Why was Salman Rushdie stabbed?

It’s Monday, August 15. Welcome to the News Diet. Today I’m gonna talk about Salman Rushdie, the death of Anne Heche, TikTok security concerns, and also the new Dolly Parton Day in Ohio. Let’s be informed so we can get on with our day.

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Author Salman Rushdie was attacked on Friday minutes before he was set to give a speech in New York. A man rushed the stage and stabbed Rushdie about 10 times. The man was arrested and charged with second-degree attempted murder and assault with a weapon, and Rushdie is currently recovering in the hospital and is said to be in critical condition. His agent has said that he’s undergone surgery, that he might possibly loose an eye, has suffered liver damage and nerve damage, but that he does seem to be on the mend; and his son has even said that he’s already begun to speak a few words.

While this attack is shocking, it’s not entirely unexpected to those who have followed Rushdie’s career. The author has actually been living a low key life for years, laying low and with security. The reason for this is that one of his novels released in 1989 called “The Satanic Verses” fictionalizes parts of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad in a way that offended many in the Muslim community, who considered it blasphemous. This caused the leader of Iran to issue a fatwa on Rushdie - which is a legal ruling under Islamic law, which can be declared by an Islamic religious leader. In this case, the fatwa was an order to Muslims to kill Rushdie. The order even caused the UK to cut off diplomatic relations with Iran in 1989.

The attacker here, is accused of planning the assault and targeting the author. He bought an event pass that allowed him to attend the talk that Rushdie was to give.  He is currently being held without bail and his next court appearance is scheduled for Friday.

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Actress Anne Heche was declared dead on Thursday after being in a coma for a week. On August 5, Anne crashed her mini cooper in a Mar Vista, Los Angeles house, that quickly caught fire and took 59 firefighters over an hour to extinguish. The renting tenant of the house was home, but was in the backyard at the time, and only suffered minor injuries from retrieving her pets inside the burning house. She did however loose most of her belongings. The owner of the house set up a GoFundMe account for her, which has already raised over $150,000.

A preliminary blood test did confirm that Anne Heche had cocaine and fentanyl in her system, however a more comprehensive test would be needed to determine if the fentanyl was in her body before the crash as the drug can be used as a pain medication in hospitals. She was being held on life support while an organ recipient was being located for donation, and yesterday it was reported that one had been found, so she was taken off support so the transplant procedure could begin. The LAPD said that they would not be investigating the crash anymore.

Anne Heche was an actress for several decades, first gaining prominence in the soap opera Another World, for which she received a Daytime Emmy Award and two Soap Opera Digest Awards; and then moving on to movies and other TV Shows. She was also in a relationship with Ellen Degeneress from 1997-2000, making them one of the first openly gay couples in Hollywood. Anne also dealt with mental health issues in the past, which became public when she drove to Fresno county in just a bra and shorts and randomly walked on foot until finding a ranch house where she asked to take a shower. The owner called the police and apparently she told authorities she was “god” as well as other delusions. She later explained this fantasy world as being a coping mechanism to deal with childhood abuse. Anne Heche leaves behind two sons.

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I want to talk about TikTok and the ongoing security concerns about the app. There’s not a ton of concrete facts here, but I know that governments around the world, particularly the US are troubled by the rise of the platform. As I’m sure you know, TikTok is the very popular social media app that has popularized short form videos. It’s inspired copycats like Instagram Reels and YouTube shorts. The platform has over 142 million users in North America and over a billion users overall. 

The reason why it’s popularity is drawing so much concern is that TikTok is owned by company Chinese internet company, ByteDance. And since ByteDance is owned and operated within communist China, there’s concerns that the Chinese government could be accessing the vast amounts of data collected by the app. TikTok has been flagged by several cybersecurity experts, and a recent report by Australian-US security firm Internet 2.0, deemed the data gathered as excessive. What they’re referring to is TikTok’s ability to access user device information and even biometrics - so think storing information about your calendar or specific location, or your face features, or even scan external hard drives. Those conducting the report say that these measures are not required for the app to run properly. It may be worth mentioning that the main concerns seem to be for Android users, as Apple users offer more limitations on application tracking.

So the main concern is if all this information is being accessed by the Chinese government. China’s known for having quite a strong hold on social media dealings within it’s country, with strict censorship rules cracking down on content that sheds a negative light on the government, as well as so-called impure content. To maintain control, Chinese national security laws require companies to share access to data upon request. So the concern is a lack of privacy for… well maybe anyone. This could be particularly problematic for those posting about human rights abuses or politics - sensitive topics to the regime.

President Trump came out hard for the company during his term, but President Biden hasn’t been as active in pursuing company reform. So its reported that some lawmakers are having conversations about if and how to regulat or even ban the app, as its presence is rapidly capturing young users. 67% of 13-17 year olds in US use the app according to the Pew Research Center.

TikTok denies the claims that it harvests more data than other social media companies.

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Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has declared August 9 Dolly Parton Day. This declaration comes as the country singer is expanding her non-profit called Imagination Library to Ohio. Imagination Library is a program that supports child literacy by sending free books to kids under 5. Dolly Parton started this initiative in 1995 and it’s reach has since expanded to several states as well as Canada, Australia, and the UK. Over 123 million books have been delivered, and the foundation also rewards scholarship grants to young adults. In Ohio specifically, Imagination Library now reaches families statewide with more than 327,000 children enrolled.

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It’s Monday, August 15. And you’ve just been informed. Now it’s time to get on with your day. I’m Michele Carroll. Thanks so much for listening.

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If you enjoyed the episode and want to continue following a healthier alternative for staying informed, where we forgo partisan fighting and fear-driven narratives, then please be sure to hit that subscribe button - as of course you’ll get more of this show in your feed and also you’ll be helping this new channel grow and reject sensational media. Thank you so much for your support, and I can’t wait to see you in the next episode.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Heche

https://deadline.com/2022/08/anne-heche-death-crash-lynne-mishele-sorrow-message-instagram-1235091810/

https://people.com/tv/lapd-will-not-investigate-anne-heche-crash/

https://people.com/tv/lynne-mishele-whose-house-was-destroyed-after-anne-heche-crash-gives-update-thanks/

https://www.tmz.com/2022/08/14/anne-heche-organ-donor-off-life-support-dead-transplant/

https://www.tmz.com/2022/08/11/anne-heche-under-influence-cocaine-fentanyl-car-crash-house-condition/

https://www.tmz.com/2022/08/08/anne-heche-new-video-fly-down-alley-before-hit-run/

https://www.today.com/parents/moms/anne-heche-kids-rcna42872

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https://americansongwriter.com/ohio-governor-declares-august-9-dolly-parton-day-in-the-state/#:~:text=Ohio%20Governor%20Mike%20DeWine%20has,Library%20throughout%20the%20entire%20state.

https://www.countrythangdaily.com/dolly-parton-day-declared-by-mayor-david/

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https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/14/nyregion/salman-rushdie-recovery.html

https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1989/01/29/524389.html?pageNumber=64

https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-famed-author-salman-rushdie-target-of-iran-death-sentence-stabbed-on-stage-in-new-york

https://edition.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/africa/11/26/fatwa.info/index.html

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fatwa

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https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/jul/19/tiktok-has-been-accused-of-aggressive-data-harvesting-is-your-information-at-risk

https://www.malwarebytes.com/blog/news/2022/07/tiktok-is-unacceptable-security-risk-and-should-be-removed-from-app-stores-says-fcc#:~:text=In%20a%20letter%20dated%20June,access%20to%20that%20sensitive%20data.%22

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/14/technology/tiktok-china-washington.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TikTok