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Australian breakdancer Rachael Gunn speaks out after Paris Olympic performance: “I gave my all”
Australian breakdancer Rachael Gunn, also known as B-Girl Raygun, is speaking out after she received criticism and ridicule for her viral performance at the 2024 Paris Olympics. In an Instagram post Thursday, she broke her silence.
“I really appreciate the positivity, and I’m glad I was able to some joy in your lives,” she said. “That’s what I hoped. I didn’t realize that would open the door to so much hate, which is frankly, been pretty devastating.”
“I went out there and I had fun,” the 36-year-old breaker said. “I did take it very seriously. I worked my butt off preparing for the Olympics, and I gave my all.”
Gunn, a professor from Sydney who holds a PhD in cultural studies, lost all of her three round-robin battles with a score of 54-0, drawing backlash for the lack of points and mockery over some of her moves in her routine, including a “kangaroo dance.” It was even made fun of on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.” She responded to some of her critics.
“Bit of a fun fact for you,” she said. “There are actually no points in breaking. If you want to see how the judges thought I compared to my opponents, you can actually see the comparison percentages across the five criteria on Olympics com. All the results are there.”
She also drew questions over how she was selected to represent Australia.
The Australian Olympics Committee came out in defense of Gunn on Thursday, condemning a anonymous petition on Change.org that demanded an apology from her and Australia’s chef de mission, Anna Meares, for their “unethical conduct” in choosing Gunn. The AOC said Gunn was selected to the Australian Olympic Team through a “transparent and independent qualification event and nomination process.”
“It is disgraceful that these falsehoods concocted by an anonymous person can be published in this way. It amounts to bullying and harassment and is defamatory,” AOC CEO Matt Carroll said in a statement.
As of Thursday afternoon, the petition was no longer live on the site.
The committee pointed out that Gunn held no position within AUSBreaking or DanceSport Australia — two entities that oversee competitive breaking in the country — in any capacity.
Accusations were also aimed at Gunn’s husband and fellow breaker, Samuel Free. The AOC said Free doesn’t and was not a judge at the qualifying event.
Breaking made its Olympic debut in Paris and won many fans. However, the sport did not make it onto the roster of sports for the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.
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911 calls released in deadly Georgia school shooting
A Georgia county’s emergency call center was overwhelmed by calls on Sept. 4 about a school shooting at Apalachee High School that killed four people and wounded nine others, records released Friday by Barrow County show.
Local news organizations report many of the 911 phone calls were not released under public record requests because state law exempts from release calls recording the voice of someone younger than 18 years old. That exemption would cover calls from most of the 1,900 students at the school in Winder, northeast of Atlanta.
Calls spiked around 10:20 a.m., when authorities have said that 14-year-old suspect Colt Gray began shooting. Many calls were answered with an automated message saying there was a “high call volume,” WAGA-TV reported.
One man called 911 after receiving text messages from a girlfriend. He was put on hold for just over 10 minutes because of an influx of calls at the time of the shooting, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
“She hears people yelling outside, so I don’t know if that’s officers in the building or that’s — I don’t know,” he said, adding that she was eventually evacuated out of the school.
Other adults also called 911 after their children contacted them.
“My daughter calling me crying. Somebody go ‘boom, boom, boom, boom,'” one mother said. The 911 operator responded: “Ma’am we have officers out there, OK?”
Parents of students at an elementary school and middle school neighboring Apalachee also flooded 911 seeking information.
“Sir, my daughter goes to school next door to Apalachee. Is there a school shooter?” one caller asked.
“We do have an active situation (at) Apalachee High School right now,” the operator responded. “We have a lot of calls coming in.”
More than 500 radio messages between emergency personnel were also released Friday.
“Active shooter!” an officer yells in one audio clip while speaking with a dispatcher, CNN reported. Another officer responds, “Correct. We have an active shooter at Apalachee High School.”
The shooting killed teachers Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53, as well as students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14. Another teacher and eight more students were wounded, with seven of those hit by gunfire.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation reported Thursday that the suspect rode the school bus on the day of the shooting with the assault-style rifle concealed in his backpack.
He then asked a teacher for permission to go to the front office to speak with someone, and when he received it, he was allowed to take his backpack with him, GBI said. He then went to a restroom, where he hid, and then eventually took out the weapon and started shooting, investigators said. A knife was also found on him when he was arrested.
According to investigators, the suspect enrolled at Apalachee High on Aug. 14, and between Aug. 14 and the day of the shooting, he was absent for nine days of school.
The family told CBS News that the suspect’s maternal grandmother had visited the school the day before the massacre to discuss the suspect’s alleged behavioral issues.
The suspect has been charged as an adult with four counts of murder, and District Attorney Brad Smith has said more charges are likely to be filed against him in connection with the wounded. Authorities have also charged his father, 54-year-old Colin Gray, alleging that he gave his son access to the gun when he knew or should have known that the teen was a danger to himself and others.
The 13,000 students at Barrow County’s other schools returned to class Tuesday. The 1,900 students who attend Apalachee are supposed to start returning the week of Sept. 23, officials said Friday.
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Pope says Trump, Harris are both “against life”
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9/13: CBS News Weekender – CBS News
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