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  • Cassandra Wilson, the 2-time Grammy Award-winning jazz singer, dies at 70

    Cassandra Wilson, the 2-time Grammy Award-winning jazz singer, dies at 70

    NEW YORK — Cassandra Wilson, the two-time Grammy Award-winning jazz singer, songwriter and producer has died. She was 70.

    Dubbed America’s best singer by Time magazine in 2001, Ms. Wilson was best known for her genre-bending voice, which expanded the boundaries of traditional blues-based jazz and worked effortlessly across folk, pop, R&B, country, and beyond. At the heart of all her work was her idiosyncratic contralto, a soulful sound distinctly tied to her roots.

    As Jon Batiste put it in a eulogy on Wednesday, Ms. Wilson sounded like the South.

    She died in her native Jackson, Mississippi, on Tuesday morning, the Hinds County Coroner Jeramiah Howard confirmed.

    “It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Cassandra Wilson, the Grammy Award-winning and legendary jazz artist. Cassandra Wilson transitioned peacefully at home, surrounded by family, close friends, and her manager,” said a statement from her manager to jazz radio station WBGO.

    From Jackson to the world

    Born and raised in Jackson to musician Herman B. Fowlkes and teacher Mary Fowlkes, Ms. Wilson showed an early love of music listening to Motown, Miles Davis, and Thelonious Monk. At 6, she started piano lessons. She played clarinet in marching bands. She performed at coffeehouses and in cover bands while studying at Millsaps College and Jackson State University.

    In the early ‘80s, she mentored under jazz greats in New Orleans before moving to New York City and joining Steve Coleman’s M-Base Collective — eventually becoming its main vocalist.

    Her instantly recognizable voice earned her four Grammy nominations and two wins for best jazz vocal album. Those were in 1997 for New Moon Daughter and 2009 for Loverly.

    In 2015, it was Ms. Wilson who gave a special concert at the famed Apollo Theater to commemorate the 100th birthday of blues singer Billie Holiday, the legendary American jazz vocalist who died in New York City at age 44. That same year, Ms. Wilson released her last album, Coming Forth by Day, an homage to Holiday.

    In 2022, Ms. Wilson was named a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master, one of the highest honors awarded to jazz musicians in the United States.

    Tributes pour in

    “She had an unmistakable vocal tone, phrasing, and her approach of weaving folkloric, R&B, and diasporic music together with experimental and popular genres had a major impact on me,” Batiste said in his tribute to Ms. Wilson on Instagram.

    “Her Mississippi heritage was always present in everything no matter how expansive her artistry evolved,” he wrote in the caption of a clip showing them together on Brazilian TV in 2009. “She was one of the first people to take me on tour around the world, the great Cassandra Wilson.”

    Jackson Mayor John Horhn said the city “has lost an extraordinary native daughter, and the world has lost a singular musical voice.”

    “Cassandra Wilson carried the sound, spirit and history of Mississippi with her wherever her music reached,” said the mayor’s statement, shared with WJTV. “Her work had rare depth of character and a profound understanding of how music moves people, tells stories and connects generations.”

  • U.S. Forest Service closing 23 research facilities as part of reorganization under Trump

    U.S. Forest Service closing 23 research facilities as part of reorganization under Trump

    BILLINGS, Mont. — The U.S. Forest Service is closing 23 research and development stations in more than a dozen states as part of an organizational overhaul under President Donald Trump that is intended to trim costs and concentrate the agency’s resources in Western states, officials said Thursday.

    The work being done at the research stations will continue at other sites, Forest Service Associate Chief Chris French said in an interview. An additional 41 research facilities that faced possible closure will remain open after local officials and members of Congress raised concerns about the reorganization, which was announced in March.

    “Our primary goal was to get our facilities costs under control,” French told The Associated Press. “We’re not closing any ongoing science activities. We’re not closing any of the experimental forests that are important to our researchers.”

    Research by forest service employees ranges from studies on invasive species and protecting water resources to how wildfires are changing as climate change dries out and heats up forests.

    Bill Avey of the National Associated of Forest Service Retirees, an advocacy group, said the forest service has long struggled to pay for all its facilities and some opportunities for consolidation exist. But Avey, who worked at the service for four decades, said its current leaders including Chief Tom Schultz need to defend the importance of forest research more vocally.

    “He should be doing a much better job of pushing back and justifying and explaining some of the research work,” Avey said. He added that the 41 facilities being retained likely would have closed as well if not for pushback from his group and others.

    The 95 employees at the research stations slated for closure will be shifted to other sites within their commuting areas, Forest Service Communications Director Chad Douglas said. The closures — along with previously announced plans to shut regional offices in Atlanta, Milwaukee, and Portland — will save about $16 million, officials said.

    The reorganization also includes moving the agency’s headquarters from Washington to Salt Lake City. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins has said the move, expected to be completed by next summer, will bring leaders closer to the landscapes they manage and the people who depend on them.

    Conservation groups have criticized the changes, warning that they could reduce access to forests and threaten wildlife habitat and clean air and water.

    Federal data shows that the Forest Service has lost about 6,000 employees, or about 15% of its workforce, during Trump’s second term as part of the Republican administration’s sweeping cuts to agencies that oversee the nation’s natural resources.

    During Trump’s first term, he moved the Bureau of Land Management to Colorado, citing many of the same reasons, including a desire to put top officials closer to the public lands they oversee. Former President Joe Biden’s administration reversed course, returning the bureau’s headquarters to Washington after two years.

  • ICE officer charged with lying to investigators in the shooting of Venezuelan man, AP source says

    ICE officer charged with lying to investigators in the shooting of Venezuelan man, AP source says

    WASHINGTON — Federal prosecutors have charged a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer with lying to investigators about the events leading up to the shooting of a Venezuelan man during the Minneapolis immigration crackdown earlier this year, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.

    Christian Castro, the officer who authorities say shot Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis in the leg in January, has been charged with making false statements to federal investigators, according to the person, who was not authorized to publicly discuss the investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity.

    The federal charges, which remain under seal, follow Castro’s release from jail last week after Texas’ governor refused to immediately sign an extradition warrant to hand him over to Minnesota authorities, who have charged him separately with assault and false reporting of a crime related to the same shooting.

    Federal authorities had initially accused Sosa-Celis and another man of beating an officer with a broom handle and a snow shovel during the confrontation. But federal prosecutors dropped charges against the men after video evidence showed the officers may have lied about the encounter, and officials opened an investigation.

    Charges stem from nonfatal shooting during Operation Metro Surge

    Castro is the first federal immigration officer to be prosecuted by the Trump administration related to actions taken during the massive Operation Metro Surge in the Twin Cities that began in January 2026. No attorney is listed for Castro in the case brought by Minnesota, and it was not immediately clear if he had a lawyer to speak on his behalf.

    Thousands of officers were sent to the Minneapolis and St. Paul area by the Department of Homeland Security in what was its largest immigration enforcement operation ever. The shooting deaths of U.S. citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal officers drew condemnation and raised questions over officers’ conduct, prompting changes to the operation.

    Earlier this week, a federal prosecutor working on the case told lawyers for Sosa-Celis and other victims that Justice Department officials blocked the prosecutor’s push to bring a more serious civil rights charge against the officer for the shooting, ProPublica reported on Wednesday.

    But the person familiar with the investigation disputed the prosecutor’s characterization, saying the civil rights probe is continuing and there has been no final decision on whether to bring additional charges. The prosecutor, Matthew Evans, has been fired and is under investigation for alleged obstruction of a grand jury probe, the person said.

    An automatic email response from Evans’ Justice Department account said he was on leave. Other attempts to reach him were not immediately successful.

    An attorney for Sosa-Celis said the Justice Department has “grossly undercharged this case,” adding that Castro’s statements were made to “cover up the fact that he shot my client through the door of an occupied house without a self-defense justification.”

    “Mr. Sosa Celis wants Mr. Castro to be held fully accountable for his crimes,” said the attorney, Robin Wolpert. The American Liberties Union of Minnesota said Thursday that Sosa-Celis also plans to seek damages from the federal government.

    Castro is also facing charges from Minnesota authorities

    Castro was initially arrested in May in the Minnesota case, and he was held in custody in Brownsville, Texas, a city bordering Mexico, while Minnesota officials sought his extradition. But Texas Gov. Greg Abbott refused to immediately sign off, citing continuing investigations of fraud in government social service programs in Minnesota, which Trump used to justify his immigration crackdown there.

    Minnesota officials had sought to stop the sheriff in Cameron County, Texas, from releasing Castro, out of fear that he would flee to Mexico. According to a lawsuit filed by Minnesota, Castro had a conversation with a woman, while he was incarcerated, where he spoke about marrying her and buying a house in Mexico after his release.

    But Castro was released a week ago after a federal judge refused to order Texas to extradite him.

    The Department of Homeland Security previously called Minnesota’s prosecution of Castro “unlawful and nothing more than a political stunt,” saying only federal authorities have jurisdiction in the case.

    Castro was placed on leave during the federal probe

    Castro was suspended from ICE without pay in February while federal authorities conducted the investigation.

    “The men and women of ICE are entrusted with upholding the rule of law and are held to the highest standards of professionalism, integrity, and ethical conduct,” ICE’s acting director at the time, Todd Lyons, said then. “Violations of this sacred sworn oath will not be tolerated. ICE remains fully committed to transparency, accountability, and the fair enforcement of our nation’s immigration laws.”

    Minnesota officials alleged that Castro, 52, fired through the front door of a home and shot Sosa-Celis in the thigh.

    Castro and another officer had chased a different man, Alfredo Alejandro Aljorna, to the Minneapolis apartment duplex where he and Sosa-Celis lived. Minnesota prosecutors said the officer then falsely accused Sosa-Celis and another man of attacking an ICE officer with a broom handle and a snow shovel.

    Attorneys for Sosa-Celis and Aljorna didn’t immediately respond to emails Thursday from the AP.

  • Walmart fumes that forced an evacuation in South Jersey caused by insecticide that fell off a shelf

    Walmart fumes that forced an evacuation in South Jersey caused by insecticide that fell off a shelf

    An accidental discharge from an insecticide canister that fell off a shelf inside a South Jersey Walmart caused the irritating fumes that led to people being sent to hospitals for evaluation and treatment, authorities said Thursday.

    The Gloucester County Office of Emergency Management said the discharge happened around 4:15 p.m. Tuesday inside the Walmart at 820 Cooper St. in Deptford when an aerosol canister of Hot Shot Flying Insect Killer fell off a shelf and discharged.

    The agency said there was no evidence of malicious intent.

    “Following an overnight deep cleaning of the store, while the store remained closed to customers, store personnel located the empty canister beneath a shelf,” the agency said.

    Emergency officials respond to a hazmat situation at the Walmart department store at 820 Cooper St. in Deptford Township on Tuesday.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer

    Nineteen people were transported to three area hospitals for evaluation and treatment, the agency said.

    Additional people also sought medical evaluations on their own at a satellite medical facility, the agency said.

    Product safety information for the insecticide said exposure can cause eye and skin irritation and a potential for harmful effects if swallowed or inhaled. Authorities said people inside the Walmart reported symptoms such as coughing and raspy throats.

    “If you were present during the incident and experienced effects from the release but did not receive medical evaluation or transportation, you may wish to follow up with your primary healthcare provider. Anyone who develops concerning or persistent symptoms should seek appropriate medical attention,” the agency said.

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  • Closing a 200-year-old institution will wound both the city and science

    Closing a 200-year-old institution will wound both the city and science

    When I committed to attending Drexel University at 17, I was excited for many reasons.

    Drexel is a fantastic school for science and engineering. It’s in a vibrant and central part of the city. It was near enough to my parents that I could take SEPTA to visit them on the weekends. And at that time, in 2014, it had recently become affiliated with the Academy of Natural Sciences.

    That meant, as a Drexel student, I could flash my blue-and-yellow ID and be granted instant free access to the Academy museum, one of the coolest places I’d ever been.

    As a kid, I dug around in the mock archeology site where replica bones were buried under sediment; I learned to gingerly dust them off to avoid damaging fossils. I marveled at the Tyrannosaurus rex at the entrance with bones bigger than my whole body. I felt the humidity rush over my skin as I walked into the butterfly exhibit, where I learned how caterpillars build cocoons, how they must struggle to emerge unaided from their chrysalises so they properly develop their wings, and how wonderful it feels to see a butterfly with wings the size of soft pretzels land right at your feet or — if you were lucky — on your raised arm, goosebumps and all.

    Visitors look over the moose diorama at the Academy of Natural Sciences in 2018. Drexel University has announced that the museum will close at the end of the month because of high costs and dwindling attendance.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer

    When you expose a child to science, you open a door to a new universe. In almost 200 years in the city, the Academy museum achieved something extraordinary and rare: It got kids (and adults of all ages) excited about dinosaurs and insects and animals from faraway places. It taught thousands of visitors about their connection to the natural world. It inspired generations of science-curious people to don lab coats and hiking boots and advance our understanding of what surrounds us.

    I’m no exception. My work now as a science journalist consists, in large part, of helping other people understand the wonders of science. I credit the Academy with helping me understand those wonders first — back when I was just a kid with a magnifying glass, an insatiable curiosity, and a terrific natural history museum accessible to my family by the regional train.

    The Academy of Natural Sciences is scheduled to close at the end of the month unless Drexel University finds a way to save it, writes Gina Vitale.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer

    Like many others, I felt my stomach sink to see the news that the museum would close at the end of this month.

    If we lose the Academy museum, we don’t just lose the fossil-digging pit and the grand hall of dinosaurs. We lose one more way to introduce Philadelphia’s kids to science. We lose future ecologists and conservationists and people working to save a warming world. We shut one more door to that magnificent universe.

    I’m thankful Drexel is committed to the stewardship of the Academy’s collections, even if the museum closes. Recent reporting indicates that Drexel may have a chance to help preserve or reestablish the museum in some way.

    Ned Gilmore, the collection manager for vertebrate paleontology, holds up the mouth of a Smilodon gracilis, a type of saber-toothed tiger, at the Academy of Natural Sciences last month.Allie Ippolito / For The Inquirer

    When I was a student, I loved that my university supported an institution like the Academy — the oldest natural history museum in the United States. I can think of no better thing to do for the city and for future Drexel students than for the university to help find a way to preserve this incredibly special museum in Philadelphia.

    If they do that, they won’t just have my gratitude. They’ll have the thanks of current and future science enthusiasts throughout the city, and along the tracks of the regional trains.

    Gina Vitale is a journalist and writer who grew up in Greater Philadelphia.

  • Man sentenced to 20 years over a ‘Texas Killing Fields’ case, decades after dozens of bodies found

    Man sentenced to 20 years over a ‘Texas Killing Fields’ case, decades after dozens of bodies found

    A man convicted over a “Texas Killing Fields” death was sentenced to 20 years in prison Thursday in a rare trial related to the bodies of dozens of women found near Houston beginning in the 1970s.

    James Dolphs Elmore Jr. was given the maximum sentence by a jury in Galveston County a day after they found him guilty of manslaughter in the death of 16-year-old Laura Miller. Elmore, 61, was arrested earlier this year and accused of preparing the dose of cocaine that killed Miller. Her body was found in the infamous area in 1986.

    Investigators believe multiple people may be responsible for the deaths of more than 30 girls and young women, whose bodies were found in a stretch of land along Interstate 45 southeast of Houston. The “Texas Killing Fields” have inspired books, movies and a Netflix documentary.

    Miller was one of four young women whose bodies were found between 1984 and 1991 in a rural field off a desolate dirt road in League City, located about 28 miles southeast of Houston.

    Elmore was accused in an indictment of preparing a vial of cocaine that was administered to Miller by Clyde Hedrick, who authorities have alleged was the person responsible for the deaths of the four women and had been Elmore’s longtime friend. The district attorney’s office said in March that they had decided to seek grand jury indictments against Hedrick in the deaths, but the 72-year-old Hedrick died by suicide before the grand jury presentation.

    Hedrick was convicted of manslaughter in 2014 in the death of Ellen Beason, a young woman whose body was found in 1985 after going missing the previous years. He was released in 2022 and was still on parole at the time of his death, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

    After Laura Miller’s death, her father, Tim Miller, founded Texas EquuSearch, a nonprofit that helps look for missing people.

    Most of the deaths associated with the “Texas Killing Fields” remain unsolved.

    In 2022, William Reece, an Oklahoma death row inmate, pleaded guilty to three murders in Texas, including those of 12-year-old Laura Smither and 17-year-old Jessica Cain in Galveston County, and 20-year-old Kelli Cox, who was from Denton in North Texas but whose body was found hundreds of miles away in Brazoria County, located next to Galveston County. He received life sentences for all three murders.

  • Coyotes in Wildwood: Officials urged residents to keep their distance after recent coyote sightings

    Coyotes in Wildwood: Officials urged residents to keep their distance after recent coyote sightings

    New Jersey officials are warning people not to feed or engage with coyotes after a surge in sightings of the wily animals in Wildwood.

    Wildwood police have received “numerous” reports of coyotes in recent weeks throughout the barrier island, the department wrote on Facebook.

    “While coyotes have inhabited our island for years,” the post read, “increased attention surrounding recent sightings has resulted in greater public awareness.”

    Wildwood police and a spokesperson for the city did not immediately respond Thursday to requests for more information, including how many coyote sightings have been reported. But residents told NBC10 the number of adults and pups roaming through yards and streets has seemingly increased in recent weeks.

    Is there a spike in New Jersey’s coyote population?

    New Jersey Fish and Wildlife keeps track of reported sightings but doesn’t maintain localized or statewide estimates on the number of coyotes because “quantifying any wild populations can be challenging,” a spokesperson said in an email. According to 2025 data, coyotes have been reported in 88% of New Jersey’s 568 municipalities.

    It’s not unusual for coyotes to be comfortable around human activity, according to the wildlife department: “The coyote is one of the most resilient and prolific canine species in the world – adapting to ever changing habitat conditions while continuing to expand its range,” the spokesperson said.

    Coyotes are important members of ecosystems, helping keep rodent populations under control, according to New Jersey Fish and Wildlife. But they can threaten human safety, attack small pets, or cause property damage. The agency says attacks on humans are “extremely rare.”

    In Wildwood, officials are concerned people are intentionally feeding the animals, causing them to “lose their natural fear of people” and “become increasingly comfortable in populated areas,” the police department wrote.

    “Coyotes are wild animals. Keeping them wild means not feeding them,” the post continued. Feeding wildlife is illegal under a Wildwood city ordinance and punishable by a fine up to $500, according to police.

    Wildwood police stressed that people who encounter a coyote should keep a safe distance, control and supervise pets, and report any coyotes exhibiting unusual or aggressive behavior.

  • A rural Burlington County town is considering a one-year ban on Flock cameras

    A rural Burlington County town is considering a one-year ban on Flock cameras

    As concerns about surveillance cameras mount nationwide, Shamong Township is taking steps to limit the use of Flock cameras and other automated license plate readers.

    Shamong Mayor Michael Di Croce introduced an ordinance Tuesday that would establish a one-year moratorium on automated license plate readers and other vehicle surveillance technology on township rights-of-way and on township-owned property.

    Flock cameras capture the license plates and other vehicle features, like bumper stickers or dents, of each passing car and compiles them into a searchable database.

    “Flock cameras basically create a surveillance system for people who have done nothing wrong,” Di Croce said at Tuesday’s township committee meeting.

    “I am opposed and I hope that my fellow committee members will agree that we don’t need to create another surveillance system that tracks people and where they’re going,” he said, noting that location data is already collected through E-ZPass and cell phone GPS.

    “We should not create a permanent or searchable record of where law-abiding residents drive merely because they happen to pass a government camera or in the case of Flock, private-entity cameras,” he said.

    Di Croce also referenced recent high-profile issues surrounding Flock cameras including law enforcement misuse and system errors that led to a driver who was wrongfully pulled over and detained at gunpoint as even more reason to be wary of the technology.

    “I’m not opposed to technology that helps the police solve crimes,” Di Croce said. “I’m opposed to turning Shamong into a surveillance community without demonstrating that the benefits outweigh the cost, violating our privacy implications with the potential for misuse and the loss of local control over our residents’ data.”

    Shamong is not alone in its concerns about the use of surveillance technology.

    Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro has “real concerns” about Flock cameras and is open to considering a statewide ban on the technology, a spokesperson said this week.

    In Montgomery County last month, Abington police decided not to renew their contracts with Flock after thousands of the department’s searches were leaked.

    The ordinance is “just a statement that we don’t want these cameras in Shamong and we’re not going to have them on any township property,” Di Croce said.

    Residents can weigh in on the proposed ordinance before the committee votes on its adoption on Oct. 6 at the Shamong Municipal Building.

  • Billionaire Leon Black skips Epstein deposition and sues House panel over subpoenas

    Billionaire Leon Black skips Epstein deposition and sues House panel over subpoenas

    WASHINGTON — Billionaire investor Leon Black refused to appear for a sworn deposition before Congress on Thursday and instead sued the House Oversight Committee, asking a federal court to block subpoenas issued as part of its investigation into disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

    The House Oversight Committee served Black with two subpoenas during a closed-door voluntary interview in June after lawmakers said he refused to answer questions about nondisclosure agreements. One subpoena demanded Black produce nondisclosure agreements and other documents, while the other compelled him to return for a deposition before the committee.

    Black’s lawsuit argues the subpoenas exceed the committee’s authority by seeking private information unrelated to Epstein or any legitimate legislative purpose. It asks a federal judge to declare the subpoenas invalid and prevent the committee from enforcing them.

    “The Committee is on a fishing expedition that oversteps its authority and completely ignores its responsibility,” Black’s attorney, Susan Estrich, said in a statement. “This is no longer about finding the truth about Epstein. It is about trying to destroy Mr. Black.”

    Top Oversight lawmakers threaten to hold Black in contempt

    The top Republican and Democratic lawmakers on the committee both criticized Black’s lawsuit and said they planned to discuss later Thursday whether they would hold him in contempt of Congress.

    “This is unacceptable. We’re very disappointed,” said House Oversight Chair James Comer. “Of all the powerful billionaires and political people we’ve brought in for interview and depositions, this is the first time anyone’s filed suit.”

    Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the committee, called the lawsuit “laughable” and that Black is “trying to slow the process down of getting us the information.”

    “Today, the process of contempt has to begin,” Garcia said.

    Being held in contempt opens up a witness to criminal prosecution. If the House approves a contempt resolution against Black, it would fall to the Justice Department to decide whether to bring charges against him.

    Black paid Epstein over $150 million during their yearslong relationship

    Black is the co-founder and former chief executive of the private equity firm Apollo Global Management. He stepped down in 2021 during the fallout over his ties to Epstein.

    Lawmakers have alleged that Black paid Epstein $180 million during their yearslong relationship.

    A 2021 review commissioned by Apollo found that Black paid Epstein $158 million from 2012 to 2017, after Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting prostitution from a minor. The review said the payments were for “bona fide tax, estate planning, and other related services.”

    Black is among a number of influential figures to appear in the investigation into Epstein and the web of wealth and influence around him. Other figures to have appeared for the investigation include former Democratic President Bill Clinton, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates.

    Black is mentioned repeatedly in files that the Justice Department has released related to the Epstein investigation. He also appears in a collection of birthday messages sent to Epstein that were released by the House committee last year, including a poem attributed to Black that refers to “Blond, Red or Brunette, spread out geographically.”

    Before the June 26 appearance before the committee, Black maintained that he was not aware of Epstein’s “nefarious activity” until 2019 and that he paid Epstein for legitimate purposes, in part due to his “unrivaled network of relationships” with influential figures.

  • Judge ends Lindsay Clancy trial for the day as jury foreperson says they’re deadlocked over 1 juror

    Judge ends Lindsay Clancy trial for the day as jury foreperson says they’re deadlocked over 1 juror

    PLYMOUTH, Mass. — The deadlocked jury in the Lindsay Clancy trial went home without a verdict Thursday in a dramatic sixth day of deliberations. Her defense lawyer told the judge that the panel’s foreperson said in a note that a single juror won’t follow the court’s instructions about reasonable doubt and was holding up a verdict.

    The jury will return Friday to see if they can reach a decision on whether the Massachusetts mother is criminally responsible for killing her three children.

    Before sending the jury home on Thursday, the judge refused the defense’s request to remove one of the jurors following heated discussions among the parties.

    Clancy, a 36-year-old former labor and delivery nurse, doesn’t deny strangling her children in the basement of their home in 2023 before trying to take her own life. Her attorney argues that postpartum psychosis led to her actions, while prosecutors say she knew what she was doing when she killed Cora, Dawson, and Callan Clancy, ages 5, 3, and 8 months.

    Clancy’s livestreamed trial has generated intense interest, with reporters and spectators packing the courtroom. The case has also sparked deep public divisions over her culpability and the issues around maternal mental health after childbirth.

    Lindsay Clancy trial takes a dramatic turn

    Judge William Sullivan, after receiving the jury’s note, brought in each juror individually and questioned them in private. The judge then reread his instructions on reasonable doubt before sending them back to continue deliberating on a verdict.

    That prompted an angry objection from Clancy’s lawyer, Kevin Reddington, who demanded that one juror be removed. Sullivan declined. This was the first time the jury indicated possible tension or acrimony in the deliberation room.

    Throughout the trial, Clancy has received letters of support “from all over the world,” defense attorney Kevin Reddington said Thursday. “It’s just amazing. She reads them all.”

    Lindsay Clancy’s jury twice said they were at an impasse

    Sullivan explained to the courtroom on Wednesday that jurors were again at an impasse — a sign there’s a growing chance of a hung jury and the trial ending without a resolution.

    Sullivan told the jurors not to abandon their own convictions just to reach a verdict, but urged them to seriously consider opposing views and reassess their positions if appropriate.

    No one knows, he said, that another jury would be “more intelligent, more impartial or more competent to decide it than you are.”

    Lindsay Clancy could go on trial again

    If the jury ultimately can’t agree on a verdict, the judge could declare a mistrial. Prosecutors would then have to decide whether to put Clancy on trial again, drop the charges, or try to negotiate a plea deal with her lawyer.

    If the jury decides Clancy was criminally responsible for her actions, it could convict her of either murder or manslaughter. If she is acquitted, a judge could still order her confined to a mental health facility if an evaluation determines that she poses a danger to the public.

    The evidence against Lindsay Clancy

    Jurors have heard testimony from relatives and doctors about how Clancy’s mental health declined in the months before the killings and how her treatment included several medications and a short stay in a psychiatric hospital.

    Medical experts hired by the prosecution and the defense reached sharply different conclusions about her psychiatric state when she killed the children.

    Patrick Clancy has said in interviews that he forgives his now ex-wife, whom he views as ill rather than evil.

    Clancy strangled the children with exercise bands in their home’s basement, then jumped from a second-floor window. She remains paralyzed from the waist down. Her lawyers say she heard a voice telling her to kill the children so she could end her own life.

    The prosecution argues she deliberately sent her then-husband on errands to get him out of the house, and prosecutors have questioned the seriousness of her suicide attempt.