CNN – National

By Andrew Torgan, CNN Today is National Ice Cream Day! OK, I know what you’re thinking … isn’t this just some phony celebration dreamed up by the powerful ice cream lobby to get us to buy more delicious frozen treats? Turns out that it’s completely legit, thanks to a proclamation signed by President Ronald Reagan

By AJ Willingham, CNN Sheletta Brundidge has a keen eye for little miracles. Whether it’s faith or gratitude, she knows not to look away when life shows you something special. That’s how an innocent misunderstanding by her son became a viral children’s book, which led to a meaningful friendship with one of NASCAR’s top drivers.

By Jamiel Lynch and Amanda Musa, CNN Four first responders who were killed when a sheriff’s office helicopter crashed in New Mexico on Saturday have been identified, officials said. Three employees with the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office and one worker with the county’s fire department were killed near Las Vegas, New Mexico, the sheriff’s office

By Eliott C. McLaughlin, CNN It’s not just that US Supreme Court majorities upheld Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban and overturned Roe v. Wade. The opinion also skewed the crux of the conversation going forward — with just three words. “Unborn human being” is the term Associate Justice Samuel Alito adopted from the Mississippi statute, thereby

By Zoe Sottile, CNN A bright orange lobster was rescued from its fate as a meal at Red Lobster after staff members recognized the crustacean’s unusual coloring. The lobster was named “Cheddar” in an ode to the restaurant’s famous Cheddar Bay Biscuits. Cheddar arrived in a shipment at a Red Lobster restaurant in Hollywood, Florida,

By Shimon Prokupecz, Dakin Andone, Amir Vera, Matthew J. Friedman, Elizabeth Joseph and Peter Nickeas, CNN A preliminary report by the Texas House investigative committee probing the Uvalde, Texas, school massacre outlines a series of failures by multiple law enforcement agencies, describing “an overall lackadaisical approach” by authorities on the scene of the shooting in

By Hannah Sarisohn and Josh Campbell, CNN A man who allegedly fatally stabbed professional race car driver Bobby East at a Southern California gas station was later killed in a police shooting as authorities attempted to arrest him, according to a news release from the Westminster, California, Police Department. Police responded to the gas station

By Paradise Afshar, CNN A Louisiana woman sitting in her stopped car on a state highway died Friday after being hit by a Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office deputy responding to a call, according to a release from the Louisiana State Police. An initial investigation revealed that a 2004 Saturn Ion, driven by Christinia Estave, 33,

By Andy Rose, CNN The police pursuit of a murder suspect near Minneapolis Friday ended in a crash that killed a six-year-old girl, authorities said. Brooklyn Center Police say the collision happened after an unsuccessful attempt to stop the suspect by deflating the vehicle’s tires. The suspect’s vehicle crashed into a vehicle that wasn’t involved

By Samantha Beech and Amya Henry, CNN Three men who served decades in prison for the arson murder of a New York City subway clerk, a murder that resembled a scene from the 1995 movie “Money Train,” have had their convictions overturned. Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said on Friday that he would move to

By Jamiel Lynch and Zoe Sottile, CNN Two people were killed in flash flooding in Larimer County, Colorado, on Friday, according to the sheriff’s office. The office received calls around 5 p.m. MT on Friday about flash flooding and crews found moderate flooding in the Glen Haven area and significant flooding in the Crystal Mountain/Buckhorn

By John Couwels, CNN The nightly curfew in Akron, Ohio, put in place following the police shooting of Jayland Walker will be lifted if there are no major public safety concerns Saturday evening, Mayor Daniel Horrigan said. City officials said Monday that the downtown curfew was curtailed after a week of largely peaceful protests over

By Ray Sanchez and Peter Nickeas, CNN The gunman walked into the Uvalde, Texas, elementary school and casually pushed back his long hair before moving to adjoining classrooms where he killed 19 students and two teachers, according to edited portions of surveillance video of the law enforcement response. The 82 minutes of disturbing footage from

By Jamiel Lynch, Rebekah Riess and Sara Smart, CNN A dust storm caused a 21-vehicle pileup on Interstate 90 in Big Horn County, Montana, on Friday evening, resulting in the deaths of six people, including three children, according to the Montana Highway Patrol. Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen said first responders were investigating the accident

By Zoe Sottile, CNN The more, the merrier for the 500 couples who got symbolically married at Lincoln Center last weekend. After more than two years of weddings were canceled, rescheduled, or downsized due to the pandemic, the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts’ “Celebrate Love: A (Re)Wedding” event provided an opportunity for hundreds of

By Taylor Romine and Josh Campbell, CNN Two people were arrested Friday in connection with a string of robberies that left two people dead and three others wounded at convenience stores in Southern California, police said. Six of those seven robberies happened at 7-Eleven stores during the early hours on July 11, prompting the company

By Raja Razek and Hannah Sarisohn, CNN Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and creator of the “1619 Project,” whose tenure last year was initially denied by the University of North Carolina board of trustees despite a recommendation by the tenure committee, has reached a settlement with the UNC over tenure, according to a statement from the university.

By Hira Humayun and Paradise Afshar, CNN New Mexico District Court Judge Douglas Driggers ruled there was “insufficient evidence” for the trial of former Las Cruces police officer Christopher Smelser to continue and dismissed the second-degree murder charges filed against him for the death of Antonio Valenzuela in 2020, according to the New Mexico Attorney

By Andy Rose and Bill Kirkos, CNN A small-town library in Iowa is scrambling to reopen after community complaints about its book selection prompted full-time staff members to resign. The controversy started over complaints about books on display for children with information on the LGBTQ community, according to Jimmy Kelly, board chair of the Vinton

By Rebekah Riess and Kevin Dotson, CNN Thirty women who “have made, or intended to make, claims” against the Houston Texans organization over the sexual misconduct allegations against former Texans player Deshaun Watson, have settled their claims, according to a release from the claimants’ attorney Tony Buzbee and a statement issued by the Houston Texans’

By Lauren del Valle, CNN A man recently exonerated of his wrongful conviction for the assassination of civil rights icon Malcolm X has filed a $40 million lawsuit against the City of New York. According to the civil rights lawsuit filed in Brooklyn federal court on Thursday, Muhammad Aziz’s “wrongful conviction was the product of

By Kristina Sgueglia, Omar Jimenez and Liam Reilly, CNN An autopsy revealed Jayland Walker, the unarmed man who was shot and killed by Akron, Ohio, police at the end of a high-speed chase, had 46 gunshot entrance wounds or graze injuries, Summit County Medical Examiner Dr. Lisa Kohler said Friday. His death was due to

By Elizabeth Wolfe and Anna Chernova, CNN Lawyers for WNBA star Brittney Griner told Russian judges Friday that she was prescribed medical cannabis for “severe chronic pain.” Griner’s defense team submitted to the Russian court a letter from a US medical center issuing a permit in Arizona in 2020 for the use of medical cannabis

By Jamiel Lynch and Aya Elamroussi, CNN A Georgia school district approved a policy Thursday that allows some employees to carry weapons in schools, excluding teachers and staff who supervise classrooms. The Cobb County Board of Education voted 4-2 to pass the measure intended to improve security in Georgia’s second-largest school district. “This policy gives

By Lauren del Valle, CNN Officials urged swimmers in Long Island, New York, to be cautious after at least four people were injured in suspected shark attacks this month. “We are telling people that if they are swimming, they need to swim in lifeguard areas. They should only go waist deep and that they should

By Nicquel Terry Ellis, CNN Garnell Whitfield is still suffering the trauma of losing his mother to racist violence at a Buffalo supermarket. Whitfield said the mass shootings that followed and Republican lawmakers’ refusal to support significantly stricter gun laws have made it even harder to cope. He also worries many elected officials and religious

By Josh Campbell and Aya Elamroussi, CNN A Maryland man was arrested Thursday for allegedly assaulting men he believed were gay over a three-year period in a Washington, DC, park, officials said. Michael Thomas Pruden, 48, is accused of spraying the men with a “chemical irritant” at DC’s Meridian Hill Park, also known as Malcolm

By Raja Razek, CNN An 8-year-old boy was shot and killed by his 5-year-old brother Thursday in what Arkansas authorities believe was an accidental shooting. “This is a tragic incident that could have been avoided. I can’t emphasize strongly enough that guns need to be well secured and kept out of the hands and away

By Sharif Paget, CNN As heavy rains lashed southwestern Virginia late Tuesday, causing flash floods and damaging roads, Nancy Howell began to worry about her mother. So, she turned to Facebook to ask if anyone had seen her. “I don’t know if she made it home from church,” Howell, 43, wrote in a post. “I’m

By Sonia Moghe, CNN A Florida woman accused of pepper spraying four Asian women while yelling xenophobic comments was indicted on 12 hate crime charges, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office announced Thursday. Madeline Barker, 47, was indicted on eight counts of assault in the third degree as a hate crime and four counts of aggravated

By Michelle Watson, CNN A mother is facing charges related to her son’s death more than two decades after his remains were initially found, the DeKalb County District Attorney, said in a news release Wednesday. Teresa Black, 45, is facing two counts of felony murder, two counts of cruelty to children, aggravated assault and concealing

By Greg Wallace and Alaa Elassar, CNN Federal investigators are walking back their assertion that a 13-year-old child was driving the pickup truck in a March collision that killed nine people, including members of a university’s golf teams. The National Transportation Safety Board said in a preliminary report released Thursday that DNA testing performed by

By Justin Gamble and Camila Moreno-Lizarazo, CNN The father of missing 20-year-old University of Mississippi student Jimmie “Jay” Lee is pleading for the public’s help in bringing the college student home after the discovery of his car. “If anyone knows anything or sees anything, say something. Contact law enforcement. Just tell them what you know.

By Catherine E. Shoichet, CNN A new complaint alleges that a nurse sexually assaulted four women who sought medical attention at an ICE detention center in south Georgia. A nurse at the privately run Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia, according to the complaint, took advantage of his position to coerce the women “into giving

By Harmeet Kaur, CNN Neema Avashia is all too used to the shocked reaction she gets when she tells people she’s from West Virginia. A queer woman whose parents immigrated to the US from India, Avashia doesn’t fit the image many Americans have about Appalachians: impoverished, rural and White. But those stereotypes about Appalachia don’t

By Randi Kaye, Dianne Gallagher and Ray Sanchez, CNN Disgraced South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh has been indicted for the 2021 murders of his wife and son by a Colleton County grand jury. The once prominent, now disbarred, attorney was indicted Thursday morning on two counts of murder and two counts of possession of a

By Anna Chernova, Eliott C. McLaughlin and Amir Vera, CNN WNBA star Brittney Griner‘s hearing in a court outside Moscow ended Thursday without a verdict, and a fourth hearing in her trial was scheduled for Friday morning, a US official familiar with the matter said. She is expected to appear in court at 10 a.m.

By Sonia Moghe, CNN Dozens of pamphlets with hate symbols were left at a church and a synagogue as well as other areas of Hornell, New York, over the weekend, and three people have been arrested and charged with first-degree aggravated harassment, police said. Aubrey Dragonetti, 31, Dylan Henry, 30, and Ryan Mulhollen, 27, each

By Benjamin Schiller and Kiely Westhoff, CNN Two years after a 911 dispatcher in rural Pennsylvania refused to send emergency medical assistance to an ailing woman, he was charged with involuntary manslaughter, according to court records. Dispatcher Leon Price was also charged with recklessly endangering another person, official oppression, and obstruction of the administration of

By Chuck Johnston, CNN A Columbus man has been charged with raping a 10-year-old Ohio girl who then had to travel to Indiana seeking an abortion after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, according to court proceedings CNN obtained through affiliate WBNS. Rumors of the case garnered national and international attention, with some US

By Yon Pomrenze, CNN In 1995, he was an undercover officer for the Boston Police when he was mistaken for a suspect and severely beaten by his own colleagues. Next month, Michael Cox will lead the force as the city’s new police commissioner. Making the announcement Wednesday, Mayor Michelle Wu spoke about Cox’s close links

By Peter Nickeas, CNN The release this week of 82 minutes of school surveillance video from the May massacre in Uvalde, Texas, is fueling scrutiny over what, if any, consequences officers might face for their decision to retreat from gunfire and wait an hour to confront the shooter inside the school where he killed 19

By Jacquelyne Germain, CNN Louis Weathers had a stable job and was married when he decided to buy a home in the Chicago suburb of Evanston in 1959 — but high interest rates and White real estate agents who seemed adamant about keeping him and other Black residents out of certain neighborhoods nearly discouraged him.

By Alisha Ebrahimji, Benjamin Schiller and Artemis Moshtaghian, CNN New England’s first LGBTQ+ friendly housing development for seniors in Boston was vandalized with hate speech over the weekend, according to a Facebook post by the nonprofit LGBTQ Senior Housing Inc. Signs posted on the chain-link fence surrounding the development were vandalized with messages overnight Saturday

By Melissa Alonso and Raja Razek, CNN A 3-year-old died Monday after being left inside a vehicle by his father outside a Jewish education center in northern Miami-Dade County, Florida, the Miami Gardens Police Department said. The death is the 10th pediatric vehicular heatstroke death in the United States this year, according to NoHeatStroke.org, a

By Susannah Cullinane, Ray Sanchez and Emily Chang, CNN Jayland Walker, the 25-year-old Black man shot as he fled from police officers trying to stop him for an alleged traffic violation in Akron, Ohio, was remembered Wednesday as soft-spoken, loving and kind. “We must not normalize this,” Bishop Timothy Clarke, pastor of the First Church

By Rob Frehse, CNN Two people died Tuesday afternoon after a boat capsized off New York City’s Midtown Manhattan, spilling relatives and friends onboard into the Hudson River, officials said. A 7-year-old boy was among those killed, said New York Police Department Assistant Chief of the Patrol Bureau Manhattan South James McCarthy. The boat, which

By Cheri Mossburg, CNN California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law Tuesday that clears the path for gun violence victims to file civil suits against the companies that manufacture the firearms used in crimes. The move effectively tightens gun laws in California, which has the strictest gun safety measures in the nation, according to the

By Rob Frehse, Mark Morales, Lauren del Valle and Brynn Gingras, CNN The knife-wielding assailant who authorities believe had stabbed three homeless men in New York City while they slept, killing one of them, has been arrested, police and city officials announced at a news conference Wednesday. The alleged attacker, identified as Trevon Murphy, 40,

By Josh Campbell and Aya Elamroussi, CNN 7-Eleven recommended that its Los Angeles-area stores close for a second night Tuesday as police investigate a string of robberies that left two people dead and three people wounded. Authorities are still working to determine whether the robberies that happened Monday at six 7-Eleven locations are connected, police

By Christina Maxouris, CNN The response from the families of the Uvalde massacre victims was of anger and outrage, the reaction from law enforcement experts was that of astonishment and dismay. It followed the release Tuesday by a Texas newspaper of leaked surveillance video from inside the school, days ahead of when officials said they

By Elizabeth Joseph and Christina Maxouris, CNN The Uvalde, Texas, City Council on Tuesday accepted the resignation of Councilman Pedro “Pete” Arredondo. Arredondo, who is the Uvalde school district police chief, said in his resignation letter earlier this month he was stepping down from the city council position to “minimize further distractions.” “The Mayor, the

By Amir Vera and Mark Morales, CNN A New York City correction officer has been fired after an inmate died in the city’s Rikers Island jail, according to a Tuesday statement from the city Department of Correction. The inmate, identified as Elijah Muhammad, 31, was found unresponsive in his cell and declared dead on Sunday

By Ashley Killough and Christina Maxouris, CNN Cooper Roberts, the 8-year-old boy who is paralyzed from the waist down after getting shot at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade, underwent a critical surgery Tuesday and is “still fighting,” a family spokesperson said in an update. Cooper, who was attending the parade with his family,

By Dianne Gallagher and Eric Levenson, CNN The family of Alex Murdaugh, the disgraced South Carolina attorney accused of defrauding legal clients and carrying out a failed suicidal fraud scheme, has been told he could soon be indicted on murder charges as well, his attorney told CNN. “I am aware that SLED (South Carolina Law

By Chuck Johnston, CNN The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) will transfer 4,000 beagles from a research facility in Cumberland, Virginia, to humane societies across the United States where they can be adopted, under a plan approved by a federal judge last week. A series of inspections over the course of nine months found more

CNN Editorial Research Here is a look at Alex Rodriguez, former New York Yankees infielder, who is in fifth place for the most career home runs in Major League Baseball history. He was suspended for the entire 2014 season after an investigation into the use of performance-enhancing drugs. Personal Birth date: July 27, 1975 Birth

By Stella Chan, CNN A tech company CEO who was tried twice in the 1992 killing of his roommate’s girlfriend has been arrested and charged with murder in the case, a California prosecutor said. John Kevin Woodward, 58, the CEO of online training company ReadyTech, was taken into custody at New York’s JFK airport on

By Melissa Alonso and Michelle Krupa, CNN Little league teams have pulled out of the North Carolina state championship tournament after gunshots erupted during a weekend game, their organizers said Monday in social media posts. “Our 8U Machine Pitch team had to withdraw from the State Championship tournament in Wilson, North Carolina,” read Wilmington Little

By Leah Asmelash, CNN Ada Limón, author of six books of poetry, will become the next US poet laureate. Limón assumes the role from Joy Harjo, who served three 1-year terms in the position. She will begin her duties this fall, according to a statement from the Library of Congress. As the 24th poet to

By Shimon Prokupecz and Matthew J. Friedman, CNN Every day, 9-year-old AJ Martinez tells his mom he wishes he could have saved his friends from a gunman. With a child’s powerful, if fanciful, belief in his own abilities, he tells her he wishes he could have run outside to get help or to rescue his

By Stella Chan and Susannah Cullinane, CNN A Team USA Olympic medal winner says a man attacked her outside a Los Angeles restaurant, hurling a metal object at her and fracturing her eye socket. Kim Glass, a 2008 volleyball silver medalist, posted a video to social media describing her ordeal. The footage shows her right

By Sonia Moghe, CNN A growing chorus of voices is urging Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg to drop a murder charge against a bodega clerk who fatally stabbed a man who had gone behind the counter and pushed him. The bodega clerk, Jose Alba, 61, was working at the Blue Moon Convenient Store in Upper

By Claudia Dominguez and Steve Almasy, CNN The Tops Friendly Markets store in Buffalo, New York, where 10 people were shot and killed in May will “quietly and respectfully” reopen Friday morning, company officials said Monday. The day before the official reopening, the store will hold a gathering in the afternoon to remember the victims

By Susannah Cullinane, CNN A World War II landing craft is emerging from Lake Mead as water levels at the United States’ largest man-made water reservoir continue to drop in extreme drought conditions. The prolonged megadrought in the Southwest has seen the lake — a water source for around 25 million people — reach an

By Eric Levenson, CNN Brandy Bottone was driving in the HOV lane meant for at least two people per vehicle in Dallas, Texas, two weeks ago when she was pulled over by police. The officer noted there didn’t seem to be anyone else in the car, but Bottone had a retort — she was 34

By Eric Levenson, CNN Photographs by Taylor Glascock and Kristan Lieb for CNN A stroll through Central Avenue’s tree-lined, cobblestone sidewalks shows the appeal of suburban Highland Park. The boutique stores that dot the street and the banana pancakes at Walker Bros. call out to the casual pedestrian, as does the shaded playground of Sunset