthy process.

"There's a pretty big percentage of Venezuelans in the US who are without any kind of status. And because of the travel ban and the associated pause at USCIS right now, they're not able to get another kind of status, like asylum. And even if they were granted something under President Biden, now USCIS is revisiting those immigration statuses conferred by the Biden administration," Gelatt said.

And even if conditions improve dramatically in Venezuela, she said, that doesn't mean the millions of Venezuelans who fled under Maduro's regime will return.

Former Homeland Security officials said that typically, administrations would do the reverse in this situation and consider temporary protections for nationals from a country facing turmoil.

"An event with this much political instability would normally spur an increase in asylum applications and potential grants of TPS and/or parole," said Sarah Pierce, director of social policy at Third Way and former senior USCIS official.

Emotions have been mixed among the Venezuelan community. Jubilant demonstratorssang and danced in the streetsin the suburb of Doral, Florida, a city about 15 miles west of Miami, home tomore Venezuelan immigrants than any other city in the US, that is affectionately known as "Doralzuela."

"We're scared but hopeful," Venezuelan-American Marisela Lara, who lives in Miami,told CNNover the weekend.

Many Venezuelan migrants in the US harbor the same concerns despite the removal of Maduro, given the same oppressive apparatus remains in place in the country.

"Most of my clients were very, very happy in the immediate aftermath, but are now concerned you're going to have the same group of individuals in power in Venezuela," said Helena Tetzeli, immigration attorney based in Miami who represents around 100 Venezuelan clients.

"My clients run the gamut in terms of political leanings — in general, one thing they have in common is a wait-and-see attitude, if there's really going to be a change back to democracy in Venezuela or a different cast of characters that are more deferential to the United States," she added.

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byCristiano Ronaldo

in

January 07, 2026

Hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans still face deportation from US after Maduro capture

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South Korean leader says he asked China's Xi to act as mediator on North Korea issues

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean PresidentLee Jae Myungsaid Wednesday he asked Chinese PresidentXi Jinpingto serve as a mediator to help resolve the North Korean nuclear crisis and ease animosities between the two Koreas.

Speaking with reporters traveling with him on the Shanghai leg of his China trip, Lee said he made the request whenhe met Xi for a summit in Beijingon Monday. Lee cited the Chinese president as replying that patience was needed on North Korean issues.

"We're making efforts but all our channels (with North Korea) are completely blocked so we can't communicate at all. I told him it would be good for China to play the role of a mediator for peace," Lee said in televised comments. "President Xi appraised our efforts and said we need to be patient."

China is North Korea's biggest trading partner and major diplomatic backer. South Korea and the U.S. have repeatedly asked China to use its unique influence to persuade North Korea to resume long-dormant diplomacy or denuclearize. China has urged all parties involved in North Korean issues to exercise restraint, and in recent years repeatedlyblockedthe U.S. and others' attempts to toughen sanctions on North Korea despite its weapons tests banned under U.N. resolutions.

North Korea has refused to engage in dialogue with South Korea and the U.S. and has taken steps to expand its nuclear arsenal since its leader Kim Jong Un's high-stakesnuclear diplomacywith President Donald Trump collapsed in 2019.

Since taking office last June, Lee's liberal government has been pushing hard toreopen talkswith North Korea, but Pyongyang has largely ignored Lee's overture. In July, Kim's sister and senior official, Kim Yo Jong, said the Lee government's "blind trust" in South Korea's alliance with the U.S. and hostility toward North Korea made it no different from its conservative predecessor.

Lee said Chinese Premier Li Qiang told him about the need to have patience as well during their separate meeting Tuesday.

"Roles of neighbors are necessary. We requested China to play such a role, and China said it will anyway make such efforts," Lee said.

Lee said he told Chinese officials about his stated push to seek phased, gradual denuclearization steps by North Korea in return for giving it corresponding benefits. He said it's important to freeze North Korea's nuclear and missile programs first to prevent a further expansion of its nuclear arsenal and a potential proliferation of its nuclear weapons. He said China shared his view.

"Leaving the current status would be a loss for Northeast Asia and the entire world, because (North Korea's) nuclear weapons are being produced continuously," Lee said.

North Korea has said it won't putdenuclearizationon the negotiating table again. Many experts also worry that rewarding North Korea for limited denuclearization steps could allow it to pull out of diplomacy while retaining much of its nuclear program after it wins some level of badly needed sanctions relief.

byCristiano Ronaldo

in

January 07, 2026

South Korean leader says he asked China's Xi to act as mediator on North Korea issues

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean PresidentLee Jae Myungsaid Wednesday he asked Chinese PresidentXi Jinpingto serve ...

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Photos of Greenland as Trump says US needs island for Arctic security

NUUK, Greenland (AP) — Greenland, the self-governing territory of Denmark and part of NATO, sits off the northeastern coast of Canada, with more than two-thirds of its territory lying within the Arctic Circle.

Leaders from several European countrieshave reaffirmedthat Greenland "belongs to its people" after the Trump administration doubled down on its intention to take overthe strategic Arctic island.

This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.

byCristiano Ronaldo

in

January 07, 2026

Photos of Greenland as Trump says US needs island for Arctic security

NUUK, Greenland (AP) — Greenland, the self-governing territory of Denmark and part of NATO, sits off the northeastern coa...

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Video shows security forces firing tear gas at protesters as Iran crackdown kills dozens

Protesters in Iran defied authorities Tuesday, hitting the streets in the capital, Tehran, and smaller cities to chant anti-government slogans amid an ongoing violent crackdown thatone human rights groupsays has left at least 36 dead.

The protests began last week with economic grievances as the Iranian currency, the rial, tanked. They quickly turned political, with demonstrators chanting slogans against the ruling clergy.

The rial dropped to a record low of 1.46 million against the dollar Tuesday. If it continues to drop, it is unlikely that the protests will stop anytime soon, analysts say.

HRANA, a network of rights activists, notedin a report Tuesdaythat 36 people have been killed since the demonstrations began 10 days ago — 34 protesters and two members of the security forces — and that more than 2,000 people have been arrested.

Dramatic videos posted on social media and verified by NBC News show security forces firing tear gas at Tehran's main bazaar Tuesday as protesters scramble for cover into passageways and narrow streets. Gunshots can be heard in some videos, and protesters can also be heard chanting slogans directly against the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the highest authority in the Islamic Republic.

Unrest at the Tehran bazaar is particularly unsettling for officials because the shuttering of shops at the ancient marketplace and protests from the merchant class were key elements that led to the overthrow of the monarchy in 1979.

Another video shows a person using a makeshift flamethrower on security forces in the southern city of Shiraz.

President Masoud Pezeshkian, who is seen as a relative moderate, in the past week called for protesters' demands to be heard and said he wasasking the interior ministerto meet with the leaders of the protest movement.

But the country's Gholam Hossein Mohseni-Ejeiwarned Wednesday that there would be "no leniency for those who help the enemy against the Islamic Republic." Accusing Israel and the U.S. of pursuing hybrid methods to disrupt the country, Ejei was quoted by the semiofficial Tasnim news agency as saying there was "no excuse for those coming to the streets for riots and unrest."

But the demonstrations are diffuse and largely leaderless, and Pezeshkian's efforts at mediation — and the killings and arrests by security forces — have not persuaded the protesters to stay off the streets.

"The system has responded to these protests with a combination of conciliatory rhetoric and brute force," Ali Vaez, Iran project director at the International Crisis Group, said in a text message response to questions. "The fact that neither has worked indicates that the former falls well short of what the protesters want, and the latter has failed to deter them from expressing it."

Protesters got an unexpected offer of support last week when President Donald Trump warned that the U.S. would intervene if violence against protesters continued, though he did not specify what actions the U.S. might take.

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Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibafsaid Friday on Xthat Trump's threat of intervention makes U.S. bases in the region "legitimate targets."

Analysts say Trump's message fed into the conspiracy theories of the most hard-line elements of the government, who were already on high alert for any foreign interference after a devastating 12-day war with Israel last summer, partly joined by the U.S. military, which left the country reeling.

The detention of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, a staunch Tehran ally, over the weekend only highlighted the issue for Iranian officials.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called the operation to detain Maduro "a clear example of state terrorism" in a telephone call with his Venezuelan counterpart Saturday, according to theIranian Foreign Affairs Ministry's official website.

"What the threshold for U.S. intervention would be, or what it might look like, is not entirely clear but the leadership in Tehran is likely worried about the prospect of dealing with not just instability from below but military action from abroad," Vaez said.

Some of the worst violence in recent days took place in the small town of Malekshahi and nearby Ilam in western Iran. The Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, a Norwegian-registered Kurdish watchdog that monitors rights violations across Iran, reported thatsecurity forces opened fire on a crowdSaturday, killing five people and wounding more than 40 others.

In a video posted on the organization's site, which was verified by NBC News, a crowd disperses quickly as multiple gunshots ring out and a handful of men return to pick up a man bleeding from a head wound.

The wounded and dead from Saturday's violence in Malekshahi were taken to the Imam Khomeini hospital in Ilam, where security forces stormed the compound and used batons, tear gas and live fire, according to Hengaw. A video posted on the organization's site, which was verified by NBC News, shows a member of the security forcesshooting into the hospital courtyardwhere people were gathered behind a gate.

The U.S. State Department's Farsi language account on Xposted a videoof the security forces rushing into the Ilam hospital compound below text that read, "Hospitals are not battlefields." The post also called the raid "a crime."

On Monday, Pezeshkianissued an orderfor the interior minister to investigate the unrest in Ilam province, according to the semi-official Iranian Students' News Agency.

Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa program at Chatham House, an international affairs think tank in London, said the use of the security forces, the slowing down of the internet and the violence in smaller towns were part of a "crackdown playbook" used by the government to deal with protests.

"This is, of course, all part of a more organized effort, after a few lenient first days, to get people off of the streets as soon as possible," she said.

byCristiano Ronaldo

in

January 07, 2026

Video shows security forces firing tear gas at protesters as Iran crackdown kills dozens

Protesters in Iran defied authorities Tuesday, hitting the streets in the capital, Tehran, and smaller cities to chant an...

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Lengthy grudge motivated Brown mass shooting, MIT professor killing: Sources

A lengthy grudge was at the heart of thedeadly mass shootingat Brown University and subsequent murder of an MIT nuclear physics professor, law enforcement sources told ABC News.

According to the sources, the alleged killer, Claudio Valente, recorded a video in his native Portuguese explaining his actions in opening fire on a study group at Brown's engineering and physics building on Dec. 13, killing two students and injuring nine others, before fatally shooting MIT professor Nuno Loureiro, at his home in Brookline, Massachusetts.

Timeline of the Brown University mass shooting and MIT professor slaying

On the video, Valente, a former Brown graduate student, said he was planning the shooting for a long time, according to sources. The violence stunned the nation and launched a six-day manhunt across New England just before Christmas.

Valente died by suicide before investigators found his body in a New Hampshire storage facility.

Federal agents spent the holidays poring over electronic devices found with the body and in an adjacent storage unit. The sources said there are additional devices to access and additional information to be learned about the twin shootings that cast a pall over two of the nation's elite universities.

Neves Valente "admitted that he had been planning the Brown University shooting for a long time" in the videos and stated that Brown was his "intended target," the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts said in a statement on Tuesday while releasing transcripts of the videos.

"Neves Valente showed no remorse during the recordings; on the contrary, he exposed his true nature when he blamed innocent, unarmed children for their deaths at his hand and grumbled about a self-inflicted injury he suffered when he shot the MIT professor at close range," the office said.

The Massachusetts U.S. attorney's office said in its statement that its investigation into the motive in the shootings continues and that, based on an initial review of the evidence, Neves Valente did not provide one. Though according to law enforcement sources, he did describe 20-year grudges that propelled him to buy guns, bring them to New England and carry out the shootings.

byCristiano Ronaldo

in

January 07, 2026

Lengthy grudge motivated Brown mass shooting, MIT professor killing: Sources

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Aldrich Ames, CIA officer convicted of spying for Moscow, dies at 84

Aldrich Ames, a former counterintelligence officer for the CIA who gained notoriety as a double agent for the Soviet Union and later Russia, has died. He was 84.

Ames, who was serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole at the Federal Correctional Institution in Cumberland, Maryland, died on Jan. 5, the Federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed to USA TODAY. The agency's inmate database did not list a cause or location of death.

Ames has been described as one of the most damaging spies in U.S. counterintelligence history. As a double agent, the FBI said Ames had compromised intelligence operations by leaking classified documents and the identities of CIA and FBI sources. Soviet authorities eventually executed some sources.

CIA double agent Aldrich Ames dies at 84

In February 1994, Ames was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation on charges of espionage. He later pleaded guilty to spying for Moscow and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

At the time of his arrest, the FBI said Ames was a 31-year veteran of the Central Intelligence Agency who was believed to have been spying for the Soviet Union and Russia since 1985. Federal authorities also accused Ames' wife, Rosario Ames, of aiding in his espionage activities.

Ames' espionage activities made him one of the highest-paid spies in history, according to the Center for Development of Security Excellence. He received a total of $4.6 million for his spying.

His case drew widespread scrutiny over the vulnerabilities within the CIA and shook confidence in federal agencies.

Ames' info compromised 'at least 100' US intelligence operations

Born in River Falls, Wisconsin, in 1941, Ames was the son of an alcoholic CIA officer. He later became a CIA case officer who specialized in Russian intelligence services, according to the FBI.

During his career, Ames worked in New York City and other countries, including Turkey, Mexico, and Italy. He was assigned to the CIA's Soviet/East European Division in 1985, where he "secretly volunteered to KGB officers at the USSR Embassy, Washington, D.C.," the FBI said.

The Center for Development of Security Excellence said Ames had been heavily in debt when he began selling classified information to the Soviet government.

"The information he provided led to the compromise of at least 100 U.S. intelligence operations and the execution of at least 10 U.S. sources," according to the center. "He ultimately gave the Soviet government the names of every American agent working in its country."

Hit men and CIA mind control:This group digs for truth behind US secrets

Federal authorities tipped off after agents disappeared at 'alarming rate'

The CIA and FBI were tipped off when they learned that agents were 'disappearing at an alarming rate," according to the Center for Development of Security Excellence. The FBI said it learned that Russian officials recruited by the United States were being arrested and executed.

"These human sources had provided critical intelligence information about the USSR, which was used by U.S. policy makers in determining U.S. foreign policy," the FBI said.

The FBI opened an investigation in May 1993 after reviewing information on "Ames's unexplained wealth," according to the agency. Following a 10-month investigation and searches of Ames' residence, the FBI discovered documents and other information that tied Ames to the Russian foreign intelligence service.

Ames was arrested by the FBI in Arlington, Virginia, in February 1994. He later confessed and pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit espionage and tax evasion in April 1994.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Aldrich Ames case: Former CIA officer who spied for Russia dies

byCristiano Ronaldo

in

January 07, 2026

Aldrich Ames, CIA officer convicted of spying for Moscow, dies at 84

Aldrich Ames, a former counterintelligence officer for the CIA who gained notoriety as a double agent for the Soviet Unio...

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