By MORIAH BALINGIT

In one testimonial after another, teachers detailed all the ways President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown has shaped their work and the lives of their students.

In a court filing Thursday, educators around the country described rumors of immigration raids that scared away students, immigrant parents who stopped sending their children to school altogether, and stories of parents and students — including one middle schooler — being picked up by Immigration and Customs Enforcement at school bus stops.

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The stories were shared as part of a lawsuit challenging a Trump administration policy that opened up schools, houses of worship and medical facilities to immigration enforcement. The lawsuit was filed last year by an Oregon farmworkers union and a group of churches that argued the policy change was “arbitrary and capricious.” The American Federation of Teachers, the National Education Association and three preschool employees joined the suit in September.

As the impacts of immigration enforcement on schools and health care facilities grew, the plaintiffs filed a petition asking a judge to halt the Trump administration policy as the lawsuit proceeds.

“In recent months — and escalating in the past several weeks — immigration enforcement agents have made startling incursions into cities and towns around the country, including unprecedented and unrestrained surges in and around vital community institutions such as schools and healthcare facilities,” attorneys wrote.

The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

Administration officials have defended the policy in the past, saying that making schools, churches and other spaces off-limits to immigration enforcement could make them refuges for criminals.

Officials have said Immigration and Customs Enforcement does not target schools for enforcement operations, but there have been several instances in recent months where immigration authorities have pursued or detained people on or near school property.

A new policy opened the door to arrests at schools

The government for more than three decades had barred immigration authorities from making arrests in schools and houses of worship. That policy was updated over the years to include other “protected areas,” such as hospitals and homeless shelters, to prevent enforcement actions that would restrict access to essential services and activities.

Shortly after Trump took office, his administration rescinded that policy, instead issuing a four-paragraph memo that advised officers to use “a healthy dose of common sense” when deciding whether to make arrests near “protected areas.”

As Trump has ramped up his efforts to deport millions of people, some of the arrests have been made near schools during pick-up and drop-off hours. The plaintiffs in the lawsuit include a trio of educators from an Oregon preschool, where ICE agents attempted to arrest a man in the parking lot after he dropped off his infant son.

In Chelsea, Massachusetts, teachers union president Kathryn Anderson said immigration enforcement has been more disruptive to learning than the COVID pandemic, which moved school online for months. The school system lost a significant number of students this year and absenteeism is higher than usual.

“Right now, kids of all backgrounds are being prevented from going to school because of the extremely real fear that either they or their family members will be separated,” said Anderson, who is not part of the lawsuit. “As an educator … having to help kids move through and exist in that fear (has) been a near impossible task.”

During a Chicago operation in October, agents released tear gas that engulfed a school playground. They later arrested a teacher inside of her preschool during morning drop-off. DHS said agents had attempted to pull over the car she was riding in before she got to school and said she barricaded herself inside, forcing agents to enter. The woman, who has work authorization, was eventually released.

In Minneapolis, agents scuffled with bystanders after pursuing a man onto a high school campus as school was ending for the day.

Teachers describe fear trickling into classrooms

The court filing included testimony from 60 teachers and health care workers from 18 states who described how immigration enforcement near their schools and medical facilities has challenged their work. All submitted their testimony anonymously.

One middle school teacher said half of students stayed home amidst a rumor about immigration enforcement nearby. The following month, a student at the school was detained while at a bus stop.

Elsewhere, a speech pathologist described tearful meetings with immigrant parents fearful that signing documents to get their child special education services would draw the attention of immigration enforcement.

A high school teacher said many students, including immigrants still learning English, switched to virtual learning after a parent was arrested by ICE at a school bus stop. But the virtual option is only offered in English, and the teacher said they feared the students are falling behind.

A teacher at a another school said a student was detained by ICE at a school bus stop and never returned to class after being released. Now, when students ask whether they can be arrested at school, “I can no longer reassure them that campus is safe from ICE.”

The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

Amazon’s smart doorbell maker Ring has terminated a partnership with police surveillance tech company Flock Safety.

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The announcement follows a backlash that erupted after 30-second Ring ad that aired during the Super Bowl featuring a lost dog that is found through a network of cameras, sparking fears of a dystopian surveillance society.

But that feature, called Search Party, was not related to Flock. And Ring’s announcement doesn’t cite the ad as a reason for the “joint decision” for the cancellation.

Ring and Flock said last year they were planning on working together to give Ring camera owners the option to share their video footage in response to law enforcement requests made through a Ring feature known as Community Requests.

“Following a comprehensive review, we determined the planned Flock Safety integration would require significantly more time and resources than anticipated,” Ring’s statement said.

“The integration never launched, so no Ring customer videos were ever sent to Flock Safety.”

Beyond the Flock partnership, Ring has faced other surveillance concerns.

In Super Bowl ad, a lost dog is found with Ring’s Search Party feature, which the company says can “reunite lost dogs with their families and track wildfires threatening your community.” The clip depicts the dog being tracked by cameras throughout a neighborhood on using artificial intelligence.

And viewers took to social media to criticize it for being sinister, leaving many wondering if it would be used to track humans and saying they would turn the feature off.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a nonprofit that focus on civil liberties related to digital technology, said this week that Americans should feel unsettled over the potential loss of privacy.

“Amazon Ring already integrates biometric identification, like face recognition, into its products via features like “Familiar Faces,” which depends on scanning the faces of those in sight of the camera and matching it against a list of pre-saved, pre-approved faces,” the Foundation wrote Tuesday. “It doesn’t take much to imagine Ring eventually combining these two features: face recognition and neighborhood searches.”

The tragic story of the RMS Titanic has played out on the big screen, and in musicals, novels, exhibits, documentaries and TV miniseries. Now, it arrives in South Florida as a new immersive experience.

Guests can climb aboard a lifeboat to experience the historic ship’s final moments — and watch from a passenger’s perspective, floating in the dark waters on a star-filled, bitterly cold night, as distress signals were being sent and Titanic disappeared into the ocean.

The experience is called “Titanic: An Immersive Voyage,” and it will be available through Tuesday, March 31, at the South Florida PBS Studios in Boynton Beach.

Guests may know the facts already — that the so-called “unsinkable” ship struck an iceberg and sank in the early morning hours of April 15, 1912, killing more than 1,500 people during its maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City.

But this immersive experience offers an opportunity to take a trip through history: To learn about the ship with 3D views, video animations, life-sized reconstructions and narrative storytelling; view artifacts; and use virtual reality to go 2.5 miles below sea level in a deep-sea submersible to see the wreck site.

Titanic’s sister and rescue ships also get a featured spot in the multisensory journey, which takes from 45 to 90 minutes to complete.

Learn historical facts about Titanic’s crew and passengers during “Titanic: An Immersive Voyage” at South Florida PBS Studios in Boynton Beach. (South Florida PBS/Courtesy)

Fans of James Cameron’s 1997 “Titanic” movie can even pose as passengers in an artificial intelligence photo booth to recreate the “I’m flying” scene between Jack and Rose on the ship’s bow.

This is the third immersive experience presented at South Florida PBS Studios, following presentations on Leonardo Da Vinci and Egyptian pharaohs.

Below, we obtained more details during a Q&A session with Jeneissy Azcuy, chief marketing and education officer with South Florida PBS, that’s been edited for length and clarity.

Q: How did South Florida PBS find out about this experience and bring it here? 

A: Exhibition Hub [based in Atlanta] created the experience. We discovered it at last year’s PBS Annual Meeting, where several staff members were invited to visit the immersive experience and came away impressed. Knowing that PBS had produced excellent programming about the Titanic, with a new documentary from American Public Television scheduled for spring 2026, we saw an opportunity to bring the experience to South Florida. Our research also revealed a compelling local connection — several Titanic passengers had ties to South Florida, making it especially relevant for our community.

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Q: Why is it important to learn about Titanic and keep its history alive, especially in an interactive way?

A: The Titanic represents far more than a maritime disaster. It is a profound human story that offers timeless lessons about hubris, class divisions, heroism and tragedy. By keeping this history alive through interactive experiences, we ensure that new generations connect emotionally with these lessons in ways that textbooks simply cannot achieve.

An immersive approach transforms the Titanic from a distant historical event into a visceral, personal experience. When you’re standing on a replica of the bow, sitting in a lifeboat or exploring the wreckage through VR [virtual reality], the 1,500 lives lost become real people, not just statistics. You begin to understand the human decisions, both wise and catastrophic, that led to that fateful night.

Bowls and glassware are among the artifacts on display in the “Titanic: An Immersive Voyage” exhibit at South Florida PBS Studios in Boynton Beach. (South Florida PBS/Courtesy)

These interactive experiences also illuminate broader themes that remain relevant today: the dangers of overconfidence in technology and the life-and-death consequences of ignored warnings. By engaging with this history in such an immersive way, visitors don’t just learn facts, they develop empathy, critical thinking, and a deeper appreciation for how individual choices and societal structures can shape tragic outcomes. It’s this emotional connection that ensures the lessons of the Titanic continue to resonate and inform how we approach challenges in our own time.

Q: How is the virtual reality experience?

A: The VR aspect of “Titanic: An Immersive Voyage” is truly extraordinary. It takes you on a breathtaking journey to the ocean floor, where you encounter the haunting wreckage of the Titanic resting in the deep. As you explore the sunken vessel, you can observe the ship’s remains in stunning detail before the experience transitions, bringing you back in time to April 14, 1912. Suddenly, you’re aboard the magnificent ship itself, witnessing the tragic events of that fateful night unfold around you.

Descend 2.5 miles below sea level to view Titanic’s wreck site in the VR portion of the new exhibit. (South Florida PBS/Courtesy)

Q: What is your favorite part of the exhibit?

A: My favorite part is the immersive show, particularly the experience of sitting in the lifeboat. From that vantage point, you’re drawn into the unfolding drama as you learn about the critical messages being transmitted, some received, some tragically ignored. The experience weaves together the rich history of the ship, its crew and passengers, building a deeper understanding of life aboard the Titanic. Then, as the narrative progresses, you witness the heartbreaking sequence of events leading to its catastrophic end. There’s something profoundly moving about experiencing this history while seated in a lifeboat, which adds an emotional weight and sense of immediacy that makes the story feel incredibly real and personal.

Q: “Titanic” overlaps with the “Egyptian Pharaohs: From Cheops to Ramses II” immersive experience on display through Sunday, March 29. How do you fit each exhibit into the facility?

A: We’ve successfully separated the two experiences by utilizing different sections of our substantially expanded campus. Our recently opened, state-of-the-art Cornelia T. Bailey Cultural Arts Center, an 8,000-square-foot facility, hosts portions of the “Egyptian Pharaohs” experience across its immersive dome, Taylor Performance Hall and Innovation Lab. Our 4,000-square-foot immersive studio hosts the “Egyptian Pharaohs” immersive show.

For “Titanic,” we’ve transformed office space into a museum-style gallery featuring authentic Titanic artifacts, a replica of the ship’s bow for photo opportunities and the VR experience. The immersive voyage itself takes place in one of our studios, complete with a lifeboat where visitors can sit for added realism.

Each experience has its own dedicated entrance: Guests access “Egyptian Pharaohs” through the Bailey Cultural Arts Center, while “Titanic: An Immersive Voyage” is entered through the back of the South Florida PBS Studios.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: “Titanic: An Immersive Voyage”

WHEN: Jan. 30-March 31

WHERE: South Florida PBS Studios, 3401 S. Congress Ave., Boynton Beach

COST: $45 for adults; $35 for seniors, students, military and first responders; and free for guests age 12 and younger (not recommended for children younger than 5)

INFORMATION: southfloridapbs.org/titanic/

The immersive experience also features a replica of the RMS Titanic. (South Florida PBS/Courtesy)

By JESSICA DAMIANO

With record cold gripping much of North America this winter, many who find themselves with an abundance of fireplace ashes are wondering whether they can use them in the garden.

Wood ashes from burned untreated wood can be beneficial for your plants — but with a few caveats.

Ashes contain nutrients like potassium, which supports the overall health of plants, phosphorus, which promotes strong root systems, and calcium, which facilitates plants’ absorption of other soil nutrients.

They also raise soil pH, making it more alkaline. That could be beneficial for folks with naturally acidic soil wanting to grow plants like tomatoes, peppers and eggplants, but it could spell disaster for gardeners who want to grow acid-loving plants like rhododendrons, azaleas or blueberries.

And if your soil is already alkaline — with a pH of 7 or higher — raising it further with ashes would risk interfering with many plants’ ability to thrive.

Despite the alkalinizing properties of wood ashes, they should not be relied on as the sole pH-raising amendment for very acidic soils. Although they can be helpful for borderline soils, it would take a tremendous amount of ash to change soil pH from too low to neutral.

The only way to know your soil’s pH level is to test it either with an at-home kit, which you can buy at garden centers or online, or by bringing a soil sample to your county’s cooperative extension office or master gardener clinic for testing and amendment recommendations.

Armed with this information, you can make an educated decision about whether ashes will benefit your soil and plants.

Here are a few more tips to get you on your way.

Know your wood

Whatever the wood contains will be absorbed by your soil and, in turn, your plants. Avoid using ashes from treated wood or from trees grown in polluted areas, which may contain chemicals and contaminants, such as heavy metals.

Coal ash and charcoal briquette ash should never be incorporated into garden soil because they contain toxins.

A bucket of ash appears by a fireplace at a home in Waitsfield, Vt. on Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Lessard)

Make necessary preparations

Before spreading, ensure ashes have cooled completely. This can take a week or more.

Sift the ashes through a compost sifter to remove pieces of burned wood and debris. If you don’t have a sifter, you can use an old window screen or make your own by affixing 1/2- or 1/4-inch hardware cloth to a large art frame (or make a wood frame yourself).

Don’t overdo it

If you obtained dosing recommendations with your soil test, follow them precisely. Otherwise, apply no more than one 5-gallon bucket of ash, roughly 20 pounds, to a 1,000-square-foot area of garden per year. This limit should allow plants to reap the nutritive benefits of ash without adversely raising the soil’s pH. Retest annually before reapplying.

You can also sprinkle similar proportions of ash over the lawn or add it to compost.

Leave time between application and planting

In winter, apply ashes to bare soil (without snow cover) on a windless day. Moisten well with a gentle shower stream to facilitate absorption and prevent ashes from blowing around.

Springtime applications to prepared beds should be made no less than two weeks before planting time. Work ashes 4-6 inches deep with a stiff-tined metal garden rake.

Dispose of the excess cautiously

Avoid disposing of an abundance of ashes by dumping them in a corner of the yard. Large amounts can severely damage your soil, pollute groundwater, and lower the pH of nearby water sources, harming fish and other wildlife.

Instead, allow ashes to cool in the fireplace or stove for several days before collecting them into a metal bucket. Buried embers may still be burning, so take care and wear gloves.

Cover the bucket and place it outdoors, away from the house, porch, deck and other structures, for about a week. When you are certain they are completely cooled, bag the ashes and place them in the trash.

Jessica Damiano writes weekly gardening columns for the AP and publishes the award-winning Weekly Dirt Newsletter. You can sign up here for weekly gardening tips and advice.

For more AP gardening stories, go to https://apnews.com/hub/gardening.