Friday, July 8 top stories
Hi. Today is Friday, July 8. I am taking Alex’s place today. Here are today’s top stories.
Former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe shot and killed
Shinzo Abe, the former prime minister of Japan, was shot while giving a speech on a street in Nara City. He was hospitalized and underwent surgery, but passed away at 67 years old.
Witnesses said Abe was shot from behind by a man using a homemade gun. The suspect was quickly detained near the assassination site. The suspect is 41 years old and previously served in the Japanese Navy.
Abe sustained serious injuries to his neck and heart. A hospital said it worked for four hours with over 100 units of blood in transfusions but they couldn’t revive him.
Abe was the longest-serving Japanese Prime Minister in history. Many world leaders expressed statements of shock and mourning.
California to create its own insulin
California announced it would make its own insulin to bring down the prices of the medication that some people with diabetes depend on.
California Gov. Newsom said he has approved a budget of $100 million for the project. Newsom said a number of Americans are forced to pay out of pocket costs of about $300 to $500 a month to pay for insulin.
Ex-cop Derek Chauvin gets more prison time
Chauvin was convicted on murder and manslaughter charges in Minnesota for kneeling on George Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes during the May 2020 arrest. He is already serving a 22-year state prison sentence.
Chauvin, 46, pleaded guilty to the separate federal civil rights charges in December. The federal charges against Chauvin included two counts of depriving Floyd of his rights by kneeling on his neck as he was in handcuffs and by failing to provide medical care during the arrest.
He is sentenced to additional 21 years by a federal court but the two sentences will run concurrently. Chauvin will now serve the new federal sentence and be moved to a federal prison.
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Arizona to ban filming police
A new law in Arizona bans people from taking close-range or within 8 feet recordings of police. It is to prevent citizens from getting dangerously close to potentially violent encounters.
Violators will face a misdemeanor charge and up to 30 days in jail. The new law will take effect on September 24.
The bill includes some exceptions; a person is allowed to record if they are the one being questioned by a police officer, if they are an occupant in a vehicle during a traffic stop, or if they are in a structure on private property where law enforcement activity is occurring.
Some critics have described it as a threat to the first amendment.
Mother drowns three kids and dies from suicide
In Minnesota, Maplewood police were first called to a home about 10:30am last Friday after Molly Cheng reported that her husband had shot himself and died.
The sheriff’s office said later that day, a relative called 911 and warned that Molly might kill her young 3, 4 and 5 years old children and herself, setting off a statewide alert to find the four.
Officials tracked her cellphone to Vadnais-Sucker Lake Park where they found a vehicle. First responders immediately started a search in the water and found their four bodies - the mother and three children.
The medical examiner ruled that all of the children drowned and the youngest two had also been smothered. They also determined that their mother, Molly Cheng, drowned and their father, Yee Lee, died of a gunshot wound to be suicide for both.
Major sports leagues making history
Mike Grier has been named the San Jose Sharks new general manager. His hire is historic as he becomes the NHL’s first Black general manager. He spent 14 seasons in the league as a hockey player. The executive management in professional sports runs in his family as his older brother, Chris Grier, is the NFL Miami Dolphins general manager.
The Las Vegas Raiders hired Sandra Douglass Morgan as their new team president. This makes her the first Black woman in NFL history to assume the role. The position faced several past resignations and firings prior to appointing Morgan.
Morgan explained during her introductory speech that I am not here to sweep anything under the rug or avoid problems or concerns that need to be addressed. I accepted this role because I believe in Raiders.
That is all the top stories for this week. Have a good weekend and stay with the light!
Abe:
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220708_26/
Insulin:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/insulin-california-fight-rising-prices-gavin-newsom/
Chauvin:
https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/07/us/derek-chauvin-federal-sentencing/index.html
Arizona:
Murder-suicide:
Major leagues:
https://www.npr.org/2022/07/06/1110004459/mike-grier-nhl-first-black-general-manager