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Swarthmore College mourns graduates killed in upstate NY place crash
School officials at Swarthmore College are morning the loss of members of the schools “extended family,” they said in a letter to students after six people died in a plane crash in upstate New York over the weekend.
According to the Associated Press, a twin-engine aircraft, a Mitsubishi MU-2B, went down shortly after noon Saturday in a muddy field in Copake, New York, near the Massachusetts line, on Saturday.
The crash, officials said, killed all six people aboard.
In a letter addressed to students, faculty and staff members, officials with Swarthmore College said that three of those who were killed were graduates of Swarthmore College — Alexia Couyutas Duarte, class of 2023, Jared Groff of the class of 2022, and Jared’s father, Michael Groff, class of 1988.
Jared’s mother Joy Saini, along with his sister and former MIT soccer player recently named the NCAA Woman of the Year, Karenna Groff, along with her partner, James Santoro, were killed in the crash.
Swarthmore College officials noted, in the letter, that Alexia is survived by her sister, Ariana Couyutas Duarte, of Swarthmore College’s class of 2026, who was studying abroad when this tragedy occurred.
“In the face of such devastating news, we recognize and celebrate all that these extraordinary individuals meant to us, as well as support those who knew, mentored, and loved them,” Swarthmore College officials wrote in a letter.
School officials called the former students “extraordinary.”
- Alexia, a first-generation American, graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a B.A. in economics and political science. After graduation, she began her career as a legal intake specialist at the Rian Immigrant Center in Boston. Most recently, Alexia worked as a paralegal in the pro bono initiative unit at MetroWest Legal Services in Miami. She had planned to attend Harvard Law School this fall.
- Jared, originally from Weston, Mass., graduated with a B.A. in economics and political science. He was a four-year member of the men’s basketball team and contributed to squads that won a Centennial Conference championship and reached the NCAA Division III National Championship game for the first time in program history. Jared most recently worked as a paralegal at DW Partners in New York and planned to attend law school this fall.
- Michael was a neurosurgeon and the executive medical director of neuroscience at Rochester Regional Health. He and Joy, a pelvic surgeon and founder of Boston Pelvic Health and Wellness, met while training at University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Their survivors include their daughter, Anika, who was recently admitted to Swarthmore’s Class of 2029.
School officials said they plan to celebrate the victims’ lives, but noted it was too soon to share details.
“On behalf of everyone at Swarthmore, our hearts go out to the families and friends of those we lost on Saturday, and to everyone affected by their tragic passing,” school officials said. “Please join us in sending them peace and light.”
The National Transportation Safety Board has begun an investigation into the crash, officials have said.
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Man Charged With Posting Bomb Instructions Used in New Orleans Attack
Federal prosecutors have filed charges against a former Army serviceman they accused of distributing instructions on how to build explosives that were used by a man who conducted a deadly attack in New Orleans on New Year’s Day last year.
The former serviceman, Jordan A. Derrick, a 40-year-old from Missouri, was charged with one count of engaging in the business of manufacturing explosive materials without a license; one count of unlawful possession of an unregistered destructive device; and one count of distributing information relating to manufacturing explosives, according to a criminal complaint unsealed on Wednesday. The three charges together carry a maximum sentence of 40 years in federal prison.
Starting in September 2023, the authorities said, Mr. Derrick was using various social media sites to share videos of himself making explosive materials, including detonators. His videos provided step-by-step instructions, and he often engaged with viewers in comments, sometimes answering their questions about the chemistry behind the explosives.
The authorities said that Mr. Derrick’s videos were downloaded by Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar, 42, who was accused of ramming a pickup truck into a crowd on Bourbon Street in New Orleans on Jan. 1, 2025, in a terrorist attack that killed 14 people and injured dozens. Mr. Jabbar was killed in a shootout with the police. Before the attack, Mr. Jabbar had placed two explosives on Bourbon Street, the authorities said, but they did not detonate.
The authorities later recovered two laptops and a USB drive in a house that Mr. Jabbar had rented. The USB drive contained several videos created by Mr. Derrick that provided instructions on making explosives. The authorities said the explosives they recovered were consistent with the ones Mr. Derrick had posted about.
Mr. Derrick’s lawyers did not respond to requests for comment.
Mr. Derrick was a combat engineer in the Army, where he provided personnel and vehicle support, the authorities said. He also helped supervise safety personnel during demolitions and various operations. He was honorably discharged in February 2013.
The authorities did not say whether Mr. Derrick had any communication with Mr. Jabbar, or whether the men had known each other. In some of Mr. Derrick’s videos and comments, he indicated that he was aware that his videos could be misused.
“There are a plethora of uh, moral, you know, entanglements with topics, any topic of teaching explosives, right?” he asked in one video, according to the affidavit. “Of course, the wrong people could get it.”
The authorities also said that an explosion occurred at a private residence in Odessa, Mo., on May 4, and the occupant of the residence told investigators that he had manufactured explosives after watching online tutorials from Mr. Derrick.
Mr. Derrick’s YouTube account had more than 15,000 subscribers and 20 published videos, the affidavit said. He had also posted content on other platforms, including Odysee and Patreon. Some videos were accessible to the public for free, while others required a paid subscription to view.
“My responsibility to my countrymen is to make sure that I serve the function of the Second Amendment to strengthen it,” Mr. Derrick said in one of his videos, according to the affidavit. “This is how I serve my country for real.”
Outside of the income he received through content creation, Mr. Derrick did not have any known employment. He did receive a monthly disability check from Veterans Affairs, the affidavit stated.
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Chud the Builder, Known for Racist Confrontations, Charged With Attempted Murder
A streamer known for hurling racist slurs in public settings under the nickname “Chud the Builder” was charged with attempted murder after a shooting outside a Tennessee courthouse on Wednesday, the authorities said.
The streamer, Dalton Eatherly, 28, was involved in a confrontation with an unidentified man that escalated to gunfire outside the Montgomery County Court in Clarksville, about 50 miles northwest of Nashville, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. Both men sustained gunshot wounds and were in stable condition, the office said.
In addition to attempted murder, Mr. Eatherly was charged with employing a firearm during dangerous felony, aggravated assault and reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon, the sheriff’s office said.
Mr. Eatherly, who is white, has accumulated an online audience by livestreaming confrontations in which he uses racist language toward Black people in public.
Law enforcement did not provide any details about the second man involved in Wednesday’s shooting. Mr. Eatherly posted an audio recording online of paramedics treating his wounds in which he claims he shot the man in self-defense.
A video posted by the website Clarksville Now shows Mr. Eatherly on a stretcher with a microphone attached to his lapel.
Mr. Eatherly is being held at the Montgomery County Jail, pending arraignment, the sheriff’s office said.
According to court records, Mr. Eatherly was scheduled to appear for a court hearing on Wednesday morning in an unrelated case brought by Midland Credit Management, a collections agency.
A lawyer listed in court records from a separate harassment case in which Mr. Eatherly was a defendant in November did not respond to a request for comment.
On Sunday, three days before the shooting in Clarksville, Mr. Eatherly was arrested in Nashville. According to a police affidavit, Mr. Eatherly live streamed his meal at a restaurant, Bob’s Steak and Chop House, on Saturday even though the restaurant had asked him ahead of time not to do so.
When he was confronted, Mr. Eatherly “became disruptive and started making racial statements, yelling, screaming and otherwise creating a scene,” according to the affidavit.
He then refused to pay for his $370 meal. Mr. Eatherly was charged with theft of services, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. He was released on $5,000 bond.
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