Thursday, December 8 top stories
It is Thursday, December 8. Here are today’s top stories.
Brittney Griner released in Russian prison swap
President Biden announced this morning that Brittney Griner, the WNBA star and two-time U.S. Olympic gold medalist who was imprisoned in Russia since February, was coming home to America. The U.S. and Russia agreed to swap prisoners with our side releasing Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer. The exchange took place in the United Arab Emirates.
Biden released images of him in the Oval Office hugging Griner’s wife, Cherelle.
Griner was arrested after Russian authorities found a cannabis vape cartridge in her luggage as she was about to leave an airport. This happened right before the war broke out. Griner said she was using medical cannabis and did not intend to break the law. She was sentenced to nine years in prison. Now she’s on a plane to the U.S. at the time of writing this news.
The U.S. wanted to get another American prisoner to be freed in a swap — former Marine Paul Whelan. The U.S. said Russia wouldn’t agree to include him.
There was joy on social media at Griner’s release but there was also criticism for leaving behind Whelan. Whelan said in an interview with CNN today that Russia put him at a “higher level” because he is considered a spy.
Biden said he has not forgotten about Whelan and has not given up on getting him back home.
Cèline Dion says she has “Stiff Person Syndrome”
Musician Cèline Dion announced this morning that she was diagnosed with a rare and incurable neurological disease called Stiff Person Syndrome (SPS). Dion said she will have to postpone and cancel several of her scheduled concerts.
Dion is 54 years old. She said the syndrome is causing her to experience muscle spasms that affect her daily life and her ability to walk or sing.
The NIH said SPS can cause people to have hunched over and stiffened postures and can cause them to become too disabled to walk or move.
Dion said she is not giving up on being able to perform again and that she is working hard with her medical team.
House passes bill to protect same-sex and interracial marriage
The House of Representatives voted to pass a bill that would protect the right to same-sex and interracial marriage in a 258-169 vote. 39 Republicans voted with all Democrats in favor of it.
CNN explained that while the bill would not set a national requirement that all states must legalize same-sex marriage, it would require individual states to recognize another state’s legal marriage. President Biden has previously said he would sign the bill into law.
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New York Times staff strike
Over 1,000 reporters and other staff members of the New York Times held a 24-hour strike today to protest contract negotiations. ABC News said it is the first strike at the company in over 40 years.
The union representing the Times workers said they want more pay and better balance between remote and in-office work. There have been negotiations that lasted for over 120 hours without a deal.
Lawsuit over TGI Friday “Mozzarella Sticks Snacks”
An Illinois woman filed a lawsuit against a manufacturer of TGI Friday’s “Mozzarella Sticks Snacks,” which is a bagged snack and not the actual mozzarella sticks dish because the bagged snacks do not have mozzarella as an ingredient.
A judge granted TGI Friday’s request to be dropped from the lawsuit because it only licensed its brand to the manufacturer of the snacks, Inventure Foods. The judge allowed the lawsuit to proceed because he thought it was reasonable for the Illinois woman to expect there to be mozzarella cheese in the snack.
The lawsuit is seeking monetary relief for the products that customers purchased. The manufacturer said customers should know that the snacks couldn’t actually have mozzarella cheese because it is sold on shelves with other potato chips.
Iran executes protester
Iranian state media reported that authorities executed a man who was involved in widespread Iranian protests over the death of a young woman who was arrested for not properly wearing her hijab. Iranian authorities said the man used a machete to attack a security guard.
Axios said it may be the first execution in response to the protests and that human rights groups are warning that there may be more executions to come.
That is all the top stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light.
https://www.axios.com/2022/12/08/brittney-griner-freed-prisoner-swap-russia
https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/08/politics/paul-whelan-cnn-interview-brittney-griner/index.html
https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/biden-brittney-griner-release-russia-prisoner-swap-paul-whelan/
https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/08/politics/same-sex-marriage-vote-house/index.html
https://people.com/health/celine-dion-reveals-diagnosis-with-incurable-neurological-disease/
https://abcnews.go.com/Business/new-york-times-reporters-staff-stage-24-hour/story
https://www.washingtonpost.com/food/2022/12/06/tgi-fridays-mozzarella-sticks-lawsuit/
https://www.axios.com/2022/12/08/iran-executes-protester-tehran-demonstrations