Community Tea

President Joe Biden denounced the treatment of Haitian migrants at the border as “horrible” and promised that “there will be consequences.” Said Birden, “It’s outrageous, I promise you, those people will pay.”He added that there’s an investigation underway into how Border Patrol agents on horseback confronted Haitian migrants. Some appeared to swing their reins like whips.

Biden has been receiving backlash for the handling of Haitian migrants under a Texas bridge by Border Patrol agents.  Almost 15,000 people — most of them Haitian migrants driven by confusion over the Biden administration’s policies and misinformation on social media — had converged at the border crossing connecting Del Rio, Texas, and Ciudad Acuña, Mexico seeking asylum. Widespread outrage erupted after images emerged of border agents maneuvering their horses to forcibly block and move migrants who had been waiting in a makeshift camp in temperatures of 99F. The images of horse-mounted Homeland officers corralling the migrants evoked comparisons to slavery and the country’s historical mistreatment of black people. As of Friday, no migrants remained at the Texas border encampment where they had converged just days earlier. 

In protest, Daniel Foote, the U.S. special envoy to Haiti resigned. In a letter that blasted the Biden administration for deporting hundreds of migrants back to the crisis-engulfed Caribbean nation. Foote said the “collapsed state” was unable to support the infusion of returning migrants. “I will not be associated with the United States’ inhumane, counterproductive decision to deport thousands of Haitian refugees and illegal immigrants.”  Considered to be the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti, has been hit in recent weeks by a presidential assassination, gang violence, and a major earthquake.

A live televised interview on the show “The View” with Vice President Kamala Harris was delayed on Friday after two of the show’s hosts learned they tested positive for COVID-19 moments before they were to interview her. Cohost Sunny Hostin and guest host Ana Navarro both learned they tested positive for breakthrough cases ahead of the interview. Both Navarro and Hostin were at the table for the start of the show, but then were pulled from the set. Cohosts Joy Behar and Sara Haines remained on set and conducted the truncated interview.

As the select panel investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection kicks into high gear, lawmakers are homing in on former President Donald Trump’s effort to overturn the 2020 election results. With the goal of finishing its work by next spring, they have issued subpoenas to four current and former top aides to Trump including his recent chief of staff Mark Meadows. Joining him are former Pentagon official and longtime House Intelligence Committee aide Kash Patel; former top White House adviser Steve Bannon; and longtime Trump social media chief Dan Scavino. The subpoenas mark a turning point in the investigation. The four Trump associates are commanded to produce relevant documents by Oct. 7 and appear for depositions the following week.

Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin plans to appeal his conviction earlier this year on charges in the murder of George Floyd. According to a court filing, Chauvin aims to appeal based on 14 issues with his case, claiming the court in which he was tried repeatedly “abused its discretion” for numerous reasons, including by denying Chauvin a change of venue, denying his motion to have the jury sequestered through trial, and denying his request for a new trial. Chauvin was sentenced in June to 22 and a half years in prison after he was convicted on charges of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter in the May 2020 killing of George Floyd. Chauvin said he currently does not have a lawyer after the Minneapolis Police and Peace Officers Association, which paid for his trial attorney, told Chauvin their “obligation” to pay for his legal representation was terminated upon his conviction and sentencing. 

United Airlines was fined 1,9 million dollars by the Department of Transportation for violating federal rules prohibiting long delays on the tarmac and ordered to cease future similar violations. Between December 2015 and Feb 2021 United let 20 domestic flights and 5 international flights sit on tarmac for long periods of time without letting passengers deplane. The department said this is the largest fine of its kind ever imposed and impacted a total of 3,218 passengers. Carriers are generally not allowed to keep planes on the tarmac for more than three hours for domestic flights and four hours for international flights without providing passengers an opportunity to deplane. The Biden administration has pledged to take a tough line on airline consumer actions. 

Gabby Petito’s disappearance and likely murder has ignited a rallying cry for more attention on other missing persons cases, especially those involving Black, Indigenous, and other people of color. Petito’s case has sparked renewed interest in several other unresolved missing person cases and has forced law enforcement to take a deeper look at other cases of missing people of color, Petito went missing while on a cross-country road trip with her fiancé, Brian Laundrie, and her body was found over the weekend near Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. Petito is just one of many reported missing in the United States. By December 2020, the Federal Bureau of Investigation reported more than 89,000 active missing persons cases, with 45% involving people of color. Petito’s coverage has renewed debate about which cases garner national attention and the media’s seeming infatuation with missing young white women. In the same state where Petito was found, at least 710 Native Americans were reported missing between 2011 and late 2020. Said Alex Piquero, a criminologist at the University of Miami, “There are a lot of women of color, and especially immigrants, this happens to all the time, and we never hear about it.”

After eight infants died from suffocation between December 2015 and June 2020, the Boppy Co., makers of nursing pillows and baby carriers, is recalling about 3.3 million baby loungers sold. The three types of baby pillow products covered are the Boppy Original Newborn Loungers, Boppy Preferred Newborn Loungers, and Pottery Barn Kids Boppy Newborn Loungers. The products were sold from January 2004 to September 2021 at retailers across the U.S. including Pottery Barn Kids, Target, and Walmart and online at Amazon.com.  The Consumer Product Safety Commission directed consumers to immediately stop using the recalled loungers and contact the Boppy Co. at 800-416-1355 for a refund or online at www.boppy.com (Click “Recall & Safety Alert”).

The State Election Board dismissed a complaint this week that the wife of a Republican U.S. Senate candidate Herschel Walker had voted illegally in Georgia while living in Texas. The State Election Board voted 4-0 to close the case after an investigation found Julie Blanchard to be a Georgia resident and eligible voter. An investigation by the Secretary of State’s office found insufficient evidence to prove that she was ineligible to cast an absentee ballot in Georgia from her and Walker’s home in Texas. 

Herschel Walker appeared at Former President Trump’s rally this weekend in Perry, Georgia and delivered his first major address as a U.S. Senate candidate.  “What qualifies me to run for this office?” Walker said. “What qualifies a reverend to run for office? What qualifies a farmer to run for office? I’m an American, and that’s what qualifies me to run for this office.” Walker talked about his mother and recounted his upbringing in Wrightsville. 

Star Trek actor William Shatner is headed into space via Jeff Bezos’ civilian flight rocket Blue Origin New Shepard rocket, according to TMZ. Shatner’s space trip is expected to be on an upcoming flight in October. At 90 years of age, it would make Shatner “the oldest person ever to be launched into space,” according to the report. 

Film crews are on the brink of a strike that could shut down the film and TV industry nationwide, including in Georgia. If the impending strike is not avoided, it could negatively impact the $4 billion economic engines that the film industry represents in the state.  Negotiations have broken down between the Union, International Alliance of Theatrical and Stage Employees (IATSE), which represents almost all primary crew members on major TV and movie sets, and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents studios like Netflix, Hulu, Paramount and Disney. IATSE’s union is seeking a strike authorization vote among its members Oct. 1. The union represents 17,000 workers in Georgia, which currently has 53 films and tv shows being filmed or produced in the state. Georgia represents the third largest production hub in the country. 

This weekend represents the first weekend of fall and found morning temperature slowly inching its way down thermometers, the true sign that fall has arrived. The first day of fall, or the autumnal equinox, was Wednesday Sept. 22 The season is called “fall” because of the leaves falling from trees at this time of year. Pumpkins and apples are your big fall foods and account for the season also going by the name “harvest.” 

Have a wonderful and safe week…