CNN – National

By Kiely Westhoff and Laura Studley, CNN A Rochester, New York, teacher has been placed on leave, according to a statement from the Rochester City School District Board of Education, after parents alleged he made his students pick seeds out of cotton during a lesson one parent said was about slavery. Rochester School of the

By Amir Vera, Omar Jimenez, Ashley Killough and Leonel Mendez, CNN The plaintiffs in a lawsuit seeking reparations for the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre celebrated a judge’s ruling on Monday when she allowed their case to move forward after defendants sought a motion to dismiss the case. Judge Caroline Wall said the motion to dismiss

By Dakin Andone and Tina Burnside, CNN Tennessee’s governor has announced a pause of executions in the state amid plans for an independent review into the lethal injection process after finding that testing procedures for a set execution last month weren’t followed. The announcement Monday by Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican, follows a last-minute reprieve

By Elizabeth Wolfe, Nadia Romero, Maria Cartaya and Theresa Waldrop, CNN An Alabama corrections official who was last seen with a man held on murder charges now has a warrant out for her arrest. A warrant was issued for Vicky White, an assistant director of corrections for Lauderdale County, on charges of permitting or facilitating

By Tina Burnside and Alaa Elassar, CNN A driver of a multi-person party bike has been charged with DUI in connection with an accident that injured 15 passengers in Atlanta on Saturday. Officers responded to a report of a traffic crash at West Peachtree Street and 14th Street in the evening and discovered a party

By Megan Thomas and Chris Boyette, CNN Actor and comedian Bill Murray addressed the production shutdown of his latest film, “Being Mortal,” in the wake of reports of a complaint against him. Fox Searchlight told the film crew in an email last month that the film was being shut down due to an unspecified complaint

By Hannah Sarisohn and Theresa Waldrop, CNN Emergency management officials in New Mexico cautioned residents to monitor rapidly changing conditions and the potential for further evacuations as the Calf Canyon Fire surpassed 100,000 acres in size Sunday. Red flag warnings — issued when conditions are perfect for wildfires to start and to spread — remain

By Zoe Sottile, CNN Nike has released a special pair of “Mambacita Sweet 16” shoes to honor Gianna “Gigi” Bryant on what would have been her 16th birthday. “I’m so happy with the way these Mambacita shoes came out in honor of my daughter, Gigi,” wrote Vanessa Bryant on Instagram. The shoes feature a black

By Zoe Sottile, CNN Love mayonnaise enough to put it on your body forever? A Virginia tattoo shop might just have the perfect deal for you. Yellow Bird Tattoo is teaming up with Richmond-based Duke’s Mayonnaise to offer free, mayonnaise-themed tattoos — for one day only. The special flash tattoo event will take place on

By Zoe Sottile, CNN “Friends” superfans look no further: You can now spend your days and nights living in a replica of Monica Geller’s apartment. A house in Dayton, Ohio, designed to look like the iconic New York City apartment has been listed for sale. It features purple and blue walls painted to mimic the

By Sara Smart, CNN When a Massachusetts woman ordered a pizza on a routine Friday evening, she had no idea the quick thinking and kindness of her delivery driver would change her life that night. Caryn Hebert Sullivan put in the call for a late dinner on February 11, and DoorDash driver Sophia Furtado brought

By Theresa Waldrop, Jamiel Lynch and Rebekah Riess, CNN Authorities in Alabama are searching for a corrections officer and an inmate who is charged with murder after they went missing last Friday. Vicky White, who was assistant director of corrections for Lauderdale County, took Casey White, the inmate, from the county jail Friday morning, saying

By Zoe Sottile, CNN Ecologists came to the rescue of a baby bald eagle after it was accidentally kicked from its nest by its parent. The chick was sleeping Monday on one of its parents’ feet when “the parent took off, and it just accidentally knocked the chick out of the nest,” research ecologist Peter

By Leah Asmelash, CNN Collard greens at the grocery store tend to be monotonous, making up rows and rows of wide leafy bundles. But in reality, there are dozens of varieties of the staple vegetable. The Jernigan Yellow Cabbage Collard, for example, boasts a light green color reminiscent of butter lettuce. Old Timey Blue collards,

By Nicole Chavez and Priya Krishnakumar, CNN Asian Americans are often labeled as a singular group, but the fastest growing population in the US is far from a monolith — and their complex history and cultures are often glossed over. While they have been in America since the nation’s infancy, Asian Americans continue being harmed

By Alexandra Meeks, CNN May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month — a time to pay tribute to the generations of Asian and Pacific Islanders who have enriched our history! Take a moment to learn more about AAPI leaders who have transformed our country for generations to come. Here’s what else you need

CNN Editorial Research Here’s a look at the life of Louis Farrakhan, leader of the Nation of Islam. Personal Birth date: May 11, 1933 Birth place: The Bronx, New York Birth name: Louis Eugene Walcott Father: Percival Clark Mother: Sarah Mae (Manning) Clark Marriage: Khadijah Farrakhan, formerly Betsy (Ross) Walcott, (September 12, 1953-present) Children: Mustapha,

CNN Editorial Research Here’s a look at the life of filmmaker George Lucas. Personal: Birth date: May 14, 1944 Birth place: Modesto, California Birth name: George Walton Lucas Jr. Father: George Lucas Sr., office supply store owner Mother: Dorothy (Bomberger) Lucas Marriages: Mellody Hobson (2013-present); Marcia Griffin (1969-1983, divorced) Children: with Mellody Hobson: Everest (daughter),

By Michelle Watson, CNN Authorities canceled the final day of the Mississippi Mudbug Festival after gunfire erupted at the festival in Jackson Saturday night. One person died and five others were hurt in the shooting. The person who died may have been shot by an officer after “there was an exchange of gunfire between at

By Dakin Andone, CNN Fourteen years after she was sent to Texas’ death row, Melissa’s Lucio will finally get the chance to have new evidence of her innocence claims examined in state court. Lucio, 53, was set to be executed Wednesday for capital murder in the 2007 death of her 2-year-old daughter. But two days

By Aya Elamroussi, CNN Six months after Mussab Ali started his first year of Harvard Law School, he was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and underwent chemotherapy during Ramadan. Ali was 23 at the time and had just become the youngest school board president to lead Jersey City public schools in New Jersey — a

By Zoe Sottile, CNN A Maryland man skipped work — but still got paid, thanks to a winning $100,000 lottery ticket he bought on his day off. The 58-year old construction worker from Bowie was headed to his job on April 23 when he realized he wasn’t actually needed that day, according to a news

By Andy Rose, CNN Three University of Oklahoma meteorology students were killed late Friday night when their vehicle hydroplaned and was struck by a tractor-trailer, according to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. The three students were returning from a storm-chasing trip in Kansas, OHP spokesperson Sarah Stewart confirmed to CNN. Drake Brooks, 22, Nicholas Nair, 20,

By Rosa Flores and Rosalina Nieves, CNN Delays at the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office in Orlando have forced hundreds of migrants, including children, to wait in long lines and has prompted some people to sleep in tents or inside their cars, US Rep. Darren Soto said in a letter sent to federal

By Hannah Sarisohn and Christina Maxouris, CNN Officials in northern New Mexico urged residents in more than two dozen communities to immediately evacuate Saturday ahead of a massive blaze that exploded in size in a day. The Calf Canyon Fire began last week and combined with the Hermits Peak Fire, which was already burning near

By Ray Sanchez, CNN On one of the most solemn days on the Jewish calender, Holocaust survivor Arnold Fridland would not be silenced. Sydney Goldstein, 28, with a little help from others, saw to it. Fridland, 86, was supposed to speak Thursday evening in Boulder, Colorado, at a Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, event —

By Zoe Sottile, CNN The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is investigating the death of a dolphin that was impaled while alive in Florida. The bottlenose dolphin was found dead on Fort Myers Beach, Florida. NOAA first learned about the animal on March 24, and staff from the the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation

By Emmy Abbassi, CNN A group of Georgia Tech students has created what may be the world’s longest hopscotch. The course, which runs through the university’s Atlanta campus and spans 4.2 miles, was drawn up by members of a first-year leadership organization called See(k) (D)iscomfort, or SEED. The group helps members develop their leadership skills

By Zoe Sottile, CNN Customs officers intercepted four separate shipments of cocaine with a total street value of $70,000 hidden inside insulated thermal cups, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said in a statement. The shipments from Jamaica were discovered at processing centers in Cincinnati, New York and Philadelphia, the CBP said. Each shipment contained

By Alaa Elassar, CNN Photographs by Hilary Swift for CNN NEW YORK — It’s a sweltering spring day in New York City, but Dana Aber stands on the Times Square-42 Street subway platform in a heavy leather jacket. Her hands are gloved and stuffed in her pockets to hide her jewelry. Although she tries to

By Zoe Sottile, CNN Just when you thought rush hour couldn’t get any worse. A behemoth 11-foot alligator wandered onto State Road 417 in Florida on Wednesday morning, holding up traffic for almost an hour, according to the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office. The “moving speed bump” likely came from Lake Jesup, which is “quite the

By Ralph Ellis, Rebekah Riess, Jamiel Lynch and Mallika Kallingal, CNN Authorities in Lauderdale County, Alabama, are searching for a corrections officer and an inmate charged with murder who went missing Friday morning. Vicky White, assistant director of corrections at the Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Office, and inmate Casey White were last seen about 9:30 a.m.

By Abby Bustin and Caroline Kucera, CNN Edward Morgan Jr. was part of a massive rescue mission this week — one involving thousands of bees. Morgan, who has been in the beekeeping practice for about four years, received an urgent call from a stranger on Sunday: an Alaskan beekeeper said her 200 packages of bees

CNN Editorial Research Here’s a look at the Penn State sexual abuse scandal. On November 4, 2011, a grand jury report was released containing testimony that former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky sexually abused eight young boys over a period of at least 15 years. Officials at Penn State purportedly failed to notify law

By Rosa Flores, Rosalina Nieves and Jason Hanna, CNN A group of attorneys filed a federal lawsuit against Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s “Operation Lone Star” effort to arrest migrants under state criminal trespassing laws, alleging it targets “Black and Brown — primarily Latino — individuals for prosecution.” The lawsuit was filed Wednesday in the US

By Jay Croft, CNN In his escalating feud with Disney, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday night “additional legislative action” is coming to undo the company’s special tax district. He said the legislature will address the legality and any potential tax fallout from the state’s recent move to erase Disney’s self-governing status. DeSantis spoke during

By Jamiel Lynch, Elizabeth Wolfe and Theresa Waldrop, CNN Four Florida Department of Corrections officers have been arrested in the alleged beating death in February of an inmate at a prison south of Miami, authorities said. Ronald Connor, 24, Christopher Rolon, 29, and Kirk Walton, 34, were arrested Thursday by the Florida Department of Law

By Laura Vargas, CNN Not every urban metropolis is known as the City in the Forest like Atlanta is. So tree loss is something the city takes seriously. And now arborists in Atlanta are teaming up to save the city’s trees by setting an ambitious goal. The firm Peachtree Arborists, with help from the nonprofit

By Alexandra Meeks, CNN In a move to reduce smoking across the US, the FDA has proposed a sweeping ban on menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars. Some advocates are calling it a “historic” moment for public health, but tobacco companies may not go down without a fight. Experts are predicting the companies will now try

By Christina Maxouris, CNN A former top official with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has accused Sheriff Alex Villanueva of attempting to cover up an alleged excessive force incident and then lying about doing so, according to legal documents obtained by CNN. The accusation by former Assistant Sheriff Robin Limon follows similar claims about

CNN Editorial Research Here is a look at the kidnapping of three women in Cleveland and the case against now-deceased kidnapper Ariel Castro. Facts Former school bus driver Ariel Castro agreed to a plea deal relating to the kidnapping, rape and assault of three young women kidnapped in Cleveland between 2002 and 2004. Under the

CNN Editorial Research Here’s a look at the life of former professional basketball player Dennis Rodman. Personal Birth date: May 13, 1961 Birth place: Trenton, New Jersey Birth name: Dennis Keith Rodman Father: Philander Rodman Mother: Shirley Rodman Marriages: Michelle Moyer (2003-2012, divorced); Carmen Electra (1998-1999, divorced); Anicka Bakes (1992-1993, divorced) Children: with Michelle Moyer:

By Mallika Kallingal and Hannah Sarisohn, CNN Federal public defenders in Tennessee are calling for a statewide moratorium on executions and an independent commission to study the state’s executions after a death row inmate was granted a temporary reprieve minutes before his execution last week, according to a letter addressed to Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee.

By Meg Dunn, CNN Growing up in rural Indiana, DeAnna Ellenberger Pursai and her sister, Angel, were constant companions and playmates. Only a year apart in age, they called themselves twins. But there’s one big difference between them. Ten minutes after Angel was born in 1973, her mother was told she had Down syndrome and

By Sara Smart, CNN Over the next couple of months, one man will attempt to row close to 4,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean. Peter Harley, 61, hopes to set sail next week, weather permitting, from Virginia Beach and make his way to La Trinité-sur-Mer, France. He told CNN on Thursday he estimates the entire

By Alisha Ebrahimji, CNN Nothing makes Dyree Williams feel more like himself than his hair, which he has proudly worn in twists, braids and locks all his life — it’s part of his identity and a direct connection to his ancestors. But Williams’ locks became an issue after the 17-year-old moved from Cincinnati, Ohio, to East Bernard, 50 miles

By Mark Morales, CNN Prosecutors are pushing back against allegations that the accused Brooklyn subway shooter‘s constitutional rights were violated when FBI agents took DNA samples from him, according to court fillings. Federal public defender Mia Eisner-Grynberg said FBI agents entered Frank James’ cell at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn on Tuesday and took

CNN Editorial Research Here’s a look at the PGA Championship, one of the four Grand Slam golf tournaments; the others are the Masters, British Open and the US Open. May 15-21, 2023 – The 105th PGA Championship is scheduled to take place at Oak Hill County Club in Rochester, New York. May 22, 2022 –

By Evan McMorris-Santoro and Meridith Edwards, CNN Author Melissa Hart refuses to give in to other parents challenging the content of books aimed at children and young adults. While parents, lawmakers and others speculate about the intent of authors and educators, the mother of a nonbinary teen is determined to promote inclusive content because “representation

By Jason Hanna, CNN The year’s second-largest Powerball jackpot is off the board, with only one winning ticket to claim it. A ticket sold in Arizona won the $473.1 million jackpot in Wednesday night’s drawing, officials of the multistate lottery game said. The holder can choose between an annuity of $473.1 million spread in 30

CNN Editorial Research Mother’s Day is observed on the second Sunday in May in the United States. It is also celebrated in many other countries. May 14, 2022 – Mother’s Day. Facts In 2021, 27.3 was the average age in the United States for first-time mothers, according to the CDC. In its early days, people

By Alexandra Meeks, CNN When it comes to managing your finances, you may use an app on your phone or your computer to help rein in overspending. But personal finance experts say that even the most budget-conscious consumers are still falling for common money traps like sale items, subscription services and extended warranties. Here’s what

By Elizabeth Wolfe and Amanda Musa, CNN A shooting spree in Mississippi left four people dead and resulted in a police standoff with the suspect Wednesday, which ended when a SWAT team found him dead inside a local business, officials said. Police say the suspect, Jeremy Reynolds, 32, first fatally shot three people at a

By Amir Vera and Rebekah Riess, CNN Lily Peters, a 10-year-old girl who prosecutors say was killed by an eighth grader in Wisconsin, suffered strangulation and blunt force trauma, according to the Chippewa County coroner. The autopsy findings are preliminary, with the cause of death determined to be homicide, county coroner Ron Patten told CNN

By Stephanie Elam, CNN The West is in the grips of a climate change-fueled megadrought, and Lake Mead — the largest manmade reservoir in the country and a source of water for millions of people — has fallen to an unprecedented low. The lake’s plummeting water level has exposed one of the reservoir’s original water

By Amir Vera, CNN Morris Brown College may have had the comeback of the year on Wednesday. The historically Black college in Atlanta received its full accreditation after losing it 20 years ago, according to a news release from the school. “Many thought that this feat was impossible, but due to our strong faith in

By Omar Jimenez, CNN The Kenosha Police Department has asked the FBI to look into the case of an off-duty police officer seen on video putting his knee on the neck of a 12-year-old girl for more than 20 seconds to break up a school fight in March. “Chief (Eric) Larsen asked the FBI to

By Eliott C. McLaughlin, CNN Crosley Green has received the news he didn’t want to hear — a federal appeals panel is reinstating his vacated 1990 murder conviction — but the fight to prove his innocence is not over, and he remains at peace knowing “everything’s going to work out as it should, as it’s

CNN Editorial Research Here’s a look at Armed Forces Day, a holiday observed in some areas of the United States to honor all branches of the armed forces. Facts May 21, 2022 – Armed Forces Day. Is celebrated each year on the third Saturday in May. Other Facts Each year there is a theme. The

CNN Editorial Research Here is a look at the life of Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Meta. Personal Birth date: May 14, 1984 Birth place: Dobbs Ferry, New York Birth name: Mark Elliot Zuckerberg Father: Edward Zuckerberg, dentist Mother: Karen (Kempner) Zuckerberg, psychiatrist Marriage: Priscilla Chan (May 19, 2012-present) Children: Aurelia, August, Maxima Education:

By Ray Sanchez and Omar Jimenez, CNN A state investigation into the Minneapolis Police Department launched after the Memorial Day 2020 killing of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer revealed a pattern of “discriminatory, race-based policing” by officers going back a decade, according to a report released Wednesday. State Human Rights Commissioner

By Eric Levenson and Steve Contorno, CNN Nearly 55 years ago, Florida passed a law that created the Reedy Creek Improvement District, effectively giving The Walt Disney Company governmental control over the land in and around its central Florida theme parks. Yet over the course of just a few days last week, Republican legislators —

By Harmeet Kaur, CNN Lawmakers have advanced an effort to create a national museum of Asian American and Pacific Islander history and culture. The House passed a bill on Tuesday that would establish a commission to explore what it would take to create an institution celebrating the stories, heritage and achievements of Asian Americans and