Happy Friday, Panthers! This week was shorter since we had Tuesday off, and it was a much needed rest day. And let us wish a happy belated birthday to Editor-in-Chief Crista Alarcon! While you are enjoying your weekend, take a look at this week’s KICs. This week we have multiple found dead in Italy after an avalanche, Trump threatening to cut funding in New York, Peter Hubbard and Alicia Johnson winning in Georgia’s election, and the Trump administration being ordered to make November’s SNAP payments.
World – Multiple found dead in Italy after avalanche
Five German mountaineers were found dead over the weekend after being caught in an avalanche. The avalanche is known to have occurred at around 4 p.m. on November 1.
Seven climbers were on a mountain in northern Italy when the avalanche hit. The bodies of two men and a woman were discovered on Saturday. Two other bodies, a father and his 17-year-old daughter, were discovered on the following Sunday morning.
Survivors include two men who were found and taken by helicopter to a hospital in Bolzano, Italy. A helicopter and multiple drones have been part of the search operation.
National – Trump threatens to cut funding to New York
US President Donald Trump has posted his opinion on the New York city local election. He said that voters should vote for Cuomo whether you like it or not, and just hope he does a good job.
The New York City Mayoral election is run down to three main contenders. Mamdani, who Trump refers to as a communist, Sliwa, who Trump calls just as bad, and Cuomo, who is the only one he approves of. These three contenders have made this election the largest elections New York city has seen in years.
Recently, Trump has deployed the National Guard to other Democratic-led cities on a crime crackdown. He did this to not only reduce crime in those cities, but to remove government funding from those cities.
State- Peter Hubbard and Alicia Johnson win in Georgia’s election
Democrats Peter Hubbard and Alicia Johnson have won two seats on the state’s Public Service Commission. The Public Service Commission controls all of Georgia’s major utilities, such as energy bills for Georgia Power.
This is the first time the Democratic Party has won a statewide constitutional office in Georgia since 2006. This year’s election was also the first time since 2020 that any of the sitting commissioners have faced voters in a general election. The race drew heavy spending from Conservatives, who had spent at least $2.2 million on champions for the election.
Georgia Republican Party officials have expressed concern over the timing of this election, since over the last two years Republicans have passed six rate increases on electricity bills in Georgia.
Politics – Trump Administration ordered to make November’s SNAP payments
With the government shutdown continuing, US District Judge John McConnell ordered the Trump Administration to make the payments to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to the millions of Americans in need. The SNAP program is what gives out food stamps and assistance to families in need.
Recently, the US Department of Agriculture has stopped all benefits for November after they have now run out of funds to be able to support the nearly 45 million Americans who rely on food stamps. The Trump Administration responded to Judge McConnell’s order by offering to pay only partial food stamp benefits by pulling a little over $4.5 billion from a contingency fund. Under the ruling, the government must pull together funds to be able to help support the Americans who are affected by this.
Judge McConnell’s ruling also states that the government needs to collect the funds by Friday in order to help as many as possible. As of right now, Judge McConnell has said that benefits may not reach some Americans for a few days or up to a couple of weeks.