Comment on Meet descendants of what may be America's first African family

By SEAN MURPHY and JULIO CORTEZ (Associated Press) VALLEY VIEW, Texas (AP) — The dazed residents of a north Texas county sifted through their mangled homes on Sunday after seven people there were killed when a tornado ripped through the remote region near the tiny community of Valley View. Cooke County Sheriff Ray Sappington said there’s “just a trail of debris left” in the area bordering Oklahoma where the dead included two children, ages 2 and 5, in Valley View, a town where barely 800 people live.

By Melissa Clark, The New York Times Some sheet-pan meals are so simple you could almost cook them in your sleep. Throw some chicken legs and sturdy root vegetables on a pan, sprinkle with salt and maybe herbs or spices, then drizzle with oil and stick it all in a hot oven.

ALBUQUERQUE, N. M. — A man awaiting sentencing in a double-homicide case was back in custody Sunday after escaping from a juvenile jail in Albuquerque. Bernalillo County Sheriff’s officials said 19-year-old Josef Toney escaped Saturday afternoon from the Youth Detention Center and was taken into custody Sunday morning. Deputies said video surveillance showed Toney opening a gate at the jail facility and running away.

FORT COLLINS — There’s an old joke that mosquitoes are like family: They are annoying, but they carry your blood. Mosquito season is starting to rev up across much of the United States. And that means bug bites. When a mosquito bites you, it pierces the skin using a mouthpart called a proboscis to suck up blood.

LOVELAND — As he coats a mold of Jackie Robinson with wax, metalsmith Alex Haines reflected on the extra importance of a project that will soon give the city of Wichita, Kansas, a replacement bronze statue of the baseball icon after thieves brazenly destroyed the original. “Many sculptures come through here,” said Haines at the Art Castings studio in Loveland where the original statue was cast.

Memorial Day began as a way to honor soldiers who died in the American Civil War, which claimed the lives of the most U. S. military personnel in history. Now, the holiday is celebrated to memorialize fallen U. S. troops of all conflicts. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] To some Americans, this holiday also marks a three-day weekend, the beginning of summer, and various traditions.