Roger Mudd
June 1, 2021 | Nightly News Rebroadcast | Video: 52 Minutes 45 Seconds
Meat Production Disrupted After JBS Cyberattack; Florida Bans Trans Athletes From Women’s Sports. The White House blames Russia for a cyberattack that shut down a major meat producer. President Joe Biden travels to Tulsa, Oklahoma, to remember riots from over 100 years ago. Florida’s governor says only biological girls can take part in girls’ sports in the state.
Gun sales up 66 percent in California during pandemic: nonprofit
Gun purchases in California skyrocketed since March 2020 — a 66 percent increase from the previous 14 months, according to a report from thetrace.org, a journalism nonprofit.
California residents purchased approximately 920,000 handguns between March 2020 and April 2021, according to estimates from the organization, The Sacramento Bee reported.
Gun sales have been on the rise in California for years, according to the Sacramento Bee, which can mainly attributed to an increase in long gun purchases following mass shootings or before new gun control measures have gone into effect.
During the pandemic, however, handgun sales outpaced that of long guns, the Sacramento Bee noted.
An additional 365,000 handguns were sold during the pandemic lockdowns compared to the previous 14 months, according to the newspaper, while long gun sales only increased by 183,000 over the same time frame.
Of California’s 12 highest months for handgun sales since 2000, eight were during the pandemic, the newspaper reported.
Mexico report suggests child sex abuse ring at some schools
MEXICO CITY — A study published by a children’s rights group in Mexico Monday suggests there has been a disturbing pattern at as many as 18 schools and childcare centers where multiple adult employees allegedly collaborated among themselves and used eerily similar tactics and practices to sexually abuse pupils between the ages of three and seven.
In one case uncovered in 2018, 11 adults at one pre-school allegedly abused 49 children aged between 3 and 5, by inserting water-filled syringes into their bodily orifices, a practice found over and over in other cases.
The “11 offenders are accused of committing the abuse in a coordinated fashion,” according to the report by the civic group Center for The Defense of Children’s Rights. Children were forced to watch adults performing sexual acts or touch or abuse other kids. In many cases, the similar use of disguises or specific staging of the abuse suggested a broader pattern. . .
Va. School District Suspends PE Teacher Who Opposed Transgender Policy. Now, He’s Fighting Back
Last week, a physical education teacher at Leesburg Elementary in Leesburg, Va., dared to speak out against a policy that would require teachers to endorse transgender identity by using female pronouns to refer to male students and vice versa. Less than two days later, the school suspended him pending an investigation and forbade him from setting foot on school property without special permission. A Christian law firm has taken up his case and the situation has sparked a new feud between a local pastor and the local Democratic Party.
“My name is Tanner Cross, and I am speaking out of love for those who suffer with gender dysphoria,” Byron [Tanner] Cross, the PE teacher at Leesburg Elementary, said during the public comment segment of a Loudoun County school board meeting on Tuesday. “Sixty Minutes this past Sunday interviewed over 30 young people who transitioned but they felt led astray because lack of pushback or how easy it was to make physical changes to their bodies in just three months. They are now detransitioning.”
Cross condemned LCPS Policy 8040 and the proposed changes to LCPS Policy 8350, which would require teachers to refer to students by preferred gender pronouns, rather than the pronouns that correspond to a student’s biological sex as male or female. He referenced the 60 Minutes segment on detransitioners in order to highlight the danger of transgender ideology. In pursuit of false gender identities, men and women have permanently mutilated their bodies, only to later reject the transgender identity.
“It’s not my intention to hurt anyone, but there are certain truths that we must face when ready,” Cross insisted. “We condemn school policies like 8040 and 8350 because it would damage children, defile the holy image of God. I love all of my students, but I will never lie to them, regardless of the consequences.” . . .
Cyberattack Hits World’s Largest Meat Processing Company JBS, Production Disrupted
CANBERRA, Australia—Thousands of Australian meat workers had no work for a second day on Tuesday after a cyberattack crippled the world’s largest meat processing company. A government minister said it might be days before production resumes. JBS is also Australia’s largest meat and food processing company, with 47 facilities across the country including abattoirs, feedlots, […]
Moderna applies for full FDA approval of its COVID-19 vaccine
If approved the vaccine will stay on U.S. markets after the pandemic is over.
Florida State University Settles Discrimination Lawsuit With Catholic Student for Almost $100,000
Florida State University (FSU) has reached a settlement with a former student leader who sued the school last year for violating his First Amendment rights.
The settlement came nearly a year after Jack Denton, who is Catholic, was ousted from his position as the student senate president after comments he made in a private text messaging group were made public.
In June 2020, amid the nationwide unrest and debate over racism, Denton advised fellow students in a Catholic Student Union messaging group not to donate to Black Lives Matter, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) or Reclaim the Block, because those organizations “all advocate for things that are explicitly anti-Catholic.”
“BlackLivesMatter.com fosters a ‘queer affirming network,’ and defends trangenderism,” Denton wrote, when asked by a student what exactly he meant by that. “The ACLU defends laws protecting abortion facilities and sued states that restrict access to abortion. Reclaim the Block claims less police will make our communities safer and advocates for cutting [law enforcement] budgets. This is a little less explicit, but I think it’s contrary to the church’s teaching on the common good.” . . .
Highly contagious Indian COVID variant spreading rapidly in the US
The highly contagious COVID-19 variant that first emerged in India is spreading at a rapid rate in the US — and now makes up 7 percent of new cases, data shows.
The dramatic rise of the B.1.617.2 variant comes after it accounted for only 1 percent of new cases stateside at the start of May, according to a report from Outbreak.info.
The data revealed that the variant, which experts suspect is 60 percent more transmissible, reached its high of 7 percent of samples sequenced on May 26.
The World Health Organization last week classified the variant as being one of global concern and requiring heightened tracking and analysis.
“There is some available information to suggest increased transmissibility,” Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO technical lead on COVID-19, told reporters.
Justices reject Johnson & Johnson appeal of $2B talc verdict
The justices did not comment Tuesday in rejecting Johnson & Johnson’s appeal. The company argued that it was not treated fairly in facing one trial involving 22 cancer sufferers who came from 12 states and different backgrounds.
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court is leaving in place a $2 billion verdict in favor of women who claim they developed ovarian cancer from using Johnson & Johnson talc products.
The justices did not comment Tuesday in rejecting Johnson & Johnson’s appeal. The company argued that it was not treated fairly in facing one trial involving 22 cancer sufferers who came from 12 states and different backgrounds.
A Missouri jury initially awarded the women $4.7 billion, but a state appeals court dropped two women from the suit and reduced the award to $2 billion. The jury found that the company’s talc products contain asbestos and asbestos-laced talc can cause ovarian cancer. The company disputes both points.
Johnson & Johnson, which is based in New Brunswick, New Jersey, has stopped selling its iconic talc-based Johnson’s Baby Powder in the U.S. and Canada, though it remains on the market elsewhere.
But the company faces thousands of lawsuits from women who claim asbestos in the powder caused their cancer. Talc is a mineral similar in structure to asbestos, which is known to cause cancer, and they are sometimes obtained from the same mines. The cosmetics industry in 1976 agreed to make sure its talc products do not contain detectable amounts of asbestos.
The lead attorney for the women during the trial, Mark Lanier, praised the court’s refusal to hear Johnson & Johnson’s appeal. “This decision sends a clear message to the rich and powerful: You will be held to account when you cause grievous harm under our system of equal justice under law,” Lanier said.
Justices Samuel Alito and Brett Kavanaugh took no part in the court’s action. Alito owns $15,000 to $50,000 in Johnson & Johnson stock. Kavanaugh’s father headed the trade association that lobbied against labeling talc a carcinogen and including a warning label on talc products.
Ethicists contacted by The Associated Press said they did not think E. Edward Kavanaugh’s role required his son to step aside from the case.