Memorial Day news briefs

Hello, it is Monday, May 31. We’re halfway through 2021. It’s Memorial Day, so I’m going to take it easy today. Here are some top stories.

In Texas, Republican state lawmakers were ready to pass a bill that would add new rules and restrictions on voting, but Democrats foiled it by unexpectedly walking out of the Texas Capitol building before the midnight voting deadline, which forced the voting session to be suspended.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) said he would hold a special session later this year on the bill. Republicans want to curb the expansion in mail-in and absentee voting from the coronavirus pandemic, and maybe some feel there was fraud that got Joe Biden elected, although there’s been no evidence of widespread fraud. Democrats view the restrictions as an attempt to limit Black and Hispanic voters, who usually lean Democratic.

Seven people died in a small jet crash into a Tennessee lake on Saturday. CNN said a “Christian diet guru” named Gwen Shamblin Lara was killed, along with her husband, son-in-law, and two other married couples.

The crash is under investigation. Dive teams recovered debris from the plane and human remains from the lake.

China’s Communist Party announced it would allow all married couples to have three children. The previous policy limited couples with two children. In 2016 and earlier, the policy was stricter with just one child allowed. The New York Times explained that China is doing this to try and raise birthrates and avoid a crisis with an aging population.

Coronavirus cases in the U.S. have continued to decline. On May 30, there were about 20,000 new cases and 446 new deaths. These numbers are down about 30% compared from two weeks ago. The worst numbers we’ve ever seen was in January when we had over 250,000 new cases and 3,000 new deaths for several days in a row.

The biggest sign that we’re starting to go back to normal is the sight of packed sports arenas. Yesterday the largest crowd in the world for a sports event happened during the Indy 500 with 135,000 fans. That was only 40% of the capacity.

That’s all the top stories for today. We’ll be back with plenty more news tomorrow. Have a nice day and stay with the light.

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