A couple from Utah face parental kidnapping charges after being accused of taking a 10-year-old child to Cuba amid a complicated custody fight involving the child’s gender identity. Court document show someone from the child's family raised concerns the child had been taken to Havana for gender-affirming surgery. It’s not clear if the defendants, who include the child’s biological father, actually planned on surgery for the child. The return of children kidnapped by a parent and taken overseas often is settled through negotiations or legal petitions. In the Utah case, federal officials worked with Cuba to deport the defendants and sent a government aircraft to retrieve the child.
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More kids than ever are attending state-funded preschool in the U.S., 1.8 million of them the last school year. A report by the National Institute of Early Education Research finds that 37% of 4-year-olds and about 10% of 3-year-olds are enrolled. However access to free preschool remains uneven across states. California contributed significantly to the increase by making all 4-year-olds eligible for a program called “transitional kindergarten.” But the rapid rollout meant the state missed many quality benchmarks last school year. Evidence shows that high-quality preschool can positively impact a child's future, but challenges such as uneven access and funding persist.
A Colorado district attorney has charged an immigration agent after a protester was seen being held in a chokehold during demonstrations against the detention of an immigrant father and two children. The office of Durango-based District Attorney Sean Murray announced the decision this week. Multiple videos of the clash in October show a masked federal agent seizing a 57-year-old woman by the neck. An investigation into possible violations of state law was conducted by the Colorado Bureau of Investigations. U.S. Customs and Border Protection also launched an investigation of the officer.
Patients and colleagues in the Virginia dental community are remembering Dr. Cerina Fairfax as a devoted mother, a caring dentist and the rock at the center of her family, after she was killed by her estranged husband, former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax. Virginia Rep. Jennifer McClellan knew Dr. Fairfax through her husband’s campaign and the time he spent in office as lieutenant governor and said her two teenaged children were “the people she cherished most.” Leaders in the state’s dental community praised her accomplishments and commitment to patients.
Pope Leo XIV is encouraging young people in Cameroon to resist the temptation to migrate and to stay at home and fight corruption. Leo delivered the twin messages during a meeting with students at the Catholic University of Central Africa. They’re themes Leo has highlighted during his visit to Cameroon, the second leg of his four-nation African trip. He leaves Saturday for Angola, another country blessed with oil and other natural resources, but where a third of the population lives on less than $2.15 a day.
AP Wire
A 9-year-old boy has been rescued from his father's utility van in eastern France, where he was locked up for a year and a half. The local prosecutor said the child was found malnourished and unable to walk. Police were alerted by a neighbor on Monday in the village of Hagenbach. The boy was discovered naked and covered by a blanket on a mound of trash. His father claimed he put the child in the van to protect him from being sent to a psychiatric hospital. Both the father and his partner are facing preliminary charges.
A Syrian man has buried his wife and four of his five children after Israeli strikes hit Beirut earlier this week. The family was laid to rest in Deir el-Zour province in Syria on Saturday, six years after seeking safety in Lebanon from the civil war in their country. One daughter remains missing, believed trapped under rubble in Beirut. The father survived was at work during the attack and survived. The strikes on Wednesday targeting Hezbollah-linked sites killed more than 350 people, including many women and children. The latest Israeli attacks on Lebanon have pushed the death toll to over 1,950 with more than 6,300 wounded, according to the Health Ministry.
Cuba’s deepening economic crisis is pushing struggling families into hunger and forcing them to rely on donations and the black market. One Havana mother says she sometimes has no lunch for herself and her daughters, as fuel shortages, daily blackouts and cuts to rationed food impact families across the island. Cuba’s once-lauded universal health care system has so deteriorated that it struggles to provide basic care. Hospitals face a critical backlog, with some 96,000 surgeries pending, including 11,000 for children, according to local authorities and the United Nations.
Supreme Court rules against Colorado ban on ‘conversion therapy’ for LGBTQ kids.
AP Wire
Australia is considering bringing court action against Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube after alleging they are not doing enough to keep Australian children younger than 16 off their platforms. Australia banned young children from holding accounts on 10 social media platforms in December. The first report from the eSAfety commission about compliance with the law was issued Tuesday. It found significant concerns with five platforms and was gathering evidence against them before deciding whether to initiate court action. The law also applies to Reddit, X, Kick, Threads and Twitch, but they aren't under investigation.