Monday, January 17 top stories
It is Monday, January 17, which is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Today we as Americans honor Martin Luther King, Jr. and his work to end segregation and ensure that we all have equal rights and justice. We honor him. Here are today’s top news briefs.
King family marches in DC for voting rights
Today the family of Martin Luther King Jr. and hundreds others marched across D.C.’s new Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge to call for stronger voting rights. Some others called for D.C. statehood. King’s family called for President Biden and the Senate to eliminate the filibuster so voting rights legislation could advance without needing at least 60 Senators’ votes. The King family and other activists are concerned about 19 states that have recently passed voting-related laws that add more rules and restrictions around voter registrations, polling booths, and ballots. They feel that the laws make it harder for people of color to vote. Most Democrats in the Senate want to pass a law to block the new voting rules and make voting rights enshrined in federal law, but Democratic Senators Kyrsten Sinema (AZ) and Joe Manchin (WV) said they do not support eliminating the filibuster out of concerns that Republicans could bite back in the future by passing their own laws without Democrats’ input. The Senate plans to bring up two voting rights bills tomorrow, but it is doubtful they will have any progress due to Republicans’ opposition and Sinema and Manchin’s disagreement on eliminating the filibuster.
Texas synagogue hostage situation
On Saturday, there was a hostage situation at a synagogue (a Jewish place of worship) in Colleyville, Texas, which is in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. It started on Saturday morning as the synagogue was holding its Sabbath morning service. A man named Malik Faisal Akram, who is a British national, entered the building with a gun and held four people, including Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker, hostage. Law enforcement responded and there was a standoff that lasted almost 11 hours. Akram’s motive was to call for the release of a Pakistani woman named Aafia Siddiqui, who is a suspected associate of Al Qaeda and is in federal custody in Fort Worth for attempted murder of FBI agents and Army officers in Afghanistan. One hostage was released around 5 p.m. A few hours later, the remaining three hostages managed to escape to safety after the rabbi threw a chair at Akram and ran out of a side door. A SWAT team moved in the building and Akram was killed. The rabbi said he and others are alive because they received training for this kind of situation from the police, the FBI, and other organizations.
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Tonga underwater volcano eruption
On Saturday, an underwater volcano near Tonga had a massive eruption, sending tsunami waves across the Pacific Ocean in a gigantic ripple. Parts of Tonga were flooded with water and many structures were damaged, and it is difficult to get news from the island. The sky in Tonga was darkened by the ash cloud from the volcano. The tsunami waves reached the U.S. West Coast, Peru, New Zealand, and Japan, but there were no reports of mass casualties.
Djokovic kicked out of Australia
Tennis star Novak Djokovic lost his legal struggle with Australian officials to keep his visa so he could stay in the country to defend his Australian Open championship. A judge sided with Australian officials to revoke Djokovic’s visa over issues surrounding Djovokic’s status as an unvaccinated person and whether he could get an exemption. The tournament started today in Melbourne. Djokovic said he is “extremely disappointed” but wishes the best for those in the tournament.
That is all the top stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light.
https://heavy.com/news/malik-faisal-akram/
https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/17/asia/tonga-volcanic-eruption-tsunami-explainer-intl-hnk/index.html