By JACK BROOK, Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The last inmate caught after an audacious New Orleans jailbreak was sentenced Friday to two life sentences over a 2018 double murder, with the Louisiana judge rebuking him for the disruption caused by his five months on the run.

Derrick Groves, 28, wore shackles and an orange jumpsuit in a New Orleans courtroom, two months after investigators tracked him down and captured him beneath a house in Atlanta. Groves and nine other inmates escaped in May by crawling through a hole behind a jail toilet, leaving behind graffiti that read “To Easy LoL.”

FILE – Derrick Groves sits in a police vehicle after being taken into custody by U.S. Marshals and Atlanta police at a southwest Atlanta home, Oct. 8, 2025. (Ben Hendren/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP, file)

A jury last year convicted Groves of two counts of second-degree murder for killing Jamar Robinson and Byron Jackson in a shooting at a Mardi Gras party in 2018. He also pleaded guilty last year to manslaughter in two fatal shootings in a separate case.

Groves’ escape caused “concern, disappointment, frustration and displeasure” to the court, said Orleans Parish Judge Dennis Waldron. The judge said the killings compounded tragedy already endured by Groves’ family, noting that in 1994 a corrupt New Orleans police officer ordered the killing of his grandmother, Kim Groves, after she reported police misconduct.

“He chose to not honor the memory of his grandmother as she lay in that street in the Ninth ward, shot to death,” Waldron said. “He made that conscious decision to go the other way and to kill, not once, not twice, not three times, but four times.”

Kadija Jackson, the sister of one of the victims, said she sends photos of him to his daughter so the girl can show friends she once had a father. Jackson recalled finding her brother dying inside a car after Groves fired an AK-style rifle.

“He lifted his head, but deep down, I knew he wasn’t going to make it,” she said sobbing. “That moment shattered something inside me. Since that day my life has felt like it is missing a a piece that it felt it could never replace.”

As she spoke, Groves smirked and nodded from the defense table, and later turned to stare at her and the other victims’ supporters from across the courtroom.

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Peter Freiberg, Groves’ attorney, said his client maintains his innocence and plans to appeal his convictions, while expressing sympathy for the victims’ families.

The judge, however, said Groves showed no remorse and the city would be far safer with him imprisoned for life. In addition to the two life sentences, Groves was convicted of two counts of attempted murder for wounding others in the 2018 shooting. Waldron imposed two 50-year sentences for those convictions, stacked onto the life terms.

The judge also referenced video of Groves smiling and blowing kisses while being led away after his capture in Georgia.

“It is almost as if Mr. Groves thought he were a guest at a presidential motorcade as opposed to a captured fugitive, riding in a police SWAT convoy,” Waldron said. “These actions may be considered a final act of defiance.”

Brook is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

By MIKE STOBBE, Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — It may feel like you are surrounded by sniffles and coughs, but flu season activity is still low in many parts of the U.S.

New government data posted Friday shows that as of last week, flu activity was high in four states — Colorado, Louisiana, New Jersey and New York — and minimal or low in most others. Severity indicators are increasing but are still within the boundaries of a “mild” season, said officials at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A number of diseases tend to peak in the winter, thanks to indoor gatherings that help germs spread. The list includes not only colds and flu but also norovirus — a highly infectious cause of vomiting and diarrhea. Norovirus cases have generally been trending up in the last month.

Here are three seasonal respiratory viruses that experts are keeping an eye on:

Experts are closely watching flu

Last flu season was bad, with the overall flu hospitalization rate the highest since the H1N1 flu pandemic 15 years ago. With the addition of a late-reported case, child flu deaths reached 288, the worst recorded for regular U.S. flu season and the same number seen in the 2009-2010 flu pandemic.

This season’s first pediatric flu death was reported this week.

There are reasons to fear this winter might be bad.

One type of flu virus — called A H3N2 — historically has caused the most hospitalizations and deaths in older people. So far this season, that’s the type most frequently reported. Even more concerning, 89% of the H3N2 infections analyzed were a new version — known as the subclade K variant — that differs from the strain in this year’s flu shots.

Flu seasons often don’t peak until around February, so it’s too early to know how big a problem that mismatch will be.

The CDC recommends that everyone 6 months and older get an annual vaccination, and public health experts say it’s not too late. About 42% of U.S. adults and 41% of children have gotten flu shots this season, according to CDC data.

The shots may not prevent all symptoms but they can prevent many infections from becoming severe. That appears to be true for this year’s shot, according to a preliminary U.K. analysis.

RSV usually peaks soon

Respiratory syncytial virus is a common cause of cold-like symptoms. But it can be dangerous for infants and the elderly, and is known for filling hospitals with wheezing babies every fall and winter.

RSV seasons typically peak by December or January, but the season seems to be starting later than usual reported cases so far have been relatively low, according to the CDC.

It’s likely more RSV is coming, said Dr. Cameron Wolfe, an infectious diseases expert at Duke University, in an email. And, indeed, Friday’s CDC update showed signs that infections are increasing in the South and in mid-Atlantic states.

But relatively new vaccines may be helping. In 2023, the government licensed new RSV vaccines for pregnant women and older people, and injections of laboratory-made versions of antibodies for infants.

“Perhaps, glass half full, we’re cumulatively getting more people slowly vaccinated against RSV,” Wolfe said. “And because the virus mutates far less quickly than flu or COVID, the one vaccine you might have had as an older adult two or three years ago is likely still quite effective.”

As of October, about 41% of Americans 75 and older have been vaccinated, and about 40% of infants were reported to be protected, CDC data says.

The Trump administration, which has appointed vaccine skeptics to public health leadership and advisory positions, this week opened a review of the two injectable drugs used to protect babies and toddlers despite no signs of safety issues.

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COVID-19 indicators are down from a summer peak

COVID-19 activity right now is relatively low.

This week, the CDC published research showing the COVID-19 vaccine can keep kids from developing a severe illness. Among children nine months to 4 years, the shots were 76% effective against symptoms severe enough to send a child to a hospital ER or urgent care center, the agency found. Among kids five to 17 years, it was 56% effective.

Other studies also found the shots are safe and effective for children. But the report comes out after Trump administration officials stopped recommending COVID-19 vaccines for healthy children, and as anti-vaccine advocates are petitioning the government to revoke licenses for the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines.

Few people are getting the shot this year. About 7% of children and 15% of adults have gotten this season’s version of COVID-19 vaccine, according to the CDC.

In October, the agency stopped recommending COVID-19 shots for anyone, leaving the choice up to patients. Several doctors groups and scientific organizations argued against watering down vaccination recommendations for a disease that has been a primary or contributing factor in more than 1.2 million U.S. deaths.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

New Yorkers who rely on federal food assistance could see more program disruptions in upcoming months, New York Focus reports.

Illustration by Leor Stylar/New York Focus.

This story originally appeared in New York Focus, a nonprofit news publication investigating power in New York. Sign up for their newsletter here.

After a chaotic November, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is back on track—at least for now.

The government shutdown suspended SNAP payments nationwide on Nov. 1. At the same time, New York’s social service agencies were hit with a surprise decision by the Trump administration that left them scrambling to implement expanded work requirements several months earlier than expected.

A messy legal battle involving 25 states and the Supreme Court ensued. But it wasn’t until 
Congress reopened the federal government on Nov. 13 that the White House seemingly acquiesced to mounting pressure from unfavorable legal rulings.

The administration has since resumed SNAP payments and will honor an existing waiver that allows New York to delay new work requirements until next year, as originally planned. 

“My brain just couldn’t wrap itself around what the heck was going on,” said Diana Ramos, an activist with Urban Justice Center’s Safety Net Project and a SNAP recipient from the Bronx. 

Last month, as the drama unfolded in Washington, Ramos said she took out a cash advance to stay afloat and juggle costs like dog food and a secondhand winter jacket. 

Her SNAP benefits finally landed in her account on Nov. 10, after New York and several other states rushed to release the payments following a court order. 

Tami Wilson, chief operating officer at Feeding Westchester, said that while November’s chaos has come and gone, SNAP users are expressing more unease about the program’s future ahead of yet another potential government shutdown in February—despite assurances that SNAP funding will last through September 2026.

“You’re taking shots at SNAP from all different areas to confuse, deter, and just really be cruel to our neighbors in need,” Wilson said. “Our neighbors who are heavily reliant on the government are no longer feeling like the government can be their safety net.”

The organization saw food pantry use shoot up in October, ahead of November’s SNAP funding crisis. For years, Feeding Westchester has advocated to increase SNAP benefits based on reports from clients who say their monthly allotments don’t last the entire month.

The expanded work rules—which were enacted as part of Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill“—will go into effect in March and require certain SNAP recipients to spend up to 80 hours every month working, in school, or volunteering. Those who fail to meet these new requirements for longer than three months could have their benefits terminated. 

The reinstated timeframe is giving agencies like New York City’s Human Resources Administration—which oversees snap across the five boroughs—more time to adjust to the new changes and mitigate fallout. 

The agency is rolling out programs to connect recipients with eligible work programs and health providers to help them meet or avoid the new mandate. New York City residents with any physical or mental conditions that could prevent them from fulfilling the monthly requirement are encouraged to submit a medical exemption form. Residents outside of New York City can submit a statewide version of the form to their local county social service department.

But advocates like Ramos are skeptical any amount of preparation could counter the likely devastating effects of the new work rules, especially with understaffed social service agencies. It’s estimated that hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers could lose their SNAP benefits under the new policy, including those who meet the monthly commitment but are unable to complete certifications due to technological or language barriers. Administrative errors and delays, which have long been an issue across the state, could also result in wrongful benefit terminations.

Even more changes could be on the way. Since the shutdown ended, the Trump administration has ratcheted up its threats to cut off SNAP benefits to states that don’t comply with a controversial data sharing policy announced earlier this year. Ramos is named in a lawsuit challenging the data policy, which has heightened fears around privacy as well as potential immigration enforcement.

“Why do you need this? Am I going to get a knock on my door because I have a Hispanic last name?” said Ramos, who is Puerto Rican. 

The administration is also pursuing a rule change that could discourage eligible immigrants from using public benefits by allowing officials to factor benefit usage into decisions about citizenship or permanent legal status.

If you still haven’t received your regular snap benefits for November or December, get in touch with your local county social service department. SNAP recipients who are subject to the new work rules should also hear from their local social service agency, if they haven’t already.

The post What’s Next for New Yorkers on SNAP? appeared first on City Limits.

By RUSS BYNUM, Associated Press

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — A U.S. Army soldier accused of shooting five people at a Georgia base in August will stand trial in a military court on charges including attempting murder, Army prosecutors said Friday.

Charges against Sgt. Quornelius Radford are being referred to a general court-martial, which handles cases involving the most serious crimes under military law, the Army’s Office of Special Trial Counsel said in a news release.

Officials say Radford opened fire with a personal handgun Aug. 6 on members of his supply unit at Fort Stewart in southeast Georgia, injuring four soldiers and a civilian worker before fellow soldiers were able to disarm and restrain him until military police arrived. The Army initially said all five victims were soldiers.

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A week after the shootings, Army prosecutors charged Radford with six counts of attempted murder and aggravated assault, with the sixth victim being a person the shooter fired at and missed.

Prosecutors also charged Radford with domestic violence because one of the victims was his “intimate partner,” Michelle McCaskill, a spokesperson for the Army prosecutors’ office, told The Associated Press in August.

It’s unknown whether Radford’s partner was among the five people wounded. The Army has not released the victims’ names.

Radford waived a preliminary hearing similar to a civilian grand jury to determined whether there was sufficient evidence to send his case to a court-martial. Army prosecutors say the next step will be for a military judge to be assigned to the case and schedule pretrial proceedings.

Radford was represented by Army attorneys from Fort Stewart’s Trial Defense Service during his first court appearance in August. That office did not immediately return phone and email messages Friday.

Fort Stewart officials have declined to comment on what led to the shooting.

Under military law, attempted murder carries a potential penalty of life imprisonment.

The largest Army post east of the Mississippi River, Fort Stewart is home to thousands of soldiers assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division. It is located about 40 miles southwest of Savannah.

Radford has been serving as a supply sergeant in the division’s 2nd Armored Brigade. Army records show he enlisted in 2018.

Soldiers in Radford’s unit said they followed the sound of gunfire into the hallways of an office building where they found hazy gun smoke in the air and wounded victims on the floor and in nearby offices.

Brig. Gen. John Lubas, the 3rd Infantry’s commander, credited soldiers with saving lives by immediately rendering first aid, in some cases using their bare hands to staunch bleeding gunshot wounds.

Army Secretary Dan Driscoll visited Fort Stewart the day after the shootings to award Meritorious Service Medals to six soldiers who helped restrain the gunman and treat the victims.