Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says he'll be serving in a major health care policy role in the upcoming Trump administration, where his to-do list includes telling local communities to stop adding fluoride to drinking water.

"On January 20, the Trump White House will advise all U.S. water systems to remove fluoride from public water," Kennedy posted to the social media site X.

There is no federal mandate requiring fluoride in water.

Fluoride is a mineral long proven to strengthen teeth and prevent cavities when added to water in small amounts. Local utilities across the country have been putting fluoride in water since 1945 to help fight tooth decay. The CDC considers the practice one of the great public health achievements of the 20th century.

Kennedy calls fluoride "industrial waste," linking it to arthritis, bone fractures, cancer and cognitive decline.

"The faster it goes out the better," Kennedy said in an interview with NBC News. "I'm not going to compel anyone to take it out. But I'm going to advise the water districts about their legal liability, their legal obligation."

In defending his push to take out fluoride, Kennedy points to a recent ruling by a federal judge that found enough of a risk from fluoridated water to warrant ordering the Environmental Protection Agency to study the effect on children's IQ. The opinion did not say one way or another if there is a health risk.

"This finding does not conclude with certainty that fluoridated water is injurious to public health," it said.

Too much fluoride in water can be a health hazard for children, according to a government backed study.

That found levels of fluoride two times greater than the recommended amount in drinking water "are associated with lower IQ in children," but not adults.

The report, by the National Toxicology Program, said more research is needed to understand the potential for lower amounts of fluoride to affect children's IQ.

The CDC says there's not "convincing scientific evidence" showing any adverse health effects. The American Dental Association has long advocated for fluoride in water, calling it a "safe and effective" way to prevent at least 25% of tooth decay in children and adults.

"It's one of those very few public health interventions that benefits everyone regardless of the color of their skin, their socioeconomic status, their access or lack of access to dental care," said Dr. Russell Maier, associate dean for graduate medical education at Pacific Northwest University. "If fluoride, which has been in public water systems for 80 years, had significant health problems, we'd know."

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The results of Tuesday's election have Democrats scrambling to figure out what they can get done before President-elect Donald Trump takes over.

One potential move is to convince Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor to resign and replace her with a younger liberal Justice.

Politico reported on Friday that some members of the Senate, which approves Supreme Court appointments, are discussing the possibility.

Sotomayor is a solid progressive vote, but at 70 years old she's the third oldest justice behind Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito.

Thomas would be 80 at the end of Trump's next term. Alito would be 78. Chief Justice John Roberts also would be 73 at the end of the term. He is 69 right now, which is still considered very much on the younger side for Supreme Court justices.

Historically, most justices have retired or passed away on the bench, many after the age of 80.

Liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died at 87 while serving on the bench and was replaced by conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett. Liberals are interested in preventing a similar situation from happening again.

RELATED STORY | Poll: Most Americans support placing new limits on Supreme Court

In his first term, Trump appointed three justices. If he has the opportunity to appoint more, he could cement conservative control of the Supreme Court for a generation.

Democrats may want to ensure that if something were to happen to Sotomayor in the next four years that they still have a reliably liberal vote on the bench.

But the window to make any change is incredibly narrow. There's only a 54-49 split right now in Democrats' favor in the Senate right now and at inauguration in January, control of the chamber will switch to Republicans.

Imagine getting a text message and when you read it, it says you will be a slave and have to pick cotton.

While it may seem unrealistic, some people in metro Detroit actually got texts like that. People in other states also received the messages and the FBI is investigating.

You are now one of our slaves at 12:00 a.m. you will be picked up in a black van. You will do everything we say and you will be raped, Latasha Reed of Detroit said reading a text message.

Reed's 13-year-old daughter received the text from an unknown number on Wednesday.

I asked how she felt when she saw the text message.

Instantly anger. No 13-year-old girl or boy should have to experience something like this. It terrified her, which made me angry, Reed said.

Reeds daughter isnt the only one who got a disturbing text recently.

Lifelong Detroiter Renee Glenn-Bryant got a text that addressed her by name and was also sent by an unknown number.

Good afternoon Renee! You have been chosen to pick cotton at your nearest plantation. Be ready at 10am with all your personal items & possessions because you will never see them again, Glenn-Bryant said reading the text she received.

Im 68 years old. The last thing I want to be hearing about is things that happened in the past and definitely not going to a plantation and picking cotton, Glenn-Bryant said.

Its not known who is behind this wave of racist text messages.

What is known is that it appears only Black people have been receiving them.

People from across the country and of all ages have said theyve received the texts.

Its discouraging. It says more about the state of where we are as a nation and where some people are, said Rev. Wendell Anthony, president of the NAACP Detroit Branch.

Anthony has a message for whoever is responsible for the texts.

Youre going to get caught, Anthony said. Whats done in the dark is going to come to light. Its going to take some time, but youre going to be exposed.

As for Reed, she is encouraging people to have conversations with their children about racism.

Im sitting here having to explain to my 13-year-old that people may not always like you and its not because of who you are, its just because of your skin color, Reed said.

The Michigan attorney general's office sent this statement about the text:

My department is aware of the disturbing, racist text messages that are being reported across the country. Anyone receiving these texts is encouraged to report them to local law enforcement if they suspect they have been threatened. We are contacting state and federal law enforcement agencies and the Anti-Robocall Multi-State Litigation Task Force to learn all we can about these potentially criminal messages and those responsible." -Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel

More than three dozen unlicensed contractors have been arrested and charged after a two-day undercover operation by the Pinellas County Sheriffs Office, Clearwater Police Department, and other agencies.

According to Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, the arrests were made to protect people from being ripped off and from the dangers of shoddy, unlicensed work.

The majority of em theyre not even from here, he said. Theyre coming in from outside the area to exploit our residents and our businesses.

Its not even the first time hes locked up unlicensed contractors since the storms. His team arrested dozens more in Madeira Beach two weeks ago.

RELATED STORY | Hurricane Rafael crosses Cuba, slows to Category 2 storm

As they would say, unfortunately, its shooting fish in a barrel. Theres so much of it out there, its not hard, the sheriff said.

According to Clearwater Police Chief Eric Gandy, one of the unlicensed workers arrested in the most recent bust was preparing to do a $200,000 job.

Gualtieri said another was advertising demolition work but actually doing electrical work too.

The sheriff said the number of arrests in the Clearwater bust will likely exceed 40. He said six of the 38 arrested so far are undocumented immigrants, and one of the six was in the process of being deported at the time of his arrest.

You can verify a license by visiting www.pinellas.gov/contractor. You can also call the countys Consumer Protection department at 727-464-6200.

This story was originally published by Chad Mills on

Scripps News Tampa

.

Elwood Edwards, who voiced America Onlines ever-present Youve got mail greeting, has died. He was 74.

He died Tuesday at his home in New Bern, North Carolina, said his daughter Heather Edwards. The cause was complications from a stroke late last year, she said.

Edwards taped his AOL greeting in 1989 into a recorder while sitting in the living room of his home. Youve got mail became a pop culture catchphrase in the late 1990s and served as the title of the 1998 Tom Hanks-Meg Ryan film.

He would still blush anytime someone brought it up, his daughter said. He loved the attention, but he never got used to it.

He was also the voice of AOLs Welcome, Goodbye and Files done messages. He made $200 from the recordings.

He got the gig while working at an independent TV station in Washington, D.C. His second wife, Karen, was a customer service representative for the internet provider that later became known as AOL. She heard the company was looking for someone to be the voice of its software and suggested her husband.

RELATED STORY | AOL co-founder Jim Kimsey dies at 76

They were so impressed, they didnt have him go in a recording booth, his daughter said.

While few people knew his face, his voice was heard by millions of people each day.

For a while, America Online was keeping it a secret, making me a man of mystery. But finally it was released, and there you go, Edwards said in 1999.

He did appear on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in 2015 to repeat the famous catchphrase, smiling broadly and chuckling as the studio audience cheered. He also added his voice to an episode of The Simpsons in 2000.

Edwards first worked in radio and then moved into television. He had a brief stint as a weatherman and worked as an announcer, but mostly he spent his time behind the camera, Heather Edwards said.

He would say, I have a face for radio, she said, adding that her dad always had a ready smile anytime youd see him.

He later worked at WKYC-TV in Cleveland as a graphics guru, camera operator, and general jack-of-all-trades, the station said. Edwards also did freelance voice-over work for radio and television commercials.

Survivors include another daughter, Sallie Edwards; granddaughter Abbie Edwards; and a brother, Bill.

The family plans to hold a memorial service Monday in New Bern.

Traveling with kids can be likened to an Olympic sport at times, and for parents with kids who struggle with sensory issues, it can add an extra level of stress for everyone.

Dr. Olivia Goeddeke is an occupational therapist who designed a new sensory room at Detroit Metro Airport. She says airports can be a lot to cope with, even for adults.

When some kids travel, they often feel not in control of their environment, which can lead to overstimulation, especially children with disabilities.

"A lot of people think that when a child is throwing a tantrum or somebody is not listening, they are just misbehaved, but a lot of that can stem from sensory sensitivities." Goeddeke said.

Nine-year-old Gwendolyn Burke says she's so excited to go to Disney World in two months, and a room like this makes her feel more comfortable knowing that if she starts to feel overwhelmed, there is a quiet place she can go to recoup.

"I obviously loved the tree and the bubbles. Actually, I loved everything. It's hard to say just one!" Gwen said.

Hear more from Gwendolyn in the video player below: Gwendolyn Burke shares her thoughts on the new sensory room at DTW

Goeddeke says everything from the sensory wall when you first walk in to the the fiberoptic beanbag- every element of the room was designed with intention.

So if you happen to be passing through the Detroit Metro Airport and your child starts getting over stimulated, there's a place designed just for them.

"A space like this just allows them to come and reset their system and have that chance to continue on," Goeddeke said.

Extreme weather is contributing to undocumented migration and return between Mexico and the United States, suggesting that more migrants could risk their lives crossing the border as climate change fuels droughts, storms and other hardships, according to a new study.

People from agricultural areas in Mexico were more likely to cross the border illegally after droughts and were less likely to return to their original communities when extreme weather continued, according to research this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Across the globe, climate change caused by burning fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas is exacerbating extreme weather. Droughts are longer and drier, heat is deadlier and storms are rapidly intensifying and dumping record-breaking rain.

In Mexico, a country of nearly 130 million people, drought has drained reservoirs dry, created severe water shortages and drastically reduced corn production, threatening livelihoods.

Researchers said Mexico is a notable country for studying the links between migration, return and weather stressors. Its mean annual temperature is projected to increase up to 5.4 degrees Fahrenheit by 2060, and extreme weather is likely to economically devastate rural communities dependent on rain-fed agriculture. The U.S. and Mexico also have the largest international migration flow in the world.

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Scientists predict migration will grow as the planet gets hotter. Over the next 30 years, 143 million people worldwide are likely to be uprooted by rising seas, drought, searing temperatures and other climate catastrophes, according to a U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report.

The new migration research comes as Republican Donald Trump was reelected to the U.S. presidency this week. Trump has called climate change a "hoax" and promised mass deportations of an estimated 11 million people in the U.S. illegally.

Researchers said their findings highlight how extreme weather drives migration.

Filiz Garip, a study researcher and professor of sociology and international affairs at Princeton University, said advanced nations have contributed far more to climate change than developing countries that are bearing the brunt.

Migration "is not a decision that people take up lightly ... and yet they're being forced to make it more, and they're being forced to stay longer in the United States" as a result of weather extremes, Garip said.

The researchers analyzed daily weather data along with survey responses from 48,313 people between 1992 and 2018, focusing on about 3,700 individuals who crossed the border without documents for the first time.

They looked at 84 agricultural communities in Mexico where growing corn was dependent on weather. They correlated a person's decision to migrate and then return with abnormal changes in temperature and rainfall in their origin communities during the May-to-August corn growing season.

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The study found communities experiencing drought had higher migration rates compared to communities with normal rainfall. And people were less likely to return to Mexico from the U.S. when their communities were unusually dry or wet. That was true for recent U.S. arrivals and people who had been there longer.

People who were better off financially were also more likely to migrate. So were people from communities with established migration histories where friends, neighbors or family members who previously migrated could offer information and help.

These social and economic factors that influence migration are well understood, but Garip said the study's findings underscore the inequities of climate adaptation. With extreme weather events, not everybody is impacted or responds in the same way, she said, "and the typical social and economic advantages or disadvantages also shape how people experience these events."

For Kerilyn Schewel, co-director of Duke University's Program on Climate, Resilience and Mobility, the economic factors highlight that some of the most vulnerable people aren't those displaced by climate extremes but are rather "trapped in place or lacking the resources to move."

Schewel, who was not involved in the study, said analyzing regions with migration histories could help predict where migrants will come from and who is likelier to migrate because of climate shocks. In "places where people are already leaving, where there's a high degree of migration prevalence, ... that's where we can expect more people to leave in the future," she said.

The survey data used from the Mexican Migration Project makes this study unique, according to Hlne Benveniste, a professor in Stanford University's Department of Environmental Social Sciences. Migration data of its scale that's community-specific is "rarely available," she said in an email. So is information about a person's full migration journey, including their return.

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The finding that return migration decisions were delayed by weather stress in origin communities is "important and novel," said Benveniste, who studies climate-related human migration and was not involved in the study. "Few datasets enable an analysis of this question."

But increased surveillance and enforcement along the U.S.-Mexico border make returning home and moving back and forth more difficult, said Michael Mndez, assistant professor of environmental policy and planning at the University of California, Irvine. And once undocumented migrants are in the U.S., they often live in dilapidated housing, lack health care or work in industries such as construction or agriculture that make them vulnerable to other climate impacts, he said. Mndez was not involved in the study.

As climate change threatens social, political and economic stability around the world, experts said the study highlights the need for global collaboration around migration and climate resilience.

"So much of our focus has been, in a way, on the border and securing the border," said Schewel from Duke. "But we need much more attention to not only the reasons why people are leaving but also the demand for immigrant workers within the U.S."

A 16-year-old awaits his fate for allegedly shooting another teen in the head and a woman in the arm. Detroit police say the teenage victim is in very critical condition.

Shanitra Rayford said she's lived in the 800 block of Delaware since 2017. After being shot just feet from her home, she said she's ready to move.

"Stop the violence. Put the guns down," she said.

Hear more from Shanitra Rayford in the video player below: Mother who was shot during altercation describes what happened

Still bandaged and healing from her gunshot wounds, Rayford explained to 7 News Detroit what led up to an altercation she said was preventable.

"Could've just talked. Everybody could have talked instead of just shooting. But it happened too fast," the mother of two said.

Rayford said a couple of kids picked on her 8-year-old son near her apartment Thursday evening. She said a 6-year-old choked her child after being egged on by a teenager.

"When he went and got his brother, he came out with a sledgehammer and start swinging at everybody," Rayford recalled.

She said she then went to talk to the 6-year-old's mother.

"She came with a whole bunch of people. Me and her was talking for a minute. After we got done talking, I got my CPL, so I had my gun in my pocket," she said.

"One guy had his arm in his coat because he had his gun in there. So, the boy next to me he grabbed my gun out cause he (saw) him with a gun and they start shooting and that's when I start getting hit trying to run."

"When I was shot, I was crawling cause I hit the ground and then I ended up right here at the end and a old lady came and took me to the hospital," Rayford explained. "I thought I was about to die."

Detroit police said one of the teens on scene was shot in the head and is in very critical condition.

"I wanna move. I don't wanna come outside," Rayford said.

More and more companies are telling workers they have to return to the office, and that might mean trading in sweatpants and T-shirts for business attire and talking with co-workers in person  an activity that some remote workers may have all but left behind.

As these businesses make the transition to in-person work, they're starting to bring in etiquette professionals to help employees relearn how to act in the office. According to The Washington Post, the years spent apart from colleagues have rusted workers' social skills, and new ways of working have spawned a host of fresh etiquette issues.

"The problem is that even though the pandemic is behind us, there is still that shockwave, that ripple effect that carries on," Diane Gottsman, owner of The Protocol School of Texas, told Scripps News. "So I think that what happens is people are not familiar with what appropriate attire is or how to interact with peers or how you send an e-mail with a subject line and change that subject line per subject matter. So it's just tiny little details that add up to big dollars and cents issues."

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Gottsman's Protocol School of Texas specializes in professional etiquette training. She told Scripps News that a lack of etiquette can be detrimental to a person's career  and that many don't understand its importance.

"These are not manners," she said. "These are professional development skills that empower the individual and allow them to be comfortable and interact with everyone around them in that work environment."

Gen Z is the most glaring group struggling with this in the transition back to the office, but it doesn't just stop there, according to Gottsman.

"Everyone can benefit from fine-tuning, so there are executives who have been in the workforce for several years and they've gotten lax," she told Scripps News. "Or perhaps they just never really learned the art of networking, and now they're in a different position and they are having to take on different responsibilities and don't quite know how to jump into this new environment."

To hear the biggest mistakes Gottsman shared and how to improve your etiquette, watch the full interview above.

James White was 10 years old when a Detroit police officer stood in his family home, sharing news he could not comprehend.

His uncle the man who helped raise him had been murdered. Whites grandmother collapsed, he recalled, and he began to sob.

But in a moment that would define his future, White watched as that officer began to console his grandmother, then picked him up off the ground.

Heres this huge figure whos comforting her and then ultimately comforting me, White recalled. That stayed with me my entire life and its with me right now.

Twenty years later, White would become a Detroit cop himself. He started at the citys 6th Precinct and rose quickly through the ranks.

Frequently, he was tasked with cleaning up the departments messes. When the Department of Justice stepped in in the early 2000s over concerns about unconstitutional policing, White helped put the reforms in place that brought an end to government oversight.

When delays in 911 response times were exposed, it was White who put the plan together to quicken police responses.

Those folks arent calling 911 because they want to know what the weather is, White told Channel 7s Ross Jones during an interview Thursday. Theyre having the worst day of their life.

Previous coverage: Detroit Police Chief White addresses city for first time since announcement of new role Detroit Police Chief White addresses city for first time since announcement of new role

During his three-and-a-half years as chief, White seldom defended the status quo.

He revamped the departments disciplinary policies, creating systems to flag concerning officer behavior. He pushed for diversity and equity in who he hired and how his officers were trained, and sidelined officers when they crossed the line.

I have a community thats diverse and its also a significant number of people of color, White said.

And I have a duty and responsibility that I take very seriously to serve them with integrity and decency. And so for those who say: Youre too socially conscious. I would just want to know: as opposed to what?

It seldom made him friends. Unlike the man he replaced, Chief James Craig, White was never considered a cops cop among the rank and file. Some said his harsh discipline didnt allow officers to do their job.

Im not too concerned about being a 'cops cop.' I want to be everybodys chief, White said. Cops, the community. And I think in large part, my officers feel supported. I think in large part, they have confidence in me.

White was more analytical than most chiefs, relying on data to drive down Detroits crime, now at levels not seen since the year he was born.

My process in policing has always been different than my predecessor, he said. And that doesnt mean that his is better and mines worse. Im more data-driven, process-oriented. I like to build out systems.

But as proud as he is at the citys progress, hes the first to admit that gun violence in Detroit is nowhere near under control.

We are obsessed with guns in this country, White said. My position on guns: you have a constitutional right to carry. You have to do so legally. And thats it. Thats how I feel.

White leaves DPD to lead the states largest community mental health system, so perhaps its no coincidence that his two darkest days as chief came from violence borne from mental health crises.

The first was the murder of officer Loren Courts, shot and killed by a man who had sought and never received mental health treatment.

Then just last month as he completed his interview to lead the Detroit Wayne Integrated Health Network, White learned that one of his sergeants was hunkered down in an abandoned building in Highland Park, taking aim at two of his officers.

I went to that scene from my interview in the suit that I wore at my interview, White said, describing the surreal moment. So all of that was in my head For me, at that moment, I knew this was something I need to do.

Whites new job starts later this month. On Friday, he wound down his old one, noting that crime is down virtually across the board.

His tenure was so successful that earlier this year, he was invited to the White House by the president himself, touting the strategies he helped put into place.

I think about that kid whose mom or grandmother was crying and this officer, White said. lifting her off the ground and picking me up.

And to have gone full circle and to be in that moment is the single proudest momentthat Ive had.

Contact 7 Investigator Ross Jones at ross.jones@wxyz.com or at (248) 827-9466.

A fourth grader at Schoolcraft Elementary School in Waterford sprung into action when he realized his classmate was choking on her lunch.

Nine-year-old Matthew Lowe told us it was a typical day in the cafeteria between the long lines for food and the shouting kids.

That was until Matthew noticed something was wrong with his friend Arya Comins.

"I realized that she was choking," Matthew said.

The two fourth graders told us it happened on Halloween. Arya had a hard time swallowing part of a bread stick she was eating for lunch.

"I stood up and was hitting her back," Matthew said. "The first three times, it didn't really work, so then I did it harder and it worked."

Arya said she is relieved that she is OK but in that moment, she was terrified.

"I couldn't breathe," Arya said.

We asked her what was going through her mind when Matthew jumped in to help her.

"I felt a little less scared," Arya said.

Schoolcraft Elementary Principal Alexandra Velez said she is proud of both students for their bravery.

"He didn't come to us to get accolades or to be recognized. He just went back to his daily work and it wasn't until someone else told us what he had done that we started to celebrate him," Velez said. "I'm so thankful to have students like Matthew who take care of business and make things happen when he's there."

Matthew told us he knew exactly what to do because something similar happened to him.

"I remember the first time I choked and I knew it was scary because when I choked, nobody really noticed for a little and then somebody noticed," Matthew said.

Matthew has advice for other kids who may be in an emergency situation.

"Either tell the teacher or try to help if they know what to do," he said.

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis on Thursday declared a disaster emergency due to a severe winter storm affecting parts of the state.

On Friday the National Weather Service had declared winter storm warnings for nearly every county in Colorado east of the Continental Divide.

Denver and Boulder were forecast to get between eight and 12 inches of snow, while plains regions to the east could see four to eight inches. Accumulated snow was expected to cause closures and hazardous driving conditions across much of the affected area.

Many schools across Denver and the wider state were closed Friday due to the severe weather. State government offices were closed in affected areas on Friday, according to the governor's press release, with many workers shifting to remote work.

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The Colorado National Guard has been activated to respond to the storm, which makes members available for emergency response and rescue operations.

Colorado has also activated state emergency divisions responsible for managing operations and response during emergency situations. The declaration gives the state more leeway to deploy resources depending on the effects of the storm.

Snowfall was forecast to persist until late on Friday. Windy conditions with gusts up to 60 miles an hour were forecast for parts the Front Range over the weekend.

The peaceful transfer of power is a hallmark of American democracy, and the White House is the physical symbol of that process.

Linda McMahon and Howard Lutnick are spearheading the transition for the incoming Trump administration.

President-elect Donald Trump's team will be focused on helping him fill his cabinet and prepare potential executive orders that he could sign on day one.

The president is responsible for appointing more than 4,000 positions across the federal government, and over 1,200 of them require Senate confirmation. Some lower level appointees might remain when the new administration begins, but high level positions, like cabinet secretaries, traditionally resign.

Since Vice President Kamala Harris has conceded, Trump's transition team can have access to federal funding, office space, IT help and other services needed to set the stage for a new administration.

RELATED STORY | Trump announces Susie Wiles as his White House Chief of Staff

President Joe Biden has committed to ensure there is a smooth transition next year.

"The people vote and choose their own leaders, and they do it peacefully. And in a democracy, the will of the people always prevails," Biden said from the Rose Garden after the election.

Historians credit the nation's second president, John Adams, for establishing the tradition in use to this day. Adams was the first president to live in the White House, though he only had the chance to live there for a few months. After losing in a very close election in 1800, he chose to quietly leave the morning of his successor's inauguration on March 4, 1801. It wasn't until the 1930s that Inauguration Day for president of the United States moved to January 20.

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A southeast Louisiana school board voted on Thursday to shut down a predominantly Black elementary school adjacent to a petrochemical facility embroiled in multiple lawsuits linked to its high levels of toxic emissions.

Denka Performance Elastomer LLC produces the synthetic rubber neoprene used for wetsuits, laptop sleeves and other common products. The facility emits the likely carcinogen chloroprene at such high concentrations that it exposes the surrounding majority Black community to an unacceptable cancer risk, according to a 2023 federal complaint brought against Denka on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency.

The EPA warned that the several hundred students who attend 5th Ward Elementary, about a quarter mile from Denka's facility, are among those who face heightened cancer risk.

Air monitoring consistently shows long-term chloroprene concentrations in the air surrounding Denka's facility as high as 15 times the levels recommended for lifetime exposure, the federal complaint said. The EPA states that Denka's chloroprene emissions are the reason why the surrounding communities in St. John the Baptist Parish have the highest estimated cancer risks nationwide.

RELATED STORY | Biden administration imposes first drinking water limits on toxic PFAS

The Biden administration has invested billions in the EPA to address environmental justice issues and put Denka front and center of its efforts to hold industrial polluters accountable for their impacts on minority neighborhoods. Many of these fence line communities are located along a heavily industrialized 85-mile stretch of the Mississippi River between New Orleans and Baton Rouge officially called the Mississippi River Chemical Corridor and commonly referred to by environmental groups as "Cancer Alley."

The facility's parent company, Tokyo-headquartered Denka, fought back against an EPA order from April to drastically reduce its facility's chloroprene emissions within 90 days, receiving support from Louisiana's Republican Gov. Jeff Landry. The case remains tied up in federal court. A Denka spokesperson said its facility had "significantly reduced" its chloroprene emissions and that the EPA relied on "distorted" science. Denka's fence line air monitoring report for June shows its chloroprene emissions remained four times greater than the EPA's required standards. Denka's spokesperson said the EPA is relying on "an overly conservative risk assessment."

In June, the NAACP's Legal Defense Fund filed a separate motion for the school board to shut down the elementary school, arguing the board had clear evidence of the health risks Denka posed to students. The St. John the Baptist school board is one of dozens in the South which remains under decades-long desegregation orders.

The Legal Defense Fund argues that the school board is violating the desegregation order by disproportionately exposing Black students to Denka's pollution when there are alternative schools they could attend in elsewhere in the district and in many cases closer to their homes. The school board's Director of Risk Management Alvarez Hertzock III said the district is taking the issues raised in the lawsuit "extremely seriously."

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In several public hearings held by the school board earlier this year to discuss closing 5th Ward Elementary, some parents and teachers spoke emotionally against breaking up the school's tight-knit community.

"We want to stay together," said 5th Ward Elementary Principal Rajean Butler at a Jan. 31 meeting, adding her own child is enrolled at the school. "Knowing they will be torn apart, it just breaks my heart."

"I created a space where every child is beloved like my own," Butler said, with a group of community members standing beside her. "I'm speaking from my heart and I'm saying please don't do this for our babies, our families. I just can't imagine the thought of them being in a place where they are not loved."

Months later, after a tense discussion, the school board voted 7 to 4 to close the school beginning in the 2025-2026 school year. The several hundred students currently attending 5th Ward Elementary would be sent to two other nearby locations.

School Board President Shawn Wallace said the board made its decision to close 5th Ward Elementary solely for financial reasons due to low enrollment throughout the district.

But Nia Mitchell-Williams, another board member, said the ongoing desegregation lawsuit was "the real elephant in the room" and had put pressure on the board to shut down the school before a federal judge took action instead.

Raydel Morris, the board member who represents the 5th Ward elementary school neighborhood, opposed shutting down the school because he said it would lead to another blighted building in a Black community.

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He also said the board's proposed solution would fail to meaningfully end most students' exposure to Denka's pollution by moving many to another school, East St. John Preparatory, less than 1 mile from the facility.

"We taking them from the front door and putting them in the backyard," Morris said.

Legal Defense Fund attorney Victor Jones said the school board had dragged its feet for far too long and should remove students from 5th Ward Elementary immediately, not the following school year.

"The board has an ongoing and continued obligation to operate healthy and safe facilities for children," Jones said. "Every day that that school remains open those children remain in danger."

Jones added that students relocated to schools near Denka would remain at risk from its toxic emissions.

The school district's Superintendent Cleo Perry said he was not concerned about the possible health consequences for students relocated to East St. John Preparatory. He said the board was now focused on the logistics of the school transfers.

"When you are dealing with the consolidation of schools it is very heart-wrenching, it's hard on families, students, teachers alike, so our goal right now is to work with our community to make the best transition possible," he said.

Scripps News and Decision Desk HQ project South Dakota will not enshrine abortion protections in its state constitution.

South Dakota's Amendment G asked voters whether to include a right to abortion in the state constitution and would have forbidden the state from regulating pregnancies until after the first trimester.

Under the amendment, the state would only have been able to pass laws regulating abortion during the second trimester "in ways that are reasonably related to the physical health of the pregnant woman." The state would have been able to regulate abortion during the third trimester, but there would have been exceptions for the health and life of the mother.

South Dakota currently bans abortion except when it would save the life of the mother. A trigger law in the state took effect after the U.S. Supreme Court's decision that overturned Roe v. Wade protections. With the failure of Amendment G, that law will remain in force.

Calls and chats to The Trevor Projects crisis lines surged due to the election.

The organization offers suicide prevention and crisis intervention services to the LGBTQ+ community and young people through its lifeline, chat and text lines.

The Trevor Project said a significant jump in crisis conversations was noticed between Nov. 3 and 4, compared to just a few days prior from Oct. 29 to Nov. 2. The organization reported a 200% increase in conversations related to the election, based on data of key words like election and rights.

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While alarming, we are not surprised to see that the wave of anti-LGBTQ+ politics of the past few years continue to harm young peoples mental health, said The Trevor Project CEO Jaymes Black. 90% of LGBTQ+ young people said recent politics negatively impacted their well-being and, transgender youth have been disproportionately impacted with new research showing anti-transgender policies increased suicide attempts among transgender youth by as much as 72%.

The current political environment in the U.S. is heavy, but it is so important for LGBTQ+ young people to know that they do not have to shoulder this weight alone. The Trevor Projects counselors are here 24/7 for any LGBTQ+ young person who needs support and we will never stop fighting for your right to be safe, supported, and seen exactly as you are.

The Trevor Project offer 24-hour support. Those in need of crisis services can find resources for immediate support through phone, text or chat here.

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer is calling on Michiganders to put their creative thinking caps on and come up with a name for a special turkey.

The naming contest for the turkey in this year's turkey pardon is now open.

Thanksgiving is a time to spend quality time with your loved ones, and the annual turkey pardon is a tradition I always look forward to, said Governor Whitmer in a statement. I look forward to reviewing all the fun, creative names that Michiganders come up with this year. Submit your name ideas and find out if you picked the winner to be pardoned next week!

The contest runs through Tuesday, November 12, at 11:59 p.m.

Last year, the winning name was "Dolly Pardon" and in 2022, the governor pardoned "Mitch E. Gander."

To submit a name, click here.

Average global temperatures are expected to exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels for the first time, according to the European Unions Copernicus Climate Change Service.

The agency expects 2024 to be the hottest year on record, with global temperatures expected to exceed 1.55 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial (1850-1900) levels for 2024.

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The new data comes following the second-warmest October ever recorded, with a global average temperature of 15.25 degrees Celsius, which is about 0.8 degrees higher than the 1990-2020 average.

Climatologists have noted a rapid increase in global temperatures in the last few years after decades of steady growth.

After 10 months of 2024 it is now virtually certain that 2024 will be the warmest year on record and the first year of more than 1.5C above pre-industrial levels according to the ERA5 dataset, Samantha Burgess, deputy director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service, said. This marks a new milestone in global temperature records and should serve as a catalyst to raise ambition for the upcoming Climate Change Conference, COP29."

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The United Nations has set the target of keeping global temperatures below a 1.5-degree increase by 2030. Although a 1.5-degree increase is merely a target, scientists have said the world can mitigate climate changes worst effects if temperatures can remain below that threshold.

With every additional increment of global warming, changes in extremes and risks become larger. For example, every additional 0.1C of global warming causes clearly discernible increases in the intensity and frequency of temperature and precipitation extremes, as well as agricultural and ecological droughts in some regions, the U.N. has said.

The Department of Justice announced on Friday that three men have been charged in an alleged murder-for-hire plot to kill individuals critical of the Iranian regime, including President-elect Donald Trump.

Two of the men charged, Carlisle Rivera, 49, and Jonathon Loadholt, 36, were arrested in New York on Thursday, the DOJ said.

The other individual, Farhad Shakeri, an Afghan national, is believed to be in Iran.

Attorney General Merrick Garland alleges Shakeri is an "asset of the Iranian regime" and was tasked with directing "criminal associates" to carry out the assassination plots.

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The DOJ says Shakeri moved to the U.S. as a child but was deported in 2008 after serving 14 years in prison for robbery. The DOJ says Shakeri created a criminal network that included Rivera and Loadholt, whom he met in prison.

The pair were reportedly promised $100,000 to carry out the murder-for-hire plot. Rivera and Loadholt, who are both from New York, spent months surveilling a critic of Iran in the U.S. the DOJ says.

Authorities said the men were arrested before the murder-for-hire plot could be carried out.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps a designated foreign terrorist organization has been conspiring with criminals and hitmen to target and gun down Americans on U.S. soil and that simply wont be tolerated," said FBI Director Christopher Wray. "Thanks to the hard work of the FBI, their deadly schemes were disrupted."

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The DOJ says law enforcement agents recorded interviews with Shakeri, who claimed he was also tasked in October with creating plans to assassinate Trump. However, Shakeri claimed he did not intend to propose a plan in the timeframe set by the IRGC.

Trump has faced two assassination attempts this year. Neither of those attempts has been linked to Iran.