Huffman, 12 other parents to plead guilty in scheme

Huffman, 12 other parents to plead guilty in scheme

BOSTON

“Desperate Housewives” star Felicity Huffman and a dozen other prominent parents have agreed to plead guilty in the college admissions bribery scam that ensnared wealthy families and athletic coaches at some of the nation’s most selective universities, federal authorities said Monday.

The actress and the other parents were charged last month in the scheme, which authorities say involved rigging standardized test scores and bribing coaches at such prestigious schools as Yale and Georgetown.

Huffman, 56, was accused of paying a consultant $15,000 disguised as a charitable donation to boost her daughter’s SAT score. Authorities say the actress also discussed going through with the same plan for her younger daughter but ultimately decided not to.

Schools ordered to exclude students in measles outbreak

NEW YORK

The New York City Health Department ordered all ultra-Orthodox Jewish schools in a neighborhood of Brooklyn on Monday to exclude unvaccinated students from classes during the current measles outbreak.

In issuing the order, the health department said that any yeshiva in Williamsburg that does not comply will face fines and possible closure.

City health officials said the measles outbreak among Orthodox Jewish communities continues to increase “at an alarming rate.”

Officials say 285 cases have been confirmed in New York City since the beginning of the outbreak in October. Most cases have been reported from Williamsburg and Borough Park – two Brooklyn neighborhoods with large Orthodox Jewish populations, in which vaccination rates tend to be lower.

Rockies brace for unusual weather

HELENA, Mont.

Flood, snow, avalanche and fire alerts popped up Monday from Idaho to Colorado, as parts of the U.S. interior that were paralyzed by blizzards and floods last month braced for round two of an unusual weather phenomenon.

Welcome to springtime in the Rockies and parts of the Great Plains.

It’s not unusual for floods, snow and fire to co-exist in the Rockies thanks to powerful storms blowing through the mountains, melting snow swelling waterways and high winds sweeping across dry grasslands and trees that haven’t seen their first green shoots and leaves.

But what is unusual is what’s coming next. A storm system that is moving in from the Pacific Ocean is forecast to intensify and form into a new inland “bomb cyclone.”

May woos UK opponents and EU leaders over Brexit

LONDON

Prime Minister Theresa May wooed domestic political opponents and European leaders Monday as she sought to break Britain’s Brexit impasse and secure a delay to the country’s departure from the European Union.

May’s Conservative government and the main opposition Labour Party were clinging to hope of finding a compromise Brexit deal, two days before EU leaders decide whether to grant an extension to the U.K.’s departure from the bloc. If they refuse, Britain faces a sudden and chaotic departure Friday, the Brexit deadline previously set by the EU.

May has asked for a new delay until June 30 to give Britain’s divided politicians time to agree, approve and implement a withdrawal agreement.

Associated Press