April 7 top stories
It is April 7. Here are today’s top stories.
Tennessee lawmakers expelled over gun protests
On Thursday, there was a lot of drama at the Tennessee State Capitol in Nashville. Two Democratic members of the House were expelled and a third was almost expelled over their protests to call for gun reform after the Nashville school shooting.
Reps. Justin Jones and Rep. Justin Pearson were expelled by the House Republican majority.
A third representative, Gloria Johnson, faced a vote to be expelled but there weren’t enough votes against her.
What did they do? Last week, the three representatives walked up on the House podium during a session and used a bullhorn to lead gun reform chants. Republicans said the three violated rules for order.
USA Today said “Republicans removed two of the youngest Black lawmakers in the General Assembly” and that it strips more than 200,000 Tennesseans of their elected representatives. Many said this was a clear display of racism.
The three lawmakers are now known as the “Tennessee Three.”
The removals are not permanent, the lawmakers can be reappointed to their seats in the future. Axios said the Tennessee Democratic Party has already begun fundraising to support them in special elections and that they can’t be expelled a second time for the same reason, according to the state Constitution.
News analysts said what happened in Tennessee may happen again in other states where there is a legislative supermajority.
New Mexico police kills man at wrong house
Police in Farmington, New Mexico said officers went to a wrong address and killed the homeowner. Police explained that shortly before midnight on Wednesday, they got a call about a domestic violence incident. Officers then went to the wrong address and knocked on the door and said they were police. The homeowner opened the door while carrying a handgun. The officers shot him in the abdomen. His wife then emerged from the doorway and opened fire. The officers returned fire but didn’t hit her. The wife then realized that it was police at her home and she put the gun down. The husband was pronounced dead at the scene. His name was Robert Dotson and he was 52.
The Farmington police chief said they are heartbroken by what happened and that it’s a very dark day for all involved.
Two Florida minors accused of killing 3 teens
In Ocala, Florida, three teenagers were shot to death last week. Two of them were 16-year-old girls and one was a 17-year-old boy. Two of their bodies were left on a road and the third was found in the trunk of a car that was partially submerged in a body of water. One of the victims has been identified as 16-year-old Layla Silvernail.
The Marion County Sheriff’s Office said they have arrested two suspects, who are facing first-degree murders. They are a 12-year-old boy named Christopher Atkins and a 17-year-old boy named Robert Robinson. There is a third suspect, a 16-year-old boy, who is still at large.
Police said all six individuals knew each other and that all six were in the car that was later found submerged. The car belonged to Silvernail. Police said the group had engaged in burglaries and robberies and may have been affiliated with a gang. Police said it seems that at some point the three suspects turned on the three victims.
Police said the teenagers got their weapons through car burglaries. Sheriff Billy Woods said the killings were due to failures in society, the failure to hold juveniles accountable. Woods said stricter gun laws wouldn’t have prevented the shootings.
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Clarence Thomas says luxury trips were “personal hospitality”
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas issued a response to the controversy over him not disclosing going on luxury trips and private jet trips that were paid for by a wealthy conservative man named Harlan Crow.
Thomas said his wife, Kathy, is dear friends with Crow. He said early in his tenure at the Supreme Court, he asked for advice from his colleagues and was told that this sort of “personal hospitality from close personal friends, who did not have business before the Court, was not reportable.”
Thomas said he would comply with recently-updated disclosure rules that say trips on private jets and stays at privately owned resorts would have to be disclosed.
Russia-Ukraine war updates
Here are some updates on the Russia-Ukraine war.
There is heavy fighting in several cities in eastern Ukraine between the Ukrainian military and Russian troops.
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy visited Poland to meet with their president Duda. Duda vowed to send more fighter jets to Ukraine.
French President Macron visited China and met with Chinese President Xi Jinping. They both discussed the war in Ukraine and both issued a joint statement saying they want to see peace in Ukraine. China said a top priority is to bring a ceasefire. France said it wants to see China use its influence over Russia to push for an end to the war.
American reporter Evan Gershkovich was formally charged with espionage (spying) today. He was working for the Wall Street Journal when he was arrested last week in Russia. He denied that he was spying and the Biden administration has been calling for his immediate release.
That is all the top stories for this week. Have a nice weekend and stay with the light.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/04/06/tennessee-expulsion-vote/11616844002/
https://www.axios.com/2023/04/07/tennessee-house-lawmakers-expulsion-democrats
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/new-mexico-police-fatally-shoot-robert-dotson-responding-wrong-house/
https://www.cnn.com/europe/live-news/russia-ukraine-war-news-04-07-23/index.html