Morning Reads for National Tea Day (April 21)

Good morning! Our friends across the pond have a national holiday for tea today, so I’m borrowing it. In case you’re wondering, yes, The Sun has an article on how to brew the perfect cup of tea. Of course, there are health benefits to tea, just so long as it isn’t too sugared and creamed. While we’re talking tea, what’s your favorite? Mine is Darjeeling, specifically the autumnal flush from The Tea Room in Savannah.

It’s also Big Word Day, so here are some really long words you may try to work into conversation today. Just remember that the point of communication is understanding, and if folks can’t figure out what you’re saying, you’ve wasted your breath with those fancy, $5 words!

Let’s get on to the news, shall we?

Pat Conroy

• A group of Georgia faith leaders have called for a boycott of Home Depot.
• Five private universities, Emory and the Atlanta University Center schools, will require students to be vaccinated for COVID to enroll for fall semester.
• The state’s new voting law took center stage at a U.S. Senate hearing yesterday.
• A federal judge has ruled that Locust Grove resident Jack Whitton will stay in jail until charges against him stemming from the January 6th insurrection are settled. (Alternate link.)
• State Representative Derrick Johnson has entered the race for lieutenant governor. (Alternate link.)

Alice Walker

• Yesterday in Minneapolis, Derek Chauvin was found guilty on all three counts of the murder of George Floyd.
• Cities across the United States braced for unrest yesterday, but instead, they got celebrations. (Alternate link.)
• The Department of Justice will investigate the Minneapolis police department for patterns of excessive force.
• House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has offered an even Democratic-Republican split on the proposed 9/11-style commission to investigate the January 6th insurrection, hoping to get Republicans on board.
• 12 individuals or couples have provided $1 out of every $13 spent on American elections in the last six cycles.
• The European Union reached a tentative deal that would make the 27 country-bloc climate-neutral by 2050.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to peace talks in the conflict zone where Russia has staged a massive build-up of troops.
• President Idriss Déby of Chad was killed yesterday in a confrontation with rebels. (Alternate link.)
• 22 COVID patients in a New Delhi hospital died when a leak turned off oxygen to their respirators.
• The Indonesian military says it has lost contact with a submarine last located north of Bali with 53 on board.

Flannery O’Connor

• For little more than $100, you can now fly over the world’s worst nuclear disaster.
• Some Whole Foods stores in Seattle soon will have the ability to let customers pay with the palms of their hands.