In one woman's mysterious drowning, signs of a national romance scam epidemic
CBSN
The scammer who drained Laura Kowal of her $1.5 million nest egg and sent the widowed healthcare executive on a path that ended with her death in the Mississippi River, hundreds of miles from her western Illinois home, called himself "Frank Borg."
Frank drew Laura into a relationship after she connected to his profile on the popular dating website Match.com. Over months of giddy cellphone calls and in hundreds of florid emails, Frank manipulated her by drawing on publicly-posted details of her life to forge a bond, then induced her to invest with his online trading firm. As her skepticism grew and love waned, he strong-armed her into helping him dip his hands into the accounts of other victims.
"She had all these buckets full in her life, my mom did," said Kelly Gowe, Laura's daughter. "But there was this one bucket that was missing… and that was companionship. ... And that's ultimately where we're at now, is because of that."
A lawsuit against Amazon alleging the retailer sold a chemical on its website that played a role in the suicides of several teenagers and adults can proceed to trial, the Washington State Supreme Court ruled on Thursday. Edited by Alain Sherter In:
FBI Director Kash Patel, whose use of a government jet has frequently come under scrutiny, flew on a Justice Department plane Thursday to Italy with plans to attend the Olympic hockey medal rounds, according to public data and sources familiar with the matter. In:
Team USA defeated Canada in a stunning 2-1 overtime comeback win at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Games to take home their third Olympic gold medal in women's ice hockey. In:
Oil prices are climbing amid signs the U.S. may be planning to launch military strikes on Iran, raising questions about the potential economic fallout of heightened conflict in the region. Edited by Alain Sherter In:
Washington — Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger will deliver the Democratic response to President Trump's State of the Union address next week, party leaders in Congress announced on Thursday.
Washington — Abigail Shry's verbal threats against public officials have been racist, violent and detailed. Her targets have included a federal judge in Washington, a Democrat in the House and the Texas Capitol. She allegedly once said she would "annihilate" the Texas government in an "armed attack" that would be more violent than the Jan. 6 insurrection.
Most athletes train for years to reach the Olympics, but competing at an elite level doesn't always come with elite pay. Some U.S. Olympians must also hold down a job to help fund the years of training required to compete on the world's biggest stage. Edited by Aimee Picchi In:
Washington — President Trump on Thursday announced the United States will contribute $10 billion to the "Board of Peace" he established as part of his 20-point peace plan for Gaza, although the funding source isn't yet clear.
Years of accusations stemming from former Prince Andrew's close friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein culminated Thursday in a moment long sought by survivors of Epstein's abuse, when King Charles III's brother was arrested. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's arrest is related to suspected misconduct in public office, not his actions with young women linked to Epstein. In:
A California judge admonished members of Mark Zuckerberg's team for wearing Ray Ban-Meta AI glasses, which are equipped with a camera, as they entered a Los Angeles courtroom on Wednesday for a landmark trial over the impact of social media on children. Edited by Alain Sherter In:
Authorities say they're working to find out why a group of skiers and their guides continued with their trip after a first avalanche watch was issued on Sunday, two days before an avalanche killed some of them near Lake Tahoe, California. In:
NASA cleared engineers to load more than 750,000 gallons of supercold propellants into the agency's huge Space Launch System rocket Thursday in a second "wet dress rehearsal" countdown to verify leak repairs and clear the way for a flight to the moon as early as March 6. In:
Kovay Gardens sells itself as a secluded retreat on Mexico's Pacific coast: a private beach along the Bahía de Banderas, four pools spilling toward the ocean and beds dressed in Egyptian cotton. Guests are promised room service, buffet breakfasts and airport shuttles to the boutique resort outside Puerto Vallarta.