Tuesday, July 26th top stories
Hello there! My name is Renca and I am subbing for Alex for today’s top news. Today is Tuesday, July 26th, here are the top stories.
New medical students walk out of ceremony to protest keynote speaker
At the University of Michigan, a new group of medical students with their white lab coats walked out of their white coat ceremony this recent Sunday to protest the keynote speaker, Dr. Kristin Collier, who opposes abortion. The white coat ceremony is an event that welcomes new medical students and given a white lab coat. The Michigan Daily news reports that before the ceremony, there were more than 340 new incoming students and current students at the University of Michigan that signed a petition to not have Dr. Collier come as the keynote speaker.
Dr. Collier did share her opinion on abortion publicly so the petition mentioned that the students who signed are not disagreeing with her opinion, but they are standing up to the people who are trying to take away human rights.
The director of public relations at Michigan Medicine mentioned that the ceremony is not a platform for discussion of controversial issues. The focus was on welcoming the new students and Dr. Collier was not planning to address that topic during her speech. The director also added that the university will not reject their invitation for Dr. Collier based on their personal beliefs.
A viral video of the students walking out of the ceremony has already been viewed more than 13 million times on social media.
Pope Francis apologizes to Indigenous people in Canada
Yesterday, Pope Francis traveled to Maskwacis, Alberta, Canada for a historical apology for the Christians' harm to Indigenous people and asked for forgiveness. There was applause given by the Indigenous survivors and Indigenous community members who were there after he apologized.
From the 19th century until the 1970’s, more than 150,000 indigenous children in Canada were forced to attend state-funded residential Christian schools that were run by Roman Catholic religious leaders. It is reported that the children were physically and sexually abused by priests and nuns.
The last residental school closed down in 1996, leaving many Indigenous survivors traumatized. Last year, hundreds of unmarked graves of Indigenous children were discovered at some of the former residential schools. Many Indigenous survivors and Indigenous community members demanded an apology from the Church, financial compensation, and the release of the records of all of the religious leaders who ran the schools. Pope Francis coming to apologize is one of the Church’s responses.
Pope Francis traveled to the lands of the four Cree Nations to pray at the cemetery then delivered his apology, and then four Indigenous chiefs presented him with a feathered headdress after he spoke.
Based on news reports, Indigenous people mentioned that the Pope coming to apologize for his ancestors is a step as people need to move forward toward healing.
Reports also said that there are some Indigenous people who felt Pope Francis’ apology triggered more pain and want to see him do more than just apologize.
Pope Francis will be traveling in Canada for six days and will meet with more Indigenous leaders and community members in Canada.
Woman fires several gunshots at Dallas airport
Yesterday morning, at Dallas Love Field airport in Texas, a woman fired several gunshots in the air. This happened at around 11 am. This suspect is identified as Portia Odufuwa (37). In the news reports, it says that Portia arrived at the Southwest ticket counter and then went to the bathroom. It seemed that she had changed clothes to a hoodie. She pulled out the handgun and apparently began shooting at the ceiling.
An officer who was nearby shot her in the lower part of her body to stop her from shooting. She is still alive and was brought to the hospital. She was also taken in custody. No one else was injured. A witness mentioned that people were shaken up, but safe. Flight operations were temporarily suspended but resumed to schedule after a few hours.
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High-profile pastor robbed during live-stream sermon
This recent Sunday in Brooklyn, New York, thieves with guns burst into a church while the pastor was live streaming. They took more than $1 million worth of jewelry from the pastor and his wife. The thieves targeted Bishop Lamor Whitehead, a leader of a church named Leaders of Tomorrow International Churches. Whitehead is known for flashy displays of wealth. After he was robbed, Whitehead posted a video on his Instagram explaining what happened and how he felt.
No one in the church was hurt, including Whitehead and his wife. There were members in the church that was traumatized by the robbery. Whitehead mentioned if anyone has leading information, he encourages them to let the police know and wants the robbers to surrender safely to the police.
Whitehead is active with his business, ministry, and real estate companies.
“Goodfellas” actor passes away at 83
Paul Sorvino, known for his role in the movie “Goodfellas” and the TV show “Law & Order”, dies at 83. He was famous for his iconic roles as a policeman and a mobster. News articles say that he died due to natural causes in Jacksonville, Florida.
One of his children, Mira posted on Twitter that he was a person full of love and joy and was a wonderful father. Sorvino’s three children followed him into show business as two of them are actors and one of them is a writer.
Sorvino leaves behind his wife and three children.
That’s all for now! You have a great day and see you tomorrow. Remember to stay with the light!
Dallas: https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/25/us/dallas-airport-shooting-reports/index.html
Pastor: https://www.npr.org/2022/07/25/1113430654/bishop-lamor-whitehead-robbed