Wednesday, September 14 top stories
It is Wednesday, September 14. Here are today’s top stories.
Food prices spiked 11.4% over past year
The federal government released data that said food costs spiked 11.4% over the past year, which is the largest increase since 1979.
Egg prices are up almost 40%. Flour is about 23% more expensive. Milk and bread prices are up about 17%.
The increases have caused restaurant menu prices to increase by about 8%.
Analysts say food prices are affected by global events, such as the war in Ukraine, which affects grain prices. Other factors are droughts that kill crops or diseases like avian flu.
Ken Starr, Clinton prosecutor, dies at 76
Ken Starr, who was the prosecutor that investigated former president Bill Clinton’s real estate investments and found that he had an affair with Monica Lewinsky, passed away on Tuesday from complications from surgery. He was 76.
Starr’s investigation led to Bill Clinton’s impeachment for lying under oath and obstruction of justice.
Later in Starr’s life, he was a part of legal defense teams representing the accused pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and for Donald Trump during his first Senate impeachment trial.
He was also the president of Baylor University but was demoted and resigned after the university was accused of mishandling accusations of sexual assault against members of the football team.
Starr was a mentor and boss to two current Supreme Court justices: Chief Justice John Roberts and Brett Kavanaugh.
Lewinsky tweeted last night that her thoughts about Ken Starr bring up “complicated feelings” but said she imagines it is a painful loss for those who love him.
FBI seizes MyPillow founder’s phone
Mike Lindell, the founder of MyPillow, said FBI agents seized his cell phone while he was waiting for his order at a Hardee’s restaurant in Minnesota. Lindell is a strong supporter of Donald Trump’s claims that the 2020 election was stolen.
Lindell said FBI agents questioned him about a Colorado election clerk named Tina Peters.
The Washington Post explained that Peters was indicted in March on charges that she helped an outsider copy sensitive data from the county’s elections systems in May 2021. Lindell said he was not involved in her situation.
The FBI said they did serve a warrant at a location where Lindell was but did not provide more information.
The Post explained that there are signs of a widening federal investigation into security breaches of local elections offices in Colorado, Michigan, and Georgia.
———
[Sponsored Video from Sorenson: www.sorenson.com]
——
Teenager who killed rapist gets 5 years probation
Pieper Lewis is a teenage girl in Iowa who was jailed for stabbing to death a 37-year-old man that allegedly raped her multiple times. She was just sentenced to five years of supervised probation and ordered to pay $150,000 to the man’s family. The case has raised controversy.
The alleged rapist’s name was Zachary Brooks.
AP News explained that Lewis was 15 years old when she ran away from her adopted mother’s home, allegedly because it was an abusive environment. She slept in a Des Moines apartment building. A man took her in but then forced her to have sex with other men, including Brooks.
Lewis said after she was raped again by Brooks, she grabbed a knife and stabbed him to death because she was angry. His body was found by a maintenance man. He had stab wounds to his chest, arms and groin.
Law enforcement said Brooks was asleep at the time and was not an immediate danger to Lewis and charged her with first-degree murder. Last year Lewis accepted a plea deal of involuntary manslaughter and willful injury. She is now sentenced to five years of probation at a women’s rehab facility and pay $150,000 to Brooks’ family. It is controversial because Lewis was a sex trafficking victim.
The judge in the case said he has no choice with the restitution because it is mandatory under Iowa law. The judge said Lewis did not follow all the rules in juvenile detention and warned Lewis that her five-year probation was her last chance. Lewis said in a statement that her “spirit has been burned, but still glows through the flames” and that she would grow as a survivor.
Railroad strike looming
There is a dispute between freight railroad companies and unions representing about 60,000 railroad workers over pay and working conditions that could lead to a strike or lockout this Friday if there is no deal.
The Washington Post explained that the strike could cause a logistical crisis that would affect commuters who use trains to get to work and the nation’s supply of energy and drinking water.
One of the main areas of dispute is sick time and penalties for missing work. Some railroad workers say they are suffering because they have to be on call for 14 consecutive days without a break and would be punished if they took time off to go and see a doctor.
Amtrak canceled several cross-country trains in anticipation of a possible strike. The Biden administration has been in touch with both sides to try and resolve the conflict.
Zelenskyy visits recaptured city
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy visited the city of Izyum after it was recaptured from Russian control by Ukrainian forces. Zelenskyy oversaw the raising of Ukraine’s flag over the city’s main square.
News reports said much of the city is destroyed with abandoned remains of Russian tanks and vehicles on the streets.
Zelenskyy said what he is seeing in the city is similar to what he saw in Bucha after it was retaken, with the same destroyed buildings and killed people.
News reports said military experts on Russian TV have admitted that Ukrainian forces have defeated Russian troops in the Kharkiv region.
That is all the top stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light.
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/09/13/ken-starr-prosecutor-in-clinton-whitewater-probe-dies-at-76.html
https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/13/politics/ken-starr-died/index.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/13/us/politics/ken-starr-dead.html
https://apnews.com/article/iowa-des-moines-human-trafficking-0b11cb8f4f0ff46d90ae17ece6bc7d15
https://www.axios.com/2022/09/14/zelensky-visit-izyum
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2022/09/14/ukraine-russia-war-live-updates/10375099002/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/09/13/rail-strike-economy-impact/
https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/12/politics/rail-strike-joe-biden/index.html