CNN – National

By Rebekah Riess, CNN Texas school districts have begun receiving donated posters and framed copies of the national motto, “In God We Trust,” that they will now be required to display in accordance with a new state law. The law says a public elementary or secondary school or an institution of higher education “must” display

By Jason Kravarik, Natasha Chen and Cheri Mossburg, CNN Vanessa Bryant, widow of NBA legend Kobe Bryant, broke down at times Friday as she testified that she experiences panic attacks and anxiety over the possibility of seeing photos from the 2020 helicopter crash that killed her husband, their teenage daughter and seven others. On the

By Jay Croft and Amanda Watts, CNN A woman was struck and killed by lightning Thursday while picking up her child from school in central Florida, police said. Lightning also struck the child, who was taken to a hospital for treatment. The incident occurred at Keeth Elementary School in Winter Springs, about 15 miles north

By Jason Hanna, Jason Carroll and Carolyn Sung, CNN After just this week fracturing his skull in a fall from a bunk bed, Easton “Tank” Oliverson understandably will miss his team’s opening game Friday at the Little League World Series. But, oh, did that 12-year-old still want to play. “When he asked what day it

By Alexandra Meeks, CNN “We have been trying to reach you about your car’s extended warranty.” Chances are you’ve encountered this irritating automated message if you’ve picked up the phone from an unknown caller anytime in the last several years. Well, it turns out that just two men may be responsible for an overwhelming share

Essay by Dana Bash, CNN In the weeks leading up to Chanukah last year, my then-10-year-old son told me that he thought he wanted a Jewish star necklace. It was a rather soft ask, so I quietly let it go. To be honest, I wasn’t sure how I felt about the idea of him wearing

By Andy Rose and Aya Elamroussi, CNN A ban on teachers displaying Pride materials in classrooms or writing their pronouns in email signatures will remain in place in a Wisconsin public school district following a contentious board meeting during which parents and students criticized the policy. The prohibition is based on Kettle Moraine School District’s

By Hannah Sarisohn and Omar Jimenez, CNN A Chicago police sergeant was charged Thursday with felony official misconduct and aggravated battery six weeks after video surfaced showing him holding a 14-year-old boy in the prone position with his knee while he was off-duty in Park Ridge, Illinois, according to Park Ridge police. Michael Vitellaro, 49,

By Aya Elamroussi, CNN The remains of a 23-year-old from Utah who was killed during a bombing mission in World War II have been identified, a federal agency said Thursday. Elvin L. Phillips, who was a sergeant for the US Army Air Forces, was a gunner on board an aircraft that crashed north of Bucharest,

By Sonia Moghe, CNN Twenty years after she denied to a grand jury that R. Kelly had sex with her as a girl and recorded some of their encounters, the now-grown woman took the stand Thursday to reverse her testimony. Speaking in federal court in Chicago under the pseudonym Jane, the 37-year-old only looked at

By Elizabeth Wolfe, Amy Simonson and Rob Frehse, CNN Three men have been indicted in the beating death of imprisoned Boston gangster and convicted murderer James “Whitey” Bulger, prosecutors announced Thursday. Fotios “Freddy” Geas, 55, Paul “Pauly” DeCologero, 48, and Sean McKinnon, 36, were charged Wednesday with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder in the death

By Nouran Salahieh, Natasha Chen and Jason Kravarik, CNN Christopher Chester, who lost his wife and daughter in the helicopter crash that also killed Kobe Bryant and six others, took the stand Thursday, testifying he lives in fear that the graphic photos taken of his loved ones’ bodies may resurface one day. “I’m fearful all

By Amir Vera and Zenebou Sylla, CNN A third Black woman has been arrested and charged for making “anti-White” statements in connection with the beating of a White woman in New York, according to Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz. Jahnaiya Williams, 19, was charged with assault as a hate crime and faces other charges, a