Wednesday, October 12 top stories
It is Wednesday, October 12. Here are today’s top stories.
Cop arrested after shooting teenager at McDonald’s
On Sunday, October 2 in San Antonio, a police officer went to a McDonald’s restaurant regarding a disturbance call. The officer was talking with a witness when he noticed that in the parking lot, there was a maroon vehicle that he recognized for evading him the day earlier when he tried to stop it on suspicion that the vehicle may be stolen.
The officer walked up to the vehicle, opened the driver’s door, and saw a 17-year-old boy named Erik Cantu who was eating a hamburger. There was a 17-year-old girl in the passenger seat.
The officer ordered Erik to get out, but Erik put the car in reverse and backed up while the door was still open. The officer opened fire on the car several times.
The teenager sustained multiple gunshot wounds and was hospitalized. His attorney said as of yesterday, he is still unconscious and is on life support. The boy was charged with evading detention but the charge was dismissed.
The officer’s name is James Brennand. He was fired after the shooting and is now charged with two counts of aggravated assault by a peace officer. He turned himself in to the police last night (Tuesday night). If Erik dies, then Brennand’s charges will be elevated to murder.
NBC News said he was on the force for seven months and graduated from the police academy less than a year ago.
NASA says it knocked asteroid off course
NASA said they successfully changed the course of an asteroid that they intentionally hit with a DART spacecraft two weeks ago.
The idea is to see if humans on Earth can defend our planet against any future threat from an asteroid that could be coming our way.
NASA said the asteroid they hit, Dimorphos, usually orbited around a larger asteroid, Didymos. Prior to the DART impact, the orbit took 11 hours and 55 minutes. After the impact, the orbit was shortened to 11 hours and 23 minutes, which is a 32-minute change.
NPR explained that “the test is proof of concept that if another asteroid does appear headed in Earth’s direction, scientists have a way of pushing it off course.”
Jury deliberating death penalty for Parkland shooter
A jury has begun deliberating on whether they will recommend the death penalty for the Parkland, Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz, who murdered 14 high school students and three school staff members in 2018. The jury could recommend life in prison instead of the death penalty.
Prosecutors said Cruz should be put to death because he planned to murder children at school and their caretakers and did it. Defense attorneys said Cruz is suffering from brain damage, is mentally ill, and should not be killed by society.
The jury is sequestered during deliberations. The recommendation for the death penalty must be unanimous. If the jury cannot all agree, then Cruz will receive life in prison.
If the death penalty is recommended, Judge Elizabeth Scherer will make the final decision to follow the recommendation or choose to sentence Cruz to life.
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NFL player charged with assault for shoving media worker
NFL star wide receiver Davante Adams, who plays for the Las Vegas Raiders, was charged with misdemeanor assault after he shoved a media worker after his team lost to the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday night.
Viral videos showed that as Adams was walking towards a tunnel, a media worker carrying a type of tripod walked in front of him. Adams made one hard push and the worker was sent tumbling backward, falling to the ground. Adams apologized after the incident, saying he was frustrated at the loss and that the man just ran in front of him.
The worker was a freelancer working for ESPN. The worker said he suffered whiplash, a headache and a possible minor concussion.
Now Adams is facing legal trouble and is also facing possible discipline from the NFL.
30% of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure damaged
Ukraine’s Energy Minister said in a news interview that around 30% of energy infrastructure in his country has been hit by Russian missiles since Monday. The minister said Russia is targeting the energy infrastructure partly because Ukraine exports its electricity to Europe.
A nuclear plant in eastern Ukraine lost power after an electrical substation was damaged by a missile strike. The plant had to use diesel generators to keep critical safety systems running and to avoid a nuclear disaster. The plant’s electricity was restored after repairs.
The minister said Ukraine’s energy system is still stable but they need air defense systems to protect the rest of their infrastructure.
Angela Lansbury dies at 96
British actress Angela Lansbury, who is best known for her portrayal as Jessica Fletcher in the TV series “Murder, She Wrote,” passed away at 96 years old on Tuesday at her home in Los Angeles. She would have turned 97 this Sunday.
Lansbury was also a talented singer and appeared in Broadway musicals, winning five Tony Awards. She also appeared in films and received four different Oscar nominations. She also received 18 Emmy nominations.
That is all the top stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light.
https://www.npr.org/2022/10/11/1128132956/nasa-dart-success-asteroid-dimorphos
https://news.yahoo.com/russia-blew-third-ukraines-energy-193559881.html
https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-kyiv-business-crimea-e06ff29cd9b834c8dd607f977a1a0288
https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/12/us/nikolas-cruz-trial-jury-deliberation/index.html
https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/34782109/davante-adams-charged-misdemeanor-assault-mnf-shove
https://apnews.com/article/angela-lansbury-dies-0fd75fe45fe1501d02bd164ff1130d0f