The Susan G. Komen Foundation says it cut funding to Planned Parenthood because it was under government investigation. Congress recently launched a probe into Planned Parenthood at the urging of anti-abortion groups, so Komen pulled funding for the group three days ago.

That’s when the media maelstrom hit. Many Planned Parenthood supporters across the nation voiced their disapproval of Komen’s cuts to funding on Facebook and Twitter.

The Komen For the Cure decided to reverse its decision. The group issued this statement on Friday: “We want to apologize to the American public for recent decisions that cast doubt upon our commitment to our mission of saving women’s lives.”

The foundation had planned to stop giving grants to Planned Parenthood because it adopted a new criteria that excluded funding organizations that were under investigation.

Planned Parenthood received close to $680,000 last year for breast screenings. Planned Parenthood officials said they received a lot of donations this week. Raquel Simental of Planned Parenthood said the organization was going to use that money to fill the gaps if Komen’s new policy had gone through.

“I think what we saw today, thankfully, is that women and America rose above politics, and we did the right thing,” Simental said. “Komen did the right thing.”

She said one in five women have used Planned Parenthood at some point in their lives, so they are a trusted organization that has provided health care for millions of women.

Komen announced it would revise the group's criteria for grant funding so that it won't apply to similar investigations in the future.

A Bakersfield family, once left with only memories of their murdered loved ones, now has boxes of their belongings to hold onto.

Police believe Jordan Criado killed his wife and their four children in Oregon before setting their rented home on fire. The owners of that home, the landlords, salvaged what they could and made a special delivery to Bakersfield.

Seconds after the U-Haul gate went up... "Oh my God, look at my babies."

Gwen Crowles gets a first glance at her daughter's and four grandchildren's belongings. Things they held dear - created a rush of emotion- of tears and joy.

"I'm overwhelmed. I mean I can't stop smiling," said Crowles.

All of the boxes came from the Oregon home, Bakersfield native, Tabasha Criado moved to with her four children. All five were found stabbed to death last July.

Police suspect Tabasha's husband, Jordan Criado, killed them, then set fire to the home.
 
Their landlord, Monte Frazier, gathered what he could save and drove 12 hours to Bakersfield, hoping to offer some closure.

"You really have angels as parents cause you don't find people that would do what they did," said Crowles. "And, they never met us, just through the phone, you know, that was Heaven sent because I had no way of getting this stuff here and this is all that I have of my babies."

"A simple picture of someone can bring back so many thoughts, memories, so then you start to remember good things instead of negative things," said Frazier. 

"The Fraziers came down and brought this stuff. God Bless them," said Bill Crowles, Tabasha's father.

Some of the boxes are labeled. Others you can see a teddy bear and some books inside. They're all things once held dear to the couple's daughter and grandchildren.

Now, they are here for them to open and discover, possibly the comfort they've been wanting.

"You know, we still have a long ways to go, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. You know, good things are yet to come. I truly believe that," said Gwen Crowles.

Jordan Criado has been charged with murder, arson, and other crimes. A judge entered a 'not guilty' plea on his behalf, saying Criado was mentally unable to do so on his own.

A trial date or mental health hearing will be set in March.

Two people who played major roles in the famous “Freedom Riders” movement during the Civil Rights Era will speak at Beale Memorial Library on Saturday at 2 p.m. to discuss their life-changing experiences.

On Friday, 17 News got a glimpse into their stories. 

But first, a little background: 

In December 1960, the U.S. Supreme Court outlawed segregation in interstate transportation.  Nonetheless, a few months later segregation was very much a part of bus stops and bus station restaurants across the Deep South.  

In protest, a group of both black and white activists took busses across the south, stopping at the segregated stations along the way and refusing to sit in either “colored only” or “white only” areas. 

Those were the Freedom Riders.  

In May 1961, the first group of Freedom Riders stopped in Anniston, Alabama while traveling from Washington D.C. to New Orleans.  

But, this was not a sightseeing detour or a casual rest stop.  The bus tires were slashed and an angry mob reportedly organized by the Klan surrounded the vehicle.  Then, someone threw a firebomb through the window, flooding the inside of the bus with flames and smoke.  

“And, as they spilled off the bus, I could hear them crying for water,” said Janie Forsyth McKinney, who was just 12 when the Freedom Rider bus rolled into her hometown of Anniston. 

McKinney was one of the first to come to the aid of those choking from the smoke.  Her actions would earn her the nickname the “Angel of Anniston” and the title of honorary Freedom Rider. 

“I remember saying someone needs water.  I can do that.  That I can do.  And, I started taking water to people gasping for and crying for water,” she said.  

McKinney was recently featured in a PBS documentary, in a national CBS story, and on The Oprah Winfrey Show.  

Joining her as one of the Freedom Riders at the Oprah Winfrey Show last May (which celebrated the 50^th anniversary of the first Freedom Riders journey) was Claude Liggins.  

Liggins was a 20-year-old college student in California when he heard about the events that had unfolded in Alabama.  He decided to go to New Orleans to join the cause and become a Freedom Rider. 

"We didn't know if we would ever come back alive, but we were willing to take that chance," he said. 

But, a cause such as this is never without its consequences.  Liggins, along with several hundred other Freedom Riders, was arrested in Mississippi and jailed for several weeks. 

He recalls it being a very intimidating experience.  “They took us to the maximum security unit and this was the unit that had the death chambers in it,” he said.  “And, on the girl's side they said they could see the chair they would sit people in to execute them.” 

51 years removed from those trying times, Liggins, now in his 70s, says he plans to remind people at the Freedom Riders event at Beale Library on Saturday at 2 p.m. that you’re never too young or too old to make a difference.   

“Some of the younger [generation] say ‘I really wish I could do something like you did,’” he said.  “And, they do have a chance to do something like we did.  It’s a little different, but there’s still a lot of problems and we need them to solve them.”

Friends and family gathered near Los Angeles Friday to say their final goodbyes to a 3-year-old Taft girl who was killed last week.

Sheriff's detectives say Trinity Hanna was beaten to death at the hands of her mother's live-in boyfriend. 17 News traveled to La Crescenta where funeral services were held for the toddler.

Most of Trinity's family lives in the Los Angeles area. They described her as a bubbly and energetic toddler.

Some came wearing t-shirts that said 'We Love You Wubbzy.'  "Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!" was Trinity's favorite cartoon, and Wubbzy was a nickname that stuck with the toddler.

"The little girl touched everybody. She was a bubbly little girl, always had a smile on her face. For the past three years we've made her little Rice Krispies cakes for her birthday cake. I'm going to miss that," said a tearful Jamie Harris, Trinity's uncle.

Tiny blue ribbons filled Crippen Mortuary, in honor of the toddler who died ten days ago. Sheriff's deputies say Trinity was beaten, scalded and slammed onto a coffee table by her mother's live-in boyfriend, Eric Foster.

"It's tragic. What can you say right now? The whole thing is just tragic. The whole family is just torn to pieces," continued Harris.

More than 80 friends and family members gathered in the mortuary to say goodbye to the little girl. 17 News cameras were not allowed inside.

Trinity's family said the mood was somber. Many people are still in shock and at a loss for words.  "Her mom was super mom, but I'm disappointed she didn't see warning signs, you know?" said Cat Hurley.

Those who knew Trinity best, say they are still holding onto the few memories they have from her short life. "She loved everybody. She could never do any wrong," noted Harris.

Eric Foster is due back in court Thursday.

There's a push right now in our state to strengthen laws and punishments against those who traffic human beings for profit.
 
A group made up of police, survivors, and their advocates is trying to collect enough signatures to get a measure on the November ballot. A Bakersfield film maker already supports it.

Children for sale is the subject of a movie coming out this fall, called "Trade of Innocents." Bakersfield's Jim Schmidt is the co-producer.

"I think there's a special place for people like this and the punishment should be tougher," Schmidt said.

Tougher legislation is the goal of Californians Against Sexual Exploitation Act, or the CASE act.

In Sacramento Thursday, CASE said this measure will crack down on traffickers who profit from child prostitution.

"I can only say unscrupulous can only begin to describe the character and the nature of the people who traffic individuals," said Assemblyman Roger Dickinson.

The movie, "Trade of Innocents", is set in Cambodia but, Jim Schmidt says it's a global issue that reaches into our own backyards.

"If you extrapolate out the national statistics it would tell you that it really exists everywhere," Schmidt said.

"Under this proposed law the children would be considered victims. As it stands, if a child is picked up, they can be thrown in jail for prostitution."

"I remember standing on the corner of 10th and L, at 13 years old," said Dellena Hoyer a survivor of human trafficking.

Dellena Hoyer was a child prostitute, not of her own choosing, and says current laws should change.

"I was that girl who went to juvenile hall and I was shamed. I was charged with prostitution. I was re-victimized over and over and over," Hoyer said.

"It's going to take a lot of attention, a lot of people talking about it, and a lot of people with power and influence to really make a difference," Schmidt said.

In a recent national report by the anti-sex trafficking group Shared Hope, California received an "F" for its laws to protect children against sex trafficking.

The movie, "Trade of Innocents" is due out in September.