Breonna Taylor’s case takes a turn for the worse
The case of Breonna Taylor’s death has been under immense scrutiny and prosecution since March 13th, when she was killed during a botched raid by officers in Louisville, Louisiana. Although the grand jury is assumed to be a secretive body, given the public attention of the case a juror has requested that the video tapes from the shooting be released to the media.
It was concluded at the end of last week that one of the officers should be charged with wanton endangerment, which is penalisation for firing shots that could endanger nearby apartments. However, this excludes any prosecution for Ms Taylor’s death or murder, and the jury concluded that officers Jonathan Mattingly and Myles Cosgrove were justified to open fire due to the victim’s armed boyfriend Kenneth Walker. The case remains open until the release of the tapes.
Tense first presidential debate
On Wednesday the 30th, President Trump and former Vice President Biden went head-to-head in the first debate of the election. General public reaction was shock and humiliation following the bickering dynamic of the entire debate, instigated mainly by Trump. Although majority of media backlash is aimed towards Trump’s unpresidential manners, analysts fear that Biden’s passive performance won’t make a large enough difference to those undecided voters in swing states. We are still waiting to see the direct impacts of the debate on the polls, but so far in under one day Biden earned over $3 million after the first round and media is bursting with criticisms of how Trump botched his speech. Chris Wallace, a FOX news reporter who acted as the mediator of the debate, is being targeted by Republicans for favoring Biden and being unfairly harsh on the President while forcing him to be quiet during his opponent’s protected speech time.
The next debate is on October 7th, when Senator Kamala Harris, Biden’s running mate, will be debating the current VP Mike Pence.
The controversial nomination: Amy Coney Barrett
Donald Trump offered judge Amy Coney Barrett the nomination of Supreme Court the same day he met her on September 21st– 3 days after the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The Democratic party is pushing to stop her placement in the Court, which they argue is unlawful this close to an election. Although Biden refused to attack Barrett personally in the debate on Wednesday, members of the left are unsatisfied with her as a viable candidate. Some of her more prominent policies include pro-life in regards to female reproductive rights, anti- gun control, harsh borders against immigration, and she strictly credits these policies to her conservative Catholicism.
Despite the Republican move in 2016 to block Obama’s nominee over 6 months before the election, they have assured that this time round it is fully democratic to elect Trump’s nominee. Out of 53 Republican Senators in the court, only 2 argued to wait until after the election, so it is likely that judge Barrett fills the position.
Death of a legendary leader in the Gulf
At 91 years old, Kuwait Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Sabah died of an unspecified condition earlier this week, leaving his 83-year old half-brother Nawaf al-Ahmed as his successor. Following his role in restoring international relations with the West during the Gulf war, he became known as the “dean of Arab diplomacy”. He also earned this title through his mediating of disputes regionally namely in Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Queen Elizabeth has gone into mourning following the death of the leader and remarked: “He will be long remembered by all who work for regional stability…May the long history of close companionship between our two families continue.”
Biodiversity pledge controversy
A pledge named the ‘Planetary emergency’ declaration which acts as an effort to protect nature in the following decades is failing to gather all nations, some of who are key players in the climate crisis. Thus far, 64 countries have signed the global pledge. 11 major nations are still refusing to comply, most of who also object to the Paris agreement. The pledge vows to protect 30% of global land and seas, and tackle biodiversity ahead of the UN summit discussions.
Brazil’s leader Bolsonaro said Brazilians are subject to a “disinformation campaign anchored to shady interests” of the opposition to his government. As a result, he argues that his treatment of the Amazon rainforest ecosystem is being exaggerated by the media for the worse. Australia has said they agree with tackling the climate crisis in terms of carbon emissions but have said they “will not agree to other targets unless we can tell the Australian people what they will cost to achieve, and how we will achieve it,”. Finally, in regards to China, it is hoped that President Xi Jinping will make a surprise commitment to the pledge. The US has not announced a representative to attend the summit in New York, so the global assumption is that Trump’s administration will remain consistent in the denial of a climate crisis.
