Police across US warn about new, high-tech key fob thefts
It's called a ProPad, which ABC News reports is a tool typically used by locksmiths.
Now, it's being abused to clone key fobs and program new ones.
ALSO READ: Suspects accused of stealing hundreds of cars with key fob devices in Charlotte
One woman told ABC's Detroit affiliate WXYZ that she watched her own car being stolen from her driveway in the middle of the night.
'I watched somebody drive off with my car,' Kristina Rinaldi said.
WXYZ reports Rinaldi's vehicle was ultimately recovered after a police chase, but was totaled.
And now across the country, police are tracking thieves who've used ProPad-like devices.
The thefts reportedly only take minutes. In the video above, ABC's Alison Kosik explains how.
WATCH BELOW: Morganton man accused of stealing from firefighters, church
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The Hill
a day ago
- The Hill
Nancy Mace's governor bid tees up volatile primary
Rep. Nancy Mace's (R-S.C.) entrance into South Carolina's GOP gubernatorial primary is setting the stage for a tumultuous intraparty battle as five Republicans vie for the state's top executive post. Early polling shows Mace and the state's Attorney General Alan Wilson (R) leading the primary pack, with Mace calling the primary a two-way race between her and Wilson. The two officials already have a contentious history. Earlier this year the congresswoman accused four men of sexual misconduct in a speech on the House floor and accused the state attorney general of not prosecuting the men. However, other contenders, including Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette (R) and Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), could also have an impact on the race. 'When it comes to our politics, it truly is really cut-throat,' said Alex Stroman, former South Carolina GOP executive director. A South Carolina Policy Council poll released late last month showed Mace leading the crowded field with 16 percent of voters who said they identified as Republicans while Wilson closely trailed at 15 percent. Evette came in with eight percent support, followed by Norman at six percent. State Sen. Josh Kimbrell (R) received three percent support. The same poll showed 52 percent of voters were undecided, suggesting there is ample opportunity for the candidates to bolster their support. The nature of the crowded primary could make it difficult for any candidate to win a majority of voters outright. If no candidates win a majority, the two candidates with the most votes will proceed to a runoff. Additionally, strategists note that most polling at this point of the cycle is about name ID. Mace, who is a Trump critic-turned-vocal-supporter, arguably has the highest name ID in the race. 'I don't sleep. I went to bed at 1 a.m., and I was up at 4 a.m. OK, I am Trump in high heels. I love what I am doing. I mean, he doesn't sleep,' Mace said at her campaign's first town hall in Myrtle Beach this week. The congresswoman is an outspoken opponent of transgender rights, making headlines late last year for introducing legislation that would ban transgender women from using women's restrooms in the U.S. Capitol following the election of the first openly transgender Rep. Sarah McBride (D-Del.). Mace also made waves during a contentious interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos when she accused him of shaming her for being a rape victim. Stephanopoulos had asked Mace how she could endorse Trump, who has been found liable for sexual battery in his defamation lawsuit with E. Jean Carroll. One national GOP operative working on South Carolina races noted that Mace's status as an outspoken, firebrand figure will not be enough to ensure a victory. 'Crazy wins the attention in the primary, but that's not going to translate into votes,' the operative noted. Mace and Wilson's feud is likely to be a defining part of the race, with both candidates escalating their attacks on the campaign trail. During an appearance on Fox News' Brian Kilmeade Show, Mace accused Wilson of being too lenient on violent offenders, including child sex abusers. Wilson has defended his record on the issue as attorney general while hitting back at Mace. 'It's obvious to me that Congresswoman Mace thinks a lot more about me than I think about her,' Wilson said in an interview with The Hill on Friday. 'You can always tell how you're doing in a crowded race when one of the candidates only talks about you and spends all of their time obsessing and lying about their record.' 'People do not get attacked when they are irrelevant and apparently I am incredibly relevant to some of my opponents in this race,' he continued. Wilson's father, Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.), also has bad blood with Mace. The congressman notably endorsed Mace's previous primary challengers in 2022 and 2024. The elder Wilson issued a scathing statement against Mace earlier this week, calling her 'a party of one' in the Republican Conference. Mace hit back in her own statement, saying 'South Carolina deserves a fighter, not a dynasty.' Some Republicans note that while early polling shows Mace and Wilson as the early frontrunners, their ongoing feud comes with the risk of their campaigns cannibalizing each other. 'They're going to kill each other because they can't help it,' said the national GOP operative working on South Carolina races. 'They're going to create an opening for either Pam or Ralph, or maybe both of them.' Unlike Mace, Norman and Kimbrell, Wilson and Evette can more easily run on South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster's (R) record given their roles in the executive branch. McMaster, who has been governor since 2015, holds a 43 percent approval rating. '[Evette] is the one who run on the McMaster record,' said the national GOP operative working on South Carolina races. 'They're all attacking Columbia and the government and they don't realize how popular McMaster is.' Wilson argued that the attorney's general office, which he has held since 2011, is 'the most consequential elected position in state government.' 'I have gone and been involved in hundreds of legal actions both during the Biden and Obama administrations, so when I say something and I back it up in court, it has a real impact on people's lives,' he said, adding that the office of lieutenant governor is 'a ceremonial position.' 'That is not the fault of the current occupant,' he said, referring to Evette. Additionally, it's been over a decade since there was an open South Carolina governor's primary, meaning the party's candidates find themselves in somewhat unchartered territory. 'We haven't had a true open governor's race in 16 years,' Stroman said. 'I think everyone is trying to figure out what do South Carolina voters actually care about.' One thing that is known is how valuable Trump's endorsement will be in the race. 'He is a consequential voice in South Carolina party politics,' Wilson said. 'Of course everybody running for governor of South Carolina wants the president's endorsement. I'm no different but at the end of the day, I think that people have to earn the president's endorsement.' Many members of Evette's staff are former Trump staffers and have had ties to the president's political operation. 'All of the candidates in the race think they're the Trump candidate,' Stroman said. 'But I think Evette actually lands the endorsement.'
3 days ago
Thousands of dollars' worth of Labubus stolen as toy's popularity continues to soar
The store, One Stop Sales, shared footage of the robbery on social media. 2:21 Dozens of boxes of the popular Labubu toy totaling around $7,000 were stolen from a store in La Puente, California, this week, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. The burglary happened around 1:29 a.m. on Aug. 6 at One Stop Sales, a store known for its Labubu dolls and accessories. "We worked so hard to get to this point, [only] for them just to come in and like nothing take it all away," Joanna Avendano, co-owner of One Stop Sales, told local ABC station KABC-TV on Thursday. The shop has since posted surveillance footage of the incident on social media. One video shows at least four masked people breaking into the store, ransacking shelves and fleeing with boxes of merchandise. Avendano also shared images of the aftermath, showing shattered glass at the entrance and scattered products on the floor. Deputies told ABC News Thursday that the suspects remain at large but they have recovered the stolen white Toyota Tacoma used in the crime. Labubus, which debuted in China in 2015, have exploded in global popularity, spotted on celebrities like Rihanna, Lizzo, and BLACKPINK's Lisa and growing into a billion-dollar industry. Revenue for Pop Mart, the Chinese designer toy company behind Labubus, doubled in 2024, reaching $1.8 billion, according to Pop Mart's annual financial report. While the doll retails for about $30, they can go for hundreds and sometimes even thousands of dollars on the resale market. On social media, videos show crowds packing store entrances and pop-ups, lining up for a chance to score a box. Alex DePaoli, an associate teaching professor of marketing at Northeastern University's School of Business, told ABC News that part of the Labubu appeal comes from their marketed rarity and the way they are sold through a "blind box" system. "[It's a] system essentially where you don't know what's in the box, you hope that what's in the box is what you want," DePaoli said in an interview that aired Friday on " Good Morning America." "If you don't get what you want, you've got to go buy another one. A lot of folks have sort of likened that sort-of system to almost gambling." The market for Labubus has become so popular that some consumers are turning to counterfeit alternatives known as "Lafufus," which are made with lower-quality materials and may have different features than authentic Labubus. "They're not just toys, they are accessories," DePaolis said of the Labubu craze. "They are things that you can collect, not just to dress them up, not just be amused by, but also to complete an outfit."
4 days ago
Murdered Congressional intern's mom says Trump should take over Washington, DC
As President Donald Trump continues to rail against crime in the nation's capital, saying violence is out of control and that Washington, D.C., should be federalized, the mother of a Congressional intern gunned down in June told ABC News on Thursday that she agrees with the president. Since beginning his second term in the Oval Office, Trump has slammed local leaders, claiming they have not done enough to crack down on violent crime in the district. The president ramped up his criticism after a 19-year-old former employee of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was left beaten and bloodied early Sunday during an attempted carjacking in northwest Washington, D.C. Trump said in a social media post that the incident showed that "crime in Washington, D.C., is totally out of control." The president also suggested that minors involved in such crimes should be prosecuted as adults, "starting at 14." "If D.C. doesn't get its act together, and quickly, we will have no choice but to take Federal control of the City, and run this City how it should be run, and put criminals on notice that they're not going to get away with it anymore," Trump said in his post. Two 15-year-old suspects were arrested in Sunday's assault of the former DOGE employee, identified in a police incident report as 19-year-old Edward Coristine, but investigators said up to eight other perpetrators remain at large. The carjacking assault came after two other high-profile violent attacks in Washington, D.C., over the past three months. On May 21, two employees of the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., were gunned down outside the Capital Jewish Museum, allegedly by a 31-year-old Illinois man shouting "free, free Palestine." An indictment against the suspect, charging him with federal hate crime and murder, was unsealed this week. On June 30, Eric Tarpinian-Jachym, a 21-year-old intern for Rep. Ron Estes, R-Kan., was fatally shot in northwest Washington, D.C., when he got caught in the crossfire of a drive-by shooting, according to police. No arrests have been made in the homicide. Tarpinian-Jachym's mother, Tamara Tarpinian-Jachym, told ABC News on Thursday that she believes that the laws in Washington, D.C., need a drastic overhaul to crack down on juvenile offenders and gang members caught committing violence. "As far as I'm concerned, if Trump feels that he needs to take it over until they [city leadership] can get their act together and start prosecuting these juveniles and these people to the fullest extent of the law and not slap their hands so they can go out and do it again and get into more violent crime as they age, I feel it's a good idea," said Tamara Tarpinian-Jachym, who lives in Massachusetts. She added, "My son didn't deserve what happened to him. Nobody deserves that. He was shot. He wasn't the intended target." Washington, D.C., residents can expect to see an increase in federal law enforcement around the city starting as early as this week, a White House official told ABC News. The official stressed that operational details have yet to be finalized, but the White House is working with multiple agencies to use federal and local enforcement to monitor crime in the city. "Washington, D.C., is an amazing city, but it has sadly been plagued by petty and violent crime for far too long. President Trump is committed to making our Nation's capital safer and even more beautiful for its residents, lawmakers, and visitors from all around the world," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement to ABC News. Despite Trump's claims that violent crime in the city has gotten out of hand, police statistics show that in the past two years violent crime in Washington, D.C., has fallen dramatically. "Compared to where it was two years ago, when it really peaked in 2023, it's down 50%," Jeff Asher, a national crime analyst, told ABC News on Thursday. Asher said that, statistically, violent crime in Washington, D.C., is back down to levels not seen since before the start of the pandemic in 2020. Overall, violent crime in Washington, D.C., and across the country skyrocketed during the pandemic as criminal courts shut down and jail populations were dramatically reduced in an effort to stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Homicides in Washington, D.C., rose from 166 in 2019 to 226 in 2021 and climbed to 274 in 2023, according to crime stats from the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department. In the first seven months of 2025, compared to the same period in 2024, overall violent crime has dropped 26%, homicides have fallen 12%, sexual assaults are down nearly 50%, assaults with a dangerous weapon have tumbled 20%, and robberies are down nearly 30%. Asher, a former crime analyst at the CIA and the New Orleans Police Department, said there has also been a 68% decline in carjackings in Washington, D.C., since 2023. Compared to the first seven months of 2024, carjackings in the city are down 37% this year, Asher said. "That doesn't disprove that crime is an issue, just like it's an issue in a lot of cities where it's coming down, " Asher said. "But it's certainly not something that's getting worse; it's a problem that's improving." Despite the improving crime statistics, Trump told reporters on Wednesday that White House lawyers are looking into how to go about federalizing Washington, D.C. He said his chief of staff, Susie Wiles, was working with D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser. A spokesperson for the mayor told ABC News they had no comment on Trump's threat to take over the city. "We're considering it, yeah, because the crime is ridiculous," Trump said. "I could show you a chart comparing D.C. to other locations, and you're not going to want to see what it looks like. We want to have a great safe capital, and we're going to have it, and that includes cleanliness and includes other things. We have a capital that's very unsafe." The district has some autonomy under the 1973 Home Rule Act, which grants residents the ability to manage affairs by electing a mayor and city council members. But final oversight of the district's laws and budget is left to Congress. In 2023, for example, the U.S. House of Representatives blocked two local bills from going into effect, including one that would have updated the district's criminal code. Trump does appear to have some legal power to direct the Metropolitan Police Department under the Home Rule Act, "whenever [he] determines that special conditions of an emergency nature exist…" When asked about the falling crime statistics, Tamara Tarpinian-Jachym told ABC News, "I don't believe in statistics because statistics can be skewed in any way." Tamara Tarpinian-Jachym noted that when her son was killed, Bowser said at a news conference that her son was the city's 84th homicide of the year. As of Thursday, homicides in the city had risen to 99.
