Since the terrorist attacks in Paris on Nov. 13, there have been a number of major developments.
Days following the attacks, French police conducted raids in Saint-Denis, a Parisian suburb, at two apartments and a church. According to CNN, three suspects were killed — including alleged ringleader Abdelhamid Abaaoud — and seven other would-be terrorists were taken into custody. Sadly, five police offers were wounded and a police dog named Diesel lost its life in the line of duty. Russia has since sent France a puppy to replace Diesel.
Here at home, the New York Times reports that two Air France flights were diverted after bomb threats. However, both of them — one from Washington Dulles International Airport and the other from Los Angeles — were searched and deemed safe.
In Travel Weekly’s recent poll about the terror attacks, 30 percent of participating travel agents have said some of their clients have canceled or postponed trips to the City of Light following the devastation.
In the wake of these tense times, there are shimmers of positive light. Today.com is reporting that a pregnant woman who was captured on video dangling from a second story window outside the Bataclan music hall has reunited with the man who pulled her to safety thanks to social media.
An NBC News story shows a touching video of a father and son at a memorial outside of the music hall. The child told a reporter for France’s “Le Petit Journal” that they would have to move out of their home because of “bad people,” to which his father told him not to worry because France is their home. When the son asks his father if the candles and flowers at the memorial are for protection, the adult simply answers “Yes.”
In an NPR podcast, host David Greene tells the story of a young man and woman – total strangers – who witnessed the events at the music hall and met at a memorial, where they have spent time together bonding over their unique circumstances.
