Two Nevada state troopers died Thursday after they were struck by a vehicle while helping another driver, authorities said.

Las Vegas police, who will be investigating the collision, planned to hold a media briefing at their headquarters later Thursday.

According to police, the two Nevada Highway Patrol officers were "conducting a motorist assist" early this morning on the I-15 freeway when they were struck.

NEVADA MAN ALLEGEDLY DROVE 150 MPH BEFORE DEADLY CRASH THAT SPLIT CAR IN ARIZONA

The slain troopers' names have not been released. It is unclear whether the driver who struck the troopers has been arrested.

Gov. Joe Lombardo said he was "profoundly saddened" by the troopers' deaths.

"This is a devastating loss for Nevada law enforcement, the city of Las Vegas, and our entire state," Lombardo said in a statement. "As we mourn these troopers, we will never forget their bravery, courage, and sacrifice."

A stretch of Nevada's busiest highway and several on-ramps were shut down after the deaths.

The I-15 was where another state trooper was struck and killed in 2021 during the pursuit of a stolen vehicle. Trooper Micah May was hit by a vehicle while putting down spike strips to stop the suspect’s car.

A man on death row in Oklahoma was executed Thursday morning for the fatal shooting of two men in 2001 and made a single request for his final meal.

Phillip Dean Hancock, 59, requested only fried chicken — no sides — for his last meal, The Oklahoman reported, citing the Oklahoma Department of Corrections.

Hancock was declared dead at 11:29 a.m. after receiving a three-drug lethal injection at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary. His execution was delayed as Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt weighed whether to commute his sentence following a clemency recommendation from the state’s Pardon and Parole Board.

It was unclear why the governor’s decision to deny clemency was delayed until shortly after the execution was originally scheduled.

ALABAMA CLEARED TO BECOME FIRST STATE TO EXECUTE INMATE WITH NITROGEN GAS: COURT

Hancock had long claimed he shot and killed Robert Jett Jr., 37, and James Lynch, 58, in self-defense after the two men attacked him inside Jett’s home in south Oklahoma City. Hancock’s attorneys claimed at a clemency hearing this month Jett and Lynch were members of outlaw motorcycle gangs and that Jett lured Hancock, who was unarmed, to Jett’s home. 

A female witness said Jett ordered Hancock to get inside a large cage before swinging a metal bar at him. After Jett and Lynch attacked him, his attorneys said, Hancock managed to take Jett’s pistol from him and shoot them both.

"Please understand the awful situation I found myself in," Hancock told members of the Pardon and Parole Board via a video feed from the penitentiary. "I have no doubt they would have killed me. They forced me to fight for my life."

TEXAS CONVICT WHO KIDNAPPED GIRL FROM STORE, STRANGLED HER TO DEATH AND BURNED BODY EXECUTED

But attorneys for the state argued Hancock gave differing accounts of what exactly happened and that his testimony didn’t align with physical evidence.

Assistant Attorney General Joshua Lockett also cited a witness who testified that after Hancock shot Jett inside the house, he followed him into the backyard. The witness recalled that a wounded Jett said, "I’m going to die." Hancock responded, "Yes, you are," before shooting him again, Lockett said.

"Chasing someone down, telling them you are about to kill them and then doing it is not self-defense," Lockett said.

Hancock is the fourth Oklahoma inmate to be executed this year. The next execution scheduled in Oklahoma is for James Ryder Feb. 1. Ryder was sentenced to death for the 1999 killing of Daisy Hallum, 70, and to life without parole for killing her son, Sam Hallum, 38, in Pittsburg County.

A Tennessee teenager on Monday testified against his former teacher, Alissa McCommon, who is accused of raping him when he was only 12 years old.

The boy, now 15, previously told police that while spending the night at the suspect's residence in 2021, he awoke to McCommon, now 38, sexually assaulting him.

Haywood County General Sessions Judge Jennifer Scott determined by the end of the hearing, after listening to three witnesses testify against the former elementary school teacher, that there was probable cause to keep all the charges filed against her, including rape of a child, as well as coercion, harassing and stalking the victim.

Media members were not allowed in the courtroom while the victim testified, according to WMC.

FAMILY OF ALLEGEDLY PREGNANT TEACHER ARRESTED ON STUDENT SEX CHARGES IS EXPERIENCING ‘RIDICULE’: LAWYER

The other two witnesses reportedly included a Covington Police Department officer and a Walmart employee. McCommon is accused of purchasing a phone at Walmart after her initial arrest, to contact the victim. 

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHER ACCUSED OF RAPING STUDENT IMPLIES SHE'S PREGNANT WITH HIS CHILD: REPORT

"Certainly, we felt the evidence went beyond what was necessary, which is just to prove that it’s more likely than not that we had probable cause that she did in fact commit these crimes. That’s what the judge found today," District Attorney General Mark Davidson told WMC. "We’re pleased with that decision and to move forward to the grand jury."

She was initially arrested on September 8 and charged with rape of a child. McCommon was then released on $250,000 bond until she was rearrested on September 28 and charged with coercing, harassing and stalking the victim.

TEACHER ACCUSED OF RAPING 12-YEAR-OLD REARRESTED FOR TELLING VICTIM HE'LL ‘REGRET DOING THIS’

The case was bound over to a grand jury, according to Tipton County court records.

The former elementary school teacher previously suggested that she may be pregnant with the boy's child, in phone calls played aloud in court last month. 

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHER ACCUSED OF RAPING BOY SENT PICS AND TALKED SEX ONLINE: COPS

"I'm going to raise this baby. I can do this," McCommon can reportedly be heard saying in the recording, according to FOX 13 Memphis.

Covington police have said that McCommon contacted former students online and engaged in inappropriate communication with them.

Her lawyer, Jere Mason of Huffman Mason PLLC, was in court on Thursday and could not immediately be reached for comment. Mason previously told Fox News Digital, however, that McCommon is "a human and she has a family, too." 

"And there are victims, arguably, on both sides of this case, regardless of her guilt or innocence," Mason said last month. "She's got two minor children herself. They've had to pull them out of school, and they're experiencing some ridicule."

Police are asking anyone with concerns that their child may have been victimized by McCommon to contact the Covington Police Department CID at 901-475-1261 or the Tipton County Sheriff’s Office CID at 901-475-3300.

Two Nevada State Troopers were struck and killed by a vehicle in Las Vegas on Thursday morning while assisting a motorist on a freeway, Nevada State Police (NSP) announced. 

The deadly incident occurred on northbound I-15 near the Spaghetti Bowl interchange when the troopers were struck by the driver of another vehicle who fled the scene, according to local reports.

A suspect has been apprehended and taken into custody, according to 8NewsNow, citing multiple law enforcement sources.

LAS VEGAS TEENS WHO BEAT 17-YEAR-OLD STUDENT TO DEATH NEAR HIGH SCHOOL FACING MURDER CHARGES

NSP said an investigation is currently ongoing and being conducted by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD).

It is unclear if the troopers were on foot or in their vehicle at the time of the incident. The cause of the collision and what type of vehicle the suspect was driving are not known at the time of this report. 

LAS VEGAS SEX WORKER ACCUSED OF ROBBING, BEATING MAN IN STRIP HOTEL ROOM

Fox News Digital contacted the LVMPD, but a spokesperson was unable to provide any more details about the incident. 

The incident resulted in the closure of northbound I-15 near the Spaghetti Bowl.

Las Vegas Governor Joe Lombardo paid his respects to the fallen officers, writing in a statement posted on social media that he was "profoundly saddened."

"This is a devastating loss for Nevada law enforcement, the city of Las Vegas, and our entire state," the statement reads. "As we mourn these troopers, we will never forget their bravery, courage and sacrifice.

NSP announced news of the incident earlier on Thursday via a post on X.

"We are deeply saddened to report that two Nevada State Troopers conducting a motorist assist earlier this morning in Las Vegas were struck by a vehicle and have been confirmed deceased," NSP posted on X.

"Our prayers are with the families and loved ones of our fallen Troopers."

Further information will be provided as it becomes available, NSP said. 

Police in New Jersey have arrested a teenager for invasion of privacy after he was allegedly caught filming a store customer in a public bathroom. 

Evesham Township Police officers were dispatched to a Burlington department store on South Route 73 on November 26 for a report of suspicious activity.

"The caller/victim reported that while using the public bathroom he observed a cell phone being held under the stall, recording him," police said on Facebook.

The victim notified store employees and police after he left the restroom.

MYSTERIOUS TAR BALLS WASH UP ON NEW JERSEY BEACHES

David Reyes, 19, was arrested after police found him still in the bathroom, according to 6 ABC. 

Police noted on Facebook that probable cause determined that he was purposely recording the victim "using the bathroom, for his own sexual gratification."

Investigators believe that additional victims may be out there.

SLITHERING SURPRISE: BABY PYTHON DISCOVERED INSIDE NEW JERSEY DORM ROOM

"His cell phone was recovered. Based on a preliminary investigation, we believe there are more victims," Evesham Township Police Chief Walt Miller told FOX 29 Philadelphia. "We are doing a search warrant now, so that’s why I want to get the information out into the public." 

Reyes has been released from jail, pending his first appearance in Burlington County Superior Court, Evesham Township Police said. 

This investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information regarding the incident or who believes they have been victimized by Reyes is asked to contact the Evesham Police Department at 856-983-1116, confidential tip line is 856-983-4699 or email MahanD@eveshampd.org.

Alabama residents soon will begin receiving one-time tax rebates of up to $300.

The Alabama Department of Revenue will start issuing the payments on Friday by direct deposit or paper check, depending on how residents received their 2021 tax refund. Payments will be sent to some 1.9 million residents, al.com reported.

ALABAMA TO GIVE RESIDENTS $150 TAX REBATE CHECK STARTING NOV. 30

Rebates will cost the state about $393 million, which comes from a $2.8 billion surplus in the Education Trust Fund.

To qualify for the rebates — $150 for single filers or $300 for married couples filing jointly — taxpayers must have filed a 2021 individual income tax return on or before Oct. 17, 2022. There are no income limits or phase-outs for payments, however, there are some who will not receive a tax rebate, including:

1. Those who did not file a 2021 state Individual Income Tax return by Oct. 17, 2022;

2. Those who are not state residents;

3. Estate or trust accounts;

4. Those who claimed as a dependent during the 2021 tax year.

ALABAMA GOV. KAY IVEY PROPOSES ONE-TIME TAX REBATES, TEACHER PAY RAISES

Eligible residents who did not receive a 2021 tax year refund will receive a rebate by paper check mailed to the current address on file with the state revenue department. Paper checks will also be issued to those whose banking information has changed or who received a 2021 refund using a tax preparer’s account.

The payments are exempt from state taxes.

An explosion and subsequent fire leveled a home in a St. Paul, Minnesota, suburb early Thursday, killing at least one person, a fire official said.

EXPLOSION AT OHIO APARTMENT COMPLEX THAT INJURED 3 WAS LIKELY CAUSED BY GAS EXPLOSION

The explosion happened just after 6:15 a.m. in South St. Paul, said South Metro Fire Department Chief Mark Juelfs. Firefighters arrived within minutes and quickly extinguished the flames, Juelfs said. An initial search of the demolished home turned up one person dead inside the garage.

Authorities haven't yet identified the person and don't yet know if there were other people in the house, Juelfs said. "We can't confirm whether there are additional victims until we sort through a lot of the debris," he said.

OHIO HOUSE EXPLOSION LEAVES 1 DEAD, ANOTHER CRITICALLY INJURED, OFFICIALS SAY

Fire officials are working with local police and public works officials to determine the cause of the blast, Juelfs said.

South St. Paul is a city of about 21,000 about 8 miles south of St. Paul.

A wrong-way driver on the Maine Turnpike struck two vehicles, causing a head-on collision that killed three people, police said.

3 DEAD AFTER HIGH-SPEED CRASH IN RURAL MAINE

Maine police said they were still working to identify the occupants of the vehicles in the Wednesday night crash in Portland. They said the wrong-way vehicle was a sedan that was going southbound in the northbound lane at a high rate of speed.

An initial investigation indicates the wrong-way driver hit a pickup truck before striking a sports utility vehicle head-on, police said. The second crash caused both vehicles to catch fire and become fully engulfed, police said.

SMALL PLANE CRASHES IN MAINE AFTER ENGINE FAILS

Police said there was only one person in the SUV and they were deceased upon the arrival of emergency responders. They said both occupants of the wrong-way vehicle were also declared deceased on arrival. The driver of the pickup truck was not injured, police said.

Police said the crash was still under investigation on Thursday.

A Virginia man died on Tuesday after he was pulled headfirst into a woodchipper while trimming trees at a residential home, authorities said.

The accident happened around 11:30 a.m. outside a home in the 600 block of First Avenue in Saltville while a tree trimming crew was working, the Smyth County News and Messenger reported.

The man's identity was not immediately released and officials provided few details about the accident. 

Saltville Police Chief Erik Puckett told the newspaper that no one in the crew saw what had caused the man to get pulled into the heavy machinery, though he noted that it appeared to be an accident. 

18-YEAR-OLD TREE TRIMMER KILLED AFTER LOG ROLLS OFF TRAILER IN NORTHEAST INDIANA

"It’s an unfortunate incident and I hate that it happened," Puckett said.

 The Smyth County Sheriff's Office is assisting local police with the investigation.

FLORIDA MAN, 78, SHOOTS AND KILLS NEIGHBOR WHO WAS ‘TRIMMING TREE LIMBS' ALONG PROPERTY LINE: POLICE

Puckett said the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is expected to conduct its own investigation into the accident.

Saltville is a small town located in the mountains of southwest Virginia.

Officials have extradited so-called "cult mom" and convicted killer Lori Vallow from Idaho to Arizona to face one first-degree murder charge and one premeditated first-degree murder charge in Maricopa County.

Vallow, who was found guilty in May of murdering two of her children and her husband's first wife in Idaho in 2019, is also accused of killing her ex-husband, Charles Vallow, and attempting to kill her niece's former husband, Brandon Boudreaux, in 2019. 

The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office will be holding a press conference Thursday at 2 p.m. regarding Vallow's charges.

"MCSO deputies departed Maricopa County [on Nov. 27] by vehicle, traveling to Pocatello, Idaho to take custody of, and extradite, accused murderer, Lori Vallow. Deputies from the extradition detail, F.A.TE. and K-9 traveled by vehicle, as it was determined weather conditions could impede seamless transfer due to potential air travel complications," MCSO said in a Thursday morning statement.

LORI VALLOW INDICTED IN ARIZONA ON CONSPIRACY TO MURDER 4TH PERSON

On Wednesday, deputies returned to Maricopa County just after midnight, and Vallow was booked into the county jail. The extradition took a total of 18 hours. 

Officials driving the long way with Vallow "said she was very chatty" and "sociable," Penzone said during a Thursday afternoon press conference.

LORI VALLOW TRIAL: ‘CULT MOM’ SENTENCED IN MURDERS OF 2 OF HER CHILDREN, HUSBAND'S FIRST WIFE

Vallow will be isolated in a high-security area, Sheriff Paul Penzone said during a Thursday afternoon press conference. 

"She is as much of a morbid threat to others as any other dangerous criminal we've had in our custody," Penzone said.

An Arizona grand jury indicted Vallow after an Idaho jury on May 12 convicted Vallow of murdering 7-year-old J.J. Vallow and 17-year-old Tylee Ryan around September 2019, and conspiring to murder her husband Chad Daybell's first wife, Tammy Daybell, in October 2019. She was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

LORI VALLOW TRIAL: HEAR ‘CULT MOM’ AND HER SISTER SPEAK AFTER VALLOW'S CHILDREN FOUND DEAD

Authorities in Gilbert, Arizona, believe that Vallow also conspired with her brother, Alex Cox, to shoot her niece's ex-husband, Boudreaux, on Oct. 2, 2019, just weeks before Tammy died, as FOX 10 Phoenix first reported.

Months earlier, in July 2019, Cox allegedly shot Lori Vallow's ex-husband, Charles Vallow, to death in Chandler, claiming self-defense. Two months later, in September 2019, Tylee and J.J. disappeared. Cox died later that year of an apparent blood clot in December 2019.

HAWAII POLICE SERVE SUBPOENA TO BIKINI-CLAD LORI VALLOW RELAXING POOLSIDE: VIDEO

Years of chaos and mystery ensured as officials searched for J.J. and Tylee, Daybell and Vallow escaped to Hawaii, and then the pair spent years behind bars before Vallow's trial eventually began last spring.

In June 2020, investigators found J.J. and Tylee's bodies buried on Chad Daybell's Rexburg, Idaho, property. 

J.J. had been wrapped in plastic and died of asphyxiation by a plastic bag over his head. Tylee's manner of death remains unknown, as her body was dismembered, and remains were burned before she was buried, prosecutors revealed during the trial.

Maui officials were on standby Wednesday to prevent ash from August's deadly wildfire in Lahaina from flowing into storm drains after forecasters said a winter storm could bring heavy rain and strong winds to the island.

The National Weather Service said rain falling at a rate of more than 1 inch per hour could trigger localized flooding over burn scars in Lahaina and in Kula, a mountainous area where wildfires also spread three months ago.

Maui County said it placed 40 pallets of straw barriers around Lahaina and that 25 staff members were on standby.

HAWAII WILDFIRE BECOMES DEADLIEST US BLAZE IN MORE THAN A CENTURY AS DEATH TOLL REACHES 93, EXPECTED TO GROW

Earlier this week, county staff inspected and cleared culverts in flood-prone parts of Kula and South Maui.

The National Weather Service has issued a flood watch for the entire state through Thursday as a kona low, or subtropical cyclone, west of the island chain generated moist and humid conditions.

The weather service warned potentially heavy rainfall and thunderstorms could batter the island chain.

LOCALS IN HAWAII RETURN TO SITES OF HOMES WRECKED BY AUGUST’S LAHAINA WILDFIRE

Forecasters said up to 5 inches of snow could fall on the summits of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, two Big Island mountains that rise 13,000 feet above sea level. The peaks often get snow during the winter months.

The University of Massachusetts Boston quietly removed a requirement that prospective faculty formally commit to diversity, equity and inclusion when they apply for jobs.

The reversal was hailed as a First Amendment "victory" by a civil liberties nonprofit that lobbied the university to stop the "unconstitutional" requirement.

"Public institutions like the University of Massachusetts Boston are bound by the First Amendment to make hiring decisions in a viewpoint-neutral manner," Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression Program Officer Haley Gluhanich told Fox News.

HARVARD WAS RANKED LAST FOR FREE SPEECH. HERE’S WHAT THE STUDENTS ARE SAYING

"We’re glad the university eventually changed course," Gluhanich added. "But maybe next time, it doesn’t need to take five months of advocacy."

In June, FIRE learned UMass Boston was requiring some faculty applicants to submit statements reflecting their "experience and commitment" to DEI principles, according to a letter the organization sent to Chancellor Marcelo Suárez-Orozco. One of the job listings was for a computer science professor.

Such requirements are a "clear violation of both prospective faculty’s academic freedom and the university’s obligation to uphold the First Amendment," Gluhanich told Fox News in an emailed statement.

GROUPS FEAR FACULTY THAT DEFENDED HAMAS COULD SET CALIFORNIA STANDARDS: 'INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF ANTISEMITISM’

"UMass Boston tried dodging the issue for several months," she added, but FIRE "recently discovered that the DEI requirements had finally been removed from the job listings we flagged and that newly posted job listings contained no similar requirements."

A university spokesperson told Fox News "UMass Boston is fully committed to following the best practices guiding recruiting and hiring of faculty."

"We will continue to comply with all applicable employment laws pertaining to the hiring of our faculty and will continue to support our faculty’s Constitutional rights while we embrace our diverse community at UMass Boston," the emailed statement continued.

Fox News checked numerous current job postings and found no DEI statement requirements. But several job descriptions still included boilerplate language stating that the university seeks a colleague who will, among other things, "support our goal of ensuring an inclusive, equitable, and diverse workplace."

Written statements in which a job candidate describes their accomplishments and goals for advancing diversity and equity have become a common requirement for faculty applicants across the country in recent years.

A 2021 American Enterprise Institute survey of 999 academic job postings found that 19% required a diversity statement. That spiked to 28% among elite schools.

SCHOOL DISTRICT SUSPENDS STUDENT FOR POSTING MEMES OF PRINCIPAL, SENDS ‘DANGEROUS LESSON TO KIDS,’ LAWYERS SAY

Critics of DEI requirements say they serve as an ideological litmus test that helps universities push left-wing ideology.

"Evaluators will all but inevitably abuse discretion to punish views at odds with popular sentiment," FIRE wrote in its original letter to Suárez-Orozco.

The nonprofit warned that the DEI requirement could lead to the university becoming an "echo chamber."

"We trust UMass Boston would readily recognize the problem with requiring faculty applicants to demonstrate a commitment to ‘patriotism,’" FIRE added as an analogy.

FIRE is a nonpartisan group that spent more than 20 years advocating for free expression on college campuses before widening its scope to include fighting for free speech across America.

Other colleges have recently moved to ban DEI statements and politically preferential hiring. The University of North Carolina voted in February to ban DEI statements from admission, hiring, promotion and tenure.

Last year, University of Washington faculty voted down a proposal that would have required tenure and promotion candidates to "reflect on past and planned contributions to diversity, equity, and inclusion."

It wasn't police violence — it was a homeless California woman, authorities say.

Michael Latt, a 33-year-old Hollywood consultant and activist known for promoting social justice causes, died Monday after 36-year-old Jameelah Elena Michl allegedly broke into his home and allegedly shot him in the head, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

Michl was allegedly stalking another woman and targeted Latt because he was her friend, Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon's office revealed Thursday. 

She allegedly knocked on the door, forced her way through when the occupants answered, and gunned down Latt with a semiautomatic handgun in his $800,000 one-bedroom apartment in the Mid-Wilshire neighborhood around 6 p.m. Monday.

MURDERED LOS ANGELES SHERIFF'S DEPUTY'S FAMILY SLAPS COUNTY WITH $20M WRONGFUL DEATH LAWSUIT

Paramedics rushed Latt to a nearby hospital, but he died from his injuries, police said. They arrested Michl at the scene and also impounded her car.

"The violence that has taken place is not only an affront to the values we hold dear but also a stark reminder of the need to address the broader issues that contribute to such heartbreaking incidents," Gascon said in a statement.

Latt was the chief executive and chief financial officer of a marketing firm he founded called Lead With Love, where his stated goal was to "dedicate his career to being of service, supporting influential women and artists of color and utilizing storytelling, art and more to spark lasting change and bring hope, love and inspiration to communities."

LA INTERNAL AFFAIRS WATCHDOG ACCUSES LEFTIST BOSS OF HIDING FACTS TO THWART SHERIFF'S RE-ELECTION

Latt worked on films including "Fruitvale Station," about the Oakland, California, police-involved shooting that killed Oscar Grant in 2009, and "Till," a biographical film about the mother of lynching victim Emmett Till, according to Lead With Love.

Latt, on his Instagram, has written about attending Black Lives Matter protests alongside Common over the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. He has also posted in support of Democratic political candidates, including Democratic Georgia Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock.

"Not enough change has happened since the 2020 Uprising," he wrote in June 2022. "We’ll continue to fight and stand up against police violence and White supremacy until true justice is real in this country."

Latt's mother, Sundance Institute executive Michelle Satter, wrote on X that her son "fell victim to a tragic act of violence."

Latt's website shows him pictured alongside public figures including the rapper and actor Common, Georgia progressive Stacey Abrams and U.S. Reps. Ilhan Omar, D-Minnesota, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.

Latt comes from a well-connected Hollywood family. Satter is a founding director at the Sundance Institute; Latt's father, David Latt, is a movie producer; and Latt's brother is the head of talent at CAA, according to Deadline.

Michl was being held for $3 million bail on charges of murder, burglary and unlawful use of a firearm. She is due in court for an arraignment on Dec. 15. She faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted.

Neighbor Avarie Shevin told the local news station KTLA that Latt shared the apartment with his fiancée and their two pets, a cat and a dog.

"I can’t wrap my brain around what could’ve happened that caused him to be shot and killed," she told the station. "I keep picturing his face, and I cannot believe he has passed."

Latt's fiancée, Hannah Lovingood, posted to her own Instagram about the ordeal.

"My entire life has changed in a blink of an eye," she wrote. "My love has been taken from me so tragically. My best friend, confidant, fiancé. My love."

Hackers are targeting industrial control systems widely used by water and sewage-treatment utilities, potentially threatening water supplies, the top U.S. cyberdefense agency said after a Pennsylvania water authority was hacked.

The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency issued the warning Tuesday evening, three days after hacktivists shut down a piece of equipment at the Municipal Water Authority of Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, just outside Pittsburgh. The hack effectively idled pumping equipment in a remote station that regulates water pressure for customers in two nearby towns. Crews switched to manual backup, officials said.

LARGE PENNSYLVANIA HEALTH CARE COMPANY HIT BY MALWARE ATTACK

The attackers likely accessed the device by exploiting cybersecurity weaknesses, including poor password security and exposure to the internet, U.S. officials said. The Aliquippa water authority did not respond to messages Wednesday.

The equipment identified as vulnerable is used across multiple industries, including electric utilities and oil and gas producers. It regulates processes including pressure, temperature and fluid flow, according to the manufacturer.

While there is no known risk to the Pennsylvania towns’ drinking water or water supply, the cyberdefense agency urged water and wastewater utilities across the United States to take steps to protect their facilities.

MULTISTATE CYBERATTACK DISRUPTS HOSPITAL SERVICES

The equipment at issue is made by Israel-based Unitronics, which did not immediately respond to queries about what other facilities may have been hacked or could be vulnerable. According to Unitronics’ website, the controllers at issue are built for a wide spectrum of industries.

The Biden administration has been trying to shore up cybersecurity in U.S. critical infrastructure — more than 80% of which is privately owned — and has imposed regulations on sectors including electric utilities, gas pipelines and nuclear facilities.

But many experts complain that too many vital industries are permitted to self-regulate and administration officials want software providers to also assume a higher burden for safety.

Pennsylvania is trying anew to help voters using mail-in ballots in the battleground state avoid mistakes that might get their ballot thrown out in 2024's presidential election and beyond.

In a new directive Wednesday, Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro's administration asked counties to start using a standard set of instructions to explain how to complete mail-in ballots, among other steps.

DEMS SEEK NATIONWIDE MAIL-IN VOTING FOR ALL FEDERAL ELECTIONS TO BOOST TURNOUT: ‘OREGON-STYLE’ VOTING

Shapiro's top election official, Secretary of State Al Schmidt, said some counties already use these methods.

The effort comes amid a partisan stalemate in Pennsylvania’s Legislature and court battles over provisions in the state’s four-year-old mail-in voting law that have led counties to throw out tens of thousands of mail-in ballots cast by legal voters.

Voters completing a mail-in ballot must put their completed ballot into an inner secrecy envelope, insert that into an outer return envelope, and write their name, date and signature on the back of the outer envelope.

Among other things, the state wants counties to start using yellow secrecy envelopes and return envelopes with purple markings to help the postal service identify them.

In the 2023 primary, counties rejected about 17,000 mail ballots, or almost 3% of all mail ballots cast, the Department of State said. Almost half of the rejected ballots arrived after Election Day, while about 20% were thrown out for lacking a date and 15% for lacking a secrecy envelope. Smaller numbers were thrown out for incorrect dates (8%) or lack of a signature (5%), the department said.

NEW REPORT FINDS STRING OF BALLOT MISHAPS CONFIRMS FEARS OF LARGE-SCALE MAIL-IN VOTING

Most mail-in ballots are cast by Democrats, and Pennsylvania is again expected to be a closely fought battleground in next year's presidential election. Democrat Joe Biden beat Republican Donald Trump by slightly over 80,000 votes in 2020.

A federal judge ruled last week that rejecting Pennsylvania mail-in ballots for having inaccurate handwritten dates on their outer envelopes violates federal civil rights laws and that those ballots must still be counted.

The GOP has repeatedly fought in court to get such ballots thrown out, part of a campaign to invalidate mail-in ballots and mail-in voting in Pennsylvania after Trump baselessly claimed in 2020 that mail balloting was rife with fraud.

Democratic lawmakers have sought, without success to relax provisions of the law that have resulted in ballots getting thrown out.

Most people in Mississippi's county jails have been locked up at least three months while waiting to go on trial. Some have longer wait times because two-thirds of the counties only convene grand juries two or three times a year, according to a survey released Thursday by a group that tracks justice issues.

Mississippi does not require consistency among the 82 counties about how often grand juries meet to consider indictments — the formal charging documents to send a case to trial.

TRIAL COMMENCES FOR 2 WHITE MEN ACCUSED OF CHASING, SHOOTING AT MISSISSIPPI BLACK FEDEX DRIVER

"If you get arrested in one of these counties where grand juries seldom meet, you can wind up in jail for months or even years just waiting to be indicted, and you will spend more time behind bars simply because of geographic misfortune," said Cliff Johnson, an attorney who is director of the Roderick and Solange MacArthur Justice Center at the University of Mississippi School of Law.

Starting during the summer, law students and staff at the center spent several weeks issuing more than 100 public records requests and calling the offices of district attorneys and court clerks to gather information about the frequency of grand jury sessions.

In releasing the survey results, Johnson said Mississippi should join most other states in limiting how long prosecutors can delay seeking indictments. Mississippi, Alabama, Massachusetts, Oklahoma, and Virginia are the only states with no time limit on how long a person can be jailed without being indicted, he said.

Johnson estimated the cost for a Mississippi county to convene a grand jury at less than $5,000.

The survey found nearly 5,400 people were in Mississippi's county jails — although Johnson said the number could be higher because jail population is notoriously difficult to track. The survey also found 2,683 pretrial detainees had been jailed longer than 90 days, more than 1,100 had been jailed at least nine months, and 747 had been jailed more than a year.

Johnson said the incarceration numbers are based on the most recent information that counties provided. Rules of criminal procedure only require sheriffs to say how many people have been detained at least 90 days, though some sheriffs release complete numbers of how many people are jailed, he said.

Some people are in Mississippi jails to serve short-term misdemeanor sentences. Some are there after a civil commitment for mental health issues or substance use. Those awaiting indictment are there because a judge would not set bond, or the person could not afford to post the bond that was set.

"So this is the big challenge — thousands of Mississippians are in our county jails, but it's very difficult to know who is there, why, whether they have been indicted, whether they have a lawyer, or when they are supposed to get out," Johnson said. "It's a black hole."

MISSISSIPPI WOMAN SENTENCED TO LIFE FOR ROLE IN BEATING MAN TO DEATH, POSSIBLY OVER VETERAN BENEFITS: REPORT

Five counties reported that grand juries meet monthly, but those results come with asterisks. DeSoto and Jackson counties "usually" meet that often, while Rankin County reported its grand jury meets "nearly every month." Forrest and Stone are the other counties that reported monthly meetings.

The state's largest county, Hinds, has two judicial districts. A grand jury meets six times a year in the Jackson-based district and three times a year in the Raymond-based district.

Another large county, Harrison, said a grand jury meets three times a year in each of its two judicial districts in Biloxi and Gulfport.

Two counties in the Delta — Leflore and Sunflower — reported that grand juries meet "as needed." Leflore, Sunflower and Washington counties are in the same circuit court district and have the same district attorney.

A lawsuit filed Wednesday in federal court alleges negligence by CSX Transportation caused a train derailment and ensuing chemical fire that forced residents of a small Kentucky town out of their homes for more than a day, including most of Thanksgiving.

The train derailed on Nov. 22 around 2:30 p.m. that Wednesday near the remote town of Livingston. Residents were advised to evacuate just a day before the Thanksgiving holiday and were only cleared to return to their homes that Thursday after the fire was put out.

MORE DETAILS EMERGE IN RURAL KENTUCKY TRAIN DERAILMENT, CHEMICAL SPILL

An investigation by the railroad company found that the derailment occurred after a wheel bearing on a train car failed.

Morgan & Morgan filed the lawsuit seeking class-action status on behalf of the town’s affected residents, saying the derailment could have been prevented if CSX had monitored the train’s wheel bearings more closely and had placed trackside detectors that sound an alarm when wheel bearings overheat closer together.

KENTUCKY TRAIN DERAILMENT CAUSED BY FAILED WHEEL BEARING, COMPANY SAYS

"Because of CSX’s alleged recklessness and negligence in monitoring the train’s wheel bearings, they’ve created a potentially deadly environment for all residents living in the surrounding area of Rockcastle County," Morgan & Morgan attorney Jean Martin said.

CSX said in a statement that it is reviewing the lawsuit's allegations and that it continues to support affected residents.

"We pride ourselves on being a safe railroad and in the rare occurrence of an incident like the one in Livingston, KY we respond quickly, prioritizing safety and supporting recovery of the community," the statement said.

Two of the 16 cars that derailed carried molten sulfur, which caught fire after the cars were breached. No other hazardous materials were released. The Federal Railroad Administration said an investigation is ongoing.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency website, sulfur dioxide can cause respiratory problems, depending on the concentration and length of exposure.

A spokesman for the railroad said Monday that crews were able to repair the tracks and trains resumed running through the area on Sunday. All 16 railcars involved in the derailment have been taken from the site, and crews removed the spilled chemical and 2,500 tons of impacted soil and replaced it with clean material, CSX said.

A CSX spokesman, Bryan Tucker, said no sulfur dioxide had been detected in the area since the fire was extinguished.

Tucker said the bearing that failed didn’t get hot enough to trigger an alarm from the last one of the railroad’s trackside detectors that the train passed, so the crew didn’t get any warning before the derailment. A wheel bearing has to be at least 170 degrees hotter than the ambient temperature to trigger an alarm.

The train traveled about 21 miles after the last detector and was two miles away from the next one along the tracks. Across all of CSX’s networks in the eastern United States, those detectors are an average of 14.9 miles apart, but on less-traveled tracks that don’t include passenger traffic the detectors can be farther apart. Tucker said that was the case here.

KENTUCKY CREWS WORK TO CLEAR AFTERMATH OF CHEMICAL TRAIN DERAILMENT THAT FORCED RESIDENTS TO EVACUATE

Those trackside detectors that railroads rely on to help spot defects before they can cause derailments received a lot of attention earlier this year after an overheating wheel bearing caused a fiery derailment on a different railroad in eastern Ohio in February. In that Norfolk Southern derailment, the crew did get a warning but it didn’t come soon enough for them to be able to stop the train before it derailed in East Palestine.

That derailment and several others since then have put the spotlight on railroad safety nationwide, but the reforms proposed afterward have largely stalled in Congress, and regulators have also made little progress.

The Kentucky lawsuit named two plaintiffs but seeks class-action status for all residents affected and asked the court for medical monitoring, injunctive and declaratory relief, punitive damages, damages related to emotional distress, loss of property value, and increased risks of future illness.

A California dad whose 16-year-old daughter grossed $40,000 selling nude photos online faces sex trafficking charges for sharing in the profits and permitting her illegal dealings, police said. 

Scott Davis, 46, was taken into custody on November 15 after El Dorado County Sheriff's detectives carried out a search warrant at his residence, the agency wrote in a Tuesday press release. 

The department's Sex Crimes Detectives and High Tech Sex Crimes Unit began investigating the teen's online dealings in August, the agency said. 

BORDER PATROL IN TEXAS ARRESTS 21 SEX OFFENDERS IN LESS THAN TWO MONTHS

The girl reportedly "had a very well known online presence on a variety of social media platforms" – and an investigation revealed that she grossed approximately $40,000 selling nude photos of herself, police said.

CALIFORNIA MAN ALLEGEDLY ASSAULTED BY PRO-CHINA SUPPORTERS URGES POLICE TO TAKE ACTION

Her father knew about her illegal activity, detectives learned, and he had been complicit in obtaining some of her profits. 

Davis faces a variety of felony charges, according to sheriff's department records: two counts of aggravated child abuse, one count of human trafficking of a minor, one count of procuring a minor for a sex act, one count of pimping for a prostitute over 16 and one count of intimidation in using a minor for obscene matter. 

'TERRIFYING ENCOUNTER' WITH MACHETE-WIELDING HOMELESS MAN PUSHED WOMAN TO FLEE CALIFORNIA FOR FLORIDA

Fox News Digital could not reach the El Dorado County Sheriff's Department for further details on the case. Their investigation is still ongoing, with detectives urging anyone with knowledge of the case to come forward.

It is unclear when Davis will appear in court or whether he has retained an attorney. He is being held on $4 million bail, according to sheriff's records.

The organizers of the Burning Man festival narrowly passed their environmental inspection after mass torrential rains closed roads, jammed traffic and forced many to walk miles barefoot through muck, leaving trails of debris in the remote Nevada desert, according to a Wednesday report from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.

Burning Man organizers had just over a month to clean up any remnants of the makeshift city built across over 4 square miles of the Black Rock Desert in northwestern Nevada as part of their agreement to use federal land for the festival. Each year, nearly 80,000 artists, musicians and activists gather for a week of camping, partying and performances.

An unusual summer storm left tens of thousands stranded in ankle-deep mud before fleeing, calling into question how much of the festival’s "Leave No Trace" principle could be followed. Each year, attendees vow to pack up everything they brought to the makeshift city, leaving the sprawling stretch of federal land as it was before they arrived.

BURNING MAN FESTIVAL ATTENDEE TREKS THROUGH ANKLE-DEEP MUD TO ESCAPE: 'OUR ONLY OPTION TO GET OUT'

The festival passed 109 of the 120 randomly generated inspection points, along with five of six "points of interest" designated by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, according to the report. Had they failed one more point, they would not have passed the inspection.

A passing grade hinged on inspectors finding less than one square foot of debris per acre.

This year’s clean-up was "significantly more challenging" due to rain from the event, which buried debris, hardened mud and made cleanup much more difficult for the volunteers, according to the report.

The area became dotted with abandoned vehicles, furniture, tents and trash. Most years, the dry desert floor is harder and easier to navigate.

Still, a narrow passing grade is nothing new.

Burning Man organizers passed the Oct. 7 inspection — "but it was extraordinarily and alarmingly close," the restoration team’s manager wrote, adding that last year's was one of the "messiest playas in recent history."

BURNING MAN ATTENDEE'S CAUSE OF DEATH CONFIRMED: REPORT

That year, the organizers passed 112 of the 120 inspection points — meaning they were four foiled inspection points away from failing.

Despite another close call this year, organizers hailed cleanup crews and volunteers that stayed after the festival.

"The best of the Burning Man community shined through at this year’s event," said Burning Man Project CEO Marian Goodell in a press release. "Participants rose to the challenge and came together with innovative solutions to problems and incredible expressions of generosity."

The suspect charged in the shooting of three Palestinian college students in Vermont last weekend had been accused of harassing an ex-girlfriend in New York state several years earlier, though no charges were filed, according to a report.

Jason J. Eaton’s ex-girlfriend in Dewitt, New York, a town near Syracuse, claimed in 2019 that she had received a series of texts, emails and phone calls that were sexual in nature from Eaton, according to a police report obtained by the Associated Press. 

She told police that the messages were not threatening and didn’t want to press charges, though she wanted officers to tell him to stop, the report said. She also said that Eaton had driven his pickup truck past her home twice that evening, once while she was speaking with an officer.

When police pulled over Eaton’s vehicle, Eaton told them that he was under the impression that the woman still wanted to see him, according to the report. An officer told Eaton that the woman wanted absolutely no contact with him, and he said he understood, according to police.

MOTHER OF VERMONT SHOOTING VICTIM SAYS SON ‘MAY HAVE TO BE IN A WHEELCHAIR’

The latest details about Eaton, 48, come as he is being held without bail after pleading not guilty to three counts of attempted second-degree murder in Burlington, Vermont.

Three college students – Hisham Awartani of Brown University, Kinnan Abdalhamid of Haverford College and Tahseen Ahmed of Trinity College – were shot and injured at about 6:30 p.m. Saturday while attending a Thanksgiving holiday gathering at the home of Abdalhamid’s uncle.

Abdalhamid has since been released from the hospital. Awartani suffered a spinal injury and was undergoing surgery Wednesday. Ali Ahmad's condition was unclear.

AG GARLAND PROBING POSSIBLE HATE CRIME AFTER SHOOTING OF 3 PALESTINIAN MEN IN VERMONT

The students, all in their 20s, were conversing in a mix of English and Arabic, and two of them were also wearing black-and-white keffiyeh scarves when they were shot, police said.

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland on Monday morning said that federal authorities are investigating whether the shooting constitutes a hate crime.The shooting comes as threats against Jewish, Muslim and Arab communities have increased across the U.S. since the Israel-Hamas war began in October.

Eaton’s name appeared in 37 Syracuse police reports from 2007 until 2021, but never as a suspect, said police spokespman Lt. Matthew Malinowski. The cases ranged from domestic violence to larceny, and Eaton was listed as either a victim or the person filing the complaint in 21 of the reports, Malinowski said.

Eaton had recently lost his job. He had worked for less than a year for California-based CUSO Financial and his employment ended on Nov. 8, company spokesman Jeff Eller told the AP.

He legally purchased the gun used in the shooting, police said. On Sunday, Eaton came to the door of his apartment holding his hands up, and told the officers that he had been waiting for them. Federal agents found the gun in his apartment later that day.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.