Friday, August 5 top stories
It is Friday, August 5. Here are today’s top stories.
Two killed by lightning strike near White House
An elderly couple from Wisconsin was killed by a lightning strike in D.C. near the White House.
A video outside of the White House on Thursday evening shows a lightning bolt that hits the ground right in front of the building.
First responders said they found four people unconscious right after the strike, two men and two women. First responders administered CPR and used defibrillators. Clearly, two people survived but the couple didn’t make it.
U.S. adds 528k jobs in July
The Labor Department said the U.S. added 528,000 jobs in July and that the unemployment rate is down to 3.5%. News analysts said this has exceeded expectations and for now it shows the economy has not entered a recession.
Jury says Alex Jones must pay $4.1 million
The jury in the Alex Jones defamation trial said he must pay at least $4.1 million to the parents of a six-year-old who was a victim of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Jones made many false claims through his Infowars media outlet that the shooting was a hoax and that the grieving families of the 26 people who died were only actors.
The jury found that Jones caused suffering, emotional distress, and reputational damage to the parents.
Today the jury will decide whether they want to award punitive damages.
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SUV speeds through parade in New Mexico
On Thursday night in Gallup, New Mexico, a large SUV sped through a parade route and nearly hit child performers and others. Although it doesn’t seem like the SUV ran over anyone, multiple people were injured from the panic it caused.
Police were able to block the SUV and arrested the driver and its passengers. From what I’ve read, it doesn’t seem to be an act of terrorism or hate, but rather a case of reckless driving.
The parade was a part of the Gallup Intertribal Ceremonial Centennial Celebration, which celebrates Native American culture and heritage. People said they were traumatized by what happened.
Scientists revive dead pigs with “OrganEx” technology
Scientists at Yale University said they have successfully revived dead pigs’ heartbeats and organ functions after they had been dead for an hour by using a technology called OrganEx, which is a mixture of special fluids that was pumped into the pigs’ bodies with a medical device.
Yale researchers said to compare, they put another group of dead pigs on ECMO, a life-support system that gives blood oxygen, and found that the pigs in this group failed to be revived with their bodies becoming even more damaged and were left stiff with rigor mortis.
The pigs that received OrganEx, although their bodies regained function, never “woke up” because the OrganEx system prevents nerves in the brain from firing. But their bodies’ organs were “alive” and some pigs’ heads moved about.
Scientists say they hope to use this technology to increase the supply of human organs for transplant or to prevent severe damage to hearts or brains after a stroke. But there are many ethical concerns — about where the line is drawn between life and death. But scientists said they are “very far away from use in humans.”
Outside scientific experts said they were shocked at the findings and wondered about the possibilities in the future. People on the internet commented about zombies.
Yale has filed for a patent on the OrganEx technology.
Russian teacher punished for speaking out against war
The Telegraph reported that a school teacher in Russia was punished for speaking out in class against the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The teacher, Irina Gen, was found guilty of breaking a new Russian law that has banned any criticism of the war. She got a suspended sentence of five years.
She was charged in March after one of her students posted on the internet a recording of the teacher telling students that Russia was trying to “topple a legitimate government in Ukraine and killing civilians.”
The teacher said Russian FSB intelligence agents showed up at the school and pressured her to confess. She blamed the leak of her statements on students who were encouraged to do so by pro-Kremlin parents.
The Telegraph said since March, at least 3,000 people have been fined for speaking negatively about the Russian war and that over 80 people have received lengthy prison sentences.
That is all the top stories for today. Have a good weekend and stay with the light.
https://www.fox5dc.com/news/video-captures-lightning-strike-near-white-house-that-injured-4
https://www.axios.com/2022/08/05/july-us-jobs-report
https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/05/us/car-drives-through-new-mexico-parade-gallup/index.html