Wednesday, December 30 top news briefs

It is Wednesday, December 30. I’m sure it’s Wednesday. Yesterday I said it was Thursday. My bad. Ready for top news briefs?

A man in Colorado was found infected with the new variant of the coronavirus similar to the one in the U.K. that is more contagious. The man is in his 20’s and is recovering in isolation. He lived in a rural area outside of the Denver area. The man had no recent travel history, which means that the mutated virus is probably already spreading in the U.S. A scientist told AP News that he believes the mutated virus came from travelers from the U.K. in November or December. AP News reported that there may be two more cases already in Colorado. The virus doesn’t seem to be deadlier, just more contagious. It is a major concern because we in the U.S. know that even one single case can multiply into the millions.

Luke Letlow, who was elected to become a Republican U.S. Congressman representing Louisiana, passed away from Covid-19 at the age of 41. He is the first member of Congress to die from the coronavirus. Letlow announced that he tested positive on December 18 and was hospitalized the next day. Doctors said he did not have underlying health conditions and died solely because of Covid-19. He leaves behind a wife, a 3-year-old son, and a baby daughter.

On Tuesday, there were 3,725 new deaths from the coronavirus. That makes yesterday the most deadliest day in the U.S. during the pandemic. The previous record was on December 16. This month is the worst month for cases, hospitalizations, and deaths. We’re almost at 20 million cases in the U.S. for this year.

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AP News reported that the Nashville suicide bomber’s girlfriend told police officers in August 2019 that he was building bombs in a RV at his home. The officers were called to the girlfriend’s home because she was sitting on the front of her home with two pistols and making threats to kill herself. The girlfriend received mental health support. Officers visited the bomber’s home and saw a RV parked in a fenced yard, and knocked on the front door, but did not get an answer and they didn’t enter the home because they didn’t see evidence of a crime. The bombing is under investigation and so far it is unknown what the motive was.

In Indiana, a group of same-sex couples won a major court case to have the right to have both of their names on their child’s birth certificate. IndyStar explained that a lesbian married couple, in 2015, was told by the Indiana State Health Department that they couldn’t have both of their names on the birth certificate and only could do it through an expensive and lengthy step-parent adoption process. The couple found out that there was a lawsuit from another same-sex couple on the same issue. Later on a total of 14 plaintiffs joined the case. A district court in 2016 found that it was unconstitutional for the state of Indiana to limit who can be called a parent of a child. The state of Indiana appealed the case, but the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the district court’s decision. The Indiana Attorney General wanted the Supreme Court to take up the case, and yesterday the Court declined, which means the circuit court’s decision stands. Same-sex couples in Indiana can have both of their names on the birth certificate.

Today in Yemen, there was a large explosion at an airport in Aden that killed at least 22 people. The bomb went off when a plane landed with officials of Yemen’s new government. There were many people who were at the airport to greet the officials. The country has been in a civil war between those who are backed by Saudi Arabia and those backed by Iran. The plane had officials that were recognized by the Saudi government. It is yet another sad chapter in the country’s bloody conflict.

That’s all the top news briefs for today. Check out our other videos. See you tomorrow and stay with the light.

https://apnews.com/article/us-news-united-kingdom-coronavirus-pandemic-denver-colorado-72cc2bc0ae61793d0e1849c7fa6167f0

https://apnews.com/article/ap-top-news-nashville-police-21f4f5b6b75216fcfe06c10e82606ae6

https://www.vox.com/2020/12/30/22206161/luke-letlow-louisiana-covid-19-congress

https://abcnews.go.com/Health/coronavirus/live-updates/CDC-vaccine-guidance-underlying-health-conditions/?id=74930140

https://www.indystar.com/story/news/local/2020/12/14/indiana-same-sex-parenting-supreme-court-declines-hear-lawsuit/6538849002/

https://www.npr.org/2020/12/30/951419361/explosion-rocks-yemeni-airport-where-new-government-just-landed