The Ohio State University has acknowledged that a former researcher maintained “inappropriate foreign affiliations,” as the school agreed to pay $2.1 million to settle federal claims that it did not fully disclose researchers’ China-related ties while applying for and receiving publicly funded research grants.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Ohio State failed to accurately report affiliations and financial backing connected to Chinese universities and government-run research entities in grant applications and related filings submitted to NASA and the National Science Foundation between 2012 and 2023.

Federal officials said the case also involved a principal investigator’s participation in China’s Thousand Talents Program, a recruitment initiative that has drawn scrutiny from U.S. authorities over research security concerns.

In a statement to Fox News Digital on Friday, Ohio State said it identified and investigated the foreign affiliations involving C.K. Shum on its own and then reported the findings to federal authorities.

Shum is no longer employed by The Ohio State University.

“Ohio State uncovered and investigated C.K. Shum’s inappropriate foreign affiliations and self-reported them to NASA and the National Science Foundation,” Benjamin Johnson, chief communications officer at The Ohio State University, told Fox News Digital in a statement Friday. 

“The university suspended Shum’s principal investigator privileges, halted spending on the relevant federal awards, initiated disciplinary proceedings and repaid the federal grant funds in question. Shum is no longer employed at Ohio State, and the university has cooperated with federal authorities throughout the investigation.

“Ohio State takes national security seriously, and the university has long been recognized for its efforts to promote research integrity and security. Safeguards include dedicated research compliance and secure research offices, mandatory conflict-of-interest and research security disclosure systems and robust security and foreign influence training programs.”

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In a press release, the Department of Justice said the grant applications required OSU to share any ties to any foreign government.

“The settlement resolves allegations that OSU failed to disclose the collaboration and affiliation with, or funding received from, the PRC by certain OSU employees working on NASA and NSF grants,” the press release said. 

“Specifically, the settlement resolves allegations that, since 2014, annual Faculty Activity Reports submitted to OSU identified affiliations with PRC universities and state-run research organizations, but OSU did not disclose this information to NASA or NSF.”

The press release also noted that Ohio State became aware in 2019 that a researcher tied to NASA-funded work was involved in China’s Thousand Talents Program but waited until 2023 to inform NASA and the National Science Foundation.

The federal government describes the program as a Beijing-backed effort to attract people with expertise in or access to overseas technology and intellectual property.

The DOJ also said it found other OSU employees connected to the grants who had relationships with Chinese entities or received Chinese funding.

“American universities that benefit from the federal government’s support for scientific research and advancement must fully disclose all foreign funding in their grant applications,” Brett Shumate, assistant attorney general of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, said in a statement. 

“We will continue to hold accountable any university that fails to comply with disclosure requirements designed to protect research security and federally-funded scientific achievements.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the DOJ for comment.

ATLANTA (WLS) — Long before Maritza McClendon stood on an Olympic podium, her path to swimming began as a child in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Diagnosed with scoliosis at age 6, she was encouraged by doctors to try swimming as therapy. What started as a medical recommendation quickly became a passion that would ultimately help her make history as the first Black woman to qualify for a U.S. Olympic swim team.

Under the guidance of Olympic coach Peter Banks, McClendon spent more than 15 years training, racing and rising through the sport. Her breakthrough came in 2004, when she earned a spot on Team USA and went on to win a silver medal at the Athens Olympic Games. Today, she continues to use that achievement as a platform, speaking with children and families nationwide about water safety, swim education and the need to dismantle racial barriers in aquatics.

McClendon is now bringing that mission to Chicago as part of the Chicago River Swim on September 20. The event will draw hundreds of athletes to the city’s riverfront, with participants taking to the water to raise money for ALS research.

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“I’m super excited to join the Chicago River Swim,” McClendon said. “I hope people will take away the power of how a community can come together for a great cause.”

Learn more about the Chicago River Swim by visiting: https://www.chicagoriverswim.org/

Donations to a fundraiser for Lindsay Clancy’s parents have now topped $1 million, with supporters continuing to contribute at a rapid pace as organizers push toward a newly raised fundraising goal.

The campaign posted an update on Friday, shortly after Clancy’s trial came to an abrupt halt, announcing that the target had been increased to $3 million.

The development followed the end of Clancy’s intense six-week trial, which resulted in a mistrial after the 12-member jury could not reach a unanimous decision, with one juror reportedly preventing a full acquittal.

Clancy, a former nurse and mother, had been facing first-degree murder charges in connection with the deaths of her three young children: five-year-old Cora, three-year-old Dawson and eight-month-old Callan.

Prosecutors alleged that she killed the children at the family’s home in Duxbury, Massachusetts, in 2023 before attempting to end her own life.

Clancy’s defense argued that the shocking triple-killing was a result of postpartum psychosis and a failure in maternal healthcare. 

While the prosecution argued that she was a killer, hundreds of supporters who never met Clancy have begged to differ, offering financial support to her parents Michael, 70, and Paula Musgrove, 73, during the  trial. 

However, the GoFundMe, launched by total stranger to the family Brandee Mulligan, is replete with messages of support for Lindsay directly, despite its existence also sparking backlash.

Amid speculation that the fundraiser is being investigated, a GoFundMe spokesman confirmed to the Daily Mail that it is ‘verified’ and reports it is being disabled are ‘not accurate.’

‘This fundraiser for the Musgrove family remains verified at this time,’ the spokesman said.

Donations have poured in every few minutes, ranging anywhere from $5 to thousands. 

The top donation came from an anonymous donor who contributed $5,000. Another woman, Nicole Klaucens, also donated $5,000 to Clancy’s parents. 

Janet Pescio donated $5,000, while Luisa Espinosa Davilla donated $2,500. Multiple donors contributed over $2,000 to the fundraiser, while at least 11 people donated over $1,000.

Mulligan wrote in the fundraiser’s description that the funds are intended to help Clancy’s parents with travel costs while attending her court proceedings. 

‘Their lives have largely been put on hold while they have continued doing what parents do: showing up for their child during the unimaginable. That has come at an enormous financial cost,’ Mulligan wrote. 

She added that the fundraiser’s organizers understand there are mixed emotions about Clancy’s trial, but clarified that the money was meant to help two parents, regardless of how people feel about the case. 

‘The money belongs to Mike and Paula. The purpose of this fundraiser is to give them back some of the financial stability they have lost over the last three years and allow them to decide what they need as they eventually begin figuring out what life looks like after this trial,’ the description continued. 

‘At some point, the court proceedings will end. Mike and Paula will still have a life to return to. There will still be bills, a home, lost savings, and years of putting their own lives on hold while they stood beside their daughter.’

The fundraiser’s goal was initially set at $2 million, but has been pushed to $3 million after the mistrial. 

Mulligan explained in an update that the goal was raised after the legal process was extended, forcing Clancy’s parents to stay in Plymouth County. 

Mulligan, a 42-year-old mother of three from the Wisconsin town of Oconomowoc,  previously told the Daily Mail that she was motivated to launch the fundraiser because she felt helpless not doing anything. 

‘I just was one of the millions of people watching the case, and I was like, what can we do? And so, I put it together and the response has been overwhelming. There’s so many people that want to support it and it’s been incredible,’ she said. 

Mulligan told the Daily Mail that she initially wanted to help pay for the lawyer directly but later learned that GoFundMe’s terms prohibit ‘the legal defense of financial and violent crimes, including those related to money laundering, murder, robbery, assault, battery, sex crimes or crimes against minors.’ 

Instead of helping with Clancy’s legal fees, she decided to help the Musgroves with their expenses.

‘I’m an impulsive person and I use TikTok and I’m like, here’s my idea, OK, I’ll just do it,’ she said. ‘I don’t have any contact with them. I did it without even asking permission and it was just kind of an, “Oh my God, I hope this works out,” kind of thing,’ Mulligan said. 

Immediately after the killings, the Musgroves relocated 150 miles from their Wallingford, Connecticut, home to their daughter’s coastal hometown of Duxbury, Massachusetts. Paula testified in court that they had been staying in a series of hotels.

The Musgroves were not wealthy before the tragedy – they bought the three-bedroom home where they raised Lindsay and her social worker sister Allison, 38, for $172,000 in 1996. 

‘Her parents have had literally their whole lives uprooted,’ said Mulligan. ‘The support is to Paula and Mike, but in some ways it’s because they’re supporting Lindsay.’

She added that she does not mind what the money is spent on, and trusts it will be used wisely, for whatever need is most pressing.

However, not everyone feels compelled to help Clancy’s family. Another fundraiser on GoFundMe has been titled ‘Lindsay Clancy is an awful person!’ 

‘My name is Tony and if and if Lindsay Clancy GoFundMe is successful because she *illed kids then a single father of two should be able to be successfully obtain a house and some extra funds,’ the description read. 

‘I’m an active father who would do anything for the two greatest things I have ever been involved with.’ 

The prosecution expressed a similar sentiment during the grueling and emotional trial. Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz told reporters after the trial wrapped that the case was: ‘About getting justice for those three little babies. We’re here at this courthouse today because those children are not.’

Cruz argued that the case was not about gaps in the healthcare system. 

‘This case, however, was about Lindsay Clancy and the cruel, calculated killing of three innocents,’ he contested.

Plymouth County Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Sprague said in her closing argument that Clancy was a ‘functioning mom’ who planned the killings, not someone who had been suffering from postpartum psychosis and was unaware of her actions. 

Despite the prosecution’s painting of the killings, 11 out of 12 jurors reportedly sided with the defense’s depiction of Clancy. 

The case has now reached a state of limbo until a status hearing on September 29.

Prosecutors can retry the case with a new jury or offer a plea deal. Clancy’s defense team may also push to drop the charges altogether. 

Police bodycam video released Thursday shows the moment authorities found the body of a Pennsylvania college student, a discovery that later led investigators to charge her boyfriend after he allegedly claimed a “demon” told him to stab her, according to court records.

State police also say the suspect’s mother played a role after the killing, accusing her of helping her son conceal the crime.

Royce Moser, 18, of North Strabane Township, has been charged with homicide in the death of Karoline Heintz, a PennWest California University student. Her body was discovered Aug. 20 after she did not return to the southwestern Pennsylvania campus, according to a criminal complaint.

In a police affidavit, Moser allegedly said he grew angry while talking with Heintz inside her vehicle in his driveway, then claimed a “demon” took control and instructed him to stab her.

A preliminary hearing in the case was held Tuesday for Moser and his mother, Rachel Moser, as proceedings continue in connection with Heintz’s death.

An attorney for Royce Moser declined to comment on the charges against him, and a message left for a public defender representing Rachel Moser was not immediately returned.

The 37-minute video released Thursday is from an officer’s body-worn camera. It shows the California, Pennsylvania, police officer walking up to Karoline Heintz’s Jeep in the dark.

The officer points a flashlight inside the back window, yells toward another officer nearby, then gets on his radio.

“Control, I need EMS here right now,” the officer said. “I’ve got an unconscious female in the back of this car right now. Any additional units, any in the available area, please.”

An operator radios back, “Is she breathing?”

“Negative,” the officer responds as sirens are heard in the background. “I’ve got blood everywhere.”

The officer then breaks two windows to gain access inside the vehicle.

“Get someone here now,” he said.

According to the affidavit, Moser said he told Heintz, “wait, I have something for you” before retrieving a knife from his home.

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The victim fell out of her vehicle after being stabbed and Moser put her in the back hatch before getting into the driver’s seat.

Moser then asked his mother to follow him to PennWest California University in southwestern Pennsylvania to drop off the vehicle, the affidavit said.

Heintz’s father had asked police to look for his daughter’s vehicle after she failed to return to campus, and indicated an AirTag in the vehicle showed she was in a parking lot, according to a criminal complaint.

Police found Karoline Heintz’s body in the vehicle.

The AirTag also indicated Heintz had been at Moser’s home earlier.

Royce and Rachel Moser were later located at Rachel Moser’s residence in Beallsville.

According to the affidavit, Rachel Moser told her son to bathe and change his clothes, which she placed in a washing machine.

She then took the knife and put it in a garbage bag to dispose of in the trash outside her home, according to the affidavit.

The knife was retrieved after investigators obtained a search warrant.

Royce and Rachel Moser both were charged with tampering with evidence, abuse of a corpse and obstruction of justice.

Rachel Moser, 56, also was charged with hindering the apprehension of a fugitive and criminal use of a communication device.

Their next court appearance is a formal arraignment scheduled for Oct. 13.

Mother and son are being held without bail in the Washington County jail.

Heintz’s family issued a statement asking the public to respect their wishes for privacy.

“This is a parent’s worst nightmare,” the statement said. “It has been devastating for family, friends, and the whole community. Karoline was loved by all. She was a kind, smart, beautiful girl. We want justice for our “sweet” Karoline.”