Major wastewater and infrastructure investments in Connecticut and New York appear to be producing measurable results, according to a new report documenting continued gains in Long Island Sound water quality.

Save the Sound’s 2026 Long Island Sound Report Card found that conditions either improved or held steady in each of the Sound’s five open-water regions.

The Western, Central and Eastern basins each earned an A, while the Eastern Narrows received a B.

The most notable change occurred in the Western Narrows, the area encompassing waters near New York City, which earned a D.

Despite that grade, the result represents the Western Narrows’ first passing mark since Save the Sound began evaluating the region in 2008. Before this year, it had received an F annually.

The Western Basin rose from A- to A, while the Central Basin advanced from A to A+.

The Eastern Basin held its A+ rating, and the Eastern Narrows remained at B.

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The report’s assessment of water quality considers dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll, clarity, dissolved organic carbon and the health of seaweed communities.

Researchers also track temperature, salinity, oxygen saturation and aquatic vegetation, along with the other indicators used to evaluate conditions in the Sound.

Too much nitrogen can trigger algae blooms and create oxygen-depleted waters, threatening fish and other aquatic organisms.

Save the Sound credited reductions in nitrogen pollution as a key reason water quality has improved across the Sound’s open waters.

Launched in 2017, Save the Sound’s Unified Water Study was designed to provide a clearer picture of conditions in 52 bays and harbors throughout the Sound.

The initiative uses common monitoring methods, equipment and protocols, allowing data gathered by different organizations to be compared across the region.

Still, Save the Sound cautioned that climate change, warmer water temperatures and increasingly severe stormwater runoff could undermine the progress reflected in the latest report.

The organization said sustained nitrogen reductions, along with continued spending on wastewater and stormwater systems, will be essential to preserving the Sound’s gains.

A Seattle couple has filed a lawsuit alleging that hospital staff in Oregon told them to drive their nearly 9-month-old son’s body home in their own car after he died unexpectedly in an emergency room.

Aleksandr and Nataliya Yeremeyev are seeking $10 million from Salem Health and Dr. Stefani Sorensen. According to the lawsuit, the parents asked for respectful care and transportation of their son Michael’s remains, but hospital staff allegedly insisted that they take his body home themselves.

Michael was born with Down syndrome and spent the first six months of his life receiving care at Seattle Children’s Hospital.

“His parents had made sure that he had received really excellent care. So, I think it was a really, really sad and just very tragic way for his life to end and for it to be so undignified right there at the end,” family attorney Anna Bruckenhoefer said in a statement, according to Fox 13.

The family was visiting Salem, Oregon, for a religious retreat on September 22, 2024, when Michael began breathing rapidly and shallowly late at night. His parents rushed him to the emergency room at Salem Health Hospital, where he died, the complaint says.

When the parents asked how to arrange respectful transportation for Michael’s body back to Seattle, hospital staff allegedly discouraged them from contacting a local funeral home, saying it would be “too expensive.” Instead, the lawsuit claims, they pressured the family to take Michael’s body with them in their personal vehicle. The parents ultimately did so because they felt they had no other option.

“They have repeatedly asked the hospital for assistance in helping them with what are the next steps,” Bruckenhoefer said. “This was all occurring overnight. They felt rushed that they had to make quick decisions and the hospital left them with no choice other than to take Michael’s body with them and head back to Seattle.”

Aleksandr drove roughly four hours from Salem to Seattle with his son’s body lying across the back seat, while Nataliya and their other children followed in a separate vehicle.

The lawsuit says Aleksandr experienced severe emotional distress during the journey, fearing police stops, a car crash and the visible deterioration of his child’s body. After reaching a Seattle funeral home, he also had to clean bodily fluids that had leaked onto the vehicle’s seat.

“It is legal in the state of Oregon and in the state of Washington to transport a deceased with the proper permits. But that is not what our clients wanted to do here. They were looking for help. They were looking for guidance. They were looking for the hospital to tell them, ‘These are the next steps,’” Bruckenhoefer said. “This is a hospital. It’s an emergency department. Unfortunately, death is something that they are accustomed to and that they deal with. They should have had procedures and protocols in place to assist the Yeremeyevs while they were dealing with literally the worst moment of their lives. Instead, what they did is they just compounded their grief by essentially telling them that they were on their own in this.”

“No parents, no loved ones should ever be placed in the position that the Yeremeyevs were placed in,” Bruckenhoefer added. “Just completely surprised that something like this would happen in 2026.”

The lawsuit names Salem Health Hospitals & Clinics, Salem Health, Salem Emergency Physicians Service and Sorensen as defendants. It alleges direct negligence, vicarious liability and a breach of the heightened duty of care owed to grieving parents in the respectful treatment and custody of a child’s body.

The family is seeking $10 million in noneconomic damages for severe emotional distress and psychological trauma. They also plan to amend the complaint to seek punitive damages.

Salem Health Hospital said it could not discuss details of the child’s care because of privacy concerns and the ongoing litigation.

“Salem Hospital responded in accordance with the family’s wishes and followed both hospital policy and Oregon state law in consultation with the appropriate local authorities, including the medical examiner,” Salem Health said in a statement to Fox 13.

“Care with respect is a guiding principle of clinical practice at Salem Hospital and remains central to how we support patients and families during some of life’s most difficult moments. We recognize the profound grief families experience following the loss of a loved one and treat every patient and family with empathy, dignity, and respect,” the statement continued.

WASHINGTON — A federal judge early Thursday temporarily halted President Donald Trump’s effort to bar three news organizations from the White House grounds, ordering that CNN, MS NOW and Politico regain their access.

The ruling adds another chapter to the intensifying dispute between Trump and media outlets whose reporting has drawn his criticism. The president announced the ban Sept. 18, condemning the organizations as sources of what he described as “fake news.” He has since argued that unfavorable coverage poses a threat to the country.

In challenging the decision, the outlets said they were targeted because of their editorial viewpoints and reporting. They described the White House action as a “blatant violation” of the First Amendment’s protections for press freedom.

U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly heard arguments in the case Wednesday but did not immediately issue a decision. Trump appointed Kelly to the federal bench in 2017; the judge also ordered CNN journalist access restored in a comparable dispute in 2018.

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Kelly issued a temporary restraining order Thursday that will remain in place for 14 days. The measure is intended to preserve existing conditions while the court takes a closer look at the broader legal challenge.

This is a developing news story. Check back for updates.