Justice O'Connor passes, Santos expelled, and a rat plague.

Adam Rogers
December 02, 2023

Happy Saturday! Today’s edition is 869 words, a 3 minute read.

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Today’s Big Story

Sandra Day O’Connor, the first female Supreme Court Justice, died Friday at 93.

Career: O’Connor became the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court after being nominated by President Ronald Reagan and unanimously confirmed by the Senate in 1981. During her tenure, she often cast the deciding vote in the court’s most controversial cases.
Legacy rulings: Sandra became an independent voice in the high court while often aligning with her liberal colleagues. She affirmed abortion rights and helped uphold affirmative action in college admissions (both of which were overturned this year). Additionally, she approved the creation of more congressional districts where African-Americans made up the majority of voters. O’Connor also sided with the court’s conservative members, voting to end the 2000 Florida recount between George W. Bush and Al Gore, and advocating for state’s rights against federal control.
In 2018, O’Connor announced she would be stepping away from public life after experiencing the beginning stages of dementia. President Biden signed legislation last year to install a statue of O’Connor and former Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the U.S. Capitol Grounds.

The House voted to expel Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) on Friday after the House Ethics Committee released a report accusing Santos of unlawful activity involving his campaign, personal, and business finances. He is the just the sixth lawmaker — and first Republican — to be expelled from the House in U.S. History. (More)

Fighting resumed in Gaza early Friday after Israel and Hamas failed to extend the ceasefire deal that allowed the release of more than 100 hostages captured by Hamas militants and 240 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons. Israel also allowed more aid trucks into Gaza to ease the humanitarian crisis during the pause. The Biden administration expects them to continue the flow of aid supplies even though the ceasefire has ended. (More)

Pfizer said it would stop making the twice-daily version of its experimental weight loss pill after obese patients lost weight but experienced adverse side effects. The company is still hoping a successful weight loss pill will help it rebound from a falling demand for its COVID products and a 40% share price drop this year. However, Pfizer is well behind competitors Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk is the weight loss drug market. (More)

A federal appeals court ruled that former President Trump can be sued for his alleged role in inciting violence during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. This means that he won’t be protected by presidential immunity in regards to the comments he made before the attack because his re-election campaign was “not an official presidential act.” (More)

Japan, with the help of the European Union, recently opened the world's biggest nuclear fusion reactor in Naka. Unlike traditional nuclear power, fusion involves combining two atomic nuclei instead of splitting one. The goal is to generate more energy than is used in the process. Fusion is considered safer and produces less radioactive waste than current power plants. The reactor is part of a global effort to develop a sustainable and reliable energy solution for the future. (More)

An appeals court affirmed the disorderly conduct convictions of "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett for making false reports to the Chicago Police Department that he was a victim of a hate crime. A police investigation found that he had orchestrated the incident, paying two men to shout slurs at him. He was allowed to remain out of prison while he appealed the original guilty verdict. Now, he will have to finish a 150-day stint in jail. (More)

A South Korean student team from Hongik University won the 2023 James Dyson Award for The Golden Capsule, a non-powered, hands-free IV device. The device eliminates the need for gravity or electricity, allowing medics to focus on life-saving tasks. The team aims to refine prototypes and eventually mass-produce them for emergency scenarios and hospitals. (More)

Since 1999, an anonymous donor in Eastern China has sent over $2 million to the Ningbo Charity Federation. The donor circumvented banking regulations using remittances, or small $1,500 cash transfers. Ningbo Charity has said they used the money over the years to build several schools for underprivileged children in the Zhejiang Province. (More)

Six-year-old Bryanna Cook from Mississippi was honored for saving her mother, Yolanda Jackson Cook, after their car went off a highway when Yolanda suffered a stroke and seizure. Bryanna called 911 and talked with an operator who helped locate them. Yolanda recovered after a week in the hospital. (More)

A Florida couple adopted a baby abandoned as a newborn on the side of a road. In January, deputies found the baby wrapped in a blanket with her placenta attached. The healthy baby was taken into state custody and formally adopted 10 months later. (More)

Maine shooting victims will receive free college tuition.

Deep dive: Why diet Coke got so expensive.

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