Washington, D.C
Victims of plane crash in DC: Ryan O'Hara, Kiah Duggins, Ian Epstein, among victims of American airlines crash – BBC News Pidgin
Wia dis foto come from, Howard University
Recovery operations still dey go on for Washington DC. Dis na afta one American Airlines plane from Kansas wey get 64 pipo onboard collide wit one military helicopter on Wednesday night.
Di victims include top figure skaters from US and Russia, one young pilot, flight attendants, and one lawyer wey dey travel go house on her birthday.
Here na some of di pipo believed to dey on board di helicopter and di plane.
Passengers
26-year-old Indiana woman, Asra Hussain Raza, just move go Washington DC area afta she receive her master’s degree in hospital management.
“She bin dey return from one work trip wia she dey help improve one hospital wey really need help,” her husband Hamaad Raza, wey show di last text message e receive from im wife to news crews outside di airport, tok.
“And, you know, she bin dey do wetin she love. She bin even dey work on di flight.”
E add say: “She give a lot, but she get so much more to give. If anybody dey wey take advantage of dia 26 years of life, na her.”
Di president of Howard University don confam say Professor Kiah Duggins die for di collision.
Di civil rights lawyer dey set to begin lecture for di university School of Law for autumn.
“She dedicate her career to fighting against unconstitutional policing and unjust money bail practices for Tennessee, Texas and Washington DC,” di university tok for one statement wey US media report.
Two DC lawyers also dey on board di flight, dia loved ones confam.
Sarah Lee Best, 33, dey kind and hardworking, her husband Daniel Solomon tell di Washington Post.
Mrs Best and Mr Solomon bin plan to travel go Hawaii, wia dem born her for dia 10th wedding anniversary for May.
33-year-old Lawyer Elizabeth Keys, “always, always manage to have fun… no mata wetin she dey do,” her partner David Seidman tell di paper.
She die on her birthday, Oga Seidman tok.
Di firm wia two of dem dey work, Wilkinson Stekloff, pay tribute to di “cherished members” of dia team.
Dem be “wonderful attorneys, colleagues, and friends,” firm founder Beth Wilkinson tok for statement.
Dem don pay to “dedicated papa” Casey Crafton of Salem, Connecticut.
“Salem just lost a dedicated father, husband, and community member,” Govnor Ned Lamont bin write on social media.
Salem Little League, wia Oga Crafton be coach, tok say di town dey “heartbroken” by di loss of di “beloved” club member.
“Di Crafton family, dey deeply involved in all things Salem, di community don suffer an unimaginable loss,” di statement read.
Michael Stovall mama tok say her son na “di happiest pesin” wey dey see good in evri body.
Oga Stovall, wey pipo sabi well-well as Mikey, bin dey travel go house from one annual hunting trip wit friends, Christina Stovall tell Wink News.
“Mikey no get one enemy. If you see fotos of am… e be di life of di party. E love evri body.”
Oga Stovall cousin tell di New York Times say e bin dey fly wit at least six of im friends from di trip, some of dem don sabi each oda since childhood.
Jesse Pitcher bin dey travel wit Oga Stovall, im papa confam.
Di 30-year-old from Maryland just marry last year and e recently just start im own business, Jameson Pitcher tell di New York Times.
“E just dey start life,” e tok.
“E say im go see me wen e come back.”
Philippine National Police confam say di director of dia Supply Management Division, Colonel Pergentino N. Malabed, bin dey on board di flight.
One police tok-tok pesin say dem recover one body wey carry Col Malabed passport from di Potomac.
E travel go US wit two oda officers to test personnel vests wey di police dey plan to buy, and e bin dey on im way to di Philippine embassy for Washington.
Passenger plane crew
Di plane captain Jonathan J. Campos dream since wen e be 3-year-old na to be pilot, im aunt tell di New York Times.
“I think e wan dey free, and dey able to fly and soar like a bird,” Beverly Lane tok.
34-year-old Oga Campos, 34, bin grow up for Brooklyn, New York, and e work for PSA Airlines (part of di American Airlines group) for eight years, she add.
Di papa of 28-year-old pilot Sam Lilley tok say e don dey engaged to be married and e “just dey for di prime of im life”.
Tim Lilley tell NewsNation say im son get im piloting license in only a few years becos e “pursue am wit vigour”.
“Sam dey right wit Jesus, and I know where e dey go,” e tok.
Im sister Tiffany Gibson dey call am “an amazing person”.
“E love pipo. E love adventure. E love to travel,” she tell ABC News.
“E dey so young, and e dey excited about life and im future and getting a dog and a house and kids. And it’s just, dis just dey tragic.”
Wia dis foto come from, Facebook/Debi Epstein
Virginia resident Ian Epstein na flight attendant on di plane, im family tok.
E dey known for im ability to make pipo smile and e dey “full of life”.
“He love being a flight attendant becos e truly enjoy to dey travel and meet new pipo. But im true love na im family,” di statement continue.
Epstein, 53, na father, stepfather, husband, and brother, di family tok, and as say dem go “truly miss am”.
Danasia Elder also dey work as a flight attendant, her family tell US media for Charlotte, North Carolina.
Her brother-in-law Brandon Payne wey pay tribute to her, tok say she dey “full of life”.
“She be great wife, great parent, great friend,” Payne tok. “She dey very bright, very smart… Dis flight attendant thing na kind of like one of her dreams, something wey she wan do.”
E say im dey proud of im sister-in-law for pursuing her dreams, and she “go want make all of una do di same thing she do”.
“Chase your dreams, no mata what. No let anytin fear you, push you away. Just believe in yourself, believe in God, and follow di path.”
Helicopter crew
29-year-old Ryan O’Hara, na di crew chief of di Black Hawk helicopter wey jam di passenger plane, according to CBS News.
E leave behind a wife and one-year-old son, im local Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) program tok for one social media post wey confam im death.
O’Hara dey “fondly remembered as dat guy wey go fix things around di ROTC gym, e also be ogbonge member of di rifle team,” di post tok.
Wia dis foto come from, Facebook/Carrie Eaves
Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves confam say Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Eaves also die for di collision.
Paying tribute to her husband, Carrie Eaves confam say e be one of di pilots of di Blackhawk helicopter.
“We ask say make you pray for our family and friends and for all di oda families wey dey suffer today. We ask for peace while we grieve,” she write on social media.
Ice skaters
Spencer Lane and Christine Lane
16-year-old Ice skater Spencer Lane, die alongside her mother Christine Lane, 49. Dem dey among di at least 14 athletes and coaches wey die as dem dey return from one skate camp for Wichita.
Im father tell local media say im son na “a force of nature” wey show “drive and tenacity” to di sport.
“E train for di Skating Club of Boston five days a week and attend high school online and just commit himself to it,” Douglas Lane tokj.
E add say im wife na “creative powerhouse” wey go do anything for her children.
Jinna Han, 13, bin also travel go di skate camp wit her mother, Jin.
For one 2022 interview, Jinna bin tell one news network for her Massachusetts hometown say she dey excited to watch di Olympics.
“E dey just so exciting,” Jinna Han tok. “E dey like, who go win, wetin go happun, becos anything fit happun for di Olympics.”
Doug Zeghibe of di Skating Club of Boston call Jin “wonderful, pleasant, polite” pesin.
“Never a discouraging word,” e tok. “Always appreciative, always supportive of not just Jinna, her daughter, but every athlete. Just role model parents in your sport, and you no dey always get dat.”
Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov
Di Kremlin confam di deaths of beloved ice skating coaches Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, wey be Russian.
Famous skating coach and friend Rafael Arutyunyan tell CNN say e bin make im athletes train in silence afta di crash as mark of respect.
“I know all these coaches,” e tok. “All of our community dey respectful to dem and like dem, so I feel dem go stay wit us forever.”
Twelve-year-old Olivia Ter from Maryland dey among di US figure skaters aboard di flight, local officials confam.
“Olivia no only excelled in figure skating programs but inspire odas through her talent, determination and sportsmanship,” Prince George County Parks and Recreation tok for one statement wey CBS News report.
“Di impact of Olivia life go continue to resonate for our youth sports community, and we go miss her well-well,” Bill Tyler, di director of di Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, tok.
Wia dis foto come from, Facebook/Matthew Alan LaRaviere
Cory Haynos, Roger Haynos and Stephanie Branton Haynos
Cory Haynos bin dey travel go house from di US Ice Skating Championships wit im parents, Roger Haynos and Stephanie Branton Haynos, one family member write on social media.
“Roger don always inspire me by im absolute love for im family and dedication to providing only di best for im wife and kids,” Matthew Alan LaRavier, Roger cousin, write.
“Cory na amazing skater wit a very bright future,” e tok.
“All of us bin dey expect Cory to represent our kontri for US Olympics for di future.”
Former coach Sasha Kirsanov bin dey on board di plane, di University of Delaware tok.
Im wife tell ABC News say she don “lost everything” for di crash.
WASHINGTON (7News) — The Catholic archbishop of Washington, D.C., Cardinal Robert McElroy, on Wednesday removed a well-known priest as an exorcist of the archdiocese after he made public comments suggesting that UFO sightings were the work of demons.
McElroy said the archdiocese also was cutting ties with the St. Michael Center for Spiritual Renewal, a Washington-based nonprofit headed by the priest, Monsignor Stephen Rossetti.
The archbishop said Rossetti’s statements “linking UFOs to demonic presence and the Center’s recent use of social media gravely undermine the Church’s very precise teaching on the devil, demons and exorcism.”
“There’s a danger here,” Rossetti said in a May 29 video posted on his Facebook page addressing UFO sightings and the existence of aliens. “As an exorcist I wanted to raise that danger. And that is that demons like to hide. … They don’t want us to know what they’re doing because they’re more effective when we don’t realize it.”
“They can kind of get into your head, you know, and manipulate things in the world to influence us to do evil.”
“It’s my personal belief that probably many if not most of these UFO sightings are in fact demons,” Rossetti added.
Rossetti also said that people can be good Catholics and believe there’s life on other planets, though he does not personally believe life exists elsewhere.
In a statement posted on the St. Michael Center website, Rossetti said he was saddened by the action of the archdiocese.
“I ask forgiveness for any ways that I have not been faithful to the teachings of the Church’s Magisterium, particularly in the cited video on ‘aliens and the demonic,’” he said. “I believe it is of the utmost importance to be obedient to the Church and I will continue to endeavor to subject all that I do and the Center to be thus obedient.”
Rossetti, who has over 148,000 followers on Instagram, is a prominent psychologist as well as an exorcist. His center has specialized in offering spiritual healing for priests troubled by various difficulties.
In 2023, he told The Associated Press there was increasing and renewed appetite for information about demonic possession and exorcism.
Washington, D.C
Nurses at Washington D.C.’s largest hospital call on leadership to reverse planned cuts to maternal health
RNs at MedStar Washington Hospital Center say closure of postpartum unit will disproportionately harm marginalized and underserved communities
Union nurses at MedStar Washington Hospital Center (MWHC) in Washington, D.C. are demanding that management stop the planned closure of an entire postpartum unit, announced National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United (NNOC/NNU). The hospital notified the union on May 26, 2026 of its intention to eliminate 11 maternal health beds and displace eight nurses by July 26, 2026, leaving MWHC with one postpartum unit.
In a follow-up town hall with staff nurses, Chief Nursing Officer Ariam Yitbarek confirmed the closure. Other leaders have additionally informed staff that the hospital will strictly limit scheduled C-sections and inductions for patients from numerous D.C. maternal health organizations. The list of organizations includes many that primarily serve low-income patients, immigrants, and patients of color, all communities with significantly higher risks of maternal mortality. Additionally, staff were informed that Kaiser Permanente, which notably insures a large number of DC city employees and even many of MWHC’s own workers, will see a strict limit on scheduling inductions and C-sections for their patients as well.
“Closing postpartum unit 5F will gravely impact those most affected by health disparities,” said Stephanie Sims-Coates, RN in the neonatal intensive care unit. “Our low-income families and families of color will be most affected by this closure. Families trust the medical staff at MWHC and plan to come to us for their care. In a city where Black women make up 90 percent of pregnancy-related deaths despite being only half the population, the hospital’s decision to close this unit is a significant mistake.”
Community leaders and healthcare workers are joining the call for MedStar to put patients before profits and keep the unit open. This past weekend, nurses met with D.C. mayoral candidate and Ward 4 councilwoman Janeese Lewis George about the planned closure and the impact it would have on DC’s most vulnerable residents.
“Maternal mortality is a crisis for Washington, DC, and our healthcare system needs to address the crisis immediately, rather than exacerbate the challenges that birthing parents face,” said Councilwoman Janeese Lewis George. “Now is the time to invest in health care, rather than make cuts. I want to work with the hospital to identify solutions that work for patients and the provider.”
“In my time at Washington Hospital Center, I’ve seen the hospital tout its Safe Moms, Safe Babies program and host a community baby shower specifically designed to call attention to the maternal mortality crisis,” said Marcqueata “Tiya” Butler, RN in the Mother/Baby unit. “Their current plan to shut down 11 postpartum beds betrays the hospital’s stated commitments. They are aware of persistent inequities in access to care. We are calling on the hospital to consider the impacts on the community, safeguard the mothers and infants of DC and commit to addressing the maternal mortality rate.”
In 2024, MedStar Health, a registered non-profit, reported $9 billion in operating revenue.
NNOC/NNU represents more than 2,200 registered nurses at Washington Hospital Center.
National Nurses United is the largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses in the United States with more than 225,000 members nationwide. NNU affiliates include California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee, DC Nurses Association, Michigan Nurses Association, Minnesota Nurses Association, and New York State Nurses Association.
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