Author: Fox News

A school district in Nevada is being sued by two parents after their children were allegedly required to read a “pornographic” monologue that was barred from being read at a school board meeting, according to the lawsuit.

Candara Evans and Terrell Evans, both parents of children attending Las Vegas Academy of the Arts, are suing the district’s superintendent Dr. Jesus Jara, the district, and the teacher, alleging that they were involved in “unlawful grooming and abuse of a minor” which included “pornographic material,” according to KTSM.

The student, who is 15, wasn’t identified in the lawsuit.

According to the lawsuit, the teacher assigned students to write a monologue, which was followed by another student performing it. The assignment given to the student “contained explicit, obscene and sexually violent material,” according to the lawsuit, which adds that “[The teacher] helped the other student edit their obscenely violent pornographic monologue knowing that it would then be provided to another student to read, memorize and perform in front of the class.”

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Candara Evans and Terrell Evans, both parents of children attending Las Vegas Academy of the Arts, are suing the district’s superintendent Dr. Jesus Jara, the district, and the teacher, alleging that they were involved in “unlawful grooming and abuse of a minor” which included “pornographic material,” according to KTSM.
(Google Maps)

The lawsuit states that one monolauge edited by the teacher contained explicit language:

“I don’t love you. It’s not you, it’s just (looks down) your d***. I don’t like your d*** or any d*** in that case. I cheated Joe. We were long distance and I’m in college and me and this girl, my roommate, started having some drinks and you know, I thought it was a one-time thing but then we started going out for coffee, and started sleeping in the same bed. I never thought it would get this far but God, it was like fireworks, and made me realize that with you it was always like a pencil sharpener that keeps getting jammed. I’ve tried to look at it from all different perspectives, but the truth is, I’m a f***** lesbian. I’ll never love you or any man, or any f****** d***. I hope you find a nice straight girl because that’s not me, and I’m tired of pretending that it is,” the monolauge allegedly states.

Candara Evans spoke with an administrator about the assignment in April 2022, according to the lawsuit.

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“[The administrator] empathized with them that he would be very upset if he found out that assignment had been given to his daughter,” the lawsuit states. “He told them that plaintiffs were handling the issue better than he would and that it would not be swept under the rug. He promised he would make sure that it never happened again. Further, he agreed that [the teacher] should have stopped [the teenager] as soon as she heard the first line of the monologue.”

The lawsuit states that an administrator met with the student, and Candara asked for another meeting with staff. During that meeting, according to the lawsuit, staff members “defended the obscene monologue and then blamed [the student] for reading it.”

During a Board of Trustees meeting on May 12, according to the lawsuit, Candara’s microphone was cut off when she began reading the monologue.

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“I am going to read you an assignment given to my 15-year-old daughter at a local high school,” Candara Evans said during the meeting. “This will be horrifying for me to read to you but that will give you perspective on how she must have felt when her teacher required her to memorize this and to act it out in front of her entire class.”

The school district didn’t give a comment to the outlet, citing ongoing litigation.

Damar Hamlin‘s status has improved in a Cincinnati hospital, according to his uncle, Dorrian Glenn.

Glenn told NFL Network on Tuesday night that the Buffalo Bills safety remains in intensive care but has improved to 50 percent oxygen on a ventilator – he had previously been on 100 percent.

The 24-year-old is still sedated, but Glenn seemed optimistic about his nephew’s health.

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Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin warms up before a game against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field.
(Lon Horwedel-USA TODAY Sports/File)

“Right now, they got him on a ventilator, so they’re trying to get him to breathe on his own,” Glenn told the network. “So, we’re just kind of taking it day by day. Still in the ICU. They have him sedated, so just continue to administer the medical treatment that they’ve been doing.”

Glenn added, “Once he gets out of ICU, I’ll feel better myself.”

Hamlin went into cardiac arrest at 8:55 p.m. on “Monday Night Football” against the Cincinnati Bengals after making a tackle on Tee Higgins — medical staff performed CPR for nine minutes on the field before he was taken to a local hospital.

“I’m really, really thankful for the medical staff that’s been working with him,” Glenn said of the “heartbreaking” events. “They’ve been truly awesome and helping him with his recovery. It was a really, truly scary scene to witness that yesterday, as everyone in the country probably can agree with. I would have felt the way I felt no matter who it was, but for it to be my nephew, man, it was especially more of a gut punch to see that. I’m thankful that he’s still here, he’s still alive, and he’s still fighting. We’re just taking it day by day and continue to let the medical staff do what they do.”

Damar Hamlin of the Buffalo Bills walks to the tunnel during halftime against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Highmark Stadium on Oct. 9, 2022, in Orchard Park, New York.
(Bryan Bennett/Getty Images)

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In the wake of the scary incident, fans have donated more than $5 million to Hamlin’s charity toy drive fund — created in 2020, it had an initial goal of $2,500. Retailer Fanatics also said that all proceeds from Hamlin’s jersey sales, which have skyrocketed in the last 24 hours, will all go to the foundation.

“It’s tremendous to see all the love and support that my nephew has out here,” Glenn said. “A lot of people don’t get a chance to see how loved they are while they’re alive, so for him to have a situation where he could have been taken away, and he has a chance to come back and see all that love that he got, it’s truly an amazing thing, and I can’t wait for him to see all the love and support that people have for him. Not just around the area, but around the country and the world, it’s been amazing.”

Hamlin’s family released a statement on Tuesday expressing “sincere gratitude” for the outpouring of support they received amid a “challenging time” for the family.

“On behalf of our family, we want to express our sincere gratitude for the love and support shown to Damar during this challenging time. We are deeply moved by the prayers, kind words, and donations from fans around the country,” the statement read.

Damar Hamlin of the Buffalo Bills is shown during a game at Highmark Stadium on Oct. 9, 2022, in Orchard Park, New York.
(Timothy T. Ludwig/Getty Images)

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The game was officially postponed 66 minutes after Hamlin collapsed. The NFL announced earlier Tuesday that the game will not be made up this week, and Week 18 will be played as regularly scheduled.

Missouri on Tuesday executed an inmate believed to be the first openly transgender woman to be put to death in the United States.

Amber McLaughlin, 49, died by lethal injection for the 2003 killing of her girlfriend, Beverly Guenther. Prior to the execution, McLaughlin could only be saved by Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, a Republican, who announced hours earlier that the state would carry out the execution Tuesday. 

“McLaughlin’s conviction and sentence remains after multiple, thorough examinations of Missouri law. McLaughlin stalked, raped, and murdered Ms. Guenther. McLaughlin is a violent criminal,” Parson said in a statement. “Ms. Guenther’s family and loved ones deserve peace. The State of Missouri will carry out McLaughlin’s sentence according to the Court’s order and deliver justice.”

McLaughlin’s attorney, Larry Komp, said there were no court appeals pending. The execution was carried out at the Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center in Bonne Terre, Missouri.

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Amber McLaughlin was found guilty of first-degree murder for killing her girlfriend in 2003. McLaughlin was tried as Scott McLaughlin, and did not transition until after the conviction.
(Jeremy S. Weis/Federal Public Defender Office via AP, File)

There is no known case of a transgender inmate being executed in the U.S. before, according to the anti-execution Death Penalty Information Center. A friend in prison says she saw McLaughlin’s personality blossom during her gender transition.

McLaughlin was born and tried as Scott McLaughlin and did not transition until after being sentenced to prison. McLaughlin was in a relationship with Guenther, 45, and would sometimes show up at an office in St. Louis where Guenther worked.

At times, McLaughlin hid inside the building, according to court records, leading Guenther to obtain a restraining order.

Guenther would be escorted to her vehicle by police officers at times. On the night of Nov. 20, 2003, Guenther’s neighbors called police after she failed to return home, AP reported.

Officers went to the office where Guenther worked and found a broken knife handle near her car and a trail of blood. The next day, McLaughlin showed police where Guenther’s body had been dumped in the Mississippi River.

The execution chamber at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution in Boise, Idaho
(AP Photo/Jessie L. Bonner, File)

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McLaughlin was convicted in 2006 of first-degree murder and sentenced to die after a jury deadlocked on the sentence. In 2016, a court ordered a new sentencing hearing, but in 2021, the federal appeals court panel reinstated the death penalty.

Fox News’ Greg Wehner as well as The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Frank Galati, an actor, director, teacher and adapter who was a pivotal figure in Chicago’s theater community and a two-time Tony Award winner, died Monday, according to Steppenwolf Theatre. He was 79.

Galati won twin Tonys in 1990 — best play and best director — for his adaptation and staging of Steppenwolf’s production of John Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath,” starring Gary Sinise as Tom Joad. He was also nominated for directing the 1998 celebrated musical “Ragtime.”

“Every actor will know what I mean when I say that Frank waited for me. He waited for me. He cast you and then he trusted you. Sometimes he knew me as an actor better than I knew myself,” said Steppenwolf member Molly Regan.

His screenwriting credits include “The Accidental Tourist,” for which he was an Oscar nominee. He also was credited for writing the teleplay to Arthur Miller’s play “The American Clock” in 1993.

Frank Galati was a leader of the Chicago theater community known for adapting novels such as “Grapes of Wrath” into plays. 
(Bob Chamberlin/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

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He had highs but also lows on Broadway, including watching his production of “The Pirate Queen” be shipwrecked by blistering reviews and become one of Broadway’s costliest flops in 2007 and being fired in 2001 as director of “Seussical.”

Galati became a Steppenwolf Theatre ensemble member in 1985 and the Goodman Theatre’s associate director a year later. He remained in that post until 2008. He was also an artistic associate at Asolo Repertory Theatre in Sarasota, Florida.

In a joint statement, Steppenwolf’s co-artistic directors Glenn Davis and Audrey Francis paid tribute to Galati.

“Frank had a profound impact on Steppenwolf, and all of us, over the years,” they said. “For some, he was a teacher, mentor, director, adaptor, writer, fellow actor and visionary. Regardless of the relationship, Frank always made others feel cared for, valued and inspired in his ever-generous, joyful and compassionate presence.”

His productions at the Goodman included “The Visit,” “She Always Said Pablo,” “The Winter’s Tale,” “The Good Person of Setzuan” and “Cry the Beloved Country.” He most recently directed Asolo Repertory Theatre’s 2022 world premiere musical “Knoxville,” written by the “Ragtime” team of Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty.

Elaine Steinbeck, wife of author John Steinbeck, at a party for the opening night of the stage adaption of “The Grapes of Wrath.” She is pictured with Steppenwolf Theatre Company actor and founder Gary Sinise (second left), set designer Kevin Rigdon (left) and director Frank Galati.
(Steve Kagan/Getty Images)

Galati’s long career also included directing at the Metropolitan Opera and the Lyric Opera of Chicago, as well as teaching performance study at Northwestern University for nearly 40 years.

“He seems to have five productions going at once, major ones, always juggling, always busy, always thrilled to be doing them all,” Sinise told the Los Angeles Times in 2007. “I’ve asked him several times how he does it, and he says he doesn’t know.”

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Frank Galati poses for a portrait July 29, 2004. He is survived by his husband, Peter Amster, also a theater director.
(AP Photo/Jeff Barnard, File)

Galati won several Joseph Jefferson Awards for outstanding achievements in Chicago theater and two directing awards from the Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation, a League of Chicago Theatres Artistic Leadership Award and an NAACP Theatre Award.

“You won’t find one of us who was fortunate enough to work with him who wasn’t changed by him. He made us all better, and there will never be another one like him,” said Steppenwolf member and Broadway director Anna D. Shapiro.

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He is survived by his husband, Peter Amster, also a theater director.

Walter Cunningham, the last surviving astronaut from the first successful crewed space mission in NASA’s Apollo program, died Tuesday in Houston. He was 90.

NASA confirmed Cunningham’s death on Twitter. 

“Today we mourn the passing of Walt Cunningham: U.S. Marine, patriot, and Apollo astronaut. Cunningham spent 11 days in low-Earth orbit during Apollo 7, the first crewed Apollo flight, and was instrumental to our Moon landing‘s program success,” the space agency wrote. 

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Astronaut Walter Cunningham, Apollo 7 lunar module pilot, is photographed during the Apollo 7 mission. On Tuesday, NASA announced Cunningham had died in Houston.
(Reuters)

Cunningham was one of three astronauts aboard the 1968 Apollo 7 mission, an 11-day spaceflight that beamed live television broadcasts as they orbited Earth, paving the way for the moon landing less than a year later.

“All I remember is just kind of keeping my nose to the grindstone and wanting to do the best I could as — I didn’t realize at the time, but that was because I always wanted to be better prepared for the next step,” Cunningham said during a 1999 interview with NASA’s Oral History Office in which he looked back on his career. “I’ve always been looking to the future.”

He was one of the earlier members of the spaceflight program. He was selected in 1963 as part of NASA’s third astronaut class, the agency said. Prior to that, he had been slated as part of the Apollo 2 crew until it was canceled, according to his official biography.

The Apollo 7 prime crew, from left to right, are astronauts Donn F. Eisele, command module pilot, Walter M. Schirra Jr., commander; and Walter Cunningham, lunar module pilot.
(NASA)

“We would like to express our immense pride in the life that he lived, and our deep gratitude for the man that he was – a patriot, an explorer, pilot, astronaut, husband, brother, and father,” the Cunningham family said in a statement shared by NASA. “The world has lost another true hero, and we will miss him dearly.”

At the time of the 1968 mission, Cunningham, a lunar module pilot, crewed the mission with Navy Capt. Walter M. Schirra and Donn F. Eisele, an Air Force major.

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“Walt Cunningham was a fighter pilot, physicist, and an entrepreneur – but, above all, he was an explorer. On Apollo 7, the first launch of a crewed Apollo mission, Walt and his crewmates made history, paving the way for the Artemis Generation we see today,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “NASA will always remember his contributions to our nation’s space program and sends our condolences to the Cunningham family.”

Cunningham served in the Navy and Marine Corps, where he flew 54 missions as a fighter pilot in Korea before retiring as a colonel. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Republicans were ridiculed for being unable to unite behind Kevin McCarthy and vote for him as the new House speaker Tuesday – and seemingly airing dirty GOP laundry for all Americans to see. 

“This is the worst game of chicken ever. It’s just like a game of chicken [where] you have [one] car going at the other, and you wait, ugh. It’s not even that. It’s just bad,” Greg Gutfeld said. 

“It’s just bad. It’s like the Republicans read a book by the Democrats saying ‘How To Really Screw Up Your Party.’

Twenty Republicans voted against McCarthy in favor of nominating Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio. The House Minority leader needs 218 votes to secure a majority and become speaker but fell short twice by fourteen votes. 

Gutfeld argued the GOP likely would have already elected McCarthy if the voting process weren’t broadcast on TV like a reality show. 

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“What are we doing? Gutfeld asked. “If this were relegated to C-SPAN, we wouldn’t even know it existed, and they would probably get through it, but because it’s on our shows now, they are like, ‘Okay, this is for my future, I need to do this to make the people on Twitter happy or [get] my buddies on television [to] invite me more often.'”

FILE – In this May 16, 2018, file photo, House Majority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., listens during a roundtable in Washington. McCarthy says thieves broke into his office in Bakersfield, Calif., and that he’s hoping for help from the public to identify them. 
((AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File))

“The Five” co-host Judge Jeanine Pirro said Americans watching at home  are asking, “‘What the heck is wrong with these people?’” 

“‘We elected them, we gave them money. We now have the majority in the House and they can’t get along with each other?'” she quipped.

Pirro argued the GOP needs to stop holding votes and get together and find out how to bring in the 20 Republicans who voted against McCarthy. 

“The truth is McCarthy worked like a dog for the last two years. He raised $250 million for candidates, some of whom haven’t even been sworn in yet and were against him,” she said. 

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“This guy has done everything he could whether you like him or you don’t like him; it’s time to get together as a party.”

The U.S. State Department called on China to be more transparent about the current COVID-19 outbreak and origins of the virus, hitting back at a Chinese official who called travel restrictions “unacceptable” on Tuesday. 

“If the [People’s Republic of China] wants to see countries do away with various requirements that have been put in place, there’s a way to help bring that about and that is with additional transparency,” 

“Long before this COVID surge in the PRC, we have consistently called for additional transparency from the PRC regarding COVID, including in the context of COVID origins,” Price added. “We think it is profoundly in the world’s interest, but it’s also profoundly in the PRC’s interest that they do so as well.”

China relaxed its “zero-COVID” strategy last month amid nationwide protests and surging cases, but health officials around the world have expressed skepticism about official data coming out of the country. 

Travelers walk at a terminal hall of the Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing, China, on March 23, 2022.
(REUTERS/Tingshu Wang)

Marion Koopmans, a Dutch virologist who sits on a World Health Organization committee that met with Chinese officials on Tuesday, told Reuters that the numbers China has released are “not very credible.”

“We want to see a more realistic picture of what is actually going on,” Koopmans told the new outlet. 

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At least a dozen countries, including the U.S., Canada, Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and Italy, have placed restrictions on travel from China. 

Masked travelers check their passports as they line up at the international flight check in counter at the Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing, Thursday, Dec. 29, 2022. 
(AP Photo/Andy Wong)

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Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning criticized the restrictions on Tuesday, saying that they lack “scientific basis.” 

“We firmly reject using COVID measures for political purposes and will take corresponding measures in response to varying situations based on the principle of reciprocity,” she told reporters.