Thursday, June 18th, 2020
Murder Charges for Officer, Bolton’s Bombshells & Aunt Jemima Retired
(+ Know the Risks in Reopening)
All the news you need in less than 10 min:
This episode is brought to you by www.Skillshare.com/newsworthy.
Story Summaries
All the news stories mentioned in today's episode are listed with links below, so you can spend as much -- or as little -- time as you want perusing the latest happenings...
Former GA Officer Charged with Murder
The former Atlanta police officer who shot and killed Rayshard Brooks is now charged with felony murder. Ex-officer Garrett Rolfe was also fired from APD after the shooting in a Wendy’s parking lot last week. The other officer who was there, Devin Brosnan, faces three lesser charges. Video from Friday shows the two officers struggling to arrest Brooks for a DUI. Brooks grabbed a Taser and ran. As he was running, Rolfe opened fire. Prosecutors revealed Rolfe said, "I got him," and later kicked Brooks when he was already on the ground. Neither officer provided medical treatment for more than two minutes.
Some Atlanta police officers reportedly walked off the job or called in sick last night in protest of the charges. President Trump also defended the officers. He told Fox News, “You can’t resist a police officer.”
Murder Charges: NBC News, AP, Reuters, WSJ, CNN
Officers Protest, Trump Responds: AJC, WXIA, Tweet
Details from Bolton’s Book
Former national security adviser John Bolton made shocking allegations against his former boss. In his upcoming book, Bolton says President Trump personally asked China’s leader to help him win the 2020 presidential election. Bolton also says Trump gave his blessing to the Chinese president to build concentration camps to detain the country’s Uyghur Muslims. President Trump has responded by calling Bolton a disgruntled employee who is lying and exaggerating. Meanwhile, the U.S. Justice Department is trying to stop more of the book from coming out.
Read More: ABC News, WSJ, AP, FOX News, Schiff Tweet, Axios, The Hill, WaPo
Veterans Mental Health Plan
A recent report from the Department of Veterans Affairs found an average of 20 American veterans and service members die by suicide every day. That’s 1.5 times higher than civilians. So, President Trump laid out a plan to address the issue. It will start with a public messaging campaign to raise awareness. It also awards grants to community programs, and it gets a task force to come up with a national strategy on suicide-related research. There were mixed reactions. Some applauded the plan, and others say it doesn't go far enough.
Read More: AP, Stars & Stripes, ABC News, WaPo
COVID-19 Mixed Messaging
The nation’s top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, says the country is still in the grip of the coronavirus pandemic. The director of the Harvard Global Health Institute echoed that sentiment, telling Stat News, “We may be done with the pandemic, but the pandemic is not done with us.” However, that’s different from what we’re hearing from the White House. President Trump told Gray TV last night that the numbers of COVID-19 infections is tiny compared to what it once was. He said, “the virus is dying out.” However, data from Johns Hopkins University shows 10 states are seeing their highest average of daily cases since the pandemic started.
Read More: Axios, WSJ, Daily Beast, Gray DC, CNN, Johns Hopkins
NASA Honors Healthcare Workers
NASA’s next Mars rover will pay tribute to healthcare workers back on Earth. The so-called “Perseverance” has been outfitted with a small, aluminum plate that features the staff-and-serpent symbol of the medical community holding up the Earth. NASA says it’s meant to salute the frontline workers who have been keeping everyone safe during the coronavirus pandemic. The Perseverance is scheduled to launch next month.
Read More: Space.com, AP
Aunt Jemima Announcement
The 130-year-old Aunt Jemima brand of syrup is getting a new name and image. Quaker Oats said it recognizes the current brand is “based on a racial stereotype.” The new name and look are in the works. They should be ready to go this fall. Two other iconic brands followed. Uncle Ben’s Rice also plans to change the branding. Cream of Wheat and the company behind Mrs. Butterworth’s syrup both say they’ll review their packaging.
Syrup Changing Name, Brand: NBC News, USA Today, CBS News, MarketWatch
Other Brands: CNN, USA Today, Reuters
Boy Scouts to Create Diversity Badge
The Boy Scouts of America is creating a new “diversity and inclusion” badge. It’s still working on the details, but for now, we know the badge will “require scouts learn about and engage with other groups and cultures.” It will be required for kids to become Eagle Scouts. The organization says it supports the Black Lives Matter movement, and it wants to take meaningful action.
Read More: NY Times, FOX News, People, Boy Scouts
Companies Announce Donations
The CEO of Netflix is donating $120 million to historically Black colleges and universities. Reed Hastings says he hopes it will inspire other wealthy people to donate. Meanwhile, Google pledged $175 million to black entrepreneurs and black-owned startups and small businesses. The company also says it plans to hire 30% more non-white executives over the next five years.
Netflix Founder Donates to HBCUs: CBS News, NY Times, CNBC
Google Black Hiring Goal: WSJ, CBS News, CNBC
Facebook and IG Make Political Ads Optional
Facebook and Facebook-owned Instagram are giving users the option to turn off political ads. The feature will block all paid advertisements from candidates, super PACs, and other political organizations. When the new setting rolls out in the U.S. in the coming weeks, people will have to flip the ads to “off” in the settings tab.
Read More: The Verge, TechCrunch, NY Times, Zuckerberg, Facebook
Lyft to go Electric by 2030
Lyft is going electric. The ride-hailing service plans to only use electric vehicles by 2030. The company reportedly plans to work with automakers to provide discounts. It also wants to partner with utility districts to make it cheaper to charge cars. The company won’t kick out drivers who are using gasoline-powered cars in a decade. It just plans to create such alluring incentives that drivers will end up making the switch.
Read More: Mashable, FOX Business, CNN
Thing to Know Thursday: COVID-19 Risk Factors
Read more: Erin Bromage Blog Post, CNN Opinion, PBS
Guest:
Erin S. Bromage, Ph.D
Erin S. Bromage, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Biology at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.
Dr. Bromage’s research focuses on the evolution of the immune system, the immunological mechanisms responsible for protection from infectious disease, and the design and use of vaccines to control infectious disease in animals. He also focuses on designing diagnostic tools to detect biological and chemical threats in the environment in real-time.