Friday, May 6 top stories
It is Friday, May 6. Here are today’s top stories.
Car found in search of Alabama jail officer and inmate
Law enforcement said they found a 2007 Ford Edge that belonged to the Alabama corrections official, Vicky White, who is suspected of helping an inmate and murder suspect, Casey White, escape from a prison on April 29. The car was found abandoned in Tennessee at a location that is about a two-hour drive from the prison.
The corrections official withdrew about $90,000 from several banks before she disappeared. She was due to retire on the day she left the prison with Casey.
U.S. Marshals are now offering up to $10,000 for information leading to the capture of Casey and has warned that the pair may be armed and dangerous.
Judge rules Marjorie Taylor Greene can run for reelection
A judge in Georgia recommended that Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R) shouldn’t be disqualified to run for reelection over her role with the January 6 attack on the Capitol.
Greene recently provided testimony in a court to answer a lawsuit from groups who believed she should be disqualified from holding political office due to violating a constitutional clause that those who “gives aid or comfort” to insurrectionists must be barred from holding office.
The judge said Greene did have contacts with people who possibly became violent at the Capitol, but that the evidence does not show that she directed or assisted these individuals in “the planning or execution of the Invasion.”
The Georgia secretary of state will make the final decision on Greene’s name on the ballot. An analyst with CNN said it’s highly unlikely that the official would overrule the judge’s recommendation.
The Republican primary in Georgia will take place on May 24.
Austin to experiment with “guaranteed income”
The Austin City Council voted on Thursday to start a pilot program to give $1,000 checks to low-income residents who are at risk of becoming homeless due to skyrocketing costs of living. The city will send monthly checks to 85 households for a year.
Austin’s mayor said they hope to find people before they end up on their streets. It is the first program of its kind in Texas and there are at least 28 other cities in the nation that have this type of “guaranteed income” program.
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Man who received pig heart died of pig virus
The surgeon of a man who received the first-ever pig heart transplant in January and survived for two months before dying said the man died from a pig virus. At the time of the man’s death, the hospital did not make it clear what caused him to die, only saying his health worsened over several days.
The surgeon said the pig transplant heart, which came from a genetically modified pig, had a virus called cytomegalovirus. The surgeon thinks the virus may have caused the man’s health to deteriorate. The surgeon said he hopes to learn from this to prevent infections in future transplants.
Cuban hotel explosion
This morning, there was an explosion at a historic luxury hotel in downtown Havana, Cuba. At least nine people were killed, over a dozen are missing, and about 40 people were injured.
It is possible that a gas leak caused the explosion. The official cause of the blast is under investigation. The Cuban President Díaz-Canal said it was not a bomb or an attack, but an unfortunate accident.
The Washington Post explained that the hotel, named The Saratoga, was preparing to reopen on Tuesday after closing for two years due to the coronavirus pandemic. The hotel had no tourists inside and was undergoing repairs. The hotel was built in the 1930’s and renovated in 2005 and attracted celebrities such as Beyoncé and Madonna.
That is all the top stories for this week. Have a good weekend and stay with the light.
https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/06/politics/marjorie-taylor-greene-ballot/index.html
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/may/06/man-landmark-pig-heart-transplant-death-pig-virus
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/05/06/cuba-explosion-hotel-saratoga-havana/