CNN – National

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

By Hannah Sarisohn, CNN Attorneys for Michael Jennings, a Black pastor arrested while watering his neighbor’s flowers, filed a lawsuit in federal court on Friday alleging that the three Childersburg, Alabama, police officers who arrested him violated his rights under the First and Fourth amendments. In the lawsuit, Jennings’ attorneys also claimed false arrest. Jennings

By Liam Reilly and Christina Maxouris, CNN New York City officials say the water at a Manhattan public housing complex has been cleared for drinking after a lab which had claimed there were high levels of arsenic later said those results were incorrect and issued a retraction. Last week, Fabien Levy, press secretary to New

By Rebekah Riess, CNN Public defenders for the man accused of driving an SUV through a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin, on Friday requested his plea of not guilty by reason of insanity be withdrawn, court records show. This comes after attorneys in June changed Darrell Brooks’ plea, saying mental health issues played a role

By Zoe Sottile, CNN Officials are baffled after hundreds of loggerhead sea turtles have become stranded on Texas beaches. A record-high total of 282 loggerheads have appeared in Texas between April 1 and August 19, according to a news release from the US Fish and Wildlife Service, which is more than double the total strandings

By Scottie Andrew, CNN If you like to turn a lewk, regularly pwn your friends in “Fortnite” or find the ordinary dictionary janky, you’re in luck: Merriam-Webster has added a slew of slang to its dictionary, lending new legitimacy to those informal terms and more. It typically takes years for such slang to find its

By Meron Moges-Gerbi, CNN A Michigan retiree is suing a Detroit bank after she says employees refused to cash a check she received from a casino after winning a jackpot. Lizzie Pugh told CNN she won more than $12,000 on a slot machine at Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, during a

By Topher Gauk-Roger, CNN The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health is recommending residents avoid swimming and surfing at multiple ocean beaches because of sewage discharge. Closure signs have been posted at RAT (Right After Torrance/Redondo) Beach in the southernmost section of Torrance Beach, and that closure will remain in effect until bacterial levels

By Zoe Sottile and Chuck Johnston, CNN The considerable cost of attending one of the top American universities will now be covered for students whose parents earn less than $100,000 per year. New Jersey’s Princeton University announced this week that families in that income bracket will no longer pay any cost to attend the prestigious