Kansas neighborhood continues unique light display

PITTSBURG, Kan. (KSNF/KODE) — The holiday season is always a special one for residents of at least one Southeast Kansas neighborhood.

For close to 30 years, now, residents of “Westward,” which sits off the Highway 69 bypass near Quincy Street, have continued the tradition of a “zig-zag” Christmas light display, which stretches from one house to the next, all throughout the neighborhood.

Homeowners say more than 80% of the neighborhood takes part, and have their lights put up just after Thanksgiving. The triangle shape display of lights are unique, and was actually started by just a couple of residents. The neighborhood lights now attract people from all across the Four States every year.

“Every night when I drive home and it’s dark, I just pinch myself because it’s just beyond special. I can’t even explain it, and I’m so thrilled that so many people do participate, and it wasn’t hard to get people to participate,” said Stephanie Watts, a participant in the Christmas light display.

| The Evolution of Christmas Trees And Ornaments >

The Christmas light display will remain illuminated each night through January 1st, 2023.

Trump's digital cards sell out within a day

Former President Trump’s digital trading cards have sold out less than 24 hours after he first announced they were available.

As of Friday morning, the site selling the non-fungible tokens (NFTs) says they are sold out, and links to purchase the digital cards are no longer available. 

OpenSea Data, which tracks the sales and markets for NFTs, indicated there were 45,000 of the Trump cards initially made available for purchase for $99 each. The Trump digital cards were the top trending item on the site as of Friday morning.

Trump posted on Truth Social on Wednesday that he would be making a “major announcement” without providing any details. Some had speculated the announcement would be related to the Speaker race playing out among House Republicans or Trump’s largely inactive 2024 presidential campaign.

Instead, Trump revealed a line of digital trading cards that could be purchased with cryptocurrency or a credit card. Proceeds from the cards — which, among other looks, depict the former president as an astronaut and a cowboy — will not go to Trump’s campaign but to Trump himself through a licensing deal.

The announcement drew mockery and disbelief from liberals and some conservatives. 

President Biden tweeted that he had some “major announcements” of his own, listing off a series of policy wins in recent weeks. Stephen Bannon, a former Trump White House and campaign official, appeared exasperated by the announcement during his radio show on Thursday and suggested whoever was involved with the effort should be fired.

Spam calls/texts have increased, so can they be stopped?

(Photo Courtesy: Getty Images)

JOPLIN, Mo. (KSNF/KODE) — The majority of calls I receive on my phone aren’t from my friends, family, or coworkers (and I work in a newsroom — which speaks to the daily volume of unsolicited calls and texts). Now, the majority of my incoming calls are from scammers and telemarketers, notifying me that “my computer has a virus, and only the caller can fix it.” I even get calls from “John Smith,” who’s obviously pretending to be the IRS and threatening me to pay up. The calls that I believe are the most ridiculous: “Congratulations, you’ve won the lottery… (followed by)… can we have all of your personal information and the information of your closest friends and relatives before processing your winnings?”

Calls like these are why I don’t pick up any phone number I don’t easily recognize, even if it might actually be important because I’m scarred by the sheer amount of spam calls I get every single day. As a reporter, this can be a tricky balance. A lot of my calls are also legitimate, whether it be a source for a news story, or someone calling to report a news tip.

Unfortunately, these unsolicited calls are only increasing. This year alone, Americans are expected to get over 52 billion robocalls, which breaks down to approximately 1 billion calls every week (according to YouMail, a company that specializes in blocking them). These calls come in all shapes and sizes. More recently, these attacks have moved over to SMS, where there are phishing text messages that come from your own phone number.

| Thieves Look To Take Advantage Of Online Holiday Shoppers >

The do not disturb feature only goes so far in helping, because the fact is, robocallers are never going to stop trying to reach you. Their schemes bring in hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars annually. In one survey of 4,000 people, more than 90% reported that robocalls are becoming more frequent.

No matter what the calls or text messages say, one thing is certain — for this reporter’s sanity, they need to stop! Follow these proven steps to help pull the plug on those annoying callers.

Sign Up For The National Do Not Call Registry

(Photo Courtesy: Getty Images)

Your first move: Join the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) National “Do Not Call Registry.” You can get on the list by calling 1-888-382-1222 from the phone number you want to register. If you have multiple numbers to input, register them, HERE. To date, the agency has taken 51 legal actions against companies and telemarketers, recovering $112 million. It will take about a month for your registration to take effect. You can register both landline and mobile phone numbers. You’ll find more information on the FTC’s Do Not Call Registry, HERE.

Sign Up For Your State’s Do Not Call Registry

In the Four State region, Missouri and Oklahoma are the only states that have their own state-funded/operated Do Not Call List. The Do Not Call List Registry for Both Kansas and Arkansas will direct you to the FTC’s National Do Not Call Registry.

You can register for the Missouri No Call List, HERE. In Oklahoma, you can register with the state’s No Call List, HERE. Both states’ No Call Law applies to residential (landline) or personal cell phone numbers owned by private individuals only.

Use Spam-Filtering Apps And Tech

(Photo Courtesy: Getty Images)

The National Do Not Call Registry, especially combined with an individual state’s No Call List Registry (if available), will prevent a lot of unwanted calls, but it won’t stop all of them. A spam-filtering app can give you a second layer of protection and is a good add-on to your overall smartphone security. The makers of the app, “Mr. Number Lookup and Call Block” maintain a large database of user-reported robocalls. When one of those numbers dials you, the app blocks the phone from ringing and informs you the call is spam.

  • Mr. Number: Available in the Apple App store and on the Google Play store, this app can block calls from an entire area code or even a whole country. You can also report spam calls to warn other users.
  • AT&T Call Protect: A free service for AT&T customers, this app has a fraudulent-call-blocking system that weeds out scammers before the phone even rings. It’s available in the App Store and on Google Play.
  • Verizon Call Filter: In 2021, Verizon rolled out a service called the “Neighborhood Filter” for its customers. It identifies likely scam calls based on the number and area code. Similar phone numbers are blocked from calling you, cutting down on a tactic called spoofing.
  • U.S. Cellular Protections: Customers have access to this carrier’s specific solutions, but also has apps that you can download, such as “Call Guardian,” which displays “Potential Spam” on caller ID, based on known offenders. This free app also displays “Spam Caller” on caller ID, based on a consumer’s personal spam list.
  • Block The Caller: Although this is not an app, blocking a particular number(s) is a good way to prevent the same caller from getting through to you day-after-day. Learn how to block a number on both an iPhone and an Android device, HERE. And don’t worry about blocking the wrong number, it’s easy to unblock a number too.

Give Spam Calls The Brush-Off

(Photo Courtesy: Getty Images)

It’s so tempting to pick up the phone and yell in frustration, “Don’t call me again!” But here’s a more effective way to stop spam calls: Don’t answer at all. According to experts, the robocallers will view the number as inactive and be less likely to try again. By the way, you should never call back an unknown number — it makes you vulnerable to future scams.

Conclusion

Unfortunately, robocalls aren’t going to stop completely. But if you take the advice mentioned above, you can help prevent most unsolicited calls and text messages from ever reaching your phone. You’ll find more information and tips on stopping unwanted calls and texts, HERE.

Lawmakers introduce bill to ban TikTok in US

(The Hill) – A bipartisan group of lawmakers has introduced legislation that would prohibit the use of Chinese-based owner Byte Dance’s TikTok social media platform in the U.S. 

The Averting the National Threat of Internet Surveillance, Oppressive Censorship, and Influence, and Algorithmic Learning by the Chinese Communist Party Act, also referred to as the ANTI-SOCIAL CCP Act, would protect Americans from using Russian, Chinese-based social media companies by blocking and prohibiting all transactions from those ventures. 

The bill was introduced by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Reps. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), citing the FBI’s and FCC’s latest concerns about the social media platforms used to spy on Americans. 

“The federal government has yet to take a single meaningful action to protect American users from the threat of TikTok. This isn’t about creative videos — this is about an app that is collecting data on tens of millions of American children and adults every day,” Rubio said in a statement, adding “we know it’s used to manipulate feeds and influence elections. We know it answers to the People’s Republic of China. There is no more time to waste on meaningless negotiations with a CCP-puppet company. It is time to ban Beijing-controlled TikTok for good.” 

The legislation comes as Washington has had a rocky relationship with TikTok over the past year with the then-Trump administration’s failed attempt to implement a ban on the social media platform in 2020. 

TikTok, which has more than 100 million users in the United States and is owned by the Chinese-based country ByteDance, has become popular among younger Americans. 

A slew of GOP-led states such as South Dakota, Maryland, Texas, and Utah has implemented measures to prohibit the use of TikTok within their state’s government branches and on state government-issued devices, citing their concerns with security on the social media platform. 

“China’s access to data collected by TikTok presents a threat to our cybersecurity,” Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) said in a statement on Monday. “As a result, we’ve deleted our TikTok account and ordered the same on all state-owned devices. We must protect Utahns and make sure that the people of Utah can trust the state’s security systems.”

In a statement to The Hill, TikTok spokesperson Jamal Brown said the platform is disappointed with the number of states that enacted policies based on unfounded, politically charged falsehoods about their company. 

“It is unfortunate that the many state agencies, offices, and universities on TikTok in those states will no longer be able to use it to build communities and connect with constituents,” Brown said in a statement. 

The Hill has reached out to TikTok for comment.

CDC urges masking return as tripledemic surges

(NewsNation) — Concerns are growing nationwide for rapidly increasing cases of what health officials have deemed a tripledemic: the flu, RSV and COVID-19, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is once again urging the public to wear face masks indoors.

According to the agency’s Dec. 8 report, 13.7% of Americans now live in communities now rated “high” COVID-19 Community Levels, up from 4.9% of the population last week. An additional 38.1% of Americans are in “medium” areas and 48.2% are in “low” areas. 

A number of major cities are now mulling a return to masking measures.

In California, more than 10 counties, including Los Angeles, Maricopa, Nassau and San Bernardino, are now in the “high” tier.

Los Angeles County health officials are again strongly recommending that everyone wears masks indoors.

Over the past week, Los Angeles hospitals saw an average of 1,245 COVID-positive patients every day — that’s a nearly 20% jump over the previous seven days.

“When you put on your mask for these few weeks during this surge, it is about the people of LA County. it is about every individual, every visitor, our health care workers, essential workers and other people who serve. in addition to vaccination, it is one of the easiest things everyone can do right now,” Dr. Barbara Ferrer, Los Angeles County director of public health, wrote in a press release.

In New York, a health advisory notice was sent out alerting hospitals, local health departments, emergency rooms and labs to prepare for rapidly rising cases of respiratory illness.

The Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island are in orange, meaning high-risk levels, while Manhattan is in yellow, the medium-risk level, according to the latest CDC data.

On Dec. 9, state officials urged schools to return to indoor masking to curb the spread of respiratory illnesses.

As the Christmas and New Year’s holidays approach, when families are expected to gather across the country, health officials fear that could put a significant strain on our health care system if people don’t take the proper precautions.

“Our immune system has not been revved up. The vaccine rates are lower. We are a prime sitting target for other respiratory illnesses as we relax our guard down and begin to have contact with other people,” said Dr. Bruce Hirsch, an attending physician in infectious diseases at Northwell Health.

Medical centers across America are reporting higher rates of hospitalizations, and nursing homes are pushing boosters for residents.

As for RSV, the ones at greatest risk are children 6 months and younger who haven’t built up strong immune systems yet. An RSV vaccine is reported to become available by this time next year.

Laundry detergent recalled over possible bacterial contamination

HOUSTON (WXIN) – Around 14,000 bottles of laundry detergent are being recalled because it may be contaminated with bacteria.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission said the recall involves Art of Green Free and Clear laundry detergent and Zen Lavender Garden laundry detergent. The laundry detergent was sold at Save Mart, Lucky and Food Maxx regional stores and online at Amazon.com from April 2022 through October 2022.

The recall was initiated because units from a single batch of the detergents may contain bacteria, including Pseudomonas aeruginosa. This environmental organism is found widely in soil and water.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it can cause infections in the blood, lungs, or other parts of the body. In 2017, it was responsible for 32,600 infections among hospitalized patients and 2,700 estimated deaths in the U.S.

The bacteria can enter the body if inhaled, through the eyes, or through a break in the skin. People with healthy immune systems are usually not affected by this bacteria.

The recalled products were sold in 100-ounce bottles and 33.8-ounce pouches. The UPC can be found near the barcode and the date code is found on the cap. The following products are subject to recall:

Product Name UPC Codes Date Codes
Art of Green Free and Clear laundry detergent in 100-ounce bottles 4315204860  LOT M 220315
Art of Green Zen Lavender Garden laundry detergent in 100-ounce bottles 4315204850 LOT M 220314
Art of Green Zen Lavender Garden laundry detergent in 33.8-ounce pouches 4315204874 LOT Q 220324 LOT Q 220325 LOT Q 220326 LOT Q 220328

Anyone with the recalled laundry detergent should stop using it and contact AlEn USA for a full refund. To get the refund, people should take a photo of the UPC and date code before throwing the product away.

People can contact the company at 800-615-3191 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. CT Monday through Friday, or email at artofgreen@alenusa.com. There is also a recall website available with frequently asked questions and a link to a form.

The annual holiday parade: An American tradition

The Joplin High School band marches down Main Street during the annual Joplin, Missouri Christmas Parade.

KSNF/KODE — For many communities across the United States, a true celebration includes a town parade. Whether for the winter holidays, Memorial Day, or 4th of July, it seems like almost any occasion is cause for a downtown march. Parades have given communities a chance to come together in celebration, whether it be for a national holiday or smaller town affair.

Some of the most memorable tales from parades of Christmas past, including how Christmas parades have evolved into what most look like today, are combined into a publication called, “Forward, March: America’s Holiday Parades.” For a summary on U.S. holiday parades, Arcadia Publishing picked out some of the best Christmas parade material from a collection of books, such as, “Tulsa Christmas Parade” and “Chicago’s State Street Christmas Parade.” Books like these, as well as many others published by Arcadia, highlight Christmas parades across the U.S. Here’s a look into their publication, “Forward, March: America’s Holiday Parades:”

The Traditional Christmas Parade

Santa Claus parades, also called Christmas parades, are parades held in some countries to celebrate the official opening of the Christmas season with the arrival of Santa Claus who always appears in the last float. The parades usually include themed floats, dancing or marching groups, and bands playing Christmas songs.

While smaller community parades are not uncommon, many American towns have used the holiday season as a cause for celebration. These parades are unique to their town and often feature community traditions. In Larchmont, California a group of young schoolgirls play the role of Santa and his reindeer.

For some towns, a parade is considered the main event of festivities, rather than just the start. In Cedar Rapids, the holiday season hasn’t truly arrived until the annual holiday parade, which started in 1983. The parade is preceded by a whole day of winter-related activities across the city before the big event in late November or early December.

| Joplin’s Main Street Packed For 2022 Christmas Parade >

In larger cities, parades have been known to command large crowds, and feature elaborate floats. Many of these large parades have their roots in a smaller community celebration, but have grown over time. The State Street Holiday Parade in Chicago is one of these larger parades, and has been conducted every year for nearly a century.

The Unofficial Start To The “Holiday Parade Season”

While some holiday parades are held throughout December, many towns begin their holiday celebrations with a parade on Thanksgiving Day. These Thanksgiving Day parades are often very elaborate, like the Thanksgiving parade in Detroit. Held since 1924, the Detroit Thanksgiving parade features several marching bands.

Perhaps the most well-known of holiday parades is the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, which is televised nationally each year. The parade is known for its unique balloons, often as large as the buildings they float past.

A Christmas Time Staple In Cities Across America

Some parades are so highly anticipated that they’ll be advertised for far in advance. The Granada Hills Holiday Parade has been organized each year since 1984, but had existed previously as the “Youth in Action” parade.

Aside from the standard marching bands and floats, some towns have gone the extra mile to bring unique entertainment into their parades. During the holiday parade in Royal Oak, Michigan, unicyclists fill the streets and perform tricks for onlookers. The town is known for its holiday parade in the fall, and its Memorial Day parade during late spring.

Above all, parades have brought a sense of community to towns, letting neighbors and strangers alike come together for a celebration. Whether for the holidays, or just for fun, a parade is a sure way to keep a town’s spirits high.

You’ll find more information on America’s holiday parades, including photos from holiday parades gone by, HERE.

State's education department wants to use Missouri's $6B surplus to raise teacher pay

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The state’s education department estimates there are more than 3,000 positions in Missouri schools this year that have either been left vacant or filled by someone not qualified. 

Following a teacher shortage crisis, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) is requesting the General Assembly to use the state’s billion-dollar surplus to give educators a raise. 

“Teachers do not work for the money, but they have to have a sustainable wage,” DESE Commissioner Margie Vandeven said. “No other industry would be satisfied if 50% of the profession was leaving within the first five years.”

Under current state law, the minimum wage for teachers is $25,000, a statute that hasn’t been changed in years. Missouri has the lowest start teacher pay in the country. The department says roughly 8,000 teachers make less than $35,000. In the budget request to the governor, DESE is asking the General Assembly to change state law. 

“Right now, when we’re talking about a $38,000 salary for our teachers, that is just to make us somewhat competitive with our neighboring states,” Vandeven said. 

In July, the governor approved nearly a quarter of a billion dollars to increase minimum teacher pay from $25,000 to $38,000. Under the legislation, the state pays for 70% while the rest is on the district, which means schools have to opt into the program, but the funding from the state is only for one year. DESE Deputy Commissioner Kari Monsees said about 350 schools are participating in the program. 

This year, lawmakers also fully funded school transportation for the first time since the 1990s, but because of inflation, to fully fund it again, it would cost $18 million. 

“That allows schools districts to not have to utilize those local resources to support those additional services like transportation,” Monsees said. “As you can imagine with fuel cost being what it’s been, there’s also been increased cost for buses and parts. We also have driver staffing issues so the salaries for drivers and the things schools have to offer just to have enough drivers has gone up significantly.”

Monsees said the department is having to ask for more money in other areas too. 

“Within all of our school food programs that we offer across the state, costs have gone up just like it has for all our consumers in our state and across the country,” Monsees said. 

Back in October, the Teacher Recruitment and Retention Blue Ribbon Commission released its report after months of research to find out what could be done to combat the teacher shortage. 

The commission’s recommendation is to keep it permanent. In total, the commission offered nine recommendations to the board, separated into three categories: immediate, short-term, and long-term. At least half addressed teacher pay.

Immediate priorities: 

  • Increasing starting teacher pay to $38,000 and have an annual review from the Joint Committee on Education to ensure teacher salaries remain competitive 
  • Fund the Career Ladder Program which rewards teachers for extracurricular activities
  • Establish sustainable funding for Grow Your Own programs, geared towards paraprofessionals, adults or high school students who want to become a teacher
  • Encourage districts to implement team-based teaching models 

Short-term priorities: 

  • Establish a fund to help local school districts pay for the increased minimum starting salary and to increase teacher pay overall
  • Increase support for educator mental health
  • Fully fund the scholarship program that offers tuition assistance to incoming teachers or to educators continuing their education 

Long-term priorities:

  • Offer salary supplements for filling high-need positions
  • Fund salary supplements for teachers with National Board Certification 

The commission also recommends that the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) expand the annual teacher recruitment and retention report to include salary data for each local school district, teacher turnover broken down by student achievement and by race, a comparison of Missouri’s starting and average salaries with surrounding states, and openings that have been posted over the past year and the number of applications each opening received. 

The state currently has a surplus of $6 billion. While lawmakers on both sides of the aisle say they plan to make education a priority this upcoming legislative session, Vandeven hopes they follow through. 

“You have an opportunity to create impact, to create sustainable long-lasting change for this state, I can’t think of a better place to invest that in than our children,” Vandeven said. 

Also, in the budget request for next year, more funding for charter schools following a new law passed earlier this year. It’s the biggest new item in the budget at $77 million. Due to a lack of teachers, more than 140 school districts across the state have had to implement four-day weeks. Increasing the minimum starting teacher salary comes with a hefty price tag. According to the report, about 8,000 teachers make below $38,000. In order to increase their wages, it’s estimated to cost $29.5 million, which does not address the salary schedule compression issues that might be included. 

Another part of the budget request sent to the governor includes funding for the Career Ladder Program, which rewards teachers for extra work like extracurricular activities or tutoring. The state statue has also been modified to lower the years of service needed to participate in the program from five years to two. Monsees says the department is going to pay each district more for the program. With the increase in funding and the additional 10,000 teachers now eligible, the program cost is $31.8 million. While the not all the priorities from the commission are requested in next year’s budget, Vandeven said they will be in the future. 

“Those are just the very, very early steps in things that we want to address,” Vandeven said. “The other issues like mental health and overall working conditions and board certification, those are long term.”Back in June, the State Board of Education voted to expand testing scores in hopes of getting more teachers certified. By tweaking the state’s qualifying score, more than 500 teachers could be added to the workforce. 

According to DESE, roughly 550 teachers miss the qualifying score on the certification exam anywhere between one to four questions. Those candidates have already completed their accredited program but didn’t score high enough on the exam.

Back in April, the board approved expanding the test scores for elementary certification exams by a -2 standard error of measurement (SEM) after a new assessment was implemented in August and enough educators weren’t scoring high enough.

In June, the board agreed to change the qualifying score to -1 SEM starting immediately. This means someone that missing a handful of questions would be certified.

Teachers aren’t the only ones leaving the education field. During the 2021-2022 school year, the state faced one of the largest numbers of openings for superintendents in recent history. Of the state’s 518 school districts, 104 of them spent the summer searching for superintendents. More than 53% of those openings are due to retirements from the last school year.

According to the Missouri Association of School Administrators (MASA), 56 superintendents retired this past school year, that number is up from 43 in 2021, 41 in 2020, and 36 in 2019. Compared to years past, in 2019 there were 76 superintendent openings going into the school year. By 2020, when most districts finished the school year virtually, that number increased to 86 but decreased back down to 83 in 2021. 

On Jan. 4, lawmakers will reconvene at the Capitol. 

Walmart CEO: Stores could close with uptick in shoplifting

(NewsNation) — Walmart is considering possible store closures and price hikes as it grapples with what the company says is an uptick in shoplifting.

Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said Tuesday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” that theft is higher than what it has historically been.

“If that’s not corrected over time, prices will be higher, and/or stores will close,” McMillon said. 

NewsNation has reached out to Walmart to see how much money the company has lost because of shoplifting this year. McMillon did not offer an exact number in the CNBC interview.

Target, another big-box retailer, is also seeing theft rise. Last month, CNBC reported the company’s Chief Financial Officer Michael Fiddelke said shoplifting jumped about 50% year over year, translating to more than $400 million in losses during this fiscal year alone.

A recent survey by the National Retail Federation found that in 2021, organized crime went up by 26.5% percent. As a whole, retailers lost almost $100 billion in 2021 to organized crime.

“(Shoplifters) will stop at nothing to get out of that store with the product,” Lisa LaBruno, of the Retail Industry Leaders Association, said. “They’re identifying the product that they feel is in high demand, and … it’s almost like they have a Christmas list.”

In Los Angeles this week, police arrested 18 people who they say went on a shoplifting spree at stores around Los Angeles County. They allegedly swiped around 23,000 worth of clothing from several stores, NewsNation local affiliate KTLA reported.

Hitha Herzog, a retail analyst and financial expert, said consumers could be affected by stealing as more security measures are implemented in stores.

At one Philadelphia gas station, they hired armed Pennsylvania S.I.T.E. Security State agents for protection after several robberies.

Pennsylvania S.I.T.E. Security State Agent Chief Andre Boyer said they are armed with AR-15s.

“If there’s a deterrent at the front door,” he told NewsNation, “these guys won’t have an opportunity to take lives.”

Remains of 'Boy in the Box' identified by Philadelphia police after 65 years

(WPHL) — After 65 years, the Philadelphia Police Department has finally identified “America’s Unknown Child,” commonly referred to as the “Boy in the Box.”

On Thursday, Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw revealed the boy’s name as Joseph Augustus Zarelli, who was born Jan. 13, 1953, and died in 1957.

According to the Philadelphia Public Affairs Office, “on February 25, 1957, the body of a young boy was discovered in a box in a wood area of Susquehanna Road in Northeast Philadelphia. Despite numerous attempts to identify the child throughout the years, the identity of the boy remained a mystery. Through detective work and DNA analysis, police are finally able to identify the child.”

The city’s oldest unsolved homicide has “haunted this community, the Philadelphia police department, our nation, and the world,” Outlaw said at a news conference.

“When people think about the boy in the box, a profound sadness is felt, not just because a child was murdered, but because his entire identity and his rightful claim to own his existence was taken away,” she said.

Police said both of Joseph’s parents are dead, but he has living relatives.

An order signed by a court of common pleas judge to obtain birth records, death records and adoption records for all children born to the established birth mother revealed Joseph has multiple living siblings on both the mother’s and father’s side.

In 1957, police officer Elmer Palmer was called to Susquehanna Road in Philadelphia’s Fox Chase neighborhood, where someone found a naked, badly bruised boy wrapped in a blanket and placed inside a large cardboard box.

Police say he was malnourished and had been beaten to death.

The boy was taken to the Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Office, where he was determined to be about 4 to 6 years old. He had blue eyes, brown hair that was “crudely cut” close to the scalp, badly trimmed fingernails and measured to be 40 ½ inches tall and weighed only 30 pounds.

(Philadelphia Police Department)

Bruises were visible on the child’s body, and an autopsy revealed the child sustained “multiple abrasions, contusions, a subdural hemorrhage, and plural effusions,” said Captain Jason Smith.

Investigators made posters displaying the child’s face and posted them at grocery stores and on lamp posts and knocked on neighbors’ doors trying to figure out the boy’s identity.

The flier included such details as light- to medium-brown hair, a full set of baby teeth, tonsils, no broken bones, clothing size 4 and shoe size 8D.

Over the past six decades, detectives pursued and discarded thousands of leads.

The case was heard around the world, but no significant updates were ever made until now, thanks to a boom in technology.

Dr. Colleen Fitzpatrick, a forensic scientist and genealogist, said this case took 2 1/2 years to map the DNA and has been the most difficult case of her career.

(AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

The boy had originally been buried in a pauper’s grave, but on Oct. 30, 1998, a court order was obtained to have the child’s remains exhumed and Joseph was given a proper burial at Ivy Hill Cemetery. In 2015, a charcoal-gray headstone was engraved with the words “America’s Unknown Child” and depicted an image of a little lamb.

The Philadelphia Police Department said that although the identity of Joseph has been revealed, a homicide investigation is still ongoing.

Authorities urge anyone with information pertaining to this incident to call 215-686-TIPS. The Philadelphia Police Department is offering a $20,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.