CNN – National

By Jennifer Henderson and Danielle Sills, CNN Seattle Pacific University is under investigation for alleged hiring discrimination, the state attorney general confirmed Friday. “Seattle Pacific University admits that it refuses to hire gay faculty and staff,” Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson said in a statement obtained Friday by CNN affiliate KIRO. Lori Windham, senior

By Dianne Gallagher and Jacquelyne Germain, CNN The mass exodus of an entire police department after the hiring of a Black town manager in North Carolina has opened a conversation about public safety and race relations in a small town of just over 1,500 residents. Last week, the entire police department in Kenly, North Carolina,

By Rosa Flores and Amir Vera, CNN Mandy Gutierrez, the Robb Elementary School principal who was suspended with pay earlier this week has been informed that she may return to work, according to her attorney Ricardo Cedillo. Gutierrez was placed on administrative leave Monday during a Uvalde School Board meeting. The principal has faced criticism

By Josh Campbell, CNN A former US Marine planned to attack a New York synagogue and engage in “widespread homicide and sexual assault” targeting minorities, federal prosecutors argue in court documents obtained by CNN. Matthew Belanger, a former Marine who was discharged from the service in May 2021 due to alleged “dissident/extremist activity,” according to

By Amir Vera and Andy Rose, CNN While flash flooding in St. Louis, Missouri, had tapered out in the last two days, a new round of storms Thursday afternoon left emergency responders scrambling to rescue residents. The St. Louis Police Department tweeted Thursday one section of the city was submerged in 7 feet of water,

By Bill Weir, CNN Chief Climate Correspondent On a ridge overlooking the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, it would have been possible to see the first flickering flames of the Oak Fire and then how it engulfed its surroundings. It took just 24 hours to mushroom to 10,000 acres and become California’s biggest wildfire

By Stella Chan and Zoe Sottile, CNN Authorities have been forced to intermittently close Los Angeles’ iconic 6th street bridge four times in five days for various illegal activity, including street takeovers, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. The viaduct, built in 1932, was closed in 2016 for upgrades to the seismically deficient structure.

By Eric Levenson and Melissa Alonso, CNN Alabama inmate Joe Nathan James Jr. was executed Thursday night for the 1994 murder of Faith Hall Smith, the state’s top attorney said, despite pleas from the victim’s family not to do so. “Justice has been served. Joe James was put to death for the heinous act he

By Dakin Andone and Kevin Conlon, CNN For months leading up to the Parkland massacre, Nikolas Cruz searched the internet for information and videos about mass shootings, leaving behind YouTube comments expressing his desire to “kill people,” according to testimony in the penalty phase of his trial. Broward County Sheriff’s Office Detective Nick Masters, an

By Judson Jones, Monica Garrett and Payton Major, CNN Flash drought conditions intensified in the Northeast and across the southern Plains, causing agriculture concerns across the regions, according to the latest US Drought Monitor released Thursday morning. “Temperatures across the region were generally 2-8 degrees warmer than normal, with the warmest readings occurring in Oklahoma,

By Jamiel Lynch, CNN A 7-year-old girl from Georgia camping with her family in Great Smoky Mountains National Park was killed Wednesday when a tree fell on their campsite, park officials said. Rangers responded to an emergency call at the Elkmont Campground in Tennessee at 12:30 a.m. Wednesday, the park said in a news release.

By Ed Lavandera and Ashley Killough, CNN It’s a hot July day and a horse rolls around in a patch of dust on Wade Maierhofer’s farm in central Texas. A year ago, that same sandy spot was buried under 8 feet of water — a drinking pond for the rancher’s cattle in normal times. But

By Michelle Watson, CNN A New Jersey family says the wrong body was in their mother’s casket, which had to be lifted out of the ground during the funeral service, according to a lawsuit that was filed Monday in Bergen County. Kummi Kim, Yoonsung Kim, Jungmi Kim Walder and Kummi’s husband, Taichul Kim, are suing

By Amir Vera and Mark Morales, CNN The man accused of killing a young mother as she pushed their baby in a stroller was indicted for murder Wednesday, according to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. Isaac Argro, 23, appeared in the New York Supreme Court on Monday and was charged with second-degree murder and two

By Rob Frehse and Christina Maxouris, CNN It’s been nearly a month since an Indiana doctor helped a 10-year-old Ohio rape victim undergo an abortion and was thrust into the national spotlight. In the weeks since, the US vice president called to thank the doctor for raising awareness around the issue while Indiana’s Republican attorney

By Jennifer Henderson, CNN A man suspected of starting two fires in remote southwest Oregon was arrested, after reportedly being tied to a tree by three people until police arrived, Curry County Sheriff John Ward said in statement posted on Facebook. The sheriff’s office thanked those who assisted with controlling the fire and detaining the

By Lauren del Valle, CNN A Black family, who says Sesame Place Philadelphia character performers racially discriminated against them, filed a class action civil rights lawsuit against the amusement park’s parent SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment in Pennsylvania federal court Wednesday. The lawsuit filed on behalf of Quinton Burns and his child says that during their

By Amir Vera and Stella Chan, CNN The US Department of Education has opened an investigation into the University of Southern California after a student accused the university of allowing antisemitism to fester on campus, which led her to resign from her post as student government vice president, according to a Tuesday news release from

By Rosa Flores and Ray Sanchez, CNN Robb Elementary Principal Mandy Gutierrez defended herself Wednesday against criticism about her handling of school security before the massacre that left 19 children and two teachers dead. In an exclusive interview with CNN, Gutierrez was asked whether she agreed with a legislative report that cited a “culture of

Jacquelyne Germain, CNN The Seattle chapter of the National Audubon Society plans to remove “Audubon” from its name to address the racist and white supremacist actions and views of John James Audubon, the ornithologist the organization is named after. Glenn Nelson, the Seattle chapter’s community director, told CNN on Wednesday that part of why the

CNN Editorial Research Here’s a look at the Statue of Liberty. Facts The Statue of Liberty was a gift to the United States from the people of France to commemorate 100 years of Franco-American friendship. The statue also commemorates the centennial of America’s independence. The statue is formally known as “Liberty Enlightening the World.” It

By Michelle Watson, CNN A former staff member for ex-New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo was killed after a Lyft driver allegedly ordered him and five friends out of a car on Delaware’s Coastal Highway, state police said in a news release. Just before 1:45 a.m. on July 24, Sidney Wolf, 43, and five others ordered

By Nicole Chavez, CNN A former editor at The New Yorker says she was fired after sending an email with concerns about the magazine’s gender equality and inclusion. Erin Overbey also alleged in a tweet last week that while she was under a performance review, the magazine’s editor-in-chief, David Remnick, added errors to her copy.

By Chris Boyette, CNN A disruptive passenger onboard a Virgin Atlantic flight from London’s Heathrow airport to Los Angeles on Tuesday caused the aircraft to be diverted to Salt Lake City, according to an airline statement. The passenger was “physically detained by other passengers and flight crew members” and was met by police upon arrival,

By Jean Casarez and Christina Maxouris, CNN Six of the 13 Turpin children — who were tortured for years by their biological parents — were then placed in a foster home where they endured a “second bout” of abuse, including sexual, physical and emotional abuse, and their reports were ignored by the foster care agency,

By Sarah Boxer, Andi Babineau and Rob Frehse, CNN The Indiana doctor who provided abortion services for a 10-year-old girl who was raped is now being investigated by the state’s attorney general, according to a lawyer for the doctor. A notice from Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita of his inquiry into Dr. Caitlin Bernard arrived

By Chris Boyette, CNN The Mega Millions jackpot has skyrocketed to $1.02 billion after no ticket matched all six winning numbers in Tuesday night’s drawing, the lottery said. “All jurisdictions have reported in, and no one has hit the Mega Millions jackpot. So, the jackpot will roll to $1,025,000,000 for Friday ($602.5 million cash),” lottery

By Michelle Watson, CNN A medical chopper responding Tuesday to the scene of a fatal car accident in southern Ohio crashed while attempting to land, authorities said. First responders learned just after 4 a.m. Tuesday that two vehicles collided in Milford Township, the Butler County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. A passenger in the

By Eric Levenson and Bill Kirkos, CNN J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao, two of the former Minneapolis Police officers convicted of federal charges in the fatal arrest of George Floyd, were sentenced to 3 years and 3.5 years in prison, respectively, on Wednesday. Kueng, who held down Floyd’s torso, and Thao, who kept a

By Rosa Flores, Rosalina Nieves and Steve Almasy, CNN The Uvalde City Council vowed Tuesday to investigate every city police officer who responded to the massacre at the Robb Elementary School in May. “This investigation is looking at every single officer and what his actions — what he did, what our policy says — and

By Amy Simonson, CNN The Dallas Police Department released edited surveillance and body camera video of a woman who fired a gun at Dallas Love Field Airport Monday and was taken down by a police officer. Portia Odufuwa, 37, has been charged with aggravated assault against a public servant, and other federal charges are possible,

By Virginia Langmaid, CNN Massachusetts has become the latest state to ban school officials and employers from discriminating against people based on their natural hair. Gov. Charlie Baker signed into law Tuesday the Act Prohibiting Discrimination Based on Natural and Protective Hairstyles, or CROWN Act. The law bans workplace and school discrimination based on the

By Justin Gamble, CNN In recent weeks, the murder of Emmett Till and the decades-old questions surrounding the case have made headlines with the recent discovery of an unserved warrant for his accuser and the release of her sealed draft memoir. The details have sparked renewed interest in how the accounts of her encounters with

By Jalen Beckford, CNN A 29-year-old California soccer player died 15-days after a large fight erupted during a match over a disagreement with the referee’s decision, according to the Oxnard Police Department. On July 10, Oxnard police responded to reports of a large fight between two adult soccer teams on a high school soccer field.

By Michelle Watson, CNN Another set of human remains was found at Lake Mead Monday as the reservoir’s water levels continue to recede, according to a news release from the National Park Service. Park rangers responded to a report of human remains found in the park’s Swim Beach area in Boulder City, Nevada, at about

By Lauren del Valle, CNN A former US congressman and an FBI agent trainee were among nine people indicted on federal charges connected to unrelated insider trading schemes, the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York announced Monday. “We allege that each of the defendants charged today corrupted the integrity of the

By Nouran Salahieh, CNN A suspect in the decades-old killings of two Southern California women has been identified after a DNA match, authorities said Monday. The first killing happened in 1987 when Shannon Rose Lloyd, 23, was found dead in a bedroom she was renting in Garden Grove, Orange County. She had been sexually assaulted

By Elizabeth Wolfe and Steve Almasy, CNN California’s Oak Fire has burned through more than 18,000 acres and destroyed more than 40 structures since it ignited near Yosemite National Park Friday, as fire crews in the air battle visibility issues and personnel on the ground work steep terrain. The fire grew only slightly Tuesday —

By Taylor Romine and Rosa Flores, CNN Uvalde officials are working to improve school security for when classes resume, including installing bulletproof windows, a school board meeting revealed Monday — nearly two months after the horrific massacre at Robb Elementary School left 21 people dead, including 19 children. The new measures include hiring 10 additional

By Amanda Jackson and Caroll Alvarado, CNN Dozens of incoming University of Michigan medical students walked out of their medical school induction ceremony Sunday to protest a keynote speaker with anti-abortion views. As Dr. Kristin Collier, an assistant professor of internal medicine at the university, began delivering her keynote speech, several dozen students abruptly stood

By Kevin Conlon and Theresa Waldrop, CNN An Uber driver who took Nikolas Cruz to his school in Parkland, Florida, on the day the teenager shot and killed 17 people there testified that Cruz had a large bag and was “anxious and nervous” when the driver dropped him off. “He came into the car and

By Elizabeth Wolfe, Claudia Dominguez, Chuck Johnston and Amanda Musa, CNN A man charged with raping a 10-year-old Ohio girl who later traveled to Indiana seeking an abortion pleaded not guilty Monday to felony rape charges. Gerson Fuentes, 27, was charged last week with two counts of felony rape, according to an indictment by a

By Kristina Sgueglia, CNN A flashy Brooklyn pastor known for wearing designer outfits and extravagant jewelry says he was robbed along with his wife of more than $1 million while he was preaching at church Sunday. Police say they received a report that three people entered the Leaders of Tomorrow church Sunday with firearms and

By Mark Morales, CNN A sixth man who was a co-defendant of the Central Park Five — a group of Black and Hispanic teens who were convicted of beating and raping a woman in the famed New York City landmark — had his conviction overturned on Monday, according to the Manhattan District Attorney’s office. The

By Eric Levenson, David Williams and Chuck Johnston, CNN A woman allegedly fired several gunshots into the air at Dallas Love Field Airport in Texas on Monday before police shot her and took her into custody, Dallas Police said. The incident began at about 11 a.m. when a 37-year-old woman arrived at the airport and

By Kristina Sgueglia, CNN Ghislaine Maxwell has been transferred to a low security federal prison in Florida to continue serving her 20-year sentence for sex trafficking, Bureau of Prison records show. Maxwell, 60, has been assigned to Tallahassee FCI, described on its website as a “low security federal correctional institution with a detention center.” She

By Faith Karimi, CNN Jo Carden has always known she doesn’t want children. The 26-year-old had considered sterilization in recent years but had not taken any steps. Then came the Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, and she started spending her evenings searching online for surgeons who conduct the procedure on young people. “I

By Peter Nickeas and Ray Sanchez, CNN The first publicly released body-worn camera videos from officers at the Robb Elementary School massacre show Pedro “Pete” Arredondo, the school district’s police chief, at the center of the police response: giving orders, conveying and receiving information, and officers deferring to his position when confused over their roles

By Nicquel Terry Ellis, CNN When Starmanie Jackson was arrested after a traffic stop and for a 3-year-old warrant alleging felony assault in April 2019, she was stuck in jail for a week because she couldn’t afford $700 for bail. Being incarcerated caused Jackson to lose her new job as a certified nursing assistant at

By Dakin Andone and Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN A ferocious wildfire outside California’s Yosemite Park is “moving extremely fast” and limiting the amount of time authorities have to warn area residents to evacuate, a state fire official said. “The fire behavior that we’re seeing on this incident is really unprecedented,” Cal Fire Battalion Chief Jon Heggie

By Claudia Dominguez and Hannah Sarisohn, CNN A driver who apparently suffered a medical emergency crashed into beachgoers at Daytona Beach on Sunday afternoon, a beach safety official told CNN. “A little before 5 p.m., we had a driver go down the beach ramp at the International Speedway Boulevard and crash into the water,” said

By Amir Vera and Andy Rose, CNN Two people were killed and at least five others were injured in a shooting Sunday at a park in the Los Angeles neighborhood of San Pedro, officials said. Investigators believe the shooting began as a dispute between two parties at Peck Park, Los Angeles Police Department Capt. Kelly

By Hannah Sarisohn, Michelle Watson and Zoe Sottile, CNN Eight people between the ages of 16 and 21 were shot early Sunday morning while standing outside a gas station in Atlanta, according to police. A group of around 12 people was gathered at the parking lot of a Shell gas station when a vehicle drove

By Jarrod Wardwell and Zoe Sottile, CNN Police officers shot a man’s pet snake on Wednesday after they arrived at a Pennsylvania home to find the reptile wrapped around its owner’s neck, rendering him unconscious. The 27-year-old man, Elliot Senseman, died Monday in a hospital due to an “anoxic brain injury,” the Lehigh County Coroner’s

By Michelle Watson, CNN A 71-year-old man was mauled to death by seven dogs while he walked to a neighborhood store last Tuesday in Fresno, Texas, the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. Freddy Garcia was walking to a neighborhood store in Fresno on July 18 when he was fatally attacked by

By Hannah Sarisohn and Carlos Suarez, CNN A 73-year-old woman was airlifted to a hospital after being stabbed by a 100-pound sailfish that an angler was trying to reel onto a boat off the Florida coast, officials said. The sailfish began to charge at the boat and then jumped out of the water and stabbed

By Eric Levenson and Chuck Johnston, CNN Two parents and their 6-year-old daughter were found dead at an Iowa campground Friday, and a 4th person died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, in what authorities are investigating as a triple homicide. Cedar Falls residents Tyler Schmidt and Sarah Schmidt, both 42, and their daughter Lula, 6,

By Holly Yan and Paradise Afshar, CNN A charity motorcycle ride on an Indiana freeway abruptly ended when a car cut between riders, setting off a chain-reaction crash that injured six people, officials said. Motorcyclists were participating in the annual Helping Heroes Freedom Ride 465, which encircles Indianapolis on Interstate 465, event organizers said. “Our

By Andrew Torgan, CNN Did you know that today is National Tequila Day? And oddly enough, it’s also National Parents’ Day. Of course, some would argue that when you’re a parent, every day is Tequila Day … and who am I to disagree? Here’s what else you need to know to Start Your Week Smart.

By Tina Burnside, CNN Four inmates who escaped a minimum-security housing unit in Chattanooga, Tennessee, are back in custody, just hours after their getaway Saturday, according to the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office. The search for the inmates — William Atkins, Johnny Bryant, Justin Lynn Conner and Trevor Lynn Hall — began around 5:30 a.m. Saturday

By Zoe Sottile, CNN A customer at a restaurant in Pennsylvania left a hefty $3,000 tip on a $13.25 bill, much to the surprise of his server. Eric Smith, an out-of-town customer, enjoyed a homemade stromboli at Alfredo’s Cafe in Scranton, Pennsyslvania, on June 16. When it came time to pay for his meal, he

By Amya Henry and Christina Maxouris, CNN With temperatures hiking in much of the US as an oppressive heat wave continues, zoos are taking special measures to keep their animals cool. Think: frozen bug popsicles, mud showers and long pool days. You know, the basics. At the Smithsonian National Zoo, swamp monkeys are usually offered

By Rosa Flores and Emma Tucker, CNN A special school board meeting in Uvalde, Texas, to consider whether to terminate the employment of the district’s police chief will be rescheduled in the “very near future,” said school district Superintendent Hal Harrell. The meeting had been previously scheduled for Saturday before it was canceled. Chief Pedro

By Paradise Afshar and Zoe Sottile, CNN An Illinois bakery and café has postponed a drag brunch event after their venue was vandalized early morning on Saturday. Corinna Sac, the owner of UpRising Bakery and Café in Lake in the Hills, a village to the northwest of Chicago, had advertised the sold-out Saturday “brunch at

By Claire Colbert, CNN A new report released this month found temperatures inside some Texas prison units “have been shown to regularly reach 110 degrees and in at least one unit have topped 149 degrees.” Texas A&M’s Hazard Reduction and Recovery Center scrutinized heat mitigation policies used by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. The

By Jason Hanna, Rebekah Riess, Sara Smart and Andy Rose, CNN A wildfire raging for a third day Sunday in central California’s Mariposa County outside Yosemite National Park has burned more than 14,000 acres and forced thousands to evacuate from rural communities, officials said. The fire, which remained 0% contained Sunday morning, began Friday in

By Nick Valencia, CNN The White police chief of a predominantly Black town in Mississippi was terminated this week after audio surfaced, allegedly of him using racist and homophobic slurs, telling one of his officers he wouldn’t care if the officer “killed a m*therf**ker in cold blood,” and that he himself had killed 13 people.

By Zoe Sottile, CNN A dog is being lauded as a “real-life Lassie” for leading rescuers to his owner after he fell during a hike. The dog’s owner, a 53-year-old man, fell nearly 70 feet during a hike with his canine companion on July 12 in Nevada County, California, according to a Facebook post from

By Nouran Salahieh, CNN Along both US coasts, Americans this summer have been hearing reports of shark bites and sightings, triggering beach closures and advisories. In Long Island, New York, several people were injured in suspected shark attacks this month. To the northeast, a Cape Cod beach was temporarily closed after a white shark sighting.

By Josh Campbell and Zoe Sottile, CNN A New Jersey woman has been sentenced to one year and a day in prison for her role in scamming more than $400,000 from GoFundMe donors, claiming to be collecting money for a homeless man. Katelyn McClure pleaded guilty to one count of theft by deception in the