need2know-morning-edition-070723

We have lots of need to know headlines headed up for you this morning. So let's get to that. Let's start with the US considering offering Ukraine cluster munitions this in their latest military aid package. That's according to the Pentagon Press secretary, those munitions which break apart and scatter small explosives over a large area are very controversial because of their high failure rate and potential danger to civilians. But the Pentagon said, quote, the ones that we're considering providing would not include older variants with dud rates that are higher than 2.3%. Germany's Defense Minister has confirmed that that nation will not do the same as they are one of over 100 countries who signed a 2008 Michelle banning the use of those cluster munitions. In other headlines, families of the victims killed by a mass shooter in El Paso Texas back in 2019, spoke out in Federal court yesterday sharing memories of their lost loved ones and condemning killer Patrick Kus for his actions. Francisco Javier Rodriguez, whose 15 year old son was killed in the shooting called Kious a coward outside the court. Paul Jamas, father of one of the victims had this to say it's hard, it's very, very hard. I mean, you sit there and you think, man, if you, if you didn't do what you did, I, I'd have my child, you know. All right, 23 people were killed and an additional 22 were injured in the shooting which targeted the Hispanic community. Federal prosecutors are not pursuing the death penalty for Crucis. But the El Paso district attorney told reporters yesterday, he still plans to seek it in the state's case. The sentencing hearing resumes tomorrow. And police in Houston say a man who was allegedly reported to be missing for eight years was actually not missing during that period. The Texas Center for the missing said then 17 year old Rudy Faria was last seen on March 7th 2015 and he was found last week sleeping in front of a church in a press conference yesterday. Police said far was reported missing on that date, but he actually returned home to his mother a day later and had been living with her almost the whole time. They say both far and his mother spoke to police multiple times over the years but gave fake names and dates of birth and misled officers. They have not filed charges against Faria and his mother but the investigation is ongoing. Meanwhile, Britney spears alleges that she was assaulted by an NBA player security guard on Wednesday night in a message shared on her social media platforms. Yesterday, the singer claims that she was trying to get the attention of San Antonio Spurs player, Victor Wemba Yama and approached him at a Las Vegas restaurant on the evening of July 5th. She said in part quote, I tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention and his security then back handed me in the face without looking back in front of a crowd nearly knocking me down and causing my glasses off my face. The NBA star said yesterday that he felt someone grab him from behind but he did not know it was Britain until a couple of hours later, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department gave a statement to CNN saying that officers responded to a call regarding a battery investigation. Now we should note no arrest or citation so far have been issued. And New York Mayor Eric Adams has criticized a New York Times story that claimed he lied about carry a photo of a friend and an NYPD officer who was killed in the line of duty. The story published on Wednesday claimed the photo of the fallen officer was created and doctored to appear weathered by the mayor's staff. The mayor has often cited the photo to shine a light on the dangerous nature of policing in New York City. After the article was published, he doubled down and via spokesperson said, quote, it is disgusting that the New York Times has chosen to have Robert Venables friends and family relive the tragic murder of a loved one for nothing more than feeding its obsession with dissecting every single moment of Mayor Adams life more on this story coming up in a few minutes. All right, we do have some good news for you this morning in the fight against Alzheimer's disease. The FDA is granted full approval of the drug le can be. This is the first medicine proven to slow the course of Alzheimer's and the drug received accelerated approval back in January that after research showed its effectiveness, but at a cost of over $26,000 before insurance coverage, well, it wasn't widely used and the approval has cleared the way for Medicare and Medicaid to begin covering that drug which would expand access to nearly a million people who suffer from the early stages of that disease. Researchers do point out that those suffering from the advanced forms of Alzheimer's may not benefit from that drug.