Month: February 2022

At least 6,000 residents in the North Carolina city of Winston-Salem have been asked to evacuate the area during an active fire at the Winston Weaver Co. fertilizer plant.  Winston-Salem Fire Department Battalion Chief Patrick Grubbs said at a news conference on Tuesday “We’re asking everyone to stay out of this area,” as officials told residents within a 1-mile radius of the plant to evacuate.  In addition to fears of a potential explosion, Grubbs also said that air quality in the area would likely be poor in the midst of the fire: “As the sun rises, there’s going to be a lot of smoke.”

Winston-Salem Fire Chief Trey Mayo stressed, “We’re asking everyone to stay out of this area. Now is the time to get out”.  With 600 tons of combustible ammonium nitrate stored at the site, the risk of an explosion would remain through Wednesday.  Mayo added, “We’ve got about a 36-hour window where that explosion potential exists.”

According to officials, the fire broke out on Monday evening; no injuries were reported as of Tuesday.  In addition to the evacuations, the blaze also forced the nearby Wake Forest University to cancel classes for Tuesday.The school opened up several sites for faculty, staff or students who are evacuating and need somewhere to go.

Authorities have not yet determined what caused the fire. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said Tuesday that its investigators would be assisting local firefighters.

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One student is dead, and another is in critical condition after a shooting Tuesday outside a school in Richfield, Minnesota, about 7 miles south of downtown Minneapolis.

Richfield Police Chief Jay Henthorne said that the police were called to the South Education Center at 12:07 p.m., and upon arrival, discovered “two students had been shot on the sidewalk outside of the school.” Henthorne said the suspects fled “immediately,” and area schools were locked down. After a search of South Education Center, police determined that “no further threat existed” and other lockdowns were lifted.

Schools Superintendent Sandra Lewandowski said that the 200-student facility was evacuated. The school includes pre-K students through young adults, who attend for special education and community programs. Mr. Lewandowski said the shooting happened outside the facility’s front entrance.

Law enforcement was searching for “suspects,” Chief Henthorne said, and the FBI was assisting. No details were released about the victims, just that the deceased student was male.

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Spotify CEO Daniel Ek has announced that the platform will direct listeners to correct Covid-19 information on any and all podcasts discussing the pandemic. The announcement comes in the wake of the company losing billions in market value, after musicians including Neil Young and Joni Mitchell removed their music from the platform in protest at podcasters such as Joe Rogan sharing misinformation to millions of listeners.

Ek released a statement outlining the streaming platform’s plan to battle misinformation on the podcasts it hosts. Content advisories will be added to any podcast that discusses coronavirus directing users to a website that “provides easy access to data-driven facts, up-to-date information as shared by scientists, physicians, academics and public health authorities around the world, as well as links to trusted sources.” Spotify also revealed guidlines for creators to the public for the first time, saying that creators cannot publish “content that promotes dangerous false or dangerous deceptive medical information that may cause offline harm or poses a direct threat to public health.” 

When announcing his decision to pull his music from the platform, Neil Young singled out Rogan and a conversation he had with cardiologist Dr Peter McCullough and immunologist/virologist Dr Robert Malone on his Joe Rogan Experience podcast. Rogan’s podcast is downloaded an average of 11 million times per episode and is exclusive to Spotify as part of a $100 million deal the company has with Rogan.  In an Instagram video published on Monday, Rogan issued a statement about the controversy, saying “I’m not trying to promote misinformation, I’m not trying to be controversial. I’ve never tried to do anything with this podcast other than just talk to people and have interesting conversations.”  Rogan added he will do his best “try to balance out these more controversial viewpoints with other people’s perspectives, so we can maybe find a better point of view.”

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Former Vice President Mike Pence’s chief of staff, Marc Short, testified before the House select committee investigating January 6 last week in response to a subpoena; a sign that Pence’s team is cooperating with the probe.  According to sources, Short testified before the select committee in person last Wednesday in a lengthy session. Short had previously supplied a limited number of documents that were subpoenaed by the committee, including a memo from Trump aide Johnny McEntee comparing Trump to Thomas Jefferson.

Short was with Pence at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, and participated in a critical White House meeting on January 4, 2021.  He is a potentially crucial witness in the committee’s investigation in determining if then-President Donald Trump and his allies tried to convince Pence not to certify the presidential election.

Short’s testimony comes as the panel still does not know whether Pence himself will testify. While the committee has had informal discussions with Pence’s legal team, sources say that Pence would prefer aides like Short act as the former vice president’s “proxy” so Pence himself does not have to appear.

Former President still blames Pence for not trying to overturn the election results in Congress — and Pence has faced a backlash from Trump’s base for his role on January 6. Short was with Pence at the Capitol on January 6 when rioters were chanting “hang Mike Pence” and Trump tweeted, “Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution.” Short was also at Pence’s side in the Oval Office for a pivotal January 4 meeting when Trump and attorney John Eastman tried to convince Pence that he could overturn the presidential election results in Congress on January 6.

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