Associated Press, Author at West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Mary Lou Retton’s Family Says She Is Making ‘Remarkable’ Progress

The family of Olympic gymnastics champion Mary Lou Retton says she is making “remarkable” progress in her battle with a rare form of pneumonia that landed her in intensive care.

McKenna Kelley, one of Retton’s four daughters, posted an update on Instagram Saturday that said the 55-year-old Retton’s breathing is becoming stronger and her “path to recovery is steadily progressing.”

“Though it’s a lengthy journey, witnessing these improvements is incredibly heartening,” Kelley wrote. “She’s beginning to respond to treatments.”

The family disclosed earlier this week that Retton — who became the first American female gymnast to win the Olympic all-around title at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics — was “fighting for her life” and unable to breath on her own after being diagnosed with pneumonia.

Donations have poured into a fundraiser the family set up to help offset Retton’s medical expenses after the family said she didn’t have medical insurance. There’s been more than 7,500 donations totaling over $415,000 by Saturday afternoon.

Retton was 16 when she became an icon of the U.S. Olympic movement during her gold medal-winning performance at the 1984 Summer Games. The native of Fairmont, West Virginia, also won two silver and two bronze medals at those Olympics to help bring gymnastics — a sport long dominated by eastern European powers like Romania and the Soviet Union — into the mainstream in the U.S.

Olympic Champion Gymnast Mary Lou Retton Remains In Intensive Care As Donations Pour In

Olympic gymnastics champion Mary Lou Retton remained in intensive care on Wednesday while dealing with a rare form of pneumonia.

Retton’s daughters posted a message on Instagram saying their mother “continues to fight” and thanked the thousands who have donated money to help take care of Retton’s medical bills.

Shayla Kelley Schrepfer, the oldest of Retton’s four daughters, said in a video update on Instagram that the family was “overwhelmed” by the outpouring of support for Retton, 55.

“We didn’t even realize that there are so many people out there that love her just as much as we do,” Schrepfer said. “And it’s been a really hard time for our family. And so just seeing that people love her like that and showing her that support has just meant the world to us and to her, so thank you.”

Nearly 5,000 people had donated over $275,000 in the 24 hours since her family launched an online fundraiser on Tuesday. The family said Retton does not have medical insurance and indicated they were asking for donations — with an initial goal of $50,000 — to help pay for Retton’s care.

Schrepfer declined to get into specifics about Retton’s situation, saying only that it’s “going to be a day-to-day process.”

Retton was 16 years old when the Fairmont, West Virginia, native made history at the Los Angeles Olympics, scoring perfect 10s on floor exercise and vault in the final two rotations to become the first American woman to win the Olympic all-around title.

She ended the Olympics with five medals — two silvers and two bronzes to go with the all-around gold — and became a pop culture sensation while earning the nickname “America’s Sweetheart.” Her Olympic success made her the first female athlete to appear on the cover of a Wheaties box.

Retton retired from competition in 1986. Her newfound fame made her a household name in the U.S. She made several film and television appearances, including a stint on “Dancing with the Stars.”

She and her husband, Shannon Kelley, divorced in 2018.

Olympic Gymnastics Champion Mary Lou Retton Is In Intensive Care With Pneumonia

Retton’s daughter, McKenna Kelley, shared Retton’s condition in an Instagram post on Tuesday. Kelley said the 55-year-old Retton, who became the first American woman to win the Olympic all-around title, is “fighting for her life” and not able to breathe on her own.

Olympic gymnastics champion Mary Lou Retton has pneumonia and is in intensive care in a Texas hospital.

Kelley started a fundraising campaign on Retton’s behalf for medical expenses. Kelley wrote that Retton does not currently have medical insurance.

Retton was 16 years old when she became an icon of the U.S. Olympic movement during her gold medal-winning performance at the 1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles. Retton, who grew up in Fairmont, West Virginia, also won two silver and two bronze medals at those Olympics to help bring gymnastics — a sport long dominated by eastern European powers like Romania and the Soviet Union — into the mainstream in the U.S.

Retton, a mother of four, currently lives in Texas. She retired from competitive gymnastics in 1986 and did numerous commercial endorsements. She also made several film and television appearances, including a stint on “Dancing with the Stars.”

She and her husband, Shannon Kelley, divorced in 2018.

The Supreme Court Rejects An Appeal From Former Coal Company CEO Don Blankenship

The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from former coal company executive Don Blankenship, who argued that major news outlets defamed him by calling him a “felon.”

The Supreme Court rejected an appeal Tuesday from former coal executive Don Blankenship, who argued that major news outlets defamed him by calling him a “felon.”

The justices left in place an appellate ruling against Blankenship, the former CEO of Massey Energy. He served a year in prison on a misdemeanor charge after he was found guilty of conspiring to violate safety standards at a West Virginia mine before an explosion in 2010 that killed 29 men.

Justice Clarence Thomas, while agreeing with the court’s action Tuesday, repeated his call for the court to overturn its landmark 1964 libel ruling in New York Times v. Sullivan.

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a district court’s determination that CNN, Fox News and 14 other outlets sued by Blankenship did not act with “actual malice” amid coverage of his unsuccessful 2018 U.S. Senate campaign, even if they failed to meet journalistic standards.

The high court had previously turned away Blankenship’s appeal of his conviction.

Adoptive Parents Charged With Felony Neglect After 3 Children Found Alone In Dangerous Conditions

Two adoptive parents have been charged with felony neglect after two children were found locked inside a small barn and a third child was located in an unprotected loft inside an adjacent home.

Two adoptive parents in West Virginia were charged with felony neglect after two children were found locked inside a small barn and a third child was located in an unprotected loft inside an adjacent home, police said Tuesday.

The parents were arraigned Tuesday on charges of gross child neglect creating a substantial risk of injury.

Authorities began investigating after they received a call Monday from someone expressing concern about the children’s welfare. Kanawha County sheriff’s deputies forced their way into the barn, where a boy and a girl were locked inside a small room. The children had been deprived of adequate food and hygienic care, and the room had no running water or bathroom facilities, the sheriff’s department said in a news release.

Inside the main residence, a small child was found alone in a loft about 15 feet (4.6 meters) high with no protection from falling, the statement said.

No adults were present at the home. The adoptive parents were arrested when they returned, and each was being held in jail on a $200,000 cash bond. An Oct. 12 preliminary hearing is scheduled. Jail records didn’t indicate whether the parents have attorneys who could comment on the charges.

The Associated Press is not naming the parents in order to protect the identity of the children, who have been placed with Child Protective Services.

White Supremacist Admits Threatening Jury And Witnesses In Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooter’s Trial

A self-proclaimed white supremacist has pleaded guilty to charges that he made online threats toward the jury and witnesses at the trial of a man who killed 11 congregants at a Pittsburgh synagogue.

A self-proclaimed white supremacist pleaded guilty Tuesday to making online threats toward the jury and witnesses at the trial of a man who killed 11 congregants at a Pittsburgh synagogue, the U.S. Justice Department said.

As part of his plea agreement in federal court for West Virginia’s northern district, Hardy Carroll Lloyd admitted that the actual or perceived Jewish faith of the government witnesses and victims in the trial of Robert Bowers prompted him to target the jury and witnesses.

Lloyd, 45, of Follansbee, West Virginia, faces more than six years in prison if the plea agreement is accepted by the court.

The Justice Department described Lloyd as a self-proclaimed leader of a white supremacy movement. Prosecutors said Lloyd, who was arrested on Aug. 10, sent threatening social media posts and emails along with comments on websites during Bowers’ trial. Lloyd pleaded guilty to obstruction of the due administration of justice.

Bowers was sentenced to death last month after a jury determined that capital punishment was appropriate.

“Hardy Lloyd attempted to obstruct the federal hate crimes trial of the deadliest antisemitic attack in American history,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. “His guilty plea underscores that anyone who attempts to obstruct a federal trial by threatening or intimidating jurors or witnesses will be met with the full force of the Justice Department.”

In May 2022, the Texas Department of Public Safety offered a cash reward of up to $1,000 for information leading to Lloyd’s arrest after he allegedly posted a series of comments online threatening to carry a firearm onto the Texas Capitol grounds and challenge any police officer who tried to “take enforcement actions” against him. A statement from the department said Lloyd was a convicted felon.