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Happening Today: Lopez Obrador, Cancer, Birthday Party Stabbing, Romaine Lettuce, Diane Guerrero

What to Know

  • Six children and three adults were injured when a knife-wielding man went on a rampage at a birthday party in Idaho, police say
  • A new government cancer map shows that rates of childhood cancer are highest in the Northeast United States and lowest in the South
  • Diane Guerrero took the stage at D.C.’s Families Belong Together rally to share her own experience of family separation and demand change

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Mexico's Lopez Obrador Claims Historic Win, Broad Mandate

Furious at spiraling corruption and violence, Mexican voters unleashed a political earthquake by electing a leftist firebrand as president and giving him a broad mandate to overthrow the political establishment and govern for the poor. A late-night official quick count from electoral authorities forecast that Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador would win with between 53 percent and 53.8 percent of the vote, a remarkable margin not seen in the country for many years. A prominent exit poll predicted that his party allies were poised to score huge wins in the Senate and lower house, possibly absolute majorities in both. Lopez Obrador, who campaigned on vows to transform Mexico and oust the "mafia of power" ruling the country, rode widespread voter anger and discontent with the governing Institutional Revolution Party, or PRI, of President Enrique Pena Nieto and had led opinion polls since the beginning of the campaign. The PRI, which dominated Mexican politics for nearly the entire 20th century and recaptured the presidency in 2012, was set to suffer heavy losses not just for the presidency but in down-ballot races as well.

6 Kids, 3 Adults Stabbed at Birthday Party, Police Say Motive Unclear

Several families who had fled danger and violence overseas were enjoying a 3-year-old's birthday party in Boise, Idaho, when the unthinkable happened: A man ran up and began chasing and stabbing the children, turning his knife on the adults who tried to intervene, police say. The attack came at a low-income apartment complex that is also home to refugee families from around the world. Nine people were injured, including the birthday girl and five other children ranging in age from 4 to 12. The most gravely injured were clinging to life, Boise Police Chief William Bones said. The chaos began shortly before police received a report of a man with a knife. They arrived less than four minutes later to find victims lying in the street, in the parking lot and inside the complex. Thirty-year-old Timmy Kinner was found and arrested a short distance away; investigators later found a knife believed to be used in the attack in a nearby canal.

LA-Bron: James Agrees to 4-Year, $154M Contract With Lakers

LeBron James is leaving home for Hollywood and an iconic team. The Los Angeles Lakers have a new superstar — L.A.-Bron. The four-time NBA MVP announced he has agreed to a four-year, $154 million contract with the Lakers, joining one of the league's most storied franchises and switching conferences to try and dethrone the Golden State Warriors and grow his own legacy.For the second time in his career, James is saying goodbye to the Cleveland Cavaliers, who drafted the teenage sensation from Akron in 2003 and have to be satisfied with winning just one title in the 11 years they had him. Unlike his two previous forays in free agency, James did not drag out his decision and made the announcement less than 24 hours after NBA free agency opened.

Romaine Lettuce Outbreak Tied to Tainted Irrigation Canal

Tainted irrigation water appears to be the source of a national food poisoning outbreak linked to romaine lettuce, health officials say. About 200 people were sickened in the E. coli outbreak and five people died. The outbreak, which started in the spring, is now over, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. The outbreak sickened people in 36 states, including Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Florida, Texas and Virginia. Five deaths were reported in California, New York, Arkansas and Minnesota. The illnesses were previously traced to romaine lettuce grown in Yuma, Arizona, which provides most of the romaine sold in the U.S. during the winter. Officials said the outbreak strain of E. coli bacteria was found in an irrigation canal in the Yuma area. They are still investigating how the bacteria got into the canal and whether there was contamination elsewhere. They declined to give details about the canal, including its location, until a report can be completed.

Childhood Cancer Rates Highest in Northeast, CDC Map Shows

A new government cancer map shows that rates of childhood cancer are highest in the Northeast United States and lowest in the South, NBC News reported. Rates of pediatric lymphoma and brain cancer are higher in the Northeast while leukemia is more common in the West, according to the map. It isn't clear why the rates vary and, since pediatric cancer is so rare, it's unclear what patients and parents should take away from the data. Its main value, according to the team at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that wrote the report, is in keeping doctors, hospitals and the government vigilant on pediatric cancer. It could simply be that some areas have better systems for detecting cancer, the team said.

Actress Shares Story of Own Family Separation, Demands Change

Actress Diane Guerrero took the stage at D.C.’s Families Belong Together rally to share her own experience of family separation and demand change for the children being "irreversibly damaged" at the border today. Guerrero’s mother and father were deported back to their native Colombia when she was just 14 years old. Her older brother was later deported as well. The 31-year-old actress, known for her roles in Netflix’s “Orange Is the New Black” and the CW’s “Jane the Virgin,” has written an adult and children’s book about her divided family. “Once my family was taken, I became fully aware that my community matters less to some people,” Guerrero told the crowd in D.C. “That we are treated differently because of the color of our skin or where our parents were born.” Guerrero, who was born in America, first spoke publically about being the child of undocumented immigrants in a 2014 Los Angeles Times op-ed. She detailed her life after their deportation and wrote that "not a single person at any level of government took any note of me. No one checked to see if I had a place to live or food to eat." Though "the parents of friends graciously" cared for her, she said she lived a "rocky existence." Guerrero recounted the singing recitals and graduations her family missed.

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