News Brief: Week of Sept. 13-19

National

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg dies

Associate Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died on Friday, Sept. 18. She was 87.

According to a statement by the Supreme Court, Ginsburg died in her Washington D.C. home surrounded by family. Her death was caused by complications from metastatic pancreatic cancer.

Appointed to the Supreme Court in 1993 by Bill Clinton, she spent 27 years serving on the court despite numerous health challenges.

Ginsburg is best remembered for being a champion of gender equality, her liberal ideology and penning several dissenting opinions.

President Donald Trump has expressed his intention to nominate a female candidate to fill Ginsburg’s seat on the court, hoping the nominee will be confirmed before January 2021, in case Joe Biden wins the presidential election.

Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the Senate will vote on Trump’s pick to replace Ginsburg, even though it’s an election year. When Justice Antonin Scalia died in 2016 and President Obama nominated a replacement, McConnell delayed consideration, citing the election year.

Trump approves new TikTok deal after threatening app

President Trump has granted approval for a deal between Oracle and Walmart to gain control of TikTok’s American operations, halting a ban on the app’s downloads in the United States.

Tech company Oracle and Walmart will form a new entity called TikTok Global, which will be headquartered in the United States.

TikTok’s operations in America were threatened by Trump after he announced on Friday, Sept. 18 that Americans would be banned from downloading the app beginning on Sept. 20, citing national security concerns. 

TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a Chinese technology company which has come under fire for potentially gaining access to U.S. user data. These concerns prompted Trump to declare the ban, which has now been lifted.

TikTok Global will funnel $5 billion in new tax dollars to the U.S. and set up a new education fund. Trump said this would satisfy his demand for the government to receive payment from the deal. 

“They’re going to be setting up a very large fund,” Trump said. “That’s their contribution that I’ve been asking for.”

State/Local

White House ranks OK in top five for positive COVID-19 cases

A new report from the White House Coronavirus Task Force indicates Oklahoma as a state which is hard-hit by COVID-19.

Oklahoma has the fourth highest test-positivity rate in the United States. In addition, Oklahoma has the fifth highest new COVID-19 cases daily rate per capita. 

Oklahoma is in the “red zone” for the tenth straight week as the state continues to see more than 100 new cases per 100,000 population.

The report recommends reviewing virtual or blended learning options for hard-hit areas, limiting bar and dining room capacities and instituting a statewide mask mandate.

COVID-19 outbreaks in prisons have caused at least seven deaths

Five inmates and two staff members at Oklahoma prisons have died due to the coronavirus. These deaths follow widespread outbreaks at correctional facilities across the state.

As of Friday, Sept. 18, nearly 900 inmates are listed as currently COVID-19 positive, which is four percent of Oklahoma’s prison population. As of Monday, Sept. 14, there were 1,987 confirmed positive cases across the state’s correctional facilities.

Inmate deaths were reported from Dr. Eddie Warrior Correctional Center and Lexington Assessment and Reception Center; however, the Oklahoma Department of Corrections has not released details about the employees’ deaths.
State officials are discussing implementing hazard pay for prison employees as coronavirus cases continue to rise.