February 27 top stories
It is February 27. Here are today’s top stories.
Mich. man sentenced in disabled teen brother’s torture, death
Paul Ferguson, 21 from Michigan, was sentenced Monday in his disabled brother’s starvation death to a minimum of 30 years and a maximum of 100 years in prison by a judge.
He pleaded guilty in December to first-degree child abuse in the death of 15-year-old Timothy Ferguson.
Authorities said Timothy, who had autism and was nonverbal and physically disabled, weighed only 69 pounds when he died in July 2022 at the family’s western Michigan home.
The brothers’ mother, Shanda Vander Ark, 44, was sentenced in January to life in prison without a chance of parole after a jury convicted her of murder and child abuse in the teen’s death.
Prosecutors said Paul Ferguson and Vander Ark punished Timothy Ferguson by feeding him hot sauce, subjecting him to ice baths, depriving him of sleep and locking the refrigerator and food cabinets. He died from malnourishment and hypothermia.
The sentencing judge said the defendant is “one step away from becoming a psychopath like his mother.”
Biden, Trump to visit U.S.-Mexico border on same day
President Biden and former President Trump are both set to visit the U.S.-Mexico border in separate events on Thursday, a defining issue of the 2024 election.
Biden will visit Brownsville, Texas, to meet with Border Patrol agents, law enforcement and local leaders. He will discuss “the urgent need” to pass the bipartisan border security legislation during the visit.
Trump is expected to be in Eagle Pass, Texas, a little more than 300 miles away from Biden’s stop. His campaign said he will make remarks during the visit.
Biden blamed congressional Republicans for inaction after they killed legislation this month − at Trump's urging − that would have created some of the most aggressive border restrictions in years.
Trump’s campaign slammed Biden’s visit in a statement, saying his last-minute, insincere attempt to chase Trump to the border won’t cut it.
The U.S. policy right now allows for migrants to claim asylum regardless of how they arrive and the numbers of migrants flowing to the U.S.-Mexico border have far outpaced the capacity of an immigration system that has not been substantially updated in decades.
Man dies after being bitten by venomous pet lizard
According to Lakewood city officials, Christopher Ward of Colorado, 34, has died from a bite from a large venomous lizard, called a Gila monster, that he illegally kept as a pet. Lakewood is a suburb of Denver.
Ward owned two of the reptiles and became ill after being bitten on the hand by one of the animals. Ward’s girlfriend called 911 just before midnight February 12 after she entered the room where the reptiles were kept and found that one of them had “latched onto Ward’s hand.”
Ward immediately started showing symptoms, vomiting several times before he passed out, and his breathing stopped. He was taken to a local hospital, where he was out on life support and was later “declared brain dead.”
The lizards were removed from Ward’s home last week and officials plan to relocate the lizards to an animal park in South Dakota.
Experts say the venom from a Gila monster is as toxic as that of a western diamondback rattlesnake and there is no antivenom for Gila monster bites.
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US government sues to block merger of grocery giants
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on Monday sued to block the $25 billion deal between Kroger and Albertsons, alleging the largest supermarket merger in US history would lead to higher prices, store closures and job losses.
The companies own dozens of chains, including Safeway, Vons, Harris Teeter and Fred Meyer.
The FTC, in a statement, said the merger would eliminate competition in the grocery industry, which could drive costs even higher.
Kroger and Albertsons, which both employ mostly unionized workforces, said they wanted to merge to be more competitive against non-union giants such as Walmart, Amazon and Costco. The companies argued that they will be able to use $500 million after the deal from the overall profits to reduce prices for shoppers.
But the FTC in its lawsuit was skeptical of the claim.
Kroger said it will appeal the FTC’s decision.
See Alex for the report about the Supreme Court weighing on social media laws. Here it is.
Supreme Court hears Florida, Texas social media cases
Thanks, Callie. On Monday, the Supreme Court heard a case about whether big tech platforms such as Facebook or YouTube can decide to ban users’ content based on their politics or viewpoints.
The case was brought by Florida and Texas. Texas passed a law in 2022 that allows internet users to sue a social media company if they are blocked from posting or have their posts removed. Texas Gov. Abbott said social media platforms are silencing conservative ideas and beliefs. Florida passed a similar law in 2021. The laws have been challenged in courts and now it’s made it to the Supreme Court.
Big tech platforms said they have to be able to enforce its policies on users to make sure their services remain hospitable and useful. They said if they cannot control what users post, the platforms would become overrun with spam or inappropriate things.
Texas and Florida want tech platforms to be regulated like “common carriers” such as telephone services, which would give them less power to control what appears on their platforms.
Axios said the Supreme Court is trying to balance First Amendment rights with principles of free speech. The court is expected to issue a decision by June.
Thanks for that report. That is all the news stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light!
Mich. man sentenced in disabled teen brother’s torture, death:
Biden, Trump to visit U.S.-Mexico border on same day:
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/26/us/politics/biden-trump-border.html
Man dies after being bitten by venomous pet lizard:
https://www.denverpost.com/2024/02/20/colorado-man-dies-bite-gila-monster-lakewood/
US government sues to block merger of grocery giants:
Supreme Court hears Florida, Texas social media cases:
https://www.axios.com/2024/02/26/supreme-court-tiktok-meta-youtube-content-laws