Happy Friday Eve

ISIS Militants Face Trial In U.S.

Two ISIS militants arrived in the U.S. yesterday to face trial for their alleged involvement in the beheading of hostages in Syria. The two men, who were captured and held in an Iraqi military base last year, are accused of helping prepare the beheadings of several American and British journalists and aid workers.

Breonna Taylor Documents Released

The Louisville Police Department released a massive file yesterday containing documents regarding its investigation into the death of Breonna Taylor. The file, which contains collections of police body camera footage, interviews, and investigative reports surrounding the incident, served as the basis for Attorney General Daniel Cameron's investigation. Major news organizations are currently in the process of reviewing the documents.

📄 Another Document Dump: National Intelligence Director John Ratcliffe released nearly 1,000 pages of material to the DOJ related to U.S. intelligence agencies’ investigation of the 2016 Trump campaign’s ties to Russia.

Greek Court Rules Against Neo-Nazi Party

A Greek court ruled that the Golden Dawn neo-Nazi party is a criminal organization on Wednesday. The court convicted 68 Golden Dawn members of crimes, including murder and attempted murder. The party, which gained 18 parliamentary seats in the aftermath of the Greek economic crisis, will no longer legally exist.

🏆 Extra CRISPR-y… the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A. Doudna for creating the CRISPR gene-editing tool. The Nobel Prize in Literature will be announced today. (Live updates)

Supreme Court Report

Lawyers debated the case of Oracle v. Google before the U.S. Supreme Court yesterday. The case revolves around whether a company is allowed to copyright an application programming interface, a system that serves as structural glue for complex software applications. Oracle is contending that APIs are a form of creative expression protected under copyright laws, while Google maintains that APIs are a “method of operation” that never varies in form, and therefore can’t be copyrighted.

More: A sweeping court decision either way could potentially disrupt the tech industry due to the widespread use of APIs, which are routinely incorporated by partners and competitors alike.

Putting It Mildly

Pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly requested FDA emergency use authorization on Wednesday for a drug meant to treat patients recently diagnosed with mild-to-moderate COVID-19. If approved, LY-COB555 would be the first drug of its kind focused on milder coronavirus cases. Eli Lilly estimates it could have 1M doses ready by the end of 2020 if emergency use is approved.

Executives Run Afowl

The DOJ indicted six current and former chicken-industry executives on price-fixing charges on Wednesday. Prosecutors said several different chicken companies, including Pilgrim’s Pride, took part in a price-fixing conspiracy from 2012 to early 2019 that harmed supermarket chains and restaurants such as Walmart, Kroger, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, and Golden Corral.

More: The DOJ charged four senior poultry industry executives with similar offenses in June, including the former CEO of Pilgrim’s Pride.

🏈 NFL COVID Update… the Tennessee Titans recorded two more positive COVID-19 tests on Wednesday (22 total), while the New England Patriots canceled practices scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday after back-to-back days with a positive test.

Be Our Guest

When the pandemic struck in March, Disney theme parks closed their doors to the public, furloughing thousands of workers as the tourist attraction remained closed for almost four months. Even when Disney World parks in Orlando, FL, reopened in July, the company faced the harsh economic reality of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. On September 28th, the "Happiest Place on Earth" laid off 28,000 of its park employees.

After learning of the devastating layoffs, Tom and Sarah Bricker – who run the Disney Tourist Blog – organized a virtual fundraiser to benefit Second Harvest, a Central Florida food bank that services theme park employees. With the tourist blog's readers' contributions, the fundraiser collected more than $47,000 for the food bank, enough to provide 188,000 meals to the dismissed Disney workers.

Cub Scouts

Last Wednesday, a firefighter battling the Zogg wildfire in northern California discovered a severely burned mountain lion cub that had been separated from its mother. The cub, just four to six weeks old, weighed only 3.75 pounds and had serious burns on his paws and severe irritation to his eyes. Recognizing that the injured animal was in dire condition, the firefighter contacted the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

The department quickly brought the animal to the nearby Oakland Zoo, where veterinary staff administered antibiotics, fluids, and pain medication to the wounded cub. Now, the baby mountain lion – who has been named “Captain Cal” – is showing definitive signs of improvement, eagerly accepting milk formula and displaying feisty energy (video). Since mountain lion cubs usually stay with their mothers for up to two years, the young animal will soon transition to a permanent home at the zoo.

Pay It Forward

On September 22nd, Brittany Reed of Waynesville, OH, returned from football practice with her three children when her youngest little ones, ages 4 and 7, began to complain about the night’s dinner plans – red potatoes. With her youngest son loudly crying that he did not want to eat such a meal, the frazzled Brittany decided to order through the McDonald’s drive-thru.

However, after the desperate mother ordered the food and arrived at the register, she realized that she had left her purse at home. Without hesitation, cashier Wyatt Jones pulled out his debit card and paid for the order, all the while insisting that the awestruck customer did not need to pay him back. Nevertheless, after expressing her gratitude for Wyatt’s generosity in her community’s Facebook group, Brittany started a GoFundMe campaign that raised more than $27,00 for the charitable cashier.

Who says eating vegan can’t be tasty?

Not Back to Nature, that’s for sure. The plant based snacks brand just released vegan and non-GMO Cheddalicious Crackers that have the perfect combination of wheat flour, safflower oil and salt, making them a must add to your grocery cart.

Snacks that also give back…
Back to Nature has partnered with The Nature Conservancy to create a world where people and nature can thrive. By listening to science, The Nature Conservancy hopes to address some of today’s most pressing challenges: climate change, protecting land & water, providing food & water sustainability, and building healthy cities.

Grab some Back to Nature Cheddalicious Crackers today!