National News

A wildcat strike by guards at New York’s prisons, now in its second week, is fueling fears over deteriorating conditions behind bars. A 61-year-old inmate died over the weekend at one of the prisons where National Guard troops were deployed to replace corrections officers who walked off the job. Jonathon Grant was pronounced dead after being found unresponsive in his cell at the Auburn Correctional Facility. It wasn’t clear if the prison’s staffing situation was a factor in his death but a legal aid office expressed concern that the strike was making it difficult for prisoners to get medical care. Mediation between state officials and the union that represents the guards began Monday.

Jury selection is underway for the trial of the man accused of opening fire on a suburban Chicago Independence Day parade and killing seven people in 2022. Jurors reported to the courthouse in Lake County for questioning on Monday. Jury selection is expected to last several days with opening statements next week. There have been several delays during the case, partly because of the erratic behavior of the defendant, Robert Crimo III. He has been charged with 21 counts of first-degree murder, among other charges. He has pleaded not guilty. The trial is expected to last about a month with testimony from survivors and police.

President Donald Trump is backing Elon Musk’s demand that federal employees explain their recent accomplishments or risk getting fired. The edict has spawned new litigation and added to turmoil within the government workforce. Trump says his Republican administration is “trying to find out if people are working." Opponents filed an updated lawsuit in federal court in California on Monday, arguing Musk's actions are illegal and describing the threat of mass firings as “one of the most massive employment frauds in the history of this country.” The White House has criticized the litigation, calling it frivolous. Some federal agencies have directed employees not to comply by Musk's end-of-day Monday deadline.

As Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis approaches the end of his term in office, he’s talking up one potential heir to succeed him in 2026: his wife Casey DeSantis. At the same time, he’s taking a shot at President Donald Trump's pick for the job, teeing up another potential faceoff between the popular Republican governor and the man he dared to challenge for the presidential nomination. The aspirations of the state’s first lady have long been the subject of Tallahassee parlor talk. That chatter has grown louder in recent weeks as tensions have bubbled between DeSantis and Trump’s allies in the Florida Legislature.

Coast Guard crews rescued three boaters in Florida after their boat flipped over and they were stuck at sea for nine hours. A family member reported the missing boaters at 1 a.m. Sunday after not hearing from them since 8 p.m. Saturday. Coast Guard air and boat crews located and rescued the boaters in a capsized boat at about 6 a.m., and emergency crews sent the boaters to a medical center where the three were reported to be in good health.

A Texas pipeline company has sued Greenpeace accusing the organization of defamation, disruptions and attacks during protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline. The environmental advocacy group says the lawsuit, which goes to trial in North Dakota on Monday, threatens free speech rights and its very future. Dallas-based Energy Transfer filed the lawsuit in 2019 over the protests of the Dakota Access Pipeline in 2016 and 2017 near the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe's reservation in North Dakota. Energy Transfer alleges trespass, nuisance, defamation and other offenses by Netherlands-based Greenpeace International and the organization's U.S.-based entity, Greenpeace USA, as well as funding arm Greenpeace Fund Inc.