Happy Friday, Panthers! After supporting the winter sports teams at the school pep rally, make sure to check out this week’s KICs. This week includes two Navy Seals presumed dead, a suspect found dead after murdering eight people, the UGA bulldog passing away, a drunk handyman breaking into a Newnan home, and Trump denying an immigration bipartisan deal.
World – Navy Seals found after being presumed dead
On January 11, two Navy Seals went missing during an operation to seize Iranian-made weapons. The Navy Seals were boarding a ship off the coast of Somalia.
The search for the Navy Seals took a span of 10 days, searching more than 21,000 square miles. Military officials reported the first Navy Seal was swept into the sea during their night mission while boarding a sailing ship. The second Navy Seal was swept as well after attempting to save the first.
The items that were seized were components for missiles recently used by Iran-backed Houthis to target vessels. The U.S. and U.K. are not seeking conflict with the Houthis.
National – Suspect found dead after 8 people shot
On January 21, eight citizens of the south Chicago suburbs of Joliet were shot and killed. The suspect of the murder was found dead on Monday more than 1,000 miles away from the crime scene.
Romeo Nance, age 23, was found near Natalia, Texas, by U.S. Marshals. Authorities think he was linked to the shooting that left a 28-year-old dead. Nance seemed to have shot himself after being accused by officials about the shooting, but officials have yet to determine a motive for the event.
Nance knew all eight victims, who are all believed to be in the same family. Nance was also believed to be connected to another shooting on Sunday as well.
State – Georgia bulldog UGA, aka Que, dies
Uga, who reigned as the Georgia Bulldogs’ mascot, died peacefully Tuesday morning in his home in Savannah, Georgia. Uga was 10 years old and had been the mascot since 2015.
Uga is a pure white English bulldog and was collared as the mascot before Georgia’s game against Georgia Southern on November 21, 2015, and retired at the end of the 2022 season due to declining health. While the mascot, Georgia was 91-18 and that is the best record of all time as a mascot. He became one of the more decorated mascots in Georgia history due to this record.
Uga will be buried in the southwest corner of Sanford Stadium where all the other Ugas have been buried. He had a normal life span and would have turned 11 on May 13.
Local – Handyman breaks into Newnan home with bottle of wine
Anthony Chase broke into a Newnan home carrying a bottle of wine and is now charged with burglary and criminal damage to property. He caused damage totaling over $1,000.
The residents of the home woke up in the middle of the night to footsteps coming up the stairs. The homeowner claimed the man had previously done work on the home. He allegedly broke the glass on the front door of the home.
The 54-year-old was clearly intoxicated given his stumbling up the stairs and the bottle of white wine in his hand. He was taken to the Coweta County Sheriff’s Department after being arrested at the scene.
Politics – Trump blows up emerging immigration deal, opposing ideas clash
Congress has been working to strike a bipartisan deal on the border and immigration, with vocal opposition from former President Donald Trump threatening to topple the negotiated compromise. This has left senate Republicans furious that Donald Trump may have killed the emerging deal.
Senators are closing in on unlocking Republican support for Ukraine aid and hope to unveil it as soon as next week. However, House Speaker Mike Johnson continues to face pressure from Trump to demand more concessions from Democrats and the White House. President Biden is pushing for lawmakers to say yes to this deal, as he believes that Ukraine needs funding. Trump continues to shoot it down, and this is the second time in six years Trump killed or tried to kill a bipartisan immigration deal as it was emerging.
With the election coming up in November, immigration is a hot topic amongst the candidates. However, talks of the status of the border remains unclear as the race for the next president ensues.