Cramm for 4/9/21
THE HIGHLIGHTS
Brazil’s top court isn’t happy with the gov’s handling of the pandemic.
THE BACKGROUND.
Brazil’s had one of the most horrible coronavirus outbreaks of anywhere over the course of the pandemic. The country has 13.3 million cases in total - a number that’s growing by nearly 90,000 cases each day. 345,000 people have died, a death toll second only to the US. The worst part? Throughout the entire pandemic, Prez Jair Bolsonaro has downplayed things and made it very, very clear that he has no intention to do anything to stop the crisis from taking more lives.
THE HAPPENINGS.
Yesterday, a Brazilian Supreme Court Justice said ‘that’s it’ and ordered the Senate to take a magnifying glass to the gov’s handling of the coronavirus crisis. The investigation will “call scientists from all over Brazil to testify and show how irresponsible” the prez was. If lawmakers find anything criminal, the investigation will be handed off to the federal attorney general. Stay tuned.
THE HAPPENINGS PT 2.
While we’re on the subject, here’s what else is going on with the pandemic. More and more countries are shifting the rules around the AstraZeneca vaccine, including France, which said people under the age of 55 who already got one dose of the vaccine should follow up with a diffffffferent vaccine. Yes, really. In the US, officials are prepping for a shortage of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The good news? 1 in 4 American adults are now fully vaccinated.
THE TAKE.
The investigation is a sign that lawmakers are willing to hold Bolsonaro accountable. TBD on what it turns up.
THE ACTION
PEOPLE: Yesterday was one of the most consequential days in the murder trial of Derek Chauvin. Case in point: a medical expert testified that George Floyd died from a lack of oxygen to his brain - not drugs or an underlying health condition. In fact, the expert said any healthy person in Floyd’s position would have died. The expert also revealed that Chauvin kept his knee on Floyd’s neck for three and a half minutes after Floyd drew his last breath. Not a typo. Meanwhile, another aide to Rep Matt Gaetz (R-FL) is said to have quit. This comes after it was revealed that the Justice Dept is investigating Gaetz for allegedly having a sexual relationship with a 17 year old girl...and paying for her to travel with him (which could technically violate federal sex trafficking laws, BTW).
WORLD: Israel is pushing back against that International Criminal Court investigation. Reminder: last month, the court’s chief prosecutor announced plans to launch a formal investigation into alleged war crimes by Israel in the Palestinian territories and alleged war crimes by Palestinian groups like Hamas. Right away, Israel’s prez called the investigation “scandalous.” Now, it looks like the country says it officially won’t cooperate with the ICC. In other news, the results of the union vote at that Amazon warehouse in Alabama are coming in. And so far, it looks like workers have overwhelmingly decided...not to unionize. Cue calls for a probe into Amazon’s conduct during the election.
DISASTERS: The Northern Ireland riots still haven’t let up. At least 19 officers were reportedly injured amidst last night’s violence, bringing the total tally of people hurt during the riots this week to 74. Rioters used petrol bombs, fireworks, and stones to attack police...who responded with water cannons. Meanwhile, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has some bad news. Recently, he warned his citizens to prepare for hard times ahead, apparently due to serious food shortages the likes of the 1990s famine, which killed hundreds of thousands of people. In other news, thousands of people have been evacuated on the Caribbean island of St. Vincent. The why: a volcano on the island just erupted, spewing a column of ash into the air.
WHAT TO KNOW
SAY WHAT?
“Reigning Mrs. World pageant winner arrested after plucking Mrs. Sri Lanka’s crown from her head” - an actual headline.
STAY CONNECTED
|
|
|
|