Cramm for 9/24/20
THE HIGHLIGHTS
A grand jury made a decision in the Breonna Taylor case.
THE BACKGROUND.
Back in March, Louisville police officers used a battering ram to smash into the apartment of Breonna Taylor - a 26 year old Black woman. In response, Taylor’s boyfriend, who thought people were trying to break in, fired his gun, hitting an officer in the leg. Police retaliated by fatally shooting Breonna Taylor at least eight times. The officers - who haven’t been charged - were reportedly looking into two men suspected of selling drugs. They thought one of the two men might have used Taylor’s house to get packages, so they got a no-knock warrant to search it.
THE HAPPENINGS.
Yesterday, after around a hundred days of ongoing protests, a grand jury weighed in on the case. Spoiler: one of the (former) officers, Brett Harkinson, was indicted on three counts of first-degree wanton endangerment. Aka endangering Taylor’s neighbors with reckless gunfire. The two other officers involved weren’t charged at all.
THE REACTION.
Add that to the fact that there were no murder charges, and protests were pretty much instantaneous. Hours later, two officers were shot while directing traffic and appear to have non-life-threatening injuries. And last night, hundreds of people took to the streets, where at least one protester was shot in the neck with a projectile.
THE TAKE.
The protests aren’t likely to stop as the call for #JusticeforBreonnaTaylor goes unanswered. TBD, TBD, TBD.
THE ACTION
USA: Reminder: last year, Prez Trump asked Ukraine’s prez to pretty please investigate the Bidens over allegations of corruption - which is what led the House of Reps to impeach him. While Ukraine never took a magnifying glass to the Bidens, Senate Republicans did. Yesterday, they revealed their findings. Hint: they found no evidence of wrongdoing by either of the Bidens - but did say that Hunter Biden “cashed in” on his family name to close biz deals around the world. Speaking of which, a judge ordered Eric Trump to testify under oath in New York’s fraud investigation into the Trump real estate biz. Before Election Day. And on that note: Prez Trump shook his head to committing to a “peaceful transfer of all power.” Then added: “Get rid of the ballots, then we’ll have a very peaceful transfer.”
BIZ: Recently, Johnson & Johnson kicked off the final stage of clinical trials for its coronavirus vaccine. Big deal, since the biz’s vaccine would require just one shot instead of two and wouldn’t need to be kept frozen, unlike some other vaccines that are being developed. This marks the fourth biz to reach the final stage of clinical trials in the US - and it comes as the country reached 200,000 deaths. Meanwhile, California plans to ban the sale of new gas-powered vehicles by 2035. You read that right. In an executive order, the state’s governor laid out rules that would basically require automakers to make more and more zero-emissions vehicles...and less and less gas-powered vehicles, until the former makes up 100 percent of new auto sales.
PEOPLE: Recently, a nurse who worked at a migrant detention center in Georgia filed a whistleblower complaint. Her claims: doctors performed a high number of “hysterectomies on immigrant women,” many of whom didn’t really know why they were getting the operation. ICYDK, a hysterectomy is an operation that removes part of all of the uterus. The nurse also condemned “jarring medical neglect” at the center. Enter: Mexico. Six of the women who were subjected to what’s being described as “forced sterilization” are reportedly Mexican. Now, it looks like Mexico is opening an investigation into these claims. In other news, Wells Fargo’s CEO, Charles Scharf, is apologizing after saying “there is a very limited pool of Black talent to recruit from” in the US.
WHAT TO KNOW
“3 hours 40 minutes:” how long a beaked whale went without breathing. Yes, whaley.
SAY WHAT?
“A newly discovered asteroid will pass close to Earth on Thursday” - an actual headline. Not funny, 2020. Not funny.
STAY CONNECTED
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