CNN – National

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