By MARCO DI MARCO and DAVID KEYTON

GRINDAVIK, Iceland (AP) — A volcano in southwestern Iceland that has roared back to life after eight centuries of silence has erupted for the seventh time since December, sending molten lava flowing towards the Blue Lagoon spa, a major tourist attraction.

The eruption on the Reykjanes Peninsula started with little warning at 11:14 p.m. (2314 GMT) Wednesday and created a fissure around 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) long. The activity is estimated to be considerably smaller than the previous eruption in August, according to Iceland’s meteorological office that monitors seismic activity.

Most of the previous eruptions have subsided within days.

“In the big picture, this is a bit smaller than the last eruption, and the eruption that occurred in May,” Magnús Tumi Guðmundsson, a professor of geophysics who flew over the scene with the Civil Protection agency to monitor the event, told national broadcaster RUV.

While the eruption poses no threat to air travel, authorities warned of gas emissions across parts of the peninsula, including the nearby town of Grindavík, which was largely evacuated a year ago when the volcano came to life after lying dormant for 800 years.

Around 50 houses were evacuated after the Civil Protection agency issued the alert, along with guests at the Blue Lagoon By Thursday afternoon lava had spread across parking lot of the geothermal spa, one of Iceland’s biggest tourist attractions, consuming a service building.

Lava also reached the pipeline that supplies the peninsula with hot water for heating, the meteorological office said, though the pipes were built to withstand lava flow.

The repeated volcanic eruptions close to Grindavík, which is about 50 kilometers (30 miles) southwest of the capital, Reykjavik, and had a population before the eruptions of 3,800, have damaged infrastructure and property, forcing many residents to relocate to guarantee their safety.

“Grindavík is not in danger as it looks and it is unlikely that this crack will get any longer, although nothing can be ruled out,” Magnús Tumi said.

Iceland, which sits above a volcanic hot spot in the North Atlantic, averages one eruption every four to five years. The most disruptive in recent times was the 2010 eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano, which spewed clouds of ash into the atmosphere and disrupted trans-Atlantic air travel for months.

Keyton reported from Berlin.

More women will be able to compete at the highest level of competitive surfing, with the World Surf League announcing recently that the field for 2026 will be bumped up to 24 surfers.

The change increases the number from the current top 18 who make the cut for the World Tour, which is considered the major leagues of the sport.

It’s the latest move by the Santa Monica-based World Surf League, the governing body of pro surfing, to create an equal playing field for women.

Two years ago, the WSL changed the women’s tour to match the same locations where the men compete at and in 2019 made prize money equal, becoming the first professional sport in the United States to have the same winnings across the both genders.

“The women are really pushing high-performance surfing to new levels, and we’re seeing unprecedented levels of engagement and excitement,” said Ryan Crosby, WSL CEO, in an e-mail.  “Expanding the field is a step that allows us to meet that momentum and bring more opportunities for women to compete at the highest level.”

The men’s field starts the competitive year with 36 men.

Women’s surfing in recent years has seen a surge in popularity and a new crop of young competitors are pushing boundaries, drawing in viewers eager to see the female progression unfold during competitions.

“Today’s incredible progression is a tribute to the dedication of every generation, and changes like this continue that work,” said Jessi Miley-Dyer, WSL commissioner. “Visibility matters, and it’s exciting.”

Under the new format, the 2026 women’s field will include the top 14 surfers from the World Tour and the top seven qualifiers from the Challenger Series, which is the pathway to the elite-level tour. There will also be two WSL season wildcards, and one event wildcard.

“I’m stoked to see the numbers grow,” Oceanside’s Caitlin Simmers, who won the world title in September at Lower Trestles, said in a statement. “Women’s surfing is so special. I want to see more of it and I think a lot of other people do too.

“I’m really looking forward to having more of my friends on tour,” she added. “I think the world deserves to see how epic their surfing is and how hard they charge. I’m really happy that they’ll get more opportunities to go for it.”

Eight-time world champion Stephanie Gilmore called the WSL’s decision a “sign of the times,” a reflection of the depth of talent within female surfing.

“I’m constantly amazed at the progression and the growing number of women participating in surfing around the world. The future is bright,” she said.

Prior to the 2019 change for equal prize money, women would earn half, sometimes even less, for winning events.

In 2009, for example, Santa Ana surfer Courtney Conlogue won $10,000 for winning the US Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach, while the men’s winner, Brett Simpson, earned a $100,000 check.

It was in 2022 that the WSL implemented a combined schedule for contest events. Prior to that, women had fewer events and most years were not included in some of the heavier, big-wave spots such as Hawaii’s Pipeline or Teahupo’o in Tahiti.

The tides started changing just as San Clemente surfer Caroline Marks joined the World Tour in 2019.

“I’m really excited to hear that more women will be able to be on the (the tour),” Marks said in a statement. “It’s cool too to think that, just as I was able to pursue my career without having to worry about equal prize money, future groms will have a much better chance of being able to join the tour and live their dream knowing that there’s a place for them.”

The  2025 season kicks off on Jan. 27 at the Banzai Pipeline on Oahu’s North Shore.

By RONALD BLUM

NEW YORK (AP) — Major League Baseball will test robot umpires as part of a challenge system during spring training at 13 ballparks hosting 19 teams, which could lead to regular-season use in 2026.

MLB has been experimenting with the automated ball-strike system in the minor leagues since 2019 but is still working on the shape of the strike zone.

An agreement for big league use would have to be reached with the Major League Baseball Umpires Association, whose collective bargaining agreement expires Dec. 1.

“I would be interested in having it in ‘26,” baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said Wednesday after an owners’ meeting. “We do have a collective bargaining obligation there. That’s obviously a term and condition of employment. We’re going to have to work through that issue, as well.”

Manfred said the spring training experiment will have to be evaluated before MLB determines how to move forward.

“There’s two sides to that test,” he said. “It’s what the clubs think about it and also what do the players think about it? And we’re going to have to sort through both of those.”

Triple-A ballparks used ABS this year for the second straight season, but there is little desire to call the strike zone as the cube defined in the rule book and MLB has experimented with modifications during minor league testing.

The ABS currently calls strikes solely based on where the ball crosses the midpoint of the plate, 8.5 inches from the front and the back. The top of the strike zone was increased to 53.5% of batter height this year from 51%, and the bottom remained at 27%.

After splitting having the robot alone for the first three games of each series and a human with a challenge system in the final three during the first 2 1/2 months of the Triple-A season, MLB on June 25 switched to an all-challenge system in which a human umpire makes nearly all decisions.

During the second half of the season, each team had three challenges in the Pacific Coast League and two in the International League. A team retains its challenge if successful, similar to the regulations for big league teams with video reviews.

“I think we will have a spring training ABS test that will provide a meaningful opportunity for all major league players to see what the challenge system will look like,” Manfred said. “It won’t be in every single ballpark but we actually have a plan where every team will get meaningful exposure.”

By JIM SALTER

ST. LOUIS (AP) — What is now St. Louis was once home to more than 100 mounds constructed by Native Americans — so many that St. Louis was once known as “Mound City.” Settlers tore most of them down, and just one remains.

Now, that last remaining earthen structure, Sugarloaf Mound, is closer to being back in the hands of the Osage Nation.

The city of St. Louis, the Osage Nation and the nonprofit Counterpublic announced on Thursday that an 86-year-old woman who owns a home that sits atop Sugarloaf Mound has agreed to sell it and eventually transfer the property to the tribe.

Meanwhile, the St. Louis Board of Aldermen plans to pass a resolution in January recognizing the Osage Nation’s sovereignty, Alderman Cara Spencer said. Eventually, the goal is to develop a cultural and interpretive center at the site that overlooks the Mississippi River a few miles south of downtown.

“One step for our tribal sovereignty is reclaiming the lands that we inhabited for hundreds of years,” said Andrea Hunter, director of the Osage Nation Historic Preservation Office in Pawhuska, Oklahoma. “And to be able to at least salvage one mound in St. Louis, on the west side of the Mississippi River — it means a lot to us, to regain our heritage.”

But a sticking point remains. A pharmaceutical fraternity owns the only other house on the mound, and it remains unclear if it is willing to give up the property.

Native Americans built thousands of mounds across the U.S. in the centuries prior to colonization. All were sacred ceremonial sites, but some also were used for housing or commerce. Many were burial sites. Tribal elites sometimes lived on them, Hunter said.

The mounds in the St. Louis area are believed to have been built from roughly 800 to 1450. Even today, many mounds remain in nearby Cahokia, Illinois. Experts believe that at one time centuries ago, Cahokia was home to up to 20,000 people.

Sugarloaf Mound and Big Mound were among the most prominent of the human-made structures in what is now St. Louis, said James McAnally, executive director of Counterpublic, a St. Louis nonprofit that works to affect change through art-based projects and helped facilitate the new land acquisition.

“They were built on the river specifically to be signal mounds,” McAnally said. Native Americans on the western side of the Mississippi could send smoke signals visible to those in Cahokia to let them know if people were seen coming down the waterway, Hunter said.

Mounds still stood prominently in St. Louis at its founding in 1764. Visitors — even members of European royalty — made the trip to the fledgling city just to see them, said Patricia Cleary, a U.S. history professor at California State University, Long Beach, and author of the book “Mound City: The Place of the Indigenous Past and Present in St. Louis.”

Eventually, removal treaties forced Native Americans away from St. Louis. Settlers had little use for the mounds.

“They used them to build up the bank of the Mississippi River and used them as fill for roads and railroads with total disregard for our ancestors’ graves that were in many of those,” Hunter said. “There are even accounts that as they were taking Big Mound down, they were simply throwing the bones into the Mississippi River.”

Today, St. Louis landmarks dot locations where mounds once stood, including several places in Forest Park, where mounds were demolished to make way for the World’s Fair in 1904. By the early 20th century, only Sugarloaf Mound remained.

In 2009, the Osage Nation purchased the first section of the mound, dismantled a home and began work to stabilize it. But two homes remained in private hands.

One of those homeowners, 86-year-old Joan Heckenberg, has agreed to transfer ownership to the Osage Nation once she either moves or dies.

Heckenberg has lived in the house 81 years, since her grandfather bought it and convinced his skeptical wife to move the family there.

“But they fell in love with it,” Heckenberg said of her grandparents.

The agreement with Heckenberg leaves just one other private house on the mound, a building owned by Kappa Psi, a national pharmaceutical fraternity. Heckenberg said students haven’t lived there for years, and homeless people sometimes stay there.

A spokeswoman for the fraternity said a limited liability company manages the house and that selling it would be up to the LLC. She didn’t have the name or contact information for the LLC. McAnally said the fraternity has been approached about selling the home, but “so far they haven’t taken any action.”

Spencer said the mounds are an important and overlooked part of St. Louis, and preserving Sugarloaf is vital.

“This is a really special place to the Osage history and to our Native American heritage in this country, which has largely been erased,” Spencer said.

Every first responder knows that life can change in an instant.

Warren police officer Nick Kott was off duty, hunting with his dad on their property in Gladwin on the afternoon of Nov. 16 when he slipped and fell out of a tree blind. When he did not return to his cabin at the expected time, his father walked to the area his son said he would be and found him conscious and motionless on the ground where he had been for more than an hour.

He was rushed to Midland Hospital, then airlifted to University of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor where he is currently in critical condition in Neuro-ICU.

According to his wife, Holli, who spoke to the media during a press conference Thursday, Kott suffered a serious neck injury and is on a ventilator and has no feeling from his neck down. The doctors have told her it is too early to determine if he will regain movement of his limbs.

“He was able to mouth some words to me today which is the first time we’ve been able to communicate,” Holli said. “I’m asking for prayers and I’m asking specifically for prayers for Nick to regain use of his hands and arms so he can play with his son who is his best friend.

“I know this is going to be a very, very, very long road.”

Holli said she and her husband met when they were neighbors and their dogs took a liking to each other and liked to play together. They still live in that same Waterford Township neighborhood in a two-story house Holli said will need major renovations in order for her husband to be able to come home.

“My number one thing I want Nick to be able to do,” Holli said through tears, “is to tuck his best friend in at night and we have a two-story house.

“If we could just get Jack up the stairs to tuck in his baby boy, our 7-year-old son Jack, I need your help and support to do that.”

Holli praised the Gladwin firefighters and police who transported her husband to Midland Hospital, doctors and nurses at both Midland and University of Michigan hospitals, and Warren police for their help during this time of crisis.

“This has been an absolute nightmare that I can’t wake up out of,” said Holli. “I’m only getting through this because of the love and support from the Warren Police Department and the surrounding police departments.”

Holli said one police officer came and fixed a broken backyard swing for Jack while others are coming to clean gutters and do the fall cleanup tasks that Nick usually handles.

Kott joined the Warren Police Department in 2011.

“This department has been his life; they are his brothers and his sisters and they have proved that this week,” Holli said.

Kott’s family will need help paying for medical bills and making home renovations to accommodate Nick when he gets home. A GoFundMe has raised $29,585 toward a $40,000 goal. Donations can be made at gofund.me/6fa96708.

“As police officers, we are good at responding to other people’s emergencies, but it’s a gut check when it is one of your own,” said Warren Lt. John Gajewski.

By PHILIP MARCELO

NEW YORK (AP) — The brooding waltz was carefully composed on a sheet of music roughly the size of an index card. The brief, moody number also bore an intriguing name, written at the top in cursive: “Chopin.”

A previously unknown work of music penned by the European master Frederic Chopin appears to have been found at the Morgan Library & Museum in Manhattan.

The untitled and unsigned piece is on display this month at the opulently appointed institution, which had once been the private library of financier J. P. Morgan.

Robinson McClellan, the museum curator who uncovered the manuscript, said it’s the first new work associated with the Romantic era composer to be discovered in nearly a century.

But McClellan concedes that it may never be known whether it is an original Chopin work or merely one written in his hand.

The piece, set in the key of A minor, stands out for its “very stormy, brooding opening section” before transitioning to a melancholy melody more characteristic of Chopin, McClellan explained.

“This is his style. This is his essence,” he said during a recent visit to the museum. “It really feels like him.”

McClellan said he came across the work in May as he was going through a collection from the late Arthur Satz, a former president of the New York School of Interior Design. Satz had acquired it from A. Sherrill Whiton Jr., an avid autograph collector who had been director of the school.

McClellan then worked with experts to verify its authenticity.

The paper was found to be consistent with what Chopin favored for manuscripts, and the ink matched a kind typical in the early 19th century when Chopin lived, according to the museum. But a handwriting analysis determined the name “Chopin” written at the top of the sheet was penned by someone else.

Born in Poland, Chopin was considered a musical genius from an early age. He lived in Warsaw and Vienna before settling in Paris, where he died in 1849 at the age of 39, likely of tuberculosis.

He’s buried among a pantheon of artists at the city’s famed Père Lachaise Cemetery, but his heart, pickled in a jar of alcohol, is housed in a church in Warsaw, in keeping with his deathbed wish for the organ to return to his homeland.

Artur Szklener, director of the Fryderyk Chopin Institute in Warsaw, the Polish capital city where the composer grew up, agreed that the document is consistent with the kinds of ink and paper Chopin used during his early years in Paris.

Musically, the piece evokes the “brilliant style” that made Chopin a luminary in his time, but it also has features unusual for his compositions, Szklener said.

“First of all, it is not a complete work, but rather a certain musical gesture, a theme laced with rather simple piano tricks alluding to a virtuoso style,” Szklener explained in a lengthy statement released after the document was revealed last month.

He and other experts conjecture the piece could have been a work in progress. It may have also been a copy of another’s work, or even co-written with someone else, perhaps a student for a musical exercise.

Jeffrey Kallberg, a University of Pennsylvania music professor and Chopin expert who helped authenticate the document, called the piece a “little gem” that Chopin likely intended as a gift for a friend or wealthy acquaintance.

“Many of the pieces that he gave as gifts were short – kind of like ‘appetizers’ to a full-blown work,” Kallberg said in an email. “And we don’t know for sure whether he intended the piece to see the light of day because he often wrote out the same waltz more than once as a gift.”

David Ludwig, dean of music at The Juilliard School, a performing arts conservatory in Manhattan, agreed the piece has many of the hallmarks of the composer’s style.

“It has the Chopin character of something very lyrical and it has a little bit of darkness as well,” said Ludwig, who was not involved in authenticating the document.

But Ludwig noted that, if it’s authentic, the tightly composed score would be one of Chopin’s shortest known pieces. The waltz clocks in at under a minute long when played on piano, as many of Chopin’s works were intended.

“In terms of the authenticity of it, in a way it doesn’t matter because it sparks our imaginations,” Ludwig said. “A discovery like this highlights the fact that classical music is very much a living art form.”

The Chopin reveal comes after the Leipzig Municipal Libraries in Germany announced in September that it had uncovered a previously unknown piece likely composed by a young Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in its collections.

Associated Press video journalist John Minchillo in New York contributed to this story.

SAN DIEGO — Leonard Glenn Francis, the Malaysian contractor known as “Fat Leonard” at the center of the U.S. Navy’s worst-ever bribery and corruption scandal, will appeal the 15-year prison sentence that a San Diego federal judge imposed earlier this month, according to documents filed by his attorney.

The prison term imposed by U.S. District Judge Janis Sammartino at the Nov. 5 sentencing hearing was more than three years longer than what prosecutors recommended for Francis, who bilked the Navy out of at least $35 million but also provided what prosecutors called “unprecedented” cooperation in identifying corrupt Navy officers who accepted his bribes. Sammartino also ordered Francis to pay $20 million in restitution to the Navy.

As part of his plea agreements in three cases, Francis gave up his rights to appeal his convictions but had 14 days to appeal his sentence. On Tuesday, two weeks since his sentencing hearing, defense attorney Douglas Sprague filed notices of appeal in each of Francis’ cases.

The notices are simple, one-page documents that provide no details about the arguments he’ll make.

Francis, 60, remains jailed in San Diego, according to online records from the Federal Bureau of Prisons, though Sammartino recommended he serve his remaining time in custody at a medical prison facility. When accounting for credit he’ll receive from time he has already been held in custody, Francis has about 8½ more years in prison, pending the outcome of his appeal.

Francis, who was known as “Fat Leonard” because of his enormous size, spent decades bribing a rotating cast of officers from the Navy’s 7th Fleet in the Western Pacific who in turn steered ships to the Southeast Asian ports controlled by Francis and his company, Glenn Defense Marine Asia. Francis then charged the U.S. government heavily inflated prices for routine services.

Francis was arrested in 2013 in the first of what became a series of bribery, fraud and corruption cases related to GDMA. He pleaded guilty in 2015 to charges of bribery, conspiracy to commit bribery and conspiracy to defraud the United States and quickly became the government’s key witness, providing what prosecutors described as “unparalleled” cooperation that led authorities to investigate some 1,000 Navy personnel.

At his sentencing hearing this month, Francis also pleaded guilty to a charge related to his 2022 escape from house arrest. For all of his crimes, the federal sentencing guidelines recommended a prison term between 17½ and nearly 22 years. But in large part because of the cooperation Francis provided, prosecutors recommended a sentence just shy of 12 years.

Sammartino, who has presided over almost all of the cases related to Francis and the Navy corruption scandal, said she took into account Francis’ cooperation but called his corruption scheme “insidious” and said the 15-year term was more appropriate.

In a related case, an attorney for retired Navy Capt. David Haas, who pleaded guilty to taking bribes from Francis and recently spent two years in prison, filed a motion on Tuesday indicating Haas will seek to have his felony conviction reduced to a misdemeanor. The request stems from prosecutorial misconduct that has resulted in nine other defendants having felony convictions reduced or dismissed.

Earlier this year, prosecutors promised in a court filing to review the cases related to the Navy corruption scandal to determine if any defendants who already pleaded guilty and were sentenced should have their charges reduced or dismissed because of the prosecution issues.

Haas is the first known defendant to seek such relief.

Chuck La Bella, who is representing Haas, sent an email to prosecutors last month asking them to reduce Haas’ felony conviction to a misdemeanor, according to the email exchange contained in a court exhibit. Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter Ko responded in part: “I respectfully do not see a genuine legal concern requiring … relief in his case. For that reason, we cannot agree or consent to a … motion vacating Mr. Haas’s conviction.”

In the document filed Tuesday, La Bella wrote that Haas will instead file a habeas corpus petition — essentially asking the court to review the validity of his conviction and sentence — that’s based on the prosecutorial misconduct.

©2024 The San Diego Union-Tribune. Visit sandiegouniontribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

By COLLEEN LONG, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — While Matt Gaetz has withdrawn from the nomination process for attorney general, President-elect Donald Trump has picked several other people for his Cabinet and key staff positions who have been accused of some form of sexual misconduct.

Trump himself has long been accused of abusing or mistreating women and once was caught bragging about grabbing women by the genitals. He was found liable by a New York City jury for sexual abuse and defamation and eventually ordered to pay the woman, E. Jean Carroll, $83 million in damages.

Taken together, there are a striking number of incidents in which potential high-ranking government officials in Trump’s second administration face allegations of sexual abuse. Trump and all of his picks for government have denied the claims against them, with some of the people accused arguing the cases are driven by politics.

Here’s a look at what’s known about the cases:

President-elect Donald Trump

Jurors in New York last year found Trump liable for sexually abusing Carroll, an advice columnist, in 1996.

The verdict was split: Jurors rejected Carroll’s claim that she was raped, finding Trump responsible for a lesser degree of sexual abuse. Jurors also found Trump liable for defaming Carroll over her allegations. Trump did not attend the civil trial and was absent when the verdict was read.

Carroll was one of more than a dozen women who have accused Trump of sexual assault or harassment. She went public in a 2019 memoir with her allegation that the Republican raped her in the dressing room of a posh Manhattan department store.

Trump denied it, saying he never encountered Carroll at the store and did not know her. He has called her a “nut job” who invented “a fraudulent and false story” to sell a memoir. He has similarly denied claims by other women.

Pete Hegseth, nominee for secretary of defense

A woman told police that she was sexually assaulted in 2017 by Hegseth after he took her phone, blocked the door to a California hotel room and refused to let her leave, according to a detailed investigative report made public this week.

Hegseth told police at the time that the encounter had been consensual and denied any wrongdoing, the report said.

News of the allegations surfaced last week when local officials released a brief statement confirming that a woman had accused Hegseth of sexual assault in October 2017 after he had spoken at a Republican women’s event in Monterey.

Hegseth’s lawyer, Timothy Parlatore, said in a statement that the police report confirms “what I have said all along that the incident was fully investigated and police found the allegations to be false, which is why no charges were filed.”

Parlatore said a payment was made to the woman as part of a confidential settlement a few years after the police investigation because Hegseth was concerned that she was prepared to file a lawsuit that he feared could have resulted in him being fired from Fox News, where he was a popular host. Parlatore would not reveal the amount of the payment.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., nominee for secretary of health and human services

A woman who babysat for Kennedy and his second wife told Vanity Fair magazine that he groped her in the late 1990s, when she was 23. Kennedy did not deny the allegation, telling a podcast: “I had a very, very rambunctious youth.” He texted the woman an apology after the story was published.

According to an interview the woman gave this week with USA Today, she said she was babysitting for his children at Kennedy’s home in Mount Kisco, New York. She said that the assault happened soon after she began working there. During a kitchen table meeting with Kennedy and another person, she said she felt him rubbing her leg under the table.

She told the newspaper that another time, Kennedy, then 46, asked her to rub lotion on him when he was shirtless and she obliged because she wanted to get it over with. And he grabbed her in a kitchen pantry and groped her, blocking her exit. She stayed on the job for a few more months before leaving.

Linda McMahon, nominee for secretary of education

A lawsuit filed last month alleges that McMahon knowingly enabled sexual exploitation of children by a World Wrestling Entertainment employee as early as the 1980s. She denies the allegations.

The suit was filed in October in Maryland, where a recent law change eliminated the state’s statute of limitations for child sex abuse claims, opening the doors for victims to sue regardless of their age or how much time has passed.

The complaint alleges that Melvin Phillips, who died in 2012, would target young men from disadvantaged backgrounds and hire them as “ring boys” to help with the preparations for wrestling matches. Phillips would then assault them in his dressing room, hotels and even in the wrestlers’ locker room, according to the complaint, which was filed on behalf of five men.

The abuse detailed in the lawsuit occurred over several years during Phillips’ long tenure with the organization spanning from the 1970s to the early 1990s. Because of his death, Phillips is not among the named defendants.

Instead, the complaint targets WWE founders Linda McMahon and her husband Vince, who grew the organization into the powerhouse it is today. The couple was well aware of Phillips’ brazen misconduct but did little to stop him, according to the complaint.

“This civil lawsuit based upon thirty-plus year-old allegations is filled with scurrilous lies, exaggerations, and misrepresentations regarding Linda McMahon,” said Laura Brevetti, Linda McMahon’s lawyer, in a statement. “The matter at the time was investigated by company attorneys and the FBI, which found no grounds to continue the investigation. Ms. McMahon will vigorously defend against this baseless lawsuit and without doubt ultimately succeed.”

Brevetti confirmed Linda and Vince McMahon are separated.

Elon Musk, Trump’s choice to lead the new Department of Government Efficiency

Tesla and SpaceXCEO Elon Musk was accused of sexual misconduct by a flight attendant contracted by SpaceX who worked on his private jet in 2016. He denied the claim.

A 2022 report by Business Insider said SpaceX paid the woman $250,000 in severance in 2018 in exchange for her agreeing not to file a lawsuit over her claim.

The Business Insider report was based on an account by the flight attendant’s friend, who said the flight attendant told her about the incident shortly after it happened. The report also said the flight attendant was required to sign a non-disclosure agreement that prohibits her from discussing the payment or anything else about Musk and SpaceX.

SpaceX didn’t respond to emails seeking comment Friday.

Musk responded to the allegations on Twitter, which he was in the process of buying at the time they surfaced.

“And, for the record, those wild accusations are utterly untrue,” he wrote in response to one user who tweeted in support of him.

He replied to another: “In my 30 year career, including the entire MeToo era, there’s nothing to report, but, as soon as I say I intend to restore free speech to Twitter & vote Republican, suddenly there is …”

Matt Gaetz, who withdrew as Trump’s choice for attorney general

The former Florida congressman was embroiled in a sex trafficking investigation by the Justice Department he had been tapped to lead. He also was under scrutiny by the House Ethics Committee over allegations including sexual misconduct — until he resigned from Congress this week. He then withdrew his name for consideration.

Gaetz has vehemently denied any wrongdoing and said last year that the Justice Department’s investigation into sex trafficking allegations involving underage girls had ended with no federal charges against him.

Federal investigators scrutinized a trip that Gaetz took to the Bahamas with a group of women and a doctor who donated to his campaign, and whether the women were paid or received gifts to have sex with the men, according to people familiar with the matter who were not allowed to publicly discuss the investigation.

Two women House investigators that Gaetz paid them for sex and one of the women testified she saw him having sex with a 17-year-old, according to an attorney for the women.

The committee began its review of Gaetz in April 2021, deferred its work in response to a Justice Department request, and renewed its work shortly after Gaetz announced that the Justice Department had ended a sex trafficking investigation.

Associated Press writer Eric Tucker contributed to this report.

CHICAGO — Of the many people whose lives still cast shadows on our history, one of them is that of a little boy, a 14-year-old named Emmett Till who left Chicago full of playful life and returned, as his mother, Mamie, said in 1955, “in a pine box, so horribly battered and waterlogged that someone needed to tell you this sickening sight is your son.”

I hope you know at least some of the details of that boy’s life. I have written about him before, many have, but there are good reasons to do so again, for it is now possible to meet him and learn his sad story in two powerful ways.

On Nov. 23, the Chicago History Museum is opening a new exhibition, “Injustice: The Trial for the Murder of Emmett Till.” It will feature photographs of the youngster’s life in Chicago, his funeral and original courtroom sketches of the trial.

That trial was a sham. Two men — Roy Bryant, owner of Bryant’s Grocery and Meat Market and the husband of the woman at whom Till supposedly aimed his whistle, and his half-brother, a hulking, 235-pound World War II veteran named J.W. Milam — were first charged with kidnapping. That became murder after the teenager’s dead body was found.

Neither Bryant nor Milam testified during a trial that lasted five days. In closing arguments, defense attorney Sidney Carlton told the jurors that if they did not acquit Bryant and Milam, “Your ancestors will turn over in their grave.”

The all-white, all-male jury (nine farmers, two carpenters and an insurance agent) deliberated for only 67 minutes. Reporters said they heard laughter inside the jury room. The verdict? Not guilty. One juror later told reporters, “We wouldn’t have taken so long if we hadn’t stopped to drink pop.”

The outrage at the verdict was expressed in headlines across the globe, in part because more than 100 reporters were there, from Chicago, across the country and from Europe. One of them was future Pulitzer Prize winner David Halberstam, who covered the story for a small Mississippi paper. He would come to believe that the murder/trial were “the first great media events of the civil rights movement,” and “at last (could galvanize) the national press corps, and eventually, the nation.”

It should be noted that before the year was out, Rosa Parks, a seamstress in Montgomery, Alabama, refused to give up her bus seat to a white passenger. Arrested and fined for violating a city ordinance, this compelled a young pastor named Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to call for a boycott of the city-owned bus company.

Another person in the courtroom during the trial was Chicago’s Franklin McMahon, who documented the proceedings in drawings that appeared in Life magazine. His stunning art is among the highlights of the museum show.

Know too that there is a new book that devotes some of its nearly 300 pages to Till but also to the larger sham of American racism. Its title says a great deal, “Ghosts of Segregation: American Racism, Hidden in Plain Sight” (Celadon Books). It is the work of former Chicagoan Richard Frishman, who traveled more than 35,000 miles across America over five years capturing with his camera such things as once-segregated bathrooms, beaches, churches, hospitals, graves and hotels.

In Chicago, he photographed the Dan Ryan Expressway; the Sunset Café, a prominent “Black and Tan” jazz club; as well as the site of the outbreak of the 1919 race riot. He also photographed Bryant’s Grocery, where Emmett’s story began, and the Black Bayou Bridge across the Tallahatchie River, where his dead body was found.

Frishman’s photos are captivating and thought-provoking. The book is beautiful in a haunting way and that was one of Frishman’s aims. In the book, he writes, “Look carefully. These photographs are evidence that structures of segregation and racist ideology are still standing in contemporary America. Our tribal instincts continue to build barriers to protect ourselves from people perceived as ‘other’ while overlooking our shared humanity.”

Critic Hilton Als has praised the book, writing, “Throughout (the book) the heart and mind are full to bursting with depth of feeling and depth of thought. I can’t imagine a more beautiful creation.”

When Emmett Till’s body was returned to Chicago, to the A.A. Rayner & Sons Funeral Home, with services held at the Roberts Temple Church of God, his mother made the brave decision to allow Jet magazine to publish a photo of the mutilated corpse and also decided to have a open casket, and so tens of thousands saw Emmett’s battered body. Some people prayed, some fainted and all, men, women and children, wept.

Now nearly 70 years later, Frishman tells me, “I am on a mission to open peoples’ eyes to the hidden and living legacies that surround us. History does not repeat itself; we repeat history.”

rkogan@chicagotribune.com

Federal officials released a range of scenarios Wednesday that could be used to manage the overallocated and shrinking Colorado River as time for the seven basin states to reach an agreement grows short.

The Bureau of Reclamation’s four proposed plans are not set in stone, but for the first time offer insight into how federal leaders are planning for the future of a river that is depended upon by 40 million people across the Southwest. A new long-term operating plan must be created before the expiration of current management guidelines at the end of 2026.

“These alternatives represent a responsible range from which to build the best and most robust path forward for the basin,” Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton said in a statement. “I have confidence in our partners and the Reclamation team in continuing this work to meet the needs of the river for the future.”

The Colorado River provides water for 40 million people, irrigates millions of acres of agricultural land that feeds the country, generates electric power, fuels recreation-based economies and provides important habitat for thousands of species. But the amount of water in the river — overestimated from the beginning of a multi-state agreement — is shrinking because of drought and aridification intensified by climate change.

The federal proposals come as negotiations over future river management between the seven states have stalled. The Lower Basin states — California, Arizona and Nevada — published a plan for post-2026 operations of the river’s two major reservoirs as have the Upper Basin states — Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico and Utah. Both basins presented their separate plans in the spring and negotiators from the two basins have not made any public indication that the sides are close to an agreement.

Federal officials have repeatedly said that a consensus plan from the states would be preferred to the Bureau of Reclamation enacting a plan unilaterally. Such federal action could prompt litigation that would tie up river operations for years.

“These proposed alternatives underscore how serious a situation we’re facing on the Colorado River,” Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colorado, said in a statement. “The only path forward is a collaborative, seven-state plan to solve the Colorado River crisis without taking this to court. Otherwise, we’ll watch the river run dry while we sue each other.”

The proposals presented Wednesday could stir further negotiation between the states as well as the 30 tribal nations with rights to the river’s water, said Rhett Larson, a water law professor at Arizona State University.

“It seems likely to me that instead of making everyone happy, they’ll make everyone mad,” Larson said of the proposals.

But that might be a good thing, he said.

“If it’s something that’s distasteful to both basins, it might unite both basins,” he added.

The proposed plans

The four alternatives range from doing nothing to major changes to how the river’s two major reservoirs — Lake Powell and Lake Mead — are operated.

The alternatives present different variations of who should take water cuts, how those water cuts are decided and what factors should determine releases from Mead and Powell. The Upper Basin states send water downstream to fill the reservoirs, which the Lower Basin states rely on for their water supply.

The option to do nothing is also presented in the proposal as a formality, since that is required by federal law.

Here’s how the four major proposals differ:

• Alternative 1 would be similar to the most recent management plan, though smaller federally managed reservoirs on the Colorado River — like Colorado’s Blue Mesa Reservoir — could be forced to send water downstream should water levels at Lake Powell fall too low. The amount of water released from Lake Powell would depend on the reservoir’s water levels and Lower Basin states could absorb up to 3.5 million acre feet of cuts if the combined water levels at Powell and Mead fall too low.
• Alternative 2 was created by combining federal agencies’ and tribal nations’ input. It states that releases from Powell would depend on water levels at Mead and Powell, average hydrology from the past 10 years, and how much water is being used in the Lower Basin. Both the Upper and Lower basins would be expected to conserve water and cuts would be determined by the amount of water stored in the seven federally managed reservoirs in the basin.
• Alternative 3 is derived from plans submitted by conservation organizations.  Under this plan, the amount of  water released from Powell would be determined by how much water is stored in the Upper Basin and recent hydrology. The Lower Basin would take up to 4 million acre-feet of cuts and both the Upper and Lower basins would voluntarily reduce water use.
• Alternative 4 is a combination of the two proposals submitted by the Lower and Upper basins and also includes input from tribes. It states releases from Powell would be determined by water levels in the reservoir as well as sometimes incorporating water levels at Mead. Cuts would be determined by the combined water stored across the seven federally managed reservoirs in the basin and both the Upper and Lower basins would be required to conserve water.

Several of the plans call for mandatory conservation in the Upper Basin, which negotiators from those states have opposed.

The proposal to determine releases based on water storage in all seven federally managed reservoirs in the basin would be one of the major changes if enacted, Larson said. But it is difficult to judge exactly how the alternatives would work from the short summaries presented by the bureau on Wednesday, he said.

Upper Basin states, including Colorado, have opposed the idea of incorporating the other reservoirs into operation guidelines. Mead and Powell, combined, make up 90% of the system’s storage. The Upper Basin states have also opposed being forced to cut water usage, arguing they use less than the amount they are obligated. Already, negotiators said, the Upper Basin must cut water usage based on how much water is available because there are no massive reservoirs upstream to prop up water use in dry times.

Becky Mitchell, who is negotiating the future operation of the river for Colorado, said in a statement that she could not speak to the Bureau of Reclamation’s alternatives at this time.

“Colorado continues to stand firmly behind the Upper Division States’ Alternative, which performs best according to Reclamation’s own modeling and directly meets the purpose and need of this federal action,” she said. “The Upper Division States’ Alternative is supply-driven and is designed to help rebuild storage at our nation’s two largest reservoirs.”

She said she remained committed to working with the other Colorado River states, the federal government and tribal nations to find consensus.

What’s next?

The proposals released Wednesday are the beginning of a federal process that must be completed by August 2026.

Federal authorities will now analyze the potential impact to environmental and human health as well as create projects of how each plan could impact reservoir elevations and water cuts. They will take more input on the proposals before publishing those analyses in a document called a draft environmental impact statement.

The Bureau of Reclamation will seek public comment on the draft environmental impact statement before releasing a final environmental impact statement and making a decision on future operations in 2026.

Time is running out for the basin states to present a unified plan to federal officials, Larson said. Representatives from all of the states will attend the Colorado River Water Users Association’s annual conference in December, he said, which could provide an opportunity for the states to come to an agreement.

“The next month is going to be very telling,” he said.

A coin flip and random drawing determined the winner of a tied school board race in Mt. Clemens on Wednesday.

Rashidah Hammond and Alex Bronson both received 3,495 votes in the race, tying for the fourth and final open school board position.

Because of that, the Macomb County clerk had to hold the tiebreaker, which took place on Wednesday.

How did the tiebreaker work? Well, a coin toss was held, determining which candidate would stick their hand to pull out a sheet of paper that either said "elected" or "not elected."

Hammond won the coin toss, and then pulled out the piece of paper that said "elected," meaning she was elected to the board.

You can watch the entire process in the video below Coin flip, random drawing determines winner in tied Mount Clemens school board race

After the drawing, both candidates shook hands and spoke to 7 News Detroit.

Hear from Hammon and Bronson in the videos below Rashidah Hammond speaks after winning Mt. Clemens School Board race Alex Bronson speaks after winning Mt. Clemens School Board race

Comcast's corporate reorganization means that there will soon be two television networks with NBC in their name CNBC and MSNBC that will no longer have any corporate connection to NBC News.

How that affects viewers of those networks, along with the people who work there, still needs to shake out. Their new corporate leader, Mark Lazarus, visited the set of MSNBC's Morning Joe as the plan was being announced on Wednesday and spoke to network staff members during a morning conference call to address concerns.

Comcast is spinning off most of its cable networks, also including USA, Oxygen, E!, SYFY and the Golf Channel, into a separate company. That recognizes how streaming is considered the future and the cable networks are a drag on the bottom line.

In the space of a lifetime, the networks went from upstarts aside a legacy operation like NBC to profitable superstars to castoffs.

Questions range from the simple to complex

Lazarus, chairman of the NBC Universal Media Group, is becoming CEO of the newly-formed company of cable networks, temporarily dubbed SpinCo. Cesar Conde, who as NBC Universal News Group chairman had oversight of CNBC and MSNBC, will lose those networks from his portfolio, yet remain in charge of NBC News, NBC News Now streaming, Telemundo and the news operations of the NBC-owned local stations.

The presence of Lazarus and Anand Kini, who will be chief operating officer and chief financial officer of SpinCo, is a good sign for the new company, said Jessica Reif Ehrlich, research analyst for the Bank of America. You can't dismiss it as getting rid of the crappy assets, because these are talented executives, she said.

At MSNBC, questions about the future range from the simple will it even keep its name? to the complex.

MSNBC's staff and studios are based in the same Rockefeller Center offices as NBC News, and it was unclear on Wednesday whether they will remain or move elsewhere, Lazarus told MSNBC employees.

RELATED STORY | Viewer Spotlight: Scripps News to focus coverage on streaming and connected TV

MSNBC's relationship with NBC News has caused some awkwardness, particularly as the network has become known for its stable of liberal commentators while still attached to a news division that stresses impartiality. For much of MSNBC's broadcast day, NBC News journalists like Katy Tur, Jose Diaz-Balart, Chris Jansing and a host of reporters appear on the network.

It's unclear whether arrangements could be made for that cross-pollination to continue where will Steve Kornacki land, for example? or if MSNBC will bear the expense of building out its own newsgathering operation or lean more heavily into commentary.

It's a nervous time at MSNBC for other reasons. The network has seen a dramatic drop in viewership since Donald Trump's election victory, although it is common that news networks that appeal primarily to one side of a political divide lose viewers when their candidates are defeated. History shows most viewers return, and MSNBC executives anticipate that.

Less clear is whether a second Trump administration will make life difficult. Trump ally Steve Bannon, on his radio show last week, sent out a specific warning to the network's anchors and producers. You better be worried, he said. You better lawyer up.

A bittersweet thing?

CNBC launched in 1989, while MSNBC started in 1996. They have seemed inextricably bound with the broadcast network since, and the sharing of legal, promotional, technical and other support is something else that needs to be worked out.

With its financial concentration, CNBC has been more independent of NBC News than its cable brethren. With offices in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., its operation is even physically separate. However, NBC News often taps CNBC reporters for their business expertise on broadcast and its streaming service.

I completely empathize with people who think this would be a bittersweet thing, Lazarus said, according to MSNBC. I think it's exciting because very few times in life you get to have the opportunity to be part of what I'll call a well-funded startup.

RELATED STORY | Yelp sues Google for using its search engine monopoly to promote itself over local competitors

Despite the old-school nature of a company of cable properties, Comcast executives are bullish on its prospects, noting that many of them produce profits individually. And there's the potential for buying other networks undervalued by big media companies.

Andrew Ross Sorkin, host of CNBC's Squawk Box, said on Morning Joe Wednesday that the two cable news networks produce extraordinary profits" for Comcast that are not being reinvested in cable properties.

"If you could take that money that's coming off of these channels and invest in the businesses as an independent entity, what will that ultimately look like"?" Sorkin asked. Could you use that money to go make other acquisitions? Could you make investments in the business itself? That's the big question.

One piece of advice from Bank of America's Ehrlich: Keep the names. Those are pretty big brand names, she said. I would not advise them to change.

When was the last time you saw something online or in a store and immediately thought, "I've got to have that?"

If you're in that group, you're part of the 54% of Americans who said they made an impulse purchase last holiday season, according to a new survey from Bankrate.

Of those surveyed, 46% of those surveyed said they made that purchase for a friend or family member, while only 28% made it for themselves.

"The only thing an impulse buy really is, is it's an unplanned purchase," said Darrin Duber-Smith, a marketing professor at Metropolitan State University of Denver.

RELATED STORY | Best apps to manage your money as the holiday shopping season ramps up

Duber-Smith said the phenomenon happens primarily due to emotions that have been "primed" by marketing companies. Through an influx of ads, marketers can tap into the subconscious of consumers. Then, when there's a sale or deal that makes the item seem even more enticing, the purchase is made without much thought.

"We're complicated," Duber-Smith said. "There's a lot of sociological, psychological, and situational, and marketing factors really the four primary influences on consumer behavior."

Dan Cohen is one of those people. Last weekend, he bought a custom Philadelphia Eagles t-shirt after two of the team's defensive backs were shown wearing it ahead of their game against the Dallas Cowboys.

RELATED STORY | Holiday spending is expected to grow this year but at a rate slower than last, retail group says

"I think I've been drawn to buying Eagles merch because I feel such a strong emotional tie to the team, but also I'm not there," Cohen, a New Jersey native living in Kansas City, said. "Whether that's rational behavior is for someone else to tell me."

The Bankrate survey showed 44% of respondents made the impulse purchase because they thought it was a good deal. The next highest reported reason, according to 38% of respondents, was because they thought it would make a good gift for someone else.

To curb this type of spending, experts suggest budgeting for such purchases so the money is accounted for or waiting a day or two before revisiting the item to see if you still really want it.

Another way you can curb impulse spending is to buy in cash and only cash. Research shows it's much easier to mindlessly swipe a credit card than it is to hand over physical bills.

The only thing better than Thanksgiving dinner is the leftovers. But if your journey home after the holiday involves flying, you might need to leave your to-go plate behind.

The Transportation Security Administration is reminding passengers that while most food can go through its checkpoints, there are some things that will need to be put in checked bags or left behind.

Solid food items are generally fine. However, TSA said if you can spill it, spread it, spray it, pump it or pour it and its larger than 3.4 ounces then it should go in a checked bag.

Some examples of things that can go through TSA:

Baked goods like pies, brownies and cakes Meats including turkey and ham, even if they aren't cooked Stuffing Casseroles Mac and cheese

Here are some things you can NOT bring through TSA:

Cranberry sauce, even the canned kind Gravy Wine, obviously Canned goods Preserves, jams and jellies

Most food items need additional screening, so TSA said to make sure they are easily accessible in your carry-on before you go through a checkpoint.

As for food safety when traveling with leftovers, the Food and Drug Administration said food should be kept around 40 degrees Fahrenheit.

Matt Gaetz says he is removing himself from consideration to be the next attorney general.

In a stunning announcement, Gaetz said on Thursday, "It was clear my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance transition."

Last week, President-elect Donald Trump nominated Matt Gaetz for attorney general, a decision that was quickly criticized by both Democrats and Republicans. On Thursday, Trump thanked Gaetz for his efforts to try and secure the support of the senators needed for confirmation.

"Matt has a wonderful future, and I look forward to watching all of the great things he will do," Trump said on Truth Social.

RELATED STORY | Trump's pick for defense secretary paid sex assault accuser, attorney says

Gaetz's future in politics is unclear as he resigned from Congress after learning about his nomination. That decision was also highly criticized because it came as the House Ethics Committee was going to potentially release a report about Gaetz's alleged wrongdoing.

Sen. John Fetterman reacts to Matt Gaetz withdrawing AG nomination

The committee has been investigating allegations of sexual misconduct involving Gaetz, including with a 17-year-old, along with accusations of illicit drug use and the alleged acceptance of improper gifts all things the former congressman denies.

Speaker Mike Johnson said the report shouldn't be released since Gaetz was no longer part of the House of Representatives.

RELATED STORY | Here's who Trump has asked to join his administration

On Wednesday, the committee was deadlocked on whether to release the report.

"This committee is evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans," said Democratic Rep. Susan Wild of Pennsylvania, ranking member of the committee. "In order to affirmatively move something forward, somebody has to cross party lines and vote with the other side which happens a lot, by the way. And we often vote unanimously. That did not happen in today's vote."

Matt Gaetz withdrew Thursday as President-elect Donald Trumps pick for attorney general following continued scrutiny over a federal sex trafficking investigation that cast doubt on his ability to be confirmed as the nation's chief federal law enforcement officer.

The abrupt withdrawal is a setback to Trumps push to install steadfast loyalists in his incoming administration, but also a recognition of the resistance the Republican is already encountering from members of his own party to picks with checkered backgrounds. By bowing out, Gaetz averts what was shaping up to be a pitched confirmation battle that would have tested how far Senate Republicans were willing to go to confirm Trump's Cabinet selections.

The Florida Republican's announcement came one day after meeting with senators in an effort to win their support for his confirmation to lead the Justice Department.

While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition, Gaetz said in a statement announcing his decision. There is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle, thus Ill be withdrawing my name from consideration to serve as Attorney General. Trumps DOJ must be in place and ready on Day 1.

Trump, in a social media post, said: I greatly appreciate the recent efforts of Matt Gaetz in seeking approval to be Attorney General. He was doing very well but, at the same time, did not want to be a distraction for the Administration, for which he has much respect. Matt has a wonderful future, and I look forward to watching all of the great things he will do!

Gaetzs announcement came days after an attorney for two women said that his clients told House Ethics Committee investigators that Gaetz paid them for sex on multiple occasions beginning in 2017, when Gaetz was a Florida congressman.

One of the women testified she saw Gaetz having sex with a 17-year-old at a party in Florida in 2017, according to the attorney, Joel Leppard. Leppard has said that his client testified she didnt think Gaetz knew the girl was underage, stopped their relationship when he found out and did not resume it until after she turned 18. The age of consent in Florida is 18.

Gaetz has vehemently denied any wrongdoing, and said last year that the Justice Departments investigation into sex trafficking allegations involving underage girls had ended with no federal charges against him.

Gaetzs political future is uncertain, at the moment.

He had abruptly resigned his congressional seat upon being selected to be as attorney general. That move was seen as a way to shut down the ethics investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct.

Republicans on the committee declined this week to release its findings, over objections from Democrats in a split vote. But the committee did agree to finish its work and is scheduled to meet again Dec. 5 to discuss the matter.

Gaetz did win reelection in November for the new Congress, which convenes Jan. 3, 2025. But its unclear whether he would take office. There are plans for a special election in Florida for his seat.

_____

Associated Press writers Michelle L. Price, Lisa Mascaro and Adriana Gomez Licon contributed to this report.

Our Grant Me Hope child this week is 14-year-old Jaheim, who said he wants to be a surgeon or a lawyer when he grows up.

According to the Michigan Adoption Resource Exchange, Jaheim's favorite subject in school is health class.

If he had three wishes, he's wish for wealth, happiness and most of all, a family.

Jaheim has a big heart and has a strong desire to be part of a family, says an adult close to him.

Jaheim also loves playing video games, playing basketball and football, and is part of a reading club.

According to one of the adults who knows him best, Jaheim is an outgoing young man who values connection and relationships. Jaheim is very resilient. He has a big heart and carries a lot of emotions. He has a contagious laugh and a smile that can make anyone feel better.

Jaheim would do best with two parents who are experienced, and trauma informed. Hed do best in a stable and structured home environment. His new forever family must advocate for the services that will help Jaheim excel. He would do best as the only child in his new family. Jaheim loves animals, so hed love a family with pets. Lastly, his family must support ongoing communication with his sister.

For more information about Jaheim, visit the MARE website, and view a list of waiting children there. You can see more stories on our Grant Me Hope page.

By ERIC TUCKER, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Matt Gaetz withdrew Thursday as President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general following continued scrutiny over a federal sex trafficking investigation that cast doubt on the former congressman’s ability to be confirmed as the nation’s chief federal law enforcement officer.

The Florida Republican’s announcement came one day after meeting with senators in an effort to win their support for his confirmation to lead the Justice Department.

“While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition,” Gaetz said in a statement announcing his decision. “There is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle, thus I’ll be withdrawing my name from consideration to serve as Attorney General. Trump’s DOJ must be in place and ready on Day 1.”

Gaetz’s withdrawal is a blow to Trump’s push to install steadfast loyalists in his incoming administration and the first sign that Trump could face resistance from members of his own party.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Which playpen is best?

Every parent knows about the dreaded silence that falls when children get into things they shouldn’t be while you aren’t looking. You can avoid this by using a playpen. Playpens can also help keep toys from being scattered everywhere by containing everything to a designated play area in addition to occasionally doubling as barriers and fences to make an entire room a playpen.

The best playpen for many occasions and needs is the Baby Care Funzone Play Pen. This highly durable and incredibly safe playpen has an effortless setup and takedown. It’s pretty expensive but well worth it.

What to know before you buy a playpen

Types of playpens

• Standard: Standard playpens have no floor and generally come in adjustable sizes, with four to 14 individual panels. They typically include gates for easy entrance and exit and are often secured to the floor using suction cups or balanced on feet.
• Portable: Portable playpens are meant for when you’re on the go. They have a floor to protect your child from the uncomfortable ground and are typically collapsible or at the very least have a carrying case to store panels and the floor.

Playpen materials

• Plastic: Plastic playpens are generally thick, though lightweight. They’re durable, easy to clean and often come in a wide range of bright colors. They’re less likely to scratch hardwood flooring, and they sometimes come with activity panels to help entertain your child. They don’t last very long in the sun as sunlight will bleach out the color and weaken the plastic.
• Wood: Wood playpens are thinner than plastic but also heavier. They generally don’t have any activity panels and last even shorter outside, thanks to absorbing moisture. This also means they don’t hold up to chewing. They sometimes have feet to add to stability and limit scratching of hardwood floors. They tend to have a more refined look over plastic.

Panel quantity

Where you plan on using your playpen and how often affect how many panels you typically need. You might want extras in case of damage or to adjust the play space as required. Certain configurations of panels are also sturdier.

What to look for in a quality playpen

Safety

Playpens generally have a Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association certification label, which shows compliance with all safety standards set by the Consumer Products Safety Commission. If your prospective playpen doesn’t have this, look for a different playpen.

Height

Playpens are generally 20 inches tall at a minimum, so children can’t climb out, but many playpens are taller than this. If you want your playpen to last as long as possible, choose one that has a lot of extra height so your child won’t be able to grow and escape for a long time.

Gate

Some playpens include a gate for easy entrance and exit. These are often usable with one hand to make using the gate and holding your child easy. A playpen without a gate means you’ll have to lift your child in and out when in use.

How much you can expect to spend on a playpen

Playpens can be quite expensive with higher quality and a larger play area space. You can find most average playpens for $100 or a bit less, but some can be well over $150.

Playpen FAQ

Can you buy extra panels if you need to without buying an entire extra playpen?

A. Many playpen manufacturers sell extra panels in extension packs. If you think you’ll need more later, check if extension packs are available before purchasing. Otherwise, you might find yourself needing to repurchase the full playpen.

Do standard playpen types fold up for storage?

A. No, standard playpens don’t fold up for storage. The panels can be taken apart and stacked out of the way to take up less space when not needed, but if easy storage is high on your list of what to look for, purchase a portable playpen.

What’s the best playpen to buy?

Top playpen

Baby Care Funzone Play Pen

What you need to know: Although this playpen is expensive, the easy setup and takedown and large play area make this the top pick.

What you’ll love: Rounded edges and durable construction make this an incredibly safe playpen for children inside and outside.

What you should consider: There are some reports of rare instances of the door not closing or opening easily, plus it isn’t very portable.

Top playpen for the money

Graco Pack ‘n Play On The Go Playard, Kaden

What you need to know: This versatile playpen can act both as a bassinet for younger babies and a playpen or crib for older babies.

What you’ll love: It has a foldable bassinet insert you can put on the top for younger babies. It’s affordable and easy to open and close with just one button. It’s also easy to take on the go and comes with a travel bag. It has a fun toy bar for babies to play with, too.

What you should consider: You can only use the bassinet insert when your baby is small.

Worth checking out

Dreambaby Brooklyn Converta Playpen

What you need to know: This dual-purpose mesh playpen can function as a fence or barrier.

What you’ll love: The mesh provides excellent visibility and folds down very easily for maximum storage capability.

What you should consider: It has a smaller play area and corners that seem weak, which doesn’t match up to the slightly high cost.

Prices listed reflect time and date of publication and are subject to change.

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