Thursday, July 7 top stories
Hi. Today is Thursday, July 7. I am taking Alex’s place today. Here are today’s top stories.
“Hero” teen saves three girls and police officer
In Mississippi, a teenager named Corion Evans (16) is hailed as a hero for rescuing three girls and a police officer from a car that was sinking underwater.
On Monday, Evans saw a car with three teenage girls accidentally drive into the water from a boat ramp. The car was almost completely underwater about 25 yards away from the road.
Evans said he took off his shoes, shirt, and phone, and jumped in the water. He managed to pull out the three girls.
Then a police officer arrived to respond to the emergency scene. The officer swam into the water, but for some reason, he started to go underwater and shouted, “help!” Evans said he grabbed the officer and swam with him back to shallow water.
The Moss Point Police Department issued a statement commending Evans’ bravery and selflessness and said if he wasn’t there, it could have been a tragic situation.
New report on Uvalde shooting
There is a new report on the Uvalde elementary school shooting.
It says that a police officer with a rifle saw the shooter walk towards the school. The officer asked a supervisor for permission to open fire, but the supervisor either didn’t hear the request or responded too late. The shooter was able to quickly get inside the school and open fire on children and teachers.
The report said some of the 21 victims — 19 children and two teachers — could have survived the shooting if they received medical attention earlier. But police officers waited for over an hour before they entered a classroom and killed the shooter.
The report said no officers ever tested the classroom doors where the shooter was inside to see if it was locked or unlocked. There were enough police officers and firepower to stop the shooter within three minutes.
The report said the Uvalde schools police chief Peter Arredondo and another police officer spent 13 minutes in the school hallway during the shooting to discuss what options they had.
Funeral home owner selling body parts without consent
Megan Hess, 45, who formerly ran Sunset Mesa funeral home in Montrose, Colorado with her mother; Shirley Koch.
Hess, prosecutors said for eight years from 2010 - 2018, she hatched a scheme to steal hundreds of bodies and body parts then sell them to research, educational and medical markets. Hess’ mother, Koch, also was indicted. When first charged, both have pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors said Hess would often transfer the human remains to third parties without familial consent. In some cases, Hess and her mother Koch, were accused of giving families the cremated remains of another person, pretending to be returning their relative’s ashes.
A Reuters investigation in 2018 heard from former employees who recounted that Koch would pull teeth from some of the corpses to extract the gold in crowns or fillings.
Hess had a change of plea and pleaded guilty. She is expected to be sentenced in January. Koch is scheduled for a change of plea hearing July 12.
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Boris Johnson steps down as PM
Boris Johnson, prime minister of the United Kingdom, has resigned as leader of the Conservative Party under heavy pressure from lawmakers in his own party. He said he will stay in office until the Conservatives choose a new party leader, who will then take over as prime minister.
This comes after dozens of officials, aides and members of his Cabinet quit his government, saying they could no longer serve under his leadership.
Johnson said in his resignation speech, “Of course, it is painful to not to be able to see through so many ideas and projects.” An announcement will come next week about the timetable for choosing the new prime minister, Johnson added.
Brittney Griner pleads guilty in Russian court
The 31-year-old US Olympic gold medalist and pro basketball player Brittney Griner has pleaded guilty to drug charges in a Russian court which her lawyers confirmed. Griner faces up to 10 years in prison under the charge.
The report said Griner told the court she had not intended to commit a crime speaking through an interpreter. She said she had not meant to carry drugs in her luggage, but that it was the result of her packing in a hurry.
Griner left the courtroom without giving any comment to reporters, and her next hearing is set for July 14.
Heads of FBI and MI5 warns about China spying
FBI director Christopher Wray and his UK counterpart MI5 director Ken McCallum highlighted the joint work to thwart what they said was the most serious challenge from espionage [spying] and hacking by the Chinese government.
Wray said China now is also making moves to shield its economy from any future sanctions should it try to take over Taiwan by force, drawing lessons from western efforts to punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
Top US and British law enforcement officials met with private business and academic leaders Wednesday to call attention to what they said is the serious security and economic threat posed by China.
The Chinese government is aimed at stealing intellectual property [copyrights and patents] from western tech companies and influencing politics in western countries.
That is all the top stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light!
Mississippi hero:
https://www.wlox.com/2022/07/04/pascagoula-teen-saves-3-girls-officer-after-vehicle-sinks-river/
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jul/06/us-teen-hero-rescue-mississippi-car-plunges-river
Uvalde report:
https://apnews.com/article/shootings-texas-1ae2b6406868d398a2ecadf960c3a1df
Funeral home:
https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-bodies-funeral/
Boris Johnson:
Brittney Griner:
https://www.axios.com/2022/07/07/brittney-griner-pleads-guilty-drug-charges-russia
China spying:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/heads-of-fbi-mi5-issue-joint-warning-on-chinese-spying-11657123280