Friday, November 12, 2021

Wake-Up Call: 'Astroworld' Death Toll Reaches Nine


Bharti Shahani
MORE THAN 50 LAWSUITS FILED: The death toll from the Astroworld tragedy has risen by one to nine, with the family of a 22-year-old Texas A&M University student saying yesterday that she'd died the night before. Bharti Shahani had been critically injured in the deadly crush of fans at rapper Travis Scott's music festival in Houston. A nine-year-old remains in a medically-inducted coma. Meanwhile, representatives for Scott said in a statement yesterday that he was distraught over the tragedy and has been trying to connect with the families of those who died to share his condolences and give them aid. A criminal investigation is being conducted, and on the civil side, more than 50 lawsuits have already been filed.

➤APPEALS COURT TEMPORARILY BLOCKS RELEASE OF TRUMP WHITE RECORDS TO JAN. 6TH COMMITTEE: A federal appeals court yesterday temporarily blocked the National Archives from releasing Trump White House records to the House committee investigating the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol, granting a request from former President Donald Trump. The records were to have been turned over today. The appeals court set a date of November 30th to hear oral arguments in the case. President Biden, as the sitting president, waived executive privilege for the documents, but Trump is arguing he can still claim executive privilege over the records even as a former president. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan ruled against Trump earlier this week, and he appealed. Whichever side loses is likely to eventually appeal to the Supreme Court.
 

➤DEFENSE RESTS IN RITTENHOUSE TRIAL, JURY TO GET CASE NEXT WEEK: The defense rested in Kyle Rittenhouse's Wisconsin murder trial Thursday, one day after the 18-year-old took the stand, testifying that he shot three men during the racial justice protests in Kenosha in August 2020 after the police shooting of Jacob Blake, two of them fatally, in self defense, at one point sobbing on the stand. The prosecutors and defense attorneys will be back in court today for the finalization of the instructions that will be given to the jurors before they begin deliberating next week after closing arguments expected for Monday.

 
➤U-S URGES AMERICANS TO LEAVE HAITI: The U.S. State Department has issued a rare warning for Americans citizens to leave Haiti amid the country's severe fuel shortage and worsening security situation. Haiti’s government and police are struggling to control gangs that have blocked fuel distribution terminals for weeks. The warning said the U.S. embassy would probably not be able to get people out if commercial flights become unavailable. For its part, the United Nations has encouraged its employees to stock up on emergency supplies of water, food and other essential items.

🧠STUDY...DADS WHO SPEND MORE TIME WITH THEIR CHILDREN HAVE A DIFFERENT BRAIN STRUCTURE:  A study finds that dads who spend more time with their kids have a different brain structure compared to less involved fathers. University of Essex researchers found men who want to actively be involved in childcare and enjoy time with their kids have a larger hypothalamus– the part of the brain known to play a key role in attachment and parenting. Researchers are unsure whether the hypothalamus increases in size in response to time with children, or whether some men are born with an increased volume. A researcher says, “Dads– like moms– are biologically wired to be parents. Our data revealed that this can be seen in dads’ brain anatomy as well as brain-to-brain synchrony with their kids, and especially so for more confident and involved fathers.”


➤POLL...MORE THAN TWO-THIRDS SAY 'CANCEL CULTURE' UNFAIRLY PUNISHES FOR PAST ACTIONS:   More than two-thirds of Americans said in a new Hill-HarrisX poll that "cancel culture" unfairly punishes people over past actions or statements, with 69 percent saying it does and 31 percent that it doesn't. Majorities across the political spectrum believe that it unfairly punishes people, although Republicans were most likely to agree it does, at 79 percent, compared to 65 percent of Democrats and 64 percent of independents. The poll also found that 71 percent of voters said they believe cancel culture has gone too far, compared to 29 percent who don't agree.

➤REPORT...REPUBLICAN CIATTARELLI TO CONCEDE N.J. GOVERNOR'S RACE TODAY: New Jersey Republican nominee Jack Ciatterelli will concede the governor's race to Democratic Governor Phil Murphy today, according to NJ.com, 10 days after the election and nine days after the Associated Press called Murphy as the winner. The results were closer than had been expected, and the election night count had a narrow margin between the two, but as more mail-in and provisional votes have been counted, Murphy now has a nearly three percentage point lead. Murphy's campaign had called on Ciattarelli to concede Monday, but his opponent's campaign said they were simply waiting for all the votes to be counted. New Jersey had one of the two gubernatorial elections this year. The other, in Virginia, was won by Republican Glenn Youngkin over former Democratic Governor Terry McAuliffe.

➤OLYMPIC GOLD MEDAL-WINNING GYMNAST SUNI LEE SAYS WAS TARGETED IN RACIST ATTACK: U.S. gymnast Suni Lee, who won the women's individual all-around gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics this summer, says she was the target of a racist attack last month in Los Angeles. Lee, a Hmong American, told PopSugar she was waiting for a ride with a group of friends, all of them also of Asian descent, when people in a car driving by shouted racial slurs, and one of them sprayed her arm with pepper spray before they drove off. The 18-year-old said, "I was so mad, but there was nothing I could do or control because they skirted off. I didn't do anything to them, and having the reputation, it's so hard because I didn't want to do anything that could get me into trouble. I just let it happen."

➤MICROSOFT EMAILING OUT GIFT CARDS: You may want to double-check your inbox and spam folder because you could have a gift card for the Microsoft Store. After some people noticed the gift cards in their email earlier this week, Microsft has confirmed that it sent out 50,000 virtual gift cards to U.S. customers. Half of the randomly-selected customers got $100 and the other half got $10. The cards can be redeemed on Microsoft Store through December 31st and be spent within 90 days of redemption.

🐶DO YOU WALK YOUR DOG ENOUGH?:  Walking your dog doesn’t just benefit your dog, it also benefits you. Carly Loyer, with the ASPCA Behavioral Sciences team, says that walks give your dog the opportunity to stay physically fit, explore the world, and also help with weight management, joint health, and digestion. Loyer adds, “Your dog’s brain will get more stimulation if you follow different routes and visit new places whenever you can so that your dog can experience novel smell and sights.” Veterinarian Sarah Machell adds, “Most adult dogs will need somewhere between 30 minutes and two hours of exercise per day, however, precisely how much daily exercise a dog needs is dictated by a variety of factors including their age, breed, size, and general health status.” You’ll want to keep walks in moderation, especially for small breeds, brachycephalic breeds, senior dogs, and any dog with a medical condition, as too much walking could be hard on their bodies. For healthy “teenage” dogs (when your dog is between about three and nine months old) you’ll want to be careful not to overcompensate for their energy levels by walking them too hard or too long. Machell says you should avoid pounding, repetitive movements that come with running until their bone growth is complete. Overall it’s best to let your dog set the pace.


🏈DOLPHINS DEFEAT RAVENS 22-10: The Miami Dolphins defeated the Baltimore Ravens 22-10 last night at home for just their third win of the season, but the second in five days. Quarterback Jacoby Brissett had to leave in the third quarter with an injured right knee, leaving Tua Tagovailoa, who couldn't start because of a fractured finger on his throwing hand, to come in and put up 158 yards. Miami's scoring included a fumble forced by Xavien Howard in the fourth quarter that he returned 49 yards for a touchdown, a quarterback sneak for a touchdown by Tagovailoa, and three field goals by Jason Sanders. The Ravens' streak of 51 regular-season games with at least 14 points, which was the second-longest in NFL history, came to an end.


🏈BECKHAM JR. JOINING RAMS: Wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. agreed to a one-year deal with the Los Angeles Rams yesterday. The 29-year-old is joining the team after being released by the Cleveland Browns on Monday and clearing waivers the following day, with no team wanting to pick up the $7.25 million he was owed under his last contract. His release from the Browns came in the wake of his father posting a video on Instagram highlighting times when Cleveland quarterback Baker Mayfield didn't throw the ball to Beckham when he was open.

🏈NEWTON RETURNING TO PANTHERS: Cam Newton is returning to Carolina, with the Panthers announcing yesterday that they'd signed the quarterback to a one-year, $10 million deal. The franchise that drafted Newton Number 1 overall in 2011, and for whom he won MVP honors in 2015 and led them to the Super Bowl, is bringing him back after cutting him before the 2020 season. The move comes after Carolina learned quarterback Sam Darnold has an incomplete fracture of his shoulder blade and will miss at least four weeks. Newton was released in August by the New England Patriots after one season.

🏀ESPN: BULLS CENTER VUCEVIC TESTS POSITIVE FOR COVID-19: Chicago Bulls center Nikola Vucevic has tested positive for Covid-19, ESPN reported yesterday and was put in the Covid protocols. The 31-year-old will be out for 10 days or until he has two negative tests in a 24-hour period. ESPN noted that NBC Sports Chicago has reported the Bulls are fully vaccinated.

➤RUGGS ATTORNEYS CITE WITNESS SAYING FIREFIGHTERS SLOW TO RESPOND TO DEADLY CRASH: Attorneys for former Las Vegas Raiders player Henry Ruggs III said in a court filing that a witness reported that firefighters were slow to put out a vehicle fire caused by a deadly crash Ruggs is facing charges over. The 22-year-old Ruggs is accused of driving up to 156 miles per hour and having a blood alcohol limit twice Nevada's legal limit when he plowed into a the car of a 23-year-old woman, Tina Tintor, who died in the fiery crash in Las Vegas. The Raiders released Ruggs hours after the crash. Ruggs' attorneys are seeking a court order to get fire department records about the crash and fire. A county spokesman, said Thursday that there were, quote, "no delays in response or in the attack on the fire."

⛄BLIZZARD WARNINGS UP FOR SOUTH DAKOTA: The self-proclaimed "Icebox of the Nation" is in the midst of its first significant snowfall event of the year. A large swath of the Northern Plains to Minnesota could see upwards of a half a foot of snow, with locally higher amounts.  For the residents of International Falls, Minnesota, seeing a snowstorm during November is not out of the norm. According to National Weather Service Office data, the area receives more than 70 inches of snow per season, which lasts from the fall into the spring.


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