Black History Month Opens With Bomb Threats At HBCUs

Good morning! It’s Wednesday, Feb. 2. Be sure to head over to Pittsburgh Patch and check out what Punxsutawney Phil has to say about winter. The groundhog is to pop its head out around 7:20 a.m. Eastern time.

Speaking of winter: If you’re planning a flight, check flightaware.com before leaving for the airport. A major winter storm affecting a large swath of the United States had already canceled hundreds of flights Tuesday evening, and more were expected Wednesday.

Also, the Washington Football Team will announce its new name, logo and branding at 8 a.m. Eastern time Wednesday after adopting the placeholder name in 2020. Check that out on Ashburn Patch.

Here are five fast facts to start your day:

• Pfizer and its partner BioNTech asked the Food and Drug Administration to give emergency authorization for COVID-19 vaccinations for kids under 5.

• Two police officers were killed at Virginia’s Bridgewater College, and the suspect is in custody, police said.

• Two suspects fled the scene Tuesday after a shooting at a Richfield, Minnesota, school that left one person dead and another critically wounded, police said.

• A massive fire destroyed a fertilizer plant in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

• Tom Brady is retiring. Yes, really.

Black History Month Begins With Bomb Threats

Black History Month started on a somber note with multiple bomb threats against historically Black colleges and universities throughout the South and up the Eastern Seaboard. No explosives were found in sweeps of at least 19 HBCU campuses, according to reports.

“The threats are despicable,” Mary Schmidt Campbell, president of Spelman College in Atlanta, said in an email to students and staff members Tuesday. “They are designed to make us feel fearful and vulnerable.” » Historically Black Schools Across U.S. Reckon With Bomb Threats, via Across America Patch

• UCLA Mass Shooting Threatened: A former UCLA lecturer is accused of releasing a video and 800-page manifesto with specific threats, via Los AngelesPatch.

Former Miami Dolphins Coach Brian Flores chose the first day of Black History Month to file his lawsuit accusing the the Dolphins, the Denver Broncos, the New York Giants and the NFL of racial discrimination. The NFL said the allegations were “without merit.” » NFL To Fight Former Dolphins Coach's Racial Discrimination Suit, via Miami Patch.

Transplant Hopeful Vetoes Vaccine, Says He’d Rather Die

A North Carolina man who is on the organ waiting list for a kidney remains steadfast that he’s not getting a COVID-19 vaccination, required for a transplant, even if it means he will die.

“I was born free, I will die free,” Chad Carswell said. » NC Man Would Rather Die Than Take COVID Vaccine Required For Transplant, via Charlotte, North Carolina, Patch.

• Pig Heart Recipient Makes Progress: David Bennett, 57, received the world's first pig heart transplant at the University of Maryland on Jan. 7, via Baltimore Patch.

• Gym Owner Who Flouted Pandemic Rules Runs For Congress: Ian Smith, the owner of Atilis Gym in Bellmawr, New Jersey, plans to run for U.S. House against Democrat Rep. Andy Kim, via Barnegat-Manahawkin, New Jersey, Patch.

So, You Think You Know …

A pair of male Humboldt penguins at a zoo in Syracuse, New York, zoo bonded at the beginning of the fall breeding season, built a nest together and vigorously defended it. Chosen as foster parents for bonded pair who have a history of kicking and breaking their eggs, the two male penguins have taken turns incubating the egg — and now that it’s hatched, they’re raising the bird together.

Rosamond Gifford Zoo Director Ted Fox said the pair are shifting paradigms surrounding family by showing they aren't species-specific and that "non-traditional families do a wonderful job of child-rearing." » Same-Sex Penguins Shift Paradigms On Families, Parenting, via Syracuse, New York, Patch.

Around ‘The Patch’

Naming MLK Library Auditorium After Jeff Bezos Draws Fire: D.C. activists are urging city leaders to scrap plans to name the auditorium at the remodeled MLK Library after billionaire Jeff Bezos, via Washington, D.C., Patch.

Huge Food Fight: Video posted online shows a massive brawl that broke out at a Golden Corral restaurant, via Bensalem, Pennsylvania, Patch.

Great White Shark’s Great Swim: Sable, an 11.5-foot-long, 807-pound female juvenile great white shark, traveled more than 2,700 miles, from Canadian waters to the Florida Keys, via Miami Patch.

Anti-Ukrainian Post Not Defamation: Negative reviews of David Freydin's firm calling him "racist," "unprofessional" and "a disgrace" are opinion, are not defamation, judges ruled, via Skokie, Illinois, Patch.

Bill Cosby Lawyer Appeals To U.S. Supreme Court: Lawyers for Bill Cosby are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to deny a bid by the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office to revive case, via Abington, Pennsylvania, Patch.

Universal Health Care Bill Fails: Democrats in the California Legislature failed to advance a bill that would have created the nation's first universal health care system, via Los Angeles Patch.

Former Civil War Hospital Lists For Almost $14M: This Georgetown building, on the market today for almost $14 million, was commandeered during the Civil War and used as an army hospital, via Georgetown, DC, Patch.

Woolsey Fire Rebuild: The 69th single-family home has been completed as Malibu rebuilds from the devastating Woolsey fire, via Malibu, California, Patch.

Denver Broncos For Sale: The Broncos will go to auction after the children of the late owner could not agree on a successor. The team could sell for a record $4 billion, via Denver Patch.

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This article originally appeared on the Across America Patch