January 19 top stories
Salmonella cases linked to charcuterie meats
The CDC issued an alert about a salmonella (bacteria) outbreak that is linked to charcuterie meats sold at Sam’s Club or Costco. 47 people in 22 states have become ill. The meats’ brands are either Busseto or Beretta. The CDC said if you have it, throw it away and wash anything that the meats may have touched. Symptoms of salmonella sickness are diarrhea and a fever higher than 102 F.
AirTag shows that car stolen in Toronto surfaced in Dubai
A man in Toronto, Canada said his 2022 GMC Yukon SUV was stolen from his home in August and according to his Apple AirTag that was inside the vehicle, it was transported around the world to Dubai, UAE.
The man said he could see that his SUV was being moved around Toronto, then to a railway yard, then to a port in Montreal, then to a port in Belgium, and finally to a used car lot in Dubai. He said he tried to alert police in Toronto when it was at a railway yard but police said they didn’t have the authority to go to a port and open a shipping container. The man tried to get help from a security agency, but the container was quickly shipped away.
The man is still trying to get his vehicle back and is working with a private investigator in the UAE.
Canadian news outlet CBC said there is an auto theft epidemic in Canada and the AirTag provided a rare glimpse into how this process works.
Controversy over DA Fani Willis
There is a big controversy surrounding Atlanta-area District Attorney Fani Willis, who has been leading a large-scale criminal prosecution against Donald Trump and others for alleged election interference in 2020.
DA Willis hired a private lawyer named Nathan Wade as one of three special counsels to help with the case. Now DA Willis is accused of having an affair with Wade, and using $650,000 of taxpayer funds to go on trips with him, which would be inappropriate. Wade is married but is going through a divorce.
The allegations surfaced from an attorney representing one of Trump's co-defendants in the case. The attorney said DA Willis and Wade should be dismissed from the case due to conflicts of interest.
DA Willis said in a court filing that Wade’s wife conspired with others to damage and embarrass her during her divorce proceedings. She also said in public that her accusers were racist because they were targeting Wade and not the other two special counsels she hired, of whom both are white. Wade is Black.
A Georgia judge said DA Willis has until Feb. 2 to formally respond to the allegations. There will be a public hearing on Feb. 15.
A legal expert told USAToday that this controversy could cause complications in the Trump election fraud case.
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Cop walks into armed robbery at 7-Eleven
In Southern California, surveillance video from a 7-Eleven shows that a police officer happened to walk into the store while there was a man doing an armed robbery.
Police in West Covina said the suspect pointed a gun at the clerk and ordered him to put cash in a bag. As the clerk put about $400 in cash in the bag, a police officer entered. Check out this video.
[Video clip] Credit: Instagram/WestCovinaPD
The officer chased after the suspect and made an arrest. The suspect was charged with felon in possession of a firearm, robbery and carrying a concealed weapon.
Crew blasts off to International Space Station
On Thursday afternoon, a crew of four blasted into space on a SpaceX rocket to start a two-week research mission on the International Space Station (ISS). The crew includes a retired NASA astronaut, an Italian co-pilot, a Turkish flight engineer and a Swedish person. It took the rocket 12 minutes to enter space. The crew will dock into the ISS sometime Saturday morning. They plan to conduct microgravity experiments, test a pasta dish, and analyze different ways to shield astronauts from space radiation. The crew is expected back on Earth sometime on February 3.
https://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/charcuterie-meats-01-24/index.html
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fani-willis-trump-2020-election-case-prosecutor-nathan-wade/
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/18/us/fani-willis-trump-georgia-prosecutors.html
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto-man-finds-stolen-truck-in-uae-1.7083615
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ax-3-crew-spacex-commercial-flight-falcon9-iss/