July 21 top stories
It is July 21.
Thank you to the teens at Camp Isola Bella for delivering yesterday’s top stories!
Here are today’s top stories.
Trump classified documents trial set for May 2024
Florida District Judge Aileen Cannon set the trial date in the classified documents case against former President Trump for May 20, 2024.
Axios said the trial will likely begin after the Republican nominee in the GOP field is crowned, and as the general election is heating up.
Trump’s legal team has previously pushed for the trial to take place after the 2024 election, but it is set for next year.
“Lioness” in Germany likely a wild boar
Police and authorities in eastern Germany who were searching for a lioness on Thursday said the animal is likely just a wild boar.
The mayor of the town of Kleinmachnow said experts who watched a video of the purported lioness determined it was a boar after looking at its ears and tail.
The mayor said the search has been called off. There were over 100 police officers who were involved in the search and other resources used were helicopters, thermal-imaging cameras, and professional animal trackers.
Wife of Gilgo Beach murders suspect files for divorce
CBS News reported that the wife of the Gilgo Beach murders suspect filed for divorce on Wednesday. The suspect’s name is Rex Heuermann and the wife’s name is Asa Ellerup.
Heuermann is an architect who was charged with murdering three women and is a suspect in a fourth death. He pleaded not guilty and is in custody.
Ellerup’s attorney said after police arrested her husband, they told her to leave the house with only the clothes she was wearing and has been barred from returning. Police are investigating the home and have seized all electronic devices, including those belonging to Ellerup and the couple’s two adult children.
Police said Ellerup and their two children “were in the dark about (Heuermann’s) double life.”
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Alabama executes man via lethal injection
Reuters reported that the state of Alabama executed a 64-year-old man early today for beating an elderly woman to death in 2001 during a robbery at her home. His name was James Barber and the victim’s name was Dorothy Epps.
It is Alabama’s first execution since Gov. Ivey lifted a suspension on capital punishment in February. The suspension was in place because the state had at least three botched executions. In one of the incidents, prison officials were unable to set the intravenous line in the prisoner before the death warrant expired. Reuters explained that Alabama’s prison system added medical professionals, obtained new equipment and conducted rehearsals for executions. The state also expanded the time allowed for an execution to be carried out before the expiration of the warrant.
Barber’s defense attorney argued in federal court that his execution should be halted because he faced a risk of serious harm and torture, but the court denied the appeal. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to intervene and Barber was put to death.
Reuters said over the last five years in the U.S., a total of 78 death row inmates have been executed.
Tony Bennett dies at 96
Musician Tony Bennett passed away today at the age of 96. He would have turned 97 in two weeks.
His representative did not mention a specific cause of death. AP News said Bennett had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2016.
Bennett released more than 70 albums during his career and won 20 Grammy Awards.
U.S. to play first match of Women’s World Cup tonight
The U.S. Women’s National Team will play their first match in the Women’s World Cup at 9 p.m. ET against Vietnam. The game is in Auckland, New Zealand and it will be 1 p.m. over there. The game will be broadcast on Fox.
The U.S. won the last two Women’s World Cups and are one of the top contenders in this year’s competition. No country has won the World Cup three times in a row.
The U.S. will play next against the Netherlands on Wednesday evening.
That is all the top stories for this week. Have a nice weekend and stay with the light.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/gilgo-beach-serial-killings-suspect-rex-heuermann-wife-files-divorce/
https://www.axios.com/2023/07/21/trump-trial-date-classified-documents-may-2024
https://apnews.com/article/tony-bennett-dies-c3b3a7e2360449fb936a38794c7c3266
https://www.npr.org/2023/07/21/1189034734/us-vietnam-game-world-cup-how-to-watch