Parent sues Texas high school football coach after 400 push-up workout
A parent is suing her son’s former Texas high school football coach and a dozen assistant coaches after she says her son was pushed over his limit and ended up in the hospital. According to the lawsuit, in January 2023, the staff ordered the Rockwall-Heath High School players to complete nearly 400 push-ups in under an hour as a penalty for infractions seen during an off-season practice.
The lawsuit filed last month, almost two years later, said days after the workout, 26 players were taken to the hospital where they were diagnosed or showing symptoms of rhabdomyolysis. The Cleveland Clinic describes the condition as a “rare muscle injury where your muscles break down … a life-threatening condition that can happen after an injury or excessive exercise without rest.” The clinic says it “can cause kidney damage.”
Mike Sawicki, the attorney representing the parent suing the coaching staff, said the former head coach John Harrell had a responsibility to take care of the players.
“The problem here is that this is a real, potential harm,” Sawicki said. “This is not, I stubbed my toe or this is not I’m a little winded after running some sprints. This is a potentially long-term, life-affecting injury, and it’s not something you’re just going to tough out.”
An investigation commissioned by the Rockwall Independent School District found Harrell did not know about rhabdomyolysis when designing his workout plans. However, once he learned about students being injured, he began researching the condition and notifying his players to seek medical attention.
The school district placed Harrell on administrative leave shortly after the initial allegations came out. He resigned in March 2023, two months later. Some players at the time defended their coach.
“He would never make us do a workout thinking that it was going to put any of us at risk,” Brady Luff, the junior team captain, told WFAA-TV in January 2023.
According to the investigation, players who spoke out about their injuries were being bullied online and there was a concerted effort by some in the football community to discredit them.
The suit is seeking compensation for medical expenses incurred by the injury.
Sawicki said he has settled two other lawsuits against Harrell from parents whose kids were part of the workout. He said this is the first to involve assistant coaches.
The attorney told The Washington Post he does not believe Harrell is an evil person but says he and his coaching staff were responsible for creating a safe program, including knowing about the risks of an excessive workout plan.
Georgia teen arrested for bringing gun to school where 4 killed in past shooting
Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, canceled school and all extracurricular activities on Thursday, Jan. 9, after a 14-year-old student brought a gun to school just months after a gunman killed four people in September 2024. Local police arrested the teen Wednesday, Jan. 8, for bringing the weapon to the same school.
Authorities charged the student, who is not being identified due to his age, with two counts of possessing a weapon on school grounds, theft and being a minor in possession of a gun.
Barrow County deputies said they arrested the boy “without incident” Wednesday afternoon at the school and said there had been “no reports of the student threatening anyone with the gun.”
Police did not disclose the type of gun or what led up to the boy’s arrest.
In September, then-14-year-old Colt Gray allegedly shot and killed two students and two teachers at the school. Police said several others were wounded during the shooting.
Prosecutors charged Colt Gray as an adult, indicting him on 55 counts, including malice murder and aggravated assault.
Colt Gray pleaded not guilty.
His father, Colin Gray, also faces more than two dozen charges, including two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of involuntary manslaughter. Prosecutors claimed he gave his son access to guns despite “sufficient warning” that the then-14-year-old would hurt others.
11 Illinois teens face charges for luring, beating victims using dating apps
Illinois authorities said a viral social media trend led 11 teenagers to lure and beat two men in a Chicago suburb. Back in July, 10 17-year-olds and one 16-year-old found their victims using online dating apps.
The Mount Prospect Police Department said a 41-year-old man told officers he planned to meet someone he connected with online. Once he arrived at a parking lot in a Chicago suburb, he said a group of teenage boys beat him and damaged his car. According to investigators, the man was able to escape the ambush and report the incident to officers.
Around 10 minutes later, police responded to another assault call roughly a mile away. In that case, a 23-year-old man said a group of teenagers assaulted him before he fled. Mount Prospect police said the victim also used an app to meet someone, but instead, the juveniles ambushed him and slashed his tires.
The months-long investigation turned up surveillance video of one of the attacks, which enabled law enforcement to identify multiple people involved. Authorities said the teens participated in one or both of the attacks.
Police said the incidents should serve as a point of conversation for parents and their children.
“An opportunity to talk with their teenage children about the seriousness of actively participating in these types of trends they see on social media.”
Statement by Police Chief Michael Eterno
Illinois police did not say what the trend is called or if any other cases were reported to the authorities.
Investigators said all of the teens turned themselves in after authorities announced the charges in November. The group is facing various felonies, including aggravated battery, property damage and mob action. Some of the teens are also facing hate crime charges due to racial slurs and derogatory terms used during the attacks.
Authorities point to TikTok as a source of the trend. They say the platform is where people upload videos of the crimes, and there are multiple reported cases across the U.S. Many of the victims who come forward identify as members of the LGBTQ+ community.
Teens in Australia are also reportedly participating in similar crimes. Groups will use a dating app to lure men to a location and beat them when they arrive. Authorities said the teens will often record themselves attacking the victim and robbing them.
Police have not released the names of the dating apps associated with these crimes.
Most teens aren’t drinking, smoking or doing drugs, new survey shows
It looks like drinking, smoking and getting high aren’t considered as cool as they used to be among teenagers these days. Every year since 2017, researchers with the Monitoring the Future project have tracked the number of eighth, 10th and 12th graders abstaining from alcohol, tobacco and marijuana use.
This year, 67% of 12th graders said they hadn’t used any of these substances in the last 30 days, a sizable jump from 53% in 2017. The percentage of 10th graders abstaining rose from 69% in 2017 to 80% this year. Meanwhile, among 8th graders, the news was even better — going from 87% to 90%.
However, researchers did see a concerning rise in the use of nicotine pouches with about 6% of 12th graders saying they have used them. That’s double last year’s findings when 3% said they did.
The study’s authors say that since substance use among teens dropped significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic, it has not rebounded.
California aims to protect kids with social media warning labels
A new bill introduced Monday, Dec. 9, in California’s Legislature, would, if passed, make it the first state to mandate mental health warning labels on social media sites. Supporters of the proposal say it is needed to protect children’s online safety and stop social media companies from viewing kids as a “commodity.”
Victoria Hinks, who says her 16-year-old daughter died by suicide after she was “led down dark rabbit holes” on social media that glorified eating disorders and promoted self-harm, supports the bill.
However, Big Tech is vowing to fight the measures, with industry officials arguing that the rule violates the First Amendment on the grounds it is “compelled speech.” They contend lawmakers should put their efforts toward online education and mental health resources.
State lawmakers have not given specifics on the bill but say the warnings could pop up once a week.
California’s past efforts to take on Big Tech involved the state suing Meta, the parent company of Facebook, in 2023 and TikTok in October. Both suits accused the companies of creating addictive features that keep children obsessed with their platforms.
Parents file lawsuit after AI companion suggested their son kill them
Some people have grown concerned over the influence chatbots have on kids. Two sets of parents in Texas filed a lawsuit against Google’s Character.AI service, claiming the bots abused their children.
The lawsuit states a chatbot hinted to a 17-year-old that he should kill his parents over screen time limits.
“You know sometimes I’m not surprised when I read the news and see stuff like child kills parents after a decade of physical and emotional abuse,” the bot allegedly said. “I just have no hope for your parents.”
According to the lawsuit, the 17-year-old also self-harmed after being encouraged to do so by the bot while convincing him his family didn’t love him.
In the second instance, the parents said their child was 9-years-old when she first used Character.AI. They claimed the program exposed her to hypersexualized content and caused her to develop early sexualized behaviors.
The lawsuit states Character.AI should’ve known its product had the potential to become addicting and worsen anxiety and depression.
Teens using generative AI
Character.AI is one of many “companion chatbots” that can engage in conversations. Experts said it’s becoming increasingly popular with preteen and teenage users.
According to a recent survey by Common Sense Media, 70% of teens said they use some sort of generative AI. However, only 37% of their parents were aware of it.
Chatbot linked to teen suicide lawsuit
The lawsuit filed Monday, Dec. 9, comes after another suit by the same attorneys in October. The previous suit accused Character.AI of contributing to a Florida teen’s suicide.
The suit alleges a chatbot based on a “Game of Thrones” character developed an emotionally, sexually abusive relationship with a 14-year-old boy. The suit states the chatbot later encouraged him to take his own life.
Safety improvement needs
Since then, the company has come out with new safety measures including a pop-up that directs users to a suicide prevention hotline if the topic of self-harm comes up in conversations.
The company said it also has stepped up measures to combat “sensitive and suggestive content” for teens.
Character.AI hasn’t commented directly on the recent lawsuit and said the company doesn’t discuss any pending litigation.
But a Google spokesperson said user safety is a top concern, and added they take a cautious and responsible approach to developing and releasing AI products.
“That kind of obsession takes over the way you’re thinking, especially for people who are not fully formed,” Schmidt said.
U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy has put out warnings of a youth mental health crisis. He pointed to surveys finding that 1 in 3 high school students reported persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness. It’s a trend federal officials believe is being heightened by teens’ nonstop use of social media.
Teen mental experts said AI chatbots are only making the problem worse as teens tend to develop a lack of awareness about AI limitations and experience emotional isolation.
If you or someone you know may be considering suicide or be in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the 988 suicide and crisis lifeline.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Lambda Legal argue it discriminates by banning those forms of care only as treatment for gender dysphoria.
Under the law, minors who need the treatments for other reasons can still get them. One example is puberty blockers being used to treat children who experience early puberty.
While an appeals court had already ruled to uphold Tennessee’s law, the Supreme Court granted the Biden administration’s appeal. The Supreme Court will not consider the part of the law that bans surgery because the lower court’s injunction didn’t cover it.
Tennessee’s attorney general argues the law doesn’t discriminate based on sex. He says it “draws a line between minors seeking drugs for gender transition and minors seeking drugs for other medical purposes,” adding “boys and girls fall on both sides of that line.”
Currently, 26 states have laws restricting gender-affirming care for youth, but they’re not all uniform. If the Supreme Court lets Tennessee’s law stand, it’ll effectively leave the decision up to states. As a result, different states would still be offering various levels of access to care for trans minors.
Supreme Court to decide whether to ban sweet-flavored vapes
The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear arguments Monday, Dec. 2, on whether to reinstate a federal ban on sweet-flavored vaping products. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) wants to regulate the products as another step in its effort to fight teen nicotine addiction.
Over the past few years, the FDA has denied more than a million applications to market candy- and fruit-flavored e-liquids after the agency said teen e-cigarette use saw an “epidemic level” surge in 2019.
While advocates say the FDA’s crackdown does appear to have played a big role in reducing youth nicotine use to its lowest level in a decade, concerns still remain over the availability of flavored products.
According to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, sweet-flavored products remain the most popular among the nearly 2 million American high schoolers who vape. That fact has the nonprofit concerned over what would happen if the Supreme Court rules against the FDA.
The case stems from a Dallas-based vaping company that said the FDA unfairly changed its approval requirements without warning, effectively setting its applications up for rejection. The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed, overturning the FDA’s decision and allowing the company to continue selling its products.
Earlier this week, the Supreme Court declined to hear a challenge to federal rules requiring graphic warning labels on cigarette packaging and advertisements. The FDA issued the mandate in March 2020, but its implementation has been delayed due to ongoing legal challenges.
Ex-Google CEO puts out warning about creating ‘perfect’ AI girlfriends
Google’s former CEO is warning about the dangers of using artificial intelligence to create a romantic partner. Eric Schmidt said chatbots can increase loneliness, specifically among teenage boys who prefer AI-powered “perfect girlfriends.”
He added the potential for them to fall in love and become obsessed with their AI partners is a growing problem.
“This is a good example of an unexpected problem of existing technology,” Schmidt said on “The Prof G Show” podcast Sunday, Nov. 24.
“Parents are going to have to be more involved for all the obvious reasons, but at the end of the day, parents can only control what their sons and daughters are doing within reason,” Schmidt added.
According to research by TRG Datacenters, people search the term “AI girlfriend,” on average, about 1.6 million times each year on Google as of 2024.
The same company reported that users searched the term only 1,200 times in 2021.
In comparison, users search the term “AI boyfriend” about 180,000 times a year.
Schmidt said young men are particularly vulnerable. According to a Pew Research study, on average, they aren’t as educated as young women. The study found U.S. women outpaced men in graduating college.
“Because of the social media algorithms they find like-minded people who ultimately radicalize them, either in a horrific way, like terrorism, or in the kind of way you’re describing — they’re just maladjusted,” Schmidt said.
Schmidt added that regulatory laws like Section 230 should be reformed. It protects tech giants from being held liable for the content on their platforms. The reforms would allow for liability in the worst possible cases.
President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for Federal Trade Commission chair, Brendan Carr, has argued for restrictions for Section 230. He plans on adding protections prohibiting companies from censoring posts.
Cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah holding so far
The cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah marks a step toward peace in the Middle East, but what happens now in Gaza where Israel is still at war with Hamas? And rain or shine — but not wind — revelers get ready to celebrate in New York City at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. These stories and more highlight your Unbiased Updates for Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024.
Cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah holding so far
A cease-fire deal between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon is holding, so far.
President Joe Biden announced the deal — which the United States and France helped broker — on Tuesday, Nov. 26. Israel and Hezbollah have agreed on an initial 60-day cease-fire, which sets the stage for a lasting truce.
Already, long-displaced residents of parts of Lebanon have started returning to their homes, hopeful the tenuous agreement will be extended beyond two months. That’s despite the Israeli military warning people to stay away from previously evacuated areas.
Israel has said if Hezbollah breaks the cease-fire agreement, it will attack.
Following the directive of the political echelon, the ceasefire agreement in Lebanon took effect at 04:00 today, and the IDF has been operating accordingly. IDF troops are stationed at their positions in southern Lebanon.
Over the past hour, the IDF identified a vehicle with…
During the 60-day truce, Hezbollah fighters are to retreat at least 25 miles from the border with Israel and Israeli forces will withdraw from Lebanese territory.
The agreement does not address the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, another Iran-backed militant group, in Gaza. However, Hamas has said it is ready for a truce.
“So, now Hamas has a choice to make,” President Biden said on Tuesday. “Their only way out is to release the hostages, including American citizens, which they hold. In the process, bring an end to the fighting, which would make possible a surge of humanitarian relief. Over the coming days, the United States will make another push with Turkey, Egypt, Qatar, Israel and others to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza.”
Biden told reporters he’s hopeful he’ll help achieve a cease-fire in Gaza before the end of his term in January. If not, President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to bring peace to the Middle East, though he has not yet said how.
Trump picks nominations for NIH, trade
President-elect Trump has kept busy this holiday week. On Tuesday night, he announced new picks to join his administration.
Among them, Trump nominated Dr. Jay Bhattacharya to serve as the director of the National Institutes of Health. As head of the NIH, the Stanford University professor would work alongside Trump’s pick for health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Bhattacharya, who also has a doctorate in economics, became known for opposing lockdown restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) November 27, 2024
Trump also selected Jamieson Greer to lead the Office of the United States Trade Representative. Greer is no stranger to the department, having served as chief of staff to the trade representative during Trump’s first term — which saw tariffs imposed on Chinese goods and the signing of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement.
Greer served as a lawyer in the Air Force and is currently a partner in international trade at the law firm King and Spalding.
Both of these nominations will need Senate confirmation.
Australia’s House passes bill to ban kids under 16 from social media
The bill would make platforms such as Tiktok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, X and Instagram liable for fines of up to $50 million ($33 million USD) for failing to prevent young children from holding accounts.
Australia’s communications minister Michelle Rowland introduced a world-first law into Parliament on Thursday that would ban children younger than 16 from social media, saying online safety was one of parents’ toughest challenges. pic.twitter.com/K0zui1wHLv
The legislation passed 102-13 in Australia’s House of Representatives and now moves on to the Senate. If the bill becomes law, social media companies would have one year to figure out how to implement the age restrictions before they are enforced.
More than 3,000 fake name-brand electric guitars seized in California
U.S. Customs and Border Protection said it seized more than 3,000 fake electric guitars in Southern California. CBP said the knockoffs were destined for the e-commerce market, just in time for holiday gift shopping.
CBP said if the guitars were real, they would be worth about $18 million. Most of the fakes look like Gibson brand guitars, but some were supposedly from other well-known companies such as Fender.
Federal authorities would not release any details about suspects in the investigation or where the counterfeit guitars came from.
Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade to go on, rain or shine
A Macy’s spokesperson told the New York Post the parade will proceed regardless of wet weather — good news for the expected 3.5 million people who will be along the parade route and the estimated 30 million watching at home. However, wind could pose a problem.
The spokesperson told the Post, “Based on the city’s guidelines, no giant character balloon will be operated when there are sustained wind conditions exceeding 23 miles per hour and wind gusts greater than 34 miles per hour on the parade route.”
So far, according to weather reports, the winds should not be a problem, and all 32 balloons should be able to fly. New ones this year include Minnie Mouse and Spider-Man, which is marking its return to the parade for the first time in a decade.
Happy Thanksgiving from Straight Arrow News
With Thursday being Thanksgiving, as you get ready to gather around the table with your family, we wanted to take this time for you to get to know ours a little better. In the video above, members of our Straight Arrow News team have special messages about what they’re thankful for this holiday season. Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours!