Friday, May 14 top stories
It is Friday, May 14. Here are today’s top stories.
The situation in Israel has continued to escalate. News reports say Israeli troops have been massing up near the Gaza border and firing artillery rounds and conducting airstrikes into Gaza.
Many Palestinians living at the Gaza-Israel border had to flee and find refuge in U.N. run schools.
The Israeli military said over 1,800 rockets were fired towards Israel, but that 430 fell short. Israel has a missile defense system called Iron Dome that launches its own missiles to intercept rockets.
The death toll has continued to rise up, with far more causalities on the Palestinian side.
Fox News pointed out that there is a divide in the Democratic party’s response to the violence.
The Biden administration and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has supported Israel’s military, saying the country has a right to defend itself from Hamas’ rocket attacks.
But Sen. Bernie Sanders said government-allied right-wing extremists in Jerusalem are pushing the situation into war. Rep. Ilhan Omar said Israel is committing terrorism with its airstrikes.
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), as expected, was elected by House Republicans to replace Liz Cheney as the chair of the GOP conference. The vote was 135-46.
Axios said it shows how important loyalty to former President Trump remains to the Republican Party.
Here are some updates on mask requirements across the U.S. after the CDC announced that data shows that fully vaccinated people don’t need to wear masks indoors or outdoors in most situations.
USA Today said at least ten states have relaxed masking requirements: Connecticut, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Washington.
Some Republicans were suspicious of the timing of the announcement of the new mask recommendations, saying it seemed like the White House was trying to distract from negative news stories about Israel, the border, or gasoline shortages.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the new recommendations on masks came from the CDC and the advice of medical and health experts, not from President Biden.
Major retail stores such as Target or Walmart said it would keep its mask requirements but would reevaluate policies.
Trader Joe’s said it won’t require fully vaccinated customers to wear masks.
The City of Columbus, Ohio has reached a $10 million settlement with the family of Andre Hill, a 47-year-old Black man who was shot to death as he was walking out of a garage while holding his cellphone. The incident was on December 22. Former Columbus police officer Adam Coy was on site because there was a call about an idling car that was parked in front of his home. The officer shot at Hill within seconds of him coming out of a garage and he did not receive medical attention for several minutes.
Coy was fired and in February was charged with murder and other serious charges. He pleaded not guilty.
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WYFF 4 News in South Carolina reported that a 28-year-old woman driving in a car filled with hoarded gasoline crashed and burst into flames. The car was being chased by a police car because it had license plates that were reported stolen. The driver lost control and flipped the vehicle. A deputy said there were multiple explosions and that the driver exited the car while being on fire. The deputy pushed the woman to the ground to put out the flames and she was transported to a hospital.
It is likely the woman was hoarding gas because of the gasoline shortages in the Eastern U.S., but there is no other information about the woman’s identity or the story behind the stolen license plates.
1.10 Philly health official fired after MOVE human remains controversy
The health commissioner in Philadelphia, Thomas Farley, was fired because of how he handled the human remains of African-American victims of the MOVE bombing in 1985.
11 people died on May 13, 1985 when the Philadelphia Police Department, during an armed standoff with MOVE members, used a helicopter to drop two bombs on the rooftop of a home. The ensuing fire was allowed to burn for over an hour, which severely damaged a neighborhood with mostly Black residents.
Just a few weeks ago, there were news reports that the human bones of two children who were victims of the MOVE bombing were used as a part of college courses at the University of Pennsylvania without the families’ knowledge or permission.
The mayor of Philadelphia said he found this week out that the health commissioner, in 2017, cremated and disposed of bones recovered from the bombing without attempting to identify them or return them to their families. The mayor said this showed a lack of empathy and asked him to resign.
That is all the top stories for this week. Check out our other videos. Have a good weekend and stay with the light.
Israel: https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/14/middleeast/israel-palestinians-violence-intl/index.html
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/democrats-divided-israel-hamas-biden-ocasio-cortez-ilhan-omar
https://twitter.com/EliseStefanik/status/1393210042107760653
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/white-house-covid-masks-jen-psaki-peter-doocy
Car Crash: https://www.wyff4.com/article/car-hits-gas-pump-california/36427617
Philadelphia: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/may/13/philadelphia-move-bombing-victim-remains