CNN Profiles - Holly Yan - Senior News Writer, CNN Digital | CNN

Holly Yan - Senior News Writer, CNN Digital

Holly Yan

Senior News Writer, CNN Digital

Holly Yan is a senior writer for CNN Digital, reporting national breaking news, explanatory articles and in-depth features. Follow her on Twitter: @HollyYanCNN

CNN Digital Expansion 2016 Holly Yan

Latest

A memorial honors former UGA student Laken Riley at an entrance to the woods where she was killed. Riley was jogging on a UGA campus trail near Lake Herrick when she was attacked.

How a gruesome attack along a UGA trail has changed the lives of students and nature lovers

The five pairs of sneakers resting in front of a popular wooded trail serve as a daily reminder of the run Laken Riley never finished.

In addition to the Athens-Clarke County Coroner, the University of Georgia is now also identifying the victim found dead on their campus in Athens on Thursday, as Laken Hope Riley.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />According to the university, Riley was an undergraduate student at the University of Georgia until the spring of 2023, and then she became a nursing student at the Augusta University nursing program in Athens.

• Live Updates Live Updates

From Allyson Phillips

Live Updates November 20, 2024 - Judge sentences Laken Riley’s murderer to life in prison

Jose Ibarra, the man convicted of killing Laken Riley as she jogged through the woods at the University of Georgia, was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole Wednesday, concluding a highly emotional, four-day trial.

Allyson Phillips, second from left, mother of Laken Riley reacts as John Phillips, stepfather of Laken Riley, comforts her during a trial of Jose Ibarra, accused of killing the Georgia nursing student earlier this year, at Athens-Clarke County Superior Court, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, in Athens, Ga. (Hyosub Shin/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP, Pool)

Hyosub Shin/Pool/Atlanta Journal-Constitution/AP

A mother’s agony: What Allyson Phillips has endured during the trial of the man accused of killing her daughter, Laken Riley

For Laken Riley’s mother, the anguish of losing a child in a gruesome attack is amplified by the horror of hearing details about the final minutes of her life.

This undated image shows Laken Riley posing for a picture.

• Live Updates Live Updates

Obtained by CNN

Live Updates November 19, 2024 - Day 3 of the murder trial of the man accused of killing Laken Riley

Jose Antonio Ibarra is accused of killing nursing student Laken Riley while she was jogging on the University of Georgia campus on February 22.

This undated image shows Laken Riley posing for a picture.

• Live Updates Live Updates

Obtained by CNN

Live Updates Day 2 of the murder trial of the man accused of killing Georgia student Laken Riley wraps up

The latest updates in the trial of Jose Antonio Ibarra, the 26-year-old undocumented immigrant accused of the murder of Univ. of Georgia student Laken Riley.

FILE - USA's Kerri Strug is carried by her coach, Bela Karolyi, as she waves to the crowd on her way to receiving her gold medal for the women's team gymnastics competition, at the Centennial Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, July 23, 1996. Strug had two torn ligaments and a sprained ankle from the vault competition. (AP Photo/Susan Ragan, File)

Bela Karolyi, the polarizing coach who helped launch gymnasts to Olympic stardom, dies at 82

Bela Karolyi, the legendary and controversial Romanian American gymnastics coach who helped lead Mary Lou Retton, Nadia Comaneci and Kerri Strug to Olympic gold, has died, USA Gymnastics announced. He was 82.

This undated image shows Laken Riley posing for a picture.

Obtained by CNN

Prosecutors share how a smartwatch left clues in the killing of Laken Riley. Here are the key trial takeaways so far

About a half dozen people, including at least one of Laken Riley’s relatives, left an Athens, Georgia, courtroom to avoid seeing videos and images of the nursing student’s lifeless body.

This undated image shows Laken Riley posing for a picture.

Obtained by CNN

Evidence in trial of man accused of killing Laken Riley will show the Georgia student ‘fought for her life,’ prosecutors say

In the nine months since Laken Riley was killed while jogging at the University of Georgia, her death turned into a lightning rod over crime and illegal immigration and cast an ominous shadow over the college town of Athens.

Jose Ibarra appears in court for a hearing in Athens, Georgia, on November 12, 2024.

Laken Riley killing: Judge to decide fate of undocumented migrant accused in student’s death that fueled political debate

The undocumented migrant accused of killing Georgia nursing student Laken Riley — a slaying that ignited fresh debate over the border crisis — waived his right to a trial by jury Tuesday and agreed to a bench trial, in which a judge will decide his guilt or innocence.

Conyers resident Kisha Reid shot this photo of multicolored smoke erupting from the BioLab chemical plant.

Weeks after a chemical plant inferno, nearby residents say they’re suffering prolonged illnesses and financial upheaval

The opaque plumes of noxious smoke billowing out of a Georgia chemical plant are long gone. But the relentless effects of the BioLab fire in Conyers are still visible, residents say – from exacerbated rashes to mounting bills to nagging symptoms and piles of prescriptions.

ASHEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA - OCTOBER 01: The entrance to the Biltmore Estate is seen surrounded by debris in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene on October 1, 2024 in Asheville, North Carolina. According to reports, at least 140 people have been killed across the southeastern U.S., and millions are without power due to the storm, which made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane. The White House has approved disaster declarations in North Carolina, Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Virginia and Alabama, freeing up federal emergency management money and resources for those states. (Photo by Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images)

Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images

Historic Biltmore Estate suffers ‘extensive’ damage in some places after Helene thrashes North Carolina

The 8,000-acre Biltmore Estate, Asheville’s biggest attraction that welcomes 1.4 million visitors a year, has significant damage in some buildings after Helene ripped through Western North Carolina, the Biltmore said.

SWANNANOA, NORTH CAROLINA - OCTOBER 04: An American flag hangs above floodwaters remaining from Hurricane Helene on October 4, 2024 in Swannanoa, North Carolina. At least 215 people were killed in six states in the wake of the powerful hurricane which made landfall as a Category 4. President Joe Biden ordered the deployment of 1,000 active duty U.S. soldiers to assist with storm relief efforts in what is now the deadliest U.S. mainland hurricane since Hurricane Katrina. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Mario Tama/Getty Images

Helene death toll rises to at least 232 across 6 states

The death toll from Helene has risen to at least 227 across six states, according to CNN’s tally, after two more deaths were announced Saturday in South Carolina.

• Live Updates Live Updates

Live Updates October 9 Hurricane Milton news

Hurricane Milton has made landfall near Siesta Key, Florida, as a dangerous Category 3 storm before weakening to a Category 1 as it moves over the state, according to the National Hurricane Center. It is the fifth hurricane to make landfall in the US this year.

Bob Gendron loads sandbags onto his truck, as they are distributed to Pinellas County residents before the expected arrival of Tropical Storm Milton, in Seminole, Florida, U.S. October 6, 2024. REUTERS/Octavio Jones

• Live Updates Live Updates

Octavio Jones/Reuters

Live Updates October 7, 2024, Hurricane Milton news

Hurricane Milton could devastate areas that were already hard-hit by Helene.

ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA - OCTOBER 07: Traffic is heavy as thousands evacuate ahead of Hurricane Milton as it churns in the Gulf of Mexico on October 07, 2024, in St. Petersburg, Florida. Milton, which comes on heels of the destructive Hurricane Helene, has strengthened to a Category 5 storm as it approaches Florida’s Gulf Coast near St. Petersburg and Tampa, where it is projected to make landfall Wednesday. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

• Live Updates Live Updates

Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Live Updates October 8, 2024 news on Hurricane Milton

The storm wobbled farther south than expected Tuesday, leading to a southern shift in the forecast from the National Hurricane Center.

A drone view shows a damaged area, following the passing of Hurricane Helene, in Asheville, North Carolina, U.S., September 29, 2024. REUTERS/Marco Bello

Marco Bello/Reuters

People moved to Asheville to escape extreme weather. They forgot its tragic history.

The destruction reveals this city — like any in America — was never safe, it’s just that memories are short and the climate crisis consistently underestimated.