In the News

Only seven weeks after surviving the  mass shooting  in Las Vegas on October 1,  Roy McClellan  died as he was hitchhiking approximately 50 miles away from home. The 52-year-old, who survived the Las Vegas  #Mandalay Bay  hotel and casino massacre, was  killed  as a result of a  hit-and-run  on November 17, according to the Washington Post. Denise  McClellan  learned of her husband’s  death  after she posted to Facebook, asking that people tell her if they had seen her husband, whose incoming phone calls went straight to his voice mail, according to the Post. She hadn’t seen her husband,  Roy , for days when she turned to social media to ask about him.  Survivor of Las Vegas massacre killed by hit-and-run driver before Thanksgiving

While Carnegie Vanguard High School senior  Rukmini Kalamangalam  dreams of working at the United Nations one day, for now, she holds the honor of being the first  Indian-American  to garner Houston’s Youth Poet Laureate title. She took home the Texas city’s 2017 to 2018 title with her poem “After Harvey,” the American Bazaar noted on November 24. The 16-year-old  award-winner  will serve as a cultural arts advisor to Mayor Sylvester Turner’s Youth Council for throughout the year she holds the  title , according to the Houston Independent School District (HISD). Writers in the Schools in conjunction with the Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs, the City of Houston, and the Houston Public Library created the competition and award.  Indian-American garners prestigious Houston Youth Poet Laureate accolade

Christopher R. Gattis , 58, reportedly  gunned down  his wife, stepdaughter, and his stepdaughter’s boyfriend on  Thanksgiving . Gattis, a full-time  youth pastor  Grace Lutheran Church, was arrested at his family home by Chesterfield County Police Department officers. Gattis  was  arrested  on-scene late  Thanksgiving  evening without incident, according to the police. Gattis is on a  no-bond hold at the county jail , charged with three counts of first-degree murder , along with three counts of using a firearm while committing a felony, according to WTVR.  Virginia church youth pastor accused of killing family on Thanksgiving

Indian-American  Silky Gaind  was allegedly  #battered  by her  husband  and elderly  in-laws , who flew from Punjab,  India  to Tampa, Florida to reportedly assist their son in controlling his disobedient 33-year-old wife, according to several news organizations. Gaind was rescued by police in September after she called her  parents in  India , telling them about the assaults she suffered. She was finally permitted to leave a “court-mandated  shelter ” for battered women last month, India West reported on Friday (Nov. 24). Gaind’s  release  from the  shelter  followed an online petition that was launched by Margaret Petros, Executive Director, Mothers Against Murder (MAM), and supported on social media by Papiha Nandy, CEO and President, Papiha Nandy Broadcasting Company (PNBC).  Indian-American woman battered in Florida by husband, re-victimized by ‘system’

Bobby Wayne Stone  was  scheduled for  execution  on December 1  [VIDEO]  when South Carolina’s Supreme Court set the date and recently notified the state’s Department of Corrections (DOC). On November 1, Judge Mary Geiger Lewis, U.S. District Court, issued a  stay  of  #execution  for a capital punishment that would not have taken place anyway on the date that the state’s high court specified, according to the Sumter Item and VICE News. Judge Lewis granted the  hold  on  carrying out Stone’s  capital punishment  [VIDEO]  after his attorneys presented a writ of habeas corpus, requesting the court to determine whether  Stone  has been rightfully detained, the Item noted.  No execution for South Carolina inmate, 'expected' without death drug on-hand

Sini Mathews , 35, is scheduled for a  bond reduction hearing  on November 27, according to KLIF News. She is currently jailed and being held on $250,000 bond in Dallas, TX, on felony child endangerment or abandonment. She was arrested on November 18 after police obtained an arrest warrant and she surrendered to authorities. The  felony charge  against  Mathews  evolved from the evening of October 6, when she went to dinner with her husband, Wesley Mathews, and the couple’s four-year-old, biological daughter. They left their youngest daughter,  Sherin , alone at home for approximately 90 minutes while the trio dined at a restaurant in North Garland, TX.  Indian-American Texas toddler Sherin Mathews’ mother has upcoming bond hearing .