January 31 top stories
It is January 31. Here are today’s top stories.
Neuralink brain chip implanted in its first patient
Elon Musk says his ambitious plan to let humans wirelessly connect their brains with phones and other devices has taken a new step, announcing that the first human has received a brain implant from his Neuralink company.
Musk tweeted on X, “the person [who wasn’t identified] is recovering well. Initial results show promising neuron spike detection” referring to the cellular activity between our brains and our nervous systems.
The news comes months after Neuralink began recruiting potential human test subjects for its clinical trial. The company got Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for the trial last May, saying it wanted to enlist people ages 22 and above who are living with quadriplegia due to a spinal cord injury or ALS, the disease that robs people of the ability to control their bodies.
Neuralink’s clinical trial is called PRIME – for Precise Robotically Implanted Brain-Computer Interface. The process involves using a robot to surgically insert the wires of the company’s implant into a part of the brain related to movement. The device is designed to interpret a person’s neural activity, so they can operate a computer or smartphone by simply intending to move.
NJ family sues school after teen died by suicide
Thursday will mark one year since a New Jersey teenager died by suicide after her family says she was bullied in school and online. On Monday, her family announced a lawsuit against the Central Regional School District in New Jersey’s Ocean County.
Adriana Kuch was 14 years old when she died in February 2023. Her father, Michael Kuch, said at the time she took her own life after a disturbing video was posted to social media showing her being attacked as she walked with her boyfriend in the hallway of Central Regional High School.
“They just kept at it, after they jumped her. They just kept sending her videos, and then they would take like screen shots of the videos because the video kept getting taken down,” Kuch continued at the time.
Kuch family attorney, Bill Krais, alleges the district knew about what he called a “culture of violence” at the high school, but failed to protect the teenager. Krais said the Kuch family is suing to ensure what happened to them doesn’t happen to another family.
“They knew that fights were recorded, and they knew fights, the recordings, were posted to social media, turning physical attacks into cyberattacks, yet they did very little to stop it,” Krais said.
Jackie Robinson statue stolen and then burned
KMUW reported that a statue of baseball legend Jackie Robinson was stolen and then found dismantled and burned in a trash can fire Tuesday morning. The local authorities called it a “disgraceful” act as the search for the perpetrators continues.
The statue was taken from McAdams Park in Wichita, Kansas last week. Surveillance video captured individuals entering Jackie Robinson Pavilion around midnight on Thursday, removing the statue and placing it in a pickup truck. They cut off the statue at the ankles, leaving behind only Robinson’s feet, with damages estimated to be around $75,000.
On Tuesday morning, the Wichita Fire Department responded to a report of a trash can fire at Garvey Park. After extinguishing the fire, they found what appeared to be pieces of the Robinson statue which is not salvageable at this time.
The statue was built by artist John Parsons and donated to the community by League 42, a nonprofit named after Robinson’s number with the Brooklyn Dodgers, which aims to introduce baseball to the youth of Wichita. League 42 founder, Bob Lutz, told reporters that the mold from the original statue is still viable and that they intend to replace the piece in the coming months.
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Biden has decided on response in Jordan attack
Multiple sources reported that the three US soldiers killed in the drone attack on a US military outpost in Jordan were identified Monday as Sgt. William Rivers (46), Specialist Kennedy Sanders (24) and Specialist Breonna Moffett (23).
The U.S. forces may have mistaken an enemy drone for an American one and let it pass unchallenged into a desert base in Jordan, officials said.
President Biden said Tuesday that he has made a decision on how to respond to the drone attack. As Biden departed the White House on Tuesday morning, a reporter asked him whether he had made a decision in response to the attack by Iran-backed militants Sunday. He replied, “Yes” but declined to provide further details.
See the latest brief on Israel’s war on Gaza from Alex. Here you go.
Israeli forces dressed as women and medics kill 3 militants in a West Bank hospital
Thanks, Callie.
On Tuesday, Israeli soldiers dressed up as civilian women and medics entered a hospital in the West Bank and killed three Palestinian suspects in the hospital.
The Palestinian Health Ministry condemned the incursion on a hospital. A hospital spokesperson said this is the first time that there is an assassination inside a hospital.
Israel’s military said the suspects were hiding in the hospital and planning out an attack.
In separate news, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said he will not end this war until he reaches absolute victory over Hamas. He said there are no potential cease-fire deals in the near future.
A Hamas leader said they want the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza if there is a deal.
There continues to be airstrikes in Gaza. A residential building was hit on Tuesday, killing 11 people, including four children. Over 26,700 people have been killed in Gaza since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, killing around 1,200 people and taking 250 hostages. There are over 100 hostages still in Gaza.
Thanks for that brief. That is all the news stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light!
Neuralink:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/01/30/neuralink-musk-first-human-brain-chip/
Teen girl:
JR statue:
https://www.kmuw.org/news/2024-01-30/league-42s-jackie-robinson-statue-found-destroyed
Biden:
https://apnews.com/article/biden-jordan-dignified-transfer-dover-140000aa392fee8175616d8af813c0eb
Israel:
https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-news-01-30-2024-b1ba33c7c0c5c62f85932a20c2a0bc92