Three things for September 23
1. Tiger King renewed for a second season
On Wednesday, Sept. 22, Netflix announced “Tiger King 2” would release to the streaming service by the end of 2021. The second season began filming in 2020 following “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness” and wrapped filming at the start of 2021.
Directors Eric Goode and Rebecca Chaiklin told the story of “Joe Exotic,” or Joseph Maldonado-Passage, who kept tigers, lions and other big cats in Oklahoma, reports CNN.
The docuseries explored a murder-for-hire plot against Carole Baskin, a woman who ran a facility called Big Cat Rescue and gained popularity at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Exotic was sentenced to 22 years in prison in January 2020 on two counts of murder-for-hire against Baskin.
2. United States envoy resigns amid deportations
On Thursday, the U.S. special envoy for Haiti, Ambassador Daniel Foote, resigned amid mass deportations of Haitians.
The U.S. government has continued to fly hundreds of people, including families, back to Haiti, with conditions deteriorating in migrant camps on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border, reports Reuters.
“I will not be associated with the United States’ inhumane, counterproductive decision to deport thousands of Haitian refugees and illegal immigrants to Haiti, a country where American officials are confined to secure compounds because of the danger posed by armed gangs in control of daily life,” Foote said in his resignation letter, first reported by PBS.
According to Foote, Haitians need the opportunity “to chart their own course, without international puppeteering and favored candidates but with genuine support for that course.”
The State Department official who first reported Foote’s resignation, speaking on condition of anonymity, thanked Foote for his service but said the ambassador had overstepped his area of responsibility.
3. Canada’s last suspected Nazi war criminal dead at 97
Helmut Oberlander, Canada’s last suspected Nazi war criminal, has died at the age of 97.
Oberlander served as a Nazi death squad interpreter during World War II but claims he was forcefully conscripted at the age of 17.
Oberlander was born in Ukraine and had been a citizen of Canada since 1960.
Canada revoked his citizenship and has attempted to deport him three times since 1995 due to his Nazi involvement. At his death, Oberlander continued to fight to remain a citizen of Canada.
He died in his home in Waterloo, Ontario and was confirmed dead by his family.
“Notwithstanding the challenges in his life, he remained strong in his faith. He took comfort in his family and the support of many in his community,” said a statement released by relatives to the Globe and Mail newspaper.
For more information on Oberlander’s life and allegations, read the full article here.
