5 vital stories to know this week
From a tragic school shooting in Georgia to a Russian airstrike in Ukraine that killed 50 people, here are five vital stories to know this week.
Two students and two teachers were fatally shot by a 14-year-old with a semi-automatic weapon at Apalachee High School
2 high school students and two instructors were fatally shot after a 14-year-old opened fire at Apalachee High School in Winder, Atlanta using a semiautomatic assault-style rifle, becoming the 24th school shooting reported on a K-12 campus in 2024. The shooting also injured 8 students and 1 more teacher.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation identified the victims as students Christian Angulo, 14, and Mason Schermerhorn, 14, and teachers Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53.
The shooter, Colt Gray, faces four counts of felony murder and could face life in prison if convicted. His father, Collin Gray, 54, is charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder, and eight counts of cruelty to children, according to Barrow County District Attorney Brad Smith.
Gray allegedly gave his son a firearm as a Christmas gift “with knowledge he was a threat to himself and others,” according to the affidavit released by the district.
Israeli soldiers fatally shot an American woman at a West Bank protest
26-year-old Ayşenur Eygi was fatally shot in the head by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) while protesting against Israeli settlement expansion near the Palestinian village of Beita on September 6, two eyewitnesses told CNN.
Ayşenur, who is an American citizen of Turkish descent, was in the West Bank as a volunteer for the International Solidarity Movement, a local organization that “resists Israeli occupation of Palestinian land by using non-violent and direct action methods.”
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement the U.S. government was aware of her death and confirmed her identity. The White House also said it has contacted Israel “to request an investigation into the incident.”
Ayşenur’s family, however, demanded an independent inquiry into their daughter’s death saying the Israeli investigation would not be ‘not adequate’
“Her presence in our lives was taken needlessly, unlawfully, and violently by the Israeli military,” Ayşenur’s family said in a statement. “A US citizen, Ayşenur was peacefully standing for justice when she was killed by a bullet that video shows came from an Israeli military shooter.
“We call on President [Joe] Biden, Vice-President [Kamala] Harris, and Secretary of State [Antony] Blinken to order an independent investigation into the unlawful killing of a US citizen and to ensure full accountability for the guilty parties.”
HISTORY: Ayşenur was shot at the same weekly demonstration where American teacher and volunteer Amado Sison was shot last month, per Zeteo news.
Russian missiles kill 50 in strike on Ukrainian military institute
At least 51 people were killed and 271 more were injured after two Russian missiles struck a military institute in the central Ukrainian town of Poltava, becoming the single deadliest attack in the Ukraine-Russia war this year.
Photographs shared on social media depicted the harrowing aftermath, with the bodies of young men covered in dust and debris, lying near the heavily damaged building.
"The Russian scum will definitely be held accountable for this strike," President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Telegram, a messaging app.
The Ukrainian president also added that rescue efforts are underway and called for an internal investigation into the attack.
"It is known that there are people under the rubble of the destroyed building. Everything is being done to save as many lives as possible,” he said.
Michigan judge suspended after insulting gay and Black people on recordings
Oakland, Michigan County probate judge Kathleen Ryan was suspended from handling cases after recordings showed her making homophobic and racist remarks, including sometimes towards other government officials.
In the phone recordings, which were shown to authorities by court official Edward Hutton, Ryan uses an anti-gay slur against David Coulter, the county’s highest elected official, who is gay.
She also refers to Black Americans as lazy and calls herself a new type of racist saying, “I’m not systemically racist. I’m a new racist.”
Following the release, Chief Probate Judge Linda Hallmark suspended Ryan with pay while the Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission investigated the matter.
CONTEXT: “Probate judges in Michigan handle wills and estates, guardianships and cases that involve the state’s mental health laws,” via The Guardian.
Brazilian Supreme Court panel upholds ban on X
Last week, Brazil's Supreme Court upheld a nationwide ban on Elon Musk's social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, after the company had refused to comply with a Brazil judge’s orders regarding their misinformation policies and failed to appoint a legal representative in the country, per Axios.
The unanimous ruling by the five justices came after Musk accused Brazil’s top judge, Justice Alexandre de Moraes, of acting like a "dictator" and claimed that the judge was "destroying" free speech in Brazil for political purposes.
Justice Flávio Dino, one of the panel members, said that X "seems to believe it's above the law," and warned that economic power does not grant "outlandish immunity."