Wednesday, May 12 top stories
It is Wednesday, May 12. Here are today’s top stories.
This morning, House Republicans quickly voted out Liz Cheney from their leadership ranks because she wouldn’t stop criticizing Donald Trump for spreading lies that there was massive fraud in the 2020 election.
The vote was behind closed doors in the basement of the Capitol. Republicans had to voice a “yes” to remove Cheney and a “no” to keep. The Daily Mail reported that it sounded like three quarters of Republicans shouted yes and that it was all over in less than 15 minutes.
After the vote, Cheney told reporters that she would do everything she can to “ensure that the former president never again, is anywhere near the Oval Office.” She said Trump is not committed or dedicated to the Constitution.
Trump said in a statement that Cheney is a “bitter, horrible human being” and that he looks forward to “watching her as a Paid Contributor on CNN or MSDNC.”
Fox Business reported that there are fuel shortages across the East Coast because of panic buying after a major pipeline was shut down after a ransomware attack. It’s driven up the cost of gasoline to reach a $3 national average, the highest level since 2014.
The pipeline, Colonial Pipeline Co., said it aims to restore its system by the end of the week.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said he would temporarily suspend gas tax in the state. Kemp said people panicked because of extensive media coverage of the cyberattack.
Judge Peter Cahill ruled that the death of George Floyd had aggravating factors, which is important because it means Derek Chauvin’s sentence can go above state guidelines of 12 1/2 years for his second-degree murder conviction.
The judge cited four aggravating factors: Chauvin abused his authority as a police officer, treated Floyd with particular cruelty, committed the murder in the presence of children, and did it as a part of a group of three or more people.
AP News explained that attorneys for both sides will argue whether the judge should sentence Chauvin above state guidelines. The sentencing date is June 25.
In separate but related news, Chauvin was recently indicted on federal charges of violating Floyd’s civil rights and a 14-year-old Black teenager he arrested in 2017. The indictment said Chauvin also kneeled on the 14-year-old’s neck and violently struck him in the head using a flashlight.
AP News said if Chauvin is convicted on his federal charges, he will serve his federal sentence at the same time as his state sentence.
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The Washington Post reported that at least 48 Gazans and six Israelis were killed in the volleys of rocket fire and airstrikes between Israel and the Gaza Strip.
One 13-story apartment building in Gaza was toppled to the ground. Israeli military officials said the building harbored Hamas militants.
Hamas launched over 1,000 rockets and mortar shells towards Tel Aviv, a city with over 4 million residents. Some rockets struck near the Ben Gurion Airport, prompting several U.S. airlines to cancel flights.
Fulton County (Atlanta area) District Attorney Fani Williams said her office intends to seek hate crime charges and the death penalty against Robert Aaron Long, who admitted to police that he killed eight people, six of them Asian women, in three separate shootings on March 16.
NBC News explained that two separate grand juries in Fulton County and Cherokee County has indicted Long on murder charges. The shootings happened in one spa in Cherokee County and two spas in Fulton County, so that’s why there were two cases. The Fulton County indictment charges Long with one count of domestic terrorism.
A federal judge ruled that the National Rifle Association cannot use bankruptcy protections to shield itself against a lawsuit from the New York State Attorney Letitia James and move to Texas. The NRA can’t use it to avoid the lawsuit.
What this means is that the NRA will still be incorporated in New York and will have to answer for allegations of corruption and misspending. The NRA has denied wrongdoing.
That is all the top stories for today. Check out our other videos. See you tomorrow and stay with the light.
Gas: https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/colonial-pipeline-gas-shortages-widen-state-by-state-breakdown
NRA: https://news.trust.org/item/20210511181533-nqv5i/
Judge Cahill: https://apnews.com/article/george-floyd-death-of-george-floyd-78a698283afd3fcd3252de512e395bd6
Atlanta shootings: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/prosecutor-seek-death-penalty-hate-crime-charges-atlanta-area-spa-n1267019
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/5/12/israeli-bombardment-continues-on-gaza