Tuesday, November 16 top stories
It is Tuesday, November 16. Here are today’s top stories.
On Monday President Joe Biden signed a $1 trillion infrastructure bill into law. The bill has support from both Democrats and Republicans. Biden said the bill would make life better for the American people by providing cash for roads, bridges, ports, clean drinking water, high-speed internet, and more.
The White House has appointed former New Orleans mayor Mitch Landrieu to coordinate the implementation of the bill.
On Monday, Alex Jones and his media platform “Infowars” lost a defamation case in Connecticut brought by the families of eight people who were killed during the 2012 mass shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School. Defamation is when a false statement is made about someone that harms their reputation.
Jones had spread false ideas that the mass shooting, in which 20 children aged 6 or 7 and six school staff died, was some kind of government conspiracy or a “false flag” to create a pretext for seizing Americans’ firearms. The families said in court that Alex Jones profited from spreading lies and that his followers would harass them. Jones’ side said this was not true, but because they haven’t provided documents to the court, they were found liable by default.
Alex Jones had another defamation case in Texas brought by two families that he also lost by default.
The New York Times said juries in Connecticut and Texas will decide in trials next year on how much Jones should pay the families in damages.
In Aswan, Egypt, at least 503 people were hospitalized after they were stung by scorpions. There was very heavy rainfall and flooding in the region and it’s what forced scorpions to leave their natural homes to seek dry land, and it seems like many of them entered into people’s homes. News reports said the 503 people who were hospitalized were discharged after they were given antivenom doses. The scorpions are called “deathstalkers'' and can have up to six eyes. The stings are said to cause severe pain, high fever, sweating, vomiting, and diarrhea. Aside from the terror of the scorpions, the downpour has killed at least three people and severely damaged over 100 homes.
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Two weeks ago, Britney Spears’ conservatorship officially ended after almost 14 years when a judge in Los Angeles terminated it. Spears as a person and her estate was under the supervision of her father since 2008 after she went through mental health struggles. Spears said in a court testimony in June that the conservatorship was abusive. Spears’ case gained national attention this year with the support of her fans. Spears hired new lawyers who helped her win her freedom. She has posted on social media messages of joy at simple things like drinking a glass of champagne at a restaurant, saying “I think I’ve waited long enough (after 13 years).” Her case has raised the public’s consciousness of conservatorships and how difficult it is to get out of one.
Here is an update on the McMichaels/Bryan murder trial in connection to the death of Ahmaud Arbery. Today the jurors saw autopsy photos that showed Arbery with a big hole in his chest from shotgun blasts. Arbery’s white t-shirt was stained red. A medical examiner said there were three shotgun rounds fired at Arbery and that two hit him and that just one blast alone would be enough to cause a fatal loss of blood. The medical examiner said there was nothing that law enforcement or EMS could have done to save Arbery’s life at the scene.
On Monday, the Rev. Jesse Jackson was sitting next to Arbery’s mother in the courtroom. At one point the mother wept. The McMichaels’ defense attorney asked the judge to declare a mistrial over the mother’s tears out of concerns that it could influence the jury and asked for Jackson to leave the courtroom. The judge in the case, Timothy Walmsley, denied the requests and said it was reprehensible how the defense attorney said last week that he didn’t want any more Black pastors coming in the courtroom.
Today the jury in the Kyle Rittenhouse murder trial started deliberations on whether they will vote guilty or not guilty on his homicide charges. The jury is made up of five men and seven women who were selected by a random drawing to decide the “final 12” out of a pool of 18 jurors who were present for the entire trial. Rittenhouse’ mother Wendy sent out an email to their supporters saying that she is beyond nervous and asked for donations to pay for legal costs that are expected to be $110,000 for November alone.
That is all the top stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light.
https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1460414158734864390
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/500-hospitalized-scorpion-stings-storm-egypt-rcna5659
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/15/world/middleeast/scorpions-egypt.html
https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/ahmaud-arbery-autopsy-photos-shown-jurors-murder-trial-81203982
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/11/15/arbery-mistrial-judge-gough/
https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/kyle-rittenhouse-trial-verdict-watch-11-16-21/index.html