Daily Briefing: The mother of a mass shooter
The mother of Oxford High School mass shooter Ethan Crumbley took the stand in her historic criminal trial. Also in the news: Nathan Wade faces new scrutiny as he is under fire for an alleged affair with Georgia's district attorney investigating Donald Trump. Will Punxsutawney Phil see his shadow this morning?
🙋🏼♀️ I'm Nicole Fallert, Daily Briefing author. Should I wear a mask for my flight?
Here is the news to know Friday.
Mom of Michigan school shooter takes the stand in historic criminal trial
Jennifer Crumbley, the first parent in America in charged in a mass school shooting, testified Thursday that she was an attentive mom who never saw signs her teen son Ethan would kill four children at his Michigan high school in November 2021. Ethan Crumbley, 15, was sentenced in December to life without the possibility of parole plus an additional 24 years.
But prosecutors have argued that Crumbley's parents knew their son was struggling with alarming mental health issues, including on the day of the shooting.
"I wish he would have killed us instead": Jennifer Crumbley told jurors that she never believed her son was a threat to others nor saw any signs that he needed mental health treatment.
She also addressed allegations that she refused to bring her son home from school after being summoned over a violent drawing he had made.
Legal experts say the case could have a huge impact on how society views parents’ culpability when their children access guns and go on to cause harm with them.
Related: As Maine governor pushes for new gun laws, Lewiston shooting victims' families speak out.
A year after a train derailment, these Ohio families have nowhere to go
Ohio officials announced that it was safe for residents to return to East Palestine five days after the Feb. 3, 2023 derailment of a Norfolk Southern train and subsequent release of hazardous chemicals in the town. Within eight days, by Feb. 9, Norfolk Southern will end aid for families who relocated to other areas following the derailment. Many of them cannot afford to live outside of East Palestine without financial assistance from the company. They don't consider their East Palestine homes to be safe, and they're worried that moving back will worsen their symptoms. Read more
More news to know now
Why are Republicans so worried about Taylor Swift?
On Friday, Biden will attend the dignified transfer of the three U.S. service members who were killed in a drone strike in Jordan.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin apologized publicly for not disclosing his January hospitalization.
A small plane crashed into a Florida mobile home park, setting four residences on fire.
Gov. Ron DeSantis sent the Florida National and State Guard to Texas to assist with placing razor wire.
On today's The Excerpt podcast, how Democrats need Black voters in South Carolina. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your smart speaker.
What's the weather today? Check your local forecast here.
Millions of American students may have just weeks to compare college financial aid offers
While applying for financial aid is rarely a stress-free endeavor, this year has been especially tricky. That’s because the Education Department upended college application season when it made long-awaited improvements in December to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA. The rollout of those changes, however, has been filled with delays and unforeseen problems. The latest hiccup occurred this week when the Biden administration said colleges and state agencies wouldn’t start receiving students’ FAFSA information until the “first half of March” at the earliest. In a normal year, schools would have had that data on hand months earlier.
A scrappy threat in Ukraine, or a woe-is-me coping mechanism?
Ever since Russia's Feb. 24, 2022, invasion, Ukraine has relied on humor to cope. There was the Ukrainian grandmother who shot down a Russian missile with a jar of pickles. There's been copious references to cult movies and talking cartoon dogs. But as the war drags on and sinks deeper into a messy deadlock, some say the jokes are getting harder to pull off. But the fighting is still intense. Russia has renewed its onslaught of missile attacks on Ukrainian cities and towns that appear to indiscriminately target civilian infrastructure. Since the war's outbreak nearly two years ago, more than 10,000 civilians have been killed. The country is exhausted from the war, and too tired to smile.
With U.S. aid for Ukraine stalled, the EU unlocked $55 billion for Kyiv.
Three officers have been disciplined following an investigation into the clandestine tavern in Colorado.
Keep scrolling
Happiness for Black Americans is abundant, but disparities persist.
Hootie & the Blowfish singer Darius Rucker was arrested on misdemeanor drug charges in Tennessee.
Here's everything to know ahead of the Grammy Awards this Sunday.
Formula 1 star Lewis Hamilton will depart Mercedes for Ferrari in 2025.
A breast cancer survivor with one frozen embryo had a baby boy.
Tunes from Olivia Rodrigo, Drake, BTS and more top artists won't be on TikTok anymore.
Here's what you need for a Taylor Swift-themed Super Bowl 58 party.
Patriot great Bill Belichick is left in limbo.
Here's what to know about the Fani Willis scrutiny
Former President Donald Trump has launched a legal effort to have Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, her office and Nathan Wade, her top prosecutor, tossed from the election fraud case against him. Trump alleges that Willis engaged in misconduct by hiring an unqualified friend and alleged romantic partner to lead the sprawling prosecution. Now, as Willis faces accusations, Wade's work in another high-profile case investigating suspicious deaths in an Atlanta-area jail is also being placed under a microscope. Accusations that Wade mishandled the jail-deaths investigation in 2020 are adding to questions about Willis’s judgment in hiring him. Read more
Photo of the day: America's favorite forecaster Punxsutawney Phil
Will spring arrive early or linger for another six weeks? We'll find out after this year's Groundhog Day festivities in Gobbler's Knob, in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. According to legend, winter will last six more weeks if Phil sees his shadow. There will be an early spring if he doesn't notice his shadow.
Nicole Fallert is a newsletter writer at USA TODAY, sign up for the email here. Want to send Nicole a note? Shoot her an email at NFallert@usatoday.com or follow along with her musings on Twitter. Support journalism like this – subscribe to USA TODAY here.
Associated Press contributed reporting.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Oxford mass shooting, Ohio train derailment, Israel-Hamas, FAFSA, Ukraine, Taylor Swift, Groundhog Day: Daily Briefing
