Pennsylvania teen dies from bacterial meningitis: School district
Meningitis Medical term in a card on doctor hand, medical conceptual image. Getty/Md Saiful Islam Khan
(LANGHORNE, Pa.) — A Pennsylvania high school student died from bacterial meningitis, according to the local school district.
Ryan Duffy, 18, a senior at Neshaminy High School in Langhorne, contracted Streptococcus Pneumoniae Meningitis last week and was treated in the ICU before dying Tuesday, according to a letter sent to parents by the Neshaminy School District and obtained by ABC News.
“It is with great sadness that we inform you of the death of a member of our school community, Ryan Duffy, who passed away earlier today, October 14, 2025. Ryan’s family has given us permission to share with you that he became suddenly ill late last week and was admitted to the ICU at the hospital,” the letter read. “We hold the family in our thoughts and wish them strength in this difficult time. Ryan was diagnosed with Streptococcus Pneumoniae Meningitis.”
The Neshaminy School District is using enhanced cleaning protocols at Neshaminy High School, but the school said that Duffy’s form of meningitis is not typically contagious.
“It is important to note that this type of meningitis is not usually contagious in a school setting and does not typically spread through casual contact, such as being in the same classroom or cafeteria,” the letter continued.
According to the CDC, though this type of meningitis is spread through droplets that are released when you cough, sneeze, or talk, it is not highly contagious.
Parents in the community are mourning Duff’s death from the disease.
“These old diseases that have been around for years are still affecting people,” said Eddie Maurer, a parent from Bensalem, told ABC News affiliate ABC 6. “It just doesn’t make sense. It’s hard to believe.”
Bacterial meningitis causes inflammation of the brain’s protective lining and spinal cord and can lead to death in a few hours if not treated properly, according to the CDC.
Symptoms include severe headaches, high fevers, excessive vomiting, stiff neck and confusion, according to the CDC, and the best way to inoculate yourself against the disease is through vaccination.
“Most people recover from bacterial meningitis if managed properly,” the CDC page on the infection says, but “those who recover can have permanent disabilities.”
It is not yet known how Duffy contracted the infection.
A sign featuring the Department of Justice building is seen on Thursday, December 4, 2025. Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — The federal judge who presided over the 2019 criminal case against convicted sex-offender Jeffrey Epstein has became the third judge to grant a Justice Department motion to unseal grand jury materials and other undisclosed evidence from the government’s investigative files.
U.S. District Judge Richard Berman of the Southern District of New York issued a four-page order Tuesday that determined that Congress — in passing the Epstein Files Transparency Act last month — clearly indicated that the materials from his criminal case should be publicly disclosed and that traditional rules of grand jury secrecy were overridden by the act.
“The ‘plain language’ of the Epstein Files Transparency Act unequivocally intends to make public Epstein grand jury materials and discovery materials covered by the Epstein Protective Order,” Berman wrote.
This is the third — and final — ruling on the Justice Department’s motions to lift restrictions on materials related to criminal investigations and prosecutions of Epstein and his convicted co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell.
It comes one day after Judge Paul Engelmayer granted the DOJ’s motion to release grand jury materials and other nonpublic evidence from Maxwell’s criminal case.
Judge Rodney Smith granted a similar request from the Justice Department for records associated with the first federal investigation of Epstein in Florida in the mid-2000s.
Berman, who presided over Epstein’s 2019 arraignment in New York and ordered him detained pending trial, stressed the need to protect the privacy and safety of alleged victims if and when the records from the case are publicly disclosed by the DOJ.
“The Court hereby grants the Government’s motion in accordance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act and with the unequivocal right of Epstein victims to have their identify and privacy protected,” Berman wrote.
Epstein died by suicide in a New York jail in August 2019 while awaiting trial.
Actor Matthew Perry of the television show ‘The Kennedys – After Camelot’ speaks onstage during the REELZChannel portion of the 2017 Winter Television Critics Association Press Tour at the Langham Hotel on January 13, 2017 in Pasadena, California. (Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)
(LOS ANGELES) — The second of two doctors who were convicted in connection with Matthew Perry’s ketamine death is set to be sentenced on Tuesday.
Mark Chavez is one of five people charged and convicted in connection with the “Friends” actor’s 2023 overdose death. He pleaded guilty last year to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine, admitting to selling fraudulently obtained ketamine to another doctor, Salvador Plasencia, that was then sold to Perry in the weeks before the actor died from an overdose.
The two doctors did not provide the ketamine that ultimately killed Perry, who was discovered unresponsive in a jacuzzi at his Los Angeles home in October 2023 at the age of 54. Though federal prosecutors said they knew that the actor had a history of substance abuse and that the drug would be administered without medical supervision.
Chavez faces up to 10 years in prison, prosecutors said.
The government asked for a sentence of six months home confinement that includes a two-year term of supervised release as well as at least 300 hours of community service. Prosecutors said Chavez, a former operator of a ketamine clinic, provided Plasencia with vials of liquid ketamine and ketamine lozenges that had been obtained by submitting a fraudulent prescription in the name of a patient without that patient’s knowledge or consent.
“As the Drug Enforcement Administration and Medical Board investigators closed in on defendant’s illegal ketamine sales, defendant initially lied and tried to evade responsibility,” the government said in a filing ahead of sentencing. “To defendant’s credit, however, his story continued, and became one of accountability.”
The government said that once confronted with his criminal acts, Chavez “expediently accepted responsibility and agreed to cooperate with the government’s investigation.”
Chavez’s defense attorneys asked for three years of supervised release, arguing in a filing ahead of sentencing that his conduct was “limited and peripheral” and “far removed from the tragic events of October 28, 2023.”
They noted that Chavez had never met Perry, entered his home or administered medication to him, and that he did not supply the ketamine that caused his death. They also said he “accepted responsibility early in this case and signed a plea agreement prior to any indictment, agreed to cooperate, and voluntarily surrendered his medical license even before his detention hearing.”
“The consequences Mr. Chavez has already faced are significant,” his attorneys, Matthew Binninger and Zach Brooks, wrote. “Once a practicing emergency room physician, he lost his profession, suffered public disgrace, and now earns a living as an Uber driver. He has remained compliant with all terms of pretrial supervision and continues to demonstrate sincere regret for his actions.”
Both Chavez and Plasencia gave up their medical licenses after pleading guilty.
According to Plasencia’s plea agreement, one of his patients introduced him to Perry on Sept. 30, 2023, with the unidentified patient referring to the actor as a “‘high profile person’ who was seeking ketamine and was willing to pay ‘cash and lots of thousands’ for ketamine treatment,'” according to Plasencia’s plea agreement.
Plasencia contacted his mentor, Chavez, to discuss Perry’s request for ketamine and purchased vials of liquid ketamine and ketamine lozenges from him, according to the agreement.
In discussing how much to charge Perry, Plasencia said in text messages to Chavez, “I wonder how much this moron will pay” and “Lets [sic] find out,” prosecutors said.
Plasencia admitted to distributing 20 vials of ketamine, ketamine lozenges and syringes to Perry and the actor’s live-in assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, between Sept. 30, 2023, and Oct. 12, 2023.
Plasencia administered ketamine to Perry at the actor’s home on several occasions and left vials and lozenges with Iwamasa to administer, according to the plea agreement.
Plasencia was sentenced to 30 months in prison earlier this month.
Iwamasa admitted in court documents to administering the ketamine on the day that Perry died, pleading guilty in August 2024 to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 14, 2026, and faces up to 15 years in prison.
Two other defendants in the case — Erik Fleming and Jasveen Sangha — admitted to distributing the ketamine that killed Perry.
Prosecutors said Sangha worked with Fleming to distribute ketamine to Perry, and that in October 2023, they sold the actor 51 vials of ketamine, which were provided to Iwamasa.
Fleming pleaded guilty in August 2024 to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 7, 2026, and faces up to 25 years in prison.
Sangha, allegedly known as “The Ketamine Queen,” pleaded guilty in September to one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises, three counts of distribution of ketamine, and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death or serious bodily injury. She is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 25, 2026, and faces a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison.
Cartons of donated eggs are delivered by Alameda County Community Food Bank to the TSA office at the Oakland International Airport in Oakland, Calif. Oct. 16, 2025. (Bronte Wittpenn/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) –Food banks are seeing a surge of demand across the country as the government shutdown weathers its fourth week – and military families are among those turning to public pantries to put food on the table.
The Armed Services YMCA (ASYMCA), a nonprofit that provides support and assistance to military families, told ABC News that they’ve seen a 30%-75% jump in demand at its food banks near military bases since the shutdown began, as military personnel go without pay while the funding impasse wears on.
The ASYMCA in Killeen, Texas, near Fort Hood, told ABC News that they’ve seen a 60% spike in military families seeking food at their location.
Amy George, senior vice president of Military Family Services for the ASYMCA, told ABC News that the shutdown is hurting military families.
“When you see service members in their military uniform raising their hands and saying, ‘hey, I need a little extra support in the form of food,’ it is surprising and shocking,” George said. “We do want America to see this picture, to try to better understand that these are some of the challenges that military families are facing.”
The Pentagon diverted money in its budget to prevent military families from missing their paychecks earlier this month. But as their next payday approaches on Oct. 31, it’s unclear if they will get paid this time.
“I think we’re concerned, like everybody else, and very hopeful that it’ll end sooner than later,” George added of the shutdown.
The Senate on Thursday failed to advance a bill sponsored by Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., that would have provided appropriations to pay military personnel and “excepted employees” of federal agencies being affected by the shutdown.
One client of the ASYMCA food bank in Killeen told ABC News that she feels caught in the middle of a political battle, and that she would have to visit a second food bank later that day in order to feed her family.
“I feel like we’re in the crossfire,” she said. “Our families are struggling, and it’s causing way too much stress and a burden on our families.”
She urged lawmakers on Capitol Hill to end the shutdown: “Finish it, get together. Make a plan.”
Government food assistance programs across the country also could end on Nov. 1 if the government shutdown, now the second-longest in U.S. history, continues beyond that date. Many states are warning that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, which is administered by states but funded by the federal government via the U.S. Department of Agriculture, could halt benefits.
In a letter to state health officials obtained by ABC News during the second week of the shutdown, Ronald Ward, the acting head of SNAP, said the program on which millions of low-income Americans rely “has funding available for benefits and operations through the month of October.”
“If the current lapse in appropriations continues, there will be insufficient funds to pay full November SNAP benefits for approximately 42 million individuals across the nation,” Ward added.
Earlier this month, Feeding America, a nationwide network of food banks, also urged Congress to end the shutdown.
“Many people in America are a single missed paycheck away from needing support from their local food banks. A prolonged shutdown will deepen the strain, and more families will seek help at a time when food banks are already stretched due to sustained high need,” Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, CEO of Feeding America, said in a statement.
“We urge Congress to end the shutdown,” she added.
