Category: U.S. News

A devastating avalanche struck a group of 15 skiers during a guided backcountry expedition in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains on Tuesday, leaving nine people still unaccounted for as rescue operations continue.

The skiing party was participating in a three-day wilderness adventure organized by Blackbird Mountain Guides in the remote backcountry near Frog Lake, close to Lake Tahoe. Participants had been staying overnight in mountain huts positioned at an elevation of 7,600 feet, bringing their own provisions for the multi-day journey.

According to the tour company’s promotional materials, they promised clients an elevated experience: “If you’ve booked the Frog Lake Huts in Truckee, trust our guides to elevate your trip to the next level. We’ll navigate in and out of the huts, manage the risks, and find the best terrain and snow quality for you and your group!”

When disaster struck Tuesday, six members of the skiing group managed to find safety and were successfully rescued after spending hours taking shelter while rescue teams worked through blizzard conditions. However, nine individuals remain missing.

In an official statement, Blackbird Mountain Guides confirmed they are working closely with rescue authorities. The company explained that the avalanche occurred as the group, which included four professional guides, was making their way back to the starting point of their trek.

The guide service operates from locations in both California and Washington, providing mountaineering and backcountry skiing experiences throughout the western United States, as well as international destinations in Europe and Japan. Additionally, they provide educational programs focusing on wilderness survival skills and emergency medical training.

The remote area where the skiers went missing had remained inaccessible to the general public for 100 years until the Truckee Donner Land Trust purchased the property and established the mountain huts, which feature basic amenities including sleeping pads, cooking stoves, and restroom facilities.

This particular expedition was designed for skiers with intermediate to advanced abilities, requiring participants to be capable of ascending up to 2,500 vertical feet during a single day’s journey. While guides provide first aid supplies and waste disposal equipment, skiers must supply their own gear and avalanche safety equipment, including locator beacons, shovels, and probes.

The company’s website acknowledged the challenging nature of these excursions: “Generally our guides are able to find excellent backcountry snow conditions, but often we need to travel through difficult conditions to access the goods. This requires riders to be adept with their backcountry touring skills and have a solid foundation of touring before the trip.”

Weather conditions had been deteriorating throughout the week, with avalanche warnings issued as early as Sunday when a major winter storm system began affecting the region. The Sierra Avalanche Center escalated their alert to a more serious avalanche warning for the Central Sierra Nevada and Greater Lake Tahoe area, beginning Tuesday morning at 5 a.m., with predictions of significant slides continuing through Wednesday.

The dangerous conditions resulted from rapidly accumulating snowfall on unstable underlying snow layers, combined with powerful wind conditions that created extremely hazardous avalanche potential.

Snow measurements from Soda Springs, located near the avalanche site, showed at least 30 inches of new snowfall accumulated within a 24-hour timeframe, according to data from the Soda Springs Mountain Resort.

CHICAGO — One day following the passing of civil rights legend Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., his five children delivered a heartfelt memorial Wednesday outside the family’s Chicago residence, sharing memories that ranged from lighthearted moments about his famous determination to tearful reflections on losing their father.

The 82-year-old activist passed away Tuesday at his Chicago residence following a prolonged battle with a rare neurological condition that impaired his mobility and speech. Gathering on the front steps of the home where Jackson lived for years, his children — including Congressman Jonathan Jackson — celebrated both his monumental contributions to the civil rights movement and his dedication as a spiritual guide and parent.

“Our father is a man who dedicated his life to public service to gain, protect and defend civil rights and human rights to make our nation better, to make the world more just, our people better neighbors with each other,” his youngest son, Yusef Jackson, stated while visibly emotional during parts of his remarks.

The Jackson family indicated that while specific arrangements for the funeral will be shared later, memorial services are scheduled to commence next week. Jackson will lie in repose at the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition headquarters in Chicago, the organization he established and which Yusef now leads. A larger church venue will host subsequent services to handle anticipated attendance.

Jackson gained national recognition sixty years ago as a close associate of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., participating in the historic voting rights demonstration from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. King subsequently assigned Jackson to Chicago to establish Operation Breadbasket, a Southern Christian Leadership Conference initiative designed to push corporations toward hiring African American employees.

Jackson was present with King during the assassination of the civil rights leader on April 4, 1968.

Tributes have arrived from around the globe for Jackson, with flowers accumulating outside the residence where large photographs of the smiling leader have been displayed. However, his children emphasized that family always came first for their father.

“Our father took fatherhood very seriously,” his oldest daughter, Santita Jackson, remarked. “It was his charge to keep.”

The children’s remembrances echoed the eloquent style characteristic of their late father — incorporating prayer, emotion, and occasional humor, including references to the disagreements that naturally arise in a bustling, large household.

Former congressman Jesse Jackson Jr., his eldest son, explained that his father’s funeral services would welcome everyone, “Democrat, Republican, liberal and conservative, right wing, left wing — because his life is broad enough to cover the full spectrum of what it means to be an American.”

The family’s only request is that attendees show respect during the services.

“If his life becomes a turning point in our national political discourse, amen,” he stated. “His last breath is not his last breath.”

Emergency teams navigated treacherous mountain terrain through blizzard conditions to reach six backcountry skiers who lived through an avalanche near Lake Tahoe, though nine members of their group are still unaccounted for.

According to Nevada County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Ashley Quadros, two of the rescued skiers required hospital care following their ordeal.

Officials corrected earlier reports Tuesday evening, confirming 15 skiers were part of the expedition, not the initially reported 16.

Emergency responders rushed to Frog Lake in the Castle Peak region, located northwest of Lake Tahoe, following a 911 emergency call about an avalanche with people buried beneath the snow. The incident occurred as a fierce winter storm battered California.

Harsh mountain conditions in Northern California significantly hampered rescue operations. Teams spent multiple hours navigating to the trapped skiers and transporting them to safety, where Truckee Fire Department personnel conducted medical evaluations.

County sheriff officials announced they will share additional details about ongoing rescue operations during a Wednesday morning press briefing.

Final Day of Mountain Adventure

The group was completing their final day of a three-day wilderness skiing adventure, according to Steve Reynaud, an avalanche specialist with the Sierra Avalanche Center who maintained communication with personnel at the scene. Reynaud explained the skiers had spent two nights in mountain shelters during an expedition requiring navigation through challenging mountain landscape for distances up to 4 miles while carrying all necessary provisions and gear.

Nevada County Sheriff Captain Russell Greene reported authorities learned of the avalanche through both the tour operator, Blackbird Mountain Guides, and emergency locator devices carried by the skiers. Rescue teams approached the avalanche site with extreme caution due to continued avalanche risks.

Blackbird Mountain Guides posted a statement on their website confirming their cooperation with authorities in the rescue mission.

Extreme Mountain Hazards

California faces severe weather this week from an intense winter storm system delivering dangerous thunderstorms, powerful winds, and substantial mountain snowfall.

“Backcountry conditions are extremely hazardous right now because we’re experiencing the storm’s peak intensity,” explained Brandon Schwartz, the primary avalanche specialist for Tahoe National Forest at the Sierra Avalanche Center in Truckee.

The center issued avalanche alerts for Central Sierra Nevada areas, including the greater Lake Tahoe vicinity, beginning Tuesday at 5 a.m. with expectations of major slides continuing through Wednesday.

Soda Springs, located close to the avalanche site, measured over 30 inches of snowfall in a single 24-hour span, based on data from Soda Springs Mountain Resort.

The hazardous situation resulted from rapidly building snow accumulation on unstable underlying snow layers, combined with powerful winds.

The storm created widespread transportation problems from the Sierra Nevada mountains to Sonoma County. Interstate 80 traffic was temporarily stopped in both directions over and around Donner Summit because of vehicle spinouts and collisions.

Multiple Tahoe area ski facilities closed completely or partially due to weather conditions. Resort areas along major highways maintain avalanche prevention programs and faced lower risk compared to wilderness areas, where the center strongly advised against any travel in or near avalanche-prone terrain.

Location’s Tragic Past

Castle Peak, standing 9,110 feet tall north of Donner Summit, attracts many wilderness skiing enthusiasts. The peak takes its name from the notorious Donner Party, pioneer travelers who turned to cannibalism after becoming stranded in the area during the harsh winter of 1846-1847.

This past January, an avalanche in the same region trapped and killed a snowmobile rider, officials reported. The National Avalanche Center reports that avalanches claim 25 to 30 lives annually across the United States.

Avalanche safety training and specialized rescue equipment are strongly recommended for wilderness skiing, also called off-piste skiing, which involves traveling into remote wilderness areas far beyond resort boundaries. Wilderness skiing equipment features wider, heavier skis designed for ascending and descending ungroomed mountain terrain, unlike cross-country skis that are narrower and built for flatter, maintained trails.

Despite escalating military buildups on both sides, the United States and Iran have committed to continuing diplomatic negotiations, officials from both countries announced.

In the corporate world, Paramount is making one last attempt to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery in what could be a major media industry consolidation.

On the technology front, Meta’s Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg is scheduled to provide testimony in a legal case focused on social media addiction, marking another significant moment in ongoing debates about tech platform responsibility.

Rescue teams successfully pulled six backcountry skiers to safety following a devastating avalanche that struck California on Tuesday. Local sheriff’s officials confirmed the rescue while emphasizing that search operations remain active for nine additional skiers who are still missing.

The avalanche trapped a total of 15 skiers in the backcountry area. While authorities have not released details about the condition of the rescued individuals, the focus now shifts to locating the remaining nine people caught in the snow slide.

Sheriff’s department officials stated that search efforts for the missing skiers are continuing as teams work against time and challenging mountain conditions.

Federal court proceedings came to an abrupt halt Tuesday when a judge in Fort Worth terminated the trial of nine defendants accused in connection with gunfire that erupted at an immigration enforcement facility in Alvarado, Texas.

The mistrial declaration ends the current prosecution phase for the nine individuals who faced charges related to the shooting incident that took place outside the ICE detention center during the previous year.

Court officials have not yet announced whether prosecutors will pursue a new trial in the case.

While moviegoers associate the rolling tumbleweed with classic Western films and the rugged American frontier, agricultural experts reveal these plants are actually harmful invasive species causing serious problems for farming communities.

These distinctive rolling plants, which have become as much a symbol of the American West as cattle ranchers and frontier life, create substantial challenges for agricultural operations throughout the nation’s western plains regions.

Rather than being native flora that belongs in the Western landscape, tumbleweeds represent an ongoing environmental concern that farmers must continuously battle as these invasive plants spread across their properties and disrupt normal farming activities.

While lawmakers on Capitol Hill remain at an impasse over Department of Homeland Security budget approval, former agency chief Janet Napolitano is offering her insights on Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations and what lies ahead for the controversial agency.

The congressional standoff has left DHS funding in limbo as legislators simultaneously wrestle with proposals requiring body-worn cameras for immigration agents and mandating warrants before conducting enforcement operations.

Napolitano, who previously served as the department’s top official, is sharing her views on how ICE has evolved and where the agency may be headed as these policy debates continue to unfold in Washington.

Federal investigators have uncovered DNA evidence on a glove discovered roughly two miles away from the Arizona residence of missing woman Nancy Guthrie, according to the FBI.

Authorities report that the glove, which contained genetic material, appears to correspond with protective handwear observed on a masked individual who was captured on surveillance footage outside Guthrie’s front entrance during the evening when she disappeared.

The discovery represents a significant development in the ongoing investigation into Guthrie’s disappearance, as law enforcement agencies continue working to piece together the circumstances surrounding the case.

The evidence was processed as part of the comprehensive investigation being conducted by federal and local authorities in Arizona.

Daycare centers and early childhood education facilities across Illinois are expressing serious concerns about their ability to remain operational as a dispute over federal funding continues to unfold.

The Prairie State has joined four other Democratic-controlled states in legally challenging the current administration’s decision to suspend federal child care assistance programs.

Operators of child care facilities throughout Illinois are warning that without the restoration of this critical federal financial support, many centers will have no choice but to permanently close their doors, leaving families without essential services.

The funding freeze has created significant anxiety among those who run these vital community services, as they face the prospect of losing the resources needed to keep their programs running and staff employed.

A previous leader of the Federal Emergency Management Agency recently discussed with National Public Radio how a closure of the Department of Homeland Security might impact disaster response operations.

Deanne Criswell, who previously served as FEMA’s administrator, participated in an interview with NPR’s Leila Fadel to examine the potential consequences that a DHS shutdown could have on the emergency management agency’s day-to-day functions.

The conversation centered on understanding how such a government closure might influence FEMA’s capacity to carry out its critical disaster relief mission during times when communities need assistance most.

Television anchor Savannah Guthrie has made a renewed public appeal for her mother’s safe return while law enforcement officials continue their investigation into Nancy Guthrie’s mysterious disappearance.

Investigators are currently analyzing DNA evidence collected from a glove that was discovered roughly two miles away from Nancy Guthrie’s home. Officials are hopeful that the genetic material will provide crucial leads that could identify a person of interest in the case.

The ongoing investigation has captured significant attention as authorities work to piece together the circumstances surrounding Nancy Guthrie’s vanishing. The DNA testing represents a potential breakthrough in the search efforts that have been underway since her disappearance.

A catastrophic avalanche near California’s Lake Tahoe has left 10 skiers unaccounted for and six others trapped at the scene, according to authorities responding to Tuesday’s emergency.

The deadly slide occurred around 11:30 a.m. Pacific time in the Castle Peak backcountry area of Truckee, California, roughly 10 miles north of Lake Tahoe, the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office reported on Facebook. The avalanche completely buried a skiing party of 16 people.

The skiing group included four professional guides leading 12 clients when the mountain gave way. Six individuals survived the slide and remained at the disaster site waiting for emergency crews, while 10 others could not be located, officials confirmed.

Should all the missing skiers lose their lives, this tragedy would become one of America’s most fatal single avalanche events in recorded history. The Colorado Avalanche Information Center reports six avalanche deaths nationwide this season so far.

Over the last ten years, avalanches have killed an average of 27 people annually across the United States, according to avalanche tracking data.

Northern California was under a winter storm warning Tuesday, with forecasters predicting heavy snowfall across the Sierra Nevada’s higher elevations.

Early Tuesday morning, the Sierra Avalanche Center had issued warnings about “high avalanche danger” conditions in backcountry skiing areas, the sheriff’s department noted.

Emergency rescue teams from Boreal Mountain Ski Resort and Tahoe Donner’s Alder Creek Adventure Center rushed to the avalanche site, where dozens of first responders assembled for search operations.

Dangerous weather patterns continue threatening the Sierra backcountry terrain, with forecasters expecting more avalanche activity through Tuesday evening and Wednesday, authorities warned.

California Governor Gavin Newsom received briefings on the disaster, with state officials “coordinating an all-hands search-and-rescue effort” alongside local emergency response teams, his office announced on social media.

Reverend Jesse Jackson, a towering figure in America’s civil rights movement and a respected religious leader, has passed away at the age of 84, according to reports Tuesday.

The influential minister and former presidential candidate dedicated his life to advancing social justice causes and championing equality for all Americans throughout his remarkable career spanning several decades.

NPR correspondent Michel Martin discussed Jackson’s significant contributions and lasting impact on American society, highlighting his roles as both a spiritual leader and political activist who helped shape the nation’s ongoing dialogue about civil rights.

Jackson’s death marks the end of an era for those who witnessed his tireless advocacy work and his efforts to bridge divides within American communities.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson, a towering figure in the civil rights movement who passed away Tuesday at 84, played a pivotal role in championing the widespread adoption of ‘African American’ as a term that would honor cultural heritage and restore dignity to the community.

Jackson, who learned from and worked alongside the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., became part of a broader movement in the late 1980s that included NAACP leaders and other activists seeking to move away from terms like ‘colored’ and ‘blacks’ toward language that better reflected ancestral connections and commanded respect.

‘To be called African Americans has cultural integrity — it puts us in our proper historical context,’ Jackson stated during that era. ‘Every ethnic group in this country has a reference to some base, some historical, cultural base.’

The two-time presidential contender, who carried forward the Civil Rights Movement following King’s death, succumbed to a rare neurological condition at his Chicago residence with family by his side, according to his daughter Santita Jackson’s confirmation Tuesday.

Throughout his life’s work, Jackson championed voting access, employment opportunities, and educational advancement for marginalized communities while promoting Black pride. He believed that terminology originating from within the Black community could strengthen collective self-worth.

While academics had utilized ‘African American’ before Jackson and the NAACP’s campaign, the term remained largely academic until the reverend mobilized grassroots support. Historical records show the phrase appeared as early as 1782 in a Philadelphia sermon pamphlet authored ‘By an African American,’ according to Yale law librarian Fred R. Shapiro’s research.

Jackson drew inspiration from similar efforts by other minority communities working to reshape their public identification and recognition.

The 1990s brought discussions around ‘Latino’ versus ‘Hispanic’ terminology. Meanwhile, Asian Americans had successfully petitioned the U.S. Census Bureau to include Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders in the 1990 census for the first time. Though ‘African American’ gained prominence too late for that census, the bureau issued guidance stating ‘Black or Negro includes African-Americans.’

Black sociologist Walter Allen described the term’s acceptance as ‘a significant psychological and cultural turning point’ in a January 1989 New York Times piece.

This assessment followed Jackson’s December gathering of 75 Black organizations, encompassing fraternities, sororities, advocacy groups, and social organizations, where organizers reported ‘overwhelming consensus’ supporting the terminology shift. Chicago and Atlanta school systems quickly embraced the change, integrating it into their educational programs.

Today, ‘Black’ and ‘African American’ are commonly used interchangeably throughout the United States, though ‘Black’ is often considered more encompassing as it includes individuals from Latin America and the Caribbean.

Critics of ‘African American’ argue it qualifies their American identity or implies contemporary African connections that may not reflect their actual experiences.

Investigators searching for Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of NBC “Today” co-host Savannah Guthrie, received disappointing news Tuesday when genetic testing on a key piece of evidence yielded no results.

The Pima County Sheriff’s Department and FBI announced that DNA extracted from a glove discovered near Guthrie’s Arizona residence failed to generate any matches when cross-referenced with the national Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) database.

This development represents a significant blow to the investigation as authorities continue their search for the elderly woman, now missing for 17 days since her apparent abduction.

Law enforcement officials had high hopes for the glove, which was recovered from a roadside area approximately two miles from Guthrie’s Tucson-area home. The item appeared similar to gloves worn by a masked, armed individual captured on surveillance video attempting to tamper with her doorbell camera during the early morning hours before her disappearance.

Sheriff Chris Nanos has identified the masked figure – who was also carrying an oversized backpack and wearing a holstered firearm – as the primary suspect in what authorities believe was a kidnapping for ransom.

“At this point, there have been no confirmed CODIS matches in this investigation,” the sheriff’s office stated, while noting that additional genetic evidence collected from Guthrie’s property remains under analysis. “CODIS is one option of many databases that are available,” officials added.

The case has captured worldwide attention, with media outlets closely monitoring each development in the investigation.

Beyond high-tech forensic analysis, detectives have employed traditional investigative methods, including collaboration with Walmart store managers to track down purchasers of backpacks matching the one seen in surveillance footage.

Phillip Martin, who co-owns a Tucson firearms retailer, confirmed to Reuters that an FBI agent working the Guthrie case visited his establishment over a week ago with a list of fewer than 20 potential customers, inquiring about weapon purchases. Martin reported finding no matches after checking his records.

A law enforcement source revealed that the list shown to gun stores was compiled by cross-referencing backpack and holster purchase data with other investigative leads.

Authorities have also deployed advanced “signal sniffer” technology that creates heat maps to identify potential search locations. Parsons Corp, the system’s developer, confirmed its use by helicopter, ground vehicle, and foot search teams in the Guthrie case.

Nancy Guthrie was last observed on January 31 when family members dropped her off at home following dinner together. Relatives reported her missing the next day.

Sheriff Nanos has explained that the elderly woman’s severely limited mobility made it impossible for her to leave home without assistance, leading investigators to quickly determine she had been taken against her will.

Two alleged ransom demands have emerged since her disappearance, both initially delivered to news organizations rather than directly to the family or law enforcement.

Savannah Guthrie, 54, has released multiple video appeals alongside her siblings Camron and Annie Guthrie, pleading for their mother’s safe return and requesting public assistance in the case.

On Sunday, Sheriff Nanos issued a statement clearing all immediate family members – including siblings and their spouses – as suspects. “The Guthrie family are victims, plain and simple,” he declared.

DNA analysis confirmed that blood traces discovered on Guthrie’s front porch belonged to the missing woman, officials announced last week. Both law enforcement and family members have described her as being in fragile health, requiring daily medication for survival, and dependent on a pacemaker.

While acknowledging that no evidence of life has emerged since the abduction, Nanos told Reuters last week that “there’s not been any proof of death either,” stating his operating assumption remains that Nancy Guthrie is still alive.

MINNEAPOLIS — State and federal investigators are examining allegations that immigration agents brutally assaulted a Mexican national during a January arrest, leaving him with eight fractured skull bones that required intensive care treatment at a Minneapolis medical facility.

Last week, FBI agents and St. Paul Police Department investigators combed through a shopping center parking lot where Alberto Castañeda Mondragón claims Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers dragged him from a car, slammed him onto the pavement, and repeatedly bludgeoned his head with a metal baton.

Immigration officials have placed responsibility for the injuries on Castañeda Mondragón himself, claiming he tried to escape while restrained and “fell and hit his head against a concrete wall.”

However, medical personnel who provided care to the victim informed The Associated Press that such a fall would not reasonably explain the patient’s brain bleeding and memory loss. Medical imaging revealed fractures across the front, rear, and sides of his skull — damage that a physician described to the AP as incompatible with a simple fall.

In a recent AP interview, Castañeda Mondragón described the arresting officers as “racist” and said they “started beating me right away when they arrested me.” His legal representatives argue that ICE agents targeted him based on racial bias.

During distinct visits to the shopping center last week, both local and federal investigators sought security camera recordings from multiple businesses. However, store employees informed the AP that their surveillance systems either failed to record the January 8th incident or had automatically deleted the footage after more than 30 days elapsed before authorities requested it.

Johnny Ratana, owner of Teepwo Market, an Asian grocery store overlooking the parking area where the detention took place, reported that St. Paul police investigators visited his establishment twice recently. During the second visit, he explained, a technical specialist attempted to retrieve footage that had been automatically erased after the standard 30-day period.

Ratana also confirmed that FBI representatives had contacted him seeking the same video evidence.

Neither the St. Paul Police Department nor the FBI provided responses to requests for statements.

These investigations unfold alongside another federal inquiry examining whether two ICE agents committed perjury regarding a Minneapolis shooting incident. Federal prosecutors dismissed charges against two Venezuelan individuals — previously accused of assaulting an officer with a snow shovel and broom handle — after video evidence undermined the officers’ sworn statements.

Additionally, the FBI informed Minnesota officials last week that it would withhold all information and evidence gathered regarding the January 24th fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by federal immigration agents. That incident remains under Justice Department civil rights review.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security declined for weeks to address any details concerning Castañeda Mondragón’s injuries and has ignored comprehensive questions from the AP, including whether officers captured body camera video during the arrest.

The agency reaffirmed its position last week that Castañeda Mondragón caused his own harm.

“On January 8, 2026, ICE conducted a targeted enforcement operation to arrest Alberto Castaneda Mondragon, a 31-year-old illegal alien from Mexico who overstayed his visa,” stated Tricia McLaughlin, the department’s assistant secretary for public affairs. “While in handcuffs, Castaneda attempted to escape custody and ran toward a main highway. While running, Castaneda fell and hit his head against a concrete wall.”

McLaughlin’s statement claiming Castañeda Mondragón was specifically targeted for deportation conflicts with a January 20th court document where ICE indicated officers only discovered the man had exceeded his work visa terms after taking him into custody. McLaughlin did not address questions about which version was accurate.

Legal counsel for Castañeda Mondragón refused to comment on ICE’s official statement.

The criminal investigations may face challenges due to the delayed law enforcement response, despite calls for answers from multiple elected officials.

St. Paul police informed the AP on February 5th that while they recognized “the serious allegations” surrounding the arrest, they could not initiate an investigation into Castañeda Mondragón’s injuries until he submitted an official police report — a process delayed for weeks due to his hospitalization and unclear immigration circumstances. Officers finally recorded his statement one week ago at the Mexican consulate.

By then, at least one neighboring business had already erased its surveillance recordings.

“It is my expectation that we will investigate past and future allegations of criminal conduct by federal agents to seek the truth and hold accountable anyone who has violated Minnesota law,” declared John Choi, Ramsey County’s chief prosecutor, in an official statement.

Castañeda Mondragón has been ordered to appear at ICE’s primary Minneapolis detention center on February 23rd, creating the possibility he could be detained again and removed from the country.

NEW ORLEANS, La. (AP) — The famous Mardi Gras season came to an end in New Orleans as the city wrapped up its traditional celebration with festive parades and vibrant displays.

The annual Carnival festivities draw attention for their impressive oversized floats and elaborate handcrafted attire. Among the most striking participants are the Black masking Indians, who don intricate costumes adorned with beads, jewels, and magnificent feathered headpieces. Meanwhile, festival attendees stroll through the historic French Quarter wearing homemade outfits that reflect the distinctive character and atmosphere of New Orleans.

This collection features images selected by Associated Press photo editors showcasing the celebration’s conclusion.

Investigators working to find Nancy Guthrie announced Tuesday that genetic material recovered from gloves discovered near her Arizona residence failed to produce any matches when searched against national criminal databases, marking 17 days since the 84-year-old woman vanished.

According to the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, searches through CODIS, the national Combined DNA Index System, came back empty. “There were no DNA hits in CODIS,” officials stated.

The department added that multiple genetic samples from the investigation have been run through the system without success. “At this point, there have been no confirmed CODIS matches in this investigation,” authorities reported.

The Combined DNA Index System maintains genetic profiles from individuals arrested for crimes or those with criminal convictions. Successful matches could potentially identify persons of interest in Guthrie’s vanishing.

Nancy Guthrie, whose daughter Savannah Guthrie co-hosts NBC’s “Today” show, was last seen on February 1st after spending an evening with relatives at her Tucson-area residence. Investigators discovered blood evidence on her front porch.

Security footage captured a masked individual carrying a backpack and wearing winter clothing including gloves. Federal investigators describe the person as approximately 5 feet 9 inches tall with an average build.

The gloves in question were recovered roughly 2 miles away from Guthrie’s residence. FBI officials believe these gloves match those seen in the surveillance recording.

Authorities revealed that additional genetic evidence collected from the home is currently undergoing laboratory analysis.

The sheriff’s department is also employing cutting-edge technology in hopes of tracking Guthrie through her cardiac pacemaker device.

Parsons Corporation confirmed its BlueFly detection system, weighing under one pound with a detection range extending 218 yards, can identify signals from medical implants and wearable technology. The company verified the equipment has been deployed both from aircraft and ground teams throughout Arizona, though declined to provide additional search details.

On Sunday, Savannah Guthrie shared a video message on Instagram pleading for information about her mother’s whereabouts.

“It is never too late to do the right thing,” she stated. “And we are here. And we believe in the essential goodness of every human being, that it’s never too late.”

PUEBLO, Colo. — A devastating multi-vehicle collision claimed the lives of four people Tuesday morning on a Colorado highway when powerful winds created dangerous dust storm conditions that left motorists unable to see the road ahead.

The massive crash occurred around 10 a.m. on Interstate 25 near Pueblo, involving more than 30 vehicles including half a dozen large commercial trucks, according to the Colorado State Patrol. Strong winds whipped up dirt and debris, creating what officials described as “brown out” conditions that gave drivers virtually no ability to see.

Emergency responders transported 29 individuals to area hospitals, though officials have not yet released information about the severity of their injuries.

Investigators are still working to determine what caused the deadly collision. Trooper Sherri Mendez, speaking for the state patrol, indicated that while the poor visibility will certainly be examined as a contributing factor, other elements may have played a role in the tragedy.

Tuesday’s severe weather pattern brought powerful winds across eastern Colorado, creating hazardous conditions that not only contributed to the highway disaster but also increased wildfire dangers and disrupted air travel at Denver’s main airport due to the combination of strong gusts, elevated temperatures, and extremely dry conditions.

In contrast, Colorado’s western regions were receiving beneficial snowfall in mountainous areas that have been in need of winter precipitation.

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A bipartisan group of New Mexico state lawmakers began a formal inquiry Tuesday into activities that occurred at convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s remote desert compound, questioning whether local officials failed to investigate potential crimes.

The four-member House panel will examine claims that the isolated property served as a location for sexual abuse and human trafficking. Legislators are also seeking answers about why Epstein failed to register as a sex offender following his 2008 guilty plea for soliciting an underage prostitute, and whether government corruption played a role.

At Tuesday’s press conference, Democratic Representative Marianna Anaya from Albuquerque, who serves on the truth commission, encouraged anyone with knowledge of abuse connected to Epstein’s ranch to step forward.

“That perpetrator could not act alone. They could not run a sex ring alone, they could not commit these types of financial crimes alone. So we know as a commission that enablers must also be held accountable, including the state itself, if needed,” said Anaya. “If you do want to share, we’ll be here and we will be operating with confidentiality.”

Recent connections to Epstein have resulted in several prominent figures losing their positions or being forced out.

The financier acquired the expansive Zorro Ranch property in 1993 from former Democratic Governor Bruce King, later constructing a massive 26,700-square-foot mansion on a hilltop complete with its own airstrip.

Following Epstein’s death, his estate sold the ranch in 2023 to cover debts, with the buyer being the family of Don Huffines, a Texas Republican running for state comptroller. Huffines announced on social media platform X that the property has been rechristened San Rafael Ranch, named for a healing saint, and will function as a Christian retreat center.

Huffines stated that his family would provide complete cooperation to any law enforcement requests for property access.

Epstein died by suicide in a New York City jail cell in 2019 while facing federal charges for sexually abusing and trafficking numerous minors.

Commission chair and Santa Fe Representative Andrea Romero indicated that multiple Epstein abuse survivors have suggested trafficking operations occurred at the ranch, located approximately 35 miles south of Santa Fe.

“We’ve heard years of allegations and rumors about Epstein’s activities here. But unfortunately, federal investigations have failed to put together an official record,” Romero stated Tuesday. “This truth commission will finally fill in the gaps of what we need to know.”

The commission roster also features retired FBI agent and Republican Representative William Hall from Aztec, along with former prosecutor and Representative Andrea Reeb from Clovis. State House members voted unanimously Monday to establish the commission with subpoena authority and more than $2 million in funding.

Although Epstein never faced criminal charges in New Mexico, the state attorney general’s office confirmed in 2019 that it was conducting an investigation and had spoken with potential victims who had visited the ranch.

In 2023, New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez initiated an investigation into financial institutions used by Epstein and their legal responsibilities, leading to settlements with two banks that allocated $17 million toward human trafficking prevention efforts, according to a spokesperson for Torrez’s office.

ATLANTA — Survivors of a devastating Georgia school shooting broke down in tears Tuesday as they described the terrifying moments when bullets began flying in their classroom two years ago.

The emotional testimony came during the criminal trial of Colin Gray, whose son Colt Gray is accused of orchestrating the deadly September 4, 2024 attack at a high school northeast of Atlanta. The shooting claimed the lives of four people – two educators and two students – while injuring several others.

One ninth-grader described the moment she discovered a bullet wound in her wrist during the chaos in her Algebra I classroom.

“I was also worried that I was going to die and how that would affect my parents because my dad has a heart problem,” the student testified.

As emergency responders evacuated her from the building, she encountered the suspected shooter restrained on the ground and confronted him directly.

“I remember yelling at him that we were kids, because we were kids,” she said during testimony where her face was not shown due to her age.

The case represents part of a growing national trend where prosecutors seek to hold parents accountable when their children carry out mass shootings.

Colt Gray, just 14 when the attack occurred, is facing 29 criminal charges including second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, and multiple counts of cruelty to children.

District Attorney Brad Smith argued in opening statements Monday that Colin Gray bears responsibility for giving his son access to deadly weapons after receiving clear warnings about potential violence.

“This case is about this defendant and his actions in allowing a child that he has custody over access to a firearm and ammunition after being warned that that child was going to harm others,” Smith told jurors.

Defense attorney Brian Hobbs countered that the father couldn’t have prevented what his son deliberately concealed from him.

“That’s the difference between tragedy and criminal liability,” Hobbs argued. “You cannot hold someone criminally responsible for failing to predict what was intentionally hidden from them.”

Investigators revealed that Colt Gray transported a semi-automatic rifle to school hidden in his backpack, with the barrel protruding and concealed by poster board. After leaving his second-period class, he retrieved the weapon from a restroom and opened fire in classrooms and corridors.

The prosecution outlined a disturbing pattern of warning signs that preceded the attack. In September 2021, school officials discovered Colt had searched “how to kill your dad” on a school computer, though authorities later dismissed it as a misunderstanding.

More significantly, 16 months before the shooting in May 2023, federal authorities contacted the family after tracing online threats against an elementary school to their home computer. When questioned about his son’s gun access, Colin Gray assured investigators that they “take this school shooting stuff very seriously.”

Despite these red flags, Colin Gray purchased the rifle as a Christmas gift for his son that year and continued buying accessories and large quantities of ammunition afterward.

Prosecutors revealed that Colin Gray was aware of his son’s disturbing obsession with previous school shooters, including maintaining what they described as a shrine to the Parkland, Florida gunman in his bedroom.

Perhaps most chilling was a text message Colin Gray received from his son just three weeks before the attack: “Whenever something happens, just know the blood is on your hands.”

Court testimony also revealed that Colin Gray recognized his son’s declining mental health and had reached out to counseling services weeks before the shooting.

“We have had a very difficult past couple of years and he needs help. Anger, anxiety, quick to be volatile. I don’t know what to do,” Colin Gray wrote about his son’s condition.

However, prosecutors argue that despite expressing these concerns, Colin Gray failed to follow through on getting his son admitted to an inpatient mental health facility.

SAVANNAH, Ga. — A tragic collision just outside Savannah has claimed the life of a dedicated educator after a man evading federal immigration agents crashed into her vehicle while she was traveling to work, according to law enforcement and school district officials.

The fatal accident occurred Monday when 38-year-old Oscar Vasquez Lopez, a Guatemalan national, attempted to escape during a traffic stop conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. Lopez now faces multiple charges including vehicular homicide, reckless driving, and operating a vehicle without proper licensing, and remained behind bars Tuesday. Federal authorities confirm Lopez was residing in the country without legal status.

ICE agents were actively seeking Lopez to carry out a deportation directive issued by an immigration judge in 2024, according to agency spokesperson Lindsay Williams, who noted Tuesday that Lopez had no prior criminal record.

The sequence of events began when Lopez initially complied with officers’ emergency signals and pulled his vehicle to the side of the road, Williams explained. However, as agents approached, Lopez suddenly accelerated away from the scene, executed a dangerous U-turn, and ran through a red traffic signal before the devastating collision occurred.

When questioned about whether federal officers pursued the fleeing vehicle, Williams clarified: “Chased? I wouldn’t say that. They followed him until he crashed.”

Williams could not specify the distance Lopez traveled before the fatal impact.

School district officials have identified the victim as Linda Davis, who taught special education students at Herman W. Hesse K-8 School in the Savannah-Chatham County system.

Davis earned deep respect throughout her school community, according to Principal Alonna McMullen.

“She dedicated her career to ensuring that every child felt supported, valued, and capable of success,” McMullen stated in an official announcement. “Her kindness, patience, and enthusiasm created a nurturing environment for her students and inspired those around her.”

The deadly collision took place within half a mile of Davis’s workplace. Although students enjoyed a holiday Monday for Presidents Day, teaching staff were scheduled to report for duty. District spokesperson Sheila Blanco confirmed Davis was en route to the school when the accident occurred.

As of Tuesday, jail documentation showed no legal representation had been assigned to Lopez, and bond information was not available. Court records had not yet reflected his case details.

The incident comes amid heightened examination of federal immigration enforcement methods during the current administration’s expanded efforts to address unauthorized immigration, particularly following a recent fatal shooting involving ICE agents in Minneapolis that killed Renee Good and Alex Pretti.

Department of Homeland Security representative Tricia McLaughlin issued a statement criticizing “politicians and the media constantly demonizing ICE officers and encouraging those here illegally to resist arrest.”

Chatham County police confirmed they had no advance knowledge of the federal operation or the traffic stop that preceded the fatal crash.

Area leaders are questioning whether Davis’s death could have been avoided through different enforcement approaches.

“I’ve always been and remain very concerned about the activities of ICE in cities, particularly where they’re not coordinating or communicating,” Savannah Mayor Van Johnson, who previously served in law enforcement, told media representatives Tuesday.

“What this individual was wanted for, did it necessitate the end result?” Johnson asked.

Chester Ellis, who chairs the Chatham County Board of Commissioners, pointed to local police department restrictions that permit vehicle pursuits only when officers suspect violent felony activity is involved or imminent.

“The no-chase policy is to help protect our citizens more than it is anything else,” Ellis explained to WTOC-TV. “So there may have been a different way to corner the individual so that he could not run, or that he could not cause the accident that took the life of Dr. Davis.”

WASHINGTON — American military forces announced Tuesday they launched operations against three vessels suspected of drug trafficking in Latin American waters, resulting in 11 deaths during one of the most lethal days in an ongoing monthslong operation.

Monday’s operations increased the total number of fatalities to a minimum of 145 individuals since the current administration initiated its campaign against what it terms “narcoterrorists” operating small watercraft beginning in early September.

According to U.S. Southern Command, the military targeted suspected narcotics traffickers operating along established smuggling corridors, consistent with most statements regarding the 42 documented operations. Officials reported that two watercraft, each carrying four individuals, were struck in eastern Pacific waters, while a third vessel with three occupants was targeted in Caribbean waters. Military officials released video footage showing the destruction of boats but provided no documentation proving the vessels contained illegal narcotics.

President Donald Trump has declared the United States is engaged in “armed conflict” with Latin American cartels and has defended these operations as essential measures to interrupt drug trafficking. However, the administration has provided minimal evidence supporting its assertions about eliminating “narcoterrorists.”

A 64-year-old man who served more than four decades behind bars for a murder he didn’t commit has been refused bail while challenging his removal from the United States.

Subramanyam Vedam will continue to be held in federal custody as he contests a deportation order from 1999. The Board of Immigration Appeals decided this month to review his case, citing what they termed extraordinary circumstances.

During the previous administration, officials had sought Vedam’s swift removal from the country and transferred him to a Louisiana detention facility last fall before two courts stepped in to halt the process.

During Tuesday’s hearing, Vedam’s attorney contended that her client would likely have avoided deportation and obtained citizenship if the murder case hadn’t derailed his life, considering the immigration policies that existed then. Attorney Ava Benach explained that Vedam would have completed his sentence on drug charges by 1992.

“It was delivery of LSD on a very small scale. This is not importing tons of cocaine,” Benach stated during Tuesday’s proceedings. “He is not a danger to the community. We are talking about offenses that occurred over 40 years ago.”

Last August, a Pennsylvania court dismissed Vedam’s murder conviction related to the 1980 killing of a college acquaintance, after discovering that prosecutors had concealed ballistics evidence during his two trials. Among those who participated remotely in the bail hearing were a Centre County prosecutor and State College’s mayor, where Vedam’s deceased father had served as a distinguished Penn State University professor, according to Benach.

Immigration Judge Tamar Wilson, presiding from Elizabeth, New Jersey, ruled that detention remains required due to his felony drug conviction. She also sided with Department of Homeland Security officials who maintain he poses a public safety threat.

“The fact he’s been a ‘model prisoner’ does not suggest that out in the general public he’s going to be safe,” Wilson stated.

Officials have not yet determined whether Wilson or another judge will preside over the deportation case proceedings. No future hearings have been set.

“Subu is nothing if not resilient, and we’re resolved to emulate the example he sets for us by focusing on the next step in his fight for freedom. We continue to believe his immigration case is strong and look forward to the day we can be together again,” his sister Saraswathi Vedam said, using his family nickname.

She had planned to take him home following his release from state prison on October 3rd, only to watch federal immigration authorities take him into custody instead. Vedam had entered the United States lawfully from India as an infant when his parents returned to State College.

“He was someone who’s suffered a profound injustice,” Benach told The Associated Press previously. “Those 43 years aren’t a blank slate. He lived a remarkable experience in prison.”

Vedam is currently detained at a 1,800-capacity U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in central Pennsylvania.

“Criminal illegal aliens are not welcome in the U.S,” a Department of Homeland Security representative said regarding the case last year.

WASHINGTON – Military officials announced Tuesday that U.S. Southern Command executed three separate operations against suspected drug trafficking boats in the eastern Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea, resulting in the deaths of 11 individuals.

The casualties were distributed across the three operations, with the first strike resulting in four deaths, the second claiming four more lives, and the final operation killing three people, military officials reported.

“Intelligence confirmed the vessels were transiting along known narco-trafficking routes and were engaged in narco-trafficking operations,” SOUTHCOM said in a post on X.

The military command did not provide additional details about the timing or specific locations of the strikes in their Tuesday announcement.

CHICAGO (AP) — When the Rev. Jesse Jackson emerged as a leading voice in what began as primarily a Southern civil rights movement — a cause with significant work still ahead — he became a vital connection between eras.

Jackson built connections spanning from the South’s struggle against Jim Crow laws to the North’s fight against institutional racism, linking the formal, traditional generation surrounding King with the dashiki-clad Black Power movement leaders and today’s hip-hop era activists. He successfully connected seemingly impossible aspirations with real political influence.

“From Martin Luther King to Barack Obama, there’s a bridge called Jesse Jackson,” the Rev. Al Sharpton said.

The civil rights leader, who served as a student of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and continued leading the movement for decades following the beloved leader’s murder, passed away Tuesday according to his family. Jackson was 84 years old.

For more than fifty years, Jackson maintained his public fight for racial equality, economic and political participation, and civil and human rights, continuing even as a neurological condition in recent years impacted his mobility and speech capabilities.

Jackson remained active by commenting on political developments, standing with families of Black Americans killed by law enforcement, and joining COVID-19 vaccination campaigns to address hesitancy in Black communities. His career encompassed presidential campaigns, international diplomatic efforts, and reshaping America’s vocabulary around racial identity.

Though Jackson wasn’t the powerful force he once was in his final years, his participation in racial justice demonstrations and COVID-19 advocacy events, plus his arrest near the U.S. Capitol while demanding Congress eliminate the filibuster to safeguard voting rights, showed he remained determined to fight.

“We’ve always had a place for him,” said the Rev. William Barber II, co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign and among many activists who followed his example. Jackson encouraged them to “live life so that it’s not your alarm clock that awakes you in the morning, but a purpose. … A purpose will get you up when you want to stay down.”

During George Floyd’s memorial service, Jackson’s anguished cry of “I can’t breathe!” cut through the quiet atmosphere of a Minneapolis cathedral. He repeated the phrase two more times as minutes passed, representing the duration Floyd endured with a police officer’s knee on his neck.

This wasn’t simply Jackson expressing his personal sorrow over Floyd’s killing, which triggered worldwide protests against racial injustice. It demonstrated that his voice maintained the unique power that made him an international symbol for civil and human rights for decades.

Jackson returned to energize protesters marching through Minneapolis streets and stood alongside Floyd’s family when a jury found former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin guilty of murder in Floyd’s death. “Even if we win,” he told the demonstrators, “it’s relief, not victory. They’re still killing our people. Stop the violence, save the children. Keep hope alive.”

“I think the fact that he came and then came back for the judge’s verdict, suffering with Parkinson’s, shows the determination that Jesse Jackson had all the way to the end,” Sharpton said about his longtime mentor. “He once said to me, years before he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, ‘I’m not going to stop until I drop. I’m going to die on the battlefield.’”

During the early COVID-19 pandemic period, Jackson received his vaccination and encouraged others to do the same. He highlighted racial inequalities in healthcare and worked with the National Medical Association, representing Black doctors and patients, on a public health initiative to enhance testing and treatment information and recruit more African Americans into medicine.

“It’s America’s unfinished business — we’re free, but not equal,” Jackson told The Associated Press in a 2020 interview. “There’s a reality check that has been brought by the coronavirus, that exposes the weakness and the opportunity.”

Jackson faced criticism from both inside and outside the Black community. Some viewed him as someone who sought attention, too eager to find the spotlight.

Jackson became widely recognized for appearing in photographs captured shortly after King’s assassination on a Memphis hotel balcony on April 4, 1968. For two days following, Jackson wore a turtleneck he claimed was stained with the respected civil rights leader’s blood, including during a King memorial service where he addressed the Chicago City Council: “I come here with a heavy heart because on my chest is the stain of blood from Dr. King’s head.”

Twenty years later, Jackson created history with his White House campaigns. Before Barack Obama’s 2008 victory, Jackson represented the most successful Black presidential candidate in U.S. history, capturing 13 primaries and caucuses for the Democratic nomination in 1988, four years following his initial unsuccessful bid.

“I was able to run for the presidency twice and redefine what was possible; it raised the lid for women and other people of color,” he told the AP in 2011. “Part of my job was to sow seeds of the possibilities.”

Jackson’s influence on American culture included changing the nation’s language around race and identity. In 1988, he joined other leaders in advocating that Black people should be called “African Americans,” creating an identity that recognized both the population’s heritage and their American citizenship.

Through founding and leading Operation PUSH, which later became the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, Jackson transformed demands for Black pride and self-determination into corporate boardroom pressure, pushing executives to create a more inclusive and fair society. His notable diplomatic achievements included securing the release of American civilians overseas during international conflicts.

Jesse Louis Jackson Sr. was born Oct. 8, 1941, in Greenville, South Carolina, to Helen Burns, an unmarried high school student, and Noah Louis Robinson, a married neighbor. Jackson was subsequently adopted by Charles Henry Jackson, who wed his mother.

Jackson served as quarterback at Sterling High School in Greenville and received a football scholarship to the University of Illinois, but said he was informed Black people couldn’t play quarterback. He then transferred to North Carolina A&T in Greensboro, arriving shortly after students there began the sit-in movement to integrate Southern restaurants. He became starting quarterback, student body president, and an honor student in sociology and economics.

Jackson quickly began organizing demonstrations and traveled to Alabama to meet King during the 1965 voting rights march from Selma to Montgomery. Since he was moving to Chicago for theological studies, King’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference gave him responsibility for starting Operation Breadbasket, an effort to pressure companies into hiring more Black employees.

He later described his time with King as “a phenomenal four years of work,” learning how to push for social change within legal boundaries.

The continuous campaigns often meant his college sweetheart, whom he married in 1963, Jacqueline Lavinia Brown, took primary responsibility for raising their five children: Santita Jackson, Yusef DuBois Jackson, Jacqueline Lavinia Jackson Jr., and two future congressmen, former Rep. Jesse L. Jackson Jr., and Rep. Jonathan Luther Jackson. A regular houseguest was Santita’s friend Michelle Robinson, the future first lady.

Jackson, ordained as a Baptist minister in 1968 and earning his Master of Divinity in 2000, also admitted to fathering a child, Ashley Jackson, with Rainbow/PUSH employee Karen L. Stanford. He said he understood the experience of being born outside marriage and was providing her emotional and financial support.

After the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and Jackson separated in 1971, Jackson established his own comprehensive civil rights organization on Chicago’s South Side, with goals ranging from community social services to convincing corporate leaders to hire more minorities. He created the Rainbow Coalition following his first presidential campaign, then combined the political and social justice organizations into the Rainbow PUSH Coalition in 1996.

While Jackson was recognized for his compelling voice, his statements sometimes created problems. In 1984, he apologized for referring to New York City as “Hymietown,” a slur against the city’s substantial Jewish population, in what he said he thought were private remarks to a journalist.

In July 2008, he made news when an open microphone captured him criticizing that Obama was “talking down to Black people.” Despite this, tears flowed down his face when he joined the massive crowd in Chicago’s Grant Park celebrating Obama’s 2008 election victory.

“I wish for a moment that Dr. King or (assassinated civil rights leader) Medgar Evers … could’ve just been there for 30 seconds to see the fruits of their labor,” he told the AP years later. “I became overwhelmed. It was the joy and the journey.”

A gunman opened fire during a youth hockey game at a Rhode Island ice arena Monday afternoon, fatally shooting two adults and wounding three others before a spectator intervened to help stop the violence, according to police.

The deadly incident occurred at the Dennis M. Lynch Arena in Pawtucket, located just outside Providence. By Monday evening, investigators had interviewed nearly 100 witnesses as they work to understand what led to the shooting.

Police Chief Tina Goncalves announced Monday that the gunman died from what appears to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound, though the investigation continues.

Goncalves praised an unidentified spectator who stepped in during the attack, saying the “good Samaritan” helped bring the violence “to a swift end.” The chief did not elaborate on how the individual intervened.

The motive behind the shooting remains unclear, as does whether specific individuals were targeted. Unconfirmed social media footage appears to show the moment gunshots rang out, with players scrambling for safety on the ice while spectators and those on team benches sought cover.

“It appears that this was a targeted event, that it may be a family dispute,” Goncalves stated. Officials confirmed both fatalities were adults but have not yet identified the victims.

The shooter was identified as Robert Dorgan, who also used the name Roberta Esposito and was born in 1969, according to Goncalves.

This tragedy follows another devastating shooting that shook Rhode Island nearly two months ago at Brown University, where two students were killed and nine others injured, along with a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor. In that case, authorities later discovered 48-year-old Claudio Neves Valente dead from a self-inflicted gunshot at a New Hampshire storage unit.

Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee expressed his grief in a public statement, saying “Our state is grieving again.” He added, “As governor, a parent, and a former coach, my heart breaks for the victims, families, students, and everyone impacted by the devastating shooting at Lynch Arena in Pawtucket.”

Tributes are flooding in following the passing of Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, the influential civil rights leader who spent decades at the forefront of America’s fight for equality. Jackson, who worked alongside Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and made two historic runs for the presidency, was 84 years old.

Rev. Bernice King, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s daughter, remembered Jackson’s diplomatic skills and commitment to unity.

“He was a gifted negotiator and a courageous bridge‑builder, serving humanity by bringing calm into tense rooms and creating pathways where none existed. My family shares a long and meaningful history with him, rooted in a shared commitment to justice and love. As we grieve, we give thanks for a life that pushed hope into weary places,” King said.

Rev. Al Sharpton, who considered Jackson a mentor, shared an emotional remembrance of the man who shaped his calling.

“Today, I lost the man who first called me into purpose when I was just twelve years old. And our nation lost one of its greatest moral voices. The Reverend Jesse Louis Jackson was not simply a civil rights leader; he was a movement unto himself. He carried history in his footsteps and hope in his voice. One of the greatest honors of my life was learning at his side. He reminded me that faith without action is just noise. He taught me that protest must have purpose, that faith must have feet, and that justice is not seasonal, it is daily work,” Sharpton stated.

President Donald Trump reflected on his personal relationship with Jackson, highlighting his character and charisma.

“I knew him well, long before becoming President. He was a good man, with lots of personality, grit, and ‘street smarts.’ He was very gregarious ‑ Someone who truly loved people! … Jesse was a force of nature like few others before him,” Trump said.

Illinois Representative Danny Davis, whose Chicago district was familiar to Jackson, emphasized how the civil rights leader’s influence will continue through his family’s ongoing public service.

“So I extend condolences to his family. Mrs. Jackie Jackson, all of his children, and the work that he has done will continue, because they are all seriously involved in public decision-making. And so though he will be gone, he will continue to live on,” Davis remarked.

Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock, who serves as senior pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church where Dr. King once preached, spoke about Jackson’s personal impact and distinctive speaking style.

“As a kid growing up in public housing while watching him run for President, Rev. Jesse Jackson gave me a glimpse of what is possible and taught me to say, ‘I am somebody!’ As an adult, I was proud to call him a friend. With an eloquence and rhythmic rhetoric all his own, Jesse Jackson reminded America that equal justice is not inevitable; it requires vigilance and commitment, and for freedom fighters, sacrifice. His ministry was poetry and spiritual power in the public square. He advanced King’s dream and bent the arc of history closer to justice,” Warnock said.

NAACP leadership issued a joint statement honoring Jackson’s contributions to the organization and the broader civil rights movement.

“Reverend Jesse Jackson was not only a civil rights icon—he was family to the NAACP. His work advanced Black America at every turn. He challenged this nation to live up to its highest ideals, and he reminded our movement that hope is both a strategy and a responsibility. His historic run for president inspired millions and brought race to the forefront of American politics,” said NAACP Chairman Leon W. Russell, Vice Chair Karen Boykin Towns and President & CEO Derrick Johnson.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa acknowledged Jackson’s international advocacy, particularly his opposition to apartheid.

“His campaigns for an end to apartheid included disinvestment from the apartheid economy and challenging the support the regime enjoyed in certain circles and institutions internationally. We are deeply indebted to the energy, principled clarity and personal risk with which he supported our struggle and campaigned for freedom and equality in other parts of the world,” Ramaphosa said.

The nation mourns the passing of Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, a towering civil rights leader who dedicated his life to fighting for justice and equality. The 84-year-old activist, who served as a protégé to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and made two historic runs for president, died Tuesday at his Chicago residence with loved ones by his side.

Throughout his remarkable career, Jackson championed causes for America’s most vulnerable populations, tackling everything from voting access and employment discrimination to educational reform and healthcare disparities. His work extended far beyond U.S. borders, where he secured notable diplomatic achievements with international leaders. Through his Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, Jackson transformed calls for Black empowerment and self-reliance into concrete corporate reforms, compelling business leaders to create a more inclusive and fair society.

Jackson became synonymous with his empowering message delivered through a poem he frequently shared: “I am Somebody.” His words resonated across racial lines as he declared, “I may be poor, but I am Somebody; I may be young; but I am Somebody; I may be on welfare, but I am Somebody,” establishing himself as the most prominent civil rights voice following King’s legacy.

His daughter Santita Jackson verified that her father passed peacefully at his Chicago home with family members present.

Tributes have flooded in from across the political and social spectrum. Kristen Clarke, who served as Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights under President Biden, emphasized that Jackson’s influence “can be felt in virtually every aspect of American life.”

“A tireless and extraordinary public servant, his charge to all of us was to stay hopeful, keep up the good fight and respect the dignity and humanity of all people,” Clarke said in an emailed statement on Tuesday. “Jackson has been, and will always be, a central part of the story regarding America’s ongoing quest for justice and equality.”

Martin Luther King III and his spouse Andrea King described Jackson’s unique role in American history. “Jackson was more than a civil rights advocate—he was a living bridge between generations, carrying forward the unfinished work and sacred promise of the Civil Rights Movement,” they stated.

“He walked with courage when the road was uncertain, spoke with conviction when the truth was inconvenient, and stood with the poor, the marginalized, and the forgotten when it was not popular to do so. His life was a testament to the power of faith in action—faith that justice could be won, that dignity belongs to every person, and that love must always have the final word.”

“May his memory be a wellspring of strength and courage for all who continue the sacred work to which he gave his life. As he so often reminded us, ‘Keep hope alive.’”

Bishop William J. Barber II, co-founder of the Poor People’s Campaign, reflected on Jackson’s spiritual impact and personal mentorship. “Jesse Jackson was a gift from God and a witness that God exists in the ways he cared for and lifted all people, the way he called forth a rainbow coalition of people to challenge economic and social inequality from the pulpit to a historic presidential run, the way he dared to keep hope alive whenever the nation struggled with being who she says she is and yet ought to be,” Barber said.

“When I was a college student, he was a gift to me as a mentor, and it has been my great privilege to have him walk alongside me through my whole public ministry,” Barber continued. “May we all take up his hope for the America that has never yet been but nevertheless must be.”

Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia, who also serves as senior pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church where the King family worshipped, praised Jackson’s moral leadership. “America has lost one of its great moral voices. Reverend Jesse Jackson spent his life working to ensure our nation lives up to its highest ideals. From his early days as a young staffer with Dr. King onto the national stage, he fought for freedom, racial justice, equality, and for the human dignity of the marginalized and the poor,” Warnock said.

“With an eloquence and rhythmic rhetoric all his own, Jesse Jackson reminded America that equal justice is not inevitable; it requires vigilance and commitment, and for freedom fighters, sacrifice. His ministry was poetry and spiritual power in the public square. He advanced King’s dream and bent the arc of history closer to justice,” Warnock added.

Jackson’s international activism also drew recognition, particularly his work opposing South African apartheid. After visiting South Africa in July 1979 following Steve Biko’s death, Jackson became a fierce advocate for American sanctions against the apartheid government while supporting Nelson Mandela’s freedom movement.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa acknowledged Jackson’s global impact, stating: “His campaigns for an end to apartheid included disinvestment from the apartheid economy and challenging the support the regime enjoyed in certain circles and institutions internationally. We are deeply indebted to the energy, principled clarity and personal risk with which he supported our struggle and campaigned for freedom and equality in other parts of the world.”

Rev. Al Sharpton, who considered Jackson a mentor, shared deeply personal reflections on their relationship. “Today, I lost the man who first called me into purpose when I was just twelve years old. And our nation lost one of its greatest moral voices. The Reverend Jesse Louis Jackson was not simply a civil rights leader; he was a movement unto himself. He carried history in his footsteps and hope in his voice,” Sharpton said.

“One of the greatest honors of my life was learning at his side. He reminded me that faith without action is just noise. He taught me that protest must have purpose, that faith must have feet, and that justice is not seasonal, it is daily work.”

Rev. Bernice King, daughter of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., highlighted Jackson’s skills as a peacemaker. “He was a gifted negotiator and a courageous bridge‑builder, serving humanity by bringing calm into tense rooms and creating pathways where none existed,” she said.

“My family shares a long and meaningful history with him, rooted in a shared commitment to justice and love. As we grieve, we give thanks for a life that pushed hope into weary places.”

Even President Trump offered his condolences through social media, calling Jackson “a good man, with lots of personality, grit, and ‘street smarts.’” The Republican president described Jackson as “very gregarious -Someone who truly loved people!”

“He loved his family greatly, and to them I send my deepest sympathies and condolences. Jesse will be missed!” Trump wrote.

Young Americans are stepping away from the dating scene at alarming rates, according to fresh research that adds another layer to ongoing concerns about changing social patterns among this generation. The Institute for Family Studies has published findings showing that more than two-thirds of young adults seldom participate in dating or avoid it entirely.

Financial hardship stands as the leading obstacle preventing young people from pursuing romantic relationships, with most respondents indicating they lack sufficient funds for dating activities. However, researchers also point to growing levels of social anxiety among this demographic, along with an increasing preoccupation with digital entertainment and online interactions as contributing factors to this dating decline.

This trend aligns with other documented shifts in young adult behavior, including reduced marriage rates and declining birth rates, painting a picture of a generation that is fundamentally altering traditional relationship milestones.

When Mónica Ramírez discovered she was selected as an Elevate Prize recipient, the recognition represented far more than financial assistance for her organization.

The acknowledgment validates the mission of Justice for Migrant Women, her Fremont, Ohio-based nonprofit that champions the rights of migrant women and other underserved populations, particularly during a period of heightened immigration enforcement under the Trump administration.

“As immigrant and migrant community members are being threatened and attacked around our country, it’s really important to have shows of support like the Elevate Prize is providing because we’ve seen a retraction — a big retraction — in support,” Ramírez explained, noting she became emotional upon learning of her selection. “The award means we are able to do the work that we know is so urgently needed.”

Each of the ten organizations announced Tuesday as Elevate Prize recipients will obtain $300,000 in unrestricted funds, while their leaders receive guidance on expanding their operations and enhancing public awareness of their causes.

Carolina Garcia Jayaram, CEO of the Elevate Prize Foundation, emphasized to The Associated Press that maintaining a strong public presence has gained critical importance in today’s climate. Beyond supporting fundraising efforts and public education, visibility “is also a form of protection,” she explained.

“It’s more important than ever to double down on leaders like Monica,” Jayaram stated, referencing how Imran Ahmed, a previous Elevate Prize recipient who heads the Center for Countering Digital Hate, faced entry restrictions to the United States last year. Secretary of State Marco Rubio cited Ahmed’s “organized efforts to coerce American platforms to censor, demonetize and suppress American viewpoints they oppose.” A federal court later prevented the Trump administration from detaining Ahmed, a British national residing in Washington.

The foundation plans to launch “Good Is Trending,” a new program designed to increase visibility for prize recipients, including displaying their work on NASDAQ’s Times Square billboards Tuesday.

Mara Fleishman, who leads the Chef Ann Foundation in Boulder, Colorado, anticipates this increased exposure will elevate her organization’s mission of bringing scratch-made meals to educational institutions. Her group has secured backing from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Waverley Street Foundation while helping schools create menus with fewer processed ingredients and more locally-sourced fresh produce.

“We’ve worked with over 17,000 schools and reached more than five million kids,” Fleishman noted. “But how do we take the work we’ve done and turn it into something digestible for legislators and advocates to understand what is possible?”

Fleishman emphasized her foundation must discover methods to mobilize the public as a “force multiplier” for their message, carrying it into school board discussions and state legislative chambers nationwide.

Much of this outreach depends on effective storytelling, according to Jayaram. The Elevate Prize selection committee considered nominees’ potential narratives when determining winners.

“People pay more attention to people than they do to issues,” Jayaram observed. “So when you can ground an issue in the story of a person, of a community, of a neighborhood, suddenly the whole world can start to engage and relate to that because it’s not that different from a community and a neighborhood and a family somewhere else.”

The foundation has championed narrative-driven advocacy for several years, establishing Elevate Studios last year to craft compelling stories about prize winners across various media, from YouTube content to theatrical documentary releases.

Ramírez expressed enthusiasm about amplifying the voices of those served by Justice for Migrant Women.

“I really think that the Elevate Prize is going to help us give a microphone to the people that we serve,” she stated. “That’s my hope.”

The complete roster of 2026 Elevate Prize recipients includes: Shabana Basij-Rasikh, president and co-founder of SOLA (School of Leadership, Afghanistan) supporting Afghan girls’ education; Hillary Blout, founder and executive director of For the People, assisting with prison releases; Manu Chopra, CEO of Karya, delivering AI technology to low-income areas; Mara Fleishman, CEO of Chef Ann Foundation, promoting scratch-made school meals; Aisha Nyandoro, CEO of Springboard to Opportunities, supporting federally subsidized housing residents; Tom Osborn, founder and CEO of Shamiri Institute, providing mental health services to underserved areas beginning in Africa; Ai-jen Poo, executive director of Caring Across Generations, advocating for care as a national priority; Mónica Ramírez, founder and president of Justice for Migrant Women, defending migrant and rural women’s rights; Krutika Ravishankar, co-founder and executive director of Farmers for Forests, protecting and restoring Indian forests; and Utkarsh Saxena, executive director of Adalat AI, creating artificial intelligence tools for court systems.

The Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, a towering figure in America’s civil rights movement, passed away on Tuesday at the age of 84. Jackson, who worked closely with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and launched two campaigns for the presidency, dedicated his life to championing causes for marginalized communities both in America and internationally.

Throughout his decades of activism, Jackson fought tirelessly for disadvantaged populations, tackling critical issues including voting rights, employment equality, educational access, and healthcare reform.

The Associated Press photo editors have compiled a visual tribute showcasing Jackson’s remarkable journey as a civil rights pioneer.

Law enforcement agencies are grappling with an unprecedented surge in cocaine production and distribution that’s creating widespread problems across the United States and internationally.

The dramatic increase in cocaine availability has reached record-breaking levels, according to drug enforcement statistics, leading to significant public health and safety challenges in communities nationwide.

This resurgence of the illegal drug trade is generating serious consequences that extend far beyond traditional trafficking routes, affecting families and communities with devastating results.

Officials say the current cocaine crisis represents one of the most significant drug enforcement challenges in recent years, requiring coordinated responses from multiple agencies and international partners.

The situation continues to evolve as authorities work to address both the supply chain issues and the growing demand that’s fueling this dangerous trend.

CHICAGO — Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, the influential civil rights leader who worked closely with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and twice sought the presidency, passed away Tuesday at the age of 84.

Family members confirmed Jackson’s death in an online statement, saying he died peacefully with loved ones by his side.

Jackson first gained prominence as a young activist in Chicago when King summoned him to the Lorraine Motel in Memphis just before the civil rights icon’s assassination. Following King’s death, Jackson stepped forward to carry on the movement’s mission.

Throughout his life, Jackson championed causes for marginalized communities both domestically and internationally, fighting for voting rights, employment opportunities, educational access, and healthcare reform. He achieved significant diplomatic breakthroughs with global leaders and used his Rainbow/PUSH Coalition to push corporate America toward greater diversity and fairness.

Jackson became famous for his empowering message delivered through a poem he frequently recited: “I am Somebody.” The verse continued: “I may be poor, but I am Somebody; I may be young; but I am Somebody; I may be on welfare, but I am Somebody.”

This philosophy reflected Jackson’s own journey from humble beginnings in the segregated South to becoming the nation’s most prominent civil rights figure following King’s legacy.

Even while battling serious health issues in recent years, including a neurological condition that impaired his movement and speech, Jackson remained active in protests against racial inequality during the Black Lives Matter era. As recently as 2024, he made public appearances at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago and attended a City Council session supporting a ceasefire resolution in the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Speaking to protesters in Minneapolis during the George Floyd case, Jackson said: “Even if we win, it’s relief, not victory. They’re still killing our people. Stop the violence, save the children. Keep hope alive.”

Jackson’s distinctive speaking style, rooted in Black church traditions, commanded audiences wherever he went. He was known for memorable phrases like “Hope not dope” and “If my mind can conceive it and my heart can believe it then I can achieve it.”

While Jackson faced criticism from some who viewed him as seeking publicity, he reflected on his life’s work in a 2011 interview with The Associated Press, expressing gratitude for continuing the work of previous leaders while paving the way for future generations.

“A part of our life’s work was to tear down walls and build bridges, and in a half century of work, we’ve basically torn down walls,” Jackson explained. “Sometimes when you tear down walls, you’re scarred by falling debris, but your mission is to open up holes so others behind you can run through.”

During his final months, Jackson required round-the-clock medical care and lost his ability to speak, instead communicating through hand squeezes with family and visitors.

His son, Jesse Jackson Jr., told the AP in October: “I get very emotional knowing that these speeches belong to the ages now.”

Legendary civil rights activist Jesse Jackson has passed away at the age of 84, his family confirmed Tuesday in a public statement.

“Our father was a servant leader – not only to our family, but to the oppressed, the voiceless, and the overlooked around the world,” the Jackson family said.

The influential Baptist minister, who had called Chicago home for many years, received his Parkinson’s disease diagnosis in 2017.

Jackson became a prominent voice for African American rights and other underserved populations during the transformative civil rights era of the 1960s, working closely under the guidance of his mentor, Martin Luther King Jr., the renowned Baptist preacher and social justice champion.

Despite facing various scandals throughout his career, Jackson maintained his position as the nation’s leading civil rights advocate for many decades.

His political aspirations led him to seek the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination twice, in 1984 and 1988, where he energized Black voters and progressive white supporters with surprisingly competitive campaigns, though he ultimately did not become the first African American to secure a major party’s presidential nomination. Throughout his career, he never won elected office.

The activist established two Chicago-headquartered civil rights organizations: Operation PUSH and the National Rainbow Coalition. During the 1990s, he served as a special diplomatic representative to Africa under Democratic President Bill Clinton. Jackson also played key roles in negotiating the freedom of numerous Americans and foreign nationals detained in countries such as Syria, Cuba, Iraq and Serbia.

POWERFUL SPEAKING ABILITY

During the 1980s, Jackson leveraged his captivating speaking skills to advance his political goals. No other African American candidate achieved Jackson’s level of success in pursuing a major party presidential nomination until Barack Obama, also from Chicago, won the presidency in 2008.

During his 1984 campaign, Jackson secured 3.3 million votes in Democratic primary elections, representing approximately 18% of total votes cast, placing third behind eventual nominee Walter Mondale and Gary Hart in the contest to challenge Republican President Ronald Reagan. His campaign suffered setbacks after reports emerged that Jackson had used derogatory terms when referring to Jewish people and New York City in private conversations.

Four years later in 1988, Jackson presented himself as a more refined and mainstream contender, finishing as runner-up in the Democratic primary race against Republican George H.W. Bush. Jackson provided strong competition to eventual Democratic nominee Michael Dukakis, capturing victories in 11 state primaries and caucuses, particularly in Southern states, and earning 6.8 million votes in primary contests, representing 29% of the total.

Jackson positioned himself as someone who would break down barriers for minorities, the economically disadvantaged, and those without political power. He delivered a memorable address at the 1988 Democratic convention, sharing his personal journey and urging Americans to seek unity.

“America is not a blanket woven from one thread, one color, one cloth,” Jackson told the delegates in Atlanta.

“Wherever you are tonight, you can make it. Hold your head high, stick your chest out. You can make it. It gets dark sometimes, but the morning comes. Don’t you surrender. Suffering breeds character, character breeds faith. In the end, faith will not disappoint,” Jackson added.

At age 76 in 2017, Jackson revealed his Parkinson’s disease diagnosis, a neurological condition characterized by tremors, muscle rigidity, and impaired balance and movement coordination, noting he had experienced symptoms for three years prior to the announcement.

CHILDHOOD IN THE SOUTH

Jackson entered the world on October 8, 1941, in Greenville, South Carolina, born to a 16-year-old high school student mother and a 33-year-old married neighbor. His mother subsequently wed another man who legally adopted Jackson. His childhood unfolded during America’s Jim Crow period, a system of harsh racist legislation and customs primarily originating in the South designed to oppress Black Americans.

After receiving a football scholarship to the University of Illinois, Jackson transferred to a historically Black institution due to what he described as discriminatory treatment. His civil rights involvement began during his time at North Carolina Agricultural & Technical College, where he faced arrest for attempting to access a segregated public library in South Carolina.

Jackson studied at Chicago Theological Seminary and received Baptist ministerial ordination in 1968, despite not completing his degree requirements.

He became a trusted aide to civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. and frequently accompanied him on travels. When King was murdered by white assassin James Earl Ray on the balcony of Memphis’s Lorraine Motel, Jackson was present one floor below. Jackson angered some of King’s other colleagues when he told media he had held the dying King and was the final person King addressed, claims they challenged.

King, who led the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, had appointed the dynamic Jackson to a leadership position focused on creating economic opportunities within Black communities.

Following disagreements with King’s SCLC successor Ralph Abernathy, Jackson established his own civil rights organization in Chicago called Operation PUSH during the early 1970s. In 1984, he created the National Rainbow Coalition, which expanded civil rights advocacy to include women’s and LGBTQ+ rights, with both organizations combining in 1996. After more than fifty years of leadership and advocacy, he resigned as president of the Rainbow-PUSH Coalition in 2023.

Jackson married Jacqueline Brown, whom he met during college, in 1962, and they raised five children together. Their son Jesse Jackson Jr. won election to the U.S. House of Representatives but later resigned and served prison time following a fraud conviction. Jackson also fathered a daughter in 1999 with a staff member from his civil rights organizations, creating a public scandal.

Jackson gained recognition for his diplomatic efforts. Following his successful 1984 negotiation for Syria’s release of U.S. naval aviator Robert Goodman Jr., President Ronald Reagan welcomed Jackson to the White House and thanked him for his “mission of mercy.” In 1990, Jackson met with Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein to secure freedom for hundreds of Americans and others following Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait. He also facilitated the 1984 release of numerous Cuban and American prisoners from Cuban facilities and the 1999 release of three U.S. airmen detained in Serbia.

From 1992 to 2000, he hosted a weekly CNN program, advocated for corporate initiatives supporting Black economic advancement, and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America’s highest civilian recognition, from Clinton in 2000.

Even in his later years, Jackson remained active in social justice causes, speaking out against the police killing of George Floyd and other Black Americans during the 2020 global racial justice protests.

Authorities examining the vanishing of Nancy Guthrie have extracted genetic material from a glove discovered in proximity to her residence. Should direct matching efforts prove unsuccessful, law enforcement may explore family tree databases for potential leads.

Legal proceedings commenced Monday in Hall County, Georgia, for Colin Gray, whose son stands accused in the Apalachee High School shooting case.

The court proceedings mark a significant development in the case that has drawn widespread attention to the role of parents in school violence incidents.

A federal trial commenced Tuesday for nine defendants accused of participating in a violent incident at an immigration enforcement facility in North Texas during July 4th celebrations. The suspects face terrorism-related charges brought forward by Trump administration prosecutors.

The shooting occurred at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility, prompting federal authorities to pursue serious criminal charges against those allegedly involved in the attack.

Federal prosecutors have decided to pursue terrorism charges in connection with the Independence Day incident, signaling the severity with which authorities are treating the case.

NEW ORLEANS, La. — While most Americans return to their regular routines following the Presidents Day weekend, the Big Easy is throwing its biggest party of the year as Fat Tuesday festivities take center stage across the Crescent City.

Fat Tuesday serves as the grand finale of the multi-week Carnival celebration, offering residents and visitors one last opportunity for extravagant celebration and feasting before the solemn Lenten season of fasting and contemplation begins. This beloved tradition always takes place on the day preceding Ash Wednesday in the Christian calendar.

The day’s festivities in Louisiana’s largest city include several signature processions, including the famous Zulu Social Aide & Pleasure Club parade. Participants in this beloved event don traditional African-themed costumes while distributing coveted souvenirs to eager spectators, including plastic jewelry, sweets, commemorative coins, plush toys, drinking cups and various novelties. The parade’s most prized giveaway remains the specially decorated coconuts that parade-goers eagerly seek to catch.

As the day progresses, the Rex parade, featuring the traditional King of Carnival, will make its way down the iconic St. Charles Avenue. Spectators will gather beneath the magnificent oak trees draped in Spanish moss and colorful beads to witness this spectacular procession.

The Carnival celebration is renowned for its massive, ornate floats and the elaborate costumes worn by participants. Notable among these are the Black masking Indians, who create stunning outfits featuring intricate beadwork, jewels, and dramatic feathered headpieces. Throughout the French Quarter, revelers showcase handmade costumes that embody the distinctive character of New Orleans.

The festivities extend far beyond the city limits, encompassing celebrations throughout Louisiana. These range from elegant private galas to the traditional Cajun custom known as Courir de Mardi Gras, or the Fat Tuesday Run. This rural Central Louisiana tradition features costumed participants who perform, solicit ingredients from local residents, and chase live chickens that will later be prepared in a community gumbo feast.

Similar Carnival celebrations are taking place in other Gulf Coast communities, including Mobile, Alabama, and Pensacola, Florida. The tradition also continues in internationally recognized festivals throughout Brazil and various European nations.

Veteran television journalist Anderson Cooper announced Monday his departure from CBS’s long-running newsmagazine ’60 Minutes’ after nearly two decades, citing his desire to spend more quality time with his young children.

Cooper, who has simultaneously worked for both CBS and CNN since 2006, will continue hosting his nightly program ‘Anderson Cooper 360′ on CNN while wrapping up his remaining commitments to ’60 Minutes’ through the current season, which concludes in May.

The correspondent made his announcement during a period of internal challenges at the prestigious Sunday evening news program. Cooper’s most recent appearance was this past Sunday, where he presented a segment featuring documentary filmmaker Ken Burns.

‘Being a correspondent at ’60 Minutes’ has been one of the great honors of my career,’ Cooper stated. ‘I got to tell amazing stories, and work with some of the best producers, editors and camera crew in the business. For nearly 20 years, I’ve been able to balance my jobs and CNN and CBS, but I have little kids now and I want to spend as much time with them as possible, while they still want to spend time with me.’

Cooper’s departure coincides with ongoing tensions within the newsroom under the leadership of Bari Weiss, who became CBS News editor-in-chief last fall. The timing has sparked speculation about potential connections between his exit and recent editorial decisions at the network.

The journalist began contributing to ’60 Minutes’ during the 2006-2007 season through an unusual arrangement that allowed him to maintain his primary role at CNN, where his evening show has aired since 2003.

CBS News released a statement acknowledging Cooper’s contributions over the past two decades. ‘We’re grateful to him for dedicating so much of his life to this broadcast, and understand the importance of spending more time with family,’ the network said. ”60 Minutes’ will be here if he ever wants to return.’

The newsmagazine has faced recent controversies, including a December incident where leadership postponed a report from correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi about immigration policies from the previous Trump administration. Network executives requested additional efforts to secure interviews with administration officials, though Alfonsi reportedly viewed the decision as politically motivated. The piece eventually aired one month later with supplementary comments but no on-camera interviews.

Additionally, the program became entangled in legal action when former President Donald Trump filed a lawsuit over the handling of an interview with 2024 election candidate Kamala Harris. CBS’s parent company Paramount Global ultimately reached an out-of-court settlement with Trump, causing frustration among some staff members.

The online news outlet Breaker initially broke the story of Cooper’s departure from CBS.

Law enforcement officials in Arizona have definitively cleared the family of missing 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie from suspicion in her kidnapping case, according to Sheriff Chris Nanos.

The family members, encompassing “all siblings and spouses,” have demonstrated full cooperation and kindness throughout the investigation into the abduction, Nanos stated.

“To suggest otherwise is not only wrong, it is cruel,” he said in a statement. “The Guthrie family are victims, plain and simple.”

On Sunday, investigators revealed they had secured a DNA sample from a glove discovered near Nancy Guthrie’s Arizona residence, which appears to correspond with the pair worn by a masked intruder captured on doorbell camera video prior to her disappearance two weeks ago.

The elderly woman was last observed on January 31 when family members brought her home near Tucson following dinner together, with relatives filing a missing person report the next day, according to officials.

Sheriff Nanos explained that the senior Guthrie faced severe mobility restrictions and was unable to leave her residence without assistance, prompting investigators to determine early in the case that she had been forcibly taken.

Since her disappearance, at least two alleged ransom demands have emerged, both initially sent to media organizations. No direct communication has occurred between suspected perpetrators and either Guthrie’s relatives or law enforcement.

Blood evidence discovered on her front porch was verified through DNA analysis to belong to Guthrie, officials confirmed last week. Both authorities and family have characterized her as having fragile health and requiring daily medications for survival. She also relies on a pacemaker.

Savannah Guthrie, the 54-year-old co-host of NBC’s popular morning program “Today,” has shared multiple video appeals alongside her siblings Camron Guthrie and Annie Guthrie, begging for their mother’s safe return and requesting public assistance in resolving the case.

Sheriff Nanos told Reuters that no evidence confirming Nancy Guthrie remains alive has emerged since the kidnapping, though he noted that “there’s not been any proof of death either,” stating his operational assumption is that she survives.

During a Sunday interview with the New York Post, President Donald Trump called for the immediate and safe release of Guthrie’s abductors, indicating he would support the Justice Department pursuing capital punishment if she is discovered deceased.

Officials would need to locate and secure convictions against suspects before any sentencing considerations could proceed.

NEW YORK — Frederick Wiseman, the distinguished documentary filmmaker renowned for “Titicut Follies” and more than three dozen other films that provided an unprecedented examination of American institutional life, passed away Monday at the age of 96.

His family and production company Zipporah Films confirmed the filmmaker’s death in a joint announcement, though specific details surrounding his passing were not disclosed.

“He will be deeply missed by his family, friends, colleagues, and the countless filmmakers and audiences around the world whose lives and perspectives were shaped by his unique vision,” according to the released statement.

Wiseman stood among cinema’s most respected and impactful documentary makers, receiving an honorary Oscar in 2016 after creating more than 35 films, many running several hours in length. His projects examined everything from suburban educational facilities to horse racing venues, finding homes on public broadcasting, film festivals, and retrospective screenings while earning widespread critical acclaim. Though he didn’t begin feature filmmaking until his mid-thirties, Wiseman quickly earned recognition alongside—and sometimes surpassing—notable contemporaries like D.A. Pennebaker and Robert Drew in establishing documentary cinema as a compelling artistic medium.

Beginning with “High School” and the controversial “Titicut Follies,” Wiseman developed a distinctive, powerful approach using minimal crews, often handling sound recording duties himself. His work generated praise, controversy, debate, criticism, and in the case of “Titicut Follies,” extensive court battles.

“I don’t set out to be confrontational, but I think sometimes the content of the movie runs against people’s expectations and fantasies about the subject matter,” Wiseman explained to Gawker in 2013.

The filmmaker’s goal involved creating “as many films as possible about different aspects of American life,” frequently choosing straightforward titles like “Hospital,” “Public Housing,” “Basic Training,” and “Boxing Gym.” Beyond institutional examination, he captured individual human experiences: elderly citizens seeking welfare assistance, military recruits facing mistreatment, medical professionals treating drug-affected patients, and retail employees practicing customer service techniques.

“The institution is also just an excuse to observe human behavior in somewhat defined conditions,” Wiseman explained to The Associated Press in 2020. “The films are as much about that as they are about institutions.”

“Titicut Follies,” which debuted in 1967, documented conditions at Massachusetts’ Bridgewater State Hospital for the criminally insane. Wiseman captured disturbing scenes of naked patients being tormented by cruel staff members and one individual being force-fed through nasal tubing while restrained. The shocking content proved so damaging that Massachusetts authorities successfully limited the film’s distribution, creating legendary status among those seeking to view it.

His 1968 release “High School” chronicled everyday experiences at a Philadelphia-area suburban school. The film showed students being interrogated about phone call permissions, English instructors analyzing Simon & Garfunkel’s “The Dangling Conversation,” and uncomfortable health education sessions where boys were told that increased activity indicated greater insecurity.

“What we see in Fred Wiseman’s documentary … is so familiar and so extraordinarily evocative that a feeling of empathy with the students floods over us,” wrote The New Yorker’s Pauline Kael. “Wiseman extends our understanding of our common life the way novelists used to.”

Wiseman created films without voice-over narration, pre-recorded music, or explanatory text. However, he strongly rejected association with the “cinema verite” movement of the 1960s and ’70s, dismissing it as a “pompous French term that has absolutely no meaning.”

Academy Award winner Errol Morris called him “the undisputed king of misanthropic cinema,” though Wiseman rejected characterization as an activist filmmaker seeking to expose wrongdoing. He viewed himself as a subjective yet fair-minded observer who developed opinions through the filmmaking process itself, reviewing hundreds of hours of material to construct narratives that could be either discouraging or uplifting. “High School II” examined an East Harlem educational facility in the 1990s, where he found inspiration in educators’ dedication.

“I think it’s as important to document kindness, civility and generosity of spirit as it is to show cruelty, banality and indifference,” Wiseman stated during his honorary Oscar acceptance.

Even in his eighties and nineties, Wiseman maintained his adventurous filmmaking spirit, producing “Crazy Horse” about Parisian erotic entertainment, the four-hour “At Berkeley” examining the California university system, and the two-and-a-half-hour “Monrovia, Indiana” exploring rural community life. He also maintained extensive theater involvement, directing works by Samuel Beckett and William Luce while adapting his “Welfare” film into operatic form. In 2025, he appeared in acting roles in “Jane Austen Wrecked My Life” as a poet and provided voice work as a radio announcer in “Eephus.”

Much of his filmography was produced through Zipporah, the company named after his wife, who died in 2021. The couple had two children together.

Born in Boston to a prominent lawyer father and a mother who worked in children’s psychiatric care while harboring acting ambitions, Wiseman received elite education at Williams College and Yale Law School despite attending institutions with Jewish enrollment restrictions. His diverse professional background proved invaluable for his future filmmaking career.

During the 1950s and early 1960s, he served in various roles including the Massachusetts attorney general’s office, court reporting in Fort Benning, Georgia, and Philadelphia, research work at Brandeis University, and teaching at Boston Law School. Military service in Paris in 1955 provided early film experience through street photography with a Super 8 camera.

“I reached the witching age of 30 and figured I better do something I liked,” Wiseman told the AP in 2016. “It was just a few years after the technological developments that it made it possible to shoot synchronous sound … so that opened up the world for filmmaking. And there were so many good subjects that hadn’t been filmed, as there still are.”

His film career began with narrative drama after reading William Miller’s “The Cool World,” a novel about young Black individuals in Harlem. Wiseman contacted the author, secured rights, and produced the low-budget 1964 adaptation directed by Shirley Clarke, gaining confidence in his ability to manage film projects independently.

While teaching at Boston Law School, Wiseman arranged student visits to the nearby Bridgewater facility. In 1965, he contacted officials proposing a film that would eventually become “Titicut Follies,” promising to provide “audience factual material about a state prison but will also give an imaginative and poetic quality that will set it apart from the cliche documentary about crime and illness.”

Following the film’s New York Film Festival screening, Massachusetts pursued legal action claiming Wiseman violated prisoner privacy rights. For over twenty years, “Titicut Follies” could only be shown in restricted venues like libraries and colleges. The prohibition was gradually lifted when Superior Court Judge Andrew Meyer first required face blurring for public screenings, then completely removed all restrictions in 1991.

“I have viewed the film and agree that it is a substantial and significant intrusion into the privacy of the inmates shown in the film,” Meyer wrote in his 1989 decision. “However, I also regarded ‘Titicut Follies’ as an outstanding film, artistically and thoughtfully edited with great social and historical value.

“Another observation about the film: It is true.”

Source: https://srnnews.com/oscar-winning-filmmaker-frederick-wiseman-dies-leaving-legacy-of-american-institutions/

Veteran journalist Anderson Cooper is ending his nearly two-decade tenure with CBS’s acclaimed news magazine ’60 Minutes,’ according to an insider with knowledge of the situation who spoke Monday. The move marks another significant personnel shift for the long-running program as the network undergoes broader newsroom reorganization.

Cooper has served as a correspondent for ’60 Minutes’ since the 2006-2007 television season through a collaborative arrangement between CBS News and CNN, as noted on his CBS News profile.

Among his notable recent contributions to the program were investigative pieces examining individuals suffering from long-term COVID-19 effects and coverage of a shipwreck discovered off Mobile, Alabama, thought to be the final slave vessel to reach American shores.

The journalist became part of CNN’s team in 2001 under Warner Bros Discovery and has covered major stories including the conflict in Iraq, the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, and the environmental disaster caused by the Gulf of Mexico oil leak.

The news of Cooper’s upcoming exit from ’60 Minutes’ was initially disclosed by Lachlan Cartwright in his Breaker newsletter.

Source: https://srnnews.com/anderson-cooper-to-leave-cbs-60-minutes-program-source-says/

Legendary documentary filmmaker Frederick Wiseman has died at age 96, according to an announcement from Zipporah Films, the distribution company he established.

The filmmaker passed away peacefully on Monday, though no specific cause of death was released.

Throughout his remarkable six-decade career, Wiseman created approximately 50 documentaries that took viewers inside the everyday institutions that shape American life – from neighborhood stores and public schools to city halls, zoos, courthouses, and hospitals.

His approach was uniquely immersive and unbiased, allowing audiences to witness how these organizations function and affect the people within them.

“The audience is placed in the middle of these events and asked to think through their own relationship to what they are seeing and hearing,” Wiseman explained to Documentary Magazine in 1991. “They are asked to ask themselves why I have selected and arranged the material in this particular form.”

A DISTINCTIVE FILMMAKING APPROACH

Wiseman pioneered what became known as “direct cinema,” a documentary style similar to the French “cinéma vérité” movement. His films featured no narrator explaining events, no formal interviews with subjects, and no added soundtrack – only the natural sounds occurring within each scene.

The filmmaker would typically shoot around 200 hours of raw footage, then personally edit the material down to feature length. He described his documentaries as “reality dreams” and “expressions of my curiosity.”

Born on January 1, 1930, in Boston, Wiseman was the sole child of Jacob Leo Wiseman, a Russian immigrant who worked as an attorney, and Gertrude Kotzen, who held an administrative position at a children’s hospital psychiatry department.

Initially pursuing law, Wiseman studied and taught in the field before discovering his passion lay elsewhere.

“I didn’t like law school because the stuff I had to read was so badly written,” he told the Metrograph journal in 2016. “I detested teaching as much as I detested law school.”

After completing military service following the Korean War, Wiseman transitioned into filmmaking at age 37.

GROUNDBREAKING EARLY WORK

His debut documentary, “Titicut Follies,” provided an unprecedented look inside a Massachusetts facility for the criminally insane. Despite legal restrictions that limited its screening to academic venues for decades, the film established Wiseman’s observational methodology.

“It seemed to me an appropriate style to use when I was trying to make films about real situations, where I wasn’t asking people to do anything especially for me,” Wiseman explained in 2016. “The idea always has been to capture as many different aspects of what’s going on in the world as I can on film.”

His 1968 production “High School” documented teenagers and educators in Philadelphia during a period of significant social change. Both “Titicut Follies” and “High School” earned places in the National Film Registry at the Library of Congress.

PBS aired several of his works, including “Law and Order,” which followed Kansas City police officers, and “Domestic Violence,” examining a women’s shelter in 2001.

RECOGNITION AND LEGACY

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences honored Wiseman with an honorary Oscar in 2016, praising his “masterful and distinctive documentaries examine the familiar and reveal the unexpected.”

“Constantly working keeps me off the streets,” he quipped during his acceptance speech. “This compulsion has always been understood by my wife, Zipporah, and my sons, David and Eric.”

He named his production company after his wife Zipporah, a law professor who died in 2021.

Among his numerous accolades were four Emmy Awards and recognition from major international film festivals including Cannes, Berlin, and Venice. He also received prestigious MacArthur and Guggenheim fellowships.

Journalist Sean Cooper noted in Tablet magazine that “even the most critical acknowledge that Frederick Wiseman is a genius of some kind.”

INTERNATIONAL SUBJECTS AND FINAL WORKS

While primarily focused on American institutions, Wiseman also explored international subjects. He documented the historic Comédie-Française theater in Paris and created “The Last Letter,” a fictional work set in a Ukrainian Jewish community during World War II.

His four-hour film “Menus-Plaisirs — Les Troisgros” profiled French restaurateurs with characteristic depth and patience.

When questioned about creating lengthy films that challenged some viewers’ attention spans, Wiseman responded: “I make them at whatever length I think is appropriate … I don’t know how to take into account an audience.”

His diverse subject matter included London’s National Gallery, the Panama Canal, and end-of-life care.

“Each movie is a different experience with different people and situations that I have never experienced before,” Wiseman reflected. “I hope in each case I’ve learned something.”

Despite never achieving mainstream commercial success, Wiseman’s documentaries found devoted audiences through film festivals, university screenings, and independent theaters, cementing his reputation as one of America’s most important documentary filmmakers.

Source: https://srnnews.com/frederick-wiseman-american-documentary-filmmaker-dies-at-96/