Welcome back to school after winter break, Panthers! I hope all of you had a great break and got some rest last week, because we are back in full swing. We start off this week with Western leaders coming together to pledge military support to Ukraine, stolen puppies in Colorado, a SWAT standoff in Clayton County, phone scams in Fayette County, and Congress ending methane and oil fees for major companies.
World – Western leaders gather in Ukraine, pledge military support
On February 24, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine, beginning the Russia-Ukraine War. On the war’s third anniversary, more than a dozen western leaders met in Kiev and pledged their military support to Ukraine.
After US President Donald Trump returned to office, he pressed for a peace deal between the two countries, though uncertainty surrounds where his loyalties lie. Concerns lie with how the war might end, and a Russian victory could embolden other autocratic countries such as China to attempt to invade other territories. World peace is at stake as Putin makes steady progress in Ukraine, and the hopes that Ukraine might reclaim its lost land are thinning.
The three year mark on the war is a grim milestone, and Ukraine’s attempt to join NATO seems highly unlikely to come to fruition at this point. But many western leaders stand by Ukraine in the fight in hopes that peace would be found again.
National – English bulldog puppies stolen in Colorado
On February 21, 2025, a group of thieves staged a seizure to divert store workers’ attention while they stole valuable puppies. Two English bulldog puppies were taken from Perfect Pets in Centennial, Colorado.
The thieves entered the store and looked around at all the different dogs, which the store manager thought was odd. One of the men fell to the ground, faking a seizure to distract employees. The other man went to the bulldog pen and removed the top, grabbed the dogs, and employees moved to stop him as he ran out.
The man who faked a seizure was arrested but the man who grabbed the puppies got away in a Cadillac Escalade, taking $4,300 worth of English bulldogs with him. Police are still searching for the remaining suspects.
State – Clayton County SWAT standoff ends with two injured
A shootout outside of a home in Jonesboro ended with an officer injured and a suspect in critical condition. Both were rushed to Grady Memorial Hospital.
The standoff had escalated to a point where SWAT team members had to intervene. The officer is expected to recover after being shot once. The suspect was shot multiple times and is still being closely observed.
Authorities have not released any information yet. Detectives are still recovering evidence, and officials are checking up on those that are injured.
Local – Fayette County police arrest several people involved in phone scams
Fayette County police made several arrests after the investigation of phone scams in the local area. Many of the people who were found doing this were already behind bars making thousands of dollars.
A few of the people found guilty were already in jail or on parole, including Braindon Cayo, Dequarius Thorton, and Andrew Maresh. Some are serving life for murder and homicide. The scams that they would do consisted of telling them they missed jury duty and had a fine to pay, a bonding company scam, and saying a loved one will be released on parole for a fee. They would use real names of police officers and use an app to make their phone number appear to be from the police.
The police have found that the scammers have taken around $130,000 from victims. As of right now the scammers have been arrested and they expect to make more arrests, but it is not known what the sentence will be for the scammers.
Politics – Biden’s methane fee on gas and oil killed
Congress has voted to repeal a federal fee on oil and gas producers who produce high amounts of methane. Doing so has undone a lot of what Biden’s climate policy was going for to control the super pollutant that is methane gas.
On February 26, the House voted to repeal it. Making its way to the Senate on Thursday, it passed with a vote of 52-47, so now it is on the way to President Trump who is expected to sign it into action. Methane is responsible for about one third of all global warming. The fee was planned to rise to $1,500 in 2026.
The timing of the act with it being passed so close to the end of Biden’s presidency made it very easy for the now Republican Congress to easily repeal the bill. If President Trump signs and officially kills the bill, the agencies will have an almost impossible challenge to bring anything similar to this forward again.