Transcript

Hello and welcome to ‘Just a Moment News,’ I’m your host, Erika, and today is August 9th, 2024. Let’s dive into some of today’s intriguing headlines:

First up, Noah Lyles, an Olympic gold medalist, competed in the 200 meters at the Paris Olympics despite testing positive for Covid-19 two days prior. Lyles, who would typically have been isolated under previous pandemic protocols, chose to race and secured a bronze medal with a time of nineteen point seventy seconds. His performance was hindered by symptoms such as lightheadedness, shortness of breath, and chest pain. He was seen wearing a mask during warm-ups. Despite Lyles’s disappointing finish, the U.S. track team had a strong showing, winning eight medals in one night, including three golds. With three days remaining in track and field events, the U.S. team has already surpassed its medal count from the Tokyo 2021 Olympics and is close to matching the thirty-two-medal haul from Rio 2016.

Next, we have news from South Africa where Zulu King MisuZulu kaZwelithini skipped a trip to a traditional festival in Malawi due to a lack of funding from the KwaZulu-Natal government, which refused to allocate three million Rand for the trip, affecting his entourage of around three hundred people. Despite the provincial government’s previous increase in the royal household’s budget to seventy-nine million Rand, disagreements over the trip’s costs persisted, reflecting tensions within the government of provincial unity.

In Fort Worth, Texas, a tragic event unfolded during the CrossFit Games. Serbian athlete Lazar Đukić, aged twenty-eight, died during the swimming portion of the competition. Đukić vanished near the end of an eight hundred-meter swim at Marine Creek Lake, and his body was recovered by authorities approximately two hours later. The incident has cast a shadow over the international event, which attracted about ten thousand participants.

Moving to a shocking incident in the world of chess, Russian player Amina Abakarova attempted to poison her rival, Umayganat Osmanova, by spreading liquid mercury on and around a chessboard during a tournament in Dagestan. This unprecedented incident in chess history unfolded when Osmanova noticed small silver beads under her board and soon fell ill, showing symptoms consistent with mercury exposure.

In scientific discoveries, a new study on Homo floresiensis, a species sometimes called “hobbits,” reveals seven hundred thousand-year-old teeth and arm bones, indicating these ancient humans might have been even smaller than previously believed. The discovery on the Indonesian island of Flores has reignited debates about their place in human evolution. The latest fossils suggest that these hominins were fully grown adults yet significantly smaller than other hominins.

Lastly, Harvard’s Wyss Institute has made key strides in 3D bioprinting techniques, getting closer to replicating complex human vasculature, which could revolutionize organ transplantation and drug testing. Despite these advances, challenges remain in replicating the intricate details of natural blood vessels, particularly in creating capillaries and ensuring functional integration within engineered tissues.

That wraps up our news for today. Thank you for tuning in to ‘Just a Moment News.’ I’m Erika, and we’ll see you next time.

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