Month: May 2023

South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, the lone Black Republican in the Senate, announced on Monday that he is running for president. Scott had teased his announcement in recent weeks, first announcing an exploratory committee in April and then officially filing the paperwork Friday to run.

Speaking before a crowd of nearly 2,000 attendees, Scott said at his alma mater Charleston Southern University: “Joe Biden and the radical left are attacking every rung of the ladder that helped me climb. And that is why I am announcing today that I am running for president of the United States of America.”  Scott joins the expanding field of contenders looking to knock off former President Donald Trump, the current Republican frontrunner who holds a commanding lead in GOP primary polls.

Scott’s political career began in the Charleston County Council in the mid-1990s before serving in the state House and the U.S. House.  Scott was first appointed to the Senate from South Carolina in 2012, by then-Gov. Nikki Haley (now a presidential rival) to replace retiring Sen. Jim DeMint. Scott later won the election to fill the rest of his term in 2014 and went on to win full terms in 2016 and again last year.

In his Monday address, Scott described the campaign as a time to choose between “victimhood or victory” and “grievance or greatness.” He portrayed himself as the candidate “the far-left fears most … I disrupt their narrative. I threaten their control. The truth of my life disrupts their lies!” Scott has previously spoken of the need for the Republican party to nominate someone who can defeat Democrats next fall.  In closing his remarks on Monday, Scott said: “We need a president who persuades not only our friends and our base. We have to have a compassion for people who don’t agree with us.”

Posting to his Truth Social platform on Monday, Trump said: “It is rapidly loading up with lots of people, and Tim is a big step up from Ron DeSanctimonious, who is totally unelectable. I got Opportunity Zones done with Tim, a big deal that has been highly successful. Good luck Tim!”

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A judge entered not guilty pleas Monday morning for 28-year-old Bryan Kohberger, the man charged in the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students last fall. Kohberger’s attorney, public defender Anne Taylor, told Latah County District Judge John Judge that their client “will be standing silent” on pleas during the arraignment in Latah County District Court, prompting the judge to enter not guilty pleas on his behalf.  Judge set a trial date for Oct. 2., after Taylor had asked to set the trial’s opening at the latest possible date.

A Latah County grand jury formally indicted Kohberger last week in the stabbing deaths of University of Idaho students. He faces four first-degree murder charges, as well as a burglary charge, which were the original five charges.  The indictment allowed prosecutors to skip a planned week-long preliminary hearing that was set for late June; the pretrial hearing could have revealed what evidence they have against Kohberger. The indictment remains sealed, and investigators so far have not said much about how they identified Kohberger or what evidence they have. Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson now has 60 days to inform the court whether he will seek the death penalty in the case.

Kohberger is accused in the stabbing deaths of Madison Mogen, 21; Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Xana Kernoldle, 20; and her boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, 20. The students were found dead on Nov. 13 at an off-campus rental home in Moscow, Idaho, where the women lived.  Kohberger was arrested on Dec. 30 at his parents’ home in Chestnuthill Township in eastern Pennsylvania after driving cross-country with his father; he waived his extradition rights and was returned to Idaho in January. He remains held in the small Latah County Jail.

If found guilty, Kohberger faces a maximum 10-year sentence on the burglary charge and four consecutive life sentences or the death penalty for the first-degree murder charges. Fines up to $200,000 and payment of $20,000 to the victims’ families are also possible if Kohberger is found guilty.

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Three people were killed and two more were injured in a shooting at a nightclub in Kansas City early on Sunday morning. Law enforcement arrived on the scene at Klymax Lounge at 1:26 a.m. when they found five people who had suffered gunshot wounds. Klymax Lounge is located in the Oak Park Southeast neighborhood at 4244 Indiana Ave.

Two of those shot were pronounced dead at the scene, while another victim was pronounced dead after being transported to an area hospital.  Out of the 2 injured victims, one victim remains in critical condition while the other is considered to be in stable condition.

The Kansas City Police Department is investigating the shooting, with officers remaining on the scene Sunday morning speaking to witnesses. Police are asking that anyone with information relating to the incident contact the department’s detectives at 816-234-5043 or the anonymous hotline at 816-474-8477. Police are offering a reward of up to $25,000 for information leading to an arrest.

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One man is dead and his two children are hospitalized after a hand grenade exploded at a home in Indiana, according to reports on Sunday. The explosion, at a home in the 3400 block of West Lakeshore Drive in the community of Lakes of the Four Seasons, was reported sometime before 6:30 p.m.

According to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, the family was at the home where they were going through a grandfather’s belongings. They found a hand grenade, someone pulled the pin on the device and it detonated. The father, identified as Bryan Niedert, 47, was found unresponsive at the scene and was later declared dead. The man’s two children – a 17-year-old son, and an 18-year-old daughter – were hospitalized with shrapnel wounds.

The Lake County Sheriff’s Department said that a Porter County Bomb Squad was sent to determine if there were any other explosives at the home. An autopsy is pending at the Lake County Coroner’s Office.

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Amid rising tensions with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Disney has scrapped plans to open up a new employee campus in Lake Nona, Florida, citing “changing business conditions” and the return of CEO Bob Iger. Disney is headquartered in Burbank, California, but operates a number of satellite offices across the country and the world.

On Thursday, Josh D’Amaro, chairman of Disney’s parks, experiences and products division, wrote a memo to employees announcing that the company will not move forward with construction of the campus and will no longer be asking more than 2,000 California-based employees to relocate to Florida. D’Amaro told employees: “This was not an easy decision to make, but I believe it is the right one.”  When relocation plans were first announced in July 2021 by former CEO Bob Chapek, many Disney employees balked at the idea, with some leaving the company and others transitioning to other posts within Disney that would not require a move to Florida. Some employees held out hope that the plan would fizzle out after it was postponed (the campus was originally slated to open in 2022-2023, but was later delayed to 2026). D’Amaro said employees who have already moved to Florida may be able to relocate back to California: “It is clear to me that the power of this brand comes from our incredible people, and we are committed to handling this change with care and compassion.” D’Amaro reiterated in his memo that the company still plans to invest $17 billion in Florida over the next 10 years, including the addition of around 13,000 jobs. The company currently employs more than 75,000 people in the state.

Disney’s announcement comes amid an ongoing feud with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. The company filed a lawsuit accusing DeSantis and the new board members of its special district of carrying out a campaign of political retribution against the company, after DeSantis targeted Disney’s special district, formerly called the Reedy Creek Improvement District. The company also publicly criticized a controversial Florida bill — dubbed “Don’t Say Gay” by critics — that limits discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in classrooms. The special district has allowed the entertainment giant to effectively self-govern its Orlando parks’ operations for decades, but its five-member board was replaced with DeSantis picks and renamed the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District.

Disney CEO Iger has publicly criticized DeSantis, noting that Disney brings around 50 million visitors to Florida every year and is the state’s largest taxpayer.

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