Tag: US Features

A Sparkling Forest from Christmases Past Lights Up Downtown

MANITOWOC, Wis.—Standing in the softly falling snow, staring at the colorful and brightly lit Christmas display, Barbara Bundy-Jost understood anew—there was just something special about that tree. “It was just lit up like a sparkling forest,” she recalled. “We were on our way one Christmas Eve to visit my mother, who lived overlooking the lake…


Sparkling Forest from Christmases Past Lights Up Wisconsin Town

MANITOWOC, Wis.—Standing in the softly falling snow, staring at the colorful and brightly lit Christmas display, Barbara Bundy-Jost understood anew—there was just something special about that tree. “It was just lit up like a sparkling forest,” she recalled. “We were on our way one Christmas Eve to visit my mother, who lived overlooking the lake…


Florida School Boards to Lessen Time for Parents to Speak

After many raucous debates at Florida school board meetings, county bodies across the state have moved to make changes to their public comment policy. Traditionally, school boards and local governments set rules and policies to aid in governing the public’s participation at their meetings. They help keep the proceedings moving along, offer time for residents…


A Life in the Balance While Wisconsin Court Mulls Ivermectin

When John Zingsheim walked into the Aurora Medical Center in his hometown of Hartford, Wis., he had no way to know that his soon-to-be-diagnosed COVID-19 case would thrust his family into the headlines and leave his life hanging in the balance while attorneys argue over ivermectin, the treatment he requested before being placed on a…


‘Officer Down’: Small Towns Shocked by Surge of Ambush Cop Killings

DOYLINE, La.—“Crinkle-cut fries are better than curly fries.” And with that, Officer Billy Collins got the last word in on a long-running household controversy. The joke was the last thing 17-year-old Danielle Collins heard from her father as she left the house to pick up the family’s dinner. A far different domestic dispute was unfolding…


‘Officer Down’: Small Towns Shocked by Surge in Ambush Cop Killings

DOYLINE, La.—“Crinkle-cut fries are better than curly fries.” And with that, Officer Billy Collins got the last word in on a long-running household controversy. The joke was the last thing 17-year-old Danielle Collins heard from her father as she left the house to pick up the family’s dinner. A far different domestic dispute was unfolding…


Maxwell Accusers Offer Barrage of Detail for Alleged Trafficking Scheme

NEW YORK—Two alleged female victims of Ghislaine Maxwell were the highlight of the first week of the trial against the wealthy British socialite, offering a battery of new details about the alleged sex trafficking operation. The trial of Maxwell, a cohort of the late convicted pedophile Jeffery Epstein, began in federal court in New York…


80 Years of Remembering Pearl Harbor: Valor, Sacrifice, and Peace

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii—Thousands of people gathered here on Tuesday to commemorate the 80th Anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. The surprise assault by the Imperial Japanese Navy on Dec. 7, 1941, carried out prior to a declaration of war, plunged the United States into World War II. The ceremony honored the fallen, encouraged the survivors,…


Local WWII Vets Honored at Pearl Harbor Commemoration

OAHU, Hawaii—Seven local WWII veterans will participate Dec. 7 in Pearl Harbor ceremonies, commemorating the 1941 attack by the Japanese that killed more than 2,400 service members and civilians and forced the United States into the war. The seven—who range in age from 93 to 101 years old—are among about 240,000 veterans of the war…


Nativity Scenes on Display at 40 State Capitols This Christmas Season

After a year of court battles over government-ordered church closures and ignored religious objections to COVID-19 vaccines, two Illinois groups say they have the perfect societal antidote—Nativity crèches celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ displayed inside 40 state capitol buildings from New Hampshire to Hawaii. It is the ninth year of a partnership between the…