Cartel Attack in Mexico

Nine dual U.S.-Mexican citizens, including six children, died in an attack by drug cartel gunmen in northern Mexico yesterday - eight other children who had fled the attack were found in the area, at least five of whom had sustained gunshot wounds. The victims were all related to the LeBaron family, and lived in a community in Chihuahua that was founded decades ago as an offshoot of the Church of the Latter-day Saints.

Protests in Iraq

At least three anti-government protesters were killed in clashes with police yesterday in southern Iraq following two waves of mass demonstrations that began in early October. Protesters have been demanding a complete overhaul of the government due to corruption and widespread unemployment.

Local Elections

Yesterday was Election Day in the United States, and while for most states that meant approving state or local initiatives requiring voter input, four states held more major elections. In Kentucky and Mississippi, voters are choosing their next governor, and in New Jersey and Virginia, legislative seats are on the ballot.

Need for Speed

AT&T has agreed to pay $60 million to settle a 2014 complaint by the Federal Trade Commission that the wireless giant throttled the data speed of millions of customers while charging them for unlimited data plans. The settlement will be placed in a fund to partially reimburse current and former customers affected by the data speed reductions.

Dr. Drone

UPS and CVS Pharmacy have completed the first drone delivery of prescription medication to paying residential customers in North Carolina. The successful delivery comes a month after UPS received FAA approval to operate a full drone airline, and involved one customer with mobility challenges who would’ve had trouble visiting a retail location.

Chaos in Nottingham

Stock-trading site Robinhood has confirmed a glitch that allows users to overstate the amount of money in their account they could borrow against. The bug was discovered and shared on social media site Reddit, where one user claimed to have taken a $1,000,000 position using only $4,000 of their own money.

Line ‘em up

The FCC officially approved the $26.5 billion merger between T-Mobile US and Sprint yesterday - the vote went along party lines, with three Republican members of the commission voting in favor and two Democrat members dissenting. The deal was approved by the Department of Justice in July.

Trial by fire

After a fire was started at a Tennessee apartment complex over the weekend, several children and adults were trapped on a third-floor balcony. That’s when Justin Greer’s mom rushed to his side, begging him to see if there was something he could do to help.

But the flames had already engulfed the front door to the apartments – so Justin, 31, climbed up the side of the building to reach the people stuck stories above the ground. Hanging on the railing with one hand, he passed several children and adults to people waiting to help on the ground. Two people had to be treated for burns, but everyone made it out of the building alive thanks to Justin.

Since the fire, Justin said his perspective on life has shifted. He worries about what would have happened had he not been there – and he’s urging the people around him to never walk away when there’s someone in need. You never know what it might mean to lend a hand to those who need it - or if you can’t, going the extra mile to find someone who can.

Chain reaction

When you think of someone leading a movement in the local school district, the first person to pop into your head probably isn’t 98 years old. But in Glenwood, Minnesota, that’s exactly what’s happening.

Margaret Pederson decided one day that she’d had enough of all the bad news she was reading in the paper (sound familiar?). Worried that the younger generations were becoming bogged down by it all, she started using finger-knitting to encourage kids to think about what they could do to combat negativity. Together, they knitted “kindness chains” meant to spark good deeds that would be passed on from student to student. Margaret has worked with kids from kindergarten all the way up to the high school football team – and her movement is making waves throughout the entire town.

No matter the age group, Margaret seems to tap into something the kids are yearning for. Since she’s embarked on her kindness project, notes from student-to-student have cropped up on the walls of school hallways, and reports of kids going out of their way to lend a hand to others have become commonplace in Glenwood. Her chant is now something of a rallying cry in the small midwestern town: “Be kind. Just try it. I will.” And that’s something we can really get behind!