Northeast
New York parents demand rival district schools be left off sports schedules due to alleged race issues: report
Parents from a Long Island, New York, high school are advocating that games against a rival school district never be scheduled again due to alleged race issues.
The Elmont High School’s Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA), as well as the school’s Dad’s Club, held a town hall with Nassau County sports Section VIII officials to discuss what parents are calling a “long history of racist behavior” from the Bellmore-Merrick School District, according to The New York Post.
Also present at the town hall were representatives from the Sewanhaka School District, which Elmont High School is under, and the Bellmore-Merrick district.
A girls varsity basketball game on Feb. 7 between Elmont High School and Kennedy High School was the tipping point. (Scott W. Grau/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Lynette Battle, who serves on the Sewanhaka board of trustees, while also being the former president of the PTSA, called the situation the “definition of insanity,” alleging that it is a recurring situation.
“Something different has to be done,” Battle added. “And someone needs to be courageous enough to stand on business.”
The racial incidents allegedly spanned years, but one in particular caused a large stir leading up to the meeting. It was a girls varsity basketball game on Feb. 7 between Elmont and Kennedy High School, which is in the Bellmore-Merrick school district, that was the tipping point.
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During the game, an altercation occurred between one player from each side, where only the player from Elmont, who The Post reported is Black, was ejected after swinging at the girl from Kennedy, who is White.
However, once video came out showing the player from Kennedy hitting the player from Elmont first, the latter appealed the suspension. Though Section VIII initially upheld their decision to suspend the player, she was reinstated and allowed to participate in a playoff game after a second appeal.
Even though Bellmore-Merrick made the decision to voluntarily suspend the Kennedy player involved in the altercation, parents from Elmont have clearly seen enough to ask to never see schools from their rival district, including middle schools, on their athletic schedules.
During the meeting, Battle listed years’ worth of alleged racial incidents between the school districts, including one from 2023 during a junior varsity volleyball game between Elmont and Kennedy High Schools, when fans allegedly taunted Elmont players, calling them “monkeys” and having bananas in their possession, Battle told The Post.
A similar situation occurred in December 2021, when fans from Bellmore-Merrick Mepham High School were allegedly calling girls “monkeys” during a junior varsity basketball game. Bananas were also said to be involved.
A similar situation occurred in December 2021, when fans from Bellmore-Merrick Mepham High School were allegedly calling girls “monkeys” during a junior varsity basketball game. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
With that last incident, the fans were both disciplined, as the Bellmore-Merrick superintendent and athletic director apologized to Elmont in person at their high school, Section VIII Director Patrick Pizzarelli told The Post.
Battle also detailed an incident in February 2019, when Elmont cheerleaders allegedly hurled racial slurs at spectators supporting Bellmore-Merrick. She also claims one of the cheerleaders wore an “afro-wig to mock the black players.”
Battle added more incidents in 2022 and 2023 that were allegedly racially charged. However, they were never reported to the necessary sports powers in the districts.
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In response, Section VIII and the districts have held workshops for students on the teams involved, while also “instituting the reading of a civility statement before games,” The Post reports.
“Our children are the ones being victimized,” Battle retorts. “Why do they need to be in the room for a kumbaya moment?”
The Post also interviewed Jon Johnson of the Dad’s Club, and while his three children may no longer be in the Sewanhaka school system, they did all graduate from Elmont High School and allegedly dealt with similar racial incidents.
Johnson detailed one involving his “middle son,” who played against Wellington C. Mepham High School – another in the Bellmore-Merrick district.
Parents from a Long Island, New York, high school are advocating that games against a rival school district never be scheduled again due to alleged race issues.
“He was playing lacrosse, and in the middle of the game, the opposing player, after Elmont scored, the opposing player called him the flat-out the n-word and told him to get off of the field,” Johnson, who is Black, told The Post.
Pizzarelli has defended the way Section VIII and the respective districts responded to these incidents, adding that town halls like these have created progress in resolving these issues.
Parents beg to differ.
“We have trusted our district to help look over our kids, but I don’t think that they have, because they keep doing things to put a Band-Aid to a gunshot wound,” Johnson said to The Post.
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Pennsylvania
3 dead in apparent murder-suicide spanning from Pennsylvania to Illinois, police say
Two women are dead in Pennsylvania and a man is dead in Illinois after an apparent murder-suicide, police said on Wednesday.
According to a report from the Pennsylvania State Police, the investigation began in Hillside, Illinois, when police there were dispatched after a man reported two women dead in Jackson Township, Pennsylvania. Police said that when officers got to Hillside, about 15 miles west of Chicago, they found that the man had died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
After identifying him, troopers said Hillside officers contacted police from Jackson Township to request a welfare check at the man’s home on Dior Drive, about 30 miles north of Pittsburgh.
Police said officers used forced entry to get into the home and found two women dead from apparent gunshot wounds. It’s believed the two women were family members of the man who died by suicide in Illinois, investigators said.
Pennsylvania State Police said they’ve assumed control of the case and are “actively investigating” what happened surrounding the three deaths.
Police didn’t release any names, saying the process of formal identification and notification of next of kin hasn’t been completed. Sources told KDKA that the victims were a husband, wife and their daughter.
“At this time, investigators believe there is no ongoing threat to the public, and law enforcement is not searching for any additional individuals in connection with this incident,” police wrote in the public information release report. “This remains an active and ongoing investigation.”
State police didn’t release any other details on Wednesday but said more information will be made public when it’s available.
“My first reaction was shocked because this is such a close-knit neighborhood, and to think something that horrible could happen here is very tragic because they were such a good family,” neighbor Danielle Sporer said on Wednesday.
Rhode Island
RI Lottery Powerball, Numbers Midday winning numbers for March 4, 2026
The Rhode Island Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at March 4, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Powerball numbers from March 4 drawing
07-14-42-47-56, Powerball: 06, Power Play: 4
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Winning Numbers numbers from March 4 drawing
Midday: 2-7-4-4
Evening: 7-6-0-2
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Winning Wild Money numbers from March 4 drawing
08-11-12-18-24, Extra: 15
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Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from March 4 drawing
12-13-36-39-58, Bonus: 03
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your prize
- Prizes less than $600 can be claimed at any Rhode Island Lottery Retailer. Prizes of $600 and above must be claimed at Lottery Headquarters, 1425 Pontiac Ave., Cranston, Rhode Island 02920.
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When are the Rhode Island Lottery drawings held?
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- Numbers (Midday): 1:30 p.m. ET daily.
- Numbers (Evening): 7:29 p.m. ET daily.
- Wild Money: 7:29 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Rhode Island editor. You can send feedback using this form.
Vermont
19 Vermont school budgets fail as education leaders debate need for reform
MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) – Most Vermont school budgets passed Tuesday, but 19 districts and supervisory unions saw their spending plans rejected — an uptick from the nine that failed in 2025, though well below the 29 that failed in 2024.
Some education leaders say the results show communities are largely supportive of their schools.
“We’re starting to kind of equalize out again towards the normal trend of passage of school budgets each year,” said Chelsea Meyers of the Vermont Superintendents Association.
Sue Ceglowski of the Vermont School Boards Association said the results send a clear message. “Vermont taxpayers support Vermont’s public schools,” she said.
Meyers said the results also raise questions about the scope of education reform being considered in Montpelier. “If we are going to reform the system, it might not require sweeping broad changes as are being considered right now, but a more concise approach to consider that inequity,” she said.
But in districts where budgets failed, officials say structural changes are still needed. In Barre, where the budget failed, Barre Unified Union School District Board Chair Michael Boutin said the Legislature must, at a minimum, create a new funding formula. “We have to have that in order to avoid the huge increases and decreases — the huge increases that we’ve seen in the last couple years,” Boutin said.
He said the rise in school budgets is separate from why property owners are seeing sharp tax increases. The average state increase in school budgets is 4%, but the average property tax increase is 10%, driven by cost factors including health care. “There’s a complete disconnect, and that’s a product of the terrible system that we have in Vermont with our funding formula,” Boutin said.
Ceglowski says the state should address health care costs before moving forward with rapid education policy changes. “Addressing the rapid rise in the cost of school employees’ health benefits by ensuring a fair and balanced statewide bargaining process for those benefits,” she said.
The 19 districts that did not pass their budgets will need to draft new spending plans to present to voters, which often requires cuts. Twelve school districts are scheduled to vote at a later date.
Copyright 2026 WCAX. All rights reserved.
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