Latest news with #Mattias
NBC News
2 days ago
- NBC News
What we know about man killed while running from ICE agents in Monrovia
After a man was struck and killed by a SUV Thursday while running from a federal immigration enforcement operation at a Home Depot in Monrovia, immigrant communities are once again condemning the federal government's tactics while mourning the crash victim. The man who died on the 210 Freeway was identified as Roberto Carlos Montoya Valdez from Jutiapa, Guatemala, according to the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, which said the Guatemalan consulate confirmed the identity. Cellphone video from the deadly crash appears to show a passerby on the 210 Freeway, showing the body of a man who has been hit by a car just yards from where federal officers were arresting day laborers below. The man ran from the scene, crossed Evergreen Avenue and entered the eastbound 210 Freeway, said Monrovia City Manager Dylan Feik. CHP officers said they received a report just before 10 a.m. that someone had been hit by a SUV on the freeway near Myrtle Avenue. What exactly led up to the man running onto the freeway is unclear. 'Was it intentional? I don't think that is the case, but it ended up with a father, a brother being killed,' said Pablo Alvarado, co-executive director of the National Day Laborers Organizing Network. The Department of Homeland Security told NBC Los Angeles in a statement that Montoya Valdez was not being pursued by federal officials. But Alvarado blamed the federal officials' tactics that, he said, created fear. 'Whether they were chasing him or not, the fact is that when you have operations of this kind, the first reaction of any human being is to run.' Many others in the same Home Depot parking lot also ran, according to people who witnessed or experienced the raid. 'My boss told me to run because immigration was there,' Mattias, a worker who escaped the raid, said in Spanish. 'Some people ran regardless of their immigration status because nowadays, they don't know if undocumented or documented people will be detained.' Mattias said he hurt himself while jumping a fence. DHS said eight day laborers were arrested during Thursday's raid, including nationals from Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras. The department called the raid by U.S. Border Patrol a 'targeted immigration enforcement operation,' but did not mention the death of Valdez.
Newsroom
19-07-2025
- Health
- Newsroom
Where do the neurodiverse children play?
Mac and Maria Pouniu couldn't take their autistic son Mattias to a playground without feeling overwhelmed and judged by onlookers. Instead of staying at home, isolated and alone, the couple decided to take a negative experience and turn it into something positive – a play centre for kids like their son. About five years later, standing amidst the delightful chaos of a busy Wednesday morning, Poinui tells The Detail that Spectroom is more than just a play zone. It's a safe space where children with different disabilities – not just autism – can be themselves in an environment designed to let them play freely. 'A lot of our kids have grown up in that environment where they have very limited access to resources and they have very restricted access to things. 'Parents have become so used to, 'Oh nah we've never done that, oh nah we're not going to do that',' Mac says. But when parents come into an environment where their child can explore and they can take a step back, they see a whole different child. 'It's because we've never put them in a space where they can actually be themselves without restrictions,' he says. The diagnosis of Mattias led Maria Pounui to leave her job in marketing, retrain and work for Autism New Zealand as a play coach. She's the other half of the driving force behind Spectroom. Her long-term goal is to build a facility with wrap-around services for neurodivergent people of all ages, from day care for the little ones, to mock apartments for adults to practise everyday tasks. 'We started with our little ones because that's all the funding that I had … but the goal is at the end to have these services where we can assist and support our community when they are adults,' she says. Maria Pounui says while there are existing services already helping people with disabilities there simply aren't enough to serve all neurodiverse people. 'We need to have services that are umbrella services … because transitions for our kids with disabilities are really hard,' she says. Spectroom received global recognition within a year of opening, with FIFA asking Mac and Maria to build a similar sensory space at their centre at Eden Park. 'It's a quiet, dim space for our kids, also for adults, for them to go when they get overwhelmed. 'Especially for example at Eden Park when people get overwhelmed with crowd, crowded spaces, it could be anything, lighting, sound, and that triggers some people… and then sometimes they need a space to go into to recharge, recoup,' Mac says. The sensory room was only meant to stay for the duration of the 2023 FIFA Womens World Cup but it was so popular that Eden Park asked to keep it permanently. Now it's been expanded and Mac says they're working on a similar facility in Manukau, where he says the need is highest. 'The original plan was to set one here, one in Wellington and one in Christchurch, that is still in the pipeline. But we have also recently become a trust. 'Becoming a trust is not as straightforward as becoming a trust and then get funding; you still have to go through the whole process of proving who we are, why we need the funding and then we need to target our right audience. 'It's really important that we get it right from the beginning, but we do plan to set more [facilities] around the country?' Check out how to listen to and follow The Detail here. You can also stay up-to-date by liking us on Facebook or following us on Twitter.
Time of India
05-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
This never gets old': Pilot captures mesmerising view of diving into clouds for landing
Sometimes all it takes to be reminded of the breathtaking beauty of nature in a world full of hustle and bustle is a window seat—or in this case, a view from the cockpit. Commercial pilot Mattias, whose Instagram handle is @flywithmat_, recently shared a video that went viral. The breathtaking final approach of an aircraft preparing to land is captured in the video, giving viewers a front-row seat to the serene ballet between the runway and clouds. In the video, as the plane gently cuts through fluffy clouds, a golden horizon gradually gives way to a clear runway below. This serene visual experience—which goes beyond a pilot's-eye view—has thrilled more than a million people. Mattias captioned the photo, "Diving into clouds. Thick layers surround the cockpit, the world outside fades—visibility drops to zero. it's all about the instruments. Attitude, speed, localizer, glideslope — each value scanned, each adjustment based on numbers, not sight. Then, finally, a break in the clouds. The runway appears late, but in time and exactly where it should be. No surprises. Just precision. THIS never gets old." Social media users showered the comments section with praise, with many referring to it as "a dream job" and "a view worth waking up for." Some even admitted that they repeatedly watched the landing sequence in order to regain that sense of calm. In a time when delays and disruptions in aviation frequently make headlines, Mattias's video serves as a kind reminder of the understated elegance that can still be found at 35,000 feet.
