CNN – National

By Ryan Bergeron, CNN The Mississippi River was running so low in October, you could walk to an island that should only be accessible by boat. This summer, the Danube River that flows through much of central Europe got so shallow, you could see sunken warships from World War II at the bottom of it.

By Sharif Paget, CNN No charges will be filed against a woman seen on video on Election Day hanging stuffed toys in nooses above a political sign belonging to Tim Alexander, a Black candidate for New Jersey’s 2nd Congressional District seat. The woman was identified as a 36-year-old resident of Rio Grande, the section of

By Nouran Salahieh, CNN Floridians are once again picking up the pieces after Nicole slammed into the state Thursday, killing at least four people, ripping buildings apart and leaving some homes unlivable as it bore down with dangerous storm surge and powerful winds. Nicole hit Florida’s eastern coast, just south of Vero Beach, as a

By Aya Elamroussi and Amy Simonson, CNN Kentucky state officials on Thursday unveiled a sculpture of public education trailblazer Nettie Depp, the first woman from the state to have a large-scale monument dedicated to her inside the state Capitol. “Nettie Depp was a pioneer in the field of public education in Kentucky, serving as an

By Amir Vera and Joe Sutton, CNN A noose was discovered at the Obama Presidential Center construction site in Chicago Thursday, prompting the group overseeing the project to suspend work at the site. Lakeside Alliance, a joint venture of multiple construction companies working on the center, issued a statement saying they reported the incident to

By Steve Almasy and Rebekah Riess, CNN The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals on Thursday denied a petition for a hearing on new evidence in the case of death row inmate Richard Glossip, convicted of a 1997 murder committed by someone else. At trial, prosecutors said Glossip, a motel manager, ordered another employee to kill

By Rebekah Riess and Paradise Afshar, CNN After an independent report found an elementary school outside St. Louis had “unacceptable” levels of radioactive contamination, preliminary results of testing for radioactive materials by the US Army Corps of Engineers showed “no presence of radioactive material above the expected range of background levels,” the U.S. Army Corps

By Rebekah Riess, CNN A Texas woman convicted of killing a pregnant woman and then taking her unborn baby, who also died, has been sentenced to death, court records show. A Bowie County jury last month after about an hour of deliberations found Taylor Rene Parker guilty of capital murder in the deaths of Reagan

By Ray Sanchez and Kristina Sgueglia, CNN An 18-year-old New Jersey man was arrested Thursday after sending a manifesto online with threats to attack a synagogue and Jewish people, federal prosecutors say. Omar Alkattoul, a Sayreville resident, is charged with a count of transmitting a threat in interstate and foreign commerce earlier this month, according

By Raja Razek, Jennifer Henderson and Joe Sutton, CNN A man was arrested in connection with a series of arsons, including fires at two historically African American churches, early Tuesday in Jackson, Mississippi, authorities said. The suspect was identified as Devin McLaurin, 23, according to Capt. Crystal Houston of the Hinds County Sheriff’s Office. CNN

By Rachel Ramirez, CNN Homes and buildings are collapsing into the ocean and authorities have issued warnings to evacuate some areas as Tropical Storm Nicole pushes a huge volume of ocean water onshore in southeast Florida. Video from Volusia County shows homes crumbling, reduced to wreckage, as Nicole’s waves erode the coastline. Separate video shows

By Michelle Watson and Amanda Musa, CNN The brother of two Black teenagers killed in Philadelphia’s 1985 MOVE bombings is suing the city and the trustees of the University of Pennsylvania, claiming his sisters’ remains were mistreated and hidden away for more than three decades, court documents show. The civil complaint, filed Friday by attorneys

By Alexandra Meeks, CNN Election officials cautiously went into the midterms this week bracing for the possibility of harassment and hostility at some polling places. Luckily, voting went smoothly across the US — even after two years that election-deniers bragged that they would flood the polls with observers to find fraud. Here’s what else you