Tuesday, September 8 top news briefs
Hello, it is Tuesday, September 8. Hope your Labor Day weekend was good. We’re now unofficially into the “fall season.” The coronavirus pandemic is still here, and we’re approaching the election.
Here are today’s top news briefs.
2020 presidential campaign updates
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are now traveling. Harris was in Milwaukee on Sunday, Biden will be in Michigan on Wednesday, and Harris will be in Florida on Thursday.
President Donald Trump is also traveling. visited his home state of Florida today and will be in North Carolina. He will be in Nevada on Saturday.
There were news reports over the weekend that said the Trump campaign was running low on cash after they and the Republican National Committee spent about $800 million over the past several months. The Biden campaign and the Democratic National Committee spent about $414 million so far. Currently both campaigns have about $300 million in cash. Trump said today that if he is willing to use his own money for his re-election campaign, but doubts that he has to.
Voting twice in elections is a felony
The Georgia Secretary of State announced they are investigating and warned they may prosecute up to 1,000 voters for voting twice in June’s primary — one via mail and one in person at a polling place. If convicted, a double-voter faces one to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $100,000.
This has put a spotlight on President Trump’s remarks last week in which he said voters in North Carolina should test the election system by voting through mail and then show up in an in-person polling place to vote. Trump said if their mail ballot was counted, then they won’t be able to vote, but if the mailed ballot is not counted, then they can vote at the polling location.
But just like in Georgia, voting twice is a serious crime. North Carolina’s Board of Elections warned that intentional willful double voting is a felony. If someone unintentionally votes twice, via mail and in-person, the Board of Elections said the first vote that is received and processed is the one that counts.
Reuters reported that the 2016 presidential election had almost one in four ballots cast by mail. This year it is very likely we’ll see many more mail ballots because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Jacob Blake alert and talking from hospital bed
Jacob Blake, the Black man who was shot in the back seven times in Kenosha, Wisconsin, two weeks ago, was seen awake and talking in two videos filmed at his hospital bed. His family said he is paralyzed from the waist down.
On Friday, he had a videoconference to face a Kenosha judge for three charges including third degree sexual assault of a female who is said to be his girlfriend. The charges were from July. Blake pleaded not guilty. He was wearing a buttoned down shirt and a tie.
According to local news, Blake was at the girlfriend’s home and she called 911. The officers who responded shot at him when they tried to arrest him. Blake’s attorney said he was there to break up a fight between two women. A trial is scheduled for November but it could be delayed.
On Saturday, Blake made personal remarks while wearing a hospital gown. He said that your life or your legs could be taken from you just like this while snapping his fingers. He said he feels pain every 24 hours.
Police shoot and injure 13-year-old boy with autism
In Salt Lake City, Utah, police officers shot and seriously injured a 13-year-old boy with autism. The boy’s name is Linden Cameron and he is at a hospital. His mother, Golda, said the boy had a bad episode in which he was yelling and screaming because of separation anxiety due to the mother going to work for the first time in over a year. The mother called the police with hopes that they could de-escalate, but said the officers opened fire less than five minutes after they entered the home. Police said they thought the boy had a weapon but did not find any. The mother said the officers should have used a Taser or rubber bullets. There is a GoFundMe for the boy that has raised about $30,000 in 24 hours. The mayor of Salt Lake City said it is a tragedy what happened and that there will be a swift and transparent investigation.
Wildfires in western U.S.
There are several news articles about wildfires in the western U.S.
The first is in Malden, Washington. It is in the eastern part of the state. The town has about 200 residents and news reports said a fast-moving wildfire, fueled by high winds, has destroyed 80% of the town’s structures. So far, there have been no reports of injuries. There are multiple wildfires across Washington and Oregon.
The second wildfire is east of Los Angeles — the El Dorado Fire. The blaze started from a gender reveal party in which a smoke-generating pyrotechnic device was detonated. The fire spread to impact over 10,000 acres and forced about 3,000 residents to evacuate. There was a similar incident in 2017 when an off-duty Border Patrol agent in Arizona shot at an explosive target to cause a blue powder explosion — but it started a fire that spread 47,000 acres and caused $8 million in damage.
There are about 22 major wildfires in California, with one of the most serious ones called the Creek Fire, which is in the Sierra National Forest northeast of Fresno. Almost 300 people were airlifted to safety. The fire has burned over 143,000 acres.
Senate may vote on another coronavirus relief package
The Senate leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) said the Senate will vote on a Republican coronavirus relief package on Thursday that is worth less than $1 trillion. The bill does not include a new round of direct payments. It will provide billions of dollars in funding for schools, vaccines, testing, and $300-a-week unemployment benefits. Democrats are opposed to the proposal, saying it is not enough to meet the needs of American people and wants a bill that is worth $3 trillion. We’ll see what happens in the Senate this week.
That is all for today. Check out our Deaf News videos. See you tomorrow and stay with the light!
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2020/09/08/us/trump-vs-biden
https://www.fox6now.com/news/jacob-blake-pleads-not-guilty-in-kenosha-court-to-charges-filed-in-july
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/07/us/jacob-blake-video-statement.html
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/sep/08/linden-cameron-police-shooting-boy-autism-utah