Monday, July 6 top news briefs
Hello, welcome to The Daily Moth. I hope you had a good weekend. It is Monday, July 6.
Divided: Statues and Fourth of July
This is today’s USAToday front page, a story about how Americans are divided over statues. It has to do with the many statues of historical figures — who were Confederate leaders or historical figures who owned slaves — removed in the midst of antiracist and Black Lives Matter protests. It is contrasted by President Donald Trump’s speech in front of Mt. Rushmore in which he defended statues by saying those who built our country were not villains. So that’s the controversy that’s causing the divide.
There’s also the Fourth of July holiday on Saturday. The national tone was very different as many did not feel it was appropriate to mark the day because although America is an independent and “free” country, many Americans do not feel free from police brutality or systemic racism, not to mention our history of genocide and taking lands from Native Americans. Others disagree on July 4 by saying we should celebrate to show pride for America, which is a unique country. So, the statues are a flashpoint for a tension that has long simmered.
In separate but related news, at the Stone Mountain Memorial Park in Georgia, there were hundreds of African-American individuals who marched together while carrying large rifles, handguns, and belts of ammo to advocate for their Second Amendment rights (to bear arms) and to protest the memorial, which is a huge carving of three Confederate leaders. The site has been used as a backdrop for white supremacist groups, such as the KKK, when they hold events. The group’s name is the NFAC, short for “Not F—ing Around Coalition.” One of the leaders of the group challenged white supremacists by saying they were in “their house.” This is tied with the national debate on statues.
Aurora police officers fired for mocking Elijah McClain
In Aurora, Colorado, three police officers were fired after images surfaced of them mocking the death of Elijah McClain, a 23-year-old Black massage therapist who died while in police custody in August. What happened to him? According to the New York Times, McClain was walking to his home while listening to music about 10:30 pm. He was stopped by three police officers who showed up after someone called 911 to say he looked suspicious. The report said McClain tried to ignore the officers, but was restrained, brought to the floor, and was placed in a chokehold. Body camera audio recorded McClain saying, “I can’t breathe.” Paramedics showed up and injected him with ketamine, a strong sedative. He went into cardiac arrest on the way to a hospital and died a few days later. He was unarmed and did not commit a crime. The three officers, at the time, did not face any disciplinary action or criminal charges.
So, back to the image — the three officers you see in the picture were standing near a memorial set up in honor of McClain in October. They were not involved in McClain’s arrest and death, but were in the same department. After they took the image in October, they texted it to one of the three officers who arrested McClain. That officer responded by saying “haha.” The photograph did not surface again until last week or two weeks ago. Someone shared it with the Aurora police chief. She announce that she fired three officers on Friday. A fourth officer had already resigned, so all four officers are off the force. The three in the photo and the fourth one who said “haha.”
Broadway actor passes away from Covid-19
A Broadway actor, Nick Cordero, has passed away after battling with Covid-19 since March. He was 41. He had many health complications and was forced to undergo a leg amputation. His wife, Amanda Kloots, kept the public updated on his health journey. There were many followers who were hopeful for him. She couldn’t visit him in the hospital because of Covid-19 restrictions until two weeks ago. Kloots posted on Sunday morning that he has passed away.
Kanye West says he is running for president in 2020
Kanye West tweeted on Saturday that he was running for president of the U.S. in 2020. Elon Musk tweeted that he was in full support. It is surprising because although Kanye has expressed a desire to run for president, it was thought it would be in 2024 rather than this year. Kanye is a strong supporter of President Trump, visiting Trump at Trump Tower before he was inaugurated and had a memorable visit in the Oval Office in 2018 which he gave a 10-minute speech about his views of why America was broken and how Trump was a part of the solution. He said Trump had “dragon energy.” It’s not clear if Kanye was serious or not — news reports say he has not filed official paperwork with the Federal Elections Commission. If he does campaign for write-in votes, it is doubtful he would be able to defeat either Donald Trump or Joe Biden, but which one would lose votes to Kanye?
Human remains of Vanessa Guillen positively identified
The human remains of Vanessa Guillen, a 20-year-old solider who went missing in April from Fort Hood military base in Texas, has been positively identified. Authorities believe another solider, Aaron Robinson, killed her on the base after Guillen wanted to report that he was sexually harassing her. Robinson committed suicide last week when police officers tried to pull him over on a highway. A third person, Cecily Aguilar, was arrested and accused of helping Robinson to hide Guillen’s body. Authorities say that Robinson killed Guillen in her workplace on the base with a hammer, put her body in a container, placed it in his car, and then had Aguilar join him as they drove to a river. Authorities say the two chopped up the body with a machete, put cement on it, and buried the remains. Since then the remains have been discovered, the suspect killed himself, and another is arrested. The family of Guillen said she had expressed that she went through sexual harassment and was afraid for her own safety. There is now a push by activists to pass legislation to better protect soldiers who experience sexual harassment.
Federal court orders Dakota Access Pipeline shutdown
Today a federal court in D.C. ruled that the Dakota Access Pipeline must shut down by August 5 until a full environmental review is completed. The pipeline runs from North Dakota to Illinois and is controversial because it runs in the area of the Standing Rock Indian Reservation. There were protests by water protectors in 2016 who tried to block heavy equipment from installing the pipeline. In 2017, President Trump, right after his election victory and inauguration, granted a permit to allow the pipeline to run, but there was still a pending case in federal court based on environmental concerns, and now a judge has decided the pipeline must be shut down by August 5 and remain closed until there is an environmental review. It is considered a victory for water protectors and a loss for oil company Energy Transfer Partners, but only time will tell whether there is real action or if the legal case takes another turn.
That is all the top news for today. Check out our Deaf News stories. See you tomorrow and stay with the light.
https://heavy.com/news/2020/07/stone-mountain-georgia-nfac/
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/04/us/Elijah-McClain-aurora-police-officers.html
https://www.nytimes.com/article/who-was-elijah-mcclain.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/05/obituaries/nick-cordero-dead-coronavirus.html
https://people.com/music/kanye-west-says-i-am-running-for-president-of-united-states/
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/06/court-orders-dakota-access-pipeline-to-shut-down.html
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/06/court-orders-dakota-access-pipeline-to-shut-down.html
https://www.foxnews.com/us/vanessa-guillen-fort-hood-soldier-remains-identified