WASHINGTON D.C. – Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has announced a counter-strike operation in Syria following the death of three Americans in the country. Two of those were Iowa National Guard Soldiers, according to WHO-13, including 25-year-old Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres and 29-year-old Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard. White House officials are calling the moves direct retaliation for the alleged attack by a member of ISIS. EARLHAM – An infant from Earlham was injured in a crash in DeSoto on Saturday night. The Iowa State Patrol reports a Chevy Suburban attempted to pass another in a no passing zone on Highway 169 over a hill, hitting a Chevy Silverado head-on. An eight-month old was injured in the collision and taken to a nearby hospital with injuries. VINTON – An Iowa lottery ticket hit a large jackpot as the Powerball continues to grow. KCCI-TV reports a ticket purchased in Vinton matched five white balls in the most recent drawing. Seven other tickets across the country did the same. The Powerball has climbed to $1.6 billion. A ticket purchased in Norwalk in a November Mega Millions drawing remains unclaimed, and is valued at $3 million.

IOWA – Students at schools in northwest Iowa were held late due to disruptions to travel from blizzard-like conditions on Thursday. KCCI-TV reports the Pocahontas Area Community School District alerted parents it would keep buses shut down until conditions improved as several highways in the state were officially closed due to whiteout conditions caused by quick bursts of snow and 50+ mile per hour winds. Much warmer conditions are coming, with some in the state potentially seeing 60 degrees by Christmas Day, according to the National Weather Service. DES MOINES – A West Des Moines man was sentenced to 35 years in federal prison for exploiting numerous minors on social media and possessing child pornography. According to public court records, 28-year-old Nicklas Ray Stanley exploited multiple minors on Snapchat and Instagram over several years. Stanley falsely told the minors that he was a similar age to them and requested and received sexually explicit images or videos. Stanley’s conduct included threatening to disseminate the minors’ imagery if they did not continue to send images to him. POWESHIEK COUNTY – The Poweshiek County Sheriff’s Office announced that a standoff with an alleged suspect came to an end on Thursday when the individual was found dead in an attic. WHO-13 reports members of the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement attempted a search warrant in Brooklyn, when a standoff followed. Police say that 34-year-old Skoky Gene Strohm was found dead after four hours from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

DELAWARE – The bodies of two Iowa National Guard Soldiers killed in Syria arrived in the United States on Wednesday. KCCI-TV reports a dignified transfer was held at Dover Air Base in Delaware. President Donald Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Senators Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst, and Governor Kim Reynolds were all in attendance. Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar and Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard were both members of the 1st Squadron, 113th Calvary Regiment with the Iowa National Guard. CASS COUNTY – A truck driver was ejected from his semi on Interstate 80 in Cass County and died from his injuries. The Iowa State Patrol reports a large truck operated by 69-year-old Robert Johnson, Jr., left the interstate for an unknown reason on Wednesday morning. The vehicle entered a ditch on the north side of the highway, striking a tree line. IOWA – Strong winds will arrive today as a cold front moves across the state. Wind gusts of 40 to 50 mph are likely. The strongest winds will be over western and northwestern Iowa, but it will be windy throughout the state. Strong crosswinds on roadways, as well as some scattered snow showers in the afternoon, could make travel hazardous.

WASHINGTON D.C. – A dignified transfer of the bodies of the two Iowa National Guard soldiers killed in an apparent terrorist attack will take place today. The Des Moines Register reports President Donald Trump will participate in the ceremony at Dover Air Base in Delaware. Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard of Marshalltown and Sgt. Edgar Torres-Tovar were killed on Saturday in an attack carried out by an ISIS gunman during a meeting between U.S. and Syrian security officials. DES MOINES – A public records request shows that small discrepancies in documents may have been noticed before the hiring of now former Superintendent Ian Roberts in Des Moines. WHO-13 reports than 260 pages of documents showed dozens of emails exchanged between Roberts and district administrators during the onboarding process in 2023, as well as the cover letter and resume submitted as part of the hiring process. The records back up previous concerns made after Roberts was arrested by federal immigration agents this past fall. DES MOINES – The Iowa Attorney General’s Office is suing a popular video game. KCCI-TV reports Brenna Bird is accusing Roblox of using the platform of misleading parents and failing to protect children from sexual exploitation. Her office says Roblox claims to have higher safety standards than currently in place. The attorney general is seeking a $40,000 civil penalty per violation and asking a judge to enforce stronger protections.

IOWA – Governor Kim Reynolds has ordered all flags in Iowa to fly at half-staff effectively immediately until sunset on the final day of interment in honor and remembrance of Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard of Marshalltown and Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar of Grimes. Both were members of the 1st Squadron, 113th Cavalry Regiment. The two Iowa Army National Guard Soldiers were killed in an enemy attack Saturday, December 13th, in Palmyra, Syria.WEST BRANCH – Public officials have called multiple crashes involving several vehicles in eastern Iowa this past weekend as a mass casualty event. WHO-13 reports the West Branch Fire Department called in several other departments to respond to multiple collisions that occurred while snow was falling along Interstate 80 on Saturday. More than 40 people were treated for injuries and the Interstate was shut down for several hours due to the crashes. DES MOINES – A federal grand jury in Des Moines returned a nine-count indictment last week, charging multiple individuals with charges related to a racketeering conspiracy and money laundering. As alleged in the indictment, the charged individuals committed thefts of used cooking oil, which can be refined into biodiesel fuel and re-sold. Defendants drove trucks to restaurants and stole cooking oil from collection tanks located at restaurants throughout Iowa and ten other states. The accused then sold that cooking oil and laundered the proceeds. Thirteen people considered to be Chinese nationals were charged with racketeering conspiracy and other related federal criminal counts.