Tuesday, August 25 top news briefs
Hello, it is Tuesday, August 25. Here are today’s top news briefs.
Jacob Blake paralyzed
Jacob Blake, the 29-year-old Black man who was seen in a video being shot in the back multiple times by a police officer in Kenosha, Wisconsin on Sunday, is paralyzed from his waist down, according to his father. The father said Blake was shot eight times. Family members said he is expected to survive.
Blake’s three young sons, ages 3, 5, and 8, were in the back of the car at the time of the shooting. Blake’s fiancee said the boys were screaming.
The person who filmed the video of the shooting said before he started filming, he saw Blake in a physical struggle with three police officers and heard the officers say, “Drop the knife! Drop the knife.” The Wisconsin governor Tony Evers (D) said he has not seen information about a knife, but the case is still under investigation.
The officers were at the scene for a domestic incident, but it’s not clear what happened prior to the shooting.
There was another night of protests with many cars set on fire. The Wisconsin governor asked the National Guard to come in to provide support to police.
The police officers who were involved in the shooting is now on administrative leave.
Civil rights activist Rev. Al Sharpton said the policeman’s life was never under threat, but he shot multiple times. He is leading a march on Washington this Friday.
Hurricane Laura
In the Gulf of Mexico, storm Laura turned into a hurricane this morning when wind speeds reached 75 mph. The storm is blamed for 20 deaths in Haiti and three in the Dominican Republic.
Meteorologists warn that Hurricane Laura could turn into a Category 3 or stronger when it makes landfall overnight Wednesday at the Texas/Louisiana border region. People who live in those areas were warned that they should prepare for a hurricane strike and some areas, such as Galveston, are under evacuation orders. For those of you who live in those areas, please consider leaving for higher ground because there could be a storm surge of about 10 feet if the hurricane hits during high tide.
Jerry Falwell Jr. resigns
Jerry Falwell Jr., the president of Liberty University, and his wife Becki, is facing controversy after a man made allegations that he had a sexual relationship with the couple. Falwell resigned yesterday night. He was already on leave from the university because he posted an image of himself with his arm around a woman with his pants unzipped during some kind of a party on a boat. He was on leave, but now resigned. The Liberty University board will meet today. Falwell Jr. became the president of Liberty University in 2007 after his father passed away. Falwell Jr, like his father, is influential in conservative politics. President Donald Trump gave a commencement speech at Liberty in 2017.
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Republican National Convention Recap
Last night was the first night of the Republican National Convention.
Republican Senator Tim Scott (SC), opened up about his grandfather, explaining that he was forced out of school in third grade to pick cotton, but that he lived long enough to see his grandson (himself) become the first African American to be elected to both the United States House and Senate. He said “Our family went from Cotton to Congress in one lifetime” and that he believes the next century can be better than the last. He encouraged people to vote for Donald Trump.
Donald Trump, Jr. said Joe Biden was the Loch Ness monster of the swamp and said we should reject the radicals and embrace the man who represents a bright and beautiful future.
Nikki Haley said it was a lie that America is a racist country and pointed to her own success in life with Indian immigrants. She said Trump has always put America first.
Tonight, the First Lady Melania Trump will speak. Sec. of State Mike Pompeo will also speak, but from Israel.
Covid-19 updates
Here are some coronavirus updates.
The U.S. now has 5.7 million confirmed infections and over 177,000 deaths. Yesterday the U.S. reported 40,000 new cases and 504 new deaths. We’re now at a 20% decline in new cases over the past 14 days, and at a 5% decline in new deaths over the past 14 days.
Usain Bolt, one of the greatest Olympics athletes, tested positive for Covid-19 and is now in quarantine in his home country of Jamaica. NBC News made an error in reporting this news by using an image of actor and comedian Kevin Hart. Hart joked today that he wanted to take advantage fo this moment and race anybody in the world, but said that this was disrespectful on many levels.
American Airlines said they are laying off 17,500 frontline workers because of the impact of the economy due to the coronavirus.
The FDA said they have issued an emergency use authorization for convalescent plasma to treat Covid-19 patients. This plasma would come from blood donations from those who were infected but have recovered and is symptom-free for at least 14 days. The plasma in the blood would have antibodies that could help a patient fight the disease. However, Dr. Anthony Fauci has expressed concern over weak data on whether it is effective.
That is all the top news briefs for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light!
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53908303
https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/25/us/jacob-blake-kenosha-shooting-family-response/index.html
https://weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/2020-08-25-hurricane-laura-forecast-texas-louisiana
https://apnews.com/e3a953a7dc479d3adbe1911688c979e2