News roundup: Aug. 8 – Sept. 12
Here are the top stories Aug. 8 to Sept. 12 from Texas, the United States and around the world.
Texas:
Roy Oliver: While responding to a call about a rowdy house party April 29, Roy Oliver and the other police officers responding to the call headed outside as gunshots were heard coming from the nursing home down the road. Oliver shot inside a Chevrolet Impala filled with teenagers with a rifle as they were driving away and killed 15-year-old unarmed Jordan Edwards. Oliver was fired from the Balch Springs Police Department. On Aug. 28 the former police officer was found guilty of murder and was given a 15-year prison sentence. Later, his two assault charges were dismissed.
Family Separation Continues: Two months after President Donald Trump signed an executive order ending family separation and the deadline to have all children reunited was reached, over 500 children remain separated from their guardians because of detainment and already deported parents. Thousands of children are being housed across Texas in shelters and detention centers.
US Passports Denied: The Washington Post reported an uptick in U.S. passports being confiscated or denied by the State Department (DOS) amid recurring concerns of fraudulent birth certificates issued to citizens delivered by midwives along the Texas-Mexico border. In 2009, the ACLU challenged that the DOS was not giving due process to citizens delivered by midwives in those counties. The issue resurfaced again when more than 20 U.S. citizens were mistakenly put in deportation centers under the “Zero-Tolerance Policy.” The DOS said that it “has not changed policy or practice regarding the adjudication of passport applications” and “the U.S.-Mexico border region happens to be an area of the country where there has been a significant incidence of citizenship fraud.”
United States:
Jamel Myles: After four days at Joe Shoemaker Elementary School in Denver, 9-year-old Jamel Myles was found dead in his room by suicide. His mother, Leia Pierce, said her daughter, Taniece, told her that Jymal, who identified as gay, was being bullied. The school district released a statement saying “All of us – parents, educators, and fellow students – need to lead the way in setting an example of love, respect and dignity for our LGBTQ+ youth.” The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports suicide is the second-most reported leading cause of death for 10 to 24-year-olds.
Prison Strikes: Jailhouse Lawyers Speak organized a national prison strike Aug. 21 through Sept. 9. The 10 demands by prisoners ranged from improving health care services to being paid minimum wage by citing the contested line of the 13th amendment. In some locations, small groups led outside protest. People inside and outside of the prison are being encouraged to strike until demands start to be met. Officials in Florida, Georgia, Indiana, New York, South Carolina, Ohio, New Mexico, California and at the Federal Bureau of Prisons have denied the existence of a protest or declined to comment to the New York Times. When asked by The New York Times about conflicting narratives as to what is happening, organizer Amani Sawari responded, “many inmates are taking part in ways that might be less visible, such as refusing to spend money in the prison commissary.”
Fappening Hackers: George Garofano, the last of four suspects involved in the mass nude photo leak of August 2014 dubbed “The Fappening,” was sentenced to eight months in prison and three years supervised release. Garofano, Ryan Collins, Edward Majerczyk and Emilio Herrera all pleaded guilty to the phishing, but not the distribution of the photos. The Fappening victims included not just celebrities, but also hundreds of other people nationwide.
International:
Myanmar: After nine months in a holding prison, Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo both were charged seven years each for what the Myanmar government is calling “possessing state secrets.” The police chief admitted in court that it was a setup, but both journalists were still convicted. The journalists had been documenting the fleeing of some of the over 650,000 Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar into Bangladesh. The United States and other international representatives have condemned the results of the trial and the government.
European Union: The European Union Copyright Directive has faced public backlash from constituents and online companies for articles 11 and 13 in their overhauled copyright reform. Article 11 has been branded as a “link tax” in which news aggregators like Google News would be charged per article linked. Article 13 states that companies must take “appropriate and proportionate” measures to filter out potentially copyrighted material. This article is similarly revisiting the topic debated in Viacom International v. Youtube. The Copyright Directive that included both contested articles were approved Sept. 12.
Egypt: Though currently under international condemnation for the sentencing of 75 people to death for a 2013 sit-in turned violent, Egypt has moved forward in a law regulating social media accounts. Recently ratified by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the law states that accounts with over 5,000 followers are to be supervised by top media authority such as the Ministry of Information and Ministry of Communication. Those accounts can be blocked from view if they are spreading what the authority deems as “fake news.” This is not just limited to news, but according to the Egyptian government applies to anything that “‘constitute a threat’ to Egypt’s national security or economy.” Administrators or visitors of these flagged sites could face jail time and fines. This comes after a banning of dozens of new sites in 2017.
On the bright side:
Woodlands Pride Fest: Drawing statewide attention, The Woodlands hosted its first pride festival Sept. 8. This inaugural celebration hosted an estimated 2,500 attendees in support of the LGBTQ+ community.
