Staff member at Massachusetts school dies after 14-year-old student allegedly kicked her in the chest.

Amy Morrell, 53, of Riverside, Rhode Island, was kicked in the chest by the teen while trying to restrain her just before 7 p.m. at Meadowridge Academy, officials said.

Morrell collapsed to the floor, and staff immediately began CPR and called 911. Emergency medical services transported Morrell to an area hospital, where she was pronounced dead Thursday afternoon.

The teen was allegedly trying to leave a dorm building without permission, officials said.

“This will be very fact-intensive. First of all, what were the circumstances around this? And, secondly, it will also depend on what the coroner says. What is the medical examiner going to say is the cause of death? Because the charge — as alleged — indicates, you know, no specific intent, obviously, and although we know that people can die from one punch or one kick, it doesn’t happen that often. And so, until we know more of the facts, we can’t really say if there will be upgraded charges,” legal analyst Martha Coakley said.

The teen was charged with assault and battery causing serious bodily injury, according to Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn III’s office. She was arraigned in Fall River Juvenile Court on Thursday morning.

“It’s a horrible accident. You get in a horrible fight, you don’t think you’re going to hit someone and they’re going to die right there — especially if you’re a kid. So, that child’s life is probably ruined. Her life is gone. It’s just a tragic situation,” family friend Andrew Ferruche said.

A spokesperson from Meadowridge Academy offered the following statement about the tragedy:

“The Meadowridge Academy community is deeply saddened by the passing of direct care staff member, Amy Morrell. We extend our heartfelt condolences to Amy’s family during this difficult time. Support services and resources are available to assist students and staff as we grieve this tragic loss.”

The investigation remains ongoing, and no further information was immediately available.

Ahead of #Zelenskyy meeting, #Trump shows signs he might not be ready to send Kyiv #Tomahawk #missiles.

Zelenskyy gets his one-on-one with Trump a day after the U.S. president and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a lengthy phone call to discuss the conflict.

In recent days, Trump had shown openness to selling Ukraine long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles, even as Putin warned that such a move would further strain the U.S.-Russian relationship.

But following Thursday’s call with Putin, Trump appeared to downplay the prospects of Ukraine getting the missiles, which have a range of about 995 miles (1,600 kilometres.)

“We need Tomahawks for the United States of America too,” Trump said. “We have a lot of them, but we need them. I mean we can’t deplete our country.”

Zelenskyy had been seeking the weapons that would allow Ukrainian forces to strike deep into Russian territory and target key military sites, energy facilities and critical infrastructure. Zelenskyy has argued such strikes would help compel Putin to take Trump’s calls for direct negotiations to end the war more seriously.

But Putin warned Trump during the call that supplying Kyiv with the Tomahawks “won’t change the situation on the battlefield, but would cause substantial damage to the relationship between our countries,” according to Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s foreign policy adviser.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said that talk of providing Tomahawks had already served a purpose by pushing Putin into talks. “The conclusion is that we need to continue with strong steps. Strength can truly create momentum for peace,” Sybiha said on the social platform X late Thursday.

It will be the fourth face-to-face meeting for Trump and Zelenskyy since the Republican returned to office in January, and their second in less than a month.

Trump announced following Thursday’s call with Putin that he would soon meet with the Russian leader in Budapest, Hungary, to discuss ways to end the war. The two also agreed that their senior aides, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, would meet next week at an unspecified location.

Fresh off brokering a ceasefire and hostage agreement between Israel and Hamas, Trump has said finding an endgame to the war in Ukraine is now his top foreign policy priority and has expressed new confidence about the prospects of getting it done.

Ahead of his call with Putin, Trump had shown signs of increased frustration with the Russian leader.

Last month, he announced that he believed Ukraine could win back all territory lost to Russia, a dramatic shift from the U.S. leader’s repeated calls for Kyiv to make concessions to end the war.

Trump, going back to his 2024 campaign, insisted he would quickly end the war, but his peace efforts appeared to stall following a diplomatic blitz in August, when he held a summit with Putin in Alaska and a White House meeting with Zelenskyy and European allies.

Trump emerged from those meetings certain he was on track to arranging direct talks between Zelenskyy and Putin. But the Russian leader hasn’t shown any interest in meeting with Zelenskyy and Moscow has only intensified its bombardment of Ukraine.

Trump, for his part, offered a notably more neutral tone about Ukraine following what he described a “very productive” call with Putin.

He also hinted that negotiations between Putin and Zelenskyy might be have to be conducted indirectly.

“They don’t get along too well those two,” Trump said. “So we may do something where we’re separate. Separate but equal.”

Aamer Madhani, The Associated Press

The U.S. military flew three B-52 bombers on missions near the coast of Venezuela on Wednesday, according to a Global Strike Command spokesperson and a U.S. official, as the Trump administration continues to exert pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro's government.

Tracking data on the site Flightradar24 shows the planes circled in the Caribbean Sea on Wednesday, flying about 150 miles north of Venezuela. The data was first reported by ABC News.

The B-52 is a long-range bomber capable of carrying conventional or nuclear weapons, according to the Air Force. It was used extensively in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The mission follows a monthslong uptick in military activity in the waters off Venezuela. President Trump has deployed eight warships, a nuclear-powered submarine and fighter jets to the area. In sum, about 10,000 U.S. forces are built up in the Caribbean region, either on ships or in Puerto Rico, CBS News learned Wednesday.

The military has also carried out airstrikes on at least five alleged drug-carrying boats near Venezuela since last month. And on Wednesday, Mr. Trump acknowledged that he has authorized covert CIA operations in the South American country, and said his administration is considering strikes on drug traffickers by land.

A look at the Tomahawk, a U.S. cruise missile that could come into play in the #Ukraine #war.

The missile also boasts an impressive range of around 1,000 miles (1,609 kilometres) and precision guidance systems that make it the go-to weapon for striking targets that are deep inland or in hostile territory. U.S. President Donald Trump has hinted that he might give Tomahawks to Ukraine, which could make a key difference for Kyiv in its war with Moscow.

Last year, The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank based in Washington, estimated that the U.S. navy had roughly 4,000 Tomahawk missiles in its inventory in 2023. However, they noted that this estimate would have predated the significant military action against Houthi rebels in Yemen.

In defending from Houthi attacks and launching counterattacks, the U.S. navy said ships from the Eisenhower Carrier Strike group launched 135 Tomahawk missiles. That figure has likely only grown after the strike group returned home in the summer of 2024 since Trump ordered a month-long campaign of strikes against the group in the spring of 2025.

Meanwhile, the U.S. navy has not been ordering many new Tomahawk missiles. Pentagon budget documents show that in 2023 the U.S. navy and marine corps only bought 68 new missiles. The most recent budget documents show the U.S. navy hadn’t purchased any new missiles in the following years and the U.S. marine corps only bought 22 missiles last year. Neither the U.S. marines nor the U.S. navy requested to buy any new Tomahawk missiles in the latest budget.

Aside from dwindling stocks, several defence officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to more candidly discuss military policy also expressed skepticism about offering the missile to Ukraine because of questions about how it would be employed.

While the United States launched Tomahawk missiles almost exclusively from ships or submarines, Ukraine doesn’t possess a navy with ships capable of carrying the 20-foot-long missile. The U.S. army has been developing a platform to launch the missile from the ground, but one official said that the capability was still far from ready, even for U.S. forces.

Konstantin Toropin, The Associated Press

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he was considering strikes targeting #Venezuelan cartels on land, after a series of deadly strikes at sea against alleged drug-carrying boats.

#Trump hosts glitzy dinner for wealthy donors to new White House ballroom

Faulty engineering led to implosion of Titan submersible headed to Titanic wreckage, NTSB finds.

The NTSB made the statement in its final report on the hull failure and implosion of the Titan submersible in June 2023. Everyone on board the submersible died instantly in the North Atlantic when Titan suffered a catastrophic implosion as it descended to the wreck.

The NTSB report states that the faulty engineering of the Titan “resulted in the construction of a carbon fiber composite pressure vessel that contained multiple anomalies and failed to meet necessary strength and durability requirements.” It also stated that OceanGate, the owner of the Titan, failed to adequately test the Titan and was unaware of its true durability.

The report also said the wreckage of the Titan likely would have been found sooner had OceanGate followed standard guidance for emergency response, and that would have saved “time and resources even though a rescue was not possible in this case.”

The NTSB report dovetails with a Coast Guard report released in August that described the Titan implosion as preventable. The Coast Guard determined that safety procedures at OceanGate, a private company based in Washington state, were “critically flawed” and found “glaring disparities” between safety protocols and actual practices.

OceanGate suspended operations in July 2023 and wound down. A spokesperson for the company declined to comment on Wednesday.

In August, after the Coast Guard report was released, a company spokesperson offered condolences to the families of those who died.

The Titan’s implosion killed OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush and led to lawsuits and calls for tighter regulation of private deep sea expeditions. The implosion also killed French underwater explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet, known as “Mr. Titanic”; British adventurer Hamish Harding; and two members of a prominent Pakistani family, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood.

Surging CO2 levels a sign Canada must resist climate backsliding: scientist, The World Meteorological Organization’s annual greenhouse gas bulletin says the CO2 growth rate, which has tripled since the 1960s, reflects a combination of continued fossil fuel emissions and reductions in how much is absorbed in forests, oceans and other natural “carbon sinks.”

Damon Matthews, a climate scientist at Concordia University, says it should be a wake-up call for governments in Canada and abroad to rapidly bring down emissions to stabilize the climate.

Matthews, a member of an independent federal climate advisory group, says Canada must resist the bullying by U.S. President Donald Trump who has assailed climate change as a “con job,” cancelled major renewable projects, pulled the U.S. out of the United Nations climate accord and urged global leaders to back off clean energy.

Wednesday’s report says the likely reason for the record CO2 growth was large contributions from wildfire emissions and reduced uptake from the land and the ocean in 2024, the hottest year on record boosted by a strong El Nino, a natural climate pattern.

About half of the carbon emitted into the atmosphere is absorbed by the Earth’s land ecosystems and oceans.

Yet, the report notes there are concerning signs that uptake is shrinking. As temperatures rise, oceans absorb less CO2. Land carbon sinks are also reduced by drier vegetation or more intense wildfires.

Matthews says the world has yet to hit a so-called “new normal.”

“We are nowhere near the new normal at the current trend. Things are going to continue getting worse and worse until we actually solve the problem fundamentally,’ said Matthews, an expert on carbon budgeting.

“We need to, you know, cut our emissions globally in half and then keep decreasing them towards zero in order to keep levels stable.”

The findings in Wednesday’s bulletin are consistent with a June report published by Matthews and more than 60 other scientists who found the world was on pace to produce enough greenhouse gas emissions in the next three years to blow past the international global warming target of 1.5 degrees, Matthews said.

United Nations climate chief Simon Stiell has said the Earth is now on track for 3 C.

The WMO’s bulletin comes ahead of the UN climate summit known as COP30, to be held next month in Brazil, where there will be calls for leaders to ramp up climate action.

“Sustaining and expanding greenhouse gas monitoring are critical to support such efforts,” Oksana Tarasova, co-ordinator of the WMO’s Greenhouse Gas Bulletin, said in a statement.

Growth rates of CO2 have accelerated from an annual average increase of 2.4 parts per million per year in the decade from 2011 to 2020, to 3.5 ppm from 2023 to 2024, WMO said.

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s global data for this year through June reveals that carbon dioxide rates are still rising at one of the highest rates on record, yet not quite as high as from 2023 to 2024.

Jordan Omstead, The Canadian Press

With files from The Associated Press.

#Russian troops liberated the community of Balagan in the Donetsk region over the past 24 hours in the special military operation in Ukraine, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported on Tuesday.

"Battlegroup Center units liberated the settlement of Balagan in the Donetsk People’s Republic through active offensive operations," the ministry said in a statement.

Battlegroup Center units also kept advancing in the eastern quarters of Dimitrov in the Donetsk People’s Republic, it said.
Kiev loses 1,560 troops along engagement line in past day - latest figures

The Ukrainian army lost roughly 1,560 troops in battles with Russian forces in all the frontline areas over the past 24 hours, according to the latest data on the special military operation in Ukraine released by Russia’s Defense Ministry.

The latest figures show that the Ukrainian army lost roughly 195 troops and an armored combat vehicle in the responsibility area of Russia’s Battlegroup North, over 230 troops and four armored combat vehicles in the responsibility area of the Battlegroup West and more than 205 troops and four armored combat vehicles in the responsibility area of the Battlegroup South.

During the last 24-hour period, the Ukrainian army also lost roughly 550 troops and two armored combat vehicles in the responsibility area of Russia’s Battlegroup Center, about 330 troops, a tank and two armored personnel carriers in the responsibility area of the Battlegroup East and around 50 troops and an armored combat vehicle in the responsibility area of the Battlegroup Dnepr, the latest figures show.
Russia’s Battlegroup North inflicts 195 casualties on Ukrainian army in past day

Russia’s Battlegroup North inflicted roughly 195 casualties on Ukrainian troops and destroyed an enemy armored combat vehicle in its areas of responsibility over the past day, the ministry reported.

"Battlegroup North units improved their tactical position and inflicted losses on formations of two mechanized brigades, an air assault brigade, an assault regiment of the Ukrainian army and a territorial defense brigade in areas near the settlements of Andreyevka, Alekseyevka, Varachino and Novaya Sech in the Sumy Region," the ministry said.

In the Kharkov direction, Battlegroup North units inflicted losses on formations of a motorized infantry brigade of the Ukrainian army and a territorial defense brigade in areas near the settlements of Volchansk, Grafskoye and Kolodeznoye in the Kharkov Region, the ministry said.

The Ukrainian army lost an estimated 195 personnel, an armored combat vehicle, six motor vehicles and three field artillery guns in those frontline areas over the past 24 hours, it specified.

In addition, Russian forces destroyed an electronic warfare station and an ammunition depot of the Ukrainian army, it said.
Russia’s Battlegroup West inflicts over 230 casualties on Ukrainian army in past day

Russia’s Battlegroup West inflicted more than 230 casualties on Ukrainian troops and destroyed four enemy armored combat vehicles in its area of responsibility over the past day, the ministry reported.

"Battlegroup West units gained better lines and positions and inflicted losses on manpower and equipment of two mechanized brigades, an assault brigade of the Ukrainian army and a National Guard brigade in areas near the settlements of Kupyansk and Kurilovka in the Kharkov Region, Novosyolovka and Drobyshevo in the Donetsk People’s Republic," the ministry said.

The Ukrainian army lost more than 230 personnel, four armored combat vehicles, 26 motor vehicles and a self-propelled artillery gun in that frontline area over the past 24 hours, it specified.

In addition, Russian forces destroyed a US-made AN/TPQ-50 counterbattery radar station, nine electronic warfare stations and five ammunition depots of the Ukrainian army, it said.
Russia’s Battlegroup South inflicts over 205 casualties on Ukrainian army in past day

Russia’s Battlegroup South inflicted more than 205 casualties on Ukrainian troops and destroyed four enemy armored combat vehicles in its area of responsibility over the past day, the ministry reported.

"Battlegroup South units improved their forward positions and inflicted losses on formations of five mechanized brigades, an air assault brigade of the Ukrainian army, a territorial defense brigade and a National Guard brigade in areas near the settlements of Zvanovka, Dronovka, Ivanopolye, Yablonovka, Berestok and Konstantinovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic," the ministry said.

The Ukrainian army lost more than 205 personnel, four armored combat vehicles, 13 motor vehicles and four artillery guns in that frontline area over the past 24 hours, it specified.

In addition, Russian forces destroyed an ammunition depot and five materiel depots of the Ukrainian army, it said.
Russia’s Battlegroup Center inflicts 550 casualties on Ukrainian army in past day

Russia’s Battlegroup Center inflicted roughly 550 casualties on Ukrainian troops and destroyed two enemy armored combat vehicles in its area of responsibility over the past day, the ministry reported.

During the last 24-hour period, Battlegroup Center units "inflicted losses on manpower and equipment of four mechanized brigades, an airmobile brigade, a jaeger brigade, an air assault brigade, two assault regiments of the Ukrainian army and a territorial defense brigade in areas near the settlements of Belitskoye, Artyomovka, Vasilevka, Novopavlovka, Toretskoye and Krasnoarmeysk in the Donetsk People’s Republic," the ministry said.

The Ukrainian army lost an estimated 550 personnel, two armored combat vehicles, six pickup trucks and a field artillery gun in that frontline area over the past 24 hours, it specified.
Russia’s Battlegroup East inflicts 330 casualties on Ukrainian army in past day

Russia’s Battlegroup East inflicted roughly 330 casualties on Ukrainian troops and destroyed an enemy tank and two armored personnel carriers in its area of responsibility over the past day, the ministry reported.

"Battlegroup East units kept advancing deep into the enemy’s defenses and inflicted losses on formations of two mechanized brigades, two assault regiments of the Ukrainian army and a territorial defense brigade in areas near the settlements of Uspenovka and Barvinovka in the Zaporozhye Region, Vodyanoye, Pokrovskoye and Novonikolayevka in the Dnepropetrovsk Region," the ministry said.

The Ukrainian army lost an estimated 330 personnel, a tank, two armored personnel carriers, 14 motor vehicles, an artillery gun and an electronic warfare station in that frontline area over the past 24 hours, it specified.
Russia’s Battlegroup Dnepr eliminates 50 Ukrainian troops in past day

Russia’s Battlegroup Dnepr eliminated roughly 50 Ukrainian troops and destroyed an enemy armored combat vehicle in its area of responsibility over the past day, the ministry reported.

"Battlegroup Dnepr units inflicted losses on manpower and equipment of a mechanized brigade of the Ukrainian army and a territorial defense brigade in areas near the settlements of Novoandreyevka and Kamenskoye in the Zaporozhye Region, Antonovka and Sadovoye in the Kherson Region," the ministry said.

"As many as 50 Ukrainian army personnel, an armored combat vehicle, eight motor vehicles, three electronic warfare stations and an ammunition depot were destroyed," the ministry said.
Russian troops strike Ukrainian fuel, missile/artillery depots over past 24 hours

Russian troops struck fuel and missile/artillery armament depots of the Ukrainian army over the past 24 hours, the ministry reported.

"Operational/tactical aircraft, attack unmanned aerial vehicles, missile troops and artillery of the Russian groups of forces struck transport, fuel and energy infrastructure sites used to support the Ukrainian army’s operations, fuel and lubricants and missile/artillery armament depots, and also temporary deployment areas of Ukraine’s armed formations and foreign mercenaries in 138 locations," the ministry said.
Russian air defenses intercept 195 Ukrainian UAVs, six HIMARS rockets over past day

Russian air defense forces shot down 195 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and six US-made HIMARS rockets over the past day, the ministry reported.

"Air defense capabilities shot down 10 guided aerial bombs, six rockets of the US-made HIMARS multiple launch rocket system and 195 fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles," the ministry said.

Overall, the Russian Armed Forces have destroyed 667 Ukrainian warplanes, 283 helicopters, 90,139 unmanned aerial vehicles, 631 surface-to-air missile systems, 25,498 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 1,600 multiple rocket launchers, 30,446 field artillery guns and mortars and 43,922 special military motor vehicles since the start of the special military operation, the ministry reported.

#Israel receives remains of four Gaza hostages — premier’s office. According to the statement, the military is now taking the remains to the territory of Israel, where they will be transferred to the National Center of Forensic Medicine for identification.

The Israeli military in the Gaza Strip received four coffins with remains of refuges from the International Committee of the Red Cross, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

According to the statement, the military is now taking the remains to the territory of Israel, where they will be transferred to the National Center of Forensic Medicine for identification.

"An official statement will be made after the identification process is over," the premier’s office said.

On October 13, Hamas and other Palestinian groups released all the 20 living hostages and handed over the bodies of four deceased hostages under the Gaza ceasefire deal. The hostages were handed over to the Israeli military through the Red Cross and are already in Israel’s territory. In turn, Israel will release 1,968 Palestinian prisoners, including 250 serving life or long sentences.

The Israeli side expressed resentment that Hamas has returned only four out of 28 bodies of deceased hostages. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz accused Hamas of failing to implement its commitments under the deal and warned that any delay or deviation from fulfilling obligations will be deemed a gross violation of the #Gaza ceasefire agreement and will entail an appropriate response.