Happy Friday, Panthers! After you strut your stuff and review your favorite celebrities’ red carpet outfits, make sure to check out this week’s KICs. This week includes the U.S. continuing to strike Yemen, floods bringing problems to California, the death of a baby ruled a homicide, a high-speed chase involving three teens, and Trump winning the Nevada Republican caucuses.
World – U.S. continues to strike Houthis, Yemen
In correspondence to the passing of three U.S. soldiers in a drone attack in the military base of Jordan, the U.S. has struck the militia of Iran and those of other affiliated countries.
The drone was Iranian-made, but manipulated by Iraqi militias. Iran allegedly sponsored the Iraqi militia financially, provided weapons, and trained their soldiers. Iraq has claimed accountability for the attack.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to the Middle East to seek compromise between Israel and Hamas. Hostages would be released if there is a break to the fighting in Gaza.
National – California floods still bringing problems to L.A.
Following heavy rain, the greater Los Angeles area emergency services continue to deal with remaining hazards. The remaining debris includes mudslides, fallen trees, debris flows, flash floods, and blocked roads.
Since Sunday, there have been 307 mudslides damaging 35 buildings, 275 fallen trees, and 159 pothole reports. Mayor Karen Bass and other city leaders made an update after a conference with Fire Station 108, one of the city’s most impacted areas. City officials will be working around the clock to clean up the debris and help people who have been impacted by the storm.
Around 155,000 homes and businesses were still without power as of 3:30 a.m. PT. L.A. Fire Departments have added many additional teams to carry out water, helicopter, and 911 team rescues.
State – Death of baby at birth ruled a homicide
Due to the suspicious death surrounding their newborn baby, Treveon Taylor’s parents filed a lawsuit against Southern Regional Medical Center. According to the Clayton County Medical Examiner’s Office, the baby’s cause of death was a result of the “actions of another person.”
While Jessica Ross was giving birth, her son became stuck in the vaginal canal due to his shoulders not being able to fit through the pelvic area. Dr. Tracey St. Julian then performed a cesarean section allegedly too late, resulting in the baby’s head detaching from its body. According to the lawsuit, the hospital neglected to tell the family of their baby’s decapitation and refused to let them hold him, leading to his parents learning of their beheaded baby from the concerned manager of Willie A. Watkins Funeral Home.
The parents allegedly were not aware of their baby’s decapitated condition and were pressured by the hospital staff to cremate their baby’s remains. The hospital denied the allegations regarding the hospital, but also revealed Dr. St. Julian is not employed by them anymore.
Local – High-speed chase involved 3 teens with criminal records
Around 2:30 a.m. on Sunday morning an SUV ran a stop sign turning onto State Road 74. The SUV also made an illegal U-turn and the officer started chasing the car with three teens inside, two of which were armed.
When the teens saw the officer turn on his lights they sped away with the officer in pursuit while both cars were driving well over 100 mph. The chase ended when the driver lost control of the SUV and hit a pole on State Road 54 where police say the driver crawled over to the passenger side and ran away along with the backseat passenger. The front seat passenger tried to climb behind the wheel and drive off but the axle was broken.
One of the teens was arrested at the scene of the crash, another was arrested five hours later walking around in a neighborhood asking for a ride to DeKalb County. The third is yet to be found, but police say they have good leads to his identity.
Politics – Donald Trump wins the Nevada Republican caucuses
On Thursday, Donald Trump won Nevada’s Republican presidential caucuses. It was a win almost guaranteed when his only well-known rival, former Governor Niki Haley, did not compete for the state.
Thus far the former president has won all three Republican contests that took place in Iowa, New Hampshire, and Nevada. The Nevadan Republican party, run by Trump’s allies, chose not award its delegates through a party-run primary, along with banning people from participating in the primary from caucus ballots.
Before his victory, Trump made a visit to Las Vegas to attend a caucus-night watch party. There he joked about his political fortune on the day the Supreme Court justices spoke up about their skepticism regarding Colorado removing him from the 2024 primary.