Man is executed in Florida for the 1979 killing of a 6-year-old girl abducted from her bedroom.
Along with stop, drop and roll, some states are teaching students to 'Stop and don't touch that gun.' Arkansas, Tennessee and Utah passed laws requiring schools to teach children as young as 5 the basics of gun safety and how to properly store guns at home. In Tennessee, lesson plans could include stickers, games, videos with catchy jingles and colorful firearm illustrations, including a gun made of Lego-style bricks. The reality is that many children in the U.S. grow up around firearms from an early age. The main takeaway from the lessons is a series of steps. Children are told to stop, don’t touch, leave quickly and tell an adult.
Denmark's government has announced a plan to ban social media access for anyone under 15. The Ministry of Digitalization has led the move, allowing some parents to consent for children as young as 13 after assessment. This step is among the most significant by a European country to address concerns about social media use among teens. It follows Australia's December ban, which set the minimum age at 16. The Danish ministry says the age limit applies to "certain" platforms, though specifics and enforcement details are unclear. The decision aims to protect children from harmful content and commercial pressures.
Denmark's government announces political agreement to ban access to 'certain' social media for children aged under 15.
A Virginia jury has awarded $10 million to a former teacher in a lawsuit that accused an administrator of ignoring warnings that a 6-year-old student had a gun before the teacher was shot. Jurors returned the verdict Thursday against Ebony Parker, a former assistant principal at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News. Abby Zwerner was shot in January 2023. A bullet damaged her left hand and remains in her chest. Parker was the only defendant in the lawsuit. The shooting sent shock waves through this Virginia military shipbuilding community and the country at large, with many wondering how a child so young could access a gun and shoot his teacher.
Texas voters OK constitutional amendment affirming parents are the primary decision-makers for their children.
Israel has returned the bodies of 45 Palestinians, according to the Red Cross. It comes a day after militants returned the remains of three Israeli soldiers killed in a Hamas-led attack in October 2023. The exchange is part of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire aimed at ending the conflict between Israel and Hamas. Since the truce began in October, Palestinian militants have released the remains of 20 hostages, with eight still in Gaza. For each Israeli hostage returned, Israel has been releasing the remains of 15 Palestinians, totaling 270 since the ceasefire started.
The government shutdown is triggering a wave of closures of Head Start centers, leaving many working parents scrambling for child care and shutting some of the nation’s neediest children out of preschool. Dozens of centers are missing out on federal grant payments that were due to arrive Nov. 1. Some have closed indefinitely, while others are staying afloat with emergency funding from local governments and school districts. The closures mean Head Start children — who come from low-income households, are homeless or are in foster care — are missing out on preschool. But they are missing the two meals a day they receive at school, plus therapy sessions vital to their development.
The world's leading authority on hunger crises says famine has spread to two regions of war-torn Sudan. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification says famine is happening in el-Fasher, a major city in the Darfur region, and in Kadugli, a town in the South Kordofan province. Paramilitary forces rampaged through the besieged el-Fasher last week, reportedly killing hundreds of people. Sudan has been torn apart since April 2023 by a power struggle between the military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. The United Nations says more than 40,000 people have been killed, but aid groups believe the true number could be much higher.
BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Thousands of mainly young people in Serbia embarked on a two-day march from Belgrade to the country's north on Thursda…