May 23 top stories
It is May 23. Here are today’s top stories.
Man crashes U-Haul near White House
On Monday night, a person seemed to try and drive a large U-Haul truck past a security barrier near the White House. The truck couldn’t get past the barriers. The driver exited the truck and waved a Nazi flag.
Police arrested the driver, who is identified as Sai Varshith Kandula, a 19-year-old man from Missouri. He was charged with threatening to kill or harm a president, vice president or family member.
Police said there were no weapons or explosives in the truck.
Bud Light sales down for six straight weeks
ABC News said sales of Bud Light have recorded declines for six consecutive weeks after there was controversy and a boycott over a Bud Light product endorsement with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
Mulvaney posted a video during the NCAA basketball tournament of her endorsing Bud Light. Her likeness was printed on Bud Light cans.
There was outrage from conservatives and some celebrities such as Kid Rock, who posted a video of him shooting cans of Bud Light.
After that, Bud Light put two of its top marketing executives on leave, and that caused liberals and LGBTQ advocates to become mad. So, both sides became mad with Bud Light.
Bud Light’s sales are declining while sales of rival beers, such as Coors Light or Miller Lite have climbed.
Kari Lake loses final lawsuit alleging election fraud
CNN reported that an Arizona judge rejected the final lawsuit brought by Republican Kari Lake, who alleged there was misconduct in the 2022 election in Arizona.
Lake lost by about 17,000 votes to the winner, Katie Hobbs.
The judge said Lake did not present clear and convincing evidence or a preponderance of evidence that there was misconduct.
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TikTok sues Montana over app ban
TikTok sued Montana on Monday seeking to block the new Montana law that would ban the app statewide in 2024. TikTok said the law would violate Americans’ First Amendment right to free speech.
Montana Gov. Gianforte previously said he wants to see a ban because he is concerned that Montanans’ private data would be harvested by ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of TikTok.
The Washington Post said the lawsuit would probably delay the law.
TikTok has about 150 million monthly active users.
Man fatally struck by car after helping ducks cross road
In tragic news from Rocklin, California, a man named Casey Rivara was killed when he was hit by a car while he was helping a duck and ducklings cross a road.
Rivara was a father to two children. He was driving home with his kids and when he saw the ducklings struggle to cross the road, he stopped his car, stepped out, and herded the ducks across the road. A witness said others were clapping but a car appeared out of nowhere and hit him. The witness said the man’s children saw the incident.
The driver was a 17-year-old teenager who stayed at the scene. There have been no arrests.
There is a GoFundMe set up for Rivara that has raised about $75,000 from over 1,300 donors. He leaves behind a wife of 23 years and two children, ages 11 and 6. The GoFundMe said, “Rivara’s last act in this world was a sign of his compassion.”
More pro-gun bills than safety measures since Uvalde
An analysis by Axios found that since the Uvalde, Texas mass shooting last year that left 19 children and two teachers dead, state legislators around the country have passed more laws expanding gun access than they have measures on gun control.
There were 93 gun-related bills in that time period. 56% of them increased access to firearms or benefited the firearms industry by allowing manufacturing in the state or protecting them from liability lawsuits.
About 44% of the bills restricted access to firearms or supported victims in gun-related cases.
Most of the states that supported gun rights had GOP legislatures and governors.
That is all the top stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light.
https://nypost.com/2023/05/23/sai-kandula-idd-as-suspect-in-u-haul-white-house-crash/
https://abcnews.go.com/Business/boycott-bud-light-hammering-sales-experts-explain/story
https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/23/politics/arizona-kari-lake-election-lawsuit/index.html
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/05/22/tik-tok-ban-montana-lawsuit/
https://nypost.com/2023/05/22/california-man-fatally-hit-by-car-while-helping-ducks-cross-busy-road/
https://www.gofundme.com/f/caseys-final-act-of-kindness
https://www.axios.com/2023/05/23/gun-legislation-uvalde-shooting