News Brief: Aug 22-26

International 

US Airstrikes in Syria

Last week, two U.S. bases in Syria were attacked. This week, on Wednesday, Aug. 24, the U.S. retaliated with two airstrikes.

The strikes targeted ammunition and storage bunkers under the control of groups affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC). The rocket-attacks against the U.S. bases injured three service members. Attack helicopters were swiftly deployed and destroyed vehicles used to launch the rockets.

“The United States will not hesitate to defend itself against Iranian and Iran-backed aggression when it occurs,” Undersecretary of Defense Colin Kahl said.

However, Iran’s foreign ministry claims no link to the targets.

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National

California Looks to Ban Sale of Gasoline-Powered Cars

The primary source of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. is transportation – California voted on Thursday to implement a plan governing the sale of gasoline-powered cars.

The plan is to incrementally shift to alternative power sources, eventually requiring all new cars sold in 2035 and forward to be free of greenhouse gas emissions. The first checkpoint is 2026, expecting 35% of new cars to produce no emissions and 68% by 2030.

John Bozzella, president of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, questions the timeline’s plausibility.

“Whether or not these requirements are realistic or achievable is directly linked to external factors like inflation, charging and fuel infrastructure, supply chains, labor, critical mineral availability and pricing, and the ongoing semiconductor shortage,” Mr. Bozzella said.

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Texas College Student Working to Adopt Baby he Found in Trash

Texas college student Jimmy Amisial, 27, has been the legal guardian of Emilio Angel Jeremiah since he found the now four-year-old in a pile of trash four years ago while visiting relatives in Haiti.

“You could see him crying and he had no clothes on, and he had fire ants crawling all over him,” Amisial told FOX 26 Houston.  “No one wanted to touch the baby because they thought the baby was cursed, they were like ‘it’s New Year’s Eve, the devil is trying to get us.'”

Amisial, who often volunteers at orphanages in Haiti, took the baby home and said yes when officials asked later if he wanted to be the child’s legal guardian.

Amisial has since struggled financially, but doesn’t regret the decision. He also started an online fundraiser to pay for the adoption expenses, stating any excess raised would go towards finishing his college and Emilio’s future.

Visit the article on Fox News for more information.

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Local

Ally Stephens was brutally beaten on Oct. 17, 2020, by her boyfriend, Gage Ford, who now, almost two years later, received his sentence: 40 years in prison.

Stephens, who was also pregnant at the time, went to the hospital after the beating. They examined her and the baby via ultrasound, finding no broken bones, though a picture of Stephens’ face used in KFOR’s article covering the case clearly shows the bruising and extent of Ford’s attack.

The story, which Stephens told in court, was heart-wrenching, moving most to tears, according to KFOR.

She said she wanted a fairy tale with Ford, but the fairy tale was taken from her that night. Having just found out about her baby and telling Ford about it, he told her to get rid of it, and proceeded to beat her.

When Brett Behenna, the lead defense attorney, took to the stand for the last time, he began by addressing Stephens.

“I first want to apologize to Miss Stephens. You don’t deserve what happened to you,” Behenna said.

Stephens now plans to graduate college, move to another state and focus on Steel, her son who was born in March 2021.

See KFOR’s article for the full story.