February 22 top stories
It is February 22. Here are today’s top stories.
Ala. Supreme Court rules frozen embryos are children
The Alabama Supreme Court has ruled that frozen embryos will legally be considered children under state law. To create an embryo (a fertilized egg), an embryologist fertilizes one or more of the harvested eggs with the sperm of a donor. The embryo is observed as it grows in a petri dish for five to seven days.
The decision comes as a result of a pair of wrongful death cases brought by couples who had frozen embryos destroyed in an accident at a fertility clinic.
The all-Republican justices, citing anti-abortion language in the Alabama Constitution, ruled that an 1872 state law allowing parents to sue over the death of a minor child “applies to all unborn children, regardless of their development stage and their physical location and that unborn children are children.”
Barbara Collura, CEO of RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association, told a news outlet that the ruling could lead to patients questioning if they can freeze future embryos, or if they can destroy or donate unused embryos. According to RESOLVE’s statement shared on its website, “Alabama’s Supreme Court ruling is a terrifying development for the 1 in 6 people impacted by infertility who need in-vitro fertilization (IVF) to build their families.”
The University of Alabama at Birmingham health system has paused in vitro fertilization procedures following an Alabama Supreme Court decision due to fear of criminal prosecution and lawsuits. Dr. Paula Amato, president of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, warned no healthcare provider will be willing to provide IVF treatments if those treatments may lead to civil or criminal charges.
Man admits to rape, murder of US tourist in Germany
An American man accused of raping and killing a fellow U.S. tourist in Germany near Bavaria’s famed Neuschwanstein castle last year made a confession on the first day of his trial Monday.
Troy Philipp B. faces several charges including one count of murder over the death of the 21-year-old woman. He also stands accused of the attempted murder of the victim’s friend, also an American citizen. Neither the suspect nor the victims have been identified due to German privacy laws.
Investigators said the two women, then 21 and 22 years old, had been hiking in the Neuschwanstein area in June last year when they met B., who offered to take them to a viewpoint. At a secluded spot, the man, then 30, allegedly pushed the 21-year-old woman to the ground and proceeded to rape and strangle her. Her friend intervened, leading to a scuffle in which the man allegedly pushed the 22-year-old off a steep slope. The suspect then continued his sexual assault of the 21-year-old woman, strangling her with a belt while filming the act.
Interrupted by hikers who stumbled on the crime, he pushed the rape victim down the same slope while she was unconscious.
When mountain rescue workers found the two women, the 22-year-old was injured but was able to talk. The rape victim was seriously injured and taken by helicopter to hospital, where she died later that night from her injuries. This is very tragic and the incident stunned the local community and tourists alike.
The suspect, who is from Michigan, was arrested in front of hundreds of tourists after the incident. B. faces up to life in prison if convicted.
Okla. nonbinary teen dies after being assaulted at school
Police said Nex Benedict, 16, died one day after being assaulted in a bathroom at Owasso High School in Oklahoma. Their mother Sue Benedict told a news outlet that Nex endured harassment and abuse for more than a year because of their nonbinary identity.
A few weeks ago, on February 7, the bullying allegedly erupted in violence when Nex suffered severe head injuries during a “physical altercation” at Owasso High School.
Sue Benedict told a news outlet she was called to the school that day to find Nex badly beaten with bruises over their face and eyes, and with scratches on the back of their head.
Nex told her that they and another transgender student at Owasso High School had been in a fight with three older girls in a girls' bathroom. Nex was knocked to the ground during the fight and hit their head on the floor. Their mother said she was furious that the school had failed to call an ambulance or the police. She said the school then informed her Nex was being suspended for two weeks.
She took Nex to the hospital in Owasso for treatment. They spoke to a police school resource officer at the hospital and were discharged. That night, Nex went to bed with a sore head and eventually fell asleep while listening to music.
On the afternoon of February 8, Nex was getting ready to go to Tulsa with their mother for an appointment when they collapsed in the family living room. The mother called an ambulance, and Owasso Fire Department medics arrived to find Nex had stopped breathing. Nex was taken to the pediatric hospital emergency room where they were later declared dead.
Although the cause of death has not been determined, Owasso police said in a statement preliminary autopsy results indicate the teen did not die as a result of injuries sustained in the fight. At this time, any further comments on the cause of death are currently pending until toxicology results and other testing results are received.
———
[Sponsored Video from Sorenson: www.sorenson.com]
———
988 Helpline (Description)
Exciting News! The 988 Lifeline launched new American Sign Language services for callers who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing. It’s a new resource for people to access help when they need it. Visit 988lifeline.org and select “ASL Now.”
———
Biden cancels student loan debt for 150,000 borrowers
President Biden said Wednesday that while a college degree was still a ticket to a better life, that ticket is often too expensive, as he announced he was canceling federal student loans for 150,000 borrowers.
Biden posted on social media, “Starting today, the first round of folks who are enrolled in our SAVE student loan repayment plan who have paid their loans for 10 years and borrowed $12,000 or less will have their debt canceled. That’s 150,000 Americans and counting. And we are pushing to relieve more.”
The first round of forgiveness from the SAVE plan will clear $1.2 billion in loans. The borrowers will get emails with a message from Biden notifying them that “all or a portion of your federal student loans will be forgiven because you qualify for early loan forgiveness under my Administration’s SAVE Plan.”
The Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) is the newest income-driven repayment (IDR) plan and offers lower monthly loan payments. Like other IDR plans, the SAVE Plan calculates your monthly payment amount based on your income and family size. More than 7.5 million people have enrolled in the new repayment plan.
Biden said he remained steadfast in his commitment to “fix our broken student loan system,” working around the court’s ruling to find other ways to get it done.
Alex has information to share about a sinkhole on a Florida beach. Here you go.
Girl dies after sand hole collapses on Florida beach
Thanks, Callie.
A 7-year-old girl tragically died after becoming trapped in a sand hole at a beach in southern Florida on Tuesday. Her name was Sloan Mattingly.
Her brother Maddox, who is nine, was also trapped in the sand hole but survived after being hospitalized.
Witnesses said the children were digging the hole and playing around. The sand hole was about five to six feet deep. The hole collapsed. The girl was completely buried, while the boy was buried up to his chest.
There were many people on the beach who came to help by using their hands to dig sand out. The siblings were eventually pulled out and hospitalized, but tragically the girl died. The family was on a trip from Indiana.
Police said they are investigating the death and would look into how the hole became so large.
A news report explained that there have been about five incidents per year of people who became buried in collapsing sand holes. Many of these cases resulted in death. An expert said a good rule to follow is to never dig a hole more than knee deep of the smallest person who will get into it.
Thanks for that information. That is all the news stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light!
Ala. Supreme Court ruled frozen embryos are children:
Man admits to rape, murder of US tourist in Germany:
Okla. nonbinary teen dies after school fight:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/02/21/oklahoma-teen-lgbtq-nex-benedict-died/
Biden cancels student loan debt for 153,000 borrowers:
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/21/us/politics/biden-student-loan-forgiveness-debt.html
Girl dies after sand hole collapses on Florida beach:
https://www.wesh.com/article/girl-dies-sand-hole-collapses-fort-lauderdale-beach/46880483
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/21/us/sandhole-florida-death-beach.html