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Sudiksha Konanki’s disappearance echoes Natalee Holloway case. Is it affecting travel?

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Sudiksha Konanki’s disappearance echoes Natalee Holloway case. Is it affecting travel?


Sudiksha Konanki’s puzzling disappearance comes as thousands of students prepare to embark on spring break trips of their own.

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  • University of Pittsburgh student Sudiksha Konanki went missing while on spring break in the Dominican Republic.
  • Konanki’s disappearance shares similarities with the Natalee Holloway case from 2005, raising concerns about student travel safety.
  • Authorities are investigating Konanki’s disappearance but have not classified it as criminal, while her father has urged them to consider possibilities like kidnapping.
  • The incident has sparked anxiety among some parents and students planning spring break trips, but travel agencies report minimal cancellations.

A night out in the Caribbean. Blurry surveillance footage. A mysterious disappearance. Worried parents demanding answers. Sound familiar? 

University of Pittsburgh student Sudiksha Konanki vanished from a beach in the Dominican Republic last Thursday while on spring break with five friends. Authorities say she was last seen with a man whom she is believed to have met in the resort town of Punta Cana. 

Early details of her case are eerily similar to the disappearance of another American student almost 20 years ago. On May 30, 2005, Natalee Holloway did not return to her hotel room after a night out drinking with friends in Aruba on her high school graduation trip. Her murder would go unsolved for more than a decade.  

The questions surrounding Holloway’s final moments captured the attention of the entire country for days, weeks and years after her death – dominating the 24/7 news cycle, inspiring dozens of books and documentaries, and helping to germinate America’s obsession with true crime. 

Holloway’s mom, Beth Holloway, told Fox News that she hoped the U.S. Embassy in the Dominican Republic would be able to help Konanki’s family find answers.

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“The family is so fortunate to have an American embassy there to work with. I did not have that in Aruba,” Holloway said. “Surely they are checking cameras from hotel, gas stations, traffic lights, store fronts and wherever they had dinner, any casinos they visited, the beach areas.”

Echoes of Natalee Holloway

Holloway’s case struck fear in many young Americans, particularly women, and their parents about traveling abroad. The idea that tragedy could unfold in a place that looked like paradise was “unsettling” to an American public that associated tourism with safety said Amy Shlosberg, a professor of criminology at Fairleigh Dickinson University and host of the podcast Women & Crime. 

Holloway was traveling with a large group of students on a high school graduation trip when she died. On their last night in Aruba − May 29, 2005 − she and a few friends went to a local bar to get drinks. Holloway was seen leaving with a group of men, including a Dutch teenager named Joran van der Sloot.

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Van der Sloot initially denied any wrongdoing but later admitted to murdering Holloway in a confession that was made public in 2023. He said he threw a cinder block at her after she rejected his sexual advances while the two were alone on the beach. Her body was never found.

Authorities investigating Konanki’s disappearance said she was last seen on Thursday on a beach with her friends. Authorities have said surveillance footage shows five women and one man leaving the beach at about 6.am. but Konanki allegedly stayed behind with a man named Joshua Riibe who she met on the island. Surveillance video showed him leaving the beach area hours later without her. 

Local authorities are not labeling Konanki’s case as a criminal investigation. Her father has asked investigators to consider multiple options for her disappearance outside of drowning, including kidnapping.

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Konanki’s story, Shlosberg said, has the potential to “reawaken” many of the traveling anxieties that Holloway’s disappearance triggered in a new generation of young people. 

“Even though something like this happened 20 years ago, it’s not a thing of the past, these things are still happening,” Shlosberg said. 

Are parents, students worried about spring break travel? 

Search #PuntaCana and #SpringBreak on TikTok, and you’ll find dozens of videos of giddy college students packing for their trip and waiting with friends to board their flights. Some expressed hesitancy about travelin because of Konanki’s disappearance. On Facebook, a parent asked whether travel to the Dominican Republic would still be safe for her daughter this week.  

Jake Jacobsen, vice president of STS Travel, an agency that books between 5,000 and 10,000 spring break trips for students, told USA TODAY he has fielded calls from nervous parents but “very few” students have cancelled their travel plans in the days since Konanki disappeared.

His advice to them: weigh the facts and make the decision that feels most comfortable. 

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“Right now, there’s 1000s of college students down there having a good time. That’s pretty much what we tell them,” Jacobsen said.  

Jacobsen said the destination of the Dominican Republic should be not be tarnished by the incident.  

“We’re all very concerned, and we all want to know what’s going on, and we’d like to know sooner rather than later. Our hearts go out to the family,” Jacobsen said. “As far as people wanting to travel, all we can do is update them on the current information.”

Contributing: N’dea Yancey-Bragg, John Bacon and Thao Nguyen, USA TODAY

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Paul Pelosi in hit-and-run in California, car left with major damage, authorities say

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Paul Pelosi in hit-and-run in California, car left with major damage, authorities say

Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and her husband Paul arrive at the funeral services for Clive Davis at Central Synagogue in New York, Monday, June 29, 2026.

Adam Gray/AP


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Adam Gray/AP

LOS ANGELES — The husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was involved in a hit-and-run in California that left a parked car with “major” damage authorities said Saturday, and he could face misdemeanor charges.

Paul Pelosi was driving his brown convertible Friday in Yountville, a town in the heart of wine country, when he struck a legally parked car on the side of the road, briefly stopped and then drove away, the Napa County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. No injuries were reported.

A witness saw the collision and called 911. Shortly afterward sheriff’s deputies found Pelosi with damage to the front of his car on a road roughly a quarter of a mile away. He reportedly told officers he knew he hit something but was not sure when or what caused the damage.

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Pelosi, 86, did not have any alcohol in his system, according to the statement. The sheriff’s office referred him to the Department of Motor Vehicles for a process to determine whether he may continue to drive — something that officials say is common for older drivers.

Pelosi was not arrested, and because no one was injured, the sheriff’s office recommended a misdemeanor charge for fleeing the scene of an accident.

A staffer for Nancy Pelosi did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

Paul Pelosi pleaded guilty in 2022 to misdemeanor charges of driving under the influence in Napa County and was sentenced to five days in jail and three years of probation. However, he served only two days in jail and received good conduct credit for two other days, leaving just one day to serve in a work program at the courthouse.

As part of his probation, Pelosi was required to attend a three-month drinking driver class and install an ignition interlock device, which forces drivers to provide a breath sample to prove sobriety before the engine will start. He also was ordered to pay about $5,000 in victim restitution for medical bills and lost wages, along with nearly $2,000 in fines.

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Crowds ordered to evacuate National Mall area as stormy weather slams DC

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Crowds ordered to evacuate National Mall area as stormy weather slams DC

The thousands of people attending the Great American State Fair and other areas around the National Mall are being ordered to evacuate as stormy weather approaches.

The National Weather Service previously announced a Severe Thunderstorm Warning in the District. Officials are asking attendees to seek shelter.

SEE ALSO: Historic Fourth of July fireworks to light up National Mall: How to watch live

The DC Homeland Security & Emergency Management released a list of places where the crowds can go to get out of the weather:

Federal Buildings:

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  • Ronald Reagan Building – 100 Pennsylvania Ave NW
  • Dept. of Commerce – 1401 Constitution Ave NW
  • Dept. of Agriculture – 1400 Independence Dr SW
  • Dept. of Education – 400 Maryland Ave SW
  • Internal Revenue Service – 1111 Constitution Ave NW
  • Voice of America – 330 Independence Ave SW
  • Thomas Jefferson Memorial – 16 E Basin Dr SW

Museums:

  • National Museum of American History – 1300 Constitution Ave NW
  • National Museum of Natural History – 1000 Constitution Ave NW
  • National Museum of African American History and Culture – 1400 Constitution Ave NW

Freedom 250 organizers released this statement:

“The safety of our guests, performers, and staff is our top priority. Due to approaching severe storms, Freedom 250, United States Secret Service, United States Park Police, National Park Service, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and all public safety partners are asking all guests to evacuate event grounds and seek temporary shelter in a nearby building. Available shelter locations include the Department of Commerce, Department of Education, Department of Agriculture, Internal Revenue Service, VOA Building, Thomas Jefferson Memorial, National Museum of American History, National Museum of Natural History, the African American Museum, and the Ronald Reagan Building. Please remain calm, follow the directions of law enforcement and event staff, and stay tuned to Freedom 250’s official channels for updates. Freedom 250 will share updates on programming and doors reopening — please stay close to our official channels for updates.”

The Secret Service said they have suspended screening on the National Mall.

“Security screening on the National Mall has been suspended due to dangerous storms,” the Secret Service said. “If you are already on the grounds, follow directions from officers and event staff and move to shelter immediately. Do not shelter under trees.”

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Metro riders are also asked to seek shelter. Commuters should expect heavy crowds at stations near the National Mall and are asked to consider using L’Enfant Plaza, Metro Center, Archives, Federal Triangle or Federal Center SW stations to avoid congestion.

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Reflections on America’s 250th birthday

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Reflections on America’s 250th birthday

The nation’s capital may be the focal point of the 250th Independence Day celebration, but people all across America have plans to mark the occasion, from boisterous public parades to quiet personal reflections on history.

Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP


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Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP

As the United States turns 250 years old, Americans across the country are spending the holiday thinking about what the big birthday means to them, with reflections and celebrations as diverse as the nation itself.

NPR’s member station reporters fanned out to collect snapshots of the occasion from sea to shining sea.

In one ‘City of Presidents,’ Main Street is decorated for a party

At least two cities in the U.S.call themselves the “City of Presidents” and Cuba City, in Wisconsin, is one of them, largely due to its patriotic Main Street decorations. Every year from Memorial Day through Veteran’s Day, red, white, and blue shields, one for each U.S. president, are prominently displayed high up on the light poles lining Main Street.

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It’s a tradition that began in 1976 to commemorate the country’s bicentennial, says Donna Rogers, who is president of the ongoing project but admitted that when it first started, she wasn’t particularly tuned-in to the display.

“I was raising three little boys and working at John Deere, so I didn’t really pay too much attention to community service at that time,” she said.

Donna Rogers shows off one of Cuba City's presidential lampposts.

Donna Rogers shows off one of Cuba City’s presidential lampposts.

Susan Bence/WUWM


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A few years later, she was tapped to help keep the initiative alive.

When she thinks of the country’s history, she says the signing of the Declaration of Independence and abolition of slavery top her list, plus a current event–

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“Of course, now, our nation’s 250th birthday. I think those three would be the three most important things in history to me,” she said, quickly adding “[the] right for women to vote, don’t forget that, right?”

Rogers and Cuba City are pulling out all the stops for the 250th, with a parade and a mac-and-cheese festival, because “that was some of our founding fathers favorite foods, along with turkey and cranberries and other items.”

She laughed and admitted she googled that. True or not, Rogers says they’ll go all-out to celebrate the 250th in her “City of Presidents”.

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