Columbia canceled in-person classes, dozens of protesters were arrested at New York University and Yale, and the gates to Harvard Yard were closed to the public Monday as some of the most prestigious U.S. universities sought to defuse campus tensions over Israel's war with Hamas.

More than 100 pro-Palestinian demonstrators who had camped out on Columbia’s green were arrested last week, and similar encampments have sprouted up at universities around the country as schools struggle with where to draw the line between allowing free expression while maintaining safe and inclusive campuses.

At New York University, an encampment set up by students swelled to hundreds of protesters throughout the day Monday. The school said it warned the crowd to leave, then called in the police after the scene became disorderly and the university said it learned of reports of “intimidating chants and several antisemitic incidents.” Shortly after 8:30 p.m., officers began making arrests.

“It’s a really outrageous crackdown by the university to allow the police to arrest students on our own campus," said New York University law student Byul Yoon.

“Antisemitism is never OK. That’s absolutely not what we stand for and that’s why there are so many Jewish comrades that are here with us today,” Yoon said

SEE MORE: Columbia University goes virtual amid pro-Palestinian protests

The protests have pitted students against one another, with pro-Palestinian students demanding that their schools condemn Israel's assault on Gaza and divest from companies that sell weapons to Israel. Some Jewish students, meanwhile, say much of the criticism of Israel has veered into antisemitism and made them feel unsafe, and they point out that Hamas is still holding hostages taken during the group's Oct. 7 invasion.

Tensions remained high Monday at Columbia, where the campus gates were locked to anyone without a school ID and where protests broke out both on campus and outside.

U.S. Rep. Kathy Manning, a Democrat from North Carolina who was visiting Columbia with three other Jewish members of Congress, told reporters after meeting with students from the Jewish Law Students Association that there was “an enormous encampment of people” who had taken up about a third of the green.

“We saw signs indicating that Israel should be destroyed,” she said after leaving the Morningside Heights campus. Columbia announced Monday that courses at the Morningside campus will offer virtual options for students when possible, citing safety as their top priority.

A woman inside the campus gates led about two dozen protesters on the street outside in a chant of, "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!” — a charged phrase that can mean vastly different things to different groups. A small group of pro-Israel counter demonstrators protested nearby.

University President Minouche Shafik said in a message to the school community Monday that she was “deeply saddened” by what was happening on campus.

“To deescalate the rancor and give us all a chance to consider next steps, I am announcing that all classes will be held virtually on Monday,” Shafik wrote, noting that students who don’t live on campus should stay away.

Protests have roiled many college campuses since Hamas’ deadly attack on southern Israel, when militants killed about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and took roughly 250 hostages. During the ensuing war, Israel has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, according to the local health ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between combatants and non-combatants but says at least two-thirds of the dead are children and women.

On Sunday, Elie Buechler, a rabbi for the Orthodox Union’s Jewish Learning Initiative at Columbia, sent a WhatsApp message to nearly 300 Jewish students recommending they go home until it’s safer for them on campus.

The latest developments came ahead of the Monday evening start of the Jewish holiday of Passover.

Nicholas Baum, a 19-year-old Jewish freshman who lives in a Jewish theological seminary building two blocks from Columbia's campus, said protesters over the weekend were "calling for Hamas to blow away Tel Aviv and Israel.” He said some of the protesters shouting antisemitic slurs were not students.

“Jews are scared at Columbia. It’s as simple as that," he said. “There’s been so much vilification of Zionism, and it has spilled over into the vilification of Judaism.”

An Arizona judge declared a mistrial Monday in the case of a rancher accused of fatally shooting a Mexican man on his property near the U.S.-Mexico border.

The decision came after jurors failed to reach a unanimous decision after more than two full days of deliberation in trial of George Alan Kelly, 75, who was charged with second-degree murder in the Jan. 30, 2023, shooting of Gabriel Cuen-Buitimea.

“Based upon the jury's inability to reach a verdict on any count,” Superior Court Judge Thomas Fink said, “This case is in mistrial.”

The Santa Cruz County Attorney’s Office can still decide whether to retry Kelly for any charge, or drop the case all together.

A status hearing was scheduled for next Monday afternoon, when prosecutors could inform the judge if they plan to refile the case. Prosecutors did not immediately respond to emailed requests for additional comment.

Kelly was charged with second-degree murder in killing of Cuen-Buitimea, 48, who lived just south of the border in Nogales, Mexico.

SEE MORE: A day on a ranch along the US-Mexico border

Prosecutors said Kelly recklessly fired nine shots from an AK-47 rifle toward a group of men, including Cuen-Buitimea, about 100 yards away on his cattle ranch. Kelly has said he fired warning shots in the air, but he didn’t shoot directly at anyone.

Court officials took jurors to Kelly’s ranch as well as a section of the border. Fink denied news media requests to tag along.

After Monday's ruling, Consul General Marcos Moreno Baez of the Mexican consulate in Nogales, Arizona, said he would wait with Cuen-Buitimea’s two adult daughters on Monday evening to meet with prosecutors from Santa Cruz County Attorney’s Office to learn about the implications of a mistrial.

“Mexico will continue to follow the case and continue to accompany the family, which wants justice." said Moreno. "We hope for a very fair outcome.”

Kelly's defense attorney Brenna Larkin did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment after the ruling was issued. Larkin had asked Fink to have jurors keep deliberating another day.

Kelly had earlier rejected an agreement with prosecutors that would have reduced the charge to one count of negligent homicide if he pleaded guilty.

SEE MORE: How and why do migrants risk their lives to come to the US?

Kelly was also charged with aggravated assault that day against another person in the group of about eight people, including a man from Honduras who was living in Mexico and who testified during the trial that he had gone into the U.S. that day seeking work.

The other migrants weren’t injured and they all made it back to Mexico.

Cuen-Buitimea lived just south of the border in Nogales, Mexico. He had previously entered the U.S. illegally several times and was deported, most recently in 2016, court records show.

The nearly monthlong trial coincided with a presidential election year that has drawn widespread interest in border security.

Fink had told jurors that if they could not reach a verdict on the second-degree murder charge, they could try for a unanimous decision on a lesser charge of reckless manslaughter or negligent homicide. A second-degree murder conviction would have brought a minimum prison sentence of 10 years.

The jury got the case Thursday afternoon, deliberated briefly that day and then all of Friday and Monday.

Their childhood memories are vivid: warnings against drinking or cooking with tap water, enduring long lines for cases of water, washing from buckets filled with heated, bottled water.

But the children of the Flint water crisis — set in motion April 25, 2014, when the city began drawing water from the Flint River — have turned their trauma into advocacy.

They know Flint still struggles: Its population has fallen by about 20,000 in the past decade, leaving abandoned houses frequently targeted by arsonists. More than two-thirds of children live in poverty, and many struggle in school.

But young activists say they want to help make a difference, change how their city is perceived by outsiders — and defy expectations.

“One of the biggest issues about growing up in Flint is that people had already decided and predetermined who we were,” said 22-year-old Cruz Duhart, a member of the Flint Public Health Youth Academy.

“They had ideas about our IQ, about behavioral things, but they never really stopped to speak to us and how we thought about it and the type of traumas that we were going through.”

Sima Gutierrez collects water samples from residents' homes and takes them to the Flint Community Water Lab, where more than 60 high school and college interns have provided free testing for thousands of residents since 2020.

She helps plan public awareness campaigns about topics like gun violence and how racism affects public health as a member of the Flint Public Health Youth Academy.

“I wanted to be surrounded by people who weren’t going to cover up the whole fact that people are still having problems ... to share my life (with) anybody else who’s going through what I’m going through,” said Sima, 16.

A decade ago, she complained about stomach pains when she drank water, but her mom believed it helped Sima’s body flush medication she took for an autoimmune disorder that was causing her hair to fall out in patches and leaving her skin splotchy.

Sima and three of her sisters were found to have elevated lead levels and have been diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder; Sima also has a learning difficulty, her mother said.

Residents had been assured the water was safe when many complained of skin rashes and discolored, smelly and foul-tasting water after the city disconnected from Detroit-supplied water to save money.

But a year and a half later, a water expert found high lead levels in the tap water, caused by the city's failure to add anti-corrosion chemicals, which state environmental officials said was unnecessary. A physician also discovered that levels in kids’ blood had doubled.

The potent neurotoxin can damage children’s brains and nervous systems and affect learning, behavior, hearing and speech. There is no safe childhood exposure level, and problems can manifest years later.

Data collected over a decade now show that Flint children have higher rates of ADHD, behavioral and mental health problems and more difficulty learning than those assessed before the water crisis, said Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, the pediatrician who flagged rising lead levels in Flint kids’ blood. She said issues such as nutrition, poverty, unemployment and systemic inequalities also could be factors.

But Flint kids are resilient, she said, and have made important contributions to the city's recovery. The Flint Youth Justice League, an advisory board to her Pediatric Public Health Initiative, for example, has offered advice on programs to reduce poverty and connect residents to public services.

“Our young people are amazing,” said Hanna-Attisha. “They are not okay with the status quo and they are demanding that we do better for them and for generations to come.”

SEE MORE: Why do we celebrate Earth Day?

Asia Donald remembers feeling helpless and bewildered when her little sister developed rashes and her mom boiled pot after pot of bottled water for baths.

But a couple years later, she was guiding kids from Newark, New Jersey, as they experienced their own water crisis. Over Zoom meetings, the kids from Flint explained parts per billion, how to test water for lead and how they'd coped with fears.

“They felt the exact same way that I felt when I was ... going through it,” said Asia, 20, one of 18 interns at the Flint Public Health Youth Academy.

They’re paid a monthly stipend to run the academy — writing grants, creating budgets, analyzing data, running meetings and creating public awareness campaigns. They have a biweekly talk show on YouTube, where they’ve discussed everything from mental health to COVID.

Dr. Kent Key, a public health researcher with the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine in Flint, started the academy after studying health disparities in African American communities as part of his doctoral dissertation.

"I felt like everyone had written Flint youth off,” he said. “I did not want (the water crisis) to be a sentence of doom and gloom ... I wanted it to be a catapult to launch the next generation of public health professionals.”

One of the academy's frequent partners is Young, Gifted & Green.

Flint resident Dionna Brown, national director of the organization's youth environmental justice program, plans a two-week summer environmental justice camp in Flint every year. Teens learn about policy, climate justice, sustainability and housing disparities.

Brown became interested in advocacy during a class on environmental inequality at Howard University. Now she plans to become an environmental justice attorney.

“I tell people all the time: I’m a child of the Flint water crisis,” said Brown, who was 14 when it began. “I love my city. And we put the world on notice that you cannot just poison a city and we’ll forget about it.”

The owner and manager of the massive container ship that took down the Francis Scott Key Bridge last month should be held fully liable for the deadly collapse, according to court papers filed Monday on behalf of Baltimore's mayor and city council.

The two companies filed a petition soon after the March 26 collapse asking a court to cap their liability under a pre-Civil War provision of an 1851 maritime law — a routine but important procedure for such cases. A federal court in Maryland will ultimately decide who's responsible and how much they owe in what could become one of the most expensive maritime disasters in history.

Singapore-based Grace Ocean Private Ltd. owns the Dali, the vessel that veered off course and slammed into the bridge. Synergy Marine Pte Ltd., also based in Singapore, is the ship's manager.

In their filing Monday, attorneys for the city accused them of negligence, arguing the companies should have realized the Dali was unfit for its voyage and manned the ship with a competent crew, among other issues.

A spokesperson for the companies said Monday that it would be inappropriate to comment on the pending litigation.

The ship was headed to Sri Lanka when it lost power shortly after leaving Baltimore and struck one of the bridge's support columns, collapsing the span and sending six members of a roadwork crew plunging to their deaths.

"For more than four decades, cargo ships made thousands of trips every year under the Key Bridge without incident," the city's complaint reads. "There was nothing about March 26, 2024 that should have changed that."

SEE MORE: Crews race the clock to remove chunks of fallen Baltimore bridge

FBI agents boarded the stalled ship last week amid a criminal investigation. A separate federal probe by the National Transportation Safety Board will include an inquiry into whether the ship experienced power issues before starting its voyage, officials have said. That investigation will focus generally on the Dali's electrical system.

In their earlier petition, Grace Ocean and Synergy sought to cap their liability at roughly $43.6 million. The petition estimates that the vessel itself is valued at up to $90 million and was owed over $1.1 million in income from freight. The estimate also deducts two major expenses: at least $28 million in repair costs and at least $19.5 million in salvage costs.

Grace Ocean also recently initiated a process requiring owners of the cargo on board to cover some of the salvage costs. The company made a "general average" declaration, which allows a third-party adjuster to determine what each stakeholder should contribute.

Baltimore leaders argue the ship's owner and manager should be held responsible for their role in the disaster, which has halted most maritime traffic through the Port of Baltimore and disrupted an important East Coast trucking route. The economic impacts could be devastating for the Baltimore region, the filing says.

"Petitioners' negligence caused them to destroy the Key Bridge, and singlehandedly shut down the Port of Baltimore, a source of jobs, municipal revenue, and no small amount of pride for the City of Baltimore and its residents," the attorneys wrote.

Lawyers representing victims of the collapse and their families also have pledged to hold the companies accountable and oppose their request for limited liability.

In the meantime, salvage crews are working to remove thousands of tons of collapsed steel and concrete from the Patapsco River. They've opened three temporary channels to allow some vessels to pass through the area, but the port's main shipping channel is expected to remain closed for several more weeks.

A federal jury on Monday said BNSF Railway contributed to the deaths of two people who were exposed to asbestos decades ago when tainted mining material was shipped through a Montana town where thousands have been sickened.

The jury awarded $4 million each in compensatory damages to the estates of the two plaintiffs, who died in 2020. Jurors said asbestos-contaminated vermiculite that spilled in the rail yard in the town of Libby, Montana was a substantial factor in the plaintiffs’ illnesses and death.

Family members of the two victims hugged after the verdict was announced, and attorneys for the plaintiffs said the ruling brought some accountability. One family member told The Associated Press that no amount of money would replace her lost sister.

“I’d rather have her than all the money in the world,” Judith Hemphill said of her sister, Joyce Walder.

The jury did not find that BNSF acted intentionally or with indifference, so no punitive damages were awarded. Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. acquired BNSF in 2010, two decades after the W.R. Grace & Co. vermiculite mine near Libby shut down and stopped shipping the contaminated product.

The pollution in Libby has been cleaned up, largely at public expense. Yet the long time frame over which asbestos-related diseases develop means people previously exposed are likely to continue getting sick for years to come, health officials say.

Attorneys for the estates of the two victims — Joyce Walder and Thomas Wells — had argued that the railroad knew the asbestos-tainted vermiculite was dangerous but failed to act. Both died from mesothelioma, a rare lung cancer linked to asbestos exposure.

The case in federal civil court over the two deaths was the first of numerous lawsuits against the Texas-based railroad corporation to reach trial over its past operations in Libby. Current and former residents of the small town near the U.S.-Canada border want BNSF held accountable, accusing it of playing a role in asbestos exposure that health officials say has killed several hundred people and sickened thousands.

“This is good news. This is the first community exposure case that will hold the railroad accountable for what they’ve done,” said Mark Lanier, an attorney for Walder and Hemphill's estates.

BNSF attorney Chad Knight declined to comment after the verdict. He told jurors last week the railroad's employees didn’t know the vermiculite was filled with hazardous microscopic asbestos fibers.

“In the '50s, '60s and '70s no one in the public suspected there might be health concerns,” Knight said Friday.

The railroad’s experts also suggested during the trial that the plaintiffs could have been exposed to asbestos elsewhere.

SEE MORE: Asbestos victim's last words aired in BNSF Railway wrongful death suit

The railroad said it was obliged under law to ship the vermiculite, which was used in insulation and for other commercial purposes, and that W.R. Grace employees had concealed the health hazards from the railroad.

U.S. District Judge Brian Morris had instructed the jury it could only find the railroad negligent based on its actions in the Libby Railyard, not for hauling the vermiculite.

BNSF was formed in 1995 from the merger of Burlington Northern railroad, which operated in Libby for decades, and the Santa Fe Pacific Corporation.

Looming over the proceedings was W.R. Grace, which operated the mountaintop vermiculite mine 7 miles outside of Libby until it closed in 1990. The Maryland-based company played a central role in Libby’s tragedy and has paid significant settlements to victims.

Morris referred to the chemical company as “the elephant in the room” during the BNSF trial and reminded jurors repeatedly that the case was about the railroad’s conduct, not W.R. Grace’s separate liability.

Federal prosecutors in 2005 indicted W. R. Grace and executives from the company on criminal charges over the contamination in Libby. A jury acquitted them following a 2009 trial.

The Environmental Protection Agency descended on Libby after 1999 news reports of illnesses and deaths among mine workers and their families. In 2009 the agency declared in Libby the nation’s first ever public health emergency under the federal Superfund cleanup program.

A second trial against the railroad over the death of a Libby resident is scheduled for May in federal court in Missoula.

Dozens of Yale University students protesting in support of Palestinians were arrested Monday in another show of escalating tensions within campus communities of the nation's top universities.

Daily demonstrations began last week at Yale's Beinecke Plaza to push the university to divest from military weapons manufacturers. Then on Friday, the group, which calls itself Occupy Beinecke, set up an encampment.

But after their third night, some protesters were greeted around 7 a.m. Monday morning by officers "flipping up the entrances" to their tents, student-run news site Yale Daily News reported. Other officers reportedly told students if they didn't leave the plaza immediately they would be arrested, and minutes later, officers began their arrests, the site reported.

While about 300 protesters stood nearby with their arms interlocked, blocking traffic and chanting statements like "Free our prisoners, free them all, Zionism must fall" and "Look your students in the eyes, you're supporting genocide," according to Yale Daily News, police shuttled arrested demonstrators away from the plaza and removed tents, while Yale employees were seen taking down fliers. Within an hour, no protesters remained on the plaza. 

The more than 300 protesters continue to block the intersection. There were more than 40 officers on the scene; they have now almost all entered the Schwarzman Center rotunda and are not allowing students inside. pic.twitter.com/DcS22fqqrs

— Yale Daily News (@yaledailynews) April 22, 2024

At least 47 students were among the 60 people arrested and released on misdemeanor charges of first-degree trespassing, the university said in a statement. It also said the group would be referred for Yale disciplinary action, which could include sanctions like probation or suspension. 

The university said it had notified protesters "numerous times" that police could get involved if they continued to violate the school's policies regarding "occupying outdoor spaces." This included an hourslong discussion Sunday night in which the university said protesters could meet with trustees if they vacated the plaza before the next morning. 

But Occupy Beinecke said Yale only offered to "disseminate already-public" information about their investments in military weapons manufacturing, so "after being given only 10 minutes to decide," the students rejected the offer, choosing to stay at the encampment until their demands were met.

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A post shared by @occupybeinecke

The group said only one arrest warning was given to protesters Monday morning despite police previously indicating they'd be given three.

"Police also refused to allow arrestees to collect medication and other necessities," Occupy Beinecke wrote on Instagram. "When asked onsite what protesters were doing wrong, police refused to give an answer."

Meanwhile, Yale University President Peter Salovey said in a statement Monday that the decision to arrest came after reports of harmful acts and threatening language coming from the site. He said arrests were made after police gave protesters "several opportunities" to leave voluntarily, but 60 did not.

"We will not tolerate such behavior nor any open violation of Yale policies that interrupts academic and campus operations," his statement read. "So, we acted consistently with the warnings we had given over several days and escorted the protesters from the plaza."

SEE MORE: Columbia University goes virtual amid pro-Palestinian protests

As with many recent disbandments of campus protests, the university says the action was made to protect safety and to fight budding antisemitism, which some Jewish students say has risen with similar demonstrations. But many demonstrators say they have a right to peacefully protest for Palestinian rights and against Zionism, and that those rights have been wronged by administrator action.

Columbia University President Nemat Minouche Shafik testified last week on claims she allowed her school to become a hotbed of hate and antisemitism. She said Monday that the school's classes would move online to "deescalate the rancor and give us all a chance to consider next steps." The message came days after more than 100 of the university's students were arrested for their involvement in a similar encampment. 

Also Monday, hundreds of protesters at New York University told to vacate a campus plaza stood against police, and there were reports of other encampments at Boston-area universities and at the University of Michigan.

As data shows heat-related deaths are becoming more frequent across the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention partnered with the National Weather Service to launch new tools that show you when current heat levels in your city could harm your health. 

The first tool is the CDC’s HeatRisk Dashboard, designed for the general public. You can enter your zip code to get personalized information about the heat risk in your city or county. The mobile-friendly dashboard includes information about the daily air quality, how to protect your health in high heat and what activities may or may not be safe depending on the heat risk for that day. 

The dashboard also includes information from the National Weather Service’s new feature, the HeatRisk Forecast Tool. Created with state and local health officials in mind, the tool displays a seven-day heat forecast across the country with a color-coded numerical index that identifies heat-related impacts from little or no risk up to extreme heat risk. 

The National Weather Service said the HeatRisk Forecast Tool is calculated using several factors, including how unusual the heat is for the time of the year, the duration of the heat in both daytime and nighttime temperatures and if those temperatures pose an elevated risk of heat-related impacts based on data from the CDC.

SEE MORE: New report shows that US is warming faster than the rest of the world

The CDC said the HeatRisk Forecast Tool can potentially help jurisdictions plan responses to extreme heat forecasts. 

Lastly, the CDC developed new guidance to help clinicians keep at-risk individuals safe when temperatures rise, including points on how heat can harm physical and mental health and how medications can impact a person’s heat tolerance. 

“If the HeatRisk in a patient’s location is ‘moderate,’ for example, then a clinician can reference the CDC guidance for condition-specific heat action plans that contain steps to help keep the patient safe,” the CDC explained in a press release. 

Over two-thirds of the country was under a heat alert last year due to rising temperatures. The CDC said it found the number of daily visits to emergency departments across the U.S. due to heat-related illnesses peaked in 2023. 

Since “heat-related” is not something noted on death certificates and there could be other contributing factors, it is hard to calculate just how many deaths in the U.S. are related to extreme heat conditions. However, the Environmental Protection Agency said some statistics estimate more than 1,300 deaths per year are due to extreme heat. 

The CDC said heat-related deaths are preventable, which is why they worked with the National Weather Service to develop the new tools that can help keep citizens safe and aware. 

SEE MORE: More than 500,000 stroke deaths are linked to extreme temperatures

Ten Republican members of Congress, all representing New York State in the U.S. House of Representatives, wrote a letter on Monday asking Columbia University's president to resign, saying, "anarchy had engulfed the campus."

It came on the same day that four Democratic Jewish members of Congress walked through the university's campus, as tensions there remain high.

A makeshift tent city now stands within the main quad at Columbia University, where pro-Palestinian student protesters are literally holding their ground.

Last week, the New York Police Department arrested more than 100 people on Columbia's campus at the request of the university's administration.

On Monday, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul visited the campus.

"I've never seen a level of protest that is so person-to-person," said Gov. Hochul. "People need to find their humanity, have the conversations, talk to each other, understand different points of view because that's what college students should be doing."

In a Monday news conference, the NYPD said that so far there are no reports of any physical harm, though they say some Jewish students have reported harassment.

"We have received reports that students have been, Israeli students, were walking on campus, had their flags taken away from them, snatched out of their hands," said NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Operations Kaz Daughtry. "We also received reports that the Israeli students, there were some hateful things that were said towards them."

The Ivy League institution made the decision that all classes would go virtual on Monday.

All of it comes after Columbia University President Minouche Shafik testified before a House hearing on Capitol Hill last week, focusing on antisemitism on campus.

"Trying to reconcile the free speech rights of those who wanted to protest and the rights of Jewish students to be in an environment free of discrimination and harassment has been the central challenge on our campus and numerous others across the country," Shafik said. 

That includes new protests springing up on Monday on the campuses of New York University and Yale, where 50 people were arrested that morning.

Harvard is temporarily closing the university's famed 25-acre Harvard Yard this week and prohibiting anyone from setting up tents there.

In the meantime, Robert Kraft, the owner of the New England Patriots football team is an alum of Columbia University and is one of the school's biggest donors: The Jewish student center bears his name. He said in a statement released through his Foundation to Combat Antisemitism that he'll be withholding donations until, "corrective action is taken."

Editor's note: In the interest of transparency, Scripps News Correspondent Maya Rodriguez is an alumna of Columbia University.

SEE MORE: Columbia University goes virtual amid pro-Palestinian protests

A new $12 billion rail system connecting Nevada to Southern California is officially breaking ground.

Brightline West's 218-mile system will run within the median of Interstate 15 with zero grade crossings. The route will have stops in Las Vegas as well as Victor Valley, Hesperia and Rancho Cucamonga, California. 

The project is touted as the first true high-speed passenger rail line in the nation, designed to reach speeds of 186 mph, comparable to Japan's Shinkansen bullet trains.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement that the project, expected to start boarding passengers by 2028, is predicted to bring "thousands of union jobs, new connections to better economic opportunity, less congestion on the roads, and less pollution in the air."

Brightline, whose sister company already operates a fast train between Miami and Orlando in Florida, received $6.5 billion in backing from the Biden administration, including a $3 billion grant from federal infrastructure funds and approval to sell another $2.5 billion in tax-exempt bonds. The company won federal authorization in 2020 to sell $1 billion in similar bonds.

"This is a historic project and a proud moment," said Brightline Holdings founder and Chairperson Wes Edens in a statement. "Today is long overdue."

SEE MORE: Would high-speed rail work in the US?

The Las Vegas station will be located near the iconic Las Vegas Strip, on a 110-acre property north of Blue Diamond Road between I-15 and Las Vegas Boulevard. The 80,000-square-foot site provides convenient access to the Harry Reid International Airport, the Las Vegas Convention Center and the Raiders' Allegiant Stadium.

The Victor Valley Station in Apple Valley will be located on a 300-acre parcel southeast of Dale Evans Parkway and the I-15 interchange. The 20,000-square-foot station is intended to offer a future connection to the High Desert Corridor and California High Speed Rail.

The Hesperia Station will be located within the I-15 median at the I-15/Joshua Street interchange and will function primarily as a local rail service for residents in the High Desert on select southbound morning and northbound evening weekday trains.

The Rancho Cucamonga Station will be located on a 5-acre property at the northwest corner of Milliken Avenue and Azusa Court near Ontario International Airport. The 80,000-square-foot station will be co-located with existing multi-modal transportation options including California Metrolink, for seamless connectivity to Downtown Los Angeles and other locations in Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino and Riverside Counties.

This story was originally published on Scripps News Las Vegas. It was published here with additional reporting from The Associated Press.

A new study looks at weight loss plateaus and how weight loss drugs and gastric bypass surgery can impact them.

The study analyzes how those who are dieting generally reach a weight loss plateau after about a year, on average.

It happens when the body starts trying to make up for lost calories.

"It’s almost like your body has this set point where, once we reach that with weight loss, it resists. It's almost like a survival function," said Dr. Frank Chae, a bariatric surgeon and medical director of bariatric surgery at Sky Ridge Medical Center.

The more weight you lose, the stronger your appetite becomes.

SEE MORE: The politics behind insurance companies covering weight-loss drugs

But researcher Kevin Hall with the National Institutes of Health published a study Monday that found weight loss drugs can delay the plateau.

"That’s where things like semaglutide injections and gastric bypass can push that patient forward," Dr. Chae said.

The results of Hall‘s study showed that weight loss drugs like Wegovy, Ozempic, and Zepbound added an extra year on average of weight loss before hitting the plateau, as compared to the average of just restricting calories.

Weight loss surgery, like gastric bypass, had the greatest results in helping delay the plateau for participants by adding another year on average on top of that before hitting a plateau.

But semaglutide can be pricey and hard to find given the high demand.

"The medications are a good tool, but it is not a cure. You have to keep injecting this indefinitely, and the drug companies really don't know what the long-term, meaning years later, what the long-term effects are. I know we’re collecting that data right now," Dr. Chae said.

He explained that the findings of this study reinforced what he’s seeing in the clinical world.

Nearly 1 in 3 adults are overweight in the United States, according to 2017–2018 data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

About 9.2% of adults have severe obesity.

"Obesity is a disease, this is not a lifestyle or willpower issue," Dr. Chae said.

"It is a disease process that needs to be treated, and not just about where’s your discipline or eating less, it's about attacking the obesity hormones that semaglutide injections and gastric bypass does very well," he said.

@scrippsnews A new study looks at how weight loss drugs (ie: #Ozempic) and weigh loss surgery (ie: gastric bypass) can improve weight loss plateaus. While #dieting, people reach their weight loss plateau at around a year on average. #Semaglutide can extend that for about another year. #weightloss #healthtok ♬ original sound - Scripps News

A Colorado woman is recovering after spending several hours pinned underneath her crashed truck. A good Samaritan is being credited with possibly saving her life.

Rachael Hammack, 27, was driving home from work last Tuesday around 2:30 a.m. when the crash happened in the Denver suburb of Lakewood. The truck she was driving veered off the road, rolled multiple times, and came to a rest on a field next to a golf course, 100 yards from the roadway and hidden from view.

Several hours later that same morning, Steve Abraham, a superintendent at the course, came upon the crash scene. He approached the vehicle and saw Hammack with her legs pinned and her body stuck in a barbed wire fence.

“I was getting the barbed wire kind of away from her body," said Abraham. "I had to cut her hair out because she was stuck in there.”

Abraham and several of his co-workers assisted Hammack while they waited for first responders to arrive. Paramedics took Hammack to a nearby hospital, where she was placed in a medically induced coma.

"They got her out in about seven minutes," said Abraham. "But because no one noticed her, she was stuck there for around four hours."

Hammack's boyfriend, Eben Jones, found out about her crash the next day and notified her parents. Sam and Thomas Hammack live in South Carolina and flew to Denver to be by their daughter's side.

“All I could think is I need to get to my girl," said Sam Hammack.

Rachael Hammack underwent surgery last Friday. She suffered a broken pelvis, a broken nose and a fractured vertebrae. She also received a large laceration on her head. Although she is still in and out of consciousness, Hammack is expected to recover.

"I know she's strong and that she'll come through so I'm just trying my best to stay positive," said Jones.

Hammack's friends have set up a GoFundMe, to help pay for her medical expenses.

This story was originally published by Sam Peña at Scripps News Denver.

A new study by the University of Michigan made an alarming discovery that a student’s last name can affect their grades. 

When graded alphabetically, students with last names at the end of the alphabet were given lower grades than those whose surnames were at the start of the list.

That means a student with the last name Anderson was more likely to get graded higher than a student with the last name Smith.

Researchers at the University of Michigan analyzed 30 million of the school’s own grading records when it noticed the pattern. The school said that Canvas — the most widely used online learning management system — has a default setting to list students alphabetically by last name.

Researchers also found that those with last names that appeared at the end of the list were given remarks that were “more negative and less polite” on their assignments.

“We spend a lot of time thinking about how to make the grading fair and accurate but even for me it was really surprising,” said Jun Li, associate professor of technology and operations at U-M’s Ross School of Business, and an author on the study.

“It didn’t occur to us until we looked at the data and realized that sequence makes a difference,” Li said. 

The study authors noted that while this was the case at Michigan, it can be generalized across schools because institutions use similar learning management systems that have the same design flaw of categorizing students alphabetically by surname.

The research found that students with last names from A to E scored 0.3 percentage points higher compared to when they were graded randomly, and those with surnames at the end of the alphabet scored 0.3 percentage points lower — creating a 0.6-point gap. Though this may seem small, the study noted that the disparity does impact grade point averages, and thus, possible career paths.

Notably, for a small group of graders that grade assignments from Z to A, those with last names at the end of the alphabet showed higher marks because their names appeared at the top.

“Our conclusion is this may be something that happened unconsciously by the graders that’s actually creating a real social impact,” said Helen Wang, a study author and doctoral student from the school’s Ross School of Business.

Another study author, Jiaxin Pei from Michigan’s School of Information, weighed in on their theory.

“We kind of suspect that fatigue is one of the major factors that is driving this effect, because when you’re working on something for a long period of time, you get tired and then you start to lose your attention and your cognitive abilities are dropping,” Pei said. 

The researchers note there is an option to randomize the lists when grading, but alphabetical is the default setting in systems like Canvas. 

A simple fix could be to change the default settings in grading systems to randomize the order in which students appear. Other options, researchers said, are to higher more graders to distribute the workload, and to train graders to be aware of the biases. 

Columbia University in New York is holding classes virtually Monday in response to the ongoing pro-Palestinian protests that continue to engulf the Ivy League campus. University officials said the move was in an effort to "deescalate the rancor" over the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and address security concerns on campus as the Jewish holiday of Passover begins.

"I understand that many are experiencing deep moral distress and want Columbia to help alleviate this by taking action," University President Nemat "Minouche" Shafik said in a statement. "We should be having serious conversations about how Columbia can contribute. There will be many views across our diverse community about how best to do this and that is as it should be. But we cannot have one group dictate terms and attempt to disrupt important milestones like graduation to advance their point of view."

SEE MORE: Columbia president rebuts claims she let school become hotbed of hate

Protests broke out on Columbia's Manhattan campus last week as Shafik was set to testify at a Congressional hearing regarding the university's response to antisemitism and what phrases used by activists would be considered harassment. But what began as a protest calling for Columbia to divest from financial interests in corporations tied to Israel ended in clashes with police. 

Authorities began arresting dozens of protesters Thursday after an encampment had formed on the university's South Lawn. Columbia said the group of over 100 people were notified "numerous times" that they would be suspended if they did not vacate the area, and said the participants were trespassing after the university's president ordered they be removed.

SEE MORE: Why pro-Palestinian demonstrations are popping up on college campuses

Divisive tensions have gripped American universities large and small since the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack in Israel that sparked the war. 

Dozens of protesters were arrested at Yale on Monday for trespassing. 

Social media, combined with the social justice movements of the past several years, may be helping supporters of Palestinians organize in ways never seen before.

At Columbia, Shafik said a group of campus officials will come together and discuss ways to bring "this crisis" to an end.

"That includes continuing discussions with the student protestors and identifying actions we can take as a community to enable us to peacefully complete the term and return to respectful engagement with each other," said Shafik.

However, the division is not just a problem impacting student relations on campus. It's impacting the university's finances, too.

Robert Kraft — a Columbia University graduate — is founder of the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism and owner of the NFL's New England Patriots. As one of Columbia's largest donors, Kraft announced Tuesday that he will no longer be giving any money to his alma mater until more is done to quell the protests.

"I am no longer confident that Columbia can protect its students and staff and I am not comfortable supporting the university until corrective action is taken," Kraft said in a statement. "It is my hope that Columbia and its leadership will stand up to this hate by ending these protests immediately and will work to earn back the respect and trust of the many of us who have lost faith in the institution."

Kraft served as a trustee to Columbia from 1992 to 2004 and has donated more than $18 million to the university, according to his foundation. That includes more than $9 million to build the Kraft Center and the Robert K. Kraft Family Center for Jewish Student Life on the Columbia University campus.

Electric car sales have been making significant strides since 2020.  

Last year alone, sales of electric cars shot up 60% year-over-year, according to MarketWatch data. 

And as more companies fulfill the demand for eco-friendly vehicles, some electric and hybrid cars are standing out among the rest.

U.S. News & World Report — a recognized authority in rankings and consumer advice — came out with its list of best hybrid and electric vehicles for 2024. 

For the third year in a row, the 2024 Lucid Air took the top spot for best luxury electric car. 

Best electric car that isn’t a luxury vehicle went to the 2024 Hyundai Ioniq 6.

Hyundai led with the most awards, also winning best electric SUV, with the 2024 Hyundai Ioniq 5, and best hybrid SUV with the 2024 Hyundai Tucson Hybrid.

The best hybrid car went to the 2024 Toyota Camry Hybrid, and the 2024 Lexus NX Hybrid was crowned best luxury hybrid.

Notably absent from the winners list was Tesla, which is interesting given its popularity in the U.S.

Tesla made up more than half of the electric vehicle market share in the U.S. between January and October of last year, with 56.3%, according to MarketWatch. Hyundai, on the other hand, only made up 4.8% of the electric vehicle market share.

For its rankings, U.S. News evaluated 96 luxury and affordable electric and hybrid cars, trucks and SUVs for quality, efficiency and value.

Top-ranked electric and hybrid vehicles:

Best Luxury Electric Car: 2024 Lucid Air 

Best Luxury Electric SUV: 2024 Volvo XC40 Recharge 

Best Electric SUV: 2024 Hyundai Ioniq 5 

Best Electric Car: 2024 Hyundai Ioniq 6 

Best Electric Truck: 2024 Ford F-150 Lightning 

Best Luxury Plug-In Hybrid: 2024 Volvo S60 Recharge

Best Plug-In Hybrid: 2024 Kia Sportage Plug-In Hybrid

Best Hybrid Car: 2024 Toyota Camry Hybrid 

Best Hybrid SUV: 2024 Hyundai Tucson Hybrid 

Best Luxury Hybrid: 2024 Lexus NX Hybrid 

Police in Los Angeles arrested a suspect following a break-in at the home of Mayor Karen Bass on Sunday morning, officials said.

Bass and her family were not harmed when a suspect gained access to Getty House, the LA mayor's official residence on Irving Boulevard.

“Around 6:40 AM this morning an individual smashed a window to gain entry into the Getty House while occupied,” the Los Angeles Police Department said in a statement on social media, adding that police responded and took a suspect into custody without incident.

“Mayor Bass and her family were not injured and are safe. The Mayor is grateful to LAPD for responding and arresting the suspect," her office said in a statement.

SEE MORE: Annual count of homeless residents begins in Los Angeles

The LAPD did not immediately release the name or other information about the suspect and said an investigation is ongoing.

Bass served as a Democratic member of Congress from 2011 until her election as the city’s 43rd mayor in 2022. The former state Assembly leader is the first woman and second Black person to hold the post, after former Mayor Tom Bradley, who held the position from 1973 to 1993.

The Supreme Court wrestled with major questions about the growing issue of homelessness on Monday as it considered whether cities can punish people for sleeping outside when shelter space is lacking.

It's the most significant case before the high court in decades on the issue, and comes as record numbers of people are without a permanent place to live in the United States.

The case started in the rural Oregon town of Grants Pass, which began fining people $295 for sleeping outside as the cost of housing escalated and tents sprung up in the city’s public parks. The San Francisco-based U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the law on the basis that banning camping in places without enough shelter beds amounts to cruel and unusual punishment.

The justices appeared to be leaning toward a narrow ruling in the case after hearing arguments that showed the stark terms of the debate over homelessness in Western states like California, which is home to one-third of the country's homeless population.

Sleeping is a biological necessity, and people may be forced to do it outside if they can't get housing or there's no space in shelters, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said.

“Where do we put them if every city, every village, every town lacks compassion and passes a law identical to this? Where are they supposed to sleep? Are they supposed to kill themselves, not sleeping?" she said.

Solving homelessness is a complicated issue, said Justice Brett Kavanaugh. He questioned whether ticketing people for camping helps if there aren't enough shelter beds to hold everyone, but also raised concerns about federal courts “micromanaging” policy.

SEE MORE: Homelessness reached a record in 2023, and it could get worse

Other conservative justices asked how far Eighth Amendment legal protections should extend as cities struggle with managing homeless encampments that can be dangerous and unsanitary.

“How about if there are no public bathroom facilities, do people have an Eighth Amendment right to defecate and urinate outdoors?” said Justice Neil Gorsuch.

Other public-health laws cover that situation, Justice Department attorney Edwin Kneedler said. He argued people shouldn’t be punished just for sleeping outside, but said the ruling striking down the Grants Pass law should be tossed out because the court didn't do enough to determine if people are “involuntarily homeless.”

Gorsuch and other justices also raised the possibility that other aspects of state or federal law could help sort through the issue, potentially without setting sweeping new legal precedent.

The question is an urgent one in the West, where a cross-section of Democratic and Republican officials contend that the 9th Circuit's rulings on camping bans make it difficult for them to manage encampments. The appeals court has jurisdiction over nine states in the West.

Advocacy groups, on the other hand, argued that allowing cities to punish people who need a place to sleep will criminalize homelessness and ultimately make the crisis worse as the cost of housing increases.

Hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside the Supreme Court Monday morning to advocate for more affordable housing, holding silver thermal blankets and signs like “housing not handcuffs.”

Homelessness in the United States grew a dramatic 12% last year to its highest reported level, as soaring rents and a decline in coronavirus pandemic assistance combined to put housing out of reach for more people.

More than 650,000 people are estimated to be homeless, the most since the country began using the yearly point-in-time survey in 2007. Nearly half of them sleep outside. Older adults, LGBTQ+ people and people of color are disproportionately affected, advocates said.

In Oregon, a lack of mental health and addiction resources has also helped fuel the crisis. The state has some of the highest rates of homelessness and drug addiction in the nation, and ranks near the bottom in access to treatment, federal data shows.

The court is expected to decide the case by the end of June.

Passover is a major Jewish holiday, celebrated over seven or eight days each year, commemorating the exodus of ancient Israelites from slavery in Egypt, as recounted in the Bible. To many Jews, it symbolizes freedom and the birth of a Jewish nation.

This year, for many Jews, the holiday’s mood will be somber due to the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and the rise of antisemitic incidents elsewhere.

When is Passover this year?

Passover, known as Pesach in Hebrew, begins on April 22. By tradition, it will be celebrated for seven days in Israel and for eight days by some Jews in the rest of the world.

What are key Passover rituals and traditions?

For many Jews, Passover is a time to reunite with family and recount the exodus from Egypt at a meal called the Seder. Observant Jews avoid grains known as chametz, a reminder of the unleavened bread the Israelites ate when they fled Egypt quickly with no time for dough to rise. Cracker-like matzo is OK to eat; most breads, pastas, cakes and cookies are off-limits.

What's different this year?

For many Israelis, it’s hard to celebrate an occasion focused on freedom when some of their compatriots are still held hostage by Hamas in Gaza. The hostages’ plight has reverberated worldwide, with some families in the Jewish diaspora asking rabbis to give them additional prayers for this year’s Seder. Others have created a new Haggadah, the book read during the Seder, to reflect current realities.

Many Seder tables, in Israel and elsewhere, are expected to have empty seats, representing those killed or taken hostage on Oct. 7, as well as soldiers unable to return home for Passover.

There’s also intense concern, in some countries, about a recent rise in antisemitic incidents.

The U.S.-based Anti-Defamation League says it tallied 8,873 incidents of antisemitic assault, harassment and vandalism across the country in 2023—up 140% from 2022—with most of the incidents occurring after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel. 

On Wednesday, the ADL and other Jewish organizations participated in a “Passover Without Fear” webinar, with FBI Director Christopher Wray and several security experts offering guidance on keeping the Passover season safe, secure and as welcoming as possible.

The event was hosted by the Secure Community Network, which provides security and safety resources to hundreds of Jewish organizations and institutions across North America.

“It is not a time for panic, but it is a time for continued vigilance," said Wray, adding that the FBI was particularly concerned about the threat posed by “lone actors.”

What are rabbis and scholars saying?

“The Seder is supposed to help us to relive past slavery and liberation from Egypt and to learn its lessons, but in 2024 it must also ask contemporary questions about the confusing and traumatic present and, most important, generate hope for the future," said Noam Zion, emeritus member of the faculty of Jewish studies at the Hartman Institute in Jerusalem.

“At the Seder, we make a point of eating bitter herbs to recall the difficulties of the past, and also drink wine and eat the foods of freedom. It is a mix—a meal filled with discussion that confronts the challenges of being a Jew throughout history and of being a Jew today.” Rabbi Moshe Hauer, executive vice president of the Orthodox Union, a major U.S.-based Jewish organization.

“What a challenging time it is right now for the Jewish people. We feel so alone... There is so much cynicism in the world, so much hopelessness. We need Passover now more than ever. It’s a story that ends in freedom and joy," said Rabbi Noah Farkas, president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles.

A tram accident at Universal Studios Hollywood in Los Angeles injured 15 people Saturday night, authorities and the company said.

Los Angeles County Fire Department units were dispatched to the theme park on Lankershim Boulevard shortly after 9 p.m., the department said in a social media post.

The victims taken to area hospitals had minor injuries, the department said.

A Universal Studios Hollywood spokesperson emailed a statement to The Associated Press confirming there were "multiple minor injuries" from an accident involving a tram at the theme park.

The details of the accident were not immediately available.

The California Highway Patrol will lead the investigation, the fire department said.

SEE MORE: Disney to roll out $2 billion plan to reinvent Anaheim theme park

Eight people were shot including two men who were killed at an unsanctioned public party in a Memphis city park Saturday night, police said.

Officers responded at 7:19 p.m. to a reported shooting, Memphis Police Department Chief Cerelyn Davis said during a news conference at the scene.

Two men were pronounced dead at the scene, Davis said.

The six surviving victims were transported to area hospitals and one was in critical condition at Regional One Health in Memphis, police said.

The shooting occurred at a block party in Orange Mound Park, which Davis said included an estimated 200 to 300 attendees but did not appear to have been issued a city permit.

At least two people are believed to have fired weapons during the shooting and police were examining video footage as part of the ongoing investigation, Davis said. There were no immediate arrests.

"In light of recent events, we stand together to denounce these senseless acts of violence," Davis said.

The Memphis police initially reported there were 16 people shot but revised the number in a social media post, noting the error appeared to have been a result of "several victims being reported multiple times."

An 8-year-old girl and her 5-year-old brother were killed Saturday afternoon when a vehicle crashed into a building during a children's birthday party at a boat club located south of Detroit. 

Fifteen others were injured in the crash, including three children and six adults, according to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office. The incident happened around 3 p.m. at Swan Boat Club on Brancheau Road. 

Nine of the victims were transported to the hospital via ambulance or medical helicopter, said Monroe County Sheriff Troy Goodnough. 

Officials said a 66-year-old woman crashed into the building, stopping about 25 feet inside. Goodnough said the woman was taken into custody for operating while intoxicated causing death and additional charges are likely. 

Goodnough said first responders described the scene as "extremely chaotic with high level of emotions."

The investigation into the deadly crash is ongoing. 

This story was originally published by Scripps News Detroit. 

A knife attack on a crowded party boat at a New York City pier Saturday resulted in the hospitalization of three people, police said.

A 911 call came in around 5 p.m. reporting the assault along the East River near 58th Street and the Brooklyn Army Terminal warehouse, Detective Sophia Mason said.

The victims were said to be a 32-year-old man with a stab wound to the torso, a 40-year-old man with stab wounds to the chest and abdomen and a 28-year-old man who was hit in the head with a bottle.

They were taken to the NYU Langone Hospital and were in stable condition, Mason said. There were no arrests as of Saturday evening, and the investigation was ongoing.

Around 3,000 people were aboard the vessel, the Cornucopia Majesty, at the time, according to police.

SEE MORE: Staff and shoppers return to Sydney mall 6 days after mass stabbings

The United Auto Workers' overwhelming election victory at a Volkswagen plant in Tennessee is giving the union hope that it can make broader inroads in the South, the least unionized part of the country.

The UAW won a stunning 73% of the vote at VW after losing elections in 2014 and 2019. It was the union's first win in a Southern assembly plant owned by a foreign automaker.

Union President Shawn Fain said the pundits all told him that the UAW couldn't win in the South.

"But you all said, 'Watch this,' " he told a cheering group of VW organizers at a union hall in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on Friday night, when the UAW victory was clear. "You guys are leading the way. We’re going to carry this fight on to Mercedes and everywhere else."

However, the UAW is likely to face a tougher test as it tries to represent workers at two Mercedes-Benz plants in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. A five-day election is scheduled to start May 13, where the union’s campaign has already become heated.

The UAW has accused the German carmaker of violating U.S. and German labor laws with aggressive anti-union tactics, which the company denies.

SEE MORE: Volkswagen union vote leads effort to test UAW's power

"They are going to have a much harder road in work sites where they are going to face aggressive management resistance and even community resistance than they faced in Chattanooga," said Harry Katz, a labor-relations professor at Cornell University. "VW management did not aggressively seek to avoid unionization. Mercedes is going to be a good test. It's the deeper South."

Late last year, the UAW announced a drive to represent nearly 150,000 workers at non-union factories largely in the South. The union is targeting U.S. plants run by Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, Nissan, Subaru, Mazda, Volkswagen, Mercedes, BMW and Volvo, along with factories operated by electric-vehicle makers Tesla, Rivian and Lucid.

The union's last defeat at VW in Chattanooga came at a low-water mark — in the middle of a federal investigation into bribery and embezzlement under a previous president.

Marick Masters, a business professor at Wayne State University in Detroit who studies the UAW, said the union flipped the script by installing new leadership, touting the rich contracts it won last year from Detroit automakers after strikes at targeted factories, and exploiting a climate that is now more favorable to unions. He said the union was also adept at translating signed pro-union authorization cards into votes — partly by pushing for a quick election.

"Now the public and media eyes are going to be on Chattanooga and how quickly the UAW can translate this into a contract," he said. If the union can't quickly get a good contract, it risks losing some of the momentum it gained with Friday's election win, he said.

Unions in other industries are already moving ahead with organizing campaigns in the South and trying to learn from the UAW's playbook.

The Association of Flight Attendants, which has tried and failed to win over cabin crews at Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines, hopes to collect enough signatures to force another election at Delta by year end. The union's president, Sara Nelson, said she was not surprised at the UAW win after strikes that led to record contracts last year.

"I've been talking about this for a long time — that strikes and taking on the boss is going to spur organizing, and that's exactly what we saw here," Nelson said.

Nelson is trying to secure an industry-leading contract at United Airlines that she can use to court Delta crews. In the meantime, crews at startup Breeze Airways, many of whom live in the South, will vote next month whether to join her union.

The White House issued a statement from President Joe Biden congratulating the UAW. Biden — who joined a UAW picket line in Michigan during the union's strike against Ford, GM and Stellantis plants last year — praised the success of unions representing autoworkers, Hollywood actors and writers, health care workers and others in gaining better contracts.

"Together, these union wins have helped raise wages and demonstrate once again that the middle-class built America and that unions are still building and expanding the middle class for all workers," Biden said.

Biden criticized six Southern Republican governors, including Bill Lee of Tennessee, who told autoworkers this week that voting for union representation would jeopardize jobs.

Sharon Block, a law professor at Harvard University who worked for the Biden administration on labor and other issues, said the governors' warning rang hollow after nonunion Tesla revealed that it plans to lay off 10% of its workers after disappointing sales results. She said VW workers saw the governors' open letter as "an empty threat and a cynical ploy," and they ignored it.

"Workers for a long time have been told that you can't organize in the South. And many workers, even not in the South, may work in industries where they've been told for a long time you can't organize," Block said. "What the UAW showed last night is that we need to go and rethink all those negative statements."

Tufts University called him a major intellectual figure globally with his research on the philosophy of mind, science and particularly on evolutionary biology. He was one of the most widely read and debated American philosophers of his time. 

Daniel C. Dennett died on Friday in Portland, Maine at 82. 

The American Philosophical Association released a statement saying the organization was saddened by his death. Dennett was the president of their Eastern Division from 2000-2001. 

He served in a career with Tufts University for more than 50 years. 

Born in Boston, Massachusetts on March 28, 1942, his father was a diplomat and a scholar of Islamic history. His mother was a teacher. 

Dennett would go on to live a storied life filled with academic endeavors and successes, graduating from Harvard University in 1963 with a B.A. in philosophy, and then pursuing his graduate studies at the University of Oxford. 

The New York Times reported that his death at Maine Medical Center was due to complications with interstitial lung disease, according to a message from his wife Susan Bell Dennett. They lived in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, the paper said. 

Dennett was a faculty member at the University of California, Irvine from the mid-1960s until 1971. 

He was convinced that the only way to have a productive philosophical debate about the mind was by being informed by science. He also believed this was the approach to sorting out debates on how the mind relates to the physical occurrences in the body. 

Dennett also delved into the fields of neuroscience, artificial intelligence and cognitive psychology, and in 1993 he worked with a team at MIT to attempt the construction of an intelligent — possibly sentient — robot they named Cog. 

Dennett was a prolific writer throughout his career with noteable works that included books on his theories on consciousness. 

Consciousness Explained in 1991 and Darwin's Dangerous Idea in 1995 looked at the theory that natural selection accounted for the evolution of the brain and human consciousness. In a paper he wrote called "Where Am I?" he tells a story of how the brain and body could find itself separated and looks at how that might play out in the real and physical world. 

Dennett believed that random chance played a significant role in decision making. He believed that it was more powerful in that regard that even passions, reasoning or motives. 

At least 18 books have been written about Dennett and his work and he has appeared in a list of documentaries, including 1993's A Glorious Accident, Tufts wrote. He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1987 and received multiple Guggenheim awards along with a fellowship at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences.

He is survived by his wife Susan. The two were married for over 60 years. They have a son named Peter and a daughter named Andrea. Dennett is also survived by his six grandchildren and his two sisters. 

A military court found U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer Bryce Pedicini guilty of attempted espionage after he is accused of sharing classified defense information with a foreign government.  

The Naval Criminal Investigative Service said Pedicini was also convicted for attempted violation of a lawful general order and for failure to obey a lawful order. NCIS said in their release that a seven-day trial found Pedicini — who previously served on a guided-missile destroyer in Japan — guilty at a general court martial on Friday.  

SEE MORE: American reporter Evan Gershkovich marks one year in Russian jail

NCIS Director Omar Lopez said, "This guilty verdict holds Mr. Pedicini to account for his betrayal of his country and fellow service members."

Lopez said, "Adversaries of the United States are unrelenting in their attempts to degrade our military superiority."

The military court said Pedicini's sentencing would be determined by a military judge, scheduled for a hearing on May 7. 

An unidentified person who posed as a Japanese defense researcher is said to have contacted Pedicini through Facebook on Oct. 24, 2022 offering money for details on U.S. military capabilities and strategies. 

Court records said Pedicini worked with "everything from radars, fire control systems and computer systems, to the Navy's most advanced missile system, Aegis," Stars and Stripes reported. 

Navy Chief Bryce Pedicini has no comment for me as he leaves the close of his espionage trial on Naval Base San Diego. Prosecutors allege he sold sensitive military info to a stranger on the internet for cash. Defense says the case has holes & evidence is missing. ⁦@10News⁩ pic.twitter.com/CajDNY2meE

— Austin Grabish (@AustinGrabish) April 17, 2024

The individual, who was identified as a woman, reportedly convinced Pedicini to send classified materials on a ballistic missile system, according to Prosecutor Leah O'Brien. 

Pedicini is said to have received an initial payment of $50, and then another for $1,000 for the documents. Scripps News San Diego reported that Pedicini's defense attorneys argued that he was just copying and pasting material from Google. Prosecutors said he used a burner phone and the discreet messaging app Telegram to hide his communications. 

Pedicini made no comment to Scripps News San Diego who were waiting for him as he left a courtroom at the Naval Base San Diego on April 16 after a hearing in the case. 

Saturday, April 20, 2024 marks 25 years since the horrific tragedy unfolded at Columbine High School that left 12 students and one teacher dead. 

A vigil was held Friday to mark the milestone, though it was smaller than gatherings of years past. 

The Columbine Memorial, located in Clements Park in Colorado, has been a place for visitors from across the country to remember the events of that day and reflect since its dedication on September 21, 2007. 

Rick Townsend, the father of victim Lauren Townsend, serves as President of the Columbine Memorial Foundation and described the features of the memorial.

“The Ring of Remembrance has a plaque for each of the victims that died,” said Townsend. 

On display along The Ring of Remembrance are individual remembrances of each victim provided by families or through the words of the students.

“This is kind of the central point of the memorial,” added Townsend. 

The Ring of Remembrance surrounds a big ribbon with the words ‘Never Forgotten’ displayed on the memorial grounds.

Outside of the victim tributes, a Wall of Healing runs along the outer wall where quotes on plaques can be read of first responders, students, teachers, and other community members.

There is a water feature that runs during the warmer months near the memorial’s entrance.

“And to top it all off, there's a walkway that goes all the way around the little hills here to a viewpoint where you can look over the mountains,” said Townsend.

Today, the Columbine Memorial requires upgrades, including a new more reliable lighting system to make it easier to read the inscriptions as well as other much-needed improvements.

Scripps News Denver has created a campaign where anyone can securely donate to help ensure the Columbine Memorial will have a lasting impact for future generations.

Below are the inscriptions on the memorial wall for each victim of the senseless tragedy. 

Cassie René Bernall

“Our Cassie had an engaging laugh, beautiful long blonde hair, clear blue eyes and a big warm smile that she generously shared. Her loves were music, snowboarding with her brother Chris, photography, travel and youth group. Seeking to be an obstetrician, she dreamed of bringing new life into this world.

Cassie truly longed to know what heaven would be like and she strived to know the Lord whom she would meet there. Her heart’s desire was 'just to live for Christ.' Weeks before her death she expressed her anxiousness to see heaven, stating that she could 'hardly wait to get there.'

When asked how we would ever live without her, Cassie simply replied 'Wouldn’t you be happy for me? You know I’d be in a better place!'

Cassie lost her life because of her belief in God. Although her dreams of ushering in new life tragically ended, her stand continues to encourage many to seek new life through Christ. We miss her immensely, but know she’s in that better place. - Phil 3:10-11”

Steven Curnow

"Steven Curnow, at 14, was a quiet, thoughtful, generous and forgiving young man. He never held a grudge and was quick to offer help, encouragement, forgiveness and friendship to family, classmates, and soccer teammates.

Steve loved reading, watching adventure movies and playing soccer. When Steve realized he was not skilled enough to make the high school soccer team his dream of playing professional soccer was gone, but he never lost his love for the game. He continued to play on his recreational soccer team and was also a referee.

Steve wanted to pursue his dream of becoming a naval aviator. He had found a love of flying during his first plane trip, a family vacation to England. The plane hit some pretty rough turbulence, dropping altitude, tossing side-to-side and shuddering. Talking on the plane suddenly stopped with many of the passengers becoming white knuckled and tightening their grips on the arms of the seats. Ten-year-old Steve’s reaction was 'Wow! That was cool; let’s do it again!!'

Steve, you are forever in our hearts. Soar high, and fly straight. We love you!

Dad, Mom, and Nancy"

Corey DePooter

"Corey was a young man who was full of life. He was a person that you would want to spend time with. He loved to talk and could have long conversations on the subjects he was passionate about. With his sense of humor Corey could have a whole room laughing.

Corey was an outdoorsman at heart. Every free hour he had he spent fishing. He loved the mountains, camping with his family, hunting, golfing, and fly fishing at Yellowstone.

Corey had just turned seventeen and was excited about his future. He was working at a golf course to save up for his first car. His goal was to become an officer in the Marine Corps. Corey looked forward to becoming a husband and a father and sharing his faith with his children.

Corey cherished his family, his friends, and his life."

Kelley Ann Fleming

Kelly's memorial inscription is taken from a poem she wrote in 1998.

"A writer and a poet, a gentle soul who walked among us.

CAN THAT BE?

I step outside, what did I hear?

I heard the whispers,

And the cries of the people’s fear.

The loneliness of wisdom,

Can that be?

The sad, sad, sorrow that I see,

That is past in the trees.

Is it true, can it be real?

Can I let them know how I really feel?

The things I have seen,

The things that I have felt.

The feelings of sorrow

That I hope will soon melt:

Wherever I looked,

Wherever I turned.

I see shadows all through the night.

I put my head down and said a little prayer,

To tell the Lord the sad, sad, sorrow,

And the lonely cries that I have heard.

After a minute of silence, of wisdom

I looked up slowly.

I saw a thing that I have never seen.

I saw a light and asked myself can that be?

Was it real or was it a dream?

I didn’t know but hopefully

It will come to me.

It was bright and I was scared.

I didn’t know what or if I should see

I looked and then it came to me.

It was a dream.

When I was turning to walk away

I heard a voice.

Written by Kelly in 1998. Her first draft; final draft published in Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul III"

Matthew Kechter

"Matthew, a gift from God

As the sun rises, the eagle soars, and the wind whispers, we will remember you. Memories are moments of time strung together, but in these moments of reflection we will see the kindness in your eyes, hear your sweet chuckles of laughter, and feel the love for others in your heart.

We will always remember your fondness for the outdoors, your passion for sports and your dedication to academic success. Your broad and proud grin after you caught your first trout will never be forgotten. You loved to compete and strive for the best in all sports that you played. You loved to win, yet your sense of fairness and integrity always prevailed.

Academically you shined so very bright. Never forgotten will be the moment when you were listening to music, watching a football game and working on your Algebra. 

When questioned about the distractions, using your Forrest Gump voice and replied, 'I have a 4.0, and that is all I am going to say about that.' Known as the go-to-guy for homework help you always found time to lend a hand. 

More importantly, you brought joy to those around you with a kind work or a gentle smile Your devotion to family and friends will serve as our inspiration to follow as we journey through life. You possessed such profound empathy for someone so young. You were so wise, loving and thoughtful.

'I am with you always.' Matthew 28:20'"

Daniel Mauser

"It is not easy to sum up the life of a son and brother. To his parents he was a first born gift with spiritual dimensions that caused us to seek a deeper life. To his sister Christine, he was a fun companion but also one who was willing to share his wisdom and knowledge. 

To his sister Madeline he will be the brother who was never known, but whose presence will always be felt. To others he will be an inspiration for how he tackled his own weaknesses and often overcame them in surprising ways.

We remember Daniel as a boy with a gentle spirit and a shy grin. Often charming and sometimes intense,; he was just coming into his own. He still saw the world through largely innocent eyes. 

He was an inquisitive and occasionally maddening adolescent who would challenge you to examine your assumptions about most everything.

In the most profound sense, however, Daniel was one who, despite difficulties, knew the ineffable sweetness of life and it was part of him. It was our great blessing to have had him as a member of our family."

Daniel Lee Rohrbough

"March 2, 1984 – April 20, 1999

What will the world miss?

A precious gift from God with an engaging smile and beautiful blue eyes that would light up the room, sensitive and caring, always quick with a comforting hug. A funny kid with an infectious laugh and a quick come back, so full of questions and wanting to know how things work. Family was important to you and always included in your life. Just beginning your journey with so much to learn, yet you taught us so much. 

We miss you.

-----

'Dad, I have a question.'

Why?

My son in a Nation that legalized the killing of innocent children in the womb; in a County where authorities would lie and cover up what they knew and what they did, in a Godless school system your life was taken…Dan, I’m sorry.

“I love you dad, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

7:00 p.m., April 19, 1999

'There is no peace,' says the Lord, 'for the wicked.' Isaiah 48:22"

Rachel Joy Scott

"Her middle name described her; she was a Joy! Her beauty reflected her kindness and compassion. A month before her death she wrote: 'I have this theory that if one person can go out of their way to show compassion, then it will start a chain reaction of the same. People will never know how far a little kindness can go.'

Rachel had a sense of destiny and purpose. She also had a premonition her life would be short. She wrote: 'Just passing by, just coming though, not staying long. I always knew this home I have will never last.' The day she died she told a teacher: 'I’m going to have an impact on the world.'

In her diary she wrote: 'I won’t be labeled as average.'

Her faith in God was expressed in a prayer she wrote:

'I want to serve you; I want to be used by you to help others.'

Her final words were testimony to her life.

When asked if she believed in God, she replied, 'You know I do!'

William “Dave” Sanders

"Born in Illinois, as a child he liked Davy Crockett, little league baseball and loved the sound of a bouncing basketball. Dave’s young life was mentored by his high school basketball coach. 

He played basketball and ran cross-country in college then began his career as a business teacher and coach. Dave encouraged students, family members and friends to become better people through kindness and encouragement. 

He inspired many people to achieve their dreams and his spirit lives on in everyone who loved him or knew him. Know that he loves you all and is with you always.

He will always be only one thought away when we need strength and comfort. We have a lifetime filled with memories of a man we are so proud to have known. So, remember Dave for how he lived; not how he died.

We are grateful for his final words: 'Tell my girls I love them,' we love you too."

Isaiah Eamon Shoels

"The love of God was first in Isaiah’s life. The love for his parents, Vonda and Michael, was the highlight of his life. His close relationship with his Grandmother Bessie showed in his respect for others. 

He loved sports, playing and joking with his family, and was taught to love others no matter how they treated him. 

Isaiah died in a room filled with hate and darkness. 

He now lives in a beautiful heavenly room filled with light and beauty. He would want you to look up and see the light, to put away the guns, hate, prejudice and pride, and see the great light that is love. 

He is one of the beautiful flowers God has picked for his Heavenly Garden, to shine and to be an everlasting light.

Isaiah, we will always miss you. We will always love you. With love from your Family and friends.

Stop doing wrong, learn to do right. —Isaiah 1:15-17

Maintain justice and do what is right. —Isaiah 56:1-2

Those who walk uprightly enter into peace. —Isaiah 57:1-2"

John Tomlin

"Born September 1, John Tomlin was a young man with a broad smile and bright eyes. As a kid he loved cars, baseball, family and God. 

As a teen he added Chevy trucks and the Green Bay Packers to that list and his love for Jesus developed in him a strong set of Christian morals.

John had a gentle disposition that parents and girlfriends dream of; the kind that didn’t need a heavy hand of discipline and that made him an old-fashioned gentleman on dates. 

But his sunny disposition could not keep him from entering what many teens enter; a dark tunnel of loneliness where God seemed far away.

John didn’t stay long in that tunnel. 

Seven months before his death he reconnected with God and rediscovered the joy of his faith. That faith sustained John with courage and strength to face evil during the last moments of his life in the Columbine High School library. 

In heaven now, John fully understands the truth of the words written long ago: 'You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.' 1 John 4:4"

Lauren Townsend

"Excerpts from Lauren’s Diary

A woman in the middle of a field of flowers kissing Jesus’ wounds. I didn’t think I could draw such a beautiful picture I did tonight. It took me only two hours. I think something was guiding me other than just my hand. That is my dream. 

When I die, I want to wake up in a field of flowers and see Jesus sitting there smiling, happy to see me, holding my hand. Then I want to kiss his wounds. 

Maybe it sounds corny, but I can’t even describe how happy I would be if I could do that. Then I would hug him, he’d kiss me on the forehead, and we would just sit there hugging in the sun with the wind blowing in our hair. 

The wind is God because God is everywhere. Just that moment is worth living many lives for.

I feel so peaceful, calm, and joyful; like I am on the verge of enlightenment. There is so much more going on here than we realize. I do think humanity is losing touch with itself and their relationship with their surroundings. 

Unfortunately it usually takes a huge trauma to get people to realize what is important and I feel that is what is going to happen to wake up everyone to get in touch with their spiritual sides. I am not afraid of death, for it is only a transition."

For, in the end all there is, is love.

Kyle Albert Velasquez

"A young man, who as a child struggled with developmental delays and learning disabilities, he knew his limitations, yet wanted to be like every other kid. He was just beginning to really like who he was. 

Kyle taught those who loved him so much about unconditional love, compassion, forgiveness, perseverance, and acceptance. He was a true friend to those who chose to take the time to know him. 

He loved his brother Daniel, and family cats, ice cream, pizza, and riding his bike. He spent his time at home with his family, watching sports with dad and going to the library with mom. 

Kyle had been a student at Columbine only three months and was just beginning to spread his wings. The world around him was beginning to open up for a young boy who had struggled through school and life. But, through all his delays and difficulties he always smiled, forgave and saw the GOOD in those around him.

Kyle was and is very much loved. He will always be missed and never forgotten."

This story was originally published by Jeff Anastasio at Scripps News Denver.

If TikTok's China-based owner doesn’t sell its stake within a year, legislation passed on Saturday by the House would force a ban on the popular social media platform in the United States. 

There was a series of votes on Saturday to decide on three aid bills, for Ukraine, Israel and the Indo-Pacific. 

In the language being voted on over the weekend was a fourth piece of legislation that contains multiple other foreign policy proposals, including a clampdown ByteDance, owner of the popular social media platform TikTok.

Lawmakers were trying to fast-track the efforts to push through a ban by merging the legislation with foreign aid, and it seemed to work as support appeared to increase fast, with a final vote to pass it in the early afternoon on Saturday.

The bill is framed as a national security bill, and it's in the name of national security that lawmakers want to decouple TikTok from China. The national security bill tackles issues related to Russia, China and Iran, including new sanctions against all three countries. 

The bill also allows the U.S. government to seize Russian assets and send that funding to Ukraine, targets criminal organizations trafficking fentanyl, and forces TikTok's parent company to sell the app or face a ban in the U.S.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin released a statement Saturday writing, "We have seen yet again that the troubles of our times will only worsen without strong, steady U.S. leadership to advance our core security interests."

SEE MORE: TikTok to start banning 'problematic' content from its For You feed

Republican House leaders revealed the plan this week to slip in the crackdown on TikTok — seen by some as unconventional in Washington — and move the bill as a whole forward to President Joe Biden's desk after it sat stalled in the Senate, the Washington Post reported. 

The bill, which had appeared more likely than not to pass — including with the TikTok restrictions — could be signed into law as soon as next week, the Associated Press reported. But, not all lawmakers remained confident that the app would go away, especially anytime soon. 

The latest version of the measure will now head to the Senate after a compromise was reached. 

President Biden said Saturday, "I urge the Senate to quickly send this package to my desk so that I can sign it into law."

This year, a record-breaking number of elections will take place around the world. The State Department’s Global Engagement Center has plans to help U.S. allies prevent Russian and Chinese disinformation from influencing voters. But the federal agency itself is in the midst of a quiet battle for survival.

The agency was established with a bipartisan bill that was introduced in 2016 by Republican former Sen. Rob Portman and Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy. But eight years later, some Republicans accuse the GEC of suppressing conservative speech and want to block funding.

“We really are fighting the information war. And there is an information war going on in this world,” said Special Envoy James Rubin, who leads the center, which is tasked with exposing and countering foreign disinformation.

“We have a few dozen people with a relatively small budget, and we're up against a Chinese and a Russian disinformation budget that's billions of dollars,” Rubin said.

With a budget of about $61 million, the center recently exposed how Russia is flooding Africa and Latin America with conspiracy theories and how China is secretly influencing foreign news outlets.

Rubin said the Chinese have taken some lessons from the Russian playbook. 

“They have started to use bots on the internet. They have started to repeat each other's narratives and then use artificial means to exaggerate the extent to which people are believing particular narratives," he said. "So, there is no question that Russia, which has been doing disinformation for hundreds of years, has brought some unfortunate lessons to the Chinese.”

SEE MORE: House passes legislation that could lead to a TikTok ban

But some Republican lawmakers accuse the GEC of mission creep and using taxpayer dollars to undermine the speech of conservatives. Rubin said the accusations would concern him “no matter where they are coming from.”

In a lawsuit, two conservative news outlets, the Federalist and the Daily Wire, accuse the center of orchestrating “one of the most audacious, manipulative, secretive, and gravest abuses of power and infringements of First Amendment rights.” They argue that the GEC funded a project for an organization called the Global Disinformation Index, which, a year later, named their outlets as high risk for purveying disinformation, ultimately hurting their ad revenue and circulation.

The special envoy, a former journalist, suggests the GEC is prepared to make some changes to the grants it gives so that lawmakers do not cut off crucial funding.

“We didn't provide money to anybody to make any judgment about conservative viewpoints. But I'm a realist,” Rubin says. “I live in a world where Congress has to fund us. And if Congress is prepared to work with us and get the GEC reauthorized, I don't see any reason why we would want to fund an organization that they hate so much.”

Rubin says that he, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the White House are working hard to get the center reauthorized. It comes after efforts to get the GEC reauthorized earlier this year failed when Republicans objected to including it in the Senate’s Ukraine supplemental military aid package.

Sen. Chris Murphy, who helped write legislation establishing the GEC, is “actively looking” for other avenues that would allow Congress to reauthorize it, an aide to Murphy told Scripps News.

An end to the GEC’s mission would not only benefit Russia and China, said Rubin, it could also harm relationships that took years to build with other countries who the U.S. partners with to disarm foreign disinformation.

SEE MORE: Apple pulls WhatsApp and Threads from App Store in China

Meet Messi. His handlers say "he was clearly born to work for the TSA," and said when he wasn't screening passengers he enjoyed watching airplanes and playing in the grass at the popular Gravelly Point field, near D.C.'s Reagan National Airport. 

This good boy is now retiring from service with the Transportation Security Administration as one of hundreds of the canines that train each year to work as passenger screening agents at U.S. airports.

Messi and dogs like him spend about 16 weeks learning how to adapt to the hustle and bustle of busy airports, and to meet their handlers, with whom they'll form deep work bonds.  

SEE MORE: Dozens of animals rescued from Maryland house fire

The TSA says there are more than 1,000 canine handler teams that deploy to support screening and security operations around the country. Some of them, like Messi, are trained as explosion detection dogs at Joint Base San Antonio - Lackland in San Antonio, Texas. 

After a busy day Messi would enjoy playing with a tennis ball. 

Now he will enjoy a life of fun and rest, and can play with his toys at any time, and not just after a day of sniffing around for traces of explosive materials, the TSA said. 

As part of his retirement party, Messi had his "Do Not Pet" patch removed from his harness, officially marking the end of his professional career. He also received a pet-friendly cup cake to celebrate. 

The TSA said his handler Peter chose to adopt him in his retirement so they don't have to be separated after the bond they've formed. 

In a sign of how a future might look in which robots and humans move about in our world, a U.S. company said it would upgrade its humanoid robot with a new model that was designed to have more real-world commercial and industrial applications. 

Boston Dynamics said in a statement its hydraulic Atlas robot model would be retired and replaced with a new fully electric Atlas robot "designed for real-world applications."

The company said it began putting research and development resources into humanoid robots around 10 years ago, and has seen other players come onto the scene in that time. Boston Dynamics said it will work with Hyundai to test new applications for its Atlas model. 

A spokesperson for the company said the now-retired humanoid robot would be put in their office lobby museum with other robots that were decommissioned, the New York Times reported. 

SEE MORE: 4-legged robot to help deter wildlife strikes at Alaska airport

The company posted a video online this week showing some of the incredible movement capabilities that the Atlas model had in some of their tests — including some of the dramatic failures it experienced at times.

"For almost a decade, Atlas has sparked our imagination, inspired the next generations of roboticists, and leapt over technical barriers in the field," the company said. "Now it's time for our hydraulic Atlas robot to kick back and relax. Take a look back at everything we've accomplished with the Atlas platform to date."

The image of a world where robots become more advanced is exciting for some, and not so much for others. Stanford noted in a brief history of robotics that some have historically perceived robots to be "dangerous technological ventures that will someday lead to the demise of the human race."

Boston Dynamics, for its part, publishes a code of ethics that states its robots should be trustworthy, must remain unweaponized and must not violate existing civil rights or privacy laws.

Fentanyl's silent toll

The U.S. Government calls fentanyl the most dangerous drug threat the United States has ever faced. For the past year we've been investigating the silent toll it's been taking on this country's most vulnerable: Our children.

When we discovered a kindergartener overdosed on fentanyl in her own California classroom, we started digging into the shocking case. And the further we probed, the more we learned of problems that could be leaving other children at risk.

Protecting children from fentanyl

When Addison Mott started to show signs that she was sick in her classroom, no one immediately recognized that she had been exposed to fentanyl, and when she first got to the hospital, she wasn't tested for it. That's something we found multiple times in the hundreds of fentanyl cases we reviewed in the last year. Now some states are requiring hospitals to screen for fentanyl every time they run a standard test for drugs.

The troubled past of the V-22 Osprey

It's been called the most controversial U.S. military aircraft ever built. The Osprey is often considered a marvel of technology, but it has claimed the lives of more than 60 U.S. service members in 30 years. 

After a crash in Japan that killed eight airmen last year, the Osprey was grounded by the military. But this past march it was cleared to fly again — despite lingering questions about its safety.

SEE MORE: Stolen mail and East Palestine's diaspora | Scripps News Investigates

It's a case that started in a public park in southern Oregon, and now it's going in front of the U.S. Supreme Court. The decision the justices make could impact how homelessness is handled across the country — including whether to give law enforcement the ability to cite or arrest people for sleeping on public property.

Every Thursday morning, Cassy Leach and her fellow volunteers, many of them health care workers, drive food, clothes and supplies between different parks in the southern Oregon town of Grants Pass, a 50-minute drive north of the California border.

"We follow up with people individually and do case management services and meet them where they're at to provide resources," she said.

The goal: use food and conversation to build trust with unhoused people that will lead them to accept services like health care, addiction treatment and housing.

Leach explained what motivated her: "These people live a mile from me and the fact that they don't have running water, where they're camped at. The bathrooms are closed down. Being able to take care of a wound is darn near impossible with no water."

Brian Simmons is a real estate agent who's lived in Grants Pass for the last 30 years. Over the last few years, potential clients have been asking more and more about the town's unsheltered population who have taken refuge in cars and tents, spread throughout 20 public parks. 

"I don't know if there was any real point where it all of a sudden became an issue. It seems like it was just a very slow evolution to get to where we're at today," he said. "That's one of the more common questions I get is like, 'Hey, how is the homeless population really? Is it, is it really that big of a problem?'"

Now in the town of 40,000 people, the homelessness crisis is the focus of a Supreme Court case — Grants Pass v. Johnson. In it, the unhoused plaintiff says the way the city treated homeless people in its parks was unconstitutional. Arguments in the Supreme Court are scheduled for Monday, and depending on the outcome, law enforcement across the country could be allowed to use the law to punish unhoused people for sleeping on public lands. 

That's something that the Oregon Law Center, which represents the plaintiff, says could make the homeless crisis in America more dire. 

"Do we want to live in communities where we all help each other to try to find a safe place to live? Or do we want to live in a community where we punish and arrest and jail the victims of our failed housing policies because they have nowhere else to go?" said Ed Johnson, the director of litigation at the Oregon Law Center which is representing the homeless.

Currently, the 2018 9th Circuit Court decision Martin v. Boise found that while camping on public property can be made illegal, citing or arresting people for sleeping on public property equates to cruel and unusual punishment if they have nowhere else to go. 

Leaders from both sides of the political spectrum say this decision has taken a crucial tool away from municipalities where homelessness issues are increasing faster than resources can handle.

Aaron Hisel, a former police officer, is now an attorney representing the city.

"Some of the most rewarding days as a cop were the times where somebody came back to the station a year later and said, 'I just wanted you to know I've been clean since the day you arrested me. You saved my life.' And we're removing those levers from the system," he said.

Shayna Mueller, 35, lives with her dog in a tent in Grants Pass, bouncing between public parks. On the day we spoke, she was told by police to move within 72 hours to another park. This happens twice a week.

"We have nowhere else to go. We are here because we have to be here," she said.

Grants Pass does have a privately run shelter, but it has limited beds, doesn't allow dogs and requires daily attendance at religious services.

Mueller says, "I want to have a job. I want to have things just like everybody else. But it's just so hard and expensive and everything."

SEE MORE: DC charity helps those who are homeless get housing

The United Auto Workers’ ambitious drive to expand its reach to nonunion factories across the South and elsewhere is facing a key test Friday night as workers at a Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, finish voting on whether to join the union.

The UAW’s ranks in the auto industry have dwindled over the years as foreign-based companies with nonunion U.S. plants have sold increasingly more vehicles.

Twice in recent years, workers at the Chattanooga plant have rejected union membership. Most recently, they handed the UAW a narrow defeat in 2019 as federal prosecutors were breaking up a bribery-and-embezzlement scandal at the union.

But this time, the UAW is operating under new leadership, directly elected by its members for the first time and basking in a successful confrontation with Detroit's major automakers. The union's pugnacious new president, Shawn Fain, was elected on a platform of cleaning up after the scandal and turning more confrontational with automakers. An emboldened Fain, backed by President Joe Biden, led the union in a series of strikes last fall against Detroit’s automakers that resulted in lucrative new contracts.

The new contracts raised union wages by a substantial one-third, arming Fain and his organizers with enticing new offers to present to workers at Volkswagen and other companies.

“I’m very confident,” said Isaac Meadows, an assembly line worker in Chattanooga who helped lead the union organizing drive at the 3.8 million-square-foot plant, which manufactures Atlas SUVs and ID.4 electric vehicles. “The excitement is really high right now. We’ve put a lot of work into it, a lot of face-to-face conversations with co-workers from our volunteer committee.”

Volkswagen says it is neutral on the issue of whether the plant should be unionized. But in a presentation for reporters this week, the company listed examples of how it pays and treats its Chattanooga workers well.

Six Southern governors, including Tennessee's Bill Lee, warned the workers in a joint statement this week that joining the UAW could cost them their jobs and threaten the region's economic progress.

Marick Masters, a business professor at Wayne State University in Detroit who studies the UAW, said there is a good chance that this election could bring the union a historic victory. Public opinion, Masters said, is now generally more aligned with unions than it was in the past.

To approve membership, though, the workers in Chattanooga will have to look past the warnings that joining the union, with the accompanying higher wages, would lead to job losses. Since the UAW's new contracts were signed in the fall with General Motors, Ford and Stellantis, all three companies have cut a relatively small number of factory positions. But Ford CEO Jim Farley has said that his company will have to rethink where it builds future vehicles because of the strike.

“While the UAW's reputation has improved as a result of new leadership and contracts, it's still associated with a decline in the auto industry,” Masters said.

SEE MORE: Postal Service expands employee safety efforts amid thefts, robberies

Shortly after the Detroit contracts were ratified, Volkswagen and other nonunion companies handed their workers big pay raises. Fain characterized those wage increases as the “UAW bump" and asserted that they were intended to keep the union out of the plants.

Last fall, Volkswagen raised production worker pay by 11%, lifting top base wages to $32.40 per hour, or just over $67,000 per year. The average production worker makes about $60,000 a year, excluding benefits and an attendance bonus. VW said its pay exceeds the median household income for the Chattanooga area, which was $54,480 last May, according to the U.S. Labor Department.

But under the UAW contracts, top production workers at GM, for instance, now earn $36 an hour, or about $75,000 a year excluding benefits and profit sharing, which ranged from $10,400 at Ford to $13,860 at Stellantis this year. By the end of the contract in 2028, top-scale GM workers would make over $89,000.

Zach Costello, a worker who trains new employees at the Volkswagen plant, said pay shouldn't be benchmarked against typical wages in the Chattanooga area.

“How about we decide what we're worth, and we get paid what we're worth?” he asked.

VW asserts that its factories are safer than the industry average, based on data reported to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. And the company contends that it considers workers’ preferences in scheduling. It noted that it recently agreed to change the day that third-shift workers start their week so that they have Fridays and Saturdays off.

But Meadows, whose job involves preparing vehicles for the assembly line after the auto bodies are painted, said the company adds overtime or sends workers home early whenever it wants.

“People are just kind of fed up with it,” he said.

VW, he argued, doesn't report all injuries to the government, instead often blaming pre-existing conditions that a worker might have. The union has filed complaints of unfair labor practices, including allegations that the company barred workers from discussing unions during work time and restricted the distribution of union materials.

Volkswagen disputed the union's allegations and said it properly reports injuries and supports the workers' right to vote on union representation.

If the union prevails in the vote at the VW plant, it would mark the first time that the UAW has represented workers at a foreign-owned automaking plant in the South. It would not, however, be the first union auto assembly plant in the South. The UAW represents workers at two Ford assembly plants in Kentucky and two GM factories in Tennessee and Texas, as well as some heavy-truck manufacturing plants.

SEE MORE: Southern governors pressure autoworkers against voting for unions

Staring down a decision so consequential it could alter the course of history — but also end his own career — House Speaker Mike Johnson prayed for guidance.

A conservative Christian, the speaker wrestled over whether to lead the House in approving $95 billion in desperately needed war-time aid for Ukraine, Israel and other U.S. allies, which many in his own Republican majority opposed — some so strongly they would try to boot him from office.

Or, he could do nothing, halting the flow of U.S. aid and potentially saving his own job but ensuring his place as the House speaker who led America’s retreat from the global stage and left Ukraine to fend for itself as it loses ground against the Russian invasion.

As Johnson met with colleagues late into the night this week at the speaker's office, they prayed on it.

“And then he told me the next day: I want to be on the right side of history,” said Rep. Michael McCaul, the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee.

Not quite six months on the job, Johnson’s leadership will help determine if the U.S. is able to hold its standing as what the speaker has called a “beacon of light” for the world, or if the military and humanitarian aid is left to crumble at a pivotal moment for the country, its allies and the speaker’s own livelihood. Voting is expected this weekend.

“He's learning," said Newt Gingrich, the former Republican House speaker.

Gingrich praised Johnson for not being cowed by the hard-right Republicans seeking to remove him from office, and instead reaching into his own deep well of beliefs as a Ronald Reagan-era Republican with an expansive view of the role of the U.S., its allies and his own speakership to make a decision.

“This is the U.S. House. This is not a political playground,” Gingrich said. "We’re talking about real history, we’re talking about whether Russia potentially occupies Ukraine.”

Johnson tumbled into the speaker's office last fall, a relative unknown who emerged only after a chaotic internal party search to replace Kevin McCarthy, who was the first speaker in U.S. history to be booted from office.

Almost an accidental speaker, Johnson had no training and little time to prepare. One of his main accomplishments was helping to lead Donald Trump’s failed legal efforts to overturn the 2020 election loss to Joe Biden in the run-up to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

From the start, the question hanging over the fourth-term Louisiana lawmaker was apparent: Would Johnson become a speaker with a firm grasp of the gavel, utilizing the power of the office that is second in the line of succession to the president?

Or would the House speaker, who portrays himself as a “servant leader” in the Christian tradition, be beholden to the unruly, essentially ungovernable Republican majority, many aligned with former President Trump?

“This is a Churchill or Chamberlain moment,” said Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the Democratic leader, referring to British leaders from the World War II era.

SEE MORE: House's Ukraine, Israel aid package gains Biden's support

After months of dithering delays over the Ukraine aid, Johnson appeared this week determined to move past the populist far-right flank, and rely on Democrats to push the package forward, highly unusual in the deeply polarized House.

He had met recently with Trump, who objects to much overseas aid and has invited Russia to “do whatever the hell they want” in Ukraine, presenting his plan and avoiding public criticism from the former president.

Trump also gave Johnson a needed nod of support by panning the effort from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, one of the presidential hopeful’s strongest allies in Congress, to evict the speaker.

In return, Johnson told Trump he could be the “most consequential president yet” if he is returned to the White House.

At the same time, Johnson has been speaking privately with President Biden, who gave Johnson a boost by quickly endorsing his foreign aid plan.

Still, what used to be considered the way Congress worked, the shared commitment to bipartisan compromise, has become such a political liability that more Republicans, including Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Paul Gosar of Arizona, said they would join Greene's effort to oust Johnson. Some others said he should simply resign.

“I don’t think he’s being courageous. I think he’s fallen right in line with the swamp," said Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., a hardliner who voted to oust McCarthy and is considering the same for Johnson.

During his short term as speaker, Johnson has made a practice of convening lawmakers behind closed doors at his Capitol office for what are often long meetings. What some view as maddening sessions of endless arguing, shrinking the power of the speakership, others appreciate as him listening to lawmakers.

As crowds of spring tourists ushered past his office this week, Johnson holed up with lawmakers. One meeting dragged until midnight. The next day he displayed an unusual resolve.

"History judges us for what we do," Johnson said during an impromptu press conference in Statuary Hall.

“I could make a selfish decision and do something that’s different, but I'm doing here what I believe to be the right thing,” he said.

Johnson disclosed that his son is headed to the Naval Academy this fall.

“To put it bluntly, I would rather send bullets to Ukraine than American boys,” he said.

“This is a live-fire exercise for me, as it is for so many American families. This is not a game. This is not a joke.”

With the threat of his removal intensifying, Johnson said he would "let the chips fall where they may” on his own job.

On Friday, an overwhelming majority of the House, more than 300 lawmakers, more Democrats than Republicans, voted to push the package toward passage.

Rep. Steve Womack, R-Ark., said of Johnson: “I, for one, am just very proud of what we would all refer to as a profile in courage in the face of these kinds of threats.”

But Democrats said they were baffled and saddened it took Johnson so long to do what they see as the right thing.

“This is a profile in delay,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md.

Some Democrats are saying that, unlike their refusal to help McCarthy stay in office, they would vote to save Johnson's job — if he wants it.

A growing list of Republican House speakers, starting with Gingrich, were chased from office or, like John Boehner and Paul Ryan, simply exited early.

Three months after moving in with her new husband, Gypsy Rose Blanchard has formally filed for divorce and moved in with her parents.

Court TV obtained a copy of the divorce petition, filed by Gypsy Rose, who had legally changed her last name after marrying Ryan Anderson. The two married while Blanchard was serving time in prison for murdering her mother. She was released after serving less than 10 years in prison on Dec. 28, 2023.

SEE MORE: Reports: Gypsy Rose Blanchard splits from husband, leaves social media

The divorce petition lists the couple's wedding date as July 21, 2022, and says they were married in Livingston County, Missouri, which is where the Chillicothe Correctional Center is located. While the two lived together after her release, the filing says that the couple separated on March 25, and have lived apart since then.

Blanchard reportedly posted an announcement about the split to her private Facebook page, saying that she had decided to move in with her parents.

In her filing, Blanchard says that the couple has no children and that she is not pregnant, and requests that the court order Ryan to pay her spousal support, "because the Petitioner is in need and the Defendant has an ability to pay and she is not at fault in the dissolution of the marriage." 

The petition further states that Ryan "is not entitled to final spousal support as he is at fault in the dissolution of the marriage," but offers no further detail about the reasons for the split.

Blanchard requested a restraining order in her filing, which the court granted. The restraining order does not suggest any physical violence, but rather is focused on the couple's finances and prohibits either party from hiding or disposing of assets before the case is settled.

It's unclear what assets the couple may have. 

Before her release from prison, Blanchard wrote a memoir which she self-published upon her release, called "Released: Conversations on the Eve of Freedom." She was also the focus of the Lifetime docuseries, "The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard."

Despite joining social media and posting prolifically immediately after her release, Blanchard deleted all of her public social media accounts before filing for divorce. 

People magazine has reported Blanchard has been seen recently with her ex-fiancé, with whom she got matching tattoos.

This story was originally published by Lauren Silver at Court TV. 

From TV's "Law and Order: SVU" to O.J.'s infamous white Bronco chase, Americans have been watching police chases for years. But federal data shows more people were killed in 2022 in police pursuits than during any year on record.

There were 577 deaths nationwide, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. That's a 40% jump compared to 2019.

"It's 577 too many," according to Daryl Washington. 

Washington is representing the family of Andre Craig, a 57-year-old Fort Worth, Texas, man who was killed during a high-speed police chase.

"Andre wasn't doing anything wrong. I mean, Andre was driving and he was abiding by the laws, it was the officer who violated the law," Washington said. 

Craig was not involved in the chase — a Fort Worth police officer ran a red light in pursuit of a stolen vehicle and collided with Craig's car.

Washington has filed a wrongful death suit in reaction to the accident, but he says he still doesn't have access to Fort Worth's full pursuit policy.

The Fort Worth PD is fighting in court to keep parts of the policy under wraps, claiming that releasing it could give criminals an upper hand.

Washington says, "The excuses and the justifications that they're giving is deflection, I think they don't want to come out and say, 'You know what, the way we've been doing this is bad.'"

The policies for police pursuits vary from department to department, but in a new report the Police Executive Research Forum says chases should be "rare" and only used for a "limited and serious set of circumstances."

Washington agrees.

"It should be life or death," he said. "If we talk about a stolen vehicle, that's not worth somebody's life, because that's gonna get replaced, or that car is going to be found. We can't ever bring somebody's life back."

Fort Worth police told Scripps News in an email they have wrapped up their investigation into the incident and will be submitting their findings to the Tarrant County District Attorney's Office "in short order."

SEE MORE: Supreme Court rejects appeal from BLM activist over protest lawsuit

It was supposed to be a typical post-sports dinner: Aspen Lamfers headed over to a Wendy's in her Michigan city and ate a hamburger, chicken nuggets and French fries after her team's softball practice. Today, that meal Aspen ate at 11 years old has continued to leave its mark, and her family is taking legal action because of it.

In a lawsuit filed against Wendy's parent company, Meritage Hospitality Group, Aspen's family alleges the Wendy's in Jenison gave her a STEC infection, which occurs when a person eats something contaminated by certain E. coli. A week after her first onset of symptoms, Aspen was diagnosed with hemolytic uremic syndrome, a rare complication from STEC infection that can be life-threatening. 

She was soon diagnosed with Stage 3 acute kidney injury/failure, acute encephalopathy — meaning neurological damage — and hyperglycemia from pancreas damage. She had seizures, transient paralysis on her left side, consistent vomiting and other challenges as a result, the lawsuit said. 

Records included in the complaint assert that the Wendy's location knew it was in violation of multiple health codes that led Aspen to contract the STEC infection and worsening symptoms thereafter. One Ottawa County Health Department inspection listed in the complaint occurred days before Aspen ate there on Aug. 1, 2022, and lists 17 citations, including moldy food, dirty utensils, undated produce and ineffective sanitizing solutions. 

Aspen's mom, who is listed as the plaintiff in the suit, claims this amounts to Wendy's being negligent in keeping its restaurant safe for customers, leaving her daughter to have permanent impairments. 

The suit says Aspen has continued to have erratic blood sugar levels since her hospital discharge, causing her to now be diagnosed as diabetic. She's also been diagnosed with focal epilepsy and has had seizures after missing just one dose of anti-seizure medication, which her mom states will affect her future ability to have children as taking the medicine while pregnant can cause serious birth defects. 

Aspen has also continued to be on blood pressure medication due to persistent hypertension, she'll likely have weakness on her left-side for the rest of her life and she has lasting cognitive deficits that have caused a significant decline in her academic abilities. Before her infection, the suit states Aspen scored in the 70th percentile for math on a state assessment test. After, she scored in the 9th percentile.

The Lamfers are asking Wendy's for $20 million to recover all the damages they have incurred since Aspen became infected, including past and future "extreme pain and suffering," health complications, "loss of earning capacity" and "loss of life expectancy." 

As of now, the family's attorney says Wendy's hasn't been cooperative with any of the family's claims, with or without the law being involved.

"Aspen's life has been forever changed because of this blatant disregard for the health and safety of the public. Despite our best efforts, Meritage Hospitality Group has been unwilling or unable to engage in any effort to resolve Aspen's claims without litigation," Tom Worsfold told Scripps News.

Wendy's hasn't responded to Scripps News' request for comment as of Friday afternoon. 

The case is related to a known E. coli outbreak that the CDC linked to Wendy's restaurants in several states in 2022. 

The federal agency said more than 80% of sick people who public health officials interviewed had reported eating at a Wendy's restaurant before getting sick, many of them eating sandwiches with romaine lettuce. To note, Aspen Lamfers did not eat lettuce at the Jenison Wendy's.

SEE MORE: Wendy's Pulls Lettuce From Sandwiches Amid E. Coli Outbreak

However, these interviews didn't lead officials to track down which ingredient caused the outbreak, and there wasn't enough information collected before the outbreak ended to determine the source either, the CDC said.

Data shows 109 people were sickened in the outbreak, but the CDC says the actual number is likely higher due to many people not testing for E. coli and/or recovering without medical care. Of the 109 people, 67 lived in Michigan, as do the Lamfers.

The family's lawsuit states the OCHD connected an unusual increase in STEC infections in local hospitals to the Jenison Wendy's 11 days after Aspen ate there, the same day she was diagnosed with HUS. 

The connection prompted the health department to investigate and perform another inspection in which they found employees not washing their hands or changing their gloves, a can of Raid pesticide in the kitchen, containers used to store raw beef filled with dirty water and more. 

"The large number of violations indicate that food safety is at risk, as they are cited throughout the facility and relate to most aspects of food preparation and service," the inspection note states.

After the health department's visit, the Jenison Wendy's "voluntarily shut down due to illness complaints and potential outbreak" of E. coli infections, the lawsuit says. Less than a week later, it reopened under new management, a day after Aspen had to have her body iced to reduce a sky-high fever.

The rights of LGBTQ+ students will be protected by federal law and victims of campus sexual assault will gain new safeguards under rules finalized Friday by the Biden administration.

The new provisions are part of a revised Title IX regulation issued by the Education Department, fulfilling a campaign pledge by President Joe Biden. He had promised to dismantle rules created by former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, who added new protections for students accused of sexual misconduct.

Notably absent from Biden’s policy, however, is any mention of transgender athletes.

The administration originally planned to include a new policy forbidding schools from enacting outright bans on transgender athletes, but that provision was put on hold. The delay is widely seen as a political maneuver during an election year in which Republicans have rallied around bans on transgender athletes in girls' sports.

Instead, President Biden is officially undoing sexual assault rules put in place by his predecessor and current election-year opponent, former President Donald Trump. The final policy drew praise from victims' advocates, while Republicans said it erodes the rights of accused students.

The new rule makes “crystal clear that everyone can access schools that are safe, welcoming and that respect their rights," Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said.

“No one should face bullying or discrimination just because of who they are, who they love,” Cardona told reporters. “Sadly, this happens all too often.”

President Biden's regulation is meant to clarify schools’ obligations under Title IX, the 1972 sex discrimination law originally passed to address women’s rights. It applies to colleges and elementary and high schools that receive federal money. The update is to take effect in August.

Among the biggest changes is new recognition that Title IX protects LGBTQ+ students — a source of deep conflict with Republicans.

The 1972 law doesn’t directly address the issue, but the new rules clarify that Title IX also forbids discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. LGBTQ+ students who face discrimination will be entitled to a response from their school under Title IX, and those failed by their schools can seek recourse from the federal government.

Many Republicans say Congress never intended such protections under Title IX. A federal judge previously blocked Biden administration guidance to the same effect after 20 Republican-led states challenged the policy.

Rep. Virginia Foxx, a Republican from North Carolina and chair of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, said the new regulation threatens decades of advancement for women and girls.

“This final rule dumps kerosene on the already raging fire that is Democrats’ contemptuous culture war that aims to radically redefine sex and gender,” Foxx said in a statement.

In the last few years, many Republican-controlled states have adopted laws restricting the rights of transgender children, including banning gender-affirming medical care for minors. And at least 11 states restrict which bathrooms and locker rooms transgender students can use, banning them from using facilities that align with their gender identity.

But the rule makes clear that treating transgender students differently from their classmates is discrimination, putting the state bathroom restrictions in jeopardy, said Francicso M. Negron Jr., an attorney who specializes in education law.

The revision was proposed nearly two years ago but has been slowed by a comment period that drew 240,000 responses, a record for the Education Department.

Many of the changes are meant to ensure that schools and colleges respond to complaints of sexual misconduct. In general, the rules widen the type of misconduct that institutions are required to address, and it grants more protections to students who bring accusations.

Chief among the changes is a wider definition of sexual harassment. Schools now must address any unwelcome sex-based conduct that is so “severe or pervasive” that it limits a student's equal access to an education.

Under the DeVos rules, conduct had to be “severe, pervasive and objectively offensive," a higher bar that pushed some types of misconduct outside the purview of Title IX.

SEE MORE: Vatican condemns gender-affirming surgery, surrogacy and gender theory

Colleges will no longer be required to hold live hearings to allow students to cross-examine one another through representatives — a signature provision from the DeVos rules.

Live hearings are allowed under the Biden rules, but they're optional and carry new limits. Students must be able to participate from hearings remotely, for example, and schools must bar questions that are “unclear or harassing.”

As an alternative to live hearings, college officials can interview students separately, allowing each student to suggest questions and get a recording of the responses.

Those hearings were a major point of contention with victims' advocates, who said it forced sexual assault survivors to face their attackers and discouraged people from reporting assaults. Supporters said it gave accused students a fair process to question their accusers, arguing that universities had become too quick to rule against accused students.

Victims' advocates applauded the changes and urged colleges to implement them quickly.

“After years of pressure from students and survivors of sexual violence, the Biden Administration’s Title IX update will make schools safer and more accessible for young people, many of whom experienced irreparable harm while they fought for protection and support,” said Emma Grasso Levine, a senior manager at the group Know Your IX.

Despite the focus on safeguards for victims, the new rules preserve certain protections for accused students.

All students must have equal access to present evidence and witnesses under the new policy, and all students must have equal access to evidence. All students will be allowed to bring an advisor to campus hearings, and colleges must have an appeals process.

In general, accused students won't be able to be disciplined until after they're found responsible for misconduct, although the regulation allows for “emergency” removals if it's deemed a matter of campus safety.

The American Council on Education, which represents higher education institutions, praised the new guidelines. But the group criticized the Aug. 1 compliance deadline. The timeline "disregards the difficulties inherent in making these changes on our nation’s campuses in such a short period of time,” ACE said in a statement.

The latest overhaul continues a back-and-forth political battle as presidential administrations repeatedly rewrite the rules around campus sexual misconduct.

DeVos criticized the new rule, writing on social media site X that it amounts to “ an assault on women and girls." She said the new procedures for handling sexual assault accusations mark a return to "days where sexual misconduct was sent to campus kangaroo courts, not resolved in a way that actually sought justice,” she wrote.

The DeVos rules were themselves an overhaul of an Obama-era policy that was intended to force colleges to take accusations of campus sexual assault more seriously. Now, after years of nearly constant changes, some colleges have been pushing for a political middle ground to end the whiplash. 

Automaker Tesla issued a recall for nearly 4,000 of its 2024 Cybertrucks after the company said accelerator pedals could become stuck and cause a crash if the vehicles accelerate unintentionally. 

The company didn't immediately post the recall on its news page, but as Barrons reported on Friday, Tesla stock dropped for the sixth straight day after the Cybertruck recall news hit headlines. 

At least 3,878 Cybertrucks were included in the recall, the National Highway and Transportation Safety Administration said, according to Reuters. 

Scripps News reached out to the NHTSA for further comment on the matter, but didn't immediately receive a response. 

SEE MORE: Southern governors pressure autoworkers against voting for unions

The Wall Street Journal reported that soap used during the assembly process might have caused an issue with the pedals, causing them to stick and accelerate, the recall report said. 

WSJ reported recently that new Cybertruck buyers had their delivery dates pushed back without a reason given by the company. 

The NHTSA said it was not aware of any deaths, injuries or crashes associated with the problems listed in this latest recall. The voluntary recall includes Cybertrucks manufactured from November 2023 to April 2024. The company, led by billionaire Elon Musk, said it would repair or replace the accelerator pedal assembly in the trucks for free if owners contact Tesla and give the recall number SB-24-33-003, The Associated Press reported. 

On any given night in the U.S., an estimated 650,000 people are experiencing homelessness, and the nation's capital has the highest rate in the country, with 73 out of every 10,000 people being unhoused. The Supreme Court is considering a case that could allow cities to make sleeping outside a crime. But advocates say pushing the homeless out of the city limits doesn't help them get back on their feet. So what does?

Amanda Chesney is the executive director of housing and homeless services for Catholic Charities, one of the nonprofits contracted to provide services in Washington, D.C. Across the region, they help shelter 1,200 people every night.

"In the district, there are a good amount of choices available for folks experiencing homelessness. But it can be tough to navigate. And there can be a wait," Chesney said. "It is not a one-size-fits-all. I think the most successful intervention is the opposite of one-size-fits-all."

Wilson Robertson is a lifelong Washington, D.C., resident, and he knows that wait firsthand. He spent eight or nine months staying at the New York Avenue Men's shelter.

He said, "When I first got in there, it was kind of hard for me to get adjusted because who would think that they would be in a predicament like that after all these years? And I felt ashamed. I felt depressed."

SEE MORE: Homeless residents in a suburb of Seattle struggle with camping ban

While experiencing homelessness in the fall of 2020, Robertson suffered a stroke. He then became one of the hundreds to be housed in empty hotels in Washington, D.C. That program provided over 400 rooms per night at its peak, and Chesney said it was very successful. Beyond just providing an increased capacity, they were able to bring multiple services together in one location.

"We were working as a team — the housing-focused case manager, the behavioral health specialists, the medical team, all in one house. Powerful," Chesney explained. "I'm sure it was expensive, but it was really, really effective."

While he was staying in the hotel, Robertson's case manager helped him get a housing voucher and find an apartment he could move into. 

"I could not believe it. And once it's starting to settle in, I say, 'Well, Wilson, looks like you will be here for a while,' and then everything come to fruition," he recalled.

He lived in the apartment for a while before adding any personal touches. But not everyone needs permanent supportive housing, and Chesney says good case management starts with asking the right questions and listening.

"One of the things that the case manager has to do is sort of triage the level of need, and assess: What can we get you today, this week, this month? If you could get 500 bucks a month to help with groceries or rent, would that give you a place to stay? In a lot of cases, yeah, it would. OK, great."

The needs for every community will be different. Chesney thinks the district needs more behavioral health and substance abuse support. But for every community, funding is critical and it's something she says states can't do alone.

"Ending homelessness is a systems-level problem," said Chesney. "There's no state or local jurisdiction that can fund what's needed on their own. Absolutely none. The federal government has to pick it up and prioritize it."

At 64 years old, Robertson is working on his education and hopes to find a job. He said having stable housing gives him peace of mind he's never had before.

A new rapid blood test that can reportedly detect brain injuries like concussions in just minutes has cleared a major hurdle toward becoming widely available for use in the U.S.

Health care company Abbott Laboratories announced that its i-STAT TBI cartridge has been granted approval by the Food and Drug Administration and can now be used by clinicians to evaluate patients with suspected mild traumatic brain injury. Abbott says the test requires a small sample of a patient's blood to be inserted into the cartridge, and then it produces lab-quality results in just 15 minutes.

According to the National Institutes of Health, approximately 5 million people visit urgent care centers each year with traumatic brain-related injuries. And for decades, the process of detecting head trauma in patients has primarily been based on subjective doctor assessments or required blood samples to be sent off to a lab for processing and testing. 

However, Abbott claims its new rapid blood test is an important step forward in providing patients with quick results right at their bedside, and eventually at places like sporting events where head injuries are more common.

SEE MORE: How the NFL is working to prevent concussions and protect players

"With the help of this whole blood test, we can quickly and objectively determine whether or not a patient needs a CT scan or additional evaluation, right at the point of care," said Dr. Geoffrey Manley, chief of neurosurgery at the University of California San Francisco. "It's an incredibly helpful tool that advances the treatment of traumatic brain injury." 

For now, the test is only approved for use on patients 18 years or older in places like hospitals and emergency departments. But Abbott hopes to eventually make the tests widely available to people of all ages anywhere they are seeking care for head trauma.

"When you look at all the other diseases, or other organs in the body, they all have blood tests to help assess what's happening," said Dr. Beth McQuiston, medical director in Abbott's diagnostics business. "Now, we have a whole blood test that can help assess the brain right at the patient's bedside — expanding access to more health providers and therefore patients."

A Maryland high school student has been charged after police discovered his plans to commit a school shooting.

The student, 18-year-old Alex Ye, whose legal name is Andrea, was arrested Wednesday following discovery of a 129-page manifesto detailing how he would carry out the shooting. According to police, the document also stated that he contemplated targeting an elementary school and that he wanted "to be famous."

A search warrant retrieved by the Montgomery County Police Department led to internet searches, drawings and documents related to threats of mass violence. Police say that security at Montgomery County Public Schools will increase, specifically at Wootton High School.

Ye is currently in custody at Montgomery County Central Booking where he awaits a bond hearing.

This story was originally published by Dominick Philippe-Auguste at Scripps News Baltimore.

The Federal Aviation Administration and United Airlines have launched investigations after a video reportedly showed an "unauthorized person" in the flight deck during a Colorado Rockies flight. The Wall Street Journal was the first to report the incident.

The FAA and United Airlines did not confirm details of the incident. However, a video posted to social media appears to show the team's hitting coach sitting in the cockpit during the flight.

SEE MORE: United plane engine catches fire midflight, passengers fear for lives

In a statement, United Airlines said it is aware of a video "which appears to show an unauthorized person in the flight deck at cruise altitude while the autopilot was engaged." 

"We’re deeply disturbed by what we see in that video, which appears to show an unauthorized person in the flight deck at cruise altitude while the autopilot was engaged," United said. "As a clear violation of our safety and operational policies, we’ve reported the incident to the FAA and have withheld the pilots from service while we conduct an investigation." 

In a statement, the FAA said it is investigating the event and "does not comment on the details of open investigations." Flight deck access is restricted to specific individuals under federal regulations. Scripps News Denver reached out to the Rockies for comment but has not heard back.

This story was originally published by Sydney Isenberg at Scripps News Denver.

Three people are facing charges after a 5-year-old Indiana girl died due to severe neglect.

Kinsleigh Welty was taken to a hospital after officers found her unresponsive in her home on April 9. She was pronounced dead at Riley Hospital in Indianapolis.

Her mother, 29-year-old Toni McClure, was arrested on charges of murder and child neglect resulting in death. McClure’s boyfriend, 27-year-old Ryan Smith, is charged with child neglect resulting in death. Days later, police also arrested the child’s grandmother, 53-year-old Tammy Halsey, on charges of neglect.

Police said Kinsleigh was kept in a closet that had small handprints of what appeared to be feces on the door. There was also soiled clothing and a strong smell of urine. The malnourished child had sunken eyes and feces on her feet and in her hair when she was found. She also had what appeared to be lice crawling on her face, according to court documents obtained by Scripps News Indianapolis. Hospital officials said Kinsleigh was so malnourished, she weighed more at 2-and-a-half years old than she did at 5. 

Authorities said McClure has a history with the Department of Child Services. Kinsleigh’s grandparents, Tricia and Brian Welty, told Scripps News Indianapolis the warning signs of the child’s failing health were reported but said DCS let them down and they want accountability.

“We just don’t want her death to be in vain. We want change. We don’t want any more kids to have to die because of the failure of the system,” Tricia Welty said. “She was in our home, and she was safe, but she was handed back to her abuser and she’s not here anymore.”

The Weltys say Kinsleigh temporarily lived with them twice after other reports of mistreatment. In 2018, McClure was formally charged with neglect when Kinsleigh was just a baby.

The officer said the home was in one of the worst conditions he’d ever seen and noted a three-week-old child who appeared to be malnourished. The family says it was Kinsleigh, and McClure served 21 days in jail for that case.

“When she came to us the second time, she was bruised from head to toe. She had chunks of hair missing throughout her whole head and she was given back. She already tried to starve her to death when she was three weeks old and they gave her back,” the Weltys said.

Following a welfare check in 2021, the grandparents said they were fearful Kinsleigh would die.

“I pleaded with DCS before that court case and my concerns about every bit of it were ignored,” Tricia Welty said.

According to police reports, just before Kinsleigh died, DCS was at the house after McClure’s newborn tested positive for THC. Kinsleigh did not test positive.

McClure allegedly said Kinsleigh frequently expressed that she wanted more food or that she was thirsty but had a desire for her to be out of her life. The Weltys want DCS to improve its reunification process.

“The child’s safety should be the priority. It shouldn’t be getting them back to the parent if that person isn’t right. They failed her.” Tricia Welty said.

Scripps News Indianapolis has reached out to DCS over the past few days for comments, but a law that took effect in 2019 prevents the agency from releasing records on a child’s death until after the criminal case is resolved.

This story was originally published by Scripps News Indianapolis and Court TV.

A man fishing before sunrise Thursday made a gruesome discovery at the Appomattox River in Colonial Heights, Virginia.

He found a woman's body.

"I was sitting there just enjoying the evening ... no phone, no radio ... I’d been there a half hour, 45 minutes," the man, whose identity we've protected, told Scripps News Richmond. "I was putting a piece of bait on a hook and I was sitting there and I heard 'pow!'  So I put my hand over my headlamp [and thought], what the heck just happened?"

A second noise followed.

"After the gunshot was what sounded to be a large object splash in the water," he said.

Then he spotted something along the riverbank.

"A few seconds later, a set of headlights slowly made their way through the parking lot and just kind of eased on out from the park," the fisherman shared.

He then packed up his gear and made his way back to the dock.

"I was uncertain what I was getting ready to get into," he admitted. "I turned the lightbar on and I seen a colorful object. All I seen was clothes."

Colonial Heights Police arrived at about 5 a.m. and, with the help of the Virginia State Police dive team, recovered a woman's body.

The body was taken to the medical examiner's office for identification.

"I didn’t hear any commotion while I was sitting there [before the shooting]," the fisherman said."I will go back, yeah, but it’s going to take some time. It will be a little while."

Anyone with information was asked to call Crime Solvers at 804-748-0660.

This story was originally published by Wayne Covil at Scripps News Richmond.

A small black bear cub is in rehab after a group of people pulled it from a tree to take pictures with it.

The alarming incident was caught on camera by onlookers outside of an apartment complex in Asheville, North Carolina. Wildlife experts were angered by the incident.

In the video, the group is seen disturbing two very young black bears on a tree as they try to rip them from the branches. When one of the cubs is successfully pulled down, a member of the group is seen holding the cub and posing for pictures with it. She drops the bear, and a shriek is heard.

The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission said they were contacted by the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Department about the group of people harassing the baby bears, and were told that a cub bit one of the people. 

The organization said one of the cubs was later found in a retention pond. It was in poor condition and taken to a licensed cub rehabilitation facility.  

“The cub’s condition is likely a result of the unnecessary and irresponsible actions of the people involved,” Game Mammals and Surveys Supervisor Colleen Olfenbuttel said in a press release. 

NCWRC’s BearWise Coordinator Ashley Hobbs captured the cub. 

“The cub appeared to be lethargic and frightened. It looked to be favoring one of its front paws and was wet and shivering,” Hobbs said in a press release. 

Hobbs and others searched for the second cub but it could not be found.  “Our hope is it was able to reunite with the mother because it would not survive on its own at this young age,” Mountain Operations Supervisor James Tomberlin said in a press release. 

As for the cub in rehab, it is being cared for by an experienced cub rehabilitator with the hope of being released back into the wild later this year, NCWRC said. 

Wildlife experts urge people never to approach or handle bear cubs. 

The daughter of U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar said on Thursday she was suspended from Barnard College after "standing in solidarity with Palestinians facing a genocide."

In a message written on X, Isra Hirsi wrote that she had just received a notification that she was one of three students who were suspended by the university that is both an independently incorporated educational institution and an official college of Columbia University, according to the university's website. 

Hirsi said on X that she is a member of the student organization Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine and an organizer with Apartheid Divest, and said she had not received any disciplinary warnings for the three years she has attended the university. 

Earlier on Thursday campus authorities at Columbia University were instructed to remove an encampment that had formed on its property on the Morningside Heights campus in Manhattan before dawn on Wednesday, with people protesting in support of Palestinians amid the latest Israel-Hamas war. 

The students demanded that the university divest from corporate financial interests with ties to Israel. The protests came just a day after Columbia University's President Nemat Shafik stood firm in her testimony on Capitol Hill regarding the university's response to antisemitism and what phrases used by activists would be considered harassment.

SEE MORE: Police detain pro-Palestinian demonstrators at Columbia University

Hirsi wrote on Thursday, "those of us in Gaza Solidarity Encampment will not be intimidated. we will stand resolute until our demands are met. our demands include divestment from companies complicit in genocide."

It did not appear as of Thursday evening that U.S. Rep. Omar had released a public statement on the matter on social media or through official channels. 

Columbia University said in a notice that "all university students participating in the encampment" were notified that they would be suspended, and said the participants were trespassing after the university's president ordered that they be removed. 

Police officers were seen in riot gear putting individuals in the back of detention vehicles, with some protesters wearing keffiyehs in a show of solidarity with Palestinians. Dozens were arrested and at least 50 tents were removed from Columbia University property, the New York Times reported. 

In a pinned message on her X page, Rep. Omar wrote on Oct. 7, "We need to call for deescalation and ceasefire. I will keep advocating for peace and justice throughout the Middle East."

Virginia Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine called a "near crash" at Ronald Reagan National Airport on Thursday morning a "horrifying example" of the effects of efforts to undermine slot and perimeter rules. They called the runway where the incident happened "overburdened" and "the busiest in the country." 

On Thursday morning at around 7:40 a.m. ET, Southwest Flight 2937 and JetBlue Flight 1554 almost collided as air traffic controllers frantically told the planes to stop, as later heard in audio of the incident.

According to flight monitoring sites, the Southwest flight was around 65 feet away from entering a runway where the JetBlue plane sat around 300 feet away. 

The Virginia lawmakers released a visualization with audio of the incident where an air traffic controller can be heard yelling "Southwest 2937 STOP!"

Another controller is heard intervening saying, "JetBlue 1554, do you have room to get around the Southwest [plane]? ... Or even double back onto runway 4 full lane?"

The plane then told the controller he could make a left on the A runway and move out of the way. 

The FAA confirmed to Scripps News that the agency would investigate the incident and that information it has is preliminary, saying JetBlue Flight 1554 was starting its takeoff roll on the same runway when the incident happened. 

SEE MORE: Boeing under scrutiny again as whistleblowers testify before Senate

In the statement from Sens. Warner and Kaine on Thursday, they said "we fear that adding more flights could put passenger safety at serious jeopardy. We are thankful there was no loss of life or injuries, but this close call is unacceptable and we must ensure even near misses never occur again. To state the obvious: Passenger safety should be a higher priority than whether some lawmakers have a direct flight home from DCA."

The senators say they have repeatedly opposed changes to slot and perimeter rules, which they say govern the amount of flights safely allowed to operate out of Reagan National Airport. 

In February, Sen. Kaine's office released a statement calling the Senate Commerce Committee's actions to introduce a provision to change slot and perimeter rules "unsafe." 

Sen. Kaine called the decision "profoundly reckless" and said the Senate Commerce Committee is "gambling with the safety of everyone who uses" the airport. 

An Oklahoma judge ordered public defenders to represent four members of an anti-government group who appeared in court Wednesday on charges of kidnapping and killing two Kansas women.

The judge also entered not-guilty pleas and denied bail for Tifany Adams, 54, and her boyfriend, Tad Cullum, 43, both of Keyes, Oklahoma, as well as Cole and Cora Twombly of Texhoma, Oklahoma.

Texas County Associate District Judge Clark Jett assigned the Oklahoma Indigent Defense System to represent all four defendants, OIDS Executive Director Tim Laughlin told The Associated Press. Laughlin declined to comment about any details of the case or the defendants, citing his agency's policy.

"The reason we don't comment is to protect our clients' privileges and our clients' interest throughout the trial process," Laughlin said.

All four are charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping and conspiracy in the killing of 27-year-old Veronica Butler and 39-year-old Jilian Kelley of Hugoton, Kansas, who disappeared on March 30 while driving to Oklahoma to pick up Butler's children and attend a birthday party.

During an interview with investigators, Adams, the children's grandmother, admitted she was responsible for the deaths of Butler and Kelley, according to a prosecutor's motion for the defendants to be held without bond.

SEE MORE: 2 bodies found amid arrests over missing preacher's wife and friend

"Adams, Cullum, Cora and Cole have resources sufficient to organize and execute a complex murder," OSBI Lt. Amie Gates wrote in an affidavit. "Therefore, they also have the resources to flee if given the opportunity."

Adam and Cullum also own numerous firearms, and Cullum had a rifle, ammunition, body armor and a "go-bag" prepared at his home, the affidavit says.

Authorities say Adams and Butler were in the middle of a bitter custody battle. Kelley, a pastor's wife, went along with Butler as a court-approved observer to supervise the visit. They never showed up for the party, setting off a two week search that ended with the two couples' arrests on Saturday and the discovery of the bodies on Sunday.

Arrest affidavits painted a gruesome picture of the scene where the women's car was found, not far from the rural highway intersection where Butler had arranged to pick up her son and daughter from Adams. Investigators found blood on the road and Butler's glasses near a broken hammer.

According to a witness who spoke to Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation agents, all four suspects were part of "an anti-government group that had a religious affiliation." The affidavits said they called themselves "God's Misfits" and held regular meetings at the home of the Twomblys and another couple who Adams said watched the children the day the women disappeared.

Relatives of Tad Cullum and the Twomblys have not returned phone messages seeking comment. Tifany Adams' stepmother, Elise Adams, said she had no information to share.

Employee safety is top of mind as U.S. Postal Service officials are offering rewards leading to evidence following a series of letter-carrier robberies and thefts. 

This week the United States Postal Inspection Service announced a $150,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of a suspect who is accused of robbing a U.S. Postal Service letter carrier in late March in Arlington, Texas. 

On Thursday the USPIS released an image and information as they work to arrest another suspect accused of stealing mail and parcels in New York. Postal officials are offering up to $100,000 in reward money for information leading to an arrest and conviction in that case. 

SEE MORE: Stamps are about to get more expensive again

In March, USPS announced a nationwide campaign to combat postal crime and to protect postal service employees. Officials said arrests for robberies against letter carriers were up 73% year over year in that statement. 

Postal officials said they have conducted over 5,500 mail theft and violent crime prevention activities across the United States since the launch of their Project Safe Delivery initiative. USPS said it completed its second law enforcement surge in San Francisco in February as part of those efforts. 

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said, "We have been unrelenting in our pursuit of criminals."

But a union representing letter carriers said the USPS isn't taking crimes against postal employees seriously enough after a federal district court handed down a 30-day prison sentence for a suspect charged with armed robbery against a San Francisco letter carrier, Federal News Network reported.

In early January USPIS said at around 4:54 p.m. a USPS letter carrier was robbed in Rochester, New York, and the agency was offering a $150,000 reward for anyone who had information leading to an arrest and conviction. Several arrests had been made as robbery investigations were ongoing throughout Monroe County, where Rochester is located. 

In March Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Rep. Greg Landsman of Ohio introduced bipartisan legislation to address a rise in violent crime against USPS employees, especially focused on letter carriers. 

The Protect our Letter Carriers Act (H.R. 7629) would also look to address the issue of outdated collection boxes and arrow keys. 

U.S. Postal Service arrow keys offer universal access to mailboxes and it's against federal law for any unauthorized individual to be in possession of one. Nationwide there has been a spate of robberies by criminals targeting postal workers to get these keys. 

In 2021, 132 arrow keys were stolen from mail carriers.  

That number had more than tripled to 418 by 2023, according to numbers Scripps News obtained from the Postal Inspection Service after filing a public records request.

The system used to determine financial aid packages for millions of college students got revamped, but the transition has been anything but smooth, with glitches in calculations for federal Pell grants and setbacks in the rollout for the FAFSA, or Free Application for Federal Student Aid.

Around this time of year, high school seniors bound for college and active college students should be weighing financial offers from those schools.

But those decisions are delayed.

Vanessa Mendiola would like to know where she's headed this fall.

"I've applied to University of Texas-San Antonio, Lamar University, University of North Texas, Texas A&M, Kingsville," Mendiola, an 18-year-old senior at Houston's YES Prep Southside Secondary Charter School, told Scripps News. Those institutions are among the college acceptances Mendiola is considering, but with a big catch: She hasn't gotten any news of the financial aid she needs to pay for school.

"It makes me frustrated not knowing where I'm going to end up," said Mendiola.

Her college counselors share her frustration; they field questions every day from anxious students and parents, many of whom are first-generation college-bound seniors.

Roberto Treviño, managing director of college initiatives at the YES Prep charter school system, said roughly 80% or more of the outgoing 1644 high school seniors at YES plan on going to a university or a community college, but need financial aid to make those ambitions possible.

"The irony is that this FAFSA is literally called the better FAFSA, and I think long-term-wise, it will be better. But this year, it's far from that," Treviño said.

The same uncertainty about tuition assistance goes for Texas Southern University junior Logan Jackson.

"It's really important because it basically pays for most of my education," Jackson said.

The 21-year-old told Scripps News she struggled with changes to this year's FAFSA.

"I know one of the delays was actually being able to do it. Like some people were like, 'Okay, it's not working. It's down. Then it's back up," Jackson said.

FAFSA is administered by the U.S. Department of Education. The forms help colleges calculate federal Pell grants and financial aid packages for students.

The U.S. Congress passed a law in 2020 mandating that department officials simplify the byzantine application by requiring fewer questions. The law also enables FAFSA to pull tax information directly from the IRS, and allows parents without Social Security numbers to fill out the form. The changes also expanded eligibility for Pell grants for low-income students.

But the update meant to widen financial aid access took months longer than expected. Other glitches in the student aid index to calculate Pell grants put the process back even further.

SEE MORE: FAFSA fumble: Millions still waiting for financial aid letters

Latisha Addison, the executive director for student financial success at the historically Black Texas Southern University, said Congress had the right intentions to fix the FAFSA process but says her department at Texas Southern University is dealing with the fallout of the botched rollout.

"I do believe that was released prematurely, but the overall good of it, it can't go unnoticed. We can't take away the fact that this is going to be beneficial to more students," Addison said.

Addison added that financial aid programs help the vast majority of Texas Southern undergraduates pay for their education.

"I think we're probably set in about 90, 95% of our students receive some type of financial aid," Addison said.

The setbacks are causing delays for millions of college-bound high school seniors as well as already active college students.

Janiya Ross, a continuing senior student at the University of Houston, is perplexed by the lateness. "Now it's like we're scrounging for money; how much is it gonna cost?" Ross said.

Freshman education major Vanessa Manzanares said the delays cause anxiety.

"It's like really stressful not to know if I'm going to be able to afford college next year, especially."

The offers for the next academic year can't come soon enough for UH student Janoah Agudelo.

"As college students, we gotta know, like, where the money's going to be because we have to pay certain things off, you know, bills," Agudelo said.

Another factor causing concern among universities and groups that look at student data is that FAFSA applications for next year's term are down.

The National College Attainment Network is a nonprofit dedicated to helping students prepare for, apply to, and succeed in college. NCAN also maintains a database tracking FAFSA submissions.

"We are, at this point, very significantly below where we were last year," said NCAN senior policy director Catherine Brown. "Twenty-five percent fewer high school students have submitted the FAFSA compared with this time last year. That's about 500,000 fewer students. And when it comes to completions, we're at more like 40%," Brown said.

When colleges do get the data, financial aid offices will have to deal with a bottleneck of applications.

"Once the floodgates open in two weeks, we'll be processing full-time," said Frank Gomez, associate director of federal processing at UH's Financial Aid and Scholarships Office. "We'll be processing tens of thousands of applications."

The University of Houston has close to 36,000 undergraduates, and around 40% of the student body receives some form of financial aid, said Gomez. He expects to work long hours when the data comes his way in May, when he expects the FAFSA forms to arrive.

Mendiola says she may already be done with high school by the time she knows her fall plans.

"We don't know what to do in this type of situation, but just wait patiently," Mendiola said.

The U.S. Department of Education acknowledged the slow rollout and the glitches that had to be addressed, but added that the 2024–2025 changes amount to the most significant overhaul of the form since it was created. Adding to that, the effort includes over 20 systems, some of which have not been updated in close to 50 years. The federal agency mounted a public awareness campaign this week to encourage more high school seniors and active students to submit their FAFSA forms.

Saturday will mark 25 years since Columbine High School, just outside Denver, Colorado, became synonymous with a national tragedy. Twelve students and one teacher were killed in a mass shooting that gripped the nation. 

Tom Mouser, who lost his son Daniel in the massacre, appeared at the U.S. Capitol this week to remind lawmakers in Washington that there is more work to be done to prevent school shootings. 

Data compiled by Education Week found that there were 38 school shootings in the U.S. that resulted in injuries or deaths in 2023. 

"I came here this week to remind the nation of the lives that were lost," he said. 

The Biden administration recently announced a new rule that would close the so-called gun show loophole, which for years did not require background checks in some transactions outside of gun stores.

"It took 25 years to get here," Mouser said. "We cannot wait another 25 years to get significant gun safety legislation."

SEE MORE: New Biden administration rule aims to end gun show 'loophole'

Any serious debate about additional gun reform at the national level is not expected to happen until after the November election — at the earliest.

Reforms are happening, however, at the state level. In New York, there is even an active debate over how frequently lockdown drills should happen and how the drills should be conducted. 

New York state law requires four lockdown drills a year, one of the highest mandates in the country. New York Assemblywoman Jo Ann Simon told Scripps News that she believes the number is too high. 

"There has been more trauma caused to children because of the lockdown drills they are forced to practice," she said. "Sometimes there is somebody who is role-playing an intruder. There had been one where they played sounds of guns going off."

As lawmakers navigate the issues, Mouser wants them to think of the victims.

"It's important for people to know that for the people who lived through gun violence, the story is never over," he said. 

A wildlife rehabilitation group were worried they were dealing with two dying vultures when they came upon the birds "unable to balance" and "passing out," they said in a post to social media. But, it turns out they were just drunk after "dumpster diving," the group said. 

A Place Called Hope posted a message calling the vultures "the dynamic duo" after they found the birds just before last Monday's eclipse on April 8 "literally drunk," the group said. 

The birds were said to be unable to stand up and workers initially thought they were "actively dying."

SEE MORE: 'Elusive creature' captured on camera by wildlife officials

Rescuers said they ran every test they had, but they still couldn't figure out why they couldn't fly, until later assessing that they must have consumed an intoxicating substance while foraging through rubbish for food. 

After the confusion, the scenario became a bit more of a laughing matter, and A Place Called Hope posted images of the birds appearing to recover comfortably secure in blankets and sheltered. 

It was unclear if they were experiencing any hangover, but the group said they must have decided to celebrate the eclipse a day early. Rescue workers said that drunk vultures are not easy patients, and they said they weren't sure if the birds learned any lessons in the end. "Birds don't let other birds fly drunk," they said. 

New York police began arresting pro-Palestinian protesters on Thursday after Columbia University said an encampment formed before dawn on Wednesday on the South Lawn of the university's Morningside Heights campus in Manhattan. 

Just before 4 p.m. ET on Thursday the university said facilities and operations crew members would ensure items left behind by people at the encampment would be "carefully stored" and not discarded." 

Reports said dozens were arrested and at least 50 tents were removed from the area. 

The New York Times said officers began detaining students just before 1:30 p.m. on Thursday afternoon, a day after university officials testified before Congress on antisemitism. 

Columbia University said the group of over 100 people were notified "numerous times," verbally and in writing, that they were not permitted by university security and leadership to be in the area they were occupying. 

SEE MORE: UN appeals for $2.8 billion for new Palestinian aid

The university said in a notice that "all university students participating in the encampment" were notified that they would be suspended, and said the participants were trespassing after the university's president ordered they be removed. 

Police officers were seen in riot gear putting individuals in the back of detention vehicles, with some protesters wearing keffiyehs in a show of solidarity with Palestinians. 

The protesters were demonstrating in opposition to the current Israel-Hamas war. They are urging the university to divest from financial interests in corporations tied to Israel. 

On Wednesday Columbia University's President Nemat Shafik stood firm in her testimony on Capitol Hill regarding the university's response to antisemitism and what phrases used by activists would be considered harassment. 

Republican Rep. Lisa McClain from Michigan asked if "from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free" or if "long live intifada" are considered antisemitic in Shafik's mind. 

"I hear them as such, some people don't," Shafik responded. 

Human infections from rat urine are on the rise in New York City. 

The NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene issued a health advisory, saying there were 24 reported cases of human leptospirosis in the city in 2023 — which is the highest number in a single year. 

Human leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease caused by bacteria of the genus Leptospira, according to NYC’s health department. The health department says infected animals — like rats — excrete the bacteria through their urine, which can survive in warm, moist environments for weeks. The disease can be transmitted to people coming in direct contact with the urine — or urine-contaminated soil, water or food. 

So far in 2024, there have been six reported cases of human leptospirosis. 

The average number of cases per year in NYC was about 15 between 2021 and 2023. Before that, the average was three cases per year for the period between 2001 and 2020, demonstrating a significant shift. 

Symptoms of human leptospirosis include high fever, headache, chills, aches, vomiting, jaundice, diarrhea, stomach pain and rash, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

Many of the symptoms may be mistaken for something else. 

Leptospirosis may occur in two phases, where a person with symptoms such as a headache, chills and fever may recover and then become ill again, the CDC says. If the person does become sick again, the second phase is usually more severe, where they may develop kidney or liver failure, or meningitis.  

Illness can last from a few days to three weeks. But if left untreated, recovery could take months. 

The disease is treated with antibiotics. 

Should a person develop leptospirosis in NYC, they must report it to the city's health department, per the city’s health code.

Notably, these infections can happen anywhere, and from species other than rats.

A love of animals perhaps went too far after dozens were trapped inside a Maryland home when it caught fire this week.

It was around 9 a.m. Tuesday when Shelia Elliott walked onto her front porch in Taneytown like usual. Except this time something was different across the street.

"I saw black smoke coming out of the window, and called 911," said Elliott. “I heard all the animals barking and yelping. The cops did finally get here. Everyone's yelling, trying to get doors and windows open."

At that point, another emergency call was made, this time to the Humane Society of Carroll County.

"So we removed 32 dogs, there were approximately five cats, six parakeets, there were chickens and chinchillas, two hedgehogs, one rat, and two mice," said Karen Baker, Humane Society of Carroll County executive director.

With all of them living under one roof, Baker said it was a traumatizing experience for the animals.

"Of course, just the fear of the smoke and noise from the fire department and having strangers come in and remove them, that can be pretty scary," said Baker.

SEE MORE: 5 dogs reunited with Indiana soldiers who helped rescue them

"They didn't want to come out because some of them apparently had never been out," Elliott added. "So the daylight and outside was scary."

Neighbors said they knew a few animals lived there, but not this many. 

"We would see three, four, sometimes five in the yard," said Elliott. "But never that many dogs, and we usually seen the same dogs in the yard."

Now the Humane Society is faced with the obstacle of getting these animals a healthy, happier new life.

"We recognize that they are going to need a safe place and a soft place to land and we are working on everything we can do to make that easier for them," said Baker.

But that's something she said doesn't come cheap.

"Spay, neuter, a lot of them will need dental, the core vaccines and microchips, de-wormers and normal medications," said Baker. "[It] is an exorbitant amount of money.”

With a long road to recovery, any kind of donation or help is needed.

“Having great compassion for the owners that have just lost everything and having compassion for the animals that need reassurance that life is going to be great from here on out,” said Elliott.

You can visit the Humane Society of Carroll County's website to make a donation. 

This story was originally published by Ashley McDowell at Scripps News Baltimore.

Accused quadruple murderer Bryan Kohberger maintains he was “out driving” the night four University of Idaho students were killed.

Kohberger, through his attorneys, submitted his alibi Wednesday. A previous court order gave the defense an April 17 deadline to submit the alibi.

Kohberger is accused in the Nov. 2022 deaths of four University of Idaho students. The bodies of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin were found in an off-campus rental home.

He’s charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary, which the judge entered not guilty pleas to after Kohberger chose to stand silent at his arraignment last year.

SEE MORE: Prosecution proposes summer trial for suspected killer Bryan Kohberger

Court documents obtained by Court TV state:

“Mr. Kohberger was out driving in the early morning hours of November 13, 2022; as he often did to hike and run and/or see the moon and stars. He drove throughout the area south of Pullman, Washington, west of Moscow, Idaho including Wawawai Park.”

The document also states Kohberger intends to offer expert testimony to show that his cellphone was not in the area, meaning his vehicle “could not be the vehicle captured on video along the Moscow-Pullman highway near Floyd’s Cannabis shop.”

Kohberger’s defense describes him as “an avid runner and hiker.” They claim Kohberger’s cellphone data supports his tendency to take “nighttime drives.”

Last week, the case was back in court regarding the defense’s survey of prospective jurors. Lawyers met to argue whether the survey violates the court’s non-dissemination order that has kept much of the evidence under seal and prohibited either side from making statements about the case outside of the courtroom. The judge is expected to rule on whether the defense can continue its survey.

Kohberger’s case is due back in court June 27 for a hearing on the Change of Venue Motion.

This story was originally published by Ivy Brown at Court TV.

A new study from University of Michigan Poverty Solutions showed that Detroit's Black homeowners gained $2.8 billion in home value during the span from 2014 to 2022. 

The net value of these homes increased 80% during this timeframe, outpacing the national average of 70% during the period. 

The study analyzed what impact the city's municipal bankruptcy would have on communities and whether growth would be equitably distributed. 

“There has been a huge shift for the better in Detroit’s home values, driven largely by the improvements being made in neighborhoods. My fellow Realtors and I have been seeing this shift for years. Black-owned homes are rising in value, and Black families are gaining the most family wealth,” said Ken Scott, past president of the Greater Detroit Realtist Association. "And while home values have risen dramatically, there is a lot of growth yet to come. Detroit homes are beautiful and dollar-for-dollar still a great value.”

Most notably, communities with the lowest values had the highest increase. Housing values in Detroit's poorest communities increased nearly 300% from 2014 to 2022. 

In Detroit's Condon neighborhood, the average home sale in 2014 was $7,500. By 2022, it was $71,000. 

City officials credited programs such as removing 25,000 vacant homes, renovating 15,00 salvageable homes, selling 25,000 vacant lots to adjacent homeowners and other initiatives for boosting property values and cutting foreclosures. 

SEE MORE: These 10 cities are the best for first-time home buyers, data finds

However, as property values surge, buying a home in these communities will also become less affordable. 

Scripps News Detroit asked numerous Detroit residents whether the city has enough affordable housing. They gave mixed answers. 

“Right now we’re being kind of pushed out. You have very few low-income or medium-income places. The rent is going steady up every month, every year," Janet Moss said.

But Nickolas Huff, who moved from San Francisco to Detroit, noted how much more affordable living in the Michigan city is. 

“You got options, right, depending on your budget and how big you need for living space. I think there are a ton of options down here," he said.

With their stout bodies (1 to 1 ½ inches long!) and loud buzzing, cicadas are hard to miss. And in a few weeks’ time, residents of quite a few U.S. states will be seeing quite a few of them.

In what entomologists call a dual emergence, two different groups (aka broods) of cicadas are completing the underground phase of their life cycle and coming above ground to mate.

Brood XIII cicadas are on a 17-year cycle, and Brood XIX cicadas are on a 13-year cycle, so they usually don’t emerge at the same time. But they do emerge together once every 221 years. The last time it happened was 1803, and the next time it’s happening is as soon as a few weeks from now.

Exactly when they come above ground may vary depending on the warmth of the location. We can expect them sometime in May or early June in more northern locations, but in some Southern states it may be late April.

Regardless, this means that literally trillions of cicadas will be appearing almost at once. And that leads us to ask a trillion-dollar question: How long do cicadas live above ground?

How long do cicadas live above ground?

Periodical cicadas live either 13 or 17 years, and the vast majority of cicadas’ lifespans are spent underground. Once they emerge, they stick around for just a matter of weeks. How many weeks depends on the weather conditions for mating.

The more Southern group, Brood XIX, is anticipated to emerge in late April to mid May, while the Midwest group, Brood XIII, is expected to appear from mid-May into June, according to the experts at University of Missouri Extension.

“Once cicadas emerge from the soil, they will immediately find a suitable place in which to molt to transform into adults,” Nancy Troyano, Ph.D., a board-certified entomologist, told Prevention. During this brief molting period, the wingless juveniles (or “nymphs”) shed their skin, and they develop wings and a hard exoskeleton. For the next several days, they’ll stay put in trees or other vegetation as they wait for this process to be completed.

About a week after they emerge, the males fly into tree canopies and begin to chirp their high-pitched mating song to the females. If you live in an area with cicadas, you’ve probably heard them. Males have relatively hollow abdomens, which amplify their calls like an echo chamber.

Females respond to the males’ call by flicking their wings. Once they’ve mated, they lay their eggs in small openings in tree branches, George Washington University entomologist John Lill told Reuters.

The adult cicadas die after reproducing. The average time they’re above ground is about a month — but the timing can vary. According to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, adults live just three to four weeks total above the ground, while National Geographic puts that number at about five weeks. Meanwhile, the eggs develop for about six to seven weeks until they hatch. The nymphs then drop from the trees and burrow into the ground, and the cycle begins again.

Where periodical cicadas will emerge in 2024

One important fact to keep in mind is that these two broods will emerge in different geographic areas, with one group in certain Midwestern states and the other in the South and in different parts of the Midwest. As the 2024 cicada map shows, there may be just a small overlap in a section of north-central Illinois, but not by much.

Here are the states where residents can expect to hear periodical cicadas this year — though you might still hear annual cicadas where you live, just like you do every summer:

- Alabama

- Arkansas

- Georgia

- Illinois

- Indiana

- Iowa

- Kentucky

- Louisiana

- Michigan

- Mississippi

- Missouri

- North Carolina

- Oklahoma

- South Carolina

- Tennessee

- Wisconsin

- Virginia

So, how long will you be seeing and hearing these noisy insects? No more than seven weeks, and probably fewer than that.

This story was originally published on Simplemost.

SEE MORE: Map shows where billions of cicadas will soon emerge in the US

An Oklahoma man was arrested Wednesday after authorities accused him of throwing a pipe bomb at the Massachusetts headquarters of a group called The Satanic Temple.

The Salem-based group says on its website that it campaigns for secularism and individual liberties, and that its members don’t actually worship Satan.

Sean Patrick Palmer, 49, of Perkins, Oklahoma, has been charged with using an explosive to damage a building following an attack last week on the headquarters, which is also used as an art gallery.

Several phone numbers associated with Palmer were out of service Wednesday, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts said they didn't yet have the name of any lawyer representing him. He is due to make an initial court appearance in Oklahoma on Thursday. If found guilty, he could face up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

Surveillance cameras showed a man walk up to the building soon after 4 a.m. on April 8 wearing a face covering, tactical vest and gloves, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office and the FBI. The man then ignited an improvised explosive device, threw it at the main entrance then ran away. The bomb partially detonated, resulting in some minor fire damage, authorities said.

The bomb appeared to be made from a piece of plastic pipe, authorities said, and they were able to extract a DNA sample from a single hair on the bomb.

The Attorney's Office said investigators found a six-page note in a flowerbed near the attack addressed to “Dear Satanist” and urged repentance. Authorities said Palmer had posted similar comments on social media.

The Attorney’s Office also said surveillance footage showed a black Volvo registered to Palmer driving erratically in the area before and after the incident, and it said Palmer had recently bought some PVC pipe from a home improvement store in Oklahoma.

The Satanic Temple says on its website that it doesn't believe in the existence of Satan or the supernatural. The group could not immediately be reached for comment.

According to new data released by Consumer Reports, most of the fruits and vegetables we eat have low levels of pesticides. Still, analysts said "pesticides posed significant risks in 20% of the foods" they examined. 

Consumer Reports said significant levels of pesticides were found in bell peppers, blueberries, green beans, potatoes and strawberries. 

More specifically, very high levels of pesticides were found in domestic bell peppers, blueberries (fresh and frozen) and potatoes. Among imports, very high levels of pesticides were found in blueberries (frozen), celery, collard greens, green beans, potatoes and strawberries (fresh and frozen). 

Consumer Reports noted elevated levels of pesticides in U.S.-grown green beans, hot peppers, kale, mustard greens, spinach, frozen strawberries and watermelon. Among imports, elevated pesticide levels were indicated in bell peppers, fresh blueberries, hot peppers and kale. 

The only organic food that raised concerns was imported green beans. 

SEE MORE: Old farming methods draw interest as climate, environment demand them

Consumer Reports said it conducted 30,000 fruit and vegetable tests. It said that organophosphates, and a similar type of pesticide called carbamates, were responsible for most of the risk to consumers. 

“That not only means that most of the produce Americans consume has low levels of pesticide risk, but it makes trying to solve the problem much more manageable, by letting regulators and growers know exactly what they need to concentrate on,” Brian Ronholm, head of food policy at Consumer Reports, said in the report.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said, "When people are exposed over a long period of time to smaller amounts of these pesticides, they may feel tired or weak, irritable, depressed, or forgetful." 

Consumer Reports says the public should consider whether purchasing organic produce is worth the extra cost. 

“That’s why, while we think it’s always worth considering organic produce, it’s most important for the handful of fruits and vegetables that pose the greatest pesticide risk,” James E. Rogers, who oversees food safety at Consumer Report, says in the report. 

The Food and Drug Administration says pesticides are "one strategy that farmers use to protect plants from pests, such as insects, fungi, and weeds."

The FDA said it tests domestic and imported produce for 800 types of pesticide residues. In a 2021 report, the FDA said that 96.7% of domestic and 89.3% of import foods were compliant with federal standards. No residues were found in 35% of domestic and 44.5% of import samples.

@scrippsnews Pesticides pose ’significant risks’ in 20% of produce, according to a report released Thursday. Here’s are the fruits and vegetables you should pay attention to. #pesticidesinfood #pesticides #food ♬ original sound - Scripps News

Dialing 911 was not working for people in some parts of the country Wednesday night, with several states reporting emergency line outages.

An accidentally cut fiber line in Missouri caused 911 outages in Nebraska, Nevada and South Dakota on Wednesday night, investigators said. In a separate unrelated incident, parts of Texas experienced trouble with 911 service that appeared to be related to wireless carrier outages in the area.

In Kansas City, Missouri, workers were installing a light pole when they accidentally cut a fiber line maintained by Lumen Technologies. That connection provided 911 links for emergency services in Nebraska, Nevada and South Dakota. The accidental outage lasted about 2 1/2 hours, officials said on Thursday.

In Texas, officials said 911 service interruptions were due to unrelated technical difficulties with a cellular carrier.

Federal regulators were investigating both incidents.

Late on Thursday afternoon, the Honolulu Police Department reported that their 911 system was "currently not working," but reported that it was working again shortly after. They also did not specify what the issue was. 

The South Dakota Department of Public Safety posted Wednesday night that it was “aware of a 911 service interruption throughout the state.” It said texting 911 was still operating in most parts of the state, and that residents could still contact local authorities at police non-emergency lines for emergency services. About an hour later, South Dakota’s public safety department said service had been restored and that its 911 line was fully operational.

Las Vegas was also affected.

“URGENT: there is a 911 outage impacting your ability to contact us right now,” the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department posted Wednesday night. It urged people to call from a mobile device, saying they could view phone numbers dialing in and would immediately call back. Authorities had said calls from a landline would not go through or show up. Officials had no estimate on when service would be restored. They updated the public about two hours later saying the 911 line was back up and running normally.

Police in Del Rio, Texas, which is in the southwestern part of the state, flagged 911 outages Wednesday night as well. 

“We are aware of an outage with a major cellular carrier affecting the ability to reach 911. This issue is with the carrier and not the City of Del Rio systems,” said the Del Rio Police Department in a Facebook post. 

Police urged residents to use a landline or another carrier if a mobile device couldn’t get through to 911.

Officials in Sarpy County, Nebraska, were seeing a similar trend with certain wireless carriers having issues. Authorities posted on X Wednesday night that 911 was not working “for some wireless carriers,” and issued an alternate line to call for emergencies. About three hours later, the county posted that the issue had been resolved.

Automaker Ford has issued a significant recall of about 456,000 vehicles that include its 2022-2023 Maverick pickup trucks and its 2021–2024 model Bronco Sport SUVs.

The company said that there is a power loss risk with the cars, urging drivers to comply with the recall because of the possibility the engine may lose power while driving. 

According to Consumer Reports, a power loss while operating the vehicles could cause serious safety issues including drivers not having the ability to keep up with fast-moving traffic, which could cause a crash.  

SEE MORE: Consumers warned to stop using e-bike batteries that could catch fire

Consumer reports said there have been 917 warranty claims and no confirmed injuries or crashes related to the problem outlined in the recall. 

In a recall report, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said an insufficient calibration strategy for detecting sudden battery degradations could be part of the problem. 

Customers are asked to take their vehicles to a dealer to have them recalibrate the vehicles involved in the recall at no cost. As of Wednesday, there was no software update available, according to a Ford spokesperson who spoke to The Associated Press. 

One user on the website Bronco Sport Forum asked if drivers would be able to "safely coast to a stop" during a power loss "or will the vehicle lock" its wheels. It was unclear, as the driver said they had not found anything addressing the issue in the manual. 

A woman in Illinois has filed a lawsuit against U.S. retail giant Target accusing the company of allegedly collecting and storing an array of customer data without asking for permission. 

A report on the lawsuit, filed in Cook County Circuit Court accuses Target of possibly violating Illinois' Biometric Information Privacy Act, saying that the company grabbed data from customers including facial recognition information and other biometric data, according to the court filing published by Fox 32. 

Scripps News reached out to Target for comment on the litigation but did not immediately receive a reply. 

SEE MORE: Supreme Court makes suing for job discrimination over transfers easier

According to the court filing, lawyers said that the company "does not notify customers of this fact prior to store entry, nor does it obtain consent" before stores collect and store biometric data on its customers. 

The lawsuit says Target failed to comply with state laws requiring the company to inform customers of data collection, which requires written consent. 

Last year privacy concerns were raised after multiple retailers began introducing palm-scanning technology as a way to pay for goods and services. 

Sanchari Das, a cybersecurity and privacy expert said, "Biometric authentication has been there for a long time." 

Regarding biometric information, Das added, "People have to be all the more careful how it is implemented and how it is stored, and that is something that users don't know."

A Minnesota toddler who fell from a South Dakota hotel's third-floor window has died.

Kathryn and Alex Hein of Lakefield, Minnesota, wrote in a Facebook post that their 1-year-old son, Madden, died Monday, two days after falling at Club House Hotel & Suites in Sioux Falls.

"It is with heavy hearts to say that our sweet baby boy Madden gained his angel wings late on April 15th," the couple wrote. "We miss him so much and we are having a hard time processing this all."

The parents also wrote that the boy is "going into organ donation. His organs are going to help so many other people. Our little boy is a real-life superhero."

Police are investigating the boy's death, but a Sioux Falls Police Department spokesman, Officer Sam Clemens, told the Minneapolis Star Tribune that there is "nothing to lead us to believe it was anything other than a tragic accident."

Alex Hein is a middle school social studies teacher and a high school basketball coach. Kathryn Hein is a kindergarten teacher and helps coach volleyball. The couple also have a 3-year-old daughter and are expecting another child in August, the Star Tribune reported.

A GoFundMe for the family has raised more than $67,500 as of Tuesday evening. 

SEE MORE: Mom shares tragic story of son's death after swallowing screw

Arizona House Republicans have blocked another attempt to vote on the repeal of the Civil War-era abortion ban in the state.

On Wednesday, the House voted and blocked the motion by a 30-30 roll call. The same thing happened last week.

SEE MORE: Chile's Decades-Old Abortion Ban Might Finally Be Lifted

"Extremist Republicans in the Legislature have failed again to do the right thing. In just one week living under this new reality, women, doctors, and health care providers have already begun to feel the devastating effects of living under a total abortion ban. We cannot go on like this," Gov. Katie Hobbs said moments after the failed vote. 

She said, "I will continue to call on the legislature to do its job and repeal this law. In the meantime, I remain committed to protecting the freedoms of every single Arizonan, and I am working to make sure women are able to access the care they need."

On April 9, the Arizona Supreme Court upheld a Civil War-era abortion ban.

"To date, our legislature has never affirmatively created a right to, or independently authorized, elective abortion," the court's opinion read.

The 4-2 ruling makes nearly all abortions in Arizona illegal, with the exception of cases in which the procedure is needed to save the mother's life. It also supersedes a ban on abortion after 15 weeks, which was passed into law in 2022, before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade.

After the constitutional right to an abortion was overturned, Arizona still had a law on the books from 1864 that banned nearly all abortions, including in cases of rape or incest.

Republicans attempted to revive the Civil War-era legislation but faced opposition from abortion-rights advocates, including Planned Parenthood Arizona, which was a plaintiff in this case.

This story was originally published by Scripps News Phoenix. 

A pregnant passenger aboard Disney Fantasy had to be airlifted from the cruise ship after experiencing health complications. 

The U.S. Coast Guard said the cruise line requested medevac services with its San Juan, Puerto Rico, sector Monday morning due to the 35-year-old woman requiring "a higher level of medical care ashore." Soon after, a Coast Guard MH-60T Jayhawk helicopter and an HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft from Miami made their way toward the ship's spot in the Atlantic Ocean, 180 miles northwest of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico.

Video shows the aircraft approaching above the ship before a rescuer lowers down onto it by rope. The Coast Guard said that was the Jayhawk crew's "rescue swimmer," who prepared a "rescue basket and litter to safely hoist the patient and cruise ship doctor" aboard the chopper.

Seven people can be seen in the footage carrying the patient on a stretcher toward an area where one team member attached her and the cot to a hanging rope. She was then lifted to the helicopter door and brought safely inside.

Emergency medical personnel local to San Juan, Puerto Rico, met the Coast Guard aircrew and the patient at the city's Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport, then transported the woman to a local hospital, the military body said.

SEE MORE: Carnival ship catches fire at sea, part of funnel collapses on deck

"Our crew was able to quickly, safely and efficiently execute a long-range MEDEVAC for the patient to receive the higher level of care she required," said Lt. Cmdr. Todd Stephens. "This case demonstrates the value of good crew resource management and the capabilities of our Jayhawk helicopter."

"The competency displayed by the Disney Fantasy crew and the Coast Guard personnel and units involved made all the difference," said Ensign Michael Riccio, Coast Guard Sector San Juan operations unit leader for the case.

The woman's name and the reason for her medical emergency were not made clear as of Tuesday evening. 

Disney Cruise Lines' website states it has a doctor and nurse on call 24/7 in the event of medical emergencies onboard, while a daily clinic is available for non-emergent care.

It also says pregnant women are permitted to sail with the company, but those who are past their 24th week or who will enter their 24th week during the voyage cannot be permitted passage due to safety concerns.

"Neither a doctor's medical statement nor a waiver of liability will be accepted," the website states. "In addition, Disney Cruise Line cannot be held responsible or liable for any complications relating to pregnancy at any stage."

America's largest plane manufacturer, once a shining standard of engineering and safety, was again under scrutiny Wednesday beneath the lights of a Senate hearing room.

In a nearly two-hour hearing, whistleblowers alleged continued manufacturing missteps at the company and even a "coverup" of important documents related to the blowout of a door plug on an Alaska Airlines flight earlier this year.

One current and one former Boeing engineer joined a former Federal Aviation Administration engineer and an aviation safety consultant to tell lawmakers Boeing's safety culture still falls short of a safe standard. 

Sam Salehpour, a current Boeing quality engineer, said he's concerned about what he characterized as safety lapses in the company's 787 and 777 programs.

"Since 2013, there have been serious issues on the 787 program, not properly closing thousands of gaps in its assembly of the fuselage," Salehpour said.

Those same concerns caused a halt to 787 Dreamliner deliveries in 2020 and 2021 before the FAA approved a fix.

On its website Wednesday, Boeing directed visitors to a page on "787 Quality Information." There, the company wrote, "Claims about the structural integrity of the 787 are inaccurate." The page also noted that testing on the plane "simulated up to 165,000 cycles of pressurization, about 3.75 times the aircraft's designed lifespan, with no findings of airframe fatigue."

In his testimony Wednesday, Salehpour detailed instances of employees forcing misaligned plane parts together. "I literally saw people jumping on the pieces of the airplane to get them to align," he said.

"If his claims are valid, then the potential risk is sort of a long-term risk," David Slotnick, senior aviation business reporter with The Points Guy, said. "It's not like the plane is going to fall apart in the middle of the sky tomorrow. It's more of a scenario where the planes might not last as long as expected, [and] any kind of fatigue that was happening to the structures would be caught during normal maintenance or normal inspections."

SEE MORE: Whistleblower says Boeing's 787 Dreamliner is flawed

Ed Pierson, a prominent Boeing whistleblower and former employee of the company, leveled an accusation of a "coverup" at Boeing of documents related to the Alaska Airlines flight that lost a door plug midflight in January.

The investigation into that incident has so far indicated the door plug that blew out was removed and re-installed at a Boeing facility in September 2023. The National Transportation Safety Board said Wednesday that it still has not received any documentation from Boeing about that work. The NTSB Chair told lawmakers last week that Boeing indicated that said documentation does not exist.

"I'm not gonna sugarcoat this," Pierson said Wednesday. "This is a criminal cover-up. Records do, in fact, exist. I know this because I've personally passed them to the FBI."

Scripps News reached out to the FBI and the NTSB to respond on Wednesday. The FBI declined to comment. The NTSB said it had "not received any such documentation from Boeing or any other entity. Those who have information or documentation that may be relevant to the NTSB's investigation into this accident are encouraged to reach out to investigators."

Scripps News also reached out to Pierson to inquire about whether he's tried to give the NTSB the documentation he says he has. He had not responded Wednesday evening.

Pierson also alleged the NTSB was not a truly "independent" authority, relying too heavily on Boeing and the FAA for information germane to their investigations. In response, the NTSB said, "The NTSB leverages its limited resources by designating organizations as parties that can provide technical information during the fact-gathering phase of the investigation. Once the fact-gathering is completed and the factual record is established, the role of any given party in the investigation is concluded. Parties are excluded from the analysis and report-writing phase of all NTSB investigations."

Boeing says it is in the process of implementing recommendations from an FAA panel that, over the last year, audited the company's safety culture. It also told Scripps News it has seen a 500% increase in employee reports through its internal whistleblowing portal, "which signals progress toward a robust reporting culture that is not fearful of retaliation," they said.

For its part, the FAA has a relatively new administrator, Mike Whitaker. In an interview with Scripps News in January, just before the Alaska Airlines blowout, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said Whitaker was working with her to change the agency's approach to pilot mental health care. Slotnick thinks that the same attitude extends to the safety oversight of Boeing.

"I think the FAA that we see today is a very different organization," he said. "The FAA is adamant that it thoroughly investigates every whistleblower complaint. You know, their track record suggests that's exactly true."

Eight months after deadly wildfires ravaged Maui, Hawaiian officials have released some of the findings from an independent investigation. 

The state's attorney general, Anne Lopez, released the first phase of information on Wednesday, and it looked at the events that transpired over the 72 hours after the fire started.

Four hundred pages of weather reports, topography maps, interviews and social media posts lay out an incredibly detailed timeline of the deadly Lahaina fire that killed 101 people last summer.

Rebecca Lauricella explained how she still feels broken after losing her home to the Lahaina fire last August. 

"Everyone is accountable, so why isn’t our government agency being accountable?” said Lauricella.

The report on the fire was prepared in conjunction with the Fire Safety Research Institute, and it lays out the timeline of the fire and the factors that made it so deadly, including high winds and low humidity, among other factors, but it does not delve into why it happened nor blame first responders, a common critique among locals after the fire.   

“We are grossly understaffed, undertrained, underequipped," said Lauricella, who is a former fire marshal and employee for Maui’s Emergency Management Agency. She knows the inner workings of how the response came together, and the pain of what she says are some of its shortcomings.

"There’s nothing that could’ve prepared the highest level of training and preparation for what I saw," said Lauricella.

Less than a year after the fire, Lauricella says she’s not seeing enough help for the rebuilding of Lahaina and the recovery of her community’s mental health. 

Going forward, the report states that “questions linger about the adequacy of warning systems, evacuation planning, and the preparedness of communities for such fire events.” 

Answers to those questions may be revealed in phase two of the attorney general's office's investigation, which is expected to be released later this year. 

SEE MORE: Senate hearings examine response to increasing wildfire threat

Thousands of autoworkers at a Chattanooga, Tennessee Volkswagen plant began voting to unionize this week in a test to see if the most recent winning streak of the United Automobile Workers union might continue, spelling possible big changes ahead for the industry in the United States. 

In March workers at the Tennessee plant requested to vote in a first test of the UAW's power to organize there, and in other automobile plants across the country. 

On Tuesday, Gov. Bill Lee joined five other southern governors trying to convince workers that voting to unionize would put their jobs at risk. Around 4,300 workers at the Tennessee VW plant started voting the next day, with results expected to be counted by the National Labor Relations Board on Friday night. 

Forty-eight-year-old Kelcey Smith, who has been at the Chattanooga VW plant for a year, told the New York Times, "The energy is high. I think we are going to nail it."

In February, UAW announced a $40 million "commitment to organizing auto and battery workers" that would span two years of campaigning. UAW's international executive board voted to commit the significant funding to help organize the many new workers anticipated at battery and auto plants.

More than a dozen nonunion auto plants have been eyed by UAW including plants operated by Hyundai, Mercedes, Volkswagen, Kia, Toyota and Honda. 

SEE MORE: President Biden heads to Pittsburgh, calls for higher steel tariffs

Reuters reported that it would be the third time 4,300 employees at the Chattanooga VW plant have been under unionize efforts guided by UAW and committees. The plant assembles VW's ID.4 electric SUV. 

The latest UAW efforts are seen as a push to gain more public support for unions and have more plants outside of the Detroit-owned automakers unionize. The UAW is also working under the support of the Biden administration after President Joe Biden walked with United Auto Workers last year in a picket line calling for higher pay. 

President Biden told the workers on the 12th day of their strike, "You deserve what you earned and you earned a hell of a lot more than what you're getting paid now."

One of Hawaii’s most dangerous and off-limits hikes will be permanently removed, the City and County of Honolulu announced last week. 

The Ha‘ikū Stairs, referred to as the Stairway to Heaven, is made up of nearly 4,000 treacherous, steel steps across the Koolau Mountain Range on the island of Oahu.

The city said the stairs were originally built by the U.S. military during World War II but have been closed to the public — and illegal to hike — since 1987. But that hasn’t stopped adrenaline-seekers from trespassing across private property to take in the famous hike. 

The city and county unanimously passed a resolution to remove the stairs in 2021, citing complaints about the regular disturbances from people who were trying to access the trail. 

Residents in Haiku Valley reported hikers blocking driveways and narrow roads with their parked cars, leaving trash on private property, using homeowners' water hoses to wash off or fill up drinking water, “relieving themselves” in the street and causing loud noises early in the morning as they set off to see the sunrise from the stairs. 

The resolution said calls to Honolulu police concerning the stairs have increased over the years, and one officer was assaulted by a trespassing hiker in 2021. 

Hikers have also been blamed for introducing an invasive species into the area surrounding the stairs. 

In the resolution, the city council said a “managed approach” would not be effective since the stairs have become a more popular attraction thanks to social media. 

The project to remove the stairs is expected to take six months and over $2 million. 

Contractors will work with a biologist to protect native species, prevent erosion and re-vegetate the area as each section of the stairs is removed, the city said.  

“This was a decision, when we came into office, that was long overdue. Over the course of many months, in meeting with the people involved and the discovery that we put into it, I can promise you that this was not a capricious decision,” Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi said during the announcement. “This decision that was made was predicated upon our respect for the people who live in and around the entrance to the stairs, our respect for our ʻāina, and our respect for both the future and the past history of the culture of the Haʻikū community.”

SEE MORE: Visitors seen on video destroying ancient rock formations at Lake Mead

The U.S. government has reportedly come to a settlement agreement for a payout to a group of around 100 of Larry Nassar's sexual assault victims. 

According to multiple reports citing those familiar with the settlement, the U.S. Justice Department agreed to pay around $100 million to victims of former national women’s gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar, the Wall Street Journal and USA Today reported.  

According to the victims, the FBI failed to take seriously multiple reports of Nassar's abuse.

Scripps News has reached out to the Department of Justice about the agreement but did not immediately receive a response. 

The agreement between the government and victims had not been finalized by Wednesday afternoon, a source told USA Today. 

SEE MORE: Larry Nassar was stabbed after he made lewd comment watching Wimbledon

In a 2021 report, the U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General said that it found that "senior officials in the FBI Indianapolis Field Office failed to respond to allegations of sexual abuse of athletes by former USA Gymnastics physician Lawrence Gerard Nassar with the urgency that the allegations required."

If finalized, the latest reported payout agreement was expected to not only resolve remaining legal claims, according to a report — but it was also expected to reportedly bring liability payouts in the wake of the judgment against Nassar to almost $1 billion. 

In 2018 Nassar was sentenced to 40 to 175 years in prison on multiple criminal sexual abuse charges, Scripps News reported. 

A woman has died after falling down a cliff while hiking with her family in Arizona.

According to the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office, 40-year-old Zynad Joseph was with her husband and child when she fell 140 feet off the cliff on Bear Mountain trail. A group of hikers were able to get to Joseph and attempt to help her but she did not survive.

SEE MORE: Missing hiker found dead with his dog alive by his side

Rescue crews and a helicopter assisted in getting to Joseph, but she was pronounced dead at the scene. YCSO says the family is from California and was renting a home on Airbnb in the area at the time.

The woman's husband and child were airlifted off the trail but were unharmed. YCSO is still investigating the cause of the woman's fall and is asking Anyone who witnessed the incident to call 928-771-3260.

This story was originally published by Clayton Klapper at Scripps News Phoenix.

Notorious drug lord Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán wrote a letter to a New York judge claiming he hasn't been able to get phone calls or have visitors while incarcerated in a maximum security prison in Florence, Colorado. 

The Associated Press reported that Judge Brian M. Cogan replied to Guzmán's letter, writing that "the Bureau of Prisons became solely responsible" for overseeing his life sentence.

In the letters, obtained by the AP, Guzman called it "unprecedented discrimination" and said he is being punished further by not being allowed to speak to his children. Guzmán claimed it has been seven months since his last phone call with his children. 

His phone calls are being monitored by the FBI, which prison officials say was not responding to them to allow the calls to take place. 

In 2019 the Department of Justice said Guzman was sentenced to life in prison "plus 30 years," by Cogan, which was to "run consecutive to the life sentence for being a principal leader of a continuing criminal enterprise."

Joaquín Archivaldo Guzmán Loera was the head of the Mexican organized crime syndicate known as  the Sinaloa Cartel, the DOJ said. 

SEE MORE: How cartels are changing the U.S.-Mexico political landscape

Last year the wife of "El Chapo," Emma Coronel Aispuro, was freed from prison after serving a three-year sentence for money laundering and drug trafficking charges. 

Aispuro pleaded guilty in 2021 to federal charges connected to Guzmán's crimes and her involvement with the Sinaloa cartel. 

NBA YoungBoy, also known as YoungBoy Never Broke Again, a rapper with millions of followers, was arrested Tuesday in Utah on multiple offenses including possession of a controlled substance and possession of a dangerous weapon while serving a house arrest sentence.

The Cache County Sheriff's Office reported that multiple agencies, including the FBI, the Secret Service and a SWAT team conducted a search warrant at the 24-year-old's residence located north of Salt Lake City. 

Additional charges for the artist, whose real name is Kentrell DeSean Gaulden, included a pattern of unlawful activity, identity fraud and forgery, according to jail records.

According to Utah code, a pattern of unlawful activity refers to "engaging in conduct which constitutes the commission of at least three episodes of unlawful activity."

No bail has been set yet.

Reports indicate the rapper was in Utah under house arrest after he was accused of federal gun and other charges.

Local media in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where he is originally from, reported his lawyers had argued that moving Gaulden to Utah would keep him out of trouble while he awaits a trial.

In December 2023, a federal judge reportedly lessened Gaulden's house arrest conditions to allow him access to mental health treatment.

Also in 2023, the rapper made headlines when he announced his intention to be baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Further information about Gaulden's most recent Cache County arrest was not made available, with officials only saying an "ongoing investigation into criminal conduct" is underway.

This story was originally published by Melanie Porter at Scripps News Salt Lake City. 

Two bodies recovered in a rural county of Oklahoma are confirmed to be that of a missing preacher’s wife and her friend. 

The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation said the chief medical examiner positively identified the deceased as 27-year-old Veronica Butler and 39-year-old Jilian Kelley. 

Both women were from Kansas and had been missing since March 30. 

“Our thoughts and prayers are with their loved ones, along with everyone throughout their community,” the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation said in a statement on Facebook. 

Authorities said Butler and Kelley had been driving in Oklahoma last month to pick up Butler’s children from a birthday party when the two failed to show up. The vehicle they had been traveling in was found abandoned near Highway 95 and Road L in Texas County. Police had said there was evidence to indicate foul play. 

On Saturday, four people — 43-year-old Tad Bert Cullum, 54-year-old Tifany Machel Adams, 50-year-old Cole Earl Twombly and 44-year-old Cora Twombly — were arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of kidnapping, and one count of conspiracy to commit murder in the first degree, in connection with the case. 

It was one day later that two bodies were recovered, followed by a positive identification on Monday. 

Adams, who was arrested alongside her boyfriend, Cullum, was the grandmother of Butler’s two children — her son was their father, according to The Associated Press. Butler had been on her way to a supervised visit with the kids, with Kelley as her approved supervisor.  

The family had been in a custody battle over the children, with Adams taking issue with Butler’s visits, according to AP. Butler’s attorney told investigators their client was likely to be granted more time, including unsupervised visitation, at a hearing in April. 

AP said all four people arrested were part of an anti-government group in Oklahoma known as “God’s Misfits.” 

Washington state has declared a drought emergency, with the exception of three cities.

On Tuesday, officials from the Washington State Department of Ecology announced the declaration of a drought emergency for the majority of Washington State, citing an "exceptionally dry" winter that resulted in low snowpack and forecasts indicating continued dry conditions. 

“As our climate continues to change, we’re increasingly seeing our winters bring more rain and less snow,” said Washington Gov. Jay Inslee in a press release. “We depend on that winter snowpack to meet the needs of Washington’s farmers, fish, and communities during the dry summer months. And this year, it’s just not at the level we’re accustomed to and rely on.”

The emergency declaration allows officials to use $4.5 million in drought response grants for public entities to tackle the effects of the current drought.

The Department of Ecology says there are some exceptions for Seattle, Tacoma and Everett as utilities in these larger cities have reservoir storage and already implemented strategies that make them more resilient to drought. 

The state's drought declaration in 2023 was set to end on June 30 this year. This new declaration will extend until next year.

Attention, Washington! We are declaring a drought emergency for most of the state. This declaration allows us to distribute drought emergency grants and process emergency water right permits and transfers.

Learn more here: https://t.co/wCrP5ykeEo

— WA Department of Ecology (@EcologyWA) April 16, 2024

Stephanie Gilmore knows nearly every road in Orange County, North Carolina, by heart. It's no easy task considering the county encompasses an area the size of Los Angeles. 

Gilmore is an EMT for Orange County and has logged hundreds of thousands of miles behind the wheel of an ambulance over the last 20 years.

Recently, Gilmore and her colleagues have been sounding their own kind of alarm: highlighting the problems with aging ambulance vehicles.

"The older the ambulance gets, the more small problems it creates," Gilmore said as she switched on emergency lights inside her ambulance as she responded to a call.

Orange County has 16 ambulances, and half of them need to be replaced. They're breaking down more often, meaning crews are spending hours each month transferring their equipment from one vehicle to the next.

As the director of Emergency Services for Orange County, Kirby Saunders has the money he needs to buy new ambulances. However, he's been told it could take two years before a new ambulance is ready to hit the road.

SEE MORE: Scripps News Investigates: The deadly toll of a US ambulance shortage

A nearly yearlong Scripps News investigation discovered a severe shortage in ambulance chassis, essentially the skeletal frame ambulances are constructed on. The shortage has left communities like Orange County waiting years for these vital first-response vehicles. 

Last year, Scripps News uncovered how automakers like Ford and General Motors started using those chassis and other components for vehicles like pickup trucks at the start of the pandemic. That meant companies that built ambulances faced shortages. 

Experts note that consumer pickup trucks are typically more lucrative for automakers to sell.

"I think there could've been more support from the federal government level to ensure the prioritization of critical public safety resources in the community," Saunders said.

Four months after Scripps News first revealed the alarming scope of the problem, some members of Congress are taking notice.

Glenn Thompson, Republican member of the House Representatives, said he was alarmed by the report, adding that he is concerned about aging ambulances on the road.

"They're not state of the art," the Pennsylvania representative said. "They don't have all the bells and whistles and provide life-saving care that could be provided."

Scripps News pressed Thompson for answers about why Congress hasn't taken action to fix the problem. He said that he doesn't believe it's lawmakers' job to force automakers to prioritize public safety over consumer pickup trucks.

"It's pretty tough to tie the hands of manufacturers and dictate you have to sell more to this type of vehicle or that type of vehicle," he added.

SEE MORE: Pickup truck sales pique interest for some in US auto industry

As ambulance manufacturers continue to wait on automakers for the parts they need, the shortage of ambulances only continues to get more dire for American communities. 

Scripps News pulled numbers from the National Emergency Medical Services Information System, a Department of Transportation database containing details of nearly every ambulance activation in the United States. The data from 2021 showed there were 13,540 mechanical failures reported that prevented ambulances from responding to potential emergencies. That number increased to 14,905 in 2022.

Scripps News has also learned some ambulances are on the road with over 500,000 miles on them.

Saunders currently has eight ambulances with more than 150,000 miles on them. By June, he expects 10 of his ambulances will have over 150,000 miles, increasing the likelihood of the vehicles breaking down. 

In addition to the concern about immediate public safety, Saunders is concerned about the long-term impacts.

"I have no doubt it decreases morale and confidence," he said. 

Correction: A previous version of this video misidentified EMT Stephanie Gilmore. This story has been updated.

Team USA has unveiled its men's basketball roster that will represent the red, white and blue at the Paris Olympics this summer. Some are already comparing it to the "Dream Team" that won gold in 1992. 

Here's a look at the star-studded group, as well as the NBA team they play for:

LeBron James (Los Angeles Lakers)

Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors)

Kevin Durant (Phoenix Suns)

Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers)

Anthony Davis (Los Angeles Lakers)

Devin Booker (Phoenix Suns)

Anthony Edwards (Minnesota Timberwolves)

Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics)

Bam Adebayo (Miami Heat)

Tyrese Haliburton (Indiana Pacers)

Jrue Holiday (Boston Celtics)

Kawhi Leonard (Los Angeles Clippers)

SEE MORE: Nike US women's Olympic uniforms slammed for being revealing, sexist

James and Durant have the most experience of anyone on the team as they will be representing the U.S. for a fourth time. However, it's Durant who is looking to make history as the first basketball player to win a fourth gold medal. 

Durant also made the team in 2012, 2016 and 2020, bringing home gold all three times. James, meanwhile, won a bronze medal with Team USA in 2004 and gold in 2008 and 2012.

Five other players also have previous Olympics experience: Booker, Tatum, Holiday and Adebayo, who won gold for Team USA at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics; and Davis, who was on the 2012 team that also brought home the gold.

Meanwhile, this will mark the first Olympics appearance for five others on the roster, including Curry — a four-time NBA Champion and two-time MVP award winner. But he'll have a close ally with him this summer as Warriors head coach Steve Kerr will lead the squad into Paris.

Team USA is looking to win a fifth straight Olympic gold medal, but a tough road lies ahead for a group that could face some of its toughest competition ever. The U.S. will tip off group stage play against Serbia on July 28, followed by a match against South Sudan on July 31. 

The knockout phase of the men's tournament is currently slated to begin on Aug. 6 with the gold medal game set for Aug. 10. All of the games will be broadcast by NBC and streamed live on Peacock.

A judge has recommended that the conviction and death sentence of Melissa Lucio, a Texas woman whose execution was delayed in 2022 amid growing doubts she fatally beat her 2-year-old daughter, should be overturned amid findings that evidence in her murder trial was suppressed.

Senior State District Judge Arturo Nelson on Friday approved an agreement between prosecutors and Lucio’s attorneys that found the suppressed evidence, including witness statements from Lucio’s children and a report by Child Protective Services, would have corroborated Lucio’s defense that her daughter Mariah died of a head injury sustained in an accidental fall down a steep staircase two days before her death.

“She would not have been convicted in light of the suppressed evidence,” according to the 33-page agreement between the office of Cameron County District Attorney Luis Saenz and Lucio’s attorneys.

Nelson’s recommendation has been sent to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, which will make the final decision on whether Lucio’s conviction and death sentence are overturned. There was no timetable for a ruling by the appeals court. Lucio’s case has become a cause célèbre among people, including Kim Kardashian.

SEE MORE: Missouri man executed for killing his cousin and her husband in 2006

“We hope and pray the Court of Criminal Appeals will agree with the District Attorney, the defense, and Judge Nelson and our mother can come home to her family. It’s been 17 years that we have been without her. We love her and miss her and can’t wait to hug her,” Lucio’s children said in a statement Monday.

The agreement on findings in Lucio’s case had remained in limbo for 16 months before another judge, Gabriela Garcia. On April 5, Lucio’s lawyers and Saenz had issued a joint public statement in which they discussed that the findings were still under review by Garcia.

On April 10, Missy Medary, the presiding judge for the Fifth Administrative Judicial Region in South Texas, assigned Nelson to address the pending findings in the case. Nelson, who is a retired judge and had presided over Lucio’s 2008 trial, approved the findings two days later.

Garcia's court had requested that Nelson be assigned “to address the pending findings and conclusions as he was the trial judge in the case and has direct knowledge of the trial,” Emily Jirovec, an administrative assistant with the Fifth Administrative Judicial Region, said in an email Tuesday.

Lucio, 55, had been set for lethal injection in April 2022 for the 2007 death of her daughter in Harlingen, a city of about 71,000 in Texas’ southern tip. But the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals halted her lethal injection two days before her scheduled execution so Lucio’s claims that new evidence would exonerate her could be reviewed.

Before the agreed findings approved by Nelson, prosecutors had long maintained Mariah was the victim of abuse and noted her body was covered in bruises.

Lucio’s case has garnered support from Kardashian and a bipartisan group of lawmakers, including Democratic state Rep. Joe Moody.

“Melissa Lucio has been in jail for more than a decade and a half, which is an unimaginable injustice, but one that can at least be undone,” Moody said in a post Tuesday on the social platform X.

A 25-year-old man was arrested Monday after breaking into a family home in Arizona over the weekend, according to Phoenix police.

Officials said Abdullahi Aroni broke into a home Sunday around 11 p.m.

Aroni was found inside the 4-year-old boy's room when the mother entered the room and confronted him.

According to police, Aroni attacked both the mother and father of the child. A physical fight began between the suspect and the father until the two exited the home into the backyard.

After the fight ended, Aroni jumped a wall and ran away.

A search warrant was served on his home, where Aroni was arrested. Police said evidence was found linking him to the incident.

He faces sexual conduct with a minor, burglary and multiple counts of assault charges, according to police.

An investigation remains ongoing.

This story was originally published by Scripps News Phoenix.

A voting technology company targeted by bogus fraud claims related to the 2020 presidential election settled a defamation lawsuit Tuesday against a conservative news outlet.

The settlement between Florida-based Smartmatic and One America News Network is the latest development in a larger legal pushback by voting equipment companies that became ensnared in wild conspiracy theories falsely claiming they had flipped votes and cost former President Donald Trump reelection.

In a statement, the company said it had "resolved its litigation with OANN through a confidential settlement.” The dismissal of its lawsuit was filed in federal court in the District of Columbia. Chip Babcock, a Houston-based attorney representing the news outlet, confirmed the case had been resolved but said he was unable to disclose any of the settlement terms.

Smartmatic was an odd target for the conspiracy theorists because use of its voting technology and software was so limited. It was used only in Los Angeles County, a Democratic stronghold in a state that was not a presidential battleground and where Trump did not contest his loss.

SEE MORE: Former Pres. Trump wanted to seize voting machines after election

But the company has for years also provided voting services in Venezuela, and that created a springboard for phony claims that a foreign company was involved in a vast conspiracy to flip the election from Trump to Democrat Joe Biden. Smartmatic also has active lawsuits against Fox News and the conservative outlet Newsmax over similar complaints. Fox has said it had a First Amendment right to air claims about an election that were being promoted by prominent figures.

Last year, on the eve of a trial, Fox News agreed to pay $787 million to settle a defamation lawsuit filed by a much larger voting technology company, Dominion Voting Systems, which claimed the network and its hosts spread false claims that its equipment helped rig the election against Trump. Dominion has other defamation lawsuits that remain active, including one against One America News Network.

The conspiracy theories relating to voting equipment and software are among the lies about the outcome of the 2020 presidential election won by Biden. Numerous reviews, audits and recounts in the presidential swing states where Trump contested his loss have affirmed Biden's victory, and there has been no evidence of widespread fraud. Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, is facing federal and state charges related to his attempts to overturn the results.

An Arizona woman who accused former major league pitcher Trevor Bauer of sexual assault has been charged with defrauding the baseball player.

An indictment unsealed Monday in Maricopa County Superior Court charges the woman with fraud and theft by extortion, both felonies, but doesn't provide specific details about the alleged crimes. It says Bauer and one other person were defrauded in a scheme that potentially spanned several years.

The Associated Press does not typically identify people who say they have been victims of sexual assault unless they come forward publicly.

The woman sued Bauer in December 2022, accusing him of rape two years earlier that she said resulted in pregnancy in late 2020.

Court records on Tuesday afternoon didn’t list an attorney for the woman in the fraud case, and the lawyer representing her in her lawsuit didn’t immediately respond to a phone message seeking additional comment.

Bauer was never arrested or charged. He countersued, saying he had one consensual sexual encounter with the woman in 2020 and then accused her of faking the pregnancy to extort money from him.

His attorneys have said that the woman made several million-dollar demands against him.

Bauer said he ultimately paid $8,761 for expenses he believed to be related to the woman’s reported pregnancy and its subsequent termination.

The woman later said that she ultimately decided not to terminate the pregnancy, but had a miscarriage.

She is scheduled to be arraigned on the criminal charges next Friday.

In a recorded video statement released Tuesday, Bauer said he is innocent.

“What else do I have to do to prove that this entire situation has been a massive lie? This is insane,” he said. “At what point do I get to go back to work and continue earning a living?”

Bauer has been trying to revive his major league career after serving a suspension for violating the league’s domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy. He was suspended after another woman accused him of beating and sexually abusing her — an accusation the pitcher also denied.

He was released by the Los Angeles Dodgers in January 2023 and played last year with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of Japan’s Pacific League. He signed a deal this spring to pitch five games for Mexico’s Diablos Rojos and made his first appearance in a spring exhibition against the New York Yankees.

SEE MORE: LA pitcher on administrative leave after sexual assault accusation

An Ohio man who authorities say fatally shot an Uber driver who he thought was trying to rob him after scam phone calls deceived them both has been indicted on a murder charge.

William Brock, 81, also faces counts of kidnapping and felonious assault in the indictment handed up Monday by a Clark County grand jury.

Court documents did not list an attorney for him, and a telephone number for Brock could not be located. He has pleaded not guilty and could face a life sentence if convicted on the murder charge.

The shooting occurred March 25 at Brock's home in South Charleston. Officers from the county sheriff's office responded there after Brock called 911 and said he had shot someone who was trying to rob him.

SEE MORE: 'This was demonic': Sheriff details killing of Uber Eats driver

Brock had received scam calls from someone pretending to be an officer from the local court who eventually began making threats and demanding money, authorities said. The victim, Loletha Hall, 61, was an Uber driver who had been told to retrieve a package from Brock’s home, a request authorities say was possibly made by the same scam caller or an accomplice.

Hall had no knowledge of the calls made to Brock, authorities said. When she arrived at the home and got out of her car, Brock pulled out a gun and demanded she tell him who had made the threatening calls. He also took Hall's cellphone and would not let her leave.

When Hall tried to get away, Brock shot her once, authorities said, then shot her two more times as they discussed the situation. Brock somehow sustained a minor head injury during the confrontation and he called 911 shortly after he fired the third shot.

Hall was taken to a hospital but later died there from her wounds.

Brock initially was charged with murder because authorities said Hall did not pose an active threat when she was shot. His next court hearing is scheduled for Monday.

The original scam calls to Brock and Hall remain under investigation, authorities said, and it’s not clear yet if the calls were placed by the same person.

The president of Columbia University took a firm stand against antisemitism Wednesday as she parried accusations from Republicans who see the New York campus as a hotbed of bias, but she hedged on whether certain phrases invoked by some supporters of Palestinians rise to harassment.

Nemat Shafik had the benefit of hindsight and months of preparation as she faced a congressional hearing on the Ivy League school's response to antisemitism and conflicts on campus following the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel. She arrived on Capitol Hill four months after a similar hearing that led to the resignations of two Ivy League presidents.

From the start, she took a more decisive stance than the presidents of Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania, who gave lawyerly answers when asked if calls for the genocide of Jews would violate school policies.

When asked the same question, Shafik and three other Columbia leaders responded unequivocally, yes. But Shafik waffled on specific phrases.

Rep. Lisa McClain, a Republican from Michigan, asked her if phrases such as "from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free " or "long live intifada" are antisemitic.

"I hear them as such, some people don't," Shafik said.

McClain posed the same question to David Schizer, who leads an antisemitism task force at Columbia. He responded that such phrases are antisemitic.

It was a shaky moment for an Ivy League president who otherwise dodged the gotcha moments that turned the previous hearing into a frenzy for Republicans, who cast elite schools as antisemitic havens.

SEE MORE: Harvard president resigns following controversies

Shafik acknowledged a rise in antisemitism since October but said campus leaders have been working tirelessly to protect students. Rebutting accusations that she has been soft on violators, Shafik said 15 students were suspended and six are on probation for violating new rules restricting campus demonstrations.

"These are more disciplinary actions than taken probably in the last decade at Columbia," she said. "And I promise you, from the messages I'm hearing from students, they are getting the message that violations will have consequences."

In another heated exchange, Rep. Elise Stefanik, a New York Republican and a driving force behind the hearings, grilled Shafik on faculty and staff who have expressed support for Hamas or opposition to Israel. She asked about Mohamed Abdou, an Arab studies professor who expressed support for Hamas on social media after Oct. 7.

Shafik said she shared "repugnance" over Abdou's comments, adding that he will be terminated.

"He is grading his students' papers and will never teach at Columbia again," she said.

Stefanik said she heard that Abdou attended a pro-Palestinian demonstration at the Columbia campus Wednesday morning, in apparent violation of the school's new rules.

"Mr. Abdou is not grading papers right now," Stefanik said. "He's on campus at the unsanctioned and anti-Israel, antisemitic event that is being supported by pro-Hamas activists on campus."

Some Columbia students who support Palestinians were frustrated they were not allowed into the hearing.

Speaking to reporters, Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Democrat from Minnesota who is Muslim, criticized the decision to keep the students out.

"This is not an honest conversation that we are having today in this committee," Omar said. "The fact that these young people came from Columbia to be at this hearing to have their voices heard and are not being allowed is, I think, a disservice to our democracy."

Shafik was originally asked to testify at the House Education and Workforce Committee's hearing in December, but she declined due to scheduling conflicts.

Although she acknowledged antisemitism on campus, she argued that the "vast majority" of demonstrations have been peaceful and said she has held more than 200 meetings on the matter since becoming president.

Her vision clashes with one presented by Republicans in Congress and some Jewish students who say antisemitism has gone unchecked at Columbia, citing a Jewish student who was beaten on campus while putting up posters of Israeli hostages, and protesters who yelled chants that some consider a call for the genocide of Jews.

"We've seen far too little, far too late done to counter that and protect students and staff," said Rep. Virginia Foxx, a Republican from North Carolina and committee chair.

SEE MORE: USC cuts pro-Palestinian valedictorian's speech over safety concerns

"Columbia stands guilty of gross negligence at best and, at worst, has become a platform for those supporting terrorism and violence against Jewish people."

Foxx and Stefanik appeared with Jewish students from Columbia who said they have been threatened and physically confronted. They described a student who had Star of David necklaces torn off while walking to class and taunts from students who said "the Holocaust wasn't that special."

Stefanik said Republicans will hold Columbia accountable for failing to protect students.

"Despite claims otherwise, Columbia's leadership refuses to enforce their own policies and condemn Jewish hatred on campus, creating a breeding ground for antisemitism and a hotbed of support for terrorism from radicalized faculty and students," she said.

The December hearing featured the presidents of Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, whose lawyerly responses drew fierce backlash and fueled weeks of controversy.

During a heated line of questioning in December, Stefanik asked the presidents to answer whether "calling for the genocide of Jews" would violate each university's code of conduct.

Liz Magill, then-president of Penn, and Claudine Gay, then-president of Harvard, both said it would depend on the specifics of the situation. MIT president Sally Kornbluth said she had not heard any calling for the genocide of Jews on MIT's campus, and that speech "targeted at individuals, not making public statements," would be considered harassment.

Almost immediately, the careful responses from the university presidents drew criticism from donors, alumni and politicians. Magill resigned soon after the hearing and Gay stepped down in January following accusations of plagiarism.

In an op-ed published in The Wall Street Journal Tuesday, Shafik emphasized the delicate balance between protecting free speech and fostering a safe environment for students on campus.

"Calling for the genocide of a people — whether they are Israelis or Palestinians, Jews, Muslims or anyone else — has no place in a university community," Shafik wrote. "Such words are outside the bounds of legitimate debate and unimaginably harmful."

 Professional sports teams from across the country have brought forth a series of new sports stadium proposals and requests for renovations. Some plans have faced pushback — but in Utah, support for plans to construct a new hockey arena is enticing the Arizona Coyotes to move to Utah from the desert state.   

The Coyotes arrived in Arizona in 1996 and called three arenas home, with the latest being the Arizona State University Mullet Stadium, the National Hockey League’s smallest arena. In 2023, the team lacked voter support to build an entertainment district in Tempe, leaving the team unsure about their future in the Grand Canyon State.  

Marc Ganis, the President of Sportscorp Limited, said it’s rare for a professional sports team to move from its existing market, but adds that the Coyotes have been a franchise with deep rooted problems and over the years they’ve struggled to find a permanent home.  

“I would expect that team to relocate, they've been at this for a very long time,” Ganis said. 

The news of the potential relocation announcement marked a dreadful reality for hockey fans and the growth of the sport among youth.  

“I think it would hurt hockey immensely here if they leave,” Steve Wright said. “I think it would still grow and thrive to a certain extent, but I think that growths going to be stifled.” 

 In late March, Utah Governor Spencer Cox, a Republican, signed into law SB 272 and HB 562. 

SB 272 helps build an NHL arena by allowing the city to raise sales tax to help provide funding towards the downtown sports facility.

The owner of the Utah Jazz has been trying to lure an NHL team. 

HB 562 would help revitalize Utah State Fairpark and provide $900 million for a new baseball stadium. The city does not currently have a Major League Baseball team.  

SEE MORE: Oakland A's to play in Sacramento before final move to Las Vegas

In the last ten years, at least 24 sports stadiums were built or renovated.  

“I think we're in, in the middle of a potential construction boom,” Smith College Economics Professor Andrew Zimbalist said.  

He said the first sports stadium wave happened in the 1950s, followed by the 1990s, and now the 2020s.  

“It should go on probably for the for the rest of this decade,” Zimbalist said. “All this is about is maximizing revenue for the team owner.” 

The Arizona Diamondbacks are seeking funding to repair Chase Field. The Major League Baseball team opened its doors in 1998 and is the fourth oldest park in the national league. 

The team released a statement to Scripps News.  

"Approaching its 30th year, Chase Field requires extensive upgrades for a modernized fan and player experience, encompassing renovations to infrastructure, public areas, and facilities to accommodate Major League Baseball as well as growing global events and concerts," the team wrote. "Our fans' affinity for Chase Field is one driving factor behind ownership’s willingness to invest hundreds of millions in stadium renovations and our dedication to continuing to work together with state, city, and county officials to secure a sustainable public/private solution well before our lease ends in 2027."

Last year, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers signed off on a $500 million spending plan to repair and upgrade the Milwaukee Brewers stadium.  

In June of 2023, the Buffalo Bills broke ground on a new stadium and the Tennessee Titans followed in February of this year.

SEE MORE: Sale of Baltimore Orioles unanimously approved by MLB owners

In December of 2023, voters approved a 1% sales tax over the next six years to build a new arena for the Oklahoma City Thunder. It’s estimated to cost at least $900 million.   

In New York City, officials approved a plan for a $780 million soccer stadium. 

The Chicago Bears and the Chicago White Sox have proposed plans for a new stadium but have faced resistance. 

In Virginia, Governor Glenn Youngkin introduced a $2 billion plan for a “world class entertainment district” to lure the Washington Wizards and the Washington Capitals. The proposal was killed by opposition.  

In Missouri, voters rejected a sales tax to help build a stadium for the Kansas City Royals and a renovation for the Chiefs. 

Whether the stadium is publicly or privately funded, Zimbalist said tax payers nearly always help foot the enormous construction tab.  

“Always it's the case that taxpayers are going to be paying for something, some part of it, but sometimes they pay for the lion's share and sometimes they pay a fairly modest proportion,” Zimbalist said.  

Several of the proposals brought forth by teams include futuristic designs, VIP sections, tech savvy stadiums, entertainment districts with shopping, restaurants, hotels, and gambling areas. While the designs can create excitement, Zimbalist highlights the importance of remaining realistic and ensuring the plans are possible, adding that the devil is in the details.  

“The plan itself could just be a wild dream,” Zimbalist said.   

The undertaking of stadium construction combined with recent trends of inflated construction costs can lead to additional expenses that exceed the estimated cost of the plan.  

“It used to be a lot cheaper to build sports facilities, you could build a really terrific sports facility 20, 25 years ago for $300 million, now that number is frankly closer to $3 billion,” Ganis said.  

While some sports fans support helping pay for a new stadium or arena some believe the owners should pay for the entire cost of a new sports facility.  

“I think it should be shared,” Wright said.  

“Leave the taxpayers out of this, owners, you guys got to figure this out,” Jake Jessup said.  

Sports teams pitching new proposals often tout the plan will help create jobs and attract new tourists, but Zimbalist warns that the economic impacts are limited.  

“Economic Research on the impact of stadiums and teams coming to a city suggests that the city should not count on there being increased revenues; it simply doesn't happen very often," he said.

According to Ganis and Zimbalist, the major winner of a new stadium are the players and the owners when scrutinizing finances.   

Michael MacCambridge, the author of The Big Time: How the 1970s Transformed Sports in America, argues that sometimes the value a team brings to a city and its fans is difficult to quantify.  

“I think that there is always an argument about what sort of value a baseball team or a football team brings to a community and the fact that it's hard to quantify financially doesn't mean that it isn't real,” MacCambridge, said.  

In Arizona, as Coyotes fans grapple with the new reality, many are chalking up the loss as one that’s going to hurt the growth of the sport.  

“A lot of the hockey programs out here are supported by the Coyotes to the extent that some of them are ex-players or even coaches,” Wright said.  

The Coyotes may be playing their last game on Wednesday against the Edmonton Oilers.  

The Supreme Court on Tuesday sided with a decorated veteran of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq in a protracted fight with the government over 12 months of G.I. Bill educational benefits.

The court ruled 7-2 that the Department of Veterans Affairs improperly calculated the educational benefits for James Rudisill, a retired Army captain who lives in northern Virginia.

Rudisill, who's now an FBI agent, is in a category of veterans who earned credit under two versions of the G.I. Bill. One version applied to people who served before the Sept. 11, 2001, attack. Congress passed new legislation after Sept. 11.

But Rudisill served both before and after the attack, including tours in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Each program gives veterans 36 months of benefits, and there's a 48-month cap. Rudisill thought he had 10 months of benefits remaining under the old program, plus another year in the new system. But the VA denied the additional year.

Rudisill said the decision forced him to give up his plan to attend Yale Divinity School, be ordained as an Episcopal priest and reenter the Army as a chaplain.

His lawyers said the decision could affect roughly 1.7 million veterans, but the VA disputed that the number is “anything close” to 1.7 million, noting that his lawyers didn't identify any other cases that presented the same issue.

SEE MORE: Supreme Court hears debate over charges against Trump, Jan. 6 rioters

The University of Southern California canceled a commencement speech by its 2024 valedictorian who has publicly supported Palestinians, citing security concerns for the rare decision that has been praised by several pro-Israel groups and lambasted by free speech advocates and the country's largest Muslim civil rights organization.

Andrew T. Guzman, provost and senior vice president for academic affairs for the private university in Los Angeles, said in a statement Monday that debate over the selection of valedictorian Asna Tabassum to give the May 10 commencement speech took on an "alarming tenor." Her speech would have presented "substantial" security risks for the event that draws 65,000 people to campus, he said.

While Guzman did not specify whether there had been threats, he said "we cannot ignore the fact that similar risks have led to harassment and even violence at other campuses."

"The intensity of feelings, fueled by both social media and the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, has grown to include many voices outside of USC and has escalated to the point of creating substantial risks relating to security and disruption at commencement," Guzman wrote.

The Israel-Hamas war has presented a challenge for colleges under pressure to preserve free speech and open debate. Campuses are expected to be particularly tested as commencement speeches get underway across the United States.

Universities should resist canceling events that could be perceived as censorship, especially one as high-profile as a commencement speech, said Zach Greenberg, a First Amendment attorney with the national Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, or FIRE. But, if they do, schools must be transparent and specify security concerns "not only as a matter of integrity" but also to warn the public for their own safety, he said.

He expressed concern about other schools buckling to pressure and eroding free speech.

"This is kind of an opening salvo of commencement season," he said. "It seems to be a pretty clear example of a university canceling an event and censoring a student because of opposition to student views, especially on social media regarding the Gaza conflict."

SEE MORE: US will not participate in any potential Israeli counterattack on Iran

Tabassum, who is graduating with a major in biomedical engineering and a minor in resistance to genocide, said she was blindsided by the decision, in a statement provided Tuesday by the Greater Los Angeles Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. University officials on Monday told her that the school had the resources to take appropriate safety measures but they were concerned about their image, she said.

"Anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian voices have subjected me to a campaign of racist hatred because of my uncompromising belief in human rights for all," she said, adding though that she was not aware of any specific threats against her or the university.

"I am both shocked by this decision and profoundly disappointed that the university is succumbing to a campaign of hate meant to silence my voice," she said. "I am not surprised by those who attempt to propagate hatred. I am surprised that my own university — my home for four years — has abandoned me."

In his statement, Guzman asserted that the decision was solely about safety and came after consulting the "expert campus safety team." USC's associate senior vice president of safety and risk assurance, Erroll G. Southers, is an expert in school violence prevention and a former FBI agent who is also president of the Los Angeles Police Commission, the civilian board that oversees the Los Angeles Police Department.

"To be clear: this decision has nothing to do with freedom of speech," Guzman wrote. "There is no free-speech entitlement to speak at a commencement. The issue here is how best to maintain campus security and safety, period."

The university announced its decision the same day pro-Palestinian demonstrators blocked roadways in Illinois, California, New York and the Pacific Northwest, temporarily shutting down travel into some of the nation's most heavily used airports, onto the Golden Gate and Brooklyn bridges and on a busy West Coast highway to demand an immediate cease-fire in the war.

SEE MORE: Pro-Palestinian demonstrators block traffic to Chicago O'Hare Airport

University campuses have been a hotbed of protest activity surrounding the Israel-Hamas war, which began following Hamas' deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people. Israel's responding assault on Gaza has killed as many as 33,800 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

The organization EndJewHatred issued a press release Monday night praising USC's decision to cancel the speech.

"Ms. Tabassum's speech as valedictorian was anticipated to be harmful to Jewish students and even potentially agitate anti-Jewish activists," the organization said.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations condemned the cancellation.

"USC cannot hide its cowardly decision behind a disingenuous concern for 'security,'" the organization's executive director, Hussam Ayloush, said in a statement.

Tabassum, describing herself as a first-generation South Asian-American Muslim, said her speech aimed to inspire hope in troubled times.

"By canceling my speech, USC is only caving to fear and rewarding hatred," she said.

She said she loves her school and noted that her minor, resistance to genocide "is anchored by the Shoah Foundation," the USC-headquartered project founded by Steven Spielberg to document and preserve the stories of Holocaust survivors.

"As your class Valedictorian, I implore my USC classmates to think outside the box— to work towards a world where cries for equality and human dignity are not manipulated to be expressions of hatred," she said. "I challenge us to respond to ideological discomfort with dialogue and learning, not bigotry and censorship. And I urge us to see past our deepest fears and recognize the need to support justice for all people, including the Palestinian people."

Dubbed "DisneylandForward," the Walt Disney Company's roughly $2 billion project re-imagines its Anaheim, California theme park complex with new attractions, shops, restaurants and hotels. 

The company says the updated theme park will create "new magic" for the city of Anaheim, promising new jobs and more than $202 million in additional tax revenue. In exchange, the House of Mouse isn't asking for public funds or even an expansion in the city, but relaxed zoning rules and a proposal to privatize roads near the park. 

"We've set the gold standard, I think, in collaboration and outreach," said Joe Haupt, consultant for the DisneylandForward project at a public hearing earlier this year with Anaheim City Council. 

Disney says its investments would go towards more than 13,000 new jobs, $85 million for traffic and road improvements, $8 million to improve city parks, and more than $30 million to fund affordable housing projects. 

While many residents in Anaheim are excited for the investments into the community, others have been leery of Disney's promises. 

"I'm very concerned about the claims that the project will not displace significant numbers of people, or that the $30 million investment to housing is sufficient to address the adverse effects presented by this project," said Anaheim resident Carolina Mendez at a public hearing in February.

For tourists, Disneyland hasn't yet announced specific plans or renderings, but the company has used examples of its theme parks around the world as possibilities. The company also told reporters recently that cutting edge developments like the HoloTile — which allows for people to walk through virtual reality settings — may be a part of the updated theme park. 

SEE MORE: Disney opens its first 'Frozen'-themed attraction

The mayor of Atlantic City and his wife, who serves as the superintendent of the school district, are facing charges after investigators say they abused their daughter, with one incident leaving the victim unconscious.

The charges Marty and La'Quetta Small face include endangering the welfare of a child, simple assault and aggravated assault for what prosecutors say were "multiple occasions" of abuse in December 2023 and January 2024.

Prosecutors listed a number of disturbing incidents that led to the charges, including one in which Marty allegedly used a broom to beat his teenage daughter in the head, causing her to lose consciousness.

In another incident, it is alleged that Marty Small, during an argument with his daughter, continuously threatened to hurt her by "earth slamming: her down the stairs, grabbing her head and throwing her to the ground, and "smack[ing] the weave" out of her head.

Investigators said that on one occasion, Marty punched his daughter's legs repeatedly, causing bruising.

La'Quetta is accused of punching her daughter in the chest and mouth, as well as dragging her daughter by the hair and hitting her with a belt.

The charges were filed two weeks after police served five search warrants at the family’s home. Days after the search, on April 1, the mayor addressed the media, saying, "Though she has a doctorate and I have a master's degree, there's no book, no course that we took in college to show you how to be a parent. And more importantly, how to deal with the struggles of raising teenagers."

An affidavit obtained by The Associated Press revealed that several incidents of the alleged abuse were recorded, apparently without the parents' knowledge. Prosecutors reference an incident allegedly witnessed by the teenager's grandmother, who is quoted as saying, "A little punch in the eye ain’t gonna stop her."

Marty was elected mayor of Atlantic City in 2019 and was sworn in for four years in 2022 after winning 70% of the vote. La'Quetta, who has worked in the Atlantic City Public School District since 2003, was appointed to a 4 1/2-year term as superintendent of the district on Jan. 1, 2022. Court TV has reached out to the school district for a comment.

In a statement to Court TV, Marty's attorney characterized the charges as "attempting to second guess parental decisions" and specified that the complaints were issued on summonses, meaning that the couple was not arrested and no bail was set. "Mayor Marty Small remains the Mayor in the City of Atlantic City and will continue to faithfully perform all his duties as Mayor. And he and his wife LaQuetta and their two children remain a close and loving and intact family. Mayor Small and Superintendent LaQuetta Small are completely innocent of any wrongdoing and will ultimately be vindicated."

This story was originally published by Lauren Silver on Court TV.

President Joe Biden’s latest plan for student loan cancellation is moving forward as a proposed regulation, offering him a fresh chance to deliver on a campaign promise and energize young voters ahead of the November election.

The Education Department on Tuesday filed paperwork for a new regulation that would deliver the cancellation that President Biden announced last week. It still has to go through a 30-day public comment period and another review before it can be finalized.

It’s a more targeted proposal than the one the U.S. Supreme Court struck down last year. The new plan uses a different legal basis and seeks to cancel or reduce loans for more than 25 million Americans.

Conservative opponents, who see it as an unfair burden for taxpayers who didn’t attend college, have threatened to challenge it in court.

The Democratic president highlighted the plan during a trip to Wisconsin last week, saying it would provide “life-changing” relief. He laid out five categories of people who would be eligible for help.

The new paperwork filed by the Education Department includes four of those categories, while a separate proposal will be filed later addressing how people facing various kinds of hardship can get relief.

The broadest forgiveness category would help borrowers who owe more than they originally borrowed because of runaway interest. It would eliminate up to $20,000 in interest for anyone in that situation, while those with annual incomes below $120,000 and enrolled in income-driven repayment plans would get all their interest erased with no maximum limit. It would be done automatically.

Another category would cancel loans for people who have been paying back their undergraduate student loans for at least 20 years, and those who have been paying graduate loans at least 25 years.

It would automatically cancel loans for those who went to colleges or programs considered to have low financial value. Borrowers would be eligible for cancellation if they attended a program that leaves graduates with earnings no better than those with a high school diploma, for example, or programs that leave graduates with large shares of debt compared with their incomes.

SEE MORE: Biden admin. announces another round of student loan cancellation

Borrowers who are eligible for other federal forgiveness programs but haven’t applied would also get loans erased. Federal education officials would use existing data to identify those people and offer relief. It’s intended to reach those who don’t know about other programs or have been deterred by complicated application processes.

The proposal was hashed out over the course of several hearings as part of a federal rules process that gathers advice from outside experts. The plan was drafted with the help of students, college officials, state officials, borrower advocates and loan servicers.

During that process, advocates pushed for a fifth category of forgiveness for people who have different kinds of hardship that prevent them from being able to repay their loans. The Education Department said it's still working on the details of that rule, with a separate proposal to come “in the coming months.”

The department said the hardship proposal will offer cancellation to borrowers who are at high risk of defaulting on their loans along with those who face other hardships, including high medical and caregiving expenses. That proposal will mirror one agreed upon by outside experts during the rulemaking process, the agency said.

It usually takes months for a proposed rule to be finalized, and months more before it can take effect. The Biden administration said it plans to start implementing some parts of the new proposal as soon as this fall, using the education secretary's authority to implement rules early in certain cases.

Republicans are staunchly opposed to any broad student loan cancellation, saying it’s an unfair bailout for people who went to college.

“Where is the relief for the guy who didn't go to college but is working to pay off the loan on the truck he takes to work?” said Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., the ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. "What about the woman who paid off her student loans but is now struggling to afford her mortgage? Instead the Biden administration is sticking these Americans with the bill of someone else's student debt.

Two coalitions of Republican states have sued the Biden administration to block a separate repayment plan that offers an accelerated path to loan forgiveness.

The White House says it’s confident the new plan is on solid legal ground, saying the Higher Education Act gives the education secretary the power to waive student loans in certain cases.

Now, this is one of those stories that you've got to see to believe.

An elephant was running loose on a busy Montana street Tuesday after it temporarily escaped from a traveling circus.

Butte Civic Center manager Bill Melvin confirmed an elephant temporarily got loose from the Jordan World Circus that’s in town in the civic center. Melvin said the elephant’s handlers were washing the female elephant outside the civic center when a passing vehicle backfired and spooked the animal.

The elephant ran across a busy Harrison Avenue, stopping traffic while a handler ran after it. The spooked animal was soon safely corralled back at the civic center without injury, according to Melvin.

Cellphone video taken by Brittany McGinnis shows the elephant running across Harrison Avenue with someone running alongside it and through the parking lot of the Town Pump gas station.

The city of Butte lies in Southwest Montana, between Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks.

This story was originally published by John Emeigh at Scripps News Butte. 

SEE MORE: Busch Gardens welcomes the cutest endangered Bornean orangutan

Thomas Wells ran a half-marathon at age 60 and played recreational volleyball until he was 63. At 65 years old, doctors diagnosed him with mesothelioma, a rare and aggressive lung cancer linked to asbestos exposure.

"I'm in great pain and alls I see is this getting worse," the retired middle school teacher from Oregon said in a video deposition recorded in March 2020, four months after his cancer diagnosis. He died a day later.

Portions of Wells' deposition were replayed Monday in a federal courtroom for a jury hearing a wrongful death case against Warren Buffett's BNSF Railway.

The estates of Wells and a second mesothelioma victim accuse the railroad and its corporate predecessors in a lawsuit of polluting Libby, Montana, with asbestos-contaminated vermiculite from a nearby mine that was transported through the remote town's rail yard in boxcars for much of last century.

BNSF attorneys have denied the claims and are scheduled to lay out their defense beginning Tuesday. They've said that railroad officials were unaware the shipments were hazardous.

A cleanup of the contaminated rail yard in downtown Libby was largely completed in 2022.

The trial is the first alleging BNSF exposed community members in Libby to asbestos fibers that can cause lung scarring and mesothelioma. It comes almost 25 years after federal authorities arrived in the community not far from the U.S.-Canada border following news reports about toxic asbestos dust causing widespread deaths and illnesses among mine workers and their families.

Numerous other lawsuits from asbestos victims have been filed against BNSF.

The W.R. Grace & Co. mine that operated on a mountaintop outside Libby produced contaminated vermiculite that health officials say has sickened more than 3,000 people and led to several hundred deaths.

SEE MORE: EPA bans asbestos, which was still in use decades after partial ban

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2009 declared the first-ever public health emergency during a Superfund cleanup in Libby. It's one of the deadliest sites under the federal pollution program. The agency banned remaining industrial uses of asbestos last month.

Wells said in the 2020 deposition that he believed he was sickened while working for the U.S. Forest Service in the Libby area for about six months each in 1976-78 and again in 1981. He never went to the vermiculite mine, he said, but described wind kicking up dust along the railroad tracks at the rail yard.

"It was dusty. You know, you'd wash the car and pretty soon you have to wash the car again," Wells said.

The second plaintiff, Joyce Walder, played in the same area in her youth before dying of mesothelioma at 66.

Mine operator W.R. Grace repeatedly told the railroad's corporate predecessors that the product it was shipping through Libby was safe, according to BNSF attorney Chad Knight. Local officials also believed the vermiculite was safe, and the railroad couldn't legally reject the loads, he said.

"You have to go back and look at what the information was at the time," Knight told jurors during opening statements last week. "The materials coming from the mine were being used all over town. No one suspected there was anything unsafe about the products."

Knight has also sought to cast doubt on whether the BNSF rail yard was the source of the plaintiffs' medical problems, since asbestos dust was prevalent in the Libby area when the mine was operating.

Tainted vermiculite was used in Libby's high school track, a baseball field next to the rail yard, as a soil amendment in home gardens and as insulating material in homes across the U.S.

The plaintiffs' attorneys showed jurors several insurance claims for tons of asbestos that leaked out of rail cars in the 1970s and did not make it to its destination, and an example of a placard that was put on a rail car in the late 1970s saying it contained asbestos fibers and to avoid creating dust.

Residents of Libby have described encountering vermiculite along BNSF tracks where children in the community often played.

When kicked up by wind or passing trains, asbestos fibers from that vermiculite "can remain airborne for hours if not days depending on conditions," said plaintiffs expert Steven Compton, who directs the private laboratory MVA Scientific Consultants in Georgia.

Thomas Wells' son Sean Wells described his father during Friday testimony as a "wonderful teacher" and "just the best dad," who he could talk to about anything and coached their sports teams.

"There's not a day that goes by that I don't think about my dad and wish I could pick up the phone and call him," Sean Wells said. "He wasn't only our dad. ... He was our best friend. We did everything together."

Walder died in October 2020 — less than a month after her diagnosis.

She grew up in Libby and could have been exposed to the microscopic, needle-shaped asbestos fibers while fishing and floating on a river that traveled past a spot where a conveyor belt loaded vermiculite onto train cars, according to court records. Additional exposure may have also come from playing around a baseball field near the rail yard, walking along the railroad tracks and spending time at the home of a friend who lived near the rail yard. She also returned to Libby to visit family.

After her diagnosis Walder underwent chemotherapy and surgery. In a follow-up appointment Walder's family was told the cancer had come back even worse.

"I hope no one has to see the light of hope pass from a parent's or loved one's eyes, because that is something you will never forget," Walder's daughter, Chandra Zechmeister, testified Monday.

Nike has come under fire after unveiling its uniforms for a U.S. women's Olympic team, with many claiming the outfits are too revealing and sexist.

The designs were made public last week as part of a kit launch for the Paris Olympics in July. The outfit being criticized — for women's track and field — was shown on a mannequin next to the uniform for men.

The women's uniform resembles a one-piece bathing suit cut high in the front crotch area. The men's design featured far longer biker-style shorts.

Citius Mag, which reports on track and field news, posted an image of the outfits on Instagram — and comments poured in slamming the women's suit.

"If the labia are hanging out on a still mannequin, what do we expect to happen to a moving person?" wrote an Instagram user named Alison in the comments.

Another Instagram user, Jessa Hanson, wrote, "tell me it was male designers without telling me it was male designers." 

Commenters also questioned how the outfit would suit a woman with unshaved pubic hair or on her period.

Even a former track and field athlete, Lauren Fleshman, spoke out against the suits in an Instagram post of her own.

"Professional athletes should be able to compete without dedicating brain space to constant pube vigilance or the mental gymnastics of having every vulnerable piece of your body on display," Fleshman wrote.

"Women's kits should be in service to performance, mentally and physically. If this outfit was truly beneficial to physical performance, men would wear it. This is not an elite athletic kit for track and field. This is a costume born of patriarchal forces that are no longer welcome or needed to get eyes on women's sports," she continued.

Responding to the backlash, a spokesperson for Nike told Scripps News that "in addition to offering athletes a range of styles to choose from, we will also have tailoring options available for Olympic and Paralympic athletes at the games."

The Nike spokesperson also pointed out that the outlets were developed in collaboration with athletes, who were the driving forces behind the designs.

In a press release last week, Nike Chief Innovation Officer John Hoke said "working directly with athletes throughout every stage of the design process, Nike designed garments to ensure fit across a range of body types and style preferences and infused real-time feedback throughout the entire product-development cycle."

Hurdler Anna Cockrel was one of the athletes who provided input to Nike.

"I've had the opportunity to share feedback and insights that helped inform the new USATF Kit," Cockrell said in a press release. "During testing, this fit allowed me to move freely and without distraction, and I love how the look represents Team USA."

The 2024 Olympic Games in Paris take place from July 26 to Aug. 11.

SEE MORE: Paris Olympics flame is lit at the Greek cradle of ancient games

Police in New York say the search for a missing 12-year-old boy has come to a tragic end. At a news conference Monday afternoon, Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia announced the body of Jaylen Griffin has been found and identified.

Authorities say Griffin, who has been missing since August 2020, was found dead inside a home Friday morning. Gramaglia called the discovery "an absolute tragedy" during the news conference.

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Griffin was last seen on August 4, 2020, when he told his family he was walking to a store. But he never returned home. In the years since, an aged-progressed photo of him was distributed by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

The Buffalo Police Department’s Special Victims Unit assigned two detectives to the case. Detective Joelle Bence and Detective Jon Weber spent the past seven months tracking down every lead that has come in since Griffin went missing.

Word of his death Monday marks the latest chapter in a story of heartbreak for his family. Three months after he disappeared, his 18-year-old brother Jawaan was shot and killed across the street from the family’s house. Then last fall, Griffin’s mother, Joanne Ponzo, died unexpectedly, never knowing what happened to her son.

“I think she died of a broken heart,” family advocate Kareema Morris told Scripps News Buffalo last month. Morris is the founder of the organization Bury the Violence. “Everyone’s talking but no one’s coming forth and that’s a problem. They know something and they need to just give this family, you know, peace.”

Crime Stoppers — which was offering a $7,500 reward for information leading to the whereabouts or recovery of Griffin — remains involved in this case. Anyone with information can call 716-867-6161, or call or text the Buffalo Police confidential tip line at 716-857-2255.

This story was originally published by DJ Hromowyk at Scripps News Buffalo.

Book bans appear to be on the rise across American public schools.

There were 4,349 book bans during the first half of this school year, according to July 2023 to December 2023 statistics from PEN America that were released Tuesday.

During the entire 2022-2023 school year, the group recorded 3,362 book bans. These occurred in both red and blue districts.

PEN American is a nonprofit focused on the protection of free expression and keeps track of book bans in 42 states.

The organization has been monitoring book bans for the last two and a half academic years and documented more than 10,000 bans since July 2021.

@scrippsnews Book bans in schools reached a record high in the first half of this school year, according to a new report from PEN America. Here are the states that saw the most bans. #bannedbooks #booktok #educationtiktok ♬ original sound - Scripps News

The most targeted books include topics about sex, sexual violence, abortion, LGBTQ+ and race.

So which states saw the most book bans?

Florida topped the list with 3,135 bans across 11 school districts.

Next was Wisconsin with 481, Iowa with 142, and Texas with 141. Kentucky and Virginia also saw at least 100 bans each.

The American Library Association, which also keeps track of book challenges, found 1,247 demands to censor library books in 2023, a 65% surge compared to 2022.

The association also found that patrons and parents are the two most likely groups to initiate challenges.

SEE MORE: Libraries get insight on how censorship, library access impacts teens

If you’re thinking about selling your home, Realtor.com said this is the week to do it.

Median home prices during the third week of April are about 1.1% higher than the typical week, and homes cost 10.4% more than they did at the beginning of the year, according to the real estate website’s data. 

Those numbers translate to about $7,400 more in a seller’s pocket if they put their home on the market between April 14 and April 20. 

The real estate site’s data showed homes that are listed for sale during this week are taken off the market 17% faster than the average week. 

Realtor.com said listings on its site rack up 18.4% more views compared to the rest of the year. More competition on the market could also mean more bidding wars that could drive up prices. 

To determine the best week for selling a home, Realtor.com said it looked at competition from other sellers, how long a home spent on the market, views per property, list prices, and the likelihood of price reductions. But it did not factor in mortgage rates. 

Real estate experts have said 2024 should be a better year than 2023 for home buyers, with mortgage rates hovering around 7%. Some experts believe they could dip closer to 5.5% by the end of the year.

According to Zillow, home shoppers need to make more than $106,000 a year to comfortably afford an average home in the U.S.

SEE MORE: These 10 cities are the best for first-time home buyers, data finds

The Department of Justice is about to file an antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation, parent company of Ticketmaster, the Wall Street Journal reported. 

The WSJ said DOJ's lawsuit will allege that Ticketmaster "has leveraged its dominance in a way that undermined competition for ticketing live events, according to people familiar with the matter."

Live Nation has drawn scrutiny for charging exorbitant fees and surcharges for ticket sales, with ticket prices often far exceeding face value. Live Nation has faced congressional scrutiny for its practices. 

The two companies merged in 2010 after the DOJ decided to not to block the merger as long as Ticketmaster would license its ticket software and divest ticketing assets to two different companies — Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) and either Comcast-Spectacor or another suitable buyer. The DOJ said that these measures would create some competition in the ticketing market and help keep prices reasonable for consumers. 

But in the years since, there has been growing frustration over Ticketmaster's ticket-selling policies by both fans and promoters. Those frustrations exploded in late 2022 when thousands of Taylor Swift fans struggled to buy tickets for her 2023 The Eras Tour concerts. 

SEE MORE: 'Taylor Swift Act' would target ticket scalpers

Live Nation Executive Vice President Dan Wall recently authored a blog defending Live Nation's ticket pricing policies. His post came as federal officials have discussed implementing new rules eliminating so-called "junk fees," making companies post their "all-in" price. 

"The argument that Ticketmaster is responsible for high prices is really about service charges. The practice in the U.S. for decades has been to break down the cost of admission into a 'face value' sum and one or more fees added to face value. There is a common perception that service charges are 'junk fees' and that Ticketmaster sets the fees and pockets the money," he wrote. "Again, that’s not true.

"Service charges are added to the face value of concert tickets because two important players in the concert ecosystem — venues and primary ticketing companies — get little or nothing out of the revenues derived from the ticket’s face value. That money goes mostly to the performers, secondarily to cover certain show costs, and if anything is left over to the promoters. So, the practice developed to add a percentage service charge to a ticket’s face value to pay the venue for hosting the event and the primary ticketing company for servicing venues and distributing tickets."

Wall said that supply and demand largely dictates ticket prices, and that the demand for tickets to see an artist like Swift far exceeds the supply, which drives up ticket prices. 

West Virginia's transgender sports ban violates the rights of a teen athlete under Title IX, the federal civil rights law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in schools, an appeals court ruled Tuesday.

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 that the law cannot be applied to a 13-year-old who has been taking puberty-blocking medication and publicly identified as a girl since she was in the third grade.

In February 2023, the court blocked the state's bid to kick Becky Pepper Jackson off her middle school cross country and track and field teams if the law were enforced.

Judge Toby Heytens wrote that offering her a "choice" between not participating in sports and participating only on boys teams "is no real choice at all."

"The defendants cannot expect that B.P.J. will countermand her social transition, her medical treatment, and all the work she has done with her schools, teachers, and coaches for nearly half her life by introducing herself to teammates, coaches, and even opponents as a boy," Heytens wrote.

The court ruled in favor of the American Civil Liberties Union, its West Virginia chapter and LGBTQ interest group Lambda Legal. They sued the state, county boards of education and their superintendents in 2021 after Republican Gov. Jim Justice signed the bill into law.

"This is a tremendous victory for our client, transgender West Virginians, and the freedom of all youth to play as who they are," ACLU West Virginia attorney Joshua Block said in a statement.

The court noted that Jackson has been living as a girl for over five years and changed her name, and the state of West Virginia has issued her a birth certificate listing her as female. The court said she takes puberty-blocking medication and estrogen hormone therapy. Starting in elementary school, she has participated only on girls' athletic teams.

"B.P.J. has shown that applying the act to her would treat her worse than people to whom she is similarly situated, deprive her of any meaningful athletic opportunities, and do so on the basis of sex. That is all Title IX requires," Heytens wrote.

While the ruling makes clear that the law is discriminatory, ACLU-West Virginia spokesperson Billy Wolfe said in a statement, "as far as we know, our client is the only child currently impacted by this law. If others find themselves in this situation, we encourage them to contact the ACLU-WV legal team."

West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey was "deeply disappointed" in the decision, the Republican said. His office said except for the specific case decided Tuesday, the ban remains in place.

"I will keep fighting to safeguard Title IX. We must keep working to protect women's sports so that women's safety is secured and girls have a truly fair playing field," Morrisey said. "We know the law is correct and will use every available tool to defend it."

SEE MORE: NAIA bans transgender athletes from women's sports

In January 2023, a federal judge dissolved a preliminary injunction that was granted in July 2021. The judge also ruled the state's transgender law did not violate Title IX.

The appeals court noted it did not find that government officials are barred from establishing separate sports teams for boys and girls or that they lacked authority to police the line drawn between those teams.

"We also do not hold that Title IX requires schools to allow every transgender girl to play on girls teams, regardless of whether they have gone through puberty and experienced elevated levels of circulating testosterone," the court wrote. "We hold only that the district court erred in granting these defendants' motions for summary judgment in this particular case and in failing to grant summary judgment to B.P.J. on her specific Title IX claim."

Dissenting Judge G. Steven Agee wrote that the state can separate teams by gender assigned at birth "without running afoul of either the Equal Protection Clause or Title IX."

Sports participation is one of the main fronts in legislative and legal battles in recent years over the role of transgender people in U.S. public life. Most Republican-controlled states have passed restrictions on participation, as well as bans on gender-affirming health care for minors. Several have also restricted which bathrooms and locker rooms transgender people can use, particularly in schools.

West Virginia is one of at least 24 states with a law on the books barring transgender women and girls from competing in certain women's or girls' sports competitions.

The bans are in effect in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Wyoming.

In addition to West Virginia, judges have temporarily put enforcement of the bans on hold in Arizona, Idaho and Utah. But the 2nd Circuit revived a challenge last year to Connecticut's policy of letting transgender girls compete in girls' sports, sending it back to a lower court without ruling on its merits.

A ban in Ohio is to take effect later this month.

The Biden administration originally planned to release a new federal Title IX rule addressing both campus sexual assault and transgender athletes. Earlier this year, the department decided to split them into separate rules, and the athletics rule now remains in limbo.

This story has been corrected to show that the court found the ban discriminated against a teen athlete, but did not overturn it.

Even if you have outstanding fees, that text message about unpaid tolls may be a scam. 

The FBI issued a public service announcement warning people to be careful handling those messages. 

Since just last month, the FBI said its Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) has received almost 2,000 complaints about smishing texts representing road toll collection services from at least three states. “Smishing” is a fake message that tricks people into clicking links to download malware, share sensitive information, or send money to criminals. 

The texts circulating claim recipients owe a specific balance and are prompted to click a link to pay and avoid a late fee. 

The FBI said the texts received are almost identical in language, with similar payment amounts, and appear as such: “(State Toll Service Name): We've noticed an outstanding toll amount of $12.51 on your record. To avoid a late fee of $50.00, visit https://myturnpiketollservices.com to settle your balance.”

The phone numbers the texts are sent from vary by state.

The FBI urges anyone who has clicked a link from such a text to secure their personal information and financial accounts, and dispute any unknown charges.

Text recipients should check their account from their state’s legitimate toll service website or customer service phone number. They should delete any smishing texts received.

“Rule of thumb, do not click on anything. Every time you receive something that seems from an official organization, try to find ... the phone number. Try to call these people or go to a computer that you trust, get onto the website of the organization and find out if you actually have issues with them,” said Edgar Maldonado, an associate professor in the Department of Computer Information Systems at Metropolitan State University of Denver.

The FBI said people who have received a scam text should file a complaint with the IC3 and include the number the text was sent from and the website listed in the text. 

@scrippsnews Have you received a text like this recently? The FBI is warning of an influx of unpaid toll text scam messages. Here’s what to watch out for and how to report them. #TextScam #scammeralert #scam ♬ original sound - Scripps News

The deadline to file federal income tax returns has come and gone. But if you missed the April 15 deadline, there are still some options available to get them filed and mitigate any potential penalties.

Stay calm and act quickly

Missing the tax day deadline isn't the end of the world. For some, there is no penalty for filing a late return — but only if you know you'll be getting a refund this year. If you didn't file in time and owe taxes, that's when penalties and interest come into play.

If you think you may owe, then it's important to file as soon as possible. You can get an accurate estimate of whether you owe by quickly looking over last year's return and seeing if anything changed. 

If not, and you owed, then you probably do again this year. But the longer you delay, the more penalties and interest you may incur.

The worst of those is the failure-to-file penalty. It's typically 5% of the total amount you owe each month your tax return is late, up to 25%. But if your return is more than 60 days late, then the minimum penalty spikes to $435 — unless your balance due is less than that amount.

Fortunately, the IRS provides electronic tax filing options that can streamline the process and get your return processed as quickly as possible. 

SEE MORE: IRS launches new tax filing pilot program in 12 states

Should I file an extension?

If you know you'll be getting a refund this year and just need more time to gather your tax documents, then filing  an extension is probably your best option. Requesting an extension with the IRS is rather simple and will give you an extra six months to get your return filed.

You can request an extension by filing Form 4868 through a tax professional, tax software or by using IRS.gov/freefile. But again, it's important to remember that it's not an extension to pay any taxes you owe.

What if I owe and still need more time to pay?

If you know you have a tax balance that's due and still need more time to pay, there's no need to panic. But you should still pay as much of the amount due as you can to reduce the overall amount subject to penalties and interest charges.

The IRS will also work with you if you can't cover the full amount owed. Most people can apply for a payment plan, which will still charge you interest, but it's much less than if you don't pay at all. 

The IRS offers a short-term payment plan that allows you to pay off the balance in 180 days or less, plus accrued interest and penalties. Or you can apply for a long-term payment plan — also called an installment agreement — which gives you more than 180 days to settle your tax bill, but comes with higher fees and penalties.

SEE MORE: It's time to spring-clean your finances after tax season

While missing the tax deadline can be stressful, taking prompt action is an important first step to avoid making the situation worse. Remember to just stay organized, utilize the resources the IRS has available, and seek professional assistance if you need more help navigating through the process effectively.