Wednesday, September 9 top news briefs
Here are today’s top news briefs.
Trump said in private that coronavirus was “deadly stuff” in February
Journalist and author Bob Woodward released an audio recording of an interview with President Donald Trump on February 7 in which he said that the coronavirus was “deadly stuff” because it was passed through the air and that it was more dangerous than the flu.
At that time, Trump said in public that the coronavirus was similar to the flu and that the virus would disappear fast.
Today he was asked if he misled the public. Trump responded that he didn’t want to cause panic and wants to be a cheerleader for this country. He said he wanted to show confidence and strength.
Joe Biden said today that Trump knew and lied to us for months, and betrayed the American people.
Caster Semenya loses appeal
South African athlete Caster Semenya, who is a two-time Olympics women’s 800m gold medalist, lost an international court battle to allow her to continue to compete in the 800m in the Tokyo Olympics next summer. The issue is Semenya’s body, which naturally produces higher levels of testosterone, which is considered an unfair competitive advantage.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport said Semenya must take drugs that will lower her testosterone levels. She said she refuses to take them, so what this means is that we won’t see her defending her 800m gold medal in Japan.
Semenya said she was very disappointed, but she won’t let it stop her from being who she is. She said she would continue to fight for the human rights of female athletes, both on the track and off the track, until we all can run free the way we were born.
DOJ moves to defend Trump from defamation lawsuit
The U.S. Department of Justice wants to take over President Donald Trump’s defense against a defamation lawsuit from E. Jean Carroll, who said Trump raped her in 1995 or 1996.
Trump said last year that he didn’t know who Carroll was and that she was lying, which prompted the defamation lawsuit.
Trump originally had private lawyers for his defense, but now the DOJ said government attorneys should take over because Trump made the remarks last year during his role as a president.
NPR explained that the DOJ is trying to move the defamation case from the New York State court system to federal court to end the case because federal officials are “generally immune from defamation.”
Carroll tweeted for Attorney General Bill Barr and the DOJ to “bring it!”
U.S. to withdraw 2,200 soldiers from Iraq this month
The U.S. will pull out 2,200 soldiers from Iraq this month. There are currently 5,200 troops, and it’ll go down to 3,000. The remaining soldiers will act as advisors to continue to fight against the remnants of ISIS. This would be in line with Trump’s promise to stop being involved in endless wars.
Trump nominated for Nobel Peace Prize
President Trump was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by a conservative politician in Norway for being involved in a peace deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates. The winner will be announced next year. Any head of state or national politician can submit a nomination. Three former U.S. presidents received the award: Woodrow Wilson in 1920, Jimmy Carter in 2002, and Barack Obama in 2009.
That’s all the top news for today. Check out our Deaf News videos. Stay with the light!