Thursday, July 21 top stories
It is Thursday, July 21. Here are today’s top stories.
President Biden tests positive for coronavirus
The White House said President Biden tested positive for Covid-19 today and has very mild symptoms. Biden has been vaccinated and received two booster shots.
Biden is now isolating at the White House and continuing to work remotely. Biden is taking Paxlovid, Pfizer’s drug that fights the virus. His symptoms include a runny nose and a cough.
Biden tweeted an image of himself sitting at a desk. He said, “Folks, I’m doing great. Thanks for your concern.”
Deadly lightning strike at Army base
On Wednesday a lightning strike killed a soldier and injured 9 others at an army base in Fort Gordon, Georgia. A spokesperson said it happened at approximately 11:10 a.m. at a training area. There was bad weather in the area at the time. It is not known how seriously the other soldiers were hurt.
US Open says Djokovic can’t play due to vaccine status
Novak Djokovic, who just won the Wimbledon tennis tournament, will likely not be able to play in the US Open in New York at the end of August because he is unvaccinated against the coronavirus.
The US government requires non-citizens to be fully vaccinated.
Djokovic won the US Open three times.
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Cops kill 15-foot snake that was strangling a man
In eastern Pennsylvania, police officers shot and killed a 15-foot snake to save a 28-year-old man’s life.
Police said they received a call that a man was in cardiac arrest with a pet snake wrapped around his neck.
When they arrived at the man’s house, they saw that he was lying motionless on the floor with the “middle portion of a large snake wrapped around his neck.”
An officer shot the snake in the head and was able to free the man and rush him to a hospital. It is unknown how he is doing. The snake died.
Survey: Half of Americans anticipate civil war soon
Science.com reported that according to a large study of over 8,600 adults in the U.S., almost half of Americans believe there will be a civil war in the next few years.
About 20% in the survey said if they are in a situation where violence is justified to advance an important political objective, they will likely be armed with a gun.
About 7% of respondents said they would be willing to kill a person in that kind of situation.
Analysts told Science.com that to reduce the threat of political violence, the first step is to call out disinformation online and regulate social media to prevent false information from spreading.
Analysts also say courageous leaders can deter their communities from engaging in violence.
House passes bill on access to birth control
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill to protect a person’s ability to buy and have access to contraceptives — birth control.
Axios said the bill is “focused on guaranteeing access to different birth control measures, and protecting health care providers’ ability to provide them.”
Democrats are concerned that the Supreme Court and its conservative supermajority will make a ruling in the future that would allow states to restrict access to birth control.
The bill passed in a 228-195 vote with all Democrats and eight Republicans supporting it.
That is all the top stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light.
https://www.axios.com/2022/07/21/biden-covid-tests-positive
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2022/jul/20/us-open-novak-djokovic-covid-19-vaccine-tennis
https://abcnews.go.com/US/10-soldiers-struck-lightning-army-base-georgia/story?id=87149152
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/15-foot-snake-police-strangling-man/
https://www.wjbf.com/top-stories/lightning-strikes-fort-gordon-injuring-10-soldiers/
https://www.axios.com/2022/07/21/birth-control-access-abortion