Monday, August 2 top stories
Hello, it is Monday, August 2. I am taking Alex’s place today. Ready for today’s top news briefs?
Olympics updates
Here are a few updates from the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
The U.S. Women’s National Team (soccer) lost 1-0 to Canada today in a semifinal match. They will play against Australia in the bronze medal match.
Simone Biles will be back in competition on Tuesday for the balance beam event. She pulled out of several events for her mental health needs. She is considered to be one of the greatest gymnasts of all time, and she will have a chance to win another medal.
Many people were inspired by two Olympian high jumpers who decided to share gold medals by staying tied. They are Mutaz Essa Barshim from Qatar and Gianmarco Tamberi from Italy. Both achieved a height of 2.37 meters and then both failed three times to reach a higher measurement. An Olympic official then said both could have a jump-off to decide the winner, but Barshim asked if they could have two golds, and the official nodded. Both athletes, who are best friends outside of the games, were thrilled and celebrated together.
There is a serious situation with a Belarusian Olympic sprinter named Krystsina Tsimanouskaya. She said Belarusian leaders are trying to force her to return to the country after she criticized her coaches on an Instagram post. She refused to board a plane to Minsk and instead went to the Japanese police to ask for protection. The Polish government then offered her safety and took her in their embassy in Tokyo. Poland said she was offered an humanitarian visa. It brings to light the massive protests against the Belarusian president and concerns about an authoritative government that abuses human rights.
Soccer/Biles: https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2021/08/01/olympics-2021-live-updates-uswnt-canada-day-10-soccer/5449003001/
High jump: https://nypost.com/2021/08/01/high-jump-best-friends-convince-ioc-to-let-them-share-gold/
Florida has 10k hospitalized
Florida has about 10,200 people who are currently in the hospital because of Covid-19. It is the highest number the state has ever seen. News reports say Florida now leads the nation in infections, driven by the extremely contagious Delta variant.
https://www.axios.com/florida-records-most-new-covid-cases-0a9d2dad-420f-4374-8b55-b970fb5f0873.html
Matt Damon’s homophobic slur
Matt Damon is promoting his new film "Stillwater," but a recent interview with The Sunday Times put him in steaming hot water instead.
Damon shared with the interviewer a lesson his daughter taught him several months ago: that he could no longer use the "f-word" as a slur for gay people.
Many on social media called out the star for his astonishingly ignorant behavior.
The woman has the world’s largest mouth
Guinness World Records confirmed that Samantha Ramsdell, from Connecticut, is the record holder for the world's largest mouth gape for a female.
Her mouth gape measures 6.56 centimeters, or about two and a half inches. When measured across, it reaches more than 10 centimeters, or four inches.
Although she was bullied growing up for her mouth’s size, she said I never thought it would be possible to be this famous off my mouth. She is a Tiktok star with 1.7 million followers and her videos include one of her stuffing different things in her mouth fulfilling requests from fans.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/31/us/record-mouth-gape-tiktok-trnd/index.html
That is all the top stories for today. Stay with the light!