Monday August 10 top news briefs
Hello! Here are some top news briefs for Monday, August 10.
Baltimore gas explosion
There was a very serious gas explosion this morning in Baltimore that completely destroyed three homes. One woman died and six people were injured.
News images and videos show a scattered field of debris in the middle of a block of row houses. A power line pole was seen leaning at a dangerous angle. The windows and doors of nearby homes were blown out and people several miles away said they could feel the blast.
It is not known what caused the gas explosion.
Lebanon prime minister resigns
The prime minister of Lebanon announced he and his cabinet would resign. He faced great pressure from Lebanese people who are angry about the massive explosion last week that was caused by almost 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrate that was left sitting at a port for seven years. The death toll is now at 160 people.
New Zealand 101 days with no community transmission
New Zealand’s government said the country has gone 101 days without any community transmission of Covid-19. NPR said “life has largely returned to normal.” An epidemiologist said they were successful because they worked very hard to find clusters, isolate infected people, and quarantine them, and all of this during a national lockdown. People in New Zealand can go to the movies, dance at nightclubs, and do other things as normal.
100 people arrested in Chicago
On Sunday night through Monday morning in Chicago, over 100 people were arrested for destroying storefront windows, looting, and injuring police officers. NBC News said that it started when an armed man and two police officers got into a firefight. The man was hit and hospitalized. Chicago law enforcement said people on social media discussed the shooting with misinformation, encouraged looting, and then suddenly hundreds of people took to the streets to smash windows and loot. One officer, who was trying to arrest a man with a cash register, was shot by people driving past them. A security guard and a civilian were hit by bullets. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said this had nothing to do with protected First Amendment expression, but it was straight up felony criminal conduct.
Donald Trump signs executive orders
On Saturday President Trump signed four executive orders: to provide $400 a week in unemployment benefits, suspend payments on some student loans, protect renters from eviction, and to instruct employers to defer some payroll taxes through the end of the year for those who earn less than $100,000 a year. Trump did this after Democrats and Republicans in Congress were unable to reach a deal for another round of coronavirus relief.
A big issue that came up is the viability of Social Security and Medicare because the programs depend on payroll taxes. Trump said he would make the cuts permanent, so there was concern and criticism. There is a lot of confusion because there are some legal analysts that say Trump does not have the authority to enforce his executive orders. We’ll see how things turn out in the next few days.
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ACLU tweets about Memphis Oral School
On Friday, the ACLU tweeted a strong statement in response to the controversy over the Memphis Oral School for the Deaf. The ACLU said, “Refusing to allow deaf children access to signed or spoken language is language deprivation, and it’s flat out discrimination. Deaf children have every right to access language fully.”
The ACLU is one the most powerful nonprofit organizations that is best known for litigation on issues related to civil rights and civil liberties.
That is all the top stories for today. Check out our Deaf News videos. See you tomorrow and stay with the light!