Month: July 2023

Former President Donald Trump on on Tuesday that he was informed by special counsel Jack Smith that he is a target in the Jan. 6 criminal investigation. Smith already has criminally charged Trump with about three dozen counts related to retaining classified documents when he left the White House. Letters sent by the Department of Justice provide its recipients the chance to testify before a grand jury after the DOJ determines there is substantial evidence linking them to a crime.

In a post on his Truth Social site, Trump also suggested he may soon face indictment for the Jan. 6 probe, which is focused on Trump’s efforts to overturn his loss in the 2020 election to President Joe Biden.  He said: “Deranged Jack Smith, the prosecutor with Joe Biden’s DOJ, sent a letter (again, it was Sunday night!) stating that I am a TARGET of the January 6th Grand Jury investigation, and giving me a very short 4 days to report to the Grand Jury, which almost always means an Arrest and Indictment.”  He added that he was given what he called the “horrifying news” on Sunday evening by his lawyers.

Trump is the leading contender for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination; and his lawyers have asked that any trial in that case take place after the 2024 election. Smith’s prosecutors oppose that bid.  Additionally, Trump is separately under criminal investigation by a Georgia state prosecutor for his attempt to get election officials there to reverse his loss to Biden in Georgia.

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Police in Florida said that a 3-year-old driving a golf cart stuck and killed a 7-year-old standing in the front yard of a home in Fort Myers.

According to a news release from the Florida Highway Patrol, the 3-year-old was approaching a right curve near a home on private property located on Orange River Boulevard, when the front of the cart collided with the 7-year-old who was standing in the front yard. The older child was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead; the 3-year-old wasn’t hurt. FHP Lt. Greg Bueno confirmed that the two were brothers.

Earlier this year, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill, which goes into effect Oct. 1, that requires golf cart drivers be at least 15 years old with a learner’s permit or 16 with a driver’s license. Anyone who is 18 or older must have a valid government-issued ID. Previously, Florida law allowed a 14-year-old to drive a golf cart.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, more than 6,500 children are hurt by golf carts every year across the country. Just more than half of those injured are children under 12.

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The Food and Drug Administration (“FD”) announced Monday it has approved a drug by which newborns and infants can be protected against respiratory syncytial virus (“RSV”) for an entire season with a single shot. The RSV virus that causes acute respiratory infections and which can be quite serious for some infants, especially those born prematurely.

Nirsevimab – marketed under the brand name Beyfortus – received approval from FDA regulators following three clinical trials that regulators said proved the safety and the efficacy of the vaccine against RSV.  The vaccine’s makers, AstraZeneca and Sanofi, said Beyfortus will be available in the United States ahead of the upcoming 2023-24 RSV season following earlier approvals in the European Union, Britain and Canada.

Director of the FDA’s Office of Infectious Diseases, Dr. John Farley, said that the prevention of RSV will likely become much simpler and more effective with the development of the single-shot nirsevimab monoclonal antibody: “Today’s approval addresses the great need for products to help reduce the impact of RSV disease on children, families and the health care system.”  Immunization against RSV has mostly been reserved for premature infants deemed at highest risk for serious illness because shots needed to be administered each month throughout the five-month RSV season.

RSV typically starts in the fall and peaks during the winter months. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, the virus is the leading cause of hospitalization among babies in the United States — approximately 1% to 3% of U.S. children under one year of age are hospitalized each year because of RSV.

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On Monday, an Iowa judge temporarily blocked a new six-week abortion ban from remaining in effect. Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds signed the ban into law on Friday at a prominent political gathering hosted by an evangelical Christian group. She told attendees that it represented “an ironclad commitment to the smallest and most vulnerable among us.”

Polk County District Court Judge Joseph Seidlin’s order means the law will remain on hold while the legal challenge plays out in the court system. Seidlin wrote: “The court will grant the temporary injunction requested here. In doing so, it recognizes that there are good, honorable and intelligent people — morally, politically and legally — on both sides of this upsetting societal and constitutional dilemma. Patience and perseverance are also hallmark traits on both sides, traits that continue to deserve respect. The court believes it must follow current Iowa Supreme Court precedent and preserve the status quo ante while this litigation.” 

Gov Reynolds said in a statement Monday in response to the injunction: “The abortion industry’s attempt to thwart the will of Iowans and the voices of their elected representatives continues today, but I will fight this all the way to the Iowa Supreme Court where we expect a decision that will finally provide justice for the unborn.” 

With the law blocked for the time being, abortion restrictions in the state will revert to the previous law, which allowed abortion until the 20th week of pregnancy. The new law includes exceptions for the life of the woman, miscarriages and fetal abnormalities deemed by a physician “incompatible with life,” as well as for pregnancies resulting from rape and incest. For those exceptions to apply, the rape must have been reported to law enforcement or a “public or private health agency” — which includes a family doctor — within 45 days, and the incest must have been reported to any of those officials or entities within 140 days.

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TIME Studios has announced the production of a new documentary based on The Notorious B.I.G., to be titled ‘Understanding Christopher Wallace.’  The studio describes the documentary as “an intimate look at the untold life story of late rapper The Notorious B.I.G.,’ and explained that the doc will follow Biggie’s son Christopher “C.J.” Wallace, who was born five months before his father died in 1997.

C.J Wallace will seek to learn more about his father throughout the doc, and the documentary will share footage of Biggie’s time in the spotlight, and present-day footage of the younger Wallace.  TIME Studios’ head of documentary Loren Hammonds shared a statement: “The Notorious B.I.G. had such an immense impact on not only music but also on popular culture as a whole. But this film is about so much more than that. It’s about fatherhood, loss, and love. It’s incredibly special to be able to let audiences learn about the man behind the myth through C. J.’s eyes, and we’re very proud to play a part in carrying on Christopher Wallace’s inimitable legacy.”

C.J. Wallace shared: “Over the past few years, I realized my personal journey is connected to understanding who Christopher George Latore Wallace was outside of his big rap persona. I am on a journey to fully understand the world he lived in and the massive impact he had on American and Black history and by doing so, I can ensure that I honor his hopes and dreams while I build and create my own legacy for future generations of Wallaces.”

Understanding Christopher Wallace will be directed by Vikram Gandhi, who previously directed and produced the 2020 Hulu documentary about rapper 6ix9ine titled 69: The Sage of Danny Hernandez. Gandhi said: “It’s an honor to document C.J.’s personal odyssey to understand his father and to create a deeper and more definitive film about the man behind the persona Notorious BIG, Christopher Wallace.”

The documentary has yet to be given a release date.

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