We’re back and we’re reading everything from “Fox News” to “Newsweek.” We’re trying to help you keep up with the rapid pace of politics and everyday news. Today, we’ve got big changes to the NFL rulebook, breaking information on the Jussie Smollett case, and a state of emergency in New York caused by measles.
NFL approves reviews of pass interference calls
Owners of all NFL teams took a vote Tuesday to allow pass interference penalties to be reviewed.
According to Bleacher Report, coaches will be able to challenge calls or non-calls throughout the game and the replay booth will automatically look at any close calls within the two-minute warning.
This rule change will prevent game-altering mistakes like the missed call on Los Angeles Rams cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman during the NFC Championship game.
Speed limiters to be put in European cars by 2022
According to CNN, all new cars purchased in Europe will have a system installed to limit the driver’s top speed by 2022.
European commissioner said that on average 25,000 motorists die on European roads each year with most deaths caused by human error.
Plans are already in place to use GPS and tracking cameras on cars to recognize and adhere to road signs, but since they are not uniform across Europe, it makes the job difficult.
The proposal must still be formally approved by European Parliament before the rules are officially put into action.
Top prosecutor drops charges against Jussie Smollett
State attorney of Cook County in Chicago Kimberly Foxx has dropped all charges against Jussie Smollett
According to NBC, Foxx’s spokeswoman Tandra Simonton said, “The charges were dropped in return for Mr. Smollett’s agreement to do community service and forfeit his $10,000 bond to the City of Chicago.”
Smollett, the actor most famous for his role on the show Empire, was charged with 16 felony counts of filing a false police report in January after telling police he was attacked by men yelling racial and homophobic slurs at him, punching him, tying a noose around his neck and pouring bleach on him.
The Chicago Fraternity of Police has expressed its outrage and asked the Department of Justice to investigate Foxx and the decision to drop the charges.
Investigation of colleges involved in admission scandal set to begin
The U.S. Education Department is set to investigate the eight universities involved in a college admission bribery scheme.
The scheme was busted earlier in March and has resulted in over 50 individuals, ranging from parents to college athletic coaches, being charged.
The schemes involved Wake Forest, Yale, Georgetown, the University of Southern California, The University of California, Los Angeles, The University of San Diego, The University of Texas at Austin and Stanford.
According to FOX News, the initial report is to decide whether the schools had broken rules pretaining to Title IV guidelines or if they had used federal student aid.
The Department of Education urges the universities to fully cooperate with the investigations or risk their access to federally funded student aid in the future.M
Measles outbreak prompts state of emergency in New York County
A state of emergency was declared in Rockland County, New York after 153 confirmed cases of measles swept the county.
The state of emergency prohibits unvaccinated children under the age of 18 to go into public areas for 30 days, according to CBS.
Measles was suspected to have been brought over from an international visitor last year who was infected.
Most of the cases involved unvaccinated children, and County Executive Ed Day even went as far as to say parents “will be held accountable” for not vaccinating their children and handing out Class B misdemeanors if they are found.
Texas county judge criticized for speaking Spanish in courtroom
A Greater Houston area county commissioner is under fire Wednesday for making controversial comments towards a Hispanic judge in Harris County.
According to Newsweek, County Commissioner Mark Tice of Chambers County made comments about a Facebook Live stream of Judge Linda Hidalgo answering questions in a courtroom in Spanish. Tice posted them to CBS’s Houston station’s website saying, “She is a joke. English,” because “this is not Mexico.”
Tice responded saying the comments were not intended to come off racially charged, but “if you come to this country, learn the language or get an interpreter.”
Hidalgo’s Head of Communications Kiran Khalid issued a statement addressing that a third of the territory Hidalgo covers speaks Spanish, and she “will continue to communicate as broadly as possible especially when public safety is at stake.”
That’s all we have for today. Check back tomorrow for more.
