ST. GEORGE, Utah — While a lot of Utah’s youngsters might have still slept in Monday morning, it was the first day of school in the St. George area.

Washington County schools were the first in the state to go back Monday morning

 As the sun started to rise above Santa Clara’s Lava Ridge Intermediate School Monday morning, there was a sense of calm. Tom Gubler started his 30th year as a teacher, raising the Stars and Stripes.

There was anticipation of the day to come.

“We want all kids students to succeed and we’re … trying to prepare and hope that we can make a difference in each child’s life that will last them a lifetime,” said Gubler, a Utah history teacher at the school. “So there’s anticipation, nervousness — ‘Am I doing the right thing, going to be able to reach each child?’”

Seemingly moments after the calm, chaos ensued.

With a theme to touch gold, Lava Ridge Principal Launa Williams led a welcome to each returning and new student with signs and cheers from their classmates worthy of a returning Olympic champion.

“When we survey the kids, the one thing that they’re looking forward to is being with their friends,” Williams said. “So we want to create opportunities so that they get to spend time with their friends and to get to know others and have that support from their peers.”

If there’s one thing all of the students shared as they tried to navigate to their new classrooms, it was the anticipation of what was to come. One such case was sixth-grader Jason, who is making the transition from elementary school to the next level.

“We have to walk around in elementary,” Jason said. “We’re just one big class and they teach us every subject one teacher.”

The anticipation was felt by the parents, like Brielle Broadhead who has four kids in four different schools.

“They were up extremely early because they’re so excited,” she said.

A mile and a half north at Red Mountain Elementary in Ivins, the theme of excitement continued as the students received red-carpet treatment.

“Personally, my favorite part is seeing the kids after they’ve been gone for summer, so just seeing all their faces again. They’re so excited to be here,” Red Mountain Principal Jennifer Leavitt said. “It’s the one day where everybody’s excited to be here on the first day of school.”

Command Sgt. Major Veronica E. Knapp has been relieved as the senior enlisted leader of the sprawling military task force responsible for defense and day-to-day military operations in Washington D.C. following an investigation, an Army spokesman said. Knapp made news in 2021 as the first woman named Command Sgt. Major of the 101st Airborne Division. She was in a similar role for the Joint Task Force-National Capital Region/United States Army Military District of Washington, or JTF-NCR/USAMDW.

Knapp was relieved on Aug. 8 as result of the Army 15-6 investigation “due to a loss of trust and confidence in her leadership,” said Bernhard “Lash” Lashleyleidner, a JTF-NCR/USAMDW spokesman. No further information about exactly why Knapp was relieved or what the investigation found was immediately available. All military branches nearly always use the phrase “loss of confidence” when leaders are relieved rather that specify wide range of reasons from personal off-duty conduct mistakes

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The JTF-NCR/USAMDW’ is a sprawling military organization established after the 9/11 attacks as a central hub for defense and day-to-day military operations around Washington D.C. Its leaders — who are traditionally an Army two-star general as the overall commander and Navy admiral as their deputy — oversee military units from every branch, several installations and civilian defense agencies whose duties range from ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetary to responding to emergencies with military police and technical rescue teams to establishing mobile command posts for major D.C. events or emergencies.

Knapp was the senior enlisted advisor on the JTF-NCR/USAMDW command staff. Sergeant Major Eberhard G. Nordman, the JTF-NCR/USAMDW’s provost marshal, has been named as her acting replacement.

Knapp enlisted in the Army in 2000 and has deployed to Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and Romania, according to her official biography, which has been taken down from the JTF-NCR/USAMDW website. She is a graduate of the Drill Sergeant Academy, and she became the first woman to serve as command sergeant major of an Army division in 2021 when she assumed the role of senior enlisted leader for the 101st Airborne Division in Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

Her military awards include two Legions of Merit, nine Army Achievement Medals, seven Army Good Conduct Medals, five Army Commendation Medals, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, NATO-ISAF Medal, and Meritorious Unit Commendation.

CORRECTION: 08/12/2024: An earlier version of this story inaccurately reported that Knapp had received seven National Defense Service Medals.

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The left-leaning Washington Post editorial board argued that Vice President Harris, who has quickly succeeded President Biden as her party’s nominee, needs to engage more openly with voters and with the media. 

“If she hopes to prevail, Ms. Harris needs to present her ideas,” The Post wrote in an editorial published on Sunday. “The media and public have legitimate questions, and she should face them. This is a political necessity — Mr. Trump is already turning her avoidance of the media into an attack line. And elections aren’t just about winning. They’re about accumulating political capital for a particular agenda, which Ms. Harris can’t do unless she articulates one.”

Harris is facing increasing pressure to answer questions from the media after largely dodging questions and interview requests, save for brief gaggles with her traveling press corps. 

Prior to Thursday, Harris went 18 days without taking press questions and continues to dodge formal media engagements. She even declined an interview opportunity with TIME, which published a gushing piece about her “reintroduction” on Monday.

MSNBC HOST REBUKES REPORTERS ‘WHINING’ OVER HARRIS’ PRESS AVOIDANCE, WONDERS IF SHE CAN WIN ‘WITHOUT THEM’

The board called out Harris for blatantly switching positions on a number of key topics for her 2024 campaign, including border security, fracking and health care.

“All of this moves her toward more popular positions,” the aper wrote. “Still, it’s a lot of mind-changing for the public to absorb without further explanation. Without hearing Ms. Harris articulate her thought process, she runs the risk of leaving voters to wonder whether she is just shifting with the political winds, or, indeed, planning to revert to previous positions after she’s won the presidency. Why, for instance, did she embrace Mr. Trump’s idea to exempt tips from taxation?”

The editorial board wrote that it might be “tempting” for Harris “to stay as vague on the issues as possible, for as long as possible, to avoid giving fodder to the opposition or dividing her supporters,” but she still has to grapple with making a serious case as to her policy positions. 

The Post also listed a series of questions that it said Harris still needs to answer, including whether she asked Biden to “keep some U.S. troops in the country” when he decided to pull out of Afghanistan. On the Israel-Hamas war, Harris needs to explain if she believes in being “tougher on Israel and more sympathetic to the Palestinians,” especially after she announced her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. 

HARRIS MOCKED FOR TAKING LESS THAN 2 MINUTES OF QUESTIONS AFTER 18 DAYS: ‘THIS IS THE BEST KAMALA COULD DO?’

The Post also listed a series of questions that it said Harris still needs to answer, including whether she asked Biden to “keep some U.S. troops in the country” when he decided to pull out of Afghanistan.  (REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein)

“The ‘vibe’ around the vice president’s campaign launch has been undeniably strong among Democrats, but she can’t bask in it forever,” The Post continued. “The more substance Ms. Harris can offer before the election, the more control she will have over what voters think of her and the more of a mandate she would have to govern should she prevail in November.”

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The Harris campaign didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Last week, the Harris campaign told Fox News Digital it was conducting a strategy to best reach voters when asked about its lack of press availability.

“With under 90 days to go, the Vice President’s top priority is earning the support of the voters who will decide this election,” a spokesperson said. “In a limited time period and a fragmented media environment, that requires us being strategic, creative, and expeditious in getting our message to those voters in the ways that are most impactful – through paid media, on the ground organizing, an aggressive campaign schedule, and of course interviews that reach our target voters. It’s a far cry from Trump’s losing, ineffective strategy of rage-posting, accosting reporters, and insulting the voters he’ll need to win.”

Fox News’ Yael Halon contributed to this report.