CNN – National

By Alexandra Meeks, CNN It can take years for new words to get accepted into the dictionary, even if they’re already staples in the American vocabulary. Words like “pumpkin spice” and “metaverse” were among the 370 new definitions Merriam-Webster added to the dictionary this month. Also included on the list is a slew of informal

By Nouran Salahieh and Tina Burnside, CNN A mudslide trapped multiple drivers in Southern California as storms drenched the region and brought flash flood warnings Sunday evening. Several motorists were rescued after their vehicles became stuck in a mud and debris flow on Pine Canyon Road in the Lake Hughes area, about 65 miles north

By Kiely Westhoff, CNN A former Major League Baseball pitcher who retired from the sport to become a New York City area police officer was killed in a wrong-way crash Sunday, authorities said. Anthony Varvaro, 37, was on his way to an assignment at Manhattan’s World Trade Center 9/11 ceremony when the crash happened, the

By Amir Vera and Nouran Salahieh, CNN A wall of smoke from the Mosquito Fire in the Sierra Nevada mountains is creating hazardous conditions in Northern California, choking the air with smoke as strong winds complicate firefighting efforts. The smoke’s impact was most visually clear in a time-lapse video posted by the NWS in Reno,

By Raja Razek, CNN One person died and four people were injured after a motorboat flipped on the Colorado River Saturday afternoon, according to the National Park Service. The incident occurred in an area of the river called Bedrock Rapid in Grand Canyon National Park, NPS said in a tweet Saturday. “Today at 2:12 p.m.,

By Zoe Sottile, CNN A prominent advocacy group has called on consumers to avoid lobster because of major threats to the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale, but Maine politicians are not happy about the guidance. The California-based Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch has published recommendations on sustainable seafood since the 1990s, ranking different seafood

By Michelle Watson and Rebekah Riess, CNN A man arrested in the killing Sunday of an Arvada, Colorado, police officer has been identified in a news release from the police department. Sonny Thomas Almanza was arrested late Sunday evening and faces eight charges, including first-degree murder of a police officer, possession of a weapon by

By Yenny Sanchez, CNN US Customs and Border Protection officers at the Del Rio Port of Entry in Texas said they have have seized a shipment of methamphetamine valued at $11.9 million, making it the largest ever seizure of the drug at the port. The drugs were found within a tractor trailer, the CBP said

By Michelle Watson, CNN Authorities have captured a man accused of killing an eight-year-old girl whose body was found at his central California home nearly six months ago, Lt. Joe Perez said in a news conference Sunday. Investigators found the body of Sophia Mason at the home of her mother’s boyfriend, Dhante Jackson, in Merced

By Eliott C. McLaughlin, CNN There “ain’t no way” agents with the highest domestic law enforcement office in the country were keeping tabs on Aretha Franklin — but they were. The FBI kept a careful eye on the Queen of Soul and her activism, nothing unusual during the civil rights era when the bureau was

By Andrew Torgan, CNN Today is September 11, and if you are old enough to remember the events of that day 21 years ago, you know the painful memories of loss and sacrifice this anniversary invokes. Channel those feelings into something positive today by reflecting on what’s most important to you and performing at least

By Raja Razek and Dakin Andone, CNN Hundreds of people will need to find new homes after an explosion at their apartment building in Aurora, Colorado, Saturday that injured at least three people, according to Aurora Fire Rescue. Fire crews responded to the building along East Alameda Avenue after “reports of smoke conditions” on Saturday,

By David Culver and Anna-Maja Rappard, CNN Shanika Whiten has devoted over two decades to working for the Los Angeles Unified School District. But recent soaring inflation, combined with the lingering effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, have put the 42-year-old special education assistant — and countless teachers and school staff across the US — under

By Nicole Chavez and Virginia Langmaid, CNN Lawyers are pushing for a judge to reconsider the prison sentence of a South Carolina activist who was convicted for “breach of peace,” aggravated over remarks she made to police during racial justice protests in 2020. Brittany Martin, a 34-year-old Black woman, is expecting a baby later this

By Zoe Sottile, CNN The Columbus Zoo has welcomed a long-legged, endangered new addition: a baby Masai giraffe. The unnamed newborn was born to 12-year-old mother Zuri on August 31, according to a news release from the zoo. “Not only is the calf fiercely cute, but his birth is especially significant as it marks an