FBI investigating death of 12-year-old boy who fell from balcony of cruise ship



A 12-year-old boy has died after falling from the balcony of a Royal Caribbean cruise ship.

Royal Caribbean’s Harmony of the Seas was on a seven-day cruise in the western Caribbean with stops in Honduras and Mexico.

'We are deeply saddened to confirm the death of one of our guests.'

On Saturday, the ship was en route to Galveston, Texas.

On the last night of the cruise, a 12-year-old boy plummeted to his death after falling from a balcony.

According to People magazine, the boy fell from the ship's "Central Park" neighborhood — an open area in the ship's interior on the 8th deck — which includes bars, restaurants, shops, and more than 10,000 plants and flowers.

The FBI confirmed that it was investigating the incident, according to the Washington Post, noting that it's “the primary federal agency authorized to investigate potential crimes on the high seas,” and was coordinating with the U.S. Coast Guard and Customs and Border Protection.

Royal Caribbean released a statement on the boy's death: “We are deeply saddened to confirm the death of one of our guests. Our Care Team is providing support and assistance to the guest’s family during this difficult time. For the privacy of the guest and their family, we have no additional details to share.”

The FBI and Royal Caribbean did not reveal the circumstances of how the boy fell from the balcony.

The Harmony of the Seas cruise ship docked in Galveston at 7 a.m. Sunday, according to cruise tracking site CruiseMapper.

In 2019, a 16-year-old boy fell to his death while attempting to climb into his room from the balcony of the Harmony of the Seas ship. The teen was on the eighth floor, according to the Broward Medical Examiner’s Office. The teen reportedly fell and landed on a pier after attempting to climb into his room from a nearby balcony because he forgot his room key.

Under the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act that was passed in 2010, railings on cruise ships must be at least 42 inches tall.

Harmony of the Seas was first launched in 2016 and has 18 decks and a maximum capacity of 6,687.

Between 1995 and 2024, there were 416 people who went overboard while on cruise ships, according to data compiled by cruise industry researcher Ross Klein.

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FACT CHECK: Does This Image Show A Boy In The Aftermath Of The Turkey Earthquake?

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Blake Shelton sees 6-year-old boy in crowd holding a sign. Turns out kid needs heart transplant — and Shelton invites him on stage to sing 'God's Country.'



Country music superstar Blake Shelton spotted a little boy in the audience Saturday night in Durant, Oklahoma, who was holding up a sign.

It read, "Your smallest biggest fan from Lake Texoma" — and added that he's 6 years old and is waiting for a heart transplant.

What happened next?

With that, Shelton invited Wyatt McKee on stage in front of the cheering crowd and read Wyatt's note. When the singer got to the heart transplant part, he paused for a moment and reminded the audience, "If you think y'all are havin' a bad day, put that in perspective right there, man!"

The was another note from Wyatt, too, Shelton told the crowd — a request that Shelton would sing the rousing anthem, "God's Country."

But that wasn't all.

Shelton kept Wyatt on stage, got down to the boy's height, put his microphone between them, and kicked in to the tune as Wyatt did the best he could to sing along.

What else?

TMZ reported that Wyatt's mother, Harley, said he was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, in which the left side of the heart does not grow. She noted to the outlet that Wyatt already has undergone two open heart surgeries.

Harley added to TMZ that Wyatt is indeed a big Shelton fan, and they brought the signs to the show hoping the singer would notice them and say hi.

There's a GoFundMe page for Wyatt, too.

Blake Shelton - Durant OK 01/29/22youtu.be

South Dakota boy, 10, drowns after saving little sister on Big Sioux River



A 10-year-old South Dakota boy gave up his own life while saving his 5-year-old sister from drowning in the Big Sioux River over the weekend.

What are the details?

The Lincoln County Sheriff's Office alerted the public Saturday evening that "a large scale rescue operation" was underway at the river in search of a 10-year-old boy. Hours later, they announced that a dive team recovered the body of young Ricky Lee Sneve.

Ricky's mother, Nicole Eufers, told the Sioux Falls Argus Leader that her boy was on the river with his father when "a couple of the siblings fell in the water. Dad jumped in for two of them, and Ricky jumped in to save his sister, Chevelle."

The little boy was able to get Chevelle to the shore, but when his father and the other kids turned around, they could not find Ricky.

"He saved his sister's life and took his own," his mother told the newspaper.

Ricky was the oldest of Eufers' four children and had a fifth sibling. A GoFundMe account set up for the single mother by his uncle states:

"Ricky Lee was a very intelligent and smart young boy who loved his family and was an adventurous little guy. He'd do anything to help his mom or anyone at that, without ever being asked. Ricky gave his life trying to do what he knew was best."

10-year-old dies in South Dakota river after saving sister www.youtube.com

10-year-old boy goes viral for impassioned speech to school board, arguing to end mask rules



A 10-year-old boy made an impassioned speech to his school board last week arguing for the panel to end its mask mandate in the district, and the video of his argument has gone viral.

The child addressed an emergency meeting of Florida's Martin County School Board, where he called out the hypocrisy of adults he saw flouting the same rules being imposed on kids.

What are the details?

"I expected school to be a little bit different in the beginning, but I didn't think it would stay this way all year long," the fourth grader identified only as John, begins. "And I was surprised by the rules. A lot of them didn't make any sense to me, like the fact that we were not allowed to play on the playground or have student council — or turn to face each other a lunch. And, we also have to wear masks outside at PE and on track."

John pointing out during his speech that he has seen multiple instances of teachers breaking the mask requirements. One teacher, he says, yelled at kids for pulling down their masks to drink water outside while waiting to be picked up by their parents.

"She had her mask down the entire time she was yelling at us, which makes me and all my friends very mad," John explained.

"This happens a lot," he continued. "And it seems unfair teachers take their masks off while they yell at us kids and that we need to pull ours up. I asked my mom if there was a word for this, and she said there is: hypocrisy."

The boy went on to say that he ran into his own teacher outside of school a few weeks ago, and "she didn't even recognize me, because she's never seen my face before."

"I know it was her because she sits at her desk a lot without a mask on," John said, adding, "I know my teacher has asthma and everything, but I understand why it's hard for her to wear a mask. And I think she should have that choice. But I should, too."

"I have allergies and I feel really anxious with my face covered, but I'm not allowed a mask break like her," he argued. "It seems unfair. All this seems unfair and it doesn't make sense."

This 10 year-old boy just obliterated his school board's mask mandate and calls out its unfairness and hypocrisy.… https://t.co/RZnC5UPdTH
— Benny (@bennyjohnson) 1621353218.0

Anything else?

BizPac Review reported that John made his speech with twelve days remaining in the school year, in hopes that the board might lift their mask mandates for the remainder of the year. But no luck: The board voted 4 to 1 to make masks optional starting the day after the school year ends.

Heartbreaking video  shows abandoned 10-year-old migrant boy found sobbing in Texas desert, seeking help



The U.S. Border Patrol has released a heartbreaking video taken by an agent who was approached by an abandoned 10-year-old migrant boy last week in a Texas desert near the U.S.-Mexico border.

The child is seen sobbing and asking for help, telling the off-duty agent who was on his way home, "They can rob me, kidnap me, I'm scared."

What are the details?

The video is taken from the perspective of the agent who is seen driving down the road when he sees the boy walking toward him. The agent parks and exits his vehicle, and the boy asks him twice in Spanish, "Can you help me?"

"What happened?" the agent asks, according to translation provided by CNN.

"It's that I was walking with a group and they left me behind, and I don't know where they're at," the boy cries.

The agent then asks, "You don't know where you're at? They left you behind alone?"

And the boy replies, "Of course they left me."

"They left you behind by yourself?" the agent asks again, "You're not traveling with your mom or dad or anybody?"

The child, still sobbing, says, "Nobody. I was with a group to turn myself in with you, and they left me behind and I came to look for help."

"They left you behind and told you to seek help?" the agent asked.

"No," said the boy, "I came looking because I didn't know where to go, and they can also kidnap me."

Video shows sobbing boy apparently abandoned at US border | New York Post www.youtube.com

According to Univision, the footage was first released on social media, and the border agent did take the unidentified child into his vehicle and to safety. The outlet reported that the boy "survived throughout the night in an area of the desert where rattlesnakes and wild animals abound."

Rio Grande Valley Border Patrol Chief Brian Hastings also shared the video with CNN "to underscore the concern over the danger associated with the increase in unaccompanied children" crossing into the U.S.

According to Hastings, "migrant families are 'self-separating' in Mexico, sending children alone to cross into the United States after first having been expelled," the outlet reported.

Anything else?

The abandoned boy was reportedly found April 1, just one day after the Border Patrol released footage of smugglers dropping 3-year-old and 5-year-old sisters from a 14-foot border wall and abandoning them. All three children were taken into U.S. Customs and Border Protection custody for care.

3-year-old boy dead, mother in critical condition after being mauled by neighbor's dogs in New Jersey



A three-year-old New Jersey boy was killed and his mother left in critical condition after they were attacked by their neighbor's two pit bulls this week.

What are the details?

Tanveer Ahmed worked hard and saved his money to move his family out of an apartment and purchased a house where his three young boys could play in the yard. But he and his wife became concerned over behaviors displayed by one of their neighbor's dogs.

"The mother went to the neighbor two times to let her know the dog is wild, it's out of hand," one relative of the couple told WLNY-TV, adding, "and you know, the owner laughed it off."

Another relative said, "It cost an innocent child his life."

On Tuesday, the Ahmeds' three-year-old, Aziz, was playing in the back yard when the two pit bulls owned by the neighbor were able to dig under and enter the fenced yard and attack him. His mother ran to intervene, and was also mauled.

The Ahmeds' 10-year-old called 911 for help, and first responders rushed the toddler and his mother to the hospital. Aziz did not survive, and his mother remains in critical condition.

Officials said the dogs were euthanized and, thus far, no charges have been filed in connection with the attack. But neighbors say the dogs had been a nuisance long before little Aziz's life was taken, and some said the animals were allowed to roam the neighborhood — leading them to keep their kids inside.

One told WABC-TV, "Those pit bulls bit people all in this area. I'm aware of certain houses, so I try to walk a different path when I know that they're on that block."

Anything else?

A GoFundMe has been set up for the family by Coney Island Auto Parts, who write that "Tanveer is loved by his co-workers and truly an asset to the company." They are "calling upon the kindness of family, friends and strangers to help the Ahmed family in this difficult time."

VIDEO: Boy slips off chairlift, grabs edge, dangles above the slopes — and all witnesses can do is shout encouragement for him to hold on



Liam Gratton had the ride of his life on Canada's Table Mountain over the weekend, CTV News reported.

But the 12-year-old snowboarder hadn't planned on it happening on his chairlift ride up the Saskatoon slopes, the station said.

What happened?

Liam told CTV that after a quick lift bar adjustment he simply "slipped off" the chair. His older brother Luke noted to the station that a safety bar was removed too early.

Image source: CTV News video screenshot

Either way, Liam was able to grab the edge of the chairlift before falling, CTV reported — and he was forced to continue hanging on through the trip up the slope.

Image source: CTV News video screenshot

Aaron Arcand and a friend saw the whole thing while riding the lift behind Liam, the station said: "Right in front of us all of a sudden we just saw the little boy there kind of looking on the side, and I think he got too close to the side and slipped."

Like others witnessing the scary moment, all they could do was watch and shout encouragement to Liam.

"We couldn't do anything, we just had to sit there," Arcand told CTV. "I started telling that boy to 'just hang on, don't let go, just keep on hanging man, just don't let go.' It was intense, a shocked feeling."

Arcand also pulled out his phone and recorded the ordeal, the station said.

Here's the full clip:

Kid Hangs From Chairlift After Slipping From Seat at Saskatchewan Ski Resortyoutu.be

Fortunately Liam was able to hang on all the way to the top:

Image source: CTV News video screenshot

Image source: YouTube screenshot

Arcand added to CTV that once he got to the top, too, he checked on Liam and complimented him on his upper body strength.

So, how do we tell Mom?

Liam's mother Kaelah Gratton told the station her sons informed her of Liam's adventure when they got home — but that she didn't quite understand. Then she saw the clip that was already quickly making the rounds on social media, and then she understood all too well.

"I watched it, and I watched it, and I just got sicker and sicker thinking about what would've happened if he would have fallen," she told CTV.

Image source: CTV News video screenshot

Table Mountain's general manager Lawrence Blouin told the station he's relieved that Liam held on: "Thank God, because it could have been a very serious incident."

15-year-old Arkansas boy fatally shot at junior high on first day of in-person class



A 15-year-old Arkansas boy was fatally shot at school on Monday, the first day his junior high resumed in-person learning after the building was closed due to COVID-19 concerns.

Officials believe the victim was specifically targeted by the suspect, another 15-year-old boy, who has been taken into custody.

What are the details?

Law enforcement was called to respond to a shooting at Watson Chapel Junior High School in Pine Bluff at around 10:00 a.m., where they found the victim near the school's office suffering critical injuries from a gunshot wound, KTHV-TV reported. The young man was rushed to a local hospital, where he passed away.

Following the attack, a lockdown was imposed and a SWAT team was reportedly deployed to sweep the building and clear it.

After the news broke, parents rushed to the school to pick up their kids — just hours into the students' first day back in classrooms after being shuttered amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Washington Examiner noted that the school had also experienced "water issues" that impacted the timing of returning to in-person learning.

Parents are lining up to pick up their students at Watson Chapel Jr. High after the school lifted its lockdown. Mul… https://t.co/RkAJKPB2av
— Shelby Rose (@Shelby Rose)1614621112.0

According to ABC News, the Watson Chapel School District said that all other students in the school were unharmed, calling the shooting an "isolated incident." Police said the motive is unclear at this time, but they do not believe the attack was random.

The Pine Bluff Police Department said that the suspect was apprehended behind a house near the school with the assistance of an Arkansas Department of Corrections K-9 unit, and is now at a juvenile justice facility awaiting charges. PBPD Chief Kevlin Sergeant said a decision is expected within the next 48 hours as to whether the alleged perpetrator will be tried as an adult.


Hypothermia suspected in death of 11-year-old Texas boy who died in family's unheated mobile home



An 11-year-old boy went to bed Tuesday night in his family's unheated mobile home in Conroe, Texas, and never woke up, becoming among the youngest people to date to pass away this week during the state's devastating power grid failure amid winter storms.

Authorities believe the 6th grader, Cristian Pavon, succumbed to hypothermia.

What are the details?

Cristian's mother, Maria Elisa Pineda, told KHOU-TV that the family's power went out on Sunday, and from that point, they all slept in the same room to keep warm.

The boy played in the snow for the first time on Monday, after coming to the U.S. from Honduras in 2019 to be reunited with his mother. The family took video of him, and the picture above is from that day. Elisa Pineda said, "Everything was well. He was happy that day. He was not at all sick."

When Cristian went to sleep on Tuesday, he was fully clothed in double layers, according to his mother, who said he was sharing a bed with his 3-year-old stepbrother. At around 2:00 a.m., the family says, the boy's stepfather, Manuel Moreno, woke up and checked on the children, making sure they were both breathing and throwing an additional blanket over them as an extra precaution on the night that temperatures hit the single digits.

The next morning, the parents let Cristian stay in bed while they went to the store, saying that it was normal for him to sleep in. But when they returned in the afternoon, they found him lifeless. Moreno called 911 and the boy's aunt rushed to perform CPR but when the fire department arrived, they were told it was too late.

The Houston Chronicle reported that an autopsy was conducted on Cristian, but the results are not expected for weeks. In the meantime, authorities believe that the child died of hypothermia. Conroe Police Department spokesman Sgt. Jeff Smith told the outlet, "By all other means, he was a normal, healthy child."

Smith also noted that both Cristian's mother and stepfather — who have been screened for drugs and submitted to blood tests — have been very cooperative.

Anything else?

According to The Washington Post, at least 30 people have died so far in Texas since Sunday, when the state's widespread power outages and water cutoffs began due to the frigid cold.

The outlet reported:

Some have died of carbon monoxide poisoning after turning to their ovens or trucks to stay warm. Others, like a 75-year-oldman in Crosby, Tex., whose oxygen machine stopped working after his home lost power, have been found dead of hypothermia inside their homes or cars.