April 26 top stories
Disney sues Florida Gov. DeSantis
The Walt Disney Company filed a federal lawsuit against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis today. Disney is alleging that DeSantis violated the Constitution by using his government power as a weapon to retaliate against the company for expressing a political viewpoint.
The controversy between Disney and DeSantis started last year when Disney criticized the “Don’t Say Gay” proposal to ban classroom discussion of LGBTQ+ topics in elementary school.
That proposal did become law and the Florida governor made moves to strip Disney of its special powers to have control over its land in the Orlando area.
Now this fight is headed to court.
Three teens charged with killing driver with rock
Three 18-year-old high school seniors from Arvada, Colorado were charged with first-degree murder for allegedly throwing large rocks toward several cars last week. One of the rocks killed a 20-year-old motorist named Alexa Bartell.
Police said they arrested the three teenagers at their parents’ homes overnight. The three are accused of throwing rocks while driving. Bartell was killed on April 19 around 10:45 p.m. A rock went through her windshield.
The three suspects will be due in court tomorrow.
Uber Eats driver murdered and dismembered
Police in St. Petersburg, Florida said a 30-year-old man murdered and dismembered an Uber Eats driver who delivered food to his home last week. The suspect’s name is Oscar Solis Jr. The driver’s name was Randall Cooke. Police said this was a horrific crime and that it was “demonic.”
Police said the remains of the driver were found at his home in trash bags and a cooler and that there was a receipt with Solis’ name on it. The driver’s key fob was found on Solis’ dresser. The victim’s car was found abandoned close by. There is a video showing the driver making a food delivery and after a while, the video shows Solis carrying trash bags outside.
The driver’s wife reported him missing after he never came home from working for Uber Eats. Uber said the driver’s last reported location was at Solis’ home.
Solis is charged with murder while engaged in a robbery. He was on parole after being released from a prison in Indiana in January after serving four years for assault and burglary. He moved to Florida about three months ago.
Cooke’s stepdaughter told local news that he was a perfect man and was always a happy guy. She said she cannot understand how this could have happened.
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Singapore executes man over two pounds of marijuana
Yesterday the country of Singapore hanged a 46-year-old man for the crime of trafficking two pounds of marijuana. His name was Tangaraju Suppiah.
In 2018, authorities in Singapore accused him of conspiring with another man to deliver the marijuana. He never had the marijuana on him but he was arrested for planning the delivery. Authorities pointed to phone records as evidence.
Singapore has an extremely strict law against trafficking of marijuana with the death penalty for trafficking more than 1.2 pounds of marijuana.
Suppiah’s family said he said he was innocent and that it was not him on the phone records. There was international pressure on the Singapore government not to execute him, but he was hanged early Wednesday morning.
Lithuanian rower crosses Atlantic Ocean
A 29-year-old Lithuanian rower successfully crossed the Atlantic Ocean in a four-month journey. His name is Aurimas Valujavičius.
He left Spain on December 26, 2022, and arrived in Miami yesterday. He rowed for 121 days in a single-seat boat. He rowed for 12 to 14 hours a day. He slept on that boat and ate meals from food packs and caught fish along the way.
He said it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for him where he could be alone for more than three months.
Kenya starvation cult blamed for 90 deaths
In Kenya, authorities discovered mass graves of at least 90 people, most of them children, and believe that the victims were a part of a starvation cult in which the leader preached that starvation was the only path to God.
The mass graves were found in a forest near the town of Malindi.
The cult leader’s name is Paul Mackenzie Nthenge. He is in police custody and authorities said they may charge him with terrorism. Authorities said he was “eating and drinking” while urging others to fast and die.
Others said the cult appeared to require children to starve first, followed by women, and finally men. More than half of the bodies exhumed were children. Authorities said it is horrific and traumatizing.
Kenya’s President Ruto said he is vowing to take action against “rogue pastors” like Mackenzie.
That is all the top stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/26/business/disney-desantis-board-florida.html
https://abcnews.go.com/US/3-arrested-murder-colorado-rock-throwing-incidents-killed/story