Friday, May 8 coronavirus and top news briefs
Hello, welcome to The Daily Moth! It is Friday, May 8. Here are coronavirus and top news briefs.
Last night news broke that two white men in Georgia were arrested and charged with murder in the shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery, a black man. Arbery was jogging on a road in February 23 when Gregory McMichael and his son, Travis followed him in a pickup truck and shot and killed him in a confrontation.
The case was “unsolved” and there were no arrests all this time until a video released on social media a few days ago showed the shooting incident and sparked a national outrage. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) took over the case on Tuesday and now the McMichaels are charged — within 36 hours.
The father and son previously told local police that they thought Arbery was a burglar responsible for a series of break-ins and that he fought back when they confronted him. The father used to work with local law enforcement.
The New York Times reported that a local criminal defense lawyer in Georgia was the one who released the video. It seems like the video was filmed by a third person who also pursued Arbery. Maybe he was following in a second vehicle. Fox4News reported that the third person was Bryan Williams. The GBI said they would investigate the man who took the video.
Arbery’s family and their attorneys said he was racially profiled and that his death was a lynching. Georgia does not have hate crime prevention laws. There could be a federal hate crime investigation — it is up to the Department of Justice.
This is only the beginning of a criminal case that will have a national focus on it as it unfolds. Today would have been Arbery’s 26th birthday.
President Donald Trump said in an interview this morning that the video footage was very, very disturbing and that Arbery looks like a really good young guy.
USA Today reported that an aide to Vice President Mike Pence has tested positive for coronavirus. It seems like the person is Katie Miller, who is Pence’s press secretary and the wife of Stephen Miller, a top advisor to President Trump. Pence’s flight to Iowa was delayed because six individuals who were in contact with the aide were removed from his plane. The flight was delayed for an hour. This is the second White House staffer who tested positive — yesterday one of President Trump’s valets tested positive. The White House said both Trump and Pence were tested for the coronavirus and both came out negative.
USA Today explained that three states will start reopening today. Alaska will allow bars, gyms, libraries, and theaters to open. Iowa will allow dental offices, campgrounds, and drive-in theaters to reopen. Arizona will allow barbershops and salons to reopen. On Saturday, Nevada will allow restaurants, retail stores, barbershops, and hair salons to open again.
The Food and Drug Administration said they have authorized the first at-home saliva test for COVID-19. The test was developed at Rutgers University. The tests will cost about $100 each and must be ordered by a doctor.
The unemployment rate in the U.S. is now at 14.7%, way up from 3% in February. The U.S. economy lost 20.5 million jobs last month.
That’s all the top news briefs for today. Check out our Deaf News stories. Have a safe and healthy weekend and stay with the light!
https://nyti.ms/2LbU19h
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/08/us/coronavirus-updates.html?action=click&module=Spotlight&pgtype=Homepage