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Newly unsealed court filings allege that Meta knew for years about significant risks facing young users on its platforms, including widespread contact between minors and adults, exacerbation of mental-health issues, and the easy spread of self-harm and eating-disorder content. Plaintiffs in a sweeping national lawsuit say the company did not disclose those dangers to families or Congress, even as teen usage continued to fuel Meta’s growth.

First reported by Time Magazine, allegations also detailed a high threshold for sex trafficking violations; court documents citing testimony from Instagram’s former head of safety and well-being, Viashnavi Jayakumar, who described “you could incur 16 violations for prostitution and sexual solicitation, and upon the 17th violation, your account would be suspended. By any measure across the industry, [it was] a very, very high strike threshold.”

The allegations come from a partially unsealed opposition brief filed in the Northern District of California, part of a case which spans thousands of families, school districts and state attorneys general targeting Meta, Google, TikTok and Snapchat.

The master complaint alleges the companies “relentlessly pursued a strategy of growth at all costs, recklessly ignoring the impact of their products on children’s mental and physical health.” The brief specifically alleges Meta failed to disclose these harms to the public or to Congress, and refused to implement safety fixes that could have protected young users.

The plaintiffs’ brief includes testimony from a variety of Meta staff describing an “ongoing trend of not prioritizing safety” and that the company “maintained their focus on growth” even though “[t]hey knew the negative externalities of their products were being pushed onto teens.”

Brian Boland, Meta’s former vice president of partnerships who resigned in 2020, is allegedly quoted in the brief, detailing that user safety is “not something that they spend a lot of time on. It’s not something they think about. And I really think they don’t care.”

In addition to documenting safety concerns, the filing alleges that Meta executives failed to warn Congress about these risks and misrepresented the company’s internal findings. Plaintiffs say Meta continued to design features they argue were addictive to young users, prioritizing growth, engagement, and advertising revenue over safety interventions.

A Meta spokesperson told Scripps News the allegations “rely on cherry-picked quotes and misinformed opinions in an attempt to present a deliberately misleading picture.” The company said the full record will show that Meta has “for over a decade … listened to parents, researched issues that matter most, and made real changes to protect teens,” including introducing Teen Accounts with built-in protections and expanding parental controls.

RELATED STORY | Meta prevails in historic FTC antitrust case, won’t have to break off WhatsApp, Instagram

While there’s a heavy focus on Meta, the litigation makes similar allegations against Google, YouTube’s parent company, TikTok, and Snapchat, though parts of the brief are still redacted.

The brief alleges Snapchat intentionally didn’t warn parents about known dangers that exist on the platform, instead expanding “proactive reputation management” to focus on “‘PR and communications for parental perception’ over mental health research and interventions.

It also claims that while Youtube publicly supported “age-appropriate experiences for young people,” “behind closed doors, it undermined those features by ramping up efforts to increase youth consumptions.”

In a statement to Scripps News, a Snapchat spokesperson wrote in part that the allegations “fundamentally misrepresent our platform. Snapchat was designed differently from traditional social media — it opens to the camera, not a feed, and has no public likes or social comparison metrics. The safety and well-being of our community is a top priority. Our goal has always been to encourage self-expression and authentic connections.”

The company recently released an update to the Family Safety Hub, and introduced an interactive course to educate teens and families about how to protect themselves about online risks.

Google and TikTok have not yet responded to Scripps News’ request for comment, but Google told Politico the lawsuits “fundamentally misunderstand” how YouTube works and called the allegations “simply not true,” pointing to safety tools built in consultation with experts.

A plan to end Russia’s war with Ukraine is progressing, according to American and Ukrainian officials, who also acknowledged more work still to do.

On Monday, President Trump teased the potential for peace, posting on Truth Social, “Don’t believe it until you see it, but something good just may be happening.”

It comes after Secretary of State Marco Rubio and top officials, including Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner and Sec of the Army Dan Driscoll, met with a Ukrainian delegation over the weekend in Geneva, Switzerland.

On Sunday, Rubio said the day of discussions was probably the “best meeting and day we’ve had so far in this entire process going back to when we first came into office in January,” but he noted there was still work to do.

“Some of it is semantics or language; others require higher-level decisions and consultation; others, I think, just need more time to work through,” Rubio said.

Optimism about the deal was high on Monday at the White House, even as details remained unclear about an updated peace framework.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said she wouldn’t detail the “technical talks that are happening right now” but said the U.S. is confident in its plan, and maintained the initial 28 point peace plan was authored with input from both sides.

“Ultimately, the vast majority of these points have been agreed upon. The Ukrainians have worked on language with us together, and you heard that from their delegation directly yesterday. So we feel as though we’re in a very good place. Of course, we have to make sure that all of these points are agreed to, and then, of course, we’re going to have to make sure the other party in this war, the Russians, agree to them as well,” Leavitt said.

RELATED STORY | Senators say Trump’s Ukraine peace plan risks ceding territory to Russia

That initial 28-point White House-backed plan revealed last week was criticized by U.S. lawmakers on both sides of the aisle and some European leaders who suggested it favored Russia.

“I think the original plan, which we all believe now is sort of gone by was demonstratively a pro Russian approach to ending the war,” said retired Gen. Philip Breedlove, the former NATO supreme allied commander, who also noted he believes it has progressed beyond that now.

“I think what we’re finding now is that in conversations, folks are beginning to address Ukrainian concerns and now, you know, we’re going to have to see where the Russians wind up on the things that are being changed or proposed for change. Because, you know, the Russians will not accept much,” Breedlove added.

Monday there appeared to be more allied support coalescing around a revised plan, which Rubio had called a “living breathing document” over the weekend.

“While work remains to be done, there is now a solid basis for moving forward,” said President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen. “As we do, we must remain united and keep placing Ukraine’s best interests at the center of our efforts.”

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed a modified plan and said in a statement “many of the right elements have been taken into account in this framework,” but gave no concrete details.

“Right now, we are at a critical moment. And we are working closely with the United States, with European partners, with many, many others to define steps that can end Russia’s war against us, against Ukraine, and bring real security. And there is a lot of noise in the media, a lot of political pressure, and even greater responsibility for the decisions ahead. Putin wants legal recognition for what he has stolen – to break the principle of territorial integrity and sovereignty – and that’s the main problem,” Zelenskyy had said earlier.

But without details, there remain unknowns, including how realistic the proposal is.

“Basically we had a horrifically bad proposal from the US which has now morphed and we don’t know what the morphed version looks like, there are no details, so it’s tough to say” said Amb. Kurt Volker, a former U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations and current senior fellow with the Center for European Policy Analysis.

“Trump has not said anything about the specifics of this he has only gone so far as to say okay it’s negotiable we are flexible this is not the final deal,” Volker said, also noting that Putin hadn’t said he would abide by the initial proposal either.

U.S. officials said Russia will need to agree to any plan as well.

Putin’s foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov said that a version of the plan that Russia received before this weekend’s talks was mostly acceptable but said a modified European plan is “completely non-constructive and doesn’t suit us.”

The White House is circulating a proposal that would extend subsidies to help consumers pay for coverage under the Affordable Care Act for two more years, as millions of Americans face spiking health care costs when the current tax credits are set to expire at the end of the year.

The draft plan suggests that President Donald Trump is open to extending a provision of Obamacare as his administration and congressional Republicans search for a broader policy solution to a fight that has long flummoxed the party. The White House stresses that no plan is final until Trump announces it.

The subsidies were at the heart of the Democrats’ demands in the government shutdown fight that ended earlier this month. Most Democratic lawmakers had insisted on a straight extension of the tax credits, which expire at the end of the year as a condition of keeping the government open.

Eligibility for the Obamacare subsidies, which were put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic to help people afford health care coverage, would be capped at 700% of the federal poverty level, according to two people with knowledge of the proposal. The people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss a White House proposal that is in draft form.

The baseline tax credits that were originally part of the Affordable Care Act were capped at 400% of the federal poverty level, but that cut-off was suspended because of the temporary COVID-era credits that allowed middle- and higher-income people to benefit from subsidies too.

The White House would also require those on Obamacare, regardless of the type of coverage, to pay some sort of premium for their Obamacare plans. That would effectively end zero-premium plans for those with lower incomes, addressing a concern from Republicans that the program has enabled fraud. One option is a requirement that everyone pay 2% of their income, or at least $5 per month, for lower-tier plans.

Even as the White House’s proposal remains in flux, the notion of extending any part of President Barack Obama’s signature legislative achievement is likely to rankle conservatives who have sought to repeal and replace the law for well over a decade.

“Until President Trump makes an announcement himself, any reporting about the administration’s health care positions is mere speculation,” White House spokesman Kush Desai said Monday.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Monday afternoon that Trump “is very much involved in these talks” and that he is “focused on unveiling a health care proposal that will fix the system and will bring down costs for consumers.”

RELATED STORY | Health care affordability fight takes shape on Capitol Hill

But there are signs that parts of the nascent White House plan could get buy-in from Democrats. New Hampshire Sen. Maggie Hassan, one of eight members of the Senate Democratic caucus who voted to reopen the government earlier this month, said it “represents a starting point for serious negotiations.”

“The fact that President Trump is putting forward any offer at all to extend the Affordable Care Act’s tax credits shows that there is a broad understanding that inaction in this regard will cause serious harm to the American people,” Hassan said.

Fellow New Hampshire Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, who led bipartisan efforts to end the government shutdown, added that “I’m glad the president is reportedly considering a serious proposal.”

“I’ve had constructive conversations with many of my Republican colleagues who I believe want to get this done,” Shaheen said. “They understand that the vast majority of people who benefit from these tax credits live in states the President won, and that the President’s own pollsters have underscored the enormous political urgency of Republicans acting.”

In 2017, Trump fell short in a push to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, an embarrassing defeat for Republicans who had just seized control of all levers of power in Washington. The GOP has failed to coalesce around a unified health care proposal since, and the expiration of the pandemic-era subsidies gives Trump and his party an opportunity to put their own stamp on the issue.

As the White House worked quietly on its plan, led by the Domestic Policy Council, key lawmakers on Capitol Hill have drafted their own proposals. For instance, Florida Sen. Rick Scott, Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy and others have proposed various ideas for redirecting the program’s spending on federal subsidies into health savings accounts that enrollees could use to shop for plans or defray out-of-pocket costs. Scott’s plan has been discussed with the White House multiple times since it was released Thursday, according to a person familiar not authorized to discuss the private conversations.

The draft of the White House plan would allow those in lower-tier plans, such as the bronze-level or catastrophic plans, to put money into health savings accounts.

It would also codify the “program integrity rule” to further help root out fraud, waste and abuse.

Americans shopping for Obamacare coverage have already faced the sticker shock of price hikes, because the window for selecting next year’s coverage began Nov. 1. Without congressional action, the average subsidized enrollee will face more than double their current cost in premiums next year, according to an analysis by the health care research nonprofit KFF.

Recent national polls have shown Americans are concerned about health care costs, along with broader affordability issues. Those concerns played out in elections earlier this month, which swept to power Democrats whose political messaging focused on the rising cost of living.

Fifty of the 303 schoolchildren abducted from a Catholic school in north-central Nigeria’s Niger state have escaped captivity and are now with their families, the school authority said Sunday, bringing relief to some distraught families after one of the largest school abductions in Nigeria’s history.

The schoolchildren, aged between 10 and 18, escaped individually between Friday and Saturday, according to the Most Rev. Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria in Niger state and the proprietor of the school. A total of 253 schoolchildren and 12 teachers are still held by the kidnappers, he said in a statement.

“We were able to ascertain this when we decided to contact and visit some parents,” Yohanna said.

The pupils and students were seized together with their teachers by gunmen who attacked the St. Mary’s School, a Catholic institution in Niger state’s remote Papiri community, on Friday. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the abductions and authorities have said tactical squads have been deployed alongside local hunters to rescue the children.

It was not immediately clear where the Niger state children were being held or how they managed to return home. Nigeria’s military and police did not immediately respond to an Associated Press inquiry.

“As much as we receive the return of these 50 children that escaped with some sigh of relief, I urge you all to continue in your prayers for the rescue and safe return of the remaining victims,” the Yohanna said.

The Niger state attack happened four days after 25 schoolchildren were seized in similar circumstances in neighboring Kebbi state’s Maga town, which is 106 miles away.

Both states are in a northern region of Nigeria where dozens of armed gangs have used kidnapping for ransom as one way of dominating remote communities with little government and security presence.

Satellite image shows that the Niger state school compound is attached to an adjoining primary school, with more than 50 classroom and dormitory buildings. It’s located near a major road linking the towns of Yelwa and Mokwa.

School kidnappings have come to define insecurity in Africa’s most populous nation, and armed gangs often see schools as “strategic” targets to draw more attention.

Niger state hurriedly closed down all schools after Friday’s attack, while some federal colleges in conflict hotspots across the region were also closed by the Nigerian government.

Universal Pictures’ two-part “Wicked” gamble continues to defy gravity at the box office. Just a year after part one brought droves of audiences to movie theaters around the country, even more people bought opening weekend tickets to see the epic conclusion, “Wicked: For Good.” According to studio estimates on Sunday, “Wicked: For Good” earned $150 million from North American theaters in its first days in theaters and $226 million globally.

Not only is it the biggest opening ever for a Broadway musical adaptation, unseating the record set by the first film’s $112 million launch, it’s also the second biggest debut of the year behind “A Minecraft Movie’s” $162 million.

RELATED STORY | ‘Now You See Me 3’ races past ‘The Running Man’ at box office

Universal began rolling out “Wicked: For Good” in theaters earlier this week, with previews on Monday ($6.1 million from 1,050 theaters) and Wednesday ($6.5 million from 2,300 theaters). By Friday it was playing in 4,115 North American locations and had raked in $68.6 million. IMAX showings accounted for $15.5 million, or 11%, of its domestic haul — a November record for the company.

IMAX CEO Rich Gelfond said in a statement that the strong market share shows, “our momentum carries into demos and genres beyond our traditional core, including families.”

As with the first film, women powered opening weekend, making up around 71% of ticket buyers according to PostTrak exit polls. Critics were somewhat mixed on the final chapter, but audiences weren’t: An overwhelming 83% of audiences said it was one they would “definitely recommend” to friends.

Jon M. Chu directed both “Wicked” films, starring Cynthia Ervio and Ariana Grande. The first film made over $758.7 million worldwide and received 10 Oscar nominations (winning two, for costume and production design. The question is how high “Wicked: For Good” can soar. Combined, the two films cost around $300 million to produce, not including marketing and promotion costs.

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Two other films also opened in wide release this weekend, but further down on the charts behind a buffet of holdovers. Searchlight Pictures opened its Brendan Fraser film “Rental Family” in 1,925 theaters. The Finnish action film “Sisu: Road to Revenge,” a Sony release, also played in 2,222 theaters.

Although this weekend the box office was more of a winner takes all scenario, “Wicked: For Good’s” success is vitally important for the exhibition industry as a whole as it enters the final weeks of the year. After the slow fall season, the Thanksgiving blockbusters could not arrive soon enough. Early next week, “Zootopia 2” enters the mix and is also expected to drive big crowds to the cineplex over the holiday break.

A gunman who killed a Florida deputy earlier this week died on Saturday from injuries received in the confrontation, authorities say.

Michael Halberstam, 37, shot two Indian River County deputies and a locksmith on Friday when they were serving an eviction notice at a home near Vero Beach where Halberstam’s mother was trying to evict him, officials said. Officers returned fire, striking Halberstam multiple times and he succumbed to his injuries Saturday afternoon, the county’s sheriff’s department said in a post online.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT | Florida deputy killed, others injured in shooting while trying to serve eviction

One of the deputies, Terri Sweeting-Mashkow, was killed and another is recovering from a shoulder injury. The locksmith was in critical condition after the shooting and underwent surgery, Alexander Hagan, a spokesman for HCA Florida Lawnwood Hospital, said Friday. The locksmith wasn’t identified.

Over the past month, the sheriff’s office had received seven calls from the home, “almost all” of which were from the mother calling about her son, Indian River County Sheriff Eric Flowers said Friday at a news conference. Still, he said, deputies weren’t expecting any trouble when they arrived to carry out the eviction.

“This was a standard call for service,” the sheriff said, adding there was nothing in Halberstam’s record that would have precluded him from having a weapon.

Sweeting-Mashkow was a 25-year-veteran of the sheriff’s office, Flowers said, growing emotional as he praised the deputy and described working alongside him his entire career.

“I can tell you that our team will feel this forever,” Flowers said.

Sweeting-Mashkow was posthumously promoted to sergeant in the sheriff’s office on Saturday.

PRESCOTT VALLEY, AZ — Prescott Valley police officers and Yavapai County Sheriff’s deputies faced gunfire while investigating a shooting where one patrol vehicle was struck by a bullet.

The incident began just before midnight when officers responded to reports of a shooting near Carla Vista and Spouse drives.

The initial shooting began as a house party was being dispersed in the area, according to Prescott Valley police. No one was injured.

Police say that while officers and deputies were processing the scene just after 1 a.m. on Sunday, three additional shots were fired seemingly in the direction of officers.

The gunfire struck a Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office patrol vehicle, leaving a single bullet hole, but no officers or deputies were injured.

Officials say there is no danger to the public. The investigation remains ongoing.

Former Wake Forest star and 12-year NBA player Rodney Rogers has died. He was 54.

The school announced Saturday that Rogers had died on Friday. Rogers — the No. 9 overall NBA draft pick in 1993 — had been paralyzed from the shoulders down since a dirt bike accident in November 2008. Rogers died of natural causes linked to his spinal cord injury, according to a statement from the National Basketball Players Association on behalf of Rogers’ family.

“The last 17 years have been both challenging and profoundly blessed,” the NBPA statement said. “Through every moment, Rodney remained a light — positive, motivated, and full of the quiet strength that inspired everyone around him.”

Rogers was the Atlantic Coast Conference rookie of the year in 1991 and player of the year in 1993 whose No. 54 jersey was retired by the Demon Deacons. The burly 6-foot-7 forward with powerful athleticism earned the “Durham Bull” nickname during his prep career, then went on to score nearly 9,500 points in the NBA while being named league sixth man of the year in 2000.

Rogers’ injury led to the establishment of a foundation bearing his name, with Rogers encouraging people with spinal cord injuries while promoting resilience and personal growth in the face of those challenges. The school honored him with its Distinguished Alumni Award in 2022 along with an honorary degree.

“Rodney is the strongest person I have ever met — physically and mentally — and his resilience was evident in the fight he showed every single day,” program great and former teammate Randolph Childress said in a statement released by the school. “I’ve said this before and I still mean it today: he was the best athlete ever to walk onto Wake Forest’s campus. He meant so much to so many people, and I feel profoundly blessed to have been with him yesterday.”

Rogers played three years at Wake Forest, averaging 21.2 points in the 1992-93 season that saw Wake Forest reach the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16, before entering the NBA draft as a junior. He started his NBA career with the Denver Nuggets and went on to play with the Los Angeles Clippers, Phoenix Suns, Boston Celtics, New Jersey Nets, New Orleans Hornets and Philadelphia 76ers.

“It’s easy to focus on his extraordinary talent, but what stood out to everyone who knew him was that he was every bit as remarkable as a human being,” said Dave Odom, Rogers’ coach at Wake Forest. “He loved his teammates, he loved his family, he loved Wake Forest and he loved the game of basketball. He loved playing for Wake Forest.

“Every time we visited him, I walked away reminding myself never to complain — because he never did. He faced life exactly as it came and made the very best of every moment. He was a joy to watch as a basketball player, but he was an even greater man. He shared his strength, his spirit and his life with everyone around him.”

According to the NBPA statement, Rogers is survived by wife, Faye; daughters Roddreka and Rydiah; sons Rodney II and Devonte; his mother, Estelle Spencer; and Eric Hipilito, embraced as a son by Rogers.

After Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene announced late Friday that she intends to resign from Congress in January, former President Donald Trump told ABC News, “I think it’s great news for the country. It’s great.”

He added in the brief interview with ABC News that he wishes her well but has no plans to speak with her.

“I think she should be happy,” he said.

RELATED STORY | Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene announces she plans to resign in January

Greene and Trump went from being staunch allies to having an acrimonious relationship, largely due to their disagreement over handling information related to Jeffrey Epstein’s investigation. Greene was among a small number of Republicans pushing for the release of the documents, while Trump expressed opposition before relenting as the House overwhelmingly supported a measure to make them public.

Last week, Trump announced he was pulling his support for Greene, saying he would back a Republican to run against her in the 2026 midterm elections. In a Truth Social post, Trump suggested Greene was a “ranting lunatic.”

“I understand that wonderful, conservative people are thinking about primarying Marjorie in her district of Georgia, that they too are fed up with her and her antics and, if the right person runs, they will have my complete and unyielding support,” he wrote. “She has gone far left, even doing The View with their low-IQ, Republican-hating anchors.”

Trump said on Saturday that Greene would not have survived a primary had she sought reelection next year.

“I think she is a nice person,” Trump added.

With Greene’s resignation, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp will need to set a date for a special election to fill her seat. The district is heavily Republican-leaning.

Have a frozen Thanksgiving turkey in the freezer? Depending on its size, you may need to start thawing it now.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, here’s the general rule for moving a turkey from the freezer to the refrigerator:

• 4 to 12 pounds — 1 to 3 days
• 12 to 16 pounds — 3 to 4 days
• 16 to 20 pounds — 4 to 5 days
• 20 to 24 pounds — 5 to 6 days

RELATED STORY | Which Thanksgiving foods you should never feed to your dog

Missed the deadline? You can thaw the turkey in cold water, though it requires more effort. The USDA recommends placing the turkey in a leak-proof bag, submerging it in cold tap water and changing the water every 30 minutes until thawed.

Here’s how long it takes using cold water:

• 4 to 12 pounds — 2 to 6 hours
• 12 to 16 pounds — 6 to 8 hours
• 16 to 20 pounds — 8 to 10 hours
• 20 to 24 pounds — 10 to 12 hours

Once thawed, the turkey should be cooked within one to two days to avoid contamination.

The USDA says it’s safe to cook a turkey from frozen, but it generally takes about 50% longer.

For food safety, cook the turkey to an internal temperature of 165 degrees.

Other tips experts remind home cooks:

Never thaw a turkey on the counter. Keep it refrigerated while thawing, check the packaging for leaks, use a meat thermometer and let the turkey rest before carving. Wash hands and surfaces often to prevent salmonella.

Experts also recommend factoring in extra time if you plan to marinate or brine the turkey after thawing.

After the NCAA voted to allow college athletes to wager on professional sports, Division I school leaders have decided to rescind the rule change.

The reversal follows a Justice Department investigation alleging that an active NBA player and coach were involved in an illegal sports and poker gambling scheme.

Last month, Division I leaders approved allowing athletes to bet on professional sports. Later, leaders of Division II and Division III schools voted in favor as well. While Divisions II and III typically consist of smaller universities whose athletes are less likely to turn professional, much of the talent in the four major U.S. pro sports leagues comes from Division I programs.

The rule change was set to take effect Nov. 1, but schools were given until Nov. 21 to rescind their approval.

“After a procedural 30-day period, two-thirds of Division I member schools have voted to rescind a previously approved rule change that would have allowed student-athletes and athletics department staff members to legally participate in sports betting on professional sports only,” the NCAA said Friday. “Because sports betting rules are common legislation, the ban on all forms of betting — for sports in which the NCAA sponsors a championship — will remain in place for all three NCAA divisions.”

An anonymous NCAA survey in 2024 found that, despite bylaws prohibiting it, 22% of male athletes and 5% of female athletes wagered on sports.

The NCAA has faced several gambling scandals in recent months. On Friday, the organization said a former Temple basketball player and two former staff members bet on professional and college sports. The former player, Hysier Miller, admitted to betting on his team and was accused of betting against Temple three times.

Earlier this week, the NCAA said more than one-third of Division I men’s basketball players reported being harassed by bettors.

Hundreds of families lined up today as Governor Katie Hobbs and Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego joined Prensa Arizona for the annual Guajolotón “Gracias Arizona” Festival to give away Thanksgiving food, making sure no table is empty in the Valley this year.

The event helped distribute about 1,500 turkeys to people preparing for Thanksgiving at Barrio Unidos Park, as volunteers at the event say they are thankful for the chance to support their community.

If you’re in need this Thanksgiving, click here to find food assistance resources closest to you.

Watch in the video player above to see why Arizona leaders say demand at food banks is higher than ever, and what community advocates believe will help their neighbors this holiday season.

The Ohio police officer who shot and killed Ta’Kiya Young, a pregnant Black mother who had been accused of shoplifting, was acquitted on all counts Friday, including murder.

Blendon Township police officer Connor Grubb had faced up to life in prison if convicted. Young’s grandmother collapsed into sobs at the decision, shouting “It’s not right! This is not right!” The judge then told Grubb he was free to go.

Sean Walton, an attorney for the Young family, called it “an American tragedy,” the outcome of a dual system of justice in the U.S. Sean Walton, an attorney for the Young family, called it “an American tragedy,” the outcome of a dual system of justice in the U.S. He vowed to keep pursuing a lawsuit against the township and police chief, while Nadine Young raises her great-grandsons, now 8 and 5.

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“It’s also heartbreaking because what it does is it normalizes the behavior like that Connor Grubb exhibited that day, and that is not normal,” Walton said. “If you look at these recent police killings in Columbus, you have officers who have an irrational fear with no weapons involved or folks doing very minimal behavior that they escalate into a murder.”

Defense attorney Mark Collins said Grubb and his family are relieved, but that it’s wrong to suggest the officer was untouched by the death of Young and her unborn daughter.

“For the rest of his life, he has to deal with this,” he said. “Trust me, you didn’t get to hear from him because the government put his statement out, but he took a life on duty and realized another’s life after the fact, and to walk around with that is a difficult situation.”

At the same time, Collins called it “unconscionable” that a law enforcement officer would be indicted for felony murder in such a case. He said legislators should fix Ohio’s grand jury system.

Grubb had pleaded not guilty to murder, involuntary manslaughter and felonious assault in the death of Young, 21, on Aug. 24, 2023. Bodycam recordings showed Young refusing to exit her parked car outside a Kroger in suburban Columbus, and then turning her steering wheel to the right before the vehicle began slowly rolling forward toward Grubb, who fired one shot into her chest through the windshield.

RELATED STORY | Ohio police release video from fatal shooting of pregnant Black woman

Franklin County Common Pleas Judge David Young, no relation to Ta’Kiya, dropped four of 10 counts relating to the death of Young’s baby, agreeing with defense attorneys that prosecutors failed to present proof that Grubb knew Young was seven months’ pregnant when he shot her.

Jurors were shown the bodycam video and heard testimony from a use-of-force expert, an accident reconstructionist, a police policy expert and Sgt. Erick Moynihan, the officer who with Grubb had ordered Young out of her car.

They never heard from Grubb, whose side of the story was contained in a written statement read into the record by a special agent for the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation. He attended the trial, but prosecutors were unable to question him directly.

Grubb and Moynihan had approached Young’s parked car about a report that she was suspected of stealing alcohol from a Kroger store in the Columbus suburb. She partially lowered her window and protested as both officers cursed at her and yelled at her to get out. Bodycam video showed Grubb had his left hand on the car’s hood while pointing his gun at her with his right. Young could be heard asking them, “Are you going to shoot me?”

RELATED STORY | Officer faces murder charge in 2023 shooting of pregnant Black woman who was accused of shoplifting

Then, she put on a turn signal and her car rolled slowly forward toward Grubb, who fired a single bullet into her chest, the recording showed.

In the statement, Grubb said he positioned himself in front of Young’s vehicle to provide backup and to protect other people. He said he drew his gun after he heard Young fail to comply with Moynihan’s commands. When her car moved toward him, he said, he felt the vehicle hit his legs and shins and begin to lift his body off the ground as he shot.

Moments later, after the car came to a stop against the building, they broke the driver’s side window. Police said they tried to save her life, but she was mortally wounded. Young and her unborn daughter were pronounced dead at a hospital.

Walton told the AP shortly after the shooting that Young had not stolen anything. He said his law firm found a witness who saw Young put down bottles of alcohol as she left the grocery store.

An 85-year-old Valley woman reached out to the Let ABC15 Know team after she says she lost thousands of dollars to scammers who used her actual PayPal transaction history to convince her they were legitimate company representatives.

Her story highlights how data breaches are making fraud schemes increasingly convincing.

Jean says she received an email that appeared to be from PayPal, asking her to verify a transaction.

“It said that an amount of 669 no 669.90 was going to be charged from my PayPal account, and if that wasn’t me to call this number,” Jean explained.

When she called, the scammer introduced himself as a representative from PayPal and immediately demonstrated knowledge of her recent purchases.

“The gentleman introduced himself as Henry from PayPal, and he knew my last two PayPal purchases. He had the amount and who it went to. So, I assumed that I was talking to PayPal,” Jean said.

The scammer told Jean that $400 had been taken from her account and offered to help recover the money. He instructed her to type her name and “$400” on her computer screen.

“He told me to put my full name on the screen, and then to put $ sign and 400. So, I did that. And then he said, ‘Did you put an extra zero in?’ And I said, ‘No.’ He said, ‘Well, it says 4,000,’” Jean said.

Henry told Jean she needed to return the “extra” money to PayPal and claimed she could only do that by purchasing gift cards.

“He said, ‘What I want you to do is to go to the store and get either Nike or Apple gift cards in the amount of the $4,000,’ and I said, ‘Well, how do I know I’m talking to PayPal?’ I asked again. He said, ‘Well, how would I know what you bought the last two purchases if I wasn’t with PayPal?’” Jean explained.

She says he also told her she had to stay on the phone with him throughout the process.

“I got up to four, and then my bank wouldn’t allow me to do any more. So, I told him that. He said, ‘Well, you know, just take what you have and go home and scratch off the top and then send them to me,”‘ Jean said.

Jean eventually realized she had been scammed. Her daughter Beth helped contact the bank to report the fraud, but found the process frustrating and difficult.
“I was on the phone with my mom for two hours, and we talked to seven people and kept getting the runaround,” Beth said.

Beth says the stress the scam put on her mother has only made the financial loss even worse.

“Not only are you out the financial amount, but there’s a lot of emotional toll to it as well. And then the banks are not making it easy to back you up,” Beth said. “It’s been a nightmare for my mom. She’s just exhausted and, of course, overwhelmed with the whole process. And then, you know, down on herself.”

Jean’s experience reflects a growing trend of scammers using personal information obtained through data breaches to make their schemes more convincing.

How to Protect Yourself

If you receive an email, text or call from someone claiming to represent your bank, PayPal or similar service, do not click any links or call numbers provided in the message. Instead, use the phone number on the back of your card or visit the company’s official website to find their contact information.

Be suspicious of anyone requesting payment through gift cards or cryptocurrency. Legitimate companies will not seek payment from you in this way.

Never hesitate to hang up the phone. Scammers often try to keep victims on the line to maintain control of the situation and prevent them from seeking outside advice.

If you fall victim to a scam, be sure to report it to local law enforcement, your bank and the FTC.

You can also Let ABC15 Know. Email Consumer@abc15.com.

APACHE JUNCTION, AZ — It has been nearly six months since Apache Junction police officer Gabriel Facio was shot and killed in the line of duty.

Officer Facio’s family sat down with ABC15 following the release of body camera footage.

AJPD released the body camera footage on Thursday, as the East Valley Critical Incident Response Team has completed its investigation into the shooting involving police.

It shows the moments before Facio was shot while responding to a road rage call on June 2. He died nearly a week later.

Roger Nunez is in custody in Pinal County and faces multiple charges. The County Attorney’s Office is seeking the death penalty, but will not bring charges against the officers involved.

Officer Facio’s family watched the footage showing his final moments.

“It definitely hurts a lot, just thinking that he was going on in his day, just doing what he loves, doing his job. And an act of violence – just in seconds, took him away from us,” Ana Facio, Officer Facio’s daughter, told ABC15.

Ana Facio

Ana says after watching the video, she has no concerns about the officers’ actions.

“Would I like to have my dad here? Yes. But then at the same time, I put myself in the position, as in this is their job, and they have protocols to follow,” she explained.

Apache Junction Police Chief Mike Pooley says the department conducted an internal investigation and found all polices and procedures were followed.

Officer Facio’s death is the only line-of-duty death in the police department’s history. Chief Pooley says the loss will be felt for years to come.

The Apache Junction Police Department has also reviewed the body camera footage to strengthen tactics and training, Pooley said.

“It does give me comfort, because it would allow other officers to go home to their families,” Ana told ABC15.

Officer Facio, who did not go home, will miss vacations, like family trips to Disney, and the births of future grandchildren.

The 46-year-old left behind a wife, son, granddaughter, and Ana.

Ana Facio

“I always thought my dad would be okay,” Ana said. “He’s always a cautious person; he’s going to be safe. Nothing’s ever going to happen to him.”

Ana says her dad set the standard for love and kindness.

“He was very loving. He always loved my mom the best he could, and he would always spoil her,” Ana said. “He would always help people that were homeless. He would give them food. He would give them blankets. He was just a very kind person.”

She says the time without her dad means robbed moments.

At his funeral, Ana spoke about one day she would miss him the most: her wedding.

“I’ll be saving you a seat on my wedding day,” she said during the funeral in June. “Every time I’ll look over at your chair, I know you’ll be looking down and smiling to see me happy.”

Two months later, Ana had a seat. His police jacket was draped around a chair at the ceremony, holding his photo.

Jesus Ramos

“I couldn’t stop thinking about my dad, what if he was here?” Ana said. “What would he be looking like at the first look? You know, he never got to see me wearing my dress.”

Members of the Apache Junction Police Department attended the wedding in Mexico, including Chief Pooley.

Jesús Ramos, Wedding Photographer

Ana carried tributes to her dad throughout the day, including his photo and a charm on her bouquet, keeping him close as she walked down the aisle.

“I just started crying,” she said. “What’s supposed to be the most beautiful moment of my life is turning into a day that is full of happiness, but at the same time, is full of so much grief and sadness.”

With so much lost, Ana hopes her dad’s memory will live on, saying joining the police force was his lifelong mission. It’s something Chief Pooley recognized in his fellow officer.

“You can see Facio in the video, just a brief moment of him right before the shooting happens,” Chief Pooley said. “He was doing his job. He was doing what he loved to do. He was giving everything he had, his entire dream and goal was to be a police officer.”

Ana says that by finally becoming an officer later in life, her dad’s four years with the Apache Junction Police Department, was a dream realized.

“Lately, I think about it, and I’m like, well, why did he pursue that career? Like he would have still been here if he would have decided to be a doctor or something else,” Ana said. “But at the same time, I’m proud of him. Because he never let anyone tell him he wasn’t able to do something.”

SURPRISE, AZ — One Surprise community has a four-legged local legend on its hands, a 20-pound Scottish terrier named Momo.

On his daily walks, Momo doesn’t stop to smell the flowers. He dives straight into the bushes, hunting for golf balls.

He’s uncovered more than his fair share during his escapades. In fact, Momo found more than 1,000 balls in the past year alone.

His owner says it all started with a little praise for Momo’s first few finds. That encouragement turned into a full-blown obsession.

Now Momo’s collection has a new purpose: every ball is being donated to the Arizona Special Olympics Golf Team to help athletes practice and play.

Check out the video in the player above to see Momo in action.

Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene announced Friday she would resign from office effective January 5, 2026.

In a four-page message posted to social media, Rep. Greene criticized the political establishment on both sides of the aisle and said that the effects of politics have weighed too heavily on her, her family and her district.

Rep. Greene, formerly a close supporter of President Donald Trump, gained office by supporting his Make America Great Again platform — but fell out with him over differences surrounding the handling of the Epstein files and foreign policy.

President Trump recently called Rep. Greene a “traitor” and planned to endorse a primary challenger against her in the 2026 midterm elections.

“When the common American people finally realize and understand that the Political Industrial Complex of both parties is ripping this country apart, that not one elected leader like me is able to stop Washington’s machine from gradually destroying our country, and instead the reality is that they, the common Americans, The People, possess the real power over Washington, then I’ll be here by their side to rebuild it,” Rep. Greene wrote in Friday’s message.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated.

Typical levels of fluoride in community drinking water do not impair cognitive abilities and may even boost them, according to a new study published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances.

Using decades of test scores from nearly 27,000 Americans, scientists found that students with full childhood exposure to recommended fluoride levels scored higher than those with no exposure. The data showed no signs of cognitive decline later in life.

The study challenges earlier claims from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr that exposure to fluoride led to lower IQ.

RELATED STORY | HHS, EPA to revisit their recommendations for fluoride in drinking water

This new study does not explain why the students with fluoride exposure had higher test scores, but co-author John Robert Warran, a sociologist with the University of Minnesota, said he believes that having better dental health as a result of fluoride may have meant those individuals were less likely to be absent from school because of illness.

Warren and the team of researchers are planning to study this subject matter further, including comparing IQ tests.

Fluoride became a hot-button issue this year after Kennedy’s opposition, prompting states like Utah and Florida the become the first to ban fluoride in community drinking water.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

The Trump administration announced on Thursday new oil drilling off the California and Florida coasts for the first time in decades, advancing a project that critics say could harm coastal communities and ecosystems, as President Donald Trump seeks to expand U.S. oil production.

The oil industry has been seeking access to new offshore areas, including Southern California and off the coast of Florida, as a way to boost U.S. energy security and jobs. The federal government has not allowed drilling in federal waters in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, which includes offshore Florida and part of offshore Alabama, since 1995, because of concerns about oil spills. California has some offshore oil rigs, but there has been no new leasing in federal waters since the mid-1980s.

Since taking office for a second time in January, Trump has systematically reversed former President Joe Biden’s focus on slowing climate change to pursue what the Republican calls U.S. “energy dominance” in the global market. Trump, who recently called climate change “the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world,” created a National Energy Dominance Council and directed it to move quickly to drive up already record-high U.S. energy production, particularly fossil fuels such as oil, coal and natural gas.

RELATED STORY | Trump reverses Biden-era restrictions, reopens Arctic refuge to drilling

Meanwhile, Trump’s administration has blocked renewable energy sources such as offshore wind and canceled billions of dollars in grants that supported hundreds of clean energy projects across the country.

Even before it was released, the offshore drilling plan has been met with strong opposition from California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat who is eyeing a 2028 presidential run and has emerged as a leading Trump critic. Newsom pronounced the idea “dead on arrival” in a social media post. The proposal also is likely to draw bipartisan opposition in Florida. Tourism and access to clean beaches are key parts of the economy in both states.

Plans to allow drilling off California, Alaska and Florida’s coast

The administration’s plan proposes six offshore lease sales off the coast of California.

It also calls for new drilling off the coast of Florida in areas at least 100 miles from that state’s shore. The area targeted for leasing is adjacent to an area in the Central Gulf of Mexico that already contains thousands of wells and hundreds of drilling platforms.

The five-year plan also would compel more than 20 lease sales off the coast of Alaska, including a newly designated area known as the High Arctic, more than 200 miles offshore in the Arctic Ocean.

All offshore areas “with the potential to generate jobs, new revenue and additional production to advance America’s energy dominance should be considered for inclusion,” the American Petroleum Institute and other groups said in a joint letter to the Trump administration in June.

The groups cited California’s history as an oil-producing state. “Undiscovered resources could be readily produced given the array of existing infrastructure in the area, particularly in southern California,” the letter said.

Opposition from California and Florida

Sen. Rick Scott, a Florida Republican and Trump ally, helped persuade Trump officials to drop a similar offshore plan in 2018 when he was governor. Last week, Scott and fellow Florida Republican Sen. Ashley Moody’ co-sponsored a bill to maintain a moratorium on offshore drilling in the state that Trump signed in his first term.

“As Floridians, we know how vital our beautiful beaches and coastal waters are to our state’s economy, environment and way of life,″ Scott said in a statement. “I will always work to keep Florida’s shores pristine and protect our natural treasures for generations to come.”

A Newsom spokesman said Trump officials had not formally shared the plan, but said “expensive and riskier offshore drilling would put our communities at risk and undermine the economic stability of our coastal economies.”

California has been a leader in restricting offshore oil drilling since the infamous 1969 Santa Barbara spill that helped spark the modern environmental movement. While there have been no new federal leases offered since the mid-1980s, drilling from existing platforms continues.

Newsom expressed support for greater offshore controls after a 2021 spill off Huntington Beach and has backed a congressional effort to ban new offshore drilling on the West Coast.

A Texas-based company, with support from the Trump administration, is seeking to restart production in waters off Santa Barbara damaged by a 2015 oil spill. The administration has hailed the plan by Houston-based Sable Offshore Corp. as the kind of project Trump wants to increase U.S. energy production as the federal government removes regulatory barriers.

Trump signed an executive order on the first day of his second term reversing former President Joe Biden’s ban on future offshore oil drilling on the East and West coasts. A federal court later struck down Biden’s order to withdraw 625 million acres of federal waters from oil development.

Environmental and economic concerns over oil spills

Democratic lawmakers, including California Sens. Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff and Rep. Jared Huffman, the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, warned that opening vast coastlines to new offshore drilling “would devastate coastal economies, jeopardize our national security, ravage coastal ecosystems, and put millions of Americans’ health and safety at risk.”

Oil spills “not only cause irreparable environmental damage, but also suppress the value of coastal homes, harm tourism economies and weaken coastal infrastructure,” the lawmakers said in a letter signed by dozens of Democrats. One disastrous oil spill can cost taxpayers billions in lost revenue, cleanup costs and ecosystem restoration, they said.

Joseph Gordon, campaign director for the environmental group Oceana, called the Trump administration’s latest plan “an oil spill nightmare.”

Coastal communities “depend on healthy oceans for economic security and their cherished way of life,” he said. “We need to protect our coasts from more offshore drilling, not put them up for sale to the oil and gas industry. There’s too much at stake to risk more horrific oil spills that will haunt our coastlines for generations to come.”

SAN TAN VALLEY, AZ — In San Tan Valley, the holiday spirit doesn’t just come wrapped in ribbons; sometimes it shows up covered in grease.

At OOROO Auto, mechanics are turning wrenches for a good cause with their annual Joyride program, offering free essential repairs to neighbors who can’t afford them.

For the ninth year, the shop is asking the community to nominate someone whose broken-down vehicle is holding them back from work, school, or daily life. Up to two recipients will receive up to $1,000 in parts and labor, receiving the gift of mobility, independence, and peace of mind.

ABC15’s Cameron Polom talked with auto technicians about what it means to use their skills to help members of the community. He also heard from someone who has received one of these life-changing gifts. Watch the Uplifting Arizona story in the video player above.

The nomination window runs Nov. 4–25, and anyone can put forward a friend, coworker, or family member who’s struggling to keep their primary vehicle on the road. You can submit a nomination here.