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By Sandee LaMotte, CNN

(CNN) — Over 62 million Americans — roughly 1 in 5 people — may be exposed to potentially dangerous levels of nitrates in their tap water, a new report has shown.

A compound of nitrogen and oxygen found naturally in air, water, soil and plants, nitrates become a health risk when rainfall causes nitrogen-rich fertilizers used in agriculture to leach into groundwater, streams and rivers and end up in public water systems miles downstream.

Invisible, tasteless and odorless, nitrates at low concentrations in drinking water have been linked to thyroid disease, gastric, kidney, bladder and colon cancers, preterm births and birth defects, and other health harms, according to the report released Thursday by the Environmental Working Group, or EWG, a nonprofit health advocacy organization.

Thirteen-year-old Ben is so concerned about nitrates in the tap water of his hometown of Des Moines, Iowa, that he recently sent his local congressman a letter and poem.

“I remember when I could drink water from the faucet, but now it is a health concern,” Ben wrote Iowa State Rep. Dr. Austin Baeth. “Please don’t ignore this problem!”

Des Moines is a hot spot for nitrate pollution in source water, with levels so high in local rivers the city had to build one of the largest nitrate removal plants in the world. The cost to operate is more than $10,000 a day.

“I’ve read Ben’s letter and poem numerous times, and I still get choked up,” said Baeth, an internist who is calling attention to Iowa’s nitrate levels with hard-hitting, sometimes satirical videos on social media. “Isn’t it sad children have to worry about water that might be harming their health?”

Dangers at lower levels of exposure

Federal guidelines established in 1962 — which have never been updated —set nitrate safety levels at 10 milligrams per liter. A growing number of peer-reviewed studies, however, show an association with health impacts at 5 milligrams, 3 milligrams, and even as low as 2 milligrams per liter.

To see how many Americans are exposed to nitrates at those lower concentrations, researchers used the EWG tap water database, which aggregates data from nearly 50,000 public water systems in the United States.

“We used measurements of nitrates in public drinking water between 2021 and 2023 in cities and towns in all 50 states, mapping exposure down to 3 milligrams per liter,” said report author Anne Schechinger, EWG’s senior director of agriculture and climate research.

“This is a first-of-its-kind map — no one has done this before,” Schechinger said. “And it’s searchab

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By Andi Babineau, CNN

(CNN) — The 14-year-old girl singer d4vd is charged with killing and dismembering died of “multiple penetrating injuries,” according to an autopsy report released Wednesday.

The findings shed more light on Celeste Rivas Hernandez’s death months after the teen was discovered in the front trunk of d4vd’s Tesla last September in Los Angeles. The vehicle had apparently been abandoned in the Hollywood Hills and was towed to a police impound lot, where an employee noticed a foul smell coming from the trunk and alerted authorities.

Details of how Celeste died and who was under investigation remained hidden as authorities convened a grand jury and shielded investigative findings from the public.

Celeste had been reported missing by family and friends multiple times beginning in early 2024. She and d4vd, whose legal name is David Anthony Burke, appeared together in a Twitch livestream that January, and between then and March 2024, he was photographed getting out of a black Tesla near the seventh grader’s home. Celeste was also photographed backstage at one of his Los Angeles shows in June 2024. She was last seen alive going to d4vd’s home in April 2025.

The singer was arrested last week and has denied all wrongdoing, pleading not guilty on Monday.

Though it is unclear exactly when Celeste died, the report’s release comes months after the autopsy that ruled her death a homicide last December was ordered sealed at the request of law enforcement.

Autopsy results indicate ‘sharp force injuries’

Celeste’s remains were in a zippered body bag and she had two wounds that “may represent sharp force injuries” – one to her chest and another to her abdomen, according to the Los Angeles County medical examiner’s office. Additional skin abrasions are noted, though the medical examiner could not determine the causes because of the severe decomposition of the body.

Her arms and legs had been dismembered, and multiple blue plastic fragments were “embedded in the cut surfaces,” and submitted into evidence, the report details. Two fingers had also been removed from her left hand.

Board Certified Forensic Pathologist Dr. Priya Banerjee, who reviewed the report that was made public and is not involved with the case, said the injuries described were most consistent with stabbing and the girl was likely dismembered after she died.

“This is a very difficult case because of the decomposition,” Banerjee said. “It looks like likely a knife made (the wounds) but I can see why they use the wording they did, given the condition of the body.”

A tattoo reading “Shhh….” was documented on the inside of her right index finger, according to the medical examiner’s report, similar to the tattoo d4vd has on his finger.

Alcohol was also detected in her system, though the medical examiner notes it’s unclear whether it’s present because of ingestion or decomposition.

“After several months, I am grateful this information can now be released, not only to the public, but also to the grieving family enduring loss,” Chief Medical Examiner-Coroner Dr. Odey U

Charbel Mallo, Tamara Qiblawi, Sana Noor Haq, Dana Karni, CNN

El primer ministro del Líbano acusó a Israel de crímenes de guerra luego de que un ataque aéreo en el sur del país este miércoles matara a una periodista e hiriera gravemente a otra.

Amal Khalil, quien trabajaba para el periódico libanés Al Akhbar, murió mientras realizaba su trabajo periodístico, según la Agencia Nacional de Noticias de Líbano (NNA). Es la cuarta trabajadora de medios de comunicación que muere por ataques de Israel en el Líbano desde marzo. La otra periodista fue identificada por las autoridades libanesas como Zeinab Faraj, una fotoperiodista independiente. Al Akhbar es un periódico de izquierda, pro-Hezbollah.

Las dos periodistas se habían refugiado durante una serie de ataques en la localidad de Tayri, en el sur del Líbano, cuando el edificio en el que se encontraban fue atacado.

Las autoridades libanesas también acusaron a las fuerzas israelíes de intentar impedir que los equipos de emergencia las rescataran, y señalaron que trabajadores de la Cruz Roja trasladaron a Faraj a un hospital bajo “fuego hostil”, según la NNA.

Los ataques también mataron a otras personas, informó la NNA.

“Atacar a periodistas y obstaculizar el acceso de los equipos de rescate a ellos, y luego volver a atacar a esos equipos después de que hubieran llegado, constituye crímenes de guerra claramente descritos”, publicó en X el primer ministro del Líbano Nawaf Salam.

Dijo que los ataques israelíes contra trabajadores de los medios ya no eran “incidentes aislados”, sino “un método establecido que condenamos”.

Las fuerzas israelíes reconocieron que dos periodistas habían resultado heridas como resultado de los ataques, pero dijo que “no ataca a periodistas y actúa para mitigarles el daño mientras mantiene la seguridad de sus fuerzas”.

Insistió en que no había impedido que los equipos accedieran a la zona y dijo que los detalles en torno al incidente estaban siendo revisados.

Afirmó que sus fuerzas en el sur de Líbano habían visto dos vehículos que salían de una “estructura militar” que, según dice, era utilizada por Hezbollah. Dijo que los “terroristas” en los vehículos se acercaron a las fuerzas de manera amenazante. Entonces las fuerzas atacaron uno de los vehículos y un edificio del que los individuos habían huido.

CNN no puede verificar de forma independiente ni la versión libanesa ni la israelí.

Los ataques aéreos ocurrieron durante un frágil alto el fuego entre Israel y el Líbano, destinado a pausar los combates con Hezbollah, respaldado por Irán, que está en vigor desde el viernes pasado.

Una segunda ronda de conversaciones directas entre funcionarios israelíes y libaneses está prevista para el jueves en Washington, según un funcionario israelí y un funcionario del Departamento de Estado.

Los ataques de Israel de este miércoles provocaron una protesta de grupos como las Naciones Unidas y el Comité para la Protección de los Periodistas (CPJ).

“El CPJ considera responsables a las fuerzas israelíes por poner en peligro la vida de Amal Khalil y por las lesiones que sufrió Zeinab Faraj tras el ataque dirigido contra su ubicación”, dijo este miércoles la directora regional del CPJ, Sara Qudah.

Según el CPJ, Israel fue responsable de dos tercios de todas las muertes de periodistas y trabajadores de los medios en 2025.

A principios de este mes, expertos de la ONU pidieron una investigación internacional independiente tras la muerte de tres reporteros en el Líbano a