Major Oak, RSPB Sherwood Forest Nature Reserve, Nottinghamshire, May 2026 (Ben Andrew/RSPB)
(LONDON) — A giant, ancient oak tree located in the the Sherwood Forest — the iconic setting of the “Robin Hood” legend — has died, one of the U.K.’s top bird and wildlife conservation charities said.
Famous for its enormous trunk — about 36 feet in circumference — and gnarled branches, the Major Oak was believed to be about 1,200 years old, according to the RSPB Bird & Wildlife Conservation Charity.
The tree had been in “visible decline” for several years, the charity said and failed to produce any leaves this spring.
“Whilst the tree’s failure to produce leaves this year is heart-breaking for everyone — from the many people over the years who have looked after this magnificent tree to the millions who have travelled here to see it — we know the Major Oak will have a lasting legacy, first and foremost because it is so inextricably linked to Robin Hood and Sherwood Forest,” Hollie Drake, senior site manager at RSPB Sherwood Forest, said in a statement.
The organization said it couldn’t determine the exact cause of the tree’s demise.
Among the factors cited were poor soil and a weakened root system as well as “well-intentioned efforts to preserve the tree’s impressive shape” over the years, including metal bracing and coverings that prevented the tree from aging naturally, the organization said.
The group also cited the effects of climate change and recent heat waves and drought.
While the tree has died, the organization said the oak will remain standing in its place in the park, “continuing as an emblem in the landscape and providing valuable decaying wood habitat.”
In addition, acorns and cuttings from the tree have already been grown into saplings.
“There are Major Oak saplings planted in locations right around the world, so we are planning work to ensure that its offspring will grow and generate their own acorns — and legends — for centuries to come,” the organization said.
Vice President J.D. Vance takes a question from a reporter during a news conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on June 18, 2026, in Washington, DC. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Vice President JD Vance on Thursday directly contradicted what is in the memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran, touting it as a “win-win” and insisting Iran will only reap financial benefits if they “change their behavior.”
“They don’t get anything unless they change their behavior,” Vance said during a briefing at the White House Thursday morning.
That conflicts with what U.S. officials had said was in the MOU, which states that “immediately upon signing,” the Treasury Department will allow the export of Iranian crude through waivers — a financial windfall for Iran, which has faced sanctions for years. Vance digitally signed the MOU with Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf before President Donald Trump physically signed it Wednesday.
ABC News pushed Vance on the financial rewards that Iran is already receiving simply for reopening the Strait of Hormuz. As part of the agreement, the U.S. is removing its naval blockade of Iranian ports, and Iran will allow commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran closed after the war started, to be restored to pre-war levels. ABC News asked how Iran is allowed to sell their oil freely without making any new concrete nuclear commitments.
“They’ve made very concrete nuclear commitments. They have committed to the destruction of the highly enriched [uranium] stockpile that they have in their possession,” Vance said, adding that lifting the Strait of Hormuz blockade has promoted “the free flow of energy … across the world.”
However, Vance’s comments conflict with what the deal says. There is no firm commitment from Iran to get rid of their nuclear stockpile — just a commitment to negotiate “the disposition” of it over the next 60 days.
Also, allowing Iran to freely sell oil on the global market now is an economic windfall for Iran, which could generate more than $60 billion a year in revenue, experts told the Wall Street Journal.
Furthermore, Vance defended the oil waivers by arguing the U.S. will gain insight into Iran’s economy.
“So by lifting the blockade, that’s the significant thing that has changed. And by lifting the sanctions, we’re actually going to be able to see a little bit where their financial system actually sends money and receives money. That’s a real benefit to the American people. And that’s really the only thing that has changed by the change in sanctions,” Vance said.
He also repeatedly stressed that U.S. taxpayer money will not flow directly to Iran — “not a single penny, by the way, from the United States of America under any circumstance.” But a final deal could still allow Iran to reap huge financial benefits, including the unfreezing of assets and a $300 billion reconstruction account for Iran — the details of which will be sorted in the 60-day period.
Pressed on whether Iran can be trusted to change its behavior, Vance asked “isn’t it worth trying?”
Democrats — and some Republicans — have expressed concerns about the MOU. Chuck Schumer, the Senate’s top Democrat, said Iran “took Trump to the cleaners” in negotiations over the MOU in remarks on the Senate floor Thursday. Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy said of the MOU on Thursday: “Iran’s left stronger, we’re left weaker.”
“You know, I’ve seen skeptics of the deal. People say ‘the Iranians will never change their behavior.’ Well, maybe that’s true. And if so, they don’t get any of the benefits of the bargain. But isn’t it worth trying? Isn’t it worth seeing whether this incredibly weakened position that the president of the United States has put the Iranians under, whether that motivates them to change their behavior, not just vis a vis the West, but vis a vis the Middle East,” he said.
Iranian Supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei said Thursday that Iranian officials entered the agreement from a position of strength, portraying the U.S. president as having pushed aggressively for the deal out of desperation.
President’s House Site, Memorial Wall. The names of the nine enslaved members of President Washington’s household who lived at this site. (NPS)
(WASHINGTON) — As the city of Philadelphia fights to preserve the slavery memorial at the President’s House, a federal appeals court ruled that the Trump administration can remove and replace the exhibit at the site of President George Washington’s former home.
The Thursday ruling comes after the Trump administration stated in a court filing on Wednesday that it removed panels at the exhibit — some of which were restored in February following a judge’s order — because they allegedly “disparage” Americans.
The outdoor memorial, “From Enslavement to Emancipation,” is located at Independence National Historic Park. The exhibit tells the stories of the nine people enslaved by Washington.
The unanimous appeals court decision tosses a February district court ruling that ordered the National Parks Service (NPS) to restore the panels that were removed from the site. NPS took down the outdoor memorial in January before it was partially restored in February after a district court ruling, but not all materials were returned to the site.
The Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that while the city had standing to sue, the lower court wrongly interpreted the contract claims brought by the city and determined that they don’t have merit.
“In sum, the City has standing to sue because it alleges that its contractual rights were violated, but we should not, as the District Court did, mistake that jurisdictional determination for a conclusion that the City’s underlying statutory and contract claims have merit. They do not,” the appeals court ruling said.
ABC News reached out to the city of Philadelphia but requests for comment were not immediately returned.
Asked about the appeals court ruling and about a potential timeline for replacing the exhibit, a spokesperson for the Interior Department on Thursday provided ABC News with a three-word statement: “Trust in Trump.”
The city of Philadelphia argued in a lawsuit filed in January that by removing the panels “without notice,” NPS violated various congressional laws, as well as a 2006 agreement NPS made with the city and laid out the terms for building the exhibit, which opened to the public in 2010.
Amid pending litigation, NPS shared proposed changes to the panels at the slavery memorial that were published on its website in April.
The images shared by NPS don’t show photos of the original panels, but share proposed new panels and revised text. Of note, are proposed changes to the panels titled “Presidents Washington and Adams on Slavery,” and “The Constitution and Slavery.”
The appeals court’s ruling said, “These new panels are full of historical context. They highlight the momentous events that took place in the President’s House and the other sites at Independence National Historical Park. They acknowledge the evil of slavery, including its injustices and hypocrisies, and, by telling the story of the nine slaves that Washington kept in the President’s House, remind us of their essential humanity.”
The ruling added, “Given all these developments, we cannot agree with the District Court that the exhibit removal six months ago was NPS’s last word on the matter.”
Avenging the Ancestors Coalition (ATAC), the advocacy group founded by attorney Michael Coard in 2002 to advocate for the building of the memorial, criticized the [proposed changes in an April statement, calling the replacement panels “deeply offensive.”
“The National Park Service’s most recent posting of proposed replacement panels at the President’s House Slavery Memorial is deeply offensive and represents yet another troubling attempt to distort and censor American history,” the group’s statement said, criticizing NPS for not consulting with ATAC before proposing the new panels.
“What we are seeing now is not restoration–it is revision,” ATAC’s statement added. “It is an attempt to sanitize history and present a version of the past that is more comfortable, but far less truthful.”
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Interior Dept. told ABC News in a statement on April 9 that the changes underscore the administration’s commitment to “celebrating and acknowledging the full breadth of our nation’s history.”
“The hard work and sacrifices of the men and women who built this nation deserve to be remembered and honored,” the spokesperson said. “By telling the full story, every triumph, every challenge, and every step towards a more perfect union we strengthen our shared understanding and ensure that future generations inherit not just the land we love, but the truth of the journey that brought us here.”
The Interior Department told ABC News in several statements that the removal of the exhibit was made in compliance with a March 27, 2025, executive order in which President Donald Trump ordered the Interior Dept. to remove content that cast the United States’ “founding principles and historical milestones in a negative light.”
In the public filing on Wednesday, which stems from a separate lawsuit challenging the removal of materials at national parks across the country, the Interior Department indicated that while most glass panels at the slavery exhibit were restored in February after a judge’s order, the “large format metal panels were damaged and not restored.”
The government did not specify in the list the process for recreating the metal panels, writing “TBD” in that section.
A global map of the shadow path for the August 12, 2026, total solar eclipse. (NASA)
(NEW YORK) — Some lucky stargazers in the United States will have an opportunity to catch a glimpse of the next solar eclipse, according to astronomy experts.
On Aug. 12, a partial solar eclipse will be visible from some parts of the U.S., from Alaska to North Carolina, according to NASA. Most of Canada, much of Europe and northwestern Africa will also be able to see the partial eclipse, according to NASA.
Those in the U.S. and southern Canada will only see a small “bite” taken out of the solar disk as the moon clips the sun, NASA said.
But the full show — a total solar eclipse — will pass over the Arctic Ocean, Greenland, Iceland, Atlantic Ocean, Portugal and northern Spain, according to the National Solar Observatory.
A sunset eclipse will even be visible for viewers along the western part of the eclipse path, from mainland Europe to Africa, according to NASA. A sunset solar eclipse occurs when the sun is setting while still partially eclipsed.
After Aug. 12, the next total solar eclipse will be visible on Aug. 2, 2027, in southern Spain and North Africa.
The difference between a total and partial solar eclipse
A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon slips in front of the sun. Viewers located in the center of the moon’s shadow then experience a total solar eclipse, according to NASA. The moment of totality is when the moon completely covers the sun.
A partial solar eclipse occurs when watchers are inside the moon’s shadow but outside the path of totality, according to NASA.
When the solar eclipse will occur
In the U.S., the maximum of the partial solar eclipse will occur in Anchorage at 8:21 a.m. local time but midday on the mainland. The maximum will occur in Bangor, Maine, at 1:53 p.m.; in Boston at 1:55 p.m.; in Detroit at 1:36 p.m.; in New York City at 1:54 p.m.; and in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., at 1:53 p.m., according to NASA.
The total solar eclipse will occur at midday in a small, remote region of northern Russia. From Greenland to Iceland, totality will occur from late afternoon to early evening.
In Spain and northwestern Portugal, the sun will be fully eclipsed during the late evening, shortly before sunset, according to NASA. A sunset solar eclipse is a “rare spectacle,” according to Space.com.
How to watch the eclipse safely
Anyone who plans to watch the partial solar eclipse will need safe solar viewing glasses to protect their eyes, according to NASA.
UV radiation, whether from natural sunlight or artificial rays indoors, can damage the surface tissue, cornea and lens of the eye, according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology.
The only time viewers can look directly at the eclipse without eye protection is during the brief moments of totality, when the moon completely covers the sun. It is never safe to look directly at a partial solar eclipse without eye protection.
Viewers can also use handheld solar viewers and other safe solar filters that block out most of the Sun’s light and prevent eye damage.
An indirect viewing method, such as a pinhole projector to cast images of the Sun, can also be used to see the partial phases of the eclipse, NASA said. The device has a small opening that projects an image of the Sun onto a nearby surface.
It is not safe to look at the eclipse through a camera lens, telescope, binoculars, or any other optical device while wearing eclipse glasses or using a handheld solar viewer because the concentrated solar rays could burn through the filter and cause serious eye injury, NASA said.
A dog was shot by a police officer inside this condo building on Jordan Avenue, in Los Angeles. (KABC)
(LOS ANGELES) — The Los Angeles Police Department said it’s investigating an incident in which an officer shot and killed a dog while answering a 911 call, which turned out to be a false alarm over a woman celebrating the New York Knicks’ historic championship win on Saturday.
LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said in a statement Wednesday that the department is thoroughly investigating the incident, which he called “incredibly tragic,” and vowed transparency.
Around 8:55 p.m. Saturday, officers responded to a 911 call of a woman screaming inside a condo in Canoga Park, the LAPD said.
The LAPD said that while officers were speaking with a resident in the apartment at the center of the 911 call, a “large dog was barking by her side at the officers.” The dog was wearing a Knicks shirt, witnesses told KABC.
The woman closed her door momentarily after officers asked her to secure the dog, who was named Jameson, police said. After she reopened it, the dog exited the apartment and allegedly “charged at one of the officers,” prompting one of them to open fire, according to the LAPD.
Cell phone video circulated online of a woman crying over the dog’s body, shouting “We were just celebrating the Knicks.”
The neighbor who called police told KABC that they felt guilty about calling 911, but sincerely thought the woman was in trouble.
McDonnell sympathized with Jameson’s family.
“The loss of a pet is deeply personal. For many, a dog is not simply an animal; it is a companion, a source of comfort, and a member of the family,” McDonnell said in his statement.
“There is no incident more serious than when an officer fires a service weapon. For this reason, the LAPD has a specialized division of investigators specifically trained to handle these types of incidents. A thorough, multi-layered examination of this weekend’s incident in Canoga Park is already underway, but it will take time to ensure fairness, transparency, and accountability,” he added.
A memorial for Jameson was formed outside the condo and an online fundraiser has raised thousands of dollars for its family.
Local activists have called for more details about the incident, including body camera footage from the officers who responded to the call.
“The tragic killing of Jameson was unnecessary and unwarranted,” Najee Ali, a senior organizer with the Los Angeles National Action Network, said during a news conference Tuesday.
“We demand immediate accountability, which can only happen through the prompt release of the body-worn camera footage and the names of the officers responsible for shooting and killing Jameson,” he added.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass also released a statement on Wednesday, saying that a thorough investigation will be conducted.
“Every life lost to violence is a tragedy, and we know that the devastating loss of Jameson will be felt by his family forever,” she said.
(WASHINGTON) — Janeese Lewis George won the Democratic primary for mayor of Washington, D.C., held earlier this week, according to a projection from the Associated Press on Thursday.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Stock photo of a crocodile. (Diego Kondratzky/500px/STOCK PHOTO/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — A man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a 3-year-old boy wound up in a crocodile enclosure at a zoo in eastern England, suffering serious injuries, according to police.
The “distressing incident” occurred Thursday afternoon at Johnsons of Old Hurst, a family-run farm and zoo located in Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire, police said.
The boy “ended up in the crocodile enclosure” and was taken to a local hospital, where he was in critical but stable condition, Cambridgeshire police said.
A 30-year-old man who is an apparent stranger to the child has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder in connection with the incident, police said.
“At this stage we are speaking to people who were at the zoo at the time of this distressing incident to understand more about the circumstances,” Det. Insp. Verity McCann said in a statement. “We do not believe the man arrested and the child are known to each other.”
The incident remains under investigation.
Huntingdon Member of Parliament Ben Obese-Jecty said his “thoughts are with the young victim and his family during a hugely traumatic and difficult time.”
“This is now a live criminal investigation and I would ask people to refrain from speculation online,” he said in a statement on social media.
Johnsons of Old Hurst said its tropical house, which is home to multiple species of crocodiles and other reptiles, will remain closed until further notice “out of respect to the family.”
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the boy and his family following the incident that occurred today,” Johnsons of Old Hurst said in a statement on social media Thursday.
Students walk through the halls between classes at Rippowam Middle School on September 14, 2020 in Stamford, Connecticut. (John Moore/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Nayleen Escalante-Villatoro, a sixth grader at Brookland Middle School in Washington, D.C., has struggled significantly with attending school.
She said whenever there are family problems that force her mother to take off work, she has to step in.
“Me and my older sibling stay home to watch the little ones,” Nayleen told ABC News, adding, “It makes me feel stressed because I’m missing school and I’m not learning.”
This not only frustrates Nayleen, but it also impacts her studies: “I have to do a lot of makeup work after all the missing assignments that I haven’t done,” she added.
Kids like Nayleen face a multitude of challenges at school — when they’re there.
From the rigors of learning how to read and write to addressing mental health concerns and outside distractions, students juggle more than just their classroom workloads. A combination of these issues and other societal factors has fueled an attendance crisis that’s led to a spike in student chronic absenteeism — defined as missing at least 10% of the school year — in recent years, according to experts who spoke to ABC News.
While one in three students nationwide experienced chronic absenteeism during the 2021-2022 academic year, the rate is declining, from up to 30% to roughly 24% by the start of the past school year, according to estimates from the Return 2 Learn tracker reviewed by ABC News.
Government officials are also collecting data on K-12 chronic absenteeism but the Department of Education recently told ABC News it couldn’t yet provide it. Its National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) told ABC News in 2023 that chronic absenteeism increased from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, there’s been no silver bullet to the problem. Different states have taken their own approach, from going door-to-door to check on students to providing high-impact tutoring at school. Education and health experts also emphasize family engagement, community relationships, extracurricular activities and outdoor recreation are potential solutions for chronically absent students.
Hedy Chang, CEO of Attendance Works, a nonprofit focused on addressing absenteeism, said that when kids aren’t showing up to school, it’s an indication that engagement isn’t happening.
“When you treat it as a matter of engagement, that’s when we build the relationships with families, which make them trust schools and it builds a relationship so that we can actually find out what are the underlying causes of why kids aren’t showing up,” Chang told ABC News.
United Family Advocates Executive Director Joanna Lack is calling for more attention to those underlying causes. Lack worked on the issue for many years as the chief performance officer in Camden, New Jersey, and has since transitioned to the non-profit organization dedicated to keeping families safe and together.
“We’ve been looking at the wrong problem instead of opening up the hood and saying ‘What’s actually going on here?'” she said.
Home life among ‘constellation’ of issues
Student absenteeism is often correlated with household or child welfare problems that impact the student’s school life, according to UFA’s Lack.
“Chronic absenteeism is like the symptom that you experience, but it’s not the disease, and we’ve been treating it like it’s the disease,” Lack said.
The Department of Health and Human Services does not have a specific initiative targeting chronic absenteeism. However, Head Start and the Family Opportunity, Resilience, Grit, Engagement-Fatherhood (FORGE) program under the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) both aim to improve outcomes in child welfare and enhance early childhood education, according to HHS officials.
Chang said there isn’t an urgent need for new federally funded programs or aid, just better use of ones that are available.
“I need existing programs to think about how they use chronic absence data to collaborate and work together to support kids and families and make sure the kids who need their resources, or the schools that need their resources, are getting it,” she said.
There’s a “constellation” of issues that contribute to increased absences, from child welfare involvement to unstable housing, but Lack noted that families are complex and kids don’t come in silos.
Activity makes a ‘huge difference’
Nayleen is one of the thousands of students across the country who participate in extracurricular activities through the SCORES program, which creates safe environments where young people can build connections with their communities, according to its website. She said DC SCORES — which provides soccer, poetry, and service-learning programs — has helped her return to class more regularly.
She explained that playing soccer with DC SCORES has empowered her and she looks forward to talking to her coach after attending school.
“It helps me because whenever I’m going through stuff he will understand me,” she said. “Sometimes he will help me. He will sit down and have a talk with me,” she said, adding, “Whenever I’m down, he will ask me if I’m OK.”
At the last month’s inaugural National Executive Forum on Health and Outdoor Recreation, which combined outdoor recreation industry and health leaders to promote using recreation as a pillar of public health, experts told ABC News that recess makes a “huge difference” for holistic growth in adolescents.
Outdoor Recreation Roundtable President Jessica Turner emphasized that being outside is fundamental to student health.
“We’ve stepped back so far from incorporating the outdoors into our lives and to step back into it doesn’t take very much,” Turner told ABC News. “It’s not a heavy lift.”
Schools supporting parents and kids
Chang, of Attendance Works, said chronic absenteeism isn’t inevitable.
She stressed that schools are starting to adopt more effective family engagement strategies for those dealing with attendance issues.
Shavar Jeffries, CEO of the KIPP Foundation, which operates the largest public charter school network in the nation, has utilized some simple yet effective solutions to correct absenteeism.
Jeffries told ABC News that when a student doesn’t show up, they call the family “immediately.”
“‘Johnny, Mary, didn’t come to school today. We really need them because they are going to miss an opportunity to learn,'” he said, adding “Then, frankly, sometimes we also say: You got to figure it out.”
“Get your baby to school because they can’t learn to fulfill that potential if you’re not able to do that,” Jeffries added.
An Influenza Vaccine is prepared for a patient, Sept. 12, 2025, in Coral Gables, Fla. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
(SAN ANTONIO) — The basic training facility for the Air Force in San Antonio, Texas, is experiencing a flu outbreak following the end of mandatory vaccination for all service members.
As of Wednesday, there are at least 159 known cases among recruits and two hospitalizations at Joint Base San Antonio, two sources familiar with the matter told ABC News. One source told ABC News the number of cases and hospitalizations may be higher.
The outbreak comes after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced in April that the annual flu vaccine would be optional for all U.S. military personnel, both active and reserve.
Previously, the flu vaccine was mandatory, but the new policy is in line with a previous change of making the COVID-19 vaccine optional.
The Pentagon has granted the military services exceptions to the policy, so the flu vaccine can be required in certain cases.
An Air Force spokesperson confirmed the outbreak to ABC News and said in a statement that over the last three weeks there has been a “localized influenza outbreak among trainees at Basic Military Training.”
“Medical professionals and Public Health officials have implemented mitigation measures to isolate and treat symptomatic trainees to reduce further exposure and continue to monitor the situation,” the statement read. “Medical personnel are also monitoring trainees who were in close contact with sick members in case they become symptomatic.”
The spokesperson said symptomatic trainees are receiving “the appropriate care” including antiviral medications such as Tamiflu.
“Once they are cleared by medical professionals they will return to training,” the statement said.
Earlier this year, when Hegseth ended mandatory vaccination, he referred to the policy as “overly broad and not rational.”
“Our new policy is simple: If you, an American warrior entrusted to defend this nation, believe that the flu vaccine is in your best interest, then you are free to take it; you should. But we will not force you,” Hegseth said.
The sources told ABC News that there is 40% flu vaccination rate among recruits at the San Antonio base since the mandate was lifted. Previously, the rate was nearly 100%.
Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell told ABC News that the Defense Department recently granted exceptions to the policy for the Army, Navy, Air Force, National Security Agency (NSA) and Defense Health Agency (DHA) through the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness.
“The decisions were based upon thorough risk assessments and are designed to maximize operational readiness, lethality, and force generation, while safeguarding at-risk populations,” Parnell said. “The Army, Navy, Air Force, NSA, and DHA are responsible for implementing the [exceptions to the policy]. The Department remains committed to the health and readiness of our warfighters and civilian personnel.”
The annual flu vaccine is currently recommended to everyone over 6 months old between September and the start of November. Although the typical flu season ends by February or March, people can become infected at any time.
People who travel internationally or live in group settings are at higher risk of transmitting and acquiring infectious diseases.
Public health specialists have warned that military members may suffer unnecessary complications from the flu after the vaccination mandate was ended and fear that severe cases will continue to climb in subsequent flu seasons if preventive vaccinations aren’t given to those most at risk.
Evidence has shown that young recruits are much more vulnerable to severe infection from influenza compared to other service members, though lower than the general population due to the military having historically high immunization rates.
A study published last year by the Defense Health Agency found that from the 2010-2011 to the 2023-2024 flu seasons, the highest rate of influenza hospitalizations among active service members were among those under the age of 25, especially young recruits.
The flu vaccine has been required for the military since 1945, at the end of World War II, partly tied to the threat of biological warfare use by rival nations and as well as the devastation that the flu pandemic of 1918-1920 wreaked on U.S. troops, according to a 2022 analysis from Wright State University in Ohio and the U.S. Air Force.
It’s estimated that between 20% and 40% of Army and Navy personnel fell ill, with more than 26,000 deaths among U.S. soldiers during the 1918-1920 flu pandemic.
After researchers noticed the effectiveness of the vaccine fading, the mandate was withdrawn in 1949. This was later found to be caused by abrupt and major changes to the flu virus — and the mandate was reinstated in the early 1950s after the changes became “clearer and combatable,” according to the analysis.
Compliance among military health care personnel has exceeded 95% in past years, compared to less than 75% among civilian health care personnel.
The names of enslaved people who lived in the President’s House are carved into a monument in Independence National Park on August 9, 2025 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Matthew Hatcher/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — The Trump administration revealed the list of materials that the National Park Service removed from parks across the country that relate to civil rights, diverse populations, science and the environment.
The list was made public on Wednesday as part of a court filing brought by various organizations. The Interior Department is appealing a federal judge’s order to restore those materials ahead of America 250 celebrations on July 4.
Included in the list are vague descriptions of the materials that were removed and their location. The list, however, does not provide images of the content that NPS found objectionable.
Examples of items that were removed include signs about climate change at parks like Acadia National Park in Maine and Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in New York; materials involving civil rights at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. and at the Medgar and Myrtle Evans Home National Monument in Jackson, Mississippi; materials involving slavery at the President’s House in Philadelphia and materials on women’s rights at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge at the Gateway National Recreation Area in New York.
The list also includes reasons for the removals.
“Disparages Americans past or living” appears to be the reason provided by NPS for the removal of items related to civil rights, diverse communities, slavery and atrocities committed by the United States against Native Americans.
“Unrelated to beauty, abundance and grandeur of the national landscape” was listed as the reason for the removal of items related to science and the environment.
A spokesperson for the Interior Department confirmed to ABC News in a statement that the government is appealing the judge’s order to restore the items.
“We fully believe politically charged language denigrating our Founding Fathers is inappropriate and only further divides Americans,” the spokesperson said. “Through President Trump, we have encouraged Americans to visit our cultural and historic sites and engage in meaningful conversations about the moments that have shaped our country.”
The spokesperson added that the government seeks to “strengthen our shared understanding and ensure that future generations inherit not just the land we love, but the truth of the journey that brought us here.”
ABC News reached out to the Interior Department and NPS for further comment.
U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley ordered the restoration of the materials in a Friday ruling and cast their removal by NPS as “a dangerous precedent of censorship and sanitization.” She ordered the government to restore all items by July 3.
The federal government has filed a motion asking for an emergency stay pending appeal, which would block the restoration as the appeals court considers the case. In the motion, the government argued that the restoration of the materials would cause “irreparable harm.”
In response, Kelley ordered the government to produce the list of changes and the condition of the materials, writing that this information was necessary for her to consider the government’s argument.
The removal of materials, which relate to civil rights, diverse communities, science and the environment, was made in compliance with a March 27, 2025, executive order in which President Donald Trump ordered the Interior Department to remove content that cast the United States’ “founding principles and historical milestones in a negative light.”
The complaint filed in February challenges the removal of the materials and was brought by a coalition of organizations committed to preserving history, the parks and the environment.
“National parks belong to the American people and censorship of any kind goes against the values these places represent,” said Alan Spears, a senior director ” said Alan Spears, a senior director at the National Parks Conservation Association, one of organizations suing NPS. “Americans count on national parks to help us understand our full, rich history. Stories of triumph and tragedy alike deserve to be told out loud at parks.”
