Wednesday, March 17 top stories
It is Wednesday, March 17. Here are today’s top stories.
On Tuesday night, six Asian women and two other people were fatally shot at three different massage parlors in Atlanta and the surrounding area.
Police arrested a suspect named Robert Aaron Long.
[Video clip from NBC News]
NBC News explained that the first shooting happened around 5 p.m. at a massage parlor in Acworth, just north of Atlanta. Deputies said when they went inside, they saw two people dead and three others wounded. Two of the wounded died at a hospital. The victims were two Asian women, a white woman, and a white man.
About 45 minutes later in Atlanta, police got a call about a robbery at a spa. When they went inside, they saw three Asian women dead. They then got a call about another spa across the street and found one Asian woman dead inside.
Police released pictures of the suspect and his vehicle was spotted going south on I-75. He was already 125 miles south of Atlanta. A Georgia State Patrol trooper used a PIT maneuver to stop him and take him in custody. A 9mm firearm was found in his car.
The Atlanta Police Chief said yesterday that it is too early to say if it was a hate crime, and updated today that the shooter may have had sexual addiction and frequented spas or massage parlors in the past. The suspect told police that he was trying to eliminate a temptation he had.
The shootings are the latest and the worst example of violence against Asian-Americans during the pandemic. Activists say there must be action taken now to protect Asian Americans.
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There was a report from the U.S. intelligence community that went out two days ago that concluded Russian President Putin supported efforts to hurt Joe Biden’s chances to win the presidency. However the report said there were no “persistent Russian cyber efforts” like what happened in 2016. The report also said Iran tried to hurt former president Donald Trump’s chances to get re-elected. The report said China did consider interfering in the 2020 election, but did not deploy influence efforts.
President Joe Biden said Putin will pay a price for interfering in the 2020 elections, but said he would seek ways to work together with the Russian government. Biden also said he believes that Putin is a killer.
ABC News reported that two jurors who were among those chosen for former police officer Derek Chauvin’s trial were removed from the case out of concerns that their ability to be impartial was affected by the $27 million settlement between the city of Minneapolis and George Floyd’s family. Floyd died after his neck was pressed by Chauvin’s knee for over 8 minutes during an arrest. Chauvin’s defense attorney requested the judge to recall and question each one of them. One male juror admitted it would be hard for him to be impartial after hearing about the settlement and a second juror said the amount of money shocked him and wasn’t sure if he could set the news aside. Both were dismissed. There were nine jurors selected, but now there are seven. Opening statements are scheduled on March 29.
Former president Donald Trump, in an interview with Fox News, encouraged his supporters to get the Covid-19 vaccine. Trump said he knows that a lot of people who voted for him don't want to get the vaccine, but he recommends it. He said he agrees that we have our freedoms, but the vaccine is safe and effective. Trump and his wife Melania got the vaccine at the White House in January but didn’t show pictures or video of it or announce it. Trump said Biden was not giving his administration enough credit for taking a bet to manufacture the vaccine before they were sure it works, and said the vaccine is now saving our country and the world.
News reports this afternoon said the IRS plans to delay this year’s tax filing deadline about a month. The deadline is April 15, but it may be moved to mid-May. News reports say the delay is to give taxpayers more time to figure out what may be one of the most complicated tax seasons. The delay also might be because the IRS is behind in processing taxes due to the pandemic and processing stimulus checks.
That’s all the top stories for today. Check out our other videos. See you tomorrow and stay with the light.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/3-dead-shooting-georgia-massage-parlor-suspect-loose-n1261262
https://twitter.com/i/events/1371972779893944327
https://twitter.com/KyungLahCNN/status/1372017352708026368/photo/1
https://www.axios.com/georgia-massage-parlor-shooting-8-dead-arrest-715fc40a-7e80-444d-82d3-5b39655f0512.html
https://www.politico.com/news/2021/03/17/biden-putin-election-interference-476656
https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/jurors-face-questioning-officers-murder-trial-76503801?cid=clicksource_4380645_3_heads_hero_live_headlines_hed
https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2021-03-17/trump-tells-followers-to-get-vaccinated-against-coronavirus
https://www.foxnews.com/media/trump-urges-all-americans-to-get-covid-vaccine-its-a-safe-vaccine
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-03-17/irs-plans-to-delay-tax-deadline-to-mid-may-after-chaotic-year