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Saturday, August 1, 2020

Hurricane Isaias causes major damage as it approaches the U.S.

Hurricane Isaias may reach wind speeds of about 75 mph when it reaches Florida, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Category 1 storm, Hurricane Isaias, landed in the Bahamas with winds of about 85 mph. Many buildings and trees were blown over and the storm caused wide-spread damage.

Although the storm is moving away from the Bahamas and towards the U.S., Trevor Basden, the director of the Bahamas meteorology department, told residents  to “continue to hunker down”.

While on the way to Florida, Isaias was weakened to a tropical storm, but experts say that it may be upgraded once again, according to Reuters.

“Don’t be fooled by the downgrade. We do think it will be upgraded back to a hurricane later on this evening,” said Florida Governor Ron DeSantis today.

READ MORE: Kids in Bahamas stranded with schools damaged by hurricane

On Friday, both Florida and North Carolina declared states of emergency for many counties due to the imminent landing of Hurricane Isaias.

All COVID-19 testing sites were closed and people living in affected areas were told to buy seven days worth of food and supplies in order to stay in their homes when the storm hits.

Hurricane Isaias may reach wind speeds of about 75 mph when it reaches Florida, according to the National Hurricane Center. They also said that the storm could bring heavy rains and cause flooding during the weekend and into the beginning of next week.

“While current projections have the eye of Isaias remaining at sea, the situation remains fluid and can change quickly,” said DeSantis, according to Reuters. “The state of Florida is fully prepared for this.”

READ MORE: CDC quietly releases reopening plan as ‘busy’ hurricane season looms

Many public areas including beaches and parks were closed on Friday. Experts say that the storm could become a Category 2 hurricane, with wind speeds being close to 110 mph.

Florida has a well-trained hurricane response team, but with the added pressure of controlling the coronavirus, there is less focus on storm preparation.

“It’s not a perfect system,” said Frank Rollason, Miami-Dade’s director of emergency management, “but what we’re facing to today with COVID, we’re trying to avoid packing all of those people into the emergency operations center.”

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As Trump plans to ban TikTok, Sarah Cooper continues to hilariously mock him

Twitter users are also saying that Trump’s move to ban TikTok could be due to Cooper’s constant mockery.

Sarah Cooper, 35, has become a viral sensation over the past few months because of her Trump-impersonating TikTok videos.

With Trump now threatening to ban the social media platform over concerns that the Chinese government is accessing Americans’ data, Cooper is doubling down.

Her latest video called “How to tick tock,” shows Cooper in a bathroom, with her hair blowing in the wind as she reenacts Trump’s announcement.

“We may be banning TikTok. We may be doing some other things. There are a couple of options. But a lot of things are happening, so we’ll see what happens. But we are looking at a lot of alternatives with respect to TikTok.”

Twitter users are also saying that Trump’s move to ban TikTok could be due to Cooper’s constant mockery. Trump blocked Cooper after her initial videos went viral.

But Cooper has proven that a TikTok ban won’t stop her from her comedic critiques.

In regards to one of her videos, in which Cooper reenacts Trump’s descriptions of his “impressive” cognitive test, the comedian let her Twitter followers know that she didn’t even record it on TikTok. The video has over 10 million views on Twitter.

READ MORE: Comedian Sarah Cooper goes viral with TikTok lip-sync of Donald Trump

In her video, “How to Empty Seat,”  Cooper does a brilliant job acting along as Trump’s real voice can be heard boasting that his rally will be packed with 22,000 people.

6,200 people actually showed up, according to Tulsa officials, and many speculators say TikTok users rallied together on the app to sabotage Trump’s attendance. This could be another reason for Trump’s dislike for the app.

Cooper initially went viral last May after creating a lip-sync video mocking Trump’s suggestion that the coronavirus could be cured by the injection or consumption of common disinfectants.

Trump’s comments were so concerning that Lysol and Dettol has to make a statement against consumption of their products. 

READ MORE: Vegan Tik Tok star Tabitha Brown is living her dream after inking major Creative Arts Agency deal

“I feel like we’ve been gaslighted for years, being told it is totally normal for a president to say things like this,” Cooper added. “It is a very validating thing to see something remind you that, no, this is actually ridiculous and we can all agree on that.”

She is a Jamaican-born author and comedian best known for her books “100 Tricks To Appear Smart In Meetings” and “How To Be Succesful Without Hurting Men’s Feelings.”

Cooper told MSNBC in May that “she takes the subtext of what he has written extemporaneously,” and gives it back to the world. She even calls herself the Trump whisperer.

theGrio’s Blue Telusma and Tonya Pendleton contributed to this report. 

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Teen spent a year and a half in jail with no indictment

Prosecutors have yet to present William Haymon’s case to a grand jury.

William Haymon celebrated his 16th birthday and his 511th day in jail on July 14th. Haymon has been in the rural Lexington, Mississippi jail for months and there is no telling when he will be released.

Mississippi has no rules regarding the length of time a person can be detained without being formally charged. Haymon cannot be released on bail, though he is technically innocent in the eyes of the law.

Prosecutors have yet to present Haymon’s case to a grand jury so it can consider whether the state has sufficient evidence to pursue a conviction against Haymon.

READ MORE: Michigan teen jailed for not doing schoolwork to be released

Akillie Malone-Oliver, the local district attorney who prosecutes the state’s 21st judicial district, blames the delay on heavy turnover within the city’s police force. But the problem is bigger than that and is characteristic of ongoing concerns facing Mississippians who have the misfortune of being arrested, according to experts.

Haymon’s attorney, Lawrence Blackmon, has alleged that the county does not have grounds to hold him. Blackmon asserts that his client is being illegally detained and that his constitutional right to a speedy trial is being violated.

He is concerned that Haymon, who would be entering the 10th grade in the fall, will experience long-lasting harm due to his prolonged imprisonment during his youth.

Sebrenda Tillman, Haymon’s mother, voiced her concerns to The Appeal. “As long as he’s been there, what are you holding him for? Somebody ain’t doing their job,” she complained.

In June 2013, when Haymon was 13-years-old, he was arrested for allegedly robbing a senior citizen at gunpoint. He waived a preliminary hearing and was released on a $25,000 bond.

However, in February 2019, Haymon arrested again for aggravated assault involving a gun. State law prevented him from being granted bail for the second alleged crime.

READ MORE: Teen who says he accidentally killed teen girl in Russian roulette game, remains in jail

After the public defender assigned to Haymon’s aggravated assault case died in January, Blackmon agreed to represent the teenager for free. Despite filing a petition and a motion seeking Haymon’s release, the teenager remains in jail.

Circuit Court Judge, Jannie Lewis-Blackmon, no relation to Haymon’s attorney, ruled that Haymon’s right to a speedy trial had not been violated. According to a transcript of the proceeding, Judge Lewis-Blackmon said that “the reason for the delay outweighs the length of the delay.”

Due to Covid-19, Haymon’s mother, Sebrenda Tillman has been unable to visit him since March. Since his incarceration, Tillman has celebrated his last two birthdays by putting money in his account.

“He’s trying to hold up,” she told The Appeal. “I worry about him, some nights I can’t sleep because he’s my baby,” she said.

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