25 years ago CBS News' David Begnaud met a teacher who believed in him — and changed his life. Here's their story.
CBSN
David Begnaud is the lead national correspondent for "CBS Mornings." This is his personal story about the teacher who became his mentor and life-long friend.
It's been 25 years since I met the woman who changed the direction of my life. Josette Cook Surratt was an English teacher at Teurlings Catholic High School in 1998, and I was a 15-year-old freshman who was gay at a time when that was not readily accepted. I also had been diagnosed with Tourette's, which was also not well-understood at the time.
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NEW YORK - Senior Justice Department officials have held discussions with federal prosecutors in Manhattan about the possibility of dropping corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a source familiar with the discussions confirmed to CBS News.
A South Florida tree trimmer has died after getting caught in a wood chipper, according to officials.
Washington — President Trump on Wednesday signed the Laken Riley Act, which aims to expand the federal government's mandate to detain immigrants who are in the country illegally, marking the first legislation signed in Mr. Trump's new term.
A West Virginia pharmacist already serving a federal prison sentence in a fraud case was convicted Wednesday in state court for killing her husband.
Part of President Trump's crackdown on immigration includes lifting restrictions on where federal agents can conduct immigration enforcement, sparking some backlash and uncertainty amid a surge in raids across the country.
The Federal Reserve said Wednesday that it will leave its benchmark rate unchanged, hitting the brakes on lowering borrowing costs for individuals and businesses after a flurry of rate cuts starting last fall.
Washington — The White House Office of Management and Budget on Wednesday walked back a memo that ordered a freeze on federal assistance, less than two days after the directive led to chaos and confusion around the country as to what programs would be impacted.
Asteroid samples fetched by NASA hold not only the pristine building blocks for life but also the salty remains of an ancient water world, scientists reported Wednesday.
Washington — The Trump administration is reversing the Biden administration's decision to extend the Temporary Protected Status program for Venezuelans in the U.S., casting a cloud of uncertainty over the hundreds of thousands of migrants enrolled in the policy, according to a Department of Homeland Security notice obtained by CBS News.
President Trump had a message last week for the Federal Reserve while at the annual World Economic Forum gathering in Davos, Switzerland: He plans to "demand that interest rates drop immediately."
Washington — The top federal prosecutor in South Florida is asking a federal appeals court to toss out the classified documents case against President Trump's former co-defendants, aide Walt Nauta and former Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos de Oliveira.
An inmate escaped over the weekend from a jail in North Carolina, fleeing through the building's ventilation system, authorities said. Law enforcement agencies across the state launched a manhunt once guards at the jail noticed the inmate's absence Sunday afternoon, according to the Craven County Sheriff's Office.
Copenhagen — The vast majority of Greenland residents do not want their island to become part of the United States, as envisaged by President Trump, according to a poll published Wednesday. Mr. Trump, who returned to the White House in late January, has signaled that he wants the Arctic island — which is believed to hold large untapped mineral and oil reserves — to become part of the United States and has suggested the possible use of force or tariffs to annex the autonomous Danish territory.
At Market Basket locations in some parts of Massachusetts, customers are being asked to limit their egg purchases to two cartons per family. Another shopper, this one in Las Vegas and also on the hunt for eggs, reported finding empty shelves at a local grocery store. On social media, a consumer accustomed to paying around $2 for a dozen eggs expressed shock over now having to pay more than double that amount.
A Colombian customs worker admitted his role Tuesday in taking bribes and funneling more than $1 million in drug proceeds in a case that threatened to expose dirty dealings between U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents and their informants.
A miles-long cluster of dolphins has been filmed leaping and gliding across Carmel Bay off the central coast of California, forming an unusual "super pod" of more than 1,500 of the marine creatures.
As U.S. senators grill Robert F. Kennedy Jr. this week, President Trump's pick to run the Department of Health and Human Services is expected to face sharp questions about his actions in an island nation half a world away.