Happy club picture day, Panthers! Today, marks a day of dedicated work that the yearbook puts in to make club picture day run smoothly. Special shoutout to Editor-in-Chief Ella Bissonnette, Staff Writer Maddie Strunk, and the fellow yearbook staff. While you are thinking about your club photos, here are the KICs for the week. This week we have Iran confessing to many deaths, a former government IT worker accused of stealing and selling government phones, Gwinnett County spending $2.5 million to update 911 systems with AI, and three out of the four Americans opposing US taking over Greenland.
World – Iran confesses to many deaths, Trump ponders response
Iran’s rulers are under intense pressure as Trump leaves U.S. military intervention on the table as the death toll mounts in Iran. Trump has called Iranian officials’ asserts looking to negotiate after his threats to kill protesters.
On Sunday, the leaders of Iran called Trump and stated that they want to negotiate. A U.S official confirmed to CBS News on Sunday that the president was briefing on options for strikes in Iran. Trump previously warned leaders of the Islamic Republic that if the regime started killing people like in the past, then the U.S. would strike. The U.S. has not moved forces in preparation for potential strikes on Iran, officials told CBS News over the weekend.
According to human rights groups, the death toll has climbed into the hundreds already. The Washington D.C-based Human Rights Activists News Agency stated that as of Sunday, at least 544 people have been killed, including 483 protesters and 47 members of security forces.
National – Former Government IT worker accused of stealing, selling government cellphones
A former government IT worker is accused of taking advantage of his trusted access to government supplies and stealing over 240 taxpayer-funded cellphones. These cellphones totalled up to be more than $150,000.
The former IT worker shipped the cellphones to his house in Maryland and then proceeded to sell them at a pawn shop. Prosecutors say the IT worker sold more than 200 of the 240 phones. This successfully converted government property into his own personal cash.
According to evidence reviewed, the IT worker served as a system administrator for the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure from April 2020 through July 2023. It is only until now that they are discovering his actions and his exploitation of government resources.
State – Gwinnett County spends $2.5 million to update 911 system with AI
On January 6, Georgia commissioners passed a $2.6 billion budget for services in Georgia for the year 2026. Officials have chosen to use $2.5 million of this budget to update the 911 system that was last updated in 2019.
The new project will allow people to send photos, videos, and texts directly to 911. Police and officials claim the artificial intelligence will be used to help transcription of videos and texts. Officials also claim that AI will be able to help translate more languages in 911 calls and improve their quality.
County officials have said they expect the updates to be installed in late December. The goal of these new updates is to release the burden on call attendants when multiple calls are coming in at the same.
Politics – Three out of four Americans oppose US taking control of Greenland
A new poll was conducted by SSRS, an independent research company, that shows about 75% of Americans do not support the US attempting to take control of Greenland. It was conducted via web and telephone and gathered opinions from 1,209 respondents.
Donald Trump has recently stated on Truth Social that “anything less” than US control of Greenland is “unacceptable.” Republicans were split 50-50 on supporting it and opposing it, while Democrats were overwhelmingly against it, with 94% stating their disapproval. In that same poll, it was shown that nearly 60% of Americans are concerned that Trump’s efforts to expand the US have gone too far, and around 55% have said that he has gone too far in his military efforts.
Despite mass disapproval, Trump has still been trying to take control of other countries. His administration recently invaded Venezuela and declared that the US would run the country, and has been making threats towards Iran’s leadership in the past week.