Category: U.S. News

BOSTON — More than three decades have passed since thieves walked away with 13 priceless artworks from Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in what became history’s most notorious unsolved art crime, with the stolen pieces now worth over $500 million.

The 1990 heist continues to hold the record as the world’s biggest art theft, dwarfing other museum robberies including a broad-daylight break-in at the Louvre that involved fewer pieces and was quickly solved. While the FBI announced in 2013 that agents had identified those responsible, the bureau refused to release names, creating ongoing mystery around the case.

Now, a retired federal agent who spent more than 20 years leading the investigation has written a book revealing his conclusions about the crime. Geoff Kelly provides the most comprehensive look yet at how authorities tracked the stolen art through underground criminal circles, where several key figures and witnesses met violent deaths, while also disputing widely accepted theories about the case.

The theft carries particular irony given that museum founder Isabella Stewart Gardner had specified in her estate documents that her Venetian palace-style building should never be altered following her 1924 death. Gardner, who actually lived in the museum until she died there, wanted every painting, sculpture and architectural piece to stay precisely where she had placed it.

Today, the ornate empty frames where the missing paintings once hung remain on display as haunting reminders of what was lost.

In the early morning hours of March 18, 1990, while Boston was still recovering from St. Patrick’s Day festivities, two men wearing police uniforms appeared at the museum entrance and persuaded a security guard to admit them, breaking established safety procedures.

After restraining both guards with handcuffs in the basement, the thieves proceeded to the museum’s Dutch Room, where they sliced Vermeer’s “The Concert” and Rembrandt’s “Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee” from their frames, along with pieces by Degas and Manet.

The criminals also grabbed a Napoleonic eagle finial — an ornamental metal object worth relatively little that later baffled investigators — plus the building’s security recording tapes.

Museum officials initially posted a $5 million reward for information leading to the artworks’ return, then increased it to $10 million ten years later.

Investigative leads pointed toward various suspects including Irish Republican Army members and Boston organized crime figures such as infamous gangster Whitey Bulger.

Kelly’s pursuit of clues took him to France, where he observed through field glasses as undercover FBI operatives pretended to be wealthy go-betweens, relaxing on a luxury boat while sipping champagne and enjoying strawberries to attract suspected Corsican criminal contacts.

Back in New England, federal agents conducted searches throughout the region while depending heavily on criminal informants. One terminally ill triple killer nicknamed “Meatball” secretly recorded discussions with possible accomplices, hoping to earn money for his relatives.

However, none of these investigative paths led to recovering the stolen art.

Since the robbery occurred, multiple individuals thought to be connected to the crime have been murdered, with another dying under questionable circumstances.

Robert “Bobby” Donati, a Boston mob associate who had long been suspected in the case, was discovered stabbed to death in 1991, his corpse placed in a car trunk after his residence was searched and ransacked.

Earlier, Donati had toured the Gardner Museum with another known art criminal, Myles Connor, to plan a potential robbery and mentioned that stealing the museum’s Napoleonic finial would serve as his “calling card.” Later, a jewelry dealer informed investigators that Donati had attempted to sell a finial from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum but withdrew the offer, claiming it was “too hot.”

Another investigative thread focused on George Reissfelder, whom authorities believe provided the escape vehicle.

Kelly located Reissfelder’s brother, a former military officer who initially doubted his sibling’s involvement. The brother became emotional after being shown Manet’s “Chez Tortoni,” recognizing it as artwork he had personally hung above his brother’s bed.

Reissfelder subsequently died under suspicious circumstances. When investigators examined his residence, the painting had vanished.

Both suspects had connections to TRC Auto Electric, a Dorchester business associated with Charles “Chuck” Merlino’s criminal organization.

While investigators felt confident about the perpetrators’ identities, obtaining conclusive evidence proved challenging.

During the investigation’s initial phase, the FBI assigned only one agent to the case, which Kelly believes hindered progress.

“You have to keep in mind when you’re talking about investigations, they come down to dollars and cents,” Kelly said. Securing adequate resources was “like pulling teeth.” Federal investigators in Boston were primarily concentrated on violent crimes, narcotics trafficking and organized crime cases at that time.

Kelly criticized the decision to publicize surveillance video despite investigators’ opposition, calling it a persistent distraction. Since no useful footage existed from the robbery night, officials released video from the previous evening showing a museum worker entering after his vehicle broke down. Kelly opposed the theory suggesting the employee was surveying the museum, since that possibility had already been examined and ruled out. The released footage generated years of misdirected suspicion, though the man was eventually cleared of involvement.

One continuing question concerns whether someone inside the museum assisted the thieves.

Photographs from that evening show a museum guard restrained in the basement with duct tape covering his head.

Investigators observed that just before the robbery, the guard violated policy by opening a door that faced the area where the thieves were later spotted waiting — behavior investigators found extremely unusual and suspicious.

“It’s the immutable laws of time and space,” Kelly said. “I think that there was enough information back then that he could have been charged. Would it be enough to convict him? I don’t know.”

By the time investigators focused more intensively on these concerns, Kelly explained, the statute of limitations had run out, eliminating their ability to force cooperation.

The museum guard, Rick Abath, consistently denied participating in the theft. He passed away in 2024.

Kelly characterizes the missing artworks as “perfect fugitives.”

“They don’t go to the doctor. They don’t get stopped for speeding. They don’t leave fingerprints,” he said. “They can just disappear.”

Unlike human fugitives, he noted, artworks can also be replicated.

Throughout the years, this has resulted in pursuing false leads — including paintings discovered in a Reno antique shop, displayed in private residences and even one that appeared in a “Monk” television episode.

Since the works are so widely recognized, selling them openly is virtually impossible.

“Stealing the artwork from the museum, that’s the easy part,” Kelly said. “Profiting from it, that’s the difficult part.”

He believes the paintings will eventually resurface — outlasting those who committed the crime.

“I have no doubt they still exist,” he said.

Law enforcement officials have released details about the man arrested for Saturday’s shooting incident at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, identifying him as Cole Tomas Allen, a 31-year-old California resident with backgrounds in education and technology.

Allen lives in Torrance, California, a South Bay community near Los Angeles along Santa Monica Bay. According to investigators, he was registered as a guest at the Washington Hilton, the venue hosting the annual media event, though authorities have not yet established what motivated the attack.

Social media profiles reveal Allen recently earned recognition from his employer, receiving “Teacher of the Month” honors in December 2024 from C2 Education’s Torrance location. The company provides test preparation and tutoring services for students preparing for college.

His LinkedIn account describes Allen as a “mechanical engineer and computer scientist by degree, independent game developer by experience, teacher by birth.” Educational records show he completed his undergraduate studies in mechanical engineering at the California Institute of Technology in 2017, followed by a master’s degree in computer science from California State University at Dominguez Hills in 2025. Caltech confirmed that someone with that name received a degree from their institution in 2017.

Allen’s work history includes several years of part-time teaching with C2 Education while simultaneously developing games as a freelance contractor. Previously, he spent time as a mechanical engineer with IJK Controls in South Pasadena and served as a teaching assistant during his time at Caltech.

His online profile highlights a 2016 newspaper article covering a robotics competition victory by his Caltech team. Under personal interests, Allen listed only “Science and Technology” as causes he supports.

Secret Service officials report that Allen carried a shotgun when he fired at an agent outside the ballroom where the dinner was taking place. The event drew high-profile attendees including President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and multiple cabinet members before Allen was apprehended.

Federal immigration authorities re-arrested an Egyptian mother and her five children on Saturday, just two days after a court mandated their release from more than 10 months in detention, according to the family’s attorneys.

Hayam El Gamal and her children, ranging in age from 5 to 18, were taken back into custody while fulfilling a mandatory check-in requirement at a Denver Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility, as reported by The Colorado Sun.

According to the family’s legal representatives, ICE placed them aboard an aircraft bound for Michigan “and then outside the United States to an unknown location.” However, attorney Eric Lee confirmed that a federal court approved an emergency petition that halted the deportation proceedings.

The Department of Homeland Security issued a Saturday statement defending the detention, claiming the family was receiving “full due process” while criticizing the judge who mandated their release as an “activist judge” who is “releasing this terrorist’s family onto American streets AGAIN.”

“We are confident the courts will ultimately vindicate us,” stated Lauren Bis, the DHS acting assistant secretary.

The department’s statement did not explain the reasoning behind Saturday’s detention following Thursday’s court decision.

El Gamal and her children had been freed on Thursday when U.S. District Judge Fred Biery mandated their release, following a comparable ruling issued earlier that week.

The Colorado-based family was initially placed in federal custody last June. Their immigration detention became the lengthiest family detention under President Donald Trump’s administration, beginning after El Gamal’s former husband, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, faced charges of attempted murder, assault, and federal hate crimes related to a firebomb incident in Boulder, Colorado last year.

Federal officials have stated they were examining the family’s potential knowledge of the attack. El Gamal, who ended her marriage to Soliman following his arrest, has denounced the Boulder incident and maintained that her family was unaware of any attack preparations.

Trump has justified his immigration enforcement policies as essential for controlling illegal immigration and reducing criminal activity. However, advocacy organizations and critics argue that the DHS initiatives infringe upon due process rights and freedom of expression.

Law enforcement officials in Florida have brought murder charges against an individual who shared living quarters with a graduate student from Bangladesh who vanished along with his romantic partner from the University of South Florida campus.

The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office was called to investigate the case in a neighborhood near the university in Tampa on Friday, April 24, 2026.

The missing persons case involves a doctoral candidate from Bangladesh and his girlfriend, both students at the university. Their roommate now faces two separate murder charges in connection with their disappearance.

Investigators have not released additional details about the circumstances surrounding the students’ disappearance or what evidence led to the murder charges against their roommate.

A medical facility in Chicago was secured Saturday following a shooting incident that occurred on hospital grounds.

Officials at Endeavor Health Swedish Hospital confirmed that security protocols were activated after gunfire erupted around 11 a.m. on Saturday. Hospital administrators stated that all patients and medical personnel remained unharmed during the incident and emphasized that the threat had been neutralized by mid-afternoon.

Local media outlets reported that two law enforcement officers sustained injuries during the incident. Multiple attempts to obtain additional details from the Chicago Police Department were unsuccessful, as officials did not respond to requests for comment.

TAMPA, Fla. — Authorities in Florida have filed first-degree murder charges against a man accused of killing two University of South Florida students who vanished from campus last month.

The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office announced Saturday that 26-year-old Hisham Abugharbieh faces two counts of premeditated first-degree murder with a weapon in connection with the deaths of Zamil Limon and Nahida Bristy, both USF students.

According to Chief Deputy Joseph Maurer, investigators discovered Limon’s body on the Howard Frankland bridge Friday morning. Bristy remains missing as the search continues.

Law enforcement initially arrested Abugharbieh Friday at his family’s residence on charges including illegally moving a corpse, failing to report a death, evidence tampering, false imprisonment, and battery.

The arrest occurred when deputies responded to a domestic violence call at the family home near campus. After moving Abugharbieh’s relatives to safety, officers found themselves in a standoff when he barricaded himself inside the residence. SWAT officers, crisis negotiators, a drone, and a robot were deployed before Abugharbieh surrendered, emerging with his hands raised wearing only a blue towel.

Both victims, age 27, had been planning marriage according to family members. The pair disappeared from campus on April 16. Limon was last spotted at the off-campus apartment he shared with Abugharbieh, while Bristy was seen an hour later at a campus science facility where she lived on campus.

Medical examiners are conducting an autopsy to determine how Limon died, with results expected Saturday morning, Maurer stated Friday.

University records show Abugharbieh previously attended USF from Spring 2021 through Spring 2023, pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Management, though he was not currently enrolled. Limon studied geography, environmental science and policy, while Bristy pursued chemical engineering.

The sheriff’s office reports Abugharbieh has a history of arrests. He faced battery and burglary charges in September 2023, plus another battery charge that May, all classified as misdemeanors. Records indicate he completed a first-time offender diversion program in 2024, resulting in dismissed charges. His attorney from that case has not responded to requests for comment.

Court documents also reveal two domestic violence petitions filed by a family member in 2023. A judge approved one injunction while denying the other petition. Traffic violations were also on his record.

Investigators urge anyone with information about Bristy’s whereabouts to contact the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office as the search continues.

PHILADELPHIA — Daily, tourists from across the globe flock to the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s iconic steps — though many aren’t drawn by the artwork housed within, but rather by a bronze sculpture depicting a beloved fictional fighter from South Philly.

The metal figure of Rocky Balboa — fists triumphantly raised skyward, wearing boxing shorts and boots — has transformed into a worldwide destination for devoted fans.

For years, museum officials maintained an awkward relationship with this type of adoration. Today, they’re changing course — and welcoming Rocky indoors.

Debuting this weekend, “Rising Up: Rocky and the Making of Monuments” explores how a movie character evolved into a genuine cultural icon, positioning the sculpture within art history’s broader context and Philadelphia’s civic identity. Guest curator Paul Farber developed the exhibition concept after years investigating the statue’s significance and public monuments’ meaning — research he shared through his NPR podcast series — before transitioning the discussion into the museum setting.

The display encompasses over two millennia of boxing-related artwork, following themes of human perseverance that Louis Marchesano, the museum’s deputy director of curatorial affairs and conservation, believes explains Rocky’s lasting appeal.

“The common theme that runs throughout 2,000 years of boxing imagery is that people respond to the body under struggle, a conflict in much the same way today as they did 2,500 years ago,” Marchesano said. “It’s not simply about watching two people beat each other up — it’s about endurance, internal fortitude and internal struggle.”

After filming concluded for the “Rocky” films, the bronze sculpture remained on the steps, prompting museum officials to push for its removal. The statue was later moved to South Philadelphia before returning to the steps’ base in 2006. While welcomed back, it never received full institutional acceptance. The city maintains ownership of the statue’s current location — not the museum.

“The museum has had — and I hate to say this, no pun intended — a rocky relationship with the statue,” Marchesano said.

“It took us decades to come to terms with it,” he added. “But I’m glad that we did.”

Philadelphia Visitor Center data shows approximately 4 million people visit the steps annually — matching the nearby Liberty Bell’s yearly visitor numbers.

David Muller, a wrestling instructor from France who recently brought his students to the location, believes Balboa’s challenges and persistence offer “good for the next generation.”

“The movie ‘Rocky’ is important for the mind of sport and the mind of life,” Muller said, after running with them up the steps as they raised their hands at the top, smiling and punching the air like boxers.

Kate Tarchalska traveled from Poland with family and made the statue one of their stops.

“He was my hero when I was younger,” she said. “And now I am so glad I could be in the same spot as him.”

Suraj Kumar, visiting his aunt in Philadelphia from St. Louis, made a point to photograph the statue to share with his father, who first introduced him to the films when he was growing up in Bengaluru, India.

“When I got to know this statue is here, I was like, I really have to come down here,” he said.

One exhibition room positions Rocky within the 1970s global boxing phenomenon, showcasing pieces by Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Andy Warhol — all created during boxing’s peak cultural moment.

“In the 1970s, we knew minute by minute who the heavyweight champion of the world was,” Marchesano said. “The artists in this gallery are responding to that global frenzy. Sylvester Stallone, in ‘Rocky,’ was doing the same — thinking about internal and external struggle.”

Another exhibition space focuses on Philadelphia’s boxing heritage, displaying photographs from the Blue Horizon boxing gym and featuring Joe Frazier, whose real experiences partly influenced Rocky’s character.

“Without Joe Frazier, Rocky doesn’t exist,” Marchesano said.

Following the exhibition’s August conclusion, the indoor statue will relocate to a permanent position atop the museum’s steps — a spot it has never officially occupied. The current outdoor statue remains on loan from Stallone.

Rocky’s traditional location at the steps’ bottom won’t remain vacant — a Joe Frazier statue will take its place.

Stanley Richards understands the harsh realities of life behind bars at Rikers Island, New York City’s infamous detention facility. The 65-year-old spent two years as an inmate there following a robbery conviction decades ago.

Today, Richards leads the entire facility as the city’s newly appointed Department of Correction commissioner.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani selected Richards in January, making him the first person with a criminal history to head the city’s jail operations. His current workspace, housed in a former chapel, sits directly across from the cell block where he was once confined.

The deteriorating housing unit where Richards served his sentence was cleared of inmates three years ago due to unsafe structural conditions. During a recent tour, he revisited his former 10-by-7-foot living space and pondered how little had actually transformed, aside from his own outlook.

“It doesn’t give me bad feelings, you know,” Richards remarked while examining the graffiti-covered concrete walls, metal sleeping frame, and blocked window of his old quarters. “I offended my community and committed a crime, and I paid my price for it. The truth of my story is a story of redemption.”

Richards assumes leadership during a pivotal moment for the city’s struggling correctional facilities.

A federal court appointed Rikers’ first “remediation manager” in January, creating a court-mandated role with broad powers to restore stability to the chaotic jail after persistent issues with brutality and concerns regarding prisoner medical treatment. During the previous year, 15 individuals died while under Department of Correction supervision, nearly all from health-related complications, data from the Vera Institute of Justice shows.

An approaching deadline to close Rikers and transfer detainees to four smaller facilities throughout the city is also looming. Legislation enacted in 2019 requires the complete shutdown of all detention centers on the 400-acre island, situated just north of LaGuardia Airport, by 2027.

Richards, who began his role in February, feels his background as both a prisoner and reform advocate has distinctly equipped him for the upcoming obstacles.

According to his account, he was raised in a challenging Bronx public housing development, became involved with gangs early on, and eventually began dealing narcotics and engaging in criminal activity. He repeatedly entered and exited correctional facilities for over ten years. His final and most extended incarceration was for robbery during the late 1980s.

Following his release from an upstate correctional facility in 1991, Richards accepted employment as a counselor with the Fortune Society, an organization dedicated to helping former inmates reintegrate into society. During his thirty-year tenure there, he advanced to chief executive officer. Richards additionally held leadership positions within the city’s Department of Correction during former Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration.

Ben Heller, a program manager with the Vera Institute, described Richards’ selection as sending a “hugely powerful” signal.

“Commissioner Richards understands that treating people with dignity is not at odds with keeping communities safe. They should go hand in hand,” he stated. “It’s clear from his own lived experience and professional expertise that he understands that we cannot incarcerate our way to safety.”

Richards has committed to collaborating closely with Rikers’ new federal supervisor, Nicholas Deml. This represents a shift, Heller noted, from the previous administration under former Mayor Eric Adams, a former police captain who strongly resisted federal oversight of Rikers.

“Our goals are not different,” Richards confirmed. “We all want safe jails. We don’t want our officers attacked. We don’t want people in our care attacked.”

The current administration has also initiated measures toward shuttering Rikers. However, the process lags years behind its original timeline, and Mamdani has acknowledged the 2027 target date is “practically impossible to fulfill.”

This month, the department launched a detention unit inside the city’s Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan designed to accommodate over 100 individuals with severe medical conditions and significant mental health issues currently housed at Rikers.

Richards explained the relocation enables the department to close a Rikers facility constructed in the 1930s by June while guaranteeing inmates receive appropriate medical attention.

He indicated the department is also coordinating with judicial officials and prosecutors to streamline case processing so individuals don’t remain at Rikers indefinitely awaiting trial, and to ensure those qualifying for alternative programs are safely supervised in the community rather than in detention.

“We do those things, we’ll see the population decrease,” Richards stated.

During his tenure as mayor, Adams had resisted closing Rikers, arguing he preferred to renovate the existing facility, and criticized proposals for smaller jails as “flawed.”

Rikers currently holds the majority of approximately 6,700 individuals presently detained in the city’s jail network, according to departmental statistics. This figure represents an increase from roughly 3,900 in 2020, but remains significantly lower than the approximately 20,000 people in custody during the early 1990s.

Federal remediation manager Deml, who previously directed Vermont’s corrections system, and a representative for Adams did not respond to requests for comment.

Richards plans to address jail violence by filling approximately 1,300 staffing gaps, which have resulted in extended work shifts, dangerous conditions, and escalating overtime expenses. The department employs over 7,400 individuals, including more than 5,700 uniformed guards.

Correctional officers’ union president Benny Boscio did not respond to Associated Press inquiries, but has previously stated he hopes Richards “demonstrates a commitment to putting safety and security before any political ideology.”

Richards indicated he’s also developing new institutional programs to better prepare inmates for post-release life, and he’s dedicated to following a city ordinance limiting solitary confinement usage — a reform Adams had criticized and attempted to prevent.

“This has been a system that society has said, ‘Out of sight, out of mind.’ Has not paid attention to, has demonized, has blamed, has ostracized,” Richards reflected. “And for me, those days are over. For me, we are gonna walk in the light. We’re gonna lift this place up. We’re going to lift the people who work here. We’re to lift people who are sent to us for care.”

WASHINGTON — Two individuals were killed Friday when American forces targeted a vessel suspected of transporting narcotics in the Pacific Ocean’s eastern waters, according to military officials.

This latest operation continues an ongoing military campaign that has been underway since early September, targeting suspected drug smuggling boats throughout Latin American waters including the Caribbean Sea. The strikes have resulted in at least 183 total deaths.

Military officials have yet to present evidence confirming that any of the targeted vessels actually contained narcotics.

These operations commenced as America deployed its most significant military force to the region in decades, occurring several months before the January operation that led to the capture of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Maduro was transported to New York where he faces drug trafficking allegations and has entered a not guilty plea.

U.S. Southern Command released details about Friday’s operation, stating they had engaged suspected drug traffickers operating along established smuggling corridors. The command shared footage on X displaying a vessel on the water moments before an explosion engulfed it in flames.

President Donald Trump has declared the United States is engaged in “armed conflict” with Latin American cartels, defending these operations as essential measures to prevent drugs from entering American territory.

However, some observers have raised concerns about whether these boat strikes comply with international law.

The United States military announced Friday that it conducted a fatal strike against a boat in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, resulting in two deaths as part of ongoing operations against drug trafficking networks.

U.S. Southern Command officials claimed the targeted vessel was being operated by what they called “Designated Terrorist Organizations,” though they did not specify which groups. The military described the two people killed as “male narco-terrorists” but provided no additional details about their identities.

“Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations,” U.S. Southern Command stated on social media platform X.

The military released a brief 16-second video showing the moment the vessel was hit while in Pacific waters. No American military personnel were injured during the operation.

This attack represents the most recent in a series of similar deadly operations conducted by U.S. forces in the Eastern Pacific over recent weeks. The Trump administration has been targeting boats suspected of carrying illegal drugs as part of its anti-narcotics strategy.

Since September, these military operations against suspected drug vessels have resulted in more than 170 deaths, according to official counts.

The strikes have drawn significant criticism from human rights organizations and legal experts who question whether such actions are lawful. Both Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have characterized these attacks as “unlawful extrajudicial killings.”

The American Civil Liberties Union has also weighed in, describing the Trump administration’s justifications for targeting these individuals as “unsubstantiated, fear-mongering claims.”

Texas state officials have blocked a Christian summer camp from reopening after determining its emergency flood response plan contains serious flaws, nearly a year after a devastating flash flood claimed 27 lives at the facility.

The Texas Health and Human Services Department delivered an 11-page rejection notice to Camp Mystic leadership on Thursday, identifying significant gaps in the camp’s disaster preparedness strategy. Officials gave the camp operators 45 days to address the problems and resubmit their emergency protocols.

Camp Mystic had applied for a license to resume operations this summer with what they described as improved safety measures following the July 4, 2025 tragedy that killed 27 campers and staff members.

State inspectors found 22 elements of the camp’s flood emergency plan to be either inadequate, missing entirely, or incomplete. The deficiencies must be corrected before the facility can receive approval to operate again.

Officials specifically criticized the camp’s evacuation procedures, noting the absence of proper route maps and unclear staff responsibilities during emergency situations. The department also found the camp lacked adequate provisions for assisting people with disabilities during evacuations.

“The plan should include clearly defined procedures for assisting individuals with access and functional needs, such as assigning specific staff to provide assistance, establishing a buddy system, ensuring accessible evacuation routes, accommodating assistive devices, addressing transportation needs, and ensuring emergency warnings are accessible,” state officials wrote in their assessment.

The review also revealed the camp had no designated personnel to oversee their weather alert radio equipment, a critical communication tool during severe weather events.

Department representative Lara Anton noted that most of Texas’s 174 youth camps have received similar deficiency notices as part of strengthened safety requirements implemented following the 2025 flooding disaster.

Camp representatives told the Texas Tribune they are “carefully reviewing” the state’s findings but did not provide additional comment when contacted by news outlets.

The fatal incident occurred when intense rainfall in the Texas Hill Country caused the Guadalupe River to surge beyond its banks, creating a deadly torrent that swept through the camp. The broader flooding event that struck the region over several days resulted in nearly 140 fatalities, making it the sixth-most devastating freshwater flood in United States history.

Louisiana authorities have made arrests in a 42-year-old murder case after a true crime podcast brought new attention to the unsolved killing of a teenage girl.

Roxanne Sharp, age 16, was found dead in wooded areas of St. Tammany Parish in 1982, approximately 30 miles north of New Orleans. The case remained cold for decades as investigators lacked sufficient evidence and struggled to find witnesses willing to speak.

The breakthrough came after Louisiana State Police partnered with a local media company to create “Who Killed Roxanne Sharp?” The six-episode podcast series, which aired last year, sparked renewed community interest and prompted witnesses to contact authorities.

State Police spokesperson Marc Gremillion explained how the podcast proved instrumental in solving the case.

“It helped our investigators piece together where Roxanne was days before to the time she died, to where we’re at now,” Gremillion said. “It was a very large help with getting that message out to the public, and then, therefore, those witnesses getting back to us.”

Authorities have now filed charges of aggravated rape and second-degree murder against four men in their 60s: Perry Wayne Taylor, 64; Darrell Dean Spell, 64; Carlos Cooper, 64; and Billy Williams, Jr., 62.

Two of the suspects, Cooper and Taylor, were already incarcerated on separate charges. Williams and Spell were taken into custody this week. According to Gremillion, Sharp knew all four men and was familiar with their neighborhood.

Sharp’s family expressed gratitude for the continued efforts to seek justice in the case.

“We appreciate the hard work and love that has been shown to Roxanne Sharp’s case,” said Michele Lappin, Sharp’s niece, speaking for the family. “We hope that with justice will come healing and closure for our family, her loved ones, and the community.”

Billy Williams III maintains his father’s innocence in the crime.

“He thinks they’re putting him in for something he didn’t do,” the younger Williams stated. “He says he would never in his life hurt anyone.”

Court records did not list legal representation for any of the accused men. Attempts to reach family members of the other three suspects were unsuccessful.

Charles Dowdy, vice president of Northshore Media, which created the podcast, was surprised by the community response.

“When we started the podcast, we kind of thought nobody cared — we were quickly corrected,” Dowdy said. “A lot of people stepped up and said they knew Roxanne, they remembered her, they were friends with her.”

During production, Dowdy documented investigators as they reconstructed the crime scene, using measuring equipment to mark where Sharp’s remains and evidence were discovered.

“It clearly showed that she’d been grabbed on the street and dragged into the woods,” Dowdy explained.

The investigation had previously taken a false turn when serial killer Henry Lucas confessed to Sharp’s murder. However, Lucas was notorious for fabricated confessions and later withdrew his statement. Additional evidence also ruled out his involvement.

Local resident Justin Joiner, 39, shared how the unsolved case affected the community for decades. His father, a Covington police officer who responded to the original crime scene, never stopped working on the case until his death last year.

“It’s been a big black cloud on the community,” Joiner explained. “Nobody would talk about it — it was hush, hush, you talk about it in your house, not in public.”

Joiner noted that the podcast encouraged open discussion about the case across different age groups in the community.

Covington Police Chief Michael Ferrell praised the persistent efforts that led to the arrests.

“Cold cases don’t close themselves,” Ferrell said in a statement. “They close because people show up, year after year, and refuse to quit. That is exactly what our agencies did, and today, Roxanne and her family finally have the justice they have waited so long for.”

After three decades of courtroom battles, a Buffalo-area man was found guilty Friday in the brutal 1993 murder of a nursing student, marking the end of his third trial in the same case.

Brian Scott Lorenz, now 56, faced conviction once again for the death of Deborah Meindl, a 33-year-old nursing student and mother who was fatally stabbed multiple times and strangled in her Tonawanda home. Meindl’s 10-year-old daughter discovered her mother’s body.

The case has seen extraordinary twists over the years. Lorenz and co-defendant James Pugh were initially found guilty in 1994, but a judge threw out their convictions in 2023. The reversal came after advanced DNA analysis failed to link either man to the crime scene or murder weapon, and after revelations that prosecutors had concealed potentially exonerating evidence.

The legal saga took another turn in December when prosecutors abandoned their case against Pugh entirely, citing challenges in presenting evidence and the loss of key witnesses after more than three decades. “Our inability to present the same evidence deemed admissible in the original trial and the unavailability of critical witnesses more than 30 years later” led to dropping charges against Pugh, prosecutors acknowledged.

Lorenz faced a different fate. While his second trial resulted in a hung jury last year, prosecutors pressed forward. Following a two-week proceeding, jurors quickly delivered guilty verdicts on both murder and burglary counts Friday.

Defense attorneys, who have spent years fighting for Lorenz’s exoneration, announced plans to challenge the verdict on appeal.

“It’s very, very scary,” defense lawyer Ilann M. Maazel told The New York Times. “I think innocence should matter. I think the truth should matter.”

Family members of the victim, including Meindl’s sister and youngest daughter, attended Friday’s proceedings. Following the verdict, they expressed gratitude to Erie County District Attorney Michael J. Keane.

“This outcome is not just a legal victory: It is a testament to the persistence of truth and the unwavering commitment of dedicated public servants tasked with the pursuit of justice,” Keane stated.

Authorities originally targeted Lorenz and Pugh based on the theory that Meindl died during a home invasion robbery. The case against them developed after Lorenz, while detained in Iowa on separate charges, admitted to the killing and implicated Pugh. Lorenz subsequently claimed his confession was fabricated.

Jack Thornell, the legendary Associated Press photographer whose Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph captured a pivotal moment in American civil rights history, passed away Thursday at age 86.

Thornell died at a medical facility in Metairie, a New Orleans-area community, due to complications related to kidney disease.

The photographer’s most famous work showed James Meredith moments after being struck by shotgun fire on a Mississippi roadway in 1966, with Meredith turning to look back at his attacker. This powerful image became one of the most recognizable photographs documenting America’s struggle for racial equality.

During his four-decade career with the Associated Press spanning from 1964 to 2004, Thornell documented a wide range of subjects including political figures, natural catastrophes, and criminal investigations. However, his coverage of the fight for civil rights defined much of his professional legacy, beginning with his very first assignment photographing school integration efforts along Mississippi’s Gulf Coast for the New Orleans AP office.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — When Codi High Elk was a reserved teenager who preferred tending to horses on her family’s Cheyenne River Reservation ranch, she discarded an application for a groundbreaking Indigenous women’s competition. Her brother retrieved it from the garbage, setting her on course to become the inaugural Miss Indian World in 1984.

High Elk recalls being the quietest among her seven siblings, dreading the public speaking requirements of the contest. However, the competition that turned a timid teenager into a cultural ambassador is now concluding after more than 40 years.

“From the day I got my crown, my life changed,” said High Elk, who credits her time as Miss Indian World with giving her the confidence to pursue two degrees and a career expanding credit access for Lakota people. “I want that same opportunity for my granddaughters.”

For over four decades, the competition has served as the premier attraction at the Gathering of Nations, which promotes itself as North America’s largest powwow. The contest has influenced countless young women from throughout the United States and Canada who sought to share their heritage and compete for the coveted title and its elaborate, hand-beaded crown.

However, 2025 will mark the final year for both the powwow and pageant. Event organizers announced the decision to conclude these gatherings but provided no additional explanation.

The competition’s collection of ornate beaded crowns will be permanently retired when the two-day celebration ends Saturday.

Dania Wahwasuck, representing the Prairie Band Potawatomi and Pyramid Lake Paiute tribes, claimed her title amid enthusiastic crowd support last year. Her soft-colored crown and sash displaying star quilt patterns, along with another set adorned with rhinestones and pink tones, will join those being retired Saturday.

The competition welcomed Indigenous women between 18 and 25 years old. Participants were required to be unmarried, childless, and commit to upholding certain ethical standards.

Participants described a demanding five-day experience involving interviews, public presentations, and an eagerly awaited traditional talent demonstration.

Tori McConnell, the 2023 winner, consulted with Karuk and Yurok tribal elders while preparing her presentation. She demonstrated traditional basket weaving, first explaining in Karuk, then English, how she crafted baskets using materials collected from her ancestral lands in northwestern California.

“To have our art recognized on that level was so validating,” McConnell said. “Not just for me but for my community.”

The Miss Indian World crown has journeyed globally, appearing at a Māori Haka competition in New Zealand, Hiroshima’s Peace Memorial Park in Japan, and the Oceti Sakowin camp during the height of Standing Rock pipeline protests.

During summer 1984, High Elk remembers searching a Paris market for ingredients to prepare fry bread and Lakota tripe soup for university students who had invited her to France.

“You become an ambassador not just for your own culture but for all Indigenous peoples,” said Shayai Lucero, who was crowned Miss Indian World in 1997.

Lucero, from Acoma and Laguna pueblos in New Mexico, wasn’t raised in powwow traditions. At the 1997 Stanford University Powwow, she found acceptance among pueblo community members who had lived in the Bay Area for decades through a federal relocation program that moved Native Americans from reservations to urban areas.

“All these people showed up who knew my family, knew our language and traditions,” said Lucero. “Suddenly, I felt at home.”

Throughout their reigns, winners have championed various causes from Indigenous language preservation to domestic violence awareness.

Cheyenne Kippenberger, the 2019 Miss Indian World, concentrated on mental health issues as COVID-19 forced the cancellation of ceremonies, cultural activities, and community events. As the only titleholder to serve two years, she organized virtual events and promoted vaccination among Native communities.

“I remember thinking, everybody’s feeling really lonely and confined. We need to find a way to connect people,” said Kippenberger, a citizen of the Seminole Nation of Florida.

No arrangements exist for continuing the Miss Indian World pageant, according to organizers. Gathering of Nations, Ltd., the nonprofit managing both the powwow and competition, holds the trademark for the title.

Throughout its history, Gathering of Nations has faced criticism for being excessively commercialized. Founder Derek Mathews, who has sometimes claimed distant Cherokee heritage but lacks tribal citizenship, has rarely responded publicly to such criticism.

Melonie Matthews, Derek’s daughter who has Santa Clara Pueblo ancestry through her mother, stated the organization never considered transferring the Miss Indian World trademark to another group.

“The Miss Indian World pageant goes hand in hand with the powwow. It was never a stand-alone event,” she said in an emailed statement.

Nevertheless, several former winners are investigating the possibility of establishing a new national competition for Indigenous women.

“A lot of us were saying ‘Miss Indian World is bigger than one powwow,’” Lucero said. “We don’t need the powwow to continue her legacy.”

While numerous tribal nations and powwows select their own royalty, young women aspiring to represent their communities on a national, Native-centered pageant platform will lack this opportunity. Miss Native American USA concluded five years ago with its final winner. The Miss Indian Nations and Miss Indian America competitions have also ended.

Former Miss Indian World winners who became attorneys, educators, business owners, cultural preservationists, and lifelong friends say the crown empowered their leadership abilities.

“It’s a bittersweet feeling,” said Kippenberger, who now operates a tribal consulting business. “But I feel full confidence and optimism that something positive will fill in the gap.”

A group of brave middle schoolers in Mississippi became heroes Wednesday when they prevented a catastrophic accident after their bus driver suffered a medical emergency on a busy highway.

Driver Leah Taylor, 46, was transporting approximately 40 students from Hancock Middle School in Hancock County when she experienced a severe asthma attack. Though she attempted to reach her medication, Taylor lost consciousness before she could use it.

The students responded immediately to the crisis unfolding around them.

Twelve-year-old Jackson Casnave, a sixth grader seated right behind Taylor, saw the vehicle start to drift and quickly jumped up to grab the steering wheel while shouting for other students to get help.

“I didn’t have time to process my emotions,” Casnave said. “I just wanted to make sure that nobody got hurt.”

Working alongside Casnave, fellow sixth grader Darrius Clark, also 12, pressed the brake pedal. The pair successfully guided the bus onto the highway median and shifted it into park.

Meanwhile, Clark’s older sister Kayleigh, a 13-year-old eighth grader, rushed from her seat in the back to contact emergency services. She later recalled struggling to communicate with the 911 operator due to the chaos and screaming from frightened classmates.

“I was scared, but also I had to help,” said Kayleigh Clark.

Eighth grader Destiny Cornelius, 15, also hurried to assist and spotted Taylor clutching a nebulizer. Cornelius helped administer the breathing treatment while sixth grader McKenzy Finch, 13, supported the driver’s head.

When Taylor’s phone began ringing, Finch answered and informed the school district’s transportation department about the emergency situation.

“I’m grateful for my students,” said Taylor, who has completely recovered from the incident. “They’re the ones that saved my life and everybody else’s on that bus.”

The school celebrated the heroic students during a special pep rally on Friday, and they will receive a special lunch outing at a restaurant they choose next week.

“What they did took courage,” principal Dr. Melissa Saucier said. “They didn’t wait for somebody to step in, they stepped up themselves, and that says a lot about their character.”

BATON ROUGE, La. — A teenager faces murder charges while law enforcement continues hunting for a second suspect in connection with a fatal mall shooting in Louisiana’s capital that claimed the life of a 17-year-old high school student on Thursday.

Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry announced during a Friday press briefing his commitment to combating gang-related violence that has troubled Baton Rouge. The governor, known for his tough stance on crime, revealed he had discussions with FBI Director Kash Patel and pledged to deploy state, local and federal law enforcement resources to tackle the problem, stating that consequences “are going to start being felt immediately.”

Landry announced plans for coordinated action involving multiple agencies including the National Guard, FBI, Department of Justice and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to conduct “a targeted warrant sweep” focusing on individuals linked to the mall incident and the “neighborhoods that these individuals came out of.” The governor emphasized that adults who “enable juvenile offenders” will also “need to face consequences as well.”

“We are not going to allow our streets, our schools and our public spaces to become your battleground,” Landry declared. “Those who brought this violence into our public spaces and into the lives of our ordinary citizens, I want you to know you are now the criminal problem and we are focused on you.”

Baton Rouge Police Chief TJ Morse indicated the violence appeared motivated by “social media beefs and maybe gang-related stuff,” though investigators continue their work. Morse emphasized the attack was deliberate, not random.

“We know that this was two groups of people that met up at the mall, exchanged words and then pulled guns and innocent people were hit,” Morse explained.

The violence erupted Thursday afternoon in the Mall of Louisiana’s food court area, sending shoppers and employees scrambling for safety or hiding places as gunshots echoed through the building. Morse praised two mall security officers who immediately responded to the gunfire and provided medical assistance, crediting their rapid response with saving lives.

Law enforcement responded with overwhelming force, deploying hundreds of officers equipped with tactical gear and rifles while helicopters monitored from overhead.

The shooting wounded five individuals, including a 43-year-old man who remains hospitalized in critical condition. Martha Odom, a 17-year-old student from Lafayette, lost her life in the attack. According to The Advocate, Odom had come to the mall with friends as part of her “senior skip day” activities. Two fellow students from her school, Ascension Episcopal School, were also wounded in the incident.

Ascension Episcopal School honored Odom in a social media tribute, calling her “a joyful presence whose kindness and infectious enthusiasm brought light to all who knew her.”

Initially, police detained five individuals but later released them all. On Friday, a 17-year-old suspect surrendered to authorities and now faces charges including first-degree murder, five counts of attempted first-degree murder, and illegal weapon possession. According to Morse, this juvenile defendant has a significant record of prior offenses in the juvenile justice system.

Police continue seeking another suspect and have requested public assistance with any relevant information.

During Friday’s media briefing, Landry expressed his strong desire to see the perpetrators imprisoned for life at Angola, Louisiana’s infamous state correctional facility.

Recent changes to Louisiana law now require 17-year-old defendants to be prosecuted as adults in the criminal justice system.

This tragic incident marks the second major gun violence case in Louisiana this week. Earlier, a father killed eight children, including seven of his own, during a family attack Sunday morning that spanned two residences in a Shreveport neighborhood. The gunman’s wife and another woman suffered critical injuries in that incident.

Law enforcement also prevented another potential tragedy this week when they arrested a former North Carolina police officer at a Florida hotel. Authorities say the suspect was planning a racially motivated mass shooting at a prominent New Orleans festival and was found with a handgun and hundreds of ammunition rounds.

Union representatives in Arizona are expressing frustration with state officials over the pace of implementing safety measures for employees who face extreme heat exposure on the job.

According to labor organizations, Arizona state government is not acting quickly enough to put new safety standards in place for workers who must perform their duties in the scorching temperatures that regularly plague the region.

Federal authorities have arrested a U.S. Army major working as a nurse at a Virginia military installation, accusing him of scheming to provide financial and tactical assistance to separatist militants in Cameroon, according to recently unsealed court documents.

Major Kenneth Chungag, who serves at Fort Belvoir in Virginia, allegedly leveraged his military knowledge and expertise to aid the Ambazonia Defense Forces operating in his birth country of Cameroon.

“Chungag is greatly dismayed by these charges and looks forward to a timely and just resolution of the matter,” his defense lawyer Robert Jenkins stated to The Associated Press via email Friday.

The 50-year-old naturalized American citizen and co-conspirator Mercy Akwi Ombaku faced arrest Monday on federal conspiracy allegations. Following their initial hearings in Alexandria, Virginia, a magistrate judge approved their release from jail. Federal prosecutors did not request they remain behind bars pending trial.

According to an FBI affidavit, Chungag began showing interest in supporting ADF members in 2020 while serving at Fort Meade in Maryland. The document reveals that during digital communications with ADF operatives in Cameroon, Chungag made false statements about having battlefield experience in Iraq, apparently exaggerating his military record to gain standing within the organization.

Authorities allege Chungag collaborated with Ombaku, a Maryland resident, in a scheme to send funds from the United States to Cameroon for acquiring AK-47 automatic weapons. Federal investigators believe Chungag became disenchanted with the group and distanced himself from it in 2024. Following FBI questioning about his ADF connections later that year, investigators suspect he attempted to eliminate compromising evidence by erasing ADF-related communications from his mobile device after federal agents made contact.

Cameroon, home to approximately 31 million people, has remained under Paul Biya’s leadership since 1982, establishing him as one of Africa’s most enduring heads of state. The ADF operates as a separatist armed group in southern Cameroon, seeking independence for the English-speaking territories from the central African nation.

The independence movement traces its origins to the early 1960s, following the merger of British Southern Cameroons—a UN trust territory formerly administered alongside Nigeria’s eastern region—with Cameroon. English-speaking rebels initiated an armed uprising in 2017 with the goal of creating an independent nation. According to the Belgium-based International Crisis Group, this ongoing conflict has resulted in at least 6,500 deaths and forced more than 600,000 people from their homes.

During Pope Leo XIV’s recent African visit, he conducted a peace conference last Thursday with community representatives in one of the two English-speaking regions. Separatist organizations declared a three-day ceasefire during the papal visit.

A Fort Belvoir representative confirmed Chungag’s employment as a nurse at the base’s community hospital but directed employment status inquiries to the medical facility, which has not yet responded to requests for information.

Ombaku, a 38-year-old healthcare professional from New Carrollton, Maryland, who also obtained U.S. citizenship after being born in Cameroon, faces charges of conspiring with Chungag to provide financial backing to the ADF. When FBI agents interviewed her last July, she rejected any connection to the ADF. Legal representation for Ombaku has not yet responded to requests for comment.

Fort Belvoir sits approximately 20 miles south of the nation’s capital along the Potomac River.

TAMPA, Fla. — Florida law enforcement officials have recovered the body of one University of South Florida doctoral student while continuing the search for a second missing student after arresting their roommate on multiple charges.

Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister announced that the remains of Zamil Limon were discovered Friday morning on the Howard Frankland bridge spanning Tampa Bay. However, Nahida Bristy remains unaccounted for. Authorities have arrested Limon’s roommate, Hisham Saleh Abugharbeih, facing preliminary charges including domestic violence, battery, false imprisonment, evidence tampering, failing to report a death, and illegally moving a body.

“We are still actively searching for Nahida,” Chronister stated, requesting that anyone with helpful information contact authorities.

According to Chronister and University of South Florida Police Chief Chris Daniel, law enforcement responded to a domestic violence call at a residence approximately one mile from the university campus. Officers successfully evacuated the suspect’s family members before the individual barricaded himself inside the home and refused to surrender.

Following the arrival of a SWAT team, the suspect eventually emerged without incident. While initially cooperative with investigators, Chronister noted that the individual later ceased communication with authorities.

The missing students, Limon and Bristy, were a couple originally from Bangladesh who vanished from campus on April 16. Limon, pursuing studies in geography, environmental science and policy, was last observed at his residence in a student housing complex. Bristy, enrolled in chemical engineering, was spotted an hour afterward at a campus science facility.

University police reported that a family friend alerted authorities the previous Friday after unsuccessful attempts to reach either student.

The oldest son of renowned filmmaker Rob Reiner has opened up about the overwhelming grief he’s endured since his parents were killed in their California home last December.

Jake Reiner shared his emotional journey in a heartfelt essay published Friday on the online platform Substack, detailing what he calls an ongoing “living nightmare” following the tragic deaths of his father, the celebrated director, and his mother Michelle, a photographer and producer.

The 34-year-old actor learned of the devastating news while he was attending a memorial service for a close friend. His sister Romy called to inform him that their father had died.

“Minutes later, she called back telling me our mother was also dead,” Jake Reiner shared in his essay.

“My world, as I knew it, had collapsed,” he continued.

Law enforcement officials say both parents were fatally stabbed in their Brentwood residence by their 32-year-old son Nick Reiner, who has a documented history of mental health issues. Nick has entered a plea of not guilty to two first-degree murder charges and is scheduled for a pre-trial court appearance this Wednesday.

In his moving tribute, Jake Reiner expressed the incomprehensible nature of his loss.

“Nothing can prepare you for what it feels like to lose both parents instantly at the same time,” he wrote. “It’s too devastating to comprehend. I still wake up every morning having to convince myself that, no, it’s not a dream. This truly is my living nightmare.”

The grieving son reflected on cherished memories, including theater outings with his mother and baseball games with his father, who created iconic films such as “When Harry Met Sally” and “A Few Good Men.” He described his father as his “hero” and called his mother “my confidant.”

Jake expressed profound sadness about the future moments he’ll never share with his parents.

“My parents won’t be at my wedding, they won’t get to hold their future grandchild, and they won’t get to see me have the successful career I’m still seeking,” the aspiring actor wrote. “It simultaneously breaks my heart and enrages me.”

He concluded his essay by requesting “love and compassion – the same principles my parents lived by.”

“Any loss of a parent is devastating, but nothing compares to losing both of them at the same time and, on top of that, having your brother be at the center of it,” Jake Reiner explained. “It’s almost too impossible to process.”

A legendary Associated Press photographer whose award-winning image documented a pivotal moment in America’s civil rights struggle has passed away at 86 years old.

Jack Thornell died Thursday at a Metairie, Louisiana hospital due to kidney disease complications, according to his son Jay Thornell, who confirmed the death on Friday.

During his four-decade tenure with the Associated Press from 1964 through 2004, Thornell captured images of politicians, natural catastrophes, and criminal investigations. However, his career became defined by documenting the fight for racial equality, beginning on his very first day at the AP’s New Orleans office when he covered school integration along Mississippi’s Gulf Coast.

Thornell’s most famous photograph came in June 1966 when he was just 26 years old and assigned to document a civil rights demonstration. James Meredith, who had broken racial barriers by enrolling at the University of Mississippi four years earlier, was leading his “March Against Fear” to encourage African American voter registration throughout the state.

While Meredith walked along U.S. Highway 51 near Hernando, Mississippi, Thornell and a competing photographer waited in their roadside vehicle when gunshots suddenly erupted, sending both men into action.

The resulting photographs became powerful symbols of the violent opposition to integration. One image showed Meredith writhing in pain as he crawled toward the highway’s shoulder. The Pulitzer Prize-winning shot, which Thornell initially didn’t realize he had taken, depicted Meredith on the ground at the road’s edge with outstretched arms and palms pressed against the asphalt. His head was turned toward his attacker, who could be seen among the roadside vegetation at the photograph’s far left.

Meredith survived his injuries after hospitalization. The gunman, Aubrey James Norvell, was caught immediately, entered a guilty plea, and completed 18 months of his five-year sentence.

Thornell initially worried he might lose his job, believing his competitor had better images of the shooter. Instead of termination, he received the 1967 Pulitzer Prize after developing his film and examining the negatives more carefully.

His civil rights documentation extended beyond the Meredith shooting. In 1964, Thornell photographed the charred remains of a station wagon in Neshoba County, Mississippi, that had belonged to civil rights activists Michael Schwerner, James Chaney, and Andrew Goodman. The three men’s bodies were discovered weeks later buried in an earthen dam after Ku Klux Klan members kidnapped and murdered them. Thornell also quickly photographed the local sheriff’s arrest by federal agents on conspiracy charges related to their deaths, capturing the shot while retreating from a sheriff supporter who threatened him with a blade.

In 1966, Thornell documented the violence surrounding school integration efforts in Grenada, Mississippi. One photograph showed an African American man protecting his ears while moving away from an explosive device thrown by hostile white protesters.

Throughout his career, Thornell photographed Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on multiple occasions, including during the 1965 Selma-to-Montgomery march in Alabama and demonstrations supporting Memphis sanitation workers in 1968, just one week before King’s assassination in that city.

Although Thornell had returned to New Orleans before King’s murder, he was later sent to Atlanta to photograph the King family viewing the body at Spelman College’s Sisters Chapel.

He arrived late for that assignment and described in a 2018 interview how he rushed past another photographer and climbed onto a pew, stepping from bench to bench to reach the casket for his shot.

“I was shaken when I left there. I had my eyes on the floor because I knew everyone was looking at me for my despicable behavior,” Thornell said during the interview at his Kenner, Louisiana residence. “But I didn’t leave without the picture.”

In 1977, when King’s killer James Earl Ray broke out of a Tennessee prison, Thornell was present to photograph Ray’s recapture, showing him dirty and exhausted.

Born and raised in Vicksburg, Mississippi, Thornell’s photography career began through an Army mix-up in the late 1950s, according to a 1967 AP World corporate magazine story.

“The U.S. Army had decided to make a radio repairman of him. But at Fort Monmouth, his name got mixed up with that of a camera bug who wanted to attend photographic school. So Thornell, who didn’t know an aperture from a back focus, took the short course in picture-taking while the camera bug learned to fix radios.”

Following his military service, Thornell joined the Jackson (Miss.) Daily News before the AP hired him for their New Orleans bureau.

Working during the South’s most turbulent period, Thornell remembered experiencing fear amid the violence and threats. However, he faced an even greater concern than physical danger.

“The greatest fear for me was coming back without the photograph,” he explained. “The things that were happening there, you just kind of dealt with it and tried to photograph what was happening, because that was your bread and butter, that was your career. And your success depended on how well you did that day. Because tomorrow there’s always another newspaper coming out.”

Thornell leaves behind his son Jay, daughter Candy Gros, and one granddaughter.

RALEIGH, N.C. — An Army special forces member connected to the Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro capture operation will appear before a judge Friday following allegations that he illegally profited from secret mission details through online gambling, earning over $400,000.

According to federal authorities, Gannon Ken Van Dyke exploited his clearance to classified details regarding the January operation targeting Maduro to generate substantial winnings on Polymarket, a prediction betting platform.

The 38-year-old soldier, previously based at Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, North Carolina, faces multiple federal charges filed Thursday including improper use of confidential government data for financial benefit, stealing nonpublic federal information, commodities fraud, wire fraud, and conducting illegal financial transactions.

Van Dyke potentially faces several years behind bars. No working phone number could be located for him, and legal representation has not yet been documented in court filings.

Court documents reveal Van Dyke participated in approximately one month of planning and executing Maduro’s capture. Despite signing confidentiality contracts prohibiting disclosure of “any classified or sensitive information” about the operations, prosecutors claim he violated these agreements by placing multiple wagers predicting Maduro’s removal from office by January 31, 2026.

FBI Director Kash Patel commented on social media: “This involved a U.S. soldier who allegedly took advantage of his position to profit off of a righteous military operation.”

Polymarket representatives stated they identified suspicious trading activity involving classified government intelligence, immediately notified the Justice Department, and “cooperated with their investigation.”

The extraordinarily profitable wagers generated significant public scrutiny following the Venezuelan raid and prompted lawmakers from both parties to demand tighter oversight of prediction markets, where participants can bet on virtually any outcome.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which oversees prediction markets, simultaneously filed its own legal action against Van Dyke on Thursday.

According to the commission’s filing, Van Dyke transferred $35,000 from his personal banking account into a cryptocurrency trading platform on December 26 — approximately one week before American forces entered Caracas and apprehended Maduro.

The complaint details how Van Dyke executed multiple wagers regarding Maduro’s potential overthrow between December 30 and January 2, with most bets placed during the evening of January 2 — mere hours before the initial strikes hit Caracas.

These gambling activities generated “more than $404,000 of profits,” according to the legal filing.

Commission Chairman Michael Selig stated: “The defendant was entrusted with confidential information about U.S. operations and yet took action that endangered U.S. national security and put the lives of American service members in harm’s way.”

Federal authorities announced Thursday they have imposed financial sanctions against Kok An, a prominent Cambodian senator with ties to Senate President Hun Sen, along with 28 other individuals and organizations accused of defrauding American citizens out of millions through elaborate romance scams involving cryptocurrency.

According to the Treasury Department, Kok An leveraged his political influence to shield an extensive network of fraudulent operations. These schemes involved criminals posing as potential romantic partners or friends to manipulate vulnerable Americans into handing over their life savings through digital currency transfers, falsely promising substantial returns before stealing the money entirely.

The sanctioned senator controls multiple businesses, including Crown Resorts, plus additional properties that serve as headquarters for these fraudulent operations, Treasury officials revealed.

Federal investigators discovered that human trafficking victims reported being forced to work at these facilities alongside thousands of others, compelled to defraud Americans under threats of physical harm.

“Eliminating fraud is a top priority for the Trump administration,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated. “Treasury will continue to target fraudsters and scam centers that steal billions of dollars from hardworking Americans, no matter where they operate or how well-connected they are.”

The announcement coincided with criminal charges filed by an interagency Scam Center Strike Force against two Chinese citizens connected to cryptocurrency fraud schemes operating from a compound in Myanmar.

These Chinese nationals, who also tried establishing a similar operation in Cambodia, were apprehended in Thailand during 2026 on immigration violations, according to the Strike Force, which includes federal prosecutors, the Justice Department, FBI and Secret Service.

“This is an incredibly aggressive move from a diplomatic standpoint,” explained Brett Erickson, managing principal at Obsidian Risk Advisors. “The Trump administration is viewing this as a national security threat. These scams are wiping out people’s life savings. This is devastating families.”

The sanctions were revealed just hours after Tether, a major stablecoin company, froze more than $344 million in USDT cryptocurrency allegedly connected to sanctions violations, criminal organizations and other illegal activities. The company said it coordinated with Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control and additional law enforcement agencies to implement these restrictions.

Federal task force members also confiscated a social media application used for recruiting human trafficking victims and shut down 503 fake websites designed to facilitate cryptocurrency investment fraud, Treasury Department officials announced.

The State Department has additionally posted a reward up to $10 million for information that leads to seizing or recovering stolen funds from a different Myanmar-based scam operation that received sanctions last November.

Cambodia’s government issued a Friday statement that did not directly address the American government’s actions but declared that “combating online scams has been set as a top national priority.”

Between early 2025 and April 19 of this year, Cambodia completed deportation procedures for 13,039 foreign nationals involved in online fraud schemes, according to the government statement.

A chance encounter at a park bench has blossomed into a meaningful friendship between two women who understand each other’s grief.

Both women, having experienced the loss of their spouses, found comfort and companionship in an unexpected place. What started as a simple meeting on a park bench has developed into a bond that helps them navigate life after loss.

The women spoke about how their friendship began and how it has provided them with support during difficult times. Their story highlights how connections can form in the most ordinary places, bringing people together when they need it most.

Their experience demonstrates the power of shared understanding and how strangers can become sources of strength for one another during life’s most challenging moments.

DENVER (AP) — A Colorado woman who operated a funeral home with her former husband is set to be sentenced Friday for her role in concealing almost 200 decaying bodies, a horrific case that prompted state lawmakers to implement stricter regulations on a previously unregulated industry.

Carie Hallford is expected to receive a prison term of 25 to 35 years under a plea deal when she appears before District Judge Eric Bentley in Colorado Springs for corpse abuse charges.

Her former spouse, Jon Hallford, was handed a 40-year prison sentence in February for the same charges, with relatives of victims calling him a “monster” during that proceeding for allowing their loved ones’ remains to decay.

At Return to Nature funeral home, Carie Hallford served as the primary contact with grieving families at their Colorado Springs location. Meanwhile, Jon Hallford handled most operational duties at a separate facility in Penrose, south of Colorado Springs, where residents began reporting strange smells in 2023.

Investigators discovered corpses stacked throughout the insect-infested Penrose facility in different stages of decay.

This incident represents the most shocking among several criminal cases involving Colorado funeral establishments, as investigators uncovered the Hallfords’ extravagant lifestyle and systematic customer fraud.

Only months before the Penrose discovery, a mother-daughter team running a funeral business in Montrose, western Colorado, received federal prison terms for allegedly trafficking body parts and providing families with counterfeit ashes.

In 2024, Denver police arrested a financially struggling former funeral director who stored a deceased woman’s body in a hearse at a residence for two years, where officers also discovered cremated remains of at least 30 individuals.

Additionally, last year state inspectors discovered 24 decomposing bodies and numerous bone containers behind a concealed door at a Pueblo funeral establishment operated by the Pueblo County coroner and his sibling. This marked the first inspection of that facility under new regulations requiring routine examinations of all funeral homes.

During her March sentencing for related federal fraud charges, Carie Hallford requested mercy, claiming she suffered abuse and manipulation during her marriage.

However, she faces Friday’s hearing with little compassion from victims like Crystina Page, whose son David passed away in 2019. His remains deteriorated for years inside the unrefrigerated Penrose building alongside other bodies before their discovery.

“Jon Hallford was the monster under the bed, but Carie was the one who fed the monster,” Page stated. Page and other families received fraudulent ashes rather than their loved ones’ actual cremated remains.

The divorced couple also received federal fraud sentences — 18 years for Carie and 20 years for Jon. Both have filed appeals.

State officials and industry leaders reported this week that legislative reforms enacted by Colorado are proving effective.

Following the Hallford scandal, the state required mandatory inspections and established a licensing framework for the industry. These modifications place Colorado “in the middle of the pack” regarding regulation compared to other states, according to Sam Delp from the state Department of Regulatory Agencies, which supervises the funeral sector.

“We were the only state in the country that didn’t regulate them,” stated Delp, who leads the agency’s Division of Professions and Occupations.

Matt Whaley, president of the Colorado Funeral Home Directors Association, noted that consumers have become more vigilant following extensive media coverage of Return to Nature and other criminal cases.

Family members now frequently request to witness their loved one’s cremation process rather than simply receiving ashes afterward, Whaley explained.

“The confidence level of a funeral professional in the state of Colorado is questioned, and we’ve got to work hard, one family at a time, to build that trust back,” he said.

Blanca Eberhardt, a licensed funeral director with previous experience in Indiana, Texas and Hawaii, remembered relocating to Colorado and being shocked by the poor treatment of corpses at a Pueblo funeral home where she was employed. For Eberhardt, this experience validated Colorado’s reputation for lacking fundamental regulations like director licensing and regular inspections.

“The joke has been for the last 40 years if you lose your license in another state, just move to Colorado,” she explained.

Federal safety officials released findings Thursday examining the fatal March collision at LaGuardia Airport that claimed two lives when an Air Canada regional aircraft struck a fire truck during landing operations.

The National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary findings reveal multiple breakdowns that contributed to the tragedy, including the fire vehicle running a runway warning signal, missing safety equipment, and overwhelming air traffic conditions during the incident.

The March 22 accident involved Air Canada Express Flight 8646 arriving from Montreal carrying 76 passengers and crew. The aircraft collided with the emergency vehicle moments after touchdown, killing pilots Antoine Forest, 30, and Mackenzie Gunther, 24. Hospital treatment was required for 39 individuals, including the fire truck’s two occupants.

This marked LaGuardia’s first fatal aviation accident in more than three decades, prompting extensive investigation into the circumstances.

Airport operations faced unusual strain that evening, with arrival and departure activity more than doubling typical post-10 p.m. volumes due to earlier flight delays, according to aviation data company Cirium.

Two air traffic controllers managed the heightened workload while simultaneously coordinating an emergency response to a United Airlines aircraft reporting strong odors in the cabin. The fire truck that would later collide with the Air Canada flight was part of the emergency response convoy.

Controller responsibilities became divided when the senior operator focused on the United emergency, leaving the second controller to manage both ground vehicle movements and continued flight operations.

“These controllers were just way busy, just too busy,” explained aviation safety specialist Jeff Guzzetti.

LaGuardia operates an advanced collision prevention system called ASDE-X, which uses radar combined with transponder signals to track all aircraft and vehicles on airport surfaces. However, the fire trucks involved lacked the required transponders, preventing accurate tracking.

Without transponder data, the radar system struggled to maintain clear identification of the emergency vehicles, causing tracking signals to merge intermittently and preventing automatic collision warnings from activating.

Radio communications show the Air Canada flight received landing authorization at 11:35 p.m. Approximately two minutes afterward, with just 25 seconds remaining before impact, the fire crew requested runway crossing permission.

Controllers granted crossing clearance when the approaching aircraft was roughly 100 feet above ground level. At that moment, red warning lights designed to alert ground traffic remained illuminated on the runway.

The warning system continued operating until the truck reached the runway edge, shutting off only three seconds before collision as designed – the lights automatically extinguish moments before aircraft reach intersection points.

Former airline captain John Cox, who leads Safety Operating Systems, emphasized that ground vehicles must never proceed while warning lights remain active, regardless of controller clearance.

“That’s an automated system so even though the controller says you’re cleared to cross, the lights mean that there’s an airplane that is either on the runway or about to be,” Cox explained.

Guzzetti noted that darkness and wet pavement conditions may have made the warning lights difficult to observe before the collision occurred.

With nine seconds remaining before impact, the controller recognized the developing collision and issued urgent instructions: “Stop, stop, stop, stop. Truck 1. Stop, stop, stop, stop.”

Investigation interviews revealed the fire truck’s turret operator remembered hearing repeated “stop” commands but initially couldn’t determine the intended recipient until hearing “Truck 1” identification.

By then, the vehicle had already entered the runway. As the truck turned left, the operator reported seeing the aircraft’s lights on the runway ahead.

Cox acknowledged the confusion was understandable given the controller’s rapid succession of instructions to multiple vehicles, creating ambiguity about command recipients.

“Now we know who he’s talking to, but the first three stop, stop, stop there is ambiguity, if you were listening to it, who he’s talking to,” Cox noted.

However, Cox questioned whether immediate braking would have prevented the collision, given the truck’s 29 mph speed when entering the runway. Considering the vehicle’s momentum and weight, Cox observed the truck “isn’t going to stop on a dime.”

Federal prosecutors announced Thursday that they have indicted an Army Master Sergeant on charges of exploiting classified military intelligence to earn $400,000 through online gambling on Venezuelan President Maduro’s potential arrest.

Master Sergeant Gannon Ken Van Dyk allegedly leveraged his privileged access to sensitive government information while participating in operations targeting Maduro this past January, according to federal prosecutors in New York. Van Dyk then reportedly used this insider knowledge to place lucrative bets on the Polymarket prediction platform.

Court documents reveal that Van Dyk served as a senior enlisted member within the special operations community, based at Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, North Carolina. However, the indictment provides limited additional information regarding his specific military background and duties.

The charges against Van Dyk include illegal exploitation of confidential government data for financial benefit, stealing non-public government intelligence, commodities fraud, wire fraud, and conducting prohibited financial transactions.

When contacted for comment, Pentagon officials directed inquiries to both Army leadership and the Department of Justice. US Special Operations Command has not yet provided a response to media requests.

According to the indictment, Van Dyk enlisted in the Army in 2008 and achieved the rank of Master Sergeant in 2023, which represents the second-highest enlisted position within Army hierarchy.

A precious literary treasure that vanished almost four decades ago has finally made its way back home. The collection contained eight romantic letters penned by celebrated poet John Keats to Fanny Brawne, the woman he planned to marry.

The valuable book went missing nearly 40 years ago, leaving its rightful owner without these intimate pieces of literary history. After decades of absence, the correspondence collection emerged again last year.

This week marked the completion of the long journey back to its proper home, as the book was successfully returned to its legitimate owner. The recovery brings closure to a case that has spanned nearly four decades.

ATLANTA — Three faculty members at Emory University in Atlanta have launched legal action against their employer following their detention during a campus demonstration last year related to the Israel-Hamas conflict. The professors contend the institution violated its own policies on free expression when it summoned law enforcement officers to forcibly end the gathering, leading to 28 people being taken into custody.

Philosophy Professor Noelle McAfee, one of the three plaintiffs, stated: “The judicial system would find that Emory failed to protect its students, to protect its staff, to protect the educational mission of the university. So this isn’t just about people’s individual rights. It’s our educational mission to train people in free and critical inquiry, to be able to learn how to engage with others, to be fearless.”

University spokesperson Laura Diamond responded that Emory considers the legal challenge to be unfounded. “Emory acts appropriately and responsibly to keep our community safe from threats of harm,” Diamond stated. “We regret this issue is being litigated but we have confidence in the legal process.”

This case represents one instance of how last year’s nationwide campus demonstrations continue to create ongoing legal battles at prestigious universities. While numerous lawsuits have emerged from students and faculty claiming discrimination related to the protests, the Emory case stands out because McAfee, along with English and indigenous studies Professor Emilio Del Valle-Escalante and economics Professor Caroline Fohlin, all maintain their tenured positions and faced no criminal convictions.

The civil action filed in DeKalb County State Court seeks reimbursement for legal expenses the three professors incurred defending against misdemeanor charges that were ultimately dropped, plus additional monetary damages. McAfee explained she is taking legal action against her employer “to try to get them to be accountable and to change.”

The three faculty members maintain they were merely observing on April 25, 2024, when students and others established tents on the university’s central quadrangle to demonstrate against the war. They argue Emory violated its own guidelines by bringing in Atlanta police officers and Georgia state troopers without exploring other options first.

McAfee faced disorderly conduct charges after she reportedly shouted “Stop!” at an officer who was roughly detaining a demonstrator. Del Valle-Escalante says he was attempting to assist an elderly woman when he was detained and charged with disorderly conduct. Fohlin reported that when she objected to officers restraining a protester on the ground, she was forcibly thrown face-down and arrested, resulting in a concussion and spinal injury. Fohlin was charged with misdemeanor battery against an officer.

On that day, Emory maintained that those detained were outsiders who had unlawfully entered university grounds. However, 20 of the 28 arrested individuals had connections to the university. The professors say following their arrests, they became targets of threats and harassment, reflecting broader criticism from conservatives who accused universities of failing to shield Jewish students from antisemitism while permitting disorder.

Across the country, advocates describe a “Palestine exception” where universities are prepared to restrict pro-Palestinian speech and demonstrations. Palestine Legal, an organization providing legal support for such expression, reported Tuesday that it received 300% more requests for legal assistance in 2025 compared to its typical annual volume before 2023, primarily from college students and faculty.

Following her arrest, McAfee continued serving as president of the Emory University Senate, a body that develops policy recommendations and had participated in creating the university’s open expression guidelines. She said she questioned then-President Gregory Fenves in fall 2024 about why Emory police weren’t dismissing charges against her and the others. According to McAfee, Fenves responded that he wanted “to see justice.” The open expression policy was subsequently updated after 2024 to explicitly ban tents, camping, building occupations, and demonstrations occurring between midnight and 7 a.m.

Regardless of policy changes, McAfee believes students now fear protesting at Emory, saying the university has abandoned what Atlanta Civil Rights leader John Lewis termed “good trouble.” “Students know right now that any trouble is not going to be good trouble at Emory, that they could get arrested,” she said. “So students are afraid.”

BATON ROUGE, La. — A violent confrontation between rival groups erupted into gunfire Thursday at a Louisiana shopping center, leaving 10 people wounded and sending shoppers scrambling for safety.

The shooting occurred when two groups began arguing in the food court area of the Mall of Louisiana in Baton Rouge before pulling out weapons and firing at each other, according to Police Chief TJ Morse.

“Unfortunately there were some innocent people in the area who might have also caught some rounds,” he said.

The gunmen escaped before law enforcement could respond to the scene, leaving no suspects in custody. Mayor Sid Edwards issued a stern warning to those responsible.

“To the thugs that did this, we’re going to catch you,” Edwards said.

All 10 victims were transported to area medical facilities with varying degrees of injuries, with at least two requiring surgical procedures, Morse confirmed. The police chief is asking anyone who witnessed the violence to share any video footage they may have captured.

Despite the ongoing manhunt, Morse attempted to reassure the community about public safety.

“Right now there is no known threat to the public,” he said. “Right here is the safest place in Baton Rouge.”

Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry acknowledged the incident and urged residents to stay away from the mall area.

WBRZ-TV staff member Nikki Lee described arriving at the shopping center shortly after the violence unfolded.

“I drove up and walked in right after the shooting,” Lee told the TV station. “There was already a helicopter and already lots of police officers going through the parking lots.”

She was among numerous shoppers who were moved to a secure location during the police investigation.

This marks Louisiana’s second major gun violence incident this week. On Sunday morning in Shreveport, a man killed eight children, including seven of his own, during a domestic attack that spanned two residences. The shooter’s wife and another woman sustained life-threatening injuries in that incident.

NEW YORK — Federal investigators revealed Thursday that a firefighter involved in last month’s deadly runway collision at LaGuardia Airport initially couldn’t tell who air traffic control was warning when they shouted “stop, stop, stop” over the radio.

The National Transportation Safety Board released preliminary findings showing that safety systems failed to prevent the March 22 crash that claimed the lives of both pilots aboard an Air Canada regional jet. The airport’s crash prevention technology didn’t sound any alarms in the control tower, and runway crossing lights remained illuminated until just three seconds before impact, according to the report.

The fire truck’s turret operator told investigators that after hearing the controller’s first warning, he then heard “Truck 1, stop, stop, stop” and understood the command was meant for them. However, by that point their vehicle had already entered the runway as Air Canada Express Flight 8646 was touching down and racing toward them.

According to the turret operator’s account to investigators, he spotted the aircraft’s lights on the runway as their truck made a left turn onto the tarmac.

The urgent warnings came after controllers had given the fire truck permission to cross the runway just 12 seconds before the incoming plane made contact with the ground.

The CRJ900 aircraft arriving from Montreal was carrying more than 70 passengers and crew. Pilots Antoine Forest, 24, and Mackenzie Gunther, 30, died in the collision. Approximately 40 individuals, including the fire truck’s two occupants, required hospital treatment.

One flight attendant, still secured in her seat, survived despite being ejected onto the runway surface.

The fire truck was at the front of a six-vehicle emergency response team that included four fire engines, a boarding stairs truck, and a police car. They were responding to reports of a concerning odor in the passenger cabin of a departing United Airlines flight.

LaGuardia’s control tower was experiencing unusually heavy traffic that evening due to flight delays that more than doubled the scheduled arrivals and departures after 10 p.m., based on information from aviation data company Cirium.

Aircraft were arriving every few minutes, with twelve flights landing between 11 p.m. and the time of the collision less than 40 minutes later. Simultaneously, controllers were managing the emergency response to the cabin odor that was causing flight attendants to feel sick.

LaGuardia operates one of 35 sophisticated surface monitoring systems at major U.S. airports designed to prevent dangerous runway intrusions and collisions. These systems provide controllers with tower displays showing real-time positions of all aircraft and ground vehicles.

The ASDE-X system failed to function properly because the fire truck lacked the required transponder equipment, investigators determined. The close grouping of multiple emergency vehicles also prevented the system from activating its warning alerts.

Air traffic control recordings show Flight 8646 received landing clearance for Runway 4 at 11:35 p.m.

Approximately two minutes afterward — and 25 seconds before the collision — the fire crew requested permission to cross that same runway, which lay between the airport’s fire station and the United Airlines aircraft’s parking position.

Five seconds later, as Flight 8646 approached the runway at slightly over 100 feet altitude, controllers authorized the fire truck to proceed across.

Then, with just nine seconds remaining before impact, the controller urgently radioed: “Stop, stop, stop, stop. Truck 1. Stop, stop, stop, stop.” The aircraft’s wheels touched down one second later.

This marks LaGuardia’s first fatal crash in 34 years.

A federal judge in San Antonio has authorized the release of a woman and her five children from immigration detention, despite their connection to a man accused of carrying out a deadly firebombing in Colorado.

U.S. District Judge Fred Biery ruled Thursday that Hayam El Gamal and her children can leave the family detention facility in Dilley, Texas, under specific conditions. El Gamal and her 18-year-old child must submit to electronic monitoring as part of their release. The judge rejected government attorneys’ attempts to halt his decision pending an appeal.

El Gamal, who was born in Saudi Arabia and holds Egyptian citizenship, has been detained with her family since June. Her husband, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, faces accusations of hurling two Molotov cocktails at demonstrators who were rallying for awareness about Israeli hostages held in Gaza. The attack resulted in injuries to 13 people, including an 82-year-old woman who later succumbed to her injuries. El Gamal has expressed shock over her husband’s alleged actions.

Federal officials say Soliman, also an Egyptian citizen, was residing in the United States without legal status. He faces prosecution in both state and federal courts for the attack. Prosecutors allege he spent a year planning the assault and was motivated by a desire “to kill all Zionist people.” Soliman has entered not guilty pleas to state charges, including murder, as well as federal hate crime allegations.

Following the attack, the Trump administration announced plans for the family’s rapid deportation. White House social media statements declared they “COULD BE DEPORTED AS EARLY AS TONIGHT” and revealed that six one-way tickets had been purchased, with their “final boarding call coming soon.”

Judge Biery’s release order came despite an immigration appeals court rejecting the family’s request to remain in the country and issuing deportation orders. This decision followed a federal magistrate judge’s Monday recommendation that the family should be freed from detention.

Defense attorneys contend the deportation directive came from “political leadership” in Washington, an allegation that government lawyer Anne Marie Cordova disputed. Individuals with final deportation orders typically face mandatory detention.

Biery had previously prevented the family’s deportation until Thursday’s hearing could take place. Family attorney Chris Godshall-Bennett informed the judge they plan to petition the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans to halt deportation proceedings while pursuing asylum and permanent residency status.

Another federal judge had initially blocked the family’s immediate removal following the attack. Since that time, the family has made multiple attempts to secure bond release and return to Colorado while their asylum petition moves through the system.

The magistrate judge’s recommendation for release this week followed defense arguments that the family had not received fair treatment during immigration proceedings.

Following a devastating school bus crash in West Virginia that left one child requiring leg amputation and severely injured two others, federal safety officials have made their first-ever recommendation for mandatory alcohol detection technology on all new school buses.

The National Transportation Safety Board issued the recommendation Thursday after investigators found that impaired driving among school bus operators extends far beyond isolated incidents.

“There’s a higher expectation for school bus drivers than many other types of drivers,” explained Kris Poland, deputy director of the NTSB’s Office of Highway Safety. “We expect that the drivers are attentive, not fatigued, not impaired and are driving as safely as possible.”

The proposed alcohol detection systems would prevent buses from starting if they sense driver impairment. While the NTSB hasn’t calculated implementation costs, similar ignition interlock devices typically required for DUI offenders cost between $75-$150 for installation plus approximately $100 monthly for monitoring.

Implementation would require action from federal regulators, states, or Congress for widespread adoption. The recommendation targets alcohol specifically rather than other substances because investigators determined alcohol caused the West Virginia incident, and reliable testing for drugs like marijuana isn’t readily available with established legal impairment thresholds.

This follows a previous NTSB recommendation that Congress approved requiring alcohol detection in all new passenger cars, though that rule remains stalled in regulatory processes.

Alcohol contributes to roughly one-third of the nation’s 37,000 annual traffic fatalities, making it a persistent concern for the NTSB. While exact statistics on school bus driver impairment proved difficult to obtain, investigators uncovered sufficient evidence to justify the new safety measures.

Federal highway safety agencies don’t separately track school bus driver DUIs from other commercial operators, and data often excludes non-fatal incidents. However, a 2020 Stateline.org investigation revealed at least 118 school bus drivers faced drunk driving accusations over five years, according to Meg Sweeny, lead author of the NTSB’s West Virginia crash report.

In that tragic incident, the driver lost vehicle control after striking a driveway culvert along a rural roadway. All 19 students sustained injuries, though most were minor. The driver received a prison sentence of up to 110 years.

Even though impaired bus drivers represent a small percentage of all operators, the cases remain concerning, said Peter Kurdock, general counsel for Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety.

“Children going to and from the schoolhouse are America’s most precious passengers,” Kurdock stated. “So we should be doing all we can to make the bus as safe as possible.”

However, Kurdock anticipates resistance from owners of the nation’s half-million school buses, similar to industry opposition against the NTSB’s long-standing seat belt recommendations for school buses.

While several states mandate seat belts, most school buses lack them partly because the vehicles are considered inherently safe. Even when seat belts are installed, student compliance remains questionable, prompting the NTSB to issue an urgent recommendation last fall following a Texas crash for districts to ensure proper usage.

The three largest school bus companies operating 80,000 daily routes and primary manufacturers didn’t respond to requests for comment on the NTSB recommendation. The National School Boards Association also hasn’t provided immediate feedback.

The NTSB emphasizes that school bus transportation remains generally safe.

Among nearly 1,000 fatal school bus crashes in the decade preceding 2023, 70% of approximately 1,100 deaths occurred in other vehicles rather than the buses themselves, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data.

Only 113 school bus passengers died during that period, demonstrating the large yellow vehicles’ safety effectiveness when children remain properly seated. The NTSB believes mandatory seat belts with enforcement would significantly improve outcomes.

Attorney Todd Spodek, whose New York firm has handled thousands of drunk driving cases, doesn’t believe the recommendation infringes on driver rights. He sees no viable argument that alcohol screening creates excessive burden.

Spodek emphasized that safety benefits from ensuring driver sobriety far exceed any inconvenience concerns.

“If you’re in a position of control of something like that, you should be held to a higher scrutiny,” Spodek explained. “It’s a minor inconvenience with a tremendous upside.”

Federal safety officials are calling for mandatory alcohol detection technology on all new school buses following a devastating crash in West Virginia that left one student with an amputated leg and two others seriously hurt when their intoxicated driver lost control of the vehicle.

The National Transportation Safety Board issued its first-ever recommendation Thursday for alcohol detection systems that would prevent school buses from starting if the driver shows signs of impairment. The move comes after investigators found that impaired school bus drivers represent a more widespread issue than initially understood.

“There’s a higher expectation for school bus drivers than many other types of drivers,” explained Kris Poland, deputy director of the NTSB’s Office of Highway Safety. “We expect that the drivers are attentive, not fatigued, not impaired and are driving as safely as possible.”

The safety board did not provide cost estimates for installing such systems or identify who would cover the expenses. Similar ignition interlock devices required for DUI offenders typically cost between $75 and $150 for installation, plus approximately $100 monthly for monitoring services.

Implementation would require action from federal regulators or state governments, though Congress would need to pass legislation for nationwide adoption. The recommendation targets alcohol specifically rather than other substances because investigators determined alcohol caused the West Virginia incident, and reliable testing methods for drugs like marijuana are not yet available.

This recommendation builds on a previous NTSB proposal that Congress approved requiring alcohol detection systems in all new passenger cars, though that rule remains stalled in the regulatory process.

Drunk driving concerns have long troubled the NTSB, as alcohol contributes to roughly one-third of the approximately 37,000 annual traffic fatalities. While investigators could not establish precise statistics on impaired school bus drivers, they discovered sufficient evidence to justify the new safety measures.

Federal highway safety agencies do not maintain separate records for school bus driver DUIs versus other commercial drivers, and data often excludes incidents that do not result in fatal crashes. However, a 2020 Stateline.org investigation revealed at least 118 school bus drivers faced drunk driving accusations over a five-year period, according to Meg Sweeny, lead author of the NTSB’s West Virginia crash report.

In that tragic incident, the driver veered off a rural road after striking a driveway culvert, injuring all 19 children on board. While most students sustained minor injuries, the driver received a prison sentence of up to 110 years last year.

Peter Kurdock, general counsel for Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, expressed alarm at the number of impaired driving cases among bus drivers, despite representing a small fraction of all drivers.

“Children going to and from the schoolhouse are America’s most precious passengers,” Kurdock stated. “So we should be doing all we can to make the bus as safe as possible.”

Kurdock anticipates resistance from owners of the nation’s half-million school buses, similar to industry opposition to the NTSB’s ongoing recommendation for seat belts on school buses.

While several states have mandated seat belts, most school buses lack them partly because the vehicles are considered relatively safe. Even when seat belts are installed, the NTSB noted that students may not use them, prompting an urgent recommendation last fall following a Texas crash for districts to ensure proper usage.

The three largest school bus companies operating approximately 80,000 buses daily, along with major bus manufacturers, did not respond to requests for comment on the NTSB recommendation. The National School Boards Association also had no immediate response.

The NTSB emphasizes that most school bus transportation remains safe. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s latest data, of nearly 1,000 fatal crashes involving school buses in the decade leading to 2023, 70% of the approximately 1,100 deaths occurred in other vehicles rather than on the buses themselves.

Only 113 school bus passengers died during that timeframe, demonstrating the general safety of these large yellow vehicles as long as children remain properly seated. The NTSB believes installing seat belts and ensuring their use would significantly improve safety outcomes.

New York attorney Todd Spodek, whose firm has handled thousands of drunk driving cases, does not believe the recommendation would infringe on bus drivers’ rights. He sees no viable argument that alcohol screening would be excessively burdensome for drivers.

“If you’re in a position of control of something like that, you should be held to a higher scrutiny,” Spodek noted. “It’s a minor inconvenience with a tremendous upside.”

A Michigan court has dismissed the state from a major lawsuit stemming from a catastrophic 2020 dam collapse that devastated communities and left more than 100 homes destroyed while draining a beloved recreational lake.

Court of Claims Judge James Redford ruled Thursday that while he recognizes the “real and lasting damages” caused by the Edenville Dam catastrophe, the disaster resulted from continuous heavy rainfall and an extraordinary century-level flood event in the Midland region, rather than state-approved water levels at Wixom Lake.

The judge referenced expert testimony indicating that reducing the lake’s water level prior to the incident would likely not have averted the tragedy.

“This does not mean that what plaintiffs suffered and continue to suffer is not an immensely difficult and heavy burden,” Redford wrote in his comprehensive 100-page decision following a January trial held in Grand Rapids.

Legal representatives for thousands of affected residents had filed suit against Michigan, alleging that choices made by state environmental officials played a role in the dam’s failure and harmed both property values and residents’ ability to enjoy Wixom Lake, located 150 miles northwest of Detroit.

Had Judge Redford sided with the property owners, the litigation would have proceeded to determine monetary damages. Attorneys involved in the case have not yet responded to requests for comment.

The judge rejected comparisons made by plaintiff attorneys between this dam failure and the 2014-15 Flint water contamination crisis, where state actions directly caused lead contamination in the water supply system.

The privately-operated dam along the Tittabawassee River generated hydroelectric power until federal authorities revoked its operating license in 2018. The reservoir created by the dam forms Wixom Lake. When the collapse occurred, the dam was being transferred to local residents’ control, unleashing a massive water surge that also overwhelmed the nearby Sanford Dam downstream and inundated Midland.

Water levels climbed more than 5 feet beyond normal and reached 3 feet higher than the previous record set in 1929. The eastern soil embankment of the dam became unstable and failed under the pressure. Restoration efforts for Wixom Lake are currently underway.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission commissioned an investigation into the failures at both Edenville and Sanford dams. Their 2022 findings concluded the disaster was “foreseeable and preventable” but could not be “attributed to any one individual, group or organization.”

A newly published book sheds light on the hidden battle against hate groups that flourished in America following World War II. Stephen J. Ross’s latest work, ‘The Secret War Against Hate,’ chronicles the emergence of racist and anti-Semitic organizations during the latter decades of the 1900s, along with the covert intelligence operations that sought to dismantle them.

Ross documents how these extremist movements gained momentum in post-war America, as well as the underground network of operatives who infiltrated these groups to gather evidence and bring their leaders to account through the legal system.

TAMPA, Fla. — University of South Florida police are asking the public for help finding two graduate students who have been missing for more than a week.

Zamil Limon and Nahida Bristy, both 27 years old and originally from Bangladesh, disappeared on April 16 from the Tampa campus, according to university police officials.

The couple was pursuing their doctoral degrees in different fields. Limon was working toward his PhD in geography, environmental science and policy, while Bristy was studying chemical engineering. Police say Limon was last spotted at his residence in a student housing complex, and Bristy was seen about an hour afterward at a campus science facility.

University police were notified last Friday by a friend of the couple who had been unable to reach either student.

Campus police spokesperson Larry McKinnon stated Thursday that investigators do not suspect the pair was taken into custody by federal immigration authorities.

Those close to the students say their sudden silence is highly unusual for them.

“It doesn’t feel normal,” said Md. Rakibuzzaman, who studies at the University of Georgia and maintains a close friendship with Limon. He described the situation to Tampa’s WFLA television as “a pretty complex puzzle to me.”

Zubaer Ahmed, who is Limon’s younger brother, spoke with WTVT and revealed their last conversation occurred three days before the disappearance. During that call, Limon mentioned being extremely occupied with his dissertation research, which focuses on applying generative artificial intelligence to examine Florida’s diminishing wetland areas. Ahmed also shared that while the couple had discussed marriage possibilities, they were prioritizing the completion of their academic programs.