Fake guns found at home of 13-year-old who allegedly planned to scare students at elementary school: Police

(GRAND CANYON VILLAGE, Ariz.) — Breaks in a 12-and-a-half-mile long water main at Grand Canyon National Park that emerged on the heels of catastrophic flash flooding have prompted officials to halt overnight lodging on the canyon’s South Rim ahead of what was expected to be a busy Labor Day weekend at one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World.

Four significant breaks have been discovered in the Transcanyon Waterline that supplies water from the canyon for use throughout the park, officials said.

The busted waterline has forced park officials to temporarily halt park concessions and overnight accommodations, including the El Tovar Hotel, Bright Angel Lodge, Maswik Lodge, Phantom Ranch, Delaware North’s Yavapai Lodge and Trailer Village, officials said.

“These measures are crucial for ensuring the safety and sustainability of water resources. The goal is to restore full operational status for overnight guests on the South Rim as quickly as possible,” National Park officials said in a statement.

It was unclear when water will be fully restored, but officials warned visitors the restrictions will run throughout the Labor Day holiday.

As of Thursday, no water was being pumped to either the South or North Rims of the canyon, officials said.

Only dry camping will be allowed on the canyon’s South Rim, where most campground spigots have been turned off, officials said. Faucets in bathrooms on the South Rim are still working, as well as spigots at the Mather Campground check-in kiosk on the South Rim, but officials are asking visitors to conserve water.

“We are asking residents and visitors to help conserve water by limiting showers to five minutes or less, turning off faucets while shaving or brushing teeth, flushing toilets selectively, washing laundry with full loads, and reporting leaks to the appropriate offices,” park officials said.

The Grand Canyon will remain open for day use, but campfires and charcoal barbecues will be prohibited, officials said.

The announcement follows flash flooding this month that prompted more than 100 rescues, caused major damage to the small village of Supai at the bottom of the Grand Canyon and led to the death of a hiker who was washed away in the flood waters.

But park officials said challenges from the waterline issues were occurring before the Aug. 22 flash flooding.

The Transcanyon Waterline was built in the 1960s and officials believe it has exceeded its expected lifespan. Since 2010, there have been more than 85 major breaks in the waterline that have disrupted water delivery, park officials said.

The National Park Service recently started construction on a $208 million rehabilitation of the Transcanyon Waterline.

“This crucial investment in infrastructure will ensure the park can meet water supply needs for six million annual visitors and approximately 2,500 year-round residents,” park officials said in a statement.

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(YEMASSEE, SC) — Forty-three primates remain on the loose in a South Carolina town, two days after escaping from a research laboratory, authorities said Friday.

As of midday Friday, the monkeys “have not yet been re-captured and returned to their enclosures,” a Yemassee Police Department spokesperson said in a statement.

Traps were being set around the Alpha Genesis Primate Research Center in Yemassee, where the rhesus macaque monkeys escaped en masse from their enclosures around 1 p.m. on Wednesday, according to the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.

The animals have since been seen near the research center, according to the Yemassee police spokesperson.

“Current observations show the primates playfully exploring the perimeter fence of the facility, engaging with those still inside by cooing to them,” the spokesperson said while urging the public to “stay clear of this area as Alpha Genesis works diligently to safely recover these animals and return them to their habitats unharmed.”

The monkeys escaped when a new employee at the Alpha Genesis center left the door to their enclosure open, Yemassee Town Administrator Matthew Garnes said during a briefing Thursday with town officials.

Mia Mitchell, a resident of Yemassee, told ABC News she was driving home Wednesday evening when she saw one of the escaped primates running across a road.

“I thought my eyes were deceiving me and I was like, ‘That couldn’t be a monkey,'” Mitchell said.

Mitchell said she and her daughter immediately pulled over and stopped to get a closer look.

“I turned around and parked on the side of the road and it ran across the road toward a house and up a tree,” Mitchell said. “I stood there and my daughter, she was jokingly saying, ‘Here monkey, monkey!’ And I was like, ‘Girl, don’t call that monkey.'”

Police officers were searching for the furry fugitives using thermal imaging cameras, according to the sheriff’s office.

The primates, according to police, are all very young females weighing 6 to 7 pounds each. There is no public health threat, police said.

“The animals have never been used for testing due to their young age and size,” the Yemassee Police Department said in a statement Thursday. “A spokesperson from Alpha Genesis can confirm that these animals are too young to carry diseases.”

Police warned residents that the monkeys can act “skittish and any additional noise or movement could hinder their safe capture.”

“Residents are strongly advised to keep doors and windows secured to prevent these animals from entering homes,” the sheriff’s office said. “If you spot any of the escaped animals, please contact 911 immediately and refrain from approaching them.”

Police said they are working with staff of Alpha Genesis Primate Research Center to find the escapees.

Representatives of the Alpha Genesis Primate Research Center could not be immediately reached for comment.

According to its website, Alpha Genesis “provides the highest quality nonhuman primate products and bio-research services worldwide,” including serum, plasma, whole blood and tissue samples.

Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., said in a social media post Thursday afternoon that she is looking into the escaped monkeys.

“We’re diligently gathering all relevant information to keep our constituents informed regarding the recent escape of primates from Alpha Genesis Inc. in Beaufort County,” Mace said. “Our office has been in direct communication with the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office and is working closely with their team to monitor and assess the situation.”

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(NEW YORK) — New York City is implementing a new Black Studies curriculum in its public schools from pre-kindergarten through grade 12 as students return this week.

“This is not a curriculum about a particular racial group, necessarily, but about the history of inequality and stratification hierarchy in the United States,” Sonya Douglass, a professor of Education Leadership at Columbia University’s Teachers College who helped craft the syllabus, told ABC News.

“When young people, as well as teachers, who may have not even had access to this content in their own training and education are grounded in that history and grounded in perspectives that may be different than their own, I think it helps us to better understand the challenges that we’re facing currently as a society.”

New York City Public Schools is the largest school district in the United States, with more than a million students. Douglass sees this as an opportunity for New York City schools to be an example for the rest of the country when it comes to education.

The curriculum provides a more inclusive set of perspectives throughout American history to further include the contributions of people of African descent in the U.S. and throughout the world, Douglass said. The curriculum, which is publicly available, acts as a supplement to NYC’s current syllabus — adding recommended reading lists, activities, full day lesson plans and additional units in addition to what students are already learning.

The move by NYC schools comes as some other states like Florida, Texas and Oklahoma limit what can be taught in classrooms or what books are available in schools. Legislators in support of such restrictions argue that certain lessons or material on race, gender or sex may cause some students to feel guilt or shame, while others liken some lessons to “indoctrination.”

The American Library Association documented 4,240 unique book titles targeted for censorship, as well as 1,247 demands to censor library books, materials, and resources in 2023 — a record-breaking total in the organization’s more than 20 years of recording book banning attempts.

“We’re in the midst of a struggle over the minds of our children and how we choose to socialize them into American society,” Douglass said. “So I see all of this is very much connected in terms of some states who want to limit the teaching of the truth, and others that want to create a more accurate and expansive accounting of our history and contribution.”

The curriculum was created in a three-year-long effort by the Educational Equity Action Plan (EEAP) Initiative, which was funded by the New York City Council. The curriculum was first piloted during the 2023-2024 school year in 120 schools across all five boroughs of New York, according to Columbia University’s Teachers College.

Council Speaker Adrienne Adams believes it’s crucial for students to see themselves reflected in the contents of their education, her office told ABC News in a statement. Black students make up approximately 24% of NYC’s public school student population.

“Speaker Adams is excited by the launch of the new Black Studies Curriculum in New York City’s public schools, which will provide students the opportunity to learn about the contributions and legacies of early African civilizations, African-American history, and the modern-day African diaspora,” the statement said.

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