Wednesday, December 23 top news briefs

It is Wednesday, December 23. Here are today’s top news briefs.

President Trump is still the president of the U.S. and he made his presence felt last night when he made a surprise video announcement from the White House to say that he wants $2,000 for each American instead of the $600 in the coronavirus stimulus package recently passed by Congress. Democratic leaders immediately supported Trump, saying they were happy to see him demand this because Republican leaders had for months refused to accept larger stimulus payments.

House Speaker Pelosi said she was ready to do it with unanimous consent, which is the fastest way to pass a bill, but it requires Republican House leaders to agree. Pelosi said she will bring a bill on the House floor on Thursday for $2,000 direct payments.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has been silent as of this afternoon today. There is a clear rift between Trump and McConnell, and it probably has to do with McConnell’s statements recognizing President-elect Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 election. We will see what Congressional Republicans do.

In another big news story from the White House, President Trump pardoned or commuted the sentences of 20 people. He pardoned two people who were wrapped up in the Mueller Russia investigation. Trump pardoned four Blackwater guards who were convicted of shooting and killing 14 people including a nine-year-old child in 2007 during the Iraq war. Trump also pardoned former U.S. Congressman Duncan Hunter and Chris Collins, who were sentenced to several months in prison for financial crimes. It is normal to see a lame duck president pardon people as their term nears an end.

Attorney General Bill Barr has left the Trump administration for good today. He was sworn in two years ago to replace Jeff Sessions. He wrote a farewell note that said “it’s been a great honor to serve once again in this role.”

He was the attorney general in 1991 to 1993. He was appointed by the late George H.W. Bush and confirmed by then-Senator Joe Biden, who was the chair of the judiciary committee.

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In Columbus, Ohio, a police officer shot and killed an unarmed Black Man on Tuesday early morning. His name is Andre Hill and he was 47 years old. A police spokesman said officers responded to a call about a SUV that was running on and off for an extended time. When they arrived, they saw a home with an open garage door. The 47-year-old man was inside visiting someone. He walked out of the garage with a cellphone in his left hand and his right hand not visible. An officer fired his gun at him. There is body camera footage of it, and it is expected to be released to the public today.

Police said the recording shows that there was a “delay in rendering first-aid to the man.” The officer, Adam Coy, is on administrative leave pending an investigation. Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther said based on what he saw in the footage, he ordered for the officer to have his badge and gun taken away from him. The body cameras were not turned on by the officers until after the shooting, but the shooting was still captured because there is a 60-second ‘look back function.’ This function only shows visuals, and there is no audio. The mayor said it was unacceptable that the officers did not turn on their cameras. He said if you won’t turn on your body camera, you cannot work in our city.

In Yonkers, New York, a 36-year-old man who was speeding away from a police pursuit crashed into another car with four 18-year-old men, splitting their car. All five died. It happened on Tuesday night at 9:30 p.m.

The four young men were recent high school graduates. The car they were in was split in half. Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano said “let this be a lesson to all who drive at excessive speeds — it not only puts your life at risk but also the innocent lives with whom you share the road.”

There are cases of the coronavirus in Antarctica. At least 58 people who were at Chilean military bases on the island or on a navy ship that went there tested positive. News reports said this means that the coronavirus has reached every continent in the world. The infected are among Chilean military members and civilian contractors. Now all 208 crew members on their Navy ship are quarantined. U.S. officials said no U.S. personnel had interactions with the Chilean stations.

President Trump vetoed a $741 billion defense bill. He demanded it to not include language that required the Pentagon to rename military facilities named after Confederate leaders and demanded that it include a repeal of a law that protected giant internet companies from lawsuits for content posted by its users. Both the House and Senate passed the bill with large veto-proof majorities, so they will have to meet to override the veto.

That’s all the top news briefs for today. Check out our Deaf News video. Because tomorrow is Christmas Eve and Friday is Christmas Day, we at “The Daily Moth” will be taking a break. There will be no videos on Thursday and Friday. We’ll see you again on Monday. Have a relaxing break, all of you. Thank you for watching “The Daily Moth.” Stay with the light!

https://www.axios.com/trump-wont-sign-covid-relief-spending-package-bill-887279bf-17db-4ae6-aa23-1a8ccb9477ad.html

https://www.fox4now.com/news/national-politics/pelosi-asking-gop-for-unanimous-consent-to-increase-direct-payments-to-2-000

https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/22/politics/trump-pardons/index.html

https://www.axios.com/bill-barr-last-day-46bcd6d9-0d60-4722-bf24-fde150af82d5.html

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/local/2020/12/22/one-killed-after-police-shooting-northwest-side/4004989001/

https://www.nbc4i.com/news/local-news/ohio-attorney-general-yost-issues-statement-in-fatal-shooting-of-man-in-columbus/

https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/violent-crash-kills-splits-vehicle-half-yonkers-74877422?cid=clicksource_4380645_2_heads_hero_live_headlines_hed

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/trump-vetoes-defense-bill-ndaa/2020/12/23/ceedffaa-407f-11eb-8db8-395dedaaa036_story.html