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Virginia teacher shot by first grade student takes the stand in civil trial

admin - Latest News - October 30, 2025
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Abigail Zwerner, the former Virginia teacher who was shot by a 6-year-old boy at school two years ago, told civil jurors she thought she was dead or about to die during the incident. NBC News’ Gary Grumbach reports on the latest from Zwerner’s $40 million civil lawsuit against the school’s former assistant principal who allegedly ignored several warnings about the student.



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Oct. 30, 2025, 11:54 AM EDT / Updated Oct. 30, 2025, 12:24 PM EDTBy Gary Grumbach and David K. LiA former Virginia teacher told civil jurors on Thursday she thought she was dead or about to die in the moments after she was shot by a 6-year-old boy at school two years ago.Abigail Zwerner spoke slowly and at times struggled with her emotions, explaining how she was severely injured on Jan. 6, 2023, at Richneck Elementary in Newport News.“I thought I was dying, I thought I had died,” she told the jury of three men and six women. “I thought I was on my way to heaven or in heaven. But then it all got black.”The plaintiff’s testimony is at the heart of her $40 million civil lawsuit against former assistant principal Ebony Parker, who allegedly ignored several warnings about the boy who shot Zwerner.The attack was totally preventable had Parker acted on clear signs the boy posed a threat, Zwerner said in her civil complaint.The bullet, fired by the child, tore through Zwerner’s hand before it struck her in the chest, where it remains today. A doctor testified earlier in this trial that it’d be far more dangerous to remove that round than to leave it alone.To this day, Zwerner said she struggles with basic physical tasks. The plaintiff recalled having lunch recently with her lawyer and failing to open a bag of potato chips, after trying to rip it at different angles.“And I eventually asked you to open it, the same thing with water bottles,” Zwerner said.The psychological scars of the shooting are still fresh and painful, the plaintiff said.She recalled how loved ones had planned to see the movie “Hamilton” before breaking down the morning of, realizing there’d be scenes of dueling in the famous musical.“I felt like everything just came over my body,” the educator said. “I remember crying a lot, and I remember that afterwards.” Her family asked what she’d like to do in place of going to that movie. “I remember saying or telling them ‘nowhere,’ like I can’t go anywhere,” Zwerner said. “I just want to stay home. I’m not going anywhere today.” A Richneck teacher testified earlier this week that she told the assistant principal about the weapon three times after students had tipped her off about the boy having a gun in his backpack.Another teacher testified that she also shared similar information with Parker after a different student alerted her about the boy having a gun.Under cross-examination on Thursday, Parker’s attorney inferred that Zwerner, herself, could or should have taken more decisive action against the gun-wielding youngster.Zwerner testified that another teacher had told her she was going to report the child to Parker. At that point, Zwerner said she felt safe knowing that a superior was aware of the threat.“I didn’t (take any other action), honestly didn’t think twice,” she said. “ It was my understanding that the administration wouldn’t think twice as well when alerted about a potential gun in school.” The educator told NBC’s “TODAY” show, three months after the shooting that the attack left her with permanent emotional wounds.“I’m not sure when the shock will ever go away because of just how surreal it was and, you know, the vivid memories that I have of that day,” Zwerner said at the time. “I think about it daily. Sometimes I have nightmares.”When Zwerner originally filed her civil complaint, Parker, the school district and several other administrators were named as defendants. The case was eventually whittled down to Parker as the lone defendant.On paper, any civil verdict against Parker would be paid by the Virginia Risk Sharing Association (VRSA), an insurance pool made up of many public bodies statewide, including the Newport News School Board.This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.Gary GrumbachGary Grumbach is an NBC News legal affairs reporter, based in Washington, D.C.David K. LiSenior Breaking News Reporter
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Nov. 15, 2025, 5:00 AM ESTBy Rob WileThis much is known: “Walk My Walk,” a song by an artist called Breaking Rust, entered its second week Wednesday as the top song on Billboard’s country music digital sales chart.After that, everything about Breaking Rust — the artist’s identity, whether Breaking Rust’s songs were created by artificial intelligence, and whether the songs’ popularity has been artificially inflated — quickly devolves into uncertainty. Is the song entirely AI? Partially AI? Maybe even a song meant to sound like AI? And who is behind Breaking Rust? There’s few definitive answers. A request for comment sent by NBC News to the Instagram account of Breaking Rust went unanswered. The artist has virtually no other footprint outside of its Instagram, Spotify and YouTube pages.The mystery has caused a stir in a music industry already wrestling with its future, as some artists openly embrace AI and others vehemently oppose it. Last week, Billboard reported that at least one AI artist has debuted in each of its past six chart weeks — and acknowledged the figure could be even higher since “it’s become increasingly difficult to tell who or what is powered by AI — and to what extent.” Although Billboard has described Breaking Rust and a similar sounding artist, Cain Walker as AI, neither of their Instagram or Spotify pages indicate that is so. Walker did not respond to a request for comment made through the artist’s Instagram account.Still, their emergence has drawn criticism from some in the country music community. “It feels like the ultimate shortcut to stardom: no late nights in smoky bars, no raw vulnerability poured into lyrics, just algorithms crunching data to mimic the twang of authenticity,” Leslie Fram, founder of FEMco, a Nashville-based creative consulting group, said in an email. Breaking Rust adds to a growing list of artists either found to be or suspected to be fueled by generative AI, which has evolved rapidly in recent years including in its ability to create realistic if generic music.This year, Masters of Prophecy, an AI-backed power-pop-metal artist, became one of YouTube’s fastest-growing accounts, and today tallies 35.9 million subscribers. Unlike Breaking Rust or Cain Walker, its creator, James Baker, an engineer and father living in Ohio, has openly discussed his project and how it has gained a following. “For every critic, there’s 20 positive comments,” Baker told NBC News. “There was definitely a wave of AI music hate that was tough psychologically to make it through. But for the most part people have started adapting to it.”Breaking Rust’s most popular song on YouTube, “Livin’ On Borrowed Time,” now has 4.6 million views. Commenters there seem unbothered — or unaware — of its AI nature. “This guy is SOOOOOOO underrated bro i love your music please release MOREEEE,” the top comment reads. And in July, an indie band called The Velvet Sundown suddenly drew hundreds of thousands of listeners on Spotify amid similar speculation that the band was an AI creation. Along with speculation around the origin of Breaking Rust is some skepticism over whether his music’s popularity is similarly inorganic. While no concrete evidence has yet emerged showing Breaking Rust’s listening totals have been artificially inflated, on Wednesday, French-owned music streaming site Deezer reported the problem has become widespread among fully AI-generated tracks. This summer, Michael Lewan, the head of Music Fights Fraud Alliance, a pro-artist group, called artificial streaming — that is, “fake” or bot-powered listens, which often tend to accompany AI-generated music — a bigger threat to music’s integrity than AI itself. “It’s imperative for the industry to take a more serious approach to addressing some of the incentives that go behind music consumption, and shoring up vulnerabilities,” Lewan told NBC News. He added: “A system that is not protecting organic engagement and authentic listenership will be more prone to attacks by people making a quick buck off of the royalty pool.”The success of Breaking Rust and Cain Walker does have its limitations. According to Luminate, which compiles sales data for Billboard, it only took about 2,500 digital downloads for “Walk My Walk” to debut at the top country digital sales chart. 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Oct. 10, 2025, 1:45 AM EDTBy Kayla SteinbergThousands of U.S.-bound packages shipped by UPS are trapped at hubs across the country, unable to clear the maze of new customs requirements imposed by the Trump administration.As packages flagged for customs issues pile up in UPS warehouses, the company told NBC News it has begun “disposing of” some shipments.Frustrated UPS customers describe waiting for weeks and trying to make sense of scores of conflicting tracking updates from the world’s largest courier.“I’ve never seen anything like this before,” Matthew Wasserbach, brokerage manager of Express Customs Clearance, said of the UPS backlog. “It’s totally unprecedented.”Wasserbach’s New York City-based shipping services firm helps clients move shipments through customs. 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Others have deep sentimental value: notebooks, diplomas and even engagement rings.The frustration has exploded online, with customers sharing horror stories on Reddit of missing skin care products, art and collectibles.They are confused and angry, and they want answers.Packages destroyed? “It’s almost impossible to get through to anybody to figure out what is happening,” said Ashley Freberg, who said she is missing several boxes she shipped via UPS from England in September. “Are my packages actually being destroyed or not?”Freberg’s boxes of journals, records and books were shipped on Sept. 18, according to tracking documents she shared with NBC News. Over the next two weeks, she received two separate notifications from UPS that her personal mementos had not cleared customs and as a result had been “disposed of” by UPS.Then, on Oct. 1, a UPS tracking update appeared for her packages, saying they were on the way. The tracking updates Freberg showed NBC News for that shipment revealed it was the most recent update she had received. UPS transport jets wait to be loaded with packages at UPS Worldport in Louisville, Ky., on April 27, 2021.Timothy D. Easley / AP fileWhile sentimental value is impossible to measure, other customers fear they will not be able to recover financially if their goods were destroyed.Tea importer Lauren Purvis of Portland, Oregon, said five shipments from Japan, mostly containing matcha green tea and collectively worth more than $127,000, were all sent via UPS over the last few weeks and arrived at UPS’ international package processing hub in Louisville, Kentucky. Purvis has yet to receive any of the shipments, only a flurry of conflicting tracking updates from UPS.A series of notifications for one shipment, which she shared with NBC News, said that the shipment had not cleared customs and that UPS had disposed of it. But a subsequent tracking update said the shipment had cleared customs and was on the way.“We know how to properly document and pay for our packages,” Purvis said. “There should be zero reason that a properly documented and paid-for package would be set to be disposed of.”At least a half-dozen people described an emotional seesaw they were put through by weeks of contradictory UPS tracking updates about their shipments. The updates, they said, compounded the stress of not knowing what had really happened to their possessions.A UPS Boeing 767 aircraft taxis at San Diego International Airport, in San Diego, Calif., August 15, 2025.Kevin Carter / Getty Images fileAJ, a Boston man who asked that NBC News use only his initials to protect his privacy, said he shipped a package from Japan via UPS on Sept. 12 including Japanese language books, a pillow and a backpack. After it sat in Louisville for nearly two weeks, AJ got a tracking update on Sept. 26, one of several that he shared with NBC News. “We’re sorry, your package did not clear customs and has been removed from the UPS network. Per customs guidelines, it has been destroyed. Please contact the sender for more information,” it read.UPS tracking updates for a package shipped from Japan to the United States.Obtained by NBC NewsThree days later, on Sept. 29, he received another, and this one read: “On the Way. Import Scan, Louisville, KY, United States.” For a moment, it appeared as though AJ’s shipment might have been found. But less than 24 hours after his hopes were raised, another tracking update arrived: “We’re sorry,” it began. It was the same notice that his package had “been destroyed” that he had received on the 26th. Two minutes later, he got his final update: “Unable to Deliver. Package cannot clear due to customs delay or missing info. Attempt to contact sender made. Package has been disposed of.” A mess for customs International shipping was thrown into chaos after the long-standing “de minimis” tariff exemption for low-value packages ended on Aug. 29. Packages with values of $800 or less, which were previously allowed to enter the United States duty-free, are now subject to a range of tariffs and fees.They include hundreds of country-specific rates, or President Donald Trump’s so-called reciprocal tariffs, as well as new levies on certain products and materials. President Donald Trump holds a chart as he speaks about reciprocal tariffs at a “Make America Wealthy Again” event at the White House on April 2.Brendan Smialowski / AFP – Getty Images fileThe result is that international shipping to the United States today is far more complex and costly than it was even two months ago. The sweeping changes have caught private individuals and veteran exporters alike in a customs conundrum.It is difficult to know the exact number of the packages that are stuck in UPS customs purgatory. Shipping companies guard their delivery data closely. UPS reported to investors that in 2023, its international service delivered around 3.2 million packages per day.This week, the company told NBC News that it is clearing more than 90% of the packages it handles through customs on the first day. The rest of the packages, or less than 10%, require more time to clear customs and need to be held until they do. That could easily mean that thousands of UPS packages every day are not clearing customs on their first try.No easy fixIn a statement to NBC News, UPS said it is doing its best to get all packages to their destinations while abiding by the new customs requirements.“Because of changes to U.S. import regulations, we are seeing many packages that are unable to clear customs due to missing or incomplete information about the shipment required for customs clearance,” it said. UPS said it makes several attempts to get any missing information and clear delayed shipments, contacting shippers three times.“In cases where we cannot obtain the necessary information to clear the package, there are two options,” it said. “First, the package can be returned to the original shipper at their expense. Second, if the customer does not respond and the package cannot be cleared for delivery, disposing of the shipment is in compliance with U.S. customs regulations. We continue to work to bridge the gap of understanding tied to the new requirements and, as always, remain committed to serving our customers.”A conveyor belt carries envelopes and small packages past UPS workers to their destinations at Worldport on Nov. 20, 2015.Patrick Semansky / AP, fileNBC News asked UPS precisely what it does with packages when it tells customers their shipments have been unable to clear customs and have been “disposed of.” It would not say. On Sept. 27, a shipper in Stockholm received a formal notification from UPS that two packages her glassware company sent to the United States — which failed to clear customs — would be destroyed.“We are sorry, but due to these circumstances and the perishable nature of the contents, we are now required to proceed with destruction of the shipment in accordance with regulatory guidelines,” UPS told Anni Cernea in an email she shared with NBC News.The email continued, “There is no need to contact our call center for further information or to attempt to clear this shipment.”Cernea said, “It’s just outrageous that they can dispose of products like this without approval from either the sender or recipient.”From now on, Cernea said, she plans to ship her products via UPS rival FedEx.Trouble aheadCernea’s decision to switch carriers hints at the worst-case scenario for UPS, which is that people could abandon the company. It is a potential crisis for the roughly $70 billion company. The company’s stock price is already down more than 30% this year, which analysts attribute to a mix of tariffs, competition and shifting shopping habits.As she awaits her missing journals and diplomas from England, Freberg is looking ahead to the biggest shipping months of the year.“I can’t even imagine how bad the holidays are going to be, because that’s a time where loads of people are shipping stuff overseas,” she said.“If it doesn’t get solved soon, I can only see it becoming an even bigger issue.”Kayla SteinbergKayla Steinberg is a producer at NBC News covering business and the economy.
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