Panthers, this is a good week to be a Panther! Our school sports teams have had lots of success this week, including region champion and region runner-up titles for boys and girls tennis, and baseball head coach Brent Moseley’s 500th career win on Tuesday. Unfortunately, not all of this week’s news is as winning. Nevertheless, KICs include the continuance of China’s military drills near Taiwan, an attack on a deputy at a Fulton County jail, a robbed Fayette County teen, flooding in Fort Lauderdale, and an abortion ban in Florida.

April 10 – Third day of China’s ‘military drills’ near Taiwan

For the past three days China has been running military drills around the coast of Taiwan. Monday saw a Chinese aircraft carrier launch jets which surrounded the island, effectively sealing it off.

Chinese and Taiwan have been in conflict for a while and only recently China has been continuously escalating to provoke a war. Officials from the U.S., a close ally of Taiwan, have consistently met with Tsai Ing-wen, the leader of Taiwan. 

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Tensions will most likely rise beyond current levels in the future as it is evident that China shows no sign of discontinuance. 

April 11 – Georgia inmate bites female deputy’s ear off 

Last Friday a Georgia inmate at Fulton County jail in Atlanta bit off part of a female deputy’s ear. This incident happened while dinner was being served at the jail. 

The attack happened in the area where the jail houses detainees with mental disorders. While the deputy was handing the inmate food, he launched at her and began to bite her. The deputy is at home recovering from the attack after also suffering from an injury on the arm.

As of right now, outlets are saying more charges to the inmate’s sentence are likely. Keishaa Waites, an Atlanta City Council member, is a part of the jail watchers who advocate for the mentally challenged to be hospitalized for long-time treatment so more incidents like this do not occur. 

April 12 – Man charged for robbing a teen in Fayette County 

On March 24 there was an incident in the Rocky Ford neighborhood located on McDonough Road that occurred with a 20-year-old man from Stone Mountain. Lee has been arrested this morning, put into custody, and is being charged with multiple felonies. 

This happened during a clothing sale that was posted through the marketplace on Facebook. Thankfully, no one was injured during the robbery. According to the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department and the U.S. Marshal’s Southern Regional Fugitive Task Force, there has not been any more updated news about Lee’s arrest.

Lee is currently at the Fayette County jail being held for multiple charged felonies including robbing, kidnapping, pointing a gun toward students, firearm possession, and first-degree cruelty toward young students. The incident is still under investigation.

April 13 – Fort Lauderdale flooding causing airports to close

On Wednesday, nearly a foot of heavy rain flooded the streets of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. There was a flash flood warning throughout the city, forcing closure of airports. 

Travelers were stranded at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, as roadways around the airport were shut down for several hours. Travelers were relocated to the nearest facility temporarily. The airport announced that they would remain closed until noon on April 13. 

The flash flood still remained in effect throughout the day in Fort Lauderdale. The National Weather Service Miami reported that more than 20 inches of rain poured on the city in a span of six hours on Wednesday. 

April 14 – Florida Governor signs 6-week abortion ban 

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill that would ban most abortions in the state once the mother is past six weeks pregnant. The six-week abortion ban will not go into effect until the state’s Supreme Court overturns its previous precedent regarding abortion.

The law would make Florida one of the most restrictive states in the country regarding abortion. Florida is following most other Republican-led states to swiftly restrain the procedure since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last summer. The measure was passed in the Senate on April 3 and the Florida House of Representatives on Thursday before heading to DeSantis’ desk for signature.

Under the law, most abortions would be banned after six weeks, but victims of rape, incest, and human trafficking have up to 15 weeks to have an abortion as long as they provide a restraining order, police report, and medical record or other evidence proving that it happened.