Friday, August 5th, 2022
WNBA Star Sentenced, ‘Reversible’ Death? & HBO Max Makeover
All the news you need in around 10 min:
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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 reading the latest happenings...
Monkeypox Declared Public Health Emergency
Monkeypox is now considered a public health emergency across the United States. The Biden administration made the declaration as the CDC’s total of reported cases topped 7,000. With this, health agencies can collect more data about cases and vaccinations, get vaccines out faster, and get better access to emergency funds. Symptoms of monkeypox include distinct bumps, fatigue, fever, and swollen lymph nodes. So far, it’s mostly been spreading among men who have sex with men, but anyone can get it.
Read More: HHS, CDC, NBC News, NY Post, Axios, NPR
Brittney Griner Sentenced
A Russian court has made a decision about American basketball player Brittney Griner. She was sentenced to nine years in a Russian prison camp for bringing drugs into the country. Griner has already been in Russian custody for six months, ever since law enforcement found vape cartridges with less than one gram of cannabis oil in her luggage. Her lawyer plans to appeal the verdict. U.S. and Russian diplomats have been discussing a potential prisoner swap that could bring Griner home, but nothing is certain yet. President Biden called her sentence “unacceptable”.
Read More: White House, ESPN, NY Times, Politico, Fox News, Reuters
Officers Charged for Breonna Taylor Raid
Four police officers are now facing federal charges for the raid that killed Breonna Taylor more than two years ago. Taylor was the Black woman in Kentucky who was shot and killed by officers who weren’t in uniform serving a search warrant. This week, the U.S. Justice Department charged former and current police officers with violating Taylor’s civil rights, excessive use of force, and more. The DOJ says officers were “untruthful” to get the warrant and that after the raid, they came up with a plan to lie about what happened. They now face up to life in prison. So far, the officers haven’t commented about the charges.
Read More: DOJ, RCFOP, Louisville Courier Journal, AP, ABC News, NY Times
Alex Jones to Pay $4M+
The conspiracy theorist who for years said the deadliest school shooting in American history was a hoax is now being held financially liable. A jury said Infowars host Alex Jones will need to pay more than $4 million in damages to the parents of a six-year-old boy who was killed at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut. Two families took Jones to court for causing emotional distress and defamation. In the past, Jones said the lawsuit was an attack on his first amendment right to free speech. During the trial, he admitted the shooting was “100% real” and that it was wrong to have lied about it.
Read More: CBS News, AP, NY Times, NPR
Northeast Heatwave
Millions of Americans are in the middle of a record-breaking heatwave. It’s happening in the northeast. Already, the National Weather Service says Boston broke a record set in 1928 when it hit 97 degrees yesterday. It’s expected to be hot around the area again today before things cool down a little tomorrow, then heat back up on Sunday. Meanwhile, the middle of the country is still dealing with intense heat. It’s been like this for weeks in parts of Texas and Oklahoma. This means people are cranking up their ACs, and the U.S. is expected to use record amounts of power this year.
Read More: NWS, ABC News, NY Times, WSJ, Accuweather
Pig Organs Revived
New research could one day have a big impact on the number of organs available for life-saving transplants. Researchers at Yale University successfully repaired some vital organs of pigs who had been dead for an hour. Their hearts started beating again, and they had some function in their lungs, livers, kidneys, and more. It could still be many years before this would be tested in humans, but that’s eventually the goal. However, one ethicist pointed out that this brings up some tricky questions about life and death. He said the critical question will be: at what point would the patients no longer be considered dead?
Read More: Nature, NY Times, WSJ, Reuters
SpaceX/South Korea Moon Launch
It was the world’s busiest day for space journeys, with four separate launches in one day. In one of them, South Korea launched its first moon with the help of American company SpaceX. Once it arrives on the moon, the satellite will collect geological data. It also has a camera for NASA that will study ice-filled craters. NASA is interested because the presence of water could mean they find a good spot for future astronaut outposts.
Read More: SpaceX, AP, NY Times, Florida Today, CNET
Blue Origin Launch Made History
Six space tourists took a Blue Origin flight past the Earth’s atmosphere and back. That space flight made history because of its crew. A mountaineer named Vanessa O’Brien became the first woman to complete the “explorers extreme trifecta”. That means she has climbed Mount Everest, reached the deepest known point in the ocean, and has now been to space. Two other crew members represented Egypt and Portugal and became the firsts from their countries to go to space.
Read More: Blue Origin, UPI, Space.Com, Orlando Sentinel
HBO Max and Discovery+ to Merge
Two streaming services will merge into one: HBO Max and Discovery+. They are already owned by the same company because Warner Bros. and Discovery merged in April. The company has not yet revealed a name for the new platform, but the plan is to start the process of combining them in about a year. Before that, they will start to share content. The new leadership is also reportedly thinking about a free version with ads.
Read More: WBD, USA Today, Deadline, NBC News, The Verge
NFL Hall of Fame Game
Football fans, the wait is over. The NFL preseason has officially kicked off. Last night’s Hall of Fame Game marked the first televised game in nearly six months. It pitted the Las Vegas Raiders against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Raiders dominated 27-11. The game didn’t just kick off the preseason, but it marked the official start of Hall of Fame weekend in Canton, Ohio.
Read More: NFL, CBS Sports, Yahoo! Sports
Pro Football HOF Induction Tomorrow
Tomorrow, there will be a parade in Canton, Ohio, and an induction ceremony for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s class of 2022. This year, six players, one coach, and one referee will be enshrined into the hallowed halls. Perhaps the most well-known soon-to-be Hall-of-Famer is three-time Super Bowl champion, Richard Seymour. The class also includes other Super Bowl champs like Bryant Young and Leroy Butler.
Read More: NFL, ESPN, Pro Football Network, WJW
Feel Good Friday: Teen Starts Trees4Goals
A teenager in Kenya found a way to combine his passion for soccer with his desire to help the planet. Lesein Mutunkei started an initiative called Trees4Goals. Every time he scores a goal on the soccer field, he plants 11 trees, one to represent each member of his team. He has other young athletes signing pledges to plant trees every time they score, too. So far, Trees4Goals has planted more than 5,500 indigenous trees in forests, at schools, and around soccer training grounds. Now, Mutunkei is hoping to get the attention of soccer’s global governing body FIFA and some of soccer’s biggest stars.
Read More: Lesein Mutunkei, CNN, Upworthy