Utica, New York

Police in Utica, New York, are investigating after employees discovered a deceased infant girl at the Oneida-Herkimer Solid Waste Authority's recycling facility. Officials said the baby had passed through sorting machinery before workers stopped the equipment and recovered her.

At a press conference, Utica Police Captain Michael Curley, Oneida County District Attorney Todd Carville, Chief Mark Williams and a New York State Police representative said the investigation is in its early stages, with state police assisting because the facility processes waste from five Central New York counties. An autopsy was scheduled for October 15 through the Onondaga County Medical Examiner.

Authorities have not said whether charges would be filed against a parent who comes forward, and instead appealed for the birth mother to contact investigators to share what happened. Officials noted that New York's safe-haven law allows parents to anonymously surrender infants within 30 days of birth at any Utica firehouse, the police department, or Wynn Hospital without facing prosecution.

Michigan's K-12 public schools employed about 381,571 people in 2024-25, the highest staffing level in at least 18 years, even as statewide enrollment fell by more than 180,000 students since 2007-08. Full-time equivalent staffing rose roughly 10% from 2019-20 to 2024-25 while enrollment dropped from about 1.49 million to 1.42 million. Non-instructional roles grew 21%, outpacing the increase in classroom teachers, who now number around 117,000. An analysis by Bridge Michigan found three-quarters of districts added staff over the past decade despite enrollment declines in 73% of them, alongside falling proficiency rates in English and math in most districts.

The trend follows a nationwide pattern identified by an Epoch Times investigation, which found only 17% of roughly 200,000 new U.S. public school positions since 2007-08 were classroom teachers. Analysts point to pandemic-era federal aid enabling unsustainable hiring, with Michigan districts potentially needing to cut up to 5,100 teaching positions as one-time COVID funds expire, even as the state continues raising per-pupil funding.