US updates

The new $1.5 billion Kansas City International Airport will officially open Feb. 28, with a Southwest flight to Chicago Midway International Airport at 5 a.m. as the first flight out, city and airport officials said. HUNDREDS OF FLIGHTS CANCELED IN TEXAS AS FORECASTERS WARN OF ‘DANGEROUS ICE EVENT’ SWEEPING SOUTHERN US At more than 1 million square feet, the single-terminal airport is the largest single infrastructure project in the city’s history. It replaces a three-terminal airport that opened in 1972. The grand opening comes nearly four years after the city broke ground on the project, which faced a contentious fight before receiving approval. DELTA AIR LINES PLANE'S NOSE GEAR 'EXITS TAXIWAY' AT KANSAS CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT During a news conference on Monday, Mayor Quinton Lucas said the terminal is being completed on time and on budget. The new airport has 40 gates, with expansion possible to 50 gates. It will provide up to 50 places to eat and shop. Conc...

Fifteen grade school students in Mexico have been treated after apparently taking part in an internet "challenge" in which groups of students take tranquilizers to see who can stay awake the longest. The incident occurred Monday in the north-central city of Guanajuato. It came just days after health authorities issued a national alert about the craze . It was the fourth school in Mexico to suffer such incidents in the last year. Guanajuato Mayor Alejandro Navarro said the students were treated at the school, and urged parents to supervise their kids’ use of social media . "As a rule, girls and boys shouldn't have social media accounts, it's bad to start with," Navarro wrote in his Facebook account. MEXICAN CARTELS EXPANDING PRODUCTION OF FENTANYL AT RAPID RATES, EXPERTS SAY There was no immediate information on the condition of the students, believed to be fifth and sixth graders, or where they got the tranquilizers. The Health Department issued an a...

A criminal investigation has been launched after the death of a 3-year-old boy who reportedly ingested fentanyl, according to Apache Junction police. Police said the toddler swallowed at least one fentanyl pill on Jan. 25 before he was taken to a hospital by his family. The boy was treated with the overdose medication Narcan before being air-lifted to a second hospital where he died Sunday, police said. DETROIT-AREA DOCTOR SENTENCED TO NEARLY 17 YEARS IN PRISON FOR VAST OPIOID SCHEME It’s still unclear where the child came in contact with the fentany l that was found in his system. The boy’s name hasn’t been released by police, who said their investigation was ongoing. source https://www.foxnews.com/us/arizona-child-dies-ingesting-fentanyl-pill

A longtime civil district judge in New Orleans has announced plans to retire in May. Judge Robin Giarrusso revealed her decision to retire May 1 in a statement released Monday. She will leave the bench following the completion of her 35th year and retires as the second most senior state court judge in Louisiana . "I’m looking forward to spending more time with my granddaughters, continuing to serve the community in a volunteer capacity and taking some long-overdue time to travel," she said. Giarrusso first took office on April 29, 1988, and served as the court's Chief Judge from 1998 to 2000. LOUISIANA JUDGE CAUGHT ON VIDEO USING RACIAL SLURS ON ALLEGED HOME BURGLAR RESIGNS "I am proud of running an efficient docket, being accessible, and being a mentor to younger lawyers and judges," she said. Before being elected as a judge, Giarrusso worked as an assistant city attorney and as deputy city attorney, serving as New Orleans' chief legal counsel for co...

A man with an AR-15-style rifle opened fire inside a Target store in Omaha , sending panicked shoppers and employees scrambling for safety before he was fatally shot by police Tuesday afternoon, authorities said. Police Chief Todd Schmaderer said the man had "plenty of ammunition" and that evidence suggests he fired multiple rounds, but it wasn’t immediately known if he fired at anyone. Schmaderer said no wounded people were found, and police had searched through the store "because there were some people hiding in there." NEBRASKA SHOOTING INJURES AT LEAST 7; POLICE INVESTIGATING Cathy Mahannah, a customer, said the scene inside the store was "sheer panic." The 62-year-old grandmother was near the store’s entrance picking out Valentine’s Day gifts for her family when she heard a banging sound. She thought something had fallen, then saw a mass of people running for the exit. A shopper told her there was an active shooter, and she fled. She heard at le...

In November 2021, high school sophomore Lilli Di Grande wrote an article in her school newspaper explaining why 7,000 lights at Minnechaug Regional High School in Wilbraham, Massachusetts , could no longer be turned off — and were in fact on 24 hours a day, seven days a week.  "At the time, the [lighting installation] company had gone through different owners, so it was difficult for the district and the people working on the lights to figure out who to contact," Di Grande said. Seventeen months later, the lights are still on, and DiGrande's story has gone viral across the country and internationally. Even "Saturday Night Live" poked fun at the delicious digital debacle. It's also causing deep divisions in Wilbraham, where the software snafu is costing taxpayers thousands of dollars a month. WHY A GREEN AND ORANGE DOT ON YOUR PHONE CAN INDICATE SOMEONE LISTENING AND WATCHING "As you know, sometimes technology works to our advantage and sometimes ...

The Shelby County, Tennessee, district attorney issued a stark warning to everyone involved in the death of Tyre Nichols, that more charges could be filed as more information comes out. Steve Mulroy, the district attorney, explained in an online statement that the investigation is ongoing and there is nothing in place that can prevent his department from adding more charges. "We are looking at all individuals involved in the events leading up to, during, and after the beating of Tyre Nichols," Mulroy said. "This includes the officer present at the initial encounter who has not – so far – been charged, Memphis Fire Department Personnel, and persons who participated in preparing documentation of the incident afterward." TYRE NICHOLS CASE: 5 FORMER MEMPHIS POLICE OFFICERS CHARGED WITH SECOND-DEGREE MURDER He added that his office worked "extraordinarily swiftly" and "thoroughly" to arrest the officers whose offenses blatantly "contributed ...

A sheriff’s deputy who was struck by a vehicle during a weekend traffic stop shot and wounded the vehicle’s driver, Louisiana State Police said in a Sunday news release. It happened Saturday evening in the rural Ethel community, about 25 miles north of Baton Rouge in East Feliciana Parish. DA BLASTS LOUISIANA COP CHARGED IN CRASH THAT KILLED TWO TEENAGE CHEERLEADERS: 'STOP THE DAMN PURSUIT' A state police news release says both the deputy and the driver were treated at a nearby hospital for " minor to moderate injuries ." The East Feliciana Parish Sheriff’s Office asked state police to investigate the incident. The names of those involved had not been released as of midday Sunday. source https://www.foxnews.com/us/louisiana-sheriffs-deputy-shoots-injures-driver-during-traffic-stop

An estimated 100,000 hens died in a weekend fire at a Connecticut farm owned by one of the country's largest egg producers, Connecticut officials confirmed Monday. It's one of several such fires that have killed millions of chickens around the country over the past decade. The blaze Saturday at the Hillandale Farms property in Bozrah, about 30 miles southeast of Hartford, drew dozens of firefighters from the area and took hours to put out. The cause remains under investigation. No people were injured. The state Department of Agriculture said it appears approximately 100,000 egg-laying hens died. It credited farm employees and emergency responders with preventing more hen deaths by containing the fire to one of the farm's several buildings. CHICKENS KILLED IN FIRE AT HILLANDALE FARMS PROPERTY IN CONNECTICUT, CAUSE REMAINS UNKNOWN The agency also said the impact on egg prices was expected to be "minimal to none." Hillandale Farms, which has corporate offices ...

Three members of the Memphis, Tennessee fire department were fired on Monday after an investigation into the death of Tyre Nichols revealed they "failed to conduct an adequate patient assessment on the victim," according to the fire chief. The announcement comes just days after five former Memphis Police Department officers – Desmond Mills, Justin Smith, Emmitt Martin, Tadarrius Bean and Demetrius Haley – were charged in the death of Nichols. All five officers were terminated on Jan. 18 and now face charges of second-degree murder, aggravated assault, official oppression, aggravated kidnapping and official misconduct. Memphis authorities released four videos of the incident on the night of Jan. 7, when police conducted a traffic stop on 29-year-old Nichols. TYRE NICHOLS DEATH: LAW ENFORCEMENT GROUP 'INFURIATED' BY ALLEGED ASSAULT DURING TRAFFIC STOP The traffic stop started shortly after 8 p.m. and bodycam footage released last week shows officers approaching Ni...

An investigation is underway in Nashville, Tennessee on Monday after authorities say a police officer fatally shot a 47-year-old Black man who had pointed a gun at him. The fatal shooting occurred Sunday evening in North Nashville, when police responded to 911 calls from witnesses who said there was a man in the street with a gun. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said in a statement the man was shot after refusing to obey a police officer's command to drop the weapon. The man was taken to a hospital, where he died. No officers were injured. The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department released audio recordings of two calls to 911, including one made by a person who said the man was walking the street armed and that "he needs to stop ... before he gets something that he don't need, because he's pointing his gun, like seriously," the caller said. According to body camera and police vehicle video released by the police department, Officer Dylan Ramos arriv...

Fort Wayne police have arrested a suspect in the fatal 2018 shootings of three men in the northeastern Indiana city. Jacquail Belcher, 29, was arrested Friday without incident on three counts of murder, the Fort Wayne Police Department said. His initial hearing was scheduled for Monday afternoon. Online court documents do not list an attorney who could speak on behalf of Belcher, who is charged in the June 2018 killings of Dernail Brown, 26; DeShaun Richards, 25; and Breondon Pinkston, 28. SHOOTING NEAR INDIANA FACTORY KILLS 1, 2 SUSPECTS IN CUSTODY Fort Wayne police first found Brown on the ground and he was pronounced dead at the scene. While officers were investigating that crime scene, they heard a vehicle strike a parked car nearby in a crash that was apparently linked to the shooting, The Journal Gazette reported. INDIANA MAN ALLEGEDLY SHOT WIFE BEFORE LEAVING IN BITTER COLD WITH CHILD, THEN SHOOTS AT DEPUTY Inside the wrecked car, officers found Richards and Pinkston s...

It's winter, so where's the white stuff? It's not covering the ground in New York City . Since summer ended, there hasn't been any measurable snowfall in the city, meaning at least one-tenth of an inch accumulating on the ground, according to the National Weather Service. There have been some flurries throughout the autumn and early winter, but reaching Jan. 30 without any accumulation of snow on the ground sets a new record. The last time New York made it this long without a measurable snowfall was 1973, when New Yorkers had to wait until Jan. 29. NYC PUBLIC SCHOOLS ELIMINATE SNOW DAYS, WILL GO VIRTUAL DURING BAD WEATHER This year, there's been plenty of precipitation, said James Tomasini, a meteorologist with the NWS, but it's been in the form of rain because it hasn't been cold enough for snow. "Storm tracks and cold air have been remaining to the north and west of the area," he said. New York City is also set to break a second record, for...

A New Jersey man has been sentenced to 55 years in prison in the stabbing death of a co-worker authorities say was slain on her lunch break 3 1/2 years ago. Kenneth Saal, 33, of Lindenwold pleaded guilty last fall in Middlesex County to first-degree murder and other charges in the June 2019 death of 26-year-old Carolyn Byington in her Plainsboro apartment. Superior Court Judge Pedro Jimenez Jr. sentenced him last week to 45 years on murder and burglary charges and a consecutive 10-year sentence on conspiracy to commit murder and witness-tampering charges for a crime the judge called senseless, cruel and depraved. NEW JERSEY POLICE SEARCHING FOR MAN WHO THREW MOLOTOV COCKTAIL AT SYNAGOGUE The defendant and the victim had worked since 2016 at a business in Princeton, where he was an accountant and she was a market research project manager. In his plea, Saal said he copied the key to Byington's apartment, planted hidden surveillance cameras there and later killed her in a strugg...

A dog found cemented to a sidewalk in Florida for days is now recovering after suffering from a number of ailments. The dog was discovered stuck to a sidewalk on Yamato Road in Boca Raton, Florida , on Jan. 23, according to Tri-County Humane. Given its poor condition, the animal shelter believes the pooch had been there for days and was "left to die." "The smell was unbearable," the shelter wrote on Facebook . "There was no way a dog could have ended up like this over night [sic]. How long was it going on? How long does he have? Did he get to us in time?" AFTER 14 FAILED ADOPTIONS, NORTH CAROLINA PUP WITH ‘UNLUCKY’ HISTORY GOES VIRAL, FINALLY FINDS A HOME The shelter named the dog Trooper. As Trooper's rescuers were shaving him down, they noticed maggots crawling from his fur, overgrown nails and severe tooth decay. LOUISIANA DOG HAILED A HERO FOR PROTECTING YOUNG GIRLS LOST IN WOODS FOR HOURS Trooper then went through hours of grooming, Keto ...

Alex Murdaugh, 54, the once powerful scion of a South Carolina legal dynasty, is on trial for the slayings of his wife and son. Prosecutors say Alex gunned down 52-year-old Maggie Murdaugh and their troubled 22-year-old son, Paul, on June 7, 2021. The Murdaughs, a prominent Democratic family, wielded enormous judicial and political power for nearly a century. But the family’s dominance began to wane after Paul was criminally charged for a deadly 2019 boat wreck that triggered a series of lawsuits and threatened to expose his father’s financial schemes. ALEX MURDAUGH IMPLICATES GROUNDSKEEPER AFTER MURDERS, VIDEO SHOWS The accident set in motion a spiral of destruction that has stained the family’s legacy. His departure from office marked the end of the Democratic family’s 87-year reign as the top prosecutor overseeing five counties. The 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office is the chief prosecuting agency for Colleton, Hampton, Allendale, Beaufort and Jasper counties. ALEX MURDAUGH...

A Texas police chief is on leave after a SWAT team raided the wrong home earlier this month while searching for a teenager who was falsely accused of murder. Galveston Police Chief Doug Balli was placed on a 10-day administrative leave while an internal investigation is conducted. The City of Galveston is doing a separate investigation into the lapse of communication that led to the raid. A family was alarmed on Jan. 22 by the sound of rubber bullets flying through their doors and windows in the middle of the night. The family began panicking as the Galveston Police SWAT team was standing outside their door.  Home security footage shows the four family members walking out of the home slowly with their hands up. They were detained by officers without knowledge of why SWAT had even shown up. TEXAS MAN SENTENCED TO 35 YEARS FOR MURDERING FRIEND AFTER SMOKING METH "I literally kept asking my son, ‘What is going on? What is going on?’ I had no idea," Erika Rios told FOX 26....

Police are searching for a man who threw a molotov cocktail at a synagogue in the early hours of Sunday morning in Bloomfield, New Jersey.  The suspect approached the entrance to Temple Ner Tamid around 3:19 a.m., lit the molotov cocktail, and threw it at the door, according to police. The glass bottle broke but did not cause any damage.  Police were called to the synagogue around 9:30 a.m. for a report of property damage and reviewed the suspect's actions on surveillance video.  MUSK REVEALS HE WANTED TO 'PERSONALLY PUNCH' KANYE AFTER POSTING SWASTIKA PHOTO TO TWITTER The man appears to be wearing a ski mask and black hoodie with a white design or lettering on the front, according to photos released by police. He is believed to be a White male.  Antisemitic incidents hit 2,717 across the United States in 2021, according to the Anti-Defamation League, a 34% increase over 2020 and the highest number since the organization starting tracking incidents in 1979....

Oregon police warned the public this week, that a suspect accused of torturing women is using dating apps to lure victims and evade capture, according to reports. Benjamin Obadiah Foster, 36, remains on the run as detectives and fugitive apprehension teams continue to follow and investigate leads, the Grants Pass Police Department said in a press release. On Thursday, the department, with the help of the Oregon State Police, Josephine County Sheriff’s Office, and federal partners executed a search warrant at a residence in Wolf Creek, Oregon to arrest Foster for attempted murder. OREGON SUSPECT ACCUSED OF TORTURING CAPTIVE WOMAN ON THE LOOSE LESS THAN 2 YEARS AFTER ASSAULT CONVICTION Foster has since been charged with attempted murder, kidnapping and assault after trying to kill a victim in Grants Pass while "intentionally torturing" her and secretly confining her "in a place where she was not likely to be found," Josephine County District Attorney Joshua Eas...

Organizations in Jackson, Mississippi, are asking for help from other states as the water crisis dries up resources. It’s been over five months since the Pearl River crested and Jackson, Mississippi’s water system failed. Now, crews are working to replace the pipe system, but families and businesses are prepared to go without water periodically, for up to 10 years. Cities across the country are replacing fragile water pipe systems. Besides Jackson, there's Flint, Michigan, Baltimore, Maryland, and Houston, Texas.  The systems are replaced section-by-section after failure. But, these years-long projects can cause water main breaks. JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI, RESIDENTS FILE LAWSUIT OVER WATER CRISIS Kenneth Wayne Jones serves as Hinds County Administrator, which includes Jackson. He said their water crisis was decades in the making and the situation will get worse before things become better. "Every move you make to try to alleviate this problem causes pressure to go in ano...

A convicted sex offender who has been on the run for 17 years after attempting to rape a woman in Virginia was arrested Friday by U.S. Marshals in Atlanta. Gustav Schilling had been convicted of dragging a woman into the woods and attempting to rape her. He disappeared in 2006 while on probation after he faced new allegations. Schilling went to a concert in Henrico County, Virginia, in 1995, according to officials, who said he was wearing a mask when he grabbed a woman, dragged her into the woods and attempted to rape her. The woman managed to escape and told the police. Later that year, Schilling was convicted of abduction and attempted rape. TWO ATLANTA RIOT SUSPECTS GRANTED BOND, 4 OTHERS DENIED AFTER DOMESTIC TERRORISM CHARGES In 2000, he was released from prison and placed on probation. Residents of one neighborhood accused him of "voyeuristic behavior." Officials said he disappeared after work in August 2006. A warrant was issued for his failure to register as a sex...

A man was killed and four others injured in a shooting in Baltimore Saturday evening, including a 2-year-old child who was shot and a 6-year-old injured in a crash, police said.  Baltimore officers with the Central District found two men, one woman and a 2-year-old boy suffering from gunshot wounds near the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue and Laurens Street around 6:39 p.m. ET. A 6-year-old child was in the car with the woman who was shot and has "critical" injuries from when she crashed her car into a pole, Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison said in a news conference. The 2-year-old was also in the car.  "This is a mass casualty incident in our city," Harrison said. "Five individuals shot, one has died, children are injured fighting for their lives all because of some conflict that could have been resolved in a much different way."  JERUSALEM SYNAGOGUE SHOOTING: AT LEAST 7 DEAD AFTER GUNMAN OPENS FIRE, ISRAELI POLICE SAY The victim...

At least six people were killed in upstate New York Saturday morning and three others injured when a truck collided with a bus on a highway, police said. Officials called the scene "gruesome," according to WWNY-TV.  An express bus crashed with a freightliner box truck on State Route 37 in Louisville near the Canadian border just after 6 a.m. ET, New York State Police said in a release.  More than a dozen passengers were on the bus when the crash happened. One driver was in the truck.  NEW MEXICO SCHOOL BUS FAILED TO YIELD BEFORE COLLISION   The highway was closed for around 12 hours before reopening Saturday evening around 5 p.m. as police worked the scene, WWNY reported.  One of the victims was in critical condition and the other two were in serious condition, police said. CAR IN FATAL CRASH INVOLVING GEORGIA FOOTBALL PLAYERS, EMPLOYEES WAS ‘NOT FOR PERSONAL USE,’ OFFICIALS SAY "Everybody worked really good together," St. Lawrence County Emergency Ser...

Detroit police are looking for two men seen on surveillance video stealing a car with a baby inside it on Monday. Officials say that the incident happened around 1:50 p.m. on Monday at a gas station in Detroit when someone left their 2020 Jeep Cherokee unattended, according to FOX 2 . While the victim was inside the gas station, two men pulled up inside a silver Pontiac G6, and one of the men went into the Jeep Cherokee and drove off. Police say that the victim's car was found with the baby unharmed. Any individuals with information about the incident are asked to contact the Detroit Police Department at 313-596-5240. source https://www.foxnews.com/us/detroit-police-looking-men-seen-camera-stealing-car-baby-inside

An Illinois man is accused of setting his house on fire after a fight with his girlfriend on Friday night. The Joliet Police Department says that Kevin Williams, 45, was upset with his 47-year-old girlfriend during a fight, got gasoline from the garage and used it to set an empty bedroom on fire at around 10:18 p.m., according to FOX 32 . At the time of the incident, police say that four others were inside the house. Police say that a 26-year-old woman as well as three children were evacuated safely from the house. LAS VEGAS POLICE OFFICER, GOOD SAMARITAN PULL CRASHED MOTORIST TO SAFETY MOMENTS BEFORE CAR BURSTS INTO FLAMES Officials say that Williams was found in the garage where he was placed under arrest . No injuries were reported as a result of the incident. source https://www.foxnews.com/us/illinois-man-lights-house-fire-fight-girlfriend-police

A teenage girl who, along with a younger boy, engaged in a shootout with Florida deputies from a home they had broken into in 2021 was sentenced Friday to 20 years in prison after reaching a plea deal. During a hearing, 15-year-old Nicole Jackson-Maldonado pleaded no contest to attempted first-degree murder with a firearm, burglary of a dwelling while armed with a weapon, and criminal mischief, among other charges, according to prosecutors. A no contest plea isn't an admission of guilt but is treated as such for the purposes of sentencing. In addition to the 20 years of incarceration, she faces 40 years of probation , the Office of the State Attorney in Daytona Beach said in a news release. DESANTIS: SOFT-ON-CRIME POLICIES, 'WOKE IDEOLOGY' SPARKED 'MASS EXODUS' TO FLORIDA FROM DEMOCRAT-RUN CITIES Jackson-Maldonado and a 12-year-old boy left the Florida United Methodist Children’s Home near Deltona in June 2021 and broke into a house where they found guns and a...

Memphis businesses boarded up their windows ahead of the release of the bodycam footage of a police encounter with Tyre Nichols, which resulted in his death. Nichols was pulled over Jan. 7 for suspected reckless driving, according to Memphis police. After a confrontation between Nichols and police officers, the 29-year-old Black man fled on foot. Another confrontation followed before Nichols was arrested. WATCH MORE FOX NEWS DIGITAL ORIGINALS HERE Nichols was transported to a hospital and arrived in critical condition. He died three days later as a result of "use-of-force incident with officers," according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. Bodycam footage of the incident is expected to be released Friday after 7 p.m. EST.  The five police officers involved were charged with second-degree murder, aggravated assault and additional felony charges.  RELEASING TYRE NICHOLS VIDEO ON FRIDAY EVENING COULD LEAD TO VIOLENT WEEKEND PROTESTS, EXPERTS SAY Memphis Police Ch...

A sixth teenager pleaded guilty Friday to charges in a 2022 shooting outside a Des Moines high school that left one person dead and two others injured. Braulio Hernandez-Salas, 17, pleaded guilty to two counts of intimidation with a dangerous weapon, according to the Des Moines Register. Prosecutors dropped other charges, including first-degree murder and attempted murder. Hernandez-Salas, who will be sentenced Feb. 22, was among 10 teens charged in the March 7 drive-by shooting near East High School. The shooting killed 15-year-old Jose David Lopez and injured his sister and her female friend. 2 IOWA STUDENTS KILLED, 1 SCHOOL EMPLOYEE INJURED SCHOOL SHOOTING, 2 SUSPECTS IN CUSTODY Police recovered 27 spent shell casings at the shooting scene and another 15 in three vehicles involved in the shooting . The guilty pleas of six teens leave cases pending against two people charged in adult court and two others being tried in juvenile court. source https://www.foxnews.com/us/6th-...

An appliance delivery man was convicted Wednesday of beating a 75-year-old woman to death and setting her on fire at her Florida home . A Palm Beach County circuit judge convicted Jorge Dupre Lachazo, 24, of first-degree murder, burglary and arson following a three-day bench trial, according to court records. He faces a mandatory life sentence at an April 5 hearing. Dupre Lachazo and another man delivered a washer and dryer purchased from Best Buy to Evelyn Smith Udell’s Boca Raton home in August 2019, officials said. After installing the appliances, the other man went outside and reported hearing screams minutes later. He found the victim on the floor and called 911. Dupre Lachazo drove off in the delivery truck but was later stopped by a responding officer , investigators said. FLORIDA MAN SWEPT AWAY IN SHARK-INFESTED WATERS BY POWERFUL CURRENT DETAILS SHOCKING SURVIVAL Police found a rubber mallet used in the attack and a can of paint thinner used to start the fire next to Udel...

A federal appeals court in New York is considering whether a law school in Vermont modified a pair of large murals when it concealed them behind a wall of panels against the artist's wishes after they were considered by some in the school community to be racially offensive. Artist Sam Kerson created the colorful murals entitled "Vermont, The Underground Railroad" and "Vermont and the Fugitive Slave" in 1993 on two walls inside a building at the private Vermont Law School, now called Vermont Law and Graduate School, in South Royalton. Years later in 2020, the school said it would paint over them. But when Kerson objected it said it would cover them with acoustic tiles. The school gave Kerson the option of removing the murals, but he said he could not without damaging them. When Kerson, who lives in Quebec , sued in federal court in Vermont, the school said in a court filing that "the depictions of African Americans strikes some viewers as caricatured and ...

A New Hampshire couple is facing criminal charges for allowing five children, including one who hollered out a window for help, to live in squalid conditions, police say. Steven Legault, 36, and Candace Krauklin, 35, both of Manchester, were arraigned Friday on charges including felony criminal restraint and five counts of endangering the welfare of a child, police said . PENNSYLVANIA BREEDER FORCED TO SURRENDER 21 DOGS AFTER TIP CLAIMING UNSANITARY LIVING CONDITIONS Police were alerted earlier this month when a public works employee heard a boy yelling for help out of a window. Police who arrived for a welfare check reported animal waste was on the floor and trash strewn throughout the house, along with a stench of feces and urine. A wet, discolored mattress was found in the feces-covered sunroom where the boy had called for help, police said. DETROIT COUPLE CHARGED IN 5-YEAR-OLD'S DEATH Five children under 14 were removed from the home due to the unfit living conditions, a...

An Indianapolis man who pleaded guilty to stealing a truck and driving off with a one-year-old child inside was sentenced Friday to five years in prison. Gonzalo Mondragon Jr., 35, had pleaded guilty in December to one count each of criminal confinement where the victim is under 14 years old, auto theft and resisting law enforcement. 2 CALIFORNIA KIDS REUNITED WITH FAMILY AFTER THEY WERE 'KIDNAPPED' IN STOLEN CAR: WHAT PARENTS MUST KNOW NOW A Marion County judge sentenced Mondragon Friday to five years of confinement on the charges stemming from the September 2022 incident on Indianapolis’ east side, WRTV-TV reported. According to court records, Mondragon was seen on surveillance video exiting an SUV and then getting into a pickup truck the child's mother had left running while she was inside a gas station. Mondragon then drove off with the toddler inside. MEMPHIS CHILD CALLS MOM WHILE IN STOLEN CAR BEING DRIVEN BY SUSPECT After an Amber Alert and police search was ...

As more organic dairy farmers are forced out of business by an economic crisis facing them, Vermont advocates and farmers are seeking a one-time state appropriation of $9.2 million to help existing organic dairies survive. The money would be used to pay the now 139 organic dairy farms in Vermont retroactive payments of $5 per hundred pounds of milk on all the organic milk produced in the state in 2022, Maddie Kempner, policy director for the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont, told a joint meeting of the Vermont state Senate and House agriculture committees on Thursday. "Multiple factors have converged in recent months to create an impossible economic situation for organic dairy farms," she said. "The combination of inflation, supply chain disruptions in the feed supply due to the conflict in Ukraine and a persistent drought have caused the price of feed, fuel and labor to increase sharply starting in late 2021. At the same time, the pay price organic f...

The cost of extinguishing a landfill fire that's been burning since late November in Alabama's St. Clair County is now at an estimated $2.8 million, federal environmental regulators said. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approved a budget increase for the project this week that would raise how much the agency can pay a contractor to put out the fire by about $900,000, al.com reported. The new estimated external costs are now approved up to $1,529,316, with the total costs for the project to EPA now estimated at $2,806,345. The money will come from EPA’s regional funds for emergency response . The agency can later attempt to recover those costs from the responsible parties through enforcement actions. The underground fire was first reported Nov. 25 at the landfill, which takes in tree limbs and other vegetative waste. It has been burning since late November , sending smoke over some neighborhoods in the state’s largest metro area and leaving residents frustrated by ...