Author: CNN Newsource

By Tara Lynch

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    HARFORD COUNTY, Maryland (WJZ) — A controversial book will stay in Harford County high schools after a lengthy legal battle, a judge ruled Thursday.

Harford County Judge Yolanda Curtin deliberated for two hours and decided the book, “Flamer,” should remain on school library shelves.

The coming-of-age story is set in the 1990s and explores themes of masculinity and homophobia.

The banned book debate The illustrated novel has been in question in the district since a parent sought its removal back in November 2024. Attorneys said the parent believed the book “plants seeds in the minds of children.”

Author Mike Curato, who held a sold-out discussion amid the controversy, said the book is about a teenage boy who navigates friendships, bullies and a boy he can’t stop thinking about. He said it aims to help young people as they go through difficult times and those trying to find themselves.

Per school district policies, the book was reviewed by the county’s reconsideration committee, which is made up of nine people, including teachers and staff, parents, students and community members. After an extensive review, which included training on state law, reading the book and discussing its merits, the committee decided unanimously to keep the book in Harford County high schools.

However, parents said the county school board voted to ban the book anyway during a closed-door session last June after public appeals. This was the first book to be removed by the district after it created a process to review books that had been flagged by concerned parents.

Parents appealed the school board’s decision to the state board of education. Last fall, the state sided with the reconsideration committee and said the decision to remove the book was arbitrary, reinstating it in high school libraries.

The school board then filed for an administrative appeal in front of a circuit court judge.

The judge’s ruling In Thursday’s ruling, Curtin criticized the county school board and said it didn’t follow its own policies and procedures. In addition, the judge said the “collective wisdom of the board” is not enough to overturn the reconsideration committee’s review.

Maryland’s Freedom to Read Act states that material cannot be removed from school libraries based on political, religious or personal views.

The judge said the school board inserted its own opinions into the decision, and thus acted arbitrarily and illegally.

This is the first time the state’s Freedom to Read Act has been challenged in court, making this a precedent-setting case.

Community reacts to ruling Outside court, some parents and community advocates celebrated the judge’s decision, saying it is important to give children diverse reading materials. Advocates from Together We Will Harford County called the ruling a win for children in the school district.

“There are procedures and processes put in place, and qualified people were chosen to review these books. They are qualified. They are trained. They know exactly what they need to do. They do not take this responsibility lightly,” parent Leslie Thompson said. “And for the BOE to decide that they have disagreements with that group based on their own ideals is unacceptable.”

Moms for Liberty Harford County, however, opposed the book, and said it supports “wholesome books” in school libraries.

“Some Middle Schools have Flamer in the libraries. We don’t want material for young minds that is heavy on sexuality and foul language. The libraries have so many better options to choose from than books that advocate for sexuality and filthy language,” the organization said in a statement before the hearing.

Carol Bruce, who currently sits on the Harford County Board of Education, was in court Thursday. She voted to keep the book in school libraries when it came before the board in July 2025. She said this review process took too long and cost the district too much money, though she did not put an exact dollar amount on the cost.

WJZ has reached out to School Board President Lauren Paige for comment and we are waiting for a response. It’s unclear if the county school board will appeal this decision.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By La’Tasha Givens

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    HAPEVILLE, Georgia (WUPA) — Founded in 1956, Hapeville’s Academy Theatre is celebrating 70 years of storytelling, training actors and introducing audiences to new ideas.

The city institution, which artistic director Robert Drake describes as Georgia’s longest-running theater, also holds the distinction of being the first professional theater to integrate both its casts and audience in the southeastern United States.

Over seven decades, the company has weathered multiple relocations, lean budgets, and the shifting tides of the entertainment industry. Now, it is marking its anniversary with “N,” a provocative historical drama exploring a conflict over race, dignity and artistic control.

Inside the rehearsal hall this week, an exchange of powerful dialogue echoes across the stage. Under the watchful direction of director Brenda Porter, who is also the artistic director for Impact Theater, the cast is fine-tuning the drama.

The play examines the untold friction behind Eugene O’Neill’s 1920 Broadway sensation, “The Emperor Jones,” revisiting the contentious creative clash between O’Neill, the celebrated white playwright, and Charles S. Gilpin, the pioneering Black star who originated the title role on Broadway.

Their partnership fractured over Gilpin’s refusal to keep delivering dehumanizing racial slurs written into the script, a dispute that ultimately led to Gilpin being replaced by a young Paul Robeson when the production went overseas. Under Porter’s direction, the ensemble mines every beat for honest friction, turning a century-old battle over dignity and artistic ownership into an electrifying stage presence.

“The Academy Theatre has had a 70-year history of being the birthplace of new theater and new ideas and new approaches and we’re especially proud to continue that,” Drake said.

He said the theater has served as a foundational training ground for actors and directors over the decades, including Samuel L. Jackson, Tony Award-winning director Kenny Leon, David Hasselhoff, and John Schneider. All honed their craft under the theatre’s guidance either in-house or with its traveling group of actors.

Like other arts organizations, the theater faces financial challenges while competing with streaming services and other digital entertainment.

“The Academy Theatre, like all theaters, is fighting for its financial life and part of that is competing against a digital space,” Drake said. “We used to be able to keep eight full-time actors on an annual salary, but we can’t do that anymore.”

Despite those challenges, the theater has kept its core educational mission alive through its apprenticeship and internship program.

“One of the things we’re really proud of is that we’ve kept our apprentice and internship program and we continue to launch a number of actors in just this decade alone,” Drake said. “We’ve got over 20 people who make their entire living in the performing arts.”

For Drake, live theater offers a connection that other forms of entertainment cannot replicate.

“It provides an intimate window into someone else’s reality because when they’re crying on stage, that’s a real person crying and that’s a connection you can’t make over film,” he said. “Theater is an art form that AI will not take away.”

Beyond its mainstage productions, the Academy Theatre operates a second stage featuring local performers.

“We have a variety of performers from jazz musicians to magicians to poets to storytellers who come and let you wind down your weekend from 6:30 to 8:30 on a Sunday,” Drake said.

As the company looks toward its next chapter, its leaders hope the theater remains a training ground for working artists and a cultural anchor for Hapeville.

A free preview of “N” is scheduled for Thursday night at the Academy Theatre on North Central Avenue in downtown Hapeville. The production officially opens this weekend.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Leondra Head

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    ATLANTA, Georgia (WUPA) — Grammy Award-winning singer Lizzo stopped by to inspire students at College Park Elementary School on Thursday afternoon.

Her visit was to read her new children’s book to the students. “Lil Lizzo Meets Sasha B. Flootin” is about a girl finding her voice with the help of a smart and sassy flute. Lizzo says it’s a book students can relate to when finding their voice.

The singer, known for her hits “Truth Hurts,” “About Damn Time,” and Juice,” also played her flute for the kids.

Students at College Park Elementary say they enjoyed Lizzo’s visit.

“I enjoy her story. It really inspired me to do amazing things. I really do like the part where she didn’t find a place where she belonged, and she felt that music,” College Park Elementary School student Zoey Norwood said.

Lizzo gave away copies of her book to students in kindergarten through third grade at the school.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Abby Dodge

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    MIAMI, Florida (WFOR) — An American Airlines flight bound for Guyana diverted back to Miami International Airport on Thursday evening after a passenger allegedly threatened a flight attendant during the aircraft’s ascent.

The incident occurred shortly after takeoff aboard a Boeing 737 MAX 8.

“While we were climbing out, he rushed the flight attendants in the back of the aircraft,” a crew member told air traffic control, according to radio transmissions.

The flight turned around minutes after departure and flew a figure-eight pattern before landing safely back at Miami International Airport.

Air traffic control audio indicated that the passenger allegedly made a verbal threat toward a crew member.

“I guess the exact words were, ‘I will take care of you when we land in Guyana,’ but in a very threatening manner,” a crew member reported.

The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene after receiving an initial report that a passenger had assaulted a flight attendant. However, investigators later determined that the situation involved a verbal dispute rather than a physical assault.

After the aircraft returned to the gate, the passenger exited without incident. Authorities said the traveler was rebooked on a different flight.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Matt Flener

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    INDEPENDENCE, Missouri (KMBC) — Independence firefighters told a police officer they did not believe they hit a parked car last Wednesday while making a turn in a cul-de-sac near East 41st Street South and Kerrington Drive, according to an Independence Police Department crash report.

The crash smashed in the front driver’s side of Ashanti Grant’s Toyota Camry, and she is now asking for the Jackson County prosecutor’s office to review what happened. Grant believes the firefighters saw the damage and left the scene.

“They got out and some were approaching already, looked at it and left,” Grant said. “I would appreciate accountability from not just them but the prosecutor in not allowing this to pass as an ‘I didn’t know.'”

Footage from a nearby home’s security camera appears to show a firefighter who helped the truck back up after the impact, reach his hand toward damage on the car after the crash. Another firefighter outside of the truck also appeared to turn his head toward the car as the truck was in the process of turning around.

It is not immediately clear from the video if any firefighters linked the damage on the Camry to the fire truck or heard or saw the crash happen when the back passenger side of the fire truck hit the Toyota Camry’s driver’s side.

The video shows the fire truck pulling out of frame two minutes and 22 seconds after the impact.

CRASH REPORT LISTS “DISTRACTION”

The crash report, obtained by KMBC 9 Investigates in an open records request, listed distraction as a probable contributing circumstance to the crash, confirming Independence Fire Department Truck No. 2 hit the car while turning in a cul-de-sac last week.

The crash narrative, written by Independence Police Officer Brett Schmidli and reviewed by Sgt. Jeff Buck, says IFD personnel told Schmidli “they did not believe they struck the vehicle and left the scene responding back to their station.”

The crash report marks “no” in the category of “left the scene.”

There are no charges against the fire truck driver, identified as Jude Buxton in the crash report, nor any of the other firefighters involved.

KMBC 9 Investigates asked Independence police if the driver of the fire truck reported the crash.

An Independence police technician provided a report on Tuesday showing that officers responded to the firehouse at 5:42 p.m., approximately an hour and forty minutes after the crash.

According to the report, police got called after Grant went to Fire Station Two to ask firefighters what had happened.

A search of police records did not indicate any other records that firefighters reported the crash to police, according to the police technician.

KMBC has asked an Independence police spokeswoman and a City of Independence spokeswoman if firefighters reported the crash and if the case will be forwarded to prosecutors.

A city spokeswoman declined further comment.

Tuesday, an Independence spokeswoman said the city is investigating what happened and has provided Grant with the claims process to get her car repaired. Grant said the city provided the claim information only after KMBC 9 Investigates reached out about the situation.

KMBC is publishing unedited footage of security camera footage before, during, and after the crash to help the public identify the sequence of events.

“Why turn around in a cul-de-sac knowing the length of your vehicle?” Grant said. “The driver’s abilities need to be reevaluated in my opinion.”

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.