Wednesday, October 26 top stories
It is Wednesday, October 26. Here are today’s top stories.
Amazon employee killed in suspected dog attack
Police in northwestern Missouri says they suspect that a pair of dogs attacked and killed an Amazon employee who was trying to deliver a package. Police first checked the home because they received a call that there was a vehicle parked outside for several hours.
The body of an Amazon driver, whose identity was not released, was found dead in the yard. Police said the victim’s body had wounds consistent with canine bites and that they saw two dogs, one a mastiff and the other a German Shepherd, on the property and acting aggressively. A police officer decided to shoot and kill both dogs.
The residents of the home were out of town at the time of the attack. There will be an investigation that includes examining the stomach contents of the dogs.
Amazon said in a statement that they are deeply saddened and would provide support to the team and the driver’s loved ones.
NY Supreme Court says NYC workers fired for refusing vaccine must be reinstated
The New York State Supreme Court ordered the government of New York City to rehire and give back pay to employees that were fired because they refused to get the Covid-19 vaccine.
About 1,700 employees were fired and many of these people were police officers and firefighters.
The court found that NYC’s top health official acted in an “arbitrary and capricious” manner when they issued an order for all city employees to get the vaccine. The court said they are not commenting on whether the vaccine is effective but are saying that NYC officials cannot do this, especially after providing exemptions from the vaccination for athletes and other performers.
NYC officials said they already filed an appeal and says that the vaccination mandate is grounded in law and is critical to public health.
Driver of SUV that killed 6 in Wisconsin is found guilty
Darrell Brooks, who drove his SUV through a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin last November, killing and injuring many, was found guilty of six counts of first-degree intentional homicide. It took a jury just under two hours to find Brooks guilty.
The trial, which lasted 18 days, had many dramatic moments because Brooks represented himself and frequently had outbursts and confrontations with the judge.
Brooks now faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison.
The six people who died included an 8-year-old boy and five adults whose ages were between 52 and 81.
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7.5 million have already voted early
Over 7.5 million people have already voted for their candidates during the early voting period in 34 states and D.C.
CBS News said some states have already broken records for early voting that were set in the presidential election of 2020.
In Georgia, in just one day over the weekend, over 80,000 people voted in polling locations. Over 660,000 have already voted in Georgia.
Some of the most important races for control of the Senate are in Georgia between Democrat incumbent Raphael Warnock and his Republican challenger Herschel Walker, in Pennsylvania with an open Senate race between Democrat John Fetterman and Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz,
in Nevada between incumbent Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto and her Republican challenger Adam Laxalt, in Ohio with an open Senate race between Democrat Tim Ryan and Republican JD Vance,
in Arizona between incumbent Mark Kelly and his Republican challenger Blake Masters, and in Wisconsin between incumbent Republican Ron Johnson and his Democratic challenger Mandela Barnes.
There are also many competitive races for House seats. The Cook Political Report said there are 33 races that are considered “toss-ups” — with either party having a good chance of winning.
Finally, there are a number of important gubernatorial battles and contests for control of state legislatures. You don’t have to wait until November — you can do some research on your local political candidates and maybe consider voting early if you’re able to.
Iranian protesters mark 40 days since Masha Amini's death
CBS News reported that hundreds of protesters marked 40 days since the death of Masha Amini, a 22-year-old woman who died while in the custody of Iran’s morality police after she allegedly wore her headscarf/hijab incorrectly. Amini's family said she was beaten by police.
The protesters walked around the grave of Amini in the city of Saqez, which is in Iran’s northwest. Some of the protesters shouted, “Death to the dictator!” Women removed their hijabs and waved them in defiance of the country’s strict dress code for women.
CBS News said there were protests that took place in the capital city, Tehran. There were some clashes between protesters and riot police.
Iranian authorities have arrested thousands of people for partaking in protests and four protesters were charged with “war against God,” which can carry the death penalty.
Updates from Ukraine/Russia
Here are three updates from Ukraine and Russia.
Russia’s military said they have conducted a training exercise to deliver a massive nuclear strike if they are ever attacked with nuclear weapons. Russian President Putin oversaw the exercises, which included firing missiles at targets.
Russia has made recent accusations that Ukraine is planning to use a “dirty bomb” — a bomb with radioactive materials in it — against Russia and then blame Russia for it. Ukraine said this is not true and accused Russia of secretly building dirty bombs. President Biden warned yesterday that it would be a very serious mistake for Putin to use a nuclear weapon in Ukraine.
The body of an American veteran who died while fighting in Ukraine, Joshua Jones, was returned to Ukrainian officials in a swap with the Russian military. Jones died in August.
That is all the top stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/22/us/waukesha-wisconsin-parade-victims/index.html
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/iran-protests-mahsa-amini-40-days-death/
https://news.yahoo.com/york-supreme-court-orders-nyc-174624343.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prt9rxvgplg&t=34s
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/midterm-elections-record-early-voting-15-days-before-election-day/
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-63291205
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2022/10/26/ukraine-russia-live-updates/10604667002/