Questions of individual liberty and independence surface in today’s news headlines, as we continue facing the ongoing pandemic.

Happening in the world: Barbados has announced its decision to remove Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state and become a republic by November 2021. The departure would make Barbados the first country in nearly thirty years to drop the monarch since Mauritius in 1992. (CBS News)

Happening in the US: At Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Florida, a man was escorted out of the park for refusing to wear a mask- but not before he started shouting misquotes from the movie A Bugs Life to rally onlookers for support. In footage that was posted on WDWT, a crowd of security personnel can be seen surrounding the man, who yells “My God! Remember the movie that came out at Walt Disney World? It was called ‘A Bug’s Life’! Remember Hopper? He said, ‘If one guy stands up, one ant stands up, then they’ll all stand up and they’ll lose control.” The quote he is referencing belongs to the movie’s villainous character Hopper, whose actual line is “You let one ant stand up to us, then they all might stand up.” (Orlando Weekly)

Happening in NYC: A Brooklyn-based tavern has reportedly sued Governor Cuomo over they city’s new indoor dining curfew regulation that will become effective starting on September 30th. The lawsuit makes a case against the necessity of a curfew, stating that “Coronavirus does not behave as a vampire, infecting others only when the moon is out.” (Gothamist)

Happening in our community: Columbia Health will be offering a virtual Naloxone training today at 11 AM EST via Zoom. Naloxone kits will be mailed to participants upon completion of training. Register here for the event if you are interested.

Ant Army via Wikimedia Commons