Wednesday, August 31 top stories
It is Wednesday, August 31. Here are today’s top stories.
DOJ shows photo of Mar-a-Lago classified documents
The Department of Justice (DOJ) revealed an image of classified documents that the FBI seized from Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home as a part of a court filing.
The image shows documents that were marked with the words, “SECRET/SCI” and “TOP SECRET/SCI.” The papers were on a carpet. Analysts said it means that the documents contained some of America’s most sensitive secrets.
The court filing was the DOJ’s response to Trump’s appeal for a judge to bring in a “special master” to review the evidence the FBI seized to protect Trump’s privileged information. The DOJ said there shouldn’t be a special master appointed because the government documents do not belong to Trump.
The DOJ said during their previous efforts and meetings to retrieve classified documents this year, they were told by Trump’s representatives that all of the sensitive documents were turned over, but during the FBI’s search, they found many more documents. The DOJ said there were likely efforts to obstruct the government’s investigation and that government records were concealed. These actions are considered crimes.
Trump and his attorneys will have to respond to the DOJ’s filing by tonight. There will be a hearing tomorrow on whether there should be a special master appointed.
Trump claimed he has already declassified all the documents in the photo, but the DOJ said Trump’s representatives never asserted that Trump declassified them.
Mikhali Gorbachev dies at 91
Mikhail Gorbachev, who was the leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 until it dissolved in 1991, died at the age of 91 on Tuesday.
Gorbachev helped to end the Cold War and received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990. He helped to bring down the Berlin Wall that divided Germany. He had a good relationship with U.S. President Ronald Reagan.
Many in the U.S. view him as a great leader who helped to bring peace and freedom to the world, but many in Russia do not have the same view because during his leadership, multiple blocs of the Soviet Union broke up and he did not send in armed forces to stop them.
Russian President Putin said it was a catastrophe that the Soviet Union broke up. Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is considered to be an effort to undo what Gorbachev did. Putin is trying to bring Ukraine back into the fold again.
Reuters said Gorbachev will be buried in a cemetery in Moscow next to his wife Raisa, who died in 1999.
———
[Sponsored Video from Sorenson: www.sorenson.com]
——
[Advertisement from NTID Research Center on Culture and Language: The DeafMetaliteracy (DML) Lab is conducting a study on self-bias and perception of Deaf and Hard of Hearing individuals, in particular those who identify as a member in the LGBT+ community. The participants will take about 30 minutes to take the survey if they qualify for the pre-survey. Participants will be paid $30 Amazon Gift Card after completion of the study. Pre-survey to see if you qualify: https://bit.ly/3vJYpEd Questions??? Concerns?? Contact DeafMetaLiteracy Lab (ccldml@rit.edu) OR contact the PI of this study, Jordan Wright (sjwdls@rit.edu).
—-----
FDA authorizes Omicron booster shot
The FDA authorized new coronavirus vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna that are updated to be effective against the Omicron BA.5 variant. The vaccines should be available after Labor Day.
Axios explained that the vaccines are the first to move ahead without an FDA advisory committee. It is not known how well the vaccines will protect a person from infection, but they provide strong protection against serious illness and death.
Axios said generally Americans don’t seem to be very interested in booster shots, because less than half who are fully vaccinated have received a first booster dose.
Safeway employee tried to disarm gunman
Police said that during the Safeway grocery store shooting on Sunday in Bend, Oregon, a 66-year-old Safeway employee tried to disarm the gunman but was fatally shot.
The employee’s name is Donald Ray Surrett Jr. Police said the employee is a hero because he likely prevented further bloodshed. He was an Army veteran.
A second person died during the shooting — an 84-year-old man named Glenn Bennett. He was also a veteran.
The gunman was identified as 20-year-old Ethan Miller. He killed himself before police got to him at the store. He previously worked at the store. News reports said he wrote postings online about plans to commit a mass shooting. He had an AR-15-style rifle and a shotgun with him.
NASA to try Artemis I launch on Saturday
NASA said it will try launching its new moon rocket on Saturday instead of Friday due to bad weather. The window for the launch is between 2:17 pm to 4:17 pm. If things don’t work out, the launch will be postponed to Monday.
The launch was supposed to happen on Monday but it was called off due to an issue with one of the rocket’s engines. NASA engineers said recently that the problem is actually with a faulty sensor and not the engine.
The rocket has no crew on it, but it will carry a space capsule into the moon’s orbit. NASA hopes to test the rocket system and eventually send astronauts to the moon.
That is all the top stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light.
https://www.axios.com/2022/08/31/justice-department-asks-judge-block-trump-review-request
https://www.reuters.com/world/mikhail-gorbachev-who-ended-cold-war-dies-aged-92-agencies-2022-08-30/
https://www.axios.com/2022/08/31/fda-retooled-covid-boosters-omicron
https://nypost.com/2022/08/30/oregon-safeway-shooter-ethan-millers-disturbing-manifesto/
https://heavy.com/news/bend-safeway-victims-glenn-edward-bennett-donald-surrett/
https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/live-updates/artemis-1-launch/?id=88941570