May 30 top stories
Hello, it is May 30. Here are today’s top stories.
Missing Texas woman’s body found in jaws of alligator
Houston police said in a statement Wednesday that patrol officers located the remains of a woman in the jaws of an alligator in the Horsepen Bayou while searching the area for a woman reported missing.
A sergeant shot and killed the alligator to prevent it from doing more damage to the remains. A dive team later recovered the woman’s body and dead alligator from the bayou.
Police said the husband of the victim, an unnamed woman in her 60s, reported her missing early Tuesday morning. He told police she went for a walk around 7:30 p.m. Monday and never returned.
Police are waiting for autopsy results to determine the woman’s cause of death.
Alligator attacks are rare in Texas. The last fatal alligator in the state happened in 2015.
Black men sue American Airlines for racial discrimination
A lawsuit filed Wednesday on behalf of three Black men alleges “blatant and egregious race discrimination” by American Airlines when they were removed from a flight.
The suit alleges that the plaintiffs and five other Black male passengers were ejected from American Flight 832 from Phoenix to JFK in New York City on January 5, 2024, “without any valid reason, based solely on their race.”
An American Airlines representative approached each of the men before takeoff ordering them off the plane. The passengers complied. The complaint reads once they reached the jet bridge, they saw that several other Black men were also being removed from the plane. In fact, it appeared to plaintiffs that American had ordered all of the Black male passengers on Flight 832 off the plane.
According to the suit, American representatives told the men a complaint about body odor had prompted their removal. None of the plaintiffs were told that they personally had bad odor and in fact none of the plaintiffs had offensive body odor. The plaintiffs did not know each other before the flight and were not seated together. The men were eventually allowed back on after about an hour after the airline determined there were no available flights that evening.
The complaint reads plaintiffs then had to reboard the plane and endure the stares of the largely white passengers who viewed them as the cause of the substantial delay.
The plaintiffs are seeking compensation for their pain and suffering and a punitive damage award sufficient to deter American from discriminating against Black passengers in the future.
Nissan issues ‘do not drive’ alert for 84K older models
Nissan is urging the owners of about 84,000 older vehicles to stop driving them because their Takata airbag inflators have an increased risk of exploding in a crash and hurling dangerous metal fragments.
Wednesday’s urgent request comes after one person in a Nissan was killed by an exploding front-passenger inflator, and as many as 58 people were injured since 2015.
Nissan said the “do not drive” warning covers certain 2002 through 2006 Sentra small cars, as well as some 2002 through 2004 Pathfinder SUVs, and 2002 and 2003 Infiniti QX4 SUVs.
Owners can find out if their vehicles are affected by going to their Takata airbag recall website and keying in their 17-digit vehicle identification number.
The company says owners should contact their dealer to set up an appointment to have inflators replaced for free.
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Giant panda will head to DC’s National Zoo from China
The United States’ National Zoo said on Wednesday China will send two young giant pandas to Washington by the end of the year months after the zoo returned three of the bears amid heightened tensions between the two global superpowers.
The announcement follows increased engagement between Washington and Beijing that has put ties on a steadier footing since relations hit historic lows last year.
China’s ambassador to the U.S. Xie Feng encouraged people to care for China-U.S. relations just as you care for pandas.
The zoo said once they arrive, the pair of pandas will be quarantined for 30 days and then have a few more weeks to settle into their new habitat. A public debut date has yet to be set.
See Alex’s brief on a Michigan man with suspended license stuns judge after joining a court Zoom call while driving.
Man with suspended license Zoom into court hearing while driving
Thanks, Callie.
There is a viral video that shows a man showing up for a Zoom court hearing while he was driving under a suspended license. This incident was on May 15.
The man driving is Corey Harris. The hearing was about charges he was facing for a previous incident of driving while under a suspended license.
When the judge, J. Cedric Simpson, saw Harris show up on the video while driving, he asked him if he was driving. Harris said he would park shortly.
The judge said, “Wow. So maybe I don’t understand something. This is a driving while license suspended (case)… and he was just driving, and he didn’t have a license?”
Attorneys in the courtroom said Harris indeed did show the entire courtroom that he was driving without a valid license. The judge then revoked Harris’ bond and ordered him to turn himself in jail that night.
Harris rolled his back and said, “Oh my god.”
CBS News said Harris was released from custody two days later and is scheduled to appear in court again on June 5. Hopefully, he will stay away from driving for the time being.
Thanks for the brief. That’s all the top stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light!
Missing Texas woman’s body found in jaws of alligator
Black men sue American Airlines for racial discrimination
https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/2024/05/29/american-airlines-lawsuit-black-men-body-odor/
Nissan issues ‘do not drive’ alert for 84K older models
Giant panda will head to DC’s National Zoo from China
https://apnews.com/article/giant-pandas-washington-zoo-china-764f8016d98c01ab579bdbb6dcc3dd6b
Man with suspended license Zoom into court hearing while driving