September 28 top stories
It is September 28. That’s the right date for today. Ready for today’s top stories?
“Dumbledore” actor Michael Gambon dies at 82
Actor Michael Gambon, who is known for his portrayal of the character Albus Dumbledore in six “Harry Potter” movies, passed away at the age of 82 due to pneumonia.
His representative said he died peacefully in a hospital with his wife and son at his bedside.
American soldier released from North Korea
Travis King, the American soldier who crossed into North Korea in July in an apparent attempt to flee disciplinary action from the U.S. military, was released and is now at a base in Texas. It is said that he is in good health.
North Korea said it “expelled” King. The U.S. government said it worked for a month to bring King back to the U.S. and are grateful to the governments of Sweden and China for their help.
Before all of this happened, King was serving in South Korea but got into criminal trouble, was charged with assault, and served two months in a South Korean prison.
After this, he was supposed to get on a plane to go back to the U.S. to face additional disciplinary actions but he slipped away from the South Korean airport and then joined a civilian tour of the DMZ area between North and South Korea before crossing the border.
King’s family said they don’t understand why he did this and that he may have been going through mental struggles.
Sen. Menendez pleads not guilty to bribery charges
Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) pleaded not guilty to federal charges of bribery. His wife Nadine, who was also accused of bribery, also pleaded not guilty.
Federal prosecutors said the senator used his powerful position to enrich three businessmen in New Jersey and also benefit the government of Egypt.
It is Menendez’s second time being indicted in a corruption case. He has ignored calls from his Democratic colleagues to resign.
100 killed in fire at Iraqi wedding hall
AP News said about 100 people tragically died in a huge fire that ripped through a building during a wedding. The fire came from pyrotechnics machines that shot up sparks on the ceiling, causing the ceiling panels to catch fire. There were about 250 guests and they stampeded for the exits, but for many, it was too late. One person said it was fortunate that many of the guests’ children were outside playing because they could have died.
Officials said the building had many highly flammable materials. AP said this happened in a “predominantly Christian Hamdaniya area.”
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2nd Republican debate
The second Republican presidential debate took place last night at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California.
Seven candidates debated and Donald Trump did not attend. Axios said even though Trump was not there, he is still the #1 choice among Republican voters according to polling and that he “looks set to steamroll his way to the GOP nomination…”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is in “second place,” stayed upbeat about his chances, saying, “Polls don’t elect presidents — voters elect presidents.”
There are less than four months before the Iowa caucuses, which is the first voting for the presidential nomination process.
Federal judge strikes down Texas drag law
NBC News said a federal judge struck down a Texas law that was aimed at banning drag shows in the state and imprisoning performers.
The judge said the law infringed on the First Amendment and chills free speech. The judge said not all people will like or approve of certain performances, and that this is no different from a person’s opinion on certain comedy or genres of music, but that alone does not strip First Amendment protection.
NBC News said LGBTQ advocates and drag performers celebrated the ruling.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said they would appeal the ruling.
Astronaut Frank Rubio returns to Earth after 371 days in space
NASA astronaut Frank Rubio returned to Earth on Wednesday after spending a record-breaking 371 days in space. It is the longest stay for an American astronaut, but the record for the longest stay belongs to a late Russian cosmonaut named Valeri Polyakov, who stayed for 437 days in Russia’s Mir space station.
CNN explained that Rubio was only supposed to stay six months on the International Space Station but stayed up there longer after he discovered a coolant leak in his spacecraft. That led to delays as crews worked on backup plans to replace spacecraft and crews. Rubio said if he had known he would have stayed up there for that long, he would have declined because he missed several important events. He has four children. He said it will take about two to six months for his body to feel normal again due to the effects of weightlessness in space.
That is all the top stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/28/entertainment/michael-gambon-death-scli-intl/index.html
https://www.axios.com/2023/09/27/north-korea-expel-us-soldier-travis-king
https://www.axios.com/2023/09/27/bob-menendez-not-guilty-bribery-charges
https://apnews.com/article/iraq-wedding-hall-fire-1d8a5dbbda46a01b1688a547b95b39a3
https://www.axios.com/2023/09/28/republican-debate-takeaways-haley-desantis-trump
https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/27/world/frank-rubio-nasa-return-space-station-scn/index.html