Thursday, August 4
It is Thursday, August 4. Here are today’s top stories.
U.S. Congresswoman, three others killed in car crash
On Wednesday afternoon, U.S. Congresswoman Jackie Walorski (R-Ind.) was killed in a car crash in northern Indiana. She was 58 years old.
Two others traveling with Walorski were also killed: a 28-year-old aide named Emma Thompson and a 27-year-old local Republican Party leader named Zach Potts.
They were in a midsize SUV that collided head-on on a state road with a red sedan that was driven by a 56-year-old woman named Edith Schmucker, who was also killed. So that’s a total of four people who died in this crash.
Law enforcement said the SUV with the congresswoman in it was being driven by Potts and that it “crossed the centerline for reasons that are unknown at this time and the two vehicles collided.”
News images of the scene of the crash show a red sedan completely crushed on its front side.
Many members of Congress have expressed statements of sympathy for the Walorski family. House Speaker Pelosi ordered the flags at the U.S. Capitol to be flown at half-staff in mourning.
Senate approves Finland and Sweden NATO membership
The U.S. Senate voted 95-1 to approve the applications of Finland and Sweden to join NATO. All 30 NATO members must approve any new members, and the U.S. has given its green light.
Axios explained that both Finland and Sweden had “been neutral for decades but sought out the NATO security umbrella after Russia invaded Ukraine.”
Brittney Griner sentenced to 9 years
Today a Russian court found Brittney Griner guilty of drug charges and sentenced her to nine years in prison.
Griner was arrested at an airport in Moscow for carrying cannabis oil in her luggage almost six months ago, before the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
U.S. diplomats have recently proposed a prisoner exchange by swapping a Russian arms trafficker named Viktor Bout for Griner and another American who is detained, Paul Whelan. That offer is still pending.
3.3 (use 3.1 again)
President Biden said in a statement that Griner’s prison sentence is unacceptable and called on Russia to release her immediately.
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Alex Jones says Sandy Hook shooting was “100% real”
Alex Jones, the host of Infowars, admitted in his defamation trial that he was irresponsible for spreading lies that the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting was a hoax. He said on Wednesday that the shooting was “100% real.”
Jones is on trial as a result of a lawsuit brought upon the parents of one of the child victims, Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis. Their six-year-old son Jesse Lewis was killed in the 2012 shooting.
They testified that they went through years of trauma and harassment from those who believed that the shooting was fake and that they were actors. The parents were able to confront Jones in the courtroom over his lying.
There was one dramatic moment where the parents’ lawyers informed Alex Jones that his lawyer accidentally sent a copy of several years’ worth of his text messages. The parents’ lawyers said they now know Jones lied when he said he didn’t have text messages about Sandy Hook and said it was perjury — lying under oath.
AP News explained that courts in Texas and Connecticut have already found Jones liable for defamation and this trial is to determine how much Jones has to pay in damages to the parents of a six-year-old victim. He could be hit with $150 million or more in penalties.
DOJ charges 4 officers over Breonna Taylor shooting
The Department of Justice charged four current and former police officers who were connected to the case surrounding the shooting death of Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky.
Taylor was killed on March 13, 2020, when Louisville plainclothes officers entered her home during a raid. Taylor’s boyfriend thought the men were intruders and shot at them and the officers returned fire and hit Taylor.
The New York Times said neither of the two officers who fired the bullets that killed Taylor was ever charged, nor are they named in the new indictments. The charges focus on three officers who obtained the search warrant and a fourth officer for shooting up Taylor’s apartment through a covered window and sliding glass door.
Attorney General Merrick Garland said he believes certain Louisville officers falsified information in documents they used to get the search warrant of Taylor’s home and violated her civil rights laws.
The officers were investigating Taylor’s former boyfriend on suspicion of selling drugs and claimed that Taylor was receiving packages at her home in an affidavit that was used to convince a judge to approve the raid. The DOJ said there was no evidence of packages and that the officers misrepresented their case and that two of the officers conspired to lie to investigators after Taylor died.
The charges’ maximum penalties range from five to 20 years to life in prison.
Garland said, “Breonna Taylor should be alive today.”
Biden still Covid-19 positive
President Biden tested positive for Covid-19 again today. Biden’s doctor said he is still experiencing “a very occasional cough” but is improving and feels very well. Biden is still isolated.
Axios explained that when Biden was first infected with the coronavirus two weeks ago, he took a five-day regimen of Pfizer’s antiviral pill Paxlovid and then tested negative for the virus. But he tested positive again on Saturday in what is called a “rebound” case.
That is all the top stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light.
https://nypost.com/2022/08/03/us-rep-jackie-walorski-killed-in-indiana-car-crash/
https://twitter.com/ABC21WPTA/status/1555212154814566401
https://www.axios.com/2022/08/03/senate-ratifies-sweden-finland-nato-applications
https://www.axios.com/2022/08/04/russia-brittney-griner-convicted
https://apnews.com/article/health-us-news-shootings-texas-lawsuits-d029d6736d2ce6755c9e89e7cf9f27af
https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2022/08/04/yale-organex-dead-pigs-revived/
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/03/science/pigs-organs-death.html
https://www.axios.com/2022/08/02/biden-covid-positive-doctor
https://www.axios.com/2022/08/04/breonna-taylor-shooting-charges
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/04/us/breonna-taylor-officers-charged.html