CNN – National

By Lauren M. Johnson, CNN An artist from Lake Tahoe played music while on the road to put the anxiety of evacuating from the Caldor Fire behind him, if only for a moment. Mel Smothers told CNN that he decided to evacuate with his wife, Liz, and dog, Peak, on Monday after assessing the situation

By Kristina Sgueglia, CNN Fifteen people are facing charges connected to a fake Covid-19 vaccination card conspiracy involving the sale of forged cards and the fraudulent entry of people into New York’s vaccination database, the office of Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. announced in a news release Tuesday. Thirteen of the people who

By Leyla Santiago and Sara Weisfeldt, CNN Broward and Alachua counties in Florida are moving forward with mask mandates for their public school systems despite financial penalties from the state of Florida for not allowing parents to opt out of the requirement, in defiance of an order by Gov. Ron DeSantis. Florida Education Commissioner Richard

By Ryan Young, Hannah Sarisohn and Steve Almasy, CNN Two Chicago-area freshmen, Lilly and McKenna, were on the Tulane campus for just a week when Hurricane Ida roared through and knocked out power to almost all of New Orleans. And on Tuesday, with two packed bags each, they boarded buses to Houston with hundreds of

By Rachel Ramirez, CNN Hurricanes, wildfires, floods, heat waves, and drought wreaking havoc on much of the United States paint a picture of a nation in peril. Region by region, the country faces compounding disasters. Against the backdrop of the Gulf Coast picking through the rubble of Hurricane Ida’s catastrophic aftermath, the Caldor Fire has

By Scottie Andrew, CNN The “Harlem Hellfighters” helped the US win World War I. The Black infantry unit was one of the most decorated regiments at the time, even as most of its members were met with racism and disregard upon their return home. Now, more than 100 years after the regiment’s surviving members came

By Rosa Flores, CNN Michelle Woodard’s voice broke and her body shook with emotion as she described the moment she learned her 8-year-old daughter Cara tested positive for Covid-19 last week. “I just felt this rage,” Woodard said. What she feared most had come true: Her daughter, who attended school in a mask and face

By Joe Sutton, CNN Authorities in Louisiana are investigating an apparent fatal alligator attack on a 71-year-old man as he walked in floodwaters following Hurricane Ida. The man was attacked and apparently killed by the alligator Monday outside his home in Slidell, his wife told the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office. Slidell is about 32

By Joe Sutton, CNN Two people were killed and 10 others injured after part of a highway washed away Monday night near the town of Lucedale, Mississippi, officials said. The incident occurred on the two-lane Highway 26 in George County, Trooper Cal Robertson of the Mississippi Highway Patrol told CNN on Tuesday. The washout was

By Sonia Moghe, CNN A man identified only as “Louis” testified Monday at R. Kelly’s trial, saying the singer lured him to his home and studio when he was 17 with promises of helping his music career but instead sexually abused him. Louis is the first male to publicly speak of alleged sexual abuse by

By Amir Vera, Rebekah Riess and Elizabeth Joseph, CNN Already overwhelmed by a surge in Covid-19 cases, Louisiana hospitals are now struggling with how to keep functioning after significant damage and disruption caused by Hurricane Ida. “For me, it’s like a one-two punch to the gut,” said Dr. Mark Kline, physician-in-chief at the Children’s Hospital