Wednesday, July 22 top news briefs
Hello! It is Wednesday, July 22. Here are today’s top news briefs.
Tropical Storm Gonzalo
Today the National Hurricane Center said we have our seventh-named storm of this Atlantic season, Tropical Storm Gonzalo. It has sustained winds of 50 mph and is expected to turn into a hurricane tomorrow when it has winds of at least 74 mph.
We can see that this forecast cone shows the storm is expected to reach the Leeward Islands on Saturday. It may approach the Puerto Rico or Dominican Republic area between Sunday and Monday.
NPR said it’s the earliest date ever for a seventh-named storm — meaning it’s the fastest we’ve ever seen seven named storms in a season. We’ve not yet had a hurricane yet, though, but Gonzalo seems like it will be the first.
Ocean temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean are warmer than average and that will be like a fuel for future storms.
U.S. orders Chinese consulate in Houston closed
The U.S. Department of State ordered China to close its consulate in Houston to protect American intellectual property and Americans’ private information. The State Department accused China of abusing its relationship with the U.S.
Axios reported that there was smoke rising from the consulate last night, possibly from Chinese officials burning paperwork.
China’s government said they would react with firm countermeasures because this is an outrageous and unjustified political provocation.
There is a Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C. and four other consulates: in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.
Ukraine hostage standoff
In Ukraine, a gunman burst into a bus and held 13 people hostage with a demand — for the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy to announce that people should watch a 2005 documentary about animal abuse called “Earthlings.” The film was narrated by actor Joaquin Phoenix.
The gunman threatened to blow up the bus and held the hostages captive for 12 hours. He had a 15-minute phone call with President Zelenskiy. After the call, the gunman released three hostages. The president actually posted a vlog on his Facebook page saying, “Everyone should watch the 2005 film Earthlings.” The remaining hostages were released, the gunman was arrested, and the president deleted his post. No one was injured.
Controversy over Black girl jailed over homework
In the Detroit area, there is controversy over a 15-year-old Black teenager student who has been jailed in a juvenile facility since May 14 because she did not do her homework, which was considered a violation of her probation.
Oakland County Court Judge Mary Ellen Brennan was the one who ordered her to be detained two months ago. On Monday of this week, the judge denied a motion to release her. It’s sparked criticism against the judge and it’s in the news now.
To protect the girl’s privacy, she is only known as “Grace.” The Detroit Free Press explained that the girl has ADHD, receives special education services, and has struggled when the Covid-19 crisis forced her classes to move to an online setting.
To recap the case, last year Grace was charged with assault and theft for allegedly biting her mother’s finger and stealing another student’s cellphone. She was placed on probation in April and was required to complete her schoolwork. Two weeks later, in early May, her probation officer filed a violation against her for failing to submit homework and for not getting up for school. That’s when the judge ordered Grace to be detained, calling her a “threat to the community.”
There have been protesters who called for Grace to be freed and to be reunited with her mother. The Michigan Supreme Court said they would review the case.
An activist explained to NowThis News that this is an example of systemic racism because if it was a 15-year-old white girl, she wouldn’t be in jail. She explained that girls of color are typically treated as if they are more mature than they are.
Maine home sawed off in neighbor dispute
In Maine, a man sawed off his neighbor’s garage in a dispute over their land. A picture on the Bangor Daily News shows the garage neatly cut off in accordance with a yellow tape that marks the property line.
I will recap what happened. There are two families, the Brawn family and the Ritter family, who live next to each other. The garage that was cut off belonged to the Ritter family. A man from the Brawn family, the one who cut off the garage, actually grew up on the property ever since he was a boy. When he became a man, he left, got married, and came back to live there again. When he grew up, there was no house on the (Ritter) property. There was just land. But when the Brawn man came back to his home, there was a house built on the adjacent property. The Brawn family and a man from the Ritter family initially got along just fine although the land might have been an issue — they got along. But a man from the Ritter family died in 2016. His wife took over the house and rented it out to tenants. The Brawn family said this situation was not good and there was chaos. The Brawn family said they tried to buy the adjacent land, but was unsuccessful. Not long ago, the dispute became worse. The Brawn family had mulch dumped on their land because it had a steep incline and they needed some kind of a ramp for a tractor to drive down. The mulch was placed close to the property line. A son from the Ritter family protested the mulch being there and put a stake on the mulch and declared that it was their (Ritter)’s land. So, the Brawn family requested two different land surveyors and they concluded that the property line actually extended to the middle of the Ritters’ driveway and garage. Two different surveyors had the same result. The tenants at the Ritter house then moved out quickly. There was some more tension. The Brawn family said the son from the Ritter family was confrontational with them, so the Brawn man decided to use a Sawzall (a tool with a reciprocating blade) to cut the garage in half. It was cut according to the property line. The objects in the garage were dumped on the Ritters’ property. The Brawn man then built a fence and said he would extend it to the back of his property. He said good fences make good neighbors. According to the article, the local police department is aware of what is going on but it seems like there was no crime committed. It’s basically a demolition. What a story. If there’s one lesson to learn, it’s to make sure to get a land surveyor to check out your property lines before building anything on it. Or to make sure nobody is touching your property, or you have a right to get your Sawzall.
That is all the top stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light!
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/20/us/politics/trump-chicago-portland-federal-agents.html
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-ghislaine-maxwell-wish-her-well/
https://twitter.com/chiproytx/status/1285891777057165312