Trump Sues Social Media Giants – Former President Donald Trump said he will be filing a class-action lawsuit with him as the lead plaintiff against Twitter, Facebook, and Google over their censorship of him and other conservatives. President Trump and a number of others were purged from major social media platforms following the January 6 storming of the US Capitol, with the giants claiming that Trump and others’ rhetoric was to blame and could lead to more violence if left unchecked. Trump contends that the suspension of his social media accounts is a violation of the First Amendment.
Surfside Death Toll at 78 – Rescue teams transitioned from a search and rescue to a search and recovery mission at the site of the Surfside, Florida building collapse on Wednesday evening, after officials determined that there was no chance of there being any survivors beneath the rubble. The transition occurred just before the two-week point following the building collapse. As of Friday morning, 78 victims had been recovered from the wreckage, including Benny Weisz Z”L of Lakewood, and his father-in-law, Chaim Rosenberg. Benny’s wife, Malky, is still among the missing.
US Mission in Afghanistan to end August 31 – President Biden announced this week that the US military’s nearly 20-year long mission in Afghanistan will end August 31, saying that enough American soldiers had died there and that the Afghans need to take control of their own country. Critics say that the US withdrawal from the war-torn country is irresponsible, as Taliban fighters make significant gains in broad areas across Afghanistan, with analysts saying the current government could crumble within six months of the US leaving.
Global Covid Death Toll Tops 4 Million – At least 4 million people have died from the Covid-19 virus since the outbreak first began in late 2019, the World Health Organization said, adding that the world is at a “perilous moment” with regard to efforts to fight back against the virus as the delta variant spreads rapidly across large swaths of the globe. Despite vaccines being widely available in certain countries, most nations still have little or no access to them, and they are suffering many infections, hospitalizations, and deaths from the illness as a result.
Feds Giving Chicago Billions as Crime Spikes – President Joe Biden will send billions in unspent Covid-19 funds to Chicago to deal with a massive surge in violent crime in the city. The move comes after two detectives were shot by a suspect, and after 18 months of ever-increasing crime under Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot. According to White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, the state of Illinois will get over $8 billion to fight crime, Cook County will receive over $1 billion, and the city of Chicago itself will get $1.9 billion.