August 3 top stories
It is August 3. Here are today’s top stories.
Body found stuck on floating barrier at border
The Mexican government said a body was found along a floating barrier on the Rio Grande river that was recently installed by Texas.
The barrier was installed as a way to deter migrants from trying to illegally cross the river and into the U.S.
The Mexican government said there was a second body discovered about three miles away but they didn’t say if the body was found near the floating barrier.
The barrier is controversial — the Biden administration recently sued the state of Texas and its governor Greg Abbott seeking to remove the barriers alleging violations of federal laws on navigable waters and a lack of a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Texas Gov. Abbott blamed the Biden administration for not doing more to discourage migrants from illegally crossing the water.
Leprosy cases in Florida
The CDC said they believe that leprosy, a serious illness affecting the skin and the nervous system, is endemic in central Florida. This means that leprosy may regularly occur in the area.
The CDC said there is a 54-year-old man who has leprosy who had no known risk factors and had never traveled outside Florida. There are other people with similar cases.
Leprosy can spread through contact with droplets from the nose and mouth. Armadillos, which are common in Florida, carry the bacteria that causes leprosy.
The CDC said it doesn’t believe there is a great concern to the public because the number of cases is very small. The most recent year with data shows that there were 159 new cases in 2020.
There is treatment for leprosy — standard antibiotic drugs taken over a year. But if leprosy is left untreated, it can damage nerves and lead to paralysis and blindness.
The CDC and the researchers said they just want there to be awareness that leprosy does occur in central Florida.
Lizzo responds to lawsuit
Musician Lizzo was sued by three of her former dancers with allegations of sexual harassment, a hostile work environment, and religious and racial harassment.
Lizzo said the allegations are false and that they are “unbelievable” and “outrageous.”
The lawsuit said Lizzo pressured the dancers to attend sex shows in Amsterdam and touch the performers, that Lizzo criticized one of the dancers for gaining weight, and that the dance team’s captain would push her Christian beliefs on other dancers.
Lizzo said she knows what it feels like to be “body shamed on a daily basis” and that she would absolutely never criticize or terminate an employee because of their weight. She said she does have to make hard decisions as an artist but she is not a villain.
The lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles on Tuesday.
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Trump to appear in DC courthouse
At the time of signing this news, Donald Trump landed in D.C. to go to a federal courthouse to be arraigned on his criminal charges related to trying to overturn the 2020 election.
The courthouse he is going to is the E. Barrett Prettyman Federal Courthouse. CNN said it is the same courthouse where more than 1,000 people were accused of participating in the Jan 6. Capitol riot have appeared to face an array of charges.
Axios reported that Trump’s legal team plans to argue that Trump genuinely believed his own lies about election fraud despite being told by dozens of his closest advisers, allies and agencies that they were baseless. Axios called it the “delusion defense.”
I’ll provide an update on Trump’s appearance in tomorrow’s news.
Ancient giant whale found in Peruvian desert
Scientists said fossils of an ancient whale that was found in the Peruvian desert more than 10 years ago may have belonged to the heaviest animal that has ever lived on Earth, the Perucetus colossus.
An artist's illustration shows that the animal had a face similar to a lizard with two arms and very short rear appendages. The animal may have weighed from 94 to 375 tons — up to 750,000 pounds. The weight comes from the animal’s skeletal mass.
Scientists believe the Perucetus colossus roamed around the ocean floor, feeding along the seabed like some modern aquatic animals.
That is all the top stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/02/health/leprosy-florida.html
https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/29/8/22-0367_article
https://www.ktsa.com/body-found-on-floating-border-barrier-between-texas-and-mexico/
https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-66393817
https://www.axios.com/2023/08/02/trump-legal-lawyer-defense-2020-post-election-delusion
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/heaviest-animal-ever-whale-peru-desert-rcna97912