Category: Uncategorized

NEED TO KNOW

• Georgia high school teacher Jason Hughes died at his home after an alleged prank went wrong on Friday, March 6

• Jayden Ryan Wallace, 18, has been charged with vehicular homicide and reckless driving, while four others have also been arrested

• The fatal prank came just days after the Hall County School District warned students about prom pranks that “have gone too far”

A Georgia high school teacher is dead after an alleged prank went wrong, just days after his school district warned students of past prom season pranks that went “too far.”

Jason Hughes, 40, died late in the evening of Friday, March 6, after he was run over at his Gainesville, Ga. home by an 18-year-old who was pulling a prank along with four other individuals, WSB-TV and NBC affiliate WXIA reported, citing the Hall County Sheriff’s Office.

Five people, including Jayden Ryan Wallace, 18, covered or “rolled” the teacher’s trees with toilet paper, according to WXIA. When Hughes came out of his home, the group got into two different vehicles to flee the scene, the outlet reported, citing police.

One of the vehicles was Wallace’s pickup truck, with which he ran over Hughes after the teacher tripped and fell into the road, per WXIA and WSB-TV.

Wallace and others involved in the prank stopped and attempted to aid Hughes until emergency responders arrived at the scene, according to the outlets. He later died at the hospital.

Police arrested Wallace at the scene, along with the four others, whom WSB-TV identified as: Elijah Tate Owens, 18, Aiden Hucks, 18, Ana Katherine Luque, 18, and Ariana Cruz, 18. They are all Gainesville residents, per WXIA, as was Hughes.

Wallace has been charged with first-degree vehicular homicide and reckless driving in connection with Hughes’ death, according to WSB-TV and WXIA. He, along with the four others at the scene, has also been charged with criminal trespass and littering on private property, per the outlets.

The Hall County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment on Sunday, March 8.

Hughes was a teacher at North Hall High School in Hall County, Ga. and a father of two young boys, according to a GoFundMe fundraiser. In a statement obtained by WXIA, a Hall County School District spokesperson described him as a “loving husband” and “devoted father.”

“Our hearts are broken,” the district’s statement reads. “Jason Hughes was a loving husband, a devoted father, a passionate teacher, mentor, and coach who was loved and respected by students and colleagues. He gave so much to so many in numerous ways. Our hearts and prayers go out to his wife and family. We ask that the media and the public respect their privacy as they grieve this incredible loss.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Just days before the fatal March 6 incident, the district warned students about prom pranks included in what it dubbed “Junior/Senior Wars,” stating that some in years past “have gone too far” in a statement addressed to parents and students on Facebook.

“While we understand that prom is a time for celebration and creating lasting memories, we must emphasize the importance of responsible behavior and respect for others and their property,” the Hall County School District said in part. “In previous years, some pranks during prom season–sometimes referred to as Junior/Senior Wars– have gone too far, resulting in damage to property.”

“We urge all students to refrain from participating in any activities that may cause harm or destruction to school or personal property. Such actions not only reflect poorly on the individual involved but also tarnish the reputation of our schools, families, and community,” the district continued. “It’s essential to recognize the serious consequences that can arise from engaging in destructive behavior.”

The school district went on to warn that “damaging property can lead to criminal charges, not to mention the potential repercussions on your participation in graduation ceremonies and other special events planned for this time of year.”

“We cannot stress enough the importance of making responsible choices and thinking about the long-term impact of your actions,” the district warned.

Read the original article on People

Fox News was skewered for using old footage instead of airing Trump’s real conduct at Saturday’s dignified transfer. On Sunday, after Fox News aired clips from a dignified transfer from December 2025 and presented them as being from the day prior, Fox & Friends Weekend co-host Griff Jenkins was forced to address the move. Airing the old footage—which also happened on the network on a different program the day before—happened after immediate bipartisan rage over Trump’s decision to wear a baseball cap to the solemn event on Saturday.

Ukrainian widow Olga Garbuz, who lost her husband to the war in Ukraine, came to Dubai with her daughter in 2022 to rebuild her life.

But the recent escalation in the Gulf has revived the fears she thought she had left behind.

“The war in Ukraine took many things from me and my daughter. My husband got killed. We got displaced multiple times. I cannot imagine going through any of these again,” Ms Garbuz tells The Independent.

Her husband, Yuriy Volchkov, was killed in Kharkiv, a frontline city in eastern Ukraine, in March 2022, when the vehicle he was travelling in to distribute humanitarian aid was shot at by the Russians. He was 45 years old.

After fleeing Kharkiv, which fell under the Russian occupation in the early months of the war, Ms Garbuz and her daughter moved repeatedly across Ukraine before eventually leaving the country.

“We had to move 13 times from city to city,” she says. “Each time packing our things and setting up a new home was incredibly exhausting.

“I arrived in the UAE with my daughter Maya and just two suitcases four years ago. Since then, I have been working hard for the wellbeing of my daughter.”

A few days before the escalation began with Iran’s retaliatory strikes across the Gulf, she said she had finally begun to feel, after three years, that life was returning to normal.

Her biggest fear now is having to uproot her daughter again.

“Now we have been living in the same apartment for almost two years. My daughter goes to school regularly.

“It would be an absolutely heartbreaking situation for her if we had to move again,” she adds.

But the sound of missile interceptions over the Dubai skies has brought back old instincts.

“I found myself again packing an emergency bag. I knew which documents to include, that we must have water at home and cash on hand.”

The explosions also bring back the physical memory of war: “Sometimes my body tenses up because I remember what it was like and what usually followed.

“I still try to remain calm and not give in to panic.”

Despite the tension, she says she still trusts the UAE authorities: “I believe they will be able to resolve this conflict diplomatically as quickly as possible.”

A week on from the military escalation, Iran’s president Masoud Pezeshkian apologised for targeting his Gulf neighbours, but Iran has continued to fire at Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia with fresh attacks.

On Friday, the UAE’s ministry of interior issued an emergency alert across Dubai urging residents to seek immediate shelter following warnings of a potential missile threat. The UAE intercepted nine ballistic missiles and 109 drones, the Ministry of Defence confirmed.

Amid the rising tension, Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said he had received assurances from the government of the United Arab Emirates that Ukrainian citizens in the country would be protected.

Some 250,000 Ukrainians are currently living in the Middle East.

For Ukrainians like Kateryna Moskviechiev and her husband Dmytro, who relocated to the UAE for safety, being caught up in another conflict far from home in Abu Dhabi was the last thing they expected.

“It feels like the war has followed us to Dubai,” Ms Moskviechiev tells The Independent.

The couple, along with their two sons, aged eight and two, moved to the UAE in September 2024. An estimated 5.2 to 6 million Ukrainians moved abroad following the war.

“We left Ukraine because we didn’t want our children to grow up in a war zone,” she says.

But the sight of Russian missiles and Shahed drones flying overhead near her apartment on the Corniche, and the sound of loud explosions as air-defence systems intercepted them, left her “shocked and surprised”.

“That’s not what you expect in the UAE,” says Ms Moskviechiev.

“It brought back my worst memories of Ukraine, when our family hid in the bathroom while Russians bombed Kharkiv.

“The three of us slept on the floor of a bus stop that had thick walls and no windows.”

As the recent Iranian drone and missile attacks across the Gulf are far less intense than the bombardment Ukraine has endured, she said she is not scared.

“I’ve lived through this before,” she says. “And I’m impressed by how effectively the UAE’s air-defence systems are responding. I definitely feel safer here than in Ukraine.”

Ms Moskviechiev says she is praying this escalation will end quickly, adding: “We know what a prolonged war can do to a country and its people – this war must stop.”

Another Ukrainian in Dubai, Alexandra Govorukha, a PR professional, says she moved there six months ago after relocating to the UK from Ukraine in 2022.

“And the danger is near again. One rocket was shot down not far from our house,” Ms Govorukha wrote in a post on Facebook.

She says her nine-year-old daughter, who is studying remotely, “knows what the war is and is already hardened by life”.

“We need to learn to have a Plan B everywhere and be prepared for any situation unfolding.”

Mariana Yevsyukova, a UAE resident since 2017, says the escalating tensions in the Middle East have stirred painful memories for many Ukrainians living in the country.

“We carry the trauma of witnessing war,” she says. “We ran away from the Shahed drones in Ukraine, and now they are hitting the UAE.”

Ms Yevsyukova, a mother of two children aged seven and one, said even relatives back home in Ukraine are worried about the attacks in the Gulf.

“My family in Kharkiv checks on me several times a day. A friend who is struggling without power in this harsh winter messaged me to say he is there if I need anything.

“Even in the middle of a war, they are thinking about others.”