Tuesday, January 3 top stories
It is Tuesday, January 3. Here are today’s top stories.
NFL player suffers cardiac arrest during game
During the NFL’s Monday Night Football, Damar Hamlin of the Buffalo Bills suffered cardiac arrest right after he made a tackle against the Cincinnati Bengals. He took a hit to his chest and after he got up, his body collapsed. Medical staff performed CPR and he was taken away in an ambulance. The game was suspended and then postponed.
The Bills said Hamlin is in critical condition at a Cincinnati hospital and that his heart did stop on the field before it was restored.
The American Heart Association said cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly stops beating properly. A heart attack is when circulation is cut off and blood isn’t being supplied to the heart. In Hamlin’s case, it appears that the hit to his chest caused his heart to stop beating properly.
Players on the field were visibly emotional and prayed for Hamlin. There was a flood of comments on social media.
Fans donated over $4.3 million to Hamlin’s “Chasing M’s Foundation Community Toy Drive.”
The Hamlin family released a statement saying they are grateful for the love and support shown to Damar. They said they would release updates.
Ken Block dies in snowmobile accident
Ken Block, who was a pro rally driver and the co-founder of DC Shoes and Hoonigan racing, died on Monday in a snowmobile accident in Utah. He was 55.
A news report said he was riding a snowmobile on a steep slope when the vehicle suddenly upended and landed on top of him. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
ESPN explained that Block co-founded DC Shoes in 1984 and after selling the company in 2004, transitioned into a successful rally car racer and was a very popular person on social media with the content of him doing driving stunts or other extreme sports.
He leaves behind a wife and three children.
Martina Navratilova diagnosed with cancer
Martina Navratilova, who is considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time, said she was diagnosed with throat cancer and breast cancer. She is 66 years old. Martina said the “double whammy is serious but still fixable, and I’m hoping for a favorable outcome.”
Martina said she noticed an enlarged lymph node in her neck in November and that a biopsy showed early-stage throat cancer. After she did tests for that throat cancer, it was discovered that she had breast cancer.
There was an outpouring of support on social media and she said she is grateful and that she is “not done yet.”
UFC president Dana White slaps wife
TMZ released a video that showed UFC President Dana White slapping his wife in the face at a nightclub during New year’s Eve. The video showed that the wife, Anne White, slapped Dana in the face before Dana slapped her. It is not clear what happened prior to that or afterward.
Dana said in a statement to TMZ that he did slap his wife when he was out with their family on New Year’s Eve. He said there was a lot of alcohol but that there’s no excuse. He said he’s one of the guys who say that there’s never an excuse for a guy to put his hands on a woman but now here he is talking with TMZ about it.
Dana said he and his wife have apologized to each other and they have apologized to their kids. Anne said they both were drinking too much and things got out of control and that they have talked this through as a family and apologized to each other.
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[Sponsored Video from Sorenson: www.sorenson.com]
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Four survive horrific crash in California
Four people survived a terrible car crash on California's coastal Highway 1, which winds through steep cliffs leading to the Pacific Ocean.
Two adults and two children, aged 9 and 4 years old, were in the car when it went off a cliff and crashed about 250 feet below. First responders said they could see movement in the car, which showed that there was a survivor. Firefighters used ropes to rappel down the cliff and used “jaws of life” tools to pry open the mangled car. The two children were brought up in a basket attached to a rope. A helicopter was also used to bring up survivors. The four were hospitalized and are in critical condition.
First responders said it was a miracle that all four survived because they frequently see similar crashes off a cliff and that passengers “never live.”
Police said they do not believe that the Tesla was operating in Autopilot or Full Self-Driving mode at the time. They do not know why the car went off the roadway. There was no guardrail in the area.
Rep. Kevin McCarthy battles to win speaker position
Republicans now have control of the House of Representatives but there is a battle for who will get the role of the Speaker of the House. Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif) is the clear frontrunner, but there are ultra-conservative members who don’t feel the trust in him. Among those who oppose McCarthy are members of the House Freedom Caucus, which includes Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo) and Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla).
The 118th Congress convened at noon today. A speaker will need to win 218 votes, which is the majority of the House, to get the position. If no candidate has the majority, then the process will repeat until a speaker is elected.
At the time of signing this news, McCarthy’s first attempt to become House Speaker failed on the first vote. Axios said it is the first time in 100 years that the House failed to pick a speaker on the first vote. So there will be more rounds of voting. I will provide an update tomorrow.
Jeremy Renner injury update
Here is an update on actor Jeremy Renner, who was seriously injured in a snow plow accident on Sunday in Nevada. Renner was operating his snow plow, which based on his previous social media posts, shows that it is a specialized vehicle with bulldozer-style tracks with a large plow attached to the front of it.
It is not clear what happened, but news reports said he sustained injuries to his chest and leg when the snowplow accidentally ran over his leg. TMZ reported that a neighbor that happened to be a doctor rushed to help him before he was airlifted to a hospital. He underwent surgery and is now in critical but stable condition.
Renner has a home in the area. There is an outpouring of support on social media for him.
That is all the top stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light.
https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/damar-hamlin-collapse-bills-bengals-game-intl-hnk/index.html
https://www.gofundme.com/f/mxksc-the-chasing-ms-foundation-community-toy-drive
https://www.tmz.com/2023/01/02/rally-car-driver-ken-block-dead/
https://apnews.com/article/sports-health-tennis-bob-bryan-cancer-c6da855d27127906d59fe490e59b0db5
https://www.axios.com/2023/01/03/kevin-mccarthy-house-speaker-vote
https://www.axios.com/2023/01/03/house-speaker-vote-mccarthy
https://nypost.com/2023/01/02/jeremy-renners-snowplow-ran-over-his-leg-reports/