The body of a miner who went missing in a flooded West Virginia coal mine over the weekend has been found, West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morissey announced Thursday morning. Morissey identified the man as Steve Lipscomb.
Crews discovered the miner’s body just after 7:30 a.m. local time on Thursday, about an hour and a half after the water levels inside Nicholas County’s Rolling Thunder Mine finally receded enough for them to safely enter and explore it, according to the governor.
“This morning’s news is absolutely heartbreaking,” Morissey and his wife said in a statement. “Denise and I are devastated to learn of the loss of Mr. Lipscomb, and we are praying for his family, friends, and co-workers during this difficult time.”
The foreman was working alongside a 17-person crew when he became trapped Saturday afternoon inside the mine. The mining crew struck a pocket of water, causing water to rush in, Nicholas County Commissioner Garret Cole said. Officials said they believe Lipscomb prioritized helping his fellow miners escape the flooding when it started, and eventually became trapped himself.
He was believed to be about three-quarters of a mile into the complex, triggering a massive search and rescue effort. All of the other miners were accounted for in the aftermath of the incident, Cole said.
Crews worked “around the clock” in 12-hour shifts during the search, the governor said. They pumped enormous amounts of water out of the mining complex and simultaneously drilled down into the tunnels in hopes of reaching Lipscomb, according to officials. By Tuesday, the governor said crews were pumping water out of the complex at a rate of about 6,000 gallons per minute, after officials reported that millions of gallons had already been removed in the wake of the flood.
Morissey on Thursday praised the crews who he said worked “tirelessly” to search for Lipscomb.
“Their commitment and professionalism have been unwavering throughout the operation,” he said.
Dive teams previously searched for Lipscomb inside the mine multiple times, but the sheer volume of flooding meant investigations on foot were difficult or impossible, and some of the tunnels could not be accessed, Cole said.
A massive search operation continued Wednesday in West Virginia, where officials said crews were “working around the clock” and continuing “aggressive” efforts to locate a missing coal miner who became trapped in a flooded coal mine Saturday afternoon.
“There is nothing that we would spare to try to save the life of the miner,” West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey told reporters on Monday.
Morrisey said Tuesday that about 6,000 gallons of water were being pumped out of the mining complex every minute, which he called “a significant increase from earlier efforts as additional pumps became available.”
A simultaneous drilling operation could allow rescuers to reach the miner a different way, the governor previously said.
“While estimates from setup and completion vary for each method, using both approaches together offers the clearest path to success,” he said.
In an update Tuesday night, Morrisey said the effort was still a rescue mission and rescuers were trying to give the miner a “chance to live,” adding that diving teams and mine safety teams were taking part.
The miner is the foreman of a 17-person team that struck a pocket of water inside of south-central West Virginia’s Rolling Thunder Mine, causing water to rush into the complex, said Nicholas County Commissioner Garret Cole, citing information from the local emergency management and homeland security agency as well as reporting by CBS News affiliate WOWK. Rolling Thunder Mine is in Nicholas County.
All of the other miners were accounted for in the aftermath of the flood, Cole said on Facebook late Sunday. Officials believe the foreman helped the team escape the flooding and that he is about three-quarters of a mile into the mine.
Morrisey said in a statement that “a section of the mine operation flooded after an old mine wall was compromised.”
Multiple local, state and federal agencies were involved in the search, in addition to specialized mining, cave diving and drilling crews attempting to pump water out of the mine, Cole said. By 8:45 p.m. local time Sunday, dive teams had entered the mine for a third time.
“From reporting from homeland security and media, it is amazing to see the mobilization of these many agencies getting to work so quickly and working around the clock in order to move as quickly, and safely as humanly possible,” he said.
In an update Monday, Nicholas County Commissioner Cole said the governor said there had been concerns about removing water while dive crews are simultaneously deployed, so crews were trying to remove the water as fast as possible.
Cole said that coal seams inside the mine have “created air pockets in the ‘peaks’ of the mine,” and that officials hope the miner was able to find them.
“It was stated to me that the air and water is approximately 52-54 degrees, which means the miner would be less likely to suffer hypothermia, but would more be tasked in trying to become dry and keep in an open air pocket of the mine,” Cole said.
The commissioner called the emergency response “a learning experience” for him, in part because of the challenges the mine’s terrain presents to search and rescue crews, and the fact that “it takes so much time to safely and properly” reenter it.
“This is a waiting game, in a most unfortunate way,” Cole said.
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — If Saturday in Morgantown was an audition, Julian Lewis passed.
And passed.
And passed.
Ju Ju looked past open receivers. He looked ready to turtle whenever West Virginia sent the house. But he also looked like Shedeur Sanders out there at times, didn’t he?
Especially when dropping ball after ball in the bucket for CU wide receiver Omarion Miller.
The Buffs dropped their third game in a row at Milan Puskar Stadium, falling 29-22 against the Mountaineers and slipping to 3-7 on a lost season.
Yet it was the most fun the Buffs have been in what, a month? For the first time in what feels like forever, we saw snippets of last fall’s passing game. We saw the deep ball and the vertical passing game that scared the Big 12 half to death.
2024: Shedeur to Travis Hunter.
2025: Ju Ju to Omarion.
Sanders said earlier this week that his decision to start Lewis, a true freshman, at quarterback was guided by “common sense.”
Hindsight is 20/20, especially when a year goes off the rails. But what took so long?
Coach Prime should’ve listened to his common sense sooner.
While senior Kaidon Salter offered zero juice and minimal downfield threat at QB1, Lewis walked into coal country and looked the part. The Mountaineers blitzed from the left. They blitzed from the right. At one point, they even pulled out a piece of Ju Ju’s hair. Kid hung tough: 22 completions on 35 attempts for 299 yards and two touchdowns.
Lewis to Miler was the combo CU has been waiting for all year. The chemistry was undeniable. The combo was almost unguardable: Miller finished with six catches for 131 receiving yards and a score.
Ju Ju was at his strongest rolling and throwing to his left, hitting Miller for a 43-yard rainbow early, then Sincere Brown (19 yards) and Joseph Williams (13 yards) on CU’s second drive of the second quarter.
And yes, some context applies here, too. West Virginia’s defense going into the weekend ranked last in the Big 12 in opponent passer rating (160.25) and 14th in the league in passing yards allowed per game (270.8). It was not unlike debuting a rookie hitter against the 2025 Rockies at Coors Field — a soft landing, a chance to build numbers and confidence.
Still, you could see that confidence growing in real time. On the CU drive that ended the third quarter and opened the fourth, the freshman faced second-and-7 from the West Virginia 20. He scanned quickly, feeling the pocket constricting to his left and his right. It was the kind of bang-bang play that would’ve been a sure-fire sack earlier in the game, never mind earlier in the season. Lewis stepped up in the pocket and took off for a 3-yard gain, giving CU a third-and-4 at the home 17. CU eventually got a 35-yard field goal from Alejandro Mata to pull the Buffs to within 22-19 with 14:51 left to play in the tilt.
Even more impressive was the fact that Lewis found himself working from behind the ‘8’ ball from the start. Especially with two new blockers on the outside, as left tackle Jordan Seaton watched the game in sweats while wearing a walking boot on his right ankle.
It didn’t take long to show.
Lewis was sacked twice in the first quarter and four times in the opening half. The first 30 minutes had the disjointed, stop-start look of two freshmen quarterbacks facing off, struggling to find their respective rhythms early.
Yet in the end, as auditions go, Lewis passed with almost flying colors. After the Utah and Arizona debacles, CU fans have been looking for a reason to stay invested. Ju Ju was worth the wait. But only if you can figure out a way to keep him.
Originally known as the food stamp program, it has existed since 1964, serving low-income people, many of whom have jobs but don’t make enough money to cover all the basic costs of living.
Public attention has focused on the program since President Donald Trump’s administration announced last week that it would freeze SNAP payments starting Nov. 1 in the midst of a monthlong federal government shutdown. The administration argued it wasn’t allowed to use a contingency fund with about $5 billion in it to help keep the program going. But on Friday, two federal judges ruled in separate challenges that the federal government must continue to fund SNAP, at least partially, using contingency funds. However, the federal government is expected to appeal, and the process to restart SNAP payments would likely take one to two weeks.
Here’s a look at how SNAP works.
There are income limits based on family size, expenses and whether households include someone who is elderly or has a disability.
Most SNAP participants are families with children, and more than 1 in 3 include older adults or someone with a disability.
Nearly 2 in 5 recipients are households where someone is employed.
Most participants have incomes below the poverty line, which is about $32,000 for a family of four, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administers the program, says nearly 16 million children received SNAP benefits in 2023.
People who are not in the country legally, and many immigrants who do have legal status, are not eligible. Many college students aren’t either, and some states have barred people with certain drug convictions.
Under a provision of Trump’s big tax and policy law that also takes effect Nov. 1, people who do not have disabilities, are between ages 18 and 64 and who do not have children under age 14 can receive benefits for only three months every three years if they’re not working. Otherwise, they must work, volunteer or participate in a work training program at least 80 hours a month.
How much do beneficiaries receive?
On average, the monthly benefit per household participating in SNAP over the past few years has been about $350, and the average benefit per person is about $190.
The benefit amount varies based on a family’s income and expenses. The designated amount is based on the concept that households should allocate 30% of their remaining income after essential expenses to food.
Families can receive higher amounts if they pay child support, have monthly medical expenses exceeding $35 or pay a higher portion of their income on housing.
The cost of benefits and half the cost of running the program is paid by the federal government using tax dollars.
States pay the rest of the administrative costs and run the program.
People apply for SNAP through a state or county social service agency or through a nonprofit that helps people with applications. In some states, SNAP is known by another, state-specific name. For instance, it’s FoodShare in Wisconsin and CalFresh in California.
The benefits are delivered through electronic benefits transfer, or EBT, cards that work essentially like a bank debit card. Besides SNAP, it’s where money is loaded for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF, program, which provides cash assistance for low-income families with children, and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children.
The card is swiped or inserted in a store’s card reader at checkout, and the cardholder enters their PIN to pay for food. The cost of the food is deducted from the person’s SNAP account balance.
SNAP benefits can only be used for food at participating stores — mostly groceries, supermarkets, discount retail stores, convenience stores and farmers markets. It also covers plants and seeds bought to grow your own food. However, hot foods — like restaurant meals — are not covered.
Most, but not all, food stores participate. The USDA provides a link on its website to a SNAP retail locator, allowing people to enter an address to get the closest retailers to them.
Items commonly found in a grocery and other participating stores that can’t be bought with SNAP benefits include pet food, household supplies like toilet paper, paper towels and cleaning products, and toiletries like toothpaste, shampoo and cosmetics. Vitamins, medicines, alcohol and tobacco products are also excluded.
Sales tax is not charged on items bought with SNAP benefits.
Are there any restrictions?
There aren’t additional restrictions today on which foods can be purchased with SNAP money.
But the federal government is allowing states to apply to limit which foods can be purchased with SNAP starting in 2026.
All of them will bar buying soft drinks, most say no to candy, and some block energy drinks.
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Paul and Ashlee Higginbotham knew what was and wasn’t normal for their kids. As the parents of six, they had seen a lot of illnesses and tantrums. But they were baffled by the behavior of their youngest daughter, Austyn.
Austyn was “just not happy” and “never content,” Ashlee said. As an infant, she never slept and cried constantly. She was “never smiling, never laughing,” the toddler’s mother said. She had mild developmental delays and a tremor. At 18 months old, genetic testing found she had a genetic condition called Chiari malformation.
The condition occurs when the lower part of the brain does not fit inside the skull and bulges out of the opening where the skull joins the spinal cord, said Dr. David Harter, director of pediatric neurosurgery at NYU Langone. It puts pressure on both the brain and spinal cord, and can cause symptoms like limb weakness, difficulty breathing, scoliosis, headaches and nerve pain, Harter said. If left untreated, it can cause lifelong pain and problems like paralysis and nerve damage.
Most Chiari malformation patients are born with it. The rare condition affects 1 in every 2,000 people, he said, and has no clear cause. Ashlee had never heard of it.
The Higginbotham sisters.
Paul and Ashlee Higginbotham
“That moment when Austyn’s MRI results came up on my screen and we read the diagnosis of Chiari malformation – that was the moment our world was flipped upside down,” Ashlee said.
“Trying to hold it together”
More tests found that Austyn had severe compression in her spine and a spinal fluid blockage. She would need brain surgery.
“Life doesn’t stop. We had five other kids, their lives were still moving, and we were trying to hold it together but we’re terrified,” Ashlee said. “We were traveling three and a half hours away for MRIs, for bloodwork, for all these different specialists. Now we need brain surgery? Life was chaos.”
The Higginbothams traveled from West Virginia to New York City to seek care from Dr. Jeffrey Greenfield, a pediatric neurosurgeon at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. In most cases, a surgeon would delicately decompress the brain with a combination of elevating muscle, drilling bone and expanding the dura, the sac surrounding the brain, he said.
A graphic showing how Chiari malformation can appear.
Conquer Chiari
For very young patients, like Austyn, surgeons may only remove some of the bone. Both procedures are meant to give the brain the necessary space and to restore the flow of spinal fluid, Greenfield said.
Austyn underwent surgery in March 2023. When she woke up a few hours later, she was like a different child, Ashlee said.
“She was ready to go. She was trying to get out of bed, she was trying to walk. She was smiley. It was like the pain she’d always felt was gone, and the pain of surgery didn’t match what she’d always felt. She was just ready to run laps around the ICU,” Ashlee recalled. “When we did the follow-up with Dr. Greenfield, I told him, ‘You gave me her laugh.’”
The Higginbothams were relieved to find light at the end of the tunnel. But just days later, their world would be rocked again.
Austyn Higginbotham after surgery.
Paul and Ashlee Higginbotham
“Just as nerve-wracking as the first time”
The Higginbothams took Austyn to a local follow-up appointment five days after returning from New York. They also took Amelia, then 3, because they feared she was showing symptoms of Lyme disease after a recent tick bite. Imaging showed Amelia also had Chiari malformation, as well as a tethered spinal cord.
A tethered cord is seen in about 5% of Chiari malformation patients, Greenfield said. The condition occurs when the spinal cord becomes abnormally attached to surrounding tissue, including bones, muscle or skin. Amelia would need the Chiari malformation surgery, as well as a procedure to snip the tether. The Higginbothams returned to New York and Greenfield completed both procedures in October 2023.
Amelia Higginbotham with Dr. Jeffrey Greenfield.
Paul and Ashlee Higginbotham
Sitting in the waiting room was “just as nerve-wracking as the first time,” Paul said.
“It feels like days that you’re just sitting there, waiting to see what the outcome is,” he said.
Like Austyn, Amelia recovered quickly, but the hits kept coming. Aubrey, then 7, was moody and had frequent urinary tract infections. One day, Ashlee realized her symptoms were familiar.
“I remember driving down the road, and it just clicked in my head. I was like ‘Oh my gosh, I need to get an order for an MRI. She needs to be checked for a tethered cord,’” Ashlee said. “She was our happy kid, and it was like one day she woke up and was different, like a flip of a switch, and we were losing her. I wish I would have thought of it sooner.”
Sure enough, Aubrey had both Chiari malformation and a tethered spinal cord. Less than a month after Amelia’s surgery, the Higginbothams were back in Greenfield’s office.
Aubrey Higginbotham and Dr. Jeffrey Greenfield.
Paul and Ashlee Higginbotham
“You’ve got to be kidding”
Aubrey’s operation in November 2023 went well, and soon she was back to the happy child her parents recognized.
But the rollercoaster wasn’t over yet. Adalee, then 11, had complained of leg pain for years, but her parents had always believed it was growing pains. In sixth grade, the ache became so severe that she spent most of her free time in bed. As her symptoms escalated, the Higginbothams took her for imaging. They showed the same thing as her younger siblings: Chiari malformation and a tethered spinal cord.
“It was such a blur of ‘You’ve got to be kidding,’” Ashlee said. “You hear of people having one or two kids, but four?”
About 10% of Chiari malformation cases have a genetic link, Greenfield said, but it’s most common to see that connection between a parent and child. He felt “a little bit of disbelief” as the Higginbotham diagnoses kept coming. He said that the couple learning more about Chiari malformations, tethered cords and their various symptoms helped put the pieces together.
Greenfield decided to operate on Adalee’s cord, which was causing her pain, but not the malformation. Harter said that if a Chiari malformation is not causing symptoms, doctors will observe it and wait for it to cause issues before operating. Adalee recovered from the March 2025 operation and went on to join her school’s dance team, Ashlee said.
The Higginbotham sisters.
Paul and Ashlee Higginbotham
“The most amazing gift”
The Higginbothams’ eldest two children were screened for Chiari malformations, and do not have the condition, their parents said. Austyn underwent a successful follow-up surgery in February 2025. Higginbotham said about 20% of children who have the minimal operation need a second procedure.
Now, the family is enjoying their “new normal,” Ashlee said. The house is full of laughter and smiles. The kids — Austyn, 4, Amelia, 6, Aubrey, 9, and Adalee, 12 — are active and happy. Some of the girls still have occasional symptoms or pain, which Greenfield said is common in older children whose Chiari malformations require surgery. It’s nothing like before, the Higginbothams said.
It is a relief, Ashlee said, to finally see her children healthy.
“(Dr. Greenfield) gave us our family back, and that is the most amazing gift anyone could get,” Ashlee said. “Some days we weren’t sure how things would ever get better for our girls … It’s been a whirlwind, but we’re thankful we are where we are today.”
A billboard near West Virginia University questions vaccine manufacturer protections, a topic in the news as Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. seeks to change vaccine policy.
“Vaccine makers are exempt from all liability for vaccine injury and death,” says the billboard, which was sponsored by West Virginians for Health Freedom, a group that advocates for parental choice on vaccine requirements and risks.
The billboard has advertised vaccine-skeptical perspectives for years, and passing motorists might wonder if the claim is true. So PolitiFact West Virginia took a closer look.
Dr. Alvin Moss — a WVU professor of nephrology and medicine who was referred to PolitiFact West Virginia by West Virginians For Health Freedom — pointed to an academic paper that described vaccine manufacturers’ legal immunities as “broad” and a description of a Supreme Court case that characterized the industry’s legal protections as “significant.” (He said he was speaking in his personal capacity, not on behalf of his employer.)
However, broad and significant are not synonymous with “all,” which is the word the billboard used. In practice, the laws that provide manufacturers with extensive liability protections do include exceptions and limits that allow lawsuits in some circumstances.
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Lawsuits are allowed, eventually, under the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act
The most important law governing vaccine liability is the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986. This law created the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, a no-fault system for people who believe they have been injured by routinely recommended childhood vaccines. A fund is able to pay out awards to people claiming injury; the fund is filled by revenues from a 75 cent tax per disease prevented on each vaccine dose.
Initially, this law clamps down on the ability to pursue a lawsuit. Under the act, people who receive a covered vaccine must file a claim through the compensation program before they file suit. They must then wait for 240 days after filing to see if they are presented with an acceptable offer. If the program fails to issue a decision during that period, or if the petitioner loses their case, or they are awarded compensation but the petitioner rejects the program’s offer, the person can then file a civil lawsuit against the vaccine manufacturer.
There are other limits. A 2011 decision in the Supreme Court case Bruesewitz v. Wyeth held that manufacturers cannot be sued over a claim related to design defects. Suits related to warnings are allowed only if the manufacturer failed to warn the doctor, not the patient.
Other claims, like those related to negligence and fraud, can be pursued, though they are considered harder to prove.
An earlier version of the billboard from 2023. (Bob Britten)
Not all vaccines are covered by the 1986 law
The law limits the types of vaccines that receive liability protections, said Renee Gentry, a law professor and director of the Vaccine Injury Litigation Clinic at George Washington University Law School.
The law covers routine childhood vaccines and does not address adult-only vaccines such as those for shingles or pneumonia. Manufacturers of these vaccines may be, and have been, sued.
COVID-19 vaccines fall under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act. This law offers broader liability protection, effectively shielding manufacturers from litigation.
So while manufacturers are protected from lawsuits for some of the vaccines they make, these legal protections aren’t across-the-board, said Dorit Reiss, a law professor who specializes in vaccine liability. For instance, Reiss said, more than 200 cases have been brought against Merck related to its Gardasil vaccine, which aims to protect against HPV. Some of that litigation is ongoing.
Moss, the doctor who was referred to PolitiFact West Virginia by West Virginians For Health Freedom, downplayed the protections for adult vaccines, saying that “childhood vaccines constitute a very high percentage of vaccines given.”
Data from the federal Health Resources and Services Administration shows that childhood vaccinations are more numerous than adult vaccines, but adult vaccines still account for a large number of vaccines given. The influenza vaccine, which is mostly given to adults, had more than 2.5 billion doses distributed between Jan. 1, 2006, and Dec. 31, 2023.
Our ruling
On its billboard, West Virginians For Health Freedom said, “Vaccine makers are exempt from all liability for vaccine injury and death.”
Under federal law, vaccine manufacturers do benefit from significant lawsuit protections, including being shielded against suits about design defects. These protections are paired with a fund that is empowered to make compensation payments to injured parties in lieu of filing a lawsuit.
However, vaccine makers’ liability protections are not — as the billboard says — unlimited. Companies may be sued if the injured party rejects the compensation fund’s offer; if negligence and fraud are alleged; and when a company’s vaccines are intended for adult use.
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court opens its new term on Monday and is scheduled to hear arguments in 33 cases this fall.
The justices will hear challenges to transgender rights, voting rights and Trump tariffs and will reconsider a 90-year-old precedent that protects officials of independent agencies from being fired by the president.
Here are the major cases set for argument:
Conversion therapy and free speech: Does a licensed mental health counselor have a 1st Amendment right to talk to patients under age 18 about changing their sexual orientation or gender identity, even if doing so is prohibited by state law?
California in 2012 was first state to ban “conversion therapy,” believing it was harmful to minors and leads to depression and suicide. Other states followed, relying on their authority to regulate the practice of medicine and to prohibit substandard care.
The Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian legal group, sued on behalf of a Colorado counselor and argued that the state is “censoring” her speech. (Chiles vs. Salazar, to be argued on Tuesday.)
Supreme Court Justices Samuel A. Alito Jr., left, Clarence Thomas and Brett M. Kavanaugh and Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. attend inauguration ceremonies for Donald Trump in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 20 in Washington.
(Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)
Voting rights and Black majority districts: Does a state violate the Constitution if it redraws its congressional districts to create one with a Black majority?
In the past, the court has said racial gerrymandering is unconstitutional. But citing the Voting Rights Act, it also has ruled states must sometimes create an electoral district where a Black or Latino candidate has a good chance to win.
Otherwise, these minorities may be shut out from political representation in Congress, state legislatures or county boards.
But Justice Clarence Thomas has argued for outlawing all use of race in drawing district lines, and the court may adopt his view in a pending dispute over a second Black majority district in Louisiana. (Louisiana vs. Callais, to be argued Oct. 15.)
Trump and tariffs: Does President Trump have legal authority acting on his own to impose large import taxes on products coming from otherwise friendly countries?
Trump is relying on a 1977 law that empowers the president to act when faced with an “unusual and extraordinary threat” from abroad. The measure does not mention tariffs or taxes.
In a pair of cases, lower courts ruled the tariffs were illegal but kept them in place for now. Trump administration lawyers argue the justices should defer to the president because tariffs involve foreign affairs and national security. (Learning Resources vs. Trump, to be argued Nov. 5.)
The high court will look at whether transgender athletes can compete in certain sports. Above, a 100-meter hurdles event during a track meet in Riverside in April.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Transgender athletes and school sports: Can a state prevent a transgender student whose “biological sex at birth” was male from competing on a girls sports team?
West Virginia and Idaho adopted such laws but they were struck down by judges who said they violated the Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection of laws and the federal Title IX law that bars sex discrimination in schools and colleges.
Trump voiced support for “keeping men out of women’s sports” — a characterization deemed false by transgender women and their advocates, among others. If the Supreme Court agrees, this rule is likely to be enforced nationwide under Title IX. (West Virginia vs. B.P.J. is due to be heard in December.)
Trump and independent agencies: May the president fire officials of independent agencies who were appointed with fixed terms set by Congress?
Since 1887, Congress has created semi-independent boards, commissions and agencies with regulatory duties. While their officials are appointed by the president, their fixed terms keep them in office when a new president takes over.
The Supreme Court upheld their independence from direct presidential control in the 1935 case of Humphreys Executor vs. U.S., but Trump has fired several such officials.
The current court has sided with Trump in two such cases and will hear arguments on whether to overturn the 90-year-old precedent. (Trump vs. Slaughter is due to be argued in December.)
A Virginia grandmother who used ChatGPT to help pick her Powerball numbers struck big — and then donated it all to charity.
Carrie Edwards, of Midlothian, matched four of the first five numbers plus the Powerball in the Sept. 8 drawing, winning $50,000. But because she purchased the Power Play option, her prize tripled to $150,000, according to the Virginia Lottery.
Edwards said she knew instantly what she wanted to do with the unexpected windfall.
“I knew I needed to give it all away, because I’ve been so blessed, and I want this to be an example of how other people, when they’re blessed, can bless other people,” she said during a news conference.
Her first donation went to the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration (AFTD), which supports research, education and family resources for those affected by the early-onset dementia.
Carrie Edwards, seen with Virginia Lottery Executive Director Khalid Jones, won a $150,000 Powerball prize.(Virginia Lottery/Multi-State Lottery Association)
Edwards’ late husband, Steve, a firefighter and father, died from the disease. She said she wanted the gift to shine a light on other families fighting frontotemporal degeneration and the researchers working toward a cure for it. Her donation coincided with World FTD Awareness Week, which took place from Sept. 21-27.
“This cause is deeply personal,” Edwards, a retired PR executive, said.
Edwards also gave to Shalom Farms, a nonprofit farm and food justice organization in Richmond that distributes over 400,000 servings of fresh produce annually.
“Her gift will ensure that families throughout Richmond continue to have access to high-quality, affordable fresh produce,” Anna Ibrahim, executive director of Shalom Farms, said in a statement.
Choosing the Power Play option tripled Edwards’ $50,000 prize to $150,000.(iStock)
Her third contribution went to the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society (NMCRS), which provides financial, educational and emergency assistance to active-duty service members, veterans and their families.
The gift honored her father, Capt. Peter Swanson, a Navy fighter pilot remembered for his “life of service and generosity.” “He and his wife instilled in their children the importance of giving back, making giving to NMCRS a family tradition,” the group wrote in a Facebook post. “Now, with Carrie’s extraordinary gift, the Swanson family’s commitment grows even stronger — ensuring Sailors, Marines, and their families receive the vital support they deserve,” it continued.
Edwards said the three organizations, which she works closely with, represent healing, service and community for her. “Shalom Farms heals through food and soil, AFTD brings hope through research, and Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society carries forward the tradition of supporting military families in times of need,” she said.
“All of us at the Lottery are delighted to see this prize being shared with worthy causes, due to the wonderful generosity of Carrie Edwards,” said Khalid Jones, executive director of the Virginia Lottery.
Edwards said she turned to ChatGPT to help her choose her Powerball numbers.(Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
Lottery profits go toward supporting K-12 public education in the Commonwealth, Jones noted.
At the news conference, Edwards revealed that she turned to artificial intelligence for help picking her numbers. “I’m like, ‘Hey, ChatGPT, talk to me … Do you have numbers for me?’” she recalled.
It responded that it’s all about luck, but Edwards went for it anyway. “Two days go by, and I’m sitting in a meeting and I look at my phone, and it says, ‘Please collect your lottery winnings,’” she said.
She thought it was a scam until she logged into her online account at home.
Edwards, who said she doesn’t play lotto often, had bought her ticket online for the first time, using the Virginia Lottery’s mobile app. “I feel blessed that this unexpected lottery win could serve a greater purpose,” she said.
Deirdre Bardolf is a lifestyle writer with Fox News Digital.
Kilty Cleary is a Los Angeles-based media and marketing pro with 18+ years of experience. He’s worked with top brands like Sporting News and Sports Illustrated, building key partnerships and creating engaging content. Follow him on X and IG @theonlykilty
🎙️ Voice is AI-generated. Inconsistencies may occur.
West Virginia and Kansas will meet on Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025, at 6:00 p.m. ET, in a Week 4 showdown that will be aired on Fox Sports 1.
Kole Taylor #87 of the West Virginia Mountaineers catches a two-point conversion in the fourth quarter against the Kansas Jayhawks at Milan Puskar Stadium on September 21, 2024 in Morgantown, West Virginia. Kole Taylor #87 of the West Virginia Mountaineers catches a two-point conversion in the fourth quarter against the Kansas Jayhawks at Milan Puskar Stadium on September 21, 2024 in Morgantown, West Virginia. Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images
Both teams enter this game with a 2-1 record. Kansas opened its season with an impressive 31-7 win over Fresno State, in which it was led by quarterback Jalon Daniels, who threw for 176 yards and three touchdowns on 18 of 20 passing accuracy. Cam Pickett caught six passes in the game for 77 yards and two touchdowns. Most recently, Kansas fell 42-31 to a top-25 Missouri team. Although the defeat was surely difficult, the Jayhawks did well to battle it out with a strong Tigers squad on the road.
West Virginia, meanwhile, defeated Robert Morris 45-3 to open the season but was then upset 17-10 by Ohio. The Mountaineers impressively bounced back, however, defeating hated rival Pitt 31-24 in overtime. Running back Tye Edwards was monstrous in the win, carrying the ball 25 times for 141 yards and three touchdowns.
Tune into FOX Sports 1 at 6:00 p.m. ET on Saturday afternoon to watch the exciting game between West Virginia and Kansas.
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Rhodell, West Virginia — For as long as Roman Patsey of Raleigh County, West Virginia, remembers, the Appalachian Mountains have provided virtually everything he’s needed to survive, from his income as a coal miner, to his tap water.
“I don’t know if it’s safe or not to tell you the truth,” Patsey told CBS News of his tap water source. “But, you know, what are you going to do? You’ve got to drink water.”
He took CBS News to his only source of drinking water for nearly 50 years: an abandoned coal mine near his home. Like so many here, he dug his own trenches and laid his own water lines hundreds of feet up a mountainside.
He says no part of him wondered why access to water should be this difficult.
“No, I just accepted it,” Patsey said. “It was something you had to do. I worried about running out of water, really, for years.”
He said he has never conducted regular tests on the water for possible contaminants.
About 250,000 West Virginia residentsrely on untreated sources of water, like natural springs or aquifers from coal mines, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. The median income in this area is around $30,000 per year, according to U.S. Census data, a far cry from the prosperity that the coal industry once created. Coal companies used to fund and operate many town water systems in rural West Virginia. But when the industry declined, so did the water infrastructure it used to maintain. Patsey wanted to see this firsthand. So he, with a CBS News crew in tow, went to a water treatment plant in nearby Kimball, a town of more than 300 people in McDowell County. The plant’s windows are boarded up, the roof is completely missing, and there is rusted metal. Yet, this facility is supposed to clean tap water for the entire community.
Just 20 minutes up the road in Rhodell, a community in Raleigh County, the water treatment plant is also crumbling, with rust covering the pipes and a ceiling that is caved in.
“It’s in pretty bad shape as you can see,” said Shane Bragg with the Raleigh County Public Service District. “The fear is what you can’t see underground and what’s in the mines. We have no way of accessing the pumps in the mines, so when they go, the town will lose water.”
Raleigh County is racing to replace water systems before that happens with help from the nonprofit DigDeep, which works to bring clean tap water to the more than 2.2 million Americans who it says are living without it.
“We’re dealing with a lot of systems that are very expensive to maintain,” said Travis Foreman, director of DigDeep’s Appalachia Water Project. “And the local public service districts, they don’t have the manpower to keep up.”
In Rhodell, DigDeep is bringing clean water to the community for the first time in 10 years. “It is a human right to have access to water,” Foreman said. “…Everyone deserves to have that access.”
For Patsey, it’s a source of hope straight from the tap.
“Not long ago at 4 o’clock in the morning, I turned this on like this, not a drop,” Patsey said while standing at his kitchen sink. “It’s such a peace knowing I’m going to have water here.”
Tom Hanson is a national investigative correspondent for CBS News and Stations. His in-depth reports air across all platforms and programs. He is a member of CBS News and Stations Medical, Health, and Wellness Unit.
Gov. Patrick Morrisey speaks at a news conference Monday announcing the state received 2,500 donated signs reading “In God We Trust” for schools. (Amelia Ferrell Knisely | West Virginia Watch)
West Virginia has officially received 2,500 donated signs reading “In God We Trust” for schools to hang up in order to meet requirements set in a new law passed during the 2025 regular session.
Senate Bill 280 required all public primary and secondary schools, as well as institutions of higher education, to display the United States motto in a “conspicuous location” in a main building of the school that is accessible to the public.
The bill was sponsored by Sen. Mike Azinger, R-Wood, and became law this year after being introduced in the Legislature but failing to pass for several years previously. Gov. Patrick Morrisey, a Republican, celebrated the law’s passage at a bill signing in April. The law went into effect on July 11.
SB 280 did not include any mechanism to fund purchasing the motto displays.
Azinger said at a news conference Monday that some schools have already displayed the motto by making their own posters or accepting private donations. Per state code, the displays must be at least 8.5 by 11 inches and include the U.S. flag centered under “In God We Trust.” No other information shall be on the posters.
The donated signs — which come from Patriot Mobile, a self-described “Christian conservative wireless provider,” and First Liberty Institute, a legal organization defending “religious freedom” — will now be sent out to school districts to be hung up.
Monday’s news conference included remarks from Morrisey, who said the posters are critical for students to “understand the importance of basic civics and ensuring we’re recognizing our God in schools.”
“Religious freedom must and will be respected in West Virginia,” Morrisey said. “Thank you and God bless.”
Senate President Randy Smith, R-Preston, said he is a “firm believer that society started going downhill when we took God out of our schools.”
“I think we have statistics to show that,” Smith said.
He did not share what statistics he was referencing.
Other speakers Monday included state lawmakers and national conservative Christian advocates.
Andrea Justus, with First Liberty, urged lawmakers in West Virginia to next pass a law to display the Ten Commandments in schools as well as at the state Capitol.
“First Liberty can help with best-practice language there,” Justus said as she winked toward lawmakers standing nearby. “We’d love to see the Ten Commandments displayed in every classroom in West Virginia.”
Bills to do such in public schools have been introduced in West Virginia over the last several years, however they’ve never made it out of the committee process.
The historic Backyard Brawl rivalry had a chance to receive some national recognition, but West Virginia dropped the ball.
For weeks, there has been speculation that ESPN’s iconic pregame show, College GameDay, could be in Morgantown prior to Pitt vs. West Virginia.
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That was confirmed to be a fact by the lead member of the crew.
Last night during the broadcast of Oklahoma vs. Michigan, Kirk Herbstreit announced that for Week 3, College GameDay would be in Knoxville prior to Georgia vs. Tennessee. However, he also said that if West Virginia had defeated Ohio University that the plan was to be in Morgantown for Pitt/West Virginia.
A Reddit user recently sought advice on how to handle a rash of Japanese stiltgrass on their grandparents’ property.
“In my grandparents’ yard in West Virginia, there’s a pretty large patch of Japanese stiltgrass that’s been spreading pretty bad,” they wrote on r/invasivespecies.
“It’s been there for a few years now. I’m visiting for the summer, and I’d like to help them get rid of it, but I’m not sure of the best way to go about it,” they added.
Photo Credit: Reddit
Photo Credit: Reddit
One major challenge they faced was big: Weeding can actually encourage it to spread due to disturbed soil.
Japanese stiltgrass has been described by experts at the Alabama Cooperative Extension System as “one of the most damaging invasive plant species in the United States.” Like most invasive species, Japanese stiltgrass has a tendency to reproduce quickly, unencumbered by the natural checks and balances with which it evolved.
When a species is moved out of its native environment, it is often positioned to overrun its new home and establish a monopoly on vital resources. This can include food, water, and habitat.
As a result, native species are displaced, leading to a decline in biodiversity and the vital ecosystem services that people depend on. One study suggested that invasive species are responsible for hundreds of billions of dollars of economic losses each year.
The original poster didn’t want to use chemicals that might harm native deertongue plants in the area. Despite those hurdles, it didn’t take long for them to begin the removal process.
Fellow Redditors empathized with the amount of hard work required to eradicate Japanese stiltgrass in the comments.
“We spend about 3 weeks pulling in late summer; I mean we really go at it. We prioritize hills where fresh seeds would travel downhill with rain,” said one community member. “We also prioritize deer trails to cut down on seeds traveling with them. Keep up the good fight.”
“Consider seeding the no-mow native lawngrass Nimblewill (Muhlenbergia schreberi) over the entire affected area!” the gardener replied.
“[Japanese stiltgrass], being an annual, has less and less open soil available to it as time passes. With a little careful pulling from you, in the worst patches, you will help the Nimblewill win faster (but it will win),” the user explained.
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In a huge win for public health and the environment, a U.S. District Judge has ordered Chemours Chemical Company to immediately suspend the discharge of dangerous “forever chemicals” into the Ohio River from its facility near Parkersburg, West Virginia.
The Ohio River supplies drinking water to approximately five million Americans, making this ruling a critical protection for communities. Judge Joseph R. Goodwin issued the order and the opinion, ruling that the discharge was far exceeding legal limits.
“This case is simple and all too familiar,” Judge Goodwin said in his opinion. “Those pollutants endanger the environment, aquatic life and human health. Today, that unlawful, unpermitted discharge stops.”
According to West Virginia Watch, Chemours “strongly disagree[d]” with the ruling and plans to appeal, citing how long it would take for the company to become compliant.
“[Chemours’] permit is not a suggestion…its permit protects public health and environmental life while balancing the needs of manufacturing,” Judge Goodwin continued. “I cannot weigh the scales of that balance to inflict further harm on the communities that rely on clean water for life and livelihood.
These “forever chemicals,” otherwise known as PFAS, pose serious threats to human health and ecosystems. They are extremely persistent and resist breaking down, accumulating in the environment, wildlife, and human bodies. Health risks associated with PFAS exposure are well documented: they include various cancers, immune system suppression, liver and kidney damage, reproductive issues, developmental delays in children, and more.
“This is a victory for public health and the Ohio River,” said Autumn Crowe, deputy director of West Virginia Rivers Coalition. “The court recognized what communities have known for years: Chemours has been polluting our water and ignoring its legal obligations.”
This court ruling brings a much-needed sense of relief amid an often overwhelming run of pessimistic headlines about climate and environmental health. It demonstrates that legal environmental protections work, especially when people band together to hold polluters accountable and defend our drinking water and ecosystems.
This decision sets an encouraging precedent for stricter enforcement of our environmental protections. “The Clean Water Act protects the public, and I will enforce it,” Judge Goodwin wrote.
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican former President Donald Trump will compete for West Virginia’s four electoral votes in the Nov. 5 general election. Voters will also cast ballots for a full slate of federal and state contests, including a U.S. Senate race that will help decide control of the chamber next year.
Neither Harris nor Trump have campaigned in West Virginia, and the state has not been a competitive presidential battleground for years. West Virginia was reliable Democratic territory for most of the 20th century, but Republican presidential candidates have won the state by comfortable margins since George W. Bush’s victory there in 2000.
Also appearing on the presidential ballot this year are three independent or third-party candidates, including Jill Stein and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who dropped out of the race in August and endorsed Trump.
In the U.S. Senate race, Republican Gov. Jim Justice is running against Democrat Glenn Elliott and Libertarian David Moran to succeed Democrat-turned-independent Joe Manchin, who is not seeking a third full term. Manchin’s retirement has complicated Democratic hopes of maintaining control of the chamber next year. A win by Justice would be enough to give the GOP a majority if Trump wins the White House, assuming they hold their other seats.
Republican state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey is running against Democrat Steve Williams and three third-party candidates to replace Justice as governor. Voters also will decide two U.S. House races, including the 2nd Congressional District seat Republican incumbent Alex Mooney gave up to run in the U.S. Senate primary against Justice.
Other races on the ballot include state Senate, state House, attorney general and other state offices, as well as a ballot measure that would prohibit medically assisted suicide.
In recent years, West Virginia has increasingly chosen Republican candidates for the U.S. Senate and House and for statewide offices. Before switching party affiliations, Manchin was one of the last remaining Democrats representing the state.
The Associated Press doesn’t make projections and will declare a winner only when it has determined there is no scenario that would allow the trailing candidates to close the gap. If a race hasn’t been called, the AP will continue to cover any newsworthy developments, like candidate concessions or declarations of victory. In doing so, the AP will make clear it hasn’t declared a winner and explain why.
Here’s a look at what to expect in the 2024 election in West Virginia:
Election Day
Nov. 5.
Poll closing time
7:30 p.m. ET.
Presidential electoral votes
4 awarded to statewide winner.
Key races and candidates
President: Harris (D) vs. Trump (R) vs. Jill Stein (Mountain Party) vs. Chase Oliver (Libertarian) vs. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (independent).
U.S. Senate: Elliott (D) vs. Justice (R) and one other.
Governor: Williams (R) vs. Morrisey (R) and three others.
By midnight ET: about 96% of total votes cast were reported.
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Associated Press writer Maya Sweedler contributed to this report.
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Read more about how U.S. elections work at Explaining Election 2024, a series from The Associated Press aimed at helping make sense of the American democracy. The AP receives support from several private foundations to enhance its explanatory coverage of elections and democracy. See more about AP’s democracy initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Bills aimed to reduce West Virginians’ income tax burden are headed to the desk of Gov. Jim Justice.
One would reduce the state personal income tax by 2%. Another would provide a tax credit to help families pay for child care. The Republican governor is expected to sign both proposals, after they passed final legislative hurdles Tuesday during a special legislative session called by Justice.
Cuts to the state personal income tax have been a priority for Justice, who is nearing the end of his second term as governor and running for the U.S. Senate. He signed a 21.25% tax cut into effect last year, and the tax is scheduled to drop by another 4% in the new year, per a trigger in the 2023 law that allows for further tax cuts if the state meets higher-than-anticipated revenue collections.
Justice had initially been pushing the Legislature to consider cutting the tax a further 5% but amended that proposal to a more conservative 2% cut Monday.
A 2% cut in personal income tax rates would take effect on the first day of the new year and return approximately $46 million to taxpayers. Del. Vernon Criss, the House Finance Committee chair, said he would have preferred a 5% tax cut, but an agreement couldn’t be made with the Senate to support that.
“I still think we are moving in the right direction,” he said. “That’s what we all want.”
The money to pay for the tax cut is coming from an expiring revenue bond and $27 million in savings the Justice administration said came from dissolving the former Department of Health and Human Resources into three new state agencies earlier this year.
Several Democrats spoke against the proposal, expressing concern that the Justice administration had not provided details about where the savings were coming from and how the cut could effect state programs. West Virginia has the highest per capita rate of children in foster care in the nation.
Democrat Del. Kayla Young said she’s never voted against a tax cut proposal during her time in the legislature, but the source of funding for this cut concerned her.
“I don’t feel comfortable not knowing where this money is coming from,” she said.
House Minority Leader Sean Hornbuckle said the tax cut won’t make a meaningful impact on most working-class West Virginians’ budgets — 40 cents a week, or just under $21 a year. He said the trigger system included in the 2023 income tax bill is a more responsible approach, and questioned why the governor was pushing a further tax cut “outside the scope of that in the 25th hour before the election.”
“The policy of it is it’s taking money away from children,” he said. “And if we’re going to do a tax cut, I would submit to this body that we — all of us — do a little bit more work and make sure that money is not going to affect children.”
Republican Del. Larry Kump of Berkeley County said he disagreed that a 2% cut wouldn’t be meaningful to families. He said he both grew up and lives in a working poor neighborhood, and has neighbors that have to make decisions between food and heat.
“Even a little bit is meaningful. A gallon of milk helps with a family,” he said. “Anything we can do to reduce the tax burden on our taxpayers is a good thing.”
A child and dependent tax credit passed by the state Legislature would allow people to receive a non-refundable credit of around $225 to apply to their taxes if they receive the federal child care tax credit, which is around $450 a year. Around 16,000 West Virginia families receive the federal child care tax credit.
The credit is expected to return around $4.2 million to state taxpayers.
It took a camel for us to find out Nikola Jokic has never ridden a horse.
The Nuggets spent this week in Abu Dhabi playing a pair of exhibition games against the world-champion Celtics. Many of the Nuggets staffers made the trip, including their media team. As the players experienced life abroad, a few boarded camels, including Russell Westbrook and Peyton Watson.
A Nuggets reporter asked Jokic if he had been on a camel.
Denver Post beat reporters Parker Gabriel, Ryan McFadden and columnist Troy Renck break down the Broncos’ 26-7 win over Tampa Bay, weigh the impact of losing ILB and captain Alex Singleton for the season to a torn ACL and give the latest on Sean Payton’s team from West Virginia.
What do Parker and Troy think of The Greenbrier and the surrounding rolling hills of West Virginia? And can the trip help Denver get an upset win Sunday against Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets?
All that and more on the latest edition of the 1st & Orange Podcast.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A coal miner was killed on the job in West Virginia on Friday night, Gov. Jim Justice said.
The Republican governor said Gary Chapman, 33, of South Williamson, Kentucky, died after being injured at the Mountaineer II Mine near Sharples, West Virginia.
Justice expressed his condolences in a statement, saying Chapman and his family were in his prayers.
“When we lose a miner, it’s not just a loss for the community, but a loss for the entire State of West Virginia,” Justice said in a statement. “Mr. Chapman’s loss is a powerful reminder that we should always have a deep gratitude for every one of our coal miners. They are the ones who keep our nation running.”
At least eight U.S. coal miners have died on the job in 2024, according to the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration. Four of them died in West Virginia.
The incident is under investigation by the West Virginia Office of Miners’ Health, Safety, and Training and the Mine Safety and Health Administration.
An inmate has been sentenced for his role in the deadly bludgeoning of infamous Boston gangster James “Whitey” Bulger in a West Virginia federal prison in 2018. The inmate, Paul J. DeCologero, was sentenced to more than four years imprisonment after pleading guilty to an assault charge. DeCologero faced a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
Prosecutors initially had said DeCologero and inmate Fotios “Freddy” Geas used a lock attached to a belt to repeatedly hit the 89-year-old Bulger in the head hours after he arrived at troubled USP Hazelton from another lockup in Florida, while another man, Sean McKinnon, served as a lookout. But on Thursday, they said that DeCologero had only served as a lookout and had not physically assaulted Bulger.
Geas faces a hearing on Sept. 6. He has been charged with murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, which carries up to a life sentence. Last year the Justice Department said it would not seek the death sentence for the pair.
This June 23, 2011, file booking photo provided by the U.S. Marshals Service shows James “Whitey” Bulger.
U.S. Marshals Service via AP, File
McKinnon was sentenced only to time served after pleading guilty in June to a charge of lying to federal agents about his role in the murder. McKinnon got credit for spending 22 months in custody after his 2022 indictment, was given no additional prison time and was returned to Florida to finish his supervised release.
Unlike DeCologero, a Massachusetts gangster, and Geas, a onetime Mafia hitman, McKinnon was not incarcerated at the time of Bulger’s killing. He had been on federal supervised release after previously serving prison time for stealing guns from a firearms dealer when he was arrested again on charges related to Bulger’s death.
All three men were originally charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison if convicted, with DeColgero and Geas facing additional murder charges and McKinnon facing the extra count for allegedly making false statements to an FBI agent. Plea deals for the three of them were disclosed May 13.
Geas and DeCologero were identified as suspects shortly after Bulger’s death, but they remained uncharged for years as the investigation dragged on. The three men were indicted in 2022 on criminal charges linked to the murder.
According to court records, inmates found out ahead of time that Bulger would be arriving. DeCologero and Geas spent about seven minutes in Bulger’s cell during the attack. After Bulger’s death, DeCologero told a witness, who was another inmate in the prison, that Bulger was a “snitch” and said that they intended to kill him when he arrived at their unit, prosecutors said. DeCologero was also the one who said, in conversation with another inmate witness, that he and Geas had used a belt with a lock attached to it to beat Bulger to death.
After the killing, experts criticized Bulger’s transfer to Hazelton, where workers had already been sounding the alarm about violence and understaffing, and his placement in the general population instead of more protective housing.
A Justice Department inspector general investigation found in 2022 that the killing was the result of multiple layers of management failures, widespread incompetence and flawed policies at the federal Bureau of Prisons. The inspector general found no evidence of “malicious intent” by any bureau employees but said a series of bureaucratic blunders left Bulger at the mercy of rival gangsters.
In July, the U.S. Senate passed legislation to overhaul oversight and bring greater transparency to the Bureau of Prisons following reporting from The Associated Press that exposed systemic corruption in the federal prison system and increased congressional scrutiny.
Bulger, who ran the largely Irish mob in Boston in the 1970s and ’80s, was also an FBI informant who provided the agency with information on the main rival to his gang.
He became one of the nation’s most wanted fugitives after fleeing Boston in 1994, thanks to a tip from his FBI handler that he was about to be indicted. He was captured at age 81 after more than 16 years on the run.
Bulger was convicted in 2013 in a string of 11 killings and dozens of other gangland crimes, many of them committed while he was said to be an FBI informant.
DeCologero, who was in a gang led by his uncle, was convicted of buying heroin that was used to try to kill a teenage girl because his uncle feared she would betray the crew to police. After the heroin did not kill her, another man broke her neck, dismembered her body and buried her remains in the woods, court records say. DeCologero was sentenced in 2006 to 25 years in prison.
Geas was a close associate of the Mafia and acted as an enforcer but was not an official “made” member because he is Greek, not Italian. He and his brother were sentenced to life in 2011 for their roles in several violent crimes, including the 2003 killing of Adolfo “Big Al” Bruno, a Genovese crime family boss in Springfield, Massachusetts. Another mobster ordered Bruno’s killing because he was upset that he had talked to the FBI, prosecutors said.
