Here’s what you need to know today to Get Up to Speed and Out the Door. May the Fourth be with you.
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1. Alton Sterling
After 10 months hoping two officers would be charged for Alton Sterling’s death, his relatives didn’t get the news they wanted. Federal prosecutors announced there isn’t enough evidence to warrant civil rights charges against Baton Rouge police officers Blane Salamoni and Howie Lake II. But they said they would hand the case files over to Louisiana’s attorney general, who’ll decide whether state charges are appropriate.
Sterling was killed by police in July 2016. Cellphone video showed a black man pinned to the ground by the white officers before he was shot, but police said he was reaching for a gun.Â
2. Politics
All week it seemed the GOP health care bill was all but doomed. But it got a spark of life after two Republican House members flipped their votes. The breakthrough appears to be an amendment that adds $8 billion for pre-existing conditions. House leaders are confident they have the numbers and will call the bill up for a vote today. Here’s what’s in it.
The House did pass a bill to keep the government funded through September. The Senate is expected to OK it today and then Trump is expected to sign it before Friday’s deadline. Look at that: bipartisanship at work!
3. James Comey
FBI DIrector James Comey says he has no regrets about his decision to tell Congress he was reopening the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private email just days before the election. He told a Senate panel he believes he made the right call even though it made him “mildly nauseous.” The trigger? Attorney General Loretta Lynch’s infamous meeting on the tarmac with former President Clinton. Comey says that’s when he lost faith that the Justice Department could carry out an independent investigation. Here’s what else we learned.
4. Technology
If you get an email request from someone you know asking you to click on a Google Doc link, DON’T! It could be a phishing scam. The scheme rolled through the Internet all day yesterday. If you did open such an email, don’t panic. Google says it can help.Â
Meanwhile, Facebook — under fire after a string of incidents where people shared videos of murder and suicide — will hire 3,000 more people so it doesn’t happen again.
5. British royal family
Prince Philip is stepping down from his royal duties. The Duke of Edinburgh is 95 and won’t attend any more public events on a regular basis after August. Don’t fret about what this might mean for the Queen, though. Buckingham Palace says Queen Elizabeth II, 91, will still carry out her regular full schedule of appearances.
BREAKFAST BROWSE
People are talking about these. Read up. Join in.
Labor of love
This is a pic of a 2nd grade teacher getting some last-minute paperwork done while she’s in labor. Talk about dedication to her job.
Men behaving badly
A Baylor University frat is suspended for a ‘Cinco de drinko’ party where some dressed as construction workers and maids and chanted “Build the wall.”
His mom wanted to name him Jr.
His dad went with Darth Vader.
Scout’s honor
When a 16-year-old Girl Scout takes on a right-wing demonstrator at a neo-Nazi rally, the Girl Scout always wins.
Hard landing
Heavy traffic gets a lot worse when a small plane comes out of nowhere and crashes in a fireball right next to the road. And you thought your commute was rough.
NUMBER OF THE DAY
16
The number of kids who are hospitalized due to firearm injuries EVERY DAY. That’s about 5,862 a year, according to a new study.
AND FINALLY …
All fired up
Nothing fires up a toddler quite like the sight of a firetruck parked outside.
