Judgment against Alex Jones: A jury in Waterbury, Connecticut, ordered conspiracy theorist Alex Jones to pay more than $950 million in damages to 14 relatives of eight Sandy Hook shooting victims and to an FBI officer who was a first responder at the 2012 massacre site. Jones was found liable of violating Connecticut”™s Unfair Trade Practices Act for using intentionally false information in order to sell advertised products on his Infowars platform. Jones had previously been ordered to pay $4 million in compensatory damages and $45.2 million in punitive damages to the parents of a school shooting victim and he faces a third damages trial based on a defamation suit he lost to the parents of another victim.
Fewer people applying for mortgages: Mortgage application activity remains at a 25-year low, according to new data from the Mortgage Bankers Association. The trade group”™s Market Composite Index fell by 2% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier, while its Purchase Index and Refinance Index are both down by 2%. This occurred as mortgage rates continued to rise during the first week of October, with the 30-year conforming rate reaching 6.81%, its highest level since 2006.
New Ebola strain outbreak in Uganda: An outbreak of the Ebola virus has spread from rural Uganda to the African nation”™s capital city of Kampala. This strain of the virus has no proven vaccines or antiviral medication that can be used to prevent its spreading. The first confirmed fatality from this new strain was reported last month and 19 deaths have been recorded, although previous unconfirmed deaths may have occurred in August. The countries surrounding Uganda have strengthened their border controls to stop the spread of the virus and Americans who have been in Uganda over the past three weeks are being required to take Ebola screenings at select airports.
Trump to be deposed in rape lawsuit: Former President Donald Trump is being ordered to answer questions under oath next week in a defamation lawsuit filed by E. Jean Carroll, a writer who claimed he raped her in the mid-1990s. A federal judge rejected a request by Trump”™s attorneys to delay the planned testimony, which will take place on Oct. 19. Carroll is scheduled to be deposed on Oct. 14. Trump has denied the sexual assault occurred.
Pilot whales that stranded themselves off New Zealand die: Nearly 480 pilot whales have died after stranding themselves on the beaches of the Chatham Islands off New Zealand. This is the second mass stranding of pilot whales in the past two weeks, following the deaths of roughly 200 animals on a Tasmanian beach. Scientists do not know why whales strand themselves, although it is believed their location systems become disoriented when swimming in shallow water close to land.
