BIG STONE GAP, VA - Six inmates at the Wallens Ridge State Prison in Big Stone Gap, Virginia, allegedly stabbed three correctional officers in a violent attack on Friday morning. According to the Virginia Department of Corrections, five of the six inmates involved in the attack are confirmed members of the violent MS-13 gang from El Salvador. The MS-13 gang member inmates are in the United States illegally.

The vicious attack occurred at approximately 9:45 a.m. According to the Virginia Department of Corrections (VADOC), the five Salvadoran Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gang members have each been convicted of violent crimes including aggravated murder, first and second-degree murder, and rape. The sixth inmate is serving a sentence for second-degree murder and is a confirmed member of the Sureno 13 gang and is from the United States.

Two officers suffered serious injuries and were admitted to a local hospital. They are reported to be in stable condition. In all, five officers were injured in the attack and required medical attention outside the facility, according to VADOC. Click here to read more.

 

WASHINGTON D.C. - The Supreme Court’s conservative justices signaled Wednesday they are open to allowing the Catholic Church to launch the country’s first publicly funded religious charter school, despite arguments from opponents who say the school would violate the Constitution’s ban on government-established religion.

The justices heard arguments on an Oklahoma court decision last year that rejected a state contract to open the planned online-only charter school, known as St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School. If the justices overturn that decision, they would allow, for the first time, a charter school receiving state funds to teach an explicitly religious curriculum.

The school’s supporters say a ruling in favor of St. Isidore would clear the way for a new form of public education that would advance religious freedom and school choice.

But as the justices discussed how the case intertwined with religious liberty during more than two hours of oral arguments, they also signaled interest in whether a religious public charter school would be a government entity or private actor — and how a potential ruling in St. Isidore’s favor could affect charter school programs across the country. Click here to read more.

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VINELAND, N.J. - Investigators say a New Jersey father who confronted a man and his 17-year-old son after an alleged assault on his daughter was beaten to death with a metal baseball bat.

Eric Hannah, 55, and his 17-year-old son were taken into custody April 20. They are accused of beating 54-year-old Louis “Gus” Serbeck to death at their home in Vineland, New Jersey, where his daughter reported an alleged assault the day before.

Gus Serbeck and his daughter went to the Hannahs’ home for what was meant to be a conversation about the alleged assault, but the incident quickly turned physical, according to the criminal complaint.

The Hannahs allegedly struck Gus Serbeck in the head several times with a metal baseball bat and a metal flashlight. He died en route to the hospital. His daughter was also hit in the head during the fight. Click here to read more.

 

An alarming new movement insists that sexual attraction to minors is not a psychiatric disorder to be managed but an identity to be affirmed. Leading this effort is B4U-ACT, a Maryland-based organization founded in 2003 to support pedophiles, or as they call them, “Minor-Attracted Persons” (MAPs). From May 2 through May 4, 2025, the group will host a conference in Ohio to train mental-health providers in “affirmative MAP therapy,” which seeks to help clients accept their “age of attraction” as an intrinsic and valid part of their identity. This approach abandons clinicians’ traditional risk-management focus when treating pedophiles and raises serious concerns about public safety.

Historically, mental-health professionals have classified pedophilia as a paraphilia, a psychiatric disorder characterized by an abnormal or harmful sexual interest in anyone or anything other than a legally consenting adult. For decades, clinicians treating pedophilia have sought to manage clients’ harmful impulses, prevent abuse, and protect potential victims. Researchers and clinicians working in this tradition aim to understand the condition and develop prevention strategies. Click here to read more.

 

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - Self-checkout is checking out, and Target shoppers are not happy about it.

Target has pulled the plug on many of its self-checkout machines. The retailer announced it will now limit self-checkout to customers with 10 items or fewer. Those with fuller carts will be directed to staffed checkout lanes, which the company says it is expanding to improve efficiency.

According to Target, internal pilot tests showed the new policy improved speed and customer satisfaction at select stores.

Target has been grappling with staggering losses due to what retailers call "shrink," a term that includes shoplifting and inventory errors. In 2023, the company reported nearly $500 million in shrink-related losses compared to the previous year, according to Business Insider.

In one dramatic case that captured national attention, a California woman was convicted of stealing over $60,000 in merchandise from Target stores by using self-checkout machines during a 100-visit crime spree. ABC7 News reported that she would scan items, insert a small coin or bill, and simply walk out the door. Click here to read more.

 

 

WASHINGTON D.C. - Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. claimed that HHS under former President Joe Biden’s administration had been a “collaborator in child trafficking,” sex, and slavery.

During a Trump administration cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Kennedy thanked President Donald Trump for his “extraordinary leadership over the past 100 days” of his administration. Kennedy highlighted how HHS and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had announced that petroleum-based synthetic food dyes would be phased out of the United States’ food supply.

“Thank you for your extraordinary leadership over the past 100 days. We are already making America again,” Kennedy said. “We announced last week the ban on the nine petroleum-based synthetic dyes — food dyes, within two years. Within two months, we’re going to ban the worst two of them. I am working with Secretary Rollins on dietary guidelines, the dietary guidelines that the Trump — that President Biden’s administration gave us, 453 pages, they are basically unreadable.” Click here to read more.

 

PRATTVILLE, Ala. - An undercover law enforcement operation to target child sex predators resulted in eight arrests, including a middle school teacher, according to a statement released Wednesday by the Prattville Police Department.

The sting operation, undertaken by Prattville and Millbrook police, along with help from federal law enforcement partners, was conducted between March 28-30.

During the operation, undercover officers posed as children under age 16 and chatted with possible child sex predators via electronic devices. Multiple suspects agreed to travel to Prattville where they thought they were going to exchange money for sexual acts with the minors, police said. Click here to read more.

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. - One of the Supreme Court’s last argued cases of the 2024-25 term may turn out to be one of its most significant. On Wednesday, the court heard arguments over whether states may insist that charter schools, which they all define as public schools, be nonsectarian.

Nearly every state offers charter schools to provide an alternative model for free public education. Like traditional public schools, charter schools may not charge tuition but are funded directly by the state and are regulated in many of the same ways.

Under the Oklahoma Charter Schools Act, a private organization may contract with the Statewide Charter School Board to establish and operate a charter school under a charter approved by the state. Oklahoma requires that, like traditional public schools, charter schools must be nonsectarian.

The Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and Diocese of Tulsa created a nonprofit to seek a charter school contract. The school they wanted to operate, however, would be explicitly religious. Click here to read more.

 

SACRAMENTO, CALIF - On Tuesday, the Committee on House Administration held a hearing to look into "Why the Wait? Unpacking California’s Untimely Election Counting Process." California is our nation's most populous state, yet they don't fare well when it comes to counting their votes in a timely manner. In fact, as Chairman Bryan Steil (R-WI) highlighted during his opening statement, it wasn't until December 4 that the Associated Press called all the races in the state. "The longer it takes to provide the results of an election, the more voters can lose trust and become frustrated with the process," Steil warned, leading to the day's hearing.

As Steil mentioned, 155 million Americans cast their ballots for a variety of races in the 2024 election across the country, with over 16 million votes coming from California.

The reasons for the delay look to be of California's own making, with a universal mail-in ballot system, which Steil lamented "is prone to delays in voting, tabulation and, ultimately, calling of races." Mail-in voting there has been available since 1982, though "state lawmakers have continued to expand the bounds of mail-in voting ever since," Steil explained, so that universal vote by mail is in place for every election administered by the state, with every registered voter receiving a mail-in ballot," he stressed. "In other words--every registered voter in California gets a mail-in ballot," Steil explained. "This not only opens the door for potential fraud, but also causes delays on the counting side." Click here to read more.

 

SEATTLE — The Title IX Special Investigations Team—a collaboration between the U.S. Department of Education and the Department of Justice—has begun an investigation into the Washington Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), alleging the office may be directing school districts to ignore parental rights laws and mandating that schools allow transgender students to participate in female sports and use bathrooms that align with their gender identity.

This follows reports that OSPI's policies may conflict with federal laws, including Title IX, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), and the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA).

FERPA and PPRA are federal privacy laws. FERPA gives parents the right to access their children’s education records, the right to request record corrections or amendments, and the right to control (with important exceptions) disclosure of personally identifiable information in education records. Click here to read more.

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LANSING, MICH - Michigan residents and small business owners targeted by the Whitmer administration got a long-delayed chance to speak on April 23 as the Republican-controlled state House held its first hearings on government overreach during the COVID lockdowns.

Two business owners and a lawyer described how they were targeted by Attorney General Dana Nessel, the Whitmer administration, and local government at the House's Weaponization of State Government hearing.

Gov. Whitmer declared barbers and hairdressers “nonessential” in 2020. Six barbers and hairdressers defied the lockdown orders and were criminally charged for cutting hair at the Michigan Capitol on May 20, 2020.

Five years later, Karl Manke, an Owosso barber, is awaiting a ruling in the Shiawassee County Circuit Court to drop the fines, he said in the subcommitte hearing . During the lockdown period, state government entities temporarily suspended his barbershop and occupational license when he reopened his shop, according to Kallman Legal. Click here to read more.

 

LOS ANGELES, CALIF - A trans-identifying male competed in the U.S. Masters Swimming Spring National Championship meet, and he took gold medals in every event he entered — in the 45-49 age group of the women’s division.

Ana Caldas, who has also raced under the names Hannah Caldas and Hugo Caldas, swam in five individual events and three relays over the course of the four-day competition in San Antonio — and won every individual race: the 50 yard freestyle, the 100 yard freestyle, the 50 yard breaststroke, and the 100 yard breaststroke. Caldas came in a full three seconds ahead of the second place finisher in the 100 yard freestyle, and four seconds ahead in the 50 and 100 yard breaststroke events. Click here to read more.

 

WASHINGTON D.C. - Secretary Sean Duffy is celebrating 100 days of prioritizing safety and efficiency at the Department of Transportation.

“The Department of Transportation is focused on its core mission of safety and efficiency,” Duffy said in a statement shared with The Daily Signal. “Under this administration, America is building again—forging a future with projects built to last.”

Just days after Duffy was sworn in, he responded to the first major commercial air crash since 2009. Duffy restricted helicopter traffic in the area around Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and reduced airway congestion. He made that directive permanent to prevent future crashes.

The secretary also launched two investigations into DEI hiring practices at the Federal Aviation Administration after it was reported that an activist was leaking answers to an air traffic control exam.

Duffy accelerated the hiring of air traffic controllers and streamlined the process. He also demanded leaders in New York City and Washington, D.C., take action to improve transportation safety and reduce crime. Click here to learn more.

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WASHINGTON D.C. - One of the illegal aliens accused of stealing Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem’s purse was reportedly arrested and released in New York City a few weeks before targeting her.

The suspect is identified as 49-year-old Mario Bustamante-Leiva of Chile, the New York Post reported on Monday, adding he was arrested in Washington, DC.

Prior to allegedly taking Noem’s bag as she enjoyed an Easter meal with her family at Capital Burger in D.C., the New York City Police Department’s (NYPD) warrant squad was looking for him.

“Bustamante-Leiva’s rap sheet also includes a 2021 shoplifting arrest in Utah and a headline-grabbing bust in 2015 across the pond in London, where he was arrested for a months-long theft spree and charged with palming $28,000 in phones, wallets and computers,” the Post article said.

In March, he was accused of taking a fanny pack from a shop in Times Square and making $1,200 credit card charges in approximately 20 minutes. Police eventually arrested the man and gave him a desk appearance ticket on fourth-degree felony grand larceny charges, then cut him loose. However, he reportedly did not show up on his court date and authorities launched a search. Click here to read more.

 

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A Missouri woman accused of fatally stabbing a paramedic who was trying to help her has been charged with murder.

The Clay County Prosecutor’s Office announced Sunday evening that 38-year-old Shanetta Bossell has been charged with murder in the first-degree and armed criminal action in the death of 29-year-old Graham Hoffman, a firefighter-paramedic with the Kansas City Fire Department.

If convicted, Bossell could be sentenced to spend the rest of her life behind bars. As of Sunday evening, she remained in custody on a $1 million bond, KCTV reports.

The Kansas City Police Department says just after 12:30 a.m. Sunday, emergency crews were called to the area of 152 Highway and North Oak Trafficway with reports of a woman, later identified as Bossell, walking on the highway. Callers had been concerned for her safety. Click here to read more.