11 major news events you may have missed last week

For the first time in its 274-year old history, Princeton University announced a black student as its valedictorian.

Nicholas Johnson, a Canadian student graduating with a major in operations research and financial engineering called the title "empowering."

"It feels empowering. Being Princeton's first Black Valedictorian holds special significance to me particularly given Princeton's historical ties to the institution of slavery," Johnson told CNN. "I hope that this achievement motivates and inspires younger black students, particularly those interested in STEM fields."

Princeton was founded in 1746 as the College of New Jersey, and its first nine Presidents were all slave owners.

After graduation, Johnson will intern as a software developer and quantitative researcher at the global investment firm D.E. Shaw Group, before attending a Ph.D. program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

A chemical gas leak at an LG Polymers plant in Southern India killed at least 11 people and caused nearly 1,000 others to experience breathing difficulties and burning in their eyes.

The synthetic chemical styrene leaked after a fire broke out at the plant, and the effects could be felt by nearly 1,000 people in a 1.8-mile radius. Authorities said several people fainted in the street and were quickly taken to a local hospital.

Over 25 ambulances were deployed to transport the sick to hospitals and get people away from the toxic area. Over 3,000 people were evacuated on Thursday, with more evacuations taking place the following day.

Styrene is used to make plastic and rubber and is thought to have leaked because multiple large tanks were left unattended for weeks amid the coronavirus pandemic. The potent gas can immobilize people within minutes of exposure and can be deadly in high doses.

Indianapolis police received backlash after fatally shooting two men and killing a pregnant pedestrian in three separate incidents that occured just hours apart.

The first shooting occurred around 6 pm. last Wednesday, after police officers chased down 21-year-old Dreasjon Reed in a 90 mph car chase. Officers stated that they observed Reed driving recklessly and attempted to pull him over. After the chase, Reed exited his car and ran from an officer, who exchanged shots with Reed and ultimately killed him – a moment that was broadcast on Facebook Live.

Following the fatal shooting, a second tragedy occurred hours later when a pregnant woman was struck by a police officer driving to work at around 9:45 pm. The woman, identified as 23-year old Ashlynn Lisby, was killed along with her fetus.

Then, in the middle of the night, officers shot and killed 19-year-old McHale Rose, after responding to an apartment complex to investigate a burglary report. When the officers arrived at the scene, Rose confronted them outside and fired at them with a rifle.

The three separate incidents prompted hundreds of people to gather and protest the conduct of the Indianapolis Police.

"We recognize and are saddened that this mutual trust that we so value has been eroded over the last 24 hours, but I remain steadfast in our commitment to be transparent with our community, not just today but throughout the entire process as we learn more about what happened last night," Chief Randal Taylor of the Indianapolis metropolitan police department said during a news conference.

Taylor confirmed in the news conference that there would be a thorough investigation into each killing.

Last week tech billionaire Elon Musk and musician Grimes welcomed their first child into the world – a baby boy with an unconventional name, to say the least.

Musk created widespread confusion when he announced on twitter that the child's name was "X Æ A-12 Musk." Thinking it was a riddle, social media users spent days trying to decode the letters and figure out the name's pronunciation.

On Thursday, Musk finally confirmed the pronunciation on the "Joe Rogan Experience" podcast as "X Ash Archangel."

But that didn't fully clear the air. In an Instagram comment last week, Grimes noted that she pronounces the name X A.I., or, phonetically, "ecks aye eye."

Researchers from the US and Belgium are studying a four-year-old llama named Winter to see if her antibodies could be used to help fight the novel coronavirus and other diseases.

Llamas produce tiny disease-fighting antibodies known as nanobodies that can be used to effectively stave off infections because of their size. Humans are only capable of producing one type of antibody, which is larger and less effective at blocking harmful proteins that cause sickness.

So far, the researchers have found that Winter produces special antibodies that protected her from getting sick with MERS and SARS, and very preliminary research indicates the same could be true for COVID-19.

Llama antibodies have also been considered for therapies to help treat HIV and strains of influenza.

Though the research is in its very early stages, the scientists hope to eventually develop different antibody therapies that could be used to protect healthy people from contracting COVID-19.

Mustafa al-Kadhimi, an American-backed candidate was chosen as the new prime minister of Iraq last week.

Al-Kadhimi is the first official prime minister since the previous leader stepped down in November, following a period of social unrest and anti-government protests. He's thought to be more open-minded to protest movements within Iraq, as well as negations with the US and Iran.

The former intelligence chief and is seen as a more liberal, secular leader for the country, The New York Times reported.

"With this prime minister, Iraq is breaking the cycle of having a prime minister who comes from political Islam. He is kind of a liberal, secular person," Rahman Jubori, a senior fellow at the American University of Iraq in Sulimaniya told the Times.

Dozens of homes and businesses have been destroyed, and thousands more evacuated after three wildfires raged through the Florida panhandle.

The largest of the wildfires, now referred to as the "Five Mile Swamp Fire," caused the most destruction and prompted the closure of a 10-mile stretch of Interstate 10.

As of Friday, the fire had blazed more than three miles and engulfed 2,200 acres of woods and properties.

"This is a significant fire event," Joe Zwierzchowski, spokesman for the Florida Forest Service, said during a May 6 press conference. "Deteriorating weather conditions, changes in the wind, a strong north wind, and extremely low humidity are allowing this fire to grow."

Asian giant hornets, nicknamed "murder hornets," can grow up to 2-inches long and are known for their swift ability to decapitate entire colonies of honeybees and even kill humans.

Native to China, Korea, and Japan, the hornets were spotted for the first time on US soil and in parts of Canada.

Though Asian giant hornets do not typically attack humans unless provoked, up to 50 people a year are killed by the hornets in Japan, and in 2013, a massive swarm killed 42 people and injured 1,600 in China.

"You can imagine by the sheer size of them that if someone stumbled across a nest, and got stung by a few angry hornets, that would be a significant venom load," Todd Murray, an invasive species expert at Washington State University, told Business Insider.

The hornets were spotted in Washington State and prompted officials to undergo a series of eradication efforts to prevent them from colonizing further. Entomologists worry that if the hornets become an established species in the US, they could disrupt ecosystems and become a long-term issue for beekeepers.

But experts have noted that a 'murder hornet' takeover has been overblown. The headline-grabbing creatures incited panic on social media for their massive size and menacing nickname, but experts have assured us that they aren't an existential threat.

Last week, the US Justice Department filed a surprising motion to drop its case against President Trump's former national security advisor, Michael Flynn.

In 2017, Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his interactions with the Russian ambassador to the US during an interview that took place as part of special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation.

Following his testimony, Flynn moved to hire an aggressive team of lawyers who accused the FBI of entrapment and manipulating his official records during the interview.

On May 7, the Justice Department filed a claim saying that it "is not persuaded that the January 24, 2017 interview was conducted with a legitimate investigative basis and therefore does not believe Mr. Flynn's statements were material even if untrue."

The decision drew immediate praise from Trump and allies of Flynn, while Democrats, including former President Barack Obama, criticized the move as unprecedented and dangerous.

"That's the kind of stuff where you begin to get worried that basic — not just institutional norms — but our basic understanding of rule of law is at risk," Obama reportedly stated in a phone call. "And when you start moving in those directions, it can accelerate pretty quickly as we've seen in other places."

An Iranian naval exercise that was meant to demonstrate the country's competence and missile capabilities went disastrously wrong when it accidentally hit the wrong ship and killed at least 19 sailors.

The Jamaran, Iran's most advanced missile warship, intended to hit an unmanned target, but accidentally fired at a support ship called the Konarak. At least 19 sailors are reported to have been killed, with another 15 wounded, and possibly 20 more missing.

This is the second incident this year where the country has fired a missile at the wrong target, resulting in unwanted deaths.

A regional security source told Insider that the fatal misstep was a result of increased tensions between the US and Iran, which prompted the Iranian government to show off more aggressive naval operations.

A father and son, Gregory McMichael, 64, and Travis McMichael, 34, were arrested for the killing of Ahmaud Arbery, an unarmed black man who was fatally shot while jogging through his neighborhood in Georgia.

The shooting happened on February 23 when Arbery was jogging near Brunswick, Georgia. The two McMichaels – both of whom are white – spotted Arbery on his run, grabbed their guns, and chased him through the neighborhood before killing him.

The arrests came months after the attack, following the recusal of two prosecutors who cited the case as a conflict of interest since Gregory McMichael formerly worked as an investigator for the local District Attorney's office.

But after video footage detailing the events of the shooting circulated across the internet and sparked national outrage, the two McMichaels were arrested and charged with murder and aggravated assault.

Additional evidence involving the mishandling of the case lead the Georgia Attorney General to request a formal US Department of Justice investigation into the matter.

For more information on the developing story, read here.