Pittsburgh Verdict, Record-Breaking Fossil, and a Well-Dressed Robbery

Death Sentence in Pittsburgh

The man responsible for the 2018 Tree of Life synagogue mass shooting in Pittsburgh, where 11 Jewish worshippers were murdered and seven others injured, was effectively sentenced to death yesterday by a federal jury, pending a judge's formal imposition.

The same jury found the 50-year-old assailant guilty of 63 federal counts in June, 22 of which made him eligible for the death penalty (see timeline of incident). During the sentencing trial, prosecutors pursuing the death penalty pointed to the defendant's lack of remorse, arguing his crimes stemmed from deep-seated, antisemitic prejudices. Conversely, the defense emphasized his difficult childhood and likely mental illness in seeking a life sentence. 

Capital punishment is legal in 24 US states; the Justice Department paused federal executions in 2021. Sixteen people have been executed by various states so far this year, with 11 more scheduled, including tonight's planned lethal injection of convicted murderer James Barnes in Florida.  

A Giant Fossil Discovery

Researchers have uncovered fossil remains from what is believed to be the heaviest animal known to have existed, according to findings published yesterday. The specimen is an ancient whale species—dubbed Perucetus colossus, or "the colossal whale from Peru"—roughly 39 million years old. 

The creature is estimated to have weighed more than 300 tons or more, two to three times the size of a blue whale (the current record holder). Estimates were modeled from a partial skeleton, which included individual vertebrae weighing more than 220 pounds each—only one to two has been excavated each year since the site was discovered a decade ago. 

Cetaceans have long fascinated evolutionary scientists. Their ancestors emerged from the ocean onto land roughly 400 million years ago but returned to the sea 50 million years later. Scientists say the discovery challenges conventional theory on how big mammals can grow. 

Read the abstract from the paper detailing the discovery here.

Credit Downgrade

Credit rating agency Fitch has lowered the United States' perfect AAA rating by one level to an AA+, citing an expected fiscal deterioration over the next three years, rising government debt, and concerns about what it calls an erosion of governance. The decision comes two months after Fitch placed the US on a negative watch as a result of delays in a debt-ceiling deal.

Fitch is the second major agency to downgrade the US; the S&P Global in 2011 was the first to strip the nation of its AAA rating. The ratings are an independent assessment of a government's creditworthiness and ability to pay its financial obligations. Read an overview of credit ratings here.

The US government's repeated standoffs and last-minute resolutions on debt and fiscal issues are one of the reasons for Fitch's decision. The agency also noted the nation's debt, which has swelled to a record $32.6T due to a number of factors, including tax cuts and spending initiatives. Fitch predicts the US deficit will rise to 6.3% of gross domestic product in 2023 from 3.7% in 2022. Read its report here.

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