News Brief: Week of Sept. 16-22

NATIONAL NEWS:

KAVANAUGH:

A woman accusing Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault will testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday.  Christine Blasey Ford, a professor of statistics at Palo Alto University, said Kavanaugh held her down and attempted to rape her when she was 15.

President Donald Trump commented on the allegations via Twitter last Friday, saying records of charges being filed with local law enforcement must be available if the attack was “as bad as she says.” (New York Times)

MARYLAND SHOOTING:

A disgruntled employee at a Rite-Aid distribution center in Aberdeen, MD opened fire on her coworkers last Thursday, killing four, including herself, and injuring three others. Police say the 9 mm Glock handgun used to carry out the attack was purchased and obtained by the shooter legally. (CNN)

TRUMP TARIFFS:

Tensions between China and the U.S. are escalating after President Donald Trump announced he would raise $200 million in tariffs against the nation. China responded swiftly with tariffs on more than $60 billion worth of U.S. goods.

Several retailers, including Walmart, have stated higher tariffs could lead to rising costs for American consumer products. (CNNPolitics)

FLORENCE:

Ten days after Hurricane Florence made landfall, some residents of North Carolina are still dealing with major flooding. According to Gov. Roy Cooper, portions of Interstates 95 and 40 will remain underwater for another week, and some communities remain unable to clean up due to standing water. Nine of the state’s rivers remain in major flood stages. (ABCNews)

LOCAL NEWS:

SHORTEY:

Former Oklahoma State Senator Ralph Shortey was sentenced last Monday to 15 years in federal prison on a child sex trafficking charge. In March 2017, Shortey was caught with marijuana and a 17-year-old boy in a South Oklahoma City motel room. Investigators soon learned Shortey hired the boy as a prostitute and later discovered he used fake names to receive and distribute child pornography via the internet. In exchange for prosecutors dropping three child pornography charges, Shortey pled guilty to the child sex trafficking charge last November. (NewsOK)

WARREN:

U.S. Senator and Oklahoma native Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass, spoke Saturday at her alma mater Northwest Classen High School during an American Federation of Teachers rally. Several news outlets have speculated Warren will run for president as a democratic candidate in 2020. (Tulsa World)

FLOODING:

Heavy rain pounded Central and Southern Oklahoma for most of the day on Friday, causing widespread flash flooding and road closures. Some areas of South Central Oklahoma received upwards of 10 inches of rain, according to the National Weather Service. (NewsOk)

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