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Gary aunt mourns aspiring nursing student killed in New Orleans attack: 'Whole life ahead of her'

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Gary aunt mourns aspiring nursing student killed in New Orleans attack: 'Whole life ahead of her'


GARY, Ind. (WLS) — A family member in the Chicago area is remembering the life of 18-year-old Nikyra Dedeaux, who was killed in the devastating Bourbon Street truck attack in New Orleans this week.

Most of Dedeaux’s family lives in Mississippi except for her great-aunt Ahmyryah Israel, who has lived in Northwest Indiana for more than 30 years. She tells me she’s left to grapple with this tragedy weeks before her niece was set to start nursing school.

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Dedeaux’s high school graduation pictures are special to Israel, who lives in Gary, Indiana. But pictures of her niece now represent a promising future ripped away.

“She had her whole life ahead of her,” Israel said. “It’s just everything is lost, right now. She was going to start nursing school, because her mom is a nurse, to push the family tradition on.”

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That tradition is now broken after Israel says the 18-year-old Mississippi native, who graduated high school last May, had went to New Orleans with friends to celebrate New Year’s Eve, against her mother’s wishes.

“It hurts me that… she went,” Israel said.

What was supposed to be a celebratory night, less than two weeks before the teen began nursing school, ended in tragedy.

Dedeaux became one of 14 people killed when, police say, an alleged terrorist plowed through holiday crowds on Bourbon Street in a speeding truck.

“Can you imagine you have a job, you’re an honor roll student, you kept your grades up, you’re up for the challenge, but you can’t beat this truck?” Israel said. “You can’t beat this truck that’s coming at you. What is that? Who does that?”

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She had her whole life ahead of her. It’s just everything is lost, right now

Ahmyryah Israel, Nikyra Dedeaux’s great-aunt

Dedeaux was supposed to start her nursing program at Blue Cliff College in Mississippi on January 13. Her family is now planning her funeral.

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Nikyra Cheyenne Dedeaux’s death was originally confirmed to ABC News by her mother, Melissa Dedeaux.

Melissa Dedeaux remembered her 18-year-old daughter as a kind and outgoing young woman who was excited to attend nursing school this year.

“She was a sweet person. She was outgoing, she was very loved,” said Melissa Dedeaux, who said goodbye to her daughter for the final time Tuesday night.

Melissa Dedeaux said she begged her daughter not to go to Bourbon Street for New Years’ Eve like she had done the year prior. She said she was worried about the danger of the area, and she needed her daughter to pick her up from her overnight shift at work at 7:30 a.m.

When another family member picked her up from work, she said she sensed something was wrong. She said her brother-in-law broke the news to her once she got home.

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Melissa Dedeaux said she hopes others remember her daughter as a kind person.

“She was a good person, and even though she was loved by many, it can happen to anybody,” she said.

ABC News contributed to this report

Copyright © 2025 WLS-TV. All Rights Reserved.



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Indiana A.G. finishes Karl King Tower investigation, finalizes compliance order

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Indiana A.G. finishes Karl King Tower investigation, finalizes compliance order


The Indiana Attorney General has finished its investigation into Karl King Tower and issued a compliance order.

This is coming after a months-long investigation into the unsafe living conditions for residents at the apartments.

From December 2025 to January 2026, there were prolonged failures with the heating and a lack of heat for residents during winter conditions at Karl King.

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The property owner provided a 20% rent credit for affected tenants and documentation related to health and safety issues.

Below is the agreement from the Attorney General:

  • The owner must complete boiler and heating system improvements by September 30.
  • The property is subject to a monitoring period for multiple years.
  • The owner needs to provide on-site security, including cameras in common areas and monthly incident reports.
  • The building needs an on-site property manager to address resident concerns.
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The Attorney General has the authority to inspect the property and enforce compliance if commitments aren’t met.



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Indiana Baseball Series Preview Against Illinois

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Indiana Baseball Series Preview Against Illinois


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It’s been a rough season for the Indiana baseball team, but the Hoosiers have one more shot to finish the season on a high note against Illinois this week.

Indiana (21-30, 7-20) has lost five straight contests and failed to qualify for the Big Ten Tournament after finishing outside the top 12 in the Big Ten, meaning Saturday’s game against the Illini will be the Hoosiers’ last.

And that may very well be the biggest surprise in all of the Big Ten, considering IU won 33+ games each of the last two years and finished above .500 in Big Ten play each of the last three seasons.

About Indiana

Indiana’s disappointing season is almost over after getting swept by in-state rival Purdue over the weekend. IU has lost four straight Big Ten series and hasn’t won a series in nearly a month.

Regardless of who is playing well and who’s not, don’t be surprised if the majority of the seniors get to play this weekend.

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That probably wouldn’t be the case if Indiana were still able to qualify for the Big Ten Tourney, but with that out of the equation, expect to see the guys who might not ever play another competitive game of baseball get to see the field one last time.

The Hoosiers’ best pitcher is southpaw Tony Neubeck, who leads the team in wins, starts, innings pitched, and strikeouts. Neubeck has recorded back-to-back quality starts and could very well hear his name called in this June’s MLB Draft.

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Offensively, the Hoosiers have proven they can score some runs, and despite getting swept last week, scored 21 runs against Purdue. IU’s top hitter is Jake Hanley, who leads Indiana’s offense in at-bats, hits, home runs, RBIs, total bases, and walks.

About Illinois

Unlike Indiana, no matter what happens this week for Illinois, the Illini are automatically a lock for the Big Ten Tournament. Illinois might rest some of its everyday players who have played a lot and have some of its top arms on pitch counts, but outside of that, expect the Illini to play this series like it’s their last.

Illinois still has a chance to move up a spot in the Big Ten, and there’s no denying the fact that seeding matters.

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Illinois (27-23, 13-14) has won five in a row but has struggled on the road this season, especially in Big Ten play.

Still, though, Illinois has a couple of solid relievers — Sam Mommer and Sam Reed — and has an ace in Aidan Flinn.

Offensively, the Illini are inconsistent but did manage to score 26 runs in three games against Northwestern and have a couple of power hitters in AJ Putty and Collin Jennings.

Series Schedule

Thursday, May 14th (6 p.m. ET)
Friday, May 15h (6 p.m. ET)
Saturday, May 16th (2 p.m. ET)

All three games are available to watch via the Big Ten Network Plus (BIG+).

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A ‘verbal bouquet’ to Indiana’s health department | OPINION

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A ‘verbal bouquet’ to Indiana’s health department | OPINION


A colleague at lunch recently proclaimed that my columns are negative, critical, lacking in affirming values. He didn’t use all those words, but I cut him short.

OK, this week, I’m offering a verbal bouquet to the Indiana State Department of Health. I’m presuming that was the agency identified in a text to me from my IU Health Care Team containing a “Full Screening Form” from SDOH.

Of course, I don’t recognize any IU Health Care Team. I do have a physician who practices at one of the ever-expanding IU Health facilities. From time-to-time he sends me on excursions through the labyrinth of departments, labs, or orifices of that serpentine organization. But I know no team.

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The “Full Screening Form” from SDOH came in two sections. First I was asked, “In the past year, have you or any family members you live with been unable to get any of the following when it was really needed?” There were five classes of items indicated: Food, Health care or medication, Housing, Transportation for health care or medication, and Utilities.

I presumed I could check any or all of these. But I selected, “No.” An added option was, “I choose not to answer this question.” 

In the second section I was asked, “In the past year, have you been afraid or felt unsafe due to the following?”  Choices: Partner or ex-partner, Family member or caregiver, Where you live. Once again I answered, “No” and was glad to see, “Choose not to answer.”

I was not able to identify my insecurity driving the bombed-pocked streets of my city.

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Here we find our state government expressing concern about our welfare. These are important indicators of well-being and security. Collecting such information, matching with my characteristics which are already on file, and merging those responses into a well-structured, but confidential data base, could provide useful inputs for policy development.

Where did this come from? Is there leftover money from a Biden initiative? Did the Braun administration or the Indiana General Assembly come up with this independently? Is this a state-wide program or just a test exercise to look (excuse the word) progressive?

Whatever the genesis, this is important and noteworthy. Most of us, faced with any of the conditions enumerated, would be hesitant to admit such concerns. But efforts to overcome that reluctance can be beneficial and prevent tragedy. If the data can be used and if useful, are used.

However, if the at-risk population fails to respond, we’re no better off. If the SDOH has no funding to follow-up itself or if local resources are insufficient to do the job, then we’ll know the need and have failed to provide help.

I look forward to the SDOH reporting on the success of this program. If they only notify my doctor of my well-being… I won’t say it. That would be negative.

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Mr. Marcus is a research economist formerly with the Kelley School of Business at IU. Contact him at mortonjmarcus@gmail.com. Listen to Morton with John Guy on the podcast Who Gets What? at mortonjohn.libsyn.com



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