Compiled by Hallie G. Turner
Michael Doti began Wednesday’s show with a breaking news segment involving Bernie Sanders defending former President Donald Trump and his permanent ban on Twitter.
When he was talking on the Ezra Klein Show he said, “Look, you have former President Trump, who is a racist, a sexist, a homophobe, a xenophobe, a pathological liar, an authoritarian, somebody who doesn’t believe in the rule of law. This is a bad news guy. But if you’re asking me, do I feel particularly comfortable that the President, the then-President of the United States could not express his views on Twitter? I don’t feel comfortable about that.”
Doti reported that Twitter told CNBC earlier that even if Trump became president again, he still would not be allowed on Twitter. Although Sanders has accused Trump of being a racist and “the worst and most dangerous president in history,” he is seeking to find a balance on what can and cannot be said on the internet.
Sanders ended his interview by saying, “So I don’t like giving that much power to a handful of high-tech people. But the devil is obviously in the details and it’s something we’re going to have to think long and hard on, and that is how you preserve First Amendment rights without moving this country into a big lie mentality and conspiracy theories.”
Next, Hallie Turner gave the latest on a weird Athens fashion trend to “Keep Athens Weird.” Morgan King, the face behind the pink flamingo suit, begins his ritual of showering 45 minutes before it is time to leave for that day’s Weirdness Parade. This allows for Kings real identity to be masked and for the flamingo suit to come out.
Flamingo’s fit includes a hot pink bodysuit, followed by a hat, with a plush flamingo head whose neck extends proudly, then goggles, where the eyes are decorated with miniature white feather boas. King’s final touch to the outfit is the pink platform Chuck Taylor’s.
King told Charlotte Newsworthy with The Athens Banner Herald that he has always wanted to be the weirdest person on the block but now the end goal is still the same. The Pink Flamingo’s goal is to invite others to be weird too.
Thomas Ehlers reported on a University of Pittsburgh staffer facing charges after stealing masks from the university. KDKA Pittsburgh reported that Christopher Casamento was indicted on federal counts of interstate transportation of stolen property after stealing over 13,500 masks and other equipment from Feb. 28 to March 22 of last year. Casamento served as director of emergency management and marked up the price of the equipment, making close to $19,000 after selling them online.
Ehlers also stated in his report that an FBI Pittsburgh agent said,“Mr. Casamento had an obligation to make sure there was enough PPE to keep students and staff at the University of Pittsburgh safe. Instead, he chose to line his pockets. The allegations set forth today are upsetting. With so much widespread suffering in our communities due to COVID, having this vital equipment taken away from people is unfortunate.”
The university investigated and fired Casamento in July, according to ABC News.
Michael Doti circled back to talk about a shooting at a Cobb County mall. Police are looking for a man who shot at two people, including a child, at a mall Tuesday evening. Police cleared the scene in a parking lot outside Buffalo Wild Wings at around 9 p.m. and they found the child shot in the leg and the other victim shot in the foot. A video obtained by CBS 46 showed footage of the terrified boy on the curb with someone else applying pressure to his wounded leg.
According to Cobb County Police, two or more people were shooting at each other and the two victims happened to be in the line of fire. After they were shot the shooters drove off. The shooting occurred at around 6 p.m., and luckily the police reported no other injuries. One restaurant employee told CBS 46 that the shooting possibly could’ve escalated from a verbal altercation.
Hallie Turner returned with an updated story on the death of the legendary actor, George Segal. Segal was an American actor and musician known for his roles in “The Goldbergs,” “Look Who’s Talking,” and “Just Shoot Me!” died at age 87 on Tuesday.
CNN gathered a statement from Sony Television with Sonia Segal that stated, “The family is devastated to announce that this morning George Segal passed away due to complications from bypass surgery”.
During the 1970s Segal was found playing the wry leading men in the films “The Duchess and the Dirtwater Fox” and “Fun with Dick and Jane.”
In 2013 Segal was cast as the Jewish family patriarch Albert “Pops” Solomon by producer Adam F. Goldberg in his semi-autobiographical series “The Goldbergs.”
Segal was a three-time Golden Globe winner and an Academy Award winner for best supporting actor.
Doti also reported that authorities in Delray Beach, Florida rescued a naked woman from a storm drain yesterday.
In a Facebook post, the Delray Beach Fire Rescue said that, “DBFR’s Special Operations Team rescued a woman trapped in a storm drain Tuesday morning just a few feet from busy Atlantic Avenue. Crews removed a grate to access the drain, which is about 8-feet deep, and used a ladder and a harness to raise the woman to ground level as a small crowd cheered. DBFR assessed her physical condition and transported her to a local hospital. A passerby heard the woman yelling from the drain just before 9 a.m. and called 9-1-1. The Delray Beach Police Department is investigating to determine how she ended up in the drain and how long she had been there.”
Shortly after rescuing her, the authorities learned that she had actually been missing for weeks, and that it was unclear exactly how long she was trapped down there or what happened to her clothes.
Yara Manasrah continued with an update on the AstraZeneca vaccine. Just a few hours after AstraZeneca released positive news about its corona virus vaccine on March 22, a collective of medical experts accused the company of cherry-picking their data in order to falsely bolster the effectiveness rate of the vaccine. The New York Times reports that, in a short letter sent to both federal officials and the company itself, medical experts placed the effectiveness rate of the vaccine to be between 69% and 74%, much shorter than AstraZeneca’s reported rate of 79%.
Manasrah reported that the letter accused AstraZeneca of choosing to omit cases of COVID-19 that were recently confirmed, so that their Monday interim report would demonstrate a 79% efficiency rate as opposed to the 69% to 74% rate that includes the newer cases.
This is not the first time that the AstraZeneca vaccine has been in the spotlight. However, both European regulators and American trial results demonstrated that the vaccine is safe and looks more effective than previously thought.
Finally, Thomas Ehlers closed out with the Sports Power Minute. The Georgia baseball team walked off Tuesday night to beat Kennesaw State 3-2. Third baseman, Parks Harber hit a solo shot to left field in the bottom of the tenth inning, improving the Bulldogs to 15-5 on the season. Georgia’s other runs came by a fielder’s choice from Ben Anderson in the seventh and a Riley King double in the ninth. Georgia travels to College Station to take on Texas A&M this weekend.
The Georgia women’s basketball took the court this Wednesday in the second round of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament. The third-seeded Bulldogs take on the sixth-seeded Oregon Ducks today for a chance to move into the sweet sixteen. The Bulldogs look to carry momentum from Monday’s 67-53 victory over Drexel. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. on ESPN2.
Ehlers report included that Deshaun Watson’s attorney placed doubts on one of the allegations facing his client. ESPN reported Rusty Hardin, said his firm has “strong evidence” that at least one of the alleged misconduct allegations against Watson and that “calls into question the legitimacy of the other cases as well.”
Watson faces 16 lawsuits of sexual assault and inappropriate contact and misconduct, according to ESPN. As investigators look into the allegations, the NFL will look into them as well.
The NCAA men’s basketball tournament continues Saturday with sweet sixteen action. Loyola-Chicago looks to continue their postseason run as they kick off Saturday’s games against the PAC-12 Tournament winner Oregon State. Sunday’s action is headlined in a 1 v 4 Michigan-Florida State matchup and a 6-7 USC v Oregon slate to end the weekend.