December 18 top stories
It is December 18. Hope your weekend was good. Here are today’s top stories.
Biden motorcade collision
Police in Delaware said a suspected drunk driver plowed into a parked SUV that was guarding President Biden’s motorcade.
This happened on Sunday night. AP News said the president was walking from his campaign headquarters to his SUV when the collision happened. Biden saw what happened and he wasn’t hurt.
The driver tried to continue driving, but Secret Service agents drew their weapons and detained the driver, who was later charged with drunken driving and inattentive driving.
Giuliani ordered to pay election workers
A federal jury ordered Rudy Giuliani, former President Trump’s attorney, to pay $148 million in damages to two former Georgia election workers who he falsely accused of trying to steal votes from Trump. The workers are Ruby Freeman and her daughter, Shaye Moss. They gave emotional testimony about how they faced many threats and attacks after Giuliani defamed them. The New York Times explained that Giuliani will appeal and can “string out these cases for pretty substantial periods of time before payments actually have to be made.” Giuliani is facing a separate defamation lawsuit from Dominion Voting Systems and is currently under a criminal indictment in Georgia.
Matthew Perry died from effects of ketamine
AP News said an autopsy of “Friends” actor Matthew Perry found that he died from the acute effects of ketamine on October 28. He was 54. He had drowned in the heated end of his pool but it was a secondary factor. Ketamine is usually used in medical settings as anesthesia and it is also used illegally for recreational purposes.
An expert told AP News that the levels of ketamine in Perry’s body would be enough to make him lose consciousness and lose his ability to keep himself above the water. The expert said using sedative drugs in a pool or hot tub, especially when you’re alone, is extremely risky.
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Mom of 6-year-old who shot teacher gets 2 yrs in prison
AP News said the mother of the 6-year-old boy who shot his teacher in an elementary school in Virginia in January was sentenced to two years in prison for felony child neglect. Her name is Deja Taylor. Her son took the gun from her purse and brought it to school.
AP said the sentence was “much harsher than the maximum six months prosecutors had agreed to recommend as a part of a plea deal…”
The judge said he wanted to factor in the shooting’s physical and psychological toll on first-grade teacher Abigail Zwerner and the emotional trauma inflicted on other students and staff at the school.
Taylor was already sentenced to 21 months in federal prison for using marijuana while owning a gun. This child neglect sentence is in the Virginia system. So she will have to serve almost four years behind bars.
Japan’s Nippon Steel buying U.S. Steel for $14B
CNN reported that Japan’s Nippon Steel is buying U.S. Steel for $14 billion. U.S. Steel was once the largest company in the world and a symbol of American industrial might, but it is no longer the largest U.S. steelmaker.
CNN said under terms of the deal, U.S. Steel’s operations will retain its name and will continue to have a headquarters in Pittsburgh. But a union representing 11,000 workers with U.S. Steel said they are very disappointed that now the company is owned by a foreign country.
Southwest to pay $140M over 2022 holiday chaos
NPR reported that Southwest Airlines agreed to a $140 million settlement to resolve a federal investigation into the travel chaos last December when almost 17,000 flights were canceled, which caused over 2 million travelers to be stranded.
NPR explained that Southwest is required to establish a $90 million compensation system for future passengers affected by delays and cancellations and pay a $35 million fine to the U.S. government.
Southwest has already paid out about $600 million in refunds and reimbursements to travelers affected last year. In total, Southwest is shelling out more than $750 million for the December 2022 chaos.
That is all the top stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/17/us/politics/giuliani-defamation-damages.html
https://apnews.com/article/matthew-perry-death-cause-054e67f7495845804f801c57a1ae2522
https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/18/investing/us-steel-nippon-steel-deal/index.html
https://www.npr.org/2023/12/18/1219906471/southwest-airlines-2022-meltdown-fined-faa