PEORIA (25News Now) – Washington beat Joliet Catholic, 5-1. Dunlap lost to Morris, 8-4. The Panthers will play Morris Saturday for the IHSA 3A Metamora Sectional title. Normal Community’s Class 4A game was rained out.

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June 4 high school sports highlights

Updated: 10:43 PM EDT Jun 4, 2025

Boys lacrosse this evening at South Portland hosting Deering. Joey Foley with the nice move for Deering on his way to the goal. He scored twice in the 3rd quarter and the Rams led 5-2, but South Portland would control the rest of the game. I starts the comeback with *** goal late in the 3rd, and South Portland wins 7 to 5. The South Portland baseball team hosted defending state champ Scarborough. Michael Zakaria hits the hard shot past third. Corbin Voisine and Easton Healy hustle home to score. It was 2 to 1. South Portland. 2-2 game in the third. The pick off throw goes to first, but then Matthew Felona breaks for home and scores for the Red Storm. Scarborough won 96 in 9 innings. The unbeaten York softball team played at Cape Elizabeth. The Wildcats bat around in the first inning. Piper Kne doubles to left field. Two runs come in to score, and it was 7-0 York. In the second inning, Bella Santini singles to left field to knock in Sarah Orso, who had 3 hits. York wins 19 to 2. The same schools met over on the baseball diamond. Cape scored 5 runs in the first. Then in the 4th, Caden Johnson walks with the bases loaded to force in Jackson York. It was 72 Cape. It was 7-4 in the 6 when York loaded the bases, but first baseman Andy Choi chases down the pop up in foul territory. Cape adds one more run for the 8 to 4 win.

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June 4 high school sports highlights

Updated: 10:43 PM EDT Jun 4, 2025

Highlights from baseball, softball and lacrosse.

Highlights from baseball, softball and lacrosse.

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WALTON COUNTY, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — An executive order signed by President Donald Trump in April is drawing criticism from civil rights advocates, who warn it could disproportionately harm students of color and those with disabilities.

The order, titled “Reinstating Common Sense School Discipline Policies,” revokes 2014 federal guidance aimed at reducing harsh disciplinary actions and addressing racial disparities in school discipline.

“This gives teachers the authority now to have discipline in their classrooms and discipline the person who is being disruptive,” U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said during the signing ceremony. “We took that away.”

But civil rights attorneys and parents like Toneshia Coleman say what the administration sees as “common sense” could make inequities worse.

Coleman’s son, 15-year-old Elijah, was expelled from Loganville Middle School in Walton County, Georgia last year after he and a white classmate were both caught with a vape pen. The lawsuit filed by Coleman’s family claims the white student received in-school suspension, while Elijah was removed from school and placed in a virtual alternative program.

“They’re given warnings: two, three, four warnings,” Coleman said, “whereas Elijah was [told], ‘You’re expelled. That’s it. Go to alternative school.’”

The district also stripped Elijah Coleman of special education services tied to his ADHD diagnosis, including in-person teacher check-ins required to help him complete assignments. “It wasn’t really a teaching environment,” Elijah said of the virtual program.

Walton County Schools declined to comment on the specifics of the case, citing privacy laws, but said in a statement it is committed to supporting every student and has not been flagged for racial discipline disparities in the past three years.

However, state education data shows that while Black students make up 25% of Walton County’s student population, they account for nearly double that share of disciplinary actions.

Claire Sherburne, an attorney with the Southern Poverty Law Center representing Elijah Coleman, said the disparities are not isolated.

“Black students and other students of color tend to be disciplined more frequently and more harshly than their white counterparts, even when they’re engaging in the exact same behaviors,” she said.

Six months after the Colemans filed their lawsuit, a video surfaced showing a Walton County teacher writing a racial slur on a classroom whiteboard. The district fired the teacher after the footage went viral.

“When a teacher feels emboldened to stand in front of a classroom full of students, including Black students, and do something like that … it says something about the district’s culture,” Sherburne said.

The Georgia Department of Education, which recently found the district violated special education rules in Elijah Coleman’s case, said it is still reviewing Trump’s executive order and has not determined whether state policy changes will follow.

Back at home, Elijah Coleman finds comfort in his pet rabbits, Onyx and Oatmeal. His mother said he dreams of becoming a veterinarian, but worries the events of the past year may have lasting consequences.

“He says things to me like, ‘Mommy, why am I so dark?’” she said, holding back tears. “And I can’t answer those questions. I just tell him, ‘You’re beautiful. Your skin is beautiful. And you’re going to be okay.’”

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An undercover investigation into the trafficking of ivory from elephants and other wild animal parts has found the widespread sale of these illegal products in scores of locations across Pennsylvania.

The investigation, conducted by Humane World for Animals (formerly the Humane Society of the United States), found hundreds of products, including carved tusks, bracelets and figurines made from tusks of elephants and other endangered wildlife being sold in stores and online in the state.

Humane World for Animals senior investigator, Whitney Teamus, said that the amount of trafficking in Pennsylvania is higher than in other states where the group has conducted investigations such as Connecticut and Florida.

“What we found was a gruesome amount of evidence that accelerates the call to action,” Teamus said.

Investigators went to online auctions and physical stores across 27 counties for three months earlier this year to look into the wildlife product trade. New legislation would increase the penalties for sales of ivory and any products from endangered species.

Ivory is made up of dense bone tissue that surrounds enamel—a hard, creamy-white substance that forms the tusks and teeth of animals like elephants and walruses. The most common method to obtain ivory is to kill elephants and extract their tusks.

The investigation also found ivory products that originated from whales, hippos, warthogs and mammoths.

At a store in Kingston investigators found a taxidermized head, neck and shoulders of a giraffe for $6,000.

The wildlife product trade is a booming industry globally. People in the U.S. alone imported over 2.85 billion animals in roughly the last two decades, according to a National Academy of Sciences study.

With a dramatic increase in African elephant killings in the 1980s, the United Nations placed a ban on the global ivory trade ban and gave elephants the highest level of protection.

But animal welfare advocates say the federal and state laws are murky and contain gaps, allowing trafficking to flourish.

The Endangered Species Act of 1976 prohibits commercial trade federally with African elephant ivory. Pennsylvania law also generally prohibits selling ivory, but it doesn’t explicitly identify any protected species.

The new bill will prohibit the purchase and sale of specific endangered animal parts and products. The list includes the bonobo, cheetah, chimpanzee, dolphin, elephant, giraffe, gorilla and lion. The bill also outlines varying penalties of $5,000, $10,000 and $20,000 based on the wildlife product’s cost.

According to bill sponsor, Rep. Leanne Krueger, D-Delaware County, cutting out markets that incentivize wildlife product trade is a solution to reduce trade and combat extinction of endangered species.

“The results [of the investigation] were very surprising,” Krueger said. “I believe Pennsylvanians don’t think they’re supporting poaching of elephants or rhinos when they buy these products but that’s what’s happening right now.”

Owners of historic ivory items can still keep them and pass them down to an heir as long as no commercial transactions are involved.

Krueger said that the Pennsylvania Game Commission would oversee enforcements the efficiency of the bill. It overwhelmingly passed the House Judiciary Committee, 25-1, and now goes to the full House.

“This vote is a good sign,” Krueger said. “We’re continuing to have conversations with members on the other side to keep that good bipartisan support.”

BOX SCORE

The Cubs kicked off their longest road trip of the season so far on Tuesday at Nationals Park in Washington D.C.

They couldn’t have drawn up a better start.

The Cubs offense erupted for four runs in the fifth inning to win the first game of a three-game set against the Nationals 8-3. Chicago (38-22) plays nine games on the road beginning Tuesday as they begin a stretch of 26 games in 27 days.

Here are three takeaways from the win over the Nationals (28-32):

Busch’s league

The Cubs offense has had so many contributors that some of them may be going under the radar – Michael Busch tops among them. The first baseman was 3-for-3 on Tuesday with three RBI and was a double shy of the cycle.

That performance moved his OPS to a whopping .895. His OPS would be the best on 10 of the other 14 teams in the National League among qualified hitters. It’s second-best on the Cubs and yet you might consider him as the fourth-most fearsome hitter on this lineup. That’s just how deep they are.

We’re reaching a point where you expect Kyle Tucker, Seiya Suzuki and Pete Crow-Armstrong to be this level of production offensively. But they will have slumps at points throughout this year – it’s the nature of the game – and having multiple options who can carry an offense is vital.

While Tucker is nursing his jammed right ring finger, the offense didn’t skip a beat, thanks in large part to Busch on Tuesday. That’s the sign of a good offense and what makes this 60-game start feel like it’s sustainable.

PCA’s historic pace – and achievement

Speaking of strong offensive performances, Crow-Armstrong continued to shine – and did something he rarely does on Tuesday. The center fielder garnered a pair of walks – the second time in his career he’s had a multi-walk game with both coming in the last three games.

The Nationals saw firsthand how much chaos he can cause on the basepaths. He led the four-run fifth inning with a hustle double, stole second and allowed Carson Kelly to reach first base on a groundball to third base. That’s because José Tena fielded the ground ball from Kelly, Crow-Armstrong broke home, forcing Tena to charge to third and not make a throw. He scored a batter later and stole another base in the sixth.

He is on a historic pace to start the year, too.

That’s a solid performance after he went 5-for-22 (.227) on the homestand – a “cold streak” for Crow-Armstrong you might say. He quickly got back on track.

Lefty’s wild

Cade Horton is experiencing a lot of firsts as he continues his rookie campaign. Tuesday he had a unique one – facing a lineup comprised entirely of lefties.

The Nationals are only the second team to use nine hitters from the left-side – two of them were switch hitters – joining the Cleveland Guardians. Despite what might have appeared to be a platoon advantage, Cade Horton pitched into the sixth inning and kept the Cubs in the game.

The rookie allowed just three earned runs on six hits in 5.1 innings, throwing 77 pitches. He allowed a leadoff double to James Wood to start the inning, struck out Nathaniel Lowe and allowed a single to Luis García Jr. Counsell turned to Caleb Thielbar to turn around Josh Bell who struggles from the right side. It worked, Bell grounded into an inning-ending double play.

There may be a few more righties in the lineup on Wednesday when Matthew Boyd takes the mound. But the Cubs have not named a starter for Thursday’s finale – Colin Rea is in line for that day, but they could opt to use an opener to combat the platoon advantage. Lefties have an .897 OPS against Rea.