| Former Michigan governor charged in the Flint water crisis; China institutes new lockdown as WHO officials arrive. Tonight's Sentences was written by Gabby Birenbaum. | | | | | | | Ex-governor charged with neglect in Flint water crisis | | | | | Bill Pugliano/Getty Images | | - Prosecutors in Michigan filed charges Wednesday against former Republican Gov. Rick Snyder for his role in managing the Flint water crisis. Snyder is facing two counts of willful neglect of duty, each of which carries either a $1,000 fine or a year in jail. [New York Times / Julie Bosman]
- Snyder oversaw the deadly 2014 decision to cut costs by sourcing water from the Flint River for residents of the majority-Black city. Twelve residents died and 80 contracted Legionnaires' disease. [NPR / Brakkton Booker]
- The water was improperly treated, the drinking supply became lead-poisoned, and the Snyder administration ignored 18 months' worth of reports of bad water and adverse health effects, making Flint synonymous with environmental racism, mismanagement, and disaster. [Associated Press / David Eggert and Ed White]
- Snyder filed a plea of not guilty in court this morning, and his lawyer called the charges against him an "outrageous political persecution." [The Detroit News / Beth LeBlanc and Craig Mauger]
- Democratic state Attorney General Dana Nessel, who took office in 2019, expanded the investigation, bringing charges against a total of at least nine state or local officials. [Detroit Free Press / Joe Guillen, Christine Macdonald and Jennifer Dixon]
- Some of those charges hint at a possible cover-up: Nessel filed four felony charges, including extortion, against a former Snyder aide. She also filed nine counts of involuntary manslaughter against the state's former health director. All those charged have pleaded not guilty. [Detroit Free Press]
- The court battle over Flint has continued since 2016. Seven state officials took plea deals, and eight others had charges dropped in favor of Nessel's broader investigation. In August, residents won a $600 million settlement. [Yahoo News / Doha Madani and Erin Einhorn]
- Activists and residents in Flint, many of whom face lingering physical and mental health problems, said the charges are a welcome sight, but say justice can only be served through long-term investment in the city's future. [Associated Press / Kat Stafford, Mike Householder and Corey Williams]
| | | WHO officials arrive in China as country's cases surge | | - Researchers from the World Health Organization finally arrived in Wuhan Thursday, after months of back-and-forth with Chinese officials, to begin their study into the origins of the coronavirus that has taken nearly 2 million lives worldwide. [Time / Charlie Campbell]
- At the same time, cases in China have spiked to their highest levels since the summer — 109 new cases nationally per day, mostly concentrated in the Beijing-adjacent Hebei province. While a number that low would be cause for celebration in the US, the Chinese government has instituted a lockdown for 22 million people, including districts in the capital. [The New York Times / Steven Lee Myers]
- The Chinese Communist party has been largely successful in containing the coronavirus, stabilizing the country's economy, limiting case counts to fractions of those seen in other populous nations and facilitating a mostly successful return to life as normal. [The New York Times]
- But the rising cases threaten to undermine the party's effectiveness and daily life, hence the lockdowns. The stakes are heightened by the arrival of the WHO team, after Chinese officials have rebuffed the notion that China bears responsibility for the pandemic. [CNBC / Evelyn Chang]
- Already, two of the 10 WHO researchers have been held up in Singapore for failing Chinese health checks, which requires airline visitors to test negative for antibodies before entering the country. [The Washington Post / Lily Kuo]
| | | | | | | Former presidential candidate Andrew Yang announced his candidacy for mayor of New York City, outlining a platform including a guaranteed minimum income and high-speed internet for the entire city. | | | [Twitter / Andrew Yang] - Jaime Harrison, who ran a 2020 campaign to unseat South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, has been tapped by Joe Biden to chair the Democratic National Committee. [Politico / Holly Oderbein and Christopher Cadelago]
- "Jeopardy" has announced its next slate of guest hosts, including journalist Katie Couric, actress Mayim Bialik, and Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers. [The Associated Press]
- Three-time reigning NBA scoring champ James Harden was dealt to the Brooklyn Nets Wednesday in one of the biggest trades in NBA history. [ESPN]
| | | | | "Let me be clear, there are no velvet ropes in our criminal justice system. Nobody, no matter how powerful and how well-connected, is above accountability when they commit a crime." | | | | | | | | | | |
New York magazine's Washington correspondent Olivia Nuzzi spent the past four years covering the Trump White House. In this inaugural episode of Vox Conversations, Nuzzi talks to guest host Sam Sanders, host of NPR's It's Been a Minute, about the perils of anonymous sourcing, some unexpected job hazards (self-loathing), and why Trump didn't ultimately create, but instead activated, the crowd of insurgents that breached the Capitol last week. [Spotify / Olivia Nuzzi and Sam Sanders] | | | | | | | | |  | This email was sent to edwardlorilla1986.paxforex@blogger.com. Manage your email preferences, or unsubscribe to stop receiving all emails from Vox. If you value Vox's unique explanatory journalism, support our work with a one-time or recurring contribution. Vox Media, 1201 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20036.
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