Brittney Griner speaks on her release from Russian prison; JFK files revealed but redacted; Elon Musk’s Twitter suspension spree; Starbucks workers strike; and an officer is exposed to fentanyl; These stories and more highlight the midday rundown, aimed right down the middle, for Friday, Dec. 16, 2022.
Brittney Griner breaks silence
Brittney Griner has taken to her Instagram to thank the nation for its support after her wrongful detainment in Russia.
“It feels so good to be home! The last 10 months have been a battle at every turn. I dug deep to keep my faith and it was the love from so many of you that helped keep me going. I also want to make one thing very clear: I intend to play basketball for the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury this season,” she posted.
Griner also thanked the medical staff that looked after her when she arrived back in the U.S. last Friday.
She’s now on her way home to be with family for the holidays.
Thousands of JFK files redacted
More than 13,000 John F. Kennedy documents were made public on Friday, but they aren’t fully transparent. 4,300 documents remain partly redacted.
A law in 1992 called for the full file to be released by now, but the Biden administration has chosen to keep some files in the dark. Critics say with the assassination happening nearly 60 years ago, there’s no reason for secrecy.
Police officer exposed to fentanyl
“If I was searching that car alone, or testing those drugs alone, or whatever the case may be and I didn’t have Narcan available, there’s a good chance I wouldn’t be here right now. As soon as I started talking, I was lightheaded a little bit, and started almost choking, I couldn’t breathe,” said Officer Courtney Bannick of the Tavares Police Department.
A police officer in Florida says she was exposed to fentanyl during a traffic stop. What happened next was caught on body camera footage.
Officer Bannick went in and out of consciousness as other officers on scene administered three doses of Narcan to save her life. Officer Bannick requested the footage be released so the public can understand the dangers of the exposure to fentanyl.
The DEA says fentanyl is the nation’s single deadliest drug threat ever encountered.
Starbucks workers hold three-day strike
Starting on Friday, 1,000 Starbucks baristas are going on a three-day strike through the weekend. It’s the second major strike in a month by workers at Starbucks locations that have voted to unionize.
The strike is meant to pressure the company into coming to terms on a worker’s contract after a year of negotiations. Starbucks has said they respect employee’s lawful right to protest, but have been openly in opposition of unionization.
Twitter suspensions could mean sanctions
Elon Musk is getting serious about a Twitter policy banning posts of real-time tracking data, calling it “assassination coordinates.”
It all stemmed from an account publishing the locations of Elon Musk’s private jet as the flights were happening. As journalists shared the same data, Musk suspended them one by one.
Now the world is reacting to the controversial Twitter bans.
The European Union says Twitter could face sanctions if it is found to have violated an EU law aimed at protecting media freedom.
Musk is polling Twitter users, asking how long the Twitter suspensions should last, and referencing the ban would be lifted as soon as Friday or in one week.
Satellite launched to study Earth’s oceans
The saying goes “we know more about space than we do our oceans.” But with new billion dollar technology, NASA is hoping to get a better picture of the unknown.
A new satellite, launching on Friday, is said to survey 90% of the world’s surface and measure the depth of its oceans.
Data the satellite gathers is said to be a “game changer” in understanding the water cycle, and the exchange of water between the atmosphere and our oceans. The data is also hoped to provide understanding of the impact it may have on the warming of climates around the world.
No British fans arrested at World Cup
With the World Cup final between Argentina and France set for this Sunday, the UK is taking a moment to recognize its well-behaved fans.
There were no arrests among fans from England, apparently for the first time ever. So, after having fans arrested at every other World Cup, what could have possibly made a difference at this one? Who’s to say. But this was also the first World Cup where alcohol was banned.
