Singer D4vd is arrested in the killing of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Singer D4vd has been arrested on suspicion of killing a 14-year-old girl whose decomposed body was found seven months ago in his apparently abandoned Tesla, authorities said Thursday. D4vd’s lawyers declared his innocence.

Los Angeles police said in a brief statement that homicide detectives arrested the 21-year-old Houston-born alt-pop singer, whose legal name is David Burke, on suspicion of murder in the investigation of the killing of Celeste Rivas Hernandez.

Defense attorneys Blair Berk, Marilyn Bednarski and Regina Peter responded in an email: “Let us be clear — the actual evidence in this case will show that David Burke did not murder Celeste Rivas Hernandez and he was not the cause of her death.”

Police said investigators would present a case to prosecutors at the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office on Monday. The office said in its own statement that it is aware of the arrest and its Major Crimes Division will review the case to determine whether there is enough evidence to file charges.

“There has been no indictment returned by any grand jury in this case and no criminal complaint filed. David has only been detained under suspicion. We will vigorously defend David’s innocence,” the defense lawyers added.

It was their first public statement on the case. Authorities did not publicly name Burke as a suspect until his arrest. He was being held in jail without bail.

The singer had been under investigation by an LA County grand jury looking into the death of Rivas Hernandez. The probe was officially secret, but its existence — and the designation of D4vd as its target — was revealed on Feb. 25 when his mother, father and brother filed an objection in a Texas court to subpoenas demanding they testify.

The long-dead body of Rivas Hernandez was found in a Tesla towed from the Hollywood Hills on Sept. 8, a day after she would have turned 15. She was a 13-year-old seventh grader when her family reported her missing in 2024 from her hometown of Lake Elsinore, about 70 miles (112 kilometers) southeast of Los Angeles. Authorities give her age as 14 when she was killed in court documents.

The 2023 Tesla Model Y was registered in the singer’s name at the Texas address of his subpoenaed family members, according to court filings from prosecutors. It had been towed from an upscale neighborhood in the Hollywood Hills where it had been sitting, seemingly abandoned.

Police investigators searching the Tesla in a tow yard found a cadaver bag “covered with insects and a strong odor of decay,” court documents said, and “detectives partially unzipped the bag and observed a decomposed head and torso.”
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Investigators from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office removed the bag and “discovered the arms and legs had been severed from the body,” according to court documents. A second black bag was found under the first, and dismembered body parts were inside it. No cause of death has been publicly revealed.

D4vd, pronounced “David,” gained popularity among Generation Z fans for his blend of indie rock, R&B and lo-fi pop. He went viral on TikTok in 2022 with the hit “Romantic Homicide,” which peaked at No. 4 on Billboard’s Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart. He then signed with Darkroom and Interscope Records and released his debut EP “Petals to Thorns” and a follow-up, “The Lost Petals,” in 2023.

When the body was discovered, D4vd had been on tour in support of his first full-length album, “Withered.” Later, the last two North American shows, in San Francisco and Los Angeles, along with a scheduled performance at LA’s Grammy Museum, were canceled, as was the European tour that was to have begun in Norway.

Artemis II astronauts praise their moonship’s performance, especially the heat shield

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The Artemis II astronauts who ignited a lunar renaissance gave high marks Thursday to their moonship, especially the heat shield, for its performance during reentry.

In their first news conference since returning to Earth, the three Americans and one Canadian said their lunar flyby puts NASA in a much better position for a moon landing by a crew in two years and an eventual moon base. They spoke from NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, their home base.

Commander Reid Wiseman later told The Associated Press that he’s been so busy since getting back that he hasn’t had time to gaze up at the moon, let alone Carroll Crater, the name suggested by the crew for a bright lunar crater in honor of his late wife. They shared two daughters whose anxieties and fears over their father’s journey ended with his safe splashdown late last week.

“Being 252,000 miles away from home was the most majestic, gorgeous thing that human eyes will ever witness,” he said in an interview with the AP. But hurtling back through the atmosphere at 39 times the speed of sound, “that is scary and that is risky.” That’s why he yearned for home midway through his flight. “You just want to hold your kids and you just want them to know that you’re safe.”

Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canada’s Jeremy Hansen launched to the moon from Florida on April 1, NASA’s first lunar crew in more than a half-century and by far the most diverse.

They became the most distant travelers ever — breaking Apollo 13’s record — as they whipped around the lunar far side, illuminated enough to reveal features never viewed before by the human eye. The sight of a total lunar eclipse added to the wonderment.

Their Orion capsule, which they named Integrity, parachuted into the Pacific last Friday to close out the nearly 10-day voyage. Artemis II’s Houston homecoming the next day coincided with the 56th anniversary of the launch of Apollo 13.

Wiseman said he and Glover “maybe saw two moments of a touch of char loss” to the heat shield as Integrity plunged through the fastest, hottest part of reentry. Once aboard the recovery ship, they peered at the bottom of the capsule as best they could, leaning over to view any signs of damage. They spotted a little loss of charred material on the shoulder, where the heat shield meets the capsule.

“For four humans just looking at the heat shield, it looked wonderful to us. It looked great, and that ride in was really amazing,” Wiseman said.

He cautioned that detailed analyses still need to be conducted. “We are going to fine-tooth comb every single, not even every molecule, probably every atom on this heat shield,” he said.

The heat shield on the first Artemis test flight in 2022 — with no one aboard — came back so pockmarked and gouged that it pushed Artemis II back by months if not years. Instead of redoing it, NASA opted to change the capsule’s entry path to minimize heating. Future capsules will sport a new design.

As the parachutes released right before splashdown, Glover said he felt like he was in freefall — like diving backward off a skyscraper. “That’s what it felt like for five seconds,” he said, adding when the ride smoothed out: “It was glorious.”

Since their return, the four astronauts have endured round after round of medical testing to check their balance, vision, muscle strength and coordination, and overall health. They even put on spacewalking suits for exercises under conditions simulating the moon’s one-sixth gravity of Earth to see how much endurance and dexterity future moonwalkers might have upon lunar touchdown.

NASA already is working on Artemis III, the next step in its grand moon base-building plans. The platform from which the rocket launches headed back Thursday to Kennedy Space Center’s Vehicle Assembly Building, where it will be prepped for next year’s Artemis launch.

Still awaiting an assigned crew, Artemis III will remain in orbit around Earth as astronauts practice docking their Orion capsule with one or two lunar landers in development by Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin.

Artemis IV will follow in 2028 under NASA’s latest schedule, with two astronauts landing near the moon’s south pole.

NASA is aiming for a sustainable moon presence this time around. During the Apollo moonshots, astronauts kept their visits short. Twelve astronauts explored the lunar surface, beginning with Apollo 11’s Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin in 1969 and ending with Apollo 17’s Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt in 1972.

Koch said that since returning, she and her crewmates are “feeling even more excited and just ready to take that on as an agency.”

“We made it happen,” she added.

Everyone will need to accept extra risk to achieve all this and trust that any future problems can be figured out in real time, Hansen noted. “We’re not going to be able to pound everything flat before we go. We’re going to have to trust each other,” he said.

While everything went smoothly for them, “it was also very clear to us that it can get pretty bumpy,” he said. Future crews will have to “understand it can get real bumpy real fast.”

___

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

A war of words.

President Trump and Pope Leo XIV are in a war of words over the war in Iran. It’s the most open dispute between an American president and a Roman pontiff that anyone can remember.

Without calling him by name, the pope has been sharply critical of Trump. While on a visit to Cameroon the pope spoke of a world, “ravaged by a handful of tyrants.” The statement is widely believed to be specifically referencing the president.

In a social media post, the pope said, “God does not bless any conflict.” Immediately following the beginning of hostilities on February 28, the pope said that peace comes, “…not through weapons but through dialogue.”

For his part the president has specifically named the pope in his responses. In trademark fashion, he has pushed back hard on the pontiff, saying in a Truth Social post, “Pope LEO is WEAK on crime and terrible for Foreign Policy.”

The pope’s defenders – which includes what is likely a majority of U.S. Catholic bishops – are saying that Pope Leo’s criticism of the Iran war is nothing more or less than the sum of Catholic teaching about war.

I believe that position deserves closer examination.

Such examination begins with the stipulation that a Roman pontiff is going to condemn war. That should surprise no one. But such condemnation then begs the question, “Where has Pope Leo so outspokenly condemned the known atrocities of the Iranian regime?” Oh, he frequently calls for respect for human dignity and fundamental human rights; i.e. papal boilerplate – the rhetoric of every pope.

But if Leo has as pointedly called out Iran as he has the United States and Donald Trump, I can’t find it (and neither can ChatGPT, because I asked when I could find nothing on my own).

As to the pope’s condemnation being consistent with Catholic teaching regarding war, let’s examine the writings of revered Catholic theologian and priest, St. Thomas Aquinas. In his late 13th century opus Summa Theologica, Thomas says that war is justified when it is waged by a sovereign nation in defense of a common good and when the good intended outweighs the evil of war.

With respect to the war in Iran, I’d say check, check and check.

The U.S. is preventing nuclear weapons from coming into the hands of a nation that is openly relentless in its pursuit of having them. Preventing a regime like that of Iran, with its clear and undisputed record of terrorism, mass murder and evil, is to my eye, a rather straightforward exercise in the defense of a common good.

As to peace coming via dialogue rather than weapons, the president tried that. It went nowhere. U.S./Iranian dialogue accomplished nothing other than to provide the forum for Iran to proudly and unapologetically boast of its possession of about a thousand pounds of uranium that could be enriched to weapons grade in less than two weeks.

And finally, there’s this.

Dialogue did not save the world from the evils of Adolf Hitler. That effort required weapons.

District candidate forum

District candidate forumLONGVIEW – Looking to win the District 3 seat on the Longview City Council, two out of five candidates spoke on issues impacting Longview the most at a forum on Wednesday. According to our news partner KETK, District 3, which covers the south-eastern part of the city from Interstate 20 to north of U.S. Highway 80, has been under councilman Ray Wade since 2018. The seat opened up when Wade campaigned and lost the race to be a Gregg County commissioner during the March primary election.

Five candidates are vying for the seat to represent the district.

“[It’s] the oldest and most culturally enhanced part of our city,” candidate Marlena Cooper said.

Cooper, along with G. Floyd, were the two candidates present at Wednesday night’s forum, organized by the Longview Chamber of Commerce and the Longview News Journal.
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Dallas County GOP chair Allen West resigns after backing countywide voting for runoff

DALLAS COUNTY (THE TEXAS TRIBUNE) – Allen West, the Dallas County Republican Party chair, resigned Wednesday, according to Dallas County Elections Department officials.

The announcement comes after West said on March 17 he agreed to use countywide polling sites for the May 26 runoff election, a decision that drew opposition from some party members.

Dallas Republicans initially planned to hand count primary ballots before scrapping the plan due to lack of staffing. Instead, they chose to require voters to report to precincts instead of countywide vote centers for the March 3 primary, causing chaos and confusion across the county. More than 12,000 voters from both parties showed up at the wrong polling location on Election Day.

West’s resignation, however, was not tied to the Election Day confusion but followed his later decision to support a return to countywide voting for the May runoff.

West did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In a statement, the Dallas County Elections Department said West informed county elections administrator Paul Adams of his resignation Wednesday afternoon. The department declined to comment further.

West had for months supported the use of precinct-based sites for the primary and the elimination of the countywide polling place program, which allows voters to cast ballots anywhere in the county and had been used for years. But in a March 17 statement he said that using assigned precincts again for the runoff would expose the county party to “increased risk and voter confusion.”

“To then shift for the one day runoff election to precincts would bring about large-scale disruption,” West said in that statement in March.

West expected pushback from his own party for that decision.

In a blog post on the party’s website April 6, he said that continuing to use precinct-based voting for the runoff election would expose the county party to “a most dangerous course of action.” He said the party would face a lawsuit “alleging willful and intentional voter disenfranchisement.”

“The decision that I made was one rooted in years of understanding leadership and its responsibilities, namely, protecting your Troops,“ West, a former Florida congressman and Army veteran, wrote. “If there are those who do not see this as noble and honorable, that is fine with me. I have stated my position and under my watch as Chairman of the Dallas County Republican Party will not expose this organization to potential damaging legal efforts.”

Some Republicans in Texas have for years pushed to eliminate the countywide polling place program to eliminate the use of electronic voting machines and instead hand count ballots. It’s a push that began soon after the 2020 election and the lies President Donald Trump spread about the outcome.

Republican critics of countywide voting claim it makes elections less secure because it could allow people“to double or triple vote, though there’s no evidence that countywide voting is less secure. Texas election officials use procedures to prevent double voting, including the use of technology that tracks in real time who has voted and where.

Texas election officials say the countywide voting program, which has been in use in Texas for more than 20 years, allows counties to save money by operating fewer, centralized polling locations with fewer workers and less equipment.

To read this article in its original format, go to The Texas Tribune.

Voters anxious over May college bond

TYLER – Ahead of the upcoming election, East Texans in Tyler Junior College’s appraisal district are voicing their concerns over a possible rise in property taxes stemming from the college’s $167.3 million bond. The proposed $167.3 million seeks to upgrade three existing facilities — workforce and academic building, student success center and student safety and the IT center — but the number is a major concern for many East Texans.

TJC said that for the average homeowner, the cost breaks down to about $84 a year on a $252,000 home, which is less than a streaming subscription, but it’s still an increase not everyone is sold on. State Republican Executive Committeewoman Christin Bentley argues that for many families, this isn’t just spare change; it adds up.
Continue reading Voters anxious over May college bond

Researchers propose solutions to stop Venice from sinking

A seagull stands on the 16th-century Rialto Bridge over the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy, Monday, April 13, 2026. (Photo by Danil Shamkin/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

(VENICE, Italy) -- One of the world's most iconic cities could be heavily impacted by climate change and sea level rise in the coming years, leading researchers to search for solutions on how to protect it.

Venice, the historic Italian city known for its canals that serve as water traffic corridors, has been said to be sinking for nearly a century. The site within the vicinity of the Venetian Lagoon has flooded increasingly over the past 150 years, according to a paper published in Scientific Reports on Thursday.

Historically, there have been 28 events in which seawater flooding impacted at least 60% of the city, according to the paper. Eighteen of those events have taken place in the last century.

Piero Lionello, a professor of atmospheric physics and oceanography at the University of Salento in Italy and native Venetian, has noticed an uptick in flooding events throughout his lifetime, he told ABC News.

"The rate has been quite impressive the last three decades," he said.

Climate experts are now calling for long-term planning to protect the city from rising sea levels over the next several centuries.

The Venetian Lagoon is a "special system" because it is so connected to the Adriatic Sea, said Lionello, the lead author of the paper.

Proposed strategies to prevent flooding as sea levels rise include movable barriers, ring dikes -- which are circular or oval-shaped embankments designed to protect localized areas from floodwaters -- or even closing the Venetian Lagoon and relocating the city, according to the paper.

Currently, the city is defended by a trio of movable barriers at the edge of the Venetian Lagoon. The MOSE project, installed in the 1990s, is a system of mobile flood barrier shields as tall as a five-story building that can be raised to separate the lagoon from the Adriatic Sea during high tides.

The system allows the waterways of Venice to function normally during high tide and has prevented flood disasters from storm surge. But it won't be sufficient in the future, Lionello said.

"The present system, it will certainly be become inadequate," he said.

The existing movable barriers may be effective against sea level rise up to 1.25 meters, or about 4.1 feet, according to the paper. But this benchmark is likely to be exceeded by the year 2300 under a low-emissions scenario due to rising global temperatures and ground subsidence -- the gradual sinking of the ground -- the researchers said.

Dikes may be necessary to protect Venice's city center from the rest of the lagoon, according to the paper. The dikes would consist of walls surrounding the city, separating it from the lagoon, Lionello said.

Construction of dikes could cost between $600 million and $5.3 billion, according to the paper.

A "super levee" that could cost more than $35 billion to construct may be needed to close the lagoon and protect the land that is already below sea level.

If sea levels rise enough, it may be necessary for the city's residents and historic landmarks to be moved inland, the researchers said. Relocating the city could be necessary beyond a 4.5-meter, or nearly 15-foot, sea level rise, which is projected to occur after 2300 under a high emissions scenario, according to the paper. Relocating the city could cost up to $118 billion, according to the researchers.

This solution is the most "provocative" and would involve moving individual buildings and monuments inland, Lionello said.

"You can preserve a building. You can have different solution to keep people living there, but it will be a completely different Venice from the Venice that we have now," Lionello said.

The system of mobile barriers has been working overtime, according to officials. The MOSE barriers were lifted from the seabed to stop water from the Adriatic Sea from entering the lagoon 31 times during a six-month period between October 2023 and April 2024.

Climate scientists have predicted a steady rise in sea levels in the Adriatic Sea -- with the lagoonal ecosystem in Venice experiencing relative sea level rise of about 2.5 millimeters per year, a 2021 study found.

Over the past 60 years, high tides in the Venetian Lagoon have become more frequent.

Between 1870 and 1949, 30 high tides exceeded 1.1 meters -- or 3.6 feet -- the level above which the MOSE barrier system is activated, according to the Venice Tide Study Center. There were 76 such high tides between 2015 and 2024 alone.

Rapid action to protect the city of Venice from climate change is “essential,” especially since the construction of large-scale interventions could take decades, the researchers said.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Kennedy restores staffing at 9/11 health program ahead of Capitol Hill testimony

Robert Kennedy Jr. appears before the Senate Finance Committee at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on September 04, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

(WASHINGTON) -- Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. heads to Capitol Hill Thursday after restoring staffing at the World Trade Center Health Program, a move that could ease one of the most persistent points of bipartisan criticism he has faced for months.

Program advocates and lawmakers said they received an email from the secretary on Wednesday approving hiring for 37 long-vacant positions. This will raise staffing from its current 83 employees to the federally authorized level of 120.  

The move comes after nearly a year of bipartisan criticism that staffing shortages were slowing care for the 140,000 responders and survivors the program serves, many of whom have been diagnosed with cancer, respiratory disease and other conditions tied to exposure to toxins after the 9/11 terror attacks in New York, Shanksville, Penn., and Washington, D.C.


The World Trade Center Health Program was created as part of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act to provide long-term medical monitoring and treatment to those affected by the attacks. For more than a year, the program has operated far below capacity with about 83 staff members, following a period of upheaval that included firings, rehires and shifting leadership, even as the participant population grew by nearly 30,000 new enrollees.

Advocates say the reduced staffing has had real consequences, including slower approval of survivors into the program, delays in managing contractors, and longer wait times for care.

“This is progress,” Benjamin Chevat, executive director of Citizens for the Extension of the James Zadroga Act, told ABC News. He credited the progress to sustained pressure from lawmakers in both parties and their consistent support of the program.

Lawmakers also have welcomed the end of the hiring freeze.

Rep. Andrew Garbarino, R-N.Y., told ABC News that the approval for the additional staff would “directly support the responders and survivors who rely on this care every day,” and that “more staff means better access to care, shorter wait times, and stronger support for those still living with the health impacts” of the attacks.

He called the move “real progress for the 9/11 community” and said it is “about making sure those who answered the call on September 11th get the care they have earned.”

Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., also welcomed the news but criticized the delays. “I am encouraged that, after repeated demands from me and from other members of Congress, Secretary Kennedy is finally increasing staffing at the World Trade Center Health Program so that our brave survivors and first responders can receive the quality health care they deserve,” Goldman told ABC News.

“The ongoing staffing shortages under this administration are unacceptable and have been undermining the program’s ability to provide timely and quality care to the enrollees," Goldman added. "I will be watching closely to ensure that new staffers are hired as quickly as possible and that our heroes receive the quality healthcare they were promised and deserve."

At a senate hearing last May, Kennedy acknowledged that "we made a couple of mistakes" in firing program staff and promised to address them.

“Under Secretary Kennedy’s leadership, the World Trade Center Health Program continues to move forward and deliver for responders and survivors,” a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services told ABC News in response to a request for comment. “The approval of these positions reflects HHS’ commitment to strengthening the program. The petition reviews are proceeding through established processes, and work is actively underway to advance pending petitions. Protecting the health and well-being of those affected by 9/11 remains a top priority.”

Chevat pointed out the timing of the decision, which comes as Kennedy prepared to face lawmakers at Thursday's public hearing: “Now a year later he is finally letting the program fill the staff vacancies that the program was blocked from filling.”

In a previous statement to ABC News, HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon said decisions about the program, including staffing and whether to add new health conditions to be covered under the program, rest with the World Trade Center Health Program administrator, not Secretary Kennedy.

Even with the staffing issue moving toward resolution, significant concerns for the program remain, Chevat said. They include key decisions about expanding coverage for additional conditions including autoimmune, cardiac, and cognitive disorders are still pending – for years, in some cases.

Those decisions ultimately require sign-off within HHS, under Kennedy’s direction, according to Chevat. Until that happens, patients with those conditions don’t qualify for full coverage through the program.

Research funding for the program also remains stalled, according to Chevat. Its annual grant cycle, which typically distributes about $20 million for studies on 9/11-related illnesses, is still waiting for approval, despite the understanding that it would begin this past February, he said.

Additionally, communication between the program and the 9/11 community has been sparse under HHS oversight, with fewer updates and less clarity about decision-making, according to Chevat and other 9/11 survivor advocates.

Lawmakers are still likely to ask Kennedy questions about the World Trade Center Health Program during today's hearings, Chevat said. The research funding budget is also expected to come up during a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing next week.

For now, however, the decision to restore program staffing removes one of the most visible and widely criticized problems, Chevat said.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Trump admin touts new dietary guidelines, but will your child have healthier school lunches next fall?

Kids eating lunch at school (Tetra Images/Getty Images)

(NEW YORK) -- As President Donald Trump's administration touts its new federal dietary guidelines, experts and officials suggest there's a long road ahead before America’s students have healthier school meals.

With the Departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services partnering to address chronic disease -- aiming to place whole, nutrient-dense food at the center of diets -- the administration believes it has taken a major step toward solving America's youth health crises.

From Secretaries Brooke Rollins and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary, there’s a full-scale push to make school meals healthier by next school year, but the USDA’s former Food and Nutrition Service Administrator Cindy Long said their changes won't happen "overnight."

Long -- who was USDA’s Deputy Administrator for Child Nutrition under former President Barack Obama and during President Donald Trump’s first term -- told ABC News the Healthy-Hunger Free Kids Act, which is the school meals bill that was signed into law in 2010, ignited a shift to healthier school meals over a decade ago.

Celebrating the newest dietary guidelines, the foundation of dozens of federal feeding programs, including school meals, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins has said that her agency is submitting its proposed school meals rule by mid-spring. Meanwhile, implementing the meals in U.S. classrooms will see delays after the updated regulations, some health policy experts noted.

Dr. David Ludwig, a professor of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health, suggested the changes may take a while both in practice and culture.

“We have to address this on many levels,” Ludwig told ABC News, adding, “First, improving the guidelines that regulate food quality in schools. That's foundational.”

Ludwig echoed the Trump administration’s 2025-2030 guidelines, which are updated every five years, emphasizing that new school meal ingredients must reduce sugar and other processed carbohydrates and increase whole foods.

“Layer two is adequate funding so that not only healthful but delicious foods can be prepared,” he said, adding, “It's critical for children to understand that we don't want to raise a generation that thinks healthy foods are going to be just bland.”

Updates will be made through formal rulemaking, the government’s multi-step process that includes opportunities for public comment, to ensure USDA supports children’s access to nutritious, high-quality meals at school, according to a USDA spokesperson.

However, Long told ABC News that some of the President Joe Biden administration’s changes to reduce added sugar and sodium to school meals are still being implemented.

“You can't change this enormous system with 100,000 schools operating overnight,” she said, adding “You've got to allow time for people to be successful, for people to change menus, for them to procure the right products, for industry to be able to produce products that will help them bring down the sodium, bring down the added sugar etc.”

White House Senior Advisor Calley Means told ABC News there will be a “flurry” of regulation changes this year that will bolster kids’ meals at school. He bemoaned critics’ concerns that the administration lacks the funding to make the necessary changes.

“The government spends hundreds of billions of dollars on food procurement,” he said, adding, “We do not have a budget issue. There's been a political will problem that President Trump and Bobby Kennedy and Brooke Rollins have solved. There's care about this issue. We're going to be driving common sense solutions.”

Parental control over school meals

University of Illinois Professor of Nutrition Dr. Donald Layman believes promoting healthier meal options -- like increased protein and the subtraction of ultra-processed foods -- signals a “total sea change” for parents.

“I think it gives parents a different structure,” he told ABC News, adding, “They've been told that, well, eggs were bad for you, or that meats were bad for you, and they're left not knowing what to give their kids.”

“I've always felt that the issue was, how do we empower parents to do what they know is right, but they've been told they shouldn't do,” Layman added.

Hilary Boynton -- a California mom and former head of nutrition services at her kids’ school -- said, “people are starting to recognize that they have agency over their own health and [they can] be empowered by that.”

In Summer Barrett’s home state of West Virginia, a mom who says she's a part of the Make America Healthy Again Movement, said she’s grown frustrated with school meals containing excess amounts of sugar in Dunkin' Stix Donuts breakfasts.

“You're giving them 52 grams of sugar, and then you send them to class and you wonder, ‘oh, why can't you sit still,’” Barrett said. “Why can't you learn? Why can't you focus?" Well, cause you just jacked them up on more sugar than they should have in an entire day,” she added.

The new guidelines may signal that school meal changes are to come, thanks to MAHA moms like Barrett who have been “hungry for this nutrition science for a long time,” according to FDA Commissioner Makary. Makary and Kennedy have already started visiting schools to help promote programs that serve scratch-cooked meals with Whole Foods like fruits and vegetables.

Meanwhile, Cindy Long told ABC that the administration’s changes will only build on prior policy wins.

“I'm hoping that this will just continue on the path of, sort of, continuing to make school meals stronger and stronger,” she said.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Weekly ER visits for tick bites reach highest level in nearly a decade. Will this season be worse?

Photo of tick (rbkomar/Getty Images)

(NEW YORK) -- Weekly visits to emergency rooms for tick bites are at the highest level since at least 2017, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

During the most recent week, 71 per 100,000 ER visits were due to tick bites, compared to the average of about 30 per 100,000 ER visits for this time of year, more than double from what is typical this time of year.

Currently, the Northeast is reporting the most ER visits for tick bites, followed by the Midwest, Southeast, West and South Central regions, respectively, CDC data shows.

"We're running well above historic average and even well above last year," Dr. John J. Halperin, chair of the New Jersey Stroke Care Advisory Panel and member of the department of neuroscience at Atlantic Health Overlook Medical Center in New Jersey -- who partly focuses on Lyme disease -- told ABC News.

"The ticks have started a little earlier. There seems to be a lot of them. A lot of people are going to the emergency room," he continued. "It's not entirely clear how much of this is increased recognition and as people become more aware of this, more going to the emergency room. But there seems to be a clear increase in the number of ticks out there."

May is typically when ER visits for tick bites peak each year, and it remains unclear if the upward trend will continue.

Halperin said it is possible that the monthly April average will level out and match prior years.

"Spring and early summer are prime time for getting bitten by the locally youngest form of ticks, which are the main ones who get us humans," he said. "So, seeing a lot of them certainly means an increased risk."

Tick-borne diseases have been on the rise in recent years and scientists suspect it is partly linked to climate change, which has caused shorter winters, earlier springs and hotter summers.

Dr. Christopher Bazzoli, an emergency medicine physician at Cleveland Clinic, said because of increased tick populations, in conjunction with warmer weather and heavy rains, it is likely some tick populations grow earlier in the season.

"Ticks tend to become active when the temp reaches 45 degrees [Fahrenheit] or more," he told ABC News. "If [temperatures] stay higher into the fall, we could also see a longer tick season."

Halperin said that in addition to climate change, there has been an increase in the recognition of certain tick-borne diseases.

"One big change ... was the CDC changed what they would allow to be called a confirmed case of Lyme disease and really loosened the criteria," he said. "So, there was a huge bump in the reported numbers."

The CDC recommends that people avoid wooded and brushy areas with high grass and leaf litter and stay in the center of trails when hiking. The agency also recommends using Environmental Protection Agency-registered insect repellents containing at least 20% DEET,  20% picaridin as the listed active ingredient or other approved ingredients, but to avoid use for children under the age of 3.

"The thing to appreciate is these ticks have a strongly preferred habitat," Halperin said. "They spend much of their lives in low brush. Their preferred reservoir host is the field mouse. Field mice carry Lyme disease ... and if a tick lodges on that field mouse, it picks up the infection, and they can give it to us. The first thing you could do is stay away from areas where there might be field mice and ticks."

The CDC also recommends treating outdoor clothing and gear with 0.5% permethrin, an insecticide and repellent, which remains effective even after multiple washes.

Halperin suggests doing a tick check at the end of the day. If you find one, he recommends using fine-tip tweezers, placing them between the skin and the tick and pulling to remove the tick.

Bazzoli recommended cleaning the area and taking a picture of the tick to identify it and what type of disease it could possibly be carrying.

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‘Massive’ Russian attack on Ukraine kills 16, injures at least 100, Ukrainian officials say

A large fire burns near a shopping center following an overnight Russian missile strike in the Podilskyi, Obolonskyi, Shevchenkivskyi and Desnianskyi districts, on April 16, 2026 in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Photo by Kostiantyn Liberov/Libkos/Getty Images)

(LONDON) -- At least 16 people were killed and another 100 were injured in Ukraine as Russia targeted the country with a "massive" drone and missile attack on Wednesday and into Thursday morning, Ukrainian officials said.

Russia launched almost 700 drones and 19 ballistic missiles, along with cruise missiles, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. Ukraine shot down about 636 drones and "some" of the missiles, he added, saying, "Unfortunately, not all."

At least 16 people were killed across Ukraine, officials said. Zelenskyy said at least 100 people had been reported wounded "as of now."

"Tragically, there are fatalities in Odesa, Kyiv, and Dnipro," he said in a social media post. "Among those killed is a boy -- he was 12 years old. My condolences to the families and loved ones."

Most of the missiles targeted Kyiv, the capital, the president said, but damage and deaths were also reported across the country. Some missiles or drones that made it through Ukraine's defenses struck and damaged residential buildings, Zelenskyy said.

"Another night has proven that Russia does not deserve any easing of global policy or lifting of sanctions," Zelenskyy said. "Russia is betting on war, and the response must be exactly that: we must defend lives with all available means, and we must also apply pressure for the sake of peace with the same full force."

Russia has chosen to "deliberately terrorise civilians" with its attacks on residential areas, Antonio Costa, the European Council president, said on Thursday. The EU would continue to "increase pressure" on Moscow, he said.

"Russia must stop this war of terror," Costa said. "A comprehensive, just, and lasting peace for Ukraine based on the principles of the U.N. Charter and international law must be achieved."

Russian officials said on Thursday that Ukraine launched its own barrage of drones targeting several areas in Russia. Moscow said its military downed more than 200 drones. At least one Ukrainian drone struck a port on Russia's Black Sea coast, along with other coastal cities, the local governor said.

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Fatal wreck involving pedestrian

Fatal wreck involving pedestrianTYLER — A pedestrian has died after being involved in a vehicle crash on Highway 31, between Tyler and Kilgore, Thursday morning. According to Smith County Emergency Services District 2 and our news partner KETK, the roadway was closed between FM 757 and FM 2908 as crews responded to a vehicle accident around 6:35 a.m. TXDot reports that the roadway is back open to traffic.

A pedestrian was found dead at the scene when first responders arrived.  The driver of the vehicle was transported to the hospital with minor injuries, ESD 2 confirmed. No further details were available.

Scoreboard roundup — 4/15/26

(NEW YORK) -- Here are the scores from Wednesday’s sports events:

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Magic 97, 76ers 109
Warriors 126, Clippers 121

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Maple Leafs 1, Senators 3
Sharks 2, Blackhawks 5
Kraken 1, Golden Knights 4
Stars 4, Sabres 3
Rangers 4, Lightning 2
Red Wings 1, Panthers 8

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
Rays 8, White Sox 3
Blue Jays 1, Brewers 2
Rockies 1, Astros 3
Mariners 6, Padres 7
Rangers 5, Athletics 6
Mets 2, Dodgers 8
Diamondbacks 8, Orioles 5
Guardians 3, Cardinals 5
Red Sox 9, Twins 5
Cubs 11, Phillies 2
Royals 1, Tigers 2
Giants 3, Reds 8
Nationals 0, Pirates 2
Angels 4, Yankees 5
Marlins 3, Bruins 6

 

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Jury finds that Ticketmaster and Live Nation had monopoly over big venues

NEW YORK (AP) — A jury found Wednesday that entertainment giant Live Nation, which hosts tens of thousands of concerts a year, and its Ticketmaster subsidiary had a harmful monopoly over big venues.

The ruling, in a lawsuit brought by dozens of states, won’t immediately bring relief for concertgoers who have long complained about high ticket prices. But it could cost Live Nation hundreds of millions of dollars and perhaps force the company to sell some of its concert venues when the judge hands out penalties later.

Among other things, the jury found Ticketmaster’s anticompetitive practices led to people in 22 states paying an extra $1.72 per ticket, which the judge could order the companies to pay back.

A jury in New York deliberated for four days before reaching its decision. State attorneys general who sued Live Nation said the verdict could potentially lead to lower ticket prices for music fans.

Live Nation said in a statement that the verdict “is not the last word on this matter.”

The company predicted that once a remedy phase of the litigation is completed before the judge and all appeals are resolved, the outcome likely won’t be much different from what the federal government achieved with a settlement it reached with the company just after the trial began.

That deal included a cap on service fees at some amphitheaters, plus some new ticket-selling options for promoters and venues — potentially allowing, but not requiring, them to open doors to Ticketmaster competitors such as SeatGeek or AXS.

The trial was a backstage pass

The trial gave fans the equivalent of a backstage pass to a business that dominates live entertainment in the U.S. and beyond.

Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino testified, answering questions about matters including the company’s Taylor Swift ticket debacle in 2022. Rapino blamed a cyberattack.

Jurors also got to see a Live Nation employee’s internal messages to another employee declaring some prices “outrageous,” calling customers “so stupid” and boasting that the company was “robbing them blind, baby.” The employee, Benjamin Baker, who has since been promoted to a position as a ticketing executive, apologetically testified that the messages were “very immature and unacceptable.”

Live Nation Entertainment owns, operates, controls booking for or has an equity interest in hundreds of venues. Its subsidiary Ticketmaster is widely considered to be the world’s largest ticket-seller for live events.

The verdict could cost Live Nation and Ticketmaster hundreds of millions of dollars, based on the jury’s estimate that customers paid an extra $1.72 per ticket. The companies could also be assessed penalties. In addition, sanctions could result in court orders that they divest themselves of some entities, including venues such as amphitheaters that they own.

In its statement, Live Nation said the jury’s award of $1.72 per ticket applied to “a limited number of tickets” sold at 257 venues and representing about 20% of total tickets sold. The company estimated the aggregate single damages figure would be below $150 million, though it would be trebled.

The civil case, initially led by the U.S. government, accused Live Nation of using its reach to smother competition — by blocking venues from using multiple ticket sellers, for example.

Live Nation denies it is a monopoly

Live Nation insisted it is not a monopoly, saying that artists, sports teams and venues decide prices and ticketing practices. A company lawyer said its size was simply a function of excellence and effort.

“Success is not against the antitrust laws in the United States,” attorney David Marriott said in his summation.

Ticketmaster was established in 1976 and merged with Live Nation in 2010. The company now controls of 86% of the market for concerts and 73% of the overall market when sports events are included, according to an attorney for the states, Jeffrey Kessler.

Ticketmaster has long drawn ire from fans and some artists. Grunge rock titans Pearl Jam battled the business in the 1990s, even filing an anti-monopoly complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice, which declined to bring a case then.

Decades later, the Justice Department, joined by dozens of states, brought the current lawsuit during Democratic former President Joe Biden’s administration.

Days into the trial, Republican President Donald Trump’s administration announced it was settling its claims against Live Nation.

A handful of the states joined the settlement. But more than 30 pressed ahead with the trial, saying the federal government hadn’t gotten enough concessions.

Attorneys hail verdict

New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport said in a release after the verdict that Live Nation’s “illegal, anti-competitive practices” had driven up ticket prices and made it harder for fans to see their favorite acts.

New York Attorney General Letitia James called the verdict “a landmark victory.”

After the victory, Kessler would not say specifically what the states will seek in the next phase of the litigation, which was expected to involve another lengthy legal proceeding before penalties are decided.

But he celebrated the moment.

“It’s a great day for consumers,” he said.